Chapter 4 Chapter 3 Rehabilitation for the bloody battle in the Yellow Sea

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Sino-Japanese War of 1898-1895, under the orders of brother Liu Shaotang, the author has written tens of thousands of words, but not a single shot has been fired, so what kind of war is it?In fact the problem lies here. What is war? There is a saying in the West: "War" is the continuation of "politics".I don't know the "politics" before the "war", and talk about the "war" after the "politics", which is also pediatrics. "Hanshu" said: "Qutu (chimney-the chimney is still called Yantuzi by the Japanese) those who relocate their salaries have no news, and those who are in a state of distress are the guests." - People say that the chimney of his house is too straight, If there is a fire, the firewood should be removed, but he will not listen.When the fire really broke out, the battered firefighters ate and drank a lot instead.

Strategists in our country also emphasize "Miao Mo"; they emphasize "planning in the midst of strategies, and winning a decisive victory thousands of miles away".Zhuge Kongming was "talking and laughing with feather fans and towels", and "the masts and sculls were wiped out in ashes and smoke" above the river.Guan Zhang, Zhao Mahuang broke his leg when he ran, but in the end he is not as good as a great strategist, lightly waving a feather fan on a boat. ——A couple in Longzhong, three points in the world, is it by chance? ! The Jiawu was defeated, and the most responsible "Mr. Li Er" was scolded as a "traitor" by the censors.The imperial court also took off his "three-eyed flower feather" and stripped off his "yellow jacket", and left him for inspection by the party.

There is no one in the court.The Empress Dowager Xi had no choice but to find out her younger uncle Gong Wang Yixin to clean up the mess.Soon, Prince Gong also died of illness.When Yixin was dying, the Empress Dowager asked someone to ask "who can succeed", and once mentioned Guangxu's teacher Weng Tonghe.King Gong shook his head and said: "It's hard to describe such a big mistake because there are so many bamboos in Nanshan Mountain."He blamed Weng Tonghe for not leading the battle. ——If you can't fight, if you lose in one battle, one of the top eight paper tigers will be dismantled, and the big powers will begin to divide the "spheres of influence" in China; then they will "cutting the Chinese melon" up.

Recently, academician Huang Zhangjian, an old classmate, had a coffee with the author to reminisce about the old days. When he mentioned the "Battle of Sino-Japanese War", Zhang Jian also sighed and said: The defeat of Sino-Japanese War had too much impact.The Qing Empire collapsed in this battle.Huang Gong is the authority of the "Hundred Movement Reform Movement" in the next "stage" of the Sino-Japanese War.Looking back at the "Jiawu" (1894) from the "1898" (1898), the defeat in this battle was too miserable.It was also the key to the final collapse of the Qing Empire.

In this battle, of course Li and Weng are both responsible.However, the two of them are just two individuals after all.Heroes can't make the times without beginning.But in the objective trend of overwhelming and cultural transformation, a few individual heroes cannot divert the "Three Gorges of History" after all! Regarding the specific situation of the Three Gorges in history, the helmsman and Shao Gong who "lived in this mountain" in the gorge do not know.However, historians more than a hundred years later, flying around on the twelve peaks of Wushan in a small plane, overlooking the rivers and mountains, can see it clearly at a glance. ——The author visited the "Grand Canyon" (Grand Canyon) in the west of the United States a few years ago, took a small plane, and traveled through the canyon, that is, I have this personal experience.my country's Three Gorges, so far there is no equipment to fly through the gorge.The author also tried to ride a wheel.Shaking his head on the boat and looking around, he didn't see the ancients in front of him, and the newcomers in his back.Looking up at the Goddess, watching the sky from the well; who knows what the whole history of the Three Gorges looks like?

The author does not learn, but repeatedly emphasizes the "stage nature" of my country's modernization movement.The "first stage" of my country's modernization movement is the stage of Westernization, that is, the stage of scientific and technological modernization; 23~1902).Li Hongzhang's biggest performance and achievement in engaging in the "four modernizations" is his precious "Northern Fleet". One of the strongest".Not bad grades! Forty years ago, my old senior Professor Dou Zongyi (Yi) began to write "Li Hongzhang Chronicle (Daily) Book" (published by the Hong Kong Federation of Friends in 1968), and I followed him to learn, detail-oriented, and full of interest .Since then, this book has become my "three reading materials" (on the pillow, on the toilet, and on the car).Over the past thirty years, I have turned the books donated by Zongyi into a ball of paper, and I have not stopped reading.

In recent years, Anhui, our mother province, has set up a special institution to study Li Hongzhang, and is compiling and publishing "Complete Works".As a "consultant", Yu Yimin followed to study and read many secret books that had never been seen before.In recent years, the Chinese ambassador to the United Nations (now stationed in the United States) Li Daoyu and his wife (Hanzhang’s great-great-grandson) held banquets from time to time and became good friends. ——The current imperial envoy, who wears a three-eyed flower feather and a crown on his head, enjoys a high reputation for his open-minded stand in today's international forum, and has a great legacy of civil loyalty!Therefore, Li Hongzhang is not too far away from us who are engaged in modern Chinese history, and his influence is still within reach.However, Li Hongzhang is a tragic figure after all.When he died of overwork on November 7, 1901 (September 27 in the lunar calendar), it can be said that his career was all in vain.The reason for this is that he was unfortunately born as the "chief designer" of this "first stage".In this stage-heavy historical development, the first stage cannot be "successful".

As the saying goes: "The unlucky doctor cures the first disease; the lucky doctor cures the end." In the "sick" period when the disease is getting worse and worse, if you are a doctor and you can't "start to make spring", you will be "unlucky" .When the patient is recovering day by day, during the "end of the illness", if you take a bowl of medicine and he immediately gets out of bed and runs, then you are Hua Tuo. Li Hongzhang is the former unlucky one who treats people and the country; Deng Xiaoping is the latter who is “lucky”—but I hope Dr. Xiaoping will have such good luck.

Therefore, Li Hongzhang presided over the "first stage" of focusing on science and technology, but without the cooperation of the upcoming "second stage" of "political reform" ("five modernizations"), science and technology will inevitably have no way out. ——Yi Zhiqiu, the famous short story of "Pants on the Cannon" can illustrate the limit of Lao Li's four modernizations.The story goes like this: On July 9, 1891 (the 17th year of Guangxu), at the invitation of the Japanese government, Li Hongzhang sent Ding Ruchang to lead six ships including Dingyuan and Zhenyuan to Tokyo Bay to formally apply for employment.For a while, the military capacity was prosperous, and the international community looked at it.Afterwards, Ruchang led the six warships, led Liu Buchan, and others, accompanied by Li Jingfang, the Minister in Japan, to pay homage to the Japanese Emperor and received them with great courtesy.The sword and shoes are distinctive, and the majesty is not to mention.At that time, it seemed disheartened to welcome and see off, and to accompany the last Japanese Navy Commander Ito Yuhiro and Tokyo Bay Defense Commander Togo Heihachiro.Dongxiang was originally Liu Buzhan's classmate studying in Britain, but when Dongxiang was invited to visit the Chinese flagship Dingyuan, he felt that although the Chinese fleet was powerful, it was vulnerable to a blow. Dry clothes on the barrel.The main gun on the capital ship is such a solemn and sacred weapon, but the Chinese sailors are competing to dry their pants on the gun, and they despise the armed forces like this; Dongxiang Guiyu's colleagues said that the Chinese navy is ultimately vulnerable.

