"What's going on? What's going on?" Looking at the fires rising from the transport fleet, Yudao Ruo's heart suddenly hung in the air and shouted quickly downwards.

When radio was not fully used, the communication between fleets relied on flags and lights. In order to ensure the success of the night attack, frigates and transport fleets implemented light controls. The communication with flagships could only be done by contacting speedboats. At this time, the night attack of Yashi Ryuro no longer existed. In order to find out what happened to the transport fleet as soon as possible, Yashi Ryuro immediately ordered the use of lights to communicate.

A few minutes later, news came from the Jiaozhou Bay Haikou. According to the transport fleet's reply, two transport ships encountered mines after entering Haikou. One of them was slightly injured and the other was seriously injured. Fortunately, the power of the seriously injured one was not damaged and could barely sail. However, the degree of damage was not optimistic. It is recommended to withdraw and repair immediately.

"Mine!" Yayoi Rokuro gritted his teeth. Prince Iehito Higashimiya and Chief of Staff Kantaro Suzuki looked at each other, wondering, because during the daytime battle, the Second Fleet did not find the Chinese in Jiaozhou Bay, where did the sudden emergence of the mines come from?

But now it is too late for them to figure out the answer. When the Second Fleet Transport Fleet hit the mine, Qingdao Fortress discovered the Japanese's actions. The cannons blocking the sea port began to roar. Although the night vision was extremely poor and the accuracy of the artillery was extremely low, the transport fleet lacking the maritime attack section in the narrow strait needed to face the double strikes of mines and artillery fire. The firepower of the frigate alone could not compete with the artillery.

"Your Excellency Transport Fleet requests a retreat!" As the artillery fire on the shore became more and more fierce, Yachi Rokuro, who was far away on the flagship, couldn't help but clench his fists. At this moment, the staff officer brought the latest contact information and reported to the commander-in-chief.

"Your Excellency Commander, please let them withdraw." As the chief of staff, Suzuki Kantaro discussed

"No! Pass me the order to continue moving forward!" After thinking for a while, Yachi Rokuro shook his head and said,

"Continue to move forward? Your Excellency, the transport fleet is being attacked by the fortress on the shore and there are mines from the Chinese people on the sea. If you continue to move forward..." Suzuki Kantaro was shocked and quickly persuaded him.

He lifted up to stop Suzuki's persuasion, and Rokuro pointed to Jiaozhou Bay and said, "You see, can the transport fleet completely withdraw in this situation? Even if the withdrawal is probably a lot of losses, it is true that the Chinese people quietly laid mines and luckily made them discover our actions. However, the small Jiaozhou Bay is 15 nautical miles wide from east to west and 18 nautical miles long from north to south. This distance is not much for the transport fleet. Moreover, it is night now, although the artillery fire in the opponent's fortress is fierce, the accuracy will never be too high. As long as the transport fleet uses the fastest speed to rush through this distance, our plan will still be successful!"

"But you, this will bring huge losses to the transport fleet!" Suzuki Kantaro felt that Yayoi Rokuro was this. Although what he said might be, it would take huge risks, especially the army would suffer immeasurable losses.

"I've decided!"

"Okay, sir! But...what should I do if the ships that have been severely damaged? I would like to ask them to withdraw immediately."

"No need to convey my order, let the injured ship advance at full speed, and try to strand towards the target sea!" Yachi Rokuro once again rejected Suzuki's opinion and insisted on his own way

Helplessly, Kantaro Suzuki could only turn his attention to the deputy commander-in-chief, Prince Iehito Tofushimiya Miyake, hoping that he could stand up and stop the angelic rooko's hot-headed behavior. What disappointed him was that the noble prince not only did not say a word, but turned his head to the other side like a person who was fine.

"A madman, a food bucket! You will all regret it!" The angry Guantaro Suzuki cursed in his heart.

Due to the order of Yadai Rokuro, the frigate and transport fleet did not turn around and retreat. Instead, they canceled the light control and set up the headlights, increased their horsepower and rushed in at full speed/\/\/\/\/\\ The more they went in, the more mines on the sea were denser, and the cannons on the shore had to be more violent. Soon, a 3,000-ton transport ship was hit by a fortress artillery. Amid the violent explosion, the superstructure of the entire ship was blown to pieces. The firelight could clearly see countless broken limbs and broken arms flying in the air, carrying thousands of army members carrying heavy casualties. The deck of this transport ship was full of soldiers crying and escaping from the sea.

Just a few minutes later, another transport ship was damaged. It lost its power and steering and could not avoid floating mines. Under a dull sound, the water line was blown up by mines, and the entire ship leaned to one side at a strange angle. Ten minutes later, the transport ship sank into the seabed together with more than eight army officers and soldiers on it...

"Hamanmaru was severely injured... and it was difficult to move towards the goal..."

"Aoye Maple was sunk, and everyone was broken..."

"Kawanai Maru's power has been severely damaged, and the speed has dropped to six knots..."

