"Sunk, we sank the Japanese battleship." The officers and men of the 5th Heavy Artillery Brigade of the Northern Army cheered. The invading Japanese ship was directly sunk, what a lifting thing!

Major General Shi Tianchuan also laughed when he learned of this result. However, he knew that after sinking the warship of the Japanese Navy, the Japanese would definitely not give up. On the one hand, all artillery groups were ordered to strengthen their alert to prevent retaliation from the Japanese. On the other hand, he hurriedly reported to Wu Haoxuan. The matter of negotiating with the Japanese was obviously not something that he, a small major general, could decide.

Pukou in the north of Jinling, Wu Haoxuan is still waiting here. The Northern Army still gathered a large army here to maintain pressure on the Beiyang Army on the opposite bank. This time, the Northern Army chose to cross the river at Jiujiang in the hope that after crossing the river, it would directly march east to attack Jinling.

"Young marshal, Tianchuan's telegram." Shi Tianhan took a telegram to Wu Haoxuan, but his expression was a little strange. It's no wonder that Shi Tianchuan is his younger brother. Now, Shi Tianchuan ordered the sinking of a destroyer of the Japanese Navy without asking for instructions, if this affects the overall situation, and Wu Haoxuan blames it, then Shi Tianchuan will not be responsible. This also made Shi Tianhan, who is an elder brother, a little worried.

"Oh? What's wrong? Seeing Shi Tianhan's expression, Wu Haoxuan was a little puzzled.

However, after he read the contents of the telegram, he understood why Shi Tianhan was like this.

"Didn't you just sink a destroyer by the Japanese? What is there to fuss about. Let General Shi Tianchuan be prepared, if the warships of small Japan dare to come again, come and sink as many as I want. They have been running amok in Chinese waters for too long, and they don't know how much Chinese blood they have on their hands, and it's time for them to pay the price. Wu Haoxuan ordered directly.

"Young Marshal, don't you blame Tianchuan for doing this, which will affect the overall situation? What if I go to war with us because of this? Shi Tianhan was stunned. I didn't expect Wu Haoxuan's reaction to be like this.

"What is there to worry about, the Japanese will not go to war with us because of the sinking of a destroyer. Even if you sink ten more, it's the same. Japan now, until its finances improve, simply does not have the financial resources to start a war with us. In addition, even if it is a war. We are not necessarily afraid of them. Didn't the troops stationed on the defense line of the Yalu River be unable to hold back for a long time? In addition, the British would not have agreed to the Japanese going to war with us. Therefore, the two sides are at most engaged in a dozen war of words. The real battle will not break out. Wu Haoxuan said very firmly. He has long figured out the character of these Japanese people who bully the weak and fear the hard. Therefore, there is no fear that the Japanese will take the opportunity to make trouble.

"Then I'll be relieved." Shi Tianhan nodded. Since Wu Haoxuan has calculated everything, does he still have to worry about it?

The sinking of the destroyer Fukiyuki angered the Japanese fleet, which was rampaging through the Yangtze River. A large number of warships began to assemble towards Jiujiang. By the afternoon, the Japanese Navy's destroyers "Spring Rain", "Murayu", "Shotori", "Asagiri", "Hatsusuki", "Rutsuki", and "Hakuro" were destroyers. The destroyers 'Baixue' and 'Songfeng' arrived at Jiujiang from the east and west. of these nine destroyers. The first four are the 'Spring Rain-class' destroyers, which, like the sunken destroyer 'Blowing Snow', have a displacement of 375 tons and are armed with two 80-mm single-mounted guns and four 57-mm single-mounted guns. The next five are 'kamikaze-class' destroyers with a standing displacement of 381 tons and a full load displacement of 450 tons. Armed with two 40x caliber 80 mm single guns and four 28x caliber 80 mm single guns.

The size and defense of the 'kamikaze-class' destroyers are comparable to those of the 'Spring Rain-class' destroyers, but they are slightly more powerful. But neither the 'Spring Rain' class destroyers nor the 'kamikaze-class' destroyers could withstand the Northern Army's 155-mm heavy howitzers, and even 105-mm light howitzers could pose a lethal threat to them.

When the Japanese battleships approached Jiujiang with great momentum, they were immediately warned by the artillery units of the Northern Army. The 1st Heavy Artillery Brigade blocked the river west of Jiujiang. The 5th Heavy Artillery Brigade blocked the river east of Jiujiang. In addition, several divisional battalions of 105-mm light howitzers joined the blockade. Once the Japanese ships dare to open fire, what awaits them will be an overwhelming artillery attack from the Northern Army.

