In the early morning of November 15, 1914, a battleship and twelve destroyers ordered during the Qing Empire formed a battle fleet and silently left South China's Machen Naval Base.

At the same time, at the Nanhua Surabaya Naval Base, a battleship of the same class quietly sailed out of the port and headed north, preparing to join the fleet.

The basic route of this fleet is to meet at the southeastern corner of Borneo and at the edge of the Java Sea, and then go all the way north, passing through the Makassar Strait, the Celebes Sea, the Sulu Sea, the Mindoro Strait, and entering Manila Bay.

The places we passed along the way were all within the inner sea of ​​the Nanhua Empire, making it easy to keep secret.

Afterwards, the fleet replenished supplies in Manila, then went all the way north to the Gulf waters, then turned and traveled along the continental shelf, with its final destination being Shanghai.

For safety reasons, China implemented strict confidentiality measures and reached an agreement with the Nanhua Empire. Everything, including the delivery of the fleet for sailing, was carried out in secret.

The Nanhua Empire has also made rigorous arrangements, including suddenly blocking ports, suspending the use of certain routes, etc.

Well...strictly.

In short, on October 18th, the fleet passed through the traditional fishing ground area "calmly" and arrived in Manila.

…

Tokyo, the Prime Minister's residence, and the heads of the army and navy gathered together.

A dozen people were sitting in the living room of the Prime Minister's Office. The side hall on the left side of the living room was blocked by a screen, and someone could vaguely be seen behind the screen.

Generally speaking, such meetings are not allowed to be attended even if they are chatting. However, the important ministers of the Japanese Empire present turned a blind eye to this obvious violation of regulations.

"The empire's intelligence department has found out the specific strength of the Chinese fleet."

"There are eight destroyers of about 600 tons. The only thing that poses a threat is the six torpedo tubes. The others are nothing to be afraid of."

"Four lead destroyers of about 1,000 tons are equipped with six 105mm cannons, which can cause damage to small and medium-sized cruisers. They also have six torpedo tubes."

"As for the destroyers, they are all modified versions of the equipment currently in service in the Nanhua Empire, and their speed is around thirty-two knots."

"The main force is two battleships. According to our internal personnel in China, they are two battleships with a displacement of more than 18,000 tons, named Pinghai class."

"The specific equipment is twelve 305mm naval guns, more than twenty small-caliber secondary guns, and the speed is about twenty knots."

"More specific information files are at the highest level of China. Ordinary Chinese people have no channels to obtain this information. It is not clear yet."

Hayao Shimamura delivered some vague information to the table.

The destroyer that seems to have more information is directly modified based on the Nanhua destroyer in service.

These ships are being sold in Nanhua. Whether they are from Brazil, Peru or Chile, they have detailed data parameters.

As for battleships, we only know the number of guns and the speed is still "up and down". There is no accurate number, and there are no armor parameters.

Not even a reliable shape.

No matter which country it is in, this is definitely vague information.

However, in the eyes of the Japanese, this is enough.

After all, the Japanese thought their plan was flawless.

"There are a total of fourteen battleships, led by two battleships. How many battleships does the navy need to win?" the Prime Minister asked with a slight nod.

"With the same number of battleships, the Imperial Japanese Navy can win with excellent soldiers." Shimamura Hayao looked at the people present and expressed his position.

"However, in such a close battle, there will definitely be a lot of losses. I hope to use four battleships, four cruisers, and ten destroyers to form a task force."

"Defeat the enemy with overwhelming advantage!"

After your position and attitude are stated, you can enter the main topic, that is, the stage of discussing the matter.

Knowing his own affairs, Hayao Shimamura really couldn't guarantee that the same number of warships could achieve victory.

If possible, he even wanted to bring out the entire Japanese naval combined fleet to contain it.

But no, according to the Japanese Navy's intelligence, there is a Nanhua Navy fleet active in the southeastern waters of Japan.

The specific parameters of this fleet are unknown, but the number is no less than ten, and some people have seen battleships.

The Japanese had to leave part of their strength for home defense and respond to Nanhua's provocations.

Someone may ask, the Japanese knew that there was a fleet active in Nanhua, but they still took the risk to divide their forces. Isn't this an act of stupidity?

However, the Japanese did not know the plan of the Nanhua Empire, and the friction and confrontation between Nanhua and Japan had lasted for about ten years.

Ever since Japan was defeated in the South-Japanese War and the South Chinese established a naval base in Ryukyu, the friction between the South China Imperial Navy and the Japanese Navy's combined fleet has never stopped.

Today, Japan sends a ship to cross the border, and tomorrow, Nanhua sends a ship to approach. Both sides are used to friction. If it disappears one day, the Japanese will not be used to it.

The same is true this time. The Japanese plan to use Nanhua's inertia to create a time difference.

Even as the reason for sending out the fleet, the Japanese planned to use the reason of "responding to the provocation of the Nanhua Empire".

