After a few days of absence, the main fleet of the Qing Imperial Navy reappeared here and launched a heavy artillery bombardment on the ships anchored at the pier in Shiami Bay.

Lujian Bay under the blue sea and blue sky suddenly roared with cannons, and the smoke of gunpowder filled the air. A large number of ships were destroyed in the bay, and a port more than 300 years old was engulfed in flames.

After Deng Shichang received Wang Chenhao's latest order, he formulated a set of tactics to attack the east and the west, avoiding the important and light.

First of all, Deng Shichang ordered the six cruisers of the Third Squadron, "Zhiyuan", "Jiyuan", "Jingyuan", "Laiyuan", "Jingyuan", and "Pingyuan", to carry out the tactics of pinning down the enemy near Lumi Bay in southern Kyushu. The main purpose was to contain the Saikai Fleet in the waters near Nankyushu, to win fighters for the main fleet to attack the important port city of Yuben, and to paralyze the enemy, thinking that the Qing Imperial Navy was still in Nankyushu.

The remnants of the five or six warships of the West Sea Fleet are not at all the opponents of the Third Squadron, and although a few shallow-water heavy gunboats and shore defense ironclad ships are powerful, and the Third Squadron cannot take advantage of them in a head-on confrontation, it only needs to avoid the heavy and light, take advantage of the speed advantage to maneuver with the Navy, and use the upgraded rapid-fire gun firepower advantage to attack the ships, docks, and towns in the ports near Minami-Kyushu, as well as blockade the ports, and attack the trade fleets entering and leaving the ports, which is enough to contain the energy of the Navy.

Deng Shichang led the main fleet to the north and attacked the Hanshin Industrial Zone, the Nagoya Industrial Zone, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Industrial Zone, which are the largest and most important industrial bases in Japan.

The Hanshin Industrial Zone is located in the two cities of Kobe and Osaka in Osaka Bay, which have been the gateways to Nara and Kyoto since ancient times, and were the first bases for the development of industry and commerce. After the Meiji Restoration, the Hanshin Industrial Zone became the base of the Shomoto Empire's machinery, steel, electrical machinery, shipbuilding, rubber, and food industries, and hundreds of ships gathered in Osaka Bay every day for trade.

Deng Shichang ordered the second squadron of five large armored cruisers, "Yu Yong", "Brave Courage", "Fighting Brave", "Brave Courage", and "Brave Courage", together with the fifth and sixth lightning destroyer squadrons to form a second attack echelon, to attack Osaka Bay together, with the goal of destroying the three important ports in Osaka Bay, Osaka Port, Izumi Port, and Kobe Port, as well as the coastal Hanshin Industrial Base.

Due to the slowest speed of the first team's Weiyuan, Zhenyuan, and Dingyuan, in order not to delay the attack progress of the other teams, Deng Shichang decided that the first team would attack Nagoya Port directly. In order to make up for the lack of firepower and escort needs of the First Sentai Team, the three ships of the Fourth Sentai Seascale, the Thunder and the Flying Eagle cooperated with the First Sentai to form the First Attack Echelon, which was responsible for attacking the Nagoya Industrial Base.

The two surprise attack forces moved separately according to the difference in speed and time, and when the two fleets destroyed the Hanshin Industrial Zone and the Nagoya Industrial Zone respectively, they could converge and go straight to Tokyo Bay.

On the night of June 5, the 2nd, 5th, and 6th Sentai teams, which were the fastest teams, first arrived at the mouth of Osaka Bay, which was jointly administered by Wakayama and Sumoto, the gateway to the Seto Inland Sea.

The Kamoto Naval Coastal Defense Force set up shore defense batteries on the easternmost part of the island of Seto Inland Sea, on the east side of the island of Seto Inland Sea, and on the right side of Kamishima Island, which is under the jurisdiction of Wakayama.

The Ishibi Fort and the Kamishima Fort defended the only waterway from the Seto Inland Sea to the Pacific Ocean, and a total of eight shore defense cannons (five 203 mm guns on the left and three 150 mm guns on the right) were fortified here.

At 10 o'clock in the evening, the seventeen warships of the second attack echelon of the Qing Imperial Navy approached the Shengshibi Battery, and the commander of the second echelon, Du Xigui, immediately formulated a battle plan. As the first target to destroy, Du Xigui sent 300 marines to quietly land on both flanks of Gao Xiong Mountain, with 100 men on the left and 200 on the right. The 200-man team was the main attacker to contain the firepower of the Yue army, and the other team took the opportunity to sneak attack, rushed to the Yue army's fort, and destroyed the army's artillery and ammunition depot.

