This night, countless people are destined to have trouble sleeping.
However, when dawn breaks in the east, the entire Far East is like a huge machine, suddenly rumbling around the center of the whirlpool in Shandong. On the Yellow Sea, nearly a hundred Japanese warships cut through the waves and pointed their swords at Shandong; on land, 100,000 troops from six western provinces stood ready; in the sky, dozens of reconnaissance planes roared across the sky.
In Beijing and Tokyo, both sides are spitting at each other and accusing each other of the other's faults, while holding their breath waiting for the outbreak of war. In contrast, the attitudes of the people of the two countries are quite different.
In Japan, countless people poured into the streets, waving small flags, like an Obon festival lantern festival. Whenever a soldier appears, the crowd will shout in unison, "Long live His Majesty the Emperor!" Pupils in uniforms parade in neat lines in the streets and alleys, singing loudly as they go: "Chinaman, drag your pigtails and win the battle, He ran away, hiding in the mountains and not daring to come out.¡±
Many women held cloths and needles and threads in their hands, asking the passing women to help sew a stitch: "Please sew a stitch on this! This Thousand People's Needle is sewn and sent to the front line as an amulet for the soldiers!" "Young students held Japanese military flags with the words "Long-term military success" written on them, and asked people coming and going to sign on them, preparing to give them to the officers and soldiers on the expedition.
In Tokyo, tens of thousands of people spontaneously came to the Second Bridge of the Imperial Palace, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed in front of the Imperial Palace.
Compared with the fanaticism of the Japanese people, the Chinese people are obviously much calmer. Except for the occasional students who take to the streets to shout slogans, everyone basically lives their daily lives with daily necessities. But when I have free time, I will talk about this issue: "I heard that President Sun is going to fight the Japanese, but I don't know who will win!"
"You are a treasure, you don't know anything, and you are still talking nonsense here! The person named Sun is the president? He is obviously the Prime Minister! It turns out that there was a president named Sun. But he was driven abroad long ago. Again The reporter said, "How can Premier Sun lose? He has planes and tanks, and they are very fierce. How can the Japanese win?" The other person was obviously more knowledgeable.
"That's right, I heard that Premier Sun's planes and tanks were overbearing and miserable. Little Japan can win!"
"He's a baby and a loser, so don't pay attention to him!" People around him expressed their support.
The person who spoke first was obviously unconvinced: "Weren't the Beiyang Navy of the Qing Dynasty also very ferocious? In the end, they couldn't be protected? They were beaten up and had to pay compensation and cede territory. In the end, they couldn't even win the country! "
"You are talking about the Qing Dynasty, and now it is the Republic of China. Why are you reading the old almanac? Besides, didn't Premier Sun oust the Qing Emperor from power and beat the Beiyang Army to a pulp? You don't know anything and you are so stunned. It's really What a fool! When you have free time, don¡¯t think about sleeping and being a patron, go to the teahouse and listen to the radio!"
The people around him burst into laughter.
In the midst of the laughter, someone sighed: "It would be a big deal if we could stop fighting. We, the people, have to suffer the consequences of fighting!" This inappropriate sentence resonated with everyone, even the person who often went to the teahouse to listen to the radio borrowed it. An "ancient saying" I heard not long ago said with emotion: "It's an instigation. The people will suffer when they are prospered, and the people will suffer when they die!"
But no matter what ordinary people expect, the war is still coming step by step at its own pace.
Fortunately, the goddess of luck today obviously favored the Chinese side. Less than four hours after the reconnaissance plane was dispatched, the three Japanese fleets after the division were searched by the Chinese Air Force, making Umezawa Michiharu's dream of delaying the day completely come to nothing. In the following time, every move of the Japanese army was completely under the control of the Chinese side.
The main ship of the Japanese Second Fleet is the first-class cruiser Joban. It has a displacement of 9,700 tons and a speed of 21.5 knots; the second-class cruiser Chitose has a displacement of 4,760 tons and a speed of 22.5 tons; the third-class cruiser Akitsusu has a displacement of 3,159 tons and a speed of 19 knots. The speed of other ships is also above 16 knots, so at noon they are approaching the Bohai Strait where the Yellow Sea and the Bohai Sea meet.
As we all know, the Bohai Sea is China¡¯s internal sea. Once we forcefully cross the Bohai Strait, it will be equivalent to completely opening our arms to the Beijing-Tianjin area, the political center of China. Therefore. The Navy's First Fleet has a squadron stationed in the Miaodao Islands in the Bohai Strait, including the 2,950-ton cruiser Hai Rong, the 780-ton gunboat Yongfeng (later the famous "Zhongshan Ship"), and the 220-ton Wu Phoenix gunboat, etc. After hearing the news from the Air Force, they were immediately ordered to send troops to intercept.
Unfortunately, the Chinese warships are too weak. Even the most advanced cruiser "Hai Rong" and the "Jipan", the take-off and landing flagship of Japan's Second Fleet, have become tiny. They could only risk their lives by circling back and forth to block the Japanese warships, and at the same time warned loudly: "This is the territorial waters of the Republic of China. It is strictly forbidden for any foreign warships to enter. Please exit immediately, otherwise you will be responsible for all the consequences!"
