I started with the Shinsengumi in Bakumatsu

Chapter 239: Righteousness is in our army

Doron and Iwasaki Yataro have settled the business, and are not too concerned about the war between Japan and Great Britain.

However, inside the embassy, ​​He Ruzhang was very concerned about this matter.

Nowadays, the Qing Dynasty is carrying out foreign affairs, building warships and training new armies.

Not many people understand these things, and many times they ask foreigners to act as consultants.

Japan, on the other hand, started its Westernization earlier and achieved great success.

If something can be learned from the Anglo-Japanese dispute, it can become the experience of the Qing Dynasty.

So He Ruzhang thought about going to Osaka to see it with his own eyes.

He Ruzhang found Duolong and explained his purpose. Duolong was not interested, but Duolong didn't mind going to see the excitement.

Duolong nodded and said, "I understand, I will discuss this with the Japanese government."

Doron didn't think this was a big deal, so he asked his officials to contact the Japanese Cabinet and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Yagyu Heiyan knew that this battle had a great impact. It didn't matter to him whether others knew about it or not. He directly replied to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' request: "You can form an observation group and watch it near the battlefield."

Afterwards, Yagyu put the matter behind him.

These are all small things, the most important thing is to arrange the defense of Osaka Bay.

You must know that there is the Navy's first military base in Osaka Bay, which needs to be protected. In addition, Osaka is also an important economic city. There are a large number of factories here and hundreds of thousands of citizens live there.

At the same time, this is also the flank of Kyoto. Once Osaka is lost, the British army can approach Kyoto.

Logically speaking, Yagyu should keep the enemy out of Osaka Bay, but that would defeat his purpose.

For now, the only choice is to sacrifice Osaka.

Parkes was also inquiring about the Japanese defense. Half of the more than 60,000 Imperial Guards in Kyoto had been transferred and deployed in Sakai Port and in dangerous places around Osaka.

In addition, the fort at Osaka Bay is ready.

Parkes handed the collected information to the spy and asked him to deliver the message.

Yagyu placed the headquarters in Osaka Castle, which made the atmosphere in the city very tense. Many people had fled Osaka Castle, but many people still stayed in the city and hid at home.

In order to prevent spies and some evil parties from taking the opportunity to destroy, loot, and burn, the entire Osaka has been placed under military control. There are military patrols during the day. At night, the city is under curfew and there are even more patrols.

Inside the headquarters, Yagyu held a map around Osaka, on which a defense line was already being deployed.

"Everyone, this time, the navy will not appear immediately. We have to give England a false impression, that is, to save the ship and avoid the war.

Therefore, the first stage of the battle is mainly a positional defense battle.

At that time, the military base and fort at Mizinchuan Port will become the primary target of attack by the British army.

In addition to the 3rd Marine Division remaining at the base, the 2nd Guards Division also wanted to go up for reinforcements. They must defend the military port and must not let the enemy break through. "

Shibuya Nagaie, commander of the 3rd Marine Division, and Narita Saburo, commander of the 2nd Imperial Guard Division, saluted: "I honor your order!"

Yagyu nodded slightly, then pointed at Sakai Port and said: "The first division of the Imperial Guard will mainly guard this place, and the third division will follow me in Osaka."

The commander of the first division, Yamazaki Totaro, and the commander of the third division, Nobuyama Nobukatsu, nodded and said, "I understand."

Yagyu dropped his pencil and said: "Everyone, in this battle, we are fighting to abolish the unequal treaty with Great Britain and to restore the integrity of national sovereignty. This is the expectation of the people across the country. The righteousness lies with our army!"

"Oh!"

Several division commanders shouted loudly, their hearts agitated.

Early the next morning, Yagyu began to inspect the fortifications in various places. He took the lead in arriving at the military port in Kizugawa. He carefully inspected the situation of the military port forts and fortresses. The soldiers were all energetic and meticulous.

Yagyu randomly found a soldier and asked, "Soldier, are you nervous?"

The soldier quickly saluted and said, "I'm telling you, Prime Minister, I'm not nervous!"

"Okay, very energetic!" Yagyu patted the soldier's shoulder vigorously to encourage him.

"Keep it up, soldier. Your efforts are not in vain. We must repel the invading enemies and let them know that Japan will no longer allow others to bully us!

Without the oppression of Britain, our country will get better and better. By then, everyone will be able to live and work in peace and contentment, with wives and children sleeping on the bed. "

The soldier was very excited. Faced with the Prime Minister's encouragement, his blood was surging and he wished he could go to the battlefield and fight to the death with the enemy.

