"Commander, the 'Wuwei' is under attack by the destroyers of the Japanese fleet! Now, the 'Wuwei' has begun to return fire! "On the bridge of the battleship 'Zhonghua', after receiving the telegram from the 'Wuwei', the communications officer immediately reported to Deng Shichang.

"What? The battle has begun? Deng Shichang's eyes widened. Although anyone with a discerning eye already knows that a war between China and Japan is inevitable, everyone still has no bottom in their hearts about when the war will break out. Even Deng Shichang believed that the war would break out tomorrow, and that the main force of the Chinese Navy's home fleet should be launched against the Japanese fleet. The Japanese fleet was the first to attack, which really surprised him. However, it is good that the Japanese fleet will fire first, and the Chinese Navy will be able to launch a counterattack in the name of justification.

"Report this news to the Admiralty! Ordered the warships near the 'Wuwei' to rush to support the 'Wuwei'. In addition, order them not to fight hard with the Japanese fleet, to preserve their strength, as long as they track and monitor the Japanese fleet, it will be a great achievement! Deng Shichang ordered.

"Yes, Commander!" The communications officer commanded.

Although Deng Shichang was very skeptical in his heart, whether it was the Japanese warship that fired first or the 'Wuwei' that fired first. After all, anything can happen in such a situation. However, this is no longer important. As soon as the two sides opened fire, it meant that the war had broken out, and it was time for them to do their best to win the victory.

At five o'clock in the afternoon, the Chinese Admiralty received an urgent telegram from the battleship 'Zhonghua'. When the telegram was translated, the chief officer in charge of communications of the Admiralty did not dare to slack off, and immediately reported to the Minister of the Navy, Zhang Cheng.

"What? War has broken out? After Zhang Cheng took the phone and glanced at it, he immediately ordered the adjutant to prepare a car and rush to the palace. At the same time, send someone to inform the War Department and the General Staff, as well as the Cabinet. After all, if a battle breaks out, it means that it is not just a matter for the Admiralty alone, but for the whole country. In the event of a war between China and Japan, China would face direct attacks from Japan, Russia, and the United States.

At 5:20, Zhang Cheng met Wang Yuze in Xinhua Palace. At that time, Wang Yuze was playing with several children, and after being informed by the female officer that the Minister of the Navy had something to see, he immediately went to the study.

"Zhang Aiqing, is something urgent happening?" Wang Yuze asked.

"Your Majesty, war has broken out. At 4:20 p.m., the Japanese fleet sent several destroyers to attack the light cruiser 'Wuwei', which we had sent to monitor the Japanese fleet. At the moment, the fierce battle continues! Zhang Cheng said.

"What? At this time, little Japan still dares to fire the first shot? It's just that I don't know whether to live or die! Wang Yuze said hatefully. Originally, he also wanted to find an excuse that would make the people of the empire more accepting of this war. But now, there is no need to look any further, and what could provoke the anger of the people of the Empire more than when the Imperial Navy was attacked by the Japanese fleet and the Empire was forced to fight back?

"Your Majesty, the Japanese fleet should be trying to drive out the light cruiser 'Wuwei' and then flee again. That's why I had to take a risk! Zhang Cheng guessed. If he were put in Heihachiro Togo's current position, he would probably have made this choice as well.

"Don't talk about these useless things, since the war has broken out, let's fight! We've been preparing for so long anyway! Wu Hao, immediately stop the chief of staff, the minister of war, the prime minister and other cabinet members to come, I want to hold a pre-imperial meeting! Wang Yuze ordered.

"Your Majesty, when the minister arrived, in order to save time, he had already sent someone to inform them!" Zhang Cheng said.

"Oh, that's good! Let's go, go to the Diligent Palace! Wang Yuze said.

At half past five, all the cabinet members, the chief of staff, and the ministers of the army and navy gathered in the Qinzheng Hall. Wang Yuze sat high on the dragon chair, and on both sides of the main hall were a group of important ministers of the empire who were sitting in danger.

"Now, as you all know, the Japanese fleet brazenly launched an attack on our country's 'Wuwei' light cruiser, which means that the war between China and Japan has begun now. Wu Aiqing, after the meeting, you will summon the Japanese minister to China and declare war on Japan! And, withdraw our envoy to Japan, as well as the diaspora in Japan! Wang Yuze said angrily.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Wu Tingfang replied very dryly. Now that the battle has begun, then. The outbreak of war between China and Japan is inevitable, and what we need to do now is to try our best to win the war!

"From now on, the Cabinet will give its full support to the army in combat. All kinds of combat materials and military expenses must be fully guaranteed! This battle is very important for the Empire, and we must win! Wang Yuze said firmly. After working hard for so long, this battle is over. If it fails, years of hard work will be in vain.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Prime Minister Yang Hua also replied. From a very early on, Wang Yuze had already begun to plan this battle, and the cabinet had already made preparations. Although, in wartime, the power of the cabinet will be greatly weakened by the operation of the war, but there is no way to do it. Now is the time for the whole country to unite and achieve final victory.

