Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 714

714. The Second Battle of the Yellow Sea (12)

Imperial Calendar Year 9 (1457)

On a day of heavy snow (December 7-8), the Imperial Fleet stormed into Nantong, arriving around breakfast time for the Ming soldiers.

Ding-ding-ding-ding!

Deeng~ Deeng!

Ppoooo~ Ppoooo~.

“The Joseon bastards are attacking!”

“The Joseon bastards are attacking!”

“Send gunpowder and cannonballs to the artillery positions!”

Amidst the chaotic alarm bells and trumpets, soldiers dropped their bowls and rushed to their posts.

“Damn it! Why at mealtime?”

“Don’t those bastards eat?”

Stuffing rice into their mouths, the Ming soldiers cursed the Imperial Navy.

“Even in wartime, there should be some decency!”

* * *

Meanwhile, on the Imperial Navy ships at the mouth of the Yangtze River, facing the Ming fleet and coastal defenses in Nantong, a similar conversation unfolded.

“They say even dogs aren’t disturbed while eating, but we seem to be a bit early,” the executive officer said with a wry smile, observing the Ming lines through binoculars and reporting to the captain.

The captain responded indifferently, “I once heard my superior say His Majesty stated, ‘Dogs aren’t touched because they bite.’ Besides, it’s easier to deal with the weak and exhausted than the well-fed and energetic. You know how heavy a single fire bomb is, don’t you?”

The executive officer nodded.

He knew this from experience. After battle, everyone, regardless of rank, felt extreme hunger. After tending to the wounded, soldiers would immediately boil water and devour their emergency rations.

Initially, the executive officer thought their hunger was psychological. But after several battles, he realized it was genuine.

The weight of the fire bombs and gunpowder loaded onto the warships was considerable, and carrying them—sometimes ten, often more than twenty—quickly depleted stamina.

Recalling his own experiences, the executive officer nodded, then another thought occurred to him.

‘But isn’t it also troublesome to deal with guys who are furious because you kicked over their dinner bowls?’

“We’re in range!”

“Then fire!”

Snapping back to attention at the captain’s order, the executive officer refocused on the battlefield through his binoculars.

* * *

Bang! Kwa-kwang!

The Imperial Navy’s bombardment began, led by the assault turtle ships [armored warships with a turtle-like design].

The Imperial Navy’s artillery, incredibly skilled, quickly riddled the Ming fleet’s defense line with holes.

As cracks appeared, the assault turtle ships split left and right, attacking the remaining Ming ships from the center outwards.

In the secured space, Challenger-class battleships moved in, launching concentrated fire on the coastal batteries on Chongming Island (now Chongming Island) and the opposite estuary—the present-day Shanghai area.

The coastal batteries on Chongming Island were particularly targeted. There were strategic reasons, but the name also played a part.

‘崇明 (Chongming),’ interpretable as ‘Elevating Ming,’ irritated the Imperial Navy.

Once the coastal batteries were suppressed by the Challenger-class battleships’ relentless bombardment, landing Panokseon ships [Korean warships], waiting behind, began moving up the Yangtze River.

The Panokseon ships’ destination was the Nantong shipyard downstream.

* * *

“The Joseon bastards are coming!”

“Run away!”

“Flee!”

The rumor of the Imperial Navy’s arrival turned Nantong into chaos. Reinforcements for the Ming forces defending the Nantong naval base and refugees trying to escape became entangled, causing massive traffic jams.

“Get out of the way! Get out of the way!”

“If you don’t move, I’ll cut your head off!”

Military officers leading the reinforcements drew their swords and warned, but the refugees, panicked, surged forward.

In the end, Mao Zeyi, the commander of the reinforcements, ordered his officers,

“Those obstructing the military’s movement are collaborators aiding the enemy! Behead them!”

“Sir?”

“Are you serious, sir?”

Shocked by the harsh order, his subordinates asked for confirmation. Mao Zeyi roared,

“The Joseon bastards are coming! If blocking the road isn’t collaboration, what is! Execute them immediately!”

“Yes, sir!”

Mao Zeyi’s order was quickly passed down. The officers, grappling with the refugees, swung their swords.

“Kyaa!”

“Ugh!”

Dozens of refugees died, and an officer with a blood-stained sword shouted,

“Get off the road if you don’t want to die!”

The refugees hurriedly moved, and the reinforcements rushed to the Nantong naval base.

* * *

“Nantong!”

“Prepare to land!”

As the Nantong naval base came into sight, the Panokseon ships prepared for landing.

Puh-pung! Pung!

The initial attack came from the Nantong coastal batteries.

Fire bombs created pillars of water around the Panokseon ships, and a few lucky shots hit them.

Kwajeek! Kwajeek!

“Waa!”

“Aagh!”

“Medic!”

While some were killed or injured by cannonballs, the armor-reinforced Panokseon ships moved close to the riverbank and suppressed the defense batteries.

“Fire!”

Kwang! Kwa-kwang!

Cannons on the reinforced Panokseon ships barraged the defense batteries, while others prepared weapons to suppress the docks.

“Hwachas [rocket launchers] are ready!”

“Fire!”

Shwee-shweek!

Large Singijeon rockets [Korean rockets] from the hwachas flew through the air.

The Sanhwa Singijeon [a type of Singijeon rocket] had reappeared.

* * *

The Daesingijeon and Sanhwa Singijeon, which consumed too much gunpowder, were retired shortly after development.

However, Hyang considered this unfortunate.

