Why issue an announcement? It's very simple. Liu Yiming wants to cut off the Japanese's escape route.

The war was started by the Japanese. Whatever Liu Yiming did was reasonable. In addition, Britain and France were now seeking help from China, and no one would speak for the Japanese. However, Liu Yiming could not help but pay attention to his image.

Liu Yiming defined the Japanese emperor and the Japanese Chinese as the culprits in launching the war, so he asked the emperor to abdicate and abolish the Chinese.

It seems harsh, but Liu Yiming directly stated that if Japan does this, it can directly stop the war and provide compensation when Japan is no longer a threat, which is very humane.

This is a plan that many people can accept, including the British, but not the Japanese themselves, even the bottom Japanese who can benefit from it.

"idiot!"

"The Chinese bullied me too much!"

"National humiliation, national humiliation!"

"Fight them, go to Manchuria, teach them a lesson! Or even eliminate them and occupy them wherever they are!"

This news was broadcast directly to China using high-power wireless broadcasts, and many Japanese received the signal.

Liu Yiming also thoughtfully broadcast in Japanese at Ryukyu Radio Station to avoid Japanese people not being able to understand.

…

October 16, Tokyo.

"His Majesty the Emperor summoned the Prince twice in succession to inquire about the broadcast."

"It is our incompetence and shame to disturb His Majesty the Emperor!"

"Everyone, you must know your shame!"

Masaki Terauchi was furious in the Army Ministry. He took his command sword and slammed it on the table.

"No matter what, the imperial army should make a breakthrough as soon as possible at this time. I don't want casualty figures. What I want is the results, the results of moving forward."

"The navy has agreed to give up the transport ship, and the remaining troops are boarding the ship. The government will replenish all the losses on the front line."

"In three days, we should arrive at Fengtian. If we can't do it, we should all commit suicide by committing seppuku and apologize to His Majesty the Emperor."

"Do you understand?!" Masaki Terauchi slammed the table again.

The plan was somewhat different from what they imagined. For example, the Japanese believed that an army of 400,000 people could maintain a high-intensity offensive for at least half a month.

Even based on the experience of the European War at this time, except for particularly typical battles, it can still last for more than a week.

Who would have known that Hasegawa Yomichi only needed one day to increase the number of casualties to 57,000, and that night, the number increased to 80,000.

The Japanese troops stationed in Korea suffered 20% direct casualties, and their combat effectiveness dropped sharply.

Fortunately, Hasegawa Yomichi did not do anything. He opened at least two breakthroughs and is still attacking forward.

Otherwise, he would have been ordered to retire.

However, the situation on the front line was very critical. The number of soldiers was insufficient, the weapons of the ad hoc divisions were not superior, morale began to decline, and there were even many deserters.

After Masaki Terauchi learned about it, he immediately coordinated with the government, navy and army, hoping to transfer the remaining troops to North Korea as soon as possible to maintain the offensive intensity.

"For such a large-scale troop transport, we need escort warships. Chinese warships have been very active. Without enough escort warships, it is too dangerous."

Okaichi Nosuke stood up and expressed deep doubts.

During this period, troop transportation was delayed. In addition to transport ships and coal-burning issues, the most important thing was that the small and medium-sized warships of China's original Beiyang Fleet were very active.

They launched several attacks, and the Japanese lost six transport ships and an old shallow-water heavy gunboat.

"The navy will be dispatched to cooperate with this operation." Masaki Terauchi looked at him with relief.

This is Japan's purpose, to force the Chinese navy to come out, or to huddle in the port and watch Japan transport a steady stream of supplies and troops to the front line.

"Hai!" Okaichi Nosuke felt relieved after hearing the cooperation.

He didn't know that the so-called cooperation was the essence of the entire Japanese Navy - the entire Japanese Navy Combined Fleet was mobilized.

I don't know, they are just a bait.

…………

At four o'clock in the afternoon on October 16, when the Squid arrived for routine reconnaissance, it discovered that thick smoke was rising again in the Sasebo Military Port.

"Such a large plume of smoke is the size of a large fleet." Huang Shuai observed with difficulty through the periscope.

Due to technical limitations, the observation angle of the periscope is not large, and it is not clear when viewed from a distance.

If there were just a few ships using coal-fired boilers, they would be difficult to observe over long distances.

But now, he could clearly see a black cloud.

This is because the Japanese used low-quality loose coal in the initial heating stage in order to save fuel, which produced excessive amounts of thick smoke.

If anthracite is used, the Squid may not be able to detect it at this stage.

"Reverse the car and go back." Huang Shuai wanted to know what was going on inside the harbor, but he couldn't see and couldn't get into the harbor.

