Seven Seas Beacon Fire

Although Akiyama-dono, who did not experience the Russo-Japanese War, appears more reserved and even insecure, he is clearly not like those in history who were exhausted and became delirious during the war, refusing to treat their illnesses and ultimately dying young. It seems that Akiyama-dono is still alive and kicking today thanks to the world of Yingzhou, which did not give him the opportunity to launch one war after another so early.

For Qiushan, it was still hard to believe that the grandson of the Prince of Jin of the Ming Dynasty was actually interested in him, and even more so, he was able to put on such a respectful and courteous attitude. Indeed, in Qiushan's opinion, Li Che's act of greeting him at the train carriage entrance was already quite respectful and courteous.

The officers and soldiers of the Tokugawa army and the Second Fleet who had retreated to the mainland with the Tokugawa Shogunate had not had a good time for the past year.

The chaotic situation in the Ming court meant that no political force cared about these "homeless dogs" who came from Yingzhou. As an "exiled shogunate," the Tokugawa shogunate had lost most of its economic resources, and its daily expenses within the Ming territory basically depended on donations and remittances from overseas Chinese within the Ming territory.

However, with the Japanese also using the banner of the Japanese Emperor in Japan, fewer and fewer Japanese residents were willing to donate to the Tokugawa Shogunate. The Tokugawa Shogunate was struggling to even cover the basic living expenses of its officials, and the situation of the Shogunate army and the Second Fleet that came with them was even worse.

Not to mention that when Yingzhou defected, the overseas Chinese in China were once in a situation where everyone was against them. Some overseas Chinese couldn't bear that Yingzhou would betray the Celestial Empire and join the "white devils". They couldn't stand the cold words and ridicule from those around them, so they simply took their own lives.

Akiyama-dono had doubted more than once whether his initial decision was correct, but there was no turning back once the arrow was released. It would be utterly ridiculous to switch sides just because of the difficult living conditions here.

So Akiyama-dono and the officers and soldiers of the Second Fleet of Yingzhou tried their best to keep things going. Naturally, the officers and soldiers could not take care of the maintenance of the cruisers and destroyers in the fleet, but at least they had to ensure that the officers and soldiers could live without worry about food and clothing in a foreign land.

So Akiyama-dono led these officers and soldiers to open several Japanese restaurants in Tianjin, and also helped some other officers and soldiers with skills to make a living in Tianjin. As a result, before Li Che specifically asked to see him, Akiyama-dono and the officers and soldiers of the Second Fleet had almost made a name for themselves in Tianjin's catering industry!

Although he was doing very well in business, when Qiushan learned that a distinguished person wanted to see him, he did not hesitate at all and immediately went to the train station to meet Li Che.

After all, Akiyama-dono himself might be quite accepting of such a life—after all, if it weren't for his brother Akiyama Yoshifuru who tricked him into joining the army, he would probably have preferred to be a teacher, like his teacher Takahashi Korekiyo. In fact, in this timeline, his willingness to lead the Second Fleet to follow the Tokugawa Shogunate to the Ming Dynasty was largely influenced by Takahashi Korekiyo—Westerners are the least trustworthy.

However, he wanted to find a way out for the officers and men of the Second Fleet. Although the chefs in the Second Fleet were quite skilled, few people in the entire fleet were willing to run a few Japanese restaurants in a foreign country for the rest of their lives.

On the train, Li Che had just invited Qiushan to sit down when Qiushan took out two file folders. The documents that came out surprised Qiushan even more, because the two file folders contained records of the "Fleet Sword" series of military exercises previously held by the Ming Dynasty Royal Navy.

From the numbering of these two answers, Qiushan Palace could determine that these two documents must be the two "Fleet Sword" exercises that he had participated in. The Fleet Sword series of exercises was the largest and highest-level comprehensive maritime exercise ever conducted by the Ming Dynasty Royal Navy.

Qiushan participated in two of these exercises, and on both occasions, he left a deep impression on the Ming army during the war game simulation phase.

