Joseon Military Officer, Establishing Balhae - Chapter 302



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Episode 302

Battle of Hani Strait (2)

Soon after, nine Balhae ships approached in a single line, diagonally blocking the direction of the combined fleet’s progress.

“Cow, speed…….”

As the Balhae fleet turned southwest, they suddenly gained a tailwind and their speed increased.

In that moment, Pan Nort felt a chill. Cold sweat ran down his temples and his hair stood on end.

He was so surprised that he quickly ordered his subordinates to turn to starboard. He intended to expose his port side to the enemy ships in order to counter the attack of the Balhae fleet. However, because he was facing the wind and was not able to gain speed, he was unable to turn around quickly and was forced to explode. Meanwhile, the Balhae fleet was approaching very quickly in the diagonal direction.

Pan Nord asked the first officer urgently.

“Did you load the shells?”

“Yes. I have given instructions to fire whenever an enemy ship comes within effective range.”

He asked the navigator again.

“What was the range of the enemy’s cannons at that time?”

“It was closer then than it is now, less than half a mile. I think it was about 9,000 feet. But it’s much farther now.”

The distances the navigator spoke of, both miles and feet, were Dutch units of distance. A Dutch mile (1 Dutch mizzle) was about 5.5 km, which was quite long.

The navigator recalled that the distance was about 2.5 jangmi in Balhae distance units. Since he was familiar with the geography of Ansan Port (Magoong Port) at the time, his memory of the distance was very accurate.

“Oh, really? Anyway, it’s further now, right?”

Pan Nord felt some relief.

But that was only for a moment, as the leading ship of the Balhae fleet began to pass in front of him. As he saw the 24 cannons, he felt goosebumps all over his body again. His instincts, which felt a threat to his survival, screamed inside him.

The ship was a Gyeongheung-class large-caliber warship, Choryang, armed with a total of 48 guns.

“Why is the turn so slow! Hurry up!”

He was whining loudly.

Even if he turned around now, he wouldn’t be able to attack the Balhae fleet due to the distance. However, he felt he had to do it. He had a groundless conviction that if he pretended to respond, he would be able to overcome the crisis.

“omg!”

First, I saw the numerous cannons spewing out from the ports of the Balhae ships. Almost at the same time, I heard the sound of the shells hitting the sea and the roar of the cannons.

Boom! Boom boom!

Shhhhhh!

Bam!

The sound of gunfire and shells hitting the water was heard in quick succession, followed by a terrible explosion.

“omg!”

He quickly turned his head toward the sound.

The first ship to be hit by the Balhae fleet’s shells was the Ostend, sailing on the port side of the Edam. A portion of the upper deck was visible as if it had been bitten off by a shark.

Pufufufu!

Boom! Boom!

As the ships’ turn was completed and their port sides gradually turned toward the Balhae fleet, the target itself had the effect of growing larger, and as a result, the frequency of hits increased.

Bang! Bang!

The terrified artillerymen began firing shells at the Balhae fleet without considering the range. The distance between the two sides narrowed somewhat during the turning process, but the range was obviously not enough, and even if they did hit, they would not have been able to inflict significant damage.

Bam!

“Eek!”

“Ugh!”

“Eww!”

The Edam was not unharmed either. A shell hit the bow deck, causing extensive damage to the forecastle deck and killing or wounding many of the crew there.

From behind Pan Noort, there was a loud explosion and a death-like scream. He quickly turned his head and looked to the starboard side. Already, more than a dozen Ming warships had been hit by shells and were sinking. The Ming fleet, which was positioned relatively far back, was not safe either. Since the displacement was far smaller than that of the Dutch ships, even a single shell could cause fatal damage.

Because the density of the Allied Fleet ships was so high, the Balhae ships didn’t even have to bother aiming. After the first shot, the distance narrowed further, and the damage to the Allied Fleet grew like a snowball.

“Oh, they’re getting away.”

The first officer spoke with a slightly relieved expression. The Balhae fleet poured out shells like this and then quickly moved away in a line to the southwest.

Pan Nord looked at the damage with a blank expression.

The first target of the Balhae fleet, the Ostend, suffered the most damage, with many casualties and two upper decks badly damaged. There was even a hole on the port side. Fortunately, there seemed to be no problem sailing. The Edam also had several damaged areas and was already undergoing repairs. The other four ships were not doing well. Some ships had their sails on fire, and they were busy putting them out.

The Ming navy suffered even more. Nearly twenty ships sank, and another ten were so badly damaged that they were unable to sail. However, for a Ming navy with over 300 ships, this was not a great loss.

“Captain, the signal has been given to pursue.”

The first officer reported seeing the flag raised on the flagship of the Ming navy.

“You’re being hasty.”

“You must be really angry.”

“That’s right. Moreover, if you allow distance, you’ll be helpless again, so it’s best to follow closely.”

“Isn’t their strategic goal this time to recapture the Penghu Islands? So they’ll want to land there somehow and push through with overwhelming numbers.”

“Just signal that you’ll follow. Their judgment is correct. Now that the wind direction is even for both sides, it’s not hard to follow.”

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“Yes, I understand.”

“Wow, the firepower of the Balhae fleet is truly amazing. The exploding shells are scary, and the range is beyond what I imagined.”

“I was more surprised by the rate of fire than by that.”

“I checked it too. It’s amazing how quickly the next shell is fired from the same port.”

Pan Nord’s complexion darkened greatly. The Balhae fleet’s power was stronger than he had previously perceived. However, he had not yet despaired because the size of the combined fleet was so large.

* * *

The 2nd Operations Command located within the Fenghuang Castle in Liaodong Province.

