Volume 1: The Battleship Yitian Changes into the Sino-Japanese War of 1894 Chapter 11 Fang Boqian's Visit
It was several days later when he returned to Lushun. After he returned to the base, some officers and soldiers told him that on August 1, the Qing Dynasty and Japan had declared war at the same time.
Because the Japanese sneak attack was despicable and they later turned the tables, accusing the Chinese warships of opening fire and destroying the "Naniwa" when the Japanese ship was about to "Gift", the Qing court could no longer tolerate it and resolutely declared war. The Japanese did not show weakness and declared war on the same day.
This was within his expectations, but the details of the battles of Guan and Fengdao in the official reports shown to him by the officers and soldiers were very different from what he knew.
According to the battle report of "Jiyuan", during the naval battle, "Jiyuan", "Guangyi" and "Yoshino" fought for a long time. The "Jiyuan" caught fire due to the front gun turret being hit. It hit "Yoshino" twice with the 150mm gun at the rear, causing it to escape after being severely damaged. The "Jiyuan" was injured, and the first officer Shen Shouchang, the second officer Ke Jianzhang, the student garrison Huang Chengxun, the sixth-rank military meritorious Wang Xishan and more than 30 officers and soldiers died heroically. The captain Fang Boqian was also injured. The "Guangyi" was destroyed, and more than 20 officers and soldiers were killed. The captain Lin Guoxiang and more than 70 other officers and soldiers were rescued by a passing British cruiser. At that time, the "Gaosheng" was intercepted by the "Naniwa". When the "Jiyuan" retreated, it fired a torpedo at the "Naniwa" and sank it. The "Gaosheng" took the opportunity to escape. The Japanese ship "Akitsune" fired and sank the "Caojiang" and then escaped. The captain Wang Yongfa and 83 officers and soldiers fell into the water and were rescued by the French cruiser that followed.
Sun Gang knew the battle report and was somewhat amused. He did not see where the Jiyuan was when the Naniwa intercepted the Gaosheng . Perhaps he did not notice it. However, it was not bad to put the blame on Fang Boqian for sinking the Naniwa, so as to avoid the trouble of Japanese spies in the future. As far as he knew, Japanese spies and bribed traitors were omnipresent during this period. Knowing the departure date of the Gaosheng was just a small case. The Japanese could even map the war zone in this area accurately to a well, and even knew how many people each province could send to fight better than China! It was not that he did not want to be a hero, but he was still concerned about Ma Yue. In this dangerous war era, protecting himself and his loved ones was the most important thing.
He warned Su Xin and the two girls not to tell anyone about the incident, no matter who they told, or their lives would be in danger. Seeing that he was not joking, they all agreed very seriously. However, Su Xin would sometimes giggle for no apparent reason, and everyone around him found it strange, but he was the only one who knew what was going on.
A few days later, Ma Yue came back. Fearing that the war would spread to Liaodong, she went there and arranged the business there. After running non-stop for so many days, she looked much haggard, which made Sun Gang feel distressed.
He simply didn't go to the Navy Office and stayed at home with her. Although she was happy, she didn't ask about his dangerous underwater attack plan (she didn't expect that it had been implemented and a boss had been killed). But when she heard people talking about the Korean War, she was worried (mainly worried about money, not women).
Sun Gang was not too worried. He thought that the battle of Fengdao had been a good start. For China, it was a good deal to exchange a torpedo cruiser and a small gunboat that could not fight for a Japanese main cruiser and an "ace" captain. (The Gaosheng survived and saved the lives of more than a thousand elite army officers and soldiers, which was an achievement he could never imagine in his lifetime.) In fact, what he wanted to know now was whether the Yoshino was injured or not, and whether it was as Fang Boqian said in the battle report. If he could know the details, it would be of great help to his "third soybean" plan.
The Japanese must still be confused about how the "Naniwa" sank. Their next move will definitely be adjusted. They shouldn't be as crazy as gamblers, right? Thinking of the crazy expressions of the guys in the Japanese base camp, Sun Gang couldn't help laughing.
Mr. Ma has been busy these days and has not been home at all. I have to enjoy some good fortune now. You guys can guess slowly.
