Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 241

241. The Envoy (3)

The Joseon mission, having departed from Tsushima Island, was heading to Kyoto by sea.

“I’m worried about pirates.”

Todo Ungwa, who had boarded the ship with the envoys, expressed his concern, but surprisingly, Nam Giju didn’t seem too worried.

“Do you think anyone would dare to attack these Panokseon ships?”

Not only the three ships carrying the envoys but also the escort vessels were all Panokseons [Korean warships known for their sturdy construction]. Of course, the Panokseons carrying the envoys had to reduce their loads of Hwatan [fire arrows] and gunpowder by nearly half to accommodate the envoys and cargo, but the three escort ships were fully loaded with their designated Hwatan and gunpowder.

There were hardly any pirates daring enough to attack such a heavily armed Panokseon fleet.

However, as the saying goes, ‘even a slight chance can be fatal,’ Wokou [Japanese pirates] attacked on the way from Tsushima Island to Shimonoseki.

* * *

“Unidentified fleet approaching! Fleet approaching!”

“Prepare for battle! Prepare for battle!”

“Check the number of approaching ships!”

“Approximately 30 ships and increasing!”

Doo-doong! Doo-doong!

The war drum (戰鼓) roared loudly at the shout of a soldier monitoring the sea from the watchtower, and the navy soldiers on the fleet began to prepare for battle in a flurry.

Soon after, two Panokseon ships broke away from the formation to block the path of the approaching fleet, with another ship supporting them from behind.

The three ships carrying the envoys formed a line slightly behind, preparing for battle.

Once preparations were complete, an interpreter on the Panokseon forming the first line of defense shouted into a megaphone.

“This ship carries envoys from the Great Joseon! Retreat! Retreat! We will attack if you do not retreat!”

Despite the interpreter’s shouts, the unidentified fleet continued to approach.

“Retreat! Retreat!”

As the interpreter shouted again, there was a response from the fleet.

“Ooo-ah!”

The Wokou pirates on the approaching ships raised their swords and spears, shouting. At the same time, arrows began to fly, and drums beat on the Panokseon as a new flag began to rise.

The newly raised flag signified battle.

“It’s battle! Fire the cannons!”

Kwakwakwang!

The two Panokseon ships forming the first line of defense fired simultaneously.

Each time the Eulshik Janggun Hwatong cannons [cannons that fire large arrows] mounted on the Panokseon ships fired, the number of pirate ships carrying the Wokou pirates rapidly decreased. Ships directly hit by Eulshik Daejeon (乙式大箭) [large arrows] or Eulshik Cheonja Cheoldanja (乙式天字鐵彈子) [iron bullets] were immediately pierced and disappeared below the surface.

Even if not directly hit by the Daejeon and Cheoldan, it was still a problem if they fell nearby. The small ships carrying the Wokou pirates were often capsized by the waves created by the falling Daejeon and Cheoldan.

“Enemy ships approaching!”

However, there were also tenacious pirates who broke through the barrage and tried to cling to the Joseon Panokseon ships.

At the shouts of the soldiers, the captain commanding the ship shouted.

“Fire the grape shot cannons!”

“Fire!”

Bang!

At the captain’s command, the soldier in charge of firing the grape shot cannon pulled the firing cord.

With a dull firing sound, the grape shot cannon spewed fire, and the targeted small boat was stained with blood. The Wokou pirates who had climbed onto the ship, shouting wildly, couldn’t even scream as they were torn to pieces.

“Reload!”

Reloading was quickly carried out on the grape shot cannon that had finished firing. The reloaders pulled the hammer attached to the rear of the cannon and turned the handle of the Japo (子砲, child cannon) [smaller, reloadable cannon chamber], which contained the Joranhwan (birdshot) [small iron pellets] and gunpowder. As the handle turned, the connection that had been engaged with the Mopo (母砲, mother cannon) [main cannon] was released, and the Japo was removed. The reloaders then turned and inserted a new Japo.

Meanwhile, the gunner, who had connected the firing cord to the hammer, aimed at another small boat and pulled the firing cord.

Bang!

* * *

After four rounds of shelling, even the tenacious Wokou pirates had no choice but to retreat.

The number of pirate ships that had initially rushed in, large and small, was about 40. However, when they retreated, there were fewer than 10 ships left.

“The Wokou pirates are retreating!”

“Check our casualties and inspect the condition of the hull!”

“Yes!”

