Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 907

907. Alliance (1)

Lorenzo, Giovanni, and the other Italians were stunned by Yi Si-ae’s words, rendered speechless.

However, Giovanni and the finance officers were the first to regain their composure.

“Gunpowder is expensive…”

“Cannons can be made of cast iron, or if necessary, we can even carve them out of stone…”

Yi Si-ae, overhearing the Italians’ muttering, looked puzzled.

“You’re still carving cannonballs out of stone?”

From the perspective of the Imperial Army, stone-throwing cannons were relics of the past.

“Is Italy still resorting to stone cannonballs?”

Lorenzo quickly responded to Yi Si-ae’s question.

“Of course not. We only use them as a last resort.”

“Avoiding such situations is a fundamental quality of a military commander… Tsk!”

Yi Si-ae’s clicking sound made the Florence military officers blush, and they glared at the finance officers.

‘Why are you bringing up such unnecessary things…’

“A commander should always prepare reserves and spare ammunition…”

As Yi Si-ae’s lecture continued, the Florence military commanders glared at the finance officers with increasing intensity.

‘Why do I have to listen to the same lecture I was sick of hearing at the military academy, here of all places!’

As an aside, the Imperial Army rotated commanders with extensive combat experience to the military academy to share practical knowledge alongside theory. Even though it was just listening and not direct experience, it proved very helpful.

And Yi Si-ae was known as one of the strictest instructors.

‘Why do I have to listen to that fussy guy’s lecture again!’

Eventually, Giovanni intervened to defuse the situation.

“Hahaha! All the Florence military commanders here have studied and excelled at the Imperial Military Academy. There’s no need to worry.”

“Ahem. Ahem!”

At Giovanni’s words, Yi Si-ae ended his lecture with a series of throat clearings.

However, Giovanni still had a lingering concern.

“The finance officers are primarily worried about gunpowder, not cannonballs. The more cannons we have, the more gunpowder we need. And the more expensive gunpowder is, the higher the war expenses become.”

At Giovanni’s words, all the finance officers of Florence nodded. They were already bearing the brunt of the financial strain in preparing for the war.

Giovanni’s remark caused the Imperial soldiers to exchange strange glances.

“Are you worried that the Empire will demand financial support for the war from you?”

“Of course not! But it’s always wise to consider the worst-case scenario, isn’t it?”

At Giovanni’s words, Yi Si-ae turned to Sohn Il-won, who was sitting beside him. Sohn Il-won, understanding Yi Si-ae’s unspoken request, spoke on his behalf.

“Unless the Mediterranean is blockaded, the worst-case scenario won’t happen. And as long as our Imperial Navy fleet is present, the Mediterranean will remain open.”

“Ah. I see!”

Giovanni nodded with a relieved expression at Sohn Il-won’s answer. He was well aware of the Imperial Navy’s power, having traveled between Italy and the Empire.

‘Even with just those two monster ships [referring to the assault turtle ships], we won’t lose control of the sea! There’s nothing to worry about!’

Reassured by the top commanders of both the army and navy, the Italians returned to Florence in high spirits.

After seeing the Italians off, Sohn Il-won let out a small sigh.

“Hoo~. The bluff worked.”

At Sohn Il-won’s words, Yi Si-ae also sighed in relief and nodded.

“Hoo~. I agree. Now I understand the value of a bluff in military strategy.”

“To deceive the enemy, you must first deceive your own people…”

The first operation carried out by the Imperial Army in Italy was a ‘bluff’.

* * *

The operation carried out by the Imperial Army in Livorno was a carefully constructed mix of truth and fiction.

The cannons placed in the Livorno naval port were real. However, the amount of cannonballs and gunpowder those cannons would use, as well as the supplies loaded onto the fleet’s battleships, were exaggerated. Most of the cannonball and cannon boxes placed on the pier were actually filled with food and water. And many of the camouflage boxes were almost empty when they arrived in Livorno.

Therefore, the Imperial Army in Livorno only had enough supplies for a single major battle.

It wasn’t until the arrival of the second unit, traveling via the Suez Canal, that the Imperial Army would be at full strength.

If a full-scale war erupted before the second unit arrived, the Empire would be forced to focus primarily on defense.

This situation arose because of the long journey across the Atlantic and Mediterranean from Shinji to Italy. Distance was a factor, but the two assault turtle ships were the main constraint.

“The problem is the lack of supply bases along the route through the East Sea…”

“We have to load as much coal and fresh water as possible.”

The Imperial Navy hadn’t forgotten their experience deploying assault turtle ships on the North Sea route from Bonji to Shinji.

Therefore, the assault turtle ships traveling from Shinji to Italy underwent several modifications, primarily to extend their cruising range, starting with refining the hull’s shape.

Nevertheless, a considerable amount of coal and fresh water was still required.

They could load as much fresh water as possible, supplementing it with distillers and water purifiers if needed, but coal was a different matter.

Therefore, the Navy decided to reduce the amount of cannonballs and gunpowder loaded on the assault turtle ships.

-Only load enough cannonballs and gunpowder for one full battle.

