The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 894 Naval-Specific Shrine Maiden? Is this Pacific War Serious?

Sakai City, Osaka Chinese Concession Wharf, April 25, 1882.

The anchor of the light cruiser USS San Francisco crashed into the pale blue sea, stirring up a spray of white foam. Luo Xinhua, gripping the cold gunwale, still throbbed with pain from the sprained ankle he'd twisted during the Battle of Oahu. But he refused the orderly's help and, enduring the pain, stepped onto the slippery stone steps of Sakai Harbor.

The smoke and blood of war still lingered in his mind, the flames of Pearl Harbor and the explosion in the engine room of the "Dinghai" kept replaying in his mind—these days he had been thinking that if that damned 305mm shell hadn't hit the "Dinghai," then the "California" wouldn't have needed to rush to stop that "Constitution-class" ship; it could have stopped an intact "Constitution-class" ship instead!
Although the "Constitution-class" ships had terrible guns and were slow, their hulls were still quite good. They survived being hit by so many 200mm armor-piercing shells without much damage. Moreover, they were originally intended to be equipped with twin 254mm rapid-fire guns as their main guns! It's just that the British couldn't keep up with the production of 254mm rapid-fire guns, so they were forced to use the "rubbish" 305mm recoil guns instead.

So once those two "Constitution-class" tanks that ran back are equipped with 254mm rapid-fire cannons and come out to fight again, they will be difficult to deal with - the "Dinghai-class" tanks will definitely not be able to withstand it, and even the "Hailong II" tanks are in a bit of a predicament!
It seems his luck is still a bit bad. Just as Luo Xinhua was pondering whether he should find a temple to properly worship the Heavenly Father, the Supreme Emperor, he suddenly heard a familiar Taiping Heavenly Kingdom official language with a Cantonese accent.

"Big guy!"

Luo Xinhua looked in the direction of the sound, his pupils contracting slightly.

Beside a black carriage bearing the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's dragon flag at the dock stood a strikingly tall officer. He wore a well-tailored light blue woolen uniform of the Taiping Army, his major's epaulets gleaming. Beneath a peaked cap was a face perfectly suited to his Eurasian heritage—deep-set eyes with azure irises, a high, chiseled nose, and skin so fair it would put sailors under the blazing sun to shame. Particularly striking was his meticulously groomed beard, trimmed to perfection, exuding a touch of nonchalant Italian aristocratic air.

Luo Xinzong, his half-brother. A complex, indescribable feeling welled up in Luo Xinhua's stomach. Luo Yaoguo, this "amorous angel," certainly had a large number of offspring.

What surprised him even more was the figure next to his brother.

A woman stood quietly to one side, her posture as upright as a bamboo stalk on the shore. She wore a Western-style navy blue woolen uniform custom-made for the Japanese Shin-Yo Shrine Navy—not a skirt, but tailored breeches and knee-high boots. The cinched waist accentuated her lithe figure, and a white silk scarf was tied at the collar. A gold cherry blossom crest inlaid with ears of rice and an anchor was pinned to her chest. Her long, jet-black hair was neatly styled under her military cap, revealing an exceptionally delicate oval face with jade-like skin and exquisitely beautiful features, yet exuding an indescribable calm and focus. She also held an ebony box in her hands, her demeanor solemn.

Seeing Luo Xinhua looking over, the woman stepped forward, put her legs together, and bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle in Luo Xinhua's direction with utmost respect. The extent of the bow and the uprightness of her posture conveyed an almost pious sense of ritual.

"Ah Zhong, is she yours?" Luo Xinhua looked at the woman in the naval officer's uniform with a puzzled expression.

"Hey boss, don't be so reserved!" Luo Xinzhong chuckled and strode forward, patting Luo Xinhua's shoulder affectionately. "Let me introduce you. This is Lieutenant Tsubaki Onodera, dispatched by the Shin-Yo Shrine Naval Headquarters. He's the liaison officer and, well, 'technical' advisor specially appointed by Princess Kusunoki Takako." He deliberately added a slightly ambiguous syllable to the word "technical."

Luo Xinzhong leaned close to Luo Xinhua's ear, lowered his voice, and said with a hint of sarcasm, "The old man personally selected me to be a brigade commander under Nanmu Gaozi, to hone my skills and pave the way for the future. This Lieutenant Chun is His Highness Gaozi's 'secret weapon,' the purpose of which is kept secret."

Luo Xinhua glanced at his dazzlingly handsome younger brother, who had risen through the ranks quickly and was clearly favored by the old man, then looked at the naval female officer beside him who remained motionless while bowing. He felt a headache coming on, and his ankles ached even more. "A-Zhong, you work in the army, how did you get involved with the navy's liaison officer? I've heard that relations between the Japanese army and navy aren't very good."

He asked directly, his tone carrying the seriousness expected of military affairs.

