For some unknown reason, the submarine conducted only one torpedo attack that night. The Japanese carefully stared at the sea for a long time and did not wait for the second wave of attacks.

In this torpedo attack, eight warships of the Japanese combined fleet were hit and four were sunk on the spot, all of which were destroyer cruisers.

The other four ships were all seriously damaged. Two were trying to avoid the Japanese main battleships that were not in time. Among them, the unlucky Hyuga was hit by three more torpedoes, took in hundreds of tons of water, and the ship tilted at 12 degrees.

The gap caused by the three torpedoes was huge, and the weak damage control team 5 was useless. In order to save the warship after the plugging failed, the captain ordered the watertight door to be closed and water to be injected on the other side.

As a result, the Hinata's speed instantly dropped to 3 knots, and even if it moved forward at top speed, it would only be ten knots.

Within one year, this was the third time the Hyuga suffered heavy damage and the second time it suffered a torpedo attack. The officers and soldiers on the Hyuga were used to it.

At 2:30 in the morning on May 2, 1916, the commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet inspected the situation of the fleet and ordered the entire fleet to retreat eastward under the cover of darkness.

The Japanese's idea was to sail back along the coastline. After all, the fleet had suffered heavy losses and was still carrying two towing oil bottles. There was definitely no chance of continuing to move forward.

Let the two injured battleships go back, and then the intact battleships continue northward?

Not to mention whether the combined fleet was still capable of completing its mission after losing most of its large warships, but the Japanese could not make up their minds about letting the two injured battleships return home on their own.

After all, the Chinese submarine may not be far away, and only two injured and slow-moving warships are allowed to go back. Isn't this sending them to die?

Don't get me wrong, the Japanese don't care about the lives of sailors. What they care about are the two main battleships, especially the battleship Hyuga, which was beaten once when it came out.

Although the Hyuga battleship was seriously injured every time it went into battle, and spent more time in the dock for repairs than in the water, it could not change its status as one of Japan's most cutting-edge and powerful main battleships.

Moreover, every time it went into battle, it was seriously injured instead of sinking like other warships. Doesn't this not only prove the intensity of the battle, but also prove the reliability of the Hyuga battleship?

In a very short period of time, the Japanese combined fleet made the decision to retreat with the remaining fleet.

These warships can no longer complete the task of opening up shipping lanes. It is better to withdraw and use their remaining energy in coastal defense and strait battles.

With the existence of this fleet, it can at least delay the Chinese landing on 6.

Unfortunately, things went against expectations. Not long after dawn, a Chinese reconnaissance airship discovered the Japanese combined fleet.

Knowing that the combined fleet was heading east, Xu Sunming immediately guessed that the Japanese wanted to retreat.

Without hesitation, Xu Sunming did not want to miss the opportunity to beat the drowned dog, and pursued him in the direction of the Japanese combined fleet.

The Java Island was pursued all the way, and the Japanese Navy's combined fleet continued to release rear warships, that is, some destroyer cruisers, to delay the Java Island as much as possible and buy time for the main fleet.

This really allowed the Japanese to delay for another day. Unfortunately, they also paid the price of two destroyers being sunk, one cruiser being sunk, and one cruiser being seriously damaged.

So on the afternoon of May 2, Yamamoto was lamenting the backwardness of the Japanese navy on the mast at 7x8.

"Did you hear that?"

"I heard from Major Sasaki that the 1st Division, an honorary unit known as the Guards Division, launched a rebellion in Kyoto..."

"You can't tell others, I promised to keep it a secret."

"Some soldiers from the 2nd Division also participated..."

"Did you hear that? Because soldiers from the 1st and 2nd Divisions participated in the rebellion, the Prime Minister was worried and specially transferred the 4th Division from Osaka to quell the rebellion."

"That group of Kansai Army? How is that possible! The big bosses of the 6th Military Headquarters will not agree with that group of Kansai Army rising again."

"Don't worry, I have made it a point not to tell others that there is a rebellion in Kyoto. The 4th Division has recently gone to Kyoto to quell the rebellion."

"What? If the 4th Division can be stationed in Kyoto, it will be good news for our navy. At least this guy is very interested in us."

"If the 4th Division is stationed in Kyoto, it might be able to get the honorary title of the 4th Guards Division. In this way, the number of Kansai troops will increase, and the benefits to the navy will be greater and greater."

The rebellion had been going on for several days. Due to the news blockade and equipment factors, the combined fleet only learned from the grapevine that the rebellion broke out in the 1st Division of Kyoto.

These soldiers who had little experience did not realize what this meant. They just laughed at the army and believed that all resources should be given to the navy.

Many people were even very excited when they heard that the 4th Division was going to perform the suppression mission, thinking that the Navy's day of success was coming soon.

After all, it is well known that the 4th Division is not dissolved into the Sixth Army and maintains good relations with the Navy.

While other divisions of the 6th Army could only ride on crowded cargo ships and cross the Tsushima Strait without escort, the 4th Division could already ride on the Navy's comfortable transport ships and be escorted by destroyers and even cruisers.

Cross the Tsushima Strait.

These things further aggravated the Sixth Army's view of the 4th Division, believing that the 4th Division was a "traitor" and squeezing the 4th Division out of the core area.

If Osaka's status was not there, it would not be impossible for the leaders of the Sixth Army to split up and reorganize this division.

…………

On the afternoon of May 2, Muta Shinnosuke and Asaguchi Yamada wrapped their heads in scarves and looked sadly at the increasingly smaller encirclement.

The frequent movements inside the temple bought the rebels time, but they did not make full use of it.

After Muta Shinnosuke took down the police headquarters, he stopped further expansion.

