Chapter 62: The Tragedy of Oshima Hisanao, The Rise of the Two-Way Merchant, Tenka Bookstore

  Although this near-miss shell did not directly hit, the shock of the explosion still caused considerable damage to Matsushima. The 305mm armor-piercing shells were battleship-level weapons that a small warship like this light cruiser could not withstand. Moreover, this French-built protected cruiser was not very good in quality itself, and the huge vibration caused multiple pipe damages inside the hull. Matsushima, which was rushing at high speed, immediately slowed down, and as the flagship of the combined fleet, its slowdown immediately affected the entire formation behind it.

  At this time, the first flying squadron of three ships, all 152mm quick-firing guns fired simultaneously, dense shells whizzing across the sea surface with a piercing howl, quickly bursting into columns of water on the right wing of the Beiyang Fleet, but soon after, the counter-attacking gunfire from the two ships, Jingyuan and Zhiyuan, also sounded, however, the entire fleet did not make any adjustments due to this, but continued to rush towards the main force of the Combined Fleet at high speed. It was clear that Ding Ruchang had no intention of entangling with the Japanese high-speed cruisers; his target was the main force of the Combined Fleet.

  Just as the right-wing ships were successively engaging with Nagato and Mutsu, Chiyoda and Atago's eight main guns plus two secondary guns, and Fuso's five forward main guns simultaneously let out a roar. Immediately afterwards, all the main guns of the Japanese warships facing them also opened fire at the same time. In an instant, the sea surface was like boiling water, with waves surging up and hitting everything, amidst the bitter smell of acid smoke, columns of water rose into the air.

  The advantage of the quick-firing gun was now fully demonstrated, for while the main armament of the Ting Yuen was being reloaded and re-laid, the hundreds of quick-firing guns on both sides were still pouring in a hail of projectiles. The Japanese, with their overwhelming superiority in numbers, were firing their 152mm and 120mm guns wildly, sending dense showers of shells crashing onto the Chinese ships, including the Ting Yuen, which was now ablaze, as were almost all the other Chinese vessels, especially the weakest, the Yangwei, which had been attacked by the Yashima and was now a complete inferno.

  The Japanese ships were also having a hard time, except for Nagato, Takao and the relatively distant Akagi and Saikyo Maru. The other ships were also hit one after another, especially the flagship Matsushima, which had already caught fire on board.

  Three minutes later, the main gun of Dingtown roared again. Due to the proximity of this round of salvo, the effect was obvious. A near-miss shell exploded near Gan Island, and the hail-like shrapnel smashed the front deck of Gan Island into a mess. At the same time, another shell accurately hit the 320mm cannon at the rear of Song Island, which had never fired a shot before. The giant gun was instantly torn apart by the huge explosive force, and the flying steel fragments swept across the entire front deck like shells, even punching a big hole in the smokestack.

  Inside the command cabin, Ito Heihachiro's liver was split at this time. Now he clearly understood that the power of the main gun was not something he could imagine. Just one near-miss shell and one hit had already caused heavy losses for himself. If another came, it was likely that Matsushima would not be able to withstand it. After all, the combined fleet was the foundation of the entire country, and there was no need to sacrifice a few thousand soldiers here. So he almost immediately made a decisive decision and issued an order for the fleet to retreat.

  The flag language beaten out on the Matsushima made both armies fighting on the sea surface stunned, and the Japanese warships almost simultaneously sent back inquiries. At this time, the First Flying Squadron had actually destroyed the Yangwei, but also paid a certain price. The second farthest quick-firing gun also made the last Chiyoda number a mess.

  Ito Sei did not hesitate to repeat his order, and the three ships of the Naniwa squadron reluctantly left the battlefield at high speed. At this time, the main gun of Jingyuan issued a roar again, although there was no hit, but it solidified Ito Sei's determination to retreat. Under his strict order, the main force of the combined fleet passed by the Beiyang Fleet in front of them and fled southeast at full speed.

  Ting Ju-chang would not let them escape so easily, the Ting-erh and Ting-yuan vessels cut into the Japanese fleet like sharp blades, cutting off the two slowest ships, the Bi Rui and Akagi, from behind. Ito Makoto watched as those two ill-fated warships raised their distress flags, he was hesitating when suddenly a deafening explosion shook the sky, the Akagi was simultaneously hit by four shells from the Ting-yuan's main cannon at close range, this small 600-ton gunboat was blown to smithereens in an instant, almost without any pause it disappeared into the sea.

  At the same time, Dingyuan also received a shell from Jingyuan, and after a huge explosion, this so-called ironclad ship was completely destroyed, even the tall mast fell down.

