Traveling through the late Ming Dynasty to promote Chinese civilization

Chapter 710 Asymmetrical Naval Warfare

Silva asked curiously, "How do these ships fight? I'm curious if their sailors can see us?"

Li Fei shook his head: "I only saw this kind of ship a few years ago, and I haven't witnessed its performance in naval warfare. But one thing is certain: the spikes on the stern look very sharp, probably to prevent boarding maneuvers. With this arched hull, the grappling hooks can't find a stable foothold, making climbing up a problem, and your feet would get pierced by the spikes."

Silva asked, "Will the North Koreans attack us? Their approach doesn't seem friendly."

Before Li Fei could answer, a turtle-shaped ship slowly approached the "Shandong". A door opened under the dragon head at the bow, and a man who looked like a North Korean official poked his head out and shouted, "We are from the North Korean Navy, and we are on patrol of Gado Island by order of King Injo (Note 1). This is a restricted area, and no unauthorized personnel are allowed to approach." He spoke fluent Mandarin, and his pronunciation was much clearer than Silva's.

"A restricted area? Isn't this the Ming Dynasty's Dongjiang Town garrison? How did it become a restricted area?" Li Fei frowned as he answered. "Also, this is clearly Pi Island, how did it become Jia Island?"

The official waved his hand impatiently: "Stop arguing. I told you not to come near, didn't you hear me? I'm only saying a few words to you because you're from a superior country, otherwise I would have driven you away long ago. Get out of here right now, or don't blame us for being impolite."

Silva grinned, revealing his snow-white teeth.

"Hey, I'm telling you, your ship is nothing but a tiny speck compared to ours, what gives you the confidence to drive us away?"

The official surveyed the nine massive ships, each resembling a small mountain—their decks lacked gun emplacements, and the side gun ports were closed, suggesting they were merchant vessels—and smiled disdainfully: “What use is size? It only adds to their stupidity. If you dare to overestimate yourselves, I can show you the might of our navy. Back in the Battle of Myeongnyang, the Japanese ironclad ships were invincible, yet they were still defeated by Lord Chungmu (Note 2).”

These words caused a burst of laughter on deck. The Qionghai Navy, invincible across the seas, had defeated both the arrogant Zheng Zhilong and the "Red Hair," and now the Korean Navy dared to brazenly try to drive them away! It should be understood that a fleet consisting of a Yongle-class and eight Wuyi-class warships was virtually unbeatable in the Bohai Bay area and even along the entire Chinese coast. Even if Zheng Zhilong were to rise from the dead and the "Red Hair" were to return, sending their most elite main fleet, they would still be no match. How could they possibly withstand a mere dozen or so turtle ships?

Silva, clutching his aching stomach from laughing, asked Li Fei for instructions: "Boss, it's hard for us to explain the difference between gunboats and small sampans to them, so why don't we just ram them and sink them?"

Li Fei also revealed a rare smile, saying, "No rush, let's see how the Korean navy fights." Regardless of why Korea harbors hostility towards the Ming fleet, since they intend to occupy Pi Island, they will inevitably have to deal with the nearby Korean navy. With an absolute advantage, they might as well take this opportunity to find out the details of the Korean navy. Knowing yourself and your enemy is the key to victory. Even if the opponent is weak, it's never a bad thing to know more.

Seeing that the other side had not obediently retreated as he had instructed, and was even pointing and gesturing at him with a mocking air, the official became enraged. He waved his hand and shouted, "That's all I have to say. Since you don't know what's good for you, I'll show you what we're capable of!"

After saying that, he retreated back into the cabin, and the cabin door slammed shut.

At the sound of a command cannon, thirteen turtle ships lined up in a horizontal formation and approached the Qionghai Navy fleet, pointing their bows toward the starboard side of the warships.

Under the watchful eyes of those on deck, a plume of pale yellow smoke suddenly billowed from the mouths of those menacing dragon heads, instantly enveloping the starboard side of the fleet. However, the dragon heads of the turtle ships did not reach the deck height of the warships, and the smoke lingered in the side gun ports for a moment before being dispersed by the sea breeze, having little effect on those on deck.

Silva asked in confusion, "What kind of weapon is this?"

Li Fei sniffed the air, thought for a moment, and said, "It's probably sulfur and saltpeter or something like that. If we ignite it and spray it at the enemy, it will both confuse them and the toxic smoke will also injure them."

Silva was dumbfounded. Naval warfare was conducted in this way? He was used to the Hainan Navy's non-contact warfare relying on its powerful firepower. This primitive tactic seemed unbelievable to him.

Seeing that the poison smoke was ineffective, the turtle ship turned sideways, exposing holes in its sides. With a series of crackling sounds, it unleashed a barrage of fire arrows and iron pellets, presumably from a fleet of cannons. These arrows and pellets struck the thick hull with "plop, plop, plop," and "clang, clang, clang," most falling helplessly into the sea. A few fire arrows embedded themselves in the lower part of the hull, burning briefly before being extinguished by the occasional splash of waves. The turtle ship seemed surprised by the difficulty of its opponent and appeared somewhat helpless, making no further moves for a considerable time.

Li Fei waited patiently for a while, and seeing that the turtle ships had exhausted their tricks, he gave the order: "Raise the signal, and have all the warships fire a volley from the right-hand side of the Caron guns." At such close range, the large-caliber, short-range Caron guns were the best choice.

All the gun ports on the right side of the warships opened simultaneously, revealing the dark muzzles of the cannons.

Although the Korean navy was weak in attack, it was clear that they knew their stuff. They were taken aback when they saw the dense array of cannons, and all the turtle ships turned around and tried to escape, but their movements were not as orderly as when they had been in formation.

Li Fei sneered disdainfully. It was too late to run now.

"Boom boom boom"

The deafening roar of cannons echoed across the sea as nearly a hundred 32-pound Caron cannons roared in unison, their heavy, solid shot turning into a storm of metal as it hurtled towards the chaotic turtle ship.

The sounds of crashing and pounding echoed as the seemingly sturdy turtle ships were smashed open by 30-pound iron balls. Large holes were punched into their "shells," splinters of wood flew everywhere, and screams of agony echoed from within. Several unfortunate turtle ships were hit at the waterline, and seawater slowly poured in, causing them to begin to sink. The soldiers inside scrambled out and jumped into the sea like dumplings being dropped into boiling water, creating a rather lively scene.

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Note 1: King Injo of Joseon, whose personal name was Yi Jong, was the 16th monarch of the Joseon Dynasty.

Note 2: Chungmugong is the honorific title of Yi Sun-sin, a famous naval commander of the Joseon Dynasty. During the Imjin War in the 16th century, he led the Joseon Navy to defeat the Japanese Navy in the Myeongnyang Strait, which is located between Jindo Island in southern Korea and Myeongnyang Strait in mainland Korea. The warships he used were turtle ships.