Bad news kept coming, and Yayoi Rokuro's face became even more ugly. In just over a dozen minutes, his transport fleet suffered huge losses. One ship had already sunk, three ships were severely damaged, and two ships were lightly damaged.

"Your Mightiness!"

Looking back, he saw that it was the Chief of Staff Suzuki Kazutaro again. Yashida Rokuro said, "No need to say it anymore. Now the situation is only for moving forward! Moving forward! Continue moving forward! The result of retreat is the obsolete of the transport fleet. Our Japanese Navy is invincible!"

"Hi!" Suzuki Kanataro nodded and responded. As the chief of staff, he continued to perform his duties: "But your Excellency, I suggest that the main force of the Second Fleet immediately shell the Aoi Island to reduce the pressure on the transport fleet." Although there are different opinions, Suzuki Kanataro is an excellent general and qualified chief of staff. At this time, he must make a correct judgment based on the current situation to refer to the commander-in-chief.

"Yes! You're right, thank you for waking up Suzuki Jun." Yachi Rokuro suddenly reacted and bowed to Suzuki Kantaro with gratitude.

"Transfer to my order, and the entire fleet will launch an offensive battle, and the target is - Qing*dao!"

The Japanese Second Fleet, which suffered a loss, seemed to have just woken up from sleep. Under the order of Yashiro Rokuro, all the main ships started suppressed artillery attacks at the Qingshima Fortress together. Yashiro Rokuro was no longer careful. He directed the fleet to sail only two nautical miles from the fortress, so the warships opened fire and bombed the Qingshima like crazy.

I have to say that Suzuki Kantaro's suggestion was correct. The artillery suppression of the Japanese Second Fleet had a certain effect, which greatly reduced the pressure of the overwhelmed transport fleet. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the transport fleet continued to rush forward under the cover of frigates with the threat of mines. After half an hour, the fleet that had almost lost half of the transport ships finally rushed to the west of Mao Island. Dragging several scarred transport ships, they ran aground near Mao Island, and began to transport the army on the shore.

"Has the little Japanese started landing on Mao Island?" Wu Peifu received a report that the Japanese Second Fleet Transport Fleet finally rushed over half of the time after paying huge losses.

"Commander, it's really a hell. These little Japanese are not afraid of death at all. In this case, they can rush over so much." The person who said this was Sun Chuanfang, deputy commander of Qingdao Fortress. He was very confident that he would leave the Japanese transport fleet in Jiaozhou Bay. He didn't expect the Japanese to be so crazy. In order to cover the transport ship, the frigate even protected him and used his ship to resist the artillery bombardment of the fortress. He even triggered the mine before the transport ship. Such behavior made Sun Chuanfang stunned and could not believe everything he saw.

"How much has the Japanese transport fleet lost?" Wu Peifu asked with a clue.

"Because it's dark, the specific data has not yet been released, but I only saw five transport ships and a frigate rushing over," Sun Chuanfang replied.

"Haha, this is already good." Wu Peifu smiled. The Japanese transport fleet had a total of twelve transport ships, plus three frigates, and less than half of them had passed, and this half was also severely damaged. I am afraid that the combat effectiveness would have to be reduced a lot.

Wu Peifu, who lacks a navy, used fishing boats to lay mines inside Jiaozhou Bay as early as the daytime. He left a mine that did not place the mine at Haikou, but was seven or eight nautical miles away from Haikou. In this way, not only can it be unaware of it, but more importantly, the mines can still gradually float towards the Haikou along the water flow, which can also achieve the goal.

As expected, his reward was made. The failure of the Japanese Second Fleet's night attack was on these mines. When the first explosion sounded, the fortress was ready to open fire soon. It was a victory to be able to drive the Japanese back. Who would have thought that the Japanese Navy, who was discovered, rushed in without regard to the losses, and Wu Peifu was overjoyed. He concentrated artillery fire at the transport fleet, which was a fierce attack. If it weren't for the night's sight and the main force of the second Fleet, bombarding the Qingdao Fortress in order to cover the transport fleet, I'm afraid that all the Japanese transport ships would have been sunk in Jiaozhou Bay.

"Want to log in? Hum..." According to the news, the Japanese Navy, which was stranded on the beach on Maodao, couldn't wait to start the landing. Wu Peifu was not panicked when he found out, but smiled coldly because he had been prepared long ago. How easy is it for the Japanese to gain a foothold on the shore?

The frustrated transport fleet landed immediately after it was stranded on the beach. Of course, this landing was not a battle, but a fleeing life. The Japanese Army, who was frightened by the transport ship, was eager to get ashore as soon as possible. No matter what, it was better than being able to get on the ship alive.

After this night attack, Kanou Mitsuko's 18th Division suffered a major loss before he saw the enemy's appearance. Thousands of officers and soldiers sank into the sea with the sunken ships, becoming a dinner for the sea fish. If it weren't for good luck, Kanou Mitsuko, as the commander of the division, would have been unable to escape the bad luck. When his feet finally stepped onto the solid land, Kanou Mitsuko was excited and almost cried out to welcome you. Your support is my greatest motivation.
Chapter completed!