The "Liyong" and "Hanyang" quickly left the port of Incheon and sailed out to the open sea, and the weather was clear and the breeze was gentle, and the two warships, painted black and red at the bottom, stood out against the clear green waters.

After the second ship sailed into the open sea, Min Yonghong gave the order to start the formation exercise, and the second ship immediately changed from a one-line column to a parallel horizontal formation, and then to a chaotic battle group formation in front of the other side and behind the back, and then to a one-line column.

Seeing that the second ship was moving quickly and changing formations flexibly, Min Yonghong felt very satisfied, and his diligent practice for a while was not in vain.

After opening their eyes to the world, North Koreans generally have a sense of crisis, and Min Yonghong is no exception. When he was studying at the Tianjin Naval Academy, he had seen many foreign warships anchored at the mouth of Dagu in Tianjin, and had also practiced on the ironclad ship "Longxiang" of the Qianguo Navy.

Although the current DPRK Navy has steam warships donated by Qianguo, in Min Yonghong's view, these two warships are still much weaker than similar warships in Western countries.

The current state of the Japanese Navy is not clear to the North Korean side.

Min Yonghong only knew that the Japanese navy was defeated by Qianguo and suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Mosswan, and the second defeat was by the Satsuma navy, and was almost completely wiped out in the Southwest War, and Japan's economy recovered rapidly after the war (which is also one of the reasons why the Korean Enlightenment Party was envious), and the navy was also rebuilt, but what was the situation of the rebuilt Japanese navy, Min Yonghong and others did not know.

Not only Min Yonghong and others, but even important ministers such as Min Yongmu and Min Tae-ho, the chief of coastal defense, and even King Li Hee, did not know the current situation of the Japanese navy.

For the Navy. This time, the Japanese can be said to have done their job of secrecy.

But anyway. Min Yonghong and Yoon Jung-yan have agreed. If they encounter a Japanese ship attacking, no matter how powerful, they must also attack it head-on.

Nelson's spirit of "striking at the enemy" has been transplanted into the blood of the new Korean navy through the teaching of the naval instructors of the Qianguo Navy.

"Soot spotted ahead!" One of the officers in charge of the observation suddenly shouted.

Min Yonghong was shocked, immediately raised the binoculars, and immediately saw two slight pillars of smoke on the sea in the distance.

Although it was just two small plumes of smoke, Min Yonghong didn't know how. But I felt more and more uneasy in my heart.

"Prepare for battle!" Min Yonghong ordered.

"Preparing for war?" First mate Zhao Wenming looked at the captain a little strangely, "Maybe it's a merchant ship, right?" ”

"I said prepare! Right away! Min Yonghong said in a deep voice.

Seeing that the captain was a little angry, Zhao Wenming didn't dare to say any more, but gave the order, and soon, the sailors on the deck immediately began to get busy.

Soon, the gunners were all in position in front of the gun emplacement, and Min Yonghong took a deep breath, raised the telescope again, and looked in the direction of the smoke column.

Gradually. A third pillar of smoke appeared.

Fourth, fifth......

First mate Zhao Wenming's face changed.

"A warship has been spotted right ahead! More than three! ”

"Spotted Japanese warships!"

The observer officer shouted loudly. In fact, there is no need for them to say, Min Yonghong and the officers on the flybridge have seen clearly, what appears in the telescope is a huge fleet escorted by warships!

Looking at the Japanese flags flying in the wind on the ships opposite, the officers and men of the DPRK Navy were already sure that it was a warship of the Japanese Navy.

The other side soon spotted two North Korean warships, and the two Japanese warships in the front began to turn and sail head-on towards the North Korean warships.

Seeing these two Japanese warships, Min Yonghong's eyes flashed with surprise.

Although it was the first time he had seen such a warship, he could still immediately guess that these were two new crash cruisers built by the United Kingdom.

The two Japanese cruisers approached quickly, and Min Yonghong soon saw their names through the telescope, namely "Tsukushi" and "Aikawa".

