The East Asia-Pacific region is too small to accommodate two large countries. If the Chinese Empire and Japan want to become the hegemon of East Asia, they must defeat the other, step on each other's corpses, absorb each other's nutrients, and grow into a world power.

Japan has always done this, after the Meiji Restoration, they prepared for decades, and then defeated the Manchus in the First Sino-Japanese War, not only getting Korea, but also 230 million taels of silver war indemnity and treasure islands from the Manchus. It is precisely because of this that Japan has achieved rapid development. Now, the Chinese Empire was growing rapidly, which undoubtedly posed a great threat to Japan.

Both the civilian and military giants in Japan know that they have been cornered and cannot continue to remain silent. Otherwise, once China preemptively develops a powerful navy and completes preparations for war, it will be the end of Japan.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it seems that the people of China are not giving up, in addition to developing a strong army, they also want to develop a strong navy, which will pose a serious threat to the empire. Anyway, sooner or later, we will have to fight a decisive battle with the Shina people, so it is better to fight now. War Minister Masashi Terauchi also said.

The Minister of the Navy and the Minister of War have expressed their support for a war with China. Now, it's up to the civil servants to take their attitudes.

"Even if China is developing a navy, the information submitted by the British is only four capital ships. The Imperial Japanese Navy had 12 battleships and 8 armored cruisers. Tibetan Prime Minister Yoshiro Sakatani said. When it comes to war, it costs a lot of money. Japan's financial pressure was already very high, and Yoshiro Sakatani undoubtedly did not want to fight.

"Although we have 12 battleships, 8 armored cruisers. However, these are all old battleships, and none of them can compare with the cutting-edge dreadnoughts of the Chinese people. The most critical thing is. We must cut off the path of naval development for the chinensis. Minoru Saito said.

"Prime Minister, the situation is already critical, and we must be prepared." Minoru Saito looked at Saionji Gongwang and said.

"Whether or not to wage war against the Shina people must take a long-term view. However, what we need to do now is to find out what is true and what is false. Plans for the development of the Navy of the Chinese people. How big it was, and whether it would pose a threat to the Great Japanese Empire. If war starts, can we defeat them? Xiyuan Temple Gongwang said.

"Your Excellency the Prime Minister means that this news was deliberately leaked to us by the British? Perhaps there is some conspiracy in this? Foreign Minister Lin Dong said with a frown.

"I don't rule out the possibility of this. The Chinese were close to the Germans, and the warships of the Chinese were built for them by the Germans. The Germans, on the other hand, were the sworn enemies of the British. Once the Chinese fell to Germany, they would pose a great threat to the British. Therefore, the British encouraged us to go to war with the Chinese people, and let us help them to relieve this danger. Xiyuan Temple Gongwang guessed.

Although, this is just the speculation of the Saionji Gongwang himself. But it certainly makes a lot of sense. The other ministers also nodded their heads one after another.

Soon, the Japanese Cabinet came up with a resolution, first of all, the combined fleet of the Japanese Navy entered a state of emergency and was ready to go to war at any time. Secondly, the Japanese Army strengthened the defense of the Korean Peninsula. If you are attacked by the Chinese army, do your best to hold the line. Blocking the Chinese Army west of the Yalu River. Again, and most importantly. Japan's intelligence agencies must go all out to search for information on the Chinese Navy and find out what this is all about, whether there is a conspiracy or anything like that.

I have to admit that the Japanese do have great strength in intelligence. Even though the Imperial Military Intelligence Bureau and the Security Bureau jointly strangled Japan's intelligence personnel in the country, there were still many intelligence officers lurking. After receiving orders from within Japan, these intelligence officers immediately began to inquire about various information.

At the same time, the Chinese Navy is also continuing to return to China according to the predetermined plan. fleet, long ocean voyages. It is urgent to carry out maintenance after returning home, replace parts, remove marine life from the bottom of the boat, and so on. Only in this way can the performance of the battleship be brought into full play.

On November 30, 4607 (09), the Chinese Navy's returning fleet entered the Strait of Malacca. After passing through the Strait of Malacca, you can enter the South China Sea, and you are one step closer to the way home.

In order to speed up the return home, the fleet did not stop in Singapore, but went directly through the Strait of Malacca and into the South China Sea.

When the fleet entered the Takushima Strait, it encountered two cruisers of the Japanese Navy. The two cruisers of the Japanese Navy attempted to get close to reconnoitre. However, they were driven away by the Imperial Navy. In addition to two battleships and two battlecruisers, the Imperial Navy had seven light cruisers and 12 destroyers.

