BCJ Chapter 299

“It appears the pirate ships are gathering.”

In response to the lieutenant’s report, Kang Nam-gil replied with a sneer.

“Are they trying to weave a net in the sky and on the ground? Foolish bastards.”

***

Constructing multiple layers of defensive lines with a large number of troops to defend against an enemy charging in with a single-point attack was one of the common defensive tactics.

Among the Joseon military commanders, it was known by the nickname “the net in the sky and on the ground.”

No matter how strong the attacking force of the enemy attempting the charge was, if they had to break through two or three defensive lines, their strength would rapidly decrease, and they would eventually collapse and be counterattacked.

The most famous large-scale application of this tactic was the renowned “Battle of Kursk.”

That was why Kang Nam-gil scoffed at the pirates’ movements.

If this were on land, choosing the “net in the sky and on the ground” could be considered a fairly good method.

On land, even hastily constructed defensive structures could be firmly fixed, making it possible to bind the enemy’s feet.

However, the place where they and the pirates were currently located was the sea.

Unless they rammed their ships into the bow of the Maengjin, they could not stop the Maengjin’s advance.

With the size and sturdiness of the Maengjin, the pirate ships, whose largest ships were only about the size of grain transport ships, would bounce off unless they collided head-on.

Moreover, if their feet were bound according to the pirates’ intentions, it would be problematic for the pirates themselves. The Maengjin was much larger than their ships and was heavily armed with cannons and muskets.

***

“The most important thing is…”

As Kang Nam-gil watched the approaching pirate fleet, he turned his head back and looked at the sister ships following behind.

“The opponent we have to fight is not just the Maengjin, and I have no intention of becoming a sacrificial lamb.”

The movements of the pirate fleet were similar to a pack of wolves hunting a herd of deer.

They would choose a suitable target and attack it as a group.

They might miss the rest, but they would surely capture the prey they targeted to fill their bellies.

***

Kang Nam-gil raised his voice toward the marines.

“Listen up, soldiers!”

After gathering the attention of the marines on the first deck, Nam-gil continued.

“We are the first Joseon fleet to set foot in this sea! Generally, when moving to a new neighborhood, it is our custom to offer at least a piece of barley cake! Therefore, treat them with utmost sincerity! Do your best to send those bastards to the Dragon Palace! That is the highest form of hospitality!”

The marines on the first deck and those on the second deck, who heard his words through the speaking trumpet, simultaneously raised their fists and shouted.

“Hooray!”

At that moment, a marine observing the pirates from the crow’s nest sent a signal.

“The enemy ships have entered firing range!”

Upon receiving the lieutenant’s report, Kang Nam-gil stretched the command baton he was holding upward.

“Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!”

After taking deep breaths, Nam-gil swung the command baton downward.

“Fire!”

“Fire!”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Instantly, with a thunderous roar of cannons, both sides of the Maengjin’s massive hull were shrouded in smoke.

***

The pirate ships that approached the Maengjin and were hit by the barrage were in utter chaos.

“What kind of cannonball flies 200 jang (approx. 600 meters)!”

Captain Wang Yi, who had approached the ship of an unfamiliar design as a target and unexpectedly received a barrage, shouted with a half-dazed expression.

“Damage report?”

“None!”

“Chief! Over there! Over there!”

At the subordinate’s shout, Wang Yi looked in the direction the subordinate was pointing and gritted his teeth.

“Damn it!”

In the direction the subordinate pointed, the ships of his fellow pirates, which had been racing across the sea alongside his ship, were tilting to one side. It was evident at a glance that they had suffered serious damage and were in a life-threatening situation.

The problem was that it wasn’t just one or two ships in such a state.

“Chief! Should we retreat?”

“Don’t say such ridiculous things! If we tuck our tails and run now, do you think the other bastards will leave us alone?”

“But…”

“Keep rowing! We need to get within 50 jang (approx. 160 meters) to fire the iron pellets! Move! We can only survive if we move!”

“Yes, Chief! Row!”

At Wang Yi’s command, the pirates gripping the oars began rowing, gritting their teeth.

***

“Hurry and plug the hole!”

“If you don’t want to become fish food, hurry and plug the hole!”

Jang Hak-su, who was leading one of the pirate ships approaching to attack the Maengjin, desperately shouted while holding onto the railing.

The pirate ship he was steering was slowly sinking from the stern.

Jang Hak-su’s pirate ship was aiming for the left side of the Maengjin and approaching.

