Annihilating the Pirates at Busan-jin
Meanwhile, as the battle at Busan-jin raged on, Min Mu-jil received a letter from Min Da-yeon and clicked his tongue in annoyance.
Aigoo. Yi Seong-gye had gone too far. Blinded by that Gang woman, was he persecuting them like this? The old man's lost his marbles completely. And looking at that woman's scheming face, it seemed like she planned to wipe out our entire clan before she kicked the bucket—but she wouldn't last that long anyway, so no real worries there.
And that damn bastard Zhu Yuan Zhang. Fine, sending envoys to throw his weight around was one thing, but ordering them to kowtow to Yi Bang-won? That was clearly a ploy to spark civil unrest in Joseon. With a crown prince already in place, telling them to bow to another prince outright could only mean one thing. This was an incident I hadn't known about in my previous life, but now that it fit perfectly into the picture, the full story of the Imperial Rescript affair snapped into place.
Tying down Jeong Do-jeon with the rescript, bolstering the opposition faction around Yi Bang-won to plunge Joseon into infighting—that was the goal, weakening us for Ming's benefit. Zhu Yuan Zhang's mind sure worked wickedly when it came to schemes. A truly evil son of a bitch.
But Zhu Yuan Zhang, it won't go the way you think. Besides, Jeong Do-jeon goes all out in ways you can't imagine, and without solid support, it ends quickly anyway. And I'll make it end even faster. The real nation that will bleed itself dry in power struggles? That's going to be Ming. Since Zhu Yuan Zhang pisses me off so much, I need to mull over ways to stretch his reign from ten to fifteen years.
Min Da-yeon, though, wants me to come back after this term and serve by Yi Bang-won's side... Hmm. I'll have to go eventually. But not yet. Why else would I come down to Dongnae and prepare so meticulously? It's all for the conquest of Tsushima. And in my view, the Dae Ma-do Conquest is inevitable.
For starters, with the chaos from the Imperial Rescript stirring up the yangban, they need something to divert attention—and what could be more perfect than crushing the public enemy, the wako pirates? Especially if we slaughter a ton here in Dongnae; it'll thin out the pirate numbers on Tsushima and Iki, making the conquest even easier to salivate over.
Plus, this puts Jeong Do-jeon's faction in a real bind. With Gang on her deathbed, if their key players head off on the Tsushima expedition, they can't keep Yi Bang-won properly in check. But if they don't go, Yi Bang-won's people rack up all the military merit. No matter what they choose, it's a losing proposition. And if they refuse the expedition outright, they'll face backlash for wasting the opportunity—so they'll grudgingly agree, tears in their eyes.
Honestly, I didn't plan it this way; I just wanted to rack up my own merits. But watching how things are unfolding, the thought hit me hard. That's why I've prepared so thoroughly to smash the wako for good.
But now harvest season's over, prime time for the wako to show up—and where the hell are they?
Just then, Choi Yun-deok came rushing in. Seeing him hurry back from sea patrol meant the wako had finally appeared. Pirates gonna pirate, after all.
"Brother! A massive wako fleet is heading this way!"
Finally, the moment had arrived.
"Good. Assemble everyone."
I immediately summoned the officers to the command post. Time to show these wako what all our rigorous prep had wrought.
In less than a gong—no, not even that—they were all gathered. I'd ordered them on high alert recently, after all.
"So, what's the scale of the enemy fleet?"
"Over a hundred ships—a grand armada."
He explained: big ships, small ones, everything mixed in—even fishing boats. More than half were small vessels. Just as I'd predicted: a mishmash of regulars and pirates. Honestly, if it were a hundred pure warships, we couldn't hold, but this? We could manage. With retainers, Busan-jin had about six hundred troops. And we'd prepared accordingly.
"Send a fast rider to the Adjutant Commander right now. Request exactly two hundred cavalry."
Cavalry were the perfect counter to these pirate scum.
"Yes, sir."
Once the Adjutant Commander's horse troops arrived, we'd sweep them clean in one go.
"Contact the naval commander. Have him lie in wait and burn their ships the next day."
Just wipe 'em all out.
"The rest of you, defend Busan-jin with me."
"Yes, sir."
With that, I dispatched the rider to request naval support from Choi Un-hae and immediately reorganized the troops. Once done, we waited at Busan-jin for the wako to arrive.
After a bit, here they came. No other passes around, after all. And once they massacred the garrison here, they'd ravage all of Dongnae at will—or so they thought.
Soon, the wako charged with war cries. Impressive numbers. Easily the largest force to set foot on this land in a decade. But we could crush them without much trouble.
Well then, shall we begin?
The wako invading Dongnae had gathered not just from Tsushima and Iki, but from all over Kyushu. A massive famine had gripped the region, making survival impossible, so they'd come to plunder nearby Joseon.