After being driven away, the Japanese navy warships followed from a distance. Only, in the face of a large fleet. Unless the Japanese Navy was fully deployed, it posed no threat to the Imperial Navy.

And at this moment, the Japanese cabinet is still squabbling over whether to start a war with the empire, and has not yet been able to reach an agreement.

On December 21, after nearly two months of sailing, the returning fleet finally arrived at the naval base in Artal. Wu Haoxuan, the crown prince of the empire, with important cabinet ministers and dignitaries of the imperial military, personally rushed to Lushun to welcome the return of the naval officers.

At 9 a.m., a whistle sounded on the sea. One after another, warships appeared on the sea in the distance. The most eye-catching are undoubtedly the two 'Longteng-class' battleships and the two 'Longyao-class' battlecruisers. These four warships will become the most important combat force of the Imperial Navy for a long time to come.

"O giant ship! This is the real giant. The Imperial Navy will have such a huge ship to defend our own sea frontiers, and it will be just around the corner. Prime Minister Yang Du looked at the battleship that was slowly approaching like a hill on the sea, and sighed sincerely.

"Yes! They will be the backbone of the Imperial Navy, our Navy, which will begin to be revived today. Wu Haoxuan was also a little moved.

Although, the current Chinese navy is not strong, and it will even face a fierce war soon. But, after all, it's a good start. As long as you survive the initial difficult moments, the future will be bright.

Under the guidance of the guide ship, the battleship sailed into the berth. Two 'Nassau-class' battleships of the German Navy also sailed into the dock. Reinhart. Rear Admiral Schell disembarked and expressed to Wu Haoxuan the greetings of the German Imperial Family and the German Minister of the Navy, Field Marshal Tirpitz. At the same time, Wu Haoxuan also asked Reinhardt. Major General Schell expressed the Reich's gratitude to the German Empire. If it weren't for the help of the German Empire, the Imperial Navy would not have had so many advanced warships so soon.

"Your Highness, the ministers are fortunate to have brought the fleet back." Sa Zhenbing and Cheng Biguang stood in front of Wu Haoxuan and said.

"It's good to come back, the Empire thanks you for your dedication to the Empire." Wu Haoxuan held the hands of the two and said.

It can be seen that Sa Zhenbing and Cheng Biguang have lost a lot of weight and darkened a lot compared to when they left. The same was true of almost all the officers and sailors of the Navy who went to Germany together. Wu Haoxuan knew that they were training for the strength of the Imperial Navy.

Next, Wu Haoxuan and the ministers of the imperial cabinet attended the reception banquet held by the navy to welcome the soldiers back to China. From this day forward, the Imperial Navy will no longer be defenseless.

In the afternoon, Wu Haoxuan personally boarded the battleship 'Longteng' to inspect the most powerful battleship of the Imperial Navy.

Wu Haoxuan was still very satisfied with the performance of the 'Longteng' battleship. With a displacement of nearly 30,000 tons, this battleship was given a strong defensive power. Five twin 305mm guns of 50 times caliber made this battleship a formidable attack. No battleship of the Japanese Navy could withstand the fierce shelling of the battleship Ryuteng. Of course, if the Japanese Navy had resorted to a siege, it would have been completely different.

"Your Highness, we have returned home, but the Japanese don't seem to be at ease." Standing on the deck of the battleship Longteng, Admiral Sa Zhenbing said.

"Well, these days, the Military Intelligence and Security Bureaus have captured a lot of Japanese spies." Wu Haoxuan nodded.

"On the way back, we started from the Takushima Strait, and we were always tracked by Japanese warships. The situation in the Far East also seems to be becoming more and more tense. Sa Zhenbing said.

"If war breaks out between us and Japan, is it certain that the Navy will defeat the Japanese Navy?" Wu Haoxuan asked.

Sa Zhenbing hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Your Highness, to be honest, we are not very sure of winning. At most, it's only 30%. ”

"No, you're still too conservative. I think we have a minimum of 50% chance of winning, and if the timing is right, it is even more likely to increase to 70%. Wu Haoxuan looked very confident.

"Oh? Why? "The ice general Sa Zhen looked surprised.

"In addition to the fleet that has returned to China, the domestic navy has also accumulated some strength over the years. We have built our own 'Class B' destroyers, eight of which are now in service, and four more are under construction and are expected to be in service in the first half of next year. In addition to the destroyers of the 'B class', we have 12 submarines of the 'Squid class'. Together with the two battleships returning from Germany, two battle cruisers, seven light cruisers and 12 destroyers, our family background is no longer shabby. Although it is not as good as the Japanese, it is not necessarily without the strength of the fight. Wu Haoxuan said. (To be continued.) )

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