"What the general said is extremely true, this battle is very important, I have already thought of a countermeasure, this battle will definitely sink the 'Fusang' and lay the foundation for our army's victory." Lin Yiqing heard the worry in Saigo Takamori's words, and said in a firm tone.

"Oh? Hanpeng already has a way to break the enemy? Saigo Takamori heard Lin Yiqing say with confidence, and immediately asked, "I don't know how Hanpeng is going to sink 'Fusang'?" ”

"Treat others the way they do." Lin Yiqing smiled and replied.

After listening to Lin Yiqing's answer, Nomura Shinosuke and other generals of the Satsuma Army looked at each other, not understanding what he meant, but some of the captains of the navy had already understood, such as Heihachiro Togo, Shigeyuan Dewa, Ryosuke Shibayama and others, all of them showed excitement in their eyes when they heard his words.

Saigo Takamori was stunned for a moment, recalling the details of the sea and land battles in the past few days that Lin Yiqing told just now, and suddenly understood, and couldn't help but stroke his palms and laugh.

"Interesting, interesting, I'll stay here for a few days and watch this battle!" Saigo Takamori said to Lin Yiqing with a smile.

"If the general is interested in watching the battle, he might as well board the 'King Kong' commanded by Togo-kun tomorrow and observe for himself how the enemy ships are destroyed!" Lin Yiqing said with a smile.

Hearing that Lin Yiqing wanted Saigo Takamori to watch the battle on his "King Kong", Heihachiro Togo was taken aback and immediately objected: "No! It's too dangerous! The general is the commander of my entire Satsuma army, how can he be in danger! Absolutely not! ”

"Heihachiro, you don't have to worry, I understand what Han Peng's intention is to ask me to get on your ship tomorrow." Saigo Takamori didn't wait for Lin Yiqing to speak, and said with a smile first. "I've been King Qin since I. Called the Commander-in-Chief of the Whole Army. But there has not been a war at all, it is all children who are fighting bloodily, and I am very ashamed to think about it, this time, let me also make some contribution to the victory of our army! ”

"But......" Heihachiro Togo saw that Takamori Saigo had made up his mind, and it was not good to speak out against it, but he was still suspicious in his heart.

"Togo-kun will work harder tonight. Prepare well and play early tomorrow morning. Lin Yiqing said, "I will send someone to the ship to send the battle plan, and Dongxiang-jun can act according to the plan." ”

"Yes!" Togo Heihachiro looked awe-inspired, straightened up, raised his hand and saluted in reply.

"In tomorrow's battle, Izuba-kun's 'Hiei' doesn't have to go into battle at first, but tonight you need to prepare for battle." Lin Yiqing said, "For the sake of secrecy, the specific combat plan. I will also send someone to the ship after I finish writing, and Izuba-kun will also act according to the plan. ”

"Yes!" Dewa replied awe-inspiringly.

"Lin Jun. You made this arrangement for the sake of secrecy, didn't you? Nomura asked.

"That's exactly what it is." Lin Yiqing nodded, looked at Saigo Takamori again, and said with some apologies, "This time, the general has been wronged. ”

"Where is this grievance, I can't ask for such a thing!" Saigo Takamori laughed happily.

June 13, 5:30 a.m.

Heihachiro Togo, who had slept for less than two hours, was awakened by a noise, and he got up and went to the porthole to look, and saw a small boat slowly sailing towards his "King Kong".

On the dinghy, the fat and burly figure of Saigo Takamori, dressed in a sky blue French general's dress, was clearly visible.

Seeing that Saigo Takamori had come to board the ship so early, Togo Heihachiro hurriedly put on his military hat, walked out of the captain's room, and came to the deck to greet Saigo Takamori.

Saigo Takamori climbed from the boat to the deck of the "King Kong" along the gangway, and Togo Heihachiro stepped forward with several officers to greet him. Saigo Takamori saw that the "King Kong" was ready to fight, and he couldn't help but be very relieved, and praised Togo Heihachiro.

"You must have been busy all night preparing for the attack, right? It's so hard! Saigo Takamori looked at Heihachiro Togo, who looked tired with dark circles under his eyes, and patted him on the shoulder affectionately.

