Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 578

Episode 578: Broken Dreams (1)

As the attack on Cheongju Naval Port began, Maeng Jin-ho was the first to step forward.

Maeng Jin-ho, who had used the tactic of hiding and appearing by surprise in the battles that had taken place so far, appeared at the beginning of the attack this time.

Maeng Jin-ho, who appeared as the sea emergency fronts blocking the entrance to Cheongju Naval Port retreated slightly, advanced proudly, puffing out black smoke.

Not only the naval soldiers who were caught while running away from the majestic appearance, but also the soldiers originally assigned to the battery began to feel intimidated.

Perhaps knowing the psychology of the soldiers, messengers rushed to the battery and delivered the commander’s words.

“The general spoke! It is clear that the current situation is not good! Our front lines have been almost completely destroyed, and the enemy is right around the corner! But they are on a boat on a turbulent sea, and we have our feet firmly planted behind strong walls built on solid ground! Also, the guns they have are larger and more powerful than those loaded on ships! Don’t be afraid and just do what you’ve been trained to do! Then you will be able to subdue your enemies and receive a reward!”

The soldiers whispered after hearing the commander’s solemn message delivered by the messenger.

“Now that I think about it…”

“Now that I think about it?”

The soldiers who looked around concluded that what the commander said was correct.

The battery where they were located was surrounded by a strong wall. The same was true for artillery. These guns were larger than those mounted on the front lines.

The defenders, who had been frightened by the sight of the sailors in fear and the majestic appearance of Maeng Jin-ho, once again gained courage and clung to the artillery.

“good! Let’s do it!”

“If you do well, you can receive a reward from His Majesty and achieve success!”

A battle broke out between Maeng Jin-ho and the defenders who made use of their momentum.

Maeng Jin, which entered the port entrance, turned its hull and headed toward the southern bay of the port.

“What are we going to do?”

“well?”

“What can you do with that? “When you come into range, light the wick!”

While this conversation was taking place among the defenders, Maeng Jin-ho, which had arrived in the southern bay, turned its hull.

After a while, Maeng Jin-ho’s port guns, facing north, opened fire all at once.

Kwakwakwak!

After a while, large explosions occurred simultaneously in the defense facilities of the port that had been bombarded by Maeng Jin-ho.

At that sight, not only the military officers but also the soldiers were frightened.

“On that street?”

“Don’t be surprised and fire back!”

“Let go!”

At the command of the military officers, the defenders hastily ignited the wicks inserted into the guns.

Puff poop!

The artillery battle between Maeng Jin-ho and the military port garrison that took place in this way continued fiercely.

Both tribes continued to fire fiercely, but the situation became increasingly unfavorable for the defenders.

The biggest reason was that many of the garrison’s guns had a shorter range than Maeng Jin-ho’s guns.

Thanks to this, many of the fired shells could not even reach Maengjin Lake and fell into the sea.

Of course, the newly deployed new artillery had a long enough range to hit the Maengjinho, but this time, power was the problem.

Kang! Kakang!

The iron bullets fired by the defenders only made a sharp sound and bounced off whenever they hit the Maeng Jin-ho’s hull and roof.

On the other hand, the shells fired from Maengjinho created large holes in the battery where the garrison was located.

“Holy shit!”

“How can that be a boat! Is that a boat? “Where in the world is there a ship that bounces off iron rings?”

The defenders became angry every time the bullets they fired bounced off.

No matter how large the front line they thought was, it was powerless against artillery. This is because ships were made of wood, and the iron rounds they fired could easily penetrate even fairly thick wooden planks.

“What is that boat! “Do you have metal wrapped around your body?”

They were the defenders who gave the correct answer without even realizing it.

* * *

In the artillery battle between the Cheongju military port garrison and Maeng Jin-ho, Maeng Jin-ho ended up winning.

The garrison’s artillery fire was fierce, but Maeng Jin-ho’s armor withstood it.

On Maeng Jin-ho’s armored bridge, Gangnam-gil held the transmission pipe and eagerly gave orders.

“The engine department! Slow down some more! don’t worry! “They can’t even be crushed by iron rings!”

“Port battery! Have you checked the firing batteries up to here? “Select only those bastards and destroy them!”

Following Gangnam-gil’s orders, Maeng Jin-ho moved slowly, selecting only the batteries that fired shells at him and destroying them.

Things that would pose a major threat to the allies coming later were eliminated in advance.

As soon as Maeng Jin-ho knocked out the first round, the challenger-level front lines waiting outside came rushing in.

The second wave of challenger-level fronts completely destroyed the remaining batteries and defense facilities of the Cheongju military port garrison.

In the end, by the afternoon of that day, the Cheongju military port garrison was annihilated.

* * *

After confirming that the garrison’s resistance had disappeared, the Joseon navy sent a signal to the Japanese fleet waiting behind them.

After receiving a signal from the Joseon navy, the Japanese fleet increased its speed and flocked to the port.

“Hey! “Stir!”

“Pick up the speed!”

“If you’re late from now on, you’ll lose the most!”

The Japanese on the boat rowed excitedly, dreaming of making a fortune.

Not long after the Japanese fleet arrived at the dock, people’s screams began to echo in the sky near Cheongju.

As the screams began to echo, the expressions and gestures of the Joseon navy soldiers froze. The Joseon navy, who had been so frozen, soon began to do their work as if they could not hear anything.

* * *

As the Japanese began plundering, the Japanese ships carrying those sent by the Ouchi family stayed outside with the Joseon navy.

Gyeongsang Ususa, who was observing the situation from his flagship, asked Norihiro.

“This is an opportunity to gain great wealth, but do you mind if I do this?”

Norihiro immediately answered Gyeongsang Ususa’s question.