“With a little tweaking, they’d be great. Really good stuff…”

But due to poor cost-effectiveness, Hyang had to step back.

Thus, the Daesingijeon and Sanhwa Singijeon were destined to disappear, but as Joseon became an empire and saltpeter was stably supplied through India, the Sanhwa Singijeon reappeared.

The warhead of the newly created Eul-type Sanhwa Singijeon used the framework of the Bigyeokjincheonle explosive bomb [a type of Korean bomb]—its power was enhanced. The body was made of thinly hammered iron plates instead of paper. Two were mounted on a dedicated launcher that modified the existing Gap-type hwacha, and each dedicated Panokseon ship was equipped with ten launchers. If they worked properly, twenty Sanhwa Singijeon rockets would simultaneously strike the expected landing points.

The Panokseon ships equipped with the new Sanhwa Singijeon were called firepower support ships.

* * *

The sixty Sanhwa Singijeon rockets fired from the three firepower support ships turned Nantong’s docks and surrounding areas into a wasteland.

The Ming forces, preparing defenses by erecting wooden fences on the docks and roads, were riddled with holes by the Sanhwa Singijeon’s fragments.

Shortly after, the Panokseon ships in charge of the landing forces arrived at the docks and nearby riverbanks and began to disgorge the landing forces.

As expected, the vanguard was the Jurchen cavalry [nomadic people from Manchuria].

“Heya~ Heya!”

Tatatang!

Against the Jurchen cavalry, the surviving Ming soldiers fired and began to reload.

This is where the battle would be decided.

The Ming army mainly used muzzle-loading rifles. Knowing this, like Japan and Europe, volley fire was the basic firing tactic.

However, there were prerequisites:

-Defensive measures like wooden fences to protect the riflemen while reloading.

-A sufficient number of riflemen to inflict significant damage.

Because of these prerequisites, during the Mente Mui Rebellion, the Joseon army had placed longsword infantry units wearing full-body plate armor in front of the riflemen.

However, in this battle, Ming failed to meet the prerequisites from the start.

The bombardment that started with the Sanhwa Singijeon had caused great damage not only to the wooden fences but also to the troops.

Thanks to this, efficient volley fire was impossible, and the Ming army’s defensive line collapsed due to the Jurchen cavalry’s charge, which targeted the reloading gaps.

* * *

The Jurchen cavalry, having broken through the defensive line, continued their charge along the main road.

The orders they received were simple:

-Seize the gates of the fortress defending Nantong.

-If seizure is impossible, block the gates to tie up the reinforcements.

To achieve that order, the Jurchen cavalry, running along the main road, encountered Mao Zeyi’s reinforcement unit.

Seeing Mao Zeyi’s unit, the Jurchen cavalry took out their spears, put them under their arms, and spurred their horses.

Hihing!

Dudududu!

The Jurchen cavalry, riding faster horses, charged straight into Mao Zeyi’s unit.

Kwajeek!

“Ack! Aagh!”

The Ming soldiers at the front were either stabbed to death by spears or seriously injured by being trampled.

The Jurchen cavalry, having lost speed, drew their curved swords, cut down the surrounding Ming soldiers, and quickly retreated.

As the vanguard of the Jurchen cavalry vacated their positions, Imperial cavalry holding breech-loading rifles filled them.

Tatatang!

The Imperial cavalry, having fired the five pre-loaded rounds, immediately moved aside, and other Imperial cavalry filled their positions.

Soon, the Imperial army infantry arrived and joined the battle.

Mao Zeyi’s unit collapsed under the Imperial army’s continuous gunfire.

Mao Zeyi urgently ordered his subordinates,

“Disperse! It’s urban warfare!”

“Disperse!”

Following Mao Zeyi’s order, the Ming army scattered into the alleys of Nantong. Seeing this, the Imperial army infantry also scattered in squads (隊, about 25 men) and began to chase the Ming soldiers.

It was the beginning of the Nantong urban warfare.

* * *

The urban warfare was fiercely fought.

The Imperial army, having secured the Nantong naval base, began to steadily deploy troops.

This was different from previous naval base battles.

Until then, the Imperial army had immediately retreated after destroying the naval base and surrounding area.

However, in Nantong, they were deploying additional troops and gradually taking control.

In the process, many civilians were caught in the battle and lost their lives, became disabled, or lost their property.

The Nantong urban warfare stopped after envoys came from Nanjing.

“We want to negotiate!”

When the gunfire stopped in Nantong, one of the Imperial army’s Haeung-class ships was crossing the West Sea back to Seosan.

It carried Jinwi and Ham Pungdeok’s family.

Unlike the families who looked anxious, nervous, and worried, Wang Deokgu was happily calculating on his abacus.

“Let’s see… what’s the market price for sea otters these days…”

Author’s words.

Hello?

This is Gukbbong, the author of ‘Black Company Joseon.’

I am writing to apologize for the continuous delays in the recent updates.

I have been suffering from persistent headaches since last week, and my condition has deteriorated significantly.

At first, it subsided with painkillers, but today it did not subside even with painkillers, so I visited the hospital.

The hospital said that it seems to be a stress issue for now. There were no abnormal signs in the blood test a while ago.

However, I was advised to go to a large hospital for a thorough examination if the headache continues to subside in the future.

I hope it doesn’t go that far, and I will do my best to update without being late or making typos.

Once again, I apologize for the frequent delays in updates.

I will do my best.

Sincerely,
Gukbbong