The source of the ramming cruiser (known as the collision ship and clipper ship and collision clipper ship by the Qianguo people) can be traced back to the "Battle of Lisa" that broke out between Italy and Austria in 9066. In that naval battle, the Austrian fleet led by Admiral Tegerthoff formed a horizontal formation (or wedge-shaped formation, "man" formation, or the Chinese called the "geese array") and defeated the Italian fleet that was in columns, thus affecting the trend of the world's naval tactics. In the naval battle, the Austrian flagship "Ferdinand" smashed the Italian fleet flagship "Italy" into a classic battle in naval history. Although there were too many fortuitous elements involved in the successful use of ramming tactics, the Battle of Lisa brought new ideas and ideas to the long-dormant field of naval tactics and ship design, and led to a re-understanding of the significance of bow-to-enemy tactics, the importance of firepower in the bow direction, and the value of ramming tactics.

The serendipitous success of the ramming tactic soon became a myth. So much so that some people want to design a warship with ramming as the main means of warfare -- ramming cruisers. The initiator was the famous British ship designer George? Rendall, who is famous for designing the "mosquito boat" of "small ships with cannons", is a firm believer in the theory of cost performance, and he insists that a small and cheap warship can be built to defeat and replace expensive ironclad ships, and the important characteristics of this type of small warships are fast speed, equipped with ramming angles, simple hull appearance, and concealment, and can use the ramming angles and large-caliber guns it is equipped with to pose a threat to ironclad ships. This conceptual theory was immediately sought after to the point that later in the century, such warships could be found in many military ports around the world.

Due to the attention paid by the decision-making level, in the early days of Japan's modern naval construction, it always kept a close eye on the trend of the development of international naval technology, and almost did not miss any new technology, which can be said to be closely following the trend. The early purchase of paddle steamers, and the later order of ironclad ships, and even the design and construction of steam warships, manpower submarines, and pole mineboats are all examples. This sensitivity to new technologies and efforts to develop the navy were far ahead of Asian countries at the time, even in the world. Not inferior. A cutting-edge concept ship - a ramming cruiser. After being recommended and introduced by the Englishman Ingalls. The Secretary of the Navy, Oyama Iwa, who was in charge of naval affairs, immediately became interested. At that time, the rebuilt Japanese navy urgently needed a new type of warship that could take on the important task and be able to fight in the open sea, but due to lack of funds, Japan's plan to purchase first-class ironclad ships as the main force of the navy was delayed again and again, which made Oyama Iwa, who presided over the matter, much blamed. Now there is a sudden appearance of a low-cost cruiser that can compete with ironclads, which is a godsend. You can't afford to buy a large ironclad ship, it's more than enough to buy 2 small cruisers, and it can also temporarily gag the opposition. After reviewing the drawings in detail and consulting with foreign officers, on December 9, 9079 (the 5th year of Daqian Guangxu and the 12th year of Meiji in Japan), Dashan Iwa entrusted Engels to negotiate with the British arms giant Armstrong to order two new ramming cruisers. Two days later, an official report was made to the Japanese government, emphasizing the importance of the purchase of cruisers.

In response to Japan's commission, Engels believed that the completion of this project would directly affect the expansion of Britain's arms trade with Japan and the impact of Britain on the Japanese navy in the foreseeable future, so he sent a special letter to Flott, who was in Britain to handle the matter. It is emphasized that the standard speed of warships in confined waters must exceed 15 knots, and the ship's primary equipment is particularly powerful bow ramming angles. Flotte did not dare to slack off. Negotiations with Armstrong were immediately initiated, and the contract was formally signed on December 18 of that year, with a total price of 160,000 pounds for the two warships.

On April 17, 9080 (the 6th year of the Great Dry Mitsuahi and the 13th year of the Meiji era of Japan), the construction program of the two ramming cruisers in Japan was officially launched. At Flott's suggestion, Ingalls temporarily named the two warships "Aries" and "Taurus", the former means that both warships have pointed horns, and the latter implies that the origin of the warships is Europe (in Western mythology, the god Zeus once incarnated as a golden bull to pursue a beautiful princess in the world, and later the place where the story took place was named after the princess's name Europa, which is the origin of the legendary European name). On December 27 of the same year, Oyama Iwa officially named the two warships "Tsukushi" and "Aikawa".