In fact, what Dongxiang sees is still superficial!Hachiro didn't know that when the Chinese Navy first performed its "big drill" on the Yellow Sea in 1886, the most important inspector was actually standing on the inspection stand between the two navy ministers, Yizhen and Li Hongzhang. Eunuch Li Lianying!The navy was the latest armed force for protecting the country of the Qing Empire at that time, the soul of Chinese modernization, and its most important inspector was a criminal eunuch who had no beard on the top and no genital organs on the bottom, so it was too much to say .

If you can put an ignorant and rotten eunuch on the naval inspection stand as an inspector, then it is trivial to hang a few pairs of trousers on the battleship cannon. Anyway, long story short.Establishing a modern navy and participating in the arms race among the great powers is not simply a matter of science and technology.Although the peony is good, it still needs the support of green leaves.We only focus on the modernization of science and technology, but our social structure, political organization, living habits, values, etc. are basically stagnant in the backward state of the "Middle Ages".Zhongshan said: "Destruction is difficult to build," but what cannot be destroyed cannot be established.We don't get rid of the backwardness of the Middle Ages, we wear modern clothes and shoes.To be honest, what the Japanese are better than me is that they are good at imitating, completely throwing away the medieval oriental customs and completely westernizing them, so western technology can be imported to them immediately. Is "Pants drying on the cannon" a joke?Don't you see that today, our Chinatown, Chinatown, and Chinatown, which one belongs to the dirtiest and messiest (not the poorest) ghetto area in Calgary? !This is still the case today, let alone back then.It's just that the Westerners laughed secretly, we just don't laugh. In fact, trousers are just a small physical thing, and there are too many metaphysical backward inheritances.Back then, our navy was entangled in the demon of "regionalism" called "provincial complex" and couldn't extricate itself.As mentioned earlier, the admirals in the navy were almost all Hokkien.The Anhui Lao Ding Ruchang, the commander-in-chief who "floats above all Fujian", sometimes fails to give orders and is helpless.The Master Deng, Deng Shichang, whose reputation has never faded to this day, is an old Guang who floats among the various Fujian provinces.The tragedy of his heroic martyrdom (see next section) is also said to be directly related to the concept of boundaries.The concept of boundaries is a bad tradition that was patented in medieval China.Its ghost is still alive today, and there will be great disasters in the future!Friends, this is also the domestic political and social background before the defeat of our country in the Sino-Japanese War! That is to say, when Japan was planning to invade Korea and Sino-Japanese relations became increasingly tense, the Chinese Prime Minister's Office had the idea of ​​solving Korea's three strategies.First, they have put forward the plan of "countyization".Attempt to change the tributaries of South Korea into Chinese counties and counties; move the king of Korea, the Lee family, to the interior.Following the old practice of Confucius' descendants (such as Kong Decheng today), institutions such as "Yan Sheng Gong" were established to treat the king of Han preferentially, without hereditary succession.This design may not be difficult to implement in the prosperous Kangyong-Qian Dynasty of the Manchu Qing Dynasty.However, when the Qing Dynasty was in decline and the great powers were around, that was a dream. Second, simply open all three Koreas to create a situation where the great powers have equal opportunities and benefits.Shu Ji took advantage of the balance of international power to maintain South Korea's independence in order to prevent Japan, Russia and other imperialist powers from monopolizing.This strategy cannot be implemented at the beginning, but the Qing Dynasty is arrogant and arrogant, and it cannot be implemented by cutting gold and iron; and the Han court is weak and has the conditions for independence.Once Zongbang lets go, Japan will immediately replace him. Third, let the situation develop naturally and act according to the camera.This is the worst policy.However, the Qing court was incompetent, so it could only allow this bad strategy to develop naturally. The situation in South Korea is getting worse day by day.In the summer and June of 1894, at the request of the King of Korea, the Qing government first sent Nie Shicheng, the commander-in-chief, and continued to send the admiral Ye Zhichao to lead 500 troops to aid Korea to fight the rebellion of the Dongxue Party.When Japan got the news, it immediately denied that South Korea was a vassal state of the Qing Dynasty, and sent 8,000 troops to Incheon at the same time, targeting the Qing army and watching it covetously. ——Since then, the Japanese government has not listened to the mediation of the Qing side or any third country, organized its own base camp, established a wartime system, and continued to increase its troops to 30,000 against South Korea.The pretext of "reforming Korean politics" was actually aimed at getting rid of the Qing forces, ending the Qing-Japanese suzerain-vassal relationship and annexing North Korea. Facing the aggressiveness of the Japanese side, the Chinese government and the public were in an uproar, and Miaomo Qingyi almost unanimously called for the war.In mid-July of that year, Ye Zhichao, the guard who led more than a thousand Qing troops to hang alone on Yashan, also urgently