Nanyang Storm 1864

The pace of the Chu-Sun War is now entirely in the hands of the Great Chu Empire. The Fusang army, despite its brute strength, is powerless to use it effectively.

The Great Chu Empire's expeditionary fleet, leveraging its absolute naval superiority, has completely blockaded the Fusang Islands, effectively severing their foreign trade.

The serious consequences are gradually becoming apparent, with the densely populated Honshu Island already experiencing food shortages.

The area around Tokyo Bay on Honshu Island, including major and medium-sized cities such as Osaka, Nagoya, Aichi, Fukushima, and Miyagi, is densely populated and has a developed industrial and commercial sector, making it a traditional grain-importing region.

It was also the spring famine season from December to January or February of the following year, and food shortages occurred in many towns and cities, quickly causing social panic. This had become the most serious problem facing Fusang.

According to expectations

By January, the food shortage will extend to Osaka and more than 30 towns around Kobe, affecting two to three million low-income residents and causing considerable chaos.

By February or March, the food shortage will extend to the entire island of Honshu, affecting the food security of tens of millions of people and potentially escalating into a food crisis.

Emperor Zheng Guohui of the Great Chu Empire did not expect to force the subjugation of the Fusang Kingdom through military means. His purpose in launching the war was to cut off the roots of the Fusang Allied Fleet, completely shatter the Fusang Kingdom's ambition to compete with the Great Chu Empire at sea, and destroy the naval warfare capabilities of this potential enemy.

The second purpose was to force Fusang to submit, to acknowledge and recognize the status of the Great Chu Empire as a superior nation, to restrict its military development, and to force it to slow down or reduce its pace of military expansion.

The third goal was to establish the Great Chu Empire's maritime hegemony, ensuring that, at least in the Pacific Ocean, no one could rival it.

Therefore, while the Royal Army of the Great Chu Empire was continuously deploying a second wave of reinforcements to Kyushu Island, it was planning to launch a devastating attack on the Fusang Allied Fleet, which was holed up in the port, through submarine warfare.

This, coupled with a comprehensive trade blockade, ultimately led to the surrender of the Fusang Kingdom.

Landing in Tokyo Bay was just the last of all military preparations; it was a move to escalate things significantly.

I would not choose this path unless absolutely necessary.

After hearing the detailed deployment of the submarine operation, Emperor Zheng Guohui of the Great Chu Dynasty highly approved of the operation plan and nodded in agreement, which gave the green light for the final implementation of the submarine operation plan.

November 24st

The Combined Fleet suddenly set out again, assembling off the coasts of Sasebo and Nagasaki, as well as off the coast of Tokyo Bay, and launched a relentless artillery barrage against relevant Japanese military targets.

In an instant
The naval shipyards, naval academies, naval bases and warehouses, fortifications and other military targets under the jurisdiction of the Sasebo Naval Base were all razed to the ground by fierce naval artillery fire, resulting in extremely heavy losses.

At the Sasebo Naval Academy alone, more than 1360 young cadets and instructors died in the relentless bombing, and the entire school was completely razed to the ground, with everything destroyed.

The Japanese navy shipyard, built with huge investments, was bombarded by heavy artillery fire. The warships and ships under construction, as well as a large number of buildings and shipyard equipment, were all destroyed and engulfed in flames.

The raging fire engulfed the surrounding buildings and wooden houses, and spread to more than a dozen blocks, burning large areas of residential buildings to ashes. It burned for five days and five nights.

In Tokyo Bay in the north

Another fleet bombarded the Tokyo Bay fortresses and surrounding military buildings, destroying several small towns and severely damaging coastal fortresses and military facilities, causing irreparable damage.

In response to the new developments of the Chu Kingdom's royal expeditionary fleet, Prime Minister Katsura Taro of the Fusang Cabinet convened an emergency meeting and set forth a general land strategy of "uniting as one, fighting a decisive battle on the homeland, and sacrificing all fifty million subjects," conveying a strong confidence of never admitting defeat and vowing to fight to the end.

At this time, Katsura Taro's cabinet was beset by internal and external troubles. On July 14, 1907, he became the second Prime Minister and Minister of War, taking charge to resolve the financial mess in Japan.

