-- On the blue Pacific Ocean, a huge fleet of ships was sailing rapidly in the morning light, and the waves at the stern of the ships were swelling, leaving white wakes on the calm sea.

Seven small warships were guarded around the fleet like hunting dogs, and at this time the gun suits on the warships had all been lifted, and the deck was full of observation posts with binoculars and vigilance, and the tense atmosphere of a big war was coming.

There was no way not to be nervous, because in the center of them, there were a full twenty-three transport ships, and for this operation, Lin Yongxiang mobilized all the forces that could be mobilized at present, and only then did he pack and stuff two army regiments and a marine regiment, a total of 15,000 people, along with their equipment and the ammunition that the fleet urgently needed.

What's more, the fleet is still in a wartime state, and although the main fleet has been completely destroyed, they still have a large number of small ships, especially those torpedo boats with fast speed and small tonnage, so at this moment, there are a few pairs of wide-eyed eyes on the mast on every destroyer.

Every ship is stuffed to the brim, and with its own crew, the total number of people is nearly 20,000, and if something goes wrong, I'm afraid no one can afford to pay this responsibility. Even Li Yongxiang rushed to escort him in person, even though he had almost arrived at the designated sea area, but standing on the bridge of the cruise ship Westpac, he still did not dare to relax in the slightest.

Compared with Lin Yongxiang's nervousness, the bridge of the Swordfish destroyer escorting on the left was relaxed, and the captain Fang Jin was holding the cigarette that he had received from the fleet, and he enjoyed it.

"Fang Jin, are you really that energetic?"

Zhang Shun asked naturally not a cigarette, but the naval battle not long ago, seeing Fang Jin's comfortable face, he also pursed his lips, and after taking out a cigarette and lighting it, he hooked Fang Jin's neck.

Fang Jin smacked his lips, snapped his fingers together, and spit out a few smoke rings in a row before he couldn't finish talking: "My Grand Master Zhang, can I lie to you about this?" Didn't you see the trembling appearance of the calves in Xiao Yueben? ”

"At that time, I led the Exocet to hide behind, and when I heard a fight in front, I immediately rushed up and fired two torpedoes at the Naniwa." Fang Fang frothed and told the naval battle that happened not long ago with a puffed face: "Don't you see that after the torpedo exploded, it lifted Xiao Yueben's ship high in the middle, as if it was overturned by a big wave, and then smashed heavily on the water and broke in two!" Damn, the waves almost made Lao Tzu capsize! ”

"No, I don't think this torpedo is big!" Listening to Fang Jin's words, Zhang Shun turned his head to look at the torpedo compartments located in the bow and on both sides of the ship, and shook his head in disbelief.

"Nonsense! I won't lie to anyone, Captain Zhang! Fang Jin scoffed at Zhang Shun's suspicions, recalled that scene, and couldn't help palpitating: "But then again, I didn't believe it at the time, when I was in Chile, we also conducted live-fire training, but the power of the British-made torpedo can't be compared with our own production at all, if I hadn't kept an eye on it, I'm afraid Lao Tzu would have to bury Xiao Yueben." ”

"Haha." Zhang Shun laughed and teased: "Then our fleet is one less scourge." ”

"Say!" Fang Jin gestured his middle finger indignantly and continued: "After sinking the ship, Lao Tzu originally wanted to come twice, but he was taken the lead by the Exocet, and then our main force arrived, and when he saw our battleship, Xiao Yueben was immediately frightened, and their commander was called Ito Heng, so he simply pulled out his knife and wiped his neck." ”

"No, I heard the young master say that I cut my stomach when I committed suicide." Next to him, Du Dazhuang came over, he was entwined left and right in this operation, and finally asked the young master to promise him to act with the marines, and at this moment he was excited to see the huge transport fleet, and only after hearing the mistake of Fang Jin's words, he interjected.

