The Storm of 1894

In 1894, the Japanese army, which had long been scheming to invade China, recklessly created incidents in Chinese territorial waters. The feeble and cowardly Empress Dowager Cixi, in a bid to maintain peace, appointed the Beiyang minister Li Hongzhang (Wang Qiuying) and his confidants, including Commander Fang Boqian of the warship "Zhiyuan" (Zhou Wenbin), to negotiate with the Japanese army. However, the arrogant and rude Japanese army shot down a Chinese merchant vessel. The patriotic officials and soldiers, represented by Commander Deng Shichang of the warship "Zhiyuan" (Li Moran), requested to fight against the Japanese army twice, but Li Hongzhang refused and took the opportunity to dismiss Fang Boqian for negligence. The Japanese army declared war without notice, inciting public anger. Under pressure, Li Hongzhang reinstated Deng Shichang. In the naval battle, Liu Buchan, the commander of the right flank of the Beiyang navy, who was fearful of death, raised the wrong signal flag, leading to a defeat of the Beiyang Fleet and the sinking of the flagship by the Japanese. Seeing the situation, Deng Shichang immediately raised the commanding flag to replace the flagship and commanded the battle, leading the crew of the "Zhiyuan" in a desperate struggle against the Japanese army, an act truly worthy of praise.