The captain, after giving orders to his subordinates, turned to look at the adjutant standing next to him.

“I never thought I would see such daring Wokou pirates who would attack us.”

“Indeed.”

* * *

In the seas between Ming [China], Joseon [Korea], and Japan, the Joseon navy’s Panokseon ships were notorious. The Wokou pirates, whose main ships were medium and small vessels, and the fake Wokou pirates’ Bokseon ships [Japanese ships], which moved in ones or twos, would immediately retreat at the sight of a Panokseon.

The Panokseon, which had become larger through Hyang’s touch, carried the most cannons among the warships of the three Northeast Asian countries and was the sturdiest ship. The only drawback was its ‘damn slow’ speed.

However, even with its slow speed, the value of the Panokseon did not diminish. The narrow straits between Joseon and Japan and the West Sea route to Shandong [Chinese province] could be adequately handled by the Panokseon.

* * *

“Anyway… once this report goes up, there will be another war of words between the Ministry of War, the General Staff, and the Naval Headquarters.”

“Is it about the grape shot cannon issue?”

The captain nodded at the adjutant’s question.

The ships mainly used by the Wokou pirates were medium and small vessels. The Wokou pirates often used the tactic of towing a small boat behind a medium boat or attaching it to the back, and then lowering the small boat when approaching a place to plunder or a merchant ship, and then rushing in all at once with the medium boat.

Joranhwan was the best weapon to deal with these Wokou pirates, rather than Daejeon or Cheoldan. Of course, the arrows fired by the Wokou pirates were threatening, but the cannon shields mounted on the grape shot cannons and the shields lined along the sides of the Panokseon protected the soldiers.

Therefore, the Ministry of War and the General Staff wanted to change the armament of the Panokseon ships in charge of the South Sea.

“It is an unnecessarily excessive armament to deal with the Wokou pirate ships, so let’s remove the Eulshik Janggun Hwatong and increase the number of grape shot cannons!”

The Navy was adamantly opposed to the opinions of the Ministry of War and the General Staff.

“The Wokou pirates also have large ships, and Joranhwan can also be fired with the Eulshik Janggun Hwatong!”

“You can fire it, but when you actually use it, it all flies over the heads of the Wokou pirates!”

Considering the height of the Panokseon, even if the Eulshik Janggun Hwatong was fired at the maximum depression angle (俯角), the Joranhwan would often pass over the heads of the Wokou pirates.

“That’s why the only time the Eulshik Janggun Hwatong is effective when firing Joranhwan is when dealing with the pirate ships of the fake Wokou pirates! It is economical to reduce them!”

“The fake Wokou pirates don’t only operate in the West Sea, and the Wokou pirates don’t only operate in the South Sea! We cannot accept the removal of the Eulshik Janggun Hwatong!”

“Then let’s adjust the numbers!”

“No way! I’d rather die!”

Even if they were told it was over-armament, the Navy could never give up on firepower.

Hyang had to smile bitterly at the sight.

“The tradition of over-armament has been a deeply rooted tradition since the Joseon Dynasty?”

He was reminded of the 21st-century Korean Navy, which was evaluated as a ‘moving gunpowder magazine’ or ‘it’s amazing that it can float with that much load.’

The Ministry of War and the General Staff insisted, but the Navy had the justification.

“Damn it! Then at least make more Panokseon ships!”

“…….”

Since they still hadn’t deployed the appropriate number of ships, the Navy was loading as much armament as possible and patrolling the seas.

* * *

After a battle, the fleet, having checked its condition, continued its voyage.

“This is why… our Joseon Navy is trying to secure a port in Tsushima Island.”

“Yes…….”

At Nam Giju’s words, Todo Ungwa nodded with a pale face, trailing off his words.

Todo Ungwa screamed inwardly.

‘Is this the power of the Joseon Navy’s new ships that I’ve only heard about!’

He had heard rumors that the Joseon Navy’s Panokseon ships had tremendous power.

‘If you encounter the Joseon Navy’s new ships, run away with all your might. Otherwise, you will only become fish food.’

That was the rumor that had been circulating for the past 2-3 years.

“The Joseon Navy’s new ships seem powerful.”

Todo Ungwa discussed the rumors with his retainers.

“It seems so. However, it seems that there are not many of them yet, so it doesn’t seem like there is much to worry about.”

“That’s right.”

Todo Ungwa nodded at his retainers’ words and dismissed his concerns.

