Hearing the alarm from the lookout, Nakamuta Kuranosuke was instantly startled and cold, and he stumbled towards the bow of the ship and raised his binoculars. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

In the telescope, the figure of a British cruiser is becoming clearer and clearer through the thin haze on the sea.

In particular, the dragon pattern on the bow of the ship and the dragon flag fluttering in the wind on the mast are particularly eye-catching at this moment.

At this time, the Chinese cruiser also spotted the Japanese troop convoy and immediately sailed straight ahead, and soon, two French-style Chinese cruisers also appeared in front of Nakamuta Kuranosuke.

Dewa Shigeyuan also saw the appearance of the Chinese cruiser at this time, and his heart sank instantly.

Now he regrets a little why he didn't listen to Nakamuta Kuranosuke and returned in time.

If you had strayed into Chicken Coop Harbor and returned the way you came, you might not have encountered an enemy ship, right?

Dewa Shigeyuan didn't know it, in fact, even if he returned to the ship right then, he couldn't escape!

After the Battle of Langqiao, Lin Yizhe divided his ship administration warships into four teams to patrol and search the sea near Taiwan to search for possible Japanese troop transport fleets, and after Zhou Shengchuan's unit of the Huai Army came on board, in order to prevent the Japanese Navy from launching an interception of the Chinese troop transport convoy, Lin Yizhe adjusted his original plan, and after sending a three-ship formation from Beiyang to the north to escort the troop carriers, he personally led the "Fujing" and "Jianjing" to respond to the situation, and at the same time, further expanded the scope of the search.

In this section of the ocean, a formation of three cruisers, "Princess Heshuo", "Chaowu" and "Chengqing", led by Deng Shichang, was responsible for patrolling. At this time, the three ships were searching and advancing from south to north, and the Japanese ships happened to be moving in the opposite direction with the Qing ships, and they touched each other.

Even if the Japanese ships immediately returned along the same route after entering the chicken coop harbor by mistake, it would be difficult for the Japanese fleet, which had an overall speed of less than 8 knots, to escape the pursuit of the high-speed Chinese cruisers.

Looking at the approaching Chinese warship, Kuranosuke Nakamuta fell into deep despair.

"Get out of here! Hurry back to the sea-" Heihachiro's voice stopped abruptly, and he couldn't help but show horror in his eyes as he looked at the Chinese warship that appeared on the sea.

"Now...... What should we do? Dewa asked in a trembling voice.

"We're too slow to escape." Kuranosuke Nakamuta sighed and said, "The transport ship can run faster, let's cover their retreat!" ”

Hearing that the commander did not say a proposal to surrender or escape, a trace of admiration arose in Dewa Shigeto's heart, and at this time, his original perception of Nakamuta Kuranosuke had changed.

"Signal! Order the transports to retreat immediately! Nakamuta Kuranosuke gave the order loudly.

"The Japanese want to resist!"

Seeing that the two Japanese gunboats actually raised a series of signal flags and warning flags, Sun Xiaoyun, the chief officer of the "Princess Heshuo", turned his head and said to Deng Shichang.

"They were trying to cover the troop carrier's escape." Deng Shichang, who was on the flybridge, put down his binoculars and ordered, "Send a signal to let the two ships 'Chaowu' and 'Chengqing' go to intercept the Japanese troop carrier first!" ”

"Do you want to deal with these two Japanese gunboats by yourself?" Sun Xiaoyun heard the meaning of Deng Shichang's order, and smiled.

"Do you think they're enough for three of us to fire a salvo?" Deng Shichang smiled, "The cannonballs are precious, and it is better to save the province." ”

"If you want to save shells, you might as well persuade them to surrender." Sun Xiaoyun looked at the two old Japanese gunboats in front of him, which were not as large as the tonnage of the "Princess Heshuo", and proposed with a smile.

"Okay, salute first and then soldier, and you can give it a try later." Deng Shichang nodded with a smile, "It's two gunboats, it's better to capture than to sink." ”

At this time, a series of signal flags were also raised on the mast of the "Princess Pegatron". After seeing the signal command, the two ships "Chaowu" and "Chengqing" accelerated out of the queue and rushed in the direction of the Japanese troop carrier.

