"Ahhhh! Bastard! Their last negotiation was simply fake. The real purpose was to investigate the information outside Xiaguan. We were all fooled!"

The news of Kitakyushu and Shimonoseki being attacked reached Tokyo. The anxious cabinet ministers seemed to have finally found the truth and immediately shouted in anger!

Everything is understood! Why did the Chinese inexplicably choose such a remote little place to start negotiations? Why did their navy circle along the Japanese archipelago? It turned out that they were just looking for excuses to explore hydrological data and preparing to lay the foundation for today's military operations!

"What a despicable guy. They have no sincerity to negotiate with us! As expected, the truth is revealed now. They are in order to invade the Great Japanese Empire. Damn, bastard!"

Mu Ao Zongguang's eyes were congested and he waved his arms frantically. The spit from his mouth was enough to be refined. I don't know if this allowed them to completely get rid of the mental pressure of being fooled. The expressions and figures of the big men seemed to be a little deranged after taking drugs of unknown purpose.

"Yeah! That must be true. I just said that the Chinese are not that kind. Since they have suffered losses, how could they not take any revenge, but just negotiate with us in a regular manner? It turns out that everything is to cover up the conspiracy to start a war!"

Foreign Secretary Katsunosuke Inoue loudly helped to create momentum and set a conclusion for the minister's judgment. At the same time, his opinions also represent the views of most middle-level government bureaucrats, who have long disliked those arrogant Chinese people!

This is the recent meeting held by the Imperial Front, and it is the first time that the ministers can feel that they can gather enough confidence to speak without making up for the past to fool people.

However, not everyone is so easy to pass by them. The Japanese emperor Muruhito narrowed his eyes from beginning to end and said nothing. The consultant Nishizoji Duke Wang was calm as always and asked the ministers who were in love with their faces: "Is it too early for you to draw a conclusion now? According to my observation, there seems to be no necessary connection between the two. Perhaps this is simply a warning action taken by them against the Empire's failure to agree to its blackmail conditions, which led to the assassination of Lord Li Hongzhang."

These words were like a basin of cold water pouring on the boiling oil. Mu Ao Zongguang jumped up like he was stepped on his tail, pointing at him and scolding him with a sharp voice: "Nisenji, who are you standing on that side? Isn't it enough for the empire to suffer such humiliation? Is it natural for you to think that the despicable Chinese people blatantly bombarding our ports and cities?"

Other people who were not in sufficient positions also turned black and stared at him fiercely with bad eyes. In other words, everyone's background and qualifications were not as good as the old man, so they did not draw out the knife on the spot to pk the real person.

Nishienji Gongwang is a very rare moderate among the Japanese. He very disagrees with the current radical education of Japanese citizens and descendants, nor does he agree with the military's blind expansion and aggression policies. After many years abroad, he has a broad vision and always wants to transform Japan into a truly democratic country, and enter the forefront of world civilization with a politically enlightened and honest national image.

Unfortunately, with the proliferation of colonization policies since the Meiji Restoration, the success of the weak Qing Dynasty against the weak Qing Dynasty has allowed too many people to taste the sweetness. Military aggression and external expansion have become mainstream, and few people are willing to think calmly from top to bottom. Even Hirofumi Ito, who created the Meiji cause, cannot control those fanatical guys, let alone his representative of the Senate.

Faced with the fierce questioning, Nishiyuanji Gongwang could only sigh silently, turn to look at Mu Ren, who is as heavy as water, and ask: "Do your Majesty want to see the imperial subjects being swallowed by war beasts? We will give in for a moment, and perhaps we can solve the current crisis at the lowest cost."

Muren raised his eyelids and glanced at him, then faintly swept over the aggressive ministers, and said softly: "The reputation of the empire and the friendship between the Western powers are the most precious. The people of the world must fight with the government. This is related to the great cause of the future."

...Okay, as the nominal leader of the empire, the Japanese emperor had to speak in this way of foggy clouds and mountains. There could not be any conclusive words that could make people grasp the handle. What is the specific meaning, do you guess?

