On the evening of 1 February, in the last rays of the setting sun, the Ming army's assembled huge task force marched northwest at sea. There are three waves before and after.

The first wave was the shelling fleet, dominated by battleships and cruisers, with destroyers and minesweepers. The warship fleet is the fastest, and the overall voyage is 2o knots.

The capital ships in the fleet were: three battleships - Zhengde, Changping, and Yanping; a battle cruiser - Zhurong; Four heavy cruisers - Lu Bu, Li Guang, Wei Qing, Yue Fei. Not to mention the shelling, it is to carry out a decisive battle of the fleet at sea, which is also a formidable force.

The second wave consisted of troop carriers, six boarding boats, and cargo ships that were in urgent need of heavy weapons after disembarkation, with destroyers and light cruisers as escorts. The troop transport fleet was the next most successful with 15 knots as a whole.

The third wave is the logistics fleet, which is dominated by various supply ships, cargo ships, and oil tankers, with destroyers as escorts. The supply fleet is the slowest and the whole is 1o knots.

This time the task force was not equipped with aircraft carriers. Because it was fought in the Bohai Sea, the airspace was not large, and the Ming army had already controlled Shandong south of the Yellow River and controlled the Dongying strategic airfield, and the range of the 6-base aircraft was sufficient, which was fully able to provide air cover for this mission.

……

The Grand Fleet sails on the dark seas. The sun was sinking into the sea in the front, and it was already dark in the back.

At about half-past five, the sailors watched as the sun in front of them completely burrowed below the surface of the sea. Suddenly, except for the place where it had just entered the sea, there was only a little red light, and the whole sea and sky had fallen into darkness and entered the night.

The moon, which had risen long ago, was now beginning to become conspicuous, but it was also obscured by clouds from time to time. It was as if the entire fleet had disappeared from the sea, merging with the dark sea. Only in the distance, by the inconspicuous dividing line between sea and sky, can the black silhouette of the warship be barely distinguished.

The Japanese destroyers, which were following from afar, could no longer rely on visual sight, but could only rely on passive sonar to track the Ming fleet.

…… At five o'clock in the evening, they gathered from the south side of the Bohai Sea, and the 2o section of the voyage approached Tianjin between four and five o'clock tomorrow morning, and began shelling. Attacking at dawn was exactly the usual combat habit of the Ming army.

……

At this moment, there is another fleet guarding the outer edge of Arthur Bay. This is the Japanese fleet that blocked the gates of Arthur. The main force was the battleship Fuso, accompanied by two heavy cruisers: Myoko and Mogami; two light cruisers: Isuzu and Abukuma; As well as six destroyers. In addition, there were two fast battleships, the Haruna and Kirishima, which were rushing from Japan to reinforce at a height of 28 knots.

Obviously, this is no longer just to deal with the three Qing cruisers in the harbor, but to point the finger directly at the military fleet.

However, both Tokyo and Nanjing knew in their hearts that even if these two fast battleships arrived in time, they would not be the opponents of the Ming Grand Fleet. It's just a gesture. If you are really ready to fight, then at least one or two more battleships and four or five cruisers will have to be brought in to barely equalize.

At seven o'clock in the evening, the first wave of the Ming Grand Fleet, that is, the artillery fleet composed of capital ships, sailed through the Miaodao Islands from the north and entered the Bohai Sea. The Lushun Peninsula in the north was gradually left behind by them.

Several Japanese destroyers that were following from afar hurriedly telegraphed this movement back to Tokyo. The Admiralty and the Cabinet of Ministers in Tokyo are working overtime to meet for this purpose, and they are watching the movements of this Ming Grand Fleet. Hearing the news, everyone up and down breathed a sigh of relief.

…… The Ming army really attacked Tianjin, instead of receiving the Lushun fleet out of the port. - Although it is an exaggeration to use such a large fleet to meet three Qing cruisers. Now, I have finally dismissed this possibility.

……

At eight o'clock in the evening, the second wave of troop convoys passed through the Bohai Strait, and the leading escort destroyers had already sailed into the Bohai Sea.

