1890, beiyang fleet went south for a drill patrol and docked in Hongkong. When the prefect Ding left the ship and landed, Liu ordered the prefect flag to be lowered. As a result, the deputy prefect Lang Weili was greatly dissatisfied. He thinks he is still a lieutenant governor. Why did he take back the prefect flag? To this end, he also called Li Hongzhang, but Li Hongzhang supported Liu and Lang Weili resigned angrily.
Lang Weili graduated from the Royal Naval School and was a professional naval officer. His strong professional skills and strict military management have made beiyang fleet's training and management on the road of normalization. Therefore, the Qing government gave him the title of prefect to show its attention, but Lang Weili was more and more proud of it. Deputy commander of the fleet? Pretend to be.
Deputy magistrate of Beiyang Langweili
After Lang Weili left, the training and military discipline of Beiyang Navy became increasingly lax, and gambling and whoring incidents occurred from time to time, which had a negative impact on the regularization of Beiyang Navy. So it was suggested that this was Liu's intention to crowd out Lang Weili in order to control beiyang fleet.
Liu
On the other hand, the Qing dynasty was a country without industry, unable to control the western armored steam fleet, and had to hire foreign managers. This is no problem, but it is impossible for the army of any country to hand over control to a foreigner. Liu is very sober on this issue of right and wrong.
However, it has also been suggested that Liu defeated the Japanese flagship on his own initiative in the Yellow Sea naval battle? Matsushima? When were the five Japanese warships besieged? Dingyuan ship? With what? Zhenyuan ship? Japan's flagship in times of crisis? Matsushima? The lower deck was hit by shells and caused an explosion, almost losing its combat and command ability. Where is this credit record? Dingyuan ship? And Liu.
Dingyuan ship
The book "Introduction to the Eastern Military" and the report of Ito Sukeyuki, commander of the Japanese Joint Fleet all point out? Dingyuan? Hit it? Matsushima? . But later, some people thought it was a hit? Matsushima? Really not? Dingyuan ship? , but? Zhenyuan ship? .
So some people think that Liu's character is not good, and because he is the flagship, he takes all the credit to himself. But in the fierce naval battle with fierce artillery fire, how can you really tell which ship and which gun hit, let alone concentrate on commanding the captain?
In fact, after the naval battle, Mrs. Liu and Mrs. Lin did not deliberately fight for who made the gun. ? Dingyuan ship? It is the flagship of beiyang fleet and the command ship of naval battle, and its success or failure is related to this. In the whole naval battle, Dingyuan and Zhenyuan depended on each other and fought side by side. Both ships collided with the Matsushima and other Japanese ships. It can be said that the credit for hitting Matsushima should belong to the officers and men of the two ships who fought bravely.
Why is Liu, who has always shown a positive image, accused of being a coward and afraid to defend himself? This is mainly because of a memoir.
Dale, an Englishman, was the co-pilot of Dingyuan ship. He is a witness to the naval battle, so his words are very authoritative. In his later years, he wrote a memoir, The Story of China. In his memoirs, he pointed out that Liu changed the formation of beiyang fleet without authorization, for fear of fighting to protect himself.
Formation map of yellow sea naval warfare during the campaign
In fact, Ding also pointed out in his report that he ordered the formation change, while Liu only carried out the order. Secondly, after changing the formation, Dingyuan ship is located at the forefront of the whole formation, closest to the Japanese warships and most threatened by fire. How about being in this position? Protect yourself? And then what? Moreover, throughout the naval battle, the Dingyuan ship has been charging ahead, and it has been hit hard from the first fire to the last evacuation? Bi Rui? 、? Chicheng? 、? Xijing pill? .
Naval warfare is different from land warfare, and the advance and retreat of the charge depends entirely on the captain's command. A warship is a combat unit. If Liu is afraid of death, how can Dingyuan have such heroic achievements?
Why did Dell slander Liu?
Daler is an Englishman and a foreign teacher. After joining the Beiyang Navy, he performed well in the early stage, and relied on his own background to intervene in naval affairs many times. In the later period, he was very negative. He not only spread the feeling of failure, but also participated in the surrender activities of foreign members Hao Wei and Niu under the guise of Ding. Liu repeatedly stopped his ultra vires behavior, so Dale hated Liu's guts. What is worth learning from his memoirs?
Liu stubbornly resisted the enemy in the sea war and would rather die than surrender after defeat. Unfortunately, he was born at an untimely time and had patriotic enthusiasm, but he was unable to change the fate of failure. He can only express his patriotism and national integrity by committing suicide. His spirit deserves to be admired by future generations.
Refer to "Introduction to Eastern Military"
Reflections on the Sino-Japanese War