Cannon Crew Crushes the Corsairs
"Cannon crew's here!"
"What the hell? Why are they showing up here?"
Nailed it.
This was a double entendre, of course.
They'd deliberately beefed up defenses in areas that had been left lightly guarded. Responding immediately to incursions without waiting for requests for aid—it felt like slipping back into the groove of their true calling after a long hiatus.
The cannon aimed from the stern. Boom! The shell rocketed out, smashing the enemy sekibune's mast to splinters.
"H-Hit!"
"Full speed ahead! Take 'em down before they figure out a counter!"
That's when Jiangsu Province's junk ships rammed them, heavy with the wind at their backs. With a thunderous crunch, the vessel split in half and plunged straight to the ocean floor.
A few pirates struggled to stay afloat, swimming desperately, but their fates weren't much better.
Slash—Ming navy sailors swung long sickles at their limbs and necks. The sea around the pirates' severed heads slowly turned from blue to red.
"Got 'em!"
"Fuck yeah, that hits the spot. Look at those bastards squirm!"
It was the first time the Jiangsu navy—who'd always been helpless victims before—looked this pumped up.
Guess they were victims too, huh. Suddenly, Pang Yujin felt a twinge of guilt for ripping into them over those endless bogus reports. Damn, doubting people isn't a good habit.
Yeah, that's right. Time to learn how to trust folks again.
They were just grunts rolling in the dirt on the front lines—who'd have thought their boss was selling secrets to the enemy, sucking up, and colluding like that?
Beside him, Bijong wore a strange expression: triumphant, yet somehow sorrowful.
"...Looking at the patterns so far, they probably leaked coastal maps all over the place. That's why the pirates knew the terrain inside out and picked their spots to fight or flee so perfectly. Why didn't I think of this sooner?"
If he could just blame it on incompetence, the shock might've been less. But this coming from his own outfit, the one he'd trusted... No wonder he'd chosen the soldier's path, and no wonder his beloved wife had ended up in tears. Life's a tangled mess like that.
Yeah, that's just how it goes. Stay strong, man.
"That's why, Young Master Yujin—your insight and decisiveness are truly remarkable!"
...Bijong perked up, eyes sparkling at him again. Talk about pressure.
"Wako fleet sighted off Sa-seok region."
But that eager look only lasted in downtime. Work came calling, and his face sharpened right back to business as he prepped for launch.
"Alright, boys—grab your tools."
"Yes, sir!"
The work was grueling, but the solid results made the old powerless days vanish. Everyone moved like clockwork, disciplined and unified.
Unlike Zhejiang Province, where alerts came few and far between, leaving things boring as hell, Jiangsu's wako kept pouring in nonstop—no time to slack.
"Here come the wako?"
"Hiiiek!"
Crash!
They'd pre-positioned at likely entry points, then charged out the second the pirates swarmed in, turning everything to chaos.
Felt just like a tower defense game. The pirates' uniquely juicy freakouts and momentary panic faces? Pure delight.
Bet those bastards figured Yugu Su had screwed them over proper.
"Reloading!"
"Protect the cannon crew!"
Whatever their beef, the soldiers—now used to Yujin's weird battle cries—synced up perfectly.
Once loaded, boom!—another cannon blast, and they just kept doing their jobs.
"Bijong, you fucking idiot!"
Yugu Su, who'd always played the weakling to hide his scheming heart, exploded in rage.
Even his longtime deputy—who'd stuck by him since taking office—could count on one hand the times he'd seen this side. Shocked, the man shrank back, playing dead to avoid stoking the fire.
How the hell did things go so sideways?
Yugu Su, Commander of Jiangsu's troops.
One oddity in his resume: he was originally a civil official. Yet somehow, he'd ended up in a military post.
—It all started with his bad blood with Jo Unhyeon.
They'd been classmates at the Nanjing Imperial Academy. But their relationship? Shit, never good.
The reason? Yugu Su still blamed that smug prick for starting it, always yapping about family status and dragging everyone down.
Yugu Su just smirked inwardly, dismissing him. Pathetic scholarship, miles below his own. The guy couldn't see past the present like he could—time would sort it all out.
