On May 23, 1897, the Fourth Division of the Army, led by Lieutenant General Oku Baogong, assembled and boarded ships at the Osaka Bay Military Port under the jurisdiction of the division, and planned to be transported to Amami Island by more than 20 large, medium, and small troop carriers, but they were entangled in the route.

The army base camp designed two routes for the 4th Division. The first road is closer to the mainland, directly from the port of Shibushi in southern Kyushu, and the Sasebo Saikai Fleet can provide warship protection, so it is relatively safe. However, it took more than half a month for the Osaka Division to move along the coastal coastline to southern Kyushu and then set off for Amami Island, which had too much impact on the war situation. The second route is to go directly from Osaka Prefecture to Amami Island via the Pacific Ocean, which can save a week. However, due to the fact that the ships of the West Sea Fleet are not suitable for deep-sea navigation and operations, and cannot provide effective shipborne fire support, this road is not safe.

However, Lieutenant General Okubo Gong said that Amami Island was in danger, and that there were less than 100 troops on the island, and that it was necessary to support it as soon as possible. He insisted that China had not yet gone to war and that it could be tried. The base camp finally agreed to Lieutenant General O'Baogong's request. However, the base camp also had to be guarded, so it was decided to rent merchant ships from Britain, the United States and other countries at a high price to transport troops, and send several warships to escort the troops.

On May 24, Lieutenant General Okuho led more than 15,000 men of the Fourth Division from Osaka Bay to Amami Island by foreign steamer. However, due to the large number of troops of the Fourth Division, the 15,000 soldiers and the huge amount of weapons, equipment, ammunition, and various supplies, the Royal Cruise Line Branch of the United Kingdom and the Pacific Cruise Line Branch of the United States did not have so many ships to supply. As a last resort, the base camp had no choice but to join a number of its own troop carriers under the banners of Britain and the United States pretending to be foreign ships. At the same time, the Saikai Navy transferred four ships of the West Sea Fleet, the Naniwa, Mogami, Katori, and Aki to escort the escort.

However, despite this, the base camp considered that there were only 30 barges on Amami Island, and each ship could only ferry 30 soldiers at a time, and that it would take 40 miles to go ashore at a time, so that it would take a week to go back and forth, and if more than 20 troop carriers arrived at Asan at the same time, they would need to land for a long time, and the troop carriers that stayed at sea during this period would be vulnerable to attack, so it was decided that more than 20 troop carriers would depart from Osaka in batches: four ships of the Royal Cruise Line of the United Kingdom would open in the afternoon of the 24th, and five cruise ships of the Pacific Cruise Line of the United States would open in the evening of the 25th. The thirteen troop carriers of the Admiralty were divided into two groups and departed on the morning of the 26th and 27th.

The actions of the navy and the army in Osaka suddenly fell into the hands of the personnel of the espionage organ set up by Wang Chenhao in the army, but because this espionage organ was established relatively late, it was not yet able to penetrate the decision-making level of the army, and at the same time, the army kept it strictly secret, and the specific plan was unknown.

However, Wang Chenhao has a way.

During the First Sino-Japanese War, the Royal Cruise Line of Great Britain used to transport troops for the Qing Dynasty, and the Gao Sheng was sunk by the ship. At that time, it was Sewart, a contractor for the Tianjin branch of the American Pacific Cruise Line, who leaked the information to him. At that time, the British and American mail shipping companies competed at the same time to help the Qing Empire transport troops, but Li Hongzhang rejected the American Pacific Mail Shipping Company because he was annoyed with the Chinese Exclusion Act in the United States, which led to Seawater's resentment. When Seawater received the news from the Tianjin Telegraph Office that the Royal Cruise Line was transporting troops to Asan for the Huai Army, he leaked it to Tsuneichi, the head of the spy in China, causing the tragedy of the Japanese navy's attack on the Qing troop carrier in Asan.

Now that Seawater has been promoted from a contractor to the general manager of the Asian division of the American Pacific Steamship Company, in charge of the company's shipping trade in Asian countries, Wang Chenhao immediately visited him.

"Lord Wang laughed, how dare I betray the information to Yuben?"

Siewert did not dare to admit that he had done it, and immediately vetoed it. But I was also scared in my heart, I never thought that Wang Chenhao's intelligence was so powerful, and such old things could be stirred up.

