At three o'clock in the afternoon on July 6, the "Yongle" squadron suddenly changed course, turned around and accelerated eastward. The order sent to them by the East China Sea Fleet Headquarters was: to return as fast as possible. As for the reason, there was no explanation.
It has been nine days since the Yongle squadron left the Zhoushan base. It has traveled more than 3,000 nautical miles, or 6,000 kilometers, and is now in the eastern Indian Ocean, between Sri Lanka and Sumatra. This squadron is still very powerful.
Battleships, one battlecruiser, two heavy cruisers, two light cruisers, and twelve destroyers. They were originally going to the Baltic Sea to blockade the Soviet Union, but now they were suddenly faced with an imminent Japanese attack, and the navy was also very nervous.
The naval power of the Ming Dynasty was originally not as good as that of Japan. The capital ship of the Ming Dynasty was only 6 battleships and 1 battlecruiser, while Japan had 10 battleships. Now the Ming Dynasty has two more battleships and a battlecruiser sent overseas. In a short time
There is no way to come back at all. The capable mobile battleships in the country
, there are only 4 battleships. And Japan now has 9 battleships at home except the Fuso. And even the Fuso can be transferred back at any time. The Sea of Japan is Japan's backyard, and several straits are under the control of the Japanese army.
Japanese warships can enter and exit at will, but Ming army warships cannot.
Judging from the comparison of the battleships of both sides, the Ming Navy was in an extremely dangerous situation.
Now, the top leaders of both sides are extremely nervous.
In the Purple Mountain Fortress, the central command hall became busy again. On the large map, various small marks representing warships from both sides were frequently moved. A large group of army and navy generals below looked anxiously, imagining what might happen.
.
Xiong Dingming pointed to the Zhoushan Islands on the map and said:
"Our Zhoushan Islands is a comprehensive defense group, a three-dimensional defense system integrating military ports, airports, torpedo boat bases, submarine bases, forts, and mine arrays... There are many islands and complex waterways, and the large fleet cannot be deployed here. The Japanese army
The fleet would not dare to attack frontally from here under any circumstances. According to our navy's judgment,
, once the war breaks out, the Japanese navy will not take the risk of directly attacking our naval base, but will adopt the method of "attacking it and saving it" to force us out of the port. For example, attacking our Nanyang maritime transportation lines will force us to send out our small fleet.
Go out to protect maritime transportation, and then the Japanese army will seek a decisive battle with us on the vast sea."
"The coastal defense problem in our south is not big." Tang Yunsheng also pointed at the big map and analyzed the generals. "First of all, our coastal defense in Jiangsu and Zhejiang is still impregnable. Secondly, the problem along the coast of Fujian and Guangdong is not big. Compared with Jiangsu coastal defense
Weak, but there are no ports along the Jiangsu coast
The port is not suitable for large ships to dock, let alone for large troops to land. As for Shandong... this is indeed what I am more worried about. The Shandong Peninsula has a long coastline, many ports for landing, and the shore defense is relatively weak. At present, we
The army's army garrison in Shandong only has a few divisions.
"However, compared with the situation on the Liaodong Peninsula, Shandong is much better. The most worrying thing is Liaodong. At least Shandong will not be attacked from land. In anti-landing operations, we always have a much advantage. Liaodong
, that is, Fengtian Province, is completely surrounded by land on three sides by the Japanese army. Moreover, the mountainous terrain in eastern Liaoning and southern Liaoning is not suitable for our army’s motorized operations.”
…
Soon, differences among the armies emerged. One group advocated rushing to increase troops outside the Pass to defend Fengtian. They believed that the Ming Army was much stronger than the Japanese Army in terms of equipment and combat experience, so they should defend Fengtian and then implement
Counterattack, recover Jilin and Heilongjiang to the north, and recover North Korea to the south.
The other group advocated that the several divisions outside the pass be transferred back to the pass. They believed that the Japanese army had been planning for a long time, and the strength and preparation of both sides were very different. Fengtian was mountainous and narrow in depth. Even in the plain area, there were many
In order to thaw the permafrost forest swamps, the Ming army's motorized advantages could not be used. More importantly, the key to
The only road from inside to outside the pass is the narrow Liaoxi Corridor, which is close to the sea. With the current absolute superiority of the Japanese navy, it can easily break through the Bohai Strait, break into the Bohai Sea, land at Qinhuangdao, and cut off the Ming army's retreat into the pass.
The only passage. So, if Fengtian is lost, several divisions of troops will be put in for nothing.