"Send a signal to the Japanese ships to surrender immediately!" Deng Shichang looked at the two Japanese gunboats that looked extremely weak, and ordered in a deep voice.

Soon, the flag was raised on the mast of the "Princess Pegatron".

"The Qing warships sent us a flag and asked us to surrender immediately."

On the gunboat "Yunyang", Shigeto Dewa saw the signal flag raised by the "Princess Washuo" and said to Kuranosuke Nakamuta.

Seeing that the Chinese cruiser did not attack immediately, but sent a signal to persuade surrender in a rather old-fashioned manner, Nakamuta Kuranosuke could not help but feel a good impression of the captain of the Chinese cruiser.

At this time, he had a trace of hesitation in his heart.

Judging by the Chinese captain's performance, he was supposed to be a gentleman who might have saved his life if he surrendered, and would have been treated with courtesy and dignity.

But he also knows what surrender means for his future.

"Send a signal: the two countries have not declared war, can we be allowed to return to the place of departure." Nakamuta Kuranosuke said that at this time, his survival instinct had the upper hand again.

At this time, in the face of danger, Izuwa Shigeyuan also understood Nakamuta Kuranosuke's thoughts, of course he understood the current situation, and if he started fighting, he would hit the stone with an egg, and he did not object.

Soon, a series of intricate signal flags appeared on the top of the mast of the "Yunyang".

"Dare to quibble at this time!" Deng Shichang shook his head a little amusefully when he saw the reply signal sent by the Japanese ship, "Send a signal, tell them!" Surrender at once! Otherwise, shoot them down! ”

The signalman, who received the order, raised the signal flag "Surrender now, or fire".

"They don't agree." Kuranosuke Nakamuta sighed when he saw the flag signal from the Chinese warship.

At this time, an officer ran to Nakamuta Kuranosuke's side, saluted, and reported: "General, the 'Ganxing' has sent a signal asking what kind of formation to use to meet the battle!" ”

"What a formation! Wouldn't it be okay to just rush over? Does it make sense to ask so much? Only then did Nakamuta Kuranosuke notice the signal flag raised by the "Ganxing" not far away, and felt angry and amused by the pedantry of the captain of the "Ganxing", Akimichi Uura.

"Do you want to raise the battle signal flag?" Dewa Shigeto asked Nakamuta Kuranosuke.

"No need, let's get as close to the enemy ship as possible! Tell the gunners to be ready. Nakamuta Kuranosuke looked at the Chinese cruiser in front of him again and smiled bitterly, "For the sake of victory, we can only take a little bit of measures against this Qing captain." ”

Dewa Shigeto understood what Nakamuta Kuranosuke meant, nodded, and gave the battle order. Soon, the "Yunyang" headed for the "Princess Pegatron" at full speed, and the "Ganxing", which had not received a reply, saw the flagship's actions and did not ask any more questions, but followed the "Princess Pegatron" at full speed.

"What the hell are the Japanese doing?" Seeing that the Japanese ship did not answer, but slowly drove over on its own, Sun Xiaoyun and several officers on the flybridge were all puzzled.

Deng Shichang was also surprised when he saw the actions of the Japanese ship.

The Chinese officers wondered why the Japanese were holding such a slow speed since they were not going to surrender, and whether this was some kind of ploy they were taking.

Because the victory in the naval battle depends entirely on the battle in this first round. And the reality before the eyes of the Chinese officers bewildered them by the actions of the Japanese. The reason was that the enemy ships did not use the speed of the battle, but took a slow speed.

At this time, the Chinese naval officers on the "Princess Peshuo" could not imagine that everything in front of them was because the Japanese ship formation could only reach this speed at the highest speed. Due to their many years of service, the two aging Japanese warships could only move at a speed of 7 knots at the earliest, and this speed was too slow for the "Princess Washuo", which could reach a maximum speed of 14 knots.

"Send a signal: Deng Shichang of this ship's military gate, there is no false bullet within 300 yards! If you dare to move forward, you will open fire! Deng Shichang ordered loudly.