Wang Chenhao understood his worries, and just said: "Now that there are no outsiders, I will make my words clear." The events of those years are in the past, and as long as you are willing to help, I will act as if nothing happened. ”

Siewert hurriedly said, "I really haven't done it!" However, if Lord Wang needs my help with something, I should do my best for your lordship despite your orders. ”

Although Siewert did not admit that he was killed, he also knew that Wang Chenhao dared to come to the door and must have enough evidence. Hearing that as long as he helped Wang Chenhao complete what he requested, he could reveal everything without mentioning it, so he immediately expressed his interest in helping.

Wang Chenhao knew that this guy was cunning, so he didn't admit it, but he also admitted it in his words. So he said: "As long as you tell me when the Fourth Division will depart, the route it will take, and the configuration of the ships, I will not pursue any previous matters." ”

Siewert was immediately stunned, and he was smart enough to immediately guess Wang Chenhao's motives and intentions, and he felt that this was to take revenge!

"I'm sorry, my lord, but I can't do anything about it."

Wang Chenhao immediately sank his face, took out a letter, and said coldly: "This is the information obtained from the archives of the Bente High School, and you remember very well the betrayal of the Royal Cruise Line to Jingen to transport our soldiers. If you don't cooperate, I'll make this information public. When the time comes, the British will not allow you, and the Americans will not be able to protect you. ”

Siewert looked at the file in Wang Chenhao's hand, and he didn't know whether it was true or not, but he had a ghost in his heart, so he said: "Lord Wang, I think this must be a misunderstanding, and it must be that I framed me!" ”

When Wang Chenhao saw Siewert's expression, he guessed that it must be him. Originally, Wang Chenhao just came to deceive him, because Wang Chenhao only knew that some foreigners leaked information from the Tianjin Telegraph Office to himself, but several foreigners in the Tianjin Telegraph Office knew about it that day, and Wang Chenhao was not sure that it was Siewert who did it, and if he deceived him at this time, it would be him immediately.

"I don't care about that! Give me a day to get this information at once, or I will hand it over, and you will be punished with the severest punishment. ”

Wang Chenhao gestured with his right hand in a pistol posture, which meant to shoot him.

Siewert couldn't help but feel a sudden burst in his heart, but he said strongly: "I am an American, I have extraterritoriality, and you have no right to shoot me." ”

Wang Chenhao was stunned for a moment, and then remembered that the damned foreigner still had extraterritoriality in China, but he soon had a way.

"You have extraterritoriality, but even if it is handed over to your American courts, do you think that under the pressure of China and Britain, the American courts will be able to sentence you lightly? Besides, with my strength, you don't want to mess around in China in the future. ”

Siewert finally sighed, he knew that Wang Chenhao was not alarmist, and he had to give in to Wang Chenhao.

"Lord Wang, it's not that I won't help you, it's true that I didn't participate in Yuben's troop transport fleet this time."

Wang Chenhao saw that Siewert was relieved, and immediately said: "With your status in the Pacific Mail Shipping Company, you must have a way to find out." I'll give you a day and wait for your reply at this time tomorrow. ”

Siewert said with a bitter face: "Lord Wang, aren't you difficult for a strong man?" ”

Wang Chenhao got up and left, leaving only one sentence of "my patience is limited", and then left, leaving only Siewert standing on the spot.

After Wang Chenhao left, Siewater did not dare to delay time, and hurriedly sent a telegram to the Tokyo Pacific Mail Ship Branch, asking about the company's recent business. Since Seawater is the company's general manager for Asia, he immediately learned about the recent work of Pacific Mail Line in Osaka Bay, and inquired about the departure time, route, and destination of the fleet through his connections.

The next day, Siewater hurriedly sent personal information to Wang Chenhao.

After Wang Chenhao received accurate information on the travel time, route, and destination of the troop transport fleet, he immediately ordered the Royal Navy to set up an ambush near Amami Island and wait for the rabbit in the waters near the passage through which the troop convoy must pass.

At this time, the commander of the Royal Navy fleet had been appointed by Deng Shichang, the chief of staff of the fleet was Lin Jianzhang, and General Lyons was still the chief adviser of the advisory group.

As the only three lieutenant generals of the Chinese Army in the Beiyang Naval Division, Deng Shichang was promoted to commander of the fleet because he had the most iron relationship with Wang Chenhao. And Liu Buyun and Lin Taizeng are also veteran generals, who have extraordinary influence on the navy, and after promoting Deng Shichang, they also have to take care of the emotions of the two of them. Fortunately, the two Dengyun-class battleships built in Britain were about to return to China, so Wang Chenhao ordered Liu Buyun to be the captain of the Dengyun battleship, and Lin Tai was the captain of the Tayun battleship. Originally, Deng Shichang, Liu Buyun and Lin Taizeng had been competing hard for three years in order to become the captains of the two battleships, and now Wang Chenhao's arrangement is equivalent to affirming the efforts of the three.

