I started with the Shinsengumi in Bakumatsu

Chapter 241 Stop fighting, I want peace talks

The sudden change made the Osaka battlefield quiet. The British fleet had no offensive troops. As for the reinforcements he requested, it would take a month at the earliest.

Moreover, once Japan demands negotiations on the condition of more than 3,000 prisoners, his situation will become even more passive.

However, the commander waited for a long time and did not see an envoy from the Japanese army. He could only stand still for the time being.

However, the commander sent a telegram to Parkes. He hoped that Parkes would contact the Japanese government to inquire.

Parkes received the telegram and looked at the contents. He was completely confused. He was fine yesterday. How come he was defeated and captured thousands of people today?

After reading the detailed battle report, he couldn't help but curse: "Damn it, this Yagyu Heiyan is really cunning. Those positions our army captured before must have been given up by him himself. I think his purpose is to capture our attacking army." The troops are here to threaten us!"

The secretary on the side asked: "Mr. Ambassador, what should we do now?"

Parkes said angrily: "What else can be done? There are still a thousand people among those prisoners who are our British subjects. If something happens to them and the news returns to the country, how much impact will it have? Maybe, William The Prime Minister must take the blame and resign!

Damn it, how did things end up like this? Yagyu Heeyan has achieved his goal, why hasn't he sent anyone to talk? What other tricks does he have? "

"Tell the fleet commander immediately and ask him to pay more attention. Yagyu Shengxi is as cunning as a fox. He must have other plans."

After Parkes finished speaking, he immediately got up and went to contact Tokugawa Qingxi.

Now that the Japanese army has won a battle in Osaka, the panic in Kyoto has been swept away, and the citizens are cheering because of their victory.

Similarly, in the court, those who opposed Yagyu Sheeyan also disappeared, and everyone kept their mouths shut in tacit agreement.

Only Emperor Meiji, Matsudaira Yongho and others had smiles on their faces.

Emperor Meiji boasted to the ministers: "I know that Xiangfu will never be defeated so easily. This must be Xiangfu's strategy. Don't doubt Xiangfu anymore in the future."

Iwakura Tomomi and others looked aggrieved. Everyone was fooled by Yagyu Heiyan.

Kido Takayun added: "Your Majesty, now that our army holds British hostages, will we contact the British ambassador for negotiations next?"

Tokugawa said happily: "This matter can be left to the minister to handle."

Okubo Toshimichi immediately said: "I think we should ask the Prime Minister what he means."

Emperor Meiji took advantage of the situation and said: "Well, my father-in-law will arrange what to do. You must ensure the supplies on the Osaka front line. That's it."

Emperor Meiji was in a happy mood and no longer worried about the war ahead. He immediately took Queen Mary to listen to the opera. He had not listened to the opera for more than half a month and missed it very much.

As soon as the court meeting ended, the nobles went back to their homes, and cabinet officials such as Okubo Toshimichi and Tokugawa Yoshiki returned to cabinet work.

As soon as the group arrived at the cabinet, officials came to report that someone was sent by the British ambassador to find the foreign minister.

Tokugawa Yingxi immediately said goodbye to everyone and went to his office.

Then he met the British Embassy official.

The official said: "Mr. Tokugawa, our ambassador would like to meet with you once."

Tokugawa happily agreed: "Okay, I'll go see Mr. Parkes right away."

Tokugawa Qingxi packed up, changed into a suit and went out, and then met with Parkes in a Western restaurant.

After the two exchanged pleasantries, they couldn't wait to get into the topic.

The reason why Tokugawa Yoshiki is anxious is because he originally hoped to defeat Yagyu Hien with the help of Yingji, but now the actual situation is exactly the opposite.

The British army he had high hopes for was defeated!

Although the navy has not yet been defeated, the situation is already passive.

Tokugawa Qingxi was a little anxious and said: "Mr. Parkes, how could your British army lose?"

Parkesli said harshly: "This is all because Yagyu Heigan is too cunning and ruthless. He actually did not fight our army at sea. Instead, he arranged the battlefield in the bustling Osaka. This is something we did not expect."
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"Mr. Tokugawa, our British fleet is spread all over the world. Five thousand people are just a drop in the bucket of our army. I hope your country will treat them preferentially, otherwise the consequences will be disastrous."

Tokugawa Yingxi shook his head slightly and said: "Now that the prisoners are still in Osaka, I will send someone to check the situation and give advice to the Prime Minister.