This is like when the world was defeated in World War II, when the Americans occupied Japan, MacArthur sent people to the palace to raise troops to question the crime, trying to find out whether the Japanese emperor Hirohito ordered the attack on the United States. The inner minister's answer went over and over again and again, only one sentence: "His Majesty the Emperor read a poem..."

Indeed, when the base camp formulated a combat plan and finally asked Hirohito for advice, he did recite an ancient Japanese poem. Can outsiders figure it out, we don’t understand? In short, the Japanese soldiers at that time decided to figure it out. His Majesty the Emperor affirmed their plan and made a decision.

So, the Japanese Navy attacked Pearl Harbor, setting off a big prelude to his death.

Today, an earlier hero also spoke a phrase with profound connotations. Although it was not as elegant as a poem, it basically made the ministers present understand what he meant.

As Japan has come to this day, the trend of leaving Asia and entering Europe is irreversible. The great powers have opened their arms and expressed their intention to accept them. No matter how failures Japan has suffered on the road to expansion before, no matter how big the crisis it faces, as long as it can bravely withstand the pressure and tightly restrain China, it will definitely be strongly supported by the great powers.

From then on, Japan had accumulated enough energy and on the day of rising again with the support of the great powers, it was not too late to reconsider standing side by side with the Westerners.

Of course, this must be paid a considerable price. Those casualties and losses that are now trapped in sea artillery bombardment have to be temporarily borne by the imperial government. As for the people below, they have been suffering for thousands of years, so what's wrong with those who have suffered for another ten or eight years?

Muruhito made up his mind and the ministers naturally spoke better. They completely ignored the disappointed and helpless eyes of the Lord Nishiyuanji Temple, and began to discuss how to resist to the death.

Army Minister Dashan Iwakawa personally led his army to attack China, almost dead under the bombardment of shore artillery. After returning, he learned his mistakes and decided to vigorously promote military reforms. It is important to make the army's equipment quick and better catch up with world-class equipment.

However, Japan is too poor and cannot even make up for the money to buy warships. The amount of money squeezed out has to be used to expand the army organization. How can there be so much spare money to improve the equipment level? In addition, the domestic military industry level is really limited, and even the basic Murata rifle cannot be raised enough, not to mention that the more advanced 6.5mm rifle needs to be updated.

It’s not that I don’t want to think about it. That thing is so expensive. One rifle equipment that is supported by one battalion is often killed by people with larger caliber things, which is so painful that it is costing people’s lives. So I have to think about it, and I can’t make it myself.

At present, the Japanese Army has expanded several times compared to two years ago, and its numbers have reached more than a dozen divisions. The number has increased sharply, but its combat effectiveness has plummeted. The ability to pull it out and start fighting is definitely gone. It seems that it is okay to guard the local area?

He was sure that His Majesty the Emperor had made up his mind. He immediately patted his chest with a short body and promised: "Please rest assured, the warriors of the Imperial Army are trying to shed the last drop of blood. They will never let the shameless Chinese step onto our territory!"

Mu Ao Zongguang followed and said: "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately negotiated support matters with the countries, at least a considerable amount of advanced equipment, shore defense artillery, ammunition, etc. In short, we will become a powerful pavilion that blocks China's foreign expansion. With the guarantee of 50 million subjects, we will gain the opportunity for the countries to accumulate strength again and punish violent support!"

After saying the big talk, Mu Ren nodded gently: "I rely on all the ministers."

Under heavy pressure, there were also many disputes within Japan. Various departments mobilized and devoted themselves to the mobilization work of the fight.

Dashanyan personally sent a telegram to the 12th Division of Kitakyushu: "Your troops must serve the country with the determination to die and not be able to defend the territory! As the 100 million subjects look forward to, do not neglect the formation."

At this time, the commander of the 12th Division, Kuanyi, Mid-Armour Tamura, had already led all his troops into Kitakyushu, and set up a formation under Kokura Castle. Facing the fleet with a vague trace on the sea, he devoted himself to the resistance of ten dead and lifelessness with a fearless spirit.

