Volume 1: The Battleship Yitian Changes into the Sino-Japanese War of 1894 Chapter 6: Legendary Heroes
"Yuer, Yueer, what are you doing?" A clear voice came, and the door opened. A thin and elegant middle-aged man walked in. He was stunned when he saw his daughter with a strange man.
"Dad, you're back." Ma Yue winked at Sun Gang and generously introduced the man she called father: "This is Sun Gang, my classmate when I was studying in France, who just came back from Japan."
Sun Gang suppressed his awkward feeling, bowed politely to Ma Wenlong, and called him "Uncle."
"Nephew, there is no need to be so polite. Please take a seat." Ma Wenlong waved his hand, motioning him to sit down. This man looked very easy-going, which put Sun Gang's heart at ease. Ma Wenlong sat down opposite him, and Ma Yue stood naturally beside his father.
"My dear nephew is a good-looking person. I envy him. But I am childless and Yue'er has high standards." Ma Wenlong looked at Ma Yue lovingly, with a trace of pity in his eyes. He patted her hand gently and said meaningfully, "Yue'er's mother passed away early. She sometimes has a bad temper. My dear nephew, you should be more considerate of her."
"Dad, why are you saying this?" Ma Yue blushed, and seeing Sun Gang's smug look, she glared at him fiercely.
"Don't worry, uncle, haha." Sun Gang said quickly.
"The civil unrest in Jeolla Province, Korea is gradually spreading like wildfire. The Japanese are ready to make a move. General Ding is very worried." Ma Wenlong said, "Now that my dear nephew has returned from Japan, do you know what the situation is like there?" There seemed to be a trace of sadness on his face. He actually told him this as soon as they met. Sun Gang and Ma Yue looked at each other, and she nodded slightly encouragingly.
Yes, once the war breaks out, everything will be gone. How can we not be worried?
"I hurried back to China through Japan before I finished my studies, just for this matter." Sun Gang said solemnly, "I personally saw Japan mobilize the whole country, regard Korea as its forbidden fruit, and regard our Qing Dynasty as its imaginary enemy. The speed of its navy expansion is faintly showing the trend of defeating our Qing Dynasty. I learned in Japan that the Japanese replaced their warheads of naval guns with new gunpowder last year. The power is extremely strong, the flame will not be extinguished when it enters water, it can burn steel and iron, and its smoke is also poisonous. I have discovered the secret of their gunpowder. In order to protect our Qing Dynasty soldiers and civilians from being harmed, I have come here specially. I hope that my uncle will introduce Ding Junmen to explain the benefits and disadvantages here, so that our Beiyang Navy can prepare early."
Ma Wenlong looked at him in surprise, and after a while he said, "I didn't expect my nephew to have such insight and vision. I admire him."
Ma Yue secretly stretched out two fingers behind her father and playfully made a V-sign of victory. Sun Gang's little vanity was instantly greatly satisfied.
I have already taken the first step to change history.
"Boom!" There was a loud noise. Sun Gang stood there staggering, covering his ears. His eyes were wide open, his mind was blank, and his ears were buzzing. It seemed as if he was back to the time when he set off firecrackers during the New Year as a child, lit the firecrackers, held the incense in his hand and threw away the incense.
Su Xin and Ma Yue, who were hiding far away, ran over. Ma Yue looked at him in a daze nervously, checking whether he was injured or not. Su Xin looked at a big pit in the distance that was still smoking, and stuck out his tongue, "Damn! Just a little more than a small bottle and it exploded like this, isn't this too much?"
"Don't go over there! The smoke is poisonous!" Ma Yue frowned as she saw him trying to move forward and stopped him.