It was not because his troops suffered heavy casualties. The regular army, which had been well prepared, could almost easily capture the unsuspecting policemen.

The reason he stopped was that several envoys from "big men" found him, hoping that he would do this or that, and promised a lot of benefits.

One of them even promised to give him a Chinese identity if he stopped the rebellion and wiped out the rebels.

To be honest, this promise was deep in Muta Shinnosuke's heart.

Why is he still stuck at the position of squadron leader when all the soldiers under his command have become squadron leaders? Even if it is a Category A squadron, it is still a squadron, and the military rank has always been stuck at captain, which proves that the higher-ups have no idea of ​​promoting him.

He was not convinced. He was very confident in his talent. He was at least ten times better than Asakuchi Yamada. However, it only took Asaguchi Yamada 5 years to complete the path he had taken for 20 years. It was impossible to say that he had no ideas.

of.

In Muta Shinnosuke's view, his biggest problem is that he was born a commoner, and the second one is that his family background is poor.

"If I were a Chinese, no! Even if I were just a samurai, I would at least be a lieutenant commander now." Muta Shinnosuke immediately thought of his classmates.

In Muta Shinnosuke's class, there was a famous Chinese student. Unlike Muta Shinnosuke, he was assigned to a small team after graduation and was involved in busy work and could not spare time to prepare for the exam.

After graduation, these children of noble origins were assigned to the staff department of the division, and then seconded to the general staff department. After half a year of doing miscellaneous work, they went back and were promoted to the first level.

In this way, within 5 years, the military ranks of nobles' children increased one after another, and those positions that were easier and more lucrative were often his, while Muta Shinnosuke kept doing dirty work and studying at the same time.

However, no matter what he did, he could not keep up with the speed of the noble children, especially when they had already become an assistant officer or a lieutenant commander, and he was stuck as a captain.

It sounds like there are only 1st-level second lieutenants in the middle, but the Japanese have strict levels of hierarchy, and the higher you get, the higher you get.

Moreover, although a captain is an officer, he is still a low-level officer in the final analysis. A junior officer is a mid-level officer.

When Muta Shinnosuke blamed all this on his origin, the poor progress of the war was also related to his origin.

It would be great if Mutian himself had a Chinese identity and became a noble.

In that case, Muta Shinnosuke would be the captain of the battalion instead of the squadron leader. With the strength of one battalion, Muta Shinnosuke would be confident of breaking through the enemy's defense line.

Unfortunately, he was not the captain and did not have a battalion in hand. Muta Shinnosuke did not plan to attack during the day.

The 1st Division and the 2nd Division gradually came together under the command of the General Staff Headquarters, and Muta Shinnosuke was already on the weak side.

"Gah! Despicable politicians." Muta Shinnosuke threw the note away and looked out the window.

This "recruitment" is meaningless, because Muta Shinnosuke has been surrounded, and it will be of no use.

Muta Shinnosuke was convinced that it was impossible for the Chinese to recognize their promise, even if he had a special envoy and a special letter.

"Our unit has artillery and some artillery shells. If we organize another attack, it is possible to turn defeat into victory." Asakou Yamada's eyes were bloodshot.

"You mean to attack from the front and approach the Emperor's Palace. The Emperor should have left long ago." Muta Shinnosuke shook his head with a bitter smile.

He realized that this time, he might have failed.

"We should have attacked the Emperor's Palace early in the morning. According to reports, His Majesty the Emperor has been resting at the Emperor's Palace for the first two days." Asakuchi Yamada's mouth was filled with regret.

"His Majesty the Emperor is not here, so what if we defeat him? Without the name of the Emperor, no one will lay down their weapons and join the King's team to punish traitors." Muta Shinnosuke glanced at the sunset on the horizon.

"As long as we find where His Majesty the Emperor is, this crisis will be solved easily. If you don't try, how will you know?" Asakou Yamada was like a gambler at this time.

"Okay, this is our last chance. If we don't succeed, we will die." Mutian saw this and also placed his bet.

After communicating with Asaguchi Yamada for a while, Muta Shinnosuke slowly walked towards the front line.

"Report, the 4th Division has approached our outer position. Judging by the number of people, there is at least one squadron." The messenger suddenly issued the order at the critical moment.

"Is there any more?" Muta Shinnosuke asked.

The 4th Division is a very unique division. On the one hand, it enjoys the treatment of 17 permanent divisions. On the other hand, it is excluded from the Sixth Army and cannot join the Navy.

As a result, the 4th Division's presence is both strong and weak at the same time. Being strong is the Sixth Army's ridicule of the 4th Division, saying that it is a shrewd hawker and a unit without combat effectiveness.

It is very weak because no one except the top management will really understand the combat effectiveness and fighting habits of the 4th Division.

They will subconsciously despise the soldiers of the 4th Division, thinking that they have no combat effectiveness and are also afraid of death.

This is actually the strategy of the upper echelons of the Sixth Army, to weaken the presence of the 4th Division so that the division can be used to do some dirty work.

Muta Shinnosuke was one of the people who was deceived. He didn't think the 4th Division had much combat effectiveness. Coincidentally, the same was true for Asaguchi Yamada.

In other words, the soldiers of the rebellious 1st and 2nd Divisions and the soldiers of the local garrison did not think highly of the 4th Division.

"According to intelligence, the follow-up troops of the 4th Division are located ten kilometers behind the forward, about the size of a brigade, and should not be able to reach the battlefield within two hours."

"Two hours?" Muta Shinnosuke whispered softly, silently counting the time.

"Yoshi! Is there only one brigade and one squadron? They came so fast, they probably don't have heavy weapons." Asakou Yamada shouted and stood up.

"Asaguchi-kun, what's wrong?" Muta Shinnosuke looked at him strangely.
To be continued...