1890 King of Southeast Asia

In the early morning of November 15, 1914, a battleship and twelve destroyers ordered during the Qing Empire period formed a battle fleet and quietly left the Banjarmasin Naval Base in Nanhua.

At the same time, a battleship of the same level at the Nanhua Surabaya Naval Base also 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 edge of the Java Sea in the southeast corner of Borneo, and then go north through the Makassar Strait, the Celebes Sea, the Sulu Sea, and the Mindoro Strait to enter Manila Bay.

The places passed along the way are all in the inland sea of ​​the Nanhua Empire, which is convenient for confidentiality.

After that, after the fleet was replenished in Manila, it went north all the way to the Wanwan Sea, then turned to sail along the continental shelf, and the final destination was Shanghai.

For safety reasons, Huaxia took strict confidentiality measures and reached an agreement with the Nanhua Empire that everything, including the delivery and departure of the fleet, would be carried out in secret.

The Nanhua Empire also made strict deployments, including sudden blockades of ports, suspension of certain routes, etc.

Well... strict.

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

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Tokyo, Prime Minister's residence, army and navy leaders gathered.

More than a dozen people sat in the living room of the Prime Minister's residence. The side hall on the left side of the living room was blocked by a screen, and someone could be vaguely seen behind the screen.

Generally speaking, such meetings are not allowed to be listened to even for chatting, but this obvious violation of the rules was ignored by the important officials of the Japanese Empire.

"The intelligence department of the empire has already learned about the specific strength of the Chinese fleet."

"Eight destroyers of about 600 tons, the only threat is the six torpedo tubes, the rest is nothing to worry about."

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

"As for the destroyers, they are all modified versions of the current equipment of the South China Empire, with a speed of about 32 knots."

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

"Specific equipment is twelve 305mm naval guns, more than 20 small-caliber secondary guns, and a speed of about 20 knots."

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

Shimamura Hayo delivered some vague intelligence to the table.

The destroyers that seem to have more information are directly modified on the basis of Nanhua's current destroyers.

These ships are being sold by Nanhua, and there are detailed data parameters for Brazil, Peru, and Chile.

As for the battleships, only the number of guns is known, and the speed is still "up and down", without an accurate number, let alone armor parameters.

There is not even a reliable shape.

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

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

After all, the Japanese still think that their plan is flawless.

"There are a total of 14 battleships, led by two battleships. How many battleships does the navy need to win?" The Prime Minister nodded gently and asked.

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

"However, such a battle of equal strength will certainly cause a lot of losses. I hope to form a task force with four battleships, four cruisers, and ten destroyers."

"Defeat the enemy with overwhelming advantage!"

After the attitude of the position is made clear, we will enter the main topic, that is, the stage of discussing the matter.

People know their own affairs. Shimamura Hayao really dare not guarantee that the same number of warships can win.

If possible, he even wants to pull out the entire Japanese Navy Combined Fleet to encircle it.

But it is not possible. According to the intelligence of the Japanese Navy, there is a South China Navy fleet active in the southeastern waters of Japan.

The specific parameters of this fleet are unknown, but the number is not less than ten, and some people have seen the shadow of battleships.

The Japanese have to keep some forces for homeland defense to deal with the provocation of South China.

Some people may ask, the Japanese know that there is an active fleet in South China, but they still risk dividing their troops. Isn't this a degrading behavior?

However, the Japanese do not know the plan of the South China Empire. The friction and confrontation between South China and Japan have lasted for about ten years.

Since Japan was defeated in the South-Japan War and the South China people established a naval base in Ryukyu, the friction between the South China Empire Navy and the Japanese Navy Combined Fleet has never stopped.

Today, Japan sent ships across the border, and tomorrow, South China sent ships to approach. Both sides are used to friction. If it stops one day, the Japanese will not be used to it.

This time is the same. The Japanese intend to use the inertia of South China to create a time difference.

Even the reason for sending out the fleet, the Japanese intend to use the reason of "responding to the provocation of the South China Empire."

"I support Shimamura-kun's decision. There is an old saying in China, called: Lions fight rabbits with all their strength."

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

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

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

"The navy has drawn so much power to encircle and suppress this force that has not yet formed combat effectiveness. The remaining fleet still needs to guard against the South China Empire. Is it still capable of providing escort for the army?"

"You know, 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 cannot launch an attack on China, China will not surrender."

Uehara Yusaku is worried that the Japanese Navy will not escort the Japanese Army. Of course, more importantly, he is afraid that the Japanese Navy will take too much credit.

According to Japan's prediction, after destroying this fleet, the remaining Chinese navy will lose its resistance. As long as the conditions are right, China is likely to surrender quickly.

Today's Japan is not like the Showa era, and they will not stop until they are hit by a nuclear attack. Their minds are still relatively calm, and they don't have the unrealistic idea of ​​swallowing up.

In this war, Japan's goal is to seek money, raw material production areas and markets to survive the crisis, and to see if it can expand its colonies.

Colonies are ranked last because they are the most difficult.

If the Chinese fleet is annihilated and the army is still unable to go out because of 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 battleships, which are enough to deter the navy in the northern port and ensure that the army can land in Korea." Shimamura Hayao said.

There are two large armored cruisers, two large ironclad ships, one of the most powerful old battleships, and a number of small or auxiliary battleships in Lushunkou.

To fight and win with these battleships, at least more than ten battleships must be sent, including at least one new battleship.

To minimize the losses and maximize the results, at least one new battleship must be added.

The Japanese navy can afford it, but does not want to.

On the one hand, if more troops are withdrawn, the combined fleet in Sasebo will not be as strong as the Nanhua Navy (the Japanese believe).

On the other hand, the Japanese Navy also wants to play a greater role in this operation (completely overwhelm the role of the army) to facilitate the acquisition of more resources.

Japan is very poor. Even if it tightens its belt to support the army, it does not have many resources and cannot support the ambition of expansion in two directions.

Therefore, the Japanese Navy plans to send only two old battleships, focusing on one and participating.

This attitude was also fully received by the army, and the army certainly would not be willing.

"Humph!" Army General Nakamura Kaku snorted coldly and was about to stand up and "argue" with others.

"Cough cough!"

A cough suddenly came from the side hall, and Nakamura Kaku stopped there as if someone was pinching his neck.

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

"Drawing these four divisions to form the First Army will be more convenient than mobilizing from the mainland."

"As for the defense of Korea, it will be temporarily handed over to the local police. Once the operation begins, people will be sent from the mainland to take over. It's actually the same."

The Emperor's representative, Prince Kan'in Palace Zaihito, who had been sitting next to him without speaking, stood up and said with a smile.

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

"Hi!" A group of officers and ministers bowed and nodded.

In the frustrated eyes of the Army, the Navy left the Prime Minister's Office triumphantly.

"Ren Yamagata, isn't it a bit unfair to the Army to do this?" Prince Kan'in Palace Zaihito asked after he left.

(This prince is also an Army general.)

"Your Highness, fairness is nothing more than the pity that the strong give to the weak. What the Empire needs now is not fairness, but to become strong." Yamagata Aritomo said bluntly.

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 elder Yamagata, but... yes, the empire needs a victory now."

"Only with victory can they have such a quarrel again in the future. I really don't understand why the empire has been winning and reforming, but it has fallen into today's situation."

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

Kanin Palace Zairen sighed.

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

"Because the emergence of the tough South China Empire that curbed the development of the empire, the empire was bound by its hands and feet."

"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 backfire on themselves."

"Just win once more, and the road to the empire will be extremely wide!"