The Pacific Ocean, the largest ocean in the world, is full of stars and moon in the Pacific Ocean at night, the Pacific Ocean at this time appears unusually quiet, on the sea surface where the stars and the moon reflect the dappled white light, the black shadows of ships are moving forward through the waves, and light signals are heard from time to time in the distance.

Eventually, under the control of the light signal, the size of this fleet grew, and slowly converged into a huge fleet, tonight, it seems that everything is not quite normal, if tonight, there is that smuggling merchant ship trying to cross the blockade line, it will definitely find that today seems to be different from usual, the Chinese fleet blockading the Japanese archipelago has disappeared, at least on this side of the Pacific fleet.

"In the most unexpected places!"

In the chief's room of the Jingyuan, Xiao Xinren looked at the map, and his slightly thin lips were slightly raised.

No one knows better than him what kind of principle the whole plan is based on, because it is he himself who came up with it.

"Director Xiao, if the plan is successful, you will be a great contributor!"

Liu Guanxiong on the side lightly gave Xiao Xinren a sycophant, who in Nanjing does not know that this Xiao Xinren is His Majesty's real henchman, at least the No. 1 henchman.

And His Majesty also trusts him, and Liu Guanxiong believes that in the future, if Xiao Xinren has a daughter, then his daughter will definitely become the queen, no one will doubt this, of course, as long as he has a daughter.

"How much credit?"

Smiling slightly, Xiao Xinren shook his head.

"If it weren't for your navy, I wouldn't even dare to think about it! You are the real heroes! ”

This is the difference between Xiao Xinren and others, although His Majesty has a lot of trust in him, but he can never see a domineering appearance on him, he always seems very cautious.

"Tosawan!"

Muttering this term, Xiao Xinren pointed to a location on the map and said.

"Commander Liu, if it weren't for the Navy's great victory, I would have chosen here,"

A little Kyushu in his hand, Xiao Xinren said in an almost helpless tone.

"Kyushu is the best place for any officer to land, at least it's a little closer, not as far as Tosa Bay, more than twice as far,"

"But there are only a limited number of defenders there!"

Liu Guanxiong said directly.

"With limited defenders and poor equipment, with a population of only one million, it can be said that Shikoku Island is simply open to anyone, as long as we can suppress this empty door!"

Finger pointing towards the Sogato Inland Sea, which is known as the "Japanese Mediterranean".

"This place is open to us, from Shikoku Island, we can increase the coastal defense artillery to attack the Japanese coastal batteries in the Shuto Inland Sea, we can seize the strait islands, so as to enter the Shuto Inland Sea from the other side, and then threaten the Japanese Honshu Island, at that time, Japan must consider whether to make peace or be completely occupied by us!"

As he spoke, Xiao Xin threw his pencil heavily and stared directly at the map with his eyes.

"Peace...... Hum! ”

With a sneer, Xiao Xinren looked up at Liu Guanxiong and smiled.

"If you can guarantee the logistics of 600,000 troops, I promise to defeat the whole of Japan!"

Between the words, Xiao Xingren was full of confidence, he believed that he could do all this, but then he smiled helplessly.

"Okay now, I can only defeat Shikoku!"

With a wry smile, Xiao Xinren left the map and looked through the porthole at the landing fleet that converged with the escort fleet in the distance.

"Defeat Shikoku, there is no problem!"

Xiao Xinren is not worried about whether he can take down Shikoku Island, and it can even be said that there is no need to worry at all, 100,000 people need to face an army in addition to a brigade, and then the so-called 130,000 national troops, if the 100,000 guards can't even gnaw down this less than 140,000 "army", it is really unreasonable.

"As for the rest of ......"

Smiling, Xiao Xingren said helplessly.

"It's just a matter of luck!"

"It's just a matter of luck!"

The same sentence sounded from a room in the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo, and when he said this, Gentaro Kodama took a sip of wine, looking haggard and looking haggard, he didn't have a trace of energy

Listening to his words, Katsura Taro couldn't help but be taken aback, it was precisely because he felt that the future was bleak, and it was also to understand how the war would develop, that he wanted to hear the opinions of military experts, so he went to visit Kodama Gentaro, the deputy chief of the General Staff Headquarters, who was in charge of the defense of the homeland. Kaneko asked, after introducing her mission to Kodama,

"Why do you say that?"

Gentaro Kodama said, taking a puff of his cigarette. ,

"In the past 30 days, I have been nesting in the house every day, covering myself with a blanket and sleeping for a while at night without even taking off my military uniform, and I think about it that there is only a five-on-five result at most, and this is still the best result!"

When she closed her eyes, Kodama's face was full of helplessness.

Although the British confidently claimed that China could not attack the Japanese mainland, Kodama knew that it was only speculation, and that Japan's survival could not be pinned on the speculation of other countries, after all, no one knew what the Chinese would do after waiting for months.

It is precisely because of this that Kodama will drag his sick body and plan the local defense at the cost of his life, in order to strengthen the local defense, he has racked his brains, but things are still not satisfactory.