The 5th and 6th Sentai were weak in firepower and did not pose enough threat to the Japanese batteries, so they went directly into the Seto Inland Sea and rushed to the nearest port of Izumi to carry out a sneak attack on the ships there.

At 10:25 p.m., the two marines had landed and were already in position. Then the five large armored cruisers of the Second Sentai lined up and suddenly launched an attack on the raw stone nose battery.

"Knock knock!"

At night, the sea flickered with fires, followed by the roar of cannons, which broke the silence of the night. One shell after another drew streamers in the night sky, roaring and shooting at the Shengshibi shore defense battery under Gaoxiong Mountain.

"Boom!"

The sound of a violent explosion suddenly sounded on the shore defense fort of the Yuejun Army, like a muffled thunder, resounding throughout the sky over Gaoxiong Mountain. Suddenly, from a distance, I saw red clouds rising around the military fort, and in an instant, the fire around the fort soared into the sky, illuminating the sky of the entire Gao Xiong Mountain.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack! ”

The sentry of the army, who was napping, suddenly became agitated and immediately shouted. But his voice was obviously not as loud as the explosion of the shells, and the sleeping soldiers in the barracks had already been awakened by the sound of explosions that shook the ground.

Several soldiers in a barracks rushed out first, and were instantly blown up more than ten meters away by a 150-kilogram huge bomb, and their flesh and blood flew everywhere. Outside the barracks, thick smoke rolled into the sky, and the other soldiers were so frightened that they didn't dare to rush out.

Not long after, several military barracks next to it were blown up one after another. When the soldiers saw that rushing out was death, and not rushing out was death, they immediately chose to rush out.

After paying the price of more than 100 dead and wounded, some of the soldiers rushed to the battery and pushed the artillery into the gun position, ready to return fire.

At 10:45 p.m., the panicked shore defense batteries began to counterattack. Since the artillery was hidden in the anti-artillery holes in peacetime and was only launched in wartime, the ships of the second attack echelon of the Qing Imperial Navy could only fire at the barracks and military stations of the visible targets at the beginning, killing and injuring their personnel, and the batteries of the Yue army could not be found in the night.

With the firing of the artillery of the Yue Army Battery, the flickering of the fire and the smoke of gunpowder shrouded the vicinity of the battery, so that the ships of the Second Combat Team of the Qing Imperial Navy quickly locked on the position of the Yue Army Battery, and adjusted the main guns to bombard the Yue Army Battery.

The Qing Empire marines who were ambushed on both flanks of Gao Xiong Mountain quickly approached it from both flanks after discovering the correct location of the Yue army battery.

At 11:17 p.m., the main force of the Marine Corps on the right was discovered by the Japanese army's outpost when it approached the Japanese army's coastal defense battery, and an encounter broke out between the two sides.

The soldiers of the Marine Corps are all from the elite units of the Beiyang Army, and after the Qing-Russian War, veterans with rich combat experience have been transferred to join. The reason why the Marine Corps attaches so much importance to it is all due to Wang Chenhao's experience in modern warfare, the Marine Corps has a small number of troops, so it must be well-equipped and well-trained; not to mention that the Marine Corps is one enemy against 100 is an exaggeration, but it can still be done with one enemy and five enemies.

In addition to the long guns, each of the marines was equipped with pistols and hornet's nest grenades, and the Maxim heavy machine guns were also equipped, but tonight was a surprise attack, and the Maxim was too bulky, so he did not bring it.

The 200 marines on the right quickly eliminated the Yue army blocking them and quickly charged the Yue army battery. After the heavy artillery bombardment, the army was already less than 300 men, and one-third of them suffered casualties at once, leaving less than 200 people, and only about 100 infantry after removing artillery. It is said that the mainland has not experienced the landing of foreign troops, so Hyogo Prefecture did not pay attention to it, and the nearest local garrison of the Japanese army is also fifty miles away.

It is said that the army occupies a favorable position, relying on danger to hold on to and wait for help. After half an hour of fierce fighting between the two sides, the Yue army concentrated most of the infantry forces on the right side to block the Qing army. There are less than ten guards on the left.

At 11:52, 100 Qing marines on the left began to assault, and a single charge wiped out the defenders of the left flank. Subsequently, part of the Qing army on the left rushed into the underground bunker, and the other part supported the battle on the right.

The Yue army was blocking the fierce offensive of the Qing army on the right side, but it was unexpectedly attacked by the Qing army behind it, and the Yue army was completely annihilated in less than ten minutes under the front and rear attacks of the Qing army.

