"Mt. Fuji" stopped shelling, and then immediately gave a signal, and after a while, the "Raiden Maru", which received the signal order, also stopped firing.

As if he were a thief, Uemura immediately ordered a retreat, and soon, the two Satsuma warships departed quickly with oil on the soles of their feet.

At this time, Uemura Hikonoki didn't know that the sneeze he sneezed just now was actually because someone was scolding him at that time.

"Yinggu! Yinggu! Leave those accounts alone! Come out! ”

At the entrance of the Mitsubishi Trading Corporation's branch, several Japanese were shouting anxiously and loudly.

Just as they were anxious, a piercing scream suddenly sounded in the sky.

It was the whistling of cannonballs breaking through the air!

A few Japanese people hurriedly ran to the side of the road and lay down, only to see a loud bang suddenly come from the block in the distance, and then a huge cloud of smoke rose up.

"It's Mitsui Trading Company! Also hit there! Someone shouted in horror.

Several Japanese stood up again, and at that moment, another screech of shells bursting through the air was heard.

With the collapse of a small burning western-style building, a young Japanese man who had just rushed to the door with a suitcase was crushed inside.

"Yinggu-!" Seeing this tragedy, Yataro Iwasaki, the president of Mitsubishi Trading Co., Ltd., let out a cry of pain.

He desperately tried to rush towards the Mitsubishi Trading Company's branch, which had been reduced to ruins, but was pinned to the ground by two trading company employees.

"Bastard!" Yataro Iwasaki slammed his fists the ground and scolded with tears.

"It's a shell from a squire warship...... "An old employee of a trading company also shed tears." Yinggu-kun...... You died such a miserable death! Squire ......"

Although these members of the Mitsubishi Trading Company did not go to the beach, the shelling of the city of Tokyo at this time could never have been the government army itself. Of course, it can't be any other country, it can only be the Satsuma warship!

Since the news of the fall of Kyoto and Osaka, the Mitsubishi Trading Company members in Tokyo have lived in fear every day.

Not long ago, I don't know who broke the news that Mitsubishi Trading's ships in Osaka and Nagasaki had been sacrificed to the rebels by members and converted into rebel warships. Enraged Tokyoites took to the streets, smashing down many shops belonging to the Iwasaki family's business, and nearly storming the Mitsubishi Trading Company. Yataro Iwasaki was indignant when he heard the news. He knew that this must have been spread by someone from Mitsui Trading Company, who had always been an enemy of the Iwasaki family. Just when Yataro Iwasaki and others were panicking, the emperor issued an order to appease the Iwasaki family, and Okuma Shigenobu also sent someone to defend the Iwasaki family in the newspaper, so that no one came to trouble them diplomats again.

At that time, Yataro Iwasaki was deeply impressed by the emperor's grace. After deeply despising the Tokyo mob that wanted to smash and loot the Mitsubishi Trading Company. He made a large donation to the government, and published in the newspaper that the young men of the Iwasaki family served in the government army, showing the loyalty of the Iwasaki family.

Although Yataro Iwasaki was worried that these young descendants of the Iwasaki family would be killed or injured in the war, he knew that there was no way to do it, and for the sake of the family, he could only sacrifice the young people in these families who were not very important.

Although this decision of his caused dissatisfaction among some members of the family, they did not gossip.

Yataro Iwasaki's own daughter, Yuka Iwasaki. They can all sacrifice for the benefit of the family, and they dedicate their descendants. What else is there to say?

Yataro Iwasaki also wishfully believes that the battlefield is still far away from Tokyo, and the war is still a long way away for those of them who are hiding in Tokyo.

But today, he finally understands what war is and what it will bring them.

At this time, Yataro Iwasaki, witnessing the tragic death of his nephew Iwasaki Hideya, already wanted to kill Uemura Hikonojo, although he didn't know who killed Iwasaki Hideya.

"Squire! I don't share the sky with you! Yataro Iwasaki scolded loudly and angrily, "You must not die well!" ”

Hearing the president scolding the thief, some Mitsubishi Trading Company personnel also scolded the "thief".

