(Ask for a commuter pass!) Read! ）

Yokosuka is where Americans opened the door to Japan. There is a Perry Park here, which commemorates Matthew, an American who led the fleet to open the gates of Japan? Perry. In 1853, Perry led a fleet to Yokosuka and forced the Japanese to open their doors with strong ships and cannons. But the Japanese commemorate the invader Perry as a benefactor, believing that without Perry, Japan might remain a colony. Perry has also become a source of pride for Yokosuka.

Yokosuka Bay, blessed with its unique natural environment and geographical location, has been one of the most important naval bases since the establishment of the Imperial Japanese Navy, and is also home to the Navy's Yokosuka Castle and Naval Yard. The predecessor of this base was the first shipyard "Yokosuka Iron Works established by the Edo shogunate in Japan" in 1865, and later in 1872 it was transferred to the Ministry of the Navy by the Meiji government at that time, and in 1903 it was renamed "Yokosuka Naval Yard", so it was the prototype of a complete naval base.

With the rise of the Imperial Japanese Navy at the end of the 19th century, by the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War, the factory's shipbuilding capacity had been greatly improved, and it had the ability to build cruisers, battleships and other capital ships at that time.

On December 1, 1905, as the battleships "Hizen" and "Tango" completed their final combat readiness trials and sailed into Yokosuka Port, all the capital ships of the Combined Fleet, 7 battleships, 8 armored cruisers, and 11 cruisers gathered in Yokosuka Port.

After the Hizen and Tango sailed into the port of Yokosuka, the Combined Fleet held an operational meeting on the flagship Shikishima, which was attended by the directors of the ships of the Combined Fleet, and the objective of the meeting was to conduct comprehensive consultations on all aspects of the Combined Fleet's operations.

It's a very strenuous and difficult job. Under no circumstances should China be made aware of the movements of the mobile forces until they reached their destination. Although the Taihai Sea is vast, it is undoubtedly very difficult to keep this huge fleet, which has more than 30 ships, including coal carriers, absolutely secret during the voyage. If you are not careful, you will enter the enemy's patrol circle, and the operation will be completely lost.

And the most important point is that this time there is no suddenness in the naval battle, the two countries have already declared war, and even both sides are betting on each other's next move, so every step must be considered as thoroughly, and at the same time be cautious, and the current Japan simply cannot afford any losses.

The meeting lasted from morning to late at night and was carefully studied.

"First of all, there is the question of the movement of the troops, that is, the question of the selection of routes"

Mayuki Akiyama, who stood up to make an introduction, pointed to the chart on the wall, on which the staff officers had marked a large number of red dots.

"According to intelligence, in the past month and a half, the Chinese have concentrated more than 175 small merchant ships, fishing boats, and hired ships to set up a large number of search and warning posts in the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea.

Then Akiyama Shinyuki pointed to the southern sea surface on the chart.

"Here, and here"

The command post is in the Taiwan Strait as well as the Luzon Strait.

"In addition to the sentry post composed of sentry ships, China has deployed more than 100 aircraft at the same time for search and alert in the two strait areas, so the sentry here is much stricter than the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea, and this is the world's first integrated sea and air sentry station"

"From this, we can conclude that the Chinese side attaches great importance to the safety of the Second Fleet" ...,

Chief of Staff Shimamura Suo explained on the side, everyone nodded, this is a fact, in fact, after the South China Sea naval battle, whether the Second Fleet safely arrived at the Sanduao naval base has a direct bearing on the victory or defeat of the naval battle between the two countries in the future.

From top to bottom of the combined fleet, every senior officer understands that for the Zhenyang fleet, once the second fleet successfully arrives at the Sanduao naval base, then the Zhenyang fleet will have two battle cruisers of Zhiyuan and Jingyuan, two Zhenhai-class battleships, two Zhenyuan-class battleships, two Zhenyuan-class warships, and 5 Dingyuan-class battleships, in terms of the number of capital ships, the Zhenyang fleet has an overall advantage, the ratio of the two sides is 11 to 8, the only advantage of the combined fleet is 8 armored cruisers, China only has 2 armored cruisers, and in the protective cruisers, The Chinese Navy will have a 15-11 advantage, while Japan will regain the advantage on destroyers 24-11, but no one can laugh at this result, and this result is that the Japanese Navy is at a disadvantage.

"As a result, our original plan of intercepting the Second Fleet in the China Sea southwest of Luzon through the Pacific Ocean and then into the South China Sea through the Pacific Ocean had to be revised."

"Does Staff Officer Akiyama mean to modify the route?".

The captain of the "Shikishima" asked heavily.