telegraphed Hongzhang, saying that "massively advancing troops is the best policy. Sending ships to withdraw troops is the middle policy. Keeping this position is the worst policy" (see "Nian (Japan) Spectrum", page 261, quoted from Li Wenzhong's telegram).However, Hongzhang knew that his army and navy were incompetent, and he always wanted to use the diplomatic method of "using the barbarians to control the barbarians" to contain Japan, so he sent a telegram to the Prime Minister's Office to suggest accepting Ye Dian's "middle policy".Li's telegram simply added fuel to the fire of the fierce main fighters at that time. "Mr. Traitor Li Er" suddenly became the target of public criticism.In the midst of this national battle, the 23-year-old young emperor Guangxu, who grew up in the palace and could only listen to the words of his close ministers, was especially fierce. ——His main battle mood later developed to the degree of resoluteness of "giving Weng Tonghe, Li Hongzao, and Prince Gong a 'Shangfang (treasure) sword', ordering those who make peace to beheaded before playing" (see ibid., p. 289, note 502, citing "Qing Shi Lu" 352, and "Zi Lin Xi Bao" page 862, telegram on November 23, 1894).As a result, even the Empress Dowager Cixi was unwilling to support Hongzhang, and talked lightly. ——At this time, the relationship between their mother and son was still strong, and Prince Gong was still standing aside. In the past, the author has carefully investigated the "Opium War" (1839-1842), Emperor Daoguang's decree, and the "British-French Allied Forces" (1858-1860), Emperor Xianfeng's order When looking at the "Jiawu War" (1894-1895), Emperor Guangxu issued an edict and found that the three grandparents and their grandchildren had exactly the same mentality development in dealing with the three serious foreign wars. : First, at the beginning of the war, the three commander-in-chiefs of Long Live Lord were all high-spirited and resolute in the main battle.Those who are afraid of the Lord and the peace of the subjects will be killed without mercy.But when the war broke out, the Qing soldiers were defeated by the foreign soldiers, and the Lord Long Live panicked again, complaining that the main fighters had deceived the emperor and wronged the country and the people, and asked them to come to see him.In the end, he was obedient to the demands of the invaders, and wished he could drink in Tsing Yi.He does not hesitate to sacrifice all power and humiliate the country, but asks the imperialists to hold their hands high and show mercy. (See the preface to my English book "The Diplomatic History of China and the United States") Therefore, at the beginning of the First Sino-Japanese War, the seventy-two-year-old old man Li was constantly insulted and scolded bloody by the twenty-three-year-old junior boss.Weng Tonghe, Li Hongzao and other main combat factions took advantage of the momentum to make noise, asking the young emperor to replace Lao Li, or even ask the Taimiao to bring out the Qinglong Saber specially designed to kill prime ministers, and bring Lao Li to justice.The Anti-Japanese War was fought by Xiao Wansui's royal driver. However, the Qing Empire at that time did not have a base camp or staff headquarters for planning and defending the war and strategizing; nor did it have a follow-up system for dispatching supplies.It can be said that the Empire was not prepared for the war against Japan.The reason why they decided on the "main battle" was that old man Li, who held the military power in his hand, went into battle shirtless; led his group of poor and lower-middle peasants to form the outdated "Huai Army"; The little ghosts fought. ——Victory will bring blessings to the Qing Dynasty; defeat will result in the beheading of Lao Li; this is what Liang Qichao called Li Hongzhang's "enemy against a country with one person"! [Note] Most of the generals of the Huai Army sent to North Korea by Li Hongzhang, beginning with Wu Changchang and Ye Zhichao, were illiterate.Almost all of them were poor and lower-middle peasants in my hometown (then Hefei County).He joined the army in troubled times, got a "scar" all over his body, and survived a catastrophe.At this time, they were all chubby "first-rank officials" in their fifties and sixties.However, although they are high-ranking officials, they have not lost their true qualities of heroes who regard death as home.Let’s look at Nie Shicheng. During the Eight-Power Allied Forces, he commanded the war of resistance on the front line as a dismissed first-rank official.As for Ye Dawuzi (Zhi Chao), with his fiery personality and bravery in battle, the author can tell his story and admire him when he was a child—his family is a close neighbor to mine.It's just that whether this kind of hero in Wagang Village can fight a modern intersiege war is another question. ——Zhi Chao later fell to the end of "beheading the prison". Li Hongzhang has been involved in Western affairs for a long time, so there is no reason why he doesn't know about it.So although he was ordered to keep sending these Turkish troops to Korea, his real concern was in the navy. Those iron ships of the "Beiyang Fleet" are his treasures, his babies! ——When the Sino-Japanese war was imminent, he would also call Gong Zhaoyuan, the Minister in Britain, "try to purchase the latest large warship with a speed of more than 23 nautical miles", and at the same time snap up "two Chilean ironclad ships" to strengthen our army (See ibid., pages 262 and 268).Digging a well when I'm thirsty. On the other hand, Hongzhang risked the insults of the whole country, and strictly ordered Ding Ruchang to protect the ship and avoid the war, and not to take the risk of