Episode 73 Hooray! Navy!

July 7, 1937.

The sea was black and inky, but it was calm and there were not many waves. The weather was clear and the sky was full of stars. The Zhengde detachment was heading east. It is only a few dozen nautical miles away from the Tsugaru Strait. Now the Zhengde detachment has received an optional order:

1. Try to return to the sea, highlight the Sea of Japan as much as possible, and return to the home fleet of Zhoushan Port.

2. If it is difficult to stand out, then temporarily stay in the Sea of Japan and act as an "existence fleet" to sabotage the Far East shipping between Japan and Russia, threaten the ports along the coast of Japan and Korea, and maneuver with the Japanese fleet to play a diversion role.

And the current Zhengdeok detachment will have several options if it wants to highlight the Sea of Japan.

The first is to take the Tsushima Strait in the south. The Tsushima Strait is the widest of several exits, and the closest, all the way south. But the problem is that the defense of the Tsushima Strait is definitely the strongest. Japan's Sasebo Military Port is at the gate of the Tsushima Strait, and it is basically impossible for the Ming army to break through the Tsushima Strait with such a thin force as a battleship, a cruiser, and six destroyers.

The second is to take the Tsugaru Strait. The Tsugaru Strait is a strait between the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido and one of several outlets from the Sea of Japan. Although the waterway is narrow, it is not as close to the port as the Tsushima Strait. It belongs to the remote north of Japan and has no military ports.

However, yesterday day, the Japanese Fuso detachment followed the vicinity of the Zhengde detachment, and both sides were visually monitoring the distance accident, but they both sent seaplanes to reconnoiter each other, and they both knew the approximate location of the other side. Now the Ming army already knows that the previous information was wrong. The Fuso detachment consisted not only of two heavy cruisers, but also of one light cruiser. That is, three cruisers accompanied by one battleship. The strength is stronger than expected.

At dusk, the Masantoku's planes reconnoitred for the last time and found that the Fuso was no longer hovering around them, but sailing east at full speed, which should have been to guard the Tsugaru Strait. According to the judgment, at present, the Tsugaru Strait should be only the force of the Fuso detachment.

Further north, the Soya Strait is the strait between Hokkaido and Sakhalin. Like the Tsugaru Strait, there are no military ports and are relatively easy to pass through. But the problem is that with the Fusang detachment following like this, even if the Zhengde detachment sails another 200 nautical miles north and takes the Zonggu Strait, it will still face the interception of the Fusang detachment, and it will return to Daming even further.

Therefore, the Zhengde squadron planned to make a move with the Fuso squadron and try each other's level. If it does start, it will be the first time in modern times that the two navies have faced each other. By virtue of this, Zhengde's own hardware is stronger than that of Fusang. Both battleships belonged to the old dreadnoughts that had been refitted, and both had a similar speed, about 24 knots. But the main gun of the Zhengde was 15 inches, while the Fuso's was only 14 inches. In addition, the armor belt of the Zhengde is also a little thicker and limited than that of the Fuso.

However, the Fuso had twelve main guns, while the Zhengde had only six. Only half of it. It can be said that the Zhengde dared to collide head-on with the interception of the Fusang, relying on the caliber of the main gun. The caliber of the main gun is one inch larger, and it does not look very good in terms of data. But in an engagement means much stronger firepower. The range is much longer and much more powerful.

……

The captain and fleet commander of the Zhengde was in the bridge command room, looking at the chart table in the red light. Two more red warship markings have been placed on the chart table, just east of Japan's Honshu Island. This is the information that has just been received in the evening, it is a battleship sent from the Yokosuka military port, the Kongo, and two cruisers. Intelligence indicates that the Kongo departed in the morning, and should have been heading north, either to guard the Soya Strait or to rendezvous with the Fuso. The King Kong was a high-speed battleship with a speed of up to 30 knots, which was beyond the reach of the Zhengde.

Although the main guns of both battleships were 14 inches, it would be suicide to use the Zhengde against two of them, especially the 20 main guns of the enemy ship with its own 6 main guns.

Originally, the plan of the commander of the Zhengde fleet was to fight the Fuso during the day and give full play to the range advantage of the 15-inch guns. But now it can't be delayed any longer, and by tomorrow daylight, the two Japanese fleets will be united. The Zhengde must not take this risk.

The commander of the fleet decided to seize the opportunity to fight out of the Sea of Japan and engage in a night battle with the Fuso. He really didn't want to be locked in the Sea of Japan indefinitely, surrounded by hostile coasts, running out of fuel and supplies...... At that time, I couldn't have thought about it.

……

The microphone on the bridge sounded:

"The bridge, this is the sonar room. Discover high-speed propellers. The azimuth is 115, and the distance is 6 nautical miles. ”

"High-speed propellers. The azimuth is 115, and the distance is 6 nautical miles. Roger that. ”

The staff officer immediately marked it on the chart table.

The microphone went off again:

"Discover high-speed propellers. The azimuth is 114, and the distance is 6 nautical miles. ”

"High-speed propellers. The azimuth is 114, and the distance is 6 nautical miles. Roger that. ”

Within a few minutes, sonar heard a large number of high-speed propellers one after another, estimated at a dozen warships. Among them, there are four relatively clear large warships. This is fully in line with the size of the Fuso detachment.

The atmosphere in the bridge command room became solemn, and everyone knew that the big war was just around the corner. 6 nautical miles, a matter of a blink of an eye.

The tweeter on the tower of the Zhengde reverberates:

"Brethren, I am the commander of the fleet. Sonar has already detected the position of the Japanese Fuso detachment, just 6 nautical miles ahead. The other side is guarding the entrance to the Tsugaru Strait, and we have to pass through the Tsugaru Strait and return to Daming. Although the two countries are not at war now, it may soon start with us. You all know the strength of the other side, there are more warships than us, there are more artillery than us. But we have a more powerful main gun, and armor that can withstand shells of the same caliber. You all know what that means. That is to say, we can carry the 14-inch shells of the Japanese ships, but the Japanese ships cannot carry the 15-inch shells.

"Brethren, this will be the first time in modern times that two Eastern maritime powers have come head-to-head. And we should be proud to be a direct participant in writing this page in the history of world naval warfare with our own hands. It is undeniable that the Japanese army trained hard and fought tenaciously. But don't forget, we are the navy of the Ming Empire, which has a long and glorious tradition. When our Imperial fleet sailed south to the West and prestige the world, the Japanese were still stealing chickens and dogs along the coast with small sampans. When Zheng Chenggong, the king of Yanping, led the Ming fleet to teach the maritime power Netherlands a lesson in this eastern sea, Japan was still banning the sea.

"Now, such a junior stands in front of us and provokes. We should teach this junior a lesson, as we have done countless times before, with our shells. We need to make the Japanese understand who is the boss of this sea and who is the master of East Asia. As long as we win this war, the Ming Dynasty will be in an extremely favorable environment for decades or even a century in the future. And this hero is us.

"Brethren, cheer up and give me a good fight!"

Finally, the commander of the fleet raised his mid-air and shouted:

"The Ming Empire - Long Live !!"

On the Zhengde warship, the sea on all sides echoed with the high-pitched shouts of the officers and men:

"The Ming Empire - Long Live !!"

……

"Daming Navy - Long Live !!"

"Daming Navy - Long Live !!"

……

"Her Majesty the Empress - Long live !!"

"Her Majesty the Empress - Long live !!"

……

At the same time, the signal lights on the Zhengde issued an order to the surrounding friendly ships to prepare for battle.