Seeing the smoke trail in the distance, the entire fleet immediately became vigilant. The Dingzhen Zhijing Jinglai Six Ships dispatched this time were divided into two teams to protect the merchant ship in the middle, maintaining the original course and continuing to move forward, and at the same time, they were ready for battle.
It didn't take long for the observers on the mast to report that the three ships of Yoshino, Naniwa and Takachiho were coming. The battle bell rang instantly on the sea. At the same time, the six ships moved forward and once again formed the wild goose wing formation, and the four ships
The merchant ships turned around and headed north to shallow waters to avoid the battle.
Speaking of which, Ito Hiroshi was also under great pressure during this period. From the emperor to the prostitute, Japan was frugal and managed to buy a few warships. In the end, he lost three warships in two wars. If Ito Hirobumi hadn't protected him, he would have
He had long been dismissed by angry cabinet members. Even so, the Army was still holding on to his abandonment of the 6th Brigade. Fortunately, Prime Minister Ito understood the truth and knew that he had done nothing wrong in this matter.
Compared with the fleet, the lives of several thousand land troops are nothing. If the men are gone, they can be recruited again. If the combined fleet is gone, Japan will be finished.
Under such circumstances, he naturally could not sit back and watch the Qing army reinforce North Korea, and find a decisive battle with the Beiyang Navy before Songdao was repaired. He would probably have to pay for it if he failed. The terrifying power of the Dingzhen main gun still gave him nightmares from time to time.
, but there is no problem in sending Yoshino's three high-speed cruisers out to harass them. Even if they cannot be defeated, they can easily escape. So in the vast waves of the Yellow Sea, the fleets of both sides encountered each other for the third time.
Despite the decisive battle formation, Ding Ruchang did not think that the Japanese army dared to attack him. Even if it was Yoshino, it was still a bit too crazy for three warships to challenge twice as many opponents. However, the next scene left him stunned.
Suddenly, they really rushed forward.
Yoshino took the lead, and at a distance of 5,000 meters, he could only see a flash of fire on its side, and then the sound of shells piercing the air was heard. Almost instantly, seven water columns rose among the six ships of the Beiyang Navy, and the two Dingzhen ships during the voyage were not seen at all.
Not showing weakness, the eight main guns immediately roared back. Almost at the same time, the remaining ships on both sides also opened fire one after another. However, the first round of shelling had no success. Just when the main guns of Dingzhen were being loaded, both sides fired.
The rapid-fire cannon continued to pour shells at the opponent at the fastest speed, and in the blink of an eye, the fire exploded on Jingyuan and Takachiho.
But at this time, relying on the high speed, the Yoshino three ships had already turned to the right wing of the Beiyang Navy. Due to speed issues, the Beiyang ships that had turned too slowly immediately turned side by side. However, with the addition of tail guns, the firepower did not have much impact.
It was just that there were only four Dingzhen main guns left that could be used. Soon these four 305mm cannons spurted out flames, but it was obviously not easy to hit a Japanese ship sailing at a high speed of 19 knots.
In contrast, the six ships of the Beiyang Navy, which were staggered, had a bigger target. Just when Dingzhen's main gun missed again, Jingyuan also received a 120 shell.
At this time, Yoshino had already moved to the back of the Beiyang Navy formation. After all, the speed gap between the two sides was too big. The second ship Dingzhen, which originally only had fifteen knots, due to various problems, could now run thirteen knots, which is pretty good.
Facing this high-speed cruiser that was almost twice as fast as himself was like a clumsy buffalo facing a nimble cheetah. This scene made Ding Ruchang break out in cold sweat.
Yoshino, who circled behind the fleet, faced the six tail guns. The firepower of a single ship even exceeded that of the entire Beiyang Navy. At the same time, Naniwa and Takachiho, who were slightly slower than it, had also left the firing range of the fixed main guns. It was obvious that they were
Prepare to attack from the rear.
"Turn around and change into a horizontal formation!" Ding Ruchang immediately ordered a change of formation, but at this time he was afraid. If there was a combined fleet in front of him, then this battle would be lost.
In fact, Tsuboi Kozo opposite him was regretting it at this time, because he made a big mistake. He was too impulsive. There was no doubt that he inadvertently found a way for the combined fleet to defeat the enemy, but because of his impulse, he gave
Exposed, in this case he did not hesitate at all. Just when the Beiyang Navy turned around, Yoshino went straight to the merchant ship in the distance.
At this time, Ding Ruchang also understood his intention. From the beginning, Yoshino's target was the merchant ships. Rushing up to challenge them was just a trick of trying to force the tiger away from the mountain. One person could move the tiger away from the mountain. Due to the speed, the Beiyang Navy could not stop it from attacking those merchant ships.
The power of speed is clearly demonstrated here.
Under the angry gaze of the Beiyang navy in the distance, the distance between Yoshino and the merchant ships was shortening rapidly. The four merchant ships were not stupid. They originally sailed in a column and immediately dispersed and fled to shallow water. Yoshino immediately chose one of them.
The ship chased after it, but it did not fire its guns. This was a British merchant ship. No one dared to attack it unless necessary. The Union Jack on the mast was more effective than the Beiyang Navy.
