 He decided, therefore, to reinforce General Ye's forces in Asan with a further 2,500 troops, who were embarked at Dagu on board three chartered transports.The first two of these, "Irene" and "Fei Ching", carried a total of 1,300 troops and arrived at Asan on the night of July 23–24, escorted in Korean waters by the cruiser and the torpedo gunboat .In addition, the small cruiser was stationed at Chemulpo.