  At this time, Ito Heihachiro didn't need to hesitate anymore. He gritted his teeth and looked at the Beiyang Fleet, which had been turned into a sea of fire by the rapid-firing guns, and led the remaining ships in a chaotic retreat.

  Poor Beiyang immediately became the target of various warships in the Northern Navy. With a displacement of over 2,000 tons under the Roulin with a displacement of over 20,000 tons, it was like a weak and delicate girl silently enduring, until Ding Ruchang saw that there was no place to attack on this guy, so he simply ordered to stop the attack, then put down the small boat to let the landing team go up, clean up the remaining Japanese sailors, hang up the rope and tow back when returning to exhibit.

  However, they cannot return now. The Incheon Port in front of them is opening its arms to welcome them. Of course, the Japanese landing troops are also waiting for them. Oshima Hisanao still does not know that Ito Sukemasa has abandoned him. This brigade commander brought more than 6,000 soldiers and just completed the landing. The people have gone ashore, but there are still various supplies that have not been unloaded. He is sitting on the dock, supervising the unloading of the ship with his sword in hand. At this time, a giant warship appeared in the distance in the twilight haze.

  "Dingyuan!" The soldier on watch immediately let out a terrified shriek. Fear of this warship was etched in the bones of all Japan, and even when the army practiced shooting at targets, they would draw a picture of the Dingyuan on the target and use it as their mark. So he recognized the largest warship in East Asia at first glance.

  "Retreat, retreat quickly!" ōshima Hisanao also recognized it, and at this time he couldn't care about the fate of the navy. He suddenly jumped up from his chair, turned over and jumped onto a war horse beside him, escaping the port like crazy. The soldiers of the 6th Brigade who were in the port with their commander also fled instantly, and everyone understood that the army had no ability to fight back against these sea monsters. Now the only thing they could do was to escape from this port, the farther the better.

  Unfortunately, with their short legs, no matter how hard they tried, it was impossible to escape the range of the warship's cannons in time. The General of the Great Island, who was galloping wildly on his horse, suddenly heard a whistling sound like a train passing by his ear, and then saw eight huge fireballs exploding in front of him, two of which hit a group of Japanese soldiers who were trying to escape, he watched as nearly an entire company of soldiers disappeared in an instant, leaving behind only two large craters.

  The leader of the Da Island Travel Group's face turned white, and he hastily continued to flee on his warhorse.

  Behind him, countless shells were whizzing in, like meteorites falling from the sky, slamming into the Japanese army in Incheon Port. The poor Sixth Brigade was instantly engulfed in a sea of flames, and in the explosions, countless soldiers were reduced to scattered flesh and blood.

  It was not just them, but also the Japanese merchant ships in the harbor, which were lined up like sheep to be slaughtered, and soon the Beiyang Fleet's warships dropped their small boats and took soldiers aboard to board their chosen targets. The news of Yang Feng's wealth from plunder had already spread throughout the fleet, and now these soldiers saw the Japanese merchant ships as shining silver.

  Those Japanese merchant ships did not dare to resist, they were very clear about the consequences of resistance, and could only watch as Qing soldiers boarded their ships, then coerced them into sailing out of the harbor at gunpoint.

  A line of seven warships of the Beiyang Fleet, still bombarding the Japanese army on land with their precious large-caliber shells, even approached the shore and switched to small-caliber quick-firing guns. These 47mm and 37mm revolving cannons had a firing rate of several dozen rounds per minute, and after using shrapnel, they posed an even greater threat to the ground troops than the large-caliber heavy artillery.

  Taking advantage of the warhorse's speed, ōshima Hisanao, who had escaped to a safe distance, looked back at the Incheon Port in flames and blood, and sat down on the ground in agony. He was well aware that his Sixth Brigade was finished, and so was his own career.

  "It seems that these naval guys are doing a pretty good job, huh." The captain of the British merchant ship said with some surprise, sipping his coffee and gazing out at the harbor which had already become a Japanese hell.

  "Go, send a telegram to our boss and tell him that the Beiyang Fleet has defeated the combined fleet. We are currently bombarding Incheon Port, and I estimate that the Japanese 6th Brigade is already hopeless. Even if they weren't killed by shells, it's impossible for them to have any fighting power left." He turned his head to say to the first mate behind him.

  No sooner had he finished speaking than a deafening explosion was heard outside, causing the windows of the captain's cabin to shake violently. A massive mushroom cloud was rising slowly from the dock, where the Japanese military had stored ammunition that had not yet been transported away and had been detonated.

  "Besides, our big boss likes to hear that the Japanese are having a bad time." The captain said with a shrug.