Yoshino rushed up at high speed and quickly forced it to stop, but fortunately the ship was not carrying soldiers. After receiving Tsuboi Kozo's promise to compensate twice the ship price, the British merchant ship quickly put down the small boat, and all crew members evacuated.
Then the Yoshino naval guns blasted together, and the merchant ship, together with the supplies intended for Asan, turned into an exploding ball of fire.
Ding Ruchang, who was desperately coming in the distance, could only watch this scene helplessly. After sinking the merchant ship, Yoshino and the other two ships each chose a target and pursued the remaining three ships. Now the Beiyang Navy has already
There was nothing they could do. The only thing they could do was to pray that they could escape into the shallow water before the enemy arrived, but obviously this was not easy.
But at this moment, the observer suddenly exclaimed: "Look, what is that?"
Ding Ruchang hurriedly turned around and ran towards the mast, but before he could climb up, a small warship on the sea in the distance, carrying the same yellow dragon flag as himself, was moving at a speed that made everyone stunned.
Coming in a hurry.
"Oh my god, at least thirty-five." A foreign soldier next to him shouted with a shocked expression. Ding Ruchang's heart moved and he immediately knew who was coming. He received a telegram from Taiwan yesterday. Taiwan Town
The destroyer Flying Eagle of the Naval Battalion under Commander-in-Chief Yang Feng was to escort the Prince of Ryukyu to the capital to express his gratitude. I didn’t expect this guy to arrive so quickly. It looked like he was flying towards Yoshino’s small warship. Such speed was simply unbelievable.
On the Yoshino, which was chasing the merchant ship, Tsuboi Kozo was also stunned.
"Where did this come from?" he asked the chief of staff beside him, dumbfounded.
"It seems to be the kind of high-speed destroyer from Sweden's Young Shipyard. I have seen it in the UK. It is either Feiying or Feiting. It should now belong to the Taiwanese fleet in Dagou Port." The chief of staff said solemnly.
"Weapon?" Tsuboi Kozo asked directly.
"Two triple-mounted steam gas torpedoes, five 76mm rapid-fire naval guns."
"Inform all ships to turn around, immediately form a combat formation to retreat at high speed, and prepare anti-torpedo guns." Tsuboi Kozo shouted without hesitation. He still has lingering fears about the new torpedo that can kill Akitsu Prefecture with one blow.
If the torpedo tube had not been destroyed, even the wave speed might have been dangerous.
The Yoshino three ships immediately gave up the pursuit of the merchant ship, and then formed a column and retreated eastward at high speed. The Eagle destroyer still rushed forward at a high speed of 36 knots, but before it could enter the four-kilometer range, the Yoshino three ships simultaneously
When it opened fire, large-caliber shells exploded into sprays of water around it.
Probably feeling that it was too dangerous, the Flying Eagle hesitated and gave up the attack. Although running another kilometer would only take a minute for it, but in this minute it would have to face nearly twenty large-caliber naval guns.
Hundreds of artillery shells are fired, and it is very dangerous to do so without cover. After all, it is only here to help, and it has its own job, so there is no need to go all out.
Seeing the Yoshino three ships retreating, the three merchant ships turned around and returned, and then rejoined the Beiyang Navy. After receiving Ding Ruchang's reward of one thousand taels of silver, Anderson, the Swedish captain of the Flying Eagle, happily agreed to take them
For a request to escort to Asan, one destroyer escorted two battleships and four cruisers. This is definitely something worth showing off.
Although a merchant ship was lost, it had no impact on the supply of Asan. This trip was just to take advantage of the escort opportunity to send some to the front line. The supplies there are now almost piled up, and Li Hongzhang is still trying his best to provide supplies every day.
Nie Shicheng and others packed arms.
Just as the fleet sailed into Asan Bay under night, the battle on land had already begun.
Ye Zhichao abandoned Gongzhou, which he was responsible for defending, and then returned to Tian'an with two battalions of Zhengding training troops. After handing over the two battalions of soldiers to the command of Zhang Gaoyuan, he himself withdrew to Yashan as the commander-in-chief of the southern armies. In fact,
He is just a decoration. The Huai Army's camp structure is destined that no one will listen to other people's orders. What's more, his prestige in the army is not as good as Nie Shicheng's, and Zhang Gaoyuan is not something he can command. Apart from Li Hongzhang and him, this guy
Liu Mingchuan, my old boss, basically won’t buy into anyone else’s fault.
Tian'an is surrounded by mountains to the east and south. During this period, with the help of Hannagan, Zhang Gaoyuan built a series of fortresses based on these mountains. Combining Nie Shicheng's lessons in Chenghuan and Burton's suggestions, he dug trenches around these fortresses.
, instead of building those speechless parapets, at the same time, fifteen new smokeless Maxims and ten Gatling guns purchased from Bofors were placed in these fortresses. Of course, these Maxims are no longer wheels, they are all
A new type of tripod was installed, and a circular gun emplacement was built with sandbags behind the defense line. Twelve Krupp 75 guns and 20 Bofors-made 82 mortars were installed.
As for the artillery of other calibers, they are scattered on the defense line. Sandbags are also used to build a circular gun emplacement. There are 57s, 37s, 60s, and 47s. There are even four guns with a rate of fire of 60 per minute.
Chapter completed!