After the Marines met on the left and right, they quickly rushed into the underground bunker of the fort and attacked the soldiers who were carrying shells and gunpowder inside. The artillery in the fortifications were unarmed, and the Qing marines who encountered tigers and wolves were quickly slaughtered.

Five minutes later, the Qing marines rushed up to the Yuejun battery from the underground bunkers and killed all the Yuejun artillery who were firing artillery. At the same time, the Qing warships on the sea also stopped shelling, knowing that their own personnel had occupied the fort, and they were afraid that they would hurt their own people by firing again.

When the bell rang midnight in Hyogo Prefecture, the Shibi Fort at the foot of Mt. Takuma exploded. In an instant, the mountains shook far away, like a hundred lightning and thousands of thunders, the entire fort was blown to pieces, and a ball of fire rose to the sky, instantly illuminating the sky within a radius of dozens of miles.

The troops who were rushing to support were dumbfounded when they saw the fierce fire on the High Bear Mountain on the way.

At one o'clock in the morning of June 6, the Marines returned to the fleet with a dozen wounded, and Du Xigui immediately ordered the fleet to enter the Seto Inland Sea and sail toward Osaka Bay.

On the way, the fleet was attacked by the Kamishima military battery, but Kamishima was too small, with only three 150mm shore defense guns on it, so there was nothing to fear. After destroying the Ishibi Battery, there was no major threat when the fleet retreated from Osaka Bay, so in order to hurry, Du Xigui only ordered the fleet to attack the Kamishima Fort while marching, and suppressed the artillery fire of the Japanese army until it was safe to leave.

At four o'clock in the morning of the 6th, the Fifth and Sixth Fleets of the Qing Empire, which were the first to rush to the port of Osaka Bay and Izumi, immediately attacked the ships anchored in the harbor.

Like wolves rushing into a sheepfold, the twelve Exocet-class hunting ships immediately opened their bloody mouths and attacked the ships moored on the various trestles in the harbor to their heart's content. In less than 20 minutes, more than 70 merchant ships of various types were sunk, the largest of which was more than 2,000 tons, and the smallest of which was several tens of tons. Large merchant ships were sunk directly by torpedoes, and ships of small tonnage were sunk by artillery.

After sinking all the merchant ships in the port, the Fifth and Sixth Squadrons began to attack the Wharf and the pier of Hequan Port, firing torpedoes to blow up the pier, and using rapid-fire guns to shoot at warehouses, containers, hotels, inns, etc. on the shore, which soon caused a sea of fire on the shore.

At five o'clock in the morning, when Du Xigui arrived with the ships of his second squadron, the entire port of Hosen was already in a sea of fire, both on the shore and on the sea, and the flames were everywhere, and the flames were soaring into the sky, and the smoke was shrouded, like a fire purgatory, and it was miserable.

The port of Izumi is not the focus, but the port of Osaka and Kobe, which are less than 30 nautical miles away. Du Xigui immediately ordered the whole fleet to sail away from Izumi Bay and go straight to Osaka Port and Kobe Port in Osaka Bay.

At half past six in the morning, the north and west sides of Osaka Bay were already busy, and on the docks, workers were carrying goods, unloading or loading ships, unaware of the approaching danger.

With a loud bang, a 4,000-ton cargo ship had just left the dock and sailed less than five miles before a violent explosion occurred on the surface of the sea, and it was instantly blown to pieces.

The flames rose hundreds of meters high, and black smoke billowed out.

After a few seconds of short daze, there was a shout, and the people on the shore and on the boat were suddenly frightened and panicked, and they scattered in all directions.

Twelve Exocet-class hunting ships lined up on the sea, rushing at high speed towards the merchant ships on the various trestles in the port. At a speed of up to 30 knots, the bow of the ship split a huge wave several meters high, and it was menacing.

When they approached less than 150 meters of the merchant ships beside the trestle, the warships launched torpedoes with a "tom tom" in their bows, and then made an emergency turn and rowed out one huge wave after another.

Seconds later, the torpedo struck the side of the merchant ship next to the trestle and exploded.

"Boom!"

With a violent explosion, I saw a huge merchant ship explode in an instant. The violent explosion tore the hull to pieces, and the smoke of the fire rushed into the air hundreds of meters into the air, and then turned into countless fragments, falling on the surrounding sea with a loud noise.

"Knock knock!"

Facing the light of the morning sun, the second battle team of the Qing Imperial Navy lined up in a line, moving slowly at a speed of five knots, the broadside guns opened fire fiercely, and countless shells were fired at the ships docked at the dock on the shore. Where can a civilian ship without any protection withstand artillery shelling, a 47-mm rapid-fire cannon shell can inflict heavy damage on the hull, while the main gun shell of the second battle team can explode a large hole several meters deep after exploding, and if it hits the vicinity of the waterline, the ship can be sunk immediately, and there is no suspense at all.

