The Japanese civil war resumed, and the China fleet's patrol continued. The flagship of the patrol fleet, the battleship Chongqing, finally appeared in the Japanese sea in its proper posture. The hull didn't have any modifications, only the four triple 380 cannons on the deck became four twin 380 cannons.
The 29000 ton hull was abnormally stable in the turbulent Japanese sea. A large number of engineers were observing and measuring the various parts of the warship. Such a large warship had many small problems. Finding the problems and making targeted improvements was the job of the technicians. What made these technicians feel relieved was that the commander-in-chief already said that in the next ten years, they wouldn't consider building a larger warship. In the next ten years, with the battleship Chongqing as the blueprint, China's new battleships would be upgraded and not enlarged.
At night, when it was time to sleep, the full staff and a large number of technicians filled the cabin. The heater maintained the temperature in the cabin at 14 degrees, which was very suitable for sleeping. However, the technicians didn't fall asleep. They lay on the hammock and chatted about work.
"This ship is just right." The technicians didn't give a high evaluation of this majestic warship. They used too many new technologies, too many new ideas. The construction process of this warship made all the technicians nervous. Even if they were riding this warship on the sea, the technicians weren't blindly optimistic.
"I only hope that the commander-in-chief won't make any other requests. In the next few years, we will continue to build new warships according to the specifications of this warship."
"Although it won't take ten years, it will at least take five or six years."
Satisfied with the current situation came one after another. The technological leap was too big. Everyone hoped to be stable for a few years and thoroughly understand the technology. No one thought that the Chongqing could display any power in Northeast Asia. The enemy here was too weak. Leaving the Chongqing here was simply a waste of resources. The real battlefield of the Chongqing should be in the Indian Ocean, should be in the South Atlantic. The opponent shouldn't be the completely disregarded Japanese Navy, but the large fleet of the British Royal Navy.
Not long after everyone gradually fell asleep as they chatted, there was a dull explosion, and the warship visibly shook. The soldiers and technicians who had just fallen asleep didn't move until a sharp alarm sounded.
"Enemy attack! Everyone to your post! Everyone, get to your posts! "Between the intervals of the alarm, a hurried shout came from the loudspeaker.
The naval officers and men quickly climbed out of their bunks, quickly put on their clothes, and rushed to their posts. After everyone was in position, they did not find any news about the enemy. After waiting for a while, everyone felt that this was probably just a drill, and many of the comrades relaxed a lot. However, things didn't end as quickly as everyone thought. They went back to sleep, and it wasn't until more than an hour later that everyone received their orders.
The commander's room was brightly lit. The warship had indeed been attacked, and none of the observation posts had detected any enemy shooting. Coupled with the fact that there was indeed an explosion and the impact on the hull of the ship, the command finally concluded that the warship might have touched a mine. Even after finding a direction, the people in the command room did not feel relaxed. How badly was the hull damaged? Although the torpedo didn't penetrate the hull, it was bound to be damaged. Only the Meiji government could lay mines in the Sea of Japan. Did the floating mines accidentally collide with the warships, or did the Nihonese deliberately lay mines on the sea route? These things were all unknown.
The attack of a mine was not like the attack of a surface ship, which could be detected or prevented. Mines were difficult to detect at night. If they encountered a mine again, there was always a possibility that the warship would be damaged. This feeling was really bad.
The communication unit reported the matter of the Chongqing hitting a mine to the military commission the next morning. In a sense, this was the first time the Chinese Navy "suffered" from the Japanese Navy. Everyone's mood was not very good.
Vézé also discovered something he didn't pay much attention to before. The unpredictability of war was really beyond his imagination. The possibility of Japan deliberately laying mines on the sea route was not big. The Chongqing's luck seemed to be very bad, and it hit a mine released by the Meiji Navy. This kind of thing was very annoying. Battleships could rely on their thick skin to resist, but what if it was a civilian ship that hit the mine? With the strength of the Min dynasty's hull, this mine could probably blow a hole in the hull of a civilian ship. At this time, how should China deal with this situation?
Previously, Vézé thought that Japan could be allowed to have its own civil war. Vézé didn't feel any guilt about shedding more Japanese blood. But this mine made Vézé feel that this idea might be wishful thinking. The Min dynasty's Asian part and the American part of the commercial and personnel exchanges were increasing, and the Japan Sea was still a relatively dense sea route. Should China's ships gamble on whether they would hit a mine or not?