During the Russo-Japanese War

The annual repayment amount of foreign debt issued by Japan to cope with the war has exceeded twice the amount of Japan's fiscal budget, totaling more than one billion yen.

After the war, Japan did not receive a single rupee in war reparations, and the soldiers who died or were wounded in the war were left with a huge debt of compensation, effectively bankrupting the country financially.

In order to repay the principal and interest, we need to borrow foreign debt again, drastically reduce military spending, increase domestic taxes, and further expand the scale of sending women to Southeast Asia to alleviate the sharp fiscal deficit.

Between 1905 and 1907, after the war ended, the cabinet and the Ministry of Finance tried their best to suppress the expansion budget requests of the army and navy, which led to many conflicts between the Japanese navy and army in the competition for limited budget resources, and the internal rifts widened.

At this time, the country was beset by the brutal invasion of the Great Chu Empire, truly facing internal and external troubles and teetering on the brink of collapse.

The new movements of the Great Chu Empire's Royal Expeditionary Fleet in the south and north successfully diverted the attention of the Fusang Kingdom's army and navy, who believed that Nagasaki and Tokyo Bay were the next targets for attack.

In response, troops were urgently deployed to strengthen the defensive position, causing a chaotic and hectic situation.

But no one knew that this was a "feint attack" tactic employed by the royal expeditionary fleet of the Great Chu Empire.

Late night on March 12th

Off the coast of Nagoya

Nagoya Bay is an inward-convex, encircling harbor spanning Nagoya City, Tokai City, Chita City, Yatomi City, Kaibu District, and Tobishima Village in Aichi Prefecture. It is one of the largest ports in Fusang Province.

Nagoya Bay is backed by a plain, with a peninsula and small islands acting as a barrier at its mouth. The bay is calm and tranquil, making it an exceptionally well-suited deep-water port.

Around 10 p.m.

On the dark sea off the north shore of Ise Bay, a biting wind howled past, and Colonel Zheng Zhongxin, his nose red from the cold, glanced at the luminous hands of his watch and nodded, instructing, "Alright, signal the other submarines and, according to the established combat sequence, implement 'Operation Thunder.' May His Majesty the Emperor bless us with swift success."

"As you command, sir."

Upon receiving the order, the communications director sent out a pre-arranged code of two long and one short signals. The radio waves drifted toward the submarines behind them, and one after another, these large black submarines silently submerged into the sea, making their way toward the mouth of Nagoya Bay.

During navigation, it is a silent voyage using periscope depth, with a speed of only four to five knots per hour, roughly the speed of riding a bicycle slowly.

Nine submarines participated in the attack on Nagoya Bay. Each submarine was spaced three to four kilometers apart, and they gradually infiltrated Nagoya Bay, proceeding along the central channel.

All the submarines are "Gross Tornado" class ocean-going submarines, with a displacement of over 1210 tons, making them one of the most advanced submarine combat weapons in the world today.

Each "Devastatus-class" submarine has four torpedo launchers and carries four torpedoes, using the world's mainstream steam torpedoes.

Each torpedo is 5.6 meters long, weighs over 680 kilograms, and is loaded with up to 118 kilograms of yellow high explosive. It is powered by compressed air, has a range of about 4.8 kilometers, a speed of 36 knots, and all its specifications are world-class.

In an era when visual defense was the only option, the periscope of a submarine lurking in the middle of a bay was so easily overlooked that it was practically impossible to detect.

Following the bay into the bay, which is 5.2 kilometers wide, Colonel Zheng Zhongxin's submarine successfully infiltrated and penetrated further into the bay, which is more than 20 kilometers long.

He didn't need to contact his subordinate submarines; the relevant operational plans had been practiced countless times, and the submarine captains all knew them by heart.

At the start of the operation, the submarines participating in the raid infiltrated according to the predetermined speed, course, and infiltration route, advancing in a single file by default.

Each submarine maintains a distance of 3 to 4 kilometers from the submarine with spirits, which is roughly equivalent to a submarine's slow-speed journey of 20 to 30 minutes, making a collision virtually impossible.

