Chapter 140 The Purpose of War

"Extra!" Zhiyuan Ship "Shanging!"

"Eight 13.5-inch cannons, unprecedented cannon warships!"

In Yokosuka, the base camp of the navy, although you can see the traces of celebrating the victory against the Mahai two months ago and welcoming the return of the joint fleet on the street, the flag is inserted on the doors and windows at the end of the street.

At this time, the newspaper boy who was waving the copper bell on the street kept shouting a word that made everyone afraid.

"The far ship is out!"

In the past three days, since the Chinese navy's "Zhiyuan ship" went to Nanyang to continue the deterrent mission to the Dutch East India, I have been immersed in the unprecedented victory of the Battle of the Sea of Malaysia. After the initial surprise, I have a trace of panic.

"Eight 13.5-inch cannons and one firepower are almost equal to three "Misasa" ships!"

"The most powerful battleship in the ocean!"

"The warships of the oceans were eliminated overnight..."

Accompanied by newspaper reports, it seems that overnight, the fears of "Zhenyuan" and "Dingyuan" that appeared in Japan nearly 20 years ago once again appeared on the Japanese islands.

Overnight, the people on the island once again turned their expected attention to the "Emperial Treasure" joint fleet, and once again to Yokosuka. At this time, the capital ships of the joint fleet were still gathered in the middle of Yokosuka.

"Don't worry, the combined fleet has defeated the more powerful Russian navy!"

When people are comforting themselves, people are constantly coming to Yokosuka to listen to the news, but Yokosuka is still on guard. After all, the war has not stopped yet. The army has just completed its attack on South Sakhalin, and it has not yet begun formal peace negotiations with Lu.

In the guarded Yokosuka military port, two senior officers in naval uniforms slowly left the headquarters and walked towards a nearby hill to the edge of the mountain road. Both of them turned their eyes to the Yokosuka Naval Shipyard, which has the most well-equipped shipyard and the largest ship. Dock, and at this time, on the dock of the shipyard, thousands of ant-like workers are maintaining the warships damaged in the Battle of the Sea of Ma. The whole shipyard and the dock are constantly flashing sparks, the roar of hammering rivets and the roar of rigs. In the past two months, it has never stopped here. For the maintenance of warships, warships damaged in naval battles have been recovered in the fastest way, while in its dock, Russian warships salvaged from Lushun are being repaired in the dock.

Overnight, the whole day seemed to be preparing for a war.

"A new war!"

Togo Hirahachiro looked at the "Mikasa" warship, which had been repaired in the distance, and said.

"This battle seems inevitable!"

When he spoke, Higashigo Heihachiro sighed. In addition to this sigh, he looked at the warships moored in Yokosuka Bay. The joint fleet defeated the seemingly invincible Lucia's Second Pacific Fleet two months ago, but now, it is about to enter a new naval battle, which is also a decision on the national fortune. The naval battle.

"Yes, sir!"

Suo Shimamura, Chief of Staff of the Combined Fleet, turned his face around, and his small eyes flashed with a little desire for war.

"However, I believe we will win, Your Excellency!"

Suo Shimamura's confident answer made Togo Heihachiro silent. Whether the joint fleet has won a great victory in the Battle of the Dew Sea or is about to plunge into a new naval battle, in his eyes, whether it is Lucia or China, there seems to be much difference. The only difference is only the enemy. The only difference between people is that both are strong rivals, and even the latter is far more powerful than the former.

"The Chinese navy's artillery is very accurate!"

Togo Heihachiro directly said a fact that the navy has always been unwilling to admit.

"Well, the Beiyang Marine Division ten years ago was indeed very accurate, and the hit rate of our large-caliber shells in the Battle of the Sea of Ma is no less than theirs! But that Beiyang no longer exists!"

When Suo Shimamura was talking, Togo Heihachiro wiped his sweaty forehead with a folded white handkerchief. His tone was as calm as in the past, and his walking speed made Shimamura Suo feel a little uncomfortable.

"In fact, you and I both understand that the naval battle between us and the Qing people is so lucky. If... of course, there is nothing. Indeed, the Beiyang no longer exists ten years ago, but we also can't ignore this opponent. You know that our cannons are not necessarily better than the Chinese. Be accurate, this may be caused by the surname!"

When it comes to the hit rate of the cannon, there is a trace of sadness in Dongxiang Pinghalang's words. A few months ago, when the joint fleet was training in Zhenhai Bay, in order to improve the hit rate of the cannon with all its strength, the ideal value in my heart was to reach the hit rate of 5.5% of the large-caliber naval gun of the Beiyang Marine Division eleven years ago. After several months of training Practice, barely reach this value.