"Really?" Fang Jin touched the back of his head, then gave up thinking and said with a smile: "It doesn't matter if he wipes his neck or cuts his stomach!" Anyway, after the death of that commander, their fleet was even more chaotic, and as soon as our artillery bombarded it, they surrendered one by one with white flags. ”

"So fast?" Zhang Shun scratched his head, saw the big hole in the deck of the Swordfish, pointed and asked, "Then why are you still like this?" ”

Seeing the big hole, Fang Jin didn't fight anywhere, scolded and said angrily: "Fuck, Lao Tzu just wanted to do another vote at the time, but I didn't expect that the Chicheng No. 1 didn't wait obediently to enjoy it, and dared to resist!" There's no way, Lao Tzu has to be hard with him, isn't this what happened! ”

"Haha......." The words made several people in the bridge laugh so much that tears came out, and then they all pointed at Fang Jin and scolded: "Yes!" You guy knows how to be lazy, but I didn't expect to meet a stabbing person! ”

"Nonsense, I'm a destroyer, and I'm just stealing chickens and dogs, do you want me to go and fight the other party's battleship?" In the face of everyone's ridicule, Fang Jin not only didn't care, but was proud, and said with a smile: "In case Lao Tzu is ...... by him, bah, crow's mouth, bad and bad spirit!" Finding that he had made a mistake, Fang Jin spit out a few mouthfuls before continuing: "In case Lao Tzu bombs up the battleship and robs our commander's business, then his boss won't jump to find me desperately!" ”

"Come on, you can blow it!" Zhang Shun stretched out his middle finger with disdain: "Just your small boat, you dare to challenge the battleship!" ”

"Why not!" Seeing that Zhang Shun looked down on his destroyer, Fang Jin hurriedly stiffened his neck and said: "Don't believe it, our fleet has really practiced destroyers versus battleships, but it requires multiple ships to cooperate together, and the cost is quite large." ”

Fang Jin was dancing with his hands, and was just about to spread out the chart to illuminate a group of stupid birds in the bridge who didn't understand naval warfare, when the second officer suddenly broke in and said, "Report, I received the signal of the Exocet, and I will arrive at the predetermined sea area in thirty minutes!" ”

"It's time to work!" Zhang Shun suddenly got up, licked the corners of his mouth, looked at the horizon of the sea and sky, and shouted in his heart: "I can finally do a good job!" ”――

"Full speed?"

Akiyama stood in the gunboat bridge cabin, looking at the hazy shadow on the horizon, and asked again. He had never been so eager to get to Etajima Island as soon as possible.

Since receiving the telegram from the base camp, he boarded the boat and went to sea as soon as possible, and the speed has exceeded the best result of Ping Yu's training, but all this is not enough! Osaka Kobe has been attacked, and I'm afraid it has been reduced to ashes at this moment, and if I can't get the news to Etajima sooner, I'm afraid it will be ......!

When he thought of the Naval Academy on Eda Island and the nearly 1,000 naval cadets, his heart sank, blaming those damn bureaucrats, there was not a single telephone line to the island, otherwise he wouldn't need to be so anxious.

The small gunboat was already sailing at full speed, and the gunboat, which usually felt quite fast, made him feel like a slow snail at the moment. But no matter how much the soldiers stomped their feet and cursed, they couldn't turn this old gunboat into the latest high-speed clipper, so they could only wait patiently and watch the phantom become solid little by little, while praying that the enemy would not visit this small island.

It's a pity that their wish was disappointed in a few seconds, and when they were about to arrive at Eda Island, there was a sudden roar outside, and before everyone could react, a rain of bullets had already exploded around the boat.

Inside the Polaris Command Tower, Chen Ping squinted and held coffee, with a leisurely expression. Tan Xiaozeng couldn't get used to that thing, so he ordered someone to bring the rice wine seized in Osaka Port, and poured himself a drink, but he didn't seem to hear the rumbling cannon outside.

