At this time, the commander of the Japanese fleet, Ito Yuma, did not know the news that the "Fengxiang" and "Meng Chun" had been destroyed, and was still directing the "Dong" ironclad ship and five Chinese cruisers to maneuver around to buy time for the "Nisshin," which had already been injured and caught fire, to save itself. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

Since the radius of the "Dong" circling the "Rijin" was much smaller than that of the Chinese cruisers, although the Chinese cruisers tried to bypass the "Dong" and sink the "Rijin" with weak protection first, the "Dong" was always able to stand in front of the "Rijin" at the right time, which made the Chinese gunners blaze and the officers of the Chinese Navy admired.

After a few more large circles, the Chinese cruiser fleet lost patience and, while continuing to shorten the distance between itself and the enemy ships, simply poured all its artillery fire on the ironclad ship "Dong".

Ito Yuma's heroic act of covering the "Nisshin" with the "To" with a thick armor was rewarded to a certain extent, and under the desperate cover of the "To", the Japanese naval officers and men on the "Hisshin" finally extinguished the fire under the command of Heihachiro Togo, and the speed of the ship returned to normal.

But neither Ito Yuma nor Togo Heihachiro would have thought at this time that the life of their battleship was about to come to an end.

At 13:14, the officers and men of the Japanese Navy on the ironclad ship "Dong" could clearly feel a shock in the hull of their warship, and the officers and men in the 279-mm main gun room in the bow of the ship fired at Zhu Yuan after repeated ranging corrections and fired at the "Fujing," the flagship of the Chinese cruiser, but this huge shell still did not hit the Chinese warship, but flew past the side and rear of the Chinese fleet and fell far into the sea.

Because the speed of the Chinese cruiser was too fast, and the rate of fire of the 279-mm breech guns of the "East" was too fast, and the firing range of the gun windows was extremely limited, from the beginning of the war to the present, the main guns of the "East" fired a total of only 7 shells, and none of them achieved results!

However, a 190-millimeter armor-piercing projectile fired by the "Fujing" fiercely penetrated the armor plate of the "East" gun room, flew all the way to the bottom of the 279-mm main gun mount of the "East", shattered the gun carriage of the giant cannon and exploded, and the Japanese gunners in the gun room were killed five people on the spot, and the gunners and three sailors were seriously injured. After the loss of the gun mount, the 279-mm main gun, weighing nearly 30 tons, was paralyzed, and no matter how hard the sailors worked, the crankshaft used to rotate the cannon did not move at all, and the magic weapon that the Japanese Navy hoped would use to fight the Chinese Navy suddenly became a useless discard, "...... the 'Fujing' ship was firing at our ship with a 19-centimeter gun, hitting the 'East' ship, and hitting the gun mount and exploding...... When the enemy bomb exploded through the gun chamber in the bow of the ship, it shook violently, and the smoke of gunpowder filled the air, making it difficult to distinguish people from close proximity, which was suffocating. …… The five gunners were martyred on the spot, and the gunners were bleeding all over the ground, and they were seriously wounded and died, and the flesh and blood were splashed on their clothes, which was miserable. ("The Battle of the 'East' Ship in the Battle of the Taiwan Navy")

Just as a duel prevailed in the Middle Ages, almost at the same time that the "Fujing" hit the "East", the "Fujing" was also hit by the 70-pounder guns on the side of the "East" one after another, and in the simple artillery confrontation, although the "Fujing" with three 190 mm breech guns on each side had the upper hand, the combat distance between the two sides had been shortened to 600 meters at this time, and the Japanese gunners ignored the rain of bullets splashed by the machine guns of the Chinese warships overhead, and desperately manipulated the side guns to open fire. The ship's side was hit, and a 70-pound shell loaded with black powder exploded on the 75-mm side armor plate of the "Fujing", bursting the armor plate, but failed to penetrate it.

