Hijikata Suizo was exhausted by this question. Too many people had asked this question in the past half a month. The upper echelons of Hokkaido had long decided to throw away all the burdens of the past and move forward lightly. The Tokugawa shogunate was just yesterday's flower, not today's problem. However, after the Meiji government killed the Aizu vassal lord, Matsudaira Rongbo, they left the Tokugawa family and a group of shogunate officials in Tokyo when they withdrew from Tokyo. This group of people happily welcomed the arrival of the Hokkaido army. Rumors about the reconstruction of the shogunate began to spread in the areas controlled by the Hokkaido Army.
"We've said this too many times. The Tokugawa shogunate has already been destroyed. There's no point in rebuilding it," Army Chief Hijikata Suizo told Umekawa with a serious expression. After sending off Division Commander Umekawa, Hijikata Suisan felt that something was amiss. He ordered the political commissars to attend a meeting.
"Everyone, how much have you encountered regarding the restoration of the Tokugawa shogunate?" Hijikata asked.
The political commissars looked at each other. They were in charge of the ideological and political work in the army. In theory, this kind of problem should be handled by the political commissars. However, the system of the Hokkaido Army was transplanted from the Liberation Army. The Liberation Army was led by the Party, and the Hokkaido Army treated political work as a category. The political commissar of the Hokkaido Army was a subordinate unit under the military headquarters, unlike the situation in the Liberation Army where the political commissar was the head of the army. Comparatively speaking, the Restoration Party was the core and leader of the Liberation Army. The political commissar of Hokkaido was hired to do political work for a living. Since they were here to make a living, they had to figure out their superior's intention. The political commissars didn't know what Hijikata Souzo's attitude was.
But Tu Fang didn't say anything. After waiting for a while, the group of political commissars had no choice but to speak. "Chief Earthworks, the soldiers have been emotionally unstable recently. Many people think that we've worked so hard just to revive the Tokugawa family. That's not what everyone thinks. "
"Some people in the military seem to be secretly contacting the Tokugawa family and the Tokugawa shogunate. Recently, many people from Tokugawa want to join our army. "
"We also heard that because you haven't visited the Tokugawa family, the Tokugawa family doesn't seem too happy."
…
The Japanese also had this advantage. They were more serious in their work. For example, there was a popular Japanese saying, "Even if you are a mouse, you should be the best one." Although there were problems with the system, this kind of enthusiasm could make up for the shortcomings brought about by the system to a certain extent.
Hijikata Suisan's expression became colder and colder. Because of the war, Hijikata Suisan did not have the energy to focus on the recent ideological work. In fact, Tu Fang felt that ideological work was very troublesome. He had also participated in the ideological work conference of the Chinese Communist Party and was shocked by the tedious content of the conference. From Hijikata Suisan's point of view, since the Chinese army was so strong, their discipline should be much better than the Japanese army. He did not expect that China's political commissars would have to face so many different opinions when it came to ideological work. In Tu Fang's eyes, many of the opinions were not what a soldier should have.
For example, why did we come to Japan to fight? Tu Fang felt that since the superior had given the order, he had to come!
For example, the customs of Japan were very strange. Alright, Tu Fang felt that it was his personal problem whether he felt that it was strange or not. Bringing it up to the highest ranking officer was the weirdest thing to do.
There were also questions about life, and even the question of complaining. In theory, the head of the military was the person in charge of the entire army and was a very strict father figure. However, China's political commissar had played the role of a mother.
With this experience, Tu Fang no longer had the intention to fully adopt China's political commissar system. Of course, the Japanese had a good attitude when copying. The political commissar was not the commander of the army, but the Japanese political commissar had to learn the way China's political commissar did things.
Now, Tu Fang felt that this decision was very wise. If the Japanese political commissar still used the traditional way of doing things, the soldiers would not tell the truth to the political commissar. In order to ensure the political commissar's authority, Tu Fang was under a lot of pressure.
"When you go back, immediately call a meeting and tell the soldiers that we have no intention of rebuilding the Tokugawa shogunate. I will also inform the entire army, no one should have such a wrong idea. "Tu Fang decisively gave such an order.
Soon, the entire Hokkaido army knew the intention of their Chief Tu Fang. It was also at that time that the situation of the Hokkaido army began to deteriorate.
The Meiji Navy's troops seized the battlefield with their superior military strength. After the Meiji Navy sank two of the Hokkaido army's main warships, they quickly gained control of the Sea of Japan. In October, they launched a fierce attack on Niigata, which was controlled by the Hokkaido army.
On October 22nd, they launched an attack on Tokyo by land and sea. Tu Fang had to order the fleet to fight, trying to severely damage the Meiji Navy's power and regain the battlefield advantage. It was also on this day that Tu Fang learned that the China fleet appeared at the edge of the fierce battle. The Chinese came to help! Tu Fang Suisan was delighted. He did not expect that in the evening, the Chinese Navy, who had watched the naval battle for a few hours, would actually retreat.
