Is Fang Boqian, the general of Beiyang Navy, afraid of death or a scapegoat?

Fang Boqian (1854.1.14-1894.9.24) was born in Houguan, Fujian, and in Min County (now Fuzhou). At the age of six, he went to a private school to study. In the sixth year of Tongzhi (1867), he was admitted to the first phase of Fujian Ship Administration School, and later went to learn driving. Ten years after graduation (187 1), I worked as an intern on the "Jianwei" ship in Wei Liu and traveled to ports in Southeast Asia, Singapore, Penang, Bohai Bay and Liaodong Peninsula. In thirteen years (1874), he won five medals and served as a teacher of Fu Bo. After the Japanese invaded Taiwan Province, Feng was transferred to Taiwan Province to guide and train elite troops. Transfer to the first mate of the ship Changsheng. In the first year of Guangxu (1875), it was transferred to the "Wu Yang" and was first used by Ganzong in Fujian. Taiwan Province Province suppressed the case, which was defended by Shen Baozhen, and was on the defensive, leaving Fujian to make up for it first.

In the winter of the second year of Guangxu (1876), the ship administration sent the first batch of overseas students to Europe for investigation, and Fang Boqian was selected. In three years (1877), he set off for England and studied driving theory at Greenwich Naval School in England. After graduating in four years (1878), he was sent to a warship for internship. He first boarded the flagship of the British East Indian Fleet, the Royal Navy (H.M.S.Emryafus), and later boarded the Royal Navy (H.M.S.Spartan) at Fang Boqian's own request, which was called by the foreign director of overseas students, Sgong Seger.

Guangxu six years (1880), returned to China after studying abroad. He served as a formal teacher in Houchuan Administration School, took turns to practice the teaching of ship administration, and served as a class director. He still stayed in Fujian province to make up for it and added the title of general.

In seven years (188 1), he was transferred to Beiyang and entrusted with the "Zhenbei" gunboat. The following year, he was transferred to the "Zhenxi" gunboat and the "Weiyuan" ship training pipeline. Ten years (1884), when the Sino-French war broke out, Fang Boqian was ordered to lead Weiyuan to stay in Lushun, and Fang Boqian asked him to build a fort in a dangerous place and personally supervise the construction. The battery was named "Weiyuan" battery when it was built. "Weiyuan" battery is small, but the cost is low, and the expenditure is only a few thousand two hundred, which was well received at that time. During the "coup d' é tat in Shen Jia" in North Korea, Ding led a fleet to the DPRK, commanded the "Weiyuan" to accompany him, and stationed in Mashanpu, North Korea. On September 19th, 11th year (1885), she was transferred to the newly purchased cruiser "Jiyuan" and was awarded Hualing for her meritorious service in helping and protecting Korea.

Fourteen years (1888), guerrilla warfare was exempted because of its merits, and it will take the lead to make up for the war. At the same time, I went to Tianjin with Mrs. Lin to negotiate the articles of association of Beiyang Navy with Zhou Fu and Luo. At the beginning of the following year, Li Hongzhang awarded Fang Boqian Beiyang Navy Captain Zhong Jun Zuo Ying the rank, and still served as the "Jiyuan" pipeline. 17 (1891) In May, Li Hongzhang went to Weihai for the first time to review naval affairs, and was awarded the title of "Xieyong Batulu" with the help of Fang Boqian. At the beginning of 18 (1892), it was short of three years, and it was awarded to Zhong Jun Lieutenant General Zuo Ying of Beiyang Navy.

