September 17, 1894, Dadonggou on the 18th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar in the 20th year of the Guangxu period of the Qing Empire

After a night of busyness, the 8 battalions of Mingjun, a total of 4,000 people had all landed. At 7 o'clock in the morning, the flagship Dingyuan came on, and the manager Liu Buchan asked the admiral Ding Ruchang whether to hang out the dragon flag to prepare for return. After obtaining Ding Ruchang's approval, the flagship Dingyuan hung out the dragon flag to start returning, and conducted morning training at the same time.

When the Beiyang Fleet was often in exercises, 12 warships of the Japanese Combined Fleet were also searching for enemy ships in the direction of Dadonggou and training during the voyage.

At 11 o'clock, Li Dingxin, a guerrilla in the right wing of the Dingyuan ship, suddenly discovered several clusters of black smoke on the sea in the southwest direction, so he made a loud announcement.

Ding Ruchang climbed onto the deck and looked at it with a telescope, and found that it was the Japanese Combined Fleet. So he immediately ordered the ships to raise fire, prepare for live ammunition, and prepare for the enemy. Suddenly, the battle horn sounded and resounded throughout the training waters. After receiving the order, each ship immediately started preparing for the battle. Suddenly, thick smoke was spit out from the chimney, and each ship entered the state of combat one after another.

Due to the recent battle of Toshima, the fierce firepower of the Japanese ships had been reported to the entire navy officers and soldiers. Out of preparations, Ding Ruchang brought his army fighting style up. So all the wooden tools, riggings, glass and other items that were not related to the battle were thrown away. Sandbags were piled up around the key parts of the cabin to block shells, and all windows and waterproof doors were locked. All crew members entered the combat position.

At this time, the flagship manager led the right-wing general Liu Buchan and stepped forward and said, "Mr. Ding, our Beiyang ships in Lushun have not been able to replenish the flowering shells that can fight against the Japanese ships. When they set out from Weihaiwei, they did not carry a large number of flowering shells due to their slow speed. If they encounter them with the main force of the Japanese joint fleet, the consequences will be worrying!"

"Zixiang doesn't have to worry too much. I only have three or four fast ships coming to see the Japanese ship this time. I will not come forward to fight with my main force in Beiyang. Even if the main force of the Japanese fleet comes, I will be afraid of it with the power of the two ships in Ding Town." Ding Ruchang said calmly.

Then, Ding Ruchang, together with the Beiyang Navy chief instructor Hannagan and Tyler (William Ferdinand Tyler, who was a lower-level British naval officer, joined the Beiyang Fleet in 1894, served as the consultant and secretary of the Beiyang Navy chief instructor Hannagan, and was the deputy director of the Beiyang Fleet flagship Dingyuan). After discussion, everyone felt that it should not be taken lightly. In order to exert the power of the main guns of each ship, he ordered the formation to be changed to the horned goose walking team formation. In this way, the firepower of the entire ship can be exerted.

"Since the firepower and speed of the Japanese ships are faster than ours, the entire fleet must gather together and not be dispersed by the enemy! As long as we are hugging each other, the Japanese ships will have no choice but to do anything to us!" Ding Ruchang said to everyone.

The specific team situation is: the flagship Dingyuan and Zhenyuan are in the center, which is the first team; Zhiyuan and Jingyuan are the second team on the left; Jingyuan and Laiyuan are the third team on the right; Jiyuan and Guangjia are the fourth team on the left, Chaoy and Yangwei are the fifth team on the right. Because the fourth and fifth teams on the two wings are slower, the fleet after the formation is formed into a flat V shape.

At this time, the flagship of the first guerrilla guerrilla of the Japanese Combined Fleet, Yoshino, first discovered two wisps of black smoke, and then saw more smoke columns in the telescope. So Captain Kawahara immediately judged as the main force of the Beiyang Fleet, and at the same time sent a signal to the team: "More than four enemy ships were found in the northeast direction, and it was initially judged as the main force of the Beiyang Navy of the Qing Dynasty! Please make a decision by the commander Yuyuki Ito!" When the commander of the Combined Fleet, Yuyuki Ito, immediately sent a command to change to a fishing vertical formation. So, the first guerrilla team took the lead, and the six ships of the team followed, Nishikyo Maru and Akagi moved to the left side of the team as non-combat ranks.

The fleets of both sides are getting closer and closer, and it can be clearly seen on Japanese warships with telescopes that all the officers and soldiers on Chinese warships have entered a state of combat.

At this time, Yuuki Ito saw the formation of the Beiyang fleet and decided to avoid the two giant ships, Dingyuan and Zhenyuan, and first attacked the enemy's weakest right wing with a fast first guerrilla team. So, the first guerrilla team heading in front of the Yizi formation accelerated and turned to the right, gradually distanced from the team.

At this time, Ding Ruchang, Hannagan and Tere on the Dingyuan Overpass saw 12 main warships of the Japanese fleet from the telescope, all showing nervous expressions.

