When the emperor comes to modern times, history collapses!

Chapter 288: Sunk without firing a single shot, the Japanese Combined Fleet was scared
The Qinglong fleet's shells rained down on the huge battleship continuously.

What made the Japanese feel desperate was that the range of their own artillery was too short to reach the enemy in the distance. They could only watch the enemy attack them at will without any ability to fight back.

At this moment, Kawahara Yoichi, who was on the bridge of the "Yoshino", had bloodshot eyes, which were frighteningly red.

The blue veins on his forehead bulged high, as if they would burst at any time.

He roared in rage, "Baga! Move at full speed! If we don't speed up, when our ship sinks to the bottom of the sea, we won't be able to cause even the slightest damage to those damn enemies!"

As Kawara Yoichi roared, the Yoshino rushed towards the Qinglong fleet like an enraged beast. Thick smoke billowed out of its chimney, like the angry roar of this giant beast.

Kawahara Yoichi stared straight ahead, clenched his hands into fists, and silently calculated the distance between the two sides in his mind.

"Hurry! Faster! We're almost within range! As long as we can break through this damn distance, victory will belong to Japan!" Kawahara Yoichi shouted wildly in his heart.

At the same time, Zheng He, standing on the deck of the Qinglong fleet's flagship, was always calmly observing the enemy's every move.

When he saw the Yoshino coming at full speed with billowing smoke at an almost suicidal speed, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, revealing a disdainful sneer: "Humph, you came just in time. This general was worried that our first two generations of warships could not reach you."

After saying that, he decisively issued orders, asking the previous generation of pre-dreadnought-class battleships in the fleet to prepare for battle.

After receiving the order, the officers and soldiers on the pre-dreadnought-class battleships were all in high spirits and morale.

They had long been eager to teach these arrogant Japanese pirates a lesson.

Before, due to the insufficient range, they could only watch their comrades fight, and they felt very itchy.

Now, the opportunity to fight back has finally come, and everyone is very excited.

"Aim at the target and fire!" With the captain's order, the guns on the pre-dreadnought battleship roared in unison, and shells whizzed towards the "Yoshino". In an instant, the sea surface was filled with flames and smoke...

In the air, shells rained down like crazy on the nearest Yoshino.

These shells seemed to carry endless anger and hatred, vowing to completely destroy the enemy ship.

In the sea, the torpedoes were swimming at an astonishing speed like a group of extremely hungry and bloodthirsty sharks. They had only one target - the Yoshino!

At this time, there was chaos on the deck of the Yoshino.

A soldier hurried over and reported loudly to the captain Kawai Kaname standing on the command platform: "Captain, the enemy is already within range!"

Upon hearing the news, Kawahara Yoichi's tense face suddenly showed a hint of joy, and he shouted loudly: "Baga! Pass on my order, all artillery fire immediately, hit hard..."

However, before he could finish his words, the smile froze on his face.

Because at this moment, they found that the shells flying in the air suddenly became extremely dense, like a huge net covering the sky and covering the Yoshino.

At the same time, in the sea, a creepy sound was approaching rapidly.

"Oh no, it's a torpedo!" someone shouted in horror.

Immediately afterwards, there was a loud earth-shaking noise and the entire Yoshino shook violently.

The huge force of the explosion caused severe damage to the hull in many places, and shocking large holes were blown out. Thick smoke spewed out from the damaged areas, and the entire ship turned into a burning fireship in the blink of an eye.

The strong shock wave created huge waves, and countless water splashes were thrown high into the air and then fell heavily back into the sea.

Due to the sudden and violent collision, Kawahara Yoichi lost his balance and fell directly to the ground, looking very miserable.

Before he could get up, another soldier ran over in panic and shouted, "Captain, it's bad, the bottom of the ship has been blown open!"

After hearing this, Kawara's eyes widened and he roared angrily, "Close the watertight door quickly! Quickly!"

However, another officer said with a pale face: "The enemy's torpedo is too powerful, Captain. Although the Yoshino's bottom is equipped with heavy armor, it can't withstand such an attack. I'm afraid... I'm afraid the Yoshino is about to sink!"