Luo Xinzhong smiled nonchalantly, about to speak. Onodera Tsubaki, who remained bowing beside him, seemed completely unaffected by their conversation. She spoke in a calm, emotionless tone, her Chinese fluent and pleasant:

"Colonel Luo Xinhua, I am Tsubaki Onodera, a member of the Naval General Staff of Shin-Yo Shrine. I graduated from the 8th class of the Shrine Maiden Gunnery Department of the Shodoshima Naval Academy, specializing in the integration of ballistics, meteorology, and motivational techniques in gunnery applications. My current position is Naval Gunnery and Motivation Special Commissioner, namely 'Shrine Maiden Gunnery Officer'. My duties are to accompany the ship and assist the commander in improving the accuracy and coordination of artillery firing."

She straightened up, as if the ninety-degree bow had never happened, and looked calmly at Luo Xinhua, her gaze clear and without a trace of distraction, as if she were stating a perfectly ordinary technical indicator.

"A shrine maiden artillery officer?" Luo Xinhua was taken aback, pondering this strange and mysterious title. He had vaguely seen in the margins of naval affairs briefings that the army and navy of "Japan, the Divine Nation," one of the "Three Kingdoms of Japan," were equipped with shrine maidens to provide spiritual comfort or boost morale through traditional rituals, but "artillery officer"?
“Yes,” Tsubaki Onodera nodded, her expression still imperceptible, but a faint blush flickered across her fair cheeks. “Through years of combat data analysis, Shin-Yo Shrine has developed a system that, under the guidance of a specific mental field, combined with precise ballistic calculations, meteorological data interpretation, and fine-tuning of the officers’ and soldiers’ physical and mental state, the ‘Miko Artillery Officer’ team can effectively increase the fleet’s hit probability by 30% to 50%. In certain circumstances, there are even observation records of triggering ‘divine favor’ and achieving cross-firing on the first test shot.”

Not only was Luo Xinhua's eyes wide, but even the several US Navy officers from the USS San Francisco who had followed him down also glanced over in astonishment. An increase of 30% to 50% in the probability of a shell hit was manageable, that is, an increase from 2% to 3%, or from 3% to 4.5%. But a first-round strafing attack was simply a "miracle" of artillery!
"Ahem!" Luo Xinzhong coughed heavily, his suave smile widening. "Boss, don't look like you've never seen anything like it. Our army has been using it for ages!" He leaned closer to Luo Xinhua, winking and whispering, almost in a murmur, with a hint of mischief: "Bed warmer... oh no, I mean, morale booster, the effect is phenomenal! Especially for those idiots who're stuck in the trenches all day, their minds filled with 'banzai' charges. But," he changed the subject, glancing at Onodera Tsubaki, whose face had already hardened, his voice rising slightly, tinged with mocking respect: "Lieutenant Tsubaki and the others are different! They're properly trained, they got into Shodoshima with high scores, they really know artillery shells and how to fire them!"

A sharp glint flashed in Onodera Tsubaki's calm eyes. She turned to Luo Xinzhong, her tone for the first time carrying a clear, offended coldness: "Major Luo Xinzhong, watch your words! The Navy's 'Miko Gunnery Officers' and the so-called 'Divine Maidens' recruited by the Army are fundamentally different in nature, function, and effectiveness! The latter are only responsible for psychological comfort and combat mobilization guidance, which can easily induce irrational chargeism (i.e., what you call the 'Banzai Offensive'), while the core of our unit's responsibility lies in optimizing firepower effectiveness through the synergy of science and faith! Our duty is sacred and cannot be taken lightly!" She looked at Luo Xinhua again, her gaze earnest and firm: "Colonel, I have heard that the US West Coast Navy was hastily formed and urgently needs systematic gunnery training. If permitted, I am willing to accompany you to the US West Coast Navy to assist you in improving the US West Coast Navy's gunnery command system and establishing a 'Miko Gunnery' coordination mechanism."

"What?!" Luo Xinhua could hardly believe his ears. He instinctively took a half-step back, the movement causing a sharp pain in his injured ankle. "Coming with me to serve in the US Navy in the West Coast?" He glanced at Onodera Tsubaki's beautiful yet serious face, and countless images flashed through his mind—the astonished looks of the US sailors, the malicious smirks of his comrades on the ship, and a young woman in a tight-fitting naval uniform standing solemnly in the bridge, performing some kind of mysterious ritual amidst the smoke and fumes of cannon fire…

"No! Absolutely not!" Luo Xinhua refused resolutely, his face tense, almost with a hint of anger and embarrassment. "The US Navy has strict regulations! There has never been a precedent of female officers serving on ships! Nor has there been a tradition of 'clergy' participating in combat command! This is simply absurd!" He said the last two words almost through gritted teeth.

