Nanyang Storm 1864

According to the troop reinforcement plan, a total of six divisions of the Royal Army—the 6th, 11th, 12th, 18th, 35th, and 41st Divisions—will be deployed to the Kagoshima landing operation.

The six divisions, totaling 74,500 officers and soldiers, were the vanguard of the first wave of landings, intended to occupy and consolidate Kagoshima and Nagasaki, and to proceed as needed.

This is not a full-scale war to conquer Fusang, but a limited war of punishment.

The expeditionary fleet has dispatched several squadrons, mostly led by light cruisers, and supported by two or three destroyers, to carry out a blockade mission around the Fusang Islands, prohibiting trade ships from coming and going.

Input and output are both prohibited.

Foreign cargo ships may return on their own, whether to the northern mainland or the Ryukyu Islands, and the blockade fleet will not interfere.

All merchant ships flying the Japanese flag were to be seized, and those that dared to resist or attempt to escape were to be sunk without mercy.

This also includes foreign merchant ships, which can be sunk or captured if they disobey orders.

This was the public order received by the captain of the Chu warship involved in the blockade, but there was also a secret order;
It is permissible to capture, but not to sink, merchant ships of the British, French, German, and American nations, so as to avoid unnecessary trouble and give others a pretext for attack.

This era
The great powers such as Britain, France, and Germany were all very hot-tempered, like a powder keg ready to explode at any moment. Britain had fought more than a dozen wars over the capture and humiliation of its merchant ships over the past 200 years.

This included the Opium Wars and the Revolutionary Wars in North America. The French, too, preferred to avoid trouble.

As for the Germans, Kaiser Wilhelm II was a hot-blooded warmonger with no restraint. Why bother provoking him?
If that guy makes outrageous statements in Europe and humiliates the Emperor of the Great Chu Empire, does that mean we'll really have to fight a war?
Don't say it's impossible; Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany even dared to humiliate his own uncle, King Edward VII of England, and he was outspoken and defiant.

There's nothing this bastard wouldn't dare to do; it's enough to give anyone a headache.

As for the United States, it's a different story. The relationship between the two countries is already bad enough, so there's no need to create unnecessary complications.

As the saying goes, it's better to avoid trouble.

During the days of the blockade, 79 Japanese merchant ships have been seized and 22 foreign merchant ships have been expelled. The number of ships seized was particularly high in the first three days, but the number of Japanese merchant ships seized decreased rapidly in the following days.

The news must have spread far and wide. Apart from the merchant ships still sailing towards the Fusang Islands, most other Japanese merchant ships that wanted to leave port or were anchored in Hong Kong or Singapore received the news of the blockade.

As long as you're not out of your mind, you won't run into a brick wall.

In the night

Major General Chu-Zhenghui, commander of the 9th Expeditionary Division, strolled a few steps along the dock with his hands behind his back. He watched the last troop transport ship leave the dock before nodding in satisfaction.

Having successfully completed the landing mission to capture Sakurajima, he knew he would soon be promoted for his merits, and the gold star on his shoulder would be replaced with two gold stars.

In the next phase of the operation to land on Kagoshima, he will serve as the commander of a special task force and will be given even more important responsibilities, which was exactly what was intended.

Don't forget that the current Minister of the Royal Army of the Great Chu Empire is Duke Zheng Guoguang, the Third Imperial Uncle. He takes special care of the princes serving in the army, and if there is an opportunity, the princes with the ability will always be given more responsibilities.

The Third Prince had already hinted at it before the expedition began.

The premise is that the first battle must be fought well, giving the Royal Army a winning start, and not letting the Royal Navy steal all the limelight.

If you can do this, being rewarded and given an important position will naturally follow.

Major General Chu-Zheng Hui was still very grateful to the Third Imperial Uncle, because he had defied all opposition and made the Ninth Division the first unit to land, which was the opportunity to make great contributions!

Then, thinking of landing in Kagoshima, Major General Chu-Zhenghui frowned again.

Judging from the performance in the Russo-Japanese War, Japan was definitely a place where bad people came from poor and remote areas, and the people of Kyushu were fierce, especially the Hizen Domain, Higo Domain, and Hyuga Domain, which were the main sources of manpower for the Japanese army.

The Satsuma Domain is located in the northeastern part of Kyushu Island, now known as Kagoshima Prefecture. It is the northernmost part of the Fusang Archipelago and has a current population of about 42. It is the cradle of the Fusang Navy.

Most of the naval talent in Japan came from this region, and many Meiji era elites emerged from here, wielding considerable influence in the government, business, and military.

However, there is not only the Satsuma Domain as a local lord power here, but a total of 9 former lord powers.

After the Meiji Restoration, it was reorganized into a prefecture and city administrative system.