"How is this possible?" Kawahara Yoichi shouted in disbelief. "The Yoshino is one of the most powerful battleships in our empire. How could its bottom armor be broken so easily? Someone must have cut corners!"

However, no matter how angrily he questioned and rebuked, he could not change the cruel reality before him.

As time went by, the fire on the Yoshino grew bigger and bigger, and the ship tilted more and more severely. It was only a matter of time before it sank.

Zheng He stood at the bow, holding a telescope, concentrating on observing everything happening on the sea in the distance. Through the clear vision of the telescope, he could see the thrilling scene in full view.

"If it was the ordinary gunpowder that was used at the beginning, it would probably not be able to produce such tremendous power. However, the gunpowder we have now has undergone many improvements, and its performance has been greatly improved. With the same amount, the explosive power is at least ten times stronger than before!" Zheng He couldn't help but sigh.

Zhu Ming, who had returned here, smiled slightly: "It's normal. With the advancement of technology, the power will become greater and greater. A large number of talents from later generations have been introduced, directly crossing time to bring technology from decades or even hundreds of years later. The power of our explosives is already far ahead of this era."

At this time, the experienced commander on another warship, the Yoshino, commanded by Kawara Yoichi, also understood the situation. Although he could still hold on with his many years of naval experience, the Yoshino was obviously unable to withstand any more attacks.

With eyes wide open, Kawara stared at the aggressive Qinglong fleet in front of him, and his eyes finally locked on the Daqin where Zheng He was. He suddenly drew out the sharp samurai sword from his waist, raised it above his head, and shouted at the top of his voice: "It is better to die in glory than to live in disgrace! All crew members listen to my order, and charge at the enemy at full speed!" Before he finished speaking, a loud bang was heard.

"Boom!" It turned out that a cannonball hit Kawahara Yoichi squarely, as if saying "Fuck you".

In an instant, flames shot up into the sky and thick smoke billowed.

Just a few seconds later, a jaw-dropping scene appeared: a blood-stained samurai sword fell straight down from mid-air like a kite with a broken string, and pierced deeply into the deck.

There was actually a broken arm attached to the handle of the knife, with blood splattered everywhere, it was a shocking sight.

This sudden change shocked everyone present, and they didn't even have time to grieve for their dead companions.

At this moment, several torpedoes rushed towards the Yoshino like hungry wolves pouncing on their prey.

As several deafening explosions sounded one after another, the entire Yoshino was enveloped in raging fire and billowing smoke.

Under this series of fierce attacks, the Yoshino finally couldn't bear the burden and broke apart in the middle.

After the shattering, the hull gradually lost balance and slowly sank to the bottom of the sea.

The Japanese soldiers who had originally placed their hopes on the battleship panicked when they saw the situation was not good. Since the lifeboats had been destroyed in the previous battle, they had no choice but to jump into the freezing cold sea water in an attempt to find a glimmer of hope...

At this point, the most powerful "Yoshino" of the First Guerrilla Division of the Japanese Combined Fleet sank rapidly like a boulder falling into the sea without firing a single shell, until it completely disappeared under the rough sea.

On the sea, there were only some scattered debris drifting with the waves, as if silently telling that there once was a majestic warship here.

The three battleships, Takachiho, Akitsuzou and Naniwa, which formed the First Guerrilla Squadron together with the Yoshino, had no time to feel sad about the sinking of their companions.

They tried their best to approach the Qinglong fleet, because they knew that they were facing the same embarrassing situation as the "Yoshino" - the enemy could easily attack them with artillery fire, but the range of the heavy artillery they were equipped was far beyond the reach of the enemy.

The only way to cause substantial damage to the enemy is to risk getting closer.

Commander-in-Chief Ito Yuheng, standing on the flagship command platform, witnessed everything in front of him, and his anger instantly ignited to the peak. His face was full of anger, his eyes were wide open, and veins on his forehead were bulging. He grabbed the delicate tea bowl in his hand and threw it to the ground fiercely, accompanied by a crisp cracking sound, and porcelain pieces flew everywhere.

"Damn it! What on earth is Kawahara Yoichi doing? He let the Yoshino sink to the bottom of the sea without firing a single shot! I will definitely send him to a military court and punish him severely!" Ito Yuheng roared angrily.

