A violent explosion of artillery shells came from Lushun City, and a ball of orange-red fireballs rose directly from the sky in the city.

"The artillery is hit... The artillery troops of our Ninth Army are indeed well-known..." Sun Lianzhong, holding a telescope, couldn't help but sigh.

At this moment, the test-firing shell hit the target accurately. More than 100 artillery pieces remained, followed by, and began to roar at Lushun City...

Pieces of fireballs and smoke began to rise in the city. In just a blink of an eye, the Japanese position located at the outermost periphery of Lushun was shrouded in a strong sea of ​​fire, connected with each other, and quickly formed a piece.

Under the stunned gaze of Sun Lianzhong and others, dozens of naval surface ships and naval guns anchored at the port of Lushun Military Port also joined the unprecedented artillery fire strike at the right time.

"Boom..." Two unprecedented violent explosions sounded under the corner of the city wall. The main gun of the destroyer No. 001, a double-connected 205mm large-caliber naval gun, shot two shells, fell into the city very accurately and exploded.

Two orange-red fireballs rose into the air from the bounce point, and two huge bullet craters with a depth of five meters suddenly appeared at the foot of the city wall. The smoke surrounding the explosion point dissipated. With the bomb crater as the center, all buildings within a radius of fifty meters were razed to the ground without exception. Even the two reinforced concrete bunkers built by the Japanese army at the foot of the city wall were blown up to pieces and turned into ruins in order to defend Lushunkou...

The power generated by the explosion of large caliber naval shells is definitely not comparable to other howitzer shells.

Seeing the tragic scene in front of you, the Japanese army still surviving around the explosion site were frightened and frightened. Hearing the two consecutive whistling sounds of artillery shells again in the air, the horrified face of the Japanese army around him suddenly turned pale.

"No, it's the Chinese naval guns, everyone should hide..." A scream sounded on the battlefield, and hundreds of Japanese devils began to flee in all directions. Of course, while fleeing, there were also news that Japanese devils had attacked the city by Chinese naval guns to the ears of Major General Yeqi, the highest commander of the Japanese army in the city.

After listening to the report from his subordinates, Major General Yeqi had a face, no different from his subordinates in front of him. He turned pale and stared at his red eyes. He asked loudly: "What you said is true. The explosion just now was really caused by the explosion of naval gun shells. The Chinese outside the city actually used naval guns to attack the city..."

"Yes. Commander..." His face was pale, facing the amazing power of the explosion of the ship cannon shells, his entire body couldn't help but tremble slightly, and replied directly with horror.

After the words came, an artillery officer hurried into the war room. He then added: "Commander, according to the estimate of the Chinese people's caliber: the caliber of the ship gun used by the Chinese is at least 200 mm... and the various defense lines we deployed in the city were designed and built to resist the attack of 75 mm caliber field guns. Therefore, the various fortifications we built in the city cannot withstand the attack of the Chinese people's naval guns..."

"Large caliber naval gun...what the Chinese want to do? Aren't they afraid of accidentally hurting the civilians in the city?" Major General Yeqi seemed to realize something and exclaimed directly from the words of the artillery staff.

"I don't know...but there is one thing that is certain: if such artillery continues like this, at most two hours, the entire Lushunkou will be bombed into ruins by shells..." The artillery staff officer replied with a serious expression.

"Your Excellency Commander, nothing unexpected happens. The Ninth Army outside the city is thinking this way. As for the civilians in the city you just mentioned, the Commander seems to have forgotten the massacre decades ago... So far, the total number of Chinese people in Lushunkou is still less than 3,000. As for the remaining ones, they are not the expatriates of the Great Japanese Empire, or the Imperial Japanese Team. In this case, will the Ninth Army outside the city still care about casualties of civilians in the city?" Colonel Hondo, chief of staff of the Command, seemed to discover something and spoke subconsciously.

The Chief of Staff reminded Major General Yeqi that his heart could not help but tremble. He began to doubt whether he could truly defend Lushunkou and hold on until the reinforcements arrived. However, this doubt only flashed through his mind and was replaced by the belief that the Imperial Japanese Army of the Great Japanese Imperial Army was invincible.

He hurriedly assembled into the office in front of him and ordered in a deep voice: "Warriors, everyone knows the situation of our Lushunkou. However, what I want to tell you is that Lushunkou will not be misfortune to my great Japanese Empire. Therefore, even if the entire army dies in the battlefield, they must defend Lushunkou..."

"Warriors, for the future of the Great Japanese Empire, and for His Majesty the Emperor, they swear to defend Lushunkou to the death..."

"Swear to keep the Lushun mouth to the death..." A sensation filled with inducing shout suddenly rang in the office.

Commander Major General Noki nodded with a smile and said, "Yoxi, very good. You are the best warriors in my great Japanese Empire. Now I order: All combat troops must hold their positions. Without the command of the headquarters, no one or any troops are prohibited from retreating. Otherwise, military law will be engaged in..."

When a group of subordinates walked out of the office with decisive expressions, they rushed to the battlefield. Major General Yeqi's face was immediately covered by a solemn expression.