However, the accuracy of the naval guns was not so good, and few ships were directly hit by the waterline. Most of the ships were hit by the hull and instantly turned into a hornet's nest, causing great casualties. The high-temperature shock wave generated by the explosion of a hot shell can easily ignite civilian ships, and many civilian ships are loaded with a large number of flammable and explosive materials such as clothing, grain, wood, silk fabrics, coal, and various household oils, causing many ships to ignite a fire immediately after being shelled, and they are out of control.

In less than half an hour, more than 200 ships of various kinds in Osaka Port were attacked, and more than half of them had sunk, leaving only half of them exposed to the water, continuing to burn. The rest, although not sunk, were also beaten to pieces and burst into flames.

Then, the artillery fire of the five large armored cruisers of the Second Sentai began to extend, shelling the containers, houses, warehouses, and factories piled up on the shore, focusing on the factory facilities of the Hanshin Industrial Base. Under the fierce artillery attack, a large number of factories within a kilometer of the sea were severely damaged, including machinery manufacturing, steel production, shipyards, textile factories, etc., and more than 30 factories were affected, of which more than a dozen factories within two kilometers of the shore were destroyed and destroyed, and the workers who worked in the factories also suffered heavy casualties.

After an hour of shelling, the port of Osaka was in flames. Because the ships of the Fifth and Sixth Squadrons could not hit so far with their main guns and the ammunition was almost exhausted, they had no choice but to approach the shore and use small-caliber machine guns to attack the civilians of the Eastern Hiding Province, causing a large number of casualties among the civilians.

At nine o'clock in the morning, the port of Osaka was in flames, the flames were scorching, and the smoke covered the sky and the sea, and it was difficult to tell the difference.

Subsequently, Du Xigui commanded the fleet to sail away from the port of Osaka and turn to the port of Kobe, thirty nautical miles away.

At about eleven o'clock in the morning, the second assault echelon shelled the port of Kobe. Since the port of Kobe had received news of the attack on the port of Osaka, most of the ships fled, but hundreds of ships were still blocked in the port, only to be slaughtered and sunk.

The shelling of the port of Kobe lasted half an hour, thinking that the ammunition was consumed too quickly after a long shelling. Du Xigui, just in case, each ship kept only half of the base ammunition as a precaution.

As the ammunition approached the cordon, Doshi immediately ordered the battle to end, and the whole fleet withdrew from Osaka Bay and returned to the open sea.

After returning to the high seas, Du Xigui immediately ordered the whole fleet to chase after the First Squadron, because the fleet's supply fleet followed the First Squadron, and it was necessary to converge with the First Squadron to get ammunition supplies.

On 8 June, the 2nd Attack Echelon joined the 1st Attack Echelon off the coast of Nagoya Bay. At this time, the 1st Attack Echelon had completed the bombardment of the port of Nagoya and destroyed a large number of facilities of the Komoto Factory, which achieved the intended results.

The whole fleet stayed on the high seas for a day, and the ships were replenished with ammunition for the supply fleet.

On the 9th of June, the fleet of the Qing Empire continued northward and arrived outside the Tokyo Bay on the 10th.

At this time, the official had received the news that the Qing Imperial Navy was heading north, and the Hanshin Industrial Base and the Nagoya Industrial Base were attacked, causing heavy losses in personnel and property.

Considering that the Qing Empire had already imposed comprehensive economic sanctions on the Tsuyomoto, and that the Qing Empire's navy's intention to destroy the coastal industrial base and maritime trade routes was obvious, the Kuroda Kiyotaka Cabinet believed that there was no need to fight this war any longer, and that the Fuji and Yashima would be defeated when the Fuji and Yashima returned to China.

Based on this situation, he immediately sent a note to the Qing Empire's envoy requesting an armistice and peace talks.

On 10 June, Lin Dong, the consul general of the Qing Dynasty in China, again sent a note to the Qing Imperial Premier Yamen and invited Russia to intervene. The Russian political axe openly condemned the Qing Imperial Navy's attack on the mainland, causing a large number of innocent civilian casualties and property damage, and threatened the Qing political axe to immediately cease the war, otherwise Russia would take measures to stop it.

Although the Qing political axe experienced the victory of the First Sino-Japanese War and the Qing-Russian War, he still could not support Adou, who was very cowardly, and was frightened by the Russians, and immediately announced that he would accept Russian mediation and declare that the Qing Dynasty said that the two countries would make peace with the armistice.

(To be continued)