"I just did what I should do, the general personally came to the ship to participate in the battle, and shared weal and woe with the soldiers, which is the real wisdom and bravery." At this time, Heihachiro Togo had already read the battle plan given to him by Lin Yiqing in a secret letter, and understood the intention of Saigo Takamori to sit on the "King Kong", and he was full of admiration in his heart.

"This is the responsibility of the commander-in-chief, it's nothing, Han Peng, as the chief of staff of our army, still personally leads the team to fight, and I, the commander-in-chief, naturally can't lag behind!" Saigo Takamori laughed, turned to one of the Satsuma samurai beside him and said, "Come! Kids! Take my flag! ”

A samurai stepped forward and handed a large folded banner to Togo Heihachiro, who, after receiving the flag in a salute, handed it to an officer and ordered him to immediately raise it on the top of the mast.

Not long after, accompanied by the sound of military music, the flag of the great general of Saigo Takasheng slowly rose.

At this time, the sky had already brightened, and seeing Saigo Takamori's great shogun flag raised, the Satsuma sailors on the ship cheered. At the berth not far away, the officers and men of the ironclad ship "Hiei" and the ships "Mt. Fuji," "Raiden Maru," and "Uryu Maru," which were about to go out with the "Kongo," heard the cheers of the "Kongo" sailors, and when they found the raised flag of Saigo Takamori, they all cheered and fired a salute.

"Are you ready to go?" Saigo Takamori looked at the sea in the distance, turned his head and asked in a spirited manner.

Heihachiro Togo took out his pocket watch and looked at it, nodded, and gave the order to "go".

Not long after, the "King Kong" pulled anchor and set sail for the outside of the harbor, followed by the "Mt. Fuji," which had received the signal order, followed by the "Raiden Maru" and the "Uryu Maru."

After sailing out of the harbor, the four Satsuma warships joined together in a group and sailed forward in a double column.

"If an enemy ship is discovered in a while, when the cannon is fired, please ask the general to take refuge in the command tower for a while, so as not to be injured by stray bullets." Heihachiro Togo looked at Takamori Saigo, who was standing on the flying bridge with him, hesitated, and said.

"Don't worry, I won't get in the way of all of you." Saigo Takamori understood Togo Heihachiro's kindness and nodded with a smile.

The Satsuma fleet searched all the way forward, passing by a coast. See the batteries on the shore that were destroyed by the "Fuso" with 240-mm cannons. Heihachiro Togo remembered the scene that day when he led the "Kongo" and the "Hiei" to meet the "Fuso". There are still lingering palpitations in my heart.

On that occasion, the combined forces of the "Hiei" and "Kongo" warships did not sink the "Fuso," but were wounded in many places by the "Fuso" with heavy artillery, and many officers and men were killed and wounded.

Now, although he has a complete understanding of Lin Yiqing's battle plan. But he was still worried about whether this bizarre battle plan would succeed.

Although so far, except for the fort along the coast of Osaka Castle that was destroyed by "Fuso" and the mountaintop fort was almost captured by the enemy, which was a rare "defeat" for Lin Yiqing, Lin Yiqing, as the chief of staff of the Satsuma Army and the supreme commander of the navy, formulated all the battle plans were successful.

"I didn't understand why Hanpeng's soldiers would only deploy such a small number of troops in this area." Saigo Takamori seemed to guess what Togo Heihachiro was thinking when he looked at the ruins of the fort destroyed by artillery fire on the shore, and said with a smile. "Now, I get it. The reason why he is like this is completely to show weakness to the enemy and prepare for today's battle. ”

Hearing Saigo Takamori's words, Togo Heihachiro suddenly came to his senses and couldn't help nodding his head again and again.

Indeed, in the daytime battles from June 10 to June 12, although many of the Satsuma army's batteries were destroyed, the loss was only a few hundred men, which was negligible compared to the previous large-scale battles, but for the enemy, it created the illusion of a great defeat for the Satsuma army, and it was a rare victory that could boost their morale.

If Lin Yiqing had deployed heavy troops in this area and defended it tightly, he was afraid that the "Fusang" would not come here again after the attack failed. Of course, it will not achieve the purpose of "luring the enemy".