"That's right, after full research and approval by the Navy General Staff Headquarters, the second route that was abandoned before was chosen, that is, the southern route"

Southern route

As soon as the chief of staff's words came out, everyone turned their heads to each other, the southern route was the most difficult route, and before that, almost no one was willing to choose the southern route.

"Your Excellency, the southern route needs to sail in the tropics near the equatorial region for more than six days, and the officers and men of the Imperial Combined Fleet are not suitable for long-term voyages in the tropics, and taking into account other factors, according to the experience gained from sending the southern fleet in the spring, if the southern fleet sails for more than seven days, the effectiveness of the stoker will be reduced by 20, the effectiveness of the gunners will be reduced by 10, and if the effectiveness of the gunners is reduced by 10 days, if it is over......"

Rear Admiral Riwa stood up and retorted, his refutation only drew everyone's approval, in the steam age, tropical navigation was a nightmare for the navy.

And in the face of Major General Riha's rebuttal, Akiyama Shinyuki just refuted coldly.

"Then Rear Admiral Riha, should we still choose the Luzon Strait and fully expose the Combined Fleet to the eyes of the Chinese, and if so, how many chances do we have to defeat the Second Fleet of the Chinese Zhenyang Fleet and end the naval battle and evacuate safely before its First Fleet rushes to the engaged sea zone."

Akiyama Shinyuki's rebuttal made everyone fall silent, reality, Akiyama Shinyuki mentioned a realistic problem that they had to consider, the combined fleet must not fight head-to-head with the Zhenyang fleet, once the Zhenyang fleet finds out about the combined fleet's attempt, it will inevitably order the first fleet to leave the port and go to the South China Sea to join the second fleet, so that the battle will become a decisive battle at sea between the main forces of the two sides, and this is exactly what the combined fleet wants to avoid with all its might.

It is precisely on the basis of avoiding a decisive battle with the main forces that the Combined Fleet will formulate a plan to intercept the Second Fleet in the South China Sea, so as to concentrate all the main forces of the Combined Fleet, quickly and decisively annihilate the weakest Second Fleet in the Zhenyang Fleet, and then make use of the superiority to find suitable fighters to gradually weaken the First Fleet, at least by taking advantage of the sea superiority, and turning the First Fleet into a port "presence fleet." Once the Navy has the right to conquer the sea, the outcome of this war will already be decided.

For the combined fleet, this is the only and most advantageous option.

"In this way, the three-day voyage will be added, and it will also give the Zhenyang Fleet more time to obtain information on the departure of the main force of the Combined Fleet, and if the information is leaked, then we will have to consider whether the first fleet of the Zhenyang Fleet will leave the port"...,

After pondering for a moment, Yamaya, the captain of the armored cruiser Yakumo, raised his own doubts, this naval battle was completely a time difference, using full secrecy to try to reach the warring sea area before the Chinese obtained the information on the departure of the combined fleet, and intercept and completely annihilate the second fleet before the first fleet of the Zhenyang fleet reacted, while the southern route increased the range by four days.

"So we have to choose a farther area of the war"

While answering the question, Akiyama took his baton and drew a circle on the chart, and the area of engagement changed from the sea west of the Philippines to the sea north of Borneo, which is almost the end of the South China Sea.

"With this increase of 900 nautical miles, according to the analysis of the situation of the battleship Fuji captured by the Chinese Navy, the maximum speed of the First Fleet does not exceed 14 knots, and it takes 64 hours to reach the sea zone from the first node, which means that we can get two and a half days, which basically offsets the time problem caused by the choice of the southern route."

Then Akiyama Shinyuki's voice sank slightly.

"After the naval battle is completed, the retreat route will still be the southern route, so that you can withdraw from the warring sea zone"

As Mayuki Akiyama finished his introduction, the entire war room fell silent, no one asked any questions, everyone understood that this was the most advantageous tactical option for the Combined Fleet, and there was no better alternative.

As the commander of the fleet, Togo Heihachiro was surprisingly silent at this time, he just looked ahead, as if all this had nothing to do with him, as the commander of the combined fleet, Togo understood his mission, and also understood what the decision he was about to make meant for the Japanese Empire, which meant that he would once again bet the Japanese Empire on the table.

But unlike the naval battle in May, in which the Combined Fleet waited for work, and finally used a series of seven-stage naval attacks to almost completely annihilate the Lucian Second Pacific Fleet.

In this naval battle, however, the intelligence changed, and although the Combined Fleet would intercept the Second Fleet of the Zhenyang Fleet with absolute superiority, and the Second Fleet had also experienced a long voyage, and the officers and men were already exhausted, they were different from the Second Pacific Fleet in that the Second Pacific Fleet did not have a powerful friendly force that could be supported at any time in the vicinity, while the Second Fleet had a First Fleet anchored in Sanduao as support.