"Ha! Don't worry, Prime Minister. For Japan and the Emperor, I will fight bravely to kill the enemy!"

Yagyu nodded with satisfaction and no longer hindered the soldiers from doing their work. He led the others and continued to walk up and down the fortifications to encourage the soldiers.

Under Yagyu's inspection, most of the soldiers had lost their panic. Yagyu's patriotic words ignited the enthusiasm in their hearts, and the vast majority of the soldiers had the consciousness of dying on the battlefield.

Just a week after Yagyu prepared, the Awaji Fort opened fire.

The British Empire's combined fleet had detailed charts. They broke into the Seto Inland Sea unscrupulously, ignoring the Awaji Fort and approaching Osaka Bay.

Fort commander Toyohiro Yamauchi ordered the cannon to fire.

Coast defense guns with a caliber of 305 mm roared continuously and fired at the combined fleet.

Yamauchi Toyohiro drew his sword and shouted: "Fire with me and kill the invading enemy!"

"Boom boom boom..."

A dozen coastal defense guns fired, and the shells fell into the sea, splashing a dozen water jets.

Unfortunately, the Combined Fleet was a little far away from the Awaji Fort, and the shells did not hit the Combined Fleet.

In the combined fleet, on the flagship, the British commander was a little surprised and said: "The distance of the Japanese coastal defense artillery is a bit far. It should be German technology."

The officer on the side laughed and said: "The German navy is like no other. Even Denmark can block the military port. It is normal for the coastal defense artillery to be powerful."

"Hahaha…"

When the others heard this, they immediately burst into laughter.

Someone else said: "These Japanese are so stupid. They can't even hit our fleet and they still fire. How stupid."

"You must be stupid, otherwise why would you be an enemy of me, Daying?"

"Hahaha, you are as stupid as the Qing Dynasty, teach them a lesson!"

The combined fleet ignored the incompetent and furious Awaji Fort. They turned right and headed straight for Osaka Bay.

Inside the Osaka headquarters, a telegraph operator immediately got up and ran to the command room, shouting: "Report, Tosa Prefecture emergency!"

"Read!"

"At 10:33 in the morning on the 12th of this month, the sound of firing from the Awaji Fort was heard in Kochi Prefecture, and it was concluded that the British Combined Fleet had arrived!"

Several division commanders immediately raised their heads and looked at Yagyu Sheeyan. "Everyone, the enemy is coming and we have no way out!

Then we will make a decision with England in Osaka and go to war! "

Shibuya, Narita, and Yamazaki immediately saluted and then returned to their positions with their guards.

Yagyu also took a group of soldiers and horses to a nearby highland to watch the battle.

Duolong's observation group also received the news and immediately set off to watch the battle nearby.

It didn’t take long to get to Osaka Bay from the direction of Awaji Island. Around four o’clock in the afternoon, the sentry ship sent by the Kizugawa Naval Port discovered the figure of the combined fleet and immediately returned to the military port to report the news.

At half past four, the combined fleet appeared on the sea near Osaka Bay.

The combined fleet was not in a hurry to attack. After all, it was getting late. If a night battle started, there might be an accident. Therefore, the British commander-in-chief asked the fleet to stay in a safe area to rest.

When Duolong saw a warship as big as a sesame seed in the distance, he put away his telescope angrily and said, "These foreign devils are really cowardly. I've been blowing wind here for a long time, and it looks like they're about to start a fight. These foreign devils They actually started to rest, and there was no sign of war.”

He Ruzhang took a few glances at the British fleet, and those battleships left a big impression on him.

The majestic main gun, huge body, and a steel castle just floating on the sea completely subverted his cognition.

Duolong on the side is already used to it. Although he was also fussed when he saw the steamship, now, he, Duolong, is also a person who has seen the world and is not so superficial.

Duolong boasted from the side: "Don't look at the fact that England has such a big armored ship. When the Qing Dynasty can build this armored ship, it will definitely be bigger and more numerous than the ones in England! Let's see who bullies whom. "

He deliberately lowered his voice for this last sentence so that not many people could hear it.

He Ruzhang shook his head and said: "I'm afraid those foreign consultants won't teach these things."

Duolong was a little discouraged, and then said viciously: "These black-hearted people, huh, when I go back later, I will go find the foreign girl and fuck her hard to vent my anger!"

He Ruzhang secretly said something rude and ignored him, just staring into the distance.

As night fell, the observation group left the highlands and returned to Osaka Castle. Doron immediately ran to take revenge on Western Malaysia.

He Ruzhang was recording what he saw and heard, and then writing his own opinions.

