Chapter 49: Opening Fire

  "Beneficial Hall brother, is it not the case that the merchant ship exposed us, and the Japanese fleet would be cruising around this area? Looking at the size of these three Japanese warships, they might be Japan's main battleships!" A neatly dressed officer standing next to Fang Boqian said, holding a telescope in his hand.

  "Damn it! Qinghe, I was afraid that the Japanese would bring trouble to our merchant ship, so I let them go back first. Who knew they were right next to us!" Fang Boqian said with some regret.

  The naval officer beside Fang Boqian was Shen Shouchang, the second captain of the Beiyang Fleet and the Ji Yong ship. Unlike Fang Boqian and other naval officers who graduated from the Fujian Mawei Naval Academy, Shen Shouchang was a late starter. He originally studied at the Shanghai Outward Bound Bureau with excellent results and was selected to study physics and chemistry at the University of Norway. Before completing his studies, in 1881, he was assigned to the Weiyuan ship for internship and was promoted to second captain within a year due to his outstanding performance. During the early days of the navy, there were many young scholars like Shen Shouchang who joined the naval service, although they were not originally from a naval background. Due to their high cultural level, they rose through the ranks quickly in two or three years. However, this was also an unavoidable measure due to the shortage of talent at that time.

  "Brother Yitang, it's no use talking more at this time. The Guangyi and Weiyuan ships are of no use in this battle. If they encounter the Japanese main fleet, they won't even have a chance to escape. It's better for us to let the two ships go first and stall here for a while. It's better than everyone being finished off together. Who knows, they might even meet up with the second batch of escort ships. If it's the Dingyuan and Zhenyuan that come, then we'll all be saved!" Shen Shouchang said as he used his binoculars to observe the Japanese fleet that had suddenly appeared, trying to identify the names of the enemy ships in order to respond accordingly.

  "Fang Boqian listened and thought for a moment, then said in a low voice: 'Qinghe, I won't hide it from you now. You know those two people who took our boat to Tianjin the other day? One is a red person in front of Zhong Dang. The other is the third son of the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi. Before going to Shanghai, I had a falling out with Ding Duizhang, so it's uncertain whether the two giant ships of Ding and Zhen will come this time...'"

  "Yi Tang brother... you said the Dingzhen two ships won't come?!"

  Fang Boqian's face fell. Shen Shouchang, seeing Fang Boqian like this, also knew the final outcome.

  The conference room on the Zhenyuan ship had a diagram of Japanese ships hanging in it. It seemed that the two leading warships at the front were... Yoshino and Shikishima, and the one behind was slightly smaller, estimated to be the Biwei! Shen Shouchang put away his binoculars and turned around to say to Ping Qian: "Yitang brother, now it's too late to say anything. Our most important thing is how to get through this difficulty. Except for Biwei, our three warships are far behind in speed compared to Yoshino and Shikishima. The Guangyi ship has rapid-fire guns, but the caliber is too small to have much effect on these two warships, only torpedoes can be used. However, we are at a disadvantage in terms of range. As for the Weiyuan ship, it's even more useless. At this point, our only option is to let Weiyuan and Guangyi go west first, hoping they can meet the second escort fleet. If the second escort fleet is led by Dingzhou and Zhenyuan, then come and rescue us. If not... then quickly turn around and retreat!

  "What can we do? One-on-one, we can't even take on the Biyue, Yoshino or Gen Island. Any one of them can sink us! And Gen Island is also one of Japan's 'Three Scenic Ships', specifically designed to counter the Ding and Town classes!" Fang Bokui said with some dismay.

  "Although Yan Island has a 12-inch main gun, its forward main turret rotation angle is small and not easy to aim. As long as we don't get in front of it, its rapid-fire guns can't penetrate our armor. Kiyoshima's main gun caliber is the same as ours, it may not dare to fight us to the death... Yi Tang brother, now order Guangyi and Weiyuan to leave first, or they will really be too late!" Shen Shouchang was encouraging Fang Boqian on one hand, while urging him to give orders for Guangyi and Weiyuan to retreat first.

