Volume 1: The Battleship Yitian Changes into the Sino-Japanese War of 1894 Chapter 29 Bloody Yellow Sea
Sun Gang seemed to be able to feel the whistling shells sinking straight into the hull of "Matsushima". A flash of red light seemed to pierce his eyes, followed by a deafening noise. A huge force seemed to lift "Matsushima" off the sea and it fell heavily. The entire hull shattered in an instant and was engulfed in flames and smoke.
The officers and soldiers on the Dingyuan screamed like crazy, but their screams were soon drowned out by the loud explosion. In the billowing smoke produced by the explosion, Sun Gang seemed to be able to see half of the bow of the Matsushima still exposed on the sea.
The sinking of the flagship obviously caused a great shock to the Japanese fleet. The formation of the Japanese fleet showed obvious signs of chaos. The morale of the warships of the Beiyang Fleet was greatly boosted, and they rushed up one after another. The warships of both sides immediately entangled together and began to fire at close range. Suddenly, two warships appeared behind the Japanese fleet. Liu Buchan was stunned until he saw the fluttering dragon flag, and then he came to his senses.
"The weasel is back again! Humph!" He sneered angrily.
At this moment, "Jiyuan " and "Guangjia" had rushed to the front. "Jiyuan" and "Guangjia", which had not been hit by many shells, seemed particularly dazzling at this time. The 210mm main gun on the bow of "Jiyuan" suddenly began to fire at "Yandao". The stern of "Yandao" exploded immediately, probably because the engine was destroyed. "Yandao" slowly stopped and would not move, but the guns on the side were still spitting flames at the Beiyang Fleet. Both sides were a little confused at this time, and they fired desperately at the nearest enemy warships.
The entire sea was boiling like a boiling pot at this time. Countless near misses raised high water columns around the warships. One warship after another was hit and caught fire. The billowing smoke obscured the sun in the sky, as if the night had come early. Only the fire from the artillery firing illuminated the sky and sea covered by gunpowder like a sunset glow.
The setting sun is blood-red.
The "Yan Dao" was trapped in the siege and tried desperately to get out of the predicament, but was hit hard by the crossfire of the Beiyang Fleet warships. At this time, none of the Beiyang Fleet warships retreated, and even the "Yang Wei" with almost half of its hull submerged in the water slowly caught up. The gunners stepped on the sea water and tried to load and fire! Watching the "Yang Wei" trembling and struggling to fire a shot at the "Yan Dao", Sun Gang's tears blurred his eyes again.
Who says there are no real soldiers in China at this time ? The bravery, tenacity and fearlessness of sacrifice shown by the officers and soldiers of the Beiyang Fleet are enough to shine in history!
At this time, the officers and soldiers on the "Yang Wei" ship seemed to be trying to signal them with flags. When several officers commanding the battle saw them, they couldn't help crying. Sun Gang looked behind him and saw Ding Ruchang leaning there, crying out loud.
"Sir! 'Yang Wei' sent us a signal, saying that their mission has been completed! Asking us to avenge them!" A sailor said to Sun Gang crying.
At this time, the "Yang Wei" had disappeared on the sea! Only the dragon flag was still flying on the mast that was exposed above the water!
The warships of the Beiyang Fleet seemed to be mad with anger, and all the warships that could reach "Yandao" opened fire on it. Sun Gang wiped the tears from his eyes and saw that the "Pingyuan", which was on smaller fire and was riddled with holes, was trying to approach "Yandao". The 260mm main gun fired fiercely at its side. The violent explosion tore its hull apart in an instant. The hull of "Yandao" suddenly shook violently and caught fire. The Japanese on the ship were scrambling for lifebuoys and jumping into the water desperately. Then, amid a violent explosion, "Yandao" slowly capsized.
Bursts of explosions were heard again in the distant sea. The thick smoke obscured the sea surface, making it impossible to see the situation in the distance. The successive sinking of Japanese ships significantly weakened their firepower. "Takasago", "Takachiho" and "Akizuki" fired desperately to cover the "Chiyoda" and "Hashidate" which were already caught in heavy artillery fire. Two rounds of salvos once again killed the approaching "Jingyuan".
The battle between "Laiyuan" and "Pingyuan" started a big fire, but "Jingyuan", "Guangping", "Jiyuan" and "Guangjia" still kept firing at "Hashidate". "Chiyoda" finally broke out of the encirclement and joined the formation of "Takasago", but at this time, with the roar of the huge cannon of "Zhenyuan", "Hashidate" suddenly began to explode violently. The high burning column released billowing thick smoke. The firepower of the Beiyang Fleet ships was concentrated on it. After an unknown amount of time, "Hashidate" slowly disappeared on the sea.
The cannons of the Dingyuan ship stopped somehow, and only the other warships were still firing. After a while, the smoke dissipated and the figures of the four ships including the Takasago had become very small. The smoke columns in the distance reminded them of the direction of escape.
"Let's catch up! Why aren't they firing?" Liu Buchan shouted, waving his arms angrily.
"Sir, there is no one in the turret who can move." An officer said sadly: "The gunners, the engine men, all..."
"What!" Liu Buchan shouted angrily, "Chase them! Fire torpedoes! We can't let them get away like this!"
"We are too slow and can't catch up, sir." Another officer wiped the blood off his face and said.
Liu Buchan looked at the people around him slowly with a lost look, and suddenly a mouthful of blood spurted out, and he slowly fell on Sun Gang.
"Help come here!" Sun Gang shouted loudly, and several sailors ran over and carried Liu Buchan into the cabin.
Sun Gang looked at the sea full of gunpowder smoke. All the gunfires had fallen silent. The burning warships of the Beiyang Fleet slowly gathered together, still maintaining the formation at the beginning of the battle . The exhausted sailors tried to put out the fire and save themselves. In the distance, several torpedo boats and gunboats were heading this way. He subconsciously looked at his watch. It was already 3:45 in the afternoon. This thrilling and tragic naval battle had ended. It had lasted for five hours!
Around them, sailors and officers covered in blood slowly gathered.