Liu Buyun and Lin Tai had selected a group of officers and men of the Nanyang Navy to go to Britain to receive Dengyun and Tayun, and Deng Shichang was promoted to commander of the fleet, so that the Dingyuan, Zhenyuan, and Zhiyuan ships needed to rearrange the captains, chiefs of staff, and other personnel.

Among them, the captain of the Dingyuan was served by Li Dingxin, the former deputy director of the Dingyuan ship, and the chief of staff was Jiang Renhui, the first mate of the Dingyuan ship; The captain of the Zhenyuan is Yang Yonglin, the former first mate of the Zhenyuan Ship, and the chief of staff is Cao Jiaxiang, the first mate of the Zhenyuan Ship's guns, a young boy in the United States and a graduate of the Beiyang Naval Academy. The captain of the Zhiyuan was appointed by Chen Jinhua, a young boy who studied in the United States and graduated from the Beiyang Naval Academy, and the chief of staff was transferred from Zheng Wenchao, the first mate of the Yangwei Ship, who had been changed to a training ship. The captains of the other ships were appointed by the original pipe band, and the chief of staff was appointed by the personnel with excellent qualifications and skills on the original ship, and the crew was reorganized after the disruption, with half of the South and South Ocean factions each part, and at the same time, the outstanding students of the Beiyang Naval Academy, the Fujian Shipbuilding Academy, the Guangzhou Huangpu Naval Academy, the Jiangnan Naval Academy, and other naval academies and the students who returned from overseas were transferred to fill in. In the entire fleet, except for Lyons and the twenty members of the senior military advisory group he brought, no foreigners from other countries stayed in the fleet. However, Leons and other members of the advisory group only served as staff advisers to the fleet and warband, and had no actual command authority.

On 25 May, Wang Chenhao issued a secret combat order to Deng Shichang, commander of the Royal Navy fleet, and Lin Jianzhang, chief of staff, ordering them to wait for an opportunity to attack in the waters near Amami Island.

At 11 o'clock in the morning of the same day, Deng Shichang convened a captain's meeting.

"The case is under the command of Junza!"

The generals at the meeting immediately stood up, set up a straight posture, and looked solemn.

The army generals call Wang Chenhao Wang Shuai or the marshal, and the navy and the army have not been in the same pot since ancient times, so in order to distinguish the difference between the navy and the army, the navy officers and men use Jun Zuo to represent the honorific title for Wang Chenhao. The army directly called Wang Chenhao Wang Shuai or Dashuai, so that the court could not come to power. The navy is not as arrogant as the army, the admirals are more subtle, Junzuo is a respectful title for superiors, and the navy calls Wang Chenhao Junzuo, which is to identify Wang Chenhao as their direct superior. And outsiders seem to be just an honorific title for their superiors, so the court can't find fault with it.

In front of the captains of the ships, Deng Shichang bowed to the north, and then announced Wang Chenhao's order.

"Jun Zuo Decree! He ordered our fleet to go out of the waters near Amami Island and wait for an opportunity to attack the troop convoy of the Japanese army, to avenge the attack on our troop convoy in the Battle of Toshima before the First Sino-Japanese War, and to comfort the more than 900 officers and men of our Gaosheng in the sky. ”

When the generals heard this, their blood immediately surged, and they all asked for their lives to fight.

Deng Shichang motioned for the generals to sit down, and then looked at Chief of Staff Lin Jianzhang. Lin Jianzhang understood and took out another document.

According to reliable sources, the reinforcement of Amami Island this time is the Fourth Division of the Chinese Army, with a total strength of about 15,000 people, and the commander is Okubogong. According to intelligence, the Japanese army was divided into three waves, and they were taken on four British-flagged ships, five American-flagged steamers, and thirteen native warships to Amami Island. The first batch of four British-flagged steamers departed yesterday afternoon and are expected to arrive at Amami Port the day after tomorrow. Five U.S. steamers are expected to arrive on the 28th, and the 13 troop carriers are the last to arrive between the 29th and 30th. Among them, the Navy sent four ships of the West Sea Fleet to escort the ship, the Naniwa, Mogami, Katori, and Aki. ”

After Lin Jianzhang finished speaking, Deng Shichang asked the captains of the ships to speak.

The four battleships were no match at all, and the generals immediately asked for battle, and they all asked to take the lead.

