Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 708

708. The Second Yellow Sea Battle (6)

Early November, Imperial Calendar Year 9 (1457).

As promised to Emperor Jingtai, the Ming Dynasty fleet completed its preparations for departure by the end of October.

“It’s almost time to set sail!”

“It’s war!”

Despite the increasingly cold weather, the atmosphere in the naval ports where the Ming Dynasty’s Yellow Sea Fleet gathered grew hotter.

Soldiers ready for war, regardless of rank, visited temples or Taoist shrines near the naval ports to offer sacrifices and pray earnestly.

“Please, let me return alive this time as well!”

The veterans who had experienced the previous war desperately prayed for their survival.

“Please grant me the opportunity to achieve meritorious deeds in this war and rise to prominence!”

On the other hand, soldiers and officers who had not experienced the previous war prayed to gain fame and success through their achievements.

“The Joseon navy is not to be trifled with!”

The veterans continued to warn, but the newcomers lightly dismissed their opinions.

“That’s an excessive worry! We have the Twin-Headed Flame Dragon!”

The Ming Dynasty sailors, looking at the Twin-Headed Flame Dragon proudly stationed on one side of the naval port, were full of confidence.

-As long as we have the Twin-Headed Flame Dragon, the Ming navy is invincible!

Their pride was based on a solid foundation.

The Twin-Headed Flame Dragon was a combination of two large battleships, larger than the large ships used by Zheng He’s fleet in the past [Zheng He was a famous Chinese admiral and diplomat during the Ming Dynasty, known for his voyages of exploration].

In addition, the hull was covered with 2-inch (approximately 6cm) thick iron armor to resist the cannons fired by the Joseon army.

Finally, there was the presence of a large cannon mounted on the dragon’s head at the bow.

Although smaller than the Hwaryongpo used by Zhu Qi-zhen [a large cannon], the largest cannon among those used by the Ming Dynasty navy was mounted on the dragon’s head.

Every time they saw the huge cannon muzzle in the wide-open mouth and the dragon’s head, plated with copper and gleaming, the Ming Dynasty sailors’ confidence soared.

“Compared to the Twin-Headed Flame Dragon, the Black Flame Dragon is just an Imoogi [a Korean mythical creature, a lesser dragon or serpent]!”

***

Four days before the Start of Winter, Weihai (威海, present-day Weihai City), where the headquarters of the Ming Dynasty’s Yellow Sea Fleet was located.

In the large courtyard attached to the fleet headquarters, Ming Dynasty sailors and soldiers gathered to hold a grand ceremony.

Admiral Deng Shulin, the commander of the Yellow Sea Fleet, who was in charge of the overall command of this war, read the declaration of war in a loud voice, and then a Taoist priest, rumored to be very spiritual, performed a ceremony towards the sky.

At the same time, similar ceremonies were held at other naval ports.

After the ceremony, wine and meat bestowed by Emperor Jingtai were distributed to the soldiers and officers. Soldiers and officers, sitting in groups of three or five, tore at the meat, emptied their glasses, and laughed heartily.

The next day, as dawn broke, warships set sail simultaneously from all the naval ports where the Yellow Sea Fleet was stationed. Families of soldiers and officers flocked to the docks to see off the departing warships.

As the warships disappeared from sight beyond the harbor, the families began to visit nearby Taoist shrines and temples to pray with all their might.

* * *

The day after the Ming Dynasty’s Yellow Sea Fleet set sail, a self-propelled flying vehicle was moving slowly over the West Sea [also known as the Yellow Sea].

“Aww, damn it! It’s cold enough to die even in the summer, but it’s freezing in the winter!”

The observers, exposed to the cold winter wind in the high sky, cursed as they tightened their thick cotton-padded winter clothes.

As the self-propelled flying vehicle was improved to the point where it could be used reliably, the Imperial Army was the first to adopt it.

-You can see the details in low places, but you can see far away in high places!

The Imperial Army, which had enjoyed the benefits of the flying vehicle in the previous war, introduced the self-propelled flying vehicle and was using it effectively.

Of course, the soldiers operating the self-propelled flying vehicle had to suffer.