In addition to one 279-millimeter main gun, the "East" ironclad ship also had two 70-pounder guns, two six-pounder guns and two 4-pounder guns. Soon after the 279-mm guns fell silent, the Japanese gunners continued to fire these guns, but at this time, several 40-mm five-barreled Habekaisi single-barreled machine guns equipped on the "Fujing" ship kept roaring and hit the "East" one after another. Seeing that the side guns of the "Dong" hit their battleship, the Chinese gunners were even more angry and manipulated the machine guns of the Haqikaisi to concentrate on attacking the side gun positions of the "Dong", which had just fired at their battleship, and the mast used by the "Dong" to hang the signal flag was also "taken care of." The dense machine shells exploded on the "Dong", killing many Japanese soldiers on the spot. After the war, Hidematsu Tsunoda, the first mate of the ironclad ship "Dong," who was present at the scene, recorded the terrible situation at that time in his naval battle report to the Ministry of War, "The Battle of the 'East' Ship in the Taiwan Naval Battle": "Shrapnel was everywhere, the fallen corpses were splashed with scraps of flesh and bones, and the deck was full of flesh and blood. At that time, the launch commander on deck, Second Lieutenant Takeda, was shelled by enemy shells near the gun emplacement, and at the same time, two or three more soldiers were killed. I saw a blur of blood below the second lieutenant ****, a thick pulp of flesh stuck to his back, and the second lieutenant shook off the human flesh that fell on his body, and just as he was about to give the order to launch, another enemy bomb killed two firing soldiers......"

Inside the command tower of the ironclad ship "To", Ito Yuma looked at this hellish sight and closed his eyes in pain. He regretted that he had not heeded the admonition of his teacher Katsu Kaishu before the war, and rashly accepted the appointment of the Ministry of War, and led a fleet to help Saigo from the province.

At present, the Japanese fleet's active tactics of attacking in small units did not achieve the goal of disrupting the enemy's front. Instead of inflicting large losses on the Chinese fleet, the Japanese fleet was put in a desperate situation on the battlefield. After adapting and adjusting in the early stage of the war, the Chinese fleet formulated and gradually completed the strategy of encircling and attacking the Japanese fleet. Moreover, the cruiser formation of the Chinese fleet has the characteristics of high speed and agile action, and it can always maintain an appropriate distance from the Japanese fleet by taking advantage of its mechanical superiority, so that the Japanese fleet, which is already slow, cannot approach and launch a chaotic battle and attack, forcing it to carry out artillery confrontation in which it does not have an advantage. The Chinese fleet had a huge advantage in the number of gun emplacements, the rate of fire of the guns, and the types of ammunition enough to completely overwhelm the Japanese fleet in terms of firepower. Now the Japanese fleet has completely fallen into a situation of passive beating.

The task of escorting the army has long been completed, and he has led the fleet to fight hard for a long time, and he is already worthy of Saigo. Now Ito has to think about how to save the lives of his fleet and the officers and men of the Japanese Navy.

From the beginning of the war to the present, the "Fengxiang", "Meng Chun" and "Kasuga" have never been seen, which also makes Ito Yumo worry.

At 13:45, it was a crucial turning point for both the Battle of Langqiao and the Japanese fleet.

The "Chaowu", located at the end of the Chinese fleet, performed a miraculous feat, and the 190-mm breech-loading gun in the bow of the ship hit the ironclad ship "Dong" with a high-explosive shell, which happened to hit the part of the armor plate that was cracked under the anchor chain hole on the left side of the bow of the "Dong" and burrowed into the interior of the "Dong". At the moment of hitting the "East", Ye Fu, the pipe belt of the "Chaowu" ship, did not expect at all what kind of fatal blow his 190-mm shell would bring to the Japanese ironclad ship!

