Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 16

Extracurricular Story 16. 1592 Naval War in the South Sea. (16)

The Japanese navy command’s assessment mirrored Commander Lim’s prediction almost exactly.

“Suddenly switching to ciphertext after starting with plaintext… What does it signify? Is it a trap?”

Kuki Yoshitaka’s staff officers frantically tried to answer his question.

‘Our ships are being turned into fish food out there! We need to figure this out quickly, or we’re doomed!’

Reports of Japanese naval vessels being hit and sinking continued to flood in from the lookouts and communication rooms.

Therefore, they had to devise the ‘right’ and ‘optimal’ countermeasure as quickly as possible.

As they considered all the possibilities, one of the staff officers offered an opinion.

“Wouldn’t it be better to just ignore it and stick to our original plan?”

Upon hearing this, the other staff officers gave him incredulous looks and criticized him.

“Ignore it? Are you out of your mind! They sent a plaintext message followed by a ciphertext message, and you want to ignore it?”

“We know who we’re dealing with! It’s Yi Sun-sin, Yi Sun-sin!”

* * *

Whenever there were personnel changes in the Imperial Army, Japan and Ming would gather and analyze information about the commanders in charge of key forces.

In Ming’s case, they paid special attention to the Imperial Army commanders assigned to the northern border, while Japan focused on the commanders of the Second and Third Mobile Fleets.

According to Japan’s analysis, Yi Sun-sin was a brilliant strategist. A very outstanding one at that.

Therefore, as the Japanese fleet suffered more damage than expected due to the Empire’s submarines and airships’ ingenious attacks, the staff officers began to suspect Yi Sun-sin as the commander behind it.

However, the staff officers immediately dismissed their suspicions.

“No matter how brilliant Yi Sun-sin is, he can’t command the battle in the West Sea from Wonsan! Not even Zhuge Liang [a famous strategist from the Three Kingdoms period] could do that!”

“Wouldn’t Zhuge Liang be able to do it? Like when he gave Zhao Yun [a general under Zhuge Liang] a silk pouch [referring to a strategy Zhuge Liang provided in advance].”

“Is this the time for jokes!”

Kuki Yoshitaka’s staff officers dismissed the possibility of Yi Sun-sin’s involvement.

And Kuki Yoshitaka agreed with his staff officers’ thoughts.

“Even if he set sail from Wonsan as soon as he heard the news, it would take him a night to get here. Commanding with only a map and relying on communication? Absolutely impossible!”

“Could it be possible that only Yi Sun-sin came?”

“Leaving his fleet behind and commanding someone else’s unit that already has a commander? What does he think the chain of command is?”

“Then… who on earth?”

While they were pondering who was commanding such a clever and devastating coordinated tactic, the plaintext communication in question came in.

“Yi Sun-sin? It was Yi Sun-sin?”

“This is insane…”

“Commanding from a thousand *li* [approximately 500 kilometers] away? What kind of crazy bastard is that!”

* * *

Because they witnessed a command that was impossible even for a typical, or even excellent, commander, Kuki Yoshitaka’s staff officers dismissed the idea of ‘ignoring the meaning of the communication they just acquired.’

However, the staff officer who came up with the idea presented his reasoning and insisted on his opinion.

“It’s precisely because it’s ‘Yi Sun-sin’!”

“Even in urgent situations, orders must be delivered in ciphertext.”

“However, converting a plaintext order into ciphertext takes a lot of time and effort.”

“But looking at the current situation, several times more communications than usual have been sent. In other words, the soldiers in charge of communications must be exhausted.”

“In this exhausted state, one of the soldiers must have accidentally sent it in plaintext.”

“Yi Sun-sin, realizing this fatal mistake, came up with the trick of sending the same order in ciphertext afterward.”

“Oi, Tanaka! Yi Sun-sin’s trick? What’s the reason?”

Tanaka, the staff officer, emboldened by Kuki Yoshitaka’s question, who thought Nammo’s explanation was plausible, continued immediately.

“Yi Sun-sin would have been certain that we intercepted the communication and realized his presence.”

“Therefore, he would have sent the same order in ciphertext with a time difference.”

“To mislead us into thinking that Yi Sun-sin sent a different order.”

“The fact that he suddenly left the communication open for 2 *gak* [a unit of time, approximately 30 minutes] after almost always issuing orders in ciphertext is proof of that.”

“Hmm… Okay, let’s say that’s the case. So, what happens if we change course and move north or south?”

The staff officer sitting next to Tanaka immediately answered.

“If we go north, we have to face both the Imperial Army defending Seoul and the West Sea Fleet. If we had proceeded smoothly according to our plan, there wouldn’t have been a big problem, but in the current situation, we have to be prepared for difficulties. If we head south, we have to face both the Third Mobile Fleet, which is coming here now, and the Second Fleet, which has recovered to some extent, at the same time.”

“So, regardless of whether we change course to the north or south, it means we’re doing what Yi Sun-sin wants?”

“If Tanaka’s assumption is correct, yes.”

“Then, should we continue east?”

“Rather, that’s more likely to be a trap.”

The senior staff officer objected to Kuki Yoshitaka’s words.

“That’s a trap?”

“If we continue east from our current position, we will land south of Okgu. That’s the Honam Plain. If it’s a frozen plain in winter, it’s the perfect place for armored units to move! The Imperial Army’s armored units are probably waiting for us!”

Kuki Yoshitaka questioned the senior staff officer’s objection.

“I thought you agreed when we first decided to go east?”

“That was when we didn’t know the opponent was Yi Sun-sin! Now that we know the opponent is Yi Sun-sin and that Yi Sun-sin is commanding all the Imperial forces in the Imperial mainland, we need to revise the plan!”

