Chapter 37

After holding out for 1 hour and 7 minutes, the "Chaoyong" could no longer withstand the flooding caused by the torpedo explosion and capsized in the Yellow Sea outside Dandong Gou at 14:05. Captain Huang Jianxun refused to abandon the ship and chose to stay with his old friend, a ship he had served on for nearly 10 years, to rest eternally in the vast Yellow Sea. Just 10 minutes later, the "Yangwei" also spewed flames and slowly sank into the surging waves outside Dandong Gou.

So far, the Beiyang Fleet had sunk four warships of the Combined Fleet, but the overall situation of the battle remained unclear. Although the Beiyang Fleet had achieved a significant tactical success in terms of tonnage sunk, the black powder used in their shells had very little explosive power. Despite hitting Japanese warships multiple times, they failed to cause significant damage. Apart from the "Kōbu," the other seven main cruisers of the Combined Fleet suffered little damage and still had a clear advantage in the number of guns, rate of fire, and explosive power. The main force of the Combined Fleet had already completed a turn and was now using its undamaged port-side firepower to bombard the Beiyang Fleet from 3,000 meters away!

Shells rained down, and flames lit up the sky. Countless water columns shot up into the air, and orange and purple light waves frequently exploded on the warships. After an unknown period, the nearly 10,000 officers and men of both sides noticed that the sky had darkened. Looking up, they saw that the black coal smoke had completely obscured the sky!

The waves surged, and debris floated. Seeing their comrades in distress, the four torpedo boats of the Beiyang Fleet stopped their rush to the battlefield and began to rescue their fellow soldiers who were just a stone's throw away. As long ropes and lifebuoys were thrown into the sea, the surviving officers and men of the "Chaoyong" and "Yangwei," who had been struggling in the water for nearly half an hour, finally received help from their own side. As they climbed up the ladders onto the torpedo boats, the familiar and solid deck beneath their feet made these surviving sailors feel as if they had entered a different world. Some sailors, seeing their close friends and relatives struggle ashore and escape danger, hugged them tightly, crying and laughing, without caring about the wet seawater on their bodies.

Captain Cai Tinggan of the torpedo boat "Fulong" stood by the side, watching one by one the drenched sailors of the friendly ships climb onto the boat with difficulty. The heavy stone in his heart finally fell. After sinking the "Chaoyong" and "Yangwei," the First Flying Squadron of the Japanese seemed eager to perform tactical maneuvers and left in a hurry, leaving no time to deal with the Beiyang Fleet sailors who had fallen into the water. Seeing this, the two ships and four torpedo boats decided to split into two groups: the "Pingyuan" and "Guangbing" headed straight for the Combined Fleet's flagship "Matsushima," while the remaining four torpedo boats rushed to the sinking site to rescue the Beiyang Fleet sailors who had fallen into the water.

Scanning the surroundings, Cai Tinggan suddenly caught sight of a familiar figure and was startled. Looking closely, he saw that the middle-aged man who had just been rescued was none other than the captain of the "Yangwei," Lin Lüzong! He walked up quickly and punched the middle-aged man on the chest, laughing, "Lin Shaogu, you're really still alive! I thought the sharks had eaten all your bones!"

Due to being in the water for too long, Lin Lüzong's face was blue and purple, and his skin was covered with wrinkles. Being punched by Cai Tinggan, he began to cough violently. After a while, he said in a hoarse voice, "I'm tough, even the King of Hell wouldn't take me, let alone a few white sharks or the Japanese! Besides, I haven't seen the Japanese navy completely annihilated yet, how could I die now?" As he spoke, a fish suddenly darted out from his sleeve, flapped on the deck for a moment, and then plunged back into the vast sea.

Seeing Lin Lüzong's lips turn blue, Cai Tinggan, who had served in the navy for a long time, knew it was due to dehydration from being in the water for too long. He unfastened his water bag and handed it over, saying, "My ship has been towing troop barges in Dandong Harbor. We just cut the ropes and rushed here. Where is our main fleet? How is the battle going now?"

At that moment, the sound of gunfire echoed, and the sky and sea turned red. Looking around, almost all the warships of both sides were engulfed in raging flames, and the colors flickered under the black coal smoke. Lin Lüzong took a deep breath, trying to push the tragic scene of the "Yangwei" sinking out of his mind, and said slowly, "Although the 'Chaoyong' and 'Yangwei' have sunk, two troop transports and two warships of the Japanese rear guard have also been sunk by our Beiyang Fleet. It has been half an hour since the first phase of the battle. If my guess is correct, the decisive moment is now!"

As he spoke, a dozen-meter-long purple-red light suddenly surged from the formation of the Combined Fleet, like a raging fire dragon and a rainbow spanning the sky. Lin Lüzong pointed to the slowly dissipating flames and said to Cai Tinggan with a sneer, "That is the 320mm giant gun that the Japanese spent a fortune on. Despite its fierce power and impressive momentum, it is nothing but a showy pillow. Since the battle began, each gun has only fired an average of two shells, and not one has landed within 200 meters of our Beiyang warships. How can it compare to the large ironclad warship operated by the Germans, which is both powerful and accurate? If we win this battle, this ironclad warship will have played a significant role. The court's investment in buying it from the Germans was indeed worth it!"