However, Mr. Parkes, our previous agreement is about to be invalidated. "

Parkes now no longer cares about overthrowing Yagyu Heiyan. Ensuring the treatment of the captives is his top priority at the moment.

He had already spread the news of the army's defeat back home, and he hoped to mediate the war before it expanded.

After the two met, Parkes returned to the embassy. As soon as he sat down, the secretary burst in and said hurriedly: "Mr. Ambassador, urgent call!"

Park's heart suddenly suddenly felt that this was not good news. He immediately reached out to take the emergency call and took a look.

"What! It's over!"

The telegram clearly stated that the combined fleet was surrounded by the Japanese naval fleet, and a battle ensued. One battleship was lost, one was seriously damaged, two were slightly damaged, and the remaining ships suffered casualties.

At the same time, one of the Japanese navy was slightly damaged, one was seriously damaged, the flagship was not damaged, and the remaining ships were not counted.

This battle seemed to be a draw, but in fact it was the Japanese Navy that won. After all, this was the British Navy, which had been in East Asia for decades without a single defeat!

A draw is a defeat.

The Battle of Osaka Bay took place at noon.

Ryoma Sakamoto led the fleet into the Seto Inland Sea at 11 a.m. and headed straight for Osaka Bay. At 11:50, the combined fleet sent a picket ship to discover the Japanese navy and immediately returned to report the news.

However, the Japanese Navy's ships have innovated the power system, and the speed of the small boats is far higher than that of the British small boats.

This picket boat was overtaken by five Japanese boats at twelve o'clock, and a fierce battle broke out.

The Combined Fleet boat was sunk.

However, this movement was discovered by other small boats of the combined fleet, and the whereabouts of the Japanese navy were exposed.

When Ryoma Sakamoto saw that the sneak attack was unsuccessful, he immediately ordered the fleet to advance at full speed and directly attack the British troops in Osaka Bay.

When the commander of the combined fleet learned that the Japanese navy had appeared, he immediately ordered the combined fleet to immediately seize the Kizugawa naval port and seize the T-position immediately.

But the overall speed of the Japanese navy is higher than that of the combined fleet.

The flagship Fujisan was the first to go into battle. It rushed to the front and quickly approached the combined fleet. Mikasa and Asahi were one ship's position behind them.

"Boom boom boom..."

Fujisan's main gun opened fire first, using single-base gunpowder shells with a range of ten nautical miles.

This range is far beyond the range of British artillery.

The commander of the Combined Fleet was frightened by the gunfire from the Mount Fuji.

Fortunately, these shots did not hit the British battleship.

The British commander knew that the Japanese navy soldiers were not well trained, but he was not sure about the luck of the next shot. He immediately ordered all warships to move forward at full speed.

Soon, new bombardment came again. A battleship was hit on the bow by a cannon and exploded, but no vital parts were injured.

The British soldiers shouted: "It's explosive bombs!" "They are crazy!"

"God forbid, let their bombs explode!"

The British soldiers were frightened by the cannon and immediately cursed.

However, the British naval soldiers were well trained and did not lose their position. They continued to charge forward with increased power.

The four battleships of the combined fleet resisted the gunfire and finally rushed to about two nautical miles.

Such a short distance is an advantageous distance for British naval soldiers.

But such a close distance gives Japanese naval gunners greater certainty.

"Boom boom boom..."

The battleships of both sides ran side by side and fired at each other.

Fujiyama was bombarded by two battleships. The shells hit the hull, the deck shook violently, and many soldiers fell.

Sakamoto Ryoma shouted: "Hull damage!"

"The enemy did not penetrate our armor!"

This round was just a conventional artillery shell from the British army and did not penetrate the 200 mm rear steel armor of Mount Fuji.

The British commander also saw this scene.

However, one shot from the Fujisan penetrated the hull of another British battleship, causing an explosion and thick smoke billowing from it.

The commander immediately said: "Give up the use of artillery, adjust the direction, use our collision angle to sink the enemy!"

This is the latest tactic of the British Navy, specifically used in armored ship battles.

The armored ship battles during the American Civil War provided a combat example for the British Navy. Especially after the British Navy developed ironclad ships, they also discovered similar situations, so they learned from previous ramming tactics.

Therefore, the ironclad ships of the British Navy have ramming angles on their bows, which are enough to penetrate the enemy's iron armor of more than 200 millimeters.

Sakamoto Ryoma didn't know that the British Navy was going to change tactics. He just saw the low hit rate of his own artillery, and immediately ordered the torpedo boat troops to attack.