The scolding of Yataro Iwasaki and others obviously had no effect on the stupid shelling of the Japanese warship that was going on, and just as he could stop scolding, another whistling sound of shells breaking through the air came, and several members of the Mitsubishi Trading Company were shocked, helped Yataro Iwasaki up from the ground, and ran away with him half-dragged and half-pulled.

Shortly after the men ran away, a cannonball landed on the ruined site of the Mitsubishi Trading Company's branch, sending the shattered wood and rocks scattered in all directions, and if they had run a little slower, they would have been hit by the rubble.

The US consul in Tokyo, Torres, wrote this in his own report to Washington: "...... In the early morning of June 12, ships outside the port of Tokyo began their preparations for the day according to their daily schedules. None of them, Japanese or foreigners, could have imagined that the guns of the Satsuma warships had been aimed at them. The Satsuma attacked the unarmed ships without warning. At 6:30 a.m., a cannon shot was suddenly heard from the sea, and the Satsuma warships began to fire on the coastal batteries in Tokyo City. The Japanese government army batteries were thrown into chaos by the sudden blow, and the imperial soldiers who were originally getting up hurriedly ran to their respective battle positions, and when the batteries were in combat state and could return fire, they were actually shrouded in a sudden fog,...... This thick fog completely covered the castle and hid them so that the Satsuma people could not see them. But after a while, the sun began to rise, and the coastal batteries were again in the sunny position, and their view was already obstructed by the strong sunlight rushing in front of them, and in addition, as is the high refraction of the light that is common on a sunny morning, appeared all over the coast, and the targets were all raised so high that their return shells were too far away when the Satsuma warships opened fire. ”

"After less than half an hour of fighting, the Satsuma warships largely dumbed down the coastal batteries, which were among the strongest forts built by the Japanese. But it still could not stop the attacking artillery fire from the sea, and although it was not destroyed, it had lost its combat effectiveness. It has become a target made of stones. ”

"After the government batteries stopped firing, we all thought that the fighting should be over, but the Satsuma people still fired indiscriminately, shelling all the areas where there were no defenders, and I really don't understand what kind of battle they were fighting. Just as he was thinking, a shell burst through the air and hit the neighboring Japanese house. One house collapsed entirely, leaving three bodies behind. …… Some towns were inexplicably shelled, and a Japanese-owned shop was destroyed. Some of the foreign women who were shopping in the shops took advantage of the fact that the Satsuma people were under fire and left their quarters and ran to the embassy area crying to seek refuge, which we also thought was unsafe. So he sent them to church. On the way, they were shelled again, and a shell landed exactly thirty yards away from where the wagon was, and was planted in the mud, but fortunately it was a solid bullet that would not explode. Our men dug out the warheads, which weighed between sixty and seventy pounds. This episode aroused the curiosity of the people around them, who dug around despite the danger and found several more. Later, locals hawked cannonballs along the streets. The whole piece was sold for 2 yuan, and in the end, we bargained until each 70-pound cannon shell was sold for 6 jiao. So we collected these terrible souvenirs left by the Satsuma people as a memorial to this terrible war. ”

Soon after the battle, there was an uproar in the city of Tokyo. Because of the shortage of military hospitals run by the Japanese government, the British hospitals in the concession area were open to accommodate the wounded soldiers of the government army, who were carried by their wingmen from a distance of one or two miles with door panels, and the wards of the hospitals were quickly filled. Many foreigners sent condolences to the soldiers defending the city, and unanimously expressed their concern for the safety of the Japanese capital. ”

"According to statistics, no foreigners were killed or injured in the insane and brief attacks of the Satsuma, and we all agreed that the U.S. government should help the Japanese government to take corresponding measures to prevent the Japanese capital from being attacked again, because if the current Japanese government collapses under the blows of the rebels, Japan will fall into a state of mob, which is absolutely not in the interests of the United States......"