Because he knew that the bold words just now were just to encourage the morale of his subordinates. Judging from the real situation facing Lushunkou, facing the artillery fire attack of the Ninth Army, the entire Lushunkou had reached a critical moment of life and death.

Toward the Chief of Staff Hondo, who was still in the office in front of him, he spoke in a deep voice: "Chief of Staff, Lushunkou is already in danger. In order to protect Lushunkou, you will immediately report the situation in the city to the country. You will ask the domestic reinforcements to quickly rush to Lushunkou at all costs..."

"Yes, Commander..." Colonel Hondo answered in a serious tone.

At the Yokohama Military Port Naval Base in Japan, a group of Japanese army officers and soldiers gathered at the military port dock were quickly walking onto the bridge under the command of officers at all levels and boarding a thousand-ton transport ship. Of course, while the troops boarded the ship, a large amount of supplies, including various large-caliber artillery, were also transported to the deck of the transport ship with the cooperation of machinery...

A field division, more than 20,000 elite Japanese troops, quickly boarded the ship. When preparing to attack, a large number of surface ships anchored in Japan's Yokohama Military Port also began to make the final preparations before the expedition.

Trucks of high-quality coal-fired, one ton of heavy oil for warships... were sent to the warship fuel compartment. Of course, in the process of refueling the warships, the various caliber naval gun shells and torpedoes necessary for naval battles were also sent to the warships regardless of consumption...

The huge naval port is like a war machine, operating in an orderly manner.

At this moment, Lieutenant General Morita, the commander-in-chief of the Japanese Army who went to Lushunkou, and Major General Taniguchi, the commander-in-chief of the Navy, was standing in the command room of the military port, looking at the busy military port in front of him with anticipation.

In the eyes of the two, Li Guosheng of China belonged to the Ninth Army. Although he repeatedly caused heavy losses to the empire, those victories were achieved without any advantage in the Imperial Team.

This attack was conducted, a field army division, a reinforced squadron, and a garrison brigade that defended Lushunkou. The total army force dispatched by the Great Japanese Empire had exceeded 30,000.

With the 30,000 elite army soldiers in his hands, under the cover of naval fleet guns, Lieutenant General Morita was confident and wiped out the Ninth Army troops hoarded in Lushunkou. There was absolutely no problem.

The army had no problems, and the next one was the navy. According to the telegram for assistance from Lushunkou, the Ninth Army dispatched more than 30 ships to attack Lushunkou. Among them, although most of the ships were small gunboats and torpedo boats that could not be equipped with the tabletops, they destroyed a squadron of the navy stationed at the Lushun Military Port with a naval sneak attack. It is enough to prove that this naval force under the Ninth Army, which has a small tonnage, has invisibly possessed certain combatable capabilities.

In addition, the Chinese Navy is waiting for it to work. It can launch an ubiquitous attack on itself at any time and anywhere near China. The more than 20,000 elite army soldiers in its hands must rely on the navy to escort to reach Lushunkou by sea. A trace of worry quickly emerged in Lieutenant General Morita's mind.

Faced with the ubiquitous attack of the Chinese Navy, if the good navy escort fleet is insufficient, the more than 20,000 elite army soldiers in his hands may not have arrived ashore and truly exerted their combat effectiveness. They will suffer heavy losses under the attack of the Chinese Navy...

And this is definitely not what Nakayama Morita wants to see. For the safety of the soldiers in his hands, Nakayama Morita didn't care about the hatred and disputes between the domestic navy and army, and asked bluntly...

"Kun Taniguchi... According to the telegram, the number of ships dispatched by the Ninth Army far exceeded 30. What's more important is that there are three new destroyers from the United States. And our navy forces only dispatched one cruiser and four destroyers to escort it, will it be too few..."

Major General Taniguchi's face, which was still relaxed and full of expectations, suddenly turned pale. Although Lieutenant General Morita was one level higher than himself in his military rank, but because of his disagreement between the navy and the army, and his subordinates were not subordinate to each other. Because of the other party's intention to fight the combat effectiveness of his army, Major General Taniguchi had no intention of treating the other party as a Shangguan. With a strong anger, he asked mercilessly.

"Lieutenant General, are you questioning the combat effectiveness of my Imperial Japanese Navy fleet?"

"Not to mention that the Chinese Navy has more than 30 small-tonnage ships, even if I double the number, I can use the five warships in my hand to eliminate all Chinese ships that dare to harass our fleet..."

"Of course, if the Lieutenant General does not believe in the combat effectiveness of my squadron, he can report to the military headquarters and ask the military headquarters to re-select a fleet to serve as escort and attack missions..."

Looking at Major General Taniguchi who did not take him seriously at all, Lieutenant General Morita's face suddenly turned pale. From the bottom of his heart, he really wanted to punish Major General Taniguchi in front of him as the chief.

However, when the conflicts between the domestic navy and army were thought of, and when the military headquarters had just received another telegram for help from Lushunkou, the general of Mori had to suppress his heart with a frustrated look on his face, and his anger was rising. In order to ensure that the naval fleet could take on the tasks conscientiously during the shipping process of the troops, he had to speak with a kind look to Major General Taniguchi.