Regarding Dashanyan's telegram, he just looked at it and threw it aside. His menstrual belt was wrapped around his head, and he spoke to tens of thousands of soldiers with a serious face, encouraging everyone to die in battle, and he must not let the enemy ashore.

This is easier said than done.

Okura faces the exit of the Katsumen Strait, facing Shimoguchi on Hikashima across the sea. The widest part between the two is less than four kilometers, and the shallow water depth is less than ten meters. The narrow waterway flows rapidly, and the narrowest part at one end of the Seto Inland Sea is only 700 meters. A large number of forts were deployed on the mountains on both sides of the strait. Thirty years ago, the fleets of Britain, France, the United States and the Netherlands that attempted to invade were repelled.

Geographically speaking, this place is undoubtedly a natural danger, easy to defend but difficult to attack.

If the enemy wants to come from the sea, they must face the strong turrets in the mountains. If you want to land on the beach, you have to consider whether you can unload the troop ships in the changing and turbulent water flow, not to mention that you are always facing the threat of shore defense artillery. Even if the cannons here are already much behind, they cannot be compared with the naval guns of the Chinese Navy.

Hiroichi Tamura is confident and determined, and with the advantage of the convenience of the territorial area, he will stubbornly withstand the invading enemy. Even if he cannot fight against his long-range and large-caliber naval guns, it should be no problem to simply defend the ground.

It seems...that's the case.

To the northwest of Okura, on the water near the Nei Island, a group of warships bombarded the main guns and auxiliary guns for an hour in turn. Boiling fireworks spread across the bay several kilometers wide for a long time. The strong wind had just blew away, and the clear space was immediately filled with another piece. It was too dense and frequent, so that the soldiers on the warships were choking and crying.

Looking at the shore, Kokura Castle was almost razed to the ground, and the original simple factory buildings and military camp fortifications were all blown into pieces by dense shells! The blazing fire gathered into a boiling crater, twisting its teeth and claws in the sudden flowing air, creating various terrifying images.

The Japanese army scattered in the city and in the barracks were blown away by fierce shells. Large pieces of small and medium caliber naval guns, with a terrible number of hundreds of ammunition, which was comparable to the army artillery division's bombing for a day, and the entire position was similar to the rotten vegetable fields. The craters of all sizes suddenly looked like they reached the surface of the moon.

The shocking power of the heavy shells is enough to destroy the minds of the defenders. Even the lightweight 335kg high-explosive bomb, the rumbling roar that was pulled out during high-speed flight, and the violent shaking of the earthquake when it landed on the ground and exploded. It destroys all buildings like sweeping across thousands of troops. Even the terrible power of cutting a piece of the hills makes the Japanese recruits of the 12th Division all tremble!

The division commander said so lightly, but in fact he was already dissatisfied. Looking down from the mountain, he could see the mess after the hurricanes and tsunamis. Occasionally, the miserable howlings came with the wind made the soldiers in the fortifications behind him wished they could cover their ears.

Because their camp in Adachi Mountain was on the back slope, they were not directly bombarded by naval guns for the time being, but they were still rolled down by the rocks on the shattered hills, crushing them everywhere. Those who didn't know thought that a crater was about to erupt and their lives were in danger at any time.

Finally, they supported the explosion until the sound of the explosion gradually weakened. Tamura Kazuo gritted his teeth and came out loudly, commanding the troops to get out of the ravine and come to the front of the burning position.

On the "Hebei", Yang Haiwei used a telescope to sweep across the battlefield, showing a slight satisfaction with the result of the bombardment of one or two thousand large and small caliber shells.

Captain Deng Shichang had just calculated the amount of ammunition consumption and grinned in distress, and sighed: "The consumption of one hour is almost enough to achieve the training ammunition fired by the old Beiyang Navy in ten years. This is not the increase in production costs. The navy is really an expensive force that cannot be used even if it is not money."

Yang Haiwei twitched slightly and said calmly: "Anyway, the foreign devils pay the money, so we just let it go. As long as we can train the troops well, it is all worth it. Well, send the orders, rest for an hour, and send the Marines to prepare for landing for reconnaissance."