Only Long Guozhang had a cigar in his mouth, and from time to time glanced at the gunboat that was swaying from side to side in the rain of bullets, and was about to be devoured, and nodded with satisfaction. After this period of high-intensity actual combat training, the hit rate of the gunners of various ships began to rise sharply.

After a while, after the gunboat exploded into a ball of fire, Long Guozhang walked up to the two of them, pointed to the chart and said: "Wu Gang is the second town guard of the navy, it seems to be inferior to Sasebo, but in fact, the defense is not bad, and there are several batteries on Jiangtian Island, and now I am afraid that I know our whereabouts." If we attack Etajima first, we will be disturbed by the Kure Gang garrison behind us, and if we attack Kure Gang first, those young naval students will probably have to run away. ”

"Hit Etajima first, this must not be changed!" Chen Ping put down his coffee and walked to Long Guozhang's side: "Jiangtian Island is the base camp of the Yueben Naval Academy, where nearly a thousand young elites gather, if you want to completely destroy the future resistance of Yueben, you must completely destroy this place!" ”

At this time, Tan Xiaozeng also came over and added: "Yuanshou is right! The century-old navy does not rely on giant ships and cannons, but on talents! It is said that it is an island country, and they are born with a strong sense of the sea, so they will deliberately select those outstanding young people, receive hard training on Eda Island, and constantly accept and force them to accept bushido ideas, for the sake of their bullshit emperor, they can even die at the expense of their bullshit emperor! If we let these people escape, we will cause us a lot of trouble in the future! ”

"To defeat this place is to defeat the most elite generation of the world! Dash the hope of the next few decades! Chen Ping decisively picked up the pen and ticked the location of Jiangtian Island on the map: "Let the Longxiao cover it, and all the other ships will be leaned in for me to fight again!" Destroy it once and for all! ”

Long Guozhang nodded, and was about to give an order, Tan Xiaozeng grabbed him, only to see his eyes narrowed into a thin slit, his eyes were like a cold and shining blade, and a trace of cold air rose between his teeth and added: "Let them use that kind of cannonball!" Don't forget that most of the buildings are made of bamboo and wood! ”

"That's right! How did I forget that thing! Long Guozhang slapped his thigh after hearing this, remembered the new shells that the equipment department had just made when he set off, and immediately screamed excitedly!

Etajima Island is located in the western part of Hiroshima, facing Kure Port in the distance.

If there are any bases that can make Master Li unforgettable, there are only Yokosuka, Sasebo, Kure Port and Etajima! The first two are the most famous naval bases in Yuben, and Kure Port is a new arsenal base that Yuben has been building for many years, with a large number of arsenals, and later even developed into the most important shipbuilding base in Yuben!

And the reason why Etajima is remembered by Li Mo is entirely because of the Yamamoto Fifty-six who is probably still wearing open crotch pants this year, because he is the leader of the generation who came out of the cradle of the Etajima Sakamoto Navy, as long as he thinks of this name, it is enough for Li Mo to make up his mind to destroy this island at any cost!

Etajima Island is isolated in the western part of Hiroshima, with a total area of 100 square kilometers, and if it had not been for the relocation of the Naval Academy, I am afraid that it would still be a barren beach today.

The sudden rumbling of cannon from the sea woke up the young students who were working in the classroom, and one by one they pricked up their ears, frowned, and even climbed onto the roof in a hurry to see what was happening.

As several huge figures appeared on the sea, a strange feeling suddenly rose from everyone's hearts, but they didn't know that a disaster they had never imagined had fallen from the sky.

Shells of various calibers were carefully hoisted out of the magazine, and unlike the usual shells, these big guys were painted with red paint with three obvious horizontal bar signs, as if to remind everyone how dangerous they were.

Most of the gunners didn't know why such a red line had been drawn on the shells used for the first replenishment of the fleet, and only the captains and senior officers of the ships knew how terrible these big guys, who seemed to be no different from ordinary shells.