cruising the Datong River.In Li's view, as long as the navy is undefeated, even if the army is defeated, North China will still be safe, and the security of Beijing and Tianjin will eventually be ensured—he still believes in his precious navy, "although the attack is insufficient, the rules are more than sufficient." Unexpectedly, he still overestimated the strength of his Beiyang Fleet.In a modern naval battle, if you can't attack, you can't defend.As a result, the Chinese navy was no longer able to defend with the sound of a trumpet in Dadonggou. The first shot of the Sino-Japanese "Battle of Sino-Japanese War" was fired from the waters of Toshima on the west coast of North Korea.Then came the Army's Battle of Asan, the Battle of Pyongyang, and the Navy's bloody battle in the Yellow Sea in Dadonggou... and then a series of fights continued.This article is limited in length, and I will omit the land battle and focus on the naval battle to see what the truth of this naval battle is like. Let’s first talk about the "Battle of Toshima" between the Chinese and Japanese navies that took place on July 25, 1894 (June 23 in the lunar calendar). The Battle of Toshima actually started with the "sneak attack" of the Japanese army on our army.The nature of the surprise attack was no different from that of the Japanese "sneak attack on Pearl Harbor" 47 years later.Although the relationship between China and Japan was very tense at this time, the two sides were still negotiating and had not yet entered a state of war. Japan, in disregard of international law, suddenly launched a sneak attack, sank our troop carrier Gaosheng in one fell swoop, and shot and killed seven of our troops at sea. More than a hundred people. ——After eating marrow to know the taste, he did the same in Pearl Harbor.The U.S. military was attacked at Pearl Harbor, and there were more than 3,000 to 700 people killed or injured by shooting and drowning.In the two sneak attacks, the Japanese were very successful, but the result was the opposite. They were also Japanese invaders, and the karma of many unrighteous acts! The battle of Toshima went like this: In late July 1894, Li Hongzhang was ordered to increase troops to North Korea to prepare for war.On July 22, Fang Boqian, the leader of the Jiyuan ship, was ordered to lead the Jiyuan cruiser (2,300 tons, 20 guns, and 15 knots per hour) and the Weiyuan (1,268 tons, steel-framed and wood-hulled) , twelve cannons, twelve knots per hour), Guangyi (thousand tons, iron frame and wooden shell, three cannons, fourteen knots per hour) two ships, escorting troops and supplies to Asan, North Korea for reinforcements. After arriving, Fang Guandai ordered Weiyuan Kuiye to return first (Lushun) because the situation was tense.Fang himself took the lead to Jiyuan, and waited for the delay and refutation at the entrance of Guangyi to be completed. At dawn on July 25, he began to set off and return to the defense.As soon as the two ships left the mouth of the Han River, they saw three Japanese steel cruisers approaching.The three Japanese ships are: Yoshino (4,150 tons, 2-inch armor, four 6-inch rapid-fire guns, eight 4.7-inch rapid-fire guns, five torpedo tubes, 23 knots per hour) Naniwa (weighing 3,650 tons, eight rapid-fire guns of different calibers, four torpedo tubes, and a speed of 18.6 knots per hour) Qiujinzhou (3150 tons in weight, 13 rapid-fire guns of different calibers, 4 torpedo tubes, 19 knots per hour) According to international practice, when ships of the two countries meet on the high seas during non-war periods, they salute each other by firing guns or whistles (exchange salute).However, this time the Japanese ship took advantage of the momentum, and Fang Guandai immediately saw that the intention of coming was not good, so he ordered to prepare for war.Sure enough, when the Japanese ship approached 10,000 yards, the Yoshino burst gun fired, and the three ships rushed straight to Jiyuan; the rapid-fire shells rained down.Our ship hastily responded to the battle, but our advantages and disadvantages are different. We are outnumbered, and we can see the outcome immediately. When the artillery battle started, Fang Boqian, the leader, and Shen Shouchang, the first mate (from Shanghai), were standing side by side on the watchtower at the end of the mainmast, directing the counterattack.In an instant, First Officer Shen was shot directly in the head, his brain was split, and Fang's clothes were splashed.Ke Jianzhang, the second officer standing on the foremast watchtower, was also hit by enemy bullets, piercing his chest and abdomen.At that time, the officers and men on the ship also suffered heavy casualties, thirteen people were killed in battle, more than forty people were injured, and the whole ship was bloody.However, my soldiers did not stop fighting.After an hour of entanglement, our ship fired more than forty artillery pieces.The Japanese ship Naniwa tilted and stalled because of my continuous hits! In this one-hour struggle, let me say that Jiyuan fought against three ships with one ship, even if one was against one, our ship was not the opponent.My Guangyi boat was too small, and it was difficult to participate in the counterattack from the beginning. When I left the battlefield in a hurry, it finally ran aground and set itself on fire.The officers and soldiers of Jiyuan knew that it would be difficult to fight for a long time. It is said that they once hoisted the white flag and rushed out of the encirclement to escape to the southwest.The Japanese ship Yoshino Gulang chased after it, but Jiyuan's tail gun hit the vital point, causing many casualties. Jiyuan finally chose the bad luck of sinking. (See comments from relevant