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No matter how intrigue and fierce the diplomatic position is, it can never replace the head-to-head contest between blood and fire.

While the navy was busy laying mines and the south was scrambling for time to land, the newly renovated Anbong railway line witnessed a battle against time. All civilian trains were ordered to suspend their operations, and if you could look down from the sky, you would see two parallel tracks filled with soldiers, tanks, gasoline, artillery, and ammunition rushing back and forth at ten-minute intervals.

Time, time, and time!

The outbreak of the conflict, the landing on Taiwan, and the first element of any military operation by the Japanese Combined Fleet is a race against time! Five years ago, the mighty German Empire took the lead, projecting millions of troops across the border in a short period of time with its powerful railway network, defeating Belgium into France in a short period of time, and stubbornly keeping the war on enemy territory for the next four years. Although it eventually failed due to strength, disease, and food, the explosive ability of its army in a short period of time overshadowed those countries that claimed to be the world's strongest armies. Therefore, for the Wehrmacht, how much military force can be mobilized in a short period of time is the key to this war. Although the railway network is not as good as the European War, thanks to the fact that the European War has just ended, many veterans who should have recovered have not had the opportunity to leave, and in just a few days, Andong City has gathered several divisions.

When Liu Mingzhao arrived by plane, this small city, which was first occupied by the Japanese army in 1894 and finally had no choice but to give up, and was used as a bridgehead for attacking the Russian army in 1904, had become a sea of sandy yellow.

In the headquarters, Liu Mingzhao met Major General Qin Zhangshu, the commander-in-chief of the operation, and Major General Zhang Tingfu, the chief of staff, and saluted with both feet: "Report, Liu Mingzhao, a trainee staff officer of the Second Division of the Army, and a captain of the Army, was ordered to report for duty. ”

Strange to say, things have developed to this point, and famous army officers such as Cai Yi, Yue Peng, Feng Guozhang, and Zhang Xiaozhun have hardly moved. Instead, Qin Zhangshu, the former commander of the 4th Brigade and commander of the 202nd Division of the Western Front Expeditionary Force, was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the campaign, and Major General Zhang Tingfu was appointed as the chief of staff. In fact, they are all the oldest generals in the National Defense Force, and Qin Zhangshu is still the biggest hero of the Xiaocang Mountain Battle of Beiyang that year. But there is still a big gap compared with the now famous Yue Peng Cai Ye, but with two years of fighting on the Western Front, his experience has gradually become richer, and he has become the mainstay of the new generation of the army.

"Mingzhao, hehe finally looked forward to you."

Qin Zhangshu and Zhang Tingfu are no strangers to this second lieutenant of the army who personally escorted "important materials" around the earth and was received by Yang Qiu and awarded a first-class medal. So he asked politely, "Have you worked hard along the way?" How's the preparation going in Shandong? ”

After returning to China, Liu Mingzhao was temporarily placed in the 2nd Shandong Division as an intern staff officer of the Operations Department, and the task of the 2nd Division was still to ensure the safety of Shandong's coastal areas. said: "Report." The navy has strengthened the defenses of Qingdao, Laoshan and other places, the port of Qingdao has been temporarily blocked, and Yantai and Weihai have also been deployed. When the 11th Air Force Group arrived, it arrived in Qingdao, and they could help in reconnaissance to ensure that the Japanese army would not land suddenly. "Although the restructuring of the armed forces has been interrupted and the Air Force has not yet been formally established, the Air Force has already been referred to as the Air Force. Those who have been through the Western Front know what it means to have eyes in the sky, and as long as the coastal planes and submarines can detect the enemy in advance, the army will have enough time to mobilize to prevent the Japanese from landing.

The two were about to ask about the situation in Jiangsu. He was interrupted by Zhu Depei, who was walking from outside. This beloved apprentice of Jiang Fangzhen is now also a captain and has been transferred to serve as an operational staff officer. Zhang Tingfu introduced the two of them and said: "Mingzhao, this is Zhu Peide." Ziyizhi, the first name in the second phase of the National Defense University, the former combat staff officer of the 43rd Regiment of the 43rd Brigade, the two of you know each other about the same age. ”

Zhu Peide heard about Liu Mingzhao and other non-commissioned officers and students who went to Germany to fight in the German army, and he also went to the Eastern Front for training, and he was hoping to get to know more officers on the Western Front and absorb the combat theories and knowledge of Germany, France, Britain, and other countries, so he hurriedly shook hands and exchanged a few words. After they got to know each other, Qin Zhangshu asked, "Yizhi, what's the matter?" ”

Zhu Peide saluted: "Report, Lord Zhang Zongchang, the superintendent stationed in the DPRK, is here." ”

Zhang Zongchang walked in. The soldiers of yesteryear are gone, with oily heads and powdery suits and leather shoes. It's like a big businessman in the business world. It is no wonder that he has been proud of the spring breeze in North Korea in recent years, especially after the National Socialist Party gradually went international, and took advantage of the opportunity of the founding of the Korean National Socialist Party to enjoy the taste of the emperor, not only helping the country to circle several important mines in the northern mountainous areas in one fell swoop, but also receiving all the original Japanese assets in the area of Pyongan Province in Sinuiju. But he didn't dare to take more. After all, Yang Qiu's three bullets were still hidden close to his body back then, and he knew the rules of fine water and long-term flow, so most of his income was donated to the country for construction. But even a little bit of it flowed out of his fingers, and he made a lot of money, and his aunt and wife alone married six rooms.