However, unfortunately, the direction in which his pirate ship was approaching precisely overlapped with the line of fire of one of the cannons installed on the second deck of the Maengjin.

And the Joseon Navy was not one to miss such luck.

The cannonball fired by the Joseon Navy grazed right next to the second mast of the pirate ship, penetrated the deck, and punched a hole in the bottom of the stern.

As water flowed in through that hole, Jang Hak-su’s ship began sinking from the stern.

Although a considerable number of pirate ships suffered fatal injuries from the initial barrage, the pirates persistently approached the Maengjin. And as if waiting for them, the Maengjin’s second barrage followed.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Once again, the Joseon military’s cannonballs pounded the pirate ships.

The second barrage inflicted even more severe losses on the pirates. While the cannonballs used in the first barrage were solid cannonballs, simple iron balls, the second cannonballs were explosive shells designed to fit the “Type B General Cannon” exclusively made for the challenger-class and Haeung-class ships.

***

The intention was to configure the explosive shell cannons and regular cannons separately, similar to the operation method of the Land Forces and panokseon, but due to efficiency issues, Hyang developed the Type B General Cannon.

To be precise, it was more of Hyang’s indulgence in his hobbies under the pretext of efficiency.

Regardless of how it started, the Type B General Cannon boasted even better performance than the Type A General Cannon and increased efficiency by using only two types of shells: the Type B Iron Bullet and the Type B Explosive Shell.

***

The explosive shells that were fired exploded above the pirate ships, on their decks, or after penetrating the decks and reaching the rowers’ area.

This was a method devised while dealing with the Japanese pirates and the fake Japanese pirates in the West Sea.

The purpose was to inflict more serious damage to the hull and the Japanese pirates or fake Japanese pirates on board by exploding in multiple locations.

And the pirates who were hit by those shells were experiencing a living hell.

“Ugh…”

The pirate Oh Ah-sam held his bloodied left arm and surveyed the surrounding deck.

Around him, blood from his fellow pirates was flowing profusely.

Arms and legs of unknown ownership were scattered everywhere, and his fellow pirates who had escaped instant death but were seriously injured were writhing and screaming in agony amidst the sea of blood.

Oh Ah-sam looked at the mast he was leaning against.

Thanks to the thick mast, as thick as the waist of an adult man, shielding his body, Oh Ah-sam ended up only losing his left arm.

Barely getting up, Oh Ah-sam approached a hole pierced in the deck.

“Bleurgh!”

Looking down through the pierced hole, Oh Ah-sam immediately vomited.

The sunlight streaming through the hole and a few other pierced holes revealed the gruesome scene below.

Below the deck, none of his fellow pirates and slaves who were rowing had survived.

Such a tragedy did not occur only on Oh Ah-sam’s ship.

Thud!

With a loud noise, a black iron ball lodged into the mast, and the gazes of Gong Sam-nam and his fellow pirates all turned toward the mast.

And at that very moment, the iron ball lodged in the mast exploded.

Bang!

Simultaneously with the explosion, the iron pellets inside the shell, the fragmented pieces of the shell’s casing, and the shattered wooden fragments of the mast mercilessly tore through the bodies of the pirates nearby.

The explosive shells demonstrated even more terrifying power at sea than on land.

Considering the possibility of falling into the sea, most pirates were not wearing armor.

Even those wearing armor only had small metal plates covering important vital points, such as a heart protector.

Moreover, they were crammed together on the narrow deck of a ship, which was at best the size of a grain transport ship.

Therefore, when an explosive shell detonated in the middle of the pirates gathered in this manner, it was not uncommon for a single fragment to kill two or three pirates simultaneously.

***

The pirate fleet, which had been hit by the explosive shells in such a way, was facing a catastrophe.

Kang Nam-gil, who was watching the pirate fleet that had turned into a complete mess, pointed to a large ship visible in the distance and turned to the lieutenant.

“No matter how you look at it, that one seems to be the flagship, right?”

“Indeed, sir!”

“Then, we should go and greet them! Steer to port!”

“Steer to port!”

At Nam-gil’s command, the helmsman vigorously turned the steering wheel.

“There are still quite a few of them left, though.”

In response to the lieutenant’s question, Nam-gil pointed behind him with his chin and answered.

“We’re not the only ones here, are we?”

The lieutenant, who immediately understood Nam-gil’s words, replied with a grin.

“Understood!”

The Maengjin, which had torn apart the pirate fleet, turned its bow toward the large ship that appeared to be the flagship to finish the job.