  Fang Boqian raised his head to look at the three Japanese warships getting closer and closer in the distance, gritted his teeth and shouted: "Raise the flag number, let Weiyuan and Guangyi retreat westward at full speed, turn the bow towards the direction of the Japanese ship and advance, load the front and rear main guns with shells and prepare for battle at any time!"

  The orderly immediately conveyed Fang Boqian's order, and Weiyuan and Guangyi retreated westward as soon as they received the flag number command. However, these two relatively old warships were very slow, and whether they could escape depended on whether the Japanese dared to fire first and start a war. Of course, it was most realistic to see how much time Jiyuan could buy for them.

  After parting ways with Weiyuan and Guangyi, the Jiyuan ship turned its bow northward and charged towards the direction of the three Japanese warships. Fang Baqian walked out of the command platform and loudly asked the sailors on the deck who were standing in three rows: "Brothers of Jiyuan, I want to ask you, when you are off-duty, have I ever made things difficult for you?!"

  More than 200 Han people shouted in unison: "No!"

  "Has someone from our side ever whipped you indiscriminately?" Fang Boqian asked loudly.

  "No!"

  "One of us has always been kind to his younger brothers,"

  Don't shrink back when the time comes, we'll all fight together, no one can leave anyone behind. Without you, I'm nothing! Brothers, now we've encountered the Japanese... ***... it's three main battleships, Japan's flagship Kino and the specially assigned Sen Island to deal with Ding Town's two ships, and there's also a Bi Rui... Who dares to be a turtle at this time? Fang Boqian drew out his pistol from his waist and fired two shots into the sky: "Understood?!"

  More than 200 Han people shouted in unison: "Understood!"

  "Alright! Load the cannons and prepare to launch torpedoes at any moment! Dismiss the troops!" Fang Boqian shouted to his sailors.

  Back to the command platform, Fang Boqian's face no longer had the depressed expression from earlier. He picked up his binoculars and took a look at the Japanese fleet, then lowered his head and shouted into the speaking tube: "Pay attention to the rudder, slow down the ship, slowly get closer... Listen to my orders. Be ready to accelerate at any time. And be prepared to turn right full rudder!"

  Shen Shouchang laughed and said, "Yitang brother, you're also a graduate of the Fujian Naval Academy, and someone who has drunk foreign ink. How can you have such a bandit-like aura?"

  "Turn around and smile at him, spitting out a mouthful of saliva: "On this warship, among the ten sailors below, not even half of them can write, if you don't crack down hard, how can you control these lazy bums? Later, when you have a gun in your hand with bullets loaded, if you're on the upper deck and see that slacker, don't bother talking. One shot will kill him, I'll take responsibility! This battle has started, over 200 lives on this ship are all equal, regardless of high or low status. If one place is slack, isn't it going to get everyone killed? First, kill those who are slack, at this time, even if they're afraid of death, they have to fight with their lives!"

  Shen Shouchang nodded and said: "Beneficial brother said is, younger brother learned, no wonder you can be a leader, younger brother I can only be a big deputy..."

  "Hey! This commander's way is quite something! Deng Shichang's set is right. But that's the foreigners' method, we Chinese may not buy it! Look at how the Xiang Army and Huai Army fought against the Longhairs, they had to manage everything... Using both kindness and severity is the way to command troops, let's learn from it slowly later!" Fang Boqian said with some self-satisfaction.

  "Brother Yitang, look! The Japanese fleet is slowing down too!" Shen Shouchang listened to Fang Boqian's words while observing the movements of the Japanese fleet with binoculars. Seeing a change in the Japanese fleet, he immediately informed Fang Boqian.

  —

  "Fang Boqian took the telescope and said, 'They're waiting for the Beiyue. The Beiyue is several years older than our Jiyuan, slower in speed, and its firepower is no match. If I were Japanese, I could have started fighting with just the Yoshino and Sei Island, why wait for the Beiyue?'"