"Rear Admiral Akiyama, I saw in these two files that you have some ideas and unique insights into torpedo attack tactics. Furthermore, in two war games, you used light warships with torpedoes as weapons, leaving a very deep impression on your opponents." Li Che said, opening one of the answers: "For example, in this file, the record shows that in a war game, you deployed more than 80 torpedo boats and torpedo cruisers in one night, destroying 4 battleships and 4 armored cruisers of the Blue Army in one night."

"I was lucky..." At this moment, Qiushan still didn't know what Li Che was up to in summoning him, so he naturally maintained his usual humble and cautious attitude.

"You are being a bit too modest," Li Che said with a smile. "It is precisely because your exercise has demonstrated that, in the face of the new generation of thermal torpedoes, traditional pre-dreadnoughts are simply too dangerous for these wielding assassins at their main challenge range."

It can be said that your exercise ultimately became a crucial weapon for the reformists of the Ming Royal Navy to defeat the conservatives in the selection of future warships. It can be said that in this respect, you truly pushed for the approval of the construction plan for the Ming Royal Navy's first generation of dreadnoughts.

Clearly, Akiyama himself didn't know what had happened after that exercise, but now he could guess from the two files that Li Che had taken out why the other party had specifically asked to see him.

It must be related to torpedo attacks, after all, in the two Fleet Sword series exercises I participated in, Akiyama-dono always gave people the impression of being good at using small boats to fight big with small boats.

Clearly, this grandson who specifically requested to see him probably also wanted to use light warships to launch a major offensive.

Even in his mind, he had already begun to guess the target that the Crown Prince was going to attack—Busan! It must be Busan.

So, the outspoken and somewhat tactless Akiyama-dono asked directly, "Does Your Highness intend to launch a surprise attack on Busan Port and sever the connection between the north and south banks of the Tsushima Strait?"

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Chapter 46 Qiushan Palace's Suggestion (2)

"Do you think we're going to make our move in Busan?"

Lee Cheol habitually raised an eyebrow. He wasn't particularly surprised that Akiyama-dono could guess that they were planning to take action against Silla. After all, apart from the Vladivostok naval port, which was remote and had the strictest security measures, the large torpedo boats and various small torpedo boats that could not be transported by rail had accumulated to a considerable number in multiple ports in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea.

Therefore, it is perfectly normal for Akiyama-dono to judge that the operation would take place in Busan. It is also in line with the style and thinking of a Yingzhou strategist. The Yingzhou people's battle plans are either extremely conservative or extremely aggressive. They have always lacked a middle ground.

Launching a large number of light warships to carry out an attack in this era is undoubtedly a risky operation. Therefore, based on the few clues that Akiyama-dono could obtain, he would naturally think of the entire operation as larger and more aggressive.

A strong attack on Busan and a severing of the entire Tsushima Strait—this is not just about wiping out the 10 men at Wonsan Port; it's about wiping out the United States troops still in southern Silla in one fell swoop.

It can only be said that when Akiyama-dono formulated the battle plan, he indeed tended to be bold and radical. This should be considered a kind of inertia in the thinking of islanders. Although Akiyama-dono was offering advice to Li Che from the perspective of the Ming Dynasty, it is clear that he still regarded the resources at his disposal as those of that resource-poor island nation.

For island nations, strategic stalemate is the most painful and the most unbearable situation. In other words, once they enter a strategic stalemate, they are not far from defeat. Since entering a stalemate means losing, it is better to win in one decisive battle from the very beginning.

When faced with Li Che's question, Qiu Shan immediately replied seriously: "We now have two major battlefields in the Western Pacific with the Allied Powers, one in the north and one in the south. As long as we can make decisive progress in one of these battlefields, we can not only shorten our battle lines, but also concentrate our elite forces. Our troops are large, but apart from the troops under Prince Jin's command, their quality is generally not high. In the entire Western Pacific theater, the actual battlefield width is actually very limited. What we should do is to concentrate and invest as many elite combat forces as possible."

"Your logic is very clear, and what you said is very good. What you just said is based on the inferences made about the troop deployment and concentration in the entire theater of operations. Is there any other basis for this? Or are you simply making this judgment based on strategic considerations?"

Li Che continued to test Qiushan Palace before him, wanting to see if Qiushan Palace's abilities were as good as the rumors in the other time and space.

