Part 1: Crushing the Pirate Armada at Tsushima
The allied fleet of 250 ships, comprising the Ikki fleet and the wako pirates from Guiju, was steaming toward Tsushima after their overwhelming victory in the naval battle. Among them, the Guiju wako were buzzing with excitement at the thought of annihilating the Joseon navy and plundering its coasts at will. With the Joseon navy in ruins, they figured the kingdom couldn't possibly respond effectively to such a massive pirate force. Fueled by this delusion, the pirates were making good speed.
But that fantasy soon shattered. The Joseon navy, lying in ambush near Tsushima, suddenly revealed itself. They had waited until the enemy vanguard appeared before springing into action, encircling the foes in unison.
Ikki-do's captain panicked at the sight. "What do we do?" His forces were moving too fast for proper battle preparations, and their command structure was in chaos. He fretted over how to even fight.
At that moment, Koto Yeol-do, the pirate chieftain, barked, "What are you agonizing over? We just do what we're best at."
He brandished his sword and shouted, "Listen up, everyone! Board the Joseon ships and slaughter them all! Those Joseon vessels are always loaded with grain. It's all yours—take what you want!"
Of course, he meant the grain transport ships, jounseon, but since most ships they'd raided before were those, he believed every Joseon ship brimmed with rice.
"Woo!" The wako cheered wildly. Drought had driven them back to piracy, so grain made their eyes glaze over. Boarding combat was their specialty, filling them with confidence.
As they surged forward, a thunderous roar erupted from the Joseon ships.
"What the hell was that?"
Cannonballs soon slammed into the pirate vessels. Struck ships splintered, shards flying to lacerate the wako, who screamed in agony.
Seeing this, Ikki-do's captain cried, "Cannons! Hwapo! The Joseon navy has cannons! Why the hell do they have cannons?!"
"Damn it... cannons."
The pirate leaders bit their lips at the barrage. So many blasts meant the Joseon forces had brought a ton of artillery— a massive disadvantage.
Koto Yeol-do shouted, "Ignore the cannons and ram the Joseon ships!"
"No, retreat!"
"Retreat? You serious? How do we turn these ships around in this mess?!"
He was right—retreating was tough. They'd clustered tightly, and the sudden Joseon appearance left no room to maneuver. It wasn't impossible, but it'd mean sacrificing many large ships. To them, ships were life itself—essential for fishing or future raids. No way they'd abandon them.
"One option: board and kill their commanders. Then mop up the chaos. They're not used to shipboard fights anyway!"
Ming and Joseon troops they'd faced before sucked at naval combat. That bred their overconfidence in boarding actions. Plus, Koto Yeol-do commanded the largest faction, giving his words weight.
"Move! Stay put and the cannons will shred our ships. We'll all be fish food—hurry!"
Under his lead, the wako pressed on, enduring the cannon fire.
Watching this, Min Mu-jil thought, The wako are dumber than I expected.
I'm on the lead ship, volunteered to Sin Geuk-rye. Gives me a perfect view. They're charging for shipboard combat. Idiots. After our ambush, they should've fled—losing ships but saving lives. But ships are their lifeline, so now they're losing those too. Fine by us; saves time hunting them down.
"They must think we're not used to fighting at sea, right, Military Commissioner?"
"Maybe. But that's their delusion."
The Joseon court isn't staffed by fools—especially not the heavyweights in the capital. They'd prepared thoroughly, with training to match. I didn't slack in Dongnae either; drilled my private troops in swordplay aboard ships. Plus, our superior bows mean no contest.
And it irks me how they dismiss the pangbae troops. Early Joseon pangbae are elite.
We have other tricks too.
"Keep firing. Target Choi Gun-gwan."
"Yes, sir! All crews, fire!"
Choi Yun-deok's order sent gunners reloading and blasting. Enemy ships were packed tight, making hits easy. Not just my ship—every Joseon vessel hammered them, shredding the fleet.
Yet the wako pushed on undeterred. Close enough now.
"Now! Gunners, target their oars. Smash the oars!"
Cannon fire zeroed in on oars. Some ships lost one side's, veering wildly and blocking others. Collisions erupted among them.
