"Fire!"
"Change formation!"
…
A world-renowned naval battle unfolded in the Philippine Sea. The billowing smoke could be clearly seen from dozens of miles away.
With a loud bang, the Wave Speed, which had rushed to the front, unfortunately became the first victim. The sound of rushing water began to sound from the stern, opening the prelude to the sinking.
An officer cried, "Captain, the warship is seriously damaged. We can't save it. The ship is going to sink!"
The enemy's battleship was hit by the main cannon as soon as it entered the battlefield. The Wave Speed, which had been possessed by the God of Misfortune, was naturally doomed. As a thin-skinned cruiser, the Wave Speed had obviously shouldered a heavy burden that it should not have.
As the captain, Togo Heihachiro also wanted to cry but had no tears. Who knew that the Spanish would not attack the battleship and come to bully them, a "little bean"!
"Shut up. Order the troops to continue firing. As long as the ship hasn't sunk, the bombardment must not stop!"
A heavily damaged warship could not withstand the torment. The more they persisted in firing, the faster the warship would sink.
Togo Heihachiro naturally knew such a simple logic. However, there was no other way. This was the location of the Wave Speed. Even if they wanted to withdraw from the battlefield, it would be too late.
Since the Wave Speed could not be saved, they might as well take the opportunity to fire a few cannons. Perhaps they might even be able to take down an enemy warship.
As for stopping the damage in time and abandoning the warship to jump into the sea to escape, such a thing was very common in European countries, but it would not work in Japan.
The glory of the soldiers determined that they could not do such a thing. If they abandoned the ship and escaped at this time, they would not be able to raise their heads for the rest of their lives.
The officers and soldiers of the Wave Speed chose to fight to the end, but as the commander of the fleet, Admiral Ito Yuki could not sit idly by. The navy was not like the horse dung of the army, where they could have as much as they wanted. It was very expensive to train a qualified navy soldier.
The Wave Speed was destined to be lost, but the hundreds of officers and soldiers on the warship could not give up just like that.
They were now in a decisive battle with the Spanish, and it was unknown how many warships would sink later. If they were to live with the warships, it was unknown how many of the Japanese navy would be left after this battle.
"Pass down the order. If a warship is seriously damaged beyond rescue, all officers and soldiers must abandon the ship and escape. Order Togo Heihachiro to carry out the order immediately. "
The small interlude did not affect the unfolding of the decisive battle. The key to the outcome of this battle was still the decisive battle of the main battleships. If the thin-skinned cruisers joined in, they would be contributing to the enemy's achievements.
The sinking of the Speed of Wave wasn't the end, but the beginning. Then, the Fusang followed in its footsteps and began its sinking.
Yi Dong Yuheng could only watch helplessly as all of this happened. If possible, he didn't want to do that. But reality was cruel. The Japanese Army only had two pre-dreadnoughts, while the enemy had three.
The Government of Japan had no choice but to buy the British Far East Fleet in a hurry. This fleet could be said to be invincible in the Far East region, but in essence, it could only be considered second-rate.
The most advanced warships were all occupied by the local fleets, and the warships that came to the Far East Fleet were all older ones. Even the "pre-dreadnought" only had two.
There was a clear gap in the performance of the old British warships from more than ten years ago compared to the new French warships that had only been in service for three or four years. In addition, the Japanese Army was forced to go to the battlefield only a few days after they got it. They weren't skilled enough in operating it, so they were at a disadvantage in the battle.
The Japanese Navy's current advantage was concentrated in quantity. The original warships plus the purchased British Far East Fleet, whether it was the number of warships or the total tonnage, far exceeded the Spanish expeditionary fleet.
"If the quality is not enough, the quantity will make up for it."
The principle of ants biting an elephant to death was also applicable to the navy, but the price paid was a little higher.
This was proven now. The ordinary warships sent to entangle the Spanish main battleships were playing the most tragic scene at this moment.