After the nine destroyers of the Japanese Navy arrived at Jiujiang, they did not attack recklessly like the sunken destroyer "Fukiyuki." They already knew that the destroyer 'Blowing Snow' had been sunk in a matter of minutes. The Northern Army deployed hundreds of heavy guns in this area, which undoubtedly posed a mortal threat to these destroyers with a displacement of only a few hundred tons.

In addition, the order they received was also to maintain the threat to the Northern Army. However, it is not possible to further escalate the situation. It is clear that the Japanese side has not yet made a final decision on this matter. Whether to start a war with the Northern Army or stop there, the Japanese cabinet is still in a fierce quarrel.

In Kasumigaseki, Japan, in the Prime Minister's Office, Japanese Navy Minister Minoru Saito is roaring angrily.

"Damn the Shina people, they actually dare to sink the warship of the Imperial Japanese Navy, this is a provocation to the Great Japanese Empire, it is an act of war, and the Great Japanese Empire must definitely make a strong counterattack, let them know that the Great Japanese Empire is not something they can provoke." Minoru Saito's face was angry, as if he had been greatly insulted.

After winning the First Sino-Japanese Naval Battle and the Battle of Tsushima, the Japanese Navy became the most powerful navy in the entire Far East. Even among the world's navies, it can be ranked in the forefront. Although the Northern Army had a strong army, their navy was almost equal to zero. Under such circumstances, the Japanese Navy has always stood idly by. Now, the Japanese Navy's warship has actually been sunk, which undoubtedly makes them unable to sit idly by any longer.

However, in contrast to the fierce reaction of the Japanese Navy, the reaction of the Japanese Army was somewhat lackluster. After learning that the army of the Northern Army had actually expanded to 1.1 million men, but that the Japanese Army was unable to expand its army because of financial constraints, the attitude of the Japanese Army toward the Northern Army gradually changed. The last fiasco is still vivid. This made the Japanese Army realize that if they wanted to defeat the Northern Army, they needed to send more troops. However, Japan today simply cannot afford a war of this magnitude. So much so that the Japanese Army can only keep a low profile now, so as not to provoke the Northern Army and cause the war to break out suddenly.

For this reason, the Japanese War Department has ordered that the Japanese Army stationed on the front line of the Yalu River must no longer provoke the Northern Army without authorization in the near future.

Japanese Admiral Minoru Saito fired a fire, only to find that no one responded to him, which made him a little overwhelmed. According to the Navy's thinking, hasn't the Army always advocated war with the Northern Army? Why is it that all the horse manure in the army is dumb now?

"Your Excellency, why was the destroyer 'Blowing Snow' sunk? We got the news that it was the 'Blowing Snow' that first opened fire on the artillery positions of the Northern Army, which caused the Northern Army to counterattack. Foreign Minister Lin Dong said.

"Your Excellency Foreign Minister, this is a slander, the 'Blowing Snow' was first attacked by the Chinese people, and they were finally forced to fight back." Minoru Saito's face flushed. He would certainly not admit that the destroyer "Fukiyuki" opened fire on the artillery positions of the Northern Army in anger after being warned by the Northern Army.

"Humph! Your Excellency, does the Navy still want to lie? Prime Minister Xiyuan Temple said coldly. After learning about the current military strength of the Northern Army, Xiyuan Temple Gongwang knew that it was very difficult for Japan to conquer China. Not in the near future. Therefore, he is determined to focus his main energy now on domestic development. Only when the country's economy develops will Japan have more funds to arm its army and be able to surpass the northern army. Only later will there be a chance to defeat China and establish Japanese hegemony. For this, he even had to put aside the death of his teacher Hirobumi Ito for the time being.

This is not the view of Saionji Konozo alone, but is also supported by the elders of Japan, such as Aritomo Yamaguchi, Masayoshi Matsukata, and Shin Inoue. This makes Saionji Gongwang enough to control the political situation in Japan. As for the navy's behavior of wanting to provoke a war regardless of the current situation, of course, Saionji Gongwang will not allow it.

"Your Excellency, according to the treaty we have signed with the people of China, the warships of the Japanese Navy have the right to sail through any of the inland rivers of China. The Chinese prevented our warships from sailing, and it was they who first provoked us. Minoru Saito looked ashamed. The Japanese Navy's warship was sunk, but the cabinet did not want to retaliate, but instead blamed the navy, which made Minoru Saito very angry. It's just that now that even the army is no longer clamoring for war, the navy is also unable to support itself.

"Although this is the case, the current domestic and international situation does not allow us to break out into a large-scale war with the Chinese people. Therefore, the navy must refrain from doing so. Foreign Minister Lin Dong also said.

Even Britain, the world's largest power, has changed its policy toward China, so what can Japan, a lackey that follows the British, do? After the incident of the sinking of the destroyer Fukiyuki, the British Embassy in Japan immediately contacted the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to convey Britain's request that Japan exercise restraint. (To be continued......)

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