??Broadcasted through loudspeakersFleet Commander Kato Nobuyoshi heard the sound clearly, not to mention the translator explained it carefully in his ear. But he remained calm and said coldly: "Among the ships in China, except for the Hairong, which has a speed of more than 20 knots, the other gunboats such as the Yongfeng and Wufeng can only reach 12 or 3 knots, and they cannot catch up with me at all. We pretended not to understand China's warning and ordered the Chitose to force the Hai Rong away. The other ships took advantage of their speed to quickly cross the Bohai Strait and get rid of the China fleet. It was already one o'clock at noon, and there were still some distance from Longkou Bay where we landed. It¡¯s more than 20 nautical miles, and I don¡¯t want to carry out a landing at night so that the group of red deer in the War Department can find a reason to accuse our navy!¡±
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard an awkward pidgin Japanese sentence coming from the loudspeaker: "€³€³€Ç€Ï The territorial waters of the Republic of China! €Ø€ÎForeign troops are prohibited!" Kato Nobuyoshi felt as if someone had slapped him in the face. Slap in the face, the old face suddenly turned red: "Order the Chitose to force the Hai Rong away, and the other ships to rush through as soon as possible. Don't care what the Chinese say!"
With Kato Sadayoshi's order, the Japanese warships no longer had any scruples. Relying on their own tonnage advantage, they rushed towards the Chinese small gunboats at full speed, especially the Yongfeng gunboat that had just been purchased from Japan. Bear the brunt.
The Yongfeng ship was a steel-wood structure warship ordered from Mitsubishi Nagasaki Shipbuilding in Japan by Navy Minister Zai Xun and Beiyang Navy Commander Sa Zhenbing in the second year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the former Qing Dynasty (1910). The cost was 680,000 silver dollars. However, before it was completed, the Qing government collapsed. After the warship was completed and launched in 1912, the Beiyang government under Yuan Shikai paid off the remaining balance of the shipbuilding payment, and the warship was able to be incorporated into the First Fleet of the Chinese Navy in early 1913.
Although the Yongfeng ship had a displacement of less than 1,000 tons, it was not outstanding among the naval forces at that time that emphasized large ships and heavy artillery. However, among the gunboats of the same type in the East and West at that time, its performance was more advanced and its firepower was stronger. Perhaps because it was made in Japan, the Japanese navy knew its advantages and disadvantages well, so it became the first choice target for the Japanese fleet to attack.
Under the fierce impact of the cruiser Joban, the Yongfeng ship, which had only half the speed and less than one-tenth of the displacement, was unable to avoid it. It was hit on the starboard side and soon began to capsize. The cruiser Joban ignored it and drove away with all the ships in the fleet.
Firstly, it was unable to catch up with the Japanese fleet. Secondly, even if it did catch up, it would be a stone's throw. In addition, rescuing people was more important. After all, there were more than a hundred crew members on the Yongfeng ship, so the Hairong ship could only actively rescue the Yongfeng ship while quickly Send a message to the Navy Ministry and Shandong Border Defense Command to report the whole story and ask for instructions on how to deal with the current situation.
Sun Yuanqi was furious after receiving the telegram: I just don¡¯t want to take the initiative to stir up trouble. Does Little Japan really think I¡¯m afraid of you? If I don¡¯t show you how powerful I am, you don¡¯t know that Lord Ma has three eyes! He immediately asked Chen Xiangyun: "Qiuzhai, are you sure where the Japanese Second Fleet will land?"
After looking at the map for a few times, Chen Xiangyun replied: "It is still unclear where the Japanese fleet will land, but judging from the topography, the Japanese army has only two choices, either at Longkou Bay or Taiping Bay. Because other places are close to the mouth of the Yellow River, a large amount of sediment has been deposited, resulting in shallow water, thick sediment, and wide tidal flats. It is difficult for ships with large displacements such as the Joban to approach the coast, and it will be difficult for soldiers to make the journey to land. If they are not careful, You will get stuck in it. Only Longkou Bay and Taiping Bay have high-quality ports, which are most suitable for docking giant ships and large-scale landing of infantry!"
Sun Yuanqi frowned and said, "Then when will the landing location be determined?"
Chen Xiangyun made a gesture: "Longkou Bay is only forty kilometers away from the Miaodao Islands. With the speed of the Japanese fleet, it can be determined where it landed in half an hour at most. It is said that 'a gentleman takes revenge, it is not too late in ten years', It¡¯s only half an hour, adults can wait, right?¡±
Sun Yuanqian nodded: "Then wait for half an hour! But now, order all the bombers at Rongcheng and Qingdao airports to load their bombs, and take off immediately as soon as the landing site is determined. I want to let little Japan have a taste of what is meant by 'an eye for an eye'." Eye, tooth for tooth'!"
Chen Xiangyun said: "Your Excellency, you are absolutely right. Japan has bullied us for twenty years since the Sino-Japanese War of 1898-1894. It is time for us to take revenge! When it comes to the navy, we may still be inferior to Japan; but when it comes to the army and air force , we are separated for three days and we should treat each other with admiration! This time we will definitely let the Japanese devils come back defeated!"
Sun Yuanqi sneered: "It's not just as simple as letting them return in defeat, I want them to spit out their capital and profits!"
In the previous time and space, the Zhongshan ship incident in March 1926 became the beginning of Chiang Kai-shek's opposition to the policy of allying Russia and the Communist Party, usurping leadership, and the harbinger of the first breakdown of cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party. In this time and space, the Zhongshan Ship (Yongfeng Ship) incident once again wrote a vivid note. But how will later history evaluate this event? On August 21, 1914, China and JapanNo one thought about this problem on this day.