Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 211



Only Noblemtl

#211. Glorious Days of the Navy (4)

After sailing for over a day, they were soon able to arrive at the outer sea of ​​Busan.

For those approaching the last week of October, all that remained was to wait for the Japanese transport fleet to arrive.

The Russian cruiser fleet was small and difficult to detect, and required reconnaissance operations centered on fast destroyers.

From the perspective of the Korean Empire Navy, which relied on the cruiser fleet for its main force, they had no choice but to grant their demands in order to help them as much as possible, so they formed squadrons of two ships and kept a close eye on the seas off Busan.

And while I was waiting, I received some additional, quite useful information from the Records Research Office.

The information they provided was quite interesting. It was very detailed information about the Japanese naval forces within Busan Port, and the sources even directly identified the ships and sent them to me.

Chief Jang Gi-ryeom now understood why the Records Investigation Office was such a scary organization.

Because they had all the information at their fingertips, regardless of whether they were enemies or allies.

In addition, he was properly carrying out deception operations and assisting the fleet’s operations.

In my own way, I was very grateful for that part.

“This is an urgent telegram from our informants. They say that two Japanese naval cruisers and four torpedo boats are anchored in the port.”

“Oh my.”

“Besides, our informants have been leaking disinformation to the enemy. The enemy may have mistakenly thought that the cruisers had returned to Vladivostok.”

And this information was immediately shared with the Russian Navy.

Rear Admiral Bezobrazzov looked very pleased as he listened to the information delivered by Rear Admiral Jang Gi-ryeom at a meeting of officers from both navies held on the flagship Russia.

“They are excellent prey for us. A large convoy of 18 ships in the open sea, two cruisers and four torpedo boats in the inner harbor.”

“Isn’t it too hard to catch both?”

“Let’s divide the roles here. We want revenge for Varyag, and you want revenge for the fallen Hansung, so we should both get the maximum revenge we can. Right?”

Then the naval officers on both sides burst into laughter.

Because the conditions were so good, and because we were on the verge of a moment that could greatly boost the morale of each country.

“If your fleet detects the transport convoy, immediately mobilize all forces to attack it. Then, the enemy convoy will call upon the ships in Busan like a young animal that has lost its parents.”

“Haha, good. Then the cruiser fleet is···”

“We will go to Busan. To avenge Varyag and Koryets.”

Jang Gi-ryeom could see the burning desire for revenge and hatred in Bezobrazzoff’s eyes, reflected in his glasses.

It seemed that they thought that their ships’ honor had been trampled upon by the enemy’s surprise attack without declaration of war and their ships had been sunk.

“We will lie in ambush off the coast of Busan and wait for the moment when the Japanese Navy’s protected cruisers come out.”

“Then we will be the bait.”

“But we won’t be taken advantage of by shepherd dogs. Feel free to intercept the convoy. We will join you only after we have had our revenge.”

He shouted confidently.

Well, that makes sense.

With the ships and plains captured from the Qing navy, there was no way to defeat the current Russian cruiser fleet in terms of numbers, firepower, or weight.

If they were to lie in ambush from a distance and engage in a one-sided firefight, they would inevitably lose to the cruiser fleet, which had far more guns.

In this way, the navies of both sides clearly divided their roles. And on the third day after arriving in the sea off Busan, this time Baekdu and Myohyang formed a formation and looked out at the vast ocean.

On the left, the land heading towards Busan was vaguely visible, and on the right, there was only the vast blue sea.

“···I wonder if Admiral Yi Sun-sin must have felt this way when he attacked Busanpo.”

“At that time, there must have been over a hundred turtle ships and panokseons. They wouldn’t have been as shabby in size as ours.”

Of course, back then, they were leading a large fleet and fighting against the Japanese navy, which had no intention of fighting them, so it would have been completely different from now.

“By the way, when did you set sail from Ujina Port?”

“I heard it was about two days ago.”

“Then it’s clear that he’ll come today or tomorrow···.”

Captain Shin Sun-seong continued to look into the vast ocean through his telescope and spoke.

“Do you know this sea well?”

“After graduating from the Tokyo Merchant Marine School, I worked for a Japanese shipping company for several years. And I often traveled to these seas. The fleet will arrive today at the earliest, or tomorrow at the latest. Usually, the speed of the fleet is adjusted to the slowest ship, and their speed is generally slow.”

He began to explain quite specifically. Unlike Admiral Jang Gi-ryeom, who had transferred from the Army to the Navy, Captain Shin Sun-seong, although a civilian, had a proper education on the sea and a high level of understanding of ships.

“Captain, this is a lookout report. We have observed a fleet of unknown size within 20 miles at a bearing of 050 degrees. We believe it to be a Japanese transport fleet.”

“at las.”

Finally, the long-awaited sound was heard. Without saying anything, Jang Gi-ryeom and Shin Sun-seong immediately brought their telescopes to their eyes and soon saw a familiar flag.

“That’s right.”

Shin Soon-seong, without waiting, immediately gave an order to the manager who was looking at him. He then immediately opened the lid of the Jeonseong-gwan and rang the bell several times.

“As of now, all personnel are deployed for combat.”

As soon as Captain Shin Sun-seong’s order rang out through the ship’s horn, gunners rushed out from inside the ship and headed toward the main and secondary guns on the deck.

