On September 16, 4,000 Ming troops finally boarded the five transport ships belonging to Beiyang.

With the order of Admiral Ding Ruchang, the mast of the Dingyuan ironclad ship raised the sailing signal, and the high-pitched whistle resounded through the sky. Dozens of sailors struggled to twist the huge discs, and the black, thick iron anchors were slowly lifted from the water and held tightly in place at specific positions in the bow. In the power compartment, the blowers have begun to fill the round boiler with fresh air, and the sailors are feeding shovels of coal into the boiler, the furnace is blazing and the machinery is roaring. The high-temperature and high-pressure water vapor releases its internal energy in a specific area, driving the steam engine to do regular reciprocating operation.

At 1 o'clock in the morning, the huge Beiyang Fleet lifted anchor and set off. With a displacement of more than 11,000 tons, the large battleship, now renamed "Kaiyuan", took the lead and sailed at the forefront of the fleet. Behind her, the main warships such as "Dingyuan", "Zhenyuan", "Zhiyuan", "Jingyuan", "Laiyuan", "Jiyuan", "Guangjia", "Chaoyong", "Yangwei", "Pingyuan", "Guangbing", "Zhenzhong", and "Zhenbian", as well as the torpedo boats "Fulong", "Right 1", "Right 2nd", and "Right 3rd", marched in two columns, that is, the Beiyang Naval Division called the Pisces Formation. Due to the tight schedule, there was not enough time to form a new formation suitable for Kaiyuan ships; In addition, Li Hongzhang didn't want the Beiyang Naval Division to go head-to-head with the Japanese main fleet at all, and this broadside battleship was strangely incorporated into the bow of the Beiyang Naval Division to meet the enemy.

Although Ding Ruchang very much wanted to quickly transport the army to North Korea for landing, he also understood that there would be absolutely no room for the slightest mistake in the safety of this large-scale sea transportation operation. In order to be safe, he ordered five troop carriers loaded with soldiers and supplies to unmole and set off one hour later than the escort fleet and move along the channel opened by the main force of the Beiyang Naval Division. In this way, even if the fleet encountered the main force of the Japanese Navy halfway, the battleships could spot the Japanese ships first, so as to cover the transport ships in the rear and turn to evacuate.

Under the bright moonlight and in the boundless darkness of the night, a group of more than 20 ships of various types carried out wartime light control and slowly marched towards the east. The sound of the waves is faint, and the machinery is faintly sounding. If you turn over the nautical chart of the Korean Peninsula and correspond to the compass plate on the flagship "Dingyuan" at this moment, the destination of this voyage is already very clear. In the Admiral's command post, Ding Ruchang, whose eyes were bloodshot, pressed his finger on the low-scale chart, a place name that people with lofty ideals who have a deep understanding of China's modern coastal defense can never forget, and focused everyone's attention in the dim light.

"Dadonggou!"

Ding Ruchang looked around at everyone and said slowly: "According to Zhongtang's military order, the fleet will advance along the coastline of the Liaodong Peninsula and finally unload and disembark at Dadong Port at the mouth of the Yalu River. The success or failure of this operation will directly determine the battle situation on the Korean front, and its importance must be understood by everyone! For the next six hours, all the people on the errand must cheer me up and act carefully, do you hear clearly? ”

"Obey the orders of the military gate!" Everyone looked stunned and replied in unison.

Liu Buyun looked at the admiral of the navy standing in the first place, his expression was complicated, and he wanted to speak again. Ding Ruchang was keenly aware of the abnormality of the femoral-humeral arm. He turned his head and looked directly into Liu Buyun's eyes: "Zixiang, do you have anything to say?" ”

Liu Buyun gritted his teeth and said, "Dare to ask the military gate, after the army lands in Dadong Port, what will happen to the Beiyang Fleet?" ”

Ding Ruchang said with some displeasure: "Two days ago, when the fleet set off from Weihaiwei, didn't it already work out all the steps for this operation? After the landing of the army at Dadong Port was completed, the Beiyang Naval Division immediately turned back and returned to Weihai via Dalian, where it continued to act as a fierce tiger in the mountains to deter the Japanese people. As the flagship of the fleet, why do you even have to ask me about this? ”

In normal times, Liu Buyun must have lowered his head and lowered his eyebrows, and kept silent; But today's Liu Buyun is obviously different from normal days. was questioned by Ding Ruchang, but Liu Buyun met his gaze, and said neither humbly nor arrogantly: "The Japanese warship has appeared on the bank of the Datong River, why didn't the military gate go south to look for the enemy, look for the Japanese ship to destroy it, and avenge the shipwreck on Fengdao?" ”

As soon as these words came out, it was like throwing a boulder into a calm lake, causing an uproar. Everyone involuntarily stopped what they were doing, and turned their eyes to the admiral of the navy, and all the faces with different faces showed a look of anticipation at this moment.

Ding Ruchang's narrow eyes narrowed slightly, and his sharp gaze seemed to penetrate Liu Buyun's eyes and go straight to the depths of his mind. For a moment, the entire Admiral's chamber was silent, except for the low sound of the operation of the steam engine coming from the bilge, which reverberated in the space of less than 40 cubic meters.