Akiyama-dono immediately replied, "Of course there are other bases."

Li Che: "What's the basis?"

"Fuel!" Akiyama-dono replied confidently. "Many things can be lied about, but fuel cannot. A considerable portion of the fuel stored in Tianjin Port has already been transported to ports in Shandong. I think this fuel should be supplied for the upcoming military operations."

This time, Li Che was genuinely a little surprised. He had thought that Qiushan Palace would choose to further examine how he discovered that the Ming army was gathering various large torpedo boats and small torpedo boats in the East China Sea, using the changes in the number of these ships as evidence to make such a judgment.

I never expected that he would start with oil.

Qiushan Palace: "Your Highness the Crown Prince must also know that the mainland of the Ming Dynasty has not yet shaken off the label of an oil-poor country. The Ming Dynasty's main oil supply comes from Yanping. After the defeat in the Java Sea naval battle, the oil supply has become even more difficult. Although the railway transportation, which mainly relies on coal, has not been affected, many means of transportation in the city have now switched to gas instead of gasoline. Gasoline can only be guaranteed to be given priority to the army."

For the navy, apart from the battlecruisers besieged in Sishui Port, the Ming Dynasty's other battleships all used coal-fired boilers or kerosene-oil mixed boilers. Among the cruisers, apart from the newest batch of first-class light cruisers, they also used kerosene-oil mixed boilers. Therefore, the fuel supply problem for large and medium-sized warships was not a major issue.

However, most light and small ships run on fuel. Although the Ming Dynasty's fuel reserves are not yet in dire need, they must at least use them sparingly. At least the United States can send out destroyers like livestock to patrol and assist their cruisers in capturing the Ming army's commerce raiding fleet. But the Ming Dynasty's destroyers cannot maintain the same high overall operational efficiency as the United States.

Currently, the destroyers supporting Luzon and Yenpyeong in the south can only be guaranteed a barely sufficient amount of fuel. The destroyer forces in the northern coastal areas are generally minimizing their deployments unless there is a specific combat mission.

Under such circumstances, the concentration of so many light warships requiring fuel in the East China Sea and Yellow Sea certainly isn't just for them to soak in the water. It must indicate a large-scale military operation. I honestly don't know the target of this operation, but if it were me, I would choose Busan.

Akiyama-dono's long and detailed speech was indeed brilliant. It could be said that he discovered a large-scale military operation being planned by the Ming army from an inconspicuous clue. Li Che was now even more grateful that this guy had come to the Ming Dynasty with the Tokugawa Shogunate. If this guy were still in Yingzhou, the United States Navy would probably have gained one of the world's top naval advisors.

However, Qiushan was still limited by his habitual thinking. Li Che clapped and shook his head at his answer: "The analysis is indeed brilliant, but it is still a bit lacking. Can you tell me the fundamental reason why you chose Busan? Is it because you can annihilate more enemies? To devour the entire United Kingdom of Silla?"

"That's only one aspect. The main reason is that for most medium and light combat ships, their combat radius, when departing from Qingdao or Lianyungang, can only cover Busan Port." Qiushan Dian spread his hands and said, "The range of light combat ships, which are the main force of attack, limits the choice of targets. Within the corresponding combat radius, I don't think there is a more suitable target than Busan."

Li Che nodded seriously. In his opinion, this "fountain of wisdom" of the navy basically deserved the praise he received in the book "Clouds Above the Slope". At least Akiyama-dono had already shown him the characteristics of strategic overall consideration and originality in details. He had both a big-picture perspective and the ability to approach things from directions that others could not think of.

This is indeed the kind of talent he needs right now.

"You are now an officer in the Yingzhou Shogunate. Would you be willing to transfer your military status to the Ming Navy?" At this moment, Zhu Miaoyun, who had been silent, suddenly asked. This unexpected question caught Li Che and Qiushan Dian off guard.

Li Che turned his head and stared wide-eyed at Zhu Miaoyun. He really wanted to say, "Big sister, can you please not make international jokes at a time like this? How can you poach people so directly without any warning? Guderian launched a blitzkrieg against the Gauls, are you going to launch a blitzkrieg against us too? You didn't even consult me ​​beforehand."

