In front of the Japanese Emperor, Emperor Taisho looked at all the important officials, including the Minister of Navy, the Minister of the Army, and some veterans with outstanding achievements. These people gathered together to discuss the biggest crisis since the Meiji Restoration of Japan. In order to seize Shandong, China, the joint fleet occupying Qingdao may be in danger. Japan spent 20 years, used countless foreign exchange and senior efforts, and finally formed a super fleet that had not yet completely shined into the sea. In particular, the King Kong, which cost more than 3 million pounds, was completely sunk into the sea when it had not even established any merits after the sea trial. This was simply sad.

The fleet is very expensive, but no matter how much money you accumulate, you can buy it. Japan is currently building three ships of the King Kong class. The Hiei, which was first built, was a keel laid in 1911 and is expected to be completed next year. This is a great support for the Japanese Navy. There are two subsequent ships that will be put into service in a few years. This was originally an opportunity for the rapid expansion of the Japanese Navy. Japan spent 20 years to build a complete shipbuilding system and at a huge cost, it obtained the production method of the King Kong class from the British. Japan can finally produce battleships of the main ship-level. In time, Japan will become a maritime power like Britain.

Unfortunately, all of this was ruined here. Although the warships of the joint fleet are very important, what is more important is that the naval soldiers spent 20 years, spent a lot of money, and even sent people to study abroad. This group of elite naval forces formed followed the joint fleet and sank into the ocean. However, this strike will not be compensated in three to five years. At that time, even if the King Kong-class and subsequent series of warships are built, who will let them drive?

The navy encountered a big problem, but the current focus problem is not the navy, but the army. There are still remaining soldiers with at least 40,000 people surrounded by the Northwest Army in Qingdao. These part of the army still have to be rescued. You can't just let it go. These are all elite soldiers. Emperor Taisho's eyes first turned to the navy. Navy Minister Mi Saito looked a little ugly and said, "The joint fleet has not come back. For the time being, the remaining forces of the navy can only protect the local area and cannot support the war against China."

He had already lost the entire joint fleet. Saito Shi was very 10,000 at this moment and didn't want to continue losing. This was all his strength. If he continued to lose, he, the Minister of Navy, would become a bare commander. Even if Emperor Taisho asked in person, he would intuition reject it.

Saito Shifted the Responsibility, but angered the Army Minister Yukihiko Kusse. He said angrily: "The Navy cannot fight, are our 898th Division waiting to die!"

Japan is an island country. If all army wants to go abroad to participate in the war, it needs the support of the navy. This is also the key to focusing on developing the navy. The contradiction between the army and the navy is here. It is not only invested in, but also in competition with each other. Compared with the navy, the army is not valued. However, the army is the fundamental, whether it was the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 or the Russo-Japanese War. It is basically the navy that opened the situation, and the army is the one that really determines the victory or defeat. At sea, ships can be majestic, but ships can never land. The army will always determine the final fate of the war.

Since the Russo-Japanese War in 1906, although the navy is still important, the army has also developed greatly and its status has been significantly improved. The construction of 18 permanent divisions has definitely taken a lot of effort. Now the remnants of three divisions and one brigade are still surrounded in Qingdao, which is almost one-sixth of the entire army.

"You can break through!" Saito Mi didn't dare to look at Yukihiko Kusse's eyes and muttered.

"If Kanoshimi Kano could break through, what would he do? According to the telegram from Britain and France, the Northwest might have been colluding with the Germans for a long time. The main force of the Northwest Army entered Qingdao. It was a strong army that could confront the Russian millions of troops. How could we be undefeated if we combined the number of troops and the advantage of geographical advantage? In addition, the reason why our army suffered such a big blow was soon because of the joint fleet. Without the joint fleet, our army could only rush to the shore at the critical moment of crisis and was surrounded by the opponent's superior forces. The result should be borne by the navy."

The two sides began to quarrel continuously. The navy had navy statements, the army had navy statements, and the army had navy statements. In short, the quarrels continued. Some old guys who came from the Meiji era almost took action. Seeing that the whole situation was out of control, Emperor Taisho also had a headache. These arrogant soldiers and generals were all left by their fathers. He made slight adjustments but could not control the situation, especially the conflict between land and sea, which was deeply rooted and was not diverted by his will.