Thinking that the enemy ship might be nearby and preparing to launch a new attack, Togo Heihachiro felt a pang in his heart, and immediately cheered up and observed the situation at sea.

The Satsuma fleet did not go long, and at 6:30 a.m., the sentry in the mast of the ironclad ship "Kongo", the flagship of the Satsuma fleet, suddenly discovered that the "Mt. Fuji", the lead ship of the Satsuma fleet, had displayed a set of warning flags, "Three warships are in the south!" Upon receiving this news, Saigo Takamori couldn't help but be overjoyed, and immediately couldn't help but give the order: "Prepare to fight!" ”

Heihachiro Togo gave the order to prepare for battle, and at the same time held a telescope and observed carefully.

Sure enough, three small pillars of smoke appeared in front of them, and after a while, they slowly grew larger, and Heihachiro Togo knew that the two sides should now sail in opposite directions.

Seeing the flagship's order, the officers and men of the three Satsuma warships, "Mt. Fuji," "Raiden Maru," and "Uryu Maru," immediately went into action, and soon all the gun positions were put on standby.

At 7:15 a.m., the sun on the sea completely jumped above the horizon, and the Satsuma warship completely identified the three warships in front of it as government ships. A huge sun flag jumped out of the mast of the flagship "Fuso", and on its side were two gunboats, "Qinghui" and "Amagi".

At this time, the government fleet also spotted the Satsuma warship coming in front of him, and Inoue Yoshishin soon saw the flag of General Saigo Takamori on the top of the mast of the "King Kong," and in addition to being excited, he immediately commanded the warship to "sail forward to meet the enemy."

Finding that the other side appeared in front, both sides gave the order to attack almost simultaneously.

Seeing that the government fleet that appeared on the opposite side was the "Fuso" ironclad ship first, Togo Heihachiro did not hesitate at all, but immediately commanded the "King Kong" to rush forward at high speed.

Since these four warships had never been trained in formation combat before, they were lined up in two columns when they were advancing at this time, and when they saw the enemy ships appear, the flagships raised their battle flags and headed straight for the enemy ships, and the three Satsuma gunboats, which were relatively slow, also accelerated and rushed towards the government fleet.

Interestingly, the government fleet also did not seem to have the intention of fighting in formation, and when they saw the Satsuma warship appear, they also rushed up in a chaotic manner.

Heihachiro Togo commanded the "Kongo" ironclad ship to rush straight towards the "Fuso", and the other side's "Kiyoki" gunboat had already rushed over first with high speed, but the captain of this small gunboat obviously did not want to engage the "Kongo", but bypassed the "Kongo" and went straight to the "Mt. Fuji".

Seeing that "Kiyoki" actually relied on his fast speed, he grabbed ahead of the "Fuso" and exchanged hands with the Satsuma warship "Mt. Fuji". Tsuboi Kozo sighed. Shook his head.

may be because of the relationship with Yoshishin Inoue, the senior who looks down on him. It is not only the Americans who act blindly and disobey orders under the pretext of disobedience......

Without thinking much about it, Tsuboi Hangzo commanded the "Fuso" and staggered towards the oncoming "King Kong".

The distance between the two sides was getting closer, and in a short time, the bow twin main turret of the "Fuso" opened fire first, accompanied by an earth-shattering roar, and the 240-millimeter thick barrel spewed out a large cloud of white smoke. Huge shells burst out of the chamber and shot straight at the "King Kong".

With a loud "boom" in the distance, the Japanese sailors on the deck suddenly let out bursts of cheers.

Tsuboi Kozo hurriedly raised his binoculars and looked at the "King Kong," only to see a large area of black smoke rising from the "King Kong."

A shell fired from the 240-mm main gun of the "Fuso" just now actually hit the first shot, directly hitting the "King Kong"!

At this time, on the flybridge of the "King Kong", Heihachiro Togo didn't care about the huge shock caused by the hull of the ship that was shot just now and almost threw himself out of the flybridge, but eagerly looked for Saigo Takamori's figure.