"Well, if it's five or five, then the odds of winning the war are about the same as the Rilu War, which means that we still have the strength to fight!"

Katsura Taro nodded, and Kodama nodded as well.

"It's true, but this is only one of the possibilities, that is, the Chinese land in Kyushu!"

Gentaro Kodama said with half-closed eyes.

"Now, we have eleven divisions in Kyushu, although China has imposed a blockade on Japan, but there are always ships that can break in, these eleven divisions are equipped with the latest American rifles, and there are also a large number of machine guns, each division has at least 24 guns, it can be said that even Honshu's defense capability cannot be compared with Kyushu, we ......"

After a moment of silence, Kodama continued.

"If the Chinese army attacks Kyushu, then we have a chance to prevent them from landing, and if they land successfully, we only have a chance to drive them down again!"

This is Kodama's prediction, and it is the best result Kodama has gotten so far.

"It's better to have a way to make it happen!"

Gentaro Kodama took a sip of wine and said again.

That is to say, six points of victory, four points of defeat. At this time, someone will intervene. I hope this will be the United States, if the United States can intervene, then then, maybe we can end the war with dignity, of course, the meat that should be cut will still have to be cut! ”

Katsura Taro just nodded at the words of the commander-in-chief of the army's operations, knowing that for Japan, this might already be the best result.

"We have to try to get the Americans involved as much as possible. However, before the United States intervenes, we must keep the Chinese out of the mainland. ”

Gentaro Kodama took out a military map of Kyushu Island, which he had brought from the General Staff Headquarters at the request of Prime Minister Katsura.

"First of all, the Chinese Army will land at a suitable place on Kyushu Island, and then expand the beachhead, so as to march inland, which is the first phase of the squadron's operation, that is, the first battle. If this initial battle fails, the morale of the squadron will be too low to fight! ”

Gentaro Kodama did not first introduce his own defenses, but introduced the attack methods of the Chinese.

"Therefore, my goal is to block the landing of the Chinese at any cost, so as to completely eliminate their ambition to attack the mainland, so in any case, we must prevent the successful landing of the squadron in our first phase of operations, otherwise there is no possibility of peace talks at all, and then we even need to consider whether Japan can still exist, once the squadron succeeds, there will be no hope for the whole of Japan!"

Katsura Taro nodded, this is how the ambition swells, if the army cannot block the landing of the Chinese in Kyushu, once the squadron successfully lands, by that time, the squadron will put a steady stream of millions of troops into Kyushu, and then use Kyushu as the base camp to attack the island of Honshu, at that time, Kyushu is just the beginning.

"Indeed, if we want to win against the Chinese, we must defend the coast!"

"But if we want to win, we must prepare 30,000 Chinese troops to defend, and if the Chinese have 30,000, we must prepare 90,000, which must be twice as high as them, only in this way can we have a chance to hold the beachhead." If they win the first battle, they will be demoralized, and it will be possible to achieve the result of June Fourth, and at that time, everything will be a foregone conclusion! ”

Kodama said this, and it can be said that for Kodama, he pinned almost all his hopes on this.

Kodama's explanation of this battle is very common-sense, and Katsura Taro understands Kodama's plan at a glance.

"Isn't this the opening of June Fourth?"

understood Kodama's plan, but Katsura Taro had a trace of doubt, isn't this already June Fourth? Why does Kodama still say that it is open to five? ,

"We don't know at all, the squadron will land from there!"

Kodama said seriously, and when she spoke, her face was full of sadness.

"The southwest coast of Kyushu has such a long ......"

Fingers swiped across the map, and Kodama's words were full of annoyance.

"And the coastline is still divided by several bays, which is obviously not conducive to our defense, I have arranged eleven divisions in Kyushu, but these eleven divisions are scattered here, here ......"

While spitting out here and here, Kodama's fingers pointed to locations on the map.

"And on the southwest coast of Kyushu, there are hundreds of places suitable for a large army to land! In this case, if the squadron chooses a certain type as the landing point, then we simply will not have time to mobilize the army to defend the counteroffensive! ”

"It can be said that even now, when we build a railway along the coast, there is simply no way to mobilize the army, and to put at least three divisions into one position within the specified time!"

Faced with Kodama saying this, Katsura Taro fell silent, he didn't expect the truth to be like this.

"Therefore, I can only scatter eleven divisions here, and then mobilize hundreds of thousands of national troops, who are responsible for the defensive operations of the various divisions and regiments, although they have no weapons, they can ......."

There was silence for a while, and there was a hint of ruthlessness in Kodama's eyes.

"But as long as there are people, they can always resist for a while, it is tens of thousands of ducks, and it will take time for the squadron to kill these ducks, if the team can hold out for two days, then, I can transfer at least two divisions there, and in two days, I can transfer three divisions, so that after seven days, I can transfer eleven divisions in Kyushu, well......"

After a slight groan, Kodama shook her head again and said.

