 Initially, Admiral Ding wanted to send the transports under a light escort with only a few ships, while the main force of the Beiyang Fleet would locate and operate directly against Combined Fleet in order to prevent the Japanese from intercepting the convoy.But the appearance of the Japanese cruisers "Yoshino" and "Naniwa" on a reconnaissance sortie near Weihaiwei thwarted these plans.The Chinese had mistaken them for the main Japanese fleet.