Suddenly, the flagship hit the telecommunications code of "turn all". Suddenly, the whole large fleet turned its bow and turned its course to O15, which is 15 degrees east-north. That's exactly where Lushun is headed.

Several Japanese destroyers trailing the second wave of the fleet, the sonar crews on them shouted almost immediately:

"The enemy turned to ——!!!"

Then he held the headset with one hand, slowly turned the sonar handle with the other, closed his eyes, and listened attentively to the changes in the sound of the propellers of the Ming fleet. A few minutes later, the course of the Ming fleet stabilized on O15. Almost simultaneously, the Japanese sonar crews on several destroyers shouted at the same time:

"The enemy's new course - O15!"

In the command room of the flagship of the Japanese destroyer fleet, several young officers looked at the fleet commander and said excitedly:

"Your Excellency! What are we going to do! ”

The commander of the destroyer fleet, who was also very young, paced in the red light, looked at the darkness outside the porthole, and muttered:

"We were lied to. The enemy is not going to Deng 6 Tianjin, they are going to Lushun! …… Can't delay, report immediately! We also need to take advantage of the position immediately. Give the order to all the people, occupy the left and right sides of the enemy fleet, and change the tailing to parallel! The distance is 25oo meters, and the whole torpedo is ready! ”

The communications officer immediately called, and the first mate shouted into the microphone:

"Right rudder 35 degrees!"

The following is repeated and shouted:

"Yes! Right hand drive! 35 degrees !! ”

"New course O15!"

"Yes! New Directions! o15！！！ ”

"All forward!"

"Yes, all forward!!"

The whole destroyer half-leaned, and the voyage suddenly accelerated.

"Foredeck torpedo ready!"

"Foredeck torpedo, in place !!"

"Rear deck torpedo ready!"

"Aft deck torpedo, in place !!"

After a few minutes, the first mate reported that the entire destroyer fleet, consisting of eight ships, had carried out the order and was moving towards their new positions.

"Very good...... "The commander nodded slightly, his eyes shining sharply, and said softly, "Now, just wait for Minai's order." ”

……

The Cabinet and the Military Command Department in Tokyo were immediately informed of the news. Suddenly, both groups of people were speechless in shock.

Hirota closed his eyes, leaned back in his chair, and didn't say anything. He knew he was gone.

At the beginning of the formation of his cabinet, he was congenitally deficient and full of hidden dangers, which was the result of reluctantly compromises between all parties. After the 226 incident, domestic and foreign affairs were unclear, and he didn't want to be prime minister, and he didn't want to wade into this troubled water. After all, there are four phases in front of him, all of whom were assassinated. The political veteran Saionji Gongwang originally considered two candidates, one was Duke Konoe Fumiro, and the other was Hirota Hiroki. But Konoe Wenlu is old and cunning, and he can't be sick. Saionji had no choice but to invite Hirota strongly. Hirota Hongyi was forced to come out to form a cabinet under pressure.

However, as expected, the current cabinet has done very badly. The Hirota Cabinet is known as the "puppet cabinet" and does not have much real power, and what is more serious is that the relationship between the cabinet and the military department and the parliament is very tense. There are many contradictions and differences between the military and the government and between the six seas, and they often can't pee in a pot. In the previous stage, Japan had a secret treaty between Japan and Ming, and the two countries carved up Northeast Asia, and in Hirota's view, Japan took a big advantage, but in the eyes of the military department, Japan suffered a big loss. Later, in the "observer incident" in Mukden, the Japanese 6th Army Department wanted to take tough measures, but the Ming Dynasty choked the neck of the Malacca route, coupled with the opposition of Hirota Hongyi and Nagano Shushen, the 6th Army endured this breath.

Now the Ming Dynasty is competing with Japan for the Arthur fleet. If Japan loses to Nanming again, then his cabinet will really not be able to support it.

Hirota is ready for the general resignation of the cabinet. Now it seems that his resignation has to be submitted.

……

"Your Excellency the Prime Minister," said the Minister of the 6th Army, Terauchi Shouichi, with a sage of anger, "what shall we do?" Is there no other way but to sit still? ”

Hirota Hiroki let out a long sigh:

"Nagano, tell me about it."