But in fact, the gap is that Togo Heihachiro, as the commander of the joint fleet, is very clear that the navy relied on the epoch-making rangefinder and the new artillery aiming system to achieve this result, while the Qing Dynasty Beiyang Marine Division used a sextant and a mechanical ruler to achieve this result.

"If the technical equipment of the Chinese navy has reached the same level as that of the combined fleet, then it is certain that even if they are not the Beiyang Marine Division ten years ago, their hit rate is by no means inferior to ours!"

"Sir, you are too ambitious!"

Suo Shimamura was a little unconvinced by Dongxiang's words.

"Anyway, the loser of that year was the Qing Dynasty, not the Japanese version! Although we were lucky to win!"

"Maybe, maybe we have the opportunity to hit the Chinese navy in the naval battle and forced the Chinese navy to turn to defense, but immediately after that, we must launch an attack from North Korea to Manchuria. The gap between our army and the Chinese army is not only in machine guns and artillery! Even on machine guns and artillery, we must see that our army has no chance to break through the defense line composed of Chinese machine guns and barbed wire, but if we defeat the Chinese navy and the army can't win, the final result..."

Togo Hirahachiro's voice sighed, as if with some hidden worries.

"Now many citizens are worried that the Chinese "Ziyuan ship" is too powerful. The 13.5-inch main gun, a warship and 8 giant cannons, in terms of artillery, it is equivalent to two Sanli. In terms of its ammunition throwing volume, it is close to three Sanli ships. As the outside world said, Zhiyuan ships attack means that the whole world overnight. The navy is lagging behind the Chinese navy!"

"So what, so why do you support solving the Chinese problem as soon as possible?"

Suo Shimamura hummed with some dissatisfaction.

"Because it must be solved!"

Looking at the warships in the bay, Togo Hirahachiro's voice suddenly became high.

"If there is no Zhiyuan ship, we can wait until the day when all the warships are repaired, but now it is different. According to the reports of each shipyard, we can't repair all the warships until August next year at the earliest. At this time, will the Chinese have a few Zhiyuan ships in service?"

After making this sensational comment, the two of them were silent, just quietly looking at the magnificent Yokosuka Bay.

"Yesterday, Akiyama visited me. He told me that if we want to defeat the Chinese navy, we must declare war on China before the end of the year. If we miss this opportunity, we have no hope of winning the naval battle!"

"Huh? Why?

Suo Shimamura was stunned.

"Because by the end of the year, we will have 7 warships and 9 armored cruisers available, while the Chinese, they only have 2 Zhenhai class now, or there will be two "Zhiyuan class". Their main turrets are only 10 in total, and the firepower is very different. The Zhenhai class uses a 10-inch gun, Zhiyuan class. We use 13.5 inches, but we have 14 12-inch turrets, 17 8-inch turrets and 1 10-inch turret, which means that perhaps we are at a disadvantage in terms of warship technology, and in terms of overall strength, we are far better than the Chinese navy, which also means that appropriate tactics will make We have the possibility of winning the naval battle.

"The 16 capital ships of the joint fleet alone have 28 12-inch guns, 32 8-inch guns, 1 10-inch guns, and 202 6-inch guns! The four capital ships of the Chinese navy only have 16 13.5-inch guns, 8 10-inch guns, and 44 7.5-inch guns. The naval battle is nothing more than the accumulation of cannons. Whoever has more cannons, large caliber, high precision and fast rate of fire can win the war!"

Togo Heihachiro said the simplest principle of naval warfare, which is also the foundation of the principle of naval warfare.

"But if it goes on, even if it is delayed in the first half of the year, the situation will be inclined to the favor of China. It is impossible for us to get a huge amount of military compensation from Lucia. Now the empire's financial resources are also empty. In the next two years, it is impossible to support the expansion of the navy, and even the support is limited. Unlike China, China's economy is several times that of Japan, and its fiscal revenue is also several times that of Japan. If China's investment in the navy is equivalent to the proportion of Japan, then even if Japan invests all its financial resources in armaments, it cannot gain the advantage of competition. For every warship built by the joint fleet, the Chinese can make two. The longer it takes, the more beneficial it is to China, and the more unfavorable it is to Japan, just like before the war with Luguo!"

At this time, the hidden worries on Dongxiang's face became thicker and thicker.

"And in the middle, it is destined to fight again, so it's better to fight early than to fight early. It's better to fight now than to fight early. We must do everything we can to completely defeat the Chinese navy... As for the end, it's about diplomats. I hope we..."

As soon as the words sank, Dongxiang looked at the sea in the distance and said.

"You can interrupt China's development again!"

(to be continued)