In the eyes of the French, Nanhua is a country that focuses on domestic development and does not have a very urgent need for external expansion.

That's why even though we clearly have more advanced technology, we have to fall into a war of attrition with the Japanese.

What's amazing is that this is also the case in the eyes of Germans.

However, in the eyes of the British, Japanese, Ottomans and other countries, South China was a country full of expansionism and aggression.

The British thought this way because Nanhua was the first to develop new battleships with full heavy artillery, as well as large high-speed ocean-going battleships.

The former put aside the British's advantage in old battleships, and the latter forced the British to develop more powerful ocean-going speed battleships to maintain routes.

What is a maritime overlord? In addition to absolute force, there is also absolute control of trade routes. Nanhua chose them all at once.

As for the Ottomans and the Japanese, the reasons are similar. The former lost Arabia and Mesopotamia in the hands of South China, and the latter lost Ryukyu.

However, the Young Turks who were in power under the Ottomans had a certain favorable impression of Nanhua because Nanhua generously donated money to support the Ottomans in the Balkan wars.

If it were not for Nanhua's supplies and loans, the Ottomans would very likely have lost a large area of ​​important territory - not barren lands like Arabia and disobedient backward places like Mesopotamia, but Europe.

Japan has nothing but pure ill will towards Nanhua, and it is not just the Ryukyu issue.

After all, Ryukyu was forcibly occupied by Japan decades ago. Only the Satsuma clan took it seriously, and the attitude of others towards Ryukyu was discriminatory.

In addition, Nanhua beat Japan and took away Ryukyu. Even if Japan was dissatisfied, Japan felt that this was justice.

What Japan is most dissatisfied with about Nanhua is the issue of development.

Nanhua has very strict management on Japanese immigrants entering the country, and has very strict requirements whether they are trading or working.

Illegal immigrants, illegal crimes, etc., Nanhua usually throws them directly into the bitter coal mines and works them to death.

However, Southeast Asia has always been an important source of gold mining and exchange for foreign exchange for Japan. The skin and meat business, which is very popular in Japan, is mainly done in Southeast Asia.

After all, ships come and go here, trade is prosperous, and there are many sailors.

The crew members are a group of people who are relatively wealthy, more willing to spend, and have very strong demand.

In the past, Japanese prostitutes were all over Singapore, Malaya, Manila, Batavia and other places, and they could earn a lot of money and return to Japan every year.

But everything has changed now. Manila, Batavia and other territories that originally belonged to the Dutch and Spanish were successively seized by Nanhua, and the Japanese lost the Nanhua market.

On the other hand, Japan's key products, raw silk, inferior cotton, grain, etc., have also been impacted by Nanhua's leadership, resulting in sluggish exports and economic sluggishness.

With the help of Nanhua, China began to industrialize. China could produce whatever Japan could produce, and import goods from Nanhua or Europe if it couldn't.

It can be said that because of Nan Hua's troubles, Japan's current economy is entirely supported by the United States' low-price purchase of raw silk.

But hatred belongs to hatred. The Japanese were beaten 2-0 by Nanhua. No matter how good they are, they don’t think they can win now.

At the beginning of the war, Japan was very panicked, especially when it sank one battleship and seriously damaged two battleships at the beginning.

There were even discussions within Japan on how to surrender in order to satisfy Nan Hua.

but……

…

In the first half of January, while fierce fighting broke out between Germany and France in Europe, the East was extremely calm.

Since the failure of the expedition led by Ijuin Goro, the main force of the Japanese combined fleet has been shrinking in Sasebo, only sending some fast cruisers or destroyers out to wander around.

Adhering to the principle of retreating when encountering the enemy, the Japanese warships began to turn and retreat as soon as they saw the Nanhua warship.

Nanhua usually formed a fleet, and the speed of the fleet was definitely lower than the speed of the destroyers, so the two sides never broke out again.

It's obviously a big war, but it looks like the time has passed...it's strange.

In the past ten days, the Nanhua Empire's emerging high-speed battleship Java has frequently appeared in the waters of eastern Japan, and the Arabian has also appeared in the waters of northeastern Japan many times.

They had only one purpose, to intercept the Japanese merchant fleet.

In half a month, the Nanhua Fleet sank and captured more than 60 merchant ships. For Japan, the losses were very huge.

However, this did not make the Japanese combined fleet move. There were only a few dozen ships. This must be Nanhua's strategy of luring the snake out of its hole. Don't move! Don't move!

However, on January 9, the Combined Fleet had to dispatch the only two remaining capable battlecruisers to escort the caravan.

They finally managed to squeeze out some time between their teeth and imported a batch of strategic materials from the United States at a high price. They will detour southward from the Pacific Ocean on January 10th.

These include explosive raw materials, special materials, machine tools, and some parts that Japan cannot produce, etc., which are important reliance for Japan's homeland defense.

We must set up defenses before Nanhua attacks. After Nanhua attacks, we can use familiar terrain to fight against Nanhua's landing troops.