Nagano Xiu was also covered with beads of sweat on his forehead at this moment, but he still forced himself to calm down:

"Now the Qing ship did not leave the port, but the Ming army went to Lushun to board the 6. And Lushun ...... No, it's the entire Mukden, which is assigned to the Ming Kingdom in the agreement. Where is Ming Guo Deng6, what else can we do? …… You can't start a war with the Ming Kingdom just like that. ”

Shouichi Terauchi sneered and said:

"It's only a matter of time."

Nagano Xiushen glanced at him and said:

"Even if we want to go to war now, we don't have enough troops at Lushunkou. The only thing we could put into service immediately was one battleship, two heavy cruisers, and two light cruisers. However, the Ming army came this time, but there were three battleships, one battle cruiser, four heavy cruisers, and four light cruisers. The Ming army had already been prepared, just to guard against our idea of using force. Now the other side is two or three times more than ours in terms of tonnage and firepower. The 6th Army Minister can do the math himself, whether he can fight or not. ”

Terauchi Shouichi says:

"Aren't we still on our way to Arthur?"

Nagano Xiu said coldly:

"The Haruna and Kirishima have just passed the Tsushima Strait, and they are still 5oo nautical miles away from Lushun. You can't get there in more than ten hours. And the Ming fleet is now at the gate of Arthur. And...... Even if Haruna and Kirishima could arrive in time, the other side would still have one more battlecruiser and four cruisers than us. Our odds are still low. ”

Hirota Hiroki whispered again:

"Besides...... It must also be taken into account...... The Strait of Malacca was also controlled by the Ming Kingdom. And Japan's domestic war reserves...... Especially oil...... It will only last a few months at most...... We weren't ready for war with the Ming Kingdom......"

Nagano Xiu nodded, and also sighed:

"yes...... Malacca Waterway ...... It is because of it that the Ming Kingdom has repeatedly emboldened itself in front of our empire. ”

……

Outside Arthur Bay, the Fuso detachment received an order from the commander of the Combined Fleet, Mitsumasa Mineuchi, to retreat three nautical miles and watch a large number of ships of the Ming army sail into Port Arthur.

A Japanese submarine ventured to the entrance to Arthur Bay, exposing its conning tower for observation.

The young captain stood on the conning tower and saw that instead of resisting the shooting, the harbor was brightly lit. Through the binoculars, I can see that the cranes in the port are taking off and landing and rotating, and the dock workers are shuttling back and forth, which is extremely busy. The Qing sailors in the harbor were jubilant, welcoming the Ming army to disembark from the troop carrier. The three Qing cruisers and eight destroyers were all raised in a short time with the Ming flag.

At this time, a telegram came that the first wave of the Ming army's fleet, that is, the artillery fleet, which had sailed through the Arthur Peninsula earlier, was now turning around and heading southeast, heading towards Arthur. All Japanese ships near Arthur were ordered to retreat and evacuate again.

An hour later, two cruisers of the Ming army sailed into Arthur Bay, and the remaining three battleships, one battle cruiser, and six cruisers cruised outside Port Arthur, while the hound-like destroyer fleet dragged long smoke and patrolled back and forth on the sea to find possible hidden submarines.

……

At seven o'clock in the morning of the next day, the first flag-raising ceremony of the Ming national flag was held in the Lushun Military Port. At eight o'clock, the entire Lushun fleet of the former Qing army lined up neatly, all hanging the Ming army flag, and sailed out of Port Arthur under the command of the Ming army officers on the ship.

Four Ming heavy cruisers remained in the harbor to guard the new military port of the Ming Dynasty. The rest of the fleet was formed outside the port, and the warships of the original Qing army and the warships of the Ming army were mixed together, with a total of three battleships, one battle cruiser, two heavy cruisers, six light cruisers, and 24 destroyers.

The Japanese warships, which were weak along the way, could only follow from a distance, watching with a blank eye as the Ming Grand Fleet took away the Arthur fleet, which had been thinking about both sides.

On the morning of February 2, 1937, the general cabinet of Hiroki Hirota resigned.

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