Qin Zhangshu, who has been stationed in the northeast all the year round, knew about the scourge that Yang Qiu deliberately put in Korea, but he didn't have the heart to discuss Korean women and Korean ginseng when the war was urgent, so he walked to the map and asked, "Lord Zhang, is there any latest movement of the Japanese Army?" ”

Zhang Zongchang has a great ability to make money, and he is not bad at engaging in intelligence, and he has also established his own intelligence network in just a few years. Knowing that the situation was urgent, he didn't dare to slack off, pointing to Guicheng, which was not far from Sinuiju, and said: "This is the salient of the Japanese and Korean armies, and after learning the news of the start of the war, Seoul is also actively reinforcing to the north. ”

"How many people are there in the Korean Independence Army now?" Zhang Tingfu asked.

"More than 60,000, divided into five divisions, Jin Jiu personally served as the commander-in-chief." Zhang Zongchang took out an American cigarette and handed it to Qin Zhangshu and Zhang Tingfu, and he shook his head when he arrived in front of Liu Mingzhao. Finally, after clicking on it himself, he continued: "It's too much and it's hard to control." What's more, they are now operating in the mountains of the north, and there are not too many people in the territory, and they waste our food. ”

Because Liu Mingzhao went abroad early, he didn't know much about the Sino-Japanese War, so Zhu Peide took the initiative to introduce him. Through explanations, it was learned that the Korean Independence Army was originally supported by Yang Qiu, and the Northeast Theater has been controlling this force in its hands by sending officers, food aid and equipment over the years. In terms of equipment, this unit is about the same as the National Guard, but due to its perennial activities in the northern mountains, it is very familiar with the terrain. So it will be the key to deciding this battle.

Zhang Zongchang nagged in front of the map: "Everything is good in this North Korea, but it lacks food." The railways in Sinuiju and Pyongan Province have been restructured, but after passing the Seoncheon River, they have become narrow gauges, and Japan originally wanted to change them, but they were afraid that we would use the railways. So the construction has not started for a long time. After Sinuiju, it is all mountainous, and it will not be smoother until North Hwanghae Province, and now that the mountain road is closed by heavy snow, it is difficult to walk, and if the railway is taken earlier, it may be difficult to supply and supplies. But don't worry, Commander, I have already hidden a few narrow-gauge trains in Sinuiju that can be used, and I have asked 50,000 Korean people to be recruited. In fact, there are many North Koreans in our north, and now we can help them fight, we might as well let them take on the transportation task, these people have no other skills, and it is not slow to walk the mountain road. ”

Qin Zhangshu didn't know that the environment was unfavorable, the defense of mountainous areas was a hundred times simpler than flat land, and the Japanese army would definitely fight hard in this battle, so he was very satisfied with Zhang Zongchang's suggestion, and turned his head and instructed Zhu Peide: "Benefit." Call the Logistics Department and ask them to contact the security team to recruit the Minfu horse team from the North Korean refugees in various places, and be sure to send it to me within half a month. After saying that, I was about to ask about the situation again. The staff officer came to report: "Report, telegram from the General Staff." The combined Japanese fleet was divided an hour ago, and its main force began to move south to the Taiwan Strait, which is expected to arrive tomorrow morning, and the declaration of war is likely to be at that time, so our troops have chosen the opportunity to launch an attack tomorrow morning. ”

"The main force went to the Taiwan Strait?" Qin Zhangshu frowned. The Japanese Navy is really old-fashioned, knowing that the last two ships of the Anhai are in the Bohai Sea, and the remaining main forces of the First Fleet are also hiding, so they simply go south, and the pressure on the Second Fleet and Taiwan will be greater. But it was not his turn to worry about it, so he raised his wrist and looked at his watch to give the order: "Order the 26th Brigade to advance towards Turtle City." The 28th Brigade marched towards Yichuan. Remind all units to be careful of shelling from the sea and let the air force cooperate to maintain vigilance. ”

Qin Zhangshu didn't know that in fact, the Taiwan Strait had already started in the evening.