Soon, Togo Heihachiro saw Saigo Takamori who fell there on his back. He thought that Saigo Takamori was injured, and he couldn't help but be shocked. hurriedly rushed over to check Saigo Takamori's injury, but was unexpectedly grabbed by Saigo Takamori's arm.

"I'm just now realizing that it's really time to listen to Chiho and lose some fat on my body." Saigo Takamori smiled and joked with Heihachiro Togo, "Come on!" Heihachiro! Pull it up! Help me up! ”

Seeing that his beloved Saigo Takamori was not injured, Togo Heihachiro was relieved, and while he was happy, he used his hands hard to help Saigo Takamori up.

"They're pretty accurate! The first shot was able to hit our ship! Saigo Takamori sighed, "I don't know how the damage to our ship is?" Are there any casualties? ”

Togo Heihachiro's gaze immediately fell on the damaged hull of the "King Kong" that was still smoking, and he noticed that the smoke there was very light, and he knew that the "Fuso" just fired a solid bullet, which was because although it hit the "King Kong" solidly, it would never explode, and because the "King Kong" was an ironclad ship with thick armor protection, although this solid bullet was amazingly powerful, but the angle was wrong, and the result was just like a big stone, and it hit the hull armor of the "King Kong" strongly. After leaving a large dent in it, it fell into the sea.

In order to sink enemy ships, most of these solid shells are fired below the waterline in order to penetrate the hull and cause a large amount of water. In this encounter with the Satsuma warship, the officers and men of the "Fuso" still followed such tactical principles, and it was only because of the poor skills of the gunners that they fought like this.

Soon, the "Kongo" rushed to the front of the "Fuso", and the two ships appeared to be in a state of opposite directions, and when the two ships faced each other with their sides, the gunners of both sides invariably began to shoot.

The six cannons on one side of the "King Kong" began a fierce salvo, and one after another huge shells swept across the sea and flew straight towards the "Fuso," entering the water not far from the "Fuso," setting off a high column of water, while the two 240-mm twin turrets of the "Fuso" (the bow turret had not yet been able to turn around immediately) and several secondary guns also opened fierce fire.

Just as the 240-mm cannon of the "Fuso" was not able to shake the "King Kong", the cannon of the "King Kong" failed to cause fatal damage to the "Fuso", but only blew up a large scar on the iron armor of the "Fuso".

"Sure enough, the ironclad can't be sunk by shells!" Saigo Takamori apparently also noticed the tomb and sighed.

At this time, Togo Heihachiro saw a 75-mm shell hit one of the gun doors of the "Fuso", and exploded there, bursting out with a dark red fire, which was immediately surrounded by black smoke. After a short time, the "Fuso" opened fire again, but the gun door that had just been hit by a 75-mm shell fired by the "Kongo" was silent.

Togo Heihachiro's heart flashed like lightning, at this time, on the mast of the "King Kong", the shooters controlled the newly equipped Gatling machine gun inside and opened fire, and the rain of bullets and fires poured down, sweeping straight towards the deck of the enemy ship, and suddenly the flames and debris flew in all directions, although the distance was very far, Togo Heihachiro seemed to be able to hear the screams and wails of the enemy sailors on the opposite side.

"Herald! Inform the gunners! Fire at the enemy turrets! Heihachiro Togo ordered loudly.

The heralds departed in response, and at this time the "Kongo" and "Fuso" happened to pass by in a staggered manner, and Heihachiro Togo ordered to turn the rudder and distance himself from the enemy ship as much as possible -- this was the result of exchanging combat experience with his good friend "Hiei" Captain Izuba Shigeto.

When the two sides showed a parallel attitude, the "King Kong" again began a salvo from one side.

Several 170-mm and 150-mm shells flew and landed in the sea next to the "Fuso" and exploded, but at this moment, a 240-mm blasting shell fired by the "Fuso" exploded into the water on the starboard side of the "King Kong." For a time, the shock wave swept across the deck of the "King Kong" with waves and shrapnel, and the Satsuma sailors, who had been beaten into a sieve by tiny shrapnel, fell one after another, screaming incessantly.

"Is this a naval battle? ......" Saigo Takamori looked at this scene and sighed loudly. (To be continued......)

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