That loser would always lag behind, or so he'd thought—until,
Jo Unhyeon is appointed to the position of new Jiangsu Defense Commandant.
"I shall obey the great will of Lord Gucheonse!"
'What the—?'
The spot Yugu Su had assumed was his got snatched away.
By the time he dug into why, it was too late. Who'd have thought that could wield such massive sway over everything?
Work hard, get recognized—that naive bullshit was on him. He was the real mediocre hack.
At first, he wavered. Even as he squeezed time for a trip to the capital, he doubted himself.
But once he witnessed it firsthand, all doubts evaporated.
"L-Lord Wei Gong! Forgive my tardiness in visiting. I am Yugu Su, serving in Jiangsu Province!"
Lucky break. Snagging even one audience with him was a miracle—and here he was, meeting right away.
Everyone craved a piece of the man. How had he missed this?
"...I've heard of you. You're quite late with your respects."
"M-My apologies! My shortcomings led to this rudeness!"
Gucheonse, Lord Wei Gong—the hidden power behind the throne, bold enough to rival the Emperor himself.
Yugu Su had scoffed at some mere eunuch before. Dangerous mistake.
Watch your mouth—always.
"No matter. If it was deliberate, that'd be one thing, but ignorance? I'm not so petty. ...Of course, if your 'modest gesture' matches my generosity."
Their shadowy meeting kicked off with a show of 'modest' sincerity—which wasn't modest at all, up close.
Framed as investment, it made sense. And carving out time like this? The man's direct confidence shone against Yugu Su's endless hedging.
"What you want... I hear you don't get along with the Jiangsu Defense Commandant."
How'd he know that? Yugu Su was just some provincial bureaucrat.
Another shock at the intel network. He racked his brain for any slip-ups.
"You'll get a letter soon. Sweet dreams, good eats, positive thoughts—spend these days well."
Unlike his worries, it devolved into bland health advice.
But from him, every word demanded full attention.
"Give it your best. I'll 'precisely quantify' your loyalty to the Empire."
"Your grace humbles me!"
The brief huddle ended. The mystical vibe still made it feel like a dream.
And dreamlike it was—days after contact, stalled promotions sailed through.
Yugu Su is appointed to the position of new Jiangsu Troop Commander.
"Haha—ha! It, it's done. Done!"
Troop Commander—not as prestigious as civil posts over military ones, but grade-wise, on par with Defense Commandant. Better than nothing.
Finally, starting line with that brute Jo Unhyeon. Crucial.
Time to flip the board.
But momentum's a bitch to reverse. Taxing pirates? Defense Commandant had the edge.
He skimmed supplies, dabbled in smuggling—peanuts next to that authority.
So the Troop Commander's last play: ally with the pirates.
Wako rampages cut into the Commandant's taxes.
Share their loot as payoff? Reset the scales.
Genius. Pride swelled—whoever thought it up.
Pirates doubted at first, but results built trust.
In return, he fed them deployments, coastal maps—even beacon warnings lately.
Wealth piled up, dwarfing old days. He hid the dagger for Jo Unhyeon, biding time.
Playing dumb or weak to lower guards, tweaking the board his way.
Worked like a charm. Wako escalated—climax time.
But that foreign bastard sniffed it out, ruining everything. If only he'd dragged his feet and left.
Jo Unhyeon catch on? Begging that fallen princess for help?
...Nah. That pig would've charged in personally, not delegated.
Bide now.
Zhejiang's musclehead moved fast—not clueless. They suspected.
Circumstantial to solid proof, but no hard evidence. Fine. Escalation risked it all—time to pivot, even retreating.
"When the pirates' liaison shows, cut his throat. From now on, follow Young Master Yujin of the Cannon Crew—full pirate purge."
Decisions? No hesitation. One order from Commander Yugu Su, and Jiangsu's barracks and arsenals flung open for max-scale ops.
He had cards left. Ditching the wako ace was risky, but cornered? Play it.
Bijong, that dog—deal with him soon. But no quick fix against Yugu Su either. He stewed deep in thought.