Perhaps noticing the surprised looks they both gave her, Zhu Miaoyun scratched her head in confusion: "Ah... is this not allowed?"

As for Qiushan Dian, he had not paid any attention to the other woman in this carriage before this. He subconsciously mistook Zhu Miaoyun, who was also wearing a military uniform without rank insignia, for Li Che's maid or orderly.

But now it seems that this is definitely not Li Che's maid or orderly. I have never seen anyone in the world who would dare to interrupt their "master" and superior to speak so casually.

"Who is this?" Akiyama asked with some curiosity.

“This is Princess Changning of the Great Ming Empire.” Li Che answered casually. Then he saw Qiushan Palace’s face light up with surprise and joy after a moment of stunned silence. Without the slightest hesitation, she quickly nodded in agreement.

what?

Do you agree?

Does this mean that I possess an aura of dominance, as described in novels from another world? If I simply display this aura, will my underlings not obey me?

What nonsense! If that were really the case, then the aura of dominance wouldn't be on me, but on Zhu Miaoyun.

Li Che immediately realized that it was probably because he had grown up to this point and spent a long time in another world that he had forgotten what the Ming Dynasty, which had lasted for nearly 600 years in the East, really meant in this world.

Yi Sun-sin, whom the people of Silla hailed as the greatest, dreamed of serving as an official in the Ming Dynasty. After all, even though Silla was the happiest place in the world, who wouldn't want to be a human being if they could?

Of course, Yi Sun-sin's desire to become an official in the Ming Dynasty resulted in his death in the Battle of Noryang. Eager to make a name for himself, he charged too far ahead and was ultimately killed. This shows how attractive Ming Dynasty residency was to Silla officials.

If we look at it from another angle, wouldn't the Ming Dynasty household registration be attractive to officials or soldiers in Yingzhou?

It seems the attraction is even more exaggerated than I thought.

Akiyama-dono did not hesitate at all.

Zhu Miaoyun, with the expression of a novice angler who has caught a 10-pound fish and is unsure whether it is considered big or small, showed it to the experienced angler next to her and asked Li Che a series of questions: "Is this a happy ending for everyone?"

This is indeed a great thing for everyone, but the way you handled this matter... it really leaves those of us who wanted to follow the proper procedures speechless. Is being approachable some kind of superpower? Like Batman's superpower, "I am rich"?

Li Che could only secretly give her a thumbs up. He was sometimes a results-oriented person; regardless, Zhu Miaoyun had helped him recruit such an SSR, so he definitely had to thank her properly and sigh inwardly once again. The Ming Dynasty, a name that had stood tall in the East for 550 years, still possessed immense power.

Li Che clapped his hands and stood up from the sofa in the carriage. Qiu Shandian was a beat slower but quickly stood up as well. Li Che led Qiu Shandian, whose mind was probably still a little dazed, to a world map hanging in the carriage: "Qiu Shan, I can tell you some deeper military secrets now. Of course, after you get this information, you must stay by my side as my advisor until the end of the battle. It's not too late for you to regret it now."

"Your Highness," Akiyama said solemnly, "I have nothing to regret. I fully understand why Your Highness has such a request. The most important thing about such a battle plan is surprise, and secrecy is the top priority in all aspects."

“That’s right.” Li Che nodded, then tapped Yuanshan’s position with his pointer: “Right here, we plan to wipe out the United States’ landing fleet here, preventing the United States from withdrawing its troops from the encirclement by sea, and then completely annihilate these 10 Federal troops. What do you think? Doesn’t it seem a bit smaller than the battle plan you mentioned before?”

Looking at the map in the carriage, Qiushan Dian didn't even need a scale; he felt he had already noticed the problem within it.

"Your Highness, are you not planning to use those small torpedo boats? If the target is Wonsan, I'm afraid the combat radius of these light warships will be insufficient to cover it, unless Your Highness intends to..."

"Of course not. We haven't reached the point where we need to use our soldiers to launch large-scale suicide attacks to turn the tide." Li Che was unwilling to let a person from Yingzhou suspect that he was planning a suicide attack.

"Our journey is sufficient because we have a shorter route."

