Chapter 157: How is it that we were defeated by the seemingly weak Fengtian Army?!

His brow was tightly furrowed, his voice laden with disappointment and disbelief: "Even in our confrontation with the Bear Dynasty, we never suffered such losses."

These words provoked General Togo, leaving him unable to sit idly by.

The Grand General slammed his hand heavily against the tatami mat beside him, his face flushed with agitation and anger as he demanded furiously: "Just when did the Chengyun military acquire so many submarines?"

Fixing his glare on the Chief of the Naval General Staff, he pressed further: "Why did we not receive even a whisper of intelligence about this beforehand?"

This sudden accusation drew the gaze of everyone present squarely onto the Chief of the Naval General Staff.

Seeing this, Chief Odawara Ni turned as pale as paper, his voice trembling as he hastily replied: "Grand General, I am deeply sorry! This is indeed a grave dereliction of duty by our intelligence department."

His expression was filled with anxiety and panic. "We failed to discover beforehand that the Chengyun military possessed such formidable submarine strength!"

He pleaded, almost beggingly: "I beg the Grand General to grant me a chance to redeem this fault!"

A trace of despair laced the voice of Chief Odawara Ni.

Ever since assuming the post of Chief of the Naval General Staff, he had walked on thin ice in pursuit of perfection. Just as he was on the verge of promotion to full Admiral, this catastrophic defeat struck, leaving his career prospects hanging by a thread.

The unprecedented losses suffered by the Third Fleet jeopardized not only his position but even the very possibility of his promotion to Admiral.

As a high-ranking naval official who should have wielded immense power, he found himself plunged into deep self-reproach and panic because of this incident.

At the residence of Parliamentarian Ono, Admiral Saionji Kojiro had already arrived ahead of time.

Upon the arrival of Nikaido Saburo, he offered a polite apology: "Parliamentarian Ono, I am terribly sorry to disturb you so early in the morning."

Although Ono Hyohei replied, "No need for apologies, we are all acting for the interests of the island nation's navy," his heavy expression revealed that he was already aware of the telegram's contents, and his heart was undoubtedly weighed down with worry and pressure.

As the atmosphere of the meeting grew increasingly heavy, Saionji Kojiro raised a critical question in a solemn and profound tone:

"Mr. Minister of the Navy, are the losses of the Imperial Third Fleet truly that severe?"

As the legendary figure who had once commanded the island nation's fleet to victory over the Bear Dynasty's fleet, Saionji Kojiro was regarded as the soul of the navy.

He had witnessed firsthand the island nation's navy evolve from a meager, negligible escort force into a world-class maritime power.

Now, at a crucial juncture when the island nation was preparing to challenge the global naval hegemony, it had suffered such a heavy blow. If mishandled, it could destroy the future of the navy.

The telegram revealed not only the sinking of multiple warships but also the death of numerous middle and senior commanding officers.

That roster showed the loss of nearly half of the young commissioned officers, dealing a devastating blow to the navy.

Hearing this, Nikaido Saburo's face turned exceptionally pale, his eyes revealing a profound sense of helplessness. After a moment of silence, he replied in a low voice: "This news has been confirmed; multiple capital ships of the Third Fleet have been sunk."

His voice carried palpable frustration and anxiety. "Even when fighting the Bear Dynasty, we never suffered losses of this magnitude."

At this, General Togo rose excitedly, his face turning crimson. He struck the tatami mat in anger, raising his voice considerably: "How could we be defeated by the seemingly insignificant Chengyun military!?"

His gaze swept across everyone in the room as if searching for an answer. "Why did we fail to catch even a hint of this beforehand?"

These words caused the nervous gazes of everyone present to converge once again on the Chief of the Naval General Staff.

Facing their expectant and stern looks, the Chief of the Naval General Staff grew even paler, his voice trembling from deep within his throat:

"Grand General, I offer my deepest apologies! This is a major failure of our intelligence department!"

His voice sounded somewhat choked. "We failed to anticipate that the Chengyun military could possess such a formidable submarine force!"

He pleaded almost desperately, "I beg the Grand General to give me a chance; I will do my utmost to remedy this fault!" Despair and anxiety were intertwined in his eyes.

Ever since taking office as the Chief of the Naval General Staff, he had worked tirelessly, hoping to fulfill his duties to perfection.

Just as he was about to secure an opportunity for promotion to Admiral, such an accident struck, leaving his career hanging in the balance.

His current position as a key pillar of the naval high command, though vested with immense power, now seemed to have become a crushing burden.

"The crux of the matter is still our failure to formulate effective contingency plans in a timely manner, which allowed the enemy commander's surprise attack to succeed."

The senior naval commander wore a heavy expression, his voice tinged with a hint of regret.

Glancing around the room, he continued: "As long as we make thorough preparations for the future, anyone attempting to threaten us will find it impossible!"

In truth, the majority of the naval high command firmly believed in the supremacy of large warships and heavy artillery.

They looked down upon small equipment like submarines with utter disdain.

Consequently, the senior naval commander held a dim view of submarines and opposed them resolutely. With furrowed brows and a firm tone, he stated: "Submarines are a specialized weapon that relies primarily on underwater stealth to launch surprise attacks."

Pausing briefly, he went on to explain: "Even the most advanced welded submarines currently available suffer from short operational ranges and slow speeds. If the enemy's destroyers are equipped with depth charges specifically to hunt our submarines, they pose no significant threat to us!" He shook his head with a slight sigh: "Therefore, I believe there is no need to waste time developing submarines!"

Having listened to the senior naval commander's remarks, Ono Hyohei did not make an immediate decision, instead turning to question the Minister of the Navy.

With a solemn expression and a probing gaze, carrying strategic deliberation, he asked: "Mr. Minister, what are your views on specialized equipment like submarines?"

After a moment of thought, the Minister of the Navy replied, his facial expression calm yet revealing a hint of concern: "In reply to Your Excellency Ono, my view coincides with that of the senior commander. Our naval finances are already strained; merely maintaining and updating our existing fleet is a formidable challenge. If we were to invest additional funds into developing submarines, we would likely see no return in the short term. Given our current situation, further research into submarines is clearly a massive waste of resources."

Seeing that neither of the two naval leaders attached much importance to submarine research, Ono Hyohei did not press the matter further.

With a tone carrying a hint of decisiveness, he ordered: "Since that is the case, issue an instruction for the naval technical department to conduct a technical analysis of submarines! It would be best to evaluate their combat capabilities and weaknesses within the shortest possible time, so that the navy can master countermeasures against enemy submarines!"