Volume 1: The Battleship Yitian Changes into the Sino-Japanese War of 1894 Chapter 13: Caught by the Old Fox
When will the Chinese people look at history objectively and fairly?
Thinking of Li Hongzhang's lifelong endurance of humiliation, he stood up straight and saluted him in a proper manner according to the standards of college students' military training.
"I am Sun Gang, your humble servant, and I am here to pay my respects to His Excellency the Lord." He said in a loud voice.
Li Hongzhang looked at him with a smile, nodded to Ding Ruchang, waved at him, and motioned him to come forward.
"Today I am able to meet the man who discovered the secret of Japanese gunpowder. My trip to Weihai is worthwhile." Li Hongzhang said with a smile, "This young and heroic man is indeed extraordinary." He asked Sun Gang to come closer, took out a few photos from his sleeve and handed them to him, with a teasing look in his eyes.
Sun Gang took the photo respectfully, took a look at it, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead .
The photo showed the outline of a small boat, with Su Xin's cheerful figure and himself sitting beside the boat vaguely visible. This one photo was enough, and there was no need to look at the others.
Xiao Yuer's boat was too close at the time, so it must be someone on the Gaosheng who took the secret photo of them.
"Can you give me an explanation?" Li Hongzhang asked with a smile, feeling very happy about grabbing the young man's braid.
"That day you bribed my navy captain, secretly left the port in a small boat, and took away all the mines you made privately. The patrol reported to me. When I saw you making mines privately that day, I felt strange. I didn't expect you..." Ding Ruchang said loudly, but there seemed to be a hint of ridicule in his stern tone: "Tell the truth!"
"This..." Sun Gang, who was caught, was annoyed and said, "Your Excellency, General, I have personally witnessed Japan's frantic preparations for war in Japan. They want to invade the Qing Dynasty and regard our Beiyang Navy as a great enemy. They must get rid of it as soon as possible. Their wolfish ambitions are obvious. I have been worrying day and night and thinking hard about how to defeat the enemy. I have read about the American War of Independence when patriotic patriots carried mines and dived to blow up enemy ships. I was deeply inspired and recruited two or three death warriors and privately made magnetic mines to try. I was doing drills, hoping to have a try. Later, I heard that the Japanese were invading Korea very quickly, so I went out to the sea to observe the enemy situation in the waters of Fengdao Island. I carried mines for self-defense. Unexpectedly, I saw Japanese ships blocking our transport ships and forcing them with artillery. I dived under the enemy ships and placed mines on them, intending to blow them up to save our transport ships. Unexpectedly, the Japanese ships exploded violently. After I returned, I thought it was not a fair and upright act, so I did not dare to make it public. Unexpectedly, the Zhongtang and the military commanders were very observant. Since they asked me, I dared not not tell them the truth. "
Sun Gang's words shocked everyone. He glanced around and saw surprise on everyone's face. Fang Boqian was very calm. He made eye contact with him and smiled slightly, as if he had known about it for a long time.
"So that's how it is." Li Hongzhang said in surprise, "Just a few mines can send a large ship to the bottom of the sea, and no one on the ship survived. This kind of warfare method is something I have never heard of..."
"I think that these mines are too weak to destroy the entire ship. The reason why the Japanese ship exploded violently is that the mines triggered the explosion of the ammunition on the ship." Sun Gang said: "I never thought there would be such a result."
"There is one thing I don't understand." Li Hongzhang was not easy to fool. He immediately pointed out some key issues. "How can you be sure that the Japanese will intercept our transport ship with Fengdao on that day? How do you determine the tactics, time and location of such a surprise attack? You must know that if you make a mistake, you will die without a burial place."
Oh no, how to explain this? You can't say that you traveled from the future, right? Can you predict the future? Only a ghost would believe it! His mind was spinning rapidly. Seeing that he was sweating, Ding Ruchang thought that he was frightened by what he said just now, so he comforted him gently: "Master Zhongtang just wants to know the truth of this battle, and has no intention of blaming you. You can answer without worry."
Sun Gang calmed down and had already thought of a good excuse. He coughed and said, "Your Excellency, General, I have been good at reasoning since I was young and have a lot of experience in this area. I have deduced the time and location of this operation based on some details."
"The art of reasoning?" Li Hongzhang looked at him in surprise. The naval generals around him also looked confused. "Tell me more details." Li Hongzhang said again.
"This technique is not magical. The key is to infer the whole of things from some tiny details. For example, as the old saying goes, 'A leopard can be seen through a tube.' If you know the color and size of the fur of this spot, you can infer the whole appearance of the leopard." Sun Gang said: "For example, when the Lord Zhongtang received a telegram, although it only contained a few numbers, he could infer the general situation of the matter based on his experience. This is also a technique of reasoning."
Li Hongzhang nodded unconsciously. Sun Gang calmed down a little and continued, "Fengdao is the main navigation route from Japan to Incheon. It is also a must-pass place for the route from the Qing Dynasty to Asan. The sea near the island is narrow in the north and wide in the south, with deep water and few reefs, which can accommodate large ships. If the Japanese hear that our country has sent troops to Korea, the Japanese ships will set up an ambush here, and the consequences will be worrying. I am responsible for collecting news and heard from coastal fishermen that Japanese ships frequently appear there. I boldly speculate that the Japanese ships must have made some moves recently, but there is no evidence for the speculation, so I cannot report it to General Ding. Therefore, I went out to sea to explore there without asking for permission, and carried mines just in case..." (This is complete nonsense, looking for excuses for his actions, don't believe it)
"In the end you got a good deal." An officer said enviously.
"Who helped you succeed?" Li Hongzhang nodded approvingly and asked again.
"I have a good friend who is very good at diving. I also hired two pearl divers as helpers." Sun Gang replied, "There were only four of us at the time. We didn't expect to succeed in one strike. It was really a fluke."
"I wonder what the Japanese would think if they knew that there was a woman among those who sank their warship." Li Hongzhang was shocked, then nodded slightly and sighed, "You dare to think and do it. You have achieved such a great feat at such a young age..."
"I'm afraid the achievement of the 'Jiyuan' sinking the 'Naniwa' may have to be changed..." Ding Ruchang whispered to Li Hongzhang.
"I don't think it's necessary." Sun Gang said respectfully, "Let Lord Fang take all the credit."
"Why is this?" Li Hongzhang asked in surprise. Ding Ruchang was also surprised. Fang Boqian beside him was shocked but did not say anything.
"In this battle, the Japanese side used the superior force of three main warships to sneak attack our army, but unexpectedly suffered a great loss. We should vigorously publicize the record of the 'Jiyuan' destroying one enemy ship and injuring one enemy ship despite being at a disadvantage. The Japanese will be discouraged when they hear about it and will not dare to attack our army lightly. When our army officers and soldiers hear about it, their morale will surely be greatly boosted. This is a tactic to win over the hearts and minds of the people." Sun Gang felt Fang Boqian's grateful gaze, pretended not to know, and continued: "In addition, the Lord Zhongtang can also use this to respond to the slander in the court."
"What do you mean?" Li Hongzhang asked in confusion.
