Chapter 126
Chapter 126
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 126
Chapter Title: Ganghwa Island Triangular Zone (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The man tasked with the difficult job of boarding the Joseon army's lair to retrieve the De尼斯벨트 was Gustav Willem's second-in-command, Yohem Hendrick.
Things had looked suspicious the closer they got—did that really look like a Dutch ship?—but Hendrick had never actually been aboard the De尼斯벨트 himself, and the surrounding Joseon troops were urging him on with a "want to welcome our guests?" vibe. So he boarded for now.
Once inside with the sailors, Hendrick came face-to-face with an old Joseon man.
The geezer was pacing anxiously around the ship, clutching a bizarre shovel made entirely of iron, handle and all [Iron Pillar]. His hands were trembling, drool dripping from his mouth—he was clearly senile.
"Some leftover laborer the Joseon troops abandoned?"
"Who knows. Doesn't matter—kick him out."
With no common language, the Dutch sailor tried body language instead. He approached and roughly grabbed the old man's arm.
And the old man, ignorant of Dutch, responded in kind with body language.
Crack! The sailor's head caved in under the shovel blade, and he crumpled to the deck. Impressive strength for an old codger.
It had to be.
This old man was none other than Pyo Cheolju, the Iron Staff who had once terrorized the entire capital. Rival to Robocop Jang Boungeok.
No matter how old he got, as long as he had his steel spade in hand, there was nothing to fear.
But don't dismiss him as some young punk thug reverting to old habits.
The current Pyo Cheolju wasn't a mere gangster—he was the "righteous army commander" from the Kim clan of Jangdong, dispatched from Chunsik's ranch.
When barbarians invaded, local yangban raised righteous armies. That was Joseon basics. Kim Unhaeng, as a Seoul local yangban, had gladly sent his militia in this national crisis.
"Th-that thing!"
"What the hell is that bastard?!"
Pyo Cheolju didn't flinch at whatever the Dutch were yelling. Couldn't understand them anyway. His shovel swung calmly, smashing two more sailors' noses flat and bursting their eyeballs.
The total number of people Pyo Cheolju had bashed in his youth outnumbered all the sailors here. Greenhorn pirates couldn't match his veteran grit.
But Pyo Cheolju didn't get greedy.
After dropping three in an instant, he bolted into the ship's narrow passages.
As Manho Han Jung-ryang of Ulleungdo had marveled, the Floyte was a trench on the sea.
Its innards were cramped and maze-like, disadvantageous for boarders. In a fight, whoever seized position first had a huge edge.
A cool-headed commander would see through it, but this was so absurd Hendrick couldn't regain his wits.
"Chase him down!"
And as soon as Yohem Hendrick entered the De尼斯벨트's combat space—which he knew well—he let out a scream.
The righteous army from Wangsimni had arrived with SIT's new Joseon weapon: the 10-shot volley gun, staring them down from just five paces away, blocking the passage.
"You cursed Joseon bastards!"
His final shout was drowned in the blasts. No one heard it.
The explosions rang out, and Yi Eon-seop, the Gyeonggi investigator overseeing this fake De尼斯벨트, swung his sword from the deck outside.
"Everyone aboard! Capture the barbarians!"
He added in a desperate tone,
"Don't damage the ship or let it catch fire!"
As a warship enthusiast, Yi Eon-seop couldn't bear the destruction of this cutting-edge vessel he'd poured a year of blood, sweat, and tears into.
He resented Kim Chunsik's dangerous scheme.
Even Park Jiwon, supposedly his junior, often ranted about Chunsik rejecting Western learning in favor of expelling foreigners. It gave Yi Eon-seop a good idea of the intent.
'With civil officials this stubborn, how can the nation's glory advance?'
But his radical reformist transformation would have to wait. Battle came first.
To end it quickly without ship damage, Yi Eon-seop threw troops aboard recklessly.
Even if boarding a Floyte was tough, that assumed defenders inside. These were fresh boarders on a moored ship by the shore—like easy prey at Ulleungdo.
"Joseon scum, you've betrayed us!"
As Kim Unhaeng predicted, the Dutch sailors hastily drew daggers. But compared to Joseon cold steel, they were pathetic.
And they had a far graver problem than weapons.
"Where's the second mate?"
"He went inside, then the explosion! Ambushed in there?"