-Load coal, fresh water, and food in the remaining space.

-The same measures will be taken not only for assault turtle ships but also for other battleships.

The engineers who built the assault turtle ships and battleships strongly opposed the Navy Command’s decision.

“The newly built assault turtle ship was redesigned with this in mind! The cruising range is sufficient!”

“The Challenger-class battleships are the same! They were built from the beginning for long-distance voyages! This is an excessive worry!”

The engineers protested, but the Navy Command had their own concerns.

“We’re talking about crossing that vast East Sea. Have you forgotten the Jinpo ship’s disaster?”

“…”

The engineers fell silent when the Navy Command mentioned the Jinpo ship. The Jinpo ship was the vessel that had dared to cross the Middle Sea [Pacific Ocean] without fear and barely made it back.

The Navy Command, having learned that the East Sea was also a vast ocean through the nautical logs, maps, and survey records obtained from captured European exploration ships, planned the operation as conservatively as possible.

And the fact that Europeans were well aware of the Challenger-class battleships’ power allowed them to make such a plan.

“Those guys already know what the Challenger-class battleships are capable of. They won’t even consider attacking if they move in fleet formation.”

“The assault turtle ships are also there. Who would attack a battleship they’ve never seen before? No one’s that crazy.”

“Except maybe the Ming guys, right?”

“They believed in that two-headed dragon or two-headed plague or something. Europe doesn’t have anything like that.”

The prediction that they wouldn’t attack the Challenger-class battleships moving in fleet formation proved correct, and the Imperial fleet arrived safely in Livorno.

* * *

“It would have been easier if we had stockpiled gunpowder and cannonballs in the warehouse we built in Livorno in advance…”

Sohn Il-won nodded at Yi Si-ae’s complaint.

“I agree. But gunpowder is notoriously sensitive…”

“That’s the problem. They’re constantly working on improving the gunpowder, but I wonder when we’ll see good results…”

Thanks to Hyang Yi’s efforts, they had obtained smokeless gunpowder early on, but this gunpowder still had many areas for improvement in terms of safety and shelf life.

They were certain that a war would break out in Italy, but they couldn’t store gunpowder in Italy without knowing when it would happen.

Therefore, they couldn’t store a large amount of gunpowder in Livorno.

“Still, let’s be patient for a little while. The second unit will arrive in about half a month to a month.”

“I’ll be able to sleep comfortably once the second unit arrives…”

At Yi Si-ae’s words, Sohn Won-il smiled and replied.

“Surely, you can’t sleep as well as the Europeans who saw our army and fleet?”

At Sohn Il-won’s words, Yi Si-ae smiled and replied.

“Hah! How could those guys possibly sleep?”

* * *

As Sohn Il-won and Yi Si-ae predicted, naval and army officials from the European powers were suffering from insomnia.

“The spies! Do the spies still have no reports!”

“Not yet!”

“What are the Florence contacts we’ve cultivated saying?”

“Still nothing!”

“Damn it!”

The generals and admirals who received the reports from their subordinates cursed.

“The ‘Flower Country’ [a common term for the Great Han Federal Empire] uses something called an optical communication network to communicate instantly! We’re still so slow!”

Even while lamenting the backwardness of their own communication methods, the generals and admirals worked tirelessly.

“Gather even rumors!”

“Yes!”

“As quickly as possible! We have to report to His Majesty the King! He keeps urging us!”

At the generals’ and admirals’ urging – or rather, the king’s urging – the subordinates busily went out, collected rumors, and returned to analyze them.

“What? It has thorns all over its back and spews fire and smoke from its mouth? Is that a ship? It’s a monster! Exclude this!”

“A giant ship the size of 10 carracks combined? 40 sails? Hmm… this seems like an exaggeration. It would be better to reduce it by half.”

The rumors, filtered with surprisingly discerning eyes, were soon compiled into a report and submitted.

“Hmm…”

The monarchs of the great powers who received the reports examined the contents with serious expressions.

Although the countries were different, the contents of the reports received by the monarchs of the great powers were similar.

-According to rumors, the fleet consists of at least 50 ships, but this is unreliable. Considering the size of the Livorno naval port and the size of the Challenger-class battleships, the maximum is 30 ships.

-Three large ships have been identified.

-One is a large transport ship, and two are presumed to be steam-powered battleships.

The combat power of steam-powered battleships has not yet been confirmed. However, considering the characteristics of the Great Han Federal Empire Army, it is estimated that they have at least the firepower of the Challenger class.

“Challenger class or higher? At least?”

The naval admirals all nodded at the kings’ questions.

“That’s right.”

“There is also a high possibility that they are ironclad ships.”

“Hoo~.”

The kings of the great powers sighed deeply at the naval admirals’ explanations.

The kings, who had reviewed the reports several times, asked the naval admirals similar questions.

“If we challenge the Imperial fleet that arrived in Italy, can we win?”

“…”

“To put it objectively, it is a fight between David and Goliath.”

“I thought David won that fight?”

“…”

“The problem is that the ‘Flower Country’ is not David’s Goliath. The problem is that it is a Goliath obsessed with cannons.”