When Hirahachiro Togo led his adjutant Colonel out of the command center, he suddenly heard a thunder rushing from the earth, which made the two of them roar in their ears and their chests were depressed.

Togo Hirahachiro shouted "No," and saw a raging fire rising from the Asahi on the pier where the United Fleet was anchored. The black smoke was like a rolling giant snake, dancing snakes over Sasebo's port.

Before Hirahachiro Togo could react, the other cruisers with slightly intact combat power also exploded one after another. For a moment, several warships exploded on the dock where Sasebo was anchored. The fire caused by the explosion illuminated half of Sasebo, and the air was filled with a pungent smell of gunpowder.

Hirahachiro Togo said urgently: "Baga, hurry up and raise the alarm!" Before he finished speaking, a rapid alarm sounded above Sasebo.

Under the reflection of the firelight in the sky, the Sasebo port was already in chaos. The defenders on the shore kept scanning the entire sea of ​​the Sasebo port with searchlights, but no sign of an enemy ship was found.

Hirahachiro Togo cursed: "In the sky, in the sky!" Hirahachiro Togo was quite confident about the mine formation he designed himself. If there was no waterway navigation map, no fleet could enter Sasebo without any damage, let alone in Sasebo's night attack without knowing it.

The only possibility is the attack from the sky, but I didn't hear the sound of shells falling from the air just now! Also, the searchlight that specially strengthened air defense would not allow the airship to fly in without any awareness.

Just as Hirahachiro Togo's mind was flying around, the Asahi had already started to tilt. Judging from the angle of the tilt, it was estimated that a huge gap had been broken in the rear cabin and a large amount of water had begun to enter the cabin.

When Togo Heihachiro arrived at the dock where the Asahi was anchored, the entire bow of the Asahi had tilted upwards for more than fifteen degrees. Under the action of huge gravity, part of the steel in the ship was twisted, making a terrifying metal "cuckling".

Togo Heihachiro was shocked. Even if the armor of the Asahi battleship was hit by hundreds of ordinary shells, it would not be possible to sink so quickly.

Just when Hirahachiro Togo was shocked, the Japanese officers and soldiers on the Asahi saw that the warship had already found that they could not rescue them, and their instinct to survive made them jump into the cold sea from the railing with a crying sound.

The other cruisers were also trapped in a sea of ​​fire, and the soldiers screamed in pain. The ships that were rescued were unable to get close to the warships that were caught in the fire. They could only throw lifebuoys desperately to salvage and rescue the people who fell into the water.

"Great..." The Asahi made another twist of huge metal, "Bang!" The armor of the ship finally could not support the weight of the bow. The Asahi battleship broke in half, and the bow and stern were inserted straight into the sea water. After a few minutes, the entire Asahi quickly sank into the seabed, leaving only a huge whirlpool on the sea surface.

Togo Heihachiro sat weakly on Sasebo's cold ground. The flagship Mikasa was captured and the Asahi sank. The two only 10,000-ton battleships in the empire were given to him.

With the remaining few tragic boats and ships, it was no longer possible to stop Tang Jian's Beiyang fleet. The navy that the empire had worked hard for decades was destroyed, and he, Togo Heihachiro, would become the biggest sinner of the empire.

The Empire's dream of dominance was sank to the bottom of the sea with the sinking of the Asahi.

At this time, a group of young student soldiers (Kitaro was transferred from various Japanese naval schools to support Hirahachiro Togo to defend Sasebo) hurried to the dock to help salvage the soldiers who fell into the water.

Togo Hirahachiro tightly held the command knife in his hand. This knife was personally presented to Togo Hirahachiro by His Majesty the Emperor. The purpose was to Togo Hirahachiro to lead the joint fleet to gallop across the ocean and go without any disadvantages.

When Togo Heihachiro thought of this, his despair became even more intense, and various memory fragments kept flashing in his mind.

The command knife and epaulette that His Majesty personally taught in the occasion of much attention, as well as Prime Minister Kitaro's great expectations when he went to war, the corpses of countless soldiers floating on the Tsuma Sea, and the screams of the soldiers who fell into the water.