  "Tell the forward main gun, after we enter the enemy ship's range later, we will turn right full rudder and let the forward main gun take a lead shot at the Yoshino. Try to knock out its forward main gun!" Fang Boqian shouted from below, then ran to the ventilation pipe and shouted: "Slow speed, slow speed! Boiler pressure is ready to accelerate at any time!"

  At this time, a peculiar scene appeared on the sea area west of Jiyuan Bay - a Chinese warship and three Japanese warships slowly approached each other, both sides were in slow motion, all sailors were on high alert, like a bowstring pulled to its limit, the bow arms were trembling with sound, but the archer still held the bowstring tightly...

  At this time, Di Shen Shouchang couldn't help but feel a little admiration for Fang Boqian's fully focused appearance - in fact, he had always looked down on Fang Boqian, and even earlier, he still thought so in his heart. However, once Fang Boqian made up his mind to fight the Japanese, he didn't show any signs of fear, but instead reasonably mobilized to respond to the current crisis.

  Yoshino is in the middle, Naniwa is on Yoshino's left and slightly behind, while Takachiho is on the right. With this formation, Shenshouchang understood why Fang Baqian wanted to slowly approach and then suddenly accelerate with a full turn to starboard - the 12-inch main gun of Kishima had an extremely low accuracy rate, even if it hit Jiyuan, as long as it didn't hit a vital spot, there wouldn't be much problem. After turning full starboard, Kishima's 300mm main gun would be out of commission, while Yoshino was in the middle, and could use Kishima's hull to block Yoshino's 150mm quick-firing main guns that threatened Jiyuan. What remained for Jiyuan to face were Kishima's 120mm secondary guns that could attack on both sides.

  Shen Shouchang couldn't help but secretly admire him - Fang Beiqian was indeed a top student from the British Greenwich Naval Academy. The 300mm main cannon of Yoshino was intimidating, but it couldn't rotate and could only fire forward; as long as they weren't hit in the first round, after turning hard to starboard, Jiyuan would be able to completely avoid the attacks of Yoshino's 150mm main cannons, and Yoshino's 120mm quick-firing guns wouldn't be able to penetrate their armor. After passing by the Japanese fleet and heading north, although they would be slower than Yoshino and Kishino, the Japanese fleet would need to turn around to continue attacking, giving them a glimmer of hope; what's more, Jiyuan still had a 120mm rear main cannon that could continue attacking while crossing through the Japanese fleet formation, greatly increasing their chances of survival.

  "A bit further to the right, watch out for the main gun on Kiri Island, try to avoid it!" Shen Shouchang shouted into the ventilation pipe.

  Fang Boqian nodded and said to Shen Shouchang, "We're almost within the range of the artillery on the island. As long as we can dodge their first shot, we'll be much safer. I really don't understand what the Japanese are thinking."

  "What kind of warship is this? With a main cannon that can't even rotate, except for when the two armies meet in a big way, it's hard not to get hit and we'll just be stupidly standing there without knowing how to dodge it?"

  Shen Shouchang smiled and said, "Yitang brother, fortunately we only encountered one Sanjing warship. If all three came, we would have to face two such main guns in the front. After passing through their formation, there is still a 300mm rear main gun aiming at us, that would be a dead end! The Sanjing warship can only exert its greatest power when used together, and the threat is not so great when used alone. The only concern is that it is a new ship, and its speed is much faster than ours."

  "Isn't this enough? Do you think we're the Jingyuan or Dingyuan?! With a single hit from their shells, we'll be done for, and even if we avoid their main guns, the thirty-plus 120mm secondary guns on those three enemy warships will still finish us off!" Fang Bokui adjusted his naval cap with a smile.

  "Elevate the forward main gun port a bit more to the left, focus on Yoshino's forward main gun, and use the newly installed shells. Try to hit and destroy Yoshino's forward main gun or command center when we pass by the Japanese ship!" Fang Boqian shouted loudly to the signalman below the command tower.

  "Brother Yitang, I think it's a good idea to set the depth of the torpedo launch at a distance where we can pass through the Japanese fleet and then head northeast. We'll use the stern torpedo tube to attack the Kashima at an opportune moment. The three-inch guns on this ship are quite large, but its armor won't be able to withstand a torpedo hit like that. After we're done, we'll turn the bow of the ship northwest and leave!"