After escorting the transport, two Isokaze-class destroyers arriving in Keelung from the Ryukyus braved the night to split two white waves and slowly approached the strait. Since the Second Fleet's minelaying operations were not kept secret, the Japanese Navy was already aware of the large number of mines in the area. The destroyer's mission was to find the channel as quickly as possible and sink those ships that were still laying mines. Therefore, when they saw a minelaying flotilla composed of more than a dozen fishing boats, they opened fire and attacked almost without hesitation.

The silence of the strait was broken by the sound of artillery, and the escort of four Paulding-class destroyers, bought back from the United States at half price in 1917, rushed up from the spurs, and the sailors were asked to be ready as early as the first moment of the conflict in the strait. Although their 5 76 naval guns were inferior to the opponent's 4 120 naval guns, the destroyer detachment of the Second Fleet, which had experienced two years of Atlantic escort missions, was not weaker than the inferior ones, but used its speed to repeatedly attack the enemy. The high-speed voyage in the night caused the large-caliber naval guns to play poorly, but the twin 37mm rapid-fire guns added after the Paulding class modification had the best effect, and the ignition beads were strung together into a red meteor and rushed towards the enemy in the dark. When the Japanese captain found that the large-caliber naval guns were not suitable, he simply met them with secondary guns, while the main guns were aimed at the minelayers that lacked protection. A huge fireball ignited the sea, and a fishing boat loaded with 12 mines was hit and exploded, debris and corpses were raised hundreds of meters high, and the entire ship was scattered into wreckage.

The explosion of the fishing boat made the eyes of the escort destroyer detachment red, and the captain of the No. 17 destroyer simply played a clear light, allowing the other three ships to speed up to 32 knots and rush towards the Japanese destroyer. Seeing this, the two Japanese destroyers threw almost all their fire on it, and explosions and flames instantly spread from the deck of Destroyer No. 17. But this did not stop the madman captain from making a surprise attack, and when the distance was close to 2,000 meters, the captain decisively changed the rudder and fired all four 600 mm heavy Fang-A torpedoes from the two twin launchers in the amidships. At a distance of 2,000 meters, it was difficult for even the destroyer to dodge in the case of 45 knots, and the Japanese destroyer led by the Japanese destroyer quickly evaded but still failed to avoid the fate of being hit, but at the same time as the big explosion occurred, the second Japanese destroyer also gave No. 17 a fatal shell, and a series of shells drilled into the ammunition compartment.

The two black and red smoke balls that rose into the sky almost at the same time heralded the beginning of a brutal sea guerrilla war.

In the base of the submarine detachment of the Second Fleet of the Zhoushan Islands, not far from the combat zone, three submarines that were obviously much larger than the first generation were quietly moored next to the river vessels like whales. Bai Yutang, who had made great achievements in the Qingdao War, was directing the sailors to take out boxes of oilcloth sealed goods from the river ship and load them onto the ship.

After Yang Qiu put forward the goal of regularizing the construction of the navy, the naming rules of various warships were also determined, and the submarine forces all started with the Jiaolong character (meaning the deep sea Daze Tibetan Jiaolong), and the ships were arranged according to the serial number, and the interior was subdivided according to different models. Bai Yutang is now in command of the Jiao 47 submarine, which was launched and delivered only last year. Compared with the previous submarines, the tonnage on the surface has been enlarged to 821 tons, 785 tons underwater, 13 knots on the water, 10 knots for snorkels, 7 knots underwater, and the endurance reaches 3,300 nautical miles at 6 knots, and the self-sustaining power of the underwater battery has also increased to 3 hours. A 76mm short-barreled gun is installed on the deck, using a 550mm Fang-B torpedo specially developed for submarines, with four launch tubes in the bow and one in the stern.

In 1912, after buying pressure-resistant steel, batteries and periscopes and other technologies from Germany, and sending workers to learn manufacturing technology in the name of supervision, Yang Qiu and the Navy attached great importance to submarines, after 7 years of digestion and hard work, and finally got rid of imitation at the beginning of last year, designed and built their own domestic ocean-going submarines, on the whole, the performance has reached the German level in the late European War, and it is a little regrettable that the engine is not as good as Germany, so the endurance and tonnage are still poor.

"Captain, received a telegram from the destroyer detachment that a Japanese destroyer was spotted outside us."

The detective relay the news of the destroyer's battle, and when he heard that a minelayer had been sunk, and that a destroyer had perished along with the enemy, and that hundreds of men had been killed or wounded, the sailors' eyes were red. But Bai Yutang knew that he had a heavy responsibility this time, so he just watched quietly. When the last box of mysterious cargo that no one knew what was filled the cabin, he waved his hand and gave the order to go.

The three submarines quietly left the Zhoushan Islands and disappeared into the vast sea...... (To be continued.) If you like this work, you are welcome to come to the starting point (qidian) to vote for recommendation, monthly pass, your support, is my biggest motivation. )