The adjutant beside him reminded cautiously: "Commander, Captain Kawara Yoichi is probably in danger now. Even if you want to punish him, you can only go to the bottom of the sea to find him..."

Hearing this, Ito Yuheng's face became even gloomier. He gritted his teeth and squeezed out a few words: "No matter what, we must avenge the Yoshino!"

"Commander, the latest intelligence just received from the telegram shows that the opposing fleet is extremely powerful in terms of scale, equipment and personnel. With our current strength, I am afraid our chances of winning are slim! In my opinion, the best option at this moment is to evacuate here quickly. Otherwise, once an exchange of fire occurs, we are likely to be wiped out and all of us will be buried here!" A general reported to Ito Yuheng with a serious expression.

However, Ito Yuheng slammed the table and shouted angrily: "What? The Combined Fleet of the Great Japanese Empire is going to flee in disgrace without even firing a single shell at the enemy? This is simply a great shame!"

The general hurriedly advised: "Commander, calm down! But please think twice. The situation is critical now. The Empire of Japan must not lose the elite force of the Combined Fleet!"

Another commander said worriedly: "That being said, the three warships, Takachiho, Akitsuzumi and Naniwa, have already rushed forward first. It is impossible to evacuate now."

Ito Yuheng's face became increasingly gloomy, but he was still unwilling to retreat.

The general next to him continued to persuade him: "Commander, now that things have come to this, we really have no other choice. Japan cannot do without the combined fleet. The only way is to withdraw to the country as soon as possible, reach the coastline of Japan, and with the help of the firepower support of the coastal defense artillery, there may be a glimmer of hope to resist the attack of the enemy fleet."

After a long silence, Ito Yuheng finally sighed and gave an order helplessly: "Pass my order to the first and second formations, and have them evacuate the battlefield immediately at full speed. At the same time, inform the captains of the three ships 'Takachiho', 'Akitsuzou' and 'Naniwa' to do everything they can to delay the enemy fleet and buy enough time for the other ships to retreat."

When the captains of the Takachiho, Akitsuzou, and Naniwa saw the order, they were immediately furious and cursed, and the angry voices seemed to break through the sky.

They felt extremely regretful. If they had known they would receive such an order, they would not have rushed forward so rashly.

It's like a sheep walking into a tiger's mouth and delivering itself to the tiger's door.

Turning a warship on the sea is not as simple as a car on flat land, where a beautiful drift can easily complete a 180-degree turn. This is an extremely complex and dangerous operation.

What made these captains even more desperate was that after the fierce battle just now, they were horrified to find that the sailing speed of the opposing fleet was far faster than their own.

Even if he wanted to turn around and run away at this moment, it would probably be difficult to escape the other party's pursuit.

Seeing that there was no hope of escape, he gnashed his teeth and yelled, "Since I can't run away, I'll at least bite off a piece of flesh from the other party!"

Among them, the captain of the "Naniwa" Togo Heihachiro was furious. He suddenly drew out the sword at his waist, flashing with cold light and murderous intent. He stared with his eyes and cursed fiercely: "How did that idiot Kawahara Yoichi command the battle? He let his warship sink to the bottom of the sea without firing a single shot, and even caused the commander to be afraid to fight. If it were me who was in charge, I would definitely send all these enemies to the bottom of the sea to feed the fish! Now, listen to my orders, kill the chickens!"

The formation changes of the enemy fleet naturally did not escape Zheng He's sharp eyes. He raised the corners of his mouth slightly, revealing a contemptuous smile, and said sarcastically: "Humph, it seems that the enemy wants to escape. What a bunch of cowardly bandits!"

Lai Huer of the General Staff stroked his beard and said, "These ambitious, cunning and cruel Japanese devils are quick to admit defeat. I guess they want to lure us to their coastline and use their coastal defense artillery to fight us."

"He may look ugly, but he has beautiful ideas! Inform the first and second fleets to hold on to the enemy. Use all the remaining firepower to sink the three warships as quickly as possible. The Japanese fleet has a total of more than 70,000 tons. Not a single pound of these 40,000 tons can be lost today!"

(End of this chapter)