"My lord, the enemy's speed is faster than ours, and we can't retreat!" Seeing the Guangyi heading towards the shore, and the three Japanese ships chasing after him, it was time for the Jiyuan to think about how to get out.

However, at this time, Jiyuan was already at full speed, and the Japanese ships that were in hot pursuit were not only not thrown away, but were getting closer and closer. However, at this moment, the Caojiang escorted the Gao Sheng.

Although Jiyuan's mission was to greet and escort the Gao Sheng, he couldn't hurt the Hequan, let alone Cao Jiang, who was not even as good as Guangyi.

Fang Boqian, who knew that he could not resist the Japanese army's strong ships and artillery, continued to evacuate westward, and at the same time informed Caojiang to withdraw quickly, but with the speed of Caojiang's 9 knots, where could he retreat?

At this time, Tsuboi Hangsan, who also saw Cao Jiang and Gao Sheng, ordered the three ships to disperse and intercept, but perhaps because he felt that it was too overkill to intercept Cao Jiang with the Izumi, he personally went to chase Jiyuan, Yoshino intercepted Cao Jiang, and Naniwa intercepted Gao Sheng. And this decision changed history.

Seeing that the Japanese ships were chasing after each other and getting closer and closer, the Jiyuan had already suffered heavy casualties at this time, and Wang Guocheng, the gunner of the tail battery, and Li Shimao, the water yong, continued to return fire in the tail battery, although they hit the Hequan with two shells, but still did not cause any damage to the Hequan.

Originally, the pursuit of the Yoshino in history was the Yoshino, and the history books said that it was seriously injured by the 3-4 guns of the Jiyuan tail gun and did not dare to chase it anymore, but considering the power of the naval guns used by the Jiyuan and the fact that the Yoshino quickly recovered its combat effectiveness, it should not be severely damaged, and the theory of heavy damage should still be put forward in order to boost morale and dilute Jiyuan's escape.

As for Yoshino's no longer chasing, it is estimated that it is the same as Naniwa no longer chasing Guangyi, who thinks that there is no need to suffer unnecessary losses, but now the situation is different, and Tsuboi Hangzo, who is sitting in Izumi, is full of self-confidence. It means that it must be sunk Jiyuan.

Seeing that it was useless to continue to escape, Fang Boqian, who was forced into a desperate situation, plucked up Yu Yong. Ordered the Jiyuan to reflexively fight, and finally the Jiyuan was sunk with 136 bullets in its body. Fang Boqian, the leader of Jiyuan, was hit in an artillery battle and died on the spot.

The Jiyuan's decisive counterattack hit 4 rounds of Izumi, except for one that penetrated the unprotected area of the upper part of the hull, the other three bombs did not damage the Izumi shipbuilding.

After being stopped by the Yoshino, the Caojiang, which knew that it was slow and had weak firepower, surrendered after burning the bunjin on the ship, and was escorted by the Yoshino to Gunsan Bay to meet the main force.

On the other side, the Naniwa, which intercepted the Gao Sheng, ordered the Gao Sheng to surrender after finding out that the Gao Sheng was a British steamer with a large number of Qing troops and heavy weapons on board, but the Qing troops on board asked the British captain to refuse to surrender and return to Dagukou. The two sides are at a stalemate.

After 4 hours of fruitless confrontation negotiations, Heihachiro Togo hung up the signal B flag and signaled that he would start attacking immediately, and the crew of the Gao Sheng, who understood the signal flag, began to jump into the sea to escape. The Naniwa began to fire at the Gao Sheng, the Gao Sheng was hit and sank, and the Japanese warship only rescued the British captain, the first mate, and a crew member and then left, until the next day, a passing French warship rescued more than 200 people, and about 1,000 people on the Gao Sheng died in the belly of the fish.

The first battle of the Sino-Japanese War ended in a complete victory for the Japanese.

On July 28, 82 Qing soldiers aboard the Caojiang were escorted from the Yaeyama to Sasebo, Japan. Thrown into prison. When they went ashore, the Japanese soldiers released whistles, rattle bells, and blow trumpets. Residents were deliberately invited to watch, and the Qing soldiers were divided into two teams to parade through the streets as a sign of humiliation.

Of course. Naturally, the Japanese did not say that they had fired the first shot, and on July 29, 1894, Tokyo's Jiji Shimbun reported: "The two countries then went to war. The Qing ships fired their guns first, and our ships responded to the battle."

However, although the responsibility for provoking the war was put on the head of the Beiyang Naval Division. However, the victory was won, and it was still necessary to make a big deal of publicity, and Tokyo's "Shiji Shimbun" wrote: "A telegram arriving from Pusan yesterday morning reported that at 7 o'clock on the morning of 25 July, near Toshima, because Qing warships fired artillery on us, our warships returned fire and responded to the battle, sinking the Qing warship Jiyuan, and a transport ship with 1,500 people was boarded, capturing the Qing warship and capturing the Qing warship on the river, and Guangyi fled to the west coast of Korea, and our side did not suffer any damage. ”

However, the great victory in the Battle of Toshima did not make all the Japanese elated, and Ito Hirobumi and Mutsu Munemitsu, who had just signed a treaty with the British, were very nervous after learning that the Naniwa had sunk the British steamer, and feared that the British would take the opportunity to interfere, so they summoned the acting British minister to Japan on the same day, Wadjit, and claimed: "If the Naniwa acts unjustly, the Japanese government will pay a considerable amount of compensation." ”

At the same time, far away in Berlin, at the Charlottenburg Palace, a discussion about the war was also underway.