He wrote: “I have often heard Japanese officials say that their naval fleet is not inferior to the Western powers, but I have not seen it today, and Japanese Prime Minister Yagyu Higan seems to have given up on the idea of ​​starting a war with the British Navy at sea.

It can be seen that the Japanese naval fleet may not be as invincible as their officials boasted. "

Although there was no fighting on the 12th, the Japanese army did not relax. In the early morning of the 13th, a shrill alarm sounded in the military port. The Shibuya family led the guards and shouted: "The enemy is about to attack, hurry up and get in position." !”

On the fort, the gunner was already ordering the gunners to adjust the muzzle. On the foreshore, the soldiers were already pulling the bolts of their guns and loading the bullets.

"Click..."

On the machine gun position, a soldier inserted a magazine into a hand-operated Gatling.

On the distant sea, streaks of black smoke shot straight into the sky.

"Woooooooo..."

The British combined fleet moved at this moment and approached the military port.

"The enemy ships are coming, be ready!"

A moment later, four British battleships rushed into the range of the fort. The fort immediately opened fire, causing water jets to rise on the sea, but they did not hit the warships.

The British captains dismissed this. They increased their speed and continued to approach. After entering the shooting range, the main gun in the middle of the battleship opened fire.

This is the early main gun layout of the ironclad ship. The main guns are arranged on both sides of the center, or even right in the center.

Although the layout of the British ironclads was relatively backward, the British army's combat literacy was very high. Four battleships fired at the same time, the fort was hit by three shells, two coastal defense guns were smashed, and hundreds of soldiers were injured and killed. It was a mess.

"Bah, fight back quickly!"

The battery commander spat out the dust that fell into his mouth and urged the gunners to continue firing.

Following the second round of firing, one hit a British battleship, causing minor damage.

However, the British artillery bombardment also arrived as scheduled, and the fort fell into chaos again.

At the same time, other warships had also rushed to the sea area near the fort to fire, with a high hit rate. The naval port fort was suppressed by British warships.

Seeing this opportunity, the British commander immediately ordered five thousand British troops to start landing.

Among the five thousand British troops, only one infantry regiment was British, and the rest were from the Gurkha Regiment of Nepal.

These dark-skinned, machete-wielding mountain tribes have provided the best warriors to the British Empire for generations.

They looked down upon death, were brave and ferocious, and made many meritorious deeds in various battles of the British Empire, making their reputation far and wide.

Under the command of British officers, the Gurkhas began to land in small boats, and the Japanese troops on the foreshore immediately began to block them.

The Gurkhas landed brazenly under heavy gunfire. They howled and looked forward to death as they kept charging forward.

Some Gurkhas had already rushed dozens of meters away from the front of the formation and were firing at the Japanese troops. At the same time, the British warships on the sea used secondary guns to support the landing Gurkha regiment.

The two sides launched a fierce and bloody battle on the beach.

Duolong, who was watching the battle with a telescope from a distance, exclaimed: "Oh, this British battleship is really powerful. You see, the Japanese fort has no power to fight back."

"Oh, where did the British get this savage from? He is really not afraid of death. Tsk, the Japanese are no less generous."

He Ruzhang also looked through the binoculars. His face was solemn, as if he was dripping water. Yingjili's strength was far beyond his imagination. No wonder the Qing Dynasty was defeated by Yingjili twice.

However, the Japanese army was not bad either. Even if they were at a disadvantage, they never took a step back. The beach in front of the military port was littered with corpses and turned red.

Is Japan already so powerful?

He Ruzhang felt a little uneasy in his heart. After all, Japan and the Qing Dynasty faced each other across the sea. With such a wolf-like country beside it, the Qing Dynasty was in danger...

On the battlefield, the Gurkha Regiment is worthy of being the sharp sword of the British Empire. The first line of defense on the Japanese front can no longer hold up.

When the commander of the second line of defense saw this, he immediately drew his saber and shouted: "My sons, today's battle is for the country. The righteousness lies with our army. Follow me to kill the enemy!"

"kill!"

The soldiers picked up their rifles with bayonets inserted and launched a countercharge towards the first line.

The two sides fought fiercely inside and outside the trench, either fighting with bayonets or hugging each other, using debris, fists, and even teeth to kill the enemy.

"kill you!"

"Go to hell, you bitch!"

"Fuck, damn..."

The sounds of fighting and cursing are endless.

Yagyu looked at the bloody battlefield with his binoculars and frowned. He put down his binoculars and said, "The fort is gone. Let Shibuya abandon the beach position and retreat to the military port for final defense."

(End of this chapter)