parties in the next section) When Jiyuan was sailing southwestward, it happened that our reinforcement ship to Korea, the British ship "Gaosheng" of the Jardine Company, was transporting 950 Huaiyong soldiers from Sheng's army, and was sailing to Asan.Jiyuan notified with semaphore, urging him to immediately turn the rudder and return south.Who knows that Gaosheng Shanglun has a limited speed.On its way to the south, it was finally overtaken by enemy ships, and ordered to drop anchor and stop sailing.Our gunboat "Caojiang" (weighing 640 tons) that came with Gaosheng was captured by the enemy ship. After Gao Sheng was forced to stop the ship, the Japanese chief ordered Gao Sheng, the British captain, to sail with the Japanese ship to Incheon or Japan, and take the Chinese soldiers on board as prisoners.The British captain was forced to obey orders, but our army on board did not follow, and since China and Japan did not go to war, how could Japan steal ships on the high seas and claim for ransom?The officers and men on our ship forced the captain to sail back to Dagu.During the stalemate between the two sides, the Japanese ship suddenly raised the red flag to notify the Westerners on the Gaosheng to "leave the ship."Immediately, artillery was fired at Gao Sheng, and our army also responded with rifles from the ship.But when it didn't turn its heels, the Gaosheng tilted and sank.Our soldiers were forced to float on the sea, swimming and fleeing with nowhere to go, but the Japanese ship actually fired machine guns at the floating crowd.Under the sound of gunshots, the white waves are all red, and the sea is covered by floating corpses.The Japanese ship took me to manipulate the river, turned around and left. Also, the enemy used spies to find information about our army's troop transport, and deliberately "sneaked" and came here, determined to win.At that time, the Japanese army's commander-in-chief, Yuto Ito, and deputy commander, Heihachiro Togo, were both in the army, which shows how firm their decision-making was. This battle is also the first battle between the enemy and our country, and the new modern navy.In the first trial of Feng Dy, the advantages and disadvantages of both sides were clearly revealed, and the brutality of the enemy did not wait until the "Nanjing Massacre" to become known to the world. After the news of the sinking of the Gaosheng reached Beijing, there was an uproar in the court.All the opinions are based on the fact that our navy also has many armored ships to transport troops for reinforcements, so why not send enough ships to escort them, which is a mistake?The loss of soldiers and generals was actually caused by our navy generals, especially Ding Ruchang, who "feared incompetence and evaded the enemy skillfully".Emperor Guangxu was so angry that he "dismissed Ding Ruchang and kept him in his post" and asked him to "make meritorious deeds".The main battle courtiers Weng Tonghe, Li Hongzao and Prince Qing Yikuang, etc., even asked Li Hongzhang to be dismissed together.Eastern affairs are directly commanded by the imperial court.Unfortunately, Li Hongzhang was the "Zhou Enlai" in the Qing court at that time, an all-powerful prime minister who no one could replace.Although he is now a public enemy of the entire DPRK, the actual responsibility must be borne by him alone, especially when the Japanese army is in Korea, and it is gaining ground at this time.After the capture of Asan (July 29), we have entered Pyongyang.Not to be outdone, the Qing court "declared war" with Japan on August 1.After declaring war, the Qing court increased its army to aid Pyongyang; on the other hand, it strictly ordered the Beiyang Fleet to attack the Yellow Sea for a decisive battle with the Japanese ships.At this time, Ding Ruchang was also angry because of being wronged repeatedly, and he repeatedly expressed his feelings to Hongzhang: regardless of life and death, he went to sea to fight the Japanese.However, Hongzhang was scheming and scheming, knowing his enemy and his friend, and finally couldn't bear to throw away the pet he had raised for decades.On the one hand, he still strictly ordered Ruchang not to go out to sea to seek battle lightly;Guangxu was also moved when he read this intimate rehearsal with flesh and blood and sincere words.The author does not study, but thinks about us readers and authors, and it is also worth reading carefully. I would like to copy the full text as follows: According to the Beiyang Navy's availability, there are only two iron-clad ships, Zhenyuan and Dingyuan, but they are heavy and slow, and the draft is too deep, so they cannot enter Haixi's inner harbor; The two ships, Zhiyuan and Jingyuan, were said to travel eighteen nautical miles at one o'clock when they were ordered, but due to long-term use, they are only fifteen or sixteen miles away.In addition, the older the ships, the slower they are. Whether they can avoid sensitive activities in sea battles should be determined by the speed of the ships.Those with a fast speed are easy to chase; and those who are defeated are easy to avoid.If there is a huge disparity between the speed and speed, the judge will be judged sharply and bluntly. The major Western countries pay attention to shipping management, mainly with iron armor, and must use extremely fast ships as a supplement.Xu is the way.Take a detailed look at the naval registers issued by various countries.There are a total of 21 old and new Japanese clippers that can be used. Nine of them have been purchased and built every year since the 15th year of Guangxu (1889). The fastest one travels 23 nautical miles per hour. Also twenty nautical miles up and down.Our ship was ordered first. At