There is no way to solve it, but this Kano Ou Mitsumon wants to save it. Japan is small and weak. Some of them can be rescued: "Enough, it's a question of how to rescue it now. These army must be rescued. Navy Minister, how many ships can you use."

Emperor Taisho's direct question made Saito Shi stunned for a moment. He didn't expect that Taisho would ask him directly regardless of their suggestions, and he didn't know how to answer. Nanse Yukihiko next to him was extremely happy. Kamio Mitsumon was the new general he was optimistic about, and the 18th Division was also the strongest combat power among all divisions. If it could be preserved, the losses of the army would be much smaller this time. With these veterans who have lived in the rest of the war, the skeleton was in it, and it would not be so difficult to recover the three divisions. As for the navy, no matter how much it lost, the more the conflict between the army and the navy, the better.

Facing Emperor Taisho's suppression, Saito Mi couldn't resist it. Someone suddenly checked the sentence next to him: "God of Emperor, should you first determine whether the Kano Koto's Kwang-joon tribe is in Qingdao before making a decision? Otherwise, if these troops have been completely wiped out, we will send the fleet and subsequent reinforcements to the dangerous ground!"

On this occasion, under the threat of Emperor Taisho, only the navy's only Su Lao, who spoke formally. He was born in the Satsuma clan and participated in the Satsui-ying War. He was on the fort that hit the British ships at that time. He was all famous figures in the Japanese military circle in later generations, including gunner Oyama Iwa, assistants Yamamoto Hoe-ei Yamamoto and Togo Hei-hachi.

As a first-level figure in the Japanese military god, even Emperor Taisho cannot refute too much. Besides, what Togo Heihachi said is right. According to the telegram, these soldiers left Qingdao on the night of the war. In other words, it has been 6 days since then. Without any danger, can he defend against a large number of naval warships being sunk?

Yukihiko Kusse did not expect that the situation would turn sharply. If he wanted to send troops, he would contact Kamio Hiromon first, but this could not be done at all. The General Staff Headquarters created so many spies to enter Qingdao and find out what happened. Unfortunately, he lost a lot of spies, but he found nothing. The Army's ability is not as strong as the General Staff. If he really wants to send someone to investigate, it will not be able to figure it out in a day or two. By then, the daylily will be cold.

But when Togo Heihachi spoke, he, a small army minister, could not resist, so he had to turn his attention to the old minister's side. Sure enough, at this time, Otaki Gentaro said, "It's because it's too long that we should act immediately. How long can Kamio Koto support him? We are ready for both!"

Gentaro Kotaro's speech immediately gave great support to the army. The situation created by Hirahachi Togo was immediately changed. In addition, Emperor Taisho himself was also inclined to rescue, so the pressure returned to the Navy. Saito Shi could no longer refuse at this time, so he began to really consider how to send troops. It would definitely not work if there were fewer. The other party had Sanhai and some destroyers and submarines. At present, there may be only 7 old warships, including iron armored ships and armored cruisers, but it was too old and could not be used at all.

Saito Mi was an excellent naval general. Before, he only focused on the losses of the joint fleet. This loss was the largest loss since the establishment of the entire Japanese Navy. For Japan, it can be said to be a trauma for Japan. But if we really count, the northwest was just a sneak attack with large-caliber shore firepower, and the role of submarines. Although Japan was very poor in exploring submarines, there were still deep-water bombs attacking submarines. At worst, the auxiliary ships could distribute more deep-water bomb projectors to one another. In this way, the navy was relatively safe.

Saito Mi quickly counted the assets and made some sealed warships that were old or old, with combat effectiveness. At least a fleet of more than 60 warships were pieced together. Compared with the former joint fleet, it was not an average difference. If it was really matched, it would be no match for the previous joint fleet. However, it would be overwhelming when facing the Chinese Navy. Although the joint fleet concentrated almost all the new Japanese warships, this almost left two new armored cruisers in Japan. One was just built and under sea trials, and the other was a routine overhaul. It was these two that gave Saito Minor's confidence that when they encountered the so-called Three Seas, they would definitely have the upper hand in strength.

Saito Mi lit up his wealth in a lot of money, and he made all the warships he could piece together. The number was quite large, which made Emperor Taisho more satisfied. The navy came up with a plan faster than before and dispatched a huge fleet. When Emperor Taisho looked at Yukihiko Nanse in a blink of an eye, Yukihiko Nanse felt a stern and smiled bitterly. (To be continued.)
Chapter completed!