The shipwright of the Second Fleet, the battlecruiser "Tsukuba", Yuzaburo Kato, was circling around in the captain's room, like a donkey with a grinding head, scratching his scalp irritably, and his hair falling down one by one, and if it continued like this, it would become bald in a few days. No wonder he was in a bad mood, when he saw the returning destroyer detachment, he could hardly believe his eyes, two destroyers were blown off the bridge, one bow was seriously injured, the others were also scarred, and one did not come back at all, and was smelted into scrap steel at sea.

If you say that you have experienced a naval battle, then Kato Yuzaburo can still understand it, but the result of coming back to report was that it was bombed by the Jianghuai Army's plane, which is too unimaginable!

That kind of "boom" went to the sky, and after taking a six-cent allowance, it was not necessarily possible to fly back with toys that could hit warships?

In the consciousness of the navy, only the cannon of the giant ship is the king, and the only thing that can threaten the navy is the shore defense guns of another navy or battery, and the giant cannons weighing hundreds of tons on the warship and the battery, with a thick muzzle like a water tank, can make the navy afraid of three points, and in addition, there is no other weapon that can damage the warship. Including those torpedoes, with a charge of several hundred kilograms, could not pose a threat to the moving fleet??? A torpedo hitting a moving warship is not as high as the probability of winning the lottery.

On the returning warship, there were several aerial bombs that did not explode, the largest of which was no more than twenty pounds??? Twenty-pound bomb sank a warship? No way!

However, the Chinese plane can be loaded with machine guns, which is very annoying, although the machine guns pose little threat to the warship, but they can kill and injure the soldiers on the deck, affecting the deployment of personnel and materials on the warship. For the sake of safety, the Combined Fleet retreated to the ocean 80 kilometers from the coastline. Yuzaburo Kato has calculated that the maximum flight distance of the Valman seaplane is eighty kilometers, even if the Chinese aircraft are more advanced, at best the maximum flight distance is twice as long, right? The current distance should be out of the safe range!

Looking at the wounded warships, Yuzaburo Kato did not realize that the form of the war had changed, but habitually blamed the problem on the unstable surname of Shimose Gunpowder and the highly sensitive surname of Ijiin Shinkan, which is also normal, and the self-detonation of ammunition in the Navy's ammunition has happened many times.

Thinking of this, he itched the roots of his teeth for the hatred of the allies of the British, if it weren't for the fact that these British guys refused to transfer armor-piercing shell technology, would it be necessary for the Combined Fleet to adopt this very threatening Shimose gunpowder?

Now the British, if they buy warships, cannons and other weapons and ammunition, they are slapping and welcome, any new warships are sold, and they also escort to the purchasing country, if the purchasing country wants to make its own warships, Britain can also provide a full set of drawings, as long as the pound is sufficient, the British guarantee first-class service.

The British navy's main ships will be replaced in eight years, and they don't mind selling what seems to be the latest warships for a large amount of money.

However, armor-piercing shells are definitely not sold, let alone the technology of transferring armor-piercing shells. During the First Sino-Japanese Naval War, the armor-piercing shells of the Beiyang Navy Division were actually the solid training shells used by Pingshu, and he himself took a unique way to use the extremely unstable Shimose gunpowder in an attempt to burn the enemy ships with this kind of picric acid gunpowder that could melt steel.

Facts have proved that it is still very effective, and during the Russo-Russian War, almost all Russian [***] ships were burned down, but they were not sunk. But after all, the substitute is a substitute, and the side effects are also great, and Shimose gunpowder is too easy to self-detonate! In order to break the technological blockade of the British, Germany and the United States, which are powerful in science and technology, are independently developing armor-piercing shells, and they are also developing them, but they have not been effective, and they have to continue to use Shimose gunpowder.

This attack on Dagukou is the cooperation of the Navy's Second Fleet and a wing of the Kumamoto Division of the Army, the Navy is responsible for covering the landing of the Army, and the artillery bombardment just now reimbursed all a brigade of the Kumamoto Division, and the wing commander Yamagishi Osa was furious, and Kato Yuzaburo quarreled directly, fortunately, Prince Fushimi Palace was present, and he pointed to his nose and scolded to suppress the evil fire of Yamagishi Daisa.

During the Southwest War, Kumamoto Jindai, the predecessor of the Kumamoto Division, with less than 1,000 troops, blocked the attack of tens of thousands of Saigo Takamori rebels, including 12,000 elites from the Satsuma Domain.

