Chapter 008: Striking the Bamboo Pole of the Japanese Commander

Lin Yuan smiled and said, "I am going to make them surrender"

Lin Yuan quickly smiled in Chinese, saying: "Reporter Shen, don't you think about what time it is now"

At this moment, Lin Yuan smiled and said: "Your fleet has unjustly attacked our ships, resulting in heavy casualties on our side. We hope that Your Excellency the Commander can provide us with some compensation"

Lin Yuan smiled and said, "We belong to the People's Republic of China"

Ito Yuheng laughed and said: "No need, no need, even if I bring it, it doesn't matter"

Ishido Yuheng felt a sense of doubt upon hearing the Japanese spoken by Lin Yuan. His pronunciation was very standard, but there were some vocabulary words that he had never heard before. Ishido Yuheng's thoughts were quite normal; Lin Yuan was studying modern Japanese of the 21st century, which naturally differed from what he was familiar with.

Ito Yuheng said: "What did you use to sink our warship?"

Yidong Youheng did not expect Lin Yuan to turn his back and deny everything, but he also had no direct evidence to prove that the warship was sunk by Lin Yuan's vessel, leaving him momentarily speechless

As they spoke, they arrived at the conference room. At the entrance of the conference room, Ito Yuheng said: "May I ask if you two are carrying any weapons? If so, please allow our personnel to assist in keeping them safe, so you need not worry about it."

Shen Wanqing nearly laughed out loud, thinking: "With Captain Tu Shulin, aren't you just knocking on the bamboo pole of the Japanese fleet commander?"

Lin Yuan nodded and said, "It seems we are on the same wavelength."

Lin Yuan smiled again, remaining silent. Shen Wanqing truly could not fathom his thoughts, so she also ceased to speak. At this moment, Lin Yuan asked, "Did you bring any weapons?"

Shen Wanqing asked again, "Then why do you want to take me with you?"

Lin Yuan, with a face full of confusion, asked: "What are you saying? We sank your warship? This is impossible. We are a transport ship, unarmed. How could we possibly sink your warship"

The helicopter lowered a rope, and Lin Yuan and Shen Wanqing descended along the rope to the deck in succession. Ito Yuheng and the captain of the "Qiaoli" ship, Navy Colonel Gao Zhuangzhizheng, along with the staff from the command, welcomed them on the deck

Ishido Yuheng had never encountered such a situation. He was the esteemed commander of the Imperial Japanese Navy's Combined Fleet, commanding one of the finest warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy. His subordinates consisted of thousands of capable and robust Imperial Navy soldiers. Yet now, astonishingly, a person from the Qing Dynasty had come before him, demanding compensation!

In her anxiety, Shen Wanqing spoke without thinking, her face involuntarily flushed. At that moment, Ito Yuheng said in Chinese: "Are you both from the Qing Dynasty?"

These few sentences left Ito Yuheng in a state of confusion; it is now 1894, and those events have yet to occur

Shen Wanqing shook her head and said, "I didn't bring anything, it's useless. I just don't believe they would let us board the ship with weapons."

Ito Yuheng smiled and said: "How could that be? Gentlemen, please proceed to our conference room."

In Japanese, the terms Qing Dynasty, China, and the People's Republic of China are not the same. Thus, Ito Yuheng frowned, having never heard of this country, and said: "Since Your Excellency the Captain is unwilling to speak, I shall not press the matter. May I ask, Your Excellency the Captain, why you chose to sink our warship? Your declaration of war without notice is truly unacceptable"

Lin Yuan looked at the crowd and thought to himself that the oldest among them must be Ito Yuheng. He stepped forward and spoke in standard and fluent Japanese: "Your Excellency, the Fleet Commander, I am the captain of the transport ship opposite. Your warship fired shells at my ship at noon today, resulting in significant casualties. In self-defense, we had to take some rather extreme actions, which caused unpleasantness for both sides. Therefore, I have come here specifically to exchange views with you, so as to prevent the situation from further deteriorating"

On the helicopter www.hetushu.com, Shen Wanqing couldn't help but ask, "Captain, what are you going to do on the Japanese warship?"

