Chapter 34

Amidst the flames and smoke, shells crisscrossed like a dense rain. In the rear of the Combined Fleet, the "Seikyo Maru," a merchant ship converted for military use, had already abandoned its comrades and fled at full speed.

The Japanese sailors on the "Seikyo Maru" were farmers who had been temporarily conscripted and had not received systematic training. At the beginning of the battle, they were hesitant and clumsy, and the four 120mm rapid-fire guns on board had only fired fewer than 30 shells. Major General Katsunori Kasumi, who was observing the battle from the "Seikyo Maru," often flew into a rage due to the inefficiency of these sailors and personally roared to urge them on.

Now, the Beiyang Fleet was only 1,000 meters away. At this critical moment, the potential of these Japanese sailors suddenly burst forth. A group of them frantically operated the fans to supply more air to the boiler room. Due to the pervasive coal dust and unbearable heat, the boiler room, which was usually avoided, was now overcrowded. The Japanese sailors on the "Seikyo Maru" only regretted that the designers had equipped this merchant ship with only a few boilers, making its speed of 12 knots far too slow.

Katsunori Kasumi sat in his luxurious private cabin, his eyes vacant and his mind in despair. This voyage was originally intended to witness a grand naval battle like the Battle of Pungdo, but instead, they had encountered the entire Qing Navy's main force! Not only that, but the enemy had ignored the main force of the Combined Fleet and charged straight toward them!

A few hundred meters away, the "Hiei" was still stubbornly floating on the sea, but a series of catastrophic ammunition explosions and a severe 20-degree tilt had already signaled the end of this once-proud ironclad, one of the three famous ships of the Japanese Navy. Although the "Hiei" was old, with weak guns and thin armor, it was still a usable ironclad. However, it could not even withstand a single salvo from the German battleship's main guns!

If the "Hiei" was doomed, what about the "Seikyo Maru"? This ship, originally a merchant vessel, had been hastily converted for military use, equipped with only a few small-caliber guns, and was listed as a "cruiser" in the Combined Fleet's order of battle. Although its displacement exceeded 2,900 tons, its structural strength was far below that of a warship, and it had no armor protection. If it were hit by the main guns of the German battleship, it would...

At this thought, Katsunori Kasumi felt a chill run through his body. The only consolation was that the "Seikyo Maru" had already completed its turn, and its speed of 12 knots was faster than the "Fusou" and "Akagi" behind it. He could only hope that the Qing fleet would not consider this converted merchant ship worth targeting and would ignore it.

"May the Sun Goddess protect us... May the Sun Goddess protect us..." Katsunori Kasumi clasped his hands together and murmured, his voice trembling with tension.

"Boom!" The ship suddenly shook violently, and Katsunori Kasumi was thrown from the sofa to the floor, his body aching with pain. His subordinates hurriedly helped the 60-year-old major general to his feet, asking anxiously, "General, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Katsunori Kasumi slowly shook his head, indicating that he was not seriously injured, but his pale face betrayed the intense pain he was enduring. Shortly after, a sailor reported that a shell had hit the aft deck, completely destroying the aft bridge, but fortunately, the "Seikyo Maru" had not slowed down.

"Quick, help me see!" Katsunori Kasumi, who had been slumped on the sofa, suddenly struggled to stand up. His subordinates did not hesitate to support him as he slowly walked out of the cabin at the bow. The Japanese sailors, seeing their major general emerge, suppressed their fear and saluted him.

On the aft deck, over a dozen Japanese sailors were frantically fighting the fire. The shell, filled with old black powder, had a less powerful explosion compared to the modern picric acid shells used by the Japanese Navy. Despite the "Seikyo Maru's" fragile structure, it had managed to withstand the impact. As the fire was visibly being brought under control, Katsunori Kasumi felt a great relief, and for the first time in minutes, a faint smile appeared on his weathered face.

But when he thought about how Ito Sukeyuki's incompetent command had allowed the Qing fleet to exploit the situation, putting the entire rear of the fleet in grave danger, his anger flared up again. Katsunori Kasumi resolved to write to the Emperor upon his return, demanding the immediate dismissal of Ito Sukeyuki as the commander of the Combined Fleet to assuage his anger!

"Ito, you wait, I'll have your skin when I get back!"