Immediately after the explosion of the 190-mm shell inside the "East", a fire broke out in the compartment of the hull with a large number of wooden elements. The raging fire consumed everything that could be ignited in the cabin at a breakneck speed, and the flames spread rapidly through the bullet holes and the stairway hatches in the ship with scorching heat, and soon there were fires on the first floor and the main deck, and even the spare cables in the cabinets on the first floor were ignited. The black smoke from the wooden components in the ship completely enveloped the front part of the entire "East" ironclad ship, and it was impossible to distinguish it at hand, "The enemy ship 'East' was hit by a shell fired by our ship and caught fire in the belly of the ship, and the flames erupted from the hole where the shells exploded, and the hole was like a flamevent, and the fire was extremely violent......" (Ye Fu, "Records of the Soldiers of the Taiwan Strait")

For a time, all the warships located on the battlefield could clearly see that the "East" ironclad ship was almost completely surrounded by thick smoke, and the bow of the ship was still bursting out with fire, like a monster struggling in the flames, which was really a terrible scene for the Japanese fleet.

Seeing a rare opportunity, Pei Jinquan commanded five cutting-edge cruisers to approach the "Dong," which was almost powerless to fight back, and concentrated large and small artillery fire to concentrate the attack; at this time, the Chinese artillery fleet also rushed to the battlefield and continued to attack from behind, and the rain of bullets poured on the "Dong" body, and the sound of explosions continued to sound, and the situation was extremely critical.

“…… The flagship of the Japanese fleet, the 'East', was hit in the belly, as if it had been greatly damaged, lost its ability to move freely, and its speed was greatly slowed down. A fire broke out inside the 'East', and flames filled half of the sky. The crew of the 'East' ship should have stopped firing and concentrated on extinguishing the fire. However, the fire was very intense, and after a long time, there was no sign of being extinguished...... It was a battle of wooden ships against iron ships, and we all thought that the Chinese Navy, which had only wooden-hulled cruisers and gunboats, would have a hard time winning against the Japanese Navy with ironclad ships, but now the situation happened to be reversed. We were surprised to learn that a fast wooden ship with more guns could pose a great threat to an iron ship with a large caliber of artillery. ”

Faced with this astonishing war situation, the commander of the British Navy's "Chinese Fleet" Ryder later wrote down such words in his memoirs. Perhaps at this time, he already had the prototype of the concept of "speed is defense" that became popular later.

Captain Ito Yuhiro Ito, who was busy directing and steering the "Higashi" in the "To" command tower so that the warship could avoid the attack of the Chinese warship as much as possible and strive for the opportunity to extinguish the fire and save himself, suddenly discovered that the gunboat "Nisshin" commanded by Heihachiro Togo was approaching.

With a displacement of less than 1,500 tons and no armor protection, the large gunboat "Nisshin" seemed to be using its not thick body to shield the flagship from shells, but just when Ito was surprised and moved, the "Nisshin" suddenly turned and sailed desperately in the direction of the coast.

Seeing that the "Rijin" disregarded the safety of the flagship and abandoned the flagship and ran away, Ito Yuhyung couldn't help but jump to his feet and scold.

Just now, in order to turn the "Rijin" into a safe place, the "East" ironclad ship paid too much price. But now that Heihachiro Togo has ungrateful and abandoned his flagship and fled, how can he not make Ito Yuhyung angry!

"The 'Nisshin' has been seriously injured, and it may not be long since it floats!" Ito Yuma turned his head to look at the "Nisshin" sailing away, and stopped Ito Yuhyung's scolding with one sentence, "They may want to seize the beach and save the warship!" ”

Indeed, at this time, Heihachiro Togo, after seeing the four new Chinese gunboats, immediately ordered to sail to the beach at full speed.

Unlike the ironclad ship "East", which dared to stand up and cover itself, the "Nisshin" did not have such a strong protective force. The process of confronting the guns of the five warships of the Chinese cruiser just now is tantamount to the process of slowly consuming life for the "Rijin", the hull of the "Rijin" has been penetrated in many places, and some of these wounds have appeared near the waterline, and the sea water has poured into the ship in large quantities, and the damage management personnel in the "Rijin" ship are using all tools to try to drain the water outward, and the **** of nearly 30 degrees that appeared just now is enough to fatal danger for any ship.

