On September 17, 1894, the third day of the defeat in the Battle of Pyongyang, the eighteenth day of the eighth lunar month of the twentieth year of Guangxu (Jiawu year), the main warships of the Beiyang Naval Division and the main warships of the First Fleet of the Naval Academy in Weihaiwei Port were gathered together.

The main warships of the Beiyang Naval Division: the flagship ironclad ship Dingyuan, the ironclad Zhenyuan ship, the armored cruiser Jingyuan ship, the armored cruiser Laiyuan ship, the armored cruiser Pingyuan ship, the protective cruiser Jiyuan ship, the protective cruiser Zhiyuan ship, the protective cruiser Jingyuan ship, the impact cruiser Yangwei ship, the impact cruiser Chaoyong ship, the ironwaki-hulled cruiser Guangjia ship, the torpedo cruiser Guang B ship, the torpedo cruiser Guang C ship, a total of 13 main warships.

The main warships of the First Fleet of the Naval Academy: the flagship armored cruiser Xinghai, the ironclad Weihai, the ironclad Dinghai, the ironclad Zhenhai, the armored cruiser Anhai, the protective cruiser Lihai, the torpedo cruiser, the super sea ship, the torpedo cruiser, the Yanghai ship, a total of 8 capital warships.

In addition, there are five transport ships loaded with more than 4,000 elite Huai troops and a large amount of ordnance and materials.

After Ding Ruchang boarded the Dingyuan ship and Lin Daxin boarded the Xinghai ship, all the warships and five transport ships of the Beiyang Naval Division in Weihaiwei began to make fires.

Lin Daxin looked at the 21 warships densely packed around him in the bridge of the Xinghai ship, and felt his blood boiling, he knew that if there was no accident in this escort, it was likely that he would have a decisive battle with the main force of the Japanese Navy's combined fleet on the sea! He Lin Daxin has been preparing for this day for almost 2 years! At this time, I can't help but feel a little nervous in my heart!

On a mountain on Liugong Island, Ding Xueshan looked at the formation of the first fleet of the Beiyang Naval Division and the Naval Academy with red eyes, and secretly begged God to bless his father and Xiaolinzi in peace.

When the fleet sailed to Dadonggou in the Yellow Sea, wisps of black smoke appeared in the distance, and the soldiers of the watchtower reported that a large number of Japanese warships appeared in front! As Ding Ruchang and Lin Daxin expected, the combined fleet of the Japanese Navy really appeared!

Ding Ruchang, the commander of the Beiyang Naval Division, stood in the bridge of the Dingyuan ship, with a solemn face, and ordered the officers and men of the Beiyang Naval Division in the bridge: "Order all the warships of the Beiyang Naval Division to raise the battle flag!" Take the Beiyang Naval Division as the first combat team, and the warship of the Naval Academy as the second combat team! Take on the Japanese Combined Fleet! There is no advance or retreat in this battle! ”

The 13 warships of the Beiyang Naval Division formed a flat diamond-shaped formation centered on Dingyuan and Zhenyuan.

The first fleet of the Naval Academy took the flagships Xinghai, Weihai, Dinghai, and Zhenhai as the line, and the other four cruisers as the line, forming a linear formation with parallel lines.

The two formations, one on the left and one on the right, sailed forward at a constant speed, the first fleet of the Naval Academy on the left, and the main team of the Beiyang Naval Division on the right.

Lin Daxin stood in the bridge of the Xinghai and instructed Jiang Chen beside him: "Notify the Second Fleet and quickly move closer to us!" The combined fleet of the Japanese Navy appeared! ”

Time passed quickly, the distance between the Beiyang Naval Division and the Japanese Combined Fleet was getting closer and closer, Lin Daxin stood in the bridge of the Xinghai, looking out from the observation window of the bridge, the outline of the Japanese Combined Fleet had gradually become clear.

The warships of the Japanese Navy's combined fleet formation are: the armored cruiser Matsushima, one of the flagship Sankei ships, the high-speed protection cruiser Yoshino, the protection cruiser Naniwa, the protection cruiser Takachie, the protective armored ship Itsukushima, one of the three scenic ships, the armored cruiser Hashidate, one of the three scenic ships, the protection cruiser Hiei, the protection cruiser Chiyoda, the protection cruiser Fuso, the gunboat Akagi, the armed merchant ship Saikyo Maru, the protection cruiser Kongo, the protection cruiser Takao, the protection cruiser Tsukushi, Protective cruiser Yaeyama.

There are also two old ironclad ships Asagiri and Hatsuyuki purchased by Japan from Britain, and four British protective cruisers Takanami, Murayu, Kikaze, and Ishikari, and a total of 21 warships are rushing towards the Beiyang Naval Division.

There are 21 warships of the Beiyang Naval Division, and the Japanese Combined Fleet is also 21 warships, but the total tonnage and performance of the warships of the Beiyang Naval Division are slightly higher than those of the Japanese Combined Fleet!