"It's six divisions, if the five divisions that arrived seven days ago can hold out for seven days, I can mobilize six divisions to reach the area near the landing site, and considering the increase in the squadron, the six divisions need to fight with at least two Chinese divisions, so it's five or five, within seven days, the Chinese can guarantee at least two and a half divisions ashore, but I only have six divisions in my hands, so it's very difficult!"

With a long sigh, Gentaro Kodama took a sip of wine, and he clearly knew that for this local defensive battle, the biggest variable was that.

"That's ......"

With a deep groan, Katsura Taro took a glass of wine, then said after a moment of silence.

"It seems that it is still possible for us to hold Kyushu! After all, they only have half an extra division, and we ......"

Looking at Gentaro Kodama, who was silent, Katsura Taro continued.

"Don't we still have hundreds of thousands of people standing up on Kyushu Island? If it really doesn't work, send them too, even if a hundred people are exchanged for one person, it is also worth it, as long as we can hold Kyushu and drive the squadron into the sea, we can let the United States intervene and get peace conditions that are favorable to us, so ......"

After a moment of silence, Katsura Taro asked almost tentatively.

"It should be no problem to hold Kyushu!"

"Let's open five-five!"

Kodama still didn't give Katsura Taro the answer he hoped for, not because he didn't want to give an answer that everyone would be satisfied with, but because he couldn't give such an answer. Then, Kodama looked at the prime minister in front of him and said.

"Prime Minister Gui, do you know what I'm most worried about right now?"

"Oh?"

Katsura Taro was stunned.

"What is it?"

"What I'm most worried about now is that if the squadron lands, they don't choose the southwest coastline of Kyushu, or even Kyushu, what will we do, this ...... That's probably what we need to worry about the most! ”

In the distance of the night sky, the sea of Tosa Bay looms. Along the seashore, several houses are lit up, and it is the full moon, and the sky is full of stars and moons, and Tosa Bay looks as if it has been skimmed with a layer of mercury powder. The sea in the distance was shrouded in night, and only the lights of the fishing boats flickered on and off like ghost fires, floating faintly on the sea.

Yamashima Arita loved both the daytime and the nighttime scenery, and he stood on the mountain with a Murata rifle on his back and looked out over the vast sea that stretched into the distance. Looking at it, the sound of the waves will unconsciously reach his ears, sometimes it sounds like a train speeding on the tracks, sometimes it sounds like the sound of the wind, and for a moment, Yamashima will have some kind of illusion, as if he is in another place at the moment.

Listening to the sound of the waves in the distance, Yamashima suddenly remembered the news he had seen on the bulletin board this afternoon, remembered the current situation, and thought of the threat that Japan was facing now, and he couldn't help but sigh. ,

Why did either China declare war?

Arishima couldn't figure out why China, as an Asian country, had to go to war with Japan.

Forget it, it's all about those politicians in Tokyo, and when he was thinking so in his heart, he unexpectedly found that there seemed to be a trace of something strange on the vast sea in the distance, what was that?

Fleet!

Finally, after another ten minutes, Arishima saw clearly what appeared on the sea, it was a fleet, a huge fleet!

"Toot, toot......"

Youdao immediately blew the whistle, and when he blew the whistle, he looked at the outline of the fleet that appeared on the sea, and his eyes were full of fear, could it be the Chinese?

How is that possible? Are they going to bombard Kochi Prefecture? Can...... But this fleet is too big!

"What's going on!"

With the sound of footsteps, the shouts of Hashimoto Guncao came from behind him.

"Ship, Fleet ......"

Hashimoto Juncao looked towards the sea, looked carefully for a while, and sure enough, he could see that there was a large fleet on the sea.

"It won't be the squadron!"

"Maybe it's their landing force!"

"Nonsense, the Chinese will never land on Shikoku Island, the most likely place for them to land is Kyushu, otherwise, the coastal defense artillery of the battery will not be sucked away!"

In the midst of the soldiers' conversation, Captain Kawada Motosaku had already put on his military uniform and walked over, and he was holding a monocular twice the binoculars and looking into the distance, and it was impossible to see what kind of fleet it was on this night.

"Maybe it's the fleet that broke through the blockade!"

A soldier said expectantly.

"Maybe it's the British fleet!"

"In that case, we'll have guns!"

Needless to say, Arishima also knew that it was Kawakami who spoke, and in his squadron, there were only thirty Murata-style single-shot rifles, which were the standard equipment of the Japanese Army more than twenty years ago. At a time when even the Type 22 Murata Repeater and Type 30 rifles were being phased out, the Murata single-shot rifle was already outdated, but even so, Japan did not have enough weapons.

Taking advantage of the moonlight, Kawada Motosaku looked around, and the people around him seemed to be expecting that it was an Englishman's ship, and if that was the case, at this moment, suddenly, he saw that the position of the ship on the sea seemed to be vacating...... Flame!

Is that...... When dozens of flames rose on the surface of the sea, Kawada's eyes narrowed.

"Shelling!"

At the same time as he roared, Kawada Motosaku fell to the ground almost instinctively, and when he fell to the ground, another thought came to his heart.

"Chinese are you going to shell Kochi, or ......"

id="BookTexts">