This group believes that Fengtian should be simply thrown to Japan, so that Ming Dynasty takes the initiative. Ming Dynasty can take advantage of the advantages of a big country and fight a protracted war with Japan. The steel and oil that Japan needs to maintain the war are mainly imported from the United States. Now the two countries
If there is a war, Japan's road will definitely be cut off.
.Then with the existing oil and steel in Japan, the war will not last long. Even if Japan's war supplies are provided by the Soviet Union, the Soviet Union's steel and oil industries are mainly produced in Europe. Railway transportation is very inefficient, and sea transportation is very inefficient.
, and will be attacked by the Ming army at sea.
As for Xiang Xiaoqiang, he has not yet made up his mind which side to support. He is still observing and making judgments.
…
In Japan, fierce debates are also going on.
Japan originally planned to carry out a sneak attack on the Ming Dynasty, but now the Ming Dynasty responded so quickly and was so vigilant. Japan did not expect it. Konoe Fumimaro urgently summoned several cabinet ministers and army and navy generals to discuss what to do now
.Should I apply an emergency brake, or should I just keep doing it without stopping?
The civil servants in the cabinet were surprisingly unanimous. They all believed that Japan should stop now and apply an emergency brake. Japan's risk of attacking the Ming Dynasty was originally based on the hope of a successful surprise attack and replicating the "blitzkrieg" of the Ming Dynasty's Northern Expedition. If Japan could seize the opportunity as soon as possible
If Fengtian Province lands in Shandong and controls the Bohai Strait and the Western Liaoning Corridor, then the mainland
The army will be in an invincible position. If you advance, you can invade the pass and threaten Beijing, Tianjin and Tang Dynasty, if you advance, you can advance to Shandong, and if you retreat, you can defend Fengtian. But now the Ming Navy has sent two fleets to the oceans, and its maneuverability has been greatly weakened, which is why Japan
It is a great opportunity for the navy to seize control of the Bohai Sea and even go south to seize the Strait of Malacca to annihilate the Yongle squadron.
Now that the Ming army is still so vigilant, the effect of sneak attacks can no longer be achieved. If the Japanese army wants to attack Fengtian, it will definitely pay a much higher price. It will take a much longer time, and the Ming army will also have the opportunity to increase its troops. In this way, Japan will probably lose money in the end.
Lose all your money.
Although the Japanese navy was stronger than the Ming Dynasty navy, the Japanese army was weaker than the Ming Dynasty army. The Japanese civil servants saw this very clearly, and the navy also saw it very clearly. However, the army itself did not admit it. Not only did it not admit it in words, but in its heart
Nor admit it.
Konoe Fumimaro said worriedly:
"...With Japan's current domestic oil reserves, it can support an all-out attack for half a year. After that, it can barely sustain for half a year. But after one year...it will be hard to say. As long as Japan and tomorrow go to war, the United States will definitely not
Export war materials to Japan again
.However, they may continue to sell to the Ming Dynasty. This is very possible. Britain, the United States, France and other countries have always regarded the Ming Dynasty as the one who defended Nanyang for them. Now that the Ming Dynasty is facing a two-front war, they will favor the Ming Dynasty even more
What do you think of the Lord... of the Admiralty?"
Navy Minister Mitsumasa Yoneuchi pondered:
"From a naval point of view... there is no problem. Once a war breaks out, our navy can guarantee maritime superiority in the Yellow Sea, East China Sea, Bohai Sea, and South China Sea. Of course, as long as oil is not a problem."
Army Minister Itagaki Seishiro smiled and said:
"On the oil issue, we don't have the United States or the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union is the second largest oil-producing country in the world. Since the navy is so confident, our maritime oil channels should not be a problem. I mean, there is no turning back.
We have come to this point and must continue. As long as the navy can provide us with strong support from the Bohai Sea, our army is sure to conquer Fengtian and penetrate the Pass within half a month. Tomorrow
Although the army is well equipped, please don't forget that the decisive factor in war is people, not weapons. The Ming Dynasty was a country that advocated material comfort, and their soldiers grew up in this environment. Their army lacked fighting spirit.
, lacks bloodiness, and often suffers large-scale retreats or even surrenders when faced with tenacious attacking enemies. I believe you can see this from many examples in the wars of the Ming and Qing Dynasties."
…
The secret meeting in Tokyo lasted until late at night, with arguments still going on between the military and the government, and between the land and sea. On the Sea of Japan, the Japanese Fuso squadron was still following the Ming fleet, waiting hard for the attack order from the base camp. But on land
, a group of Japanese officers could no longer hold themselves back.