"Kun Taniguchi, you misunderstood. I have no intention of this at all. I still trust the combat effectiveness of the Imperial Japanese Navy. I am just a little worried. I hope that I don't take it seriously. At the same time, I hope that in the next action, I can work with me to work together to win this war in order to clean up the shame that the Imperial Japanese Empire had suffered.

The compromise answer from Lieutenant General Morita, despite his lieutenant general's identity, calmed down a little bit of anger in the heart of Major General Taniguchi. However, no matter what, the hatred between the two, because of the quarrel just now, was considered a conclusion in a short period of time. As for whether the two can really work together to fight the enemy after the escort fleet was really attacked by the Chinese navy, it is unknown.

After all, in later World War II, the Japanese army made many command mistakes on the battlefield due to conflicts between the navy and the army. Even the defeats were not uncommon.

After the two of them looked at each other meaningfully, they stopped talking and waited for the arrival of the time for the troops to go to war.

The military port was filled with busy troops. The two commanders did not wait too long. They had been mobilizing troops and preparing for ten hours in a row. A field division, totaling more than 20,000 elite Japanese troops, all boarded three transport ships. Five naval ships were all ready, and they sounded the whistle and were ready to set off.

Looking at the military port that was gradually calming in front of me, a colonel officer quickly walked in and reported: "Report to the two commanders. All troops are ready and can set off at any time..."

As the highest commander of the escort fleet, the one who issued the order to "depart" was of course Major General Taniguchi, who was commander-in-chief of the Navy, who was one level lower than the military rank.

Although Lieutenant General Morita was very frustrated, he had to look at him and wait for his orders. Major General Taniguchi's face flashed with a hint of complacent expression. He decisively ordered the Chief of Staff in front of him.

"Order. The squadron's five ships were led by cruisers. Four destroyers followed closely, and they became escort formations and immediately left the military port... Three transport ships, finished escort formations, are located in the center of the escort fleet. The entire fleet, after I boarded the ship, set off immediately..."

"Hayi..."

Ten minutes later, another long whistle sound came from the cruiser at the front of the fleet. Five sea-surface ships and three large transport ships under the Japanese Navy spit out of the military port with black smoke. Finally, they disappeared into the vast sea surface completely shrouded by the night.

The intelligence agencies under the Ninth Army have developed in half a year, and although they have not extended their tentacles to every corner of Japan, they are still essential for Yokohama, one of the most important military bases of the Japanese Navy.

Although the entire operation was carried out at night, the huge Yokohama Military Port was completely martial law by the military port garrison ten hours ago. However, such a large-scale army unit entered the military port, such a huge naval fleet sailed away from the military port in the middle of the night and disappeared on the sea... It is absolutely impossible to hide the eyes of those who are interested in Yokohama City.

The intelligence personnel who have been paying attention to every move of Yokohama Military Port have not forgotten their mission while shocking the Japanese army's strong troops...

The huge naval escort fleet, less than ten minutes after leaving Hengxu Military Port, was a splash of ordinary radio waves that could not be more ordinary, and followed the fleet across the ocean and sent back to the country...

The news that the General Headquarters of the Ninth Army of Jinan, Shandong, "Zhou Xingguo's troops successfully landed in Lushunkou, and with the support of naval naval guns, they bombarded Lushunkou. With the latest ten hours, they could completely take Lushunkou.' only made Li Guosheng's face look like a flash of smile.

Then, his serious face was replaced by solemn again.

Although the ultimate goal of this battle was to capture Lushunkou with the troops of Zhou Xingguo, the final victory of Liaodong was the ultimate goal. However, from Japan, the specific scale of the Japanese reinforcements may affect the entire battle ending at any time.

Once the fleets and submarines deployed at the Bohai Sea estuary, they cannot stop the Japanese Navy and Army coming to aid. It can be imagined that even if Zhou Xingguo's 27th Division successfully occupied Lushunkou, they will fall again into the siege of the Japanese Navy and Army reinforcements in the subsequent battle against Japan.

By then, not to mention taking down the entire Liaodong, even more than 10,000 elite troops who attacked Liaodong may end up in the destruction of the entire army.

Commander-in-chief Li Guosheng, while waiting for the news with a serious expression, Zhang Tianyu, director of the Intelligence Department, finally appeared at the door of the war room.

Before he could fully enter the war room, Li Guosheng's anxious voice had already sounded.

"Director Zhang, has the information from the Japanese side arrived..."

"Yes, Commander-in-Chief..." As he spoke, a telegram was handed to Li Guosheng.

When Li Guosheng swept to the specific content of the telegram in his hand quickly, Zhang Tianyu's voice had already sounded again.

"Commander-in-Chief, according to the information, in order to reinforce Lushunkou, the Japanese government dispatched a total of one field division of the army and a squadron of the navy, including one cruiser, four destroyers, and three transport ships... The specific force and equipment status are still unclear..."
Chapter completed!