Inaba Masakichi was not wrong to worry that the Daimyo coalition forces would outflank the shogunate's retreat.
However, the Daimyo coalition did not intend to achieve this tactical goal by land.
After all, the land route is too far and goes deep behind enemy lines. Not only is it difficult to accomplish the goal, but it is also easy to be discovered and annihilated by the shogunate.
With the existence of the Satsuma Domain, it was natural that the Daimyo coalition planned to achieve their goals through waterways.
In order to further lengthen the front of the shogunate army, the Daimyo coalition forces near Kyoto chose to retreat after capturing Emperor Gomizuo.
Sakai Tadakatsu certainly would not miss this opportunity. He led his troops across the Yodogawa River, further compressing the space of the Daimyo coalition forces.
At this moment, Samoyed's navy was dispatched.
In order to decide the outcome in one battle, the Satsuma Domain can be said to have used all its elites.
Led by the veteran Nakajima Tsuhisahi himself, the mighty fleet rushed into the Seto Inland Sea.
As long as they cross Danro Island and complete the landing in the Aichi area, the shogunate's army's retreat will be completely cut off.
Shimazu Hisakei did not find this operation difficult.
But when the Satsuma clan's navy entered the Danlu Island area, he suddenly discovered that something was wrong.
Just to the east of Danlu Island, there was also a mighty navy rushing towards them.
The flag on the ship is particularly bright in the sun, it is the navy of the shogunate.
What makes Shimazu Hisakei even more unbelievable is that the two largest warships in the shogunate navy are also third-class battleships built by the Xia Kingdom.
The Daimyo coalition forces and the shogunate army actually thought of it together.
When the situation could not be won on land, the outcome of the war was decided on the water.
Both sides felt that they had an unparalleled advantage by purchasing a powerful third-level battleship from Xia Kingdom.
At this time, we collided head-on. Seeing the condition of our opponent, he was vomiting blood!
Similar to the purpose of the Daimyo coalition, the shogunate navy was also dispatched to outflank the retreat, hoping to resolve the battle as soon as possible.
As the actual ruler of Japan, the shogunate most hoped for a quick victory.
Because only if the war ends quickly, the shogunate's dominance will not be shaken. Only in this way can the situation in Japan be stabilized faster and Xia Guo not be able to take advantage of it.
Therefore, Tokugawa Iemitsu used all his strength and issued orders, hoping that the war would be completely over within three to five months.
People sent by Japan to Xia Kingdom have passed back information about the situation in China.
The top leaders of the Tokugawa shogunate unanimously concluded that the Xia Kingdom would inevitably transfer most of its power to the country and would not be able to take care of Japan for a long time.
This was the opportunity for the Tokugawa Shogunate.
The person responsible for commanding the shogunate navy was Tokugawa Yorifu, the younger brother of Tokugawa Iemitsu.
As the lord of Mito Domain, Tokugawa Yorifusa is relatively proficient in water warfare. At this time, he was strengthened by the Xia Kingdom's warships, which greatly increased his confidence.
When he saw that the Satsuma Domain navy also had Xia Kingdom warships, he had a premonition that this would be a bloody battle.
However, adhering to Tokugawa Iemitsu's strict orders, this battle is inevitable.
"All the ministries immediately went forward to get into battle formation, and we will have a showdown with the rebels today!"
Tokugawa Yorifusa loudly issued the battle order.
"The Satsuma navy has always been the number one in Japan. No one is our opponent in this sea area. The entire army will attack and destroy the enemy!"
As a veteran of Satsuma Domain, Shimazu Hisakei had unparalleled pride in water battles.
Even if the Shogunate Navy also has two third-level battleships, they will definitely not be the opponents of the Satsuma Navy.
On the wide water surface of Osaka Bay, the two sides quickly entered a state of combat and began to deploy intensively.
On Danlu Island next to it, at the highest altitude, there were some Xia officers holding binoculars to carefully observe the battle situation.
The leader was Huang Fei, deputy commander of the North Sea Fleet.
Now their identity is battlefield observers.
An important purpose of coming here is to observe the use of third-level battleships by both Japan and Japan.
Whether it is the Shogunate Navy or the Satsuma Navy, the configuration of the third-level battleships they purchased equipment is the same as the configuration of the Xia Navy's visit to Europe.
Through this battle, and after the navy from the mission comes back, a conclusion can be drawn by confirming it from both sides.
How good is the reduced version of the third-tier battleship when facing European battleships?
The fully equipped version of the battleship is indeed invincible, but it can only be equipped for use by the regular army.
But if we want to open up the world, we cannot rely solely on the military. We must also fully mobilize civilian power. However, the armed forces that the people can control must be weaker than the military to avoid being overthrown.
Therefore, whether the reduced version of the third-level battleship can be used has become the key.
On the sea, the battle has begun.
The four third-level battleships on both sides took the lead. When they were about to enter the firing range, they began to turn on the sea and aimed their flanks at the enemy.
The rest of the boats began to charge forward crazily, with a will to die.
The battleships hadn't moved into place yet, but the boats on both sides were already fighting together.
Both sides are extremely familiar with this Japanese native boat, and they can fight with ease.
The brutal fighting quickly turned the sea red.
But when it comes to operating battleships, both sides are novices.
Shimazu Hisakei kept asking questions while nervously observing the situation on the other side.
"Have you set up your formation? How long will it take? Can we fire?"
The deputy had studied in the Xia Kingdom Military Academy and considered himself an expert, so he quickly reported it.
"It's still a little bit worse. The two warships have not reached parallelism."
On the other side, Tokugawa Yorifusa is similar.
"Why hasn't the other ship come over yet? What are they doing? If the fighter plane is delayed again, we will kill them without mercy."
On Danlu Island, seeing the situation on both sides, Huang Fei was so anxious that he spurted out blood.
"Why do you have to wait until both ships are in position before firing? Can't one ship fire? And why are the boats on both sides colliding with each other and fighting each other? Why not take advantage of the chaos of the opponent's main battleship formation? When is the time to rush over? As long as we rush over and set fire, won’t we win? Are these damn Japanese people all elm-headed? Do they know how to fight? "
Amidst his extremely sad and indignant roar, Xia's officers' blood pressure soared as they looked at the ugly situation on the sea.
If they could, they would never admit that this was a student they taught.
However, the two warring parties couldn't hear the instructors' voices at all, and still strictly followed the instructions.
It actually took an hour to complete the deployment of just two battleships.
When the rumble of cannons sounded, Huang Fei finally fell.
The fierce battle between the Shogunate Navy and the Satsuma Navy resulted in heavy casualties.
Among them, the highest-ranking officer injured was Huang Fei, deputy commander of Xia's North Sea Fleet.
How did it hurt?
Angry!