“Damn Ming bastards! They should just stay holed up in the harbor and drink during this winter!”

Even as he diligently tightened the collar of his winter clothes, the observer relentlessly cursed the Ming Dynasty navy as the cold wind penetrated him.

Intelligence had been continuously coming in for some time that the Ming Dynasty navy’s movements were suspicious, and accordingly, the Imperial Navy had strengthened its reconnaissance of the inner sea.

Small and large reconnaissance ships were searching here and there in the inner and southern seas, and self-propelled flying vehicles were floating in the sky, looking in all directions.

Even as he diligently cursed under his breath, the observer was diligently scanning the sea below with binoculars.

“Oh! Smoke to the southwest!”

“Wait a minute!”

At the shout of the observer monitoring that direction, the chief petty officer commanding the flying vehicle hurriedly ran to that side, looked at the sea with binoculars, and shouted into the transmission tube.

“Turn to the southwest!”

At the chief petty officer’s shout, the flying vehicle slowly changed direction and moved towards the source of the smoke. Then, the chief petty officer looked at the map and identified their location.

Before they knew it, the observers closed their mouths and searched the sea intently with binoculars, full of tension.

Then, suddenly.

“Found it! In the direction of the starboard bow!”

At the shout of his colleague, all the observers fixed their eyes in that direction.

“At least 70 ships or more!”

“More than 50 large ships!”

“Twin-Headed Snakes! No! Three Twin-Headed Flame Dragons confirmed!”

Among the Imperial Navy, the Twin-Headed Flame Dragon was called the Twin-Headed Snake, that is, a snake with two heads.

-It moves by turning water wheels? In the middle of the sea? And it’s a warship? Then it’s a snake, not a dragon!

-Does having two heads make a snake’s head a dragon’s head?

Among the Imperial Navy, the Twin-Headed Flame Dragon was a target of ridicule.

After recording the Ming Dynasty fleet’s speed and location based on the soldiers’ reports, the chief petty officer grabbed the transmission tube.

“Return immediately! Turn the head!”

At the chief petty officer’s command, the flying vehicle slowly turned around and began to retrace its path.

“Damn it! Damn headwind!”

As the flying vehicle’s speed was not properly achieved due to the changed wind direction as the season entered winter, the chief petty officer cursed, looked at the map, and ordered the observers.

“Prepare signal flares! Look for a communication line nearby!”

“Yes, sir!”

At the chief petty officer’s command, the observers shouted loudly and diligently searched the sea again.

* * *

One of the biggest problems facing the Imperial Navy at this time was the lack of fast and efficient long-distance communication means.

On land, fast communication was possible using light signal towers, but at sea, it was impossible.

To solve this problem, after much deliberation, the solution was to float small boats at regular intervals in the inner and southern seas.

The small boats were loaded with a large number of signal kites and Singijeon [Korean rocket arrows], and their mission was to use these means to contact other communication lines and communication towers installed on nearby islands when urgent reports came from other communication lines or flying vehicles.

It was a decent means, but there was a fatal problem: the small boats could not go out to sea if the weather was even slightly bad.

Thanks to this, finding a way to solve this problem was placed at the top of the challenge list.

And, whenever Hyang received criticism regarding related issues, he had to put his hand on his forehead and mutter inwardly.

‘Ah! I’m itching for electricity, I’m itching for rubber!’ [referring to the materials needed for modern communication technology]

* * *

Fortunately, the flying vehicle encountered a communication line and was able to transmit approximate information using light communicators and signal flares.

And, using the light communication networks of the communication lines and nearby islands, the urgent report was immediately transmitted to the Inner Sea Command in Seosan and to Seoul.

“Finally, the Ming bastards have moved.”

Inner Sea Fleet Commander Jo Jin-woong urgently summoned the commanders and explained the situation.

“According to the information received so far, the number of warships mobilized by the Ming bastards this time is about 120. Among them, 100 are large ships. And out of those 120 ships, 50 have moved towards Lushun, and 70 are coming this way.”

Nam Gi-nam, the 2nd captain of Maeng Jin-ho, the flagship, asked Jo Jin-woong.