“The order my lord gave me was to learn and help the Joseon navy as much as possible.”

“Hmm… I see…”

The captain reported just in time to Master Gyeongsang Usa, who nodded in response to Norihiro.

“It’s a signal! “The second operation begins!”

“is it? Then move!”

Soon signals were flying from the flagship and a group of Challenger class and sea emergency lines were pulled out and moving south.

Norihiro asked Gyeongsang Ususa on the flagship of Gyeongsang Ususa, which was heading south with the fleet.

“I heard at the last meeting that Jinan was the target. Why Jinan?”

“It is to inflict damage on the Gyeonghang Grand Canal.”

“I know because I heard that, but if that’s the case, isn’t Cheongju, who attacked earlier, more suitable?”

“It is 200 ri by land from Cheongju Military Port to the canal. Of course, Jinan is further inland, but you can go up the Yellow River.”

“Wouldn’t Cheongju be better if we could employ 100,000 soldiers?”

Hearing Norihiro’s words, Master Gyeongsang opened his mouth while looking directly at Norihiro.

“Let’s ask honestly. “Are they soldiers or bandits?”

“….”

“If we call them soldiers, how long do you think they will be able to maintain discipline?”

“….”

“If an army cannot maintain discipline, it is nothing more than a bunch of well-trained thieves.”

For this reason, the Joseon navy and the Japanese were separated from the first operation. No matter how thoroughly trained an elite was, it was certain that he would join in at some point if such looting took place on a daily basis.

Then, the tower that had been worked so hard to build would collapse.

Norihiro had no choice but to keep his mouth shut at the words of the Gyeongsang Master.

Even if it was not pointed out by the Gyeongsang Ususa, the elite ships of the Joseon navy that I saw on the way here were incomparable to the soldiers of the family.

They were soldiers from a family that had made the Ouchi family masters of the world. As such, it was not enough to be confident that its elite was the best in the Japanese country.

Although they were such elites, they looked like a ragtag group compared to the Joseon army.

However, my pride was hurt to just ignore the Gyeongsang excellent teacher’s criticism.

In the end, Norihiro asked a question that was half joking and half serious.

“Still, don’t you feel a little disappointed? If I did well, it was literally a chance to make a fortune, right?”

At Norihiro’s words, Gyeongsang Excellent Master burst into laughter.

“Heh! If you’re going to take care of it like that, shouldn’t you take care of something that will allow you to acquire wealth more permanently?”

Norihiro’s eyes sparkled at the answer from the Gyeongsang Master.

“Something permanent? “Is there such a thing?”

“There are many things, but isn’t the most representative one the land?”

Norihiro, who thought for a moment about the Gyeongsang Master’s answer, suddenly bowed deeply to the Gyeongsang Master.

“Oh my! Why all of a sudden?”

When Gyeongsang Excellent Master, who suddenly received a big bow, was shaking in embarrassment, Norihiro said with a bright face.

“I have learned a great lesson!”

“huh?”

* * *

The Gyeongsang Ususa fleet, which left Cheongju and headed south, began to ascend the Yellow River.

“Although this is the most recent data, the Yellow River is a very volatile river, so be especially careful!”

“yes!”

Following the orders of the Gyeongsang Ususa, the battle lines that made up the fleet moved slowly and carefully up the river.

In addition, both the Challenger class and the Sea Emergency class were ships that did not use oars. It was impossible to simply rely on sails to ascend.

To solve this problem, many small ferry boats were loaded onto the front lines assigned to the mission.

As soon as they entered the Yellow River, the ferry boats were disembarked from the mother ship and began pulling the mother ship with ropes.

“Oh shit! “I thought you wouldn’t use a pointer anymore!”

While grumbling like this, the soldiers took turns dragging the wires up with their pointers.

The journey to Jinan that started like this was not smooth. Ming soldiers who received reports from time to time rushed in, and battles had to be fought each time.

“…At least they are not properly prepared soldiers. “It was fortunate that the soldiers were at the level of the town’s provincial government.”

Master Gyeongsang Woosoo, who was checking the route while looking at the map, shook his head slightly.

This time, the Joseon army’s attempted move to Jinan caught the Ming off guard.

It was not the Gangnam area, which had been suffering from Japanese pirates, nor the northern area, which had been suffering from the Jurchen or Dalja, but the middle of the central plains.

Thanks to this, the quality and size of the soldiers attacking the Joseon army were significantly inferior.

In addition, the soldiers of the Ouchi family accompanying the Joseon fleet also played a significant role.

It was mostly soldiers of the Ouchi family who boarded the Ming small ships coming to attack the Joseon fleet and slaughtered the Ming army, or ran into the Ming army flocking to the riverside and slaughtered them.

Thanks to this, the soldiers were turning a blind eye to the fact that they were digging deeper and stealing loot.

Norihiro, who was looking at the map next to him, asked Gyeongsang Ususa.

“Will Jinan alone be enough of a blow?”

In response to Norihiro’s question, the Gyeongsang Master nodded.

“If the channels and locks of the Qi River and the Yellow River flowing north of Jinan are blown up, the Grand Canal will be in disarray for a while. “If the relationship between the Yellow River and the Yangtze River becomes a mess, starting from Cheongju, Ming will not be able to move its army even if it wants to.”

“Hmm…”

Norihiro snorted and nodded at the words of the Gyeongsang Master.

Looking at that scene, Usa Gyeongsang swallowed his words inwardly.

‘And Jinan has a bad relationship with the Yongle Emperor.’

Usa Gyeongsang muttered to himself, recalling the time when the General Staff Headquarters and Hyang were making plans.

‘If you look closely, the Crown Prince is also very evil.’

-The probability is very low, but if it succeeds, Ming will not have the energy to care about the outside world for a considerable period of time!