In this day and age of limited communication, this is the only option.

Frequent radio communication can easily expose a target.

After about two and a half hours of sailing, Colonel Zheng Zhongxin's submarine had arrived in the Nagoya harbor area, at around 3 a.m.

In the vast harbor, one after another ironclad warships were quietly moored, their huge black silhouettes appearing and disappearing only in the cold moonlight.

Upon seeing these enormous prey, Colonel Zheng Zhongxin's blood boiled with excitement. He couldn't help but lick his parched lips, his eyes gleaming with an unusual light. "We're going to strike it rich! We're going to strike it rich! This time, the submarine force is going to pull off a big heist! May His Majesty the Emperor bless us!"

The Nagoya harbor houses six main battleships of the Fusō Combined Fleet, namely the First Battle Squadron and its heavy cruisers, light cruisers, and torpedo destroyers.

This included main battleships such as the Mikasa, Shikishima, and Fuji, all built in Britain, equipped with 305mm main guns and Krupp armor, with a single ship displacement of about 1.5 tons, making them the top main force of the Combined Fleet.

The captured Russian Navy's new battleships, "Nicholas I," "Eagle," and "Admiral Aprakshin," also belonged to the First Battle Squadron and were quietly anchored in the harbor.

These were all newly built warships hastily constructed by Tsarist Russia. Before they could even be properly used, they were captured by the Japanese and have now become the main battleships of the Japanese Combined Fleet.

These huge black silhouettes under the cover of night are the prey that the submarine force is hunting.

According to the pre-war deployment

Colonel Zheng Zhongxin directed the submarine to quietly move into position, and then ordered the soldiers to begin preparations for launching the torpedoes, including powering on, testing, depth setting, and other pre-launch preparations, all in an orderly manner.

The berthing of warships in Nagoya harbor had already been leaked through spies, and the submarine force was well aware of this and made meticulous arrangements.

Of the nine submarines that infiltrated, six were tasked with targeting the main battleships of the Japanese Navy. It was a one-to-one confrontation between submarines and main battleships. All eight steam torpedoes were launched to ensure the submarines were sunk and destroyed.

The other three submarines were responsible for the heavy cruisers, light cruisers, and torpedo destroyers they happened to be dealing with, aiming to fire off all the torpedoes and then escape quickly.

Colonel Zheng Zhongxin raised his wrist to check the time. It was 3:5 a.m., more than half an hour before the scheduled attack time.

This allowed the subsequent submarines to take their positions and launch a torpedo attack simultaneously, giving the Fusō Combined Fleet a big surprise.

As long as the target is not exposed, the operation will proceed according to the established operational plan.

Time passed by minute by minute, and soon half an hour had gone by.

In the howling winds of Nagoya harbor, only one Japanese patrol boat patrolled the sea alone, now returning from its patrol at the mouth of the bay.

The patrol boat's lights shone back and forth on the sea; if it was far away, it could be ignored. But if it got close, it would be necessary to dive underwater to avoid revealing its position.

It was 3:7 a.m. when Colonel Zheng Zhongxin's submarine received a series of short telegram codes, a total of seven.

This is a signal sent by the submarines that have entered their respective attack positions according to the pre-arranged code, indicating that a total of 8 submarines, including this one, are in position.

Only the second-to-last submarine in the sequence has not yet entered its attack position.

Colonel Zheng Zhongxin was very satisfied with the situation. In the prior drills, each submarine only needed to be responsible for itself and enter its position while maintaining radio silence.

The first submarine sailed on the right, and the second submarine sailed on the left, in order to avoid colliding with each other while diving forward at night.

After waiting a few more minutes, at 3:42, Colonel Zheng Zhongxin, as agreed, ordered the radio room to send out the agreed-upon signal of "three long and one short".

This agreed-upon signal is the coded message that "according to the established plan, each submarine will launch an attack on time, and after the attack is completed, it will immediately withdraw," which is the order to launch the attack.

A little over a minute after sending the agreed-upon three long and one short signal, Colonel Zheng Zhongxin received a short signal, which completely put his mind at ease.

Okay, okay, the last submarine has also moved into its attack position. We finally made it.