The 3rd Division Commander, Major General Min Seon-hyul, and other division officers entered the headquarters and reported their arrival. The 2nd Operations Commander, General Kim Moo-jung, warmly welcomed them.

“Thank you for coming. Has it been two years since you came to Bonghwangseong?”

“Yes. It really has changed a lot.”

The 3rd Division was stationed near the Cheongcheon River in Pyeongan-bu, but was scheduled to move to Bonghwangseong ahead of this war, and move together with the 2nd Operations Command in the future.

“They say that Bonghwangjin-do will soon become a city. The population has grown to that extent.”

It was transferred to Minjeong, and Bonghwangseong and the surrounding area became Bonghwanghyeon, and this central area was also renamed Bonghwangjin.

“There are a lot of people from Pyeongan Province, right?”

“Geographically, it can’t be helped. That’s why people are even saying that the Liaodong region should be considered part of the Pyeongan region.”

The increase in the population of Liaodong was entirely due to the migration of Ping’an residents. When the announcement was made that the land of the vast and fertile plains along the Yalu River, the Gwanjeon Plain, and the southern coastal area of ​​the Liaodong Peninsula would be divided, a significant number of Ping’an residents boldly decided to migrate. As a result, the population of Ping’an decreased significantly, and the population of Liaodong increased rapidly.

Most of the immigrants were self-employed farmers who owned small tracts of land. Most of the former slaves and poor farmers had already immigrated, so now it was their turn. They were given land several times larger than the land they owned, so they boldly sold it.

“What is the situation across the border?”

Min Seon-hyul naturally asked about the king’s whereabouts.

“There are about 40,000 troops beyond Yeonsan-gwan.”

“Are you saying that 40,000 troops are stationed in that dangerous area?”

“No way. It is highly likely that they will be deployed in Sasuryeong, Jangwaryeong, and Dongbangryeong to the east and west of Yeonsan-gwan.”

Among the passes listed by Kim Mu-jeong, Sasuryeong, located to the east, was a place leading to the future Bon-gye-ho (Beonsi-ho), and was one of the most important strategic points along with Yeonsan-gwan.

“Oh my! Then it looks like our unit should move north quickly as well.”

Min Seon-hyul became impatient as he recalled the fact that the 10th Division was currently guarding the northern border of Yeonsan-gwan alone.

“You can move slowly. The terrain of the northern border is so rugged that even a single regiment of troops can easily hold off an enemy force of 10,000. What’s more important is the advance from now on. So let’s pack as many supplies as possible and move.”

There were six divisions under the 2nd Operations Command, and five of them, excluding the 27th Division, which was deployed on the Later Jin border in eastern Liaodong Province, were to be deployed as defensive and offensive units. In addition, the 18th Division of the 5th Corps, which was currently a reserve corps, was deployed to guard the Yalu River border in Pyeongan Province.

“Yes, that’s right. But what about the Ung-ak area?”

Ungaek-hyeon was located on the coast of Liaodong Bay, Ming territory, and was adjacent to Gaeju to the south. Compared to other border areas in Liaodong, it was closer to flat land, so both sides had quite a lot of troops facing each other.

“It looks like there are about 40,000 troops stationed there too?”

In fact, the main force of the 2nd Operations Command was the left army gathered in Ungak-hyeon, not near Bonghwangseong. The 12th and 20th Divisions were scheduled to operate on the Gaeju front, and another reserve division, the 17th Division, was moving to Ungak-hyeon to join them. And the remaining 21st Division was stationed on the northern border of Suam.

“There’s also a problem on the Ung-ak side. They’ll definitely send more reserves there to target the side where it’s easy to break through the front line.”

“That’s right. They say there are 60,000 troops waiting near the hospital. If they move in the future, there will be a big change.”

Contrary to the content of his words, Kim Moo-jung’s expression was peaceful.

“Wouldn’t it be dangerous if that reserve force rushes towards Gaeju?”

“Haha! You’ll know when you see the results later.”

Kim Moo-jung said with an expression that said, “You’ll know when you see.”

* * *

The flagship of the 35th Squadron, Saenyeok.

Third Fleet Commander Tammy stared forward with anxious eyes.

“Please wait a little longer. We have to come against the wind, and it will take some time to pull the enemy ships back while keeping them in check.”

Squadron leader Jo Kang said to Tammy.

“That’s true, but there are too many good deeds. There shouldn’t be any unfortunate incidents in the meantime.”

“Phew! That’s true. They brought over three hundred ships. Moreover, they are much larger warships than the ships that came to Joseon during the Japanese invasions of Korea.”

When the supply ship Eoeun of the 34th Squadron arrived and delivered an urgent report, the crew of the 35th Squadron, who were resting, hurried to prepare for departure, but it took some time.

Tammy also called the Marine Corps commanders and informed them to prepare for the approach of the enemy fleet, and quickly boarded the Saebyuk.

Sure enough, it wasn’t long before the lookout on the masthead was the first to notice the change.

“The 34th Squadron has appeared on the horizon!”

Since it was a report that had been eagerly awaited, Tammy did not even bother to check it and immediately ordered a course change to the northwest. He intended to use the same tactics that the 34th Squadron had used when they first encountered the enemy fleet.

Soon after, a loud gunshot was heard and thick smoke was seen.

“Kyensisu!”

As Jo Kang shouted, the watchman quickly reported the situation.

“The battle is in full swing! Oh, there are about 250 Ming ships, and only five Dutch ships. Our ships are fine.”

Contrary to what Captain Eunham had reported, the size of the enemy fleet had somewhat decreased.

“In the meantime, you kept breaking the goodwill.”

Tammy let out a soft sigh of relief.

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