Luo Xinzhong sighed dramatically, a look of "I knew it would happen" on his face. He reached out and put his hand on Luo Xinhua's shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze. Lowering his voice, he said with a mischievous helplessness, "Brother, explaining this kind of 'nonsense' to me is useless. You should save that righteous and stern face and go have a 'candle-by-candle talk' with our all-powerful old man!" He gestured towards the carriage next to him. "The carriage is ready. Shall we go settle in Osaka first, and then take a couple of days to Kyoto to relax? We need to catch our breath amidst all this war, don't we?"

Onodera Tsubaki said nothing more, only bowing deeply to Luo Xinhua once more. Then, she turned nimbly, walking with the steady steps characteristic of a naval officer towards the carriage. She very naturally opened the heavy carriage door, then stood there, turning to the side to make a gesture of invitation. Her movements were as fluid as flowing water, and combined with her crisp military uniform, she looked dashing and heroic.

"By the way, Lieutenant Tsubaki," Luo Xinzhong said with a smile as he followed, adding in a rather loud voice as he passed by Tsubaki Onodera, and deliberately winking at Luo Xinhua, "You'd better keep my older brother company on this journey! He has a bright future ahead of him! The future Minister of the Navy, Chief of Staff, might very well be the pillar of our Pacific Fleet! If you serve him well, you'll be doing a great service!"

Onodera Tsubaki nodded slightly, her face still expressionless: "Yes!" she replied crisply.

She then turned to Luo Xinhua, who was hesitant about how to face the carriage and the "female companion" inside, and spoke clearly again in that extremely professional and calm tone:
"Colonel Luo, here is your luggage. Please follow me."

Before Luo Xinhua could react, she reached out and took the not-too-heavy standard rattan box from the adjutant beside him. Her movements were so swift that the adjutant didn't even have time to react. Then, holding the ebony box in one hand and carrying the rattan box in the other, she stood respectfully by the carriage door like a dutiful attendant.

Luo Xinhua stared at the "Naval Special Shrine Maiden Artillery Officer"—a woman holding a mysterious wooden box, carrying his own luggage, standing ramrod straight, excessively beautiful yet strangely stubborn—and his temples throbbed. This trip to Japan seemed to have only just begun, and trouble was brewing. He took a deep breath, and with the decisiveness honed on the battlefield, limped but resolutely towards the black carriage that seemed to exude an aura of unknown trouble.

The wheels rumbled along the narrow cobblestone streets of Sakai Port, heading towards the city center of Osaka, the de facto capital of "Japan the Divine Land".

Inside the carriage. Luo Xinhua closed his eyes, enduring the pain in his ankle, and finally couldn't help but ask, "Xin Kingdom, where is my father now? When can I go to report for duty?" He needed to get out of this absurd situation as soon as possible.

Luo Xinzhong leaned back in his comfortable chair, stroking his meticulously trimmed beard, and looked out the window at the old-fashioned townhouses: "Don't rush, boss. Dad's in high spirits. He took Princess Kusunoki Takako to Echigo-Matsuzaki for a hot spring bath and to see the oil fields."

"Inspecting an oil field?" Luo Xinhua frowned.

Onodera Tsubaki, who had been sitting silently, spoke up. His voice was exceptionally clear and calm in the enclosed carriage: "We are investigating the oil resources of Akihachi in Echigo Province. Its reserves have been proven to be considerable, and it has the potential to achieve an industrial scale of 100,000 tons of crude oil per year."

Luo Xinzhong curled his lip and muttered under his breath, "Isn't it just that old oil field we've known about for ages? We've looked at it over and over again..."

Onodera Tsubaki immediately turned to him, her eyes sharp, as if the other had blasphemed something sacred: "Major Luo Xinzhong, the strategic significance of oil is extraordinary! With the breakthrough in steam turbine technology, oil-fired boilers will become the core power source for the next generation of main warships. This fuel revolution is a matter of national destiny! Moreover, that oil field was discovered after His Highness Takako prayed to Amaterasu Omikami!"

Luo Xinzhong was momentarily speechless, then shrugged awkwardly before resuming his nonchalant demeanor, waving his hand as if swatting away mosquitoes: "Alright, alright, that was His Highness Gao Zi's miracle! Boss," he laughed, shifting the focus, "Let's go to the Chinese concession in Osaka first, good food and drinks on me! Tomorrow I'll take you to Kyoto, Kiyomizu-dera, Kinkaku-ji, to relax. There's a new geisha house that opened in Sakaimachi, their Shirabeza dance..."

He didn't finish his sentence. Onodera Tsubaki's gaze was icy as she calmly turned to Luo Xinhua again, holding the heavy ebony box: "Colonel, in order to improve the artillery effectiveness of the American West fleet in order to deal with the subsequent counterattack of the East American fleet, please allow me to give you a preliminary explanation of the basic theory and collaborative data modeling framework of 'Miko Artillery' on the way?"

Luo Xinhua's temples began to throb violently again—was the Pacific War's approach of using naval-specific priestesses and priestess artillery a bit off track?
(End of this chapter)