They chose Dongnae because it was closest to Tsushima and the terrain most familiar. But hearing of recent reinforcements, they'd brought maximum numbers. Over two thousand strong.
Thus, the two-thousand-plus wako landed on Joseon's coast and beelined for the visible fortress. Conquer that, and Dongnae's counties would fall like dominoes.
With roars, they attacked. As they reached the stockade, arrows rained down, felling many. The wako advanced behind massive wooden shields, arrows thudding harmlessly into the timber.
Just as they tried to vault the stockade, a thunderous boom echoed—a massive projectile hurtled forth, shattering the shields to splinters. Shrapnel wounded those nearby.
More came flying. One wako shouted,
"Cannons! Hwapo!"
The word sent panic through them. Peering at the incoming shots confirmed it: cannons. Never dreaming Busan-jin would have artillery, they quaked. Cannons meant elite Joseon troops. No idea why elites were in remote Dongnae, but retreat first.
As they fell back, the earthworks' gate swung open. Min Mu-jil led cavalry out, stunning them.
"Sweep the wako!"
At his command, Joseon horsemen charged with lances, hammering the retreating foe. Mostly irregulars—armed fishermen and farmers—they lacked weapons or formation to face cavalry, especially in disorganized flight.
Impaled or shot down, they fled in droves.
"Everyone, retreat fast!"
The wako leaders pulled back swiftly. Seeing this, Min Mu-jil called,
"That's enough. Back inside."
The cavalry withdrew to Busan-jin, leaving over a hundred corpses. The wako retreated.
Their commanders then held council. They'd attack again. The cavalry sortie had spooked them, but only about fifty riders. Cannon fire? Maybe one culverin. Arrows weren't overwhelming. And despite the rout, losses were just over a hundred—enemy numbers must be thin. No choice but to press on; fleeing elsewhere meant Busan-jin alerting others, leading to tougher fights. They needed loot to survive the famine. All-in on Busan-jin: minimal guards on ships, full assault.
They hammered the fortress fiercely, eventually scaling the stockade and ladders against the earthen walls. Joseon troops stabbed with spears, shot arrows—fierce resistance. Cannons? Not one, but three culverins, smashing shields and inflicting heavy arrow casualties.
"The Joseon dogs hid their cannons?"
Better defense than expected, more guns, heavier arrow barrages—the wako leader sensed something off. But numerical superiority meant they could still win. Press the siege.
Mid-assault, ship guards came running.
"What happened?"
"Joseon navy ambush! They torched our ships!"
"What?!"
Shocked—the navy that had hidden in port suddenly struck. Naval commander Kim Man-bo, per Min Mu-jil's orders, scouted and, seeing skeleton crews, surged in and burned the fleet.
The wako leader paled.
"Everyone, retreat! Save the ships first!"
No ships, no way home. But Min Mu-jil wasn't watching idly.
"The commander did his job perfectly. Open the gates—attack the wako!"
He led all troops out. Caught off-guard, the wako scattered. This time, nearly a hundred cavalry—double before—charged, inflicting massive losses as they fled.
Luckily for them, Min Mu-jil had deliberately slowed the pursuit, letting many escape. A ploy, of course.
What greeted the escapees? Their burning ships. Despair set in, chaos reigning—then pursuing Joseon forces arrived. Cavalry and infantry. Min Mu-jil had paced for this.
Grinning at the panicking wako, he savored the sight.
"Perfect success."
"Yeah. The naval commander nailed it."
A flawless victory. First assault, we'd played weak on purpose. Spooked by cavalry but seeing light losses, they'd commit everything—just as predicted. Kim Man-bo torched their fleet on cue when they stripped ship guards.
If this went well, even without the Adjutant Commander's full force, we'd deal a crippling blow. Speaking of, his cavalry should arrive soon—I'd requested just horses.
Bit underwhelming, though. We'd overprepared. Non-regulars, maybe? Still, better than getting looted by skimping.
Time to corner them. Drawing my sword, I shouted,
"Drive the enemy into the trap!"
"Yes, County Magistrate! Everyone, advance!"
Troops surged. Front: shieldbearers in defensive stance. Rear: spearmen and archers covering. Pressing forward, the wako charged—but our formation held. We'd drilled nothing but this besides building the fort.
Now, cavalry time.
"Choi Yun-deok, you're in command here. I'll lead the horse."
"Yes, sir."
"All cavalry, follow me!"
We smashed their flank. No long lances, no time or know-how for anti-cavalry squares—they crumpled, swept away. I personally cut down several with my blade.
Under combined infantry-cavalry assault, the wako slunk back.
"Herd them into the corner!"
Relentlessly, until trapped: sea behind, Joseon ahead. No escape.
Now, hold position.
"Not finishing them off now?"
"Cornered rats bite cats, don't they? Plenty left. Wait for the Adjutant Commander's cavalry."
Over a thousand still. Rash charge meant heavy losses. We encircled and waited.