Li Che pointed at Vladivostok again with his pointer. At this moment, Akiyama-dono seemed to suddenly realize something. He was somewhat surprised. He was not clear about the situation in Vladivostok, but the enemy was firmly in control of the Tsushima Strait. It was impossible for them to send reinforcements to Vladivostok through the Tsushima Strait at the moment.

When Akiyama learned that the Ming Dynasty had launched a series of mobilization and preparation efforts across the country, he never expected that these guys would be able to load torpedo boats onto trains and transport them to Vladivostok.

What about sailing on dry land...?

"May I ask Your Highness, how many troops have we amassed in Vladivostok?" Akiyama asked.

Li Che held up three fingers and then shook them. Qiushan-dono guessed, "Three squadrons of torpedo boats? That's still a bit too few..."

"It's 300."

"How much?" For the first time since coming of age, Akiyama-dono uttered a rather unsteady voice.

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Chapter 47 The Inferior Students of the Naval Academy (1)

The train continued northward, rapidly heading towards its final destination, Vladivostok. Akiyama-dono did not disembark; there were plenty of empty compartments on the special train, and he would accompany Li Che to Vladivostok.

Even after finishing his conversation with Li Che and leaving the prince's private room, Qiushan was still slightly dazed.

Although he believed that as a soldier who was quite familiar with the Ming Dynasty, he had his own judgment and guesses about the resources that this great Eastern country could invest in the war, and after the Prince of Jin took over Yingtian Prefecture, he had already adjusted the original estimate upwards.

However, the information that Li Che inadvertently revealed still gave him a sense of déjà vu regarding the efficiency of the new government.

Akiyama-dono was an expert on the Ming Dynasty, or rather, in the past, if you wanted to achieve outstanding results in the Yingzhou Navy, you had to be an expert on the Ming Dynasty.

Because Akiyama-dono was very familiar with the Ming Dynasty, he knew very well that according to the Ming Dynasty's previous efficiency, it would have been absolutely impossible to gather 300 torpedo boats in such a short period of time—this was almost gathering 70% of the country's small torpedo boats.

But clearly, the new government accomplished this, unlike the previous Ming Dynasty. Even if these torpedo boats were allowed to travel at sea on their own and be concentrated in a single port within a month, it would have been difficult to gather such a large number. However, the new government not only did it, but also transported these torpedo boats to Vladivostok by rail.

Of course, besides being amazed by the efficiency of the new government, Akiyama was also slightly astonished by the number of 300 torpedo boats. This was a number that a small country like Japan would never have dared to dream of before. If he remembered correctly, the German High Seas Fleet had only about 200 torpedo boats in total when the war broke out.

Although he knew that the Ming Dynasty had more torpedo boats because its coastline was much longer than that of the Germans, this number was still a bit too "Central Empire"—a metaphor favored by the Yingzhou people in this time and space, because in their stereotypes, the Ming Dynasty seemed to prefer the style of "bigger is better" and "more is more beautiful."

In short, this efficiency left him somewhat dazed and relieved. It seemed that his decision to lead the 2nd Fleet to follow the Tokugawa Shogunate to Ming China was correct, and that he and his officers and soldiers who believed in him had not jumped onto a sinking ship.

"What does the teacher think of His Highness the Crown Prince?"

Suddenly a familiar voice reached his ears, and only then did Akiyama-dono realize that while he was in a daze, Tokugawa Akiko had already come to him. After a long time, Tokugawa Akiko was now wearing Ming-style women's clothing, rather than the traditional Japanese kimono.

Akiyama-dono had not expected to meet the shogunate's princess on this train. He immediately bowed to Tokugawa Akiko and said, "Greetings, Lord Gosoji."

"There's no need to be as reserved as before. My current status no longer belongs to the shogunate, nor am I any longer a member of the Imperial Household Agency. I am now merely a servant of Lord Heiron."

If Li Che were here at this moment, he would definitely be able to notice that Tokugawa Akiko's tone of voice and facial expression were completely different from the way she presented herself in front of him.

Compared to her reserved and obedient personality in front of him, the current Akiko Tokugawa, who is only 1.5 meters tall, exudes an aura of someone who is 1.8 meters tall.