Twenty torpedo boats immediately rushed forward at a speed of 19 knots. The British commander noticed those small boats, reacted immediately, and immediately asked other warships to block them.

However, the Japanese torpedo boats were very fast. Even though more than ten of them were sunk, and the remaining several boats broke through the defense line, the battleship's secondary guns quickly opened fire to stop them.

But the torpedo boats were too fast, and the last two battleships approached the combined fleet. The turning battleships could not avoid it, and the two battleships were hit by torpedoes.

One battleship suffered an explosion, and its hull broke and sank directly. Another ship's hull below the waterline had a gap, a large amount of seawater poured in, and the hull tilted.

The torpedo boat that completed the offensive mission was sunk by the British steam warship that caught up.

The two battleships that completed the turn included the flagship of the joint commander. The two battleships rushed directly towards Mikasa and Asahi. Mikasa was directly hit by the flagship of the joint fleet and a large hole was created, and the seawater poured in.

Another battleship collided with the Asahi, causing a large number of sparks and a tooth-piercing friction sound.

Seeing that the remaining two battleships were about to be killed by the Fujisan, the other battleships of the Japanese naval fleet were at a disadvantage.

Considering the future war, Sakamoto Ryoma did not dare to lose all the battleships here and took the initiative to retreat.

The combined fleet did not dare to pursue it and could only watch the Japanese navy retreat.

The combined fleet returned to Kizugawa Military Port, and nearby onlookers saw the scarred British warships, and they immediately spread the word about what they saw.

Soon, everyone knew that the British Navy had suffered a loss.

Immediately afterwards, a newspaper was published showing a British battleship gradually sinking into the sea. This was photographed by a military reporter aboard the Mount Fuji. After Sakamoto Ryoma retreated, he immediately sent the reporter ashore, developed the photo, and sent it to Osaka.

When this newspaper appeared, everyone remembered the Japanese navy with its numerous military exploits.

In Kyoto, Parkes, who received the telegram, did not dare to waste a minute. He immediately found Tokugawa Qingxi and requested armistice negotiations.

Tokugawa went to the palace overnight to report the good news to Emperor Meiji.

Emperor Meiji did not answer directly. He only said: "Send this matter to Xiangfu for handling."

At eight o'clock in the evening, Yagyu Heiyan received a telegram from Kyoto.

Yagyu Heeyan raised his lips slightly and said immediately: "Call back to Kyoto and tell us that the British navy will withdraw from Japan before we accept the negotiation."

At nine o'clock, Tokugawa Yingxi handed over Yagyu's telegram to Parkes for review.

Parkes was angry inside, but the price of destroying a fleet was not something he could bear.

"As long as your country can ensure the safety of the fleet, our troops can withdraw first."

At half past nine, Yagyu Sheeyan, who received the telegram, agreed to Parkes' proposal.

The next day, the combined fleet abandoned the occupied Kizugawa naval port and Sakai port, evacuated Osaka Bay, and left Japan.

After Yangyu Heige arranged the military affairs carefully, he immediately got on the special train and returned to Kyoto.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, Yagyu Heiyan met with Parkes in the cabinet.

After shaking hands, the two sat down.

Liu Shengxi was sure of victory and said: "Mr. Parkes, this loss is all caused by your arrogance. If you could have friendly discussions with our country, there would be no conflict this time."

Parkes was ashamed and annoyed, but Yagyu Sheeyan had already handed him the steps, so he had no choice but to follow them. After all, Yagyu Sheeyan had the chips in his hand, and he had already lost them all.

Parkes' face was livid and he said, "Mr. Yagyu, the British Empire can afford such a loss."

"But you can't bear it."

Yagyu Heeyan directly exposed Parkes' weakness without giving him a chance.

Parkes was frustrated, but he had no way to refute, so he had to say: "Then let's be realistic. This time, you, Mr. Yagyu, won, but I, Daying, did not lose, it was just me."

Yagyu Heeyan did not struggle with this, he instead said: "Okay, then let's talk about something practical.

To put it bluntly, our country's strength can be said to be the first in East Asia. However, there are still unequal treaties between our country and Great Britain. This is a shame for our country, so our country's demand is to abolish the unequal treaties. "

When Parkes heard this, he felt much better. It was just that the British Empire would not be too embarrassed if the unequal treaties were abolished.

He said: "I understand, and I will report your country's demands to Congress."

Yagyu Shengxiyan stood up and shook hands and said: "Then I look forward to the good news from Mr. Parkes.

After we have equal diplomacy, our country will return your country's prisoners. "

(End of this chapter)