"Someone take command quick! Navigator! Navigator!"
"Ah, there's the navig— no. Not anymore."
"Fuck!"
Of course, Joseon troops didn't know Dutch command structure.
But they knew humanity's.
So soldiers instinctively bashed the heads of "fancy-uniform guys" first.
The near-100% officer decapitation caused massive chaos among the Dutch sailors.
Plus, Pyo Cheolju's team—having bombed Second Mate Hendrick's group—pushed forward with volley guns. Sailors had no choice but to raise hands wisely.
Joseon casualties so far: just one or two stabbed in the frenzy. Unprecedented success.
But Kim Unhaeng's "next move" to swallow Gustav Willem whole started here.
"Taking too long. Did something break the ship?"
Captain Jan van Ingen aboard Gustav Willem chewed his pipe and raised his spyglass.
But at this distance, details were fuzzy. Movement, sure—but maintenance or battle? Unclear.
Van Ingen's doubt resolved elsewhere.
Unlike the captain staring wrong, a vigilant lookout shouted,
"Joseon warships moving in unison—no, charging!"
"What? Betrayal after all!"
Not panic-worthy. That Joseon fleet commander looked like a total thug on sight.
The captain barked orders.
"All hands to battle stations! Prepare for boarding! Hit them hard, rescue our men amid their chaos if possible!"
But not every commander gets perfect execution.
Most crew detached for retrieval, so raising anchor, loading guns, and trimming sails was torturously slow.
Meanwhile, Joseon fleet closed fast.
Unlike sails, galleys launched anytime with enough rowers. The lead ten Joseon ships neared to where cannon differences meant nothing.
And Dutch broadside never fired.
Van Ingen nearly dropped his spyglass.
Joseon ships had flat bottoms and prows.
Flat bottoms made sense for mudflats—free maneuvering.
Flat prows? Revealed now.
To string live Dutchmen like necklaces across the front.
Arms linked, limbs splayed, Dutch sailors bound to panokseon prows gaped in horror.
No screams—gales through open mouths choked breath.
Five or six per ship. Total matched dispatched sailors.
Joseon ships charged with Dutch as frontal armor.
Van Ingen recalled an Indian goddess statue.
Tongue lolling, human heads necklace-draped, dancing blasphemous sword rites.
Its violent erotic allure hid forbidden mysteries. Taboo incarnate.
Like these man-necklaced Joseon warships.
Enlightenment, rationalism, scientific positivism—extinct this instant.
Captain wondered if humanity had stepped where it shouldn't.
'If De尼斯벨트 vanished like this…'
The 20th-century "Bermuda Triangle mystery" secret? Pathetically simple.
America's trade hub: tons of ships, thus disappearances. Proportionally tiny.
But Dutch ships in the "Joseon Triangular Zone"—Ganghwa-Jeonju-Ulleung—challenged 100% loss.
Jangyoung commander Sin Min volunteered for vanguard with unstoppable zeal, so I let him.
But the bastard dragged me along, citing my role as his deputy.
Hated risky lead ships, but dodging too much risked his snitching.
I resolved to end it fast, picked safest spot.
Then Sin Min approached with a "gotcha" smirk.
"In the past, Admiral Chungmugong tore enemy commander Madasi's limbs at Myeongnyang and hung them from the prow. If emulating his strategy, we should follow fully—not spare lives in this cumbersome binding. Are you overly partial to barbarians?"
Oh no. The regressor mistake I made too.
Blindly applying modern human rights to Joseon era backlash. Long way to 18th-century adaptation.
I excused quickly.
"Our Sacred Majesty always cherished saving lives, hated killing—even vile pirates. How not emulate such mercy, enduring minor hassle?"
Ask "when did our king?" and you're exiled. Got it? Sin Min just groaned, shut up.
I pivoted.
"Their spirit won't fully break. Westerners roam pillaging; everywhere, they hung innocents from masts for shooting practice. They'll startle briefly, recover—prepare fast."
My ploy wasn't naive "surrender at hostages."
In their hesitation, infiltrate beyond Western gunnery range.
Moral general Sin Min raged at Western brutality. He directed troops to gun batteries himself; I nocked an arrow.
Guan Yu's Endurance (Active Skill)
Vision enhancement activated
Lee Seonggye's Archery (Active Skill)
Precision targeting engaged
As Kim Unhaeng thought, Gustav Willem wouldn't surrender easily.