This gamble, and it is a gamble that is slightly worse, that is, it may not be recovered.

What else could it be?

Similarly, Akiyama Shinyuki and Shimamura Suo, who finished the explanation, did not return to their seats, but stood by the chart, staring at the chart with four eyes, and the sentry stations with those red dots could be clearly seen on the chart, as well as the location of each node, the two looked at the chart and were silent for a long time, where is the loophole in this plan?

The two were silent, thinking.

If the First Fleet receives the news of the Combined Fleet's departure, it will inevitably send the First Fleet to Kaohsiung Harbor, which is the first node, so as to use the Luzon Strait to make full use of offshore torpedo boats to carry out a night attack on the Combined Fleet.

Well, this is the most advantageous way for the First Fleet, which can use aircraft to locate the Combined Fleet during the day, launch a one-touch surprise attack in the evening, and then carry out a torpedo attack at night, which is the most compromising option.

Akiyama Shinyuki calculated the fighting style of the Zhenyang fleet in his heart, he would never have any doubts about his speculation, he believed that the Chinese would do this, because he himself would do this, in the strait area can give full play to the advantages of the Chinese navy, especially in the near sea, there are not many destroyers in the combined fleet of the expedition, so it will inevitably create an opportunity for torpedo boat attacks. …,

Moreover, judging from the combat intelligence of the Southern Dispatch Ship Battle, the torpedo boats of the Chinese Navy are smaller and faster, and they do not even have chimneys, and when they carry out night attacks, it is almost impossible to detect their presence if they are not detected by searchlights, and the Zhenyang Fleet will not take advantage of this advantage?

Yes

They will definitely take advantage of this.

What would they do if their acquired Second Fleet was attacked?

Shimamura looked at the chart and thought in his mind, as the chief of staff of the Combined Fleet, he may not have the unmatched genius tactical strategy of Masayuki Akiyama, but in the Combined Fleet, he is also the best staff officer.

Continue to wait at the first node?

No way

The fact that the Combined Fleet had bypassed the Luzon Strait and chosen other routes, with the news of the Second Fleet's attack, the Luzon Strait was undoubtedly a chicken rib for the Chinese Navy, and if it continued to hold on, there would be no choice, and the Second Fleet, which was very important to the Zhenyang Fleet, might be lost.

So will they reinforce the Second Fleet?

It took them 64 hours, and at the fastest 60 hours to reach the war zone, and by the time they got there, the battle was already over, and even the Second Fleet no longer existed.

But why did they go to reinforce the Second Fleet?

After pondering for a moment, Shimamura Suo understood what the First Fleet would need to do unintentional actions, even if it was himself or Commander Togo, when faced with this situation, they had to make the same choice, otherwise it would be difficult for the Navy to block the mouth of the people, especially for a fleet that was about to become an existing fleet, they had to use a decisive action to prove something, which was an inevitability.

But what if they don't go to the rescue?

Mayuki Akiyama, who was thinking about the same question, thought about another possibility in his mind.

Since the Second Fleet is doomed to be irretrievable, why waste time rescuing him?

Thinking of this, Akiyama Shinyuki's eyes began to turn from Kaohsiung, across the Luzon Strait, to the Pacific Ocean, to the place where the Combined Fleet returned, if that case, the First Fleet could attack the Combined Fleet at leisure, and what would happen to the Combined Fleet at that time?

In Akiyama Shinyuki's mind, the combined fleet after the first phase of the naval battle in the Tsushima Strait came to mind, although the warship was not damaged, but the most deadly thing was that the shells were almost exhausted, and after the naval battle in the South China Sea, the more deadly point was that in addition to the shells were exhausted, the fuel of the combined fleet was almost exhausted, in order to avoid being discovered by the Chinese The whereabouts of the fleet, they could only choose to replenish fuel at sea, which required more time, at least more than 30 hours, This means that the problems of the combined fleet itself have won at least 30 hours for the first fleet of the Zhenyang fleet.

If they had taken the interval of three or two, the speed of 14 knots for three hours, and the 17 knots or even 18 knots for two hours, how much would the time period for the First Fleet of the Zhenyang Fleet to reach the zone of engagement be shortened?

Just a slight calculation in his heart, Akiyama Shinyuki got a number in his heart that made him feel timid, that number means that the Zhenyang fleet is very likely to find the First Fleet that has almost run out of ammunition, and if they continue to sail in this mode, maybe they can find the combined fleet that has just finished replenishing coal 48 hours after the end of the naval battle.