  "What a good idea! Unfortunately, we can't adjust the depth ourselves on the ship, or it wouldn't be so troublesome!" Fang Boqian said with a smile.

  "Attention all hands! Attention all hands! We are about to enter enemy firing range! Helmsman, stand by for my order to prepare for acceleration. Raise the J flag!" Fang Boqian shouted loudly.

  Fang Boqian clenched his fists tightly, the joints on his fingers were white, although the weather was still a bit cold, but fine beads of sweat had already appeared on his forehead under his naval cap. The Jiyuan ship had already raised the signal flag. As long as the Japanese fleet didn't fire, Fang Boqian wasn't going to fire either. Just now, it seemed that he and Shen Shouchang were chatting quite relaxedly, but at this moment, the Japanese fleet's strength was overwhelming, if possible, it would be best not to fight, he didn't want to use an egg to knock against a rock.

  "Attention, helmsman! My ship is entering enemy range, listen to my command, wait for me to count to ten, then accelerate right full rudder; Main gun attention, if the enemy ship opens fire on us, immediately return fire! One! Two! Three......" Fang Boqian's eyes were fixed tightly on the Japanese fleet that was already within arm's length, each count sounding like a desperate roar.

  "Boom!" A huge water lily rose from the surface of the sea thirty meters to the left of the Ji Yuan ship. At this time, Fang Boqian had just shouted "eight", Shen Shouchang saw through binoculars that the muzzle of the terrifying 300mm main gun on the Japanese island was still smoking, and subconsciously looked at the pocket watch in his hand - it was one o'clock in the afternoon, and the Japanese had opened fire and started the war!

  "Aim at Yoshino, fire!" Fang Boqian shouted loudly!

  With a loud "boom", Fang Boqian and Shen Shouchang felt the warship beneath their feet violently shaking for a moment, and then a burst of blue smoke rose from the twin main gun turret in front. Through the smoke, Fang Boqian's binoculars saw flashes of fire on the rapidly moving Yoshino ship - "Hit!" Fang Boqian and Shen Shouchang looked at each other, both seeing the smile in each other's eyes.

  "Attention on the helm! Hard right rudder, accelerate northeastward! Main gun No. 1 prepare to fire!" Fang Boqian roared.

  The Japanese cruiser Yoshino opened fire earlier than expected by Deng Shichang, who believed that the main gun had only one chance to fire in a sea battle. If he were in command, he would have waited until the Zhiyuan was closer before firing, hoping to sink it with one shot. However, the Japanese were too impatient and their 12-inch shells fell more than 30 meters short of the target, causing no damage except for splashing water on the Zhiyuan's hull.

  Deng Shichang suddenly accelerated the Jiyuan ship to full speed and turned hard to starboard, just as a dozen or so large splashes appeared in front of the original course, caused by shells fired from the Japanese ships Yoshino and Shirosima. Seeing these splashes, Deng Shichang and Shen Shouchang couldn't help but break out in cold sweat - if such large-caliber shells were to hit the Jiyuan ship, they would likely be completely finished.

  But what made Fang Boqin extremely angry was that he clearly saw the Yoshino being hit by two shells, but the water splash just now told him - the forward main gun of the Yoshino was still firing, where did the shell just now actually hit the Yoshino?

  This chapter is based on the Battle of Ganghwa Treaty in history, and the Japanese warships that participated in the battle were Yoshino, Naniwa and Akitsushima. The time in the book was March, but it was July in history; also, the main gun of the Genkai ship could not rotate basically, which is different from the main guns of Dingyuan and Zhenyuan.

  I was scolded as soon as I wrote it out. At first, I chose the Katsuragi, but after writing for a long time, I occasionally saw that the Katsuragi at that time was still under construction, and later changed to Matsushima. The photos of Matsushima I saw are also unknown what period they were taken in, with a shed covering the entire ship, and one of the main guns on Sankeikan is set at the stern, which is not indicated in my data either. Thanks for correcting me, ginyun.