that time, Westerners' ship mechanics had not yet been refined to this point. It traveled 15 to 18 nautical miles per hour, which was already extremely fast.Now it is more than twenty nautical miles away.In recent years, the Ministry has proposed to stop the purchase of ship equipment.Since the fourteenth year of Guangxu (1888), our army has not added a single ship.Ding Ruchang and the generals repeatedly asked to buy new clippers, but the ministers were running out of money and did not dare to ask for advice.The minister should take the blame.The Japanese people are scheming and deep, and when I can't afford to buy more, I have added more in recent years. The minister said in the pre-war preparations that the battle at sea may not be a chance of winning, that is, because the Clippers are defeated.If we race across the ocean, the outcome is uncertain.In case of setbacks, it is not urgent to buy more.However, it is not necessary to fight hard. Today's naval power is not enough to attack people, but it is more than enough to defend itself.The way to use soldiers is more important than knowing yourself and the enemy, and taking advantage of the strengths while discarding the shortcomings. This minister is cautious and cautious. The key is to protect the ship and control the enemy.It seems that we should not make progress lightly and turn to harsh criticism.Ding Ruchang used to suppress Yue Nian. He was once a formidable enemy and made many military exploits.After staying straight, he ordered the navy to lead the navy, and went to the West many times to practice on the basis of capital.And the founding of the navy, Jane was appointed admiral, and the situation is familiar.At present, there is no one who is superior to the generals of the navy. If another person is transferred to the navy and has not mastered the mechanics of the navy, the situation will happen again, and the minister will not dare to come out if he is worried about delays. (See "Playing Drafts", page 53, page 78; "Records of the Qing Dynasty", page 345; "Nian (Japanese) Spectrum", page 271.) Li Hongzhang's secret memorial was published on August 29, 1894 (July 29, the 20th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty).He never imagined that half a month later, the Yellow Sea War broke out between China and Japan. After four and a half hours of bloody battle, the flesh and blood of his heart, the jewel in his palm, which he cultivated so painstakingly, would be "thrown away with one stroke". September 17, 1894 AD, that is, the 20th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty, and August 18, is a decisive day in the modern history of our country.That afternoon, my country's first modern navy, which ranked eighth in the world at the time, the Beiyang Fleet, had an encounter battle with Japan's first modern navy, the United Fleet, on the surface of the Dadonggou in the Yellow Sea. .The bloody battle between the two sides lasted for four and a half hours before the troops were withdrawn, and there was no winner.Of course, our losses are far greater than those of the enemy. This battle is the first time for both sides to solve the problem.In the modern military history of our country, it may be the first and only large-scale modern war fought with modern weapons, modern organizations, and modern laws.In addition, even the "Battle of Taierzhuang" and even the "India-Myanmar Battlefield" can only be said to be a nest of "bad battles". How was this war fought?Over the past century, historians have written a lot.However, most of the stories are the same, discrediting the Battle of the Yellow Sea; describing a large number of martyrdom heroes in our navy as bears.It was originally some conceited foreigners in the navy who started it, especially the British ronin, William Ferdinard Tyler.The Thai family had personally experienced the Battle of the Yellow Sea.And in his memoirs (Pulling Strings in China. London: Constable & Co; 1929).I wrote some personal notes.Later historians based on his story, echoing what others said for decades so far. When the author was a student, he also believed in his story.Later, when he was teaching overseas, he designated his memoirs as a reference book and read them carefully, so he became suspicious.After living in foreign society for decades and understanding the ugly background of those foreign adventurers who went to colonial countries to conquer the world, I completely denied his story. Taylor was born in rural England in 1865, and he had not finished primary school in his home country.Later, he worked as a mechanic on a merchant ship, and then applied for a year of "reserve" training in the British Navy, where he had to buy his own uniforms.According to his self-report, he once obtained the qualification of "sub-lieutenant RNR" in the British Navy.In 1888, he went to Shanghai to dig gold and wanted to find an "indoor staff" (indoor staff) in the Chinese Customs, but the Customs Personnel Office assigned him to a customs patrol boat as a small clerk or sailor.He worked here for five years, and in 1895 he was introduced to work on the flagship of the Chinese Navy, Dingyuan.Soon came the Battle of the Yellow Sea. What kind of errand did Taylor get on the Dingyuan?In his memoirs, he said that he was the "co-commander" of the Dingyuan-his bravado was too big.Looking at the above, Li Yuanhong, who graduated from the Tianjin Navy and returned from studying in Germany, is only a "cannon" in Dingyuan. He can at least fire cannons!What else would Tyrell put away except for his blue eyes and yellow beard? Coincidentally, the American foreigner Philo McGiffen who served on the Zhenyuan ship, formerly a second lieutenant in the US military, came