Chapter 27

As the night draws to a close and the stars retreat, the red sun rises, illuminating the nine heavens.

At noon on September 16th, accompanied by the roar of steam engines, the main force of the Beiyang Fleet arrived safely at the mouth of Dandong Gulf. A six-hour sea voyage was routine for the naval officers and men, but for the 4,000 soldiers of the Ming Army under the command of Liu Shengxiu, it was an unforgettable night. Most of them were experiencing their first sea voyage, and many suffered from seasickness. However, they still found the sea journey quite acceptable; after spending a night on the ship, they had already covered a distance that would have taken three days on land.

According to the original plan of Li Hongzhang, the Viceroy of Beiyang, the army group supporting Korea should have boarded merchant ships and sailed up the Yalu River to land. However, due to the shallow water at the mouth of Dandong Gulf, large ships could not pass without a high tide, so they had to unload at Dandong Port. To remedy the situation, Li Hongzhang had been urging the officials responsible for the cargo transport at Dandong Port since September 13th to gather a large number of civilian barges to quickly transport the army to Yizhou (now Sinuiju, North Korea), 15 nautical miles away.

Three days later, when the 4,000 soldiers of the Ming Army, aboard six transport ships (including one American cargo ship hired to carry supplies), arrived at Dandong Port, they found that only a few dozen civilian barges had arrived for the transfer! This situation made Liu Shengxiu, the commander of the Ming Army, extremely angry. After all, this time, the Ming Army in Dalian had mobilized almost all their forces, bringing nearly 500 horses and a large number of guns, cannons, supplies, and ammunition. The personnel and materials on the five transport ships had to be transferred using just these few small civilian barges. How long would it take to complete the landing?

On the nearby "Dingyuan" ironclad, Ding Ruchang, who had just returned to the bridge, saw the scene before him and felt a surge of anger in his chest. He took several deep breaths of the salty, warm sea air, forcing himself to suppress his anger. Ding Ruchang turned his gaze to the right and asked with a tone full of anxiety and irritation, "At this rate, when will the army reach Pyongyang to provide support? Zixiang, do you have any ideas?"

Liu Buzhan stared at a small boat struggling with the transfer operation. Several army soldiers were carefully stepping on narrow planks, moving from the troop transport to the swaying barge. He remained silent for a moment before speaking, "We can connect these civilian boats in groups of three or four with ropes to increase their stability, making it easier to transport heavy items like cannons. The fleet has four torpedo boats, which have a shallow draft and can navigate freely in the Yalu River. We can use them to assist in the transport! Once fully loaded, they can tow a group of barges to Yizhou, which will slightly speed up the unloading process."

Ding Ruchang's eyes lit up, and he nodded slightly, "Very well. Given the situation, we can only use this method to make up for the delay. Pass the order to have 'Fulong,' 'Youyi,' 'Youer,' and 'Youisan' leave the formation to assist in the transport. 'Pingyuan' and 'Guangbing' will remain here to provide security for the landing site."

Liu Buzhan opened his mouth, but remembering what Ding Ruchang had said to him the night before, he swallowed his words. At that moment, the straightforward German, Hans von Hanneken, approached inappropriately and asked in his unique German accent, "What about the main fleet?"

The naval commander ignored him, but the subsequent order provided the answer. The main fleet turned southwest and anchored in deep water 12 nautical miles from the mouth of Dandong Gulf to ensure the safe return of the transport ships. According to the Beiyang Navy's regulations, the anchored main formation still maintained a double-column formation. Due to the addition of the "Kaoyuan," a large battleship originally from Germany, it was left alone at the front. Ding Ruchang's decision not only recognized the importance of the deep-water channel for the return journey but also had a layer of "out of sight, out of mind" to it—each round trip for the barges was 30 nautical miles, and most of these civilian boats lacked expensive steam engines, relying instead on sails or oars.

"Please don't let us encounter the main force of the Japanese Navy at this moment..." Ding Ruchang silently prayed.

While the Beiyang Army was struggling to transfer to the land via civilian barges, hundreds of miles away at the mouth of the Daedong River in Korea, a similar bustling scene was unfolding. Freshwater, coal, and ammunition were being loaded onto white-painted warships by a group of small-statured sailors. The dark gun barrels, like the fangs of wolves, gleamed with an evil and bloodthirsty light under the sun. The entire area around the mouth of the Daedong River seemed to have opened the gates of hell, with cold winds and eerie howls.

"Hyaku, hyaku! (Faster, faster!)" A naval officer in a vice admiral's uniform stood on the forward deck of the "Matsushima," loudly and impatiently urging the sailors. He was about 50 years old, with an ordinary face. His eyes, like those of a weasel, darted around, occasionally revealing a cunning and vicious light. Due to his lifelong passion for the navy, diligence, and smoothness in dealing with people, Itō Sukeyuki had climbed to the rank of vice admiral by the age of 50 and became the first supreme commander of the Combined Fleet the following year.