"Full throttle! Drive at maximum speed! ”

The commander of the "Mt. Fuji", Tari, and the captain of the ship, Hikonoki Uemura, were yelling hoarsely at the intercom tube.

After giving the order, Hikonojo Uemura went to the observation window and looked at the government warships that were desperately chasing behind the "Mt. Fuji" and "Raiden Maru", and his eyes were full of contempt.

"Can't you run faster? Guy without that! Uemura's foul remark in a thick Kansai accent drew laughter from all the officers in the commanding tower.

Born in Kagoshima, graduated from the Japanese Naval Academy, and has a long experience at sea, Hikonojo Uemura has been the captain of the Satsuma Navy's "Raiden Maru" gunboat before the Saigo Takamori incident, and after the two ironclad ships "Hiei" and "Kongo" were robbed back to Nagasaki by Satsuma sailors, Lin Yiqing appointed the captain of the former "Mt. Fuji" gunboat, Heihachiro Togo, as the captain of the "Kongo" ship, and Uemura Hikonosei served as the captain of the "Mt. Fuji".

If it weren't for Lin Yiqing's strict order to "hit and run", he would have the confidence to fight with the "Thunderbolt Maru" against the pursuing government fleet and make another award.

The "Mt. Fuji" and the "Raiden Maru" rushed all the way out of Tokyo Bay, and soon threw out the old warships bought from the United States by the government army, which were as slow as snails.

Because he successfully completed the combat mission and did not have many losses, Hikoyuki Uemura was in a very good mood, looking at the blue sea and blue sky, and even hummed a small tune from his hometown.

Despite the victory, Uemura Hikonoki was overjoyed and did not take it lightly, knowing that the government navy had more ships than the Satsuma navy, and that it was very likely that the enemy would intercept the fleet, so he always ordered the sailors to be vigilant and ready for battle.

For a "warrior" like Hikonojo Uemura, he would like to encounter an enemy ship and fight the enemy again. But the goddess of fate seems to have played a trick on Hikonojo Uemura here, and on his way back to Osaka, he did not encounter not a single enemy ship, not even a transport ship.

But Uemura didn't know that soon, a new battle would come, and it would be one he would never have imagined.

By the time Hikonojo Uemura returned to Osaka Port with the Mt. Fuji and Raiden Maru, it was already getting late. By the reflection of the sunset. Hikonojo Uemura, who was on the flybridge, noticed a large number of pieces of wood floating on the sea, and he immediately knew that there must be a fierce battle here. Be alert immediately.

Sure enough, the "Mt. Fuji" drove along the channel for a while, and after rounding a small island, it was surprised to find a wreck on the channel with half of the hull of the shipwreck exposed from the sea.

"This is ...... 'Chiyodagata'!" First mate Aono exclaimed.

Hikonojo Uemura also recognized the figure of this old ship of the Satsuma Navy and immediately gave the order to fight.

At this moment, a whistle sounded. A small three-masted gunboat appeared in front of him, and Hikonojo Uemura raised his binoculars and saw that it was the "Second Cho Mao" of the Satsuma Navy. It's heading this way.

The "Nindcho Mao" was a gunboat purchased by the Choshu Domain during the shogunate period and later donated to the Meiji government, with a displacement of only 236 tons and a speed of 7 knots after the boiler was replaced. Armed with 1 150 mm Armstrong breech gun and 1 80 mm Armstrong breech gun. Because of the weak firepower and slow speed, it was to undertake the work of the shore defense ship.

The "Second Cho Mao" also saw the "Mt. Fuji" and the "Raiden Maru" and gave a signal.

"Can you see enemy ships when you come?"

Hikonojo Uemura felt a little strange that the "Second Dingmao" had given such a signal, and ordered the flag-raising to reply, "Not seen." ”

"Please be careful with the fishing nets."

The "Second Ding Mao" sent out another signal, which made Uemura even more confused.

"What do you mean?" Hikonojo Uemura ordered this and asked.