Just as Ito Yuheng was racking his brains pondering over this peculiar warship, he received a message from the aircraft carrier, and he was instantly overjoyed, promptly agreeing to it

Shen Wanqing was immediately filled with anger upon hearing this and retorted: "How can you still have the audacity to say that we engage in undeclared warfare? You launched a surprise attack on the Russian fleet (on the night of February 8, 1904, Japan declared war without notice and sent torpedo boats to attack the Russian Pacific Fleet stationed at Port Arthur, marking the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War), and later, you conducted a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor (on December 7, 1941, Japan declared war without notice and attacked the United States Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, leading to the outbreak of the Pacific War). When have you ever declared war!"

Ito Yuheng was both angry and amused, saying: "How much compensation do you want?"

This warship itself is even more peculiar, as there are no cannons on the deck, nor any visible smokestacks; instead, there are quite a number of objects resembling birds resting on the deck

Regarding the ship "Qiaoli" and its captain Ito Yuheng, he truly could not fathom which country possessed such scientific and technological prowess to develop weapons capable of attacking warships from the air. If one were to argue that they were not warships of the Qing Dynasty, it was nonetheless true that they flew the dragon flag of the Qing on their masts; conversely, if they were indeed warships of the Qing, after sustaining an attack, they promptly lowered the dragon flag and replaced it with a peculiar flag, unlike any seen before. This flag was predominantly red, adorned with five stars, with a large star near the upper left corner, surrounded by four smaller stars.

Lin Yuanda nonchalantly extended two fingers and said: "Silver ingots, two hundred million taels"

The warship implemented a blackout at night, prohibiting the casual use of lighting equipment and movement. Although the Japanese officers and soldiers on board heard the roar of helicopters, no one dared to come out and look. Lin Yuan couldn't help but exclaim inwardly: "Such strict military discipline! This fleet is indeed a formidable opponent"

Lin Yuan raised his hands and smiled, saying: "We haven't brought any weapons; why not have Your Excellency the Commander conduct a search."

Upon entering the conference room and taking their seats, Yidong Youheng spoke first: "I have been working in the navy for several decades. This is not to boast, but I have seen almost all the larger ships in the world. However, I have never seen your ship, Captain. May I ask which country your ship belongs to?"

Faced with a series of questions from Shen Wanqing, Lin Yuan smiled, turned his head, and gazed at the sea under the night sky, remaining silent. For some reason, Shen Wanqing felt an unprecedented anxiety. She said eagerly: "We just sank their flagship, and now we are going to their ship; they have killed our people!"

Lin Yuan smiled quietly, as if looking at an innocent child. He said, "Rest assured, they do not dare to do anything to us"

Shen Wanqing widened her eyes and said, "Are you crazy? How is this possible! Did you not discuss it with anyone else? Would they agree to this!"

Shen Wanqing was also proficient in Japanese. Upon hearing Lin Yuan's words, she couldn't help but laugh. Clearly, our aircraft carrier had gained a significant advantage, yet from his perspective, it seemed as if we had suffered a great injustice.

Ishido Yuheng originally intended to discern which country Lin Yuan was from by his language, but he was surprised to hear him speak Japanese, and so fluently. However, how could he possibly be Japanese? He certainly does not look like a Westerner. Could he be Chinese? That seems impossible; how could a Chinese person possess such advanced technology? Ishido Yuheng had no choice but to say: "I am Ishido Yuheng, and I still do not know how to address your esteemed captain. And who is this beautiful young lady?"

Lin Yuan smiled and said, "My surname is Lin, and this beautiful young lady is my assistant. Captain, shall we speak in this sea breeze?"

Lin Yuan was taken aback; he did not expect that this Ito Yuheng was actually well-versed in Chinese. He hesitantly replied, "I suppose so"