The roar of gunfire continued. No matter how tragic the battlefield was, none of the Japanese warships chose to retreat. On the contrary, several Spanish warships withdrew from the battlefield after being damaged.
On the distant observation ship, Governor Chandler, who had personally come to the front line, was looking at the battlefield with binoculars. Beside him, there was a scribe holding a pen and continuously recording on the paper.
A similar situation was happening not far away. Everything that happened on the battlefield was valuable experience, and it was crucial for the Holy Roman Empire Navy, which lacked naval combat experience.
Governor Chandler, who came from the navy, had long recognized this point. At the moment, the observation ships of the Shinra Navy had been distributed in all directions of the battlefield. Hundreds of officers were observing the battlefield from all directions and collecting data.
If one observed carefully, they could also find that dozens of airships in the sky were also overlooking the battlefield, flying at an altitude of only a few hundred meters. If it wasn't for the loud sound of gunfire, one might even hear the "click" sound of cameras.
These actions of ignoring the warring parties naturally aroused the dissatisfaction of the Japanese and Western navies. Then the navies of the two countries unanimously decided to ignore the existence of these annoying people.
"Governor, it's time to eat."
The voice of the servant awakened Governor Chandler from his "hobby." There was no doubt that collecting data was not his job. Leaving the governor's office to join in the fun was obviously beyond the scope of his job.
However, the Austrian Nanyang had always been calm. There were no serious threats, and there was no place to expand. There was not much work for the governor.
It was reasonable for him to patrol the sea in his spare time. As for whether the Philippine Sea was considered within the sphere of influence of the Holy Roman Empire, Governor Chandler could decide this question himself.
Randomly find a small island or a reef, insert a flag, and run the ships to encircle the territory.
If anyone had any objections, they could go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Shinra, or they could have a friendly discussion with the Shinra Navy.
Looking at the watch on his hand, Chandler nodded, "It is indeed time, then let's eat! Let the boys take turns to eat. Every scene on the battlefield must be recorded. "
This was how naval combat experience was accumulated. Although it was not as effective as going to the battlefield in person, they could still accumulate valuable experience through observation.
Not far away, a bearded officer in his fifties or sixties joked, "Could it be that our governor's memory has deteriorated with age, and he even forgot the group rotation?"
"Enough, Ares. Don't forget that you are a day older than me. If your memory really deteriorates with age, you will be the first. "
"Not a day older, it's fifteen minutes! You can even get this wrong, your memory has indeed deteriorated.
If you think about it, it makes sense. I often travel around the world, unlike you who stay in the land of gentleness every day, surrounded by a bunch of bootlickers. It is understandable that your memory deteriorates quickly. "
"After midnight, it is a day, so don't argue. Also, which eye of yours saw me staying in the land of gentleness? Who doesn't know that I hate bootlickers the most? I also don't know who sent you here. "
"Idiot, of course it's me. Could it be that after being the governor for so long, you can't even understand the division of power within the navy … "
…
Everyone was already used to the quarrel between the two. Childhood friends and comrade-in-arms who also ascended to a high position at the same time were legends in the Holy Roman Empire.
However, the two protagonists in the "legend" seemed to have a natural conflict. It was fine in the country as they had to pay attention to aristocratic etiquette, so there was no conflict; when they were overseas, there were not so many scruples, and the two revealed their true colors. They would fight almost every time they met.
Although the two quarreled, it did not affect the relationship between them. Whoever tried to mediate the quarrel would definitely be attacked by the two.
"Don't talk about useless things. Have you realized that the performance of the Japanese navy is completely different? Some of the warships' performance can be said to be excellent, and some of the warships are completely messing around. "
Governor Chandler smiled slightly. "You don't understand the situation. Half a year ago, the total tonnage of the Japanese navy was only about 30,000 tons. Now, it has expanded to nearly 100,000 tons.
It has been less than 20 years since the start of the modernization of the Japanese navy. Where are they going to find so many qualified officers in such a short time?
