Chapter 571 Blockade of the Miyako Strait
“General, the Japanese on the opposite side have raised their white flags. Do they want to surrender?” Morse, General Glaish’s adjutant, looked at the two dozen ships that remained with some surprise. boat.
Glaish sarcastically said: "Haha, they don't pretend now. How can any fishermen raise a white flag to the warship? It would be better to just leave, so that their identity will be further confirmed. "
Morse said: "Does that mean that the Japanese are really good now? Want to surrender?"
Glaish shook his head and said: "Don't jump to conclusions easily. Since it is surrender, the main force of the Japanese must have been evacuated just now. Only a very small part is left. Think carefully. Think about it, why don’t they keep up with the big army? ”
"Perhaps they want to stay and negotiate. After all, we have a rough idea of the Japanese's purpose. It is certain that they will continue to be evil. It is impossible for them to give up the interests of the Southern Ryukyu Islands as soon as we come."
Ge Laish: "It's impossible. If it's a negotiation, there's no need to start withdrawing. If we can't reach an agreement, it's not too late to retreat."
He didn't know that Japanese soldiers have a tradition of defeating superiors from below, so he also had some doubts. I don’t understand Takaki Morita’s intentions.
"Then should we let them get on the boat and see what they want to do?" Morse asked.
Well, Glaish thinks so too. After all, I have the advantage now and I don’t have to worry about what the other side does. At the same time, Glaish also wants to know what the opposing commander’s wishful thinking is.
So Glaish ordered: "Send a communication boat and let our people get close to them..."
When talking about approaching, Glaish suddenly had an idea in his mind, "Get closer, get closer..." What did he seem to think of?
"Wait a minute, Morse, do you think those small fishing boats can pose a threat to us?" Glasch asked Morse.
"Your Excellency General, this is of course impossible, unless we stand and don't fight back, letting them bombard us is not enough, and their artillery is not much of a threat to merchant ships. We are armored cruisers. Even if they hit the ship, I'm afraid they won't be able to cause us any immediate damage to the key parts. We would have sunk them long ago."
"You are right, but artillery is unreasonable, and we cannot afford it. There is only a little risk, if the boat capsizes in the gutter, then we will become the biggest joke in the world!" Glaish said seriously!
Morse heard something in Glaish's words, so he asked: "General, have you noticed anything?"
Glaish did not answer the question directly, but asked: "You said Is there any way for the Japanese to make us stand still and get beaten as you just said, or is there no way to counter them? "
Morse knew that Glaish would not be aimless, and he was sure to say this. There was something I hadn't considered, so I started to think about it.
Soon he had an idea: "General, are you saying that it is possible for the Japanese to surrender?"
Glaish saw Morse following his train of thought and said with satisfaction: "Yes, our warships are indeed advanced, but as the saying goes, small ships are easy to turn around, so this is our disadvantage, but it is the Japanese's advantage."
Morse continued: "So if the Japanese approach our ship, our reaction speed may not be as fast as their small ship, and this is our weakness, especially if they get close to us, our weapons are not as good. If you use it against them, it may cause accidental injury to your own people."
Glaish: "Is this a bold guess? I'm afraid the success rate of this kind of thing is only one percent. You said Japan. Do people really dare to do this? "
This is almost the same as committing suicide. Even if it can cause damage to the armored ship, other warships in East Africa can make up for it. East Africa may suffer losses, but the other side will definitely be destroyed.
“This is not a matter of your own death, but a matter of paying a disproportionate price. In my opinion, even if one ship is lost in our fleet, the loss will be greater than the annihilation of the entire army on the opposite side. Even the most backward sailing warships are serious warships, and these Japanese ships are temporarily modified from fishing boats and merchant ships," Morse said.
Since East Africa annexed the Sultanate of Zanzibar, the shipyards on Zanzibar Island have naturally become an East African industry. By the way, the Zanzibar Navy has also been completely integrated into the East African Navy, so now the East African Navy is still Many sailing warships are retained. These ships may be lagging behind other countries, but they still have some advantages for a declining maritime country like Portugal. The main opponent of the Omani Navy was Portugal. With the support of new technologies, it can be said to have come back to life. Of course, now Wooden boats are a sunset industry, but they can cultivate a group of mature workers, which is a good thing for East Africa. This is also the reason why there are two sailing battleships in this expedition fleet. Although they are sailing battleships, they are also equipped with many new technologies, so it is naturally impossible for the Japanese to scheme.
"General Grace, what should we do? Should we accept the surrender of the Japanese, or how to accept it."
"Of course we must accept it, but we have to give them hope. At the same time, strangle them severely. Of course, if they don’t have that intention, it’s best to let them sleep on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean forever!” Glaish said fiercely.
Soon, the East African communication ship was put down, and then negotiated with the man who had a high fever Morita: "We accept your surrender, but according to East African naval regulations, you can only stop in the area five hundred meters away."
Takashi Morita thought about it carefully. This distance is not very good, but it is not too bad either. Moreover, he mainly wants to catch East Africa by surprise. East Africa should not expect that he is so bold and dares to challenge East Africa with a small fishing boat. big warship.
So he said: "I agree to the conditions for returning to the country, but I also have a request, which is to have a direct interview with your supreme commander."
"You are not qualified!"
"This is My ID, I am Lieutenant Commander Takashi of the Japanese Navy Morita, don’t worry, I’m the only one who will follow you in your boat. Our boat will not follow you.”
“Okay! But we have to keep the documents first.”
"No problem!"
Then Morita, who had a high fever, followed the East African sailors on the East African communication ship and headed for the "Partridge". Before leaving, he used his eyes to signal his subordinate Nakata Jiro to act as planned.
The purpose of Morita, who had a high fever, and risked his life was to continue to paralyze the East African Navy. After all, no one would make fun of his own life casually.
But Gao Feng Morita did not notice that after sailing for a while after he boarded the ship, the East African Navy also began to mobilize. The gunboat began to move closer to the "Partridge", while the other two ironclads began to disperse to both sides.
Nakata Jiro was the first to discover East Africa's unusual behavior, but now that the commander has left with East Africa, he can only bite the bullet and continue to act according to the plan, while trying to convince himself that the East Africans cannot see through his plan.
The Japanese also began to maneuver their ships closer to the "Partridge", but the target changed from three parallel ironclads to gunboats.
After the deployment in East Africa was completed, Morita, who had a high fever, also discovered the flaws in East Africa. Under the strange smiles of the East African sailors around him, he knew that something was wrong.
At this time, the Japanese fleet had already begun to take action. They began to accelerate towards the "Partridge", but the East African gunboats seemed to have known their movements. They headed towards the Japanese ship and pushed against the "Partridge" "Qiaohao" ahead.
Both sides opened fire almost at the same time. The Japanese small boat was the opponent of the East African gunboat. Although some shells hit it, it was basically blocked by the gunboat.
Knowing that the plan was exposed, Gaofu Morita was ashen-faced. He could only watch his men being sent to the underworld one by one by East African artillery.
"The Japanese Navy's sneak attack on the East African Navy has become a fait accompli. I order the Miyako Strait to be blocked from now on and Japanese ships are prohibited from entering!" Glaish said excitedly.
(End of this chapter)