After that, rumors about the new warship called Panokseon continued to circulate, but the retainers’ opinion was that ‘there is nothing to worry about.’

“According to the merchants who travel to and from the Waegwan [Japanese trading post in Joseon], there are still not many of them. The sea is wide and the number is small, so they are not a major threat.”

“Wouldn’t it be a problem if those ships entered the port?”

“If they enter the port, that will soon become their graveyard. The Joseon Navy’s main weapon is gunpowder-based cannons, so they won’t be able to withstand fire arrows (火箭) flying from all directions.”

Todo Ungwa, recalling the confident answers his retainers had given, growled softly at the retainers standing next to him.

“They won’t be able to withstand fire arrows flying from all directions?”

“I have no excuse.”

Todo Ungwa answered softly to Hatoyamaa, the leader of his retainers.

“We’ll see when we get back.”

“Lord!”

At Nam Giju’s call, Todo Ungwa composed himself and answered.

“Where do you think these pirates came from?”

At Nam Giju’s question, Todo Ungwa paused to gather his thoughts and answered.

“I think they are pirates from the east.”

“The east? Which east are you referring to?”

“The east of the Chinese region.”

“China? Then are you referring to our Joseon?”

At Nam Giju’s question, the interpreter next to him explained instead.

“It refers to the area facing our Joseon from the Japanese mainland.”

“Ah…….”

Nam Giju nodded at the interpreter’s explanation. Not wanting to miss the opportunity, Todo Ungwa added.

“Perhaps they mistook this fleet for a simple merchant fleet and attacked.”

“The Wokou pirates should already be well aware of the Panokseon ships, shouldn’t they?”

“That is…….”

Todo Ungwa searched for an answer with a troubled expression at Nam Giju’s words. Seeing Todo Ungwa’s expression, Nam Giju answered himself.

“Perhaps they attacked because they knew that our fleet was carrying the Joseon mission? Considering the scale of the missions to Japan traditionally, they must have thought that the Panokseon ships would have unloaded their armaments and carried people. Isn’t that so?”

“That may be the case.”

“If so, that means they knew in advance that our fleet was carrying the Joseon mission…….”

As Nam Giju trailed off and glared, Todo Ungwa hurriedly waved his hands.

“No! I didn’t say a word.”

“Perhaps among your retainers…….”

“They are all my loyal retainers! Perhaps there were Wokou pirates hiding in the port.”

“I suppose so?”

“That’s right!”

Having hastily contained the situation, Todo Ungwa pointed to the cannons next to him, changing the subject.

“By the way, this small cannon is very powerful!”

At Todo Ungwa’s words, Nam Giju’s face brightened as he replied.

“His Royal Highness the Crown Prince created this cannon! It’s very impressive! There are few who can withstand it in close combat.”

‘Except for that crazy thing called the Bigyeokjincheonleoi [a type of Korean bomb]!’

Nam Giju answered Todo Ungwa with a face full of pride.

* * *

As Nam Giju said, the grape shot cannon was the strongest weapon in naval close combat.

The cannon with the simple name ‘grape shot cannon’ was a modified version of the cannon called Frangki (佛狼機) [breech-loading swivel gun] in the history before Hyang’s intervention.

Hyang played a little trick on the method of simply inserting a Japo into a Mopo and lighting the fuse to fire. He made it so that the Japo and Mopo could be firmly joined together by aligning the protrusions and indentations of the Japo and Mopo and turning them sideways. In addition, he made the mouth of the Japo longer so that it could be more tightly sealed after being joined with the Mopo.

When a battle broke out, the reloader inserted the Japo into the indentation of the Mopo and turned the handle. If properly joined, the position where the primer was inserted into the Japo would be aligned exactly with the hammer position of the Mopo.

* * *

“A large fleet is approaching!”

The fleet, heading towards Shimonoseki after the battle, tightened its grip on tension once again at the shouts of the lookouts.

As the fleet’s soldiers tensed up again behind the cannons, the approaching fleet stopped.

After a while, a small boat was lowered and approached the fleet carrying the envoys. The interpreter, who had spoken with the samurai on the small boat, reported with a relieved expression.

“It is the escort fleet sent by the Ouchi (大內) clan [a powerful Japanese clan].”

Nam Giju also wore a similar expression at the interpreter’s report.

“That’s a relief.”

Under the protection of the Ouchi clan’s fleet, Nam Giju and his party entered the Japanese mainland.