Scenes rushed to his eyes like fountains. Togo Hirahachiro felt a splitting headache, and he unconsciously pulled out his command knife.

The shiny commanding knife is particularly charming under the reflection of the fire, like an elf jumping in the fire.

Togo Heihachiro slowly unbuttoned the meticulous buttons on his military uniform one by one, exposing his upper body as if he was holding a solemn ceremony.

The adjutant who had been talking aside said sadly: "Your Excellency Commander, the Imperial Navy still needs you!"

Hiraro Togo ignored the adjutant who was advising on the side, slowly raised his blade, bowed deeply to the place where the Tokyo Palace was, and then turned to worship as the direction where the Hikaru sank.

Togo Hirahachiro took a deep breath and muttered: "Long live the Emperor! Long live the Great Japanese Empire!" Then, the blade turned and stabbed his abdomen.

However, Hirahachiro Togo did not feel the severe pain of the blade entering his abdomen, so he did not get the relief he wanted.

Togo Heihachiro opened his eyes and saw a student soldier with thick eyebrows, big eyes, national face snatched his samurai sword in his hand.

Hirahachiro Togo said angrily: "Baga!" A slapped the student soldier in front of him, "I want to be loyal to His Majesty the Emperor!" Hirahachiro Togo viciously snatched the samurai sword.

The young man was almost fallen by Hirahachiro Togo. When he heard Hirahachiro Togo scold him, he straightened his chest and raised his head and said, "Soldiers should die on the battlefield, not under their own swords! Commander, this is what the military academy teacher taught us!"

Togo Hirahachiro was stunned for a moment. He did not expect that the boy who seemed to be only sixteen or seventeen years old would say such a bold word.

The young student soldier continued: "Commander, the Chinese people said something very well, so that they would keep the green mountains without worrying about burning firewood. Although the Imperial Navy was defeated in this battle, why did the Imperial Navy soldiers learn from the pain, summarize the defeat, and chase after it. The Beiyang Fleet has the support of the Air Force, why couldn't the Empire follow the Qing Dynasty and form the Imperial Air Force, and fight to the death with the Beiyang Fleet in the future. As the strong minister of the Imperial Navy, the Commander should lead the Imperial Navy to recreate glory and fight the Beiyang Fleet on the Yellow Sea. The sea should be the destination of the Imperial Navy, rather than using its own Bushido to fulfill its loyalty to the Emperor!"

The young student soldier was a little excited, and his cheeks were red after saying this.

Togo Heihachiro was ashamed of being said by a young student soldier. Indeed, one failure is nothing, and the empire's navy needs to be revitalized by itself.

The imperial naval talents were in Dadonggou and lost all their losses to the Mahai War. After the battle of Sasebo, the imperial navy was already seriously injured. If I had been loyal to the emperor like this, the last naval talents in the Sasebo-nei Empire would be destroyed by me. At that time, wouldn’t I, Hirahachiro, become a sinner of the empire for the eternal period?

Togo Heihachiro suddenly woke up and regained his spirits. Then he slowly put on the military uniform he took off again, carefully buckled them one by one, neatly tidy up the military uniform, and then put the samurai sword in sheath.

Finally, Hirahachiro Togo returned to his previous calmness and said, "Let's go with me to see the casualties!" The adjutant Colonel was excited and tears were flowing. The former commander, the Excellency, was back.

After saying that, the adjutant Colonel and the young student soldiers followed him and ran towards the pier where the accident happened.

Halfway through, Togo Hirahachiro suddenly turned around and looked at the ejection on the student soldier's body and asked, "Young Private, what's your name?"

The young soldier immediately stood at attention and saluted and said, "Report to the commander, Izuru Yamamoto Izuru, a student of the 32nd class of Etashima Naval School!"

"Okay, Yamamoto, let's follow me as a counselor in the future!" After saying that, Hirahachiro Togo led everyone to the dock again.
Chapter completed!