This is the secretary Telle analyzed: "From the course of the Japanese fleet, attack attempts, etc., the Japanese ships seem to want to cross before us and attack the weakest wing, namely the right wing. Therefore, it is best to move each ship to the right forty-five degrees!"

Ding Ruchang and Hannahe thought Tayle's analysis was correct, so they adopted it. Since Ding Ruchang did not understand naval combat command, he stayed at the overpass to continue observing. Hannahe and Tayle went to Liu Buchan to convey the order.

However, when the Dingyuan ship issued a signal ordering each ship to move forty-five degrees to the right, Tailai stood at the entrance of the watchtower tower and urged Liu Buchan to order a rudder to turn left.

However, at this time, the Japanese ship had entered the shooting range of Dingyuan's main gun, only about 6,000 meters. Liu Buchan, who was already timid, was extremely scared at this moment. He did not hear Taylor's order, but shivered constantly. So Hanna asked him to go back to the cabin first to stay for a while.

Seeing Liu Buchan enter the cabin in panic, the two looked at each other helplessly, so Tailai returned to the overpass to report Ding Ruchang. After a while, Liu Buchan left the cabin. Maybe he felt embarrassed, but he was much calmer at this time.

However, at this time, Sun Jingren, the main gun bare, reported that the enemy ship had entered the main gun range. Liu Buchan subconsciously ordered:

"fire!"

So at 12:50 noon, when the fleets of both sides approached 5,300 meters, the flagship of the Beiyang Fleet Dingyuan fired the first shot.

However, at this time Ding Ruchang and Taile were on the overpass, and the huge recoil of the main gun directly collapsed the overpass, causing the two to seriously injure them.

According to the record of Takachiho, "Dingyuan's gun mount spits out a ball of white smoke, and a loud bang. Its 30 and a half centimeters of huge bombs rushed out of the smoke, flew over the head of the Japanese ship, and landed 100 meters on the side of the Yoshino ship in the front. The sea water suddenly rose several feet high." Dingyuan's first gun was also a signal for the entire team to launch an attack, "It was the first gun sound of the Yellow Sea Battle, which was supposed to arouse the morale of the three armies." [Hashimoto Customs: "Real Records of the Qing-Japanese War"]

"Seeing and hearings of the Sino-Japanese Naval Battle of 1895" records: When the Dingyuan ship issued a signal ordering each ship to move to the right forty-five degrees, Tailai stood at the entrance of the □ Watch Tower and urged Liu Buchan to order to turn left and Liu Yang disobeyed. Tailai was furious and "rush to Admiral Ding's office". "The loud noise was thundering, and it was ordered to fire ten cannons, and Ding and Yu stood on the part of the flying bridge on the cannon. The name of this bridge was very good, because it flew, and Ding and Yu flew with him. The battle of Yalu River began with this." "The Admiral and Yu stood on the 10-hour cannon on the flying bridge, and General Liu had to see him, so he suddenly fired the cannon at this time. How to explain this matter later, I will never know it and never mention it."

"A Brief History of Eastern Military Affairs" records: "In this service, the German officer Hannagen was in war, and Ruchang stationed in Dingyuan ship... The war was quite dependent on Hannagen's command. Liu Buchan, the general in charge, was frightened when he heard the war. Hannagen persuaded him to enter the cabin to avoid it, and he returned to the scene, and he could continue to fight."

In his naval battle report to Li Hongzhang, Ding Ruchang did not mention any of the issues of Liu Buchan blindly firing artillery and was very secretive, but the works of others were revealed.

Yukihiro Ito reported: "At 0:50, about 5 or 6,000 meters away from the enemy, the enemy fired guns at our first guerrillas first. Our first guerrillas will advance within three thousand meters away from the enemy, and will fire guns and blast their right wing."

Yao Xiguang's "A Brief History of Eastern Military Affairs" published in 1897 records: "I was about ten miles away from the enemy and fired a row of cannons, but no one hit a bomb." (Yao Xiguang: "A Brief History of Eastern Military Affairs". See the series: "Sino-Japanese War", Volume 1 page 67.) At that time, Ding Ruchang was still standing in the "Wanglou".

The "Middle East War Chronicle" published in 1896 records: "Chinese ships first fired giant cannons to demonstrate, but they were nine miles away from the Japanese ship, which was not suitable." When firing, "Ding Junmen and Dale, the western member of the Navy who collected taxes at customs, are now building a bridge together." (Edited by Cai Erkang: "Middle East War Chronicle". See the series: "Sino-Japanese War Chronicle" Volume 1, 167 pages 170 pages.)

"Innocent Hai Shuwen" published in 1895: "When the war started, it was four micrometers away from the Japanese ship (that is, eight thousand yards away). When I supervised the ship, I ordered the artillery to be fired, so the distance was too far away. I immediately smoked a lot of guns and there was no way to predict the end of the journey." (Summary: Volume 6 of "Sino-Japanese War" Page 88.)

The above historical records all record that Liu Buchan is cowardly and timid when he is still far away from the enemy, and that he is panicked and fired cannons, which is enough to prove that what Tale recorded is based on facts.
Chapter completed!