The "Second Dingmao" was very patient, and when it saw the "Mt. Fuji" issuing such an inquiry flag, it quickly explained: "There are fishing nets in the sea, so be careful of getting entangled in the propellers." ”

Only then did Uemura Hikonojo understand. Immediately ordered the sailors to run to the deck and look around for fishing nets. And ordered the "Mt. Fuji" and "Raiden Maru" to slow down.

The "Mt. Fuji" and the "Raiden Maru" proceeded cautiously, and sure enough, as the "Niicho-mao" said, the sailors spotted fishing nets in the waterway, immediately sounded a warning, and pushed away the fishing nets that were close to the warship with long bamboo poles.

Uemura Hikonoshi looked at the fishing nets floating on the sea with some surprise, and didn't understand what was going on, he wanted to ask the "Second Ding Mao" again, but the "Mt. Fuji" and the "Thunder Den Maru" had already distanced themselves from the "Second Ding Mao" at this moment, and the "Second Ding Mao" was rescuing the sunken "Chiyoda Shape" at this time.

It was easy to enter the port and came to the anchorage of the Satsuma Navy, and Hikonojo Uemura found that at the berth not far away, two ironclad ships, "Hiei" and "Kongo", were parked side by side.

Uemura Hikonosei noticed that the hulls of the "Hiei" and "Kongo" were covered with bullet marks, and knew that the second ship must have gone through a fierce and cruel battle, and he couldn't help but be secretly frightened.

Although it seems that the injuries of the "Hiei" and "Kongo" are not serious, judging from the dense bullet marks, there should be no other government warship that can inflict such damage on these two ironclad ships, except for the "Fuso".

At this time, on a small boat next to the stern of the "King Kong", two divers jumped into the sea with knives after they had finished getting ready, as if they wanted to clean up something for the "King Kong." When Uemura Hikonojo saw this scene, he suddenly thought of the floating fishing nets he saw on the surface of the sea when he came, and he couldn't help but feel a pang in his heart.

After the "Mt. Fuji" and the "Raiden Maru" entered the berth under the guidance of the guide ship, Hikonosei Uemura couldn't wait to go ashore with the captain of the "Raiden Maru", Kawahara, and went straight to the Satsuma Army staff headquarters.

When they arrived at the Satsuma Army Staff Headquarters located in the former Osaka Zhentai Headquarters, Uemura Hikonojo and Kawahara Yoichi were shocked to find that the staff headquarters was holding a military meeting under the chairmanship of Lin Yiqing, and not only the main naval captains such as Togo Heihachiro and Dewa Shigeyuan were all present, but also the Supreme Commander of the Satsuma Army, General Saigo Takamori.

"Uemura-kun and Kawahara-kun are back, great!" Lin Yiqing was very happy to see the two of them return safely, "You guys fought a beautiful battle!" ”

"Lin Jun already knows the results of our battle?" Hearing Lin Yiqing's praise, Uemura Hikonojo and Kawahara were all taken aback, and Uemura Hikonomari couldn't help but ask.

"Our intelligence officers in Tokyo sent the news back via telegram." Lin Yiqing smiled and nodded, "You have completely annihilated the coastal defense fleet in Tokyo Bay, sunk sixteen enemy ships, and a large number of ships, destroyed the enemy's coastal batteries, and shelled the city, giving a great deterrent to the traitors in Tokyo. ”

"You have gone deep behind enemy lines, fought bravely, and achieved such a record, and you must be celebrated!" Saigo Takamori also said on the side.

Hearing Saigo Takamori's words of commendation, Uemura Hikonojo and Kawahara were so excited that they couldn't say a word for a while.

"Uemura-kun, when you came back, you didn't encounter an enemy ship, did you?" Lin Yiqing turned the conversation to the main topic.

"Yes." Hikonojo Uemura replied, "When we entered the port, we saw the sinking 'Chiyodagata', and the 'Second Dingmao' was rushing to the rescue. (To be continued......)

PS: Ask for collection! Ask for recommendations! Ask for a subscription! Click! Ask for a commuter pass!