They hadn't expected attack—fear alone, no true shock for Age of Discovery Europeans. No savagery fazed them.
And as Yohem Hendrick said, VOC sailors' average lifespan was "one-way voyage." Their lives? Worthless.
Regaining calm, Captain van Ingen drove his men.
"Don't stand gawking—move! Cannons! Still not loaded?!"
"Just a bit longer!"
"You dog bastards, save 'wait a bit' for the Joseon scum!"
Thus yelling and dashing, van Ingen shone clear to Kim Unhaeng, vision boosted by "Guan Yu's Endurance."
Kim Unhaeng went to negotiations to memorize the captain's face.
Still out of standard arrow or musket range.
But Joseon had a secret weapon rivaling guns: far reach, user skill for accuracy.
Valuing his life utmost, Kim Unhaeng played his ace without hesitation.
Frontline here—no posturing about "they'll make me general."
Stage 2 bloomed Kim Unhaeng's "Lee Seonggye's Archery"—flawless.
Bamboo shaft trimmed to invisible child-fletch vanished.
Like Lee Seonggye, it pierced van Ingen's face clean through.
Normally, battle reports came from me or Park Mun-su—not Jangyoung's Sin Min.
But that sycophant would surely skew narrow. So I manipulated Park Mun-su to crush Sin Min again; now Park wrote full dispatches himself.
Skimming captured goods list (heads included), Park Mun-su sighed.
"This rivals any but Chungmugong. How to haul that Western ship (Gustav Willem)?"
"All thanks to Lord Yeongsung's guidance—what credit mine?"
"Really? Claim it for me?"
"...If moderately..."
Can't drop guard with the old fox.
Nah, just kidding.
Pride over integrity—Park Mun-su wouldn't stoop so petty.
But Noron fact meant safety net offered.
"What's this?"
"You've endured sea winds on your old frame these days. Brought steamed ginseng roots for your pursuits."
I wouldn't mind if he flipped the tray. That's why raw roots, not decoction.
Park Mun-su stared.
"Ginseng akin to aconite boosts yang—risky for elders. Must decoct with other herbs."
About to offer brewing, I paused—Jangbok halted summoning.
In current game-changer landscape, Park's words weren't idle.
Dark medicine master Yeo Yeong-gun sent brother not just crab sauce and raw ginger. Ginseng, aconite too.
Mixing herbs implied Park's creed: no king-or-Noron dictatorship. Include Soron, Namin.
Separate from Yeongjo's will—Park urged his tangpyeong balance.
'So that means...'
Park Mun-su accepted my bribe—no, sincerity—for the first time.
"Shin Chi-un plotting to sell country to barbarians" and "Hong the second-time Joseon coveter" were strictly bound and escorted.
I first secured prisoners, then proclaimed barbarian defeat and national strength.
"Even if petty thieves scheme in ten directions, geniuses shatter them one by one—escape impossible. As Deputy Kim Unhaeng reported, I delight in saving lives; spread my mercy wide, let deceived rebels repent and surrender."
To break Heungjamdang rebels fighting Training Command and silence potentials, such propaganda essential.
"Wide" included Japan, naturally.
Ulleungdo warning: guard your Dutch vassals. Second offense—court wouldn't forgive.
Stern diplomatic missive "invaded" Waegwan via returning Jeolla Left Naval fleet, rushed to Nagasaki.
Matsura Keisen threw money wildly, buying couriers. Foot relays (three days Edo-Kyoto) raced to shogunate.
<Dutch fleet invaded Joseon, annihilated. None survived; Joseon demands Japan's responsibility!>
Shogunate sentiment: one word.
'These fucking idiots...'
Perfect meiwaku (nuisance). Shogunate decided: erase thorn Dejima.
Dutch trade profitable, novelties fun—but not worth global risk.
Plus, Rangeki (Dutch otaku) lords loved weird Western arms—unfit for peace.
Above all, Dutch broke ironclad promise: no dealings beyond Japan.
To resume trade, Dutch must show massive sincerity.
No losses either way—shogunate approval swift.
Nagasaki magistrate Matsuura Nobumasa, humiliated by Jan van Ingen, surrounded Dejima with troops triumphantly.
"Daring break pacts, send ships elsewhere—out before we burn all! Only water, provisions!"
He'd