Sun Gang finally came back to his senses, feeling happy and worried. This bitter acid was indeed true. If he could successfully implement his Beiyang artillery shell "blood transfusion" plan, the chances of winning the war would undoubtedly increase a lot. However, would Ding Ruchang, who was high above him, believe him? Besides, the officers who studied abroad in the Beiyang Navy seemed to look down on this naval commander who was a cavalry division commander. The xenophobia of Fujianese in the fleet and the conflicts between foreign officers were both headaches for him. Li Hongzhang asked him to serve as the admiral of the Beiyang Navy out of trust in his fellow countrymen. Even if he agreed and supported his plan, would Li Hongzhang and the dead elm-headed melon seed bird court above him agree and give enough support? I can't remember which historical material said that Ding Ruchang requested funding to replace the main gun before the war, but it ended up in vain. What about the cost of "blood transfusion"? How much would it be? Could the two time travelers pay for it themselves? Could they afford it?
Thinking of this, Sun Gang suddenly felt overwhelmed and felt uncomfortable. Ma Yue found that he had not come to his senses yet, so she waved her hand in front of his eyes anxiously. He smiled bitterly and gently held her hand.
"Miss, Miss, the master wants you and Mr. Sun to go back quickly. The master said he wants to take Mr. Sun to meet General Ding." A servant ran over and shouted from afar.
Sun Gang touched the two small bottles left in his pocket. His hesitant eyes met Ma Yue's concerned eyes. His heart couldn't help but warm up. No matter whether it would succeed or not, how could he know without trying!
There was no expected strict guard and majestic authority. The commander of the First Naval Fleet of the Qing Dynasty was actually a thin and old-looking soldier. His face was full of wrinkles, showing that he had been through a lot of hardships. His eyes were sharp but a little melancholy. Yes, in this special era, this brave warrior from the old army was facing a fleet that was too technical for him. He had to learn many things from scratch and even had to endure the contempt of his subordinates and the nonsense of some lunatics in that damn court. Thinking of his possible future ending, Sun Gang felt a dull pain in his heart, which diluted the awe he felt when meeting senior leaders.
Ding Ruchang met him in a very simple small living room. There was actually another tall officer present with a square and honest face and a pair of bright eyes. Sun Gang felt like he was familiar to him but he could n't put his finger it.
The officer was looking at Sun Gang carefully, with a barely perceptible light flashing in his eyes. Ma Wenlong exchanged a few words with Ding Ruchang and introduced Sun Gang to Ding Ruchang. Sun Gang bowed to Ding Ruchang. Ding Ruchang stared at Sun Gang for a long time and laughed, "Brother Ma is here. I am too arrogant to call you my nephew. I have heard that Brother Ma praised my nephew highly. Today, I saw that it was true." He introduced the officer, "This is my favorite general, Deng Shichang, the deputy general of the Central Army of the Beiyang Navy and the captain of the Zhiyuan ship. I heard that my nephew had discovered the secret recipe of Japanese gunpowder. I don't know much about it, so I specially asked General Deng to come and discuss it with me. You have all been abroad, so get to know each other better."
Sun Gang was shocked. Although he had come here with some mental preparation, he was still very excited when he first saw the legendary hero. When he saw Deng Shichang walking towards him, he stretched out his hand as if possessed by a ghost.
Deng Shichang was slightly stunned, then he also reached out and held Sun Gang's hand tightly. Sun Gang's mind was confused, and a barely perceptible smile appeared on Deng Shichang's face, which made Sun Gang come back to his senses. He let go of his hand and smiled embarrassedly.
"What is the new type of gunpowder that the Japanese mentioned?" Ding Ruchang asked straight to the point.
"This substance is called picric acid, originally a yellow dye. It was first discovered by the British Wolfe, and later the Germans found that it could be detonated with a fuse. Its power is far greater than that of black powder. The French specially used it for military purposes and loaded it into artillery warheads. After passivation, this substance can become a high explosive called yellow gunpowder. After the Japanese Shimase formulated it, it was called Shimase gunpowder. It was equipped on naval guns at the beginning of last year. This new bomb has extremely strong explosive power. It can not only produce the same fragments and shock waves as black powder bombs, but also is accompanied by high-temperature flames. No matter whether it is steel, it will catch fire if hit by the cannon and it is difficult to extinguish. I am afraid that it will be harmful to the military and civilians of the Qing Dynasty, so I am bold enough to meet you and express my willingness to do my best to increase the strength of the Beiyang Navy and protect the safety of the people of the Qing Dynasty." Sun Gang said.