At this time, the battered "Nisshin" suddenly rushed to the coast because Heihachiro Togo had already estimated that his warship would not be able to support it for too long, and instead of sinking it senselessly, it was better to rush to the beach and run aground to save the lives of the warship and the officers and men on board.

It's a pity that history didn't give Heihachiro Togo such an opportunity.

Lin Yizhe discovered the "Rijin" attempt, and immediately ordered a temporary cessation of the bombardment of the "Dong," which had no strength to fight back, and transferred the artillery fire to the "Rijin." Soon, 190-mm, 140-mm, and other large-caliber shells continued to fire at the "Rijin," forming a column of water on the sea around it, and the "Rijin" staggered forward in the rain of bullets and sailed toward the shore.

At this moment, with a loud bang, the tail of the hull of the "Sunjin" exploded, and a huge fireball rose up. The stern of the "Nisshin" first began to sink, and gradually it was submerged by the sea, and the bow of the "Rijin" was immediately raised high, erected in the air, and stayed for a while before it reluctantly sank into the sea.

Miles, the first mate of the American cruiser "Monaken", who was watching the battle in the nearby sea, became an eyewitness to the sinking of the "Nisshin": "...... In the ensuing battle, another of Japan's best ships, the Nisshin, also suffered misfortune. It apparently struggled for a long time, constantly pumping water with its pumps, as we saw water pouring into the sea from both sides of the ship. It fought valiantly for a long time, but received no effective assistance; The cannons on its deck continued to fire until it sank. In the end, its stern was completely submerged in the sea, and its bow was raised high above the surface of the sea, gradually sinking into the sea. As it sank, we could clearly hear the triumphant cheers from the Chinese warships. The ironclad ship 'East', which had fought alongside it in battle, had previously rescued it, but was now powerless. ”

At this time, the Ito brothers watched through the observation window of the command tower as the "Nisshin" sank, and their faces were full of sadness.

Ito Yuma saw the four Chinese gunboats that had merged with the cruiser fleet, and sighed: "The 'Fengxiang' and 'Mengchun' should have also suffered misfortune!" ”

"So what?" Ito Yohyung gritted his teeth and glared angrily at the Chinese fleet that was still pouring artillery fire on the "East", "For the honor of the Imperial Navy, we must fight to the end!" ”

As soon as Ito finished speaking, there was a whistling sound of cannonballs breaking through the air, and then the "Higashi" shook violently, and the Ito brothers were unsteady under their feet and almost fell.

At this moment, the "East" has been dealt another heavy blow.

Among the shells fired by the Chinese cruiser just now, a 190-mm armor-piercing shell penetrated and exploded under the No. 1 gun emplacement on the port side of the "East" ship, leaving a terrifying hole in the port side of the "East" ironclad ship. The hull of the "Dong" that had suddenly hit the huge bomb made a huge tremor, but this was only the beginning of the disaster, and before the Japanese officers and men could react from the panic caused by this hit, another 190-mm shell came one after another.

The 190-mm shell that followed hit the same position as the previous one, but this shell was more powerful than the armor-piercing shell that exploded just now, which was a high-explosive shell. The huge bomb hit the inner wall of the "East" compartment, and the fuse that had been hit hard immediately began to work, and the black powder filled in the warhead quickly ignited, and the shells exploded inside the ship. The huge shock air flow and fragments from the explosion ignited the ammunition pile, and a large number of shells and ****** piled up there were detonated!

There were a series of loud explosions from the ironclad ship "East", and the choking black smoke immediately spread inside the ship. The impact of the explosion of black powder tore a larger hole in the hull plate on the port side of the "East", and on the other hand, it roared and rushed up to the main deck, leaving two huge holes on both the left and right sides of the main deck.

The side panels of the first floor of the "East" ironclad ship were blasted open, and the rushing waves broke the wooden stakes and beams on the upper deck, and large holes appeared on the left and right sides of the upper deck, causing the hull to lose its balance. The hull of the "East" then tilted, and seawater began to pour in.