Hayao Shimamura snorted coldly and walked quickly towards the office. At the same time, he turned to the attendant and said.

"Immediately notify all staff officers attending the military command meeting at the military command department and come to the military command department immediately to hold an emergency meeting!"

Ten minutes later, the guards outside the office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Military Command heard roars and shouts coming from the Commander-in-Chief's office. The voices were angry, heart-wrenching, and reluctant shouts.

Another half hour later, in the military headquarters conference room, a tired and serious-looking Hayao Shimamura slowly stood up and said.

"I believe you should be very concerned about the First Fleet sent to China! We have now got some information, please ask Major Hashimoto to report the current situation!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Shimamura Hayao closed his eyes. The commander's order made Hashimoto Keiji stand up quickly. Most of the generals in the room did not recognize this major. Compared with their curiosity about Hashimoto, they

What is even more curious is the fleet and why this emergency meeting was called.

"First of all, the intelligence we currently have comes from reports from the merchant fleet, and it has not been further confirmed yet!"

After making the emphasis, Hashimoto reported the information he already had.

"The first telegram we received was from the army requisition ship "Nishigomaru". At 3:15 this afternoon, the First Fleet and the escort fleet were attacked by the China Jiangsu Army Air Force.

Aircrafts were used to drop bombs and torpedoes to carry out multiple attacks on the First Fleet. The formation where the "Nishigomaru" was located was escorted by the Third Fleet. After two rounds of attacks, the Third Fleet launched the "Kongo", "Hiei", and "

"Kurama" and "Tsukuba" were successively sunk by the China Air Force..."

"What!"

Screams rang out in the conference room, and people were whispering to each other. They couldn't believe this at all. In their surprise, Hashimoto Keiji still reported coldly. He knew that maybe today

It was a disaster for the Japanese Navy, but for him, it might mean the beginning of his career in the navy.

As long as the commander-in-chief and the generals in the room remember him, he will soon be promoted, and his "outstanding performance" in this incident will also earn him a certain degree of "promotion bonus points."

It doesn't matter if the Hammock is at the rear. As long as the generals appreciate him, he can make up for it.

"...the four main battleships of the first team, "Settsu", "Kawachi", "An Yun", and "Satsuma" were also sunk in another wave of offensive."

Words that were enough to shake everyone to their cores came out of Hashimoto Keiji's mouth. Amid people's astonishment, Hashimoto continued to make his report.

"Subsequently, we received reports of thirty-two requisitioned merchant ships including the "Zawakawa Maru", "Hirakawa Maru", and "Sado Maru". An hour ago, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued an urgent official letter requesting confirmation from the Military Command Department

Whether the information is true or not, the news comes from the embassy in China. The President of China, Yuan Shikai, made an emergency meeting with his advisor Nagao Ariga tonight and informed him of the results of the Jiangsu Army Air Force. Ariga Nagao then reported the matter to the embassy. The content

It is basically consistent with the information we have now, and the embassy is currently waiting for our answer!"

After Hashimoto Keiji finished his report, the entire conference room fell silent, and everyone fell silent. Although Hashimoto Keiji said that the news had not been confirmed before, at this time, they no longer doubted it.

.

The First Fleet is finished!

The eight most elite battleships of the Imperial Navy were sunk like this! Even their main guns were not rushed to play a role in the naval battle, so they became the targets of the China Air Force and were sunk. The battleships sank.

to the sea.

Overnight, the navy that could once force a powerful country like Britain to make concessions disappeared. Except for a few old battleships, the Japanese navy had no warships to be proud of. This battle not only caused the Japanese navy to retreat to Japan.

The level before the war was exposed. What is even more fatal is that Japan lost the fundamental reason to take advantage of the situation during this war. Without Japan's navy, who would take this country seriously?

But despite the pain, everyone in this conference room could feel a trace of shame and anger.

In their view, is this not a war at all? This is simply a one-sided massacre! The China Air Force destroyed the fleet that had made the Japanese so proud, and slaughtered those who had no resistance like butchers in a slaughterhouse.

Pigs and cows with great abilities, but there, the pigs and cows turned into battleships, battleships built with all the national funds!

"We must retaliate. We should immediately send a fleet to bombard Shanghai, Guangzhou, and any Chinese coastal city!"

A major general roared in embarrassment.

"What, revenge, how to retaliate, send out the battleships purchased before the Japanese War and the captured battleships? Then, without waiting for the battleships to fire cannonballs, the China Air Force continued their massacre!"

"This is basically risking death with precious battleships! Using sailors is risking death!"

"Now we have no more warships to waste. Even before the new ships are put into service, we must consider how to defend a Japan without a navy!"

The generals continued to argue, which was an eye-opener for Hashimoto Keiji. This was the first time he attended a meeting of this size. From the words of the generals, he could feel that the heavy damage caused to the navy was simply

Devastating.

"Recovery, how long it will take to restore this fleet, and whether Congress will approve a new budget, these are all questions. The Army wants to expand, but we have to build new warships."

"Baga, now the navy is being harmed by the army!"

"That's right. If the Army hadn't wanted to regain their face, the First Fleet would have been dragged into the water again!"

Finally, the complaints turned to the Army. It seemed that the culprit of all this was the Army. It was the Army's incompetence that had harmed the Navy. Listening to their complaints, Hashimoto couldn't help but admire these generals in his heart. They did not discuss why the battleship was hit.

Shen, the reason why he pointed the finger at the Army is very simple. Someone needs to be responsible for this fiasco. The Navy, which suffered heavy losses, obviously should not and cannot be responsible for this. Then it is only the Army.

"I believe that since we have lost a large number of cutting-edge warships, in order to protect Japan's interests, the Second Fleet must be transferred back to the mainland!"

"What about the Army in China?"

"Let them wish themselves well!"
Chapter completed!