After a while, I only heard Ding Ruchang say slowly: "Zixiang, you tell me first, why did we land in Dadonggou on the border between China and North Korea this time, instead of directly transporting the army to Pyongyang, which is on the front line?" ”

Liu Buyun was slightly stunned, and then without thinking, he told the cause and effect of this troop transport.

It turned out that there were two ways for the Beiyang Army to enter the Korean battlefield for reinforcements, one was to cross the Yellow Sea by boat and go directly to the territory of Korea; The other is to advance along the northeastern land route and cross the Yalu River into North Korea. However, since the outbreak of the Battle of Toshima, the situation in the Yellow Sea has suddenly become tense, and Japanese warships frequently haunt this area, and the danger of shipping has greatly increased. If you are not careful, you will most likely repeat the mistake of the Toshima shipwreck. Although there is no sneak attack halfway by land, the road is far away, the mountains are high and the rivers are long, and a large number of baggage are transported to and fro, which is time-consuming and laborious; Long-distance marching also has an adverse effect on the preservation of the combat effectiveness of the troops. After careful consideration, Li Hongzhang finally made a compromise plan: that is, the army first took a boat and went to Dadong Port at the mouth of the Yalu River along the coastline of his country; After disembarking there, they enter North Korea by land. Due to its balance of safety and efficiency, this method was soon introduced in wartime troop operations.

Ding Ruchang snorted and said, "It's good that you know the way." In this operation, the 4,000 Beiyang soldiers were safely sent to Dadonggou, which was a great achievement! Our duty is to protect the army from the intrusion of Japanese warships during the sea; Isn't it a move to seek war in the southeast? ”

"But the military gate, we can wait for the army to land safely, and then cruise south for a certain period of sea, and then it's not too late to turn back! If one or two Japanese ships acting alone can be found and annihilated, they can repay the grace of the Rumbling Saint, and the next can take revenge on the fallen soldiers of Xuefeng Island, and vent the anger of the subjects, so great! Liu Buyun said with some eagerness.

"Nonsense!" Ding Ruchang let out a low shout, although the voice was not loud, but it made everyone in the conference room tremble. The green tendons on his forehead protruded, showing an extremely discordant scene under the wrinkles, and he said sharply: "Liu Zixiang, do you really not know anything about the situation in the DPRK and the situation in the middle hall!" Why can Beiyang become today's Beiyang, and why can Zhongtang go through the sea and stand in the center? Patrolling the south will put the safety of the entire fleet at risk; If it is ambushed, it will cause losses to the soldiers; And if the Japanese ships take advantage of the weakness to enter and attack Weihai again, how do you ask me to explain to the imperial court and to the middle hall? ”

Looking at Liu Buyun's face that was slightly red because of excitement, thinking of the middle-aged man in front of him who had been in the Beiyang Navy for more than ten years, rigorous and meticulous, conscientious, and being relied on by himself as a humerus arm, Ding Ruchang couldn't bear it. He sighed and said, "Zixiang, the old man understands that you are young and vigorous, and you are eager to avenge the blood of the martyred robe, why is the old man not holding back a vicious anger in his heart?" However, in his position, he will seek his own government. As the Admiral of the Beiyang Naval Division, I shoulder the great trust of the Prime Minister and the high hopes of the imperial court, not only to exterminate the Japanese bandits, but also to protect the ships; Nowadays, we can only be cautious step by step, like walking on thin ice, how can we be reckless and ignore the overall situation? ”

Liu Buyun was silent, his fists clenched. Why didn't he know about Ding Ruchang's difficulties? At present, the enemy is being attacked and suspicious by those clear streams, and he wants to get rid of it quickly, although Li Hongzhang has defended it in every way, but the burden borne by Ding Ruchang can be imagined. But the shadow of the Toshima shipwreck has always lingered in his heart, and he is always ready to fight back and retaliate; Now with the addition of such a big iron ship, how can you not want to make a move?

Ding Ruchang turned around, turned his back to everyone, and said lightly: "I'm tired, let's go to the residence to rest for a while." During my absence, all the affairs of the fleet, big and small, were handled by Liu Guandao. After a pause, he added, "If you encounter a Japanese naval combat ship on the way, be sure to tell me as soon as possible." ”

Everyone said yes.

Ding Ruchang nodded, pushed open the door and walked out of the conference hall, through the narrow and dim aisle, to his room of a few square meters. The moonlight was like water, and through the bright porthole, it poured obliquely on the old man, who had taken on too many burdens and was exhausted. He put his hands behind his back, suddenly sighed faintly, and muttered: "I hope that the front line in Pyongyang can be impregnable." ”

What everyone in the entire Beiyang Fleet did not expect was that at this moment, Pyongyang, a fortified city thousands of miles away, fell after less than one day due to the cowardice and incompetence of the coach Ye Zhichao. The more than 10,000 elite Huai troops built by Li Hongzhang with great effort were ambushed by the Japanese army in the dark and rainy night outside Pyongyang, and their corpses were scattered all over the field. Ye Zhichao led the remnants all the way backwards, abandoning the entire North Korea. During the night, more than 2,000 Huai soldiers fell under the guns of the Japanese soldiers, and more than 500 were captured. The entire Korean battlefield has been completely eroded and cannot be saved.