to China to teach.Later, he also boasted that he was the captain of Zhenyuan (commander)!In fact, the two of them are just two sailor-level "battalion bastards". Not hereby.After the Yellow Sea War, the German consultant Constantin von Hannecken with the rank of admiral resigned.Li Hongzhang found another British tugboat driver, John McClure, to fill his vacancy.McGrew turned out to be an alcoholic with nothing to do. As the general counsel with the rank of admiral, he considered himself the deputy commander of the Chinese Navy.Teller was also salivating at this lack.Therefore, he was also extremely jealous of Mak, which made the two British wanderers feud for life. The question here is: Why did Li Hongzhang find these bad boys to fool around in the navy?This is probably because "foreigners" (especially the British) are a necessity in his handling of domestic affairs and foreign affairs.But he is reluctant to hire scholars with real talents.A scholar with real talents, such as Lang Weili, must seize power.If you seize power in the navy, another Hurd will appear in the navy.One Hurd in China is already too much, and if another Hurd comes, won't China be subjugated?So Lang Weili left in a rage.Lao Li also let him go. ——How can Lang Yanli build the Chinese navy?At best, the Chinese navy will be built into an Indian navy.This is well known by Lao Li.Friends, Li Hongzhang is Zhou Enlai!When dealing with Premier Zhou, only he can use you; how can you still use him? Chairman Mao's Yan'an was defeated by Hu Zongnan.Mao Fan asked "Hu Zongnan to obey the command"!How dare Hu Zongnan not listen? The old Mao ordered the prime minister to do this, and the prime minister did that, and the prime minister obeyed all orders.Lao Mao consciously wants to look good.But it was Zhou Enlai who really wanted "Mao Zedong to follow orders".Lao Mao is just a single husband.What's the point of people's death and political interest?The person who takes over the class of the only husband is also the Duke of Zhou.Mao Zedong did not obey orders, Deng Xiaoping, hum!I have you today.A national player of Go is invincible in the world, how can those who see it know how wonderful it is?Li and Zhou are in the dynasty, great talents and small talents, chickens and dogs are robbers, they are all chess pieces, and they can take all. So McGrew, Taylor, under Lao Li's command, some shrimp soldiers, crab generals, and small chess pieces, what kind of "foreign generals" and "foreign players" are they?However, if these rotten boys are mixed into the army, the reaction of the lieutenant soldiers to them will be different.In that era of admiration for foreigners, the general generals and soldiers, including Ding Ruchang, would respect and respect them.However, for those who are too foreign, like Liu Buchan, Lin Taizeng, Yan Zongguang, Fang Boqian, etc., they will not take these worthless foreigners in their eyes. Therefore, Tai Leer is within Dingyuan, and he can fight against ordinary soldiers; before Liu Guandai, he is a little ghost meeting the king of Hades.Even in English conversation and composition, Liu Buchan may be better than him-Taylor's English style is very low.He didn't even graduate from primary school!How can you write a good article? In the memoirs Taylor wrote later, he wanted to vilify Liu Buchan at all costs.Seeing his feelings, he said words to vent his gnashing of teeth.Can historians rely on his kind of book as credible history?Unfortunately, after Professor Zhang Yinlin (1905-1942), Chinese historians and writers have believed in it for decades. It has been briefly mentioned in the previous section.After the Battle of Toshima, the strengths and weaknesses of the enemy and ourselves were revealed.Hongzhang knew very well that our fleet was definitely not an opponent of the Japanese ships fighting fiercely on the ocean, so he became more and more eager to avoid the war.Our ships are only allowed to cruise along the line from Weihaiwei, Lushun to Yayuan River Estuary, and are not allowed to cross the border to defend against the enemy.However, Li's strategy of retreat is difficult to implement.The navy avoids war, the army is repeatedly defeated, and in the end it will inevitably come to an unavoidable desperation.Furthermore, the Qing government has declared war on Japan, Haidao has increased its troops to North Korea, and ships are responsible for escorting them. How can we avoid it? Sure enough, Asan is lost and Pyongyang is in a tight spot. Departed from Dagu on September 16, Ding Ruchang led the Beiyang Fleet to escort to South Korea halfway to reinforce Pyongyang.The Japanese ships got a report, so they concentrated twelve of their most elite ships in the Dadonggou area outside the mouth of the Yalu River, waiting for our ships to return and invite them to attack.I can't avoid it.The two armies encountered on Dadonggou, and a tragic bloody battle between China and Japan in the Yellow Sea officially broke out at 12:50 pm on September 17th. This Battle of the Yellow Sea has been recorded in many historical records over the past century.Historians also have different opinions from time to time.However, to get rid of his rumors and lies, according to the historical facts, choose a brief summary, the truth is roughly as follows. Eighteen of our escort ships arrived at Dadonggou on September 17.Among them, two gunships, Zhenzhong and Zhennan (average weight 440 tons), lead four torpedo boats and escort troops into the port.The Pingyuan and Guangbing ships anchored outside the mouth.The remaining ten warships were the main force in Beiyang, and anchored in the sea twelve miles outside the mouth.Among the ten ships are: The two battleships Dingyuan (flagship) and Zhenyuan each weigh 7,000 tons, each has 14-inch armor, and each has four 12-inch cannons, each with a speed of 14.five miles; 致远、济速、靖远、来远、经远钢质巡洋舰五艘，各重二三千吨不等，各种口径钢炮十余尊，时速大致十五至十八浬之间； 超勇、扬威、广甲三炮艇，各重千百吨，各有炮十馀尊，时速十五浬。 