However, in the Zhenyang fleet, can the "Fuji" and "Hatsuse" battleships salvaged and repaired by the Chinese Navy from the waters of Laotieshan reach a speed of 17 or 18 knots?

"Akiyama, what are you thinking?"

Noticing that Mayuki Akiyama seemed to be thinking about something, Heihachiro Togo asked, and he also sensed that Shimamura seemed to be thinking about something, but he wanted to hear Akiyama's question. …,

"Captain Matsumoto"

Akiyama Mayuki did not answer the commander's question, but cast his gaze on Matsumoto Ho.

"I wonder what Staff Officer Akiyama has to say?"

"What was the fastest speed of the Fuji last year?"

One question only embarrassed Matsumoto Ho's expression, he was the captain of the Fuji when the Fuji was sunk by a mine last year, and now Akiyama Shinyuki is not revealing his own scars by asking this question.

The expressions of the others also changed slightly, and even the others looked at the old and new Matsumoto Ho and the former captain of the "Hatsuse" who was sunk by the mine at the same time, and the expressions of the two would become extremely ugly.

"Captain Matsumoto"

Akiyama Shinyuki sighed again at this time, the reason why he asked the Fuji was because the Fuji was an old ship that had been in service for ten years, and his speed was the slowest in the entire Combined Fleet, and it would also be the slowest warship in the First Fleet, and the speed of the fleet was always determined by the slowest one.

Section 15.8 If a strong pressure ...... is imposed"

Without waiting for Matsumoto Ho to finish speaking, Akiyama Shinyuki breathed a sigh of relief, 15.8 knots, which meant that in any case, the Combined Fleet had enough time to leave the war zone, sail into relatively safe waters, and get rid of the pursuit of the Zhenyang fleet.

"Thank you, Captain Matsumoto"

Said a word of thanks, Akiyama Shinyuki will not relax and return to his seat, sitting there like an old monk, in his opinion, this naval battle, Japan is decided

"Akiyama"

Akiyama sat down, but it was Togo Heihachiro's turn to ask his question, and everyone in the war room would be very curious, why Akiyama Shinyuki's expression changed before, and after asking about the speed of the "Fuji", he suddenly calmed down?

"What are you worried about?"

After Togo raised this question, everyone pricked up their ears, they really did not think of what impact the Fuji, which was salvaged by the Chinese, would have on the naval battle.

"Your Excellency Commander, we all know that the battleship Fuji, which was sunk by Luguo mines in the waters of Lao Tieshan, has long been salvaged by the Chinese Navy, and has been repaired and renamed "Zhenyuan"

At this point, some people laughed secretly, and some people looked extremely unnatural, in the combined fleet, there was also a Zhenyuan, which was a warship of the Beiyang Naval Division captured from Liugong Island ten years ago, and now, in the Chinese Zhenyang Fleet, there is also a Zhenyuan, and what is even more embarrassing is that the warship turned out to be Japan's first battleship, the "Fuji" that sank into the deep sea, although it was not sunk and captured by the Chinese Navy, but it was also a warship of the Chinese Navy.

"The first fleet of the Zhenyang Fleet is all high-speed ships, whether it is the Zhiyuan class or the Zhenhai class, they are all high-speed combat ships of more than 19 knots, and the "Fuji" and "Hatsuse" are their weakness, we estimate the speed of the first fleet of the Zhenyang Fleet to be 14 knots, but if they sail in a three-two interval, then ......"

Then, Akiyama Shinyuki brought up his previous concerns, but his concerns made everyone's expressions tense, and Togo asked almost in a panic.

"And what about your conclusions?"

"It's very difficult for the current Fuji to reach a speed of 16 knots, or even 15 knots," he says.

A definitive conclusion spat out of Akiyama's mouth.

"The boiler is soaked in seawater, and the hull may even be deformed, all of which will affect the speed of the Fuji, and for the relatively weak Zhenyang fleet, they will never abandon Fuji and Hatsuse and only rely on the Zhiyuan, Zhenhai, and Dinghai ships to reinforce the Second Fleet, so we don't need to consider the possible pursuit of the First Fleet."

"Then they won't replace the boiler?".

"Impossible"

Akiyama Shinyuki affirmed in an almost arbitrary tone.

"China's shipbuilding strength is not necessarily stronger than Japan's, they can assemble Zhiyuan with foreign-made parts, but it doesn't mean that they can quickly complete the replacement of boilers, even Britain needs at least 6 months, and they don't have that time at all, Fuji's repair time, but only two and a half months, which means they only repair the damaged part of the waterline, so ......"

With a long sigh, Mayuki Akiyama continued.

"We won this naval battle" ......,