The Politburo held a meeting to discuss this matter. Although Wang Haiyang was a member of the Standing Committee, he didn't dare to intervene on this issue. After all, he didn't understand. The main speakers were the military and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
What should they do? There didn't seem to be many choices. Force the Meiji government not to use the mine? The Min dynasty was not optimistic about the Meiji government's obedience. The Meiji government naturally knew that the power behind the Hokkaido Army was the Min dynasty. If they told the Meiji government about this, it would only make the Meiji government feel that they could use some of China's weaknesses. What's more, the Meiji government's navy didn't have an overwhelming advantage, and it could even be said that they were at a considerable disadvantage. The mine was one of the Meiji government's most important weapons. Did the Min dynasty say that they wouldn't let the Meiji government use it? When the Meiji government was facing destruction, what would they be afraid of? So the direction of the discussion was to simply kill the Meiji government.
Wang Haiyang also thought that this was probably the right way to solve the problem. But Vézé's opinion surprised Wang Haiyang. Vézé said, "If we are going to annex Nippon, it's not a big deal to do this. Since we have no intention of annexing Nippon, it's not bad to let the Meiji government continue to exist. "
"Why?" Wang Haiyang couldn't help but ask.
Vézé said to Wang Haiyang, "Hokkaido is willing to cooperate with us now because they need our support. In order to get our support, they will naturally try their best to maintain the cooperative relationship with us. "If the Hokkaido government unifies Nippon, we will naturally not continue to support them so easily. "It will become more difficult to cooperate. At that time, will we immediately fall out with them? "
Wang Haiyang was speechless for a moment. In the eyes of the officials of the Min dynasty, the Military Governor Of Vaize was somewhat similar to a saint. Now Wang Haiyang suddenly found that the Military Governor Of Vaize was not like a saint at all when he considered the problem coldly, but more like a cruel official. There was no warm fantasy, and there was no enthusiasm for the idea. It was simply a standard of whether it could be achieved. However, Wang Haiyang looked at the calm expressions of the military and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and he didn't dare to ask again.
Foreign Minister Li Xin said, "How about we ask them to stop the war?"
Ruan Xihao nodded and said, "It's a good idea to stop the war. When both sides can't fight anymore, we can ask them to stop the war. "
Li Xin agreed with the military's view. He said with a smile, "Nippon also has the Nanbei Chao. It's not bad to let them come again. The struggle between Kanto and Kansai has always been fierce. "
Wang Haiyang felt that this attitude was really different from his work in the country. He asked again, "How long can the war stop?"
"It can be maintained when the war can't go on anymore." Ruan Xihao replied in a tone like he was educating a younger brother.
"What about the mines?" Wang Haiyang found that everyone seemed to have forgotten the focus of the discussion.
"If the goal is to stop the war, the problem of the mines is very simple. Tell the Meiji government that if they lay mines randomly again, we will support Hokkaido to fight them. If they are willing to be honest, then we actually don't oppose the war. "Li Xin gave an answer.
Wang Haiyang finally understood the way the Standing Committee talked. It turned out that this group of people already had a lot of plans in mind, and the meeting only needed to determine the basic principles of war or peace. However, Wang Haiyang still couldn't help but ask another question, "If the Meiji government completely doesn't accept our proposal, then we can only fight?"
"Do you think there is any other way besides fighting?" Ruan Xihao said with a frown.
In the face of such a question, Wang Haiyang was prepared. He said with a smile, "If you want to increase the budget, please inform us in advance."
"We don't need to increase the budget to deal with Japan. The normal cruise of the navy can be turned into artillery attacks. "Ruan Xihao answered very directly. The Min dynasty's advantage in the Western Pacific Ocean had been so great that they could suppress Japan and Korea with normal military expenditure.
Finally getting rid of the embarrassing crisis, Wang Haiyang breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. He didn't regret carrying out such a test. If he didn't try to find the boundaries of cooperation, it would be inevitable that he would be in a mess if something happened later.
The Min dynasty had its own diplomats in both the Meiji government and Hokkaido. The diplomats in the Meiji government quickly contacted the Meiji government. The ambassador to Japan said seriously, "Our ship encountered the mines laid by your country when sailing in the Sea of Japan. Our country requests your country to explain this."
The Foreign Minister of the Meiji government was stunned. What did this mean? After a tense inquiry, the Foreign Minister of Japan was slightly relieved. The Chinese warship hit the Japanese mines drifting with the waves, but it didn't sink. China asked the Meiji Navy of Japan to stop laying mines.
"Your country's request is really too much." The Foreign Minister of Japan immediately shook his head.
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