At this moment

The Japanese telegraph office on shore also intercepted the relevant codes. A major with a serious expression hurriedly ran out of the telegraph office, holding a telegram in his hand, preparing to go to the fleet headquarters to report.

The strange telegram sent late at night attracted the attention of the Japanese army.

Could this be some kind of danger signal?
Just as the major was halfway there, he suddenly heard the sharp alarm of a patrol boat piercing the night sky, sounding mournful and high-pitched.

The Japanese major seemed frozen in place, his eyes filled with fear as he looked toward the harbor.

Several gunshots rang out, and the Japanese naval soldiers on night duty fired more than ten flares, the pale white light instantly illuminating Nagoya Harbor.

White lines streaked across the sea – the terrifying contrails of torpedoes launched, pointing directly at the massive warship anchored there – the core of Japan's naval power!

"Amaterasu, it's all over."

Before this exclamation could even finish, a deafening explosion rang out from the battleship "Fuji." A torpedo struck the bow, and the force of the explosion lifted the heavy bow off the ship.

The seawater within a radius of hundreds of meters bulged up in the explosion, followed by a second and a third violent explosion, completely shattering the quiet night.

The ensuing explosions engulfed the battleships Shikishima, Mikasa, Nicholas I, Hawk, and Admiral Aprakshin, causing the sea to churn violently as if boiling.

Before the earth-shattering explosion had even stopped, a torpedo struck the stern ammunition magazine of the battleship "Mikasa," instantly triggering a massive secondary explosion. The fireball generated by the secondary explosion covered an area of ​​hundreds of meters in diameter, illuminating the night sky in an instant.

As if some sea monster was stirring, the heavy hull of the battleship "Mikasa," weighing 1.5 tons, was lifted up and exploded more than ten meters above the sea surface.

The ear-piercing, deafening sound of steel tearing apart carried for twenty or thirty kilometers before the battleship, which had rendered outstanding service to the Fusang Kingdom, crashed back onto the sea and was instantly torn in two.

The massive flooding caused the Mikasa battleship to capsize. Its sharp bow quickly rose, and it soon sank into the sea, creating huge waves and whitecaps on the surface.

However, the disaster is not over yet.

Just over ten minutes after the first torpedo explosion, a second torpedo attack came.

This time, the submarines lurking in the sea launched an attack on the remaining major warships, picking off the missing ones and almost one by one the cruisers and destroyers, turning the huge harbor into a sea of ​​fire.

It's messed up, everything is messed up.

The Japanese sailors on the attacked warships fell into the sea like dumplings being dropped into boiling water. The cold seawater caused these Japanese soldiers to quickly lose their body temperature, and they became motionless within minutes.

From beginning to end
This Japanese major witnessed the disaster, but there was nothing he could do, and he was powerless to change anything.
He witnessed the entire disaster while trembling. The immense fear gripped his mind and body, making it difficult for him to even take a step. The raging fire in the harbor filled his eyes.

Countless brave officers and soldiers of the Combined Fleet died in the icy sea, and many even saw Amaterasu in their dreams.

The majority of these were decorated naval officers and soldiers who had participated in the Russo-Japanese War. This marked the end of an era and a glorious tragedy.

The port is burning, the fleet is sinking, and a great disaster is unfolding.

In Osaka Port, the same scene repeated itself within minutes of each other. This was a disastrous day for the Combined Fleet, and also an absolute doomsday.

The Royal Navy submarine force of the Great Chu Empire achieved an enviable and brilliant victory as soon as it made its debut, which shocked the world and the navies of the world's major powers.

The British Royal Navy and the German Royal Navy, in particular, were shocked by the immense power of the submarines and hastily devised various countermeasures, fearing that the Germans would raid their base.

The Germans, on the other hand, were shocked by the immense power of their submarine force and elevated its importance to a very high level, beginning to invest heavily in training a German submarine force capable of dominating the Atlantic.

This inadvertently made the First World War, which broke out many years later, even more devastating, with the British suffering even greater losses and nearly being brought to collapse by the German submarine force.

That's a story for another time, and I won't go into details. (End of Chapter)