The 11 warships that Japan participated in the Battle of Dadonggou in history, except for the already sunken Qiujinzhou, the other 10 warships came, and because of the practice fleet of the Sailor Academy purchased by Lin Daxin, Japan not only sent out the 6 newly purchased British * ships, but also sent out the 5 cruisers that could be sent to guard the Japanese Navy's mainland.

In the bridge of the flagship Matsushima, the commander of the Combined Fleet, Ito Youheng, looked at the Beiyang Naval Division in the distance, which had at least six large ships of about 7,000 tons in Dingyuan, Zhenyuan, Xinghai, Zhenhai, Dinghai, and Weihai, and felt a deep shock! Fortunately, the Japanese Navy has another killer feature! Otherwise, even if the combined fleet is heroic, it will be difficult to achieve victory! Ito Yuxiang took a deep breath, there was nothing to hesitate at this time!

Ito gave an order to the Japanese naval officers and men on the bridge of the Matsushima: "Order the 1st Guerrilla Detachment Yoshino, Naniwa, Takachie, and Yaeyama to copy the right side of the Hokuyang Naval Division's fleet!" Order the 2nd Guerrilla Takana, Murayu, Kikaze, and Ishikari to copy the right side of the Beiyang Naval Division's fleet! Other warships were assigned before the battle and attacked the Beiyang Naval Division! ”

In the distance between the two navies, eight or nine warships of European and American countries, large and small, served as battlefield observation ships to observe the naval battle between the combined fleet of the Japanese Navy and the Beiyang Naval Division of the Qing Dynasty in the distance. The navies of all countries are not willing to miss the decisive battle at sea of the first large-scale steam ironclad fleet of mankind!

When the fleets of the two sides advanced to a distance of about 4,000 meters, Ding Ruchang, the commander of the Beiyang Naval Division, took the walkie-talkie brought by Lin Daxin from modern time and space and shouted: "Fire at Little Japan!" "The 305-mm Krupp main gun of the Dingyuan ship fired the first shell of the naval battle at the combined fleet of the Japanese Navy.

With the opening of Dingyuan's cannons, other warships of the Beiyang Naval Division and the Navy Academy also fired at the Japanese ships.

The warships of the Combined Fleet of the Japanese Navy, seeing that the Beiyang Naval Division was firing at themselves, did not wait for the commander of the Combined Fleet, Ito Yuhiro, to give an order, they returned fire one after another and opened fire on the Qing Dynasty warships!

The Japanese No. 1 Guerrilla Squadron Yoshino, Naniwa, Takachie, and Yaeyama fired heavily and increased their speed in front of the Beiyang Fleet and the First Fleet of the Navy of the Naval Academy, and galloped towards the side of the First Fleet of the Naval Academy.

This side of the Naval Academy is the side of the four cruisers in the parallel linear formation, the armored cruiser Anhai, the protective cruiser Lihai, the torpedo cruiser, the supersea ship, and the torpedo cruiser Yanghai.

The Japanese Second Guerrilla Squadron Takanami, Murayu, Kikaze, and Ishikari also galloped towards the side of the Beiyang Naval Division's main squadron on the other side.

On the side of the Beiyang Naval Division, there are the protective cruisers Jiyuan, the protective cruisers Zhiyuan, the protective cruisers Jingyuan, the ramming cruisers Yangwei, and the ramming cruisers Chaoyong.

The warships of the Beiyang Naval Division have been maintained by the Lin Daxin shipyard, and the condition of the ships is more than a step better than the original, such as the Dingyuan and Zhenyuan ships have been maintained by the shipyard, and the speed has been increased from about 12 knots to more than 14 knots. In addition, Lin Daxin purchased sufficient new artillery shells from foreign countries for the Beiyang Naval Division, which made the morale of the officers and men of the entire Beiyang Naval Division high.

It seems that luck is also on the side of the Beiyang Naval Division, and the third round of shells fired from the 305-mm Krupp main gun in Zhenyuan hit the bow of the Japanese protective cruiser Tsukushi.

With a violent explosion of the protective cruiser Tsukushi with a displacement of 1,350 tons, the 250-mm main gun in the bow of the ship was blown into the sky, and the shells stored near the main gun were also detonated, and the entire capital of the Tsukushi was blown to pieces.

This warship of the Chilean Navy, which was purchased by the Japanese Navy in 1883, sank in the sea in less than three minutes from being hit by a shell from Zhenyuan to sinking, and did not even have much time for the Japanese crew to jump into the sea to escape. More than 180 Japanese naval officers and sailors on board, most of them, including captain Katsumi Mizen, sank to the bottom of the sea with the warship.

Seeing the rapid sinking of the Japanese Tsukushi, the entire Beiyang Sailor and the personnel of the Sailor Academy immediately cheered excitedly!