"The Japanese did not declare war this time, and sank the Jiyuan of the Beiyang Naval Division, it is estimated that the whole Qing country is shocked now."

"Yes, the Japanese also claimed that the Qing army fired the cannon first, and the three ships of Izumi, Yoshino, and Naniwa combined were close to 15,000 tons. Who would believe that? Muntz sneered at the Japanese.

There are people here who understand, and no one will believe what the Japanese are propagating.

"But in any case, the Japanese won, and it was a big victory, if before the war the Japanese Navy still had great doubts about fighting with the Beiyang Naval Division, thinking that their chances of victory were slim, now it is different, this victory is a stimulus for the Japanese, giving them the confidence to fight with the Beiyang Naval Division."

Jochen found that after discovering that the war really started, he didn't have too many thoughts, maybe it was really like the saying "the ass decides the head", watching the defeat of the Qing army, Jochen did not feel sad and angry at all, and completely evaluated the victory of the Japanese from the perspective of a bystander.

"Yes, to escort the landing of the army, and knowing that the Japanese were moving nearby, they actually only dispatched one Jiyuan and two small warships to escort the escort, and this plan itself is full of loopholes. Such a plan is enough to prove that the Beiyang Naval Division did not think about how to face the real war at all. Muntz also commented on the expressions of both sides.

"Not only is there an obvious gap between the two engines in the battle plan, but if the Japanese claim that they have not suffered any damage in actual combat, if it is true, then it also means that they have become crushing in the performance of the ship. This gave the Japanese even more hope of victory. ”

"Except for the Dingzhen Second Ship, which still has a certain threat, the Japanese should not pay attention to other warships anymore." Frederick III said.

"Yes. Majesty, Jiyuan has sunk. There are only 6 main forces left in Beiyang, of which 4 cruisers and two are similar to Jiyuan, and the other two are slightly stronger, but they are still outdated in the face of the main force of the Japanese army. If the 3 Japanese ships can sink Jiyuan lightly, then they should also be able to sink these 4 ships lightly. Muntz replied.

"The exact battle report is not yet known, but we have to see if we can get some information from the Japanese side. It is estimated that this battle can also provide us with a lot of reference for future naval construction. Jochen said to Caprivi.

"Yes, Your Highness, the embassy in Japan will make a request to the Japanese side to get as much detailed information as possible."

"I remember that the Beiyang Naval Division had our retired German officers as advisers. When the war is over, if the man is still alive, call him home. "Frederick III

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"In addition, Alexander, let the Far East Fleet send warships there, Japan and Qing cannot only have this naval battle, I want you to watch every naval battle between Japan and Qing at the closest distance."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"But even though I won. But the Japanese side probably also had a headache, sinking the British ship, and it is estimated that the British will not give up. Frederick III laughed with some schadenfreude.

"I've heard that the British government is quite annoyed. It is estimated that the Japanese will soon be demanded. Caprivey, who had inquired from the British minister in Germany, said similarly gloatingly.

"I don't think so, the British may be tough on Japan at first, but in the end it will not work." Jochen spoke his mind on the sidelines.

"Oh? Why do you see it that way? Frederick III asked his son curiously.

"Because of the war. Britain had a huge interest in the Qing state, so it was likely that Japan would offend their interests by provoking the Qing state. Therefore, at first Britain would favor the Qing Kingdom. But if the Japanese can continue to win, then in the character of the British. They will change their attitude and stand on the side of the victor to maximize their interests, and the winner will not be blamed. ”

"You have said this before, because Japan will definitely win, so the British will favor Japan in a certain way in order to keep the Japanese from infringing on their own interests?" Frederick III mused, "Are you so sure that the Japanese will win?" ”

"Father, wasn't my attitude clear from the beginning?" Jochen said with a smile.

"Yes, from the beginning you believed that Japan would win. So if Japan will win, how can we guarantee our interests in the Far East? Frederick then asked.

"Father, if we want to guarantee our interests in the Far East, we must ensure that we are neutral."

"Why do you say that?" Frederick III sternly rose up.

"Because after this battle, everyone will realize the weakness and powerlessness of the empire in the Far East, which in the eyes of others is an old lion, although old, but still a lion.

But after this battle, everyone will find that it is just a fat sheep who has been unable to resist. Then everyone will want to cut a piece of meat from this fat sheep, and the most ambitious is undoubtedly the Russians. But the British would not want to see this, they needed someone to contain Russia, and the Japanese who had just come to the table were undoubtedly a good choice.

Therefore, Britain and Japan will quickly move closer together, while the contradictions between Russia and Japan will intensify, and if we favor Japan, our relations with Russia will deteriorate, and if we favor Russia, our relations with Japan will deteriorate.

As for the interests of the Far East, first of all, our next step is to focus on the Philippines, in my opinion, in addition to being a dumping ground for commodities, it is very difficult to pursue other interests, and if you want to grab colonies and resources, on the one hand, it will have a bad relationship with the Qing Dynasty, and on the other hand, it will also move the cake of the British.

Without a suitable opportunity, there were many obstacles and difficulties in wanting to make a big move in the Qing Kingdom.

Therefore, in the Far East, as long as we can ensure that our existing interests are not infringed upon, there is no need to carry out large-scale expansion of power, and the first priority is to steadily eat the Philippines. Jochen replied respectfully. (To be continued......)