Hearing slow footsteps on the gangway, Itō Sukeyuki thought a sailor was slacking off and slowing down, and he became furious. The Japanese Combined Fleet, being relatively new compared to the Beiyang Fleet, had superior ship performance but lacked enough qualified sailors. Many of the sailors on board were temporary hires recruited after the war broke out, lacking professional skills and military discipline. Two days ago, at the anchorage in Namyang Bay, a temporary sailor dropped a 45-kilogram, 152-millimeter shell while loading it, which could have had catastrophic consequences if it had exploded.

He stormed forward, ready to scold the undisciplined sailor. Halfway there, he suddenly saw the head of the Naval General Staff, Katsura Tarō, slowly rising above the deck line. Startled, he quickly put on a fawning face and said, "Minister, you were on the 'Seikiranshō,' what brings you to the 'Matsushima'?"

Katsura Tarō, with a narrow face and deep wrinkles from his advanced age, did not respond to Itō Sukeyuki's words but smiled at the vice admiral, "General, this time, I want to witness the grand scene of the Imperial Japanese Navy annihilating the Qing warships."

Itō Sukeyuki replied solemnly, "Please rest assured, Minister, I will present a scene even more glorious than the Battle of Pungdo to you!" He added with a proud expression, "How can the feeble 'Chaoyong' and 'Yangwei' and a few dilapidated torpedo boats of the Qing stand against the main force of the Imperial Japanese Navy?"

It turned out that, just as the Qing court's secret information about the departure time of the troop transport ships was stolen by the Japanese before the Battle of Pungdo, on September 14th, the Japanese headquarters received intelligence from spies in China. When the Beiyang Fleet escorted the troop transport ships to Dalian Port on the 14th, Ding Ruchang only dispatched weaker ships like the "Chaoyong" and "Yangwei," while the main fleet headed towards Chengshan Head. This misled the Japanese Combined Fleet's decision-makers, who mistakenly believed that the escorting Beiyang warships were only the "Chaoyong," "Yangwei," and a few torpedo boats. However, they did not expect that after a brief patrol at Chengshan Head, Ding Ruchang's main fleet returned to Dalian Port and joined the advance fleet.

Misjudging the strength of the Beiyang Fleet's escort, the Japanese naval leadership believed this operation would be a replay of the Battle of Pungdo and did not send their entire main force. The Naval General Staff, Katsura Tarō, insisted on accompanying the fleet to witness the easy victory. Due to his seniority and high rank, the naval officers could not refuse him and agreed to let him board the luxurious armed cruiser "Seikiranshō" to observe the battle from the rear. To enter shallow waters and attack the smaller Chinese ships, Itō Sukeyuki also brought the small gunboat "Akagi." In some books about the First Sino-Japanese War, the Battle of the Yalu River is described as a premeditated naval showdown, but this is incorrect. If it were a long-prepared decisive battle, why would the Japanese bring the "Seikiranshō" and "Akagi," which were not suitable for such a battle?

Katsura Tarō suddenly sighed softly and said with a sense of deep emotion, "Itō, to be honest, the thing I most look forward to in my life is to see the Qing Empire completely conquered and annexed by the Great Japanese Empire. The vast and fertile land of China has been occupied by them for too long; it is time for the Great Japanese Empire to take over. This national war is a heavy responsibility on your shoulders; success will establish an eternal imperial legacy, while failure will plunge us into an abyss from which we may never recover. I hope you will be vigilant and not make any mistakes."

"This old man, when did he become so poetic and start using such refined language like the Qing people?" Itō Sukeyuki muttered to himself, finding Katsura Tarō's words absurd. For over a month since the war began, the army had been feasting on the battlefield, defeating the Qing army with ease. The Combined Fleet, originally the main force, had been busy transporting supplies and equipment for the army. If not for the Battle of Pungdo, the Combined Fleet might have been forgotten by the public. How could he talk about such nonsense as "heavy responsibility on your shoulders"? If he didn't seize this opportunity to strike a heavy blow against the Qing transport fleet, the Combined Fleet would lose its status in the military.

Itō Sukeyuki cursed inwardly but showed a respectful face, nodding in agreement. Katsura Tarō, seeing the vice admiral commander of the Combined Fleet subdued, felt a sense of satisfaction. He cleared his throat and said, "The 'Matsushima' is about to complete its resupply, and the fleet is about to set sail. I won't stay and cause trouble. Itō, after this victory, the Combined Fleet will regain the public's attention, and we won't have to deal with the army's arrogance anymore!"

Itō Sukeyuki smiled fawningly and escorted the Naval General Staff off the flagship. He glanced at his pocket watch; it was already 2:00 PM. Most of the Japanese Combined Fleet's ships, anchored at the mouth of the Daedong River, had completed their resupply, with smoke rising from their chimneys as they prepared their boilers. He nodded and murmured, "Soro soro... ichi-ge masu! (It's about time... let's set sail!)"

At 5:00 PM on September 16th, the 12 warships of the Combined Fleet formed a long column and sailed out of the Daedong River, heading for their destination—Dandong Port.

The author has something to do tomorrow, so this chapter is posted early. Please give some favorites and recommendations!

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