After all, the core of Nanhua is in Southeast Asia, far away from Japan. Maintaining the landing force consumes a lot of money, and dragging it on the mainland until Nanhua gives up - this is the victory method that Japan came up with after thinking for a long time.

The Japanese also named this tactic the "Local Decisive Battle Plan." According to this plan, Japan will expand its army to two million and distribute weapons to civilians.

This requires consuming a lot of materials. Japan can squeeze it out, but its processing capabilities are not enough.

Therefore, a batch of machinery and parts were purchased from the United States to expand and maintain production.

On January 9, the combined fleet, including the moderately damaged Hiei, which had only undergone simple repairs, a total of six battleships, together with more than 40 destroyer cruisers, left Sasebo with great fanfare.

After learning the news, the Nanhua Navy sent two battleships, Xuchang and Nanyang, and thirty-one destroyers and cruisers to leave Ryukyu Naval Port.

An hour after setting out to sea, two battleships and a dozen destroyers from the Chinese Navy also rushed over.

At about 2 p.m. on January 9, hundreds of warships from the three armies met 200 kilometers northwest of Ryukyu.

In terms of total tonnage and the number of large-caliber artillery, the Japanese had an absolute advantage, so the South China Navy and the Chinese Navy formed a formation and turned south.

The two sides began to bombard each other at a distance of twelve kilometers. At this distance, even Nanhua equipped with the most advanced rangefinder would have difficulty hitting, let alone the Japanese.

"Commander, why don't you get closer? Let's review the last battle. The Japanese's hit rate at about 10,000 meters is not as high as ours." After half an hour of fighting, the captain of the Xuchang, Zeng Yang, couldn't help but suggest.

Half an hour passed, and although they were firing one after another, more than ten shells were fired from each of your cannons.

These are all 356mm artillery shells. Once a shell is fired, it will cost more than 2,000 yuan. This is still the internal purchase price.

Facing the bomb head-on, Zeng Yang didn't feel bad at all. The weapon should play its role, but this is not normal!

"No, we are not here to fight them, keep this distance." Xu Sunming put down the telescope and looked at Zeng Yang.

"Commander, I don't understand. We have already received news of the dispatch of the Japanese fleet, so why don't we concentrate our efforts on encirclement and suppression?"

"Concentrate all the main forces and launch an ambush. The Japanese fleet will not even have a chance to escape, and the war will end immediately."

Zeng Yang looked in the direction of the Japanese fleet. Even though he had good eyesight, he could only see blurry smoke and clouds.

The fact that the smoke clouds are visible to the naked eye and are still so far away only proves that there is a problem with the Japanese coal supply.

"What we want is not to defeat a fleet, but to eliminate the threat from Japan." Seeing that he was indeed confused, Xu Sunming explained.

"Eliminate the threat?" Zeng Yang repeated, chewing carefully.

"It is unrealistic to decide Japan in one battle. Japan is actively preparing for war and preparing for the so-called decisive battle on its homeland." Xu Sunming's tone was sarcastic.

"It's just a blocked island country. Victory will eventually belong to us." Zeng Yang's thinking was interrupted and he said subconsciously.

"Yes, I also believe we can win, but how long will the fight last? How many people will die and how much supplies will be consumed?"

"Guns can cause the same harm to children and adults. Similarly, guns are equally deadly whether in the hands of a child or in the hands of an adult."

"Those Japanese lunatics must be able to do such a thing." Xu Sunming just smiled easily.

"Then attack indiscriminately, march into Tokyo Bay, and bombard Tokyo. I don't believe that the emperor's waist is really that hard." Zeng Yang's eyes were sharp and cold.

He had participated in the bombardment of Medan and had rich experience.

"Cannonballs cost money, it's better to keep the money and let them mess around." Xu Sunming looked at him with great admiration.

In fact, this was Xu Sunming's idea. After defeating the Japanese fleet, he would enter Tokyo with absolute force and defeat him.

Just like before when we took over the Dutch East Indies and the Spanish Philippines.

However, Liu Yiming rejected this tactic, and the government did not want to land in Japan.

"You also said that Japan is a closed island country. It relies on the outside world for many supplies and its development also depends on trade."

"If we close him down for a year, what else will be left of his industry except the part that serves the war?"

"If we close him for two years, it will be a question of whether he can maintain his civilian life. If we close him for three years, no matter how tolerant the Japanese are, they will definitely rebel."

"But we don't have so much time. We have to speed up the process, consume their resources, take them in circles, and even send warships to accompany them in a show even though we know exactly what they are transporting."

"Commander, Pinghai telegraphed that a destroyer hit the rocks and its speed dropped." Xu Sunming was talking, Zeng Yang also had a learned expression on his face, but the staff officer brought bad news.

"They were ordered to abandon the destroyer, and nearby warships would immediately pick them up and then sink her. They had half an hour."
Chapter completed!