"The General Staff, which is responsible for directing the battles of the army and navy. I will not interfere with your command, but I need you to win for the Empire! Wang Yuze said to Xiong Wu, Cai Yun and Zhang Cheng.

"Your Majesty, rest assured, the ministers will definitely be ruthless and win victory for the empire!" Several people hurriedly replied.

Wang Yuze nodded and said, "So, what are the next operational deployments of the General Staff?" ”

"陛xià. The navy is placed, and the main force of the home fleet will launch an attack on the Japanese navy's return fleet, striving to completely annihilate the Japanese fleet. The detachment of the home fleet will also launch an attack on the Japanese home fleet that is heading south and completely defeat the Japanese navy. After that, the home fleet went north and blockaded Japan from the sea, making it impossible for Japan's hundreds of thousands of land forces to play their role. At the same time, the home fleet will send a part of its warships to destroy the Russian Pacific Fleet and support the land forces in the attack on Vladivostok. The Navy's Pacific Fleet will be on the defensive, cooperating with our defenders in Hawaii to guard the Oahu Naval Base. On the army side, the Northeast Military District will be organized into two army groups to launch attacks in the direction of Vladivostok and Chita. The armies of the Northern Military District, with a part of the recruits, were organized into two army groups to launch an attack on the Nizhny Baikal region and cut off the support of the Russian army to the Far East. Blocking the Russian army in the direction of Baikal. The Northwest Military District will organize a group army, cooperate with the 1st Cavalry Army, and launch an offensive in the direction of Central Asia! The Capital Military Region and the Central Plains Military Region will each form three group armies and drive to the front line, ready to fight at any time. The Southwest Military Region and the South China Military Region are also ready for war. As soon as Britain and France declare war on us, we will launch an attack on Southeast Asia! Xiong Wu replied.

Wang Yuze nodded and asked, "So, is the number of troops sufficient, do you want to expand some more troops?" ”

"At the moment, the main direction of the army's attack is the north. Five military districts in the north plus twenty newly formed infantry divisions are more than enough. If the scale of the war increases, we can quickly expand the army with new ones! Xiong Wu replied. Although there are many enemies, the battlefield of the real army is mainly against Russia. As for the south, Britain and France did not have many troops in Southeast Asia, and with the strength of the Southwest Military Region and the South China Military Region, it was enough to defeat them. In the absence of an increase in the scale of the war, it is just a matter of forming more armies and directing the consumption of a large amount of war materials.

"Well, so be it! Ladies and gentlemen, now is the most critical time for the Empire, and whether the Empire can rise smoothly or not is up to this battle! Everyone must work together to win the Empire! I believe that the final victory must be ours! Wang Yuze said loudly.

"The Empire will win!" Everyone shouted. Everyone is full of confidence in this war. As long as it can win, China will become one of the most powerful countries in the world.

At half past six in the afternoon, Imperial Foreign Minister Wu Tingfang summoned Taro Kawaguchi, the Japanese minister to China. Taro Kawaguchi was very puzzled, although he knew that the relationship between China and Japan was very tense now, and the war was about to break out, but Wu Tingfang summoned him at this time, which still made him a little confused. Although, Heihachiro Togo had already reported the exchange of fire between the Japanese fleet and the Chinese navy to Japan. But now, there is a quarrel in Japan, and no one has informed Taro Kawaguchi in time.

"Your Excellency Wu Tingfang, I don't know if you want to see me, is there something wrong?" Taro Kawaguchi said with an arrogant face. Although the gap between China and Japan is widening, Taro Kawaguchi believes that Japan, with the support of Western powers, will be the final victor. When the time comes, Japan will become the leader of the Far East, and China will become a piece of fat in Japan's mouth.

Wu Tingfang thought that Taro Kawaguchi was pretending to be stupid, so he glanced at him with disdain, and then said with a stern face: "Your Excellency Kawaguchi, I solemnly tell you that on behalf of the Emperor of the Chinese Empire and the Imperial Government, I am declaring war on Japan!" ”

"What? Declare war? Kawaguchi's eyes widened and his mouth wide open, almost able to put down a fist. He never expected that Wu Tingfang would actually declare war on him. At the same time, the Chinese Empire's envoy to Japan also formally declared war on Japan.

"Your Excellency, don't you know? War has broken out! Moreover, it was you Japan who first provoked it! Wu Tingfang gave Taro Kawaguchi a cold look.

Taro Kawaguchi's face was pale, he was completely unaware. He hurriedly left the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and sent the news back to Japan.

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