***

“Damn it!”

Zhao, the pirate leader, cursed as he faced a situation completely different from his expectations.

The ships of his subordinates, who had charged in like a pack of sharks targeting a whale, numbered 27 in total. However, with just two barrages, more than half of the ships had vanished.

The ship they had targeted was not a whale but a killer whale.

The killer whale, which had bitten off the smaller sharks, was now charging toward him.

“Leader, should we flee?”

“With this slow-as-hell ship?”

“…”

At Zhao’s retort, the subordinate’s mouth shut tightly.

To accommodate the cannons purchased from the Ming merchant, Zhao’s ship had to undergo extensive reinforcement work. As a result, the weight-increased ship had become much slower.

“We can’t even flee with this slow-as-hell ship. Even if we could flee, the leaders of the other fleets wouldn’t stand still. Therefore, there’s only one answer. We have no choice but to trust the cannons. The Ming army uses these cannons, so we have to trust them!”

Having made up his mind, Zhao shouted to his subordinates.

“Prepare the cannons! We’re going to capture that damn bastard!”

“Yes, sir!”

“At maximum speed! Tell the rowers! Row until their arms fall off!”

“Aye! Uaaah!”

The subordinates responded to Zhao’s command with a battle cry.

Both Zhao and his subordinates were pirates to the core.

As befitting those for whom death was a common occurrence, their fighting spirit was instead rising.

Thus, the ship Zhao was on began increasing its speed while directly facing the Maengjin.

***

As the Maengjin drew closer, Zhao shouted.

“80 bo! 80 bo! 80 bo (approx. 100 meters)! Light the fuse when it’s within 80 bo!”

“Yes, sir!”

Hearing his subordinates’ response, Zhao gripped the railing and muttered.

“Damn cannons…”

As the Ming merchant had said, the cannons Zhao had acquired could fire 30-geun (approx. 18 kg) iron balls up to a distance of 200 bo (approx. 240 meters).

However, this was limited to land. This distance was possible when the gun carriage was firmly fixed on solid ground.

But the place where the cannons would be mounted was a ship. Pirate ships, in particular, which prioritized speed, lacked sturdiness, so Zhao had to carry out extensive reinforcement work on his ship.

Nevertheless, problems persisted.

The ship could not withstand it if the cannons were fired with the maximum amount of gunpowder.

Therefore, Zhao had to repair the ship again and reduce the amount of gunpowder loaded into the cannons.

Due to the reduced gunpowder, to ensure the fired cannonballs had a proper effect, they had to approach the target within 100 bo (approx. 120 meters).

***

The two ships, charging toward each other, finally crossed paths.

The distance between the two ships was about 40 jang (approx. 120 meters). In a situation where each other’s sides were clearly visible, Kang Nam-gil and Zhao shouted simultaneously.

“Fire!”

“Shoot!”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

‘Missing at this distance is only possible for a blind person!’

‘100 bo! This is enough!’

As Kang Nam-gil and Zhao’s thoughts intersected, the iron balls from both sides crossed in the sky.

And the fortunes were divided.

Thud! Bang!

The ship Zhao was on was pounded by the iron balls and explosive shells fired from the Maengjin, turning into a hole-ridden wreck and beginning to sink.

Zhao, whose chest had been pierced by a wooden fragment thrown by the explosion of the shell, looked at the Maengjin with an unbelieving expression.

The cannonballs fired from Zhao’s ship had accurately struck the hull of the Maengjin. However, the Maengjin’s hull easily deflected the 30-geun iron balls.

“Unbelievable…”

These were Zhao’s last words.

***

“Damage report?”

“None, sir!”

As soon as the cannonballs from the pirate ship struck the hull, Kang Nam-gil immediately checked for damage.

Upon receiving the report of no damage, Nam-gil unconsciously raised both arms and shouted.

“Long live His Highness the Crown Prince!”

It was because he remembered what Hyang had said when he first received the ship.

– A hole in the hull of a challenger-class warship? Unless it hits a reef, there’s no way a hole will be made by any ordinary bombardment.

***

The reason the Maengjin was able to withstand the 30-geun iron balls was that the plates constituting the sides of the hull were double-layered, and not just a simple double layer.

The method introduced by Hyang was the same method employed by the United States on frigates like the Constitution.

It was a form of plywood without adhesive, simply put, crossing two sheets of plating.

Thanks to this trick, the challenger-class warships gained their notorious reputation.