The 124th anniversary of the Battle of Jia-Wu. Recently, in Dalian Bay, near the battlefield of the old Yellow Sea Naval Battle, a shipwreck was found, which was the famous warship of the Qing Dynasty's Beiyang Marine Division, the Jingyuan.
Compared with Zhenyuan, Dingyuan or Zhiyuan, jingyuan is not famous, but it is the first ironclad warship in the Beiyang Marine Division to be truly sunk. Under the siege of the Japanese warships, only 16 of the more than 230 crew members of the warship survived, and the officers on the ship, such as Lin Yongsheng, Chen Rong, the first mate of the gang, and Chen Jingying, the second deputy, all died, which can be described as extremely heroic.
During the expedition, divers found 74 rifle bullets in the bow of the ship. As we all know, in the era of ironclad ships, naval battles were won by cannons and torpedoes, after all, no matter how strong the musket, it is impossible to shoot through thick iron armor. However, the discovery of these bullets proved that the soldiers on the Jingyuan ship had pulled out their rifles and tried to fight the Japanese to the death during the bloody battle with the Japanese warships.
The warships did not use artillery, but fought with guns, so why would the officers and men of the Beiyang Navy make such an irrational move? The expert explained: "This is the most magnificent place for the officers and men of the Beiyang Navy! ”
In the public image, the Beiyang Marine Division is the first navy in Asia. But few people know that by the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War, this position had been ceded to the Japanese Combined Fleet. From the 1880s onwards, Weng Tonggong, who was in charge of finance and had a festival with Li Hongzhang, refused to approve funds for the Beiyang Marine Division. As a result, the Beiyang Marine Division did not purchase a single warship or even a cannon in 10 years.
At the end of the 19th century, naval technology and equipment were changing with each passing day, and the self-contained Beiyang Marine Division regrettably missed the golden period of naval development. Japan, on the other hand, has made concerted efforts to purchase a large number of new warships, surpassing the Beiyang Naval Division in terms of tonnage, firepower and speed. Except for the Dingyuan and Zhenyuan ships of the Beiyang Marine Division, the other warships were not opponents of the Japanese fast warships, and the tragedy of the Jingyuan ships was doomed.
In the Battle of the Yellow Sea, the extremely fast Japanese warships quickly encircled the Beiyang Marine Division, and the Dingyuan and Zhenyuan ships were attacked by the Japanese army. In order to break the Japanese siege of the Ding and Zhen second ships, The captain of the Jingyuan ship, Lin Yongsheng, took the lead and led 230 officers and men on the ship to launch the most courageous attack on the Japanese ship.
Unfortunately, however, the Keiyuan ships were soon besieged by the Japanese warships Yoshino, Takachiho, Akitsushu, and Nanasu. Among them, Yoshino and Lang speed are both Japanese aces, and their speed and tonnage are greatly superior to those of the Jingyuan ship. Although Lin Yongsheng calmly commanded, he was unfortunately hit by the enemy's rapid-fire artillery and died heroically.
After Lin Yongsheng's death, the first officer Chen Rong immediately took over the command, and unfortunately was killed by the Japanese army. However, jingyuan was not discouraged, and the second deputy Chen Jingying took over the command. In order to inflict heavy damage on the Japanese army, Chen Jingying commanded the battleship to crash into a Japanese warship. Unfortunately, the enemy's artillery fire was so fierce that the ship was eventually sunk.
In this regard, experts believe that the reason why so many rifle bullets appear on the Warship does not mean that the officers and men do not understand common sense and shoot at the enemy ship senselessly, but are ready to jump on the enemy ship and crush the Japanese army on the ship when they are close to the enemy ship, so as to occupy and capture the enemy ship. In the age of the ironclad ships, this was an ancient tactic.
Carrying the raging fire on their backs, under the fierce blows of the enemy's rapid-fire guns, the 230 officers and men of the long-distance ship risked their lives, all concentrated on the bow of the ship that was easily attacked, and carried out a fearless attack on the enemy ship with rifles. Even if it is ultimately lost, it can still make heaven and earth move!
After the Beiyang Marine Division was completely destroyed in Weihaiwei, in more than 100 years, the officers and men of the Beiyang Marine Division suffered countless slanders. Rumors such as officers and soldiers smoking opium and drying clothes on cannons are endless, after all, the soldiers who died in the war cannot defend themselves, but can only let the young people continue to slander their innocence.
Fortunately, recently, many experts have begun to correct the name of the Beiyang Marine Division. They used all kinds of materials to prove that the officers and men of the Beiyang Navy in the Sino-Japanese Naval Battle were all good! According to the data, the accuracy of the Beiyang Navy's shooting is far superior to that of Japan, and if there are enough flowering shells, it can sink at least 5 enemy ships, including the bull bombardment of Yoshino. In addition, in the battle, a considerable number of officers and men were killed; and the captains of the ships, in line with the principle of "ship death and death", most of them committed suicide and martyrdom. Although there was such a scum as Fang Boqian, he still could not hide the wisdom of the martyrs who sacrificed them.
We can't judge heroes as success or failure. The Beiyang Marine Division not only had a strong enemy like Japan outside, but also officials such as Weng Tonggong on the outside. In the author's opinion, the Beiyang Admiralty did not lose to Japan, but to the conformist Cixi, to those officials who only knew infighting and were playing with their martial arts! It was the decaying Qing Dynasty that failed them!
On September 27, 2018, with respect, the descendants placed the remains of the martyrs of the Jingyuan Ship in the pipe belt Lin Yongsheng statue, and their heroic souls will forever bless China's sea frontier! Beiyang Navy martyrs, immortal!