At that moment, shells whizzed past, striking the sea around the "Seikyo Maru," sending waves and water columns skyward. The "Seikyo Maru," navigating skillfully amidst the rain of fire, managed to avoid all the shells and fled rapidly away from the Beiyang Fleet. The scene made Katsunori Kasumi's heart race like a roller coaster, but after several rounds of firing, seeing that the "Seikyo Maru" had not been hit again, his heart finally calmed down. He bravely walked to the stern, intending to check the status of the two ships behind him, when a massive red and purple explosion erupted in the distance, blinding him.

"Boom!" A thunderous sound, like a prehistoric beast's roar, deafened his ears. Katsunori Kasumi's vision went black as an unimaginable shock wave hit his chest, causing him to spew blood and fly through the air. If not for the railings, he would have been sent to the bottom of the sea.

He faintly heard the screams of the Japanese sailors and smelled the strong odor of gunpowder and blood. Katsunori Kasumi, in excruciating pain, could not help but cry out in despair, wondering why the Qing warships, instead of targeting the nearby "Fusou" ironclad, were relentlessly attacking this harmless ship.

---

To understand this, we need to look at the original purpose of the Beiyang Fleet's mission.

Since the declaration of war between China and Japan, both navies had primarily been escorting their respective army transport fleets. The main force of the Beiyang Fleet had gathered at Dae Dong Port not to engage in a decisive fleet battle, but to escort 4,000 troops to land here. When they saw the "Akagi" and "Seikyo Maru," which looked very different from conventional warships, all the Beiyang Fleet commanders instinctively assumed they were Japanese troop transports. To avenge the sinking of the "Kowshing" at the Battle of Pungdo, the Beiyang warships gave these two ships, which resembled transport ships, special "attention." Seeing one of the "troop transports" fleeing, they naturally targeted it.

At 1:20 PM, a 283mm shell fired from the "Kaiyuan's" mid-ship main gun hit the "Seikyo Maru," which was fleeing at full speed. Although the mid-ship main gun of the "Kaiyuan" had a shorter barrel and a lower initial velocity compared to the bow and stern guns, the shell's weight and explosive charge were undiminished. The 240-kilogram shell easily penetrated the thin steel hull of the "Seikyo Maru," causing a deafening explosion. In an instant, the entire stern of the "Seikyo Maru" was shattered, with debris and objects flying everywhere. Seawater rushed in through the breach, and nearly ten Japanese sailors in the steering room were instantly drowned without a chance to cry out.

After such a severe hit, the "Seikyo Maru" began to take on large amounts of water, and its speed dropped to a pitiful 5 knots. Despite the sailors' desperate efforts to plug the leaks, seawater continued to pour in through the breach. The "Seikyo Maru," originally a merchant ship with poorly designed watertight compartments, saw the seawater surge through the ship, and within five minutes, the aft deck had sunk halfway.

Amid the cheers of the Beiyang Fleet's crew, the bombardment intensified. The Hotchkiss heavy machine guns rained down like a storm, with most of the shells targeting the "Seikyo Maru" over 1,000 meters away. The ship's compartments exploded, the deck was shattered, and the Japanese sailors were forced to flee, some hit by burning beams, others pierced by flying shrapnel, and still others blown apart by direct hits from the shells. Some clever sailors clung to wooden boards and jumped into the sea to escape.

So far, Colonel Claude was satisfied with the performance of his battleship. In the 20-minute engagement, the "Kaiyuan" had hit the "Kashima," "Hiei," and "Seikyo Maru," with the latter two's sinking being a foregone conclusion. Now, the target was the "Fusou," the only slightly larger third-class ironclad in the rear of the Combined Fleet. Although it was fleeing, its 240mm guns were still formidable and could not be underestimated. With the Japanese First Flying Squadron already out of sight on the right flank of the Beiyang Fleet, the rear main guns had lost their target. Claude analyzed the situation and ordered, "Turn the battleship two points to the right, rotate the rear main guns, and attack the 'Fusou' with full force!"

PS: This is the second chapter of today. Starting tomorrow, the author will be working, and can only return home at 6:30 PM, so updates will only be possible between 10:30 PM and 11:30 PM. Autumn Moon is a slow writer, usually taking nearly 4 hours to write 3,000 words, which means that, except on weekends, all my free time will be spent writing. However, I will persist, so please give me some recommendations and favorites to encourage me...

Bow to thank nkj8084 and Miu-senpai for their generous support~~

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