"Success! They're stalled."
"Just the big ones. Small ships will still reach us."
Exactly the plan—my idea pitched to Kim Sa-hyeong. Cripple big ships' oars to block access; only small ones slip through. Then we fight from above—huge advantage for a big win. He approved; now it's working.
"Keep firing. We'll firebomb the big ones later."
"Yes, sir! Continuous fire!"
We kept up the barrage. Pirates panicked, taking hits passively until small boats closed in.
"Archers, forward!"
Archers flooded the deck as small pirate boats arrived, hooks flying to board us.
"Loose!"
Arrows rained down, pirates plummeting dead into the sea mid-climb. Their return fire? Weak upward shots bounced off shields harmlessly. Pure slaughter—not just my ship, all of them.
"Now crush their hope. Axes—cut the grapple lines!"
Pangbae hacked ropes; climbing wako fell to decks or drowned. Winter sea? Instant freeze. Fitting end.
Small boats retreated. Finally realized the peril. Too late—Sin Geuk-rye had blocked the rear by now.
Flagship signaled charge. Time for annihilation.
"Flagship signal—full charge!"
"Yes, sir!"
Let's burn these wako to ash.
The pirate leaders grasped the dire straits. Joseon was fully prepped; they couldn't compete. Sent boats got repelled, retreating en masse.
Koto Yeol-do insisted on pushing, but others snapped, "If we die, you taking responsibility? Move! I gotta save my men—heading home."
Loose alliance at best; they'd followed him for his strength, but not now. With Joseon pressing and cannon risk rising, they bolted.
Joseon advanced, firing—nightmare realized. Most pirates turned tail amid heavy losses.
As they fled, "Chief! Joseon ships ahead!"
"What? Already?!"
Sin Geuk-rye had snuck his fleet to the rear, sealing escape. Pirates finally saw they'd been thoroughly outmaneuvered—fully surrounded.
Blocking the rear, Sin Geuk-rye grinned at their panic. "Plan's on track. All ships, fire! Wipe these wako clean here!"
Cannons roared, splintering pirate hulls. Kim Sa-hyeong's force loosed fire arrows, piling on.
"Damn it... what now?"
Surrounded, dying to cannons and flames.
"Surrender—save our skins!"
Some raised white flags; Joseon ignored them. Extermination was the order.
Desperate, pirates rammed for boarding. But cannons and arrows kept them at bay; any that reached died to shafts. Hooks? Axed mid-climb.
In the waters between Tsushima and Ikki-do, Joseon dominated utterly. Pirates wailed, blamed each other—chaos reigned.
Joseon exploited it mercilessly. After about three hours, most pirate ships were half-sunk, crews decimated. Survivors: fewer than ten per ship.
Min Mu-jil savored the sight.
Just mop-up left. Barely any wako remain, all wounded from relentless fire. Capture the chiefs and Ikki-do's captain—done.
Chiefs die anyway, heads on pikes. But Ikki-do's valuable—must take alive.
Flagship ordered boarding to finish remnants and grab prisoners.
"All hands, board! Exterminate the stragglers!"
"Yes, sir!"
I rammed our ship alongside, leading my men aboard. Foes tried blocking—pangbae cut them down.
"They've lost the will—kill 'em all! Capture commander-types alive!"
"Yes, sir!"
I drew my sword, slashing wako left and right. They begged surrender; no mercy. Exterminate pirates.
Spotted a distinctive helmet—antennae-like, buggish, fitting vermin. The boss? Ikki-do's captain. Jackpot. Koto Yeol-do's worth more, but this one's no slouch.
I charged, thrusting. He dodged barely, clashing blades.
"Who the hell are you?"
"No need to know. Surrender for my merits, Ikki-do."
I pressed hard; age slowed him—he flailed. Spotting a gap, I kicked— he reeled. Full-force overhead slash; he barely blocked. I bore down; his strength failed, blade dipping.
Another strike—he crumpled. Sword to throat.
Captured Ikki-do. "Got him! Bind tight!"
My men trussed him to the prow. I resumed slashing remnants.