Ueno Tsuhei's forced deportation from the Tang Empire caused quite a stir in Japan.

Since the victory of the First Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War, the Japanese have thought that Aunt Amaterasu is the first and they are the second. Even the traditional Western powers such as Britain and the United States do not pay attention to it, and the degree of arrogance is unprecedented.

Ueno Tsuhei was forcibly expelled from the Tang Empire, and the cabinet of Yuyuki Hamaguchi naturally wanted to save face, otherwise he would be thrown to Mars if he was embarrassed.

Of course, this is also the result that Yuyuki Hamaguchi is most happy to see. Because he just wants to force the Tang Empire to resist, so that Japan can justifiably invade the Tang Empire and plunder the huge wealth of the Tang Empire that makes everyone in Shijie hot.

For the Japanese, they think that the Tang Empire at this time is a three-year-old child swaggering through the street with millions of bills, of course, they must start quickly, otherwise they will be robbed by others.

At the same time, the Yuyuki Hamaguchi cabinet also held that the Japanese military department, which was becoming more and more disobedient, should not attack China at this time, because Japan was not fully prepared, and the European and American powers had great interests in China, and a rash move against China would probably cause a strong backlash and interference from the foreign powers.

In order to divert the attention of the Japanese military, Hamaguchi Yuyuki immediately summoned Kato, the head of the Military Command Department, hoping that the military would prepare to send troops to the Tang Empire.

"The wealth of the Tang Empire is conservatively estimated to be tens of billions of dollars, and if we can quickly occupy it, the wealth obtained will be enough for the imperial government and military to spend the next ten years."

After reading the report on the Tang Empire, Kato also felt that this was a huge piece of fat, and people were so hungry that they drooled. But he also had concerns, after all, the Tang Empire was still a British protectorate.

Knowing Kato's concerns, Hamaguchi Yuyuki immediately explained: "You don't have to worry about the British side, as long as you quickly complete the military occupation of the Tang Empire and create a fait accompli, then I have a way to shut up the British." The worst-case scenario would be a war between Japan and the British, but it was clear from the compromise attitude of the British that they could not have ventured into war with the Empire of Japan because of a small protectorate. Of course, in the face of pressure from the West, we may eventually withdraw from the Tang Empire, but I think we have already ransacked the Tang Empire by that time, haven't we? ”

Kato's words dispelled Kato's doubts, and he immediately replied, "Since Your Excellency the Prime Minister is absolutely sure, then I will immediately convene a meeting of the military and try to act as soon as possible." However, I must remind you that the military will not give up on attacking China. ”

Hamaguchi Yuyuki smiled slightly and said, "I know, that's why I will give your military a chance to make extra money." With the 10 billion dollar wealth of the Tang Empire, we will have enough capital to attack China! ”

Kato glanced at Yuyuki Hamaguchi deeply, nodded and said, "I hope you can keep your promise, otherwise it will be really difficult for me to restrain the military!" ”

Looking at the back of Kato leaving, Yuyuki Hamaguchi suddenly darkened his face, and he knew that it was not a simple threat. Having already been assassinated by the military once, he knew that the next time he would not be so lucky to survive.

Kato returned to the Military Command Department and immediately convened a meeting of Japanese military dignitaries. After repeated discussions, the military didn't want to fight to the end with the Yuyuki Hamaguchi cabinet, and since Yuyuki Hamaguchi promised, then they believed him once.

Since the Tang Empire was a British protectorate, the Japanese military had to have a sufficient excuse to do so. Although the Tang Empire drove out the Japanese commissioners, it was not enough to serve as an excuse for the Japanese military to use force.

As a result, the meeting decided to send two old light cruisers to the coastal waters of the Tang Empire first. The mission is to explore the coastal defense system of the Tang Empire, clear mines and open up safe shipping lanes, and the most important purpose is to provoke the Royal Navy of the Tang Empire and force the other side to return fire to create an excuse for the Imperial Japanese Navy to attack the Tang Empire.

Taking into account all considerations, the Japanese Military Command Department selected two Tenryu-class light cruisers for this mission.

