April 5, 1913 AD 2754, 4:00 pm.
Japan, Tokyo.
At this time, after receiving the declaration of war in the morning, Japan's top brass gathered in the palace to hold a royal meeting to discuss how to deal with the current situation.
Since the intelligence that China had begun to attack before nine o'clock in the morning, bad news has continued to come.
Nowadays, the faces of these big guys in Japan are as ugly as they are ugly.
At present, China's infantry has not started to attack, but the air battles are already in full swing.
In the air battles of Lushun, Pyongyang, Taipei, and Kaohsiung, after four consecutive air battles, Japan's Army Aviation and Hainan Airlines lost a total of 307 aircraft and 7 airships. , and only a pitiful 9 aircraft can be confirmed as a result, of which only 4 were shot down on the spot, and the other 5 were abandoned after returning.
It is said that dozens of aircraft were damaged.
Although airplanes are very cheap these days, and a fully armed fighter only costs two to three thousand yen, pilots are valuable.
More than 200 pilots were killed at once, accounting for a quarter of the total number of Japanese pilots.
This can be described as a huge defeat, even the underwear was lost, and only a pair of socks was left on the whole body.
It was like running to the end of the street.
Not to mention the heavy losses caused by air strikes.
It's strange that the boss can laugh after hearing such a miserable result.
"There was a call from Taipei just now.
Taipei, Taichung, and Kaohsiung were all attacked by China's air strikes.
The 13th Division, the 19th Division, and the Taiwan Brigade all suffered heavy losses.
Especially the Taiwan Brigade, which was encircling and suppressing the bandits, Their assembly area in Taichung was subjected to a large-scale air raid.
After the air raid, the bandits took the opportunity to attack.
As of 2 p.m., more than 2,100 people in the Taiwan brigade had been shattered and more than 2,800 injured, and they had temporarily lost their combat effectiveness."
Lieutenant General Kenichi Nagashima, the deputy chief of staff of the Army, read the telegram with an ugly face.
"In addition, both Taipei Fortress and Kaohsiung Fortress were bombed by Chinese airships.
The main forts were destroyed and suffered heavy losses.
They are currently unable to resist attacks from the sea."
Chief of Staff Hasegawa said angrily: "Asshole, it's all us who were attacked by air raids, the planes of Army Airlines and Hainan Airlines, what about the planes that the empire spent so much money to buy?"
Director of Education Nobuhiro Asada said with a helpless look: "Our Army Air Forces and Hainan Airlines in Taiwan are very brave.
They conducted a decisive air battle with the China Air Force.
However, because the performance gap between the enemy and our aircraft was too large, they both suffered a disastrous defeat. " The big guys in the Navy also had expressionless faces, obviously they also knew the news.
Fortunately, the defense of Kanto State and Taiwan is mainly the responsibility of the army, and the navy only assists in defense.
"Don't we, the Japanese Empire, use better planes and airships?"
At this time, a voice interrupted everyone's silence.
When everyone looked at it, the person speaking was Taisho Emperor Yoshihito, who found it difficult to speak in meetings.
After his father, Emperor Meiji, died in September last year, he inherited the throne as the crown prince, and changed the name to "Taisho" based on the sentence in the Book of Changes: "The great man uses righteousness, and the way of heaven is the way."
This year is the first year of Taisho.
However, this old man Yoshihito was mentally retarded.
When his illness struck, the emperor often made some ridiculous behavior in front of the public.
Well, it is said that it was due to the sequelae of meningitis as a child, which later turned into mental illness.
There is also a theory that classmate Yoshihito's mental illness was caused by certain political elders in Japan who intended to evade imperial power and deliberately conspired to assassinate him.
There is a further theory that not only was Yoshihito being plotted to be a lunatic, but even Meiji was plotted to die.
Hey, it seems that the Emperor of Japan is also a high-risk profession.
Well, as for whether that statement is true, it doesn't matter now.
Anyway, both father and son are dead and stupid.
However, it is precisely because Brother Yoshihito's brain is not working well that he is completely different from his father Meiji's strong style.
He is basically just a rubber stamp and mascot, and rarely speaks in imperial meetings.
But today's information seemed to pique his interest.
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Yamamoto Gonbei rubbed his temples and replied with a grimace: "Your Majesty, although I hate to admit it, China is indeed the number one air force power in the world today, and their aircraft and airships are the most advanced.
However, please, please Don't worry, we have ordered Nakajima, Mitsubishi and other major companies to develop new generation fighter jets and airships, but now we can't catch up.
We can only use existing resources to fight China. " "Your Majesty, please rest assured, we will definitely build better planes and airships than China."
Everyone agreed, just like coaxing children.
Although everyone knows that this person is relatively stupid and treats him as a decoration, he is still the emperor after all, and he still needs at least respect.
"Xixi, that's good.
I suddenly thought of the royal airship that Mitsubishi Corporation is going to pay tribute to me.
Okay, I'll leave the next thing to you.
I'm going to see the airship now."
Emperor Taisho giggled a few times and stood up. , ready to leave.
"I respectfully see you off, Your Majesty."
Yamamoto Gonbei all stood up and bowed.
After Emperor Taisho left, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
There is no way.
Although this rubber stamp is more conscious and generally does not get involved in government affairs, he is the emperor and has this right.
If he is a shrewd and capable monarch like Meiji, it is okay to get involved.
But this person is an abnormal human being.
If he suddenly gets an idea and issues some embarrassing orders to everyone, he will be in trouble.
Now everyone can safely hold the meeting.
Army Minister Yasutsuna Kigoshi said: "Just now, Lieutenant General Fukushima Yasumasa, the governor of Kanto, sent a call saying that a large number of Chinese torpedo boats were found in the waters around Kanto Prefecture, and the Port of Port Arthur has been blocked by them.