"I support Shimamura-kun's decision. There is an old saying in China: a lion fights a rabbit with all his strength."

"It means that even if a mighty lion is catching a weak rabbit, it will use all its strength to ensure safety."

"The Japanese Empire is the lion, and the Chinese fleet is the rabbit. We also need to use all our strength to be safe."

"This is the best opportunity for the empire. It can only succeed, not fail!" Kato Yusaburo knelt down and expressed his support for Shimamura Hayao.

"The navy has deployed so much force to encircle and suppress this force that has not yet formed combat effectiveness. The remaining fleet still needs to defend the Nanhua Empire. Is it still capable of providing escort for the army?"

"You must know that the Chinese still have a fleet in Lushunkou with more than 30 warships, including five warships over 5,000 tons."

"If the army transport ship cannot successfully land and launch an attack on China, China will not surrender."

Yusaku Uehara was worried that the Japanese Navy would not escort the Japanese Army. Of course, more importantly, he was worried that the Japanese Navy would take away too much credit.

According to Japan's predictions, after destroying this fleet, China's remaining navy will lose its ability to resist. As long as the conditions are right, China is likely to succumb quickly.

Today's Japan is not like the Showa era, which would not give up until it provokes a nuclear strike. Their minds are relatively calm and they do not have unrealistic ideas like swallowing up whales.

Japan's purpose in this war was also to seek money, sources of raw materials and markets to tide over the crisis, and also to see if it could expand its colonies.

Colonies come last because they are the hardest.

If the Chinese fleet is annihilated and the army is still unable to dispatch due to the obstruction of the Chinese fleet, China will compromise.

In that case, the Japanese Army will not get any benefits. While working for the Navy, the future resource tilt will definitely be towards the Navy.

"The navy will send two old-fashioned battleships, which will be enough to deter the navy in the northern ports and ensure that the army can board North Korea." Shimamura Hayao said.

Lushunkou has two large armored cruisers, two large ironclads, one of the most powerful old-fashioned battleships, and a number of small or auxiliary battleships.

If you want to fight these battleships and win, you must send at least ten battleships, including at least one new battleship.

In order to minimize losses and maximize results, at least one new battleship must be added.

The Japanese navy can afford it, but it doesn't want to.

On the one hand, if it is redeployed, the strength of the combined fleet in Sasebo will not be comparable to the strength of the Nanhua Navy (the Japanese think).

On the other hand, the Japanese Navy also wanted to play a greater role in this battle (totally overwhelm the role of the Army) in order to gain more resources.

Japan is very poor. Even if it tightens its belt to support the army, it has few resources and cannot support its ambitions to expand in two directions.

Therefore, the Japanese Navy plans to send only two old-fashioned battleships, focusing on one to participate.

This attitude has also been fully accepted by the Army, which of course will not be willing.

"Hmph!" Army General Nakamura Nakamura snorted coldly, and stood up to "theory" with others.

"Ahem!"

Suddenly there was a coughing sound from the side hall, and Nakamura stopped there as if someone had strangled his neck.

"In this case, the four divisions stationed in North Korea will be the main combat force in this battle."

"It is more convenient to mobilize these four divisions to form the First Army than to mobilize them from the mainland."

"As for the defense of North Korea, it is actually the same to leave it to the local police for the time being. Once the operation starts, people will be sent from the mainland to take over."

The emperor's representative, Prince Kanin Gong Zaihito, who had been sitting next to him without speaking, stood up at this time and said with a smile.

"Just follow His Highness's wishes and prepare for each other!" Upon seeing this, the Prime Minister also ended the meeting.

"Hi!" All the military officers and ministers bowed and nodded.

In the Army's aggrieved eyes, the Navy left the Prime Minister's Office proudly.

"Senior Senator of Shanxian County, isn't this unfair to the army?" Prince Xianyuan Gong Zairen asked after the people left.

(This prince is also an army general.)

"Your Highness, fairness is nothing but mercy given by the strong to the weak. What the empire needs now is not fairness, but becoming strong." Shanxian Youpeng said unceremoniously.

This is his consistent attitude, even when facing the royal family. This is his confidence as a veteran and the founder of the army.

"I don't mean to blame the elders of Shan County, but... yes, the empire needs a victory now."

"Only by winning can they have such a quarrel in the future. I really don't understand why the empire has fallen into the situation it is in today, even though it has been winning and reforming."

"Obviously, thanks to everyone's efforts, Japan is thriving and has even defeated the arrogant Russians."

Xianyuan Gong Zairen sighed.

"Because the revolution caused the Qing Empire to disappear, China began to show a trend of revival."

"Because of the emergence of the Nanhua Empire, which was tough and contained the empire's development, the empire's hands and feet were restrained."

"In short, everything is because of the Chinese."

"But these days will soon pass. As long as they defeat China once more, their newly rising momentum will come back to bite them."
Chapter completed!