"clear!"

Deng Shichang was not entangled with meaningless issues, and immediately conveyed orders, and directed the warships to turn the rudder at sea, light up the other side, facing the burning shore in the distance.

Of course, the attack on Xiaguan and Kitakyushu cannot be just a blow. Before the war begins, there is indeed a intention to send troops to land and occupy it. However, Yang Hao has no intention of permanently controlling this place.

First, this time, the Japanese army was attracted to resist and counterattack, and they would inevitably drag the revolutionary army, which had not yet been rectified, and had fallen into a bottomless vortex like a bottomless pit. With the current strength of the Chinese Navy and Army, it is not cost-effective to be restrained here, and it would inevitably lose the big picture due to small losses.

Secondly, the great powers absolutely do not want to see him occupy Japan. Even if it is just a small piece of territory, it may cause uncontrollable trouble in the future. For this reason, the great powers must try their best to destroy the interference, and the revolutionary army will be involved in endless wars.

Third, Yang Hao’s purpose of provoking this punishment war is not this. His intention is to use Japan as a living target and whetstone to train the navy and marines, and take the North Korean volunteer army to train it. Secondly, he wants to take the opportunity to show his strength and further promote the ship-building competition that the great powers have already launched to a white-hot heat!

The heavy cruiser "Tianjin" displayed more than five months ago made countries eager to start building larger tonnage and faster front-facing dreadnoughts. The large number of orders brought about effectively driving the comprehensive improvement of China's industry, and the high profits were so high that it was scary.

Now, he showed a stronger warship in Japan, and believed that with the intelligence powers of the great powers, he would have obtained a rough information at this time. So, a regular battleship carrying all the main guns, a behemoth with a displacement of at least 20,000 tons, will inevitably pierce the last barrier in the hearts of the great powers. Should they keep up? Or keep up?

This is a question that almost doesn't need to be discussed.

If you want to build a battleship of 20,000 tonnes, all the equipment that the powers originally had to be properly equipped must be upgraded, the ships and platforms must be rebuilt, the naval guns must be redesigned, and the allocation must be increased again, which will inevitably put greater financial pressure on their bodies!

The bad thing is that the equipment they have ordered may not be sufficient for use; the warships that have already started construction cannot bear the big use, so they must continue to increase. If you want to catch up quickly, the easiest way is to add an order to Yang Hao. This matter was divided into two stages and he was tossing. The great powers were so angry that they could only grit their teeth and take out a small amount of money!

If there was a kind of thought of concentrating their strength to rob, then after this period of time of display of power, I believe that the great powers should have realized that they cannot destroy the two battleships, don’t think about trying to solve the problem.

The only way out is to gain the opportunity in the shipbuilding competition!

Japan became the chicken that was killed to scare monkeys, and it was also a brick that was thrown to attract jade.

Tokyo, Nagasaki, Sasebo, and Kitakyushu, two battleships demonstrated their performance and power from various angles. I believe that they have left the deepest impression on the intelligence personnel of the countries here. If you beat Japan hard, I believe that they will inevitably make a wise decision!

An hour later, the fireworks on the coast were a little rest, and four destroyers were divided into two groups and drove into the exit of the strait, facing the coast about five kilometers away.

Dozens of speedboats were put down, and Marines carrying a battalion rushed to the beach. As the remaining Japanese scouts looked around, the flat-bottomed rubber boat rushed directly to the water surface. There was no tragedy of hitting the reef and capsizing, but it was as fast as an arrow.

The Japanese army, who was passionate, couldn't stand it and raised their guns from afar. Unexpectedly, the gunshots just rang out and had not hit the target. They were immediately discovered by the vanguard on the speedboat. The machine guns raised were swept over without hesitation, killing the rocks and shattering branches and leaves!

Less than a minute later, fireworks flashed on the destroyer, and several shells hit one after another. The lurking fires burst into the sky. The Japanese soldiers screamed too late and died in scattered ways! (To be continued, please search for astronomy, the novel is better, updated and faster!
Chapter completed!