September 18, 1894, Tokyo Bay on the 19th day of the lunar calendar in the 20th year of the Guangxu period of the Qing Empire

At two o'clock in the morning, Zhang Yunfei ordered the entire fleet to get up and eat and prepare for battle. The whole soldiers were full of morale. After half an hour, everything was ready. The boiler was boosted and the fleet set sail, targeting the Yokosuka Naval Base next to the Miura Peninsula in Tokyo Baykou, Japan.

At around 3 a.m., Zhang Yunfei's Nanyang fleet gradually approached Yokosuka. In the telescope, Zhang Yunfei could already see Yokosuke Port, but this time he was not going to attack here, because this was just an ordinary private port. What he wanted to attack was the naval base and shipyard behind the port, the other side of the peninsula. You can't waste time here, because the Japanese fleet has returned to Sasebo, and it is only a day's voyage here. Zhang Yunfei only knew that the Japanese Navy won the Beiyang 0-5 in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, and was not sure about the actual situation of the Japanese Navy's warships. However, he knew that he had severely damaged Japan in Wu Port and Osaka Bay. Soon Japan will know that the little Japanese will be on guard and look for him madly, so he did not dare to be careless.

Under the cover of night, the Nanyang Fleet slowly bypassed Mingang. The weather in September had turned cold, especially at sea. However, all the officers and soldiers of the Nanyang Fleet had a stable mentality after the training of the past two days. Especially yesterday, the successful attack on Wugang and Osaka Bay made all the officers and soldiers strong in their morale, and the fear of war seemed to have been forgotten.

Since the opening of Yokosuka base was not very wide, 11 warships could not be arranged in a row and drove in horizontally, Lieutenant Colonel Pablo Neruda divided the fleet into two teams. The team consisted of the ironclad Captain Brad, the cruiser Eracolius, the President Pingdu, the Esmeralda, the Shiragoon Karada and the captured Japanese warship, a total of six main battleships formed the first team, and Lin Jianzhang led the remaining five warships as the second team, so that both teams could exert maximum speed and firepower advantages. This was also agreed upon during joint training between the ships yesterday, so the formation transformation was completed soon after the flag language was played.

The Yokosuka Military Port is facing east, surrounded by mountains on both sides. The fleet is lined up in two teams to enter the Yokosuka Military Port. The first team is responsible for the main area to the south. Because of the poor firepower of Lin Jianzhang's second team, he is responsible for the north area.

Just as everyone thought they would attack Yokosuka who was sleeping like Wugang again, the defensive alarm of Yokosuka military port sounded.

It turned out that since the Yokosuka Temple received an emergency telegram from the Tokyo Base Camp yesterday, the 35th Regiment of the 11th Guard Brigade stationed at Yokosuka Military Port immediately took action and strengthened the guards and patrol personnel of the fort on both sides of the military port. The three warships, Tsukuba, Asama and Kanju, which were originally responsible for wartime defense tasks, were immediately prepared for ammunition. Since the Tsukuba and Asama were both practice ships and there were no formal naval personnel, Colonel Hirata Ichiro Hirata, the captain of the 35th Regiment, ordered the students of the Tokyo Naval School to be replaced temporarily. He also ordered the martial law of the Yokosuka Military Port, because the mines used for defense were transported to North Korea.

So the four small patrol gunboats defending Tokyo were transferred, and all the nearby clutches were equipped with bronze cannons, preparing to join the battle with all ships, but they still did not find any enemy ships in Tokyo Bay until the early morning. According to calculations, if the enemy fleet wanted to attack Yokosuka, they would have arrived long ago. It seemed that they were going west to return to China or attacking other parts of Japan. So everyone was relieved, and the four patrol gunboats also returned to Tokyo. Colonel Hirata Ichiro ordered everyone to rest, but he was worried and strengthened the sentry guard. It was the sentry on duty on the turret on the south mountain that just now, and after discovering Zhang Yunfei's fleet, he sounded the alarm.