More than an hour later, the Squid slowly surfaced. The sailors opened the hatch cover and put up the antenna.

"Reporting to Ryukyu, the Squid was conducting a routine approach reconnaissance on the afternoon of October 16. It was five nautical miles away from Sasebo and discovered dense smoke and clouds over the Sasebo Military Port. It was suspected that the Japanese army was preparing to leave the port."

"That's it, send it out." Huang Shuai thought for a while and realized that there were enough words before he said.

Didi, didi, didi... didi...

Boom! Rumble, rumble~~

The sound of the diesel engine also sounded, and the two sounds echoed in Huang Shuai's mind, and he was completely unaware of it.

He felt that the Japanese were about to send out the main force, but from his recent observations, he couldn't figure out why they would send out the main force.

It is very expensive to set off a large fleet. Not counting wear and maintenance, just the cost of fuel, fresh water, and food for a fleet is not a small sum of money.

In terms of fuel, the coal capacity of a battleship usually ranges from two to three thousand tons to five to six thousand tons, and a full load may even exceed this coal capacity.

Take the Fuso as an example. It is Japan's most cutting-edge warship. It can carry 4,000 tons of coal and 1,000 tons of heavy oil at one time, and has an economic endurance of 8,000 nautical miles.

Eight thousand nautical miles sounds like a lot. When converted, one nautical mile requires less 500 kilograms of coal and 125 kilograms of heavy oil.

Moreover, warships cannot only consider leaving, but also have to consider coming back and fighting, which will consume a lot of money.

Therefore, the large fleet will have a clear target when setting off, and there will be many reconnaissance activities by small warships in the early stage.

Huang Shuai didn't see the frequent activities of small warships, but there were fewer and fewer ships coming in and out recently, so he couldn't figure it out.

"Headquarters calls back." The telegraph operator handed the translated message to Huang Shuai.

"Strictly monitor the sea surface and report any situation immediately." Huang Shuai shouted to Qiancang.

"Yes!" came the first mate's voice.

Thump thump thump…

Huang Shuai quickly ran to the rear cabin, which is where the diesel engine is.

"Charge the battery as quickly as possible and check the condition of the oxygen generator. We have work to do." Huang Shuai patted the chief engineer's shoulder and pulled away his earmuffs.

The engine room is very noisy. During non-war times, the chief engineer wears earmuffs.

"Yes, Captain." The chief engineer gave a thumbs up to show that he knew.

In the engine room, gesturing is more effective than speaking. It's not that you can't hear, but that you can't hear clearly.

"By the way, how much fuel do we have?" Huang Shuai was about to leave when he suddenly remembered that he had been out for a long time and had consumed a lot of supplies.

"Don't worry, there's still one third left. Keep an eye on it for another week, and then it's time to go back and replenish fuel." The chief engineer smiled and told him not to worry.

"One third... should be enough. Save some for use after the power generation is completed." Huang Shuai patted his shoulder, turned around and walked towards the forward cabin.

…

At ten o'clock at night, the brightness in the direction of Sasebo was very bright, which meant that the Japanese turned on the searchlights.

Huang Shuai stood on the bridge, looking at the lights, and knew that the Japanese had really moved out, and they had better move out at night.

The telegram in the afternoon told him that the Japanese fleet might be going to the north to escort, and asked him to continue monitoring. If the Japanese fleet came out, he would follow the Japanese fleet while ensuring his own safety.

He also told him that a submarine formation of six submarines was approaching him, and asked him to get closer if there was a problem.

Regarding this order, Huang Shuai was both happy and worried.

He was happy that they could finally conduct combat activities and might get the chance to launch torpedoes. But he was worried that he was not sure whether the Squid could keep up with the enemy and was also worried about the enemy's counterattack.

After all, the Squid was developed with the idea of ​​​​ocean surveillance and reconnaissance, and its combat effectiveness is not strong.

"Report, found a fleet with three ships, unable to identify the target. It is moving west from the direction of Sasebo."

Before Huang Shuai could figure out how to deal with it, he spotted another ship.

"Report, a fleet is heading towards me. Judging from the lights, there are three warships, and the tonnage is not large."

Huang Shuai thought for a while, and found that three ships were lined up in different directions. They were not large in tonnage and should be small warships used for reconnaissance.

"It should be the enemy's reconnaissance fleet, sending a report to Ryukyu. It is suspected that the movement of the Japanese reconnaissance fleet has been discovered, and our ship is about to dive."

"Dive immediately after the transmission is completed."

A few minutes later, the sailors put away the antenna, climbed into the hatch, closed the hatch, and locked it. The submarine's water tank began to fill with water, and the submarine began to sink slowly.
To be continued...