Whether it was the First Sino-Japanese War or the Russo-Japanese War, the Kumamoto Sixth Division always fought in the vanguard. In the First Sino-Japanese War, under the leadership of Heimu Weizhen, he landed on the Jiaodong Peninsula and took Weihaiwei in one fell swoop. In the Russo-Russian War, it was attached to the Second Army in Obaogong. Participated in the Battle of Shahe and the Battle of Mukden.

The Kumamoto Division can be said to be the lifeblood of the army, and this time it served a brigade at a time, most of which were killed by naval guns??? The beam of the Navy and Army is considered to be big!

What's more, in order to plan this military operation against China, the military department appointed the famous Lieutenant General Akashi Motojiro as the division commander of the Kumamoto Division.

One person can top ten elite divisions of Genjiro Akashi??? Is that something to mess with? What's even more terrifying is that behind Akashi Genjiro there is still a Yama Prefecture Aritomo veteran who can make the whole earthquake with a cough!

The army is not afraid of the dead, this kind of consumables are said to be as many as there are, and the last thing that is lacking in this book is the guy who is crying and shouting to find death, even if it is like Nogi Noshinori attacking Lushun, it doesn't matter if he is killed or injured. The problem is that the Mitarai Brigade died not at the hands of the enemy, but under the shelling of the Navy!

Kato Yuzaburo has been playing a small drum in his heart, after all, he is not Togo Heihachiro who dared to meet the American army in Hawaii, nor is he Akiyama Shinyuki, who has become famous all over the world before he has participated in the war, he is just an artillery expert, and he is just a technocrat who has worked up to the commander of the lieutenant general, and he really doesn't have the courage to get along with Akashi Motojiro and Yamaguchi.

Technocrats have always had no future in Saihon, and when they mention the heroes of the naval battle of the Honkai Sea, everyone thinks of Heihachiro Togo, commander of the Combined Fleet, and Mayuki Akiyama, the former staff officer. There is no doubt that this naval battle decided the outcome of the Russo-Japanese War, and it was precisely because of his victory in the Russo-Japanese War that he became a great power in the Pacific Ocean and attracted the attention of the great powers. Known as the god of the military, Togo was one of the few military men to be included in high school textbooks. But Yuzaburo Kato, who worked closely with Togo on the same battleship, has long been forgotten. At that time, Kato was the chief of staff of the Combined Fleet, the second person in the fleet, and he was still the boss of Mayuki Akiyama in terms of position. Yuzaburo Kato was an artillery expert, and the proper use of naval artillery was an important factor in achieving victory. It can be seen that Kato played an important role in the victory of the Shomoto Sea Naval Battle.

It's a pity that although he has served as the vice minister of the Navy for a long time and is considered the second person in the navy, few people treat him as a dish, and if Togo Heihachiro or Akiyama Shinyuki are replaced as the commander of the Second Fleet, Yamagishi Daisa, who is scared to death of the Kumamoto Division, will not dare to scold him in person. Dare to scold Heihachiro Togo, with the temper of General Togo, he kicked into the sea to feed the fish, if it was Akiyama Mayuki, he must have nostrils to the sky and should not be able to hear.

It's a pity that he is only Yuzaburo Kato, and he is not qualified to play tricks yet!

"Kato-kun, don't be impatient!" Prince Fushimi used his sword as a staff and slowly entered the captain's room.

"Your Royal Highness, it was all my mistake this time that caused such a big loss!" After Yuzaburo Kato's standard bow of forty-five degrees, he did not straighten his waist for a long time.

Prince Fushimi Palace helped him up, and said with a pleasant face: "Kato-kun, your command is correct, even if the navy does not open fire, the soldiers who landed will be killed by the Shina people, rather than this, it is better to let them die more honorably." If Genjiro Akashi has something to say, let him come to me! ”

Seeing the old prince's big package, Yuzaburo Kato burst into tears of excitement and said respectfully: "Thank you, Your Highness!" ”

Fushimi Miyichi waved his hand and motioned for him to sit down, and then sat on the chair himself, and said bitterly: "Seeing today's scene, what do Kato-kun think?" ”