The Tsukuba, an unprotected cruiser, had a displacement of 1947t, a draft of 5.48m, a maximum speed of 10 knots, 301 people, 9 160mm cannons, and a wooden structure. It was purchased from the British in 1871 and was named "Tsukuba". It was officially named "Tsukuba Warship" until 1887. It became a practice warship in the Navy's Art of War (later Naval School). In November 1875, it went to San Francisco to sail, etc., and became a pioneer of ocean-long practice navigation. Other measurement tasks were also performed. During the Sino-Japanese War of 1895, it was not put into actual combat because the warship had been in more than 40 years and was not put into actual combat. On March 21, 1898, it was classified by third-class coastal defense warships. It was expelled in 1905 and sold the following year.

The Ganzhu, gunboat, has a displacement of 370t, a speed of 9 knots per hour, a total length of 41.8m, a draft of 3.23m, and 12 bronze cannons.

Asama, an unprotected cruiser, with a displacement of 1422t, a draft of 4.26m, a maximum speed of 11 knots, and a wooden structure. It was completed in France in 1868. Soon on July 26, 1874, it was incorporated by the Navy and renamed "Asama" on October 20. The official name until 1887 was "Asama Warship". After 1877, as artillery techniques, a naval practice warship was used. It was expelled on March 3, 1891. Since then, the hull has provided supplies for the practice of Yokosuka Mine Team, but it was sold in December 1896.

As the alarm sounded, the 35th Regiment, which was defending Yokosuka Military Port, quickly dispatched and soon entered their respective combat positions, mainly the fort. The student soldiers who had just fallen asleep were also called to board the ship to fight.

Hirata Ichiro couldn't sleep at first, but when he heard the alarm, he screamed inwardly: "Life is so bitter!" He quickly rushed out of the corps headquarters.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Ichiro Hirata, who had just come out, heard the sound of the bronze cannons of his troops defending the turret, and secretly shouted terrible! So he shouted:

"Baga! Who made them fire? Before the enemy figured out, they exposed their own turret position. What a fool!"

After taking the telescope from the communications trooper, he saw that the two fleets of fleets were in. The one who fired the artillery was on their own side, the No. 1 battery on the outermost edge of the turret on the south side of the port, and the other No. 2, 3, and 4 also opened fire. Since all the active troops were transferred to the front line, only the guards were responsible for defensive tasks. The guards here were recruits from the guards and lacked enough training and had no practical experience. As a result, they fired when they were nervous.

Japan, which had been peaceful for a long time, was far less powerful than World War II. It started almost at the same time as the Qing Dynasty Westernization Movement. The difference is that Japan was a real revival movement. From the abolition of the last unequal treaty with the great powers in June 1894, it can be seen that Japan's reform was successful. In contrast, the Qing Dynasty reformed for 30 years, but continued to increase unequal treaties. During this period, the Qing people thought that the Westernization Movement was to resist foreign humiliation and enrich the country and strengthen the army.

He devoted himself to this reform tide, but he did not know that Li Hongzhang was deceived. Li Hongzhang was a political bargaining chip within the historical limitations, because he knew that only by relying on foreign pressure could he compete with the court and protect himself. The court also had to face foreign pressure and kept Li Hongzhang. It was a statement that a foreign puppet Zongli Yamen saw the officials at a higher level. It was a pity that many heroes shed blood and sacrificed for the Westernization Movement for this false guise of enriching the country and strengthening the army.

In fact, to put it nicely, it is called the garrison troops. In fact, in this era, they are police troops, and it is okay to ask them to maintain public order. All the main garrison troops in Japan have been transferred to the Sasebo front line and are preparing to form a Second Army to support the front line. Most of the soldiers here are recruits temporarily recruited. None of them would believe that someone would attack the Japanese mainland. They were all immersed in the festive celebration of the abolition of the unequal treaty, so the shells fired were like celebrating the enemy ships, splashing four splashes on both sides of the enemy ships.

At this time, Ichiro Hirada only hoped that the enemy ships did not find their own turret position, but he was really unlucky today. Two minutes later, the enemy ships in the south opened fire. The violent sound of artillery made Hirada Ichiro's heart tremble. Sure enough, the No. 1 battery that fired the first fire was hit by more than a dozen shells, and instantly, a bunch of fire and smoke ignited. Seeing such a powerful and accurate enemy fleet, he knew that the soldiers on the No. 1 battery were probably destroyed. If they were not done well today, they would have to be loyal to Emperor, but Ichiro Hirada still gritted his teeth and rushed towards the turret.
Chapter completed!