“Where did the Twin-Headed Snakes go?”

“All three of those snake heads are coming this way.”

At Jo Jin-woong’s answer, the faces of Nam Gi-nam and the captain of the Assault Turtle Ship, Doljin-ho, sitting next to Nam Gi-nam, brightened.

Seeing the bright faces of the Assault Turtle Ship captains, Jo Jin-woong chuckled and muttered inwardly.

‘Don’t those guys have any fear in the first place? Well, the ones who raised them like that are those guys….’

* * *

Nam Gi-nam and his fellow Assault Turtle Ship captains were the ones who had seen and learned under the former captains. And the former captains were the first captains to travel the oceans aboard Challenger-class warships.

To put it nicely, they were ‘courageous and daring people,’ and in Hyang’s expression, they were ‘the most unique lunatics in the world.’

And those who had seen, learned from, and trained under such people could not possibly be normal.

* * *

Jo Jin-woong, who immediately came to his senses, continued the explanation.

“Anyway, the only ones who can properly deal with those snake heads are our dragon heads [referring to their own powerful warships]. However, the problem is that we are outnumbered 3 to 2. Fortunately, we are not inferior in terms of fleet size. The same goes for firepower.”

At Jo Jin-woong’s words, the commanders all nodded.

The number of warships deployed in the Inner Sea Fleet was about 90. If we exclude the number of small boats used as communication lines, the number of warships that can be put into battle is 72. Two were Assault Turtle Ships, 30 of the remaining 70 were Challenger-class warships, and the rest were Haeung-class warships.

The numbers were not inferior at all. Firepower? The Imperial Navy did not think that they were inferior in firepower, no matter what the Ming thought.

* * *

After the last war, the Inner Sea Fleet strengthened its forces.

-The Ming will not stay still!

Hyang and the ministers all made this judgment, and it was a decision based on that.

According to the decision of Hyang and the ministers, new Challenger-class warships were supplied to the Inner Sea Fleet in large quantities.

In addition, as Haeung-class warships took their place as auxiliary ships, Panokseon [Korean warships] were retired, leaving only a small number in good condition.

And the Panokseon that survived were equipped with small steam engines, armed with Bigyeokjincheonleis [powerful explosives] and Byeongshik Hwachas [multiple rocket launchers], and deployed to the Lushun area fleet.

The mission of the Panokseon, whose deployment had been changed, was to play the role of landing ships in the 21st century.

If a dispute with the Ming broke out, the mission of the Panokseon deployed in Lushun was to land troops in Tianjin and attack Beijing.

* * *

Jo Jin-woong continued the explanation.

“According to the operational plan we had established, if the Ming started something, our plan was to unite with the Northern Shore Fleet in Lushun and attack Beijing.

However, this incident has proven that those guys also have heads. Thanks to that, we’ve become a bit more complicated.

We will smash the snake heads coming this way as quickly as possible and go north. To do that….”

Jo Jin-woong explained the operational plan he had devised.

The commanders listened to the explanation and offered their opinions, and the plan was gradually modified and became sharper.

Jo Jin-woong, who confirmed the completed final plan, nodded with a satisfied face.

“Not bad. Then let’s go with this. The operation name is ‘Snake Hunt.’ How about that?”

“Then everyone, return to your assigned ships, check the supply situation, and fill in any missing parts immediately. We will set sail at dawn tomorrow!”

“Yes, sir!”

The commanders, who answered vigorously, left the conference room and ran to their ships.

Jo Jin-woong, who was left alone in the conference room, spread out an empty piece of paper and grumbled.

“Damn it… writing a report is the most annoying thing, those damn Ming bastards….”

Even if he wrote the report in proper Korean, he had to follow the etiquette, and that was never an easy task.

“Damn it! I’d rather go out to sea and fight until my head explodes! What is this success for! Grand Scholar Shin too! Why do you leave me out!”

‘The situation with the Ming is unstable, so I need you to stay a little longer. You know I trust you, right?’

In the last personnel reshuffle, Shin In-son said this to Jo Jin-woong and retained him. At the time, Jo Jin-woong was happy that he would not have to go to Shinji and suffer.