Seeing Cai Tinggan standing there like a wooden chicken, his face full of fear, Lin Lüzong thought he was intimidated by the main gun of the Japanese warship and could not help but get angry, "Cai Yaotang, are you afraid of something that looks good on paper? Even if it is invincible, what use is it if it can't hit anyone?"

Cai Tinggan said in a hoarse voice, "Brother Shaogu, that shell... it seems to have hit..."

"Boom!" The shock wave from the explosion swept like a hurricane, and Lin Lüzong felt as if thousands of thunderclaps were exploding in his ears. Turning his head, he saw a towering wall of fire and smoke erupt from the stern of the battleship "Kaiyuan." The flames and the roar were so intense that they were even more powerful than when the cruiser "Kōbu" was hit!

The Japanese sailors of the Combined Fleet cheered, shouting in unison, "Long live the Emperor, the Empire is unparalleled! Long live the Emperor, the Empire is unparalleled!"

Lin Lüzong was terrified, his eyes fixed on the "Kaiyuan" battleship struggling in the flames. For a long time, he could not believe his eyes. The 320mm guns of the Japanese were notoriously inaccurate, as he had clearly experienced during the previous hour of battle. Why did they suddenly hit the "Kaiyuan" with such divine accuracy this time?

Seeing this scene, the commander of the First Flying Squadron, Heihachirō Ping, was so excited that his body trembled. In the two hours since the battle began, this evil German battleship had hit several ships of the Combined Fleet, and three ships had been sunk directly or indirectly by its guns. Its six 283mm guns were highly accurate and extremely powerful. If the First Flying Squadron could sink it, it would severely demoralize the Qing forces, and as the commander of the First Flying Squadron, he would enjoy the unparalleled honor of being the first to sink a 10,000-ton battleship, both domestically and internationally!

However, Heihachirō Ping still had some concerns. The scene of the "Kōbu" being hit was still fresh in his mind, and the 305mm guns of the "Dingyuan" ironclad were a deterrent that made him hesitant to approach. Closing in for a close-range battle could sink the enemy ship, but if it counterattacked, the four sunken ships of the Combined Fleet would be a warning!

As he hesitated, several more shells exploded on the "Kaiyuan" battleship, sending shock waves and flames in all directions. Heihachirō Ping clearly saw a thick column of smoke rise from the front of the "Kaiyuan," followed by a massive purple and red explosion. The brilliance was so intense that it seemed to have been hit by another 320mm shell!

"Propellant! We must have triggered the propellant in their turret!" Heihachirō Ping's mind flashed, and he was overjoyed, shouting, "The enemy has lost both its forward and rear firepower. If we don't take this opportunity, when will we? Pass my order: the First Flying Squadron will immediately close in on the Qing fleet and concentrate all fire on the 'Kaiyuan'!"

Led by the "Yoshino," the four cruisers of the First Flying Squadron began to accelerate, cutting diagonally toward the "Kaiyuan" battleship. At a distance of about 2,000 meters, the four cruisers concentrated more than 20 120mm or 152mm quick-firing guns and fired fiercely at the "Kaiyuan." Although the "Dingyuan," "Zhiyuan," and "Jingyuan" tried their best to support with their guns, the slow rate of fire and poor quality of the Beiyang Fleet's shells made it difficult to cause effective damage to the Japanese warships. Only the 305mm shells of the "Dingyuan" could pose a serious threat!

"Boom! Boom!" The ship's compartments and decks were hit by shells one after another. The "Kaiyuan" battleship was now a dragon engulfed in flames. The shells hit the waterline armor and exploded, bouncing back and splashing water into the sea. In the armored command tower, protected by 300mm thick armor, Captain Claude remained calm, showing no signs of panic even under the concentrated fire of four Japanese cruisers. The battleship was equipped with powerful auxiliary machinery for firefighting and drainage from the beginning of its construction. As long as the main armor was not penetrated, the "Kaiyuan" could remain afloat!

"Whoosh..." As the pumps began to operate at full capacity, more than a dozen water jets shot into the air, suppressing the flames at the bow and stern. As the fire was visibly extinguished, the crew in the only intact midship main turret did not waste a moment, loading and securing two shells weighing nearly half a ton. The rear gate closed, the turret rotated, and the black muzzles adjusted up and down, finally aiming at the cruiser "Kōbu."

"Fire!"

A thunderous explosion, and red light burst forth. Two 240kg shells, traveling at twice the speed of sound (685 meters per second), roared through the air!

In less than 4 seconds, a deafening explosion erupted in the formation of the First Flying Squadron. A 283mm shell, like a meteor, easily penetrated the 76mm inclined armor of the "Kōbu," piercing through two decks and exploding in the ammunition hold. Although most of the ammunition had been moved to the deck before the battle, some remained. The picric acid, highly reactive, ignited instantly upon sensing the intense shock wave and heat, causing an uncontrollable explosion. The "Kōbu" shook violently, and its entire bow was blown into thousands of pieces. Hundreds of tons of seawater rushed in, extinguishing the raging fire in an instant. A few minutes later, the 3,650-ton cruiser disappeared beneath the waves, leaving only some debris and oil floating on the surface.

PS: The second chapter is completed on time, as promised. Please add to your favorites!