"Your Majesty the Emperor! Prime Minister...... Our naval fleet was not able to achieve the expected results, which had a very negative impact on the situation in Liaodong. Japanese War Minister Fumi Sato pointed to the map and said: "We cannot use a more convenient navy to transport soldiers to the Liaodong region, and these soldiers can only land in Korea, so the speed of supporting the Liaodong theater is seriously slowed." ”

Japanese Prime Minister Uesugi Adatsu, who was also standing in front of the map, did not look good, just two days ago, they had confirmed the news of the sinking of the new battleship Nagato, which made the Japanese Combined Fleet unable to achieve strategic suppression of the Ming North Sea Division in the Far East.

While Sato was speaking, the Minister of the Navy, Takehiro Oda, picked up the water glass in front of him, he was sitting next to the emperor, and he was just reviewing the loss of a battleship for the Navy for Takaichi Togo. And a little farther away from him is the commander of the Combined Fleet, Takaichi Togo, who has been doing a review since his return.

Sitting at the top of the list is, of course, the current monarch of Japan, the spiritual leader of the whole country, His Majesty Emperor Tammu. He has just turned 40 this year, and his height of 1.8 meters, which is not commensurate with the Japanese, is said to be because he is a quarter of Han Chinese ancestry.

Thinking that the reason for exercising and being thrifty on weekdays, His Majesty the Emperor was well-proportioned and liked to wear a military uniform, so he looked very heroic. And he is indeed young and promising, and in ten years he has launched countless new ships into the Japanese naval fleet, and has become a powerful force in the Pacific Ocean that is capable of countering the Great Ming Naval Division in some areas.

"In war, there will be losses! This is the truth that my father told me, the sinking of the battleship Nagato was an unexpected loss, and although it was painful, it needed to be borne by us! His Majesty the Mighty Emperor of Japan pressed his hands on the table and said softly but very firmly: "Togo-kun has not been defeated, but the situation of this battle has not been as optimistic as we estimated before. ”

Those present here are all the culprits who planned this war between the Jin Kingdom and the Ming Dynasty, and of course they know what this war means. It is more appropriate to say that this is not so much a battle for the fate of the rebels of the Jin Kingdom as a battle of national fortunes for the rise of Japan. As long as the chaos in Liaodong is completely determined, Japan can barely be said to be safer, and it is possible to accumulate more strength to compete with the Ming Empire at sea.

"Naval side! The proposal to build 4 more battleships, the cabinet will think of a way to implement it as soon as possible...... Even if it is extremely unwise to start an arms race with the Ming Empire, we must stick to it. His Majesty the Emperor said as he looked at the Admiralty Takehiro Oda, whom he had always trusted.

Oda Takehiro stood up, nodded and promised, "Your Majesty the Emperor!" We will die for the Japanese Empire......"

"Your Majesty! At this time, if the military spending on the navy is increased, it is difficult to guarantee that the land war situation in Liaodong will not be affected to a certain extent. Hearing that His Majesty the Emperor was going to increase the military expenditure for the construction of warships in the Navy, Minister of War Sato Wen gritted his teeth and admonished: "Your Majesty, the military expenditure of the Army has only risen by 3 million gold coins for two consecutive years. ”

Emperor Yuwu sighed, the expression on his face was a little helpless, he pressed his two hands together, put them on the table in front of his chest, and explained to his Minister of War: "Our country is not as vast as the Ming Dynasty, and military spending has been rising year after year...... It's only been three days since I've seen a meaty one. ”

As he spoke, several ministers wiped the corners of their eyes, and several officials in charge of finance were already complaining that military spending was too large. Several senior military officials had no choice but to keep their mouths shut for the time being, and the matter of increasing the army's military spending was also over.

……

Just when the Japanese monarchs and ministers were meeting to discuss the war situation in Liaodong, the noise in the port of Tianjin in Hebei Province of the Ming Empire had already become one. A large number of military cars and horses were piled up in this large port of the empire, and it was bustling and lively.

However, if you look closely, you will find that most of this confusion comes from the dock workers in the harbor and the sailors on the various ships, and the soldiers who crowded the docks waiting to be boarded are rarely noisy for no reason.

"Our Ming army, if they are all like these soldiers, I am afraid that we will have to eat half of the defeats over the years." One of the sailors, while helping the silent soldier carry boxes of ammunition onto his ship, exclaimed to the captain beside him: "I don't know which unit is so well disciplined." ”

"I heard that it is the new army of the imperial court...... "The captain is a well-informed man, who has been begging for a living in Liaodong Bay all the year round, and when he returned to Tianjin, he also saw the appearance of the new army's recruits, and when he saw the steel helmets that omitted the collision angles, he had already guessed that these troops might be the newly trained troops.

"Whew!" As he spoke, a steamship on the dock in the distance had already raised its whistle and was ready to set sail, this steamer that was originally used to transport goods from Liaodong was now crowded with soldiers who had been transferred to Liaodong.

These soldiers have undergone rigorous training, and their own quality level is also different from that of most local troops in the Ming Dynasty, and along with this unit, there are also a variety of towed artillery, newly equipped cars, and a large number of mobile horses.

Therefore, although this army is only less than 20,000 people, it has used all kinds of passenger and freight ships in Tianjin and Liaodong Bay, so that the huge Tianjin Port has become what it is now for a while.

Just in the distance of the dock where these soldiers were busy boarding ships and going to sea, one after another Ming Imperial Navy warships were heating up their boilers, and billowing black smoke was spewing out from the chimneys of these warships, forming a magnificent dark cloud on the sea in the distance. Behind the Hulun Lake cruiser, on the bridge of the battleship Huashan, Zhang Rude, commander of the Beihai Division, stood proudly, directing the fleet to drive from the anchorage.

"This time to escort this army to Liaodong, you must be cautious, don't make any mistakes, let these good men who are fighting for the country chill!" With his hands behind his back, he looked at the battleship Hengshan that was anchoring in the distance, and said to his subordinates: "Anchor!" ”

……

At this time, Wang Jue, who had already entered Jinzhou City, smiled and pointed to the wilderness in front of his staff officer Wang Yan, revealing his plan this time: "The rebels and the Japanese want to make a detour to Jinzhou, but I want to cut off their back road from Yingkou. ”