Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 951

951. The Naval Battle of Corsica (7)

“But, it can’t be helped.”

The idea of using numerical superiority to tie down the Imperial Fleet and then overwhelming them wasn’t bad. However, there was a limit to how many ships could be committed to bog them down. No matter how chaotic the battle became, a minimum level of command and control had to be maintained.

And, if they succeeded in tying down the enemy, they needed to recognize that they could use the classic ‘hammer and anvil’ tactic.

“They must have been complacent, thinking it’s hard to use ‘hammer and anvil’ at sea, or that no one but our Imperial Fleet is skilled enough to pull off such a crazy stunt…”

Son Il-won, reflecting on his own shortcomings, smacked his lips while studying the map.

“Tch. I guess the assault turtle ship I set aside just in case will have some fun.”

The initial plan was to move the Florence Fleet, escort fleet, and transport fleet to Genoa to avoid unnecessary losses. However, after Hyang’s suggestion, Son Il-won revised the plan to include one assault turtle ship.

“Are you telling me to put the assault turtle ship on rear guard duty instead of having it fight?”

‘No captain of an assault turtle ship is sane.’

As if the saying circulating among the Imperial Navy was true, the captains of the assault turtle ships vehemently protested upon hearing the plan. However, as the saying goes, ‘Rank is law,’ they had no choice but to follow Son Il-won’s orders. The captain and crew of the assault turtle ship chosen by lottery had to set sail for Genoa, grumbling openly.

But now, they were about to take on the most important mission. Son Il-won could already picture the captain and crew of the assault turtle ship gleefully accepting the orders.

“Alright! No more regrets! His Majesty is just acting like His Majesty always does! Then, I need to earn my keep! I can’t allow any complaints in this country!”

Son Il-won, steeling himself, summoned his staff.

* * *

As time passed, people flocked to Corsica and the Tuscan Archipelago.

-The Imperial Fleet and the European fleets are going to clash!

-They say it’s going to be the biggest naval battle anyone has ever seen or heard of!

As these rumors spread, people gathered to witness the ‘historic naval battle.’ Hyang, upon receiving reports related to this, gave a wry smile.

“Rumors sure spread fast, even in this era…”

The French fleet, having passed through Gibraltar and entered the Mediterranean, headed for Barcelona, while the Spanish fleet headed for Naples. While resting and reorganizing, waiting for the Venetian and Habsburg fleets, many sailors disembarked and flocked to the taverns of Naples.

And the drunken sailors blabbered about ‘fighting the Imperial Fleet!’ and even leaked that they were heading north for that purpose. The rumors that spread from the taverns quickly spread in all directions. Reports about this immediately reached the commanders of the Allied Fleet. The commanders smiled wryly upon receiving the reports.

“Booze and boasting are inseparable from sailors.”

“Didn’t we expect this? Let’s just be glad it happened now!”

The other admirals nodded at the words of the Venetian admiral, who had just arrived. As Julius Caesar had said long ago, ‘The die is cast’ [a point of no return]. The sailors knew it too, so they opened their mouths, which had been tightly shut until now. They were trying to give themselves courage by talking and boasting like that. The admirals knew the hearts of their crew, so they didn’t take any special measures even as the rumors spread.

“The most important secrets haven’t been revealed…”

“We’ll set sail in just two or three days…”

However, the Italians were even more fond of talking than expected, and the speed at which rumors spread on land was much faster than a ship sailing at full speed. The rumors that spread in this way soon reached the ears of pleasure-seekers. Unlike the north, where fierce battles had already taken place and small-scale battles were still occurring intermittently, the pleasure-seekers of central and southern Italy, which had been relatively peaceful with only confrontations, began to stir.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! I can’t miss it!”

“Going to the battlefield to watch a war? Are you crazy?”

“It’s a naval battle, a naval battle!”

“Ah!”

Unlike ground warfare, where there was a high risk of getting caught up in the fighting if you got too close, this battle was a naval battle. Unless you boarded a ship and went out to sea, there was no chance of getting caught up in the fighting and suffering unnecessarily.

“If you give them a few coins now and pass the search, you can go north as much as you want! We can’t miss this opportunity, can we?”

“That’s right! Let’s go!”

Pleasure-seekers flocked to Grosseto south of Florence, the Tuscan Archipelago, and Corsica from central and southern Italy, and even from Venice.

“The sailors said they were going north! Then the naval battle will take place near Corsica! That’s the only place!”

Among these people, there were also many painters.

“It’s a great naval battle that will go down in history. Let’s make my name known with the best paintings I can create!”

And so, the ‘historic naval battle’ became a ‘circus’ overnight.

* * *

The Spanish-Venetian-Habsburg Allied Fleet was the first to arrive at the battlefield.

“Unexpected. If they heard the rumors, they would have already moved.”

“Could it be that they heard the rumors about our great fleet and got scared and hid?”

At the words of the Habsburg naval admiral, the other admirals fixed their gaze on the Habsburg naval admiral. The other admirals, seeing the Habsburg naval admiral’s face full of seriousness, all thought the same thing.

‘What is it? Is this idiot still underestimating the Imperial Fleet?’

‘We told him so many times, but he still looks down on the Imperial Fleet?’

“Ahem! Ahem!”