The original feudal lords and daimyo families transformed into the nobility of Japan, the Hua clan.

Kagoshima Prefecture is located on Kyushu Island, at its southernmost tip. Kyushu Island covers approximately 3.67 square kilometers and is the third largest island in the Fusō Archipelago. It is home to about 372 million people, who belong to nine feudal lords from the Edo period.

The entire Kyushu Island has been blockaded by the Combined Fleet. The Kanmon Strait between Kyushu and Honshu is controlled by a squadron of two light cruisers and two destroyers from the Great Chu Empire, and a number of submarines are also present in the vicinity, completely cutting off the possibility of large-scale troop transport from Honshu to Kyushu.

Even so, this is still a tough nut to crack.

After the Meiji Restoration, Japan rapidly transformed into a unified modern nation and was on the path to industrialization, unlike the independent feudal lords of the old era.

Attacking the Satsuma Domain will inevitably trigger reinforcements from various parts of Kyushu. Although the number of troops may seem small, given the ferocity of the Japanese, subduing them will be no easy task.

"General, it is late at night, and the wind and dew are cold. Please come into the camp to rest so as not to catch a cold," Chief of Staff Colonel Hu Junchen advised.

Major General Chu-Zheng Hui looked up at the sky and saw a bright moon hanging high in the sky, its bright light reflecting off patches of clouds. It seemed that tomorrow would be another good day.

He nodded and said, "Yes, the weather here is cold. Most of the officers and soldiers of our Great Chu Empire are not tolerant of ice and snow. We must pay attention to keeping warm and preventing frostbite and loss of personnel."

"Please rest assured, Commander-in-Chief, the relevant measures have been arranged. Each barracks has enough firewood for heating, and is fully equipped with cotton overcoats, gloves, hats, and boots to ensure that the soldiers can safely get through the cold nights."

"Very well, then let's go back. The wool coats issued by the military are nice-looking, but they're not as warm as cotton-padded coats."

"The general is absolutely right, and the other officers have the same reaction."

"Hehe... You can't have your cake and eat it too." Major General Chu-Zheng Hui laughed out loud as he walked.

The two figures quickly disappeared into the warm command post, leaving only the howling wind of the seaside dock, a sign that it was a cold night. After dawn...
Around 8 a.m., the Combined Fleet, led by the First Battle Fleet, bombarded the North Bank Fortress with ultra-long-range artillery, causing the ground to shake and smoke to fill the air.

Even from more than ten kilometers away, the muffled blasts of artillery fire still struck my heart like muffled thunder, making my liver tremble.

This shelling lasted much longer than yesterday's, from around 8 a.m. until after 12 p.m., a total of more than four hours, doubling in duration.

The intense shelling turned the north bank fortress into a sea of ​​fire, destroying all the Japanese firing positions that dared to show themselves before the battle was over.

The toughest challenges must be tackled by the most powerful main battleships, and the First Battle Fleet is precisely that kind of ruthless force that kicks down the door.

With its twin-mounted 343mm main guns in Manila boasting an ultra-long range of 28 kilometers, it could often deliver fatal blows to Japanese fortifications from beyond their range. This is what it means to bully others with advanced weaponry.

The Royal Navy of the Great Chu Empire was all too familiar with the British-made Armstrong 305mm fortress main guns that were widely used in Fusang. Chu had also equipped itself with quite a few of these guns more than 20 years ago.

从1882年的BL305毫米Mk I型，到1905年BL305毫米MK9型海军炮的诞生，305这个口径在英国海军走过了波澜壮阔的25年，而这25年也是技术大发展的时代。

The earliest MK1 305mm gun had a range of only 7300 meters. The MK2 improved the gunpowder loading and breech-loading technology, extending the range to 9100 meters.

The MK9 305mm gun, which was created in 1896, had a range of 14 kilometers for the 40-caliber naval version and 16.3 kilometers for the 45-caliber shore gun version. Japan imported this type of shore gun and equipped many fortresses and batteries with it, and also introduced the technology to try to produce it on its own.

在扶桑国，MK9被命名为41式305毫米40倍径火炮。参加日俄战争的扶桑6艘战列舰统配备了此型火炮，只不过都是英国生产的主炮。

Due to their outstanding performance in the Russo-Japanese War, in addition to the Fusō Combined Fleet, the Italian Navy also used the MK9 gun as its main armament, equipping the Queen Herna-class and Queen Margherita-class battleships.

In the Royal Navy, the MK9 was equipped on three Formidable-class battleships and five London-class battleships. The ship layout was the same as that of the Majestic-class battleships. It was a domestic version of the 305mm gun, which had a higher range and accuracy.