我舰队此时之重大弱点，盖为：（一）无新船。所有舰艇均为一八八八年前下水之旧式战船；（二）我舰无快炮。李鸿章勉力所购之十二尊，此时尚未及安装。 而此时在大东沟外，伺机拦击我船之敌舰十二艘，其性质则正是我舰之反面。其十二舰中，计有：（一）三四千吨之巡洋舰吉野、秋津洲、松岛（旗舰）、千代田、严岛、桥立、赤城七舰为一八八八年以后始下水之新船。吉野、松岛等五舰，且为十九世纪末之崭新（brand-new）产品；（二）各新船之时速，均在十八浬以上。吉野则二十三浬也；（三）日舰新船均配有“速射炮”；（四）日方老式舰艇，除比叙外，其它如高千穗、浪速、扶桑、西京丸皆钢质。船既不老，设备弥新。 朋友，现代化海空战，全打科技，全打年代。时新一年、技高一筹，就逼手逼脚。人海战术、血气之勇，中古打法也。抗战中期，日机在我成都机场着陆，取走国父遗像，留下战书向我空军挑战。我健儿不理他。但是我最高当局，忍无可忍，拍桌严令应战。结果璧山一仗，只有我领队两位大队长开了枪。其它健儿尚未及扳机开火，便纷纷坠毁如秋风落叶。从此，我们在后方就只有抱头挨炸之份了。——此事余闻之于当年参战英雄，想我空军旧档中，应有案可稽也。——甲午黄海之战，正是如此 且说九月十七日中午，大东沟上我海军将士正吃完午餐，警报东南海面发现敌船。我舰乃起锚，列阵，迎了上去。 据说，我原队形为两主力舰平行居首，余舰排成双行，尾随于后。然全队启碇不久，副帅刘步蟾忽改传旗令，变原船阵为一字横排。伸张两翼，向敌阵包围上去。 何以刘氏中途改变队形呢？据泰乐尔说是起于刘的胆怯和自私。他故意要暴露两翼小船以饵敌。庶几敌船将不致攻击刘所乘之旗舰，云云。泰乐尔更强调说，刘氏这一变队阴谋，连在吊桥上观察敌情之丁汝昌和汉纳根均未发觉，只有他泰乐尔看出了。然大错已成，无法改回，他乃向丁、汉二主帅建议，将错就错，令全队右转迎敌。丁氏称善。泰氏自称，他乃跃回司令塔要刘步蟾改变航向，右转四度。刘佯从而阴违，口嘱司舵曰“舵向左”（port），即改定远航向向右也。然旋又低声嘱舵手“且慢、且慢”（steady.steady），结果舰止不动。泰乐尔说，他见刘步蟾抗命乃大愤，厉声向刘辱骂，并跃上司令塔顶、攀上吊桥向丁报告。此时汉纳根已因指挥旗尉他去，只丁汝昌一人在吊桥上，他二人言语不适，未能实时纠正刘步蟾之错误。即在此千钧一发之际，刘步蟾忽下令开炮。四炮齐发，竟将吊桥震断。丁汝昌坠地受伤，他自己也被摔得双目失明，不省人事……；自此中国船阵大乱，终至不可收拾云云。（见上引泰乐尔自传，页五〇） 上面这段泰乐尔所描述的故事，以后竟被张荫麟、郭廷以诸教授，乃至其后无数著述家引证为海战信史，并对刘步蟾随意诋辱。吾友Rawlinson后来在哈佛大学撰写博士论文（导师为费正清教授），亦持此说，信而不疑。（见上引Rawlinson之China's Struggle for Naval Development,1839～1895，pp.175，179～180）。 读者贤达，您相信泰乐尔在事后三十多年才写出的这段故事吗？——我个人是始信而终疑也。 第一，泰氏在定远舰上向未参加过军事会议。他不够资格嘛！这也是他在书中公开承认的。在他们众舰长必然都参加的军事会议里，原议是否是“纵阵”（line ahead）？纵为“纵阵”是否一定不能改为“横阵”（line abreast） ？原议详情，后人不知也。泰乐尔当时不够资格过问此事；因此，他在当时亦不知也。三十多年之后，重要当事人死绝了，他才着书编造，漏洞百出。我辈治史者，能有疑处不疑？ ! 【附注】 其实此一纵阵为横阵之命令，据戚其章所护元文件，实出自丁汝昌的直接口令。泰氏毫无所知，实是信口胡说。 第二，变换阵形，事关十舰，左右数千码是何等大事。这种变换，丁汝昌、汉纳根近在督战吊桥之上，林泰曾总兵（师长）近在邻船，居然都未看到，只有他这一无职守的营混子、无事忙，发现了，由他来提出警告，三位正副主帅才听他建议来匆忙改正。他是老几？ !这分明是一派谰言！ 第三，丁汝昌不能实际指挥作战；骑兵出身的汉纳根，原是炮台工程师，对海军也是外行。指挥主力舰作战的司令官原是一种最高级的“技术官员”（technocrat），所用专业技术语言，在早期中国，全属英语，日本亦然（此亦泰乐尔自觉神气的主要原因）。所以中日黄海之战时，双方实际指挥官皆为副帅。在我方为副帅刘步瞻；在日方则为副帅东乡平八郎——这两位格林威治的老同学。步蟾恃才傲物，他把个真正的英国海军司令琅威理（上校）且视同无物，他怎能把这个营混子、小水手，自称“备役中尉”的泰乐尔放在眼里呢？ !泰乐尔吃气在心，所以后来著书，乃一意以骂刘为职志。其衔恨之深，诬蔑刘步蟾之刻毒，简直匪夷所思！笔者因限于篇幅，未能多译。须知定远当年是我军旗舰。在这一庄严军营之内，士卒途遇主帅，是要“目迎八步、目送八步”的。泰乐尔在其书内把自己写成一位跳梁小丑。三位主帅都听其指挥，最后竟至厉声辱骂（curse）司令官。自我膨胀，一至于此，真是不要脸之极！ 第四，纵阵、横阵之优劣，在当时海军操典上，原是各有其说的。至于阵形之变换，令旗一扯，一个立正向左（右）转，横阵也立刻可以变为纵阵。其它如由单行变双行；由方阵变圆阵；双向行驶，忽前忽后，忽快忽慢，在重洋之上，指挥作战，依敌情变化而判断之，其运用之妙，存乎一心。斯皆主帅之责，偏末小卒，何能了解呢？泰乐尔这个“洋营混子”，纵在晚年著书，对此仍一无所知也。他小学未尝卒业，常识不足故也。但是这洋瘪三，信口编造成篇，居然骗了我国并不知兵的史学界至数十年之久，亦可惊矣。 当然上述主帅作业，要能得心应手，如臂使指，就一定要将士训练有素，船械设备新颖，才能制敌机先——那时我军船械过时、炮上晒裤，一时颇难做到。可是日本人却做到了。 当敌我于十七日下午十二时五十分接仗时，我十舰排成一字横阵，定、镇居中。定远之左列各舰以次为靖远、致远、广甲、济远四舰。镇远之右则来远、经远、超勇、扬威也。十舰以六浬时速，排列前进。然两翼尖端船小，速度较慢，以致“一”字渐成弧形。 迎头而来之日舰十二艘，则分为前后两队，以吉野号等四舰居首为游击队，以松岛旗舰为首，余八舰分两行跟进，是为本队，以十浬时速，向我扑来。 当敌我距离接近八千码时。我方首发巨炮，因炮震桥断，丁提督被摔落地，身受重伤，口吐黄水，足折不能行。船员乃抬其入舱包扎，丁坚拒不许，遂坐于甲板上过道之侧，督战到底。彼可目睹合船将士操作；船面将士亦可时见主帅所在。 此时日舰距我既近，乃以巨炮还击，并由吉野率领前锋突击队，加快速度至十四浬，随即直穿我右翼而过。速射炮数十尊，左右开弓，一时俱发，弹下如雨。我镇、定二主力，直接中弹百十发，死伤枕藉。甲板上之樯桅、暸望台、帅旗、令旗，以及悬旗绳索，悉被敌方之密集速射炮火，轰毁殆尽。所幸由于装甲坚厚，敌十吋巨弹，亦只能穿甲五吋，以致两舰，始终有伤无险；并逼近敌舰，发炮还击。唯我右翼之小船，尤其是超勇、扬威两舰，不胜负荷。船身中弹数十发，引起大火。我将士虽舍命扑救，终难控制。扬威原在右翼尖端，被迫外驶避炮。不幸受伤过重，火势蔓延，全船尽毁。挣扎愈时，终至无救。全军弃船时，管带林履中蹈海自杀。海上存者六十五人，卒为我一赶来应援之鱼雷艇救起，驶出战场。 敌方前锋突击队，既以疾驶速射，穿我右翼而过之后，乃再向右急驰，绕过我镇、定二主力之尾部，拟再右旋冲折我左翼，与随后而来之本队八舰，形成包围圈，围攻我定、镇二舰为首之主力，作歼灭战。 然正当吉野二度右转拟自后方冲我左翼时，我平远舰适自大东沟之北部，率鱼雷艇四艘赶来参战。吉野见状，乃舍我左翼，改道扑我平远。我平远管带早知平远非吉野之敌，乃掉头并饬雷艇四散避之。吉野无所获，遂又奔向我舰，拟与其随后绕我而来之敌舰本队，围攻我主力，轰沉我辅舰。 此时敌我鏖战激烈，大东沟上烟雾弥天，风云变色。 当敌舰本队随其突击队，冲向我右翼，拟绕我主力作大包围时，我右翼诸舰拚死抗拒，亦发炮如雷。唯此时我超勇炮舰，已受重伤，大火不熄，船身倾斜，敌本队乃以快艇快炮轮番攻之，超勇卒被击沉。管带黄建勋随众落水。当时有人抛长绳系救生田救之。黄推绳不就，遂随超勇自沉殉国。 我军左翼自吉野折返后，战况亦至激烈。我致远舰，拚死抗战，中弹累累，船身已受重伤。致远管带邓世昌见敌船纵横驰骋，率领诸舰进攻，对我舰为害最大者，厥为敌舰吉野号。若去此酋，则我军颓势或可稍转。乃伺机取好角度以全速向吉野撞去，拟以重伤我船与敌舰同归于尽。当两船迫近，同沉势在不免时，敌我船员均大惊大哗。孰知致远半途竟被敌方鱼雷击中要害，锅炉爆裂，壮举成空——而该鱼雷原定目标本是定远旗舰，中途误中致远，救了吉野。也是天意。 当致远沉没时，管带邓世昌与合船战士二百五十人同时坠海（后只七人生还）。其时僚鹏有以救生木给世昌者。世昌推木不就。当年海军将士生活西化。世昌在舰上本蓄有二犬。如今该犬亦随主人同时坠海。此二犬希图搭救世昌，乃衔其臂不令沉没。世昌推去之。此犬竟游回再衔其发以图拯救，世昌终于抱犬同沉。 这一幕重洋之上，活生生的“义犬救主记”，真令人感叹。将来如有朝一日，我黄海血战殉国将士含寃得雪，立碑平反，则此两头义犬，也应该勒石纪念啊！ 窃念我人，生逢末世，道德陵夷。数十年友情往往为私心所蔽，为芥末之微的小名小利之惑而竞不惜投井下石，捐之一旦。比诸此犬，真是人不如拘，思之慨然。 世昌死前之激债，或言与省籍情结亦不无关系。世昌粤人，而当时海军将士多为闽人。临危相救，世昌或嫌闽人对粤人略有轩轾云。（以上故事多采自Rawlinson着前书；吴相湘等编《中国近代史论丛》第一类第六册，《甲午中国海军战绩考》；前引戚其章书与其它若干中西史料。） 致远既沉，我舰队左翼顿折。敌舰乃以优势火力与优势速率，轮番围攻我经远。经远不支，终于下午四点四十分为日舰击沉，管带林永升阵亡。合船死难者凡二百七十二人。生还者只十六人。（见同上） 我致远、经远相继沉没之后，所余之济远、广甲二船，如不及时逃出战场，必被击沉无疑。广甲原为我福州自制之木壳铁质干吨小船，本不堪一战。只是广甲撤退时，因管带吴敬荣判断错误而触礁不起。全体船员（包括黎元洪）撤出之后，翌日始被巡弋日舰所毁。 至于济远疑案，则至今不能解。济远在黄海之战时，战争未终，即全舰而返。济远归来如系“临阵脱逃”，则其管带方伯谦其后之被“正法”（砍头），实罪有应得。然该舰如系“力竭撤退”。则在那军中通讯被割，请命无由的情况之下，全舰而归，理应嘉奖呢！ 总之，方管带之死，军中哀之，洋员亦不服。敌军主帅亦感惊异，盖伯谦在丰岛之役，以一船敌三舰，表现至为优异也。大东沟之战，济远发炮过多，炮盘为之镕化，而方氏终遭“军前正法”者，显似李老总或小皇帝一怒使然。伯谦之死，是军中无法，未经过“公平审判”（fair trial）也。人主红笔一勾，小臣人头落地，中古干法也。以中古帝王办法，打现代国际战争，宜其全军尽墨也。在下落笔万言，未开一枪，私衷所欲阐明者，旨在斯乎？ ! 前节已言之，黄海一役，实际指挥作战之主帅刘步蟾也。步蟾接仗之初，麾下原有十舰。经四小时血战之后，我方有六舰或沉或毁或逃已如上述（另二舰平远、广丙未参战），然此六舰之损失实为器械窳劣所致，非主帅指挥错误有以致之也。以超勇、扬威、广甲各蚊船，置之两翼，置之排尾，其结果不会两样，则纵阵、横阵云乎哉？ 四个半小时之后，步蟾只剩四船——定远、镇远、来远、靖远也。其时来远全船着火，梁柱皆曲，已不成船形，犹与敌舰炮战未已。 定远、镇远二舰连续血战四小时有半。二舰共中重炮弹三百七十余发，遍体如麻。据日人统计，定远一舰独中轻重炮弹即不下两千发。盖血战自始至终，日方即以我二主力舰为攻击重心。二舰被摧，则我势必全军尽墨，毋待三月后之刘公岛也。 定、镇二舰各长三百呎，于四小时内，各中敌炮干弹以上。如此则船内官兵承受如何，不难想象也。泰乐尔即两耳鼓被震破，终身重听。丁汝昌、刘步蟾耳鼓如何，吾人不知也。 我两舰共有十二吋巨炮八尊。四小时中共发十二吋弹一百九十七枚。有十弹直接命中。不幸我舰无战场经验。每炮只有“爆炸弹”十五枚。其中一枚直接击中敌松岛旗舰，死敌八十余人，器械尽毁。伊东佑亨被迫另换旗舰。此十二吋爆炸弹威力可知。 爆炸弹之外，我舰多的是“穿甲弹”，而敌舰，无重甲。穿甲弹攻力虽猛，过猛反而无用。我有两穿甲弹直接击中敌舰“西京丸”。然两弹皆穿船而过，把西京丸凿了四孔，而全船无恙。 我各舰小炮共发四百八十二弹。有五十八弹直接击中敌船。敌舰比靓号被我围攻，独中二十二弹，几被击沉。我一鱼雷亦尝直射敌船，不意此雷迫近敌舰时竟潜入船底之下，穿船而过。敌人全船大惊，然卒有惊无伤，亦我国运不清，战神捣鬼也。 综计全战局，日人炮多而快命中率至百分之十五。我舰炮少而慢，然命中率，亦达百分之十。 敌舰快捷如鲨鱼，要来便来，要走便走，要打便打；不打，我亦不能追击。 然我主力舰则沉重如大海龟，任你捶打，也不会下沉。鲨鱼亦奈何不得。 双方厮杀，难解难分。至下午五时半，我十二吋巨弹只剩下三枚，而伊东深恐天黑，我鱼雷艇逞凶，乃收队而逃。刘步瞻鼓浪追之数浬，速度不及，愈追愈远。乃收队而归。——结束了这场黄海血战。 读者贤达，您读毕上列诸节的真实故事，该知刘步蟾、丁汝昌并非饭桶。大清不亡，我军不败，实无天理，然非战之罪也。我辈臧否先烈先贤，可不忧哉？愿与贤明读者共勉之。 *一九九四年九月三十日脱稿于北美洲 原载于台北《傅记文学》第六十五卷第四期