The Venetian naval admiral, diverting attention with a light cough, returned to the main topic.

“Now! Let’s not miss the luck we’ve encountered! It’s only about 25 leagues (approximately 75 nautical miles or 139 kilometers) from here to Livorno. Even the slowest ship can arrive in half a day. Let’s not waste this golden time and quickly establish our formation.”

At the words of the Venetian naval admiral, the other admirals organized the situation with serious faces. After a serious meeting that followed, the Allied Fleet began to deploy its ships. As the fleet’s battleships were moving to find their respective positions, suddenly some sailors pointed to the sky and shouted.

“Captain! The sky! The sky! Look at the sky!”

“Huh?”

The captains, squinting and looking at the sky at the sailors’ shouts, froze in place. A small figure was moving high in the northern sky, with black smoke trailing behind it like a tail. The captains, staring blankly at the Empire’s self-propelled airship, soon regained their senses and ordered their sailors!

“Signalman! Inform the flagship! ‘Enemy sighted! Sky!'”

“Aye!”

At the captain’s order, the signalman, standing at the highest point of the stern, waved the signal flags towards the flagship.

“They say the Empire’s light signal device can transmit in units of sentences, but we can only manage a few words… Tch.”

The captain, clicking his tongue with a look full of regret, raised his head again and muttered, looking at the airship far away.

“Anyway, they say all sorts of strange things are made in the ‘Land of Flowers’ [a common nickname for technologically advanced nations]…”

* * *

The self-propelled airship that discovered the Allied Fleet immediately turned its bow and returned to Livorno. Upon discovering the signal tower of Livorno, the self-propelled airship hastily operated the light communication device to transmit briefly summarized information. As soon as the airship touched the ground, the airship’s commander submitted the document prepared in the airship to the headquarters. Son Il-won, after confirming the report with his staff, spoke of his decision.

“If we sortie now, we will have to fight a field battle. I don’t think that’s a good idea. We will sortie as soon as the sun rises tomorrow.”

“Our forces are small and the enemy is numerous. Wouldn’t a field battle be more advantageous?”

At the senior staff’s question, Son Il-won shook his head.

“It would be nice to think so, but keep in mind that in order to defeat a large number with a small number, you have to keep moving. If even one of our ships gets bogged down in the middle of the enemy lines, the situation will become difficult.”

“Ah! I was short-sighted.”

“No, it would have been a good tactic if this was our Empire’s sea, but this is an unfamiliar sea to us. We can’t fight a field battle with only what we’ve confirmed while staying here for a few months.”

Son Il-won, pointing out the problems with the senior staff’s proposal, returned to the main topic.

“We will start the operation as soon as the sun rises tomorrow. First of all…”

* * *

The next morning.

The Imperial Fleet, which left Livorno harbor as soon as the sun rose, headed straight for Corsica.

“The Empire has moved!”

“Woo-hoo!”

“Wake up! Wake up!”

The spectators who were sleeping on the high hills of Corsica Island rushed out of their tents and headed for higher ground at the news that the Imperial Fleet had moved. The spectators, who climbed to a high place with a good view of the sea, exclaimed as they watched the Imperial Fleet passing far away.

“Amazing, amazing!”

“Are those ships moving while spewing smoke at the very front the rumored ironclad ships?”

“I guess so.”

“Ironclad ships… They can float?”

While such stories were being exchanged, those with some military knowledge were sharing other stories.

“Looking at the Imperial Fleet’s formation, it’s a line formation, and looking at the Allied Fleet, it’s a dense formation… Is it a battle of spear and shield?”

“According to rumors, the Imperial Navy prefers the single-point breakthrough tactic, and it seems that the rumors are true.”

If you were to look at the formations of both sides from the sky now, it was a confrontation between a ‘modified line formation’ and a ‘dense formation with a strengthened center.’ Two assault turtle ships were at the forefront of the Imperial Fleet heading towards the enemy lines. The placement of the two assault turtle ships was a bit unusual; it was not a typical line formation.

The following assault turtle ship was not positioned directly behind the leading assault turtle ship, but on the diagonal to the right. This was to make use of the bow cannons mounted on the assault turtle ship. They couldn’t leave the most powerful cannons among the cannons mounted on the assault turtle ship idle.

Following the two assault turtle ships positioned in that way, Challenger-class battleships were moving in a line formation. When viewed from above, it resembled a harpoon, so Admiral Son Il-won named it the ‘Harpoon Formation.’

The arrangement of the Allied Fleet on the opposite side was as follows. The Venetian Fleet, with its main force of five Venetian galleasses [large, heavily armed merchant ships] arranged in a pentagon, was located in the center, supported by the Habsburg Fleet behind it. And the Spanish Fleet was deployed on the left and right. And, mercenary pirate ships hired as mercenaries were filling the gaps between the Venetian and Habsburg Fleets.

The Spanish Fleets located on the left and right were deployed in a way that more thickly reinforced the Venetian and Habsburg Fleets located in the center, and the fleets on the flanks spread out in a long line. This was to prevent the approaching Imperial Fleet from passing through the flanks and getting caught in the long line, preventing them from increasing their speed.

When viewed from above, it looked like a large whale facing north and blocking the way. The battle of whether the whale would block the harpoon, or the harpoon would catch the whale, was about to begin.