“This is…”

Faced with a situation where he couldn’t go either way, Kuki Yoshitaka put his hand on his forehead.

It was difficult to make a decision because both sides’ opinions seemed reasonable.

‘Why does the opponent have to be Yi Sun-sin…’

The opponent was known as a brilliant strategist. In other words, they had to face someone who was skilled at setting traps.

At this time, one of the staff officers at the lowest rank cautiously opened his mouth.

“Perhaps, isn’t this also a trap? A trap to make us waste valuable time while worrying.”

At the words of the youngest staff officer, Kuki Yoshitaka, as well as the other staff officers, looked as if they had been struck by lightning.

“That’s possible!”

“No, that’s the most likely possibility!”

“As expected, Yi Sun-sin! Creating this situation with just one plaintext communication!”

As an unexpected conclusion came out, Kuki Yoshitaka’s staff officers quickly analyzed the situation.

“Going north to Seoul or changing course to the south is not an option. In the current situation, it is too difficult to directly strike Seoul. Going south is also impossible. The moment we turn south, we give up everything we initially aimed for.”

“Continuing east to land south of Okgu is also impossible. The Imperial Army forces will already be in position.”

“Then where?”

“Then…”

The staff officers, looking at the map at Kuki’s question, all pointed to one place.

“Boryeong!”

“Boryeong?”

“Yes! There is a solid sandy beach that is relatively good for landing!”

“It’s about 450 *li* [approximately 180 kilometers] to Seoul! And most of it is the plains of southern Gyeonggi!”

“There are several islands between Boryeong and Okgu! They will provide cover to protect the fleet!”

At the staff officers’ explanation, Kuki Yoshitaka ordered the adjutant next to him.

“Bring Maeda-sama here!”

“Yes, sir!”

After a while, Maeda Toshiie, who entered the conference room, listened to Kuki’s explanation and asked a question.

“So, it’s Boryeong?”

“Yes.”

“Hoo~. It can’t be helped.”

Maeda Toshiie sighed deeply and nodded.

“Let’s go to Boryeong.”

“Yes, sir!”

In this way, the Japanese fleet set Boryeong as its final destination and moved.

They were heading to the place Yi Sun-sin wanted.

* * *

While the Japanese fleet was running at full speed towards Boryeong, the Empire’s airship unit finally retreated as the sun set.

At the same time, the Empire’s submarines also quietly retreated.

This was because the airship unit had difficulties with night operations, and the submarines had used up almost all of their self-propelled torpedoes.

As the Empire’s offensive subsided, the surviving crew members of the Japanese fleet breathed a sigh of relief.

“Hoo~. We barely survived.”

“We were lucky.”

“Namu Amita Bul… [a Buddhist prayer]”

Unlike the general sailors who were relieved to have survived the Empire’s relentless offensive, the bridge was still busy.

“Approach the coast as much as possible under the cover of darkness.”

“Send the transport ships forward and guard the surrounding islands with destroyers. Battleships, cruisers, and aircraft carriers guard the outer perimeter from the outside.”

Following Kuki’s orders, the Japanese fleet reorganized its formation.

However, as it became dark all around, the Japanese fleet, fearing collisions, had to brightly illuminate its signal lights and searchlights.

“Haha! They’re even turning on the lights to help us aim! Then we have to make sure to hit them!”

The captains of the self-propelled torpedo boats, who were ambushing in the shadows of the islands south and north of Boryeong, chuckled and tapped on the telegraph.

“Enemy ship confirmed. Starting the operation.”

Babababang!

The self-propelled torpedo boats, having finished sending the message to headquarters, immediately rushed out without waiting for a reply. The self-propelled torpedo boats, rushing out with loud exhaust noises, skimmed across the surface of the water and charged at the Japanese fleet.

Ding ding ding!

Aeeeee!

“Enemy attack!”

“Enemy attack!”

“Torpedo boats!”

The Japanese lookouts, who confirmed the Empire’s self-propelled torpedo boats’ attack, raised the alarm, but unfortunately, their response was one beat, no, two beats late.

This was unavoidable.

The lookouts were already exhausted from the battle that had continued until sunset. In addition, the darkened night and sky made it difficult for the Japanese to be vigilant.

Like the nickname ‘wild horses of the sea,’ the Empire’s self-propelled torpedo boats boasted very high speeds.

By the time the Japanese navy destroyers, cruisers, and battleships, which were in charge of guarding the outermost perimeter, turned their cannons and adjusted their aim, the first self-propelled torpedoes were already surging in.

The self-propelled torpedoes mounted on the self-propelled torpedo boats were the same as those mounted on submarines.

They were more powerful, faster, and had a longer range than the self-propelled torpedoes used by the airship unit.

Thud! Kwakwang! Kwang!

Therefore, the Japanese warships that were hit by the surging self-propelled torpedoes suffered very serious damage.

What was even more unfortunate for the Japanese was their misjudgment that they could take a breather as the airships and the Empire’s attacks disappeared.

“It seems like it’s over for today, so let’s start the repairs.”

“We have to finish the repairs quickly to survive tomorrow.”

The captains who made this judgment sent additional troops down to the bottom of the ship.

The moment the self-propelled torpedoes hit and exploded, most of the troops who had gone down were drowned.

In the end, the Japanese warships – especially the destroyers – which had lost the personnel to treat the newly created fatal wounds, soon sank or drifted helplessly, losing their combat power.

Kuki, who was sitting on the bridge of the flagship, received an urgent report and quickly jumped out of the bridge to look outside.

Looking at the sea that had once again become a mess, Kuki slammed his fist on the railing.

“Yi Sun-sin! You monster!”