Kato Yuzaburo said with a bitter face: "The gap between the scientific and technological level of the empire and the West is too big, so far we have no armor-piercing projectile technology, except for the use of practice training bullets filled with cement mortar for armor-piercing, the most effective weapon is Shimose gunpowder!" However, Shimose gunpowder was just a picric acid used to dye cloth, and the Western powers did not bother to use it at all, and the sensitive surname of the Ijiin letter pipe was too strong, and the shells would cause explosions when they hit the water, and the Imperial Navy did not dare to install the letter tubes on the shells at ordinary times, and even then there were still major accidents one after another! However, the people of China have received technical and financial support from the United States, and in the long run, the navy is in danger, and the empire is also in danger! ”

Fushimi Palace sighed helplessly: "You are right, this is the current situation of the Empire, our allies the British are also unwilling to transfer the latest technology to us, the United States and Germany are the enemies of the Empire, and China is even more hostile to the Empire!" The European and American powers accepted less than 1,000 Chinese students, and almost all of these people loved Europe and the United States, while the empire accepted more than 20,000 Chinese students, but instead cultivated a large number of people who hated the empire??? Isn't there a deeper reason for this? The empire needs to reflect on why the people we have cultivated have become our enemies instead? ”

Yuzaburo Kato felt the same way: "The empire needs to reflect, why does the empire have no friends when you look at the world?" ”

Fushimiya continued: "China has a population of 450 million and huge resources, and even if the European and American powers hate the political axe of China, they cannot ignore such a vast market and raw material base, so even during the reign of the Manchu court, the Qing court can still survive in the cracks of the great powers, and even gain the attention of the great powers??? Do you still remember Li Hongzhang's visit to Europe and the United States? The high standard of reception given to him by the great powers is unimaginable for the Empire! ”

Yuzaburo Kato approvingly: "Your Highness is right! The natural resources of China were beyond the reach of the Empire. ”

Prince Fushimiya suddenly had a cold face, and said with a sneer: "The ancestors of the Shina people control all the lands suitable for human existence in East Asia, from the sea in the east, to the Shuo desert in the west, to the barbarian miasma in the south, and to the bitter cold in the north??? However, it is ridiculous that the current people of China attribute the reason for their backwardness to the culture left by their ancestors! Confucius 2,000 years ago was actually responsible for the current unworthy descendants??? Pathetic to the poor nation! ”

Yuzaburo Kato nodded like a chicken eating rice.

Prince Fushiminomiya said: "Since the people of China don't care about the land and culture left by their ancestors, let the Yamato nation inherit this heavy gift, the nation that has been ruled by the Tatars for two hundred and sixty years does not deserve such a vast land and splendid civilization!" ”

With that, he stood up, pushed open the door of the captain's room and stepped onto the deck, followed by Yuzaburo Kato.

"Kato-kun, the empire's opening up of thousands of miles of sea frontiers is only a means, and the occupation of the vast continent is the real goal, I really hope that the empire can have 90,000 miles of Guanshan and 40,000 miles of coastline, only with these, can the empire truly become a strong country and become an invincible country!" Fushimi Palace's sonorous and powerful way.

As a staunch supporter of Rear Admiral Mahan's theory of sea power, all naval officers recognized that island nations were extremely vulnerable, and that only land countries such as Russia and China, which possessed extremely vast depths, were invincible.

Of course, this is premised on the premise that landlocked countries must have a strong political axe and people who are in line with it, otherwise invincibility is a joke.

Kato Yuzaburo's heart shook when he was said, he looked at the coastline in the distance in a daze, and said leisurely after a long time: "Yes, only with the land and resources of China can the empire be invincible??? The island nation is too fragile! ”

During the Russo-Russian War, the Urayan Fleet, composed of three Russian cruisers, made several sneak attacks on the Saimoto sea transportation line, and even the transport ships of the Second Fleet were sunk by them, and the army transport ships "Izumi Maru", "Hitachi Maru" and "Sado Maru" were robbed in the Tsushima Strait, and the first wing of the Guards Reserve Infantry on board was sunk to the bottom of the sea by all the Russians with the surname of murder.

The disturbance of only three warships brought Osaka's industrial production to a virtual standstill, and the import of raw materials and the export of products were greatly troubled.

For this reason, the angry people smashed the official residence of the commander of the Second Fleet, so frightened that Vice Admiral Uemura, who was the commander of the fleet at the time, did not even dare to return to his home, and his wife even took the children back to her parents' house for refuge.

