Chapter 570 Surrender!
Morita, the second-in-command of the Japanese side, was now furious on his ship.
"That bastard Ozawa Seiji is a disgrace to the empire. Surrendering without a fight is an unforgivable crime. It is an insult to the imperial soldiers. He has corrupted the spirit of Bushido. And those traitors are ungrateful bastards..."
As Seiji Ozawa said, Takase Morita is a brave but foolish man. However, a character like that of Takase Morita is very popular in the current Japanese social environment, not to mention that he has an uncle who is a high-ranking official to take care of him.
In fact, East Africa and Japanese society have some similarities. Both are countries with a strong militaristic atmosphere, and people with a straightforward personality are more likely to get into trouble.
Of course, Japan is too extreme, far exceeding East Africa and even Prussia. This may be due to the shaping of the island country's character by its geography.
"Reporting to the commander, now Ozawa Seiji has caused us to lose one-third of our people with just one order. The gap in strength between us and East Africa is too great. How should we respond?"
Hearing his subordinates' questions, Gaoshao Morita was also very depressed. He said, "Although the East African Fleet is powerful, we have had opportunities to outwit them before. After all, we are numerous enough. Although they are just fishing boats and merchant ships, we have enough artillery. If we find a chance to approach the East African Fleet, we will definitely be able to inflict heavy damage on it. It's all Ozawa Seiji's fault for surrendering without a fight..."
"Commander, the East African Navy will not allow us to get close! I think Ozawa Seiji also thought of this, so he gave up the confrontation and chose to retreat first."
"Okay, no need to defend that guy Ozawa Seiji. He usually doesn't like me, and now it's obvious that he's taking revenge. After all, I'm the second-in-command of the fleet. He's withdrawing without consulting me, which is obviously a disrespect for me."
It has to be said that Takase Morita is really conceited. After all, he and Ozawa Seiji are in a superior-subordinate relationship. As his superior, Ozawa Seiji can naturally decide all matters of the fleet. Even if there are really problems, it is Ozawa Seiji's responsibility, and it has nothing to do with Takase Morita. He only needs to be responsible for execution and he will be qualified.
However, Gao Shao Morita obviously didn't think so. He said to his subordinates, "I had planned it all before. We are very weak, and anyone with a discerning eye can see that. The East African Navy also knows this, so the enemy will be careless. At this time, we pretend to surrender to the East African Navy, and they will most likely believe it. Then, when we surrender, we can get close to the East African fleet.
As long as we can get close to the East African Navy, our goal will be achieved. Although the East African Navy has strong ships and powerful guns, their ships are large and difficult to maneuver, so at close range, our small boats will be more likely to take the initiative.
If the operation is good, it can even quickly penetrate into the East African fleet and surround several East African ships. At this time, if they open fire or collide with them, East Africa will not be able to react.
We may suffer heavy losses, but we can kill 1,000 enemies and lose 800 of our own. Moreover, the East African fleet lost an advanced ironclad ship, so we made a big profit. At this time, the East African fleet has no way to escape. After all, this is the Pacific Ocean, not the Indian Ocean. Even if their hull is damaged, it will be difficult for them to find a place to repair it. "
Gao Shao Morita still has some skills. He is right. If the East African warship is damaged in the Far East, repair will be a big problem. If it sinks, it can basically be declared scrapped.
Perhaps the only two countries in the Far East that could build ironclad ships were Japan and the Far Eastern Empire, among which the Far Eastern Empire was the most likely because part of their technology came from Germany.
The ironclad ship technology in East Africa mainly came from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and there was some connection between the two sides, but the shipyards of the Far Eastern Empire had no experience in repairing giant ironclad ships, which was also a flaw.
Not to mention the Far East, even East Africa itself may not have this capability. Although the Bagamoyo Shipyard has the ability to manufacture ironclad ships, refurbishment is far from enough. This is a cost issue. It would be better to build new warships than to do that!
There are currently six shipyards of various sizes in East Africa. The Bagamoyo Shipyard has the highest status and has experience in independently designing and building ironclad ships, but East Africa is best at building gunboats.
Gunboats are really practical. They can be used for coastal defense and can also enter East African rivers to perform missions. They are cheap and have mature technology. They are the first choice for many poor and weak countries, or countries that do not pursue a large navy, such as Japan, the United States, Australia, Canada, the Far East Empire and many other countries. Even the great powers use them in large numbers as a substitute for ironclad ships.
Of course, the Far Eastern Empire was deceived by the British. The maritime conditions of the Far Eastern Empire were only slightly worse than those of the United States in the world, and the demand was quite high. Although gunboats were cheap, they could not guarantee the interests of the Far Eastern Empire.
The United States is isolated overseas and has no rivals, but the Far East Empire is different. It has European colonial powers such as Britain and France to the south, Tsarist Russia to the north, and Japan and the United States to the east. Without guns in hand, it is just fat meat in the eyes of others. Later, the Beiyang Fleet did have some deterrent power, but Japan, which was next to it, knew the Far East government best. It saw through the Beiyang Fleet's strengths and weaknesses at a glance, tore off its superficial fig leaf, and finally formed a coalition of great powers.
Therefore, the navy is the most deterrent military branch of this era. Of course, this is a different story for countries without an ocean, such as the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Germany.
East Africa has a long coastline and is a country bordering two oceans, so developing a large navy is a must, which is an important weapon for East Africa's national defense and security.
The same is true for Japan as an island country. However, it was indeed crazy for Japan to develop a million-strong army and 100 million people to die in battle in the past. If the British had this spirit, they would have defeated Germany long ago. Of course, Britain was not as stupid as Japan. As an island country, Britain was very clear about its positioning, which was to vigorously develop the navy. The dispute between the army and navy in Japan was a historical issue. The army represented an independent faction in Japanese politics from the very beginning.
Gao Fever Morita: "Now that Ozawa Seiji has taken the main force away, I only have 23 boats, and a small half of them are small fishing boats that are of no use. This will definitely not cause any trouble to the East African Navy, and it also means that we may be wiped out."
"So, Commander, what are your plans now?"
"It's impossible to give up halfway! Otherwise, Ozawa Seiji will definitely laugh at me. Now we can only take a risk and see if we can drag the East African Navy into the water."
"..." The subordinate was speechless. He now felt that his superior had gone a little crazy.
"Don't look at me like that. There's no turning back! We don't seek to severely damage the East African Fleet, but if we take advantage of their unpreparedness, we can still cause damage to the three ironclad ships."
"Commander, what's next?"
"If it's our turn, we will of course find a chance to evacuate, but we can't go to the Miyako Strait. Instead, we can take advantage of the gaps between several islands in the South Ryukyu Islands, make a detour and get rid of them before heading north back to our country."
Gaofen Morita's words gave his subordinates a certain amount of confidence. Even if there was a one in a thousand chance of survival, it was much better than dying heroically. Moreover, even if they died heroically, they would be worthy of the cultivation of the Empire and His Majesty the Emperor.
"Let's do this first... and then this..."
"Yes, Your Excellency the Commander!"
Then all the ships under the command of Gao Shao Morita raised the white flag. The white flag represents surrender, which is reflected in both Eastern and Western cultures. So the East African Navy also initially judged what the Japanese devils were planning with these unusual behavior?
(End of this chapter)
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