Ito sighed: "It's just that our country's resources are too poor." Uchida, the captain of the Chiyoda on the side, said angrily: "So we must destroy the Lanfang Imperial Navy and seize the mainland."
Ito stopped him sternly with his eyes, and Uchida realized that he had quickly leaked military secrets. He quickly lowered his head and did not dare to speak again.
Half a month later, the 'Yoshino' and the 'Naniwa' returned to Japan and officially joined Japan's combined fleet. Ten days later, three new warships built by Bai Laoyi were launched and were named 'Matsushima'.
, 'itsukushima' and 'hashidate', in order to speed up war preparations, these three new warships joined the combined fleet without conducting sea trials.
"I think we still have time to prepare. We should first let the three new ironclads undergo sea trials for half a year, and at the same time let the Yoshino and Naniwa enter the dock to clean up the microorganisms on the bottom of the ship. These are very important for warships.
." Japanese United Fleet Commander Ito shouted to Japanese Prime Minister Ito.
Facing the angry Ito, Ito did not get angry, but took a sip of tea and said: "Ito-kun, I can understand your mood, but you should also know that the shipbuilding companies currently in Lanfang Empire
There are five large ironclad ships of the Lanfang Imperial Navy under construction in the factory, as well as several Chinese cruisers. The construction speed of these warships is very fast, but because of the lack of national financial resources, we do not have enough follow-up shipbuilding plans to compete with them.
If we cannot take advantage of the fact that the armored warships still have a numerical advantage and take action quickly, these warships will become our nightmare."
Ito said: "But what if we attack the Lanfang Empire's second and third fleets? Even if all such fleets are wiped out, it will not cause any damage to the Lanfang Empire."
Ito said: "But now the Lanfang Empire's strongest first fleet is confronting our friends from the Saar Empire. They can't get back at all. As long as we destroy the remaining fleet, we can send the army to Lanfang without any scruples."
Once the empire is established, we can realize our long-held continental dream."
Ito said in a deep voice: "Prime Minister, have you forgotten that the Chinese leader still has a naval fleet?" Ito said contemptuously: "What threat does that small fleet with only a few small ships and an army of less than half a year pose? As long as our
If the combined fleet succeeds in the sneak attack, they can only watch."
"Maybe they will become our trouble." Ito had a bad premonition in his heart. Unfortunately, he didn't know that Ito was also planning to occupy the coast of the Lanfang Empire and take the warships under construction in Fang Xiaoyu's shipyard as his own.
The so-called wealth is charming. Not many people can stay absolutely sober in the face of huge interests.
Now that the Japanese royal family and government had made up their minds to attack, the navy officers naturally had to carry it out. A secret order was issued, and the entire Japanese navy was mobilized.
The Japanese naval port of Yokosuka was sealed off, and personnel were strictly prohibited from entering and exiting. All naval officers and soldiers had their vacations canceled. Artillery shells of various calibers were taken out of the ammunition depot and loaded into various warships. There was enough coal and water.
Yes, officers and soldiers at all levels are responsible for their respective responsibilities, carefully checking the areas they are responsible for, and striving to prevent any mistakes in the warship's operations.
A few days later, the Japanese combined fleet quietly set sail under the cover of night and disappeared without a trace.
The Japanese state and the Lanfang Empire are both located on the west coast of the Eastern Ocean. Between the Japanese state and the Lanfang Empire is the Lanfang East Sea. At this time, the Japanese combined fleet is sailing on this vast sea area.
Engineer Ryuichi Yamamoto on the Hashidate climbed out of the engine room dejectedly. Captain Sonojo Hidaka who was waiting above immediately asked: "How is the situation down there?"
Yamamoto Ryuichi shook his head and said: "Report to Captain, the broken steam engine cannot be repaired, and a drive shaft has cracks. It cannot be restored unless it is returned to the dock for overhaul. This ship has not yet undergone sea trials.
Driving at such a fast speed is bound to cause an accident."
Captain Hidaka Sonosho sighed and said: "Then we have to operate one unit. It's a bit slow, but it can still be used."
Yamamoto Takashi said: "But the speed of our warship will drop to eight knots."
Hidaka Sonoshin looked at the few old warships not far away and said: "We can only act as the second echelon with those three old ironclad ships." He turned to the messenger behind him and said: "Go to the flagship
Send a signal to say that one unit has failed and cannot be repaired, and the ship can only move at a slow speed."
Seeing the semaphore signal sent by the Hashidate, Ito sighed. The government was really anxious. These warships should undergo sea trials for at least half a year before they can be put into active service. Now they are directly joining active service and starting to launch immediately.
It's really risky to go out and fight.
But the government cannot be blamed for making such a decision. The Prime Minister is right. Several large shipyards across the street have begun laying the keels of a new batch of five ironclad ships for the Lanfang Imperial Navy. If they complete it, the Japanese Navy will
It's even more difficult.
Thinking of this, Ito looked at the ironclads "Matsushima" and "itsukushima" following near the flagship, as well as the "Naniwa" and "Yoshino" that had just returned from the Western Continent, Ito felt unusually depressed.
Different from the situation of the three new ironclads, the cruisers "Naniwa" and "Yoshino" sailed tens of thousands of nautical miles back to the Japanese country. The bottom of the ship was already covered with parasites. These small things may not be eye-catching at first glance, but they will have a huge impact.
This affected the speed of the warship, and it was dispatched before it even had time to enter the dock for cleaning when it arrived at the port. As a result, the Yoshino, which should have a speed of 23 knots, could only sail at 20 knots.
Ito secretly prayed that nothing would happen during this sortie, but he was half relieved when he thought that the Lanfang Empire's First Fleet was still stationed in Quanzhou Port. As for the Empire's Second and Third Fleets, which only had wooden warships, he was
Not looking at it.
After the formation adjustment, the Japanese combined fleet was divided into three echelons, the fastest cruisers 'Naniwa', 'Yoshino', 'Kongo', 'Chikushi' and 'Katsugi', as well as the 'Matsushima'
', and the ironclad 'itsukushima' set off first as the first echelon.
Although the cruisers 'Yaeyama' and 'Chiyoda' were fast enough, they were unarmored and unprotected cruisers. They were left to protect three old ship-waisted gunhouse-type ironclads, 'Musashi', 'Hiei' and
'Showa', and 'Hashidate' which can only move forward with one crew.
The remaining thirty-two wooden sailing warships of the original Japanese navy were put at the end as fire support. This was also a helpless move. Although the Japanese nation had accumulated savings for many years, the warships were accumulated bit by bit, and their performance was naturally uneven.
, and only such an echelon march will not cause any problems.