The signal flag was raised quickly, Deng Shichang raised the telescope, and saw that the Japanese ship was still moving forward, without a trace of reaction, Deng Shichang sneered, understood the Japanese ship's attempt, and ordered the battle signal flag to be raised.

The port side guns of the "Princess Pegatron" stretched out their guns one after another, and the Chinese gunners, who had been gearing up for a long time, completed the artillery preparations with great speed, and began firing just after waiting for an order.

At some important historical juncture, something unexpected often happens. I don't know if it was because the Japanese sailors were too flustered and nervous, or because they had ulterior motives, according to the logbook of the cruiser "Princess Peshuo," the gunboat "Yunyang" had just begun to turn, and when it did not reach a position parallel to the "Princess Pegatron," the guns opened fire. Although there was no actual attack, it once again puzzled the Chinese officers, and as soon as the cannon sounded, Deng Shichang and the officers on the flybridge entered the command tower and watched the development of events on the sea through the observation window.

When the Japanese warship had not yet turned to finish, the cruiser "Princess Pegatron" unceremoniously began a salvo on the side of the board, and unlike the shells fired indiscriminately by the Japanese, the Chinese cruiser fired a truly deadly rain of bullets, and a 190-millimeter shot fell in the sea near the bow of the gunboat "Yunyang", stirring up a column of water that soared into the sky, and then the large and small guns on the port side of the "Princess Pegatron" also roared one after another.

Ignoring the skyrocketing water column and violent shock brought by the enemy ship's artillery shells, the Japanese sailors on the "Yunyang" pushed the cannon that had been pushed back to the end of the lower gun carriage by the recoil, and the next shell was also lifted up from the ammunition compartment opening on the floor of the turret. The Japanese warships were already in thin gun positions, and in order to achieve results at this moment, they had to do everything possible to increase the speed of gun fire.

At about the same time, the "Ganxing" also began to fire at the "Princess Heshuo" and joined the battle, although it was "two to one", but the Japanese soon understood that their attack was ineffective.

Due to the relatively good sea conditions in the vicinity that day, the hull swaying was not large, the artillery was easy to aim, and the guns had been very proficient in previous battles, so the guns on the Chinese warships were loaded and fired extremely quickly. For a time, the 190-mm and 140-mm shells seemed to fall from the sky like a hurricane, and the Chinese gunners, based on their experience in dealing with the "Dong" ironclad ship, deliberately fired at the gun emplacements and masts of the Japanese ships.

Seeing that the "Yunyang" was instantly dumbfounded and unable to move, the captain of the "Ganxing" looked a little at a loss, and was quite shocked by the fierce firepower of this Chinese warship, and hurriedly ordered the rudder to turn around to avoid the artillery fire, intending to leave the battlefield. Seeing that the Japanese ship was about to escape, Deng Shichang ordered to ignore "Yunyang" for the time being, and instead attack "Ganxing" with all his might. Several heralds rushed to various gun emplacements, and the "Princess Peshuo" caught up with the "Ganxing" at high speed, and the 140-mm breech-loading guns and 40-mm Haqikais's five-barreled rapid-fire guns on the side began to rain down bullets. Due to the close proximity between the two sides, the flybridge of the "dry line" was quickly hit, and two officers and five sailors were killed on the spot, and then a mast was broken again, and then another shell hit the middle of the hull of the "dry line" one after another, destroying the engine room. After that, countless machine shells exploded on the main deck, killing more than 30 Japanese officers and soldiers, including the helmsman. Due to the close proximity, most of the shells fired by the "Princess Pegatron" hit the "Ganxing". Under the overwhelming firepower of the "Princess Peshuo" and after a series of devastating blows, the thin hull of the "Ganxing" could no longer withstand it, the deck facilities were almost swept away, the steering gear was damaged and could not move, and 55 of the ship's 120 officers and men were killed, and almost all the deck personnel were spared. Under the heavy bombardment of the "Princess Heshuo", the "Ganxing", which had a displacement of less than 600 tons, quickly capsized and sank, and the seriously wounded Norimichi Aiura died of excessive blood loss after giving the order to "abandon the ship". Only 12 officers and men survived in the end.