In April of the 20th year of Guangxu (1894), the East Learning Party uprising broke out in North Korea, and the North Korean government requested the Qing government to send troops to help suppress it. It was in the latter part of this month that Ding sent two ships, Jiyuan and Chaoyong, to escort Ye Zhichao and Nie Shicheng's troops to Yashan, with Jiyuan as the captain. At that time, Japanese warships and troop carriers kept coming and going in Asan, Incheon and other places in North Korea, carrying countless military forces, guns and ammunition, mines, drought mines, electric wires and pontoons. The Japanese authorities' desire to stir up trouble is obvious. When Fang Boqian saw this, he wrote to Li Hongzhang and put forward five suggestions, two of which were related to naval battles: First, "When naval warships are combined, the forces are thick and the situation is single. Before the game is broken, it is advisable to gather and deploy as soon as possible. If several ships are stationed in Incheon and Yashan, the harbor road is divided and Japanese soldiers can reach on three sides. I assembled all the ships in Weihai and Lushun. If anything happens, the whole team will patrol Beiyang. If there are Japanese ships, it is easy to attract attacks. When you arrive at the berth, you should rely on the battery to consolidate the Beiyang gateway and the frontier will not be disturbed by it. We advocate that the water potential of Beiyang should be broken into parts and based on the foundation. Second, "when the warships are quickly lifted, the Japanese dare to despise me in China. As there are only a few naval warships in China, and they are all old ships, it is better to use their new clippers and fast guns. If I add more speed boats and more fast guns to each boat, then he will be shocked by the smell. "In terms of books, Japan launched a war.

First, according to Li Hongzhang's orders, Ding sent ships such as Jiyuan and Guangyi to escort troop carriers to Yashan to reinforce Ye Zhichao and Nie Shicheng, with them as captains. On the evening of June 22nd, Fang Boqian learned that the Japanese fleet would arrive the next day, so he ordered the Invincible Weiyuan to return first. At dawn on June 23rd, "Jiyuan" and "Guangyi" completed the escort mission and returned from Yashan. At 7 o'clock in the morning, I went to the sea near Akio Toyoda and found Japanese warships "Yoshino", "Akitsu" and "Wave Speed". At 0700 hours (15), Fang Boqian ordered the officers and men of the whole ship to enter combat positions and prepare to meet the enemy. At 7: 45, the Japanese ship "Yoshino" suddenly opened fire on the China warship, provoking a naval battle of Toyota. In the case of disparity in strength, the two ships "Jiyuan" and "Guangyi" calmly fought and hit Japanese ships many times. In the fierce battle, the rudder of Guangyi was destroyed, causing heavy casualties and being unable to support it. First, it retreated. Then Fang Boqian saw the gap between the enemy and us and ordered the rudder to turn to the northwest. The Japanese ship "Yoshino" chased from behind, and Fang Boqian ordered the white flag to be hung, and then ordered the Japanese navy flag to be hung. Soon, the troop carrier "Goldman Sachs" and the transport ship "Jiang Cao" strayed into the battlefield and confronted the "Jiyuan". The Japanese ship "Su Lang" turned to intercept "Goldman Sachs", "Qiu jinzhou area" returned to chase "Cao Jiang", and "Yoshino" continued to chase "Jiyuan", approaching 2500 meters and firing a gun. "Jiyuan" sailors Wang Guocheng and Li Shimao used 150mm tail guns to fire four shots at "Yoshino" continuously, hitting three shots. "Yoshino" caught fire suddenly, and its bow hung low, afraid to move forward. 12: 43, Jiyuan was able to withdraw from the battlefield. In this naval battle, the China warship Guangyi ran aground and set herself on fire; The troop carrier "Goldman Sachs" was sunk, and more than a thousand China officers and men on board died heroically; The transport ship "Cao Jiang" was taken away by Japanese ships.