“All troops, battle formation! Let’s destroy those Japanese bastards!”

The officers’ shouts are heard,

The Russian naval liaison officer on the bridge also began to urgently call the cruisers by radio, and then changed course in the direction of the transport convoy, along with four destroyers that arrived later.

And the cruiser fleet, leaving behind only one person, gladly answered their call.

-For the Varyags and the Koryats.

For them, revenge was imminent. Now, the once quiet sea off Busan would become a battlefield filled with blood and floating debris.

***

“Captain, we’re in trouble. An emergency rescue signal has arrived from a friendly transport ship approaching the sea off Busan.”

“what?”

Lieutenant Colonel Asaba, who was stationed in Busan, looked surprised at his subordinate officer’s words.

I had been informed that a large transport fleet departing from Hiroshima today or tomorrow would land in Busan to support the 1st Army, but I couldn’t help but be surprised when they suddenly sent a distress signal.

“Why is there a distress signal all of a sudden? Are we encountering a storm?”

Well, it was understandable since the seas around Joseon were rough in winter, but thinking about it, I didn’t think a fleet of 18 ships would send out a distress signal like that.

An uneasy thought struck Lieutenant Colonel Asaba’s mind, and the words of his subordinate officer that followed made that imagination a reality.

“That’s it, the enemy fleet is currently conducting a surprise attack. At least three enemy ships are approaching the transport convoy at high speed…”

“what?”

A sudden surprise attack by the enemy fleet, he had no idea what was happening.

This place was considered relatively rear-oriented, and so the Third Fleet (often written as such but often derided as a ridiculous fleet) deployed only the protected cruisers Pingyuan and Jiyuan captured from the Qing’s Beiyang Fleet here.

But everyone knew that ships of this size would not be able to stop the enemy’s commercial destroyer fleet that might come in on purpose.

And the Russian commercial destroyer fleet they had to face was a fleet of 10,000-ton cruisers approaching with 8-inch and 152mm guns hanging from their guns.

At least that was the information that Lieutenant Colonel Asaba received from the headquarters just before he left for Busan.

The Vladivostok cruiser fleet, with its plain and plain design and only 210mm long guns and 150mm single guns, was not capable of doing anything.

There was no need to even mention the weight class. For an old-fashioned protected cruiser weighing only 2,000 tons, a direct confrontation would be virtually suicidal.

But now we can worry a little less about them.

“According to information transmitted from Sasebo, Roske’s fleet came to Hamheung for a while and then returned to Vladivostok. It is highly likely that the ones attacking now are the Korean navy guys in Hamheung.”

“···Are they really crazy?”

Lieutenant Asaba was bewildered. No matter what, it was ridiculous to attack a convoy of 18 ships with just six destroyers.

It’s obvious that there are Japanese naval ships stationed in Busan, but how can you ignore all that and act so recklessly?

While I was momentarily confused, Lieutenant Commander Yutaka Tajima, the captain of the Jewon who had also entered Busan, rushed in.

He too had received information about this attack and raised his voice, demanding that we immediately sortie and completely destroy the insolent Joseon navy.

“You crazy bastards, raiding a convoy with just six destroyers? I’m going to show you some serious heat!”

“If we had two protected cruisers, we could probably take out those flies in one shot···.”

If it were the Roske guys, they would have no choice but to hesitate, but if it were the Joseon guys who were making a fuss with six 300-ton destroyers, even a 2,000-ton old-fashioned protected cruiser would be no different from a messenger to them.

Their 75mm guns wouldn’t be able to penetrate it, and even if they had torpedoes, they would be destroyed by 210mm gun fire before they could even get close.

He hated the way they bragged about having their own navy, having recently purchased a destroyer from France.

That’s why Lieutenant Asaba was excited to give these insolent guys a beating.

Of course, the Roske fleet could be nearby, but if they were, it was obvious that they would have attacked the transport convoy themselves, not the Joseon bastards.

In other words, we could conclude that this was a solo attack by the Joseon bastards.

“Prepare to sail immediately and request support from the 10th Division! They don’t have Yi Sun-sin or a turtle ship. Let’s go destroy what is embarrassing to call the Joseon fleet!”

“All right!”

Lieutenant Colonel Asaba also completed preparations to mobilize the 10th Regiment’s torpedo boat squadron, which was scheduled to be dispatched to Wonsan in a hurry.

I couldn’t hand over a single transport ship to these insolent bastards.

Moreover, he was excited at the thought of being able to show the headquarters his achievements in quickly dealing with the enemy from the beginning of the war.

He and Lieutenant Commander Yutaka devised a simple plan to protect the transport convoy and repel the enemy destroyer squadron.

Just as when he destroyed the Beiyang Fleet’s torpedo boat squadron that had rushed out from Weihaiwei, he was determined to suppress them with precise artillery fire.

They planned to surround the left and right wings of the fleet respectively, with the torpedo boat squadron taking the rearguard.

“Tell the fleet to keep their formation! We will be there soon.”

“All right.”

The relatively quiet port of Busan became noisy with the busy movements of sailors who began to move hurriedly.

Little did they know that out on the sea they were about to venture, there would be wolves waiting for them, filled with revenge and greed for prey.