As the successor commander of the Second Fleet, Yuzaburo Kato can't help but feel sad about the death of a rabbit and a fox.

"The current China is terrible enough, they have the technology and financial support of the United States, and this bombing of the Imperial fleet with planes is a dangerous signal!

Kato Yuzaburo said with palpitations: "Yes, now Rear Admiral Mahan, the great commander of the Navy, is also serving as the president of the Naval University in China, and personally educates naval officers for China, once this batch of students graduates, the human resources of China and the economic and technological resources of the United States are combined, and the empire is in danger!" ”

Fushimiya gritted his teeth and said, "Therefore, to nip in the bud the dream of Shina becoming a naval power, this must not be allowed to happen!" ”

Yuzaburo Kato sincerely admired: "Your Highness is wise! ”

The two looked at each other and smiled, as if the total annihilation of the Mitarai Brigade had never happened, and China was a small tree that was sprouting, crushed to death by their four big feet.

The sea and sky are narrow, the salty sea breeze blows across the chest, the seagulls surround the warship, and occasionally one or two fish jump out of the water, Kato Yuzaburo's mood is also suddenly brighter, with the support of Prince Fushiminomiya, even if Akashi Genjiro comes to find trouble, he can completely cope with the past.

As for Youpeng in Shanxian County, he is already seventy or eighty years old, and he can't live for a few years no matter how arrogant he is, and the clogs he took off when he went to bed the night before can be put on the next morning is a problem.

On the "Wakamiya Maru", the only two remaining Falman seaplanes were pushed into the sea and began a routine reconnaissance.

Prince Fushimi Palace pointed to the plane that was gradually flying into the sky and said, "Kato-kun, this loss is not without a price, you see, didn't the people of Shina provide us with a new way of thinking?" I wonder again, if you put a big bomb under the wing of an airplane, can you sink a warship? ”

Yuzaburo Kato is an artillery expert, and he muttered for a long time and suddenly patted his head and said, "Your Royal Highness, it's okay!" We can load the warship's shells under the wings and fly over the warship to cut the ropes, and I think His Highness's suggestion is feasible??? However, the accuracy of the bomb dropped from the sky is very poor, and it is not easy to hit a warship. ”

The smile in Fushiminomiya's eyes was even brighter: "If it is really feasible, then is it also feasible to exchange an aircraft for a warship?" ”

Yuzaburo Kato wondered, "What does Your Highness mean?" ”

Prince Fushiminomiya clenched his hands into fists: "Of course, a bomb falling from the sky is not easy to hit, but what if it is a plane controlled by a human being?" Fill the plane with explosives and seal the hatch??? And then, bam! ”

Fushimi's hand opened violently and made an explosive gesture.

Kato Yuzaburo struck a clever slap: "Your Highness, although the plane is not a very valuable weapon, the training of pilots is very difficult, and the preciousness of pilots far exceeds that of airplanes. ”

Fushimi Miyachi waved his hand to signal him to shut up, and then said: "The difference in economic strength between the empire and the great powers is too far, if you compete with them to build warships, the gap between the empire and the great powers will only get farther and farther, but what if a plane can be replaced by a warship?" The citizens of the empire must have the courage to sacrifice, only in this way can the empire have any hope of survival??? The island nation is too fragile! ”

Mahan's idea of sea power has had a tremendous impact on navies all over the world, and the fragile island nation and the invincible landlocked power have taken root in the minds of every naval officer, and the shock caused by the extremely strong sense of crisis has been even more serious.

Kato Yuzaburo was silent for a long time, and saluted respectfully: "Your Highness is always so wise!" ”

It's just that as the second person in the navy, Kato Yuzaburo's heart still feels a little heavy, compared to the ruthlessness of his heart, Kato, who was born as a technocrat, really can't be compared with the imperial family.

"Woo???"

A dull siren sounded, and then it became sharp and piercing.

"Enemy attack, enemy attack!"

With the heart-wrenching siren whistle, the entire Second Fleet suddenly became nervous, and the "eagle eyes" on the lookouts of various warships were looking at the distant sea with all their eyes, trying to find out the shadow of the enemy fleet.

"Your Highness, please go back to the cabin!" Yuzaburo Kato said eagerly.

Prince Fushimi Palace slowly combed his beard and said leisurely: "I'm here, I want to see for myself how the loyal sailors of the empire defeat the enemy!" Kato-kun, work hard! ”

(To be continued)