The Japanese were not entirely without merit; the Shimose gunpowder they developed had excellent performance, and shells loaded with Shimose gunpowder could greatly increase the range and power of artillery, as had already been proven in the Russo-Japanese War.

Precisely because of the above factors

When the Great Chu Empire's combined fleet bombarded the north bank forts, it had to maintain a distance of at least twenty kilometers, even if it meant wasting more ammunition, to ensure the safety of its main warships first.

Although the Kunlunshan-class battleships had thick armor, the 305mm shells fired by the Japanese could not penetrate the main armor belt.

However, if it hits the bow, stern deck, or the conning tower, turret, or other weak points in the armor, the damage should not be underestimated.

If you can outmaneuver the Japanese by flying kites, then don't take the risk.

Even when bombarding large, fixed targets like land fortresses and batteries at a distance of more than 20 kilometers, the First Battle Fleet maintained a good hit rate.

After repeated adjustments, the overall success rate is around 50% to 60%.

Compared to yesterday's bombardment, today the First Battle Fleet's bombardment intervals are longer, about 10 minutes between each round, in order to hit more accurately.

More than 1700 large-caliber shells were unleashed, hitting targets from over 20 kilometers away to over 10 kilometers away, destroying the entire north bank fort and surrounding barracks and military facilities, leaving a scene of utter devastation.

The fortresses and towns on the north bank of the river were bombed into a sea of ​​fire before the First Battle Fleet leisurely withdrew, having finished its mission.

Then the second cruiser fleet moved forward and bombarded nearby towns and suspicious areas with its 152mm secondary guns to provide supplementary bombardment.

The booming cannon fire continued for another hour and a half. Around 2 p.m., the first landing speedboats were finally transported from Sakurajima to Kagoshima Port. The first wave of more than 30 ships carrying over 700 officers and soldiers successfully landed.

Under the heavy artillery fire of the cruiser and destroyer fleets, the Japanese garrison on land dared not show their faces at all; if they did, they would be bombarded to dust and die a very frustrating death.

By around 3:30 p.m., the number of soldiers who had landed had reached more than 2,900, accompanied by more than 20 tanks and more than 70 trucks, and a relatively stable landing zone had been established.

At this time, the troop transport fleet from the Ryukyu Islands finally arrived, docking directly at the Kagoshima port and beginning to transport a large number of troops, this time carrying tens of thousands of soldiers.

According to the latest orders received from the Army Department this morning;
In recognition of his outstanding performance during the landing at Sakurajima, Chu-Zheng Hui, commander of the 9th Division, was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General and appointed as the commander of the 1st Special Task Force of Kagoshima, under whose command the 9th Division and the 35th Division.

The second wave of supplies consisted of the entire 35th Expeditionary Division's troops and equipment, which were unloaded at the dock at a very fast speed.

As dusk fell
The 35th Division had basically finished unloading its equipment and built a defensive line more than ten kilometers deep along the ruins of the shelling. They put up barbed wire, dug out the defensive line, and formed a semi-circular defensive line with the help of the landing tanks and more than 240 trucks.

A distance of more than ten kilometers is basically the range limit of a cruiser's main and secondary guns.

Within this range
The Chu troops that landed could contact the fleet at any time via radio and fire at designated coordinates to strike the enemy who attacked at night.

This added an extra layer of firepower protection to the Chu landing forces, forming a strong defensive perimeter that was difficult to breach, in conjunction with tanks and infantry light and heavy firepower points.

Lieutenant General Chu-Jung-Ren, commander of the First Task Force, was very cautious. He did not launch an attack immediately upon landing, but instead established a solid defensive position to prevent a Japanese counterattack at night.

He had once gone to the Northeast battlefield to observe the fierce battle between the Japanese and Russian armies, and was deeply impressed by their ferocity and tenacity.

Even those mid- to high-ranking officers in the Royal Army of Chu who did not personally experience landing on the Northeast battlefield had received rigorous rotational training at the Royal Manila Military Academy.

In particular, the division and regimental-level military commanders have all undergone advanced training for up to six months and participated in more than a dozen sand table exercises, and they are very knowledgeable about every bloody battle.

Most of the battle examples explained in the text are from the recently concluded Russo-Japanese War.

Those arduous battles were thoroughly analyzed and explained during the training of mid- to high-ranking officers, with various possibilities added for scenario simulations.

Many mid- to high-ranking officers in the Chu state, though they had never fought against the Japanese army, knew them intimately, and this is why.

During the year-long siege of Lushun Fortress, the Japanese army repeatedly used night raids, which was something that could not be ignored.

Now that they've landed on the main island of Japan, the Japanese pirates are probably going crazy. Even if they're a little more cautious, it wouldn't be a bad thing. (End of Chapter)