In order to operate this huge fleet, the Government of Japan not only recruited retired naval officers and soldiers, but also the teachers and students of the naval academy. It is said that they also recruited some sailors from the civilian population to make up the numbers.
Do you think Ito Yuheng is stupid to dare to bring such a fleet out to fight? "
Ares shook his head. "On the contrary, I think Ito Yuheng's choice is very smart. In times of peace, they can naturally train the officers and soldiers well before considering the problem of fighting the enemy.
The situation now is very obvious. The Spanish are already here, and it is impossible to give them time to train the army.
At this time, not only will the army on the island fall into a passive position, but even the morale that the Japanese navy has accumulated with great difficulty will be lost.
Anyway, they have a lot of warships, and the Spanish can't take them down. Although the newly recruited officers and soldiers are not qualified, most of them are from the navy. The biggest problem now is that they are not familiar with warships. After fighting a battle, they will adapt, which is more effective than training for half a year.
Just look at the battlefield that the Japanese chose. It is only 40 nautical miles away from Luzon Island. Even if they lose, they can withdraw their main force.
The current situation is very good. Although the Japanese Army has suffered a lot of losses, the Spanish have also suffered a lot. Although the number of warships they have sunk is not many, they have suffered a lot of injuries.
After the battle, most of the Spanish warships have to be repaired, and it will be difficult for them to recover their combat strength in the next two months.
If it weren't for our help, even if they won a battle, the Spanish would lose the war because they can't keep up with the maintenance.
Now, the final outcome is uncertain. It mainly depends on what the country wants and how much support the British have for the Government of Japan. "
"Your analysis is right. One side is working on an expedition, and the other side is fighting at home. Time is on the side of the Japanese.
The Philippine Islands are richer than many people think. Since the 16th century, it has been a transit point for trade. Tens of thousands of tons of silver, thousands of tons of gold, and a number of spices, tea, silk, and porcelain have all flowed into Europe from here.
In addition, the Philippine Islands are also very rich in resources. Whether it is agricultural resources or gold and silver mines, there is no shortage of anything. In terms of value, it is not much lower than the entire Nanyang Governor's District.
Spain has been operating here for more than 300 years, and the bureaucrats have been rooted here for more than 300 years. Except for a part of them that flowed back to Europe, the rest stayed here.
The Japanese made a lot of money this time, otherwise they would not have the money to buy warships from the British. Let's ignore the looted goods first. Even the Government of Japan doesn't know what that thing is.
Just looking at the profits, after occupying the Philippine Islands, the food crisis in Japan has been solved. The shortage of coal, copper, and iron ore has also been solved.
Just these things alone can save Japan tens of millions of DND in foreign exchange expenses every year. If managed well, the income from the Philippine Islands alone can catch up to half of Japan's fiscal revenue.
In a sense, the Japanese are now taking the Spanish's money and fighting against Spain.
With the Spanish government's terrible financial situation and rotten bureaucracy, if they continue to fight like this, I'm afraid the Spanish will be the first to collapse. "
Governor Chandler couldn't help but drool at the end of the conversation. There was no other way. The Philippine Islands were too rich. Except for Java Island in the hands of the Dutch, there was no other place in Nanyang that could compare.
As a qualified colonist, it was impossible not to be tempted when encountering such a rich place. From the analysis, it could be heard that even the resources of the Philippine Islands were clear. It was obvious that they were prepared.
In the past, in the hands of the Spanish, Governor Chandler couldn't do anything due to political influence, but now there was finally a ray of hope.
As long as the Spanish were defeated and gave up their ownership of the Philippine Islands, the Nanyang Governor's District would have a chance to get the Philippine Islands. After all, there was no political pressure to rob the Japanese.
It was not only Governor Chandler's idea, but the colonists in the entire Nanyang Governor's District were anxiously waiting for all of this to happen.
If it weren't for the Government of Vienna's order, the Spanish would not even have access to logistics supplies, let alone use the dock for maintenance.
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