The morale of the Hokkaido army was greatly affected, but the morale of the Meiji Navy was greatly boosted.
The reason for the Chinese Navy's retreat was very simple, there was a problem with the turret of the new warship. It was impossible to forcibly install the triple turret on the warship. The Chinese shipbuilders used their wisdom to fulfill Tudu's request. However, after a few months, the problem of the turret's structural strength always broke out. This time, the fleet's turret did not intend to fire, but prepared to move the muzzle to aim, as a result, three of the four turrets had problems. Since their turret had problems, they could only go back to China to solve it. For China, they had no intention of participating in the war. If the Hokkaido army felt frustrated, it can only be said that the Hokkaido army thought too much.
The next day, the two sides did not fight again. Togo Heihachiro received a report. In the battle on the 22nd, three warships of the Hokkaido Navy suffered heavy damage. Therefore, the three warships of the Hokkaido Navy temporarily rested in Tokyo Bay, and the warships that were not injured were in the open sea.
"Is this information accurate?" Togo Heihachiro asked skeptically. To get such accurate information in such a short time, this is not in line with the efficiency of the Meiji government army.
"The information is absolutely accurate." The person who passed the information was Togo's old boss, Marine Minister Yamamoto Quanbei.
"Your Excellency, this is related to the outcome of the war. If this information is not accurate, the Navy can't mobilize based on this information. "Togo had to emphasize again.
Seeing that the young Togo attached so much importance, Yamamoto didn't want to fool him. He lowered his voice and said, "This is the news from the old shogunate. The Hokkaido army has stated that they will not let the shogunate restore. The old shogunate feels that there is no way out, and some people want the Hokkaido army to follow them to hell. "
As a Japanese, Togo immediately understood the meaning of this sentence. While his heart was filled with great disdain for this kind of old era scum, Togo also admired the commander of this operation to withdraw from Tokyo. Many people did not agree with the Meiji government's hasty withdrawal from Tokyo. Togo, who came from the navy, thought that if they can win, they should fight, and if they can't win, they should run. If the elite troops were exhausted in Tokyo, there would be no capital to fight back in the future.
Now it seemed that withdrawing from Tokyo was not only a good strategic choice, but also a big trap for the Hokkaido army politically. Although the Hokkaido army was strong, its overall strength was still not as good as the Meiji army. It was almost inevitable for the Hokkaido army to win over allies. At this time, the only people who would be considered as an ally of the Hokkaido army were probably the Tokugawa shogunate. The Hokkaido army decisively announced that they would break off relations with the Tokugawa shogunate, which was a good approach. But it was too late. If they had made such a declaration before sending troops, there wouldn't be the current problem. But looking back, the Hokkaido army didn't have the intention to take down Tokyo before sending troops. After the tactical development exceeded the strategic expectations, chaos was inevitable.
"In that case, I will act according to this information." Togo replied decisively.
"You …" Yamamoto Kohei appreciated his subordinates, so he wanted to question this news a little more, but he still held back. Togo Heihachiro wasn't a credulous person. Even if there was such a situation, he would choose to be on guard. If Yamamoto Kohei said at this time, "the credibility of this news must be doubted," then it would be a way to shirk responsibility. What Yamamoto Kohei had to do was to shoulder the responsibility and let these young superior officers and soldiers play to their heart's content.
Early in the morning of the 23rd, the Meiji Navy, which was almost all assembled troops, sailed on the open sea of Tokyo Bay. The Hokkaido army's small boats in charge of guarding immediately passed the news. The Meiji Navy didn't try to go deep, but began to lay mines in Tokyo Bay under the cover of warships. Togo Heihachiro also threw caution to the wind. Although the mines were expensive, the opportunity to divide the enemy's forces was fleeting.
The Hokkaido army's warships were inferior in number, but they could rely on solid armor and advanced artillery to fight against the Meiji Navy. In the battle between the two sides, the Meiji Navy didn't have the slightest upper hand. If they could divide the Hokkaido Navy into two, the Meiji Navy could use the absolute advantage of quantity to make up for the lack of quality. There was a real possibility of victory in a naval battle. Compared to this kind of victory, the cost of the mines was negligible.
The mine-laying operation went on for more than four hours. At noon, in addition to the figures of warships appearing in Tokyo Bay, the warning circle on the open sea also received news of the enemy coming from the open sea.
He ordered the last mines to be thrown into the sea as soon as possible. Togo Heihachiro ordered the captain, "Raise the Z flag!"
The captain was stunned, but he didn't question. He just asked, "What do we use for the flag signal?"
Togo Heihachiro sighed slightly and said word by word, "The rise and fall of the Imperial Kingdom depends on this battle. Everyone, work hard together."
Needless to say, all the Meiji Navy knew that this was the order for the decisive battle. The heartbeat suddenly became intense, and the steady breathing also became heavy. The captain wasn't completely immersed in the excitement of the decisive battle. He turned his head and shouted to the communications officer, "Raise the Z flag! Flag signal, the rise and fall of the Imperial Kingdom depends on this battle. Everyone, work hard together! "
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