As early as after the Honolulu Arsenal made its own artillery shells, Li Mo ordered Tang Xiao to quietly start developing this kind of artillery shells doped with a certain proportion of phosphorus powder, although this thing could not be regarded as an incendiary bomb in later generations, but after being doped with phosphorus powder, the ground shells with a charge of up to 50 kilograms still made the officers who had seen the experiment chill all over their bodies.

When the sound of the preparation was transmitted to the ears of the gunners, and when the gunners stared at the captain waiting for orders, Chen Ping nodded at Long Guozhang.

"Boom, boom, boom......."

The main guns of the five capital ships burst out with a loud roar at the same time, and the violent recoil even made the hull of more than 10,000 tons tilt slightly, and the huge cannonballs roared across the ocean and smashed towards the small island in the distance!

At the same time, there were also a few shore guns on Eda Island that were usually used for training, but they had only just fired a round before they were completely overwhelmed by the more fierce secondary guns of the opponent.

Some of the students, dressed in neat and crisp naval uniforms, stared blankly at the shells and forgot to dodge and hide, while others fell down quickly, and many more began to run desperately in the hope of escaping the small island.

But the pace is fast, and it can't be compared to the whistling shells. As they ran, they looked up as black dots in the sky dilated in their pupils, and finally smashed to the ground, bursting into a huge ball of fire that they had never seen before.

The flames tossed through the dirt, smashed the schoolhouse, and tore apart the bodies of those who didn't have time to leave, but it didn't end there, countless sparks splashed from the ever-larger flames and fell on their heads, clothes, and shoes and hats.

They subconsciously used their hands to slap those seemingly small sparks, only to find that no matter how hard they tried to beat them, those sparks were like life, even if they jumped into the sea, they would not be extinguished.

Some people who weren't burned by the sparks helped out, but no matter how hard they tried, the flames still grew bigger and bigger on their partners' bodies, burning through the flesh and rotting the bones, spreading little by little in the hoarse screams, and finally they could only watch as their friends left a puddle of ashes!

The young Morimoto Navy elite began to get scared, and they scattered in all directions, hoping to avoid these terrible flames, but the opponents would not give them any time.

After destroying the shore artillery in a concentrated manner, the rain of bullets began to extend to the island, and countless shells were like meteorites sprinkled by extraterritorial demons, smashing into the ground and bringing up terrible flames from hell, and the neat rows of school buildings not far from the coast were all reduced to ashes in less than half an hour.

As the night fell, the entire island turned red like an erupting volcano, and the flames began to fill the sky with acrid smoke, and even the students who escaped the shelling eventually fainted after a few puffs of smoke and were swallowed up by the sea of fire that spread like magma all over the island.

On the flying bridge, Chen Ping held the telescope and looked at the Jiangtian Island, which turned into a sea of fire, like a hell, and looked at the figure that was faintly beating in the sea of fire to dodge and finally fall, and sighed in his heart, he really didn't expect that just adding a certain proportion of phosphorus powder to the shell could cause such a big damage! Especially when he thought that the young master had also said that the real incendiary bomb was more than ten times more powerful than this primary product, his heart was a little numb!

"More than ten times more powerful?! What is this concept? I'm afraid that even the steel armor of the battleship under my feet can be burned with a thickness of hundreds of millimeters! Looking at the red island in front of him, he couldn't help but have a trace of anticipation, hoping that one day he could see the real Dacheng incendiary bomb!

When the naval elites of this generation were buried by fire, the vigilant Long Xiao finally broke out into a roar, and the people stationed in Kure Harbor knew that they could not confront the Pacific Fleet during the day, so they chose to save Eta Island after the night curtain opened, but they probably would not have thought that this island, which carried the hope of the country, only lasted less than an hour before it was completely reduced to ashes.

"Turn the rudder, let's go to Kure Harbor!" ……

(To be continued)