When General Chen Fangzheng talked about the recent development of the Japanese army, he was a little regretful, "After the First Sino-Japanese Naval War, Japan successfully copied the 120mm rapid-fire gun in 1898, and it has been put into use in the fleet in batches.

The formation of the fleet was based on the "66th Fleet" as the fleet construction plan proposed by the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1896-1897, with the Russian Pacific Fleet as the main hypothetical enemy, and 6 battleships and 6 armored cruisers as the core of the fleet.

This plan was realized before the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War this year.

According to yesterday's news from the Russo-Japanese battlefield in the northeast, the Japanese Combined Fleet led by Vice Admiral Heihachiro Togo has achieved good results.

The current Japanese Combined Fleet is much more powerful than it was during the Sino-Japanese Naval War ten years ago. In the Russo-Japanese War, which was raging, the odds of Japan defeating Russia were very high from my point of view.

Therefore, with the current strength of our Hainan Fleet, it is basically impossible to defeat such a fleet against Japan from a purely technical point of view.

However, since Japan is fighting against Russia, it is impossible for Japan to organize a fleet of such strength to declare war on our Hainan this year!

Therefore, if Japan wants to make a move against our Hainan, unless they use the old fleet from the First Sino-Japanese Naval War. In that case, we will have some certainty of defeating them! ”

Zhang Tong said: "Lord Wang, General Chen, I have a concern!" Do you remember the Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Alliance signed on 30 January 1902, the British Foreign Secretary, H.C.K. Petty-Fitzmaurice, Marquess of Lansdownne (5th), and Hayashi To, the Japanese ambassador to Britain?

The main contents of this treaty are: the two signatories recognize each other's right to protect their own interests in China and Korea, such as the "special interests" of Britain in China and Japan in China and Korea, which are threatened by other countries or infringed upon by "riots" in China and North Korea, and the two countries have the right to intervene; When one of the High Contracting Parties fights against a third State in order to protect such interests, the other Party shall observe strict neutrality; In the event that one of the High Contracting Parties is attacked by two or more States, the other Party shall provide military assistance and fight together.

Judging from the content of the treaty, if Japan starts a war against our Hainan, will Japan invite the British army to help? ”

Chen Zhong pondered for a moment and said: "I think that at present, there are three forces in the southern waters of Hainan, one is the British fleet, the other is the Japanese fleet near the Taiwan Strait, and the other is the French fleet.

According to my analysis, the French army has long had ideas about Taiwan, and it is not in the same camp as Japan at all, and if the Japanese army starts a war against our Hainan, the French will definitely play the role of sitting on the mountain and watching the tiger fight.

The British were only interested in their interests in China, and as for the alliance, they were basically not binding on them, and the terms made it clear that they would only fight together in the event of an attack by two or more countries.

Therefore, the enemy that we Hainan is facing must be the Japanese fleet in the end! Moreover, this Japanese fleet can only be the Japanese West Sea Fleet that defeated our Beiyang Naval Division in the First Sino-Japanese Naval Battle!

General Chen, this king orders! In this decisive battle in the South China Sea, our Hainan Fleet must completely wipe out this Japanese West Sea Fleet and avenge the revenge of our Beiyang Naval Division! ”

"Yes! Please rest assured! Please rest assured, our Hainan fleet is ready for everything! Just wait for the prince to give an order, our Hainan fleet will meet the enemy and fight, and the battle will be won! ”

After listening to the reports of Chen Fangzheng and Xu Chunsheng, Chen Zhong and Zhang Tong and several generals inspected the warships.

The officers and men of the whole fleet showed their eagerness to fight, and every soldier was eager to hope that they could really fight with the Japanese army in this naval battle!

Chen Zhong and several generals inspected the fleet this time and were very satisfied. They saw that the Hainan fleet was mighty and majestic, and the morale of the officers and men of the fleet was high, so they were full of confidence in this battle to defend Hainan.

On the way back, Chen Zhong asked Zhou Zhiguang: "General Zhou, do you think the Japanese will definitely use their "West Sea Fleet" to declare war on our Hainan?" ”

Zhou Zhiguang thought for a while and said, "I think, this battle is inevitable!" ”

"Why are you so sure?"

"Because they didn't take Hainan in their eyes at all, to put it bluntly, they didn't take our Qing Dynasty in their eyes. Since the First Sino-Japanese Naval War ten years ago, the Japanese have strengthened the construction of their own navy, and in their eyes, their warships are invincible in the world, not to mention, on the small island of Hainan, what powerful navy can compete with them?

Plus, to the east and south of us, there were also their allies, the English fleet. From their point of view, we in Hainan absolutely do not dare to fight with them.

Therefore, although they cannot call on the most advanced combined fleet in their country to attack Hainan, they will definitely use the West Sea Fleet, which they have become a master.

Moreover, before they start a war against our Hainan, they will definitely do one thing, that is, they must first put pressure on the Qing court. They hoped to use the army of the Qing court to encircle and suppress our southern part of the country from land. As a result, our Hainan troops stationed in the Yulin area of Guangxi will be very dangerous.

Lord Wang, I think, first, my Hainan army in Guangxi is completely surrounded by the French army and the Qing army.

Second, Hainan is already very dangerous. In the face of the Japanese and British fleets in the South China Sea, Hainan is still unable to deploy troops to support Guangxi. However, if the Qing army and the French army defeat our army in Guangxi, then our Hainan will be attacked from the belly.

So, my lord, we should prepare in advance! ”

Chen Zhong smiled and said: "General Zhou, he is worthy of being our first tiger general in Hainan!" Not only is it brave in battle, but also its strategic vision is extraordinary.

General Zhou's analysis is very good, Hainan is indeed full of crises at present, and all forces may pose a threat to China.

However, because of the existence of these multiple forces, Hainan will be safer in the middle. There is a very delicate relationship between these forces, and from a certain point of view, none of them wants to lose their strength in this competition because of Hainan. Because, we in Hainan are very weak, and it is not enough to pose a threat to them at present.

However, after this crisis, Hainan will surely become the focus. At that time, our Hainan will really be very dangerous! Therefore, we in Hainan must make preparations in advance to deal with the real crisis in the future. ”

"That's what the prince said!" The generals who inspected with Chen Zhong nodded in agreement, and they had begun to slowly accept Hainan, the newly appointed core figure, from the bottom of their hearts.

"General Zhou! You stop! Chen Zhong stopped Zhou Zhiguang, and then ordered: "Yan Xia, invite General Zhou over here!" ”

Zhou Zhiguang looked at Chen Zhong in astonishment, he didn't know why Chen Zhong's mood suddenly changed, what was he going to do? Is it impossible to settle accounts after the autumn?