"A servant?" Akiyama-dono looked up, somewhat confused. "Your Highness..."

“I have already been given to His Highness the Crown Prince by my father.” Tokugawa Akiko said calmly and in a flat tone, “But unfortunately, His Highness the Crown Prince does not seem to be planning to take me as a concubine, at least not for the time being. So for now, I can only serve His Highness the Crown Prince as a servant. It is not unreasonable to consider me His Highness the Crown Prince’s slave.”

For a moment, Qiushan Palace was at a loss for words. It was clear that the General hoped to use his daughter to strengthen the relationship with the Prince of Jin's Mansion, or rather, to make an investment before the Prince of Jin's Mansion officially ascended to the throne.

"No need to make that face. I'm quite satisfied with the current situation." Tokugawa Akiko smiled faintly. "For over 200 years, the blood of heroes has flowed through the veins of the Prince of Jin of the Ming Dynasty. Even when Lord Ieyasu was still alive, General Li Dingguo was no match for him."

When my father told me that I needed to go through a political marriage, I wasn't worried about becoming a victim of political alliance. I only hoped that the person I was to serve would at least not disgrace the heroic bloodline of the Prince of Jin's family. Although I hadn't spent much time with His Highness the Crown Prince, I was certain that His Highness's abilities far exceeded his reputation. My teacher only needed to diligently perform his duties under His Highness's command.

"I never expected Your Highness to have such a high opinion of the Crown Prince. Your Highness and this World Honored One must have only spent a short time together. I never imagined that His Highness's desperate attempts to showcase his excellence before you back then failed to impress you, yet this Crown Prince has accomplished so much in such a short time..."

Akiyama-dono knew his former student very well. It was a pity that this Prince Akiko was not a man; otherwise, the Tokugawa Shogunate would probably have had one of its most capable shoguns in the future.

In fact, a few years ago, the court nobles and the samurai were making a final attempt to unite the court nobles and the samurai – the emperor hoped that his son, Akihito, would marry Tokugawa Akiko, so that their child could serve as a link between the court nobles and the samurai in the future.

However, this final attempt ultimately failed. There were many reasons for this, but one crucial factor was that Tokugawa Akiko had met Akihito when she was a child. Therefore, Tokugawa Akiko did not believe in the seemingly dull, sickly, and seemingly disabled man with two fingers on his right hand.

From a young age, Akiko Tokugawa admired heroes, not the legendary "descendants of gods." After witnessing it firsthand, Akiko even told her father that if the descendants of gods were like this, then Amaterasu Omikami was nothing special.

Of course, if Akiyama-dono had heard what he said, Li Che would have thought to himself that he was being made to sound like a nobody. However, Tokugawa Akiko clearly appreciated his words.

“In the past, people used the phrase ‘sharp and shrewd’ to describe a person’s ability. A capable person is like an awl in a bag; it will always show. Just like when His Highness the Crown Prince met you, it didn’t take long to judge whether you were just a name without substance.”

At this point, Tokugawa Akiko shrugged helplessly: "Unfortunately, no matter how Akihito behaves in front of me, he only makes me think he is ridiculous. After I met His Highness the Crown Prince, I found him even more laughable, like a clown. He is not even as tall as me. Even with leather shoes with 5-centimeter thick heels, he is still less than 1.6 meters tall. Even in terms of appearance, the difference between Akihito and His Highness the Crown Prince is like that between Pang Tong and Zhao Yun. What's even more unfortunate is that he does not have the wisdom of Mr. Phoenix Chick."

(Speaking of which, the real height of the Japanese Emperor Zhaohe in history is 1.58 meters. The character Tokugawa in the book is described as having a childlike face, large breasts, and a loli-like figure, but his height is almost the same as Zhaohe's. It can only be said that the genes of the Japanese imperial line are really too inferior. In some works, they only deserve to be the victims.)

Prince Akiyama felt deep sympathy for Prince Akihito from the bottom of his heart, because Tokugawa Akiko was extremely beautiful. Many high-ranking officials in Yingzhou knew that Prince Akihito had long admired Prince Tokugawa, but unfortunately, Tokugawa Akiko was clearly not interested in him at all. However, it seems that she is very impressed with Li Che now.