Seeing that after the sinking of the "Ganxing", the "Yunyang" was also unable to move, the hull was seriously damaged, and there was a danger of sinking at any time. Seeing that the Japanese ships had given up their resistance, the "Princess Pegatron" stopped firing, but just as the Chinese cruiser approached the "Yunyang" and tried to rescue the people who had fallen into the water, several Japanese gunners fired another shot at the "Princess Pegatron," and the shells swept past the bow side of the "Princess Pegatron" and fell into the sea on the other side. The blast wave ripped through several ropes and knocked several sailors to the ground without causing additional damage. Seeing the Japanese ships firing, the "Princess Heshuo" immediately reopened fire, and after another salvo, the hull of the "Yunyang" was torn apart, a large amount of sea water poured in, and it quickly capsized.

Seeing that the two Japanese warships were easily and neatly disposed of, the Chinese officers and men on the "Princess Heshuo" cheered.

"Those troop carriers must have been captured, right?" Sun Xiaoyun looked at the sea in the distance and asked unsatisfied.

At this time, the "Yunyang" had sunk, the "Princess Heshuo" stopped shelling, and the cannon sound on the sea fell silent. Deng Shichang listened to the first mate's questioning, and was about to speak, but vaguely heard bursts of artillery sounds on the sea in the distance, and there seemed to be gunshots!

"Let's go over and see." Deng Shichang thought for a moment and ordered.

"The cannonade has stopped! The warships of the Qing Kingdom should have been sunk! ”

"Yes! The incompetent navy of the Qing State will not be an opponent of the imperial navy at all! ”

On the Japanese transport ship "Hitachi Maru," the officers and men of the Japanese Army gathered on the deck fell silent when they heard the sound of artillery in the distance, and all of them had a look of surprise on their faces.

Because of the distance just now, the three Japanese transport ships barely saw the signal sent by the "Yunyang" asking them to evade (they did not see the evacuation signal), and did not see the Chinese cruiser that appeared clearly, because after receiving the signal from the flagship, many people wishfully thought that the flagship sent such a signal to keep them away from the battlefield and avoid artillery fire.

But soon, the Japanese will pay a heavy price for their ignorance and arrogance.

"It's strange not to see a single American warship."

In the wheelhouse of the "Hitachi Maru", American Captain Campbell, who was biting his pipe with a big belly, looked at the sea and said to himself.

A native of South Carolina, Campbell served in the Confederate Navy and commanded the USS Atlanta, and after the Civil War, he traveled across the ocean to Japan to earn a living, and was employed by the Japanese government as the captain of the USS Hitachi Maru.

Since the Hitachi Maru, with a full load displacement of 3,000 tons, was the largest transport ship of the Japanese Navy, the Japanese government hired a large number of foreign sailors for it for the sake of prudence, and the captain, first mate, and second mate were all Americans.

Because Commodore Perry, the US Navy who forced Japan to open up the country, once suggested developing relations with Taiwan, many Americans with colonialist tendencies have coveted Taiwan for a long time, and Campbell is certainly no exception.

"Yes! I would very much like to see American warships. Infantry squadron leader Shigeo Sakasa Sameshima listened to Campbell's words, suppressed the uneasiness in his heart, smiled and nodded.

After that unexpected landing, Shigeo Sameshima already had a feeling that their actions might not go well.

"Discover the Qing warship!" The lookout suddenly shouted.

Shigeo Sameshima and Campbell were all taken aback, and they both came to the porthole in unison, and immediately saw two tall and mighty Chinese cruisers, with dragon flags hoisting high, sailing straight for them in a proud manner.

Looking at the two Chinese warships that were speeding up, the Japanese officers and men on the deck were suddenly terrified.

Seeing that the tonnage and firepower of each Chinese cruiser surpassed that of the "Yunyang" and "Ganxing" escorting them, Sameshima Shigeo's heart sank suddenly.

He now understood why the sound of the cannon on the distant sea had fallen silent so quickly.

The "Yunyang" and the "Ganxing" have obviously suffered misfortune at this moment!

The approaching Chinese cruiser hoisted the international signal "stop the ship immediately" on the girder, and fired two air cannon warning shots, ordering the Japanese transport ship to stop sailing.