In 1894, a rebellion broke out in Korea, and the Qing dynasty sent troops to calm the rebellion. Ding Ruchang, along with Captain Fang Boqian of "Jiyuan", escorted transport ships such as "Aijin" and "Flying Whale" and headed for Asan. At 4:00 am on July 25, "Jiyuan" returned after the transport ship landed all the horses and weapons. At 7:00 am, "Jiyuan" was attacked off the coast of Toyoshima by the Japanese Navy's protected cruisers "Yoshino" " Akitsushima" and "Naniwa." "Jiyuan" bombarded "Yoshino" and then returned to Weihai. The Battle of the Yalu River broke out at 11:00 am on September 17, and the battle situation became fierce. At around 3:30 pm, Captain Fang Boqian of "Jiyuan" left the battlefield and returned to Lushun, saying, "The ship was severely damaged, the bow was cracked and flooded, the gun could not be used, and it needed to be repaired." Captain Wu Keiei of "Kwan Chia" also fled. The withdrawal of "Jiyuan" and the destruction of the formation of the Beiyang Fleet was one of the causes of the Qing's defeat. In the early morning of the next day, Fang Boqian led "Jiyuan" and returned to Lushun. On the morning of September 19, Fang Boqian was ordered to tow the "Kwan" that had stranded on Miyama Island. Since the grounding of "Hiroko" was so serious that it was not possible to tow at "Jiyuan", he returned to Lushun with the crew of "Hiroko" on the morning of September 23.