Unfortunately, the good times didn’t last long. One day, he was having sex with Ma Yue in bed (indulging in promiscuity in broad daylight, you two will be punished for violating public morals), when Su Xin’s voice came from outside, “Sun Gang! Sun Gang! Where are you! Make a sound!”
"Why are you yelling in broad daylight? What's going on?!" Sun Gang poked his head out from under the quilt and asked loudly in annoyance.
"Master Fang from the Ding army's 'Jiyuan' is here to pick you up to go to Weihai!" Su Xin probably knew what he was doing, and answered tactfully while standing in the yard.
"Ah!" Sun Gang's heart skipped a beat. What was going on? Why did Ding Ruchang send Fang Boqian to find him? He was so shocked that he immediately became paralyzed.
Ma Yue came out from under the quilt with a rosy face, looked at him tenderly, and stroked his face. "If you have important business, go and come back early." She said softly.
Sun Gang reluctantly broke away from her arms, dressed neatly and ran out to the front hall, where an unfamiliar middle-aged officer was waiting. When he saw him come out, he immediately stood up and greeted him with a smile. Sun Gang noticed that his nose moved slightly, as if he smelled something, but he remained silent on the surface. Sun Gang then remembered that the guy in front of him seemed to have several concubines, the youngest of whom was 16 years old. He was an experienced person, and he must know what he was doing just now, damn it.
"I have long admired Lord Fang. I am honored to meet you today." Sun Gang walked up to him and clasped his fists.
"Mr. Sun, please don't mind. Just call me Yitang (Fang Boqian's courtesy name)." Fang Boqian said with a smile, "I have heard of your great name Jingming (it seems to be troublesome to not have a courtesy name in this era. This is what Ma Yue gave him after looking at the tea leaves on the table. Ding Ruchang and Deng Shichang both asked about it) for a long time. Fang was able to escape death and receive this honor, all thanks to you."
"Brother Yi, your words are too kind. I cannot live up to your words." Sun Gang was somewhat puzzled as to why he said that. "Brother Yi, what do you mean by that?"
"General Ding is anxious to see me, let's talk while we walk," Fang Boqian said.
"Sir Fang has severely damaged the Yoshino and sunk the Naniwa, giving the Japanese pirates a wake-up call and achieving unprecedented feats. I heard that you were also injured. I am just a scholar and I only know how to collect some information about the enemy for the Beiyang Navy. What contribution have I made?" The two men came out and Sun Gang asked on the way.
Fang Boqian looked at the guards around him and said to him, "Brother Jingming, please don't talk like that. If you hadn't found out the secret of the Japanese ammunition and replaced the shells on my ship with new ones, I would have been a ghost when you saw me today, haha." A trace of fear flashed across his face. "Brother, you were not on the ship that day, so you don't know the advantage of the Japanese rapid-fire guns. It's not an exaggeration to say that the bullets rained down like rain. My front battery suffered heavy casualties and the guns couldn't move. The front and rear batteries were separated by fire. If the rear gun hadn't hit the enemy with two consecutive shots, inflicting heavy damage to the enemy, all the officers and soldiers on my ship would have died under the Japanese artillery fire. It's not an exaggeration to say that you are the second parent of all the officers and soldiers on my ship."
Sun Gang understood immediately. Seeing that his left wrist was still wrapped in thick gauze, his face seemed to have burn marks, and his eyebrows were also burned. He could imagine the cruelty of this naval battle. "Brother Yi, what are you talking about? No matter how powerful the shells are, all the officers and soldiers on the ship must work together and cooperate tacitly to hit the Japanese pirates. Only then can it be effective. Brother Yi, don't underestimate yourself."
Sun Gang said to him solemnly: "Brother Yi and your brothers have suffered for the country this time. You are all the soldiers of the Qing Dynasty and the backbone of the Qing Dynasty! I would like to thank Brother Yi and all the brothers on behalf of the people of the Qing Dynasty. I hope that Brother Yi and my "Jiyuan" officers and soldiers will continue to work hard and win glory for the country." As he spoke, he bowed to Fang Boqian and the "Jiyuan" officers and soldiers around him.
Fang Boqian and the soldiers around him were all stunned. Sun Gang saw their inner excitement. In that era, the status of being a soldier was very low and they did not have much sense of honor. How could they not be moved to receive such evaluation!