The two Tenryu-class light cruisers are already ten years old and belong to the warships of the Japanese Navy that are about to be decommissioned. As early as 1914, Britain began building epoch-making Limsen-class light cruisers. Compared with the previous protective cruisers with coal bunkers arranged on the side, the new ships have a certain amount of armor protection and play a prominent role in suppressing torpedo boats and destroyers, and serving as the fleet's avant-garde reconnaissance. After the First Shijie War, Japan also began to design its first type of modern light cruisers, and in 1917 the "84 Fleet Case" included eight 3,500-ton construction jihuas. After that, due to the reconstruction of 6 larger 5,500-ton light cruisers, only two 3,500-ton light cruisers were completed. Namely, the Tenryu and the Ryuta

Unlike the light cruisers that were mainly used by the great powers at that time for the escort of the main fleet and reconnaissance and vigilance, the Japanese Navy decided from the beginning to design the Tenryu-class as the flagship of the mine warfare team (B Cruiser), so it had heavy armament, torpedo armament and high speed, and the appearance was similar to the enlarged Fengfeng-class first-class destroyer.

At this time, two Tenryu-class light cruisers were in Taiwan on the task of alerting Chinese mainland in the Taiwan Strait, and were the two closest warships in the Japanese combined fleet to the mainland of the Tang Empire.

The Tenryu and Tatsuda were the first to set off, and the Japanese Combined Fleet Headquarters simultaneously dispatched four battle cruisers, six heavy cruisers, six light cruisers, two submarines, and a troop carrier carrying 2,000 Japanese troops to form a task force to secretly set off for the Tang Dynasty, maintaining a one-day voyage with the two ships, the Tenryu and Tatsuda.

According to the Jihua of the Japanese Military Command Department, once the Tianlong and Longtian provocations are successful, the Zhengtang task force will suddenly appear in the waters near the Tang Empire within a day, and capture Chang'an and take the entire Tang Empire in one fell swoop before the British side fails to respond and respond in time.

It can be said that the Japanese played the abacus very loudly, but they made a fatal mistake, that is, they despised the Tang Empire too much. They did not know at all how much population, how many troops, and how many strategic material reserves the Tang Empire had, and they did not have an accurate information on the combat effectiveness, weaponry, and combat capability of the army, navy, and air force of the Tang Empire.

In their eyes, the Tang Empire is completely vulnerable, and just waiting for an excuse to start a war, the conquest of the Tang Special Task Force is enough to level the entire Tang Empire.

Just when the Japanese were about to find an excuse to start a war against the Tang Empire again, Zhang Meng, the crown prince of the Tang Empire, the Minister of National Defense, and the commander of the army, navy and air force, had already issued a secret order to the whole army to start a war against Japan, because he had no way to compromise and retreat, only a war.

According to Zhang Meng's order, the army, navy and air force of the Tang Empire must resolutely defend the absolute sovereignty integrity and inviolability of the territory, territorial waters and airspace of the empire, and have the right to warn and take military action against hostile countries or hostile shili that invade or attempt to invade the Tang Empire or pose a threat to the Tang Empire.

Zhang Meng directly authorized the front-line commanders of the army, navy, and air force of the Tang Empire to take full responsibility and allowed them to carry out preemptive military strikes.

To make such a decision, Zhang Meng also considered it all. The Japanese are greedy, and the other powers are also greedy, if they can't completely hurt the Japanese for the first time, then they will repeat the mistake of the defeat of the First Sino-Japanese War, and other powers will come one after another to completely strangle the new country of the Tang Empire in the cradle.

Therefore, Zhang Meng decided to gnaw on the hard bone of Japan in the first war, as long as he defeated the Japanese, even if it was just a draw with the Japanese, the Tang Empire would be safe.

But it won't be easy. Because Japan's military strength is very strong.

But Zhang Meng dared to do it. Because he expected that the Japanese would be underestimated.

As long as the Japanese despise Zhang Meng, Zhang Meng will inevitably make the Japanese pay a heavy price.

The Japanese military thought that they could hide from the whole Shijie people by quietly sending a special task force to conquer the Tang Dynasty, but they despised the Tang Empire too much, but Zhang Meng never believed in the so-called friendship of any country to the Tang Empire, and he was always on guard against the possible surprise attacks of the great powers on the Tang Empire, so most of the submarines of the Royal Navy submarine fleet of the Tang Empire were sent to various strategic sea areas and strategic routes in the Pacific Ocean, while conducting daily training, while secretly monitoring the countries of the Pacific Rim. In particular, Japan is most uneasy, and more than 20 submarines are operating in the vicinity of various Japanese naval bases, constantly monitoring the movements of the Japanese Navy. Even the British military ports in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Australia are under the watchful eye of the Datang Navy's submarines.

When the Japanese Navy dispatched, the Carp submarine, which was responsible for monitoring the vigilance near Sasebo, immediately sent back an alert to the Tang Empire.

After reading the emergency telegram, Zhang Meng smiled slightly, his eyes rolled and he immediately thought about it, and then picked up the phone.

"Give me the fleet headquarters!"