In addition, the military strength of Kanto Prefecture is insufficient.
Currently, there is only the Eighth Division regiment and the 17th Division, two regular divisions, and There are six railway garrison brigades, about 65,000 people, and China already has 4 divisions, 1 brigade and several local troops and armed police units on the Fuzhou front line, with a total strength of more than 130,000 people.
This matter still needs more than 130,000 troops.
The navy must open up the supply line in Lushun and send reinforcements to Guandong Prefecture.”
Navy Minister Minoru Saito immediately retorted: "Your Excellency Kigoshi, I do not agree with this.
From China's actions and the intelligence analysis we know, China's actions in Kanto State are just feints, and their main direction of attack is Taiwan."
"Yes, Kantung Prefecture is small and an enclave, making it very difficult to defend.
You see, although the Chinese Army launched a large-scale attack on Kantung Prefecture, they were limited to air strikes and artillery bombardments.
The infantry has not moved.
On the contrary, they have begun to land in Taiwan.
"This exactly shows their intention to draw our attention to Kanto Prefecture."
Military Commander Ijuin Goro immediately expressed his support.
"Moreover, China's main fleet is in Taiwan, and their strategic focus could not be more obvious.
Moreover, the Bohai Sea is surrounded by land and has many islands, which is not suitable for the combined fleet.
If we enter rashly, we will definitely fall into China's trap.
Don't forget China’s Air Force” The army and navy immediately quarreled.
The Army believes that Taiwan is a large territory and has many troops stationed there, so it cannot be lost in a short time.
On the contrary, Kantung Prefecture is very dangerous, and its geographical location is more important, so it requires the Navy to focus on supporting Kwantung Prefecture and escort their reinforcements to land.
The Navy has the opposite view.
They believe that Taiwan is the key point.
Although places like Kanto State are also important, it depends on who is next door.
If I am a scumbag like Da Qing, I will definitely take it as long as I take it, it doesn’t matter.
But if it were replaced by the current People's Republic of China, that would be completely different.
Just look at the geographical location of Kanto Prefecture and you will understand that it borders the mainland but is cut off from Japan-controlled Korea.
It is also surrounded by Chinese territory and may be attacked by air attacks from these places at any time.
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The Navy's current evaluation of aircraft is not as backward as the Army's.
Even the combined fleet, which they are very proud of, will definitely not have a good time if it is surrounded by a large group of aircraft.
Although it is difficult for current aircraft to hit warships of the same level as heavy cruisers and battleships, there is no problem in washing the decks of warships with bullets, artillery shells, bombs, etc.
Even battleships cannot have all facilities armored.
Most importantly, despicable China is now equipped with a large number of torpedo boats.
Torpedo boats have a simple structure, are cheap to build, and have extremely low technical barriers.
They can be found in city, county, or even township-level shipyards.
They don’t even need a slipway and can be started directly on the beach at the seaside.
In recent years, the Chinese have been like making dumplings.
They have built at least hundreds of torpedo boats of various sizes.
The smallest ones are only thirty tons, and the largest ones are only three or four hundred tons.
In the eyes of navies with ideals and ambitions, such as the British and Japanese navies, torpedo boats are evil.
It has poor seaworthiness, cannot be on duty for a long time, cannot sail across oceans, cannot break diplomatic relations, cannot be used as an offensive force, and is useless except for coastal defense.
It doesn’t matter if you build a little, but building too many is a waste of resources.
But for the Japanese Navy, this kind of thing that is of little use to itself is very disgusting after it is equipped on a large scale by the enemy.
Although this thing has not been hit, it is fast and can turn flexibly.
If it is bitten by the torpedoes they launch, even a dreadnought can drink a pot of it.
Although it is true that torpedo boats cannot participate in regular naval battles, in coastal defense, especially after reaching a certain scale, they are enough to cause a headache to any opponent.
If aircraft and torpedo boats were taken out separately, the Japanese Navy would still be confident in dealing with them, but when these two things were added together, things would change qualitatively.
The navy had done a simulation some time ago.
If their combined fleet really went to the coastal area to fight, it would be besieged by a large group of aircraft, airships and torpedo boats.
Aircraft and airships wash the decks, divert the attention of our own warships, and at the same time suppress our own small-caliber rapid-fire guns.
These guns generally have little defensive power.
Then China's torpedo boats took the opportunity to launch a wolf pack charge.
If they came closer and released the torpedoes, the consequences would be disastrous.
If you do this, even if you win, the losses will be too great to accept.
Only a fool would do this uneconomical exchange of precious battleships for the Chinese's cheap torpedo boats and aircraft.
So when the Navy heard that the Army asked them to support Kanto State, they immediately rolled their eyes.
The navy bosses exchanged glances, all gnashing their teeth.
These damn Army horse dung are treating us like fools.
The navy was determined not to go to a deadly place like Kanto Prefecture.
Instead, it claimed that places like Kanto Prefecture were not easy to defend and it would not matter even if they were lost temporarily.
The key point is to eliminate China's main naval force.
The two sides argued for more than an hour, but the Navy still refused to give in and insisted on focusing on Taiwan.
The Army had no choice but to compromise.
After all, without the escort of the navy, the army's troop transport ships would not dare to sail to Kanto Prefecture on their own.
Although the Japanese Army was a bit in the second place, it was not stupid enough to risk death.
It was still unable to use one's own life to verify the training level of the Chinese Air Force and Navy.
At 8 o'clock in the evening that day, after enjoying a sumptuous dinner, the Japanese combined fleet pulled anchor and set sail.
This time, they came out almost in full force
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