The "Tsukushi" class ramming cruiser, designed by Rendal, has a normal displacement of 1490 tons, a full load displacement of 1652 tons, a length of 64 meters, a width of 9.75 meters, and a draft of 4.57 meters. The main engine adopts 2 horizontal reciprocating steam engines, equipped with 6 boilers, and two-shaft propulsion. It has a design power of 2,600 hp and a speed of 16 knots. The normal storage capacity of the coal tank on the ship is 250 tons, and the maximum storage capacity is 300 tons. Endurance 5000 nautical miles / 8 knots. In addition to steam power, the "Tsukushi" class warships are also equipped with sail rigging, which can use sail power to sail and sail. Shortly after returning home, the Japanese side made a simple modification of the mast, adding a crossbar (crossbar) to the foremast.

The hull of the "Tsukushi" class warship is a metal structure, and the hull material is mainly made of 3/4-inch thick steel plates, riveted to the wooden bottom plate, and there is a simplified armored deck 3.5 feet below the waterline to protect important parts such as the engine room and ammunition depot, but this armored deck is only 3/8 inch thick, which can only give some psychological comfort to the sailors, and does not have much practical value. In addition, the "Tsukushi" class has no additional armor and is an unprotected cruiser, and the main purpose of this design is to reduce the tonnage of the warship, increase the speed, and reduce the cost. In order to increase the survivability of the warship, Rendale set up multiple coal bunkers on the side of the warship and above the engine room, hoping to rely on the coal pile to provide some protection.

Because of its weak own protection capability and the extremely risky ramming tactics used as the main means of warfare, the "Tsukushi" class warships are unique in their appearance design. With the exception of the two-masted and single-chimney, the hull above the waterline is very simple and low, so that even if it is difficult for the opponent to aim and evade the enemy's fire, it can hide itself as much as possible and not be discovered by the enemy, so as to give full play to the characteristics of the suddenness of the ramming tactic. However, this has caused the evil effect of poor seaworthiness, and the freeboard of this class of warships is extremely low, and even if it sails at high speed in calm conditions, the bow and tail main decks may be submerged by seawater, and the situation in bad sea conditions can be imagined. For this reason, the main deck of the bow and stern of the "Tsukushi" class warship is not used as the main area for the sailors to work, and the teak deck is not laid, and the hanging anchors usually arranged on the main deck are arranged on the top of the front and rear main turrets, so that when the anchor is lifted, the working environment of the sailors is relatively safe, but the position of the hanging anchors is too high, although the steam windlass is installed according to the requirements of Ingels, it will inevitably affect the time of the anchoring operation. The command system of the "Tsukushi" class warships is more distinctive, with an armored command tower at the rear of the main turret and at the rear of the chimney. But the thickness of the armor was only 5/8 inch. An open-air flybridge was located on top of the armored conning tower at the rear of the chimney. Navigation lights are installed on both wings. In addition, near the rear main gun there was a spare open-air command station with 1 standard compass installed.

Following the design idea of the mosquito boat's small boat mount cannon, Rendall arranged two large-caliber breech guns for the small "Tsukushi" class warship. This MKI gun, produced by Armstrong, has a caliber of 10 inches (254 mm), a barrel of 26 times diameter, a shell weighing 400 pounds, and a reserve of 100 rounds per gun. Under normal circumstances, the maximum shooting elevation angle is 10 degrees, the maximum shooting depression angle is 3 degrees, the effective range is 8000 meters, and the range can reach 12000 meters when the extreme shooting elevation angle is 15 degrees, and the power is quite amazing at that time, and the use of solid bullets at a distance of 3000 meters can shoot through 14-inch thick steel plates, which may be the confidence that Rendaul can defeat the ironclad ship by such a warship as Flor. Since this type of gun is a primitive rapid-fire gun developed from a ground pit gun, with a primitive hydraulic re-entry device, the rate of fire is faster than that of a traditional rack-back breech gun. 1 shot in 2.5 minutes. Because of the small tonnage of this type of cruiser, it did not use a bulky deck turret. Instead, two guns were mounted in open turrets at the bow and stern of the warship, and the guns were rotated using hydrodynamic power, and each gun was equipped with 10 gunners. In order to provide a relatively good working environment for the gunner, to avoid the interference of wind and waves, and to maintain the coherence of the hull appearance to avoid abruptness to increase concealment, a fixed and non-rotating gun profile was installed outside the open turret, the thickness of the gun profile steel plate was only 3/8 inch, and there were large gun doors in front of and on both sides of the gun, and the main gun could obtain a 44-degree angle of fire in front of it, and a 70-degree angle of fire on the left and right sides respectively. Due to the low freeboard of the "Tsukushi" class warships, the deck is prone to waves when sailing at high speeds, and it is inevitable that seawater will pour into the battery, and the gun doors are equipped with baffles, which are closed in peacetime and lifted upwards to the top of the battery during combat.

In line with the design standards of warships at the time, the "Tsukushi" class warships were equipped with a large number of small and medium-caliber guns in addition to the main guns to fill the firepower vacuum on the ship. Among them, four Armstrong 4.7-inch (120 mm) caliber guns, mounted on four corners of the superstructure, fired outward through the bulkhead doors with a range of 60 degrees, this gun also belonged to the original rapid-fire gun developed from the trap gun, the barrel length was 22 times the caliber, each gun had 200 rounds, and the shell weighed 40 pounds. Like the main gun, in order to prevent seawater from pouring in, the 4.7-inch gun also used a baffle on the door, which was only opened upwards during combat.

There are also 2 Nordenfeld 4-barreled machine guns installed near the main gun of the "Tsukushi" class. This kind of artillery produced by Armstrong was an excellent machine gun in the world at that time, along with Haggar Kaisi and Gatling, and the principle was to arrange multiple barrels in parallel, and by turning the handle, the bolts behind each barrel were fired sequentially, so as to achieve high-speed shooting. The caliber of the gun is 25 mm, the length of the gun is 965 mm, the weight of the gun body is 193 kg, the gun carriage weighs 117 kg, the rate of fire is 350 rounds per minute, the firing range is 2000 meters, and the 24 mm thick steel plate can be penetrated at a distance of 274 meters. In addition, the ship's small-caliber guns had four 10-barreled Gatling guns.

As ramming cruisers, the essential weapon of the Tsukushi-class warships is the ramming angle, which is different in that the ramming angle is located 11 feet below the waterline in the bow. Because the setting of the ramming angle increases the wave resistance of the bow of the ship and affects the speed, a modified bow is added at the bow to keep the flow of the warship intact during peacetime navigation, and the modified bow is disassembled during combat to expose the sharp ramming angle.

The "Tsukushi" class ramming cruiser, which occupies a milestone position in the history of the development of world warships, was the world's newest warship at that time. Of course, as a concept ship that embodies new technologies and new ideas, it will inevitably have many shortcomings, such as poor seaworthiness, weak protection, and "it is difficult to get accurate guns in the event of a storm or waves, and the ship has been pierced by a small cannon." These are all unavoidable defects of the "Tsukushi" class warships, but this class of warships has opened up a new category in the field of ships, and has had a profound impact on the design of British and even the world's cruisers.

Such a cutting-edge battleship, the current opponent is two gunboats converted from old steamships.

The "Lilong" and "Hanyang" are both gunboats converted from steam carriers, equipped with 5 75mm Krupp breech guns, in addition to 4 40mm Habeg Kaisi five-barreled machine guns and 4 Gatling machine guns, as melee firepower, but because they are old warships, although the boilers have been replaced, the maximum speed of the second ship is only about 10 knots.

The two Japanese warships gradually approached with murderous aura, and Min Yonghong kept an eye on the movements of the Japanese warships while thinking about how to deal with the enemy.

"Do they really dare to go to war?" Zhao Wenming said to himself.

"They're here to attack us." Min Yonghong replied in a deep voice, not putting down the binoculars in his hand, "Have you seen those merchant ships?" They are all troop carriers! ”

Zhao Wenming was shocked, held a telescope and looked in the direction of the Japanese fleet, and sure enough, he saw two Japanese merchant ships, and there were many army soldiers wearing black military uniforms walking back and forth. (To be continued.) )

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