Deng Shichang said: "Although the strength of the escort fleet of the Navy, it is not our opponent. However, since the first two batches of ships were British and American merchant ships, they would probably refuse to allow us to capture the troops above. ”

Yang Yonglin took the lead and said: "If you refuse, we will sink them, what's the problem?" That's how the little devil sank the Gao Sheng! ”

At the mention of the Gao Sheng, everyone was furious, shouting that they would not talk nonsense with the foreigners, and if they refused, they would immediately sink their ship.

Lin Jianzhang said: "Junzuo's order is to let the British and Americans get off the ship safely, and then attack Yue himself. ”

Chen Jin said: "Then what if the foreigners don't come down?" ”

Lin Jianzhang said: "Try to avoid hurting foreign devils as much as possible, otherwise it will bring diplomatic pressure to the imperial court, and it is not easy for Junzuo to explain to the imperial court." Therefore, it must not be sunk until it is absolutely necessary. ”

Deng Shichang smiled: "It means that we have to be polite, if they give face, then don't get used to them!" Do you all understand? ”

"Understood!"

The crowd burst into laughter.

Deng Shichang turned to Lin Jianzhang and said with a smile: "The chief of staff also means this, right?" ”

Lin Jianzhang just smiled helplessly, neither admitting nor objecting.

Deng Shichang immediately said: "Since the chief of staff has no opinion, then let's deploy the task immediately!" ”

Subsequently, Deng Shichang and Lin Jianzhang took out their plans for the reference of the captains of the ships, and finally worked out several sets of plans, in addition to one set of plans for carrying out combat missions, there were also several sets of emergency plans.

On the evening of May 26, the main force of the Qing Imperial Navy quietly sailed away from the Weihaiwei Naval Base. At the same time, the 2nd and 5th Sentai teams in Kinmu Bay, Naha Island, Ryukyu, also received orders to march towards Amami Island.

At half past six o'clock in the morning of May 27, five capital ships of the Second Squadron, the Yuyong, Gangyong, Yiyong, Courage, and Fenyong, appeared in the southwest of Amami Port on Amami Island.

Yes, it was clear and cloudless, and the sea was blue.

While patrolling the Flying Leopard and Flying Fox destroyers, the Fifth Sentai saw five ships coming northeast of Amami Island in a smoke-spewing fire, and immediately judged that they were one warship and four British ships.

The Flying Fox Destroyer immediately turned around and went back to report to the second battle flagship, while the Flying Fox quickly approached and approached the ship.

When approaching the ship, the Flying Fox found the name of the ship on the opposite side from a pile of photos of the warship on the ship's record.

The unprotected cruiser Katori of the Western Sea Fleet was responsible for escorting the four British ships, which was equipped with 2 25-diameter Armstrong 10-inch main guns, 4 Armstrong 40-pounder secondary guns, 2 Armstrong 9-pounder guns, 4 11mm 10-barreled Grimm machine guns, and 4 37mm single-barreled Haggaeth guns, with a tonnage of 1,200 tons and a speed of 13.5 knots.

The Flying Fox Destroyer, which was traveling at 30 knots, immediately bypassed the Katori and headed for the four British ships behind her.

The captain of the Katori, Taro Nishitata, was suddenly shocked, and hurriedly ordered the Katori to turn around and drive away the Flying Fox.

"Stop the ship and check!"

The Flying Fox issued an order to the British fleet in both Chinese and English, and the British captain Hoss saw that there was a Qing Emperor [***] ship intercepting it, but he just disdained it, and secretly said that a small Qing Emperor [***] ship dared to stop the British Empire's ships, which was simply delusional.

"Stop the ship and check it now! Otherwise, you will bear the consequences! ”

Hoss still didn't care, he was unwilling to give up his noble British status and submit to the Qing Empire, and he would be laughed at by his peers if he spread it.

The sound of a cannon suddenly frightened Hoss into staggering.

It turned out that the Flying Fox saw that the British fleet was not stopping, so it fired an empty cannon.

"Stop the ship now, or sink it on the spot!"

The Flying Fox issued a shooting warning, and Hoss realized that something was wrong.

"Damn, the Chinese have grown their temper!"

Hoss chattered rather unhappily for a while, he didn't plan to stop the ship, but when he noticed that the other party was extremely fast, and the muzzle was aimed at his ship, and his tone was tougher and tougher, he ordered the ship to stop.

The four British steamers stopped, and the officers and men of the Fourth Division of the Chinese Army on them suddenly became nervous.

(To be continued)