After returning to Weihai, Ding inquired about the fighting situation in detail to the pipeline commander and the officers and men on board the Jiyuan. On June 28th, he reported to Li Hongzhang: "The enemy protected the ship. Thanks to this cannon, the sailors Li Shimao and Guo Wang became the winners, and the others who helped deliver medicine and bomb were also called brave. Chang Chang has ordered that the leaders Li and Wang be rewarded with 1,200 pieces of silver, and the rest will be rewarded with 1,200 pieces of silver each, which will be reported to the whole army for encouragement. " As for Fang Boqian's performance in naval battles, opinions vary. First, Li Hongzhang called Ding on July 6th and said, "During the Battle of Yashan, the enemy shot and hid in the cabin, and only the second officer stood on the overpass. Please give the order to fire, but it's still too late to deliver. Here, Chinese and western people are told as jokes and rumors are everywhere. " Then, the Qing court issued an imperial edict on July 1 1, saying that "Fang Boqian, who was in charge of Jiyuan, survived a long battle when he took over the cliff mountain, and his artillery wounded enemy ships, which was still effective, and Li Hongzhang issued a special imperial edict to reward him".

Later, on the afternoon of August 18 (September 17), the Beiyang Navy and the Japanese joint fleet launched a fierce battle in the Yellow Sea. In the naval battle, two weak ships of Beiyang Navy, Chaoyong and Yangwei, were shot, caught fire, sank and ran aground. At 3: 30 pm, Zhiyuan Ship sank, and Fang Boqian led Zhiyuan Ship out of the front line. When the warship Guang Jia saw it, it also ran away. The Japanese vanguard four ships turned to besiege the Jingyuan and sank it outside the array.

On August 19, the ugly moment, Jiyuan returned to Lushun first, and Fang Boqian reported that Jiyuan's bow was cracked and the gun could not be cast, so it sailed back for repair, and the remaining ships were still at war. Nearly four hours later, the fleet returned.

On August 23, Ding telegraphed Li Hongzhang about the war situation: "Jiyuan retreated first, led troops into chaos, and fled with him. If you don't do it strictly, you won't be able to get up in the future. " Therefore, Li Hongzhang wrote: "According to Ding's investigation, after the sinking of Zhiyuan Ship, this official immediately drove away and fled, which was actually a bloodless weapon. We should ask the lieutenant to enforce the law immediately and stop military discipline. Guang Jia took Chenghai camp to defend Kingyung Woo and Jiyuan to escape to the middle of the reef, which deserved it, but people still understood that it could be built. Can you disband and stay in the camp and see what happens in the future? " On 24th, the Qing government ordered Fang Boqian to be "removed from office and put in custody". On the same day, the military telegraphed Li Hongzhang's imperial edict: "On the 18th of this month, when the Zhiyuan charge sank, Fang Boqian, the deputy commander of Jiyuan Pipeline, fled first, causing chaos on the ship. It was really cold feet, and he immediately embarked on the right path. " At 5am the next day, Fang Boqian was beheaded on the execution ground west of Jinshanxia Wharf in Lushun at the age of 4 1.

However, according to historical records, after Fang Boqian was executed, hundreds of officers and men on board lay dead and wept bitterly until dusk, and then most of them abandoned their homes and returned to their fields to vent their anger. This has attracted the attention of historians. Later, people found from the combat logs at that time that Jiyuan ship was forced to leave the battlefield only when the bow was severely cracked, the hull was tilted and the combat effectiveness was basically lost. Moreover, the warship "sunk" by it was actually sunk by a Japanese torpedo one hour before the return flight of Jiyuan.

Since Fang Boqian had no gross negligence, why was he executed? Later, after investigation, historians found that Fang Boqian was the youngest, gifted and brilliant, and was often envied for studying abroad. The defeat of Beiyang Navy in the Sino-Japanese War was mainly due to Ding's improper command, and he rushed to fight without even arranging his formation. Ding Yuan was a general of the Taiping Army, but later he defected and surrendered to the Qing government. What are the chances of an army general who climbed up by betraying his comrades-in-arms leading the navy?

As a result, the Beiyang Navy was almost completely annihilated. Lafayette found the responsibility. Li Hongzhang lost his pawn to protect his car, leaving Fang Boqian as a scapegoat. So, there is our "history".