Chapter 559: The goal is north

"Baga, you are all a bunch of waste" After receiving the news that several pilots of the First Flying Division had privately bombed Jeju Island, Prince Xianyuan also ran away like Su Tong in Nanjing, looking at the group of army generals in front of him and scolding: "How do you discipline your subordinates? Bombing the naval base in China without an order, do you know that doing so would ruin the cause of the empire? ”

In fact, I can't complain about Prince Zaihito's anger, Japan's southward expansion plan is in the midst of intense preparations, and the pilots below will immediately make the Japanese government passive, and now the East China Sea Fleet in China has set sail and is ready to approach the Sea of Japan. If the Huaxia Air Force retaliates with another air raid, and if war breaks out between China and Japan again, it will ruin the Japanese Government's plan to advance southward for more than a year, and no one can afford this consequence.

"Who led those pilots to attack Jeju Island?" Prince Jaehito's roar shook the glass of his office.

"Your Excellency," Tada Jun stepped forward and replied with some trepidation: "This bombing operation was carried out by a captain named Takenan Xingyuki and seven pilots. ”

"Arrest them all immediately and hand them over to a military court for trial" Prince Zairen, who was furious, decided to make an example of him, and this kind of thing can no longer be stopped, if this trend is not stopped, the eternal cause of the empire will really be ruined in the hands of these brainless idiots.

Now that the bombing of Jeju Island has been made public by the Japanese media, and the pilots have also been named heroes by the Japanese people, if they are tried now, I am afraid that it will cause the people to be angry, and if they are not done, it will cause serious dissatisfaction among the junior soldiers.

"Why, don't you even have the courage to catch a few junior officers?" Prince Zaihito glanced at several generals such as Tada Jun and Itatsune Seisishiro, "If you can't do it, then I will personally arrest him with His Majesty the Emperor." ”

"Your Excellency" Tada Jun and the others saw that the Prince of Mangyon was determined to punish those pilots this time, so they no longer pleaded for this reason, and let Prince Zaihito issue an order.

"Report" An officer walked in and reported: "Your Excellency the Prince, the U.S. Embassy in the Imperial Empire has transmitted a telegram from the Huaxia Government, which claims that if the Imperial Government does not compensate the Huaxia Government for the loss of 30 million US dollars, they will retaliate on a large scale. ”

"Nani? 30 million US dollars" Everyone was shocked by the lion's opening of the Chinese government.

It is also interesting to say that after the July 7 Incident in 1937, the Nationalist Government headed by Chairman Chiang had already declared war on Japan, and then the Japanese Government also announced a formal declaration of war against China, and the two sides also recalled their own ambassadors. However, since Huaxia drove the Japanese away from Korea, the attitude of the two sides was very ambiguous, Su Tong was desperately trying to find a way to divert the attention of the Japanese to the Americans, and the Japanese also knew that now wanting to enter the Chinese mainland again was tantamount to a dream, so Su Tong's wish began the process of the "Southward Plan".

In short, neither side wants to start another war with the other side, at least not on a large scale now, so both sides have become a tacit understanding, that is, neither side is willing to start a large-scale war immediately. But this tacit understanding has now been broken by a junior officer named Takenan Xingyuki. If Su Tong does not react, he will be roasted on the fire by domestic public opinion, but the Japanese government can no longer tolerate this kind of long-standing tradition of "subordinate and superior" behavior, when the decision of a national government will be swayed by a few small junior officers, this is really a big joke.

Prince Zaihito of the Imperial Palace made it clear to Empress Hirohito, and both of them felt that they had to pour cold water on the junior officers of Japan, otherwise God knows what kind of trouble they would make tomorrow.

Therefore, Emperor Hirohito changed the vague tone of the previous edict issued to the people, and made it clear that this time the behavior of Takenan Xingyuki and others was actually an unauthorized attack without an order, and it had a very bad impact on the foreign policy and environment of the empire.

Soon after, the Japanese military court tried eight pilots, including Takenan Xingzhi, and finally sentenced the main offender Takenan Xingzhi to death, and the remaining seven accomplices were sentenced to 20 years in prison.

After the news came out, there was an uproar within the Japanese army, and no one expected that Emperor Hirohito's reaction would be so strong this time, and in the edict, he used words such as "bearing the will of the emperor" and "sinners of the empire" to reprimand eight people including Takenan Xingyuki. The way the Oriental people express themselves is always more subtle, and it is in this way that Emperor Hirohito and the Japanese government are sending a message of goodwill to the Chinese government.

Zhu Nan Xingzhi and the other eight people paid the price for their recklessness, but Su Tong didn't intend to let the Japanese go like this, don't think that it's okay if you punish a few parties, you haven't paid for the loss of buddy, 30 million US dollars, not a penny less

After receiving the news that Japan had sentenced Zhu Nan Xingzhi and eight others to prison, Su Tong began to get old again, and insisted that the Japanese government compensate the Huaxia government for the loss of 30 million US dollars within a week, otherwise the Huaxia government would use its own way to collect these debts.

"Thirty million dollars? No, the Empire of Japan was, is, and will never bear to pray for peace in such a humiliating way. These were the words of Emperor Hirohito, who was furious, to his ministers at the Imperial Council.

Hirohito feels that he is also quite wronged, I have killed and locked up those people, and you still don't give up, do you think that if I don't go to war with you now, I am afraid of you? I'm going to spend it with you today.

Enraged, Hirohito ordered Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, commander of the Combined Fleet, to assemble a huge fleet near the Goto Islands, including four aircraft carriers, including the Flying Dragon, Soryu, Shozuru, and Zuizuru, four battleships of Kongo, Yamashiro, Ise, and Mutsu, six heavy cruisers, and more than 40 light cruisers and destroyers.

On the other hand, what about Huaxia? Since the South China Sea Fleet was still on a 'visit' to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Su Tong ordered Jeju Island to prepare for the First Class Battle, and after that, three aircraft carriers of the East China Sea Fleet, the battleship "Dingyuan" and more than 40 cruisers and destroyers also came to the vicinity of Jeju Island to confront the Japanese Navy's Combined Fleet. Su Tong also mobilized a shore-based aircraft of a naval division to be stationed on Jeju Island, and the atmosphere between the two sides began to tense up, and the battle was about to break out.

The tense confrontation drew the eyes of the whole world to this sea, and the German Berliner Zeitung said: "After the German Empire has just finished its air raid on Britain, the two strongest countries in Asia are nervously preparing for war, or is our great Führer right, Asia is too small for two aggressive tigers to live together under one roof." ”

At this time, Roosevelt, who had become increasingly wary of China, secretly said to his senior staff Dr. Hawkins: "Hawkins, do you know, how much I hope that China and Japan can fight, the Pacific Ocean is too crowded now. It would be ideal for the sake of our great United States of America that these two nations could exhaust their naval power. ”

Churchill, who was in London, specially asked his young and beautiful female secretary to open a bottle of champagne and called Admiral McKenna to celebrate the good news, and he smiled and said to McKenna: "Dear McKenna, the Chinese and the Japanese have been consumed in the Sea of Japan, do you know how happy I am when I learn the news?" If only they could die together, the world would be peaceful. ”

McKenna shook his head and smiled: "Mr. Prime Minister, the world will not always work according to our will, if we do this, won't we become God?" ”

"But at least it gives us hope, doesn't it? I suggest a toast to the hope we do," Churchill said, raising his glass, and touched McKenna with a crisp sound.

Not only has the Western world turned its attention from Europe to Asia, but even the domestic world has begun to discuss the upcoming naval battle, and some people have even openly declared in the media that this is a war of revenge, and the Chinese Navy wants to avenge the First Sino-Japanese Naval Battle here.

But can this naval battle really be fought?

November 20, 1940

In the port of Vladivostok, thousands of kilometers away from Jeju Island, where the eyes of the world have been focused, the Pacific Fleet of the Huaxia Navy is also quietly gathering, and countless army soldiers take advantage of the darkness to board the large troop transport ship docked at the port. Chen Shaokuan stood on the bridge of the "Zheng Chenggong" aircraft carrier, looked at the ships that had all been set on fire and anchored, and turned back to the chief of staff behind him, Major General Zhang Shouye, and asked: "Shouye, is there any news from the submarine ahead?" ”

Zhang Shouye said solemnly: "Fu Gong, the submarine group just sent a telegram half an hour ago, everything is normal there, the Japanese did not expect our actions at all, they only have three old destroyers moored in the harbor there. And they don't have a patrol force on that route, and we're leaving overnight and we're expected to be there tomorrow morning. ”

"Okay" Chen Shaokuan nodded happily: "Order the troops to set off immediately and attack as soon as they arrive at the destination."