Chapter 691 This is a misunderstanding (3rd update, please subscribe)
The sound of cannon fire rang out!
After a gunshot and a moment's silence, the British fleet opened fire!
Amid the rumbling of artillery fire, whistling shells accurately hit the belly of the Japanese ship. The violent explosion of the grenade easily tore apart the wooden hull. As the surging sea water poured into the cabin, the Japanese fought back.
While the infantrymen were firing back with rifles, the Japanese navy was also firing back with naval guns. Although the Japanese naval officers and soldiers, led by the gunboat "Tsukuba", fired back extremely quickly, the tragedy was doomed from the beginning.
Facing the well-trained British Royal Navy, the Japanese Navy was almost vulnerable. Amid the rumbling of artillery fire, the electric Gatling machine guns on the British warships also opened fire. This machine gun, produced by introducing patented technology from the Ming Dynasty, could be called the nemesis of wooden-hulled ships. In just a blink of an eye, thousands of shells tore apart the sides of the wooden-hulled ships.
The British artillery fire was extremely fierce, fully demonstrating the refinement of the Royal Navy's gunnery. One shot after another hit the hull of the Japanese ship, and the exploding shells blasted water columns on the sea surface, and the sea was like a boiling pot, surging.
The most deadly thing was the bloody storm caused by the 30mm grenades hitting the deck. Wherever the shells passed, there was a mess of blood and flesh. Hundreds of shells penetrated the bodies of the Hiroshima garrison soldiers, exploding into clouds of smoke in the blood mist, and the fragments of the explosion once again rolled up countless broken flesh and blood.
“Clatter…”
The cold seawater poured into the cabin from the blasted side of the ship, and in an instant, the damaged ship tilted up. The severely flooded hull kept tilting to the side, and soon the entire ship flipped over, and the heavy hull quickly sank into the water. The Japanese army and navy soldiers on the ship fell into the cold sea one by one like dumplings, "crackling".
The sea water in January was very cold, and there was even some floating ice on the sea surface. However, the Japanese army and navy soldiers were wearing thick clothes, and when they fell into the water, their winter uniforms were immediately soaked with sea water, making them stand out like a foil. They had no time to swim out of the sea, and were dragged to the bottom of the sea by the heavy clothes.
Amid the violent explosion, the hull of the "Nishiyama Maru" made a creaking sound, and then it broke into pieces!
"Abandon ship, abandon ship..."
Before they even abandoned the ship, Nozu Michitsugu fell into the water. Like the others, his woolen military uniform became heavier than a block of lead after falling into the water, and he could only struggle with all his might.
Japanese ships were sunk one after another. In addition to sailors, those ships also carried hundreds of army soldiers from the Hiroshima garrison. Each ship was like a town floating on the sea, with at least seven or eight hundred people on board, and as many as thousands of people. As the ships sank, the sea was filled with a horrific scene.
Thousands of Japanese army and navy officers and soldiers sank to the icy bottom of the sea without even having time to struggle. Only a few lucky ones grabbed onto driftwood and struggled desperately in the freezing water, calling for help.
After struggling for a while, more people became stiff due to the rapid drop in body temperature, and then they gave up struggling and slowly sank to the bottom of the sea.
Thousands of Japanese army and navy officers and soldiers were hit by shells falling on the sea. In the violent explosion, they were turned into piles of minced meat floating on the sea.
The water column that rose high during the explosion was white with a hint of red, which was red flesh and blood!
The blood quickly spread across the sea surface, and then was blown away without a trace in the rising water column of the explosion.
There is more yellow on the sea!
That's the yellow color of the Picric Acid Bomb!
It dyed the sea yellow, and in the yellow, there was some red.
The bombardment continued, on this sea of yellow and red, blood and fire. The sound of artillery roared, and the smoke from the explosion rolled back and forth on the sea. As the flames soared into the sky, there were body parts everywhere.
Thousands of mutilated corpses floated on the waves among the countless wooden boards on the sea.
And between those floating wooden boards, every face was filled with despair.
This sea is no longer a sea, but a sea of death!
The battle lasted less than half an hour before all the Japanese naval ships were sunk. Tens of thousands of Japanese army and naval officers and soldiers sank into the sea with the ships, and in the end only less than a thousand people were rescued.
Hiroshima Garrison, which was known as the "Fifth Division" in another world because of its war of resistance against Japanese aggression, was also the famous Itagaki Division of the Ming Dynasty. Before it could go to the battlefield, it was sent to the cold seabed by the Chinese Fleet of the British Royal Navy in its infancy.
This bud was just... crushed!
…
The next morning, when the news that the "rear impact army" was attacked by the British Royal Navy and the entire army was destroyed reached Tokyo, the Daijokan Iwakura Tomomi was stunned for several minutes, then his shoulders collapsed.
"Has Britain declared war on Japan?"
The answer is of course no. Iwakura Tomomi summoned the British Minister to Japan, Parkes, as soon as he met him. As soon as he met him, he strongly criticized the British in English for violating international law by shelling Japanese ships in peacetime, and hoped that the British government would give an explanation.
In the face of Iwakura Tomomi's protest, Parkes just shrugged his shoulders helplessly and said.
"It all started from a misunderstanding!"
"What!"
Iwakura Tomomi opened his eyes wide in astonishment. He simply couldn't believe what the other person said.
"Yes, Mr. Taijokan, this is just a misunderstanding. According to General Reddle's telegram, after they encountered your fleet at sea, considering that there was a British captain among them, in order to avoid the British being involved in the conflict with your country, General Reddle ordered your fleet to stop. After repeated orders, not only did you refuse to obey, but you also opened fire on the British fleet. Since you were attacked, of course the Royal Navy fought back. Of course, the facts proved that this... was a misunderstanding!"
Parkes's arrogant answer almost made Iwakura Tomomi choke on his breath and he was almost angry to death.
What is arrogance? Now he finally witnessed the arrogance of the great powers and their brutality.
The deaths of tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers and navy!
In their eyes it was just... a misunderstanding!
"Mr. Minister, is this how the British treat Japan? Your barbaric behavior will surely be condemned by the whole world. You are slaughtering people!"
Iwakura Tomomi shouted angrily.
"You are using the massacre to help Tokugawa Shigeki! Misunderstanding, this is just..."
"Mr. Taijokan, whether you believe this is a misunderstanding or not, I do believe it!"
Parkes looked at Iwakura Tomomi in front of him and spoke in an extremely calm tone.
"If your people hadn't shot at us, how could such a misunderstanding have occurred? Ultimately, the responsibility for this incident lies with you Japanese people."
In Parkes's view, there was no suspense at all. The Japanese fired first, and then the Royal Navy was forced to fight back.
"If it weren't for that, we think this is all probably a misunderstanding. You should compensate us instead. After all, you fired at our fleet. Of course, if this is all a misunderstanding, then compensation is unnecessary."
In an instant, Iwakura Tomomi was completely dumbfounded. He did not expect that the British would be so shameless.
What is he talking about?
He actually wants Japan to compensate Britain for its losses, so what about the Japanese?
What about the Japanese army and navy officers and soldiers killed by the British Navy?
What are they?
Did they die in vain?
Iwakura Tomomi was filled with anger. He glared at Parkes and spoke almost word by word.
"Mr. Minister, is this your attitude towards this matter? Or is this the way Britain handles international affairs?"
In response to his question, Parkes nodded.
"From the British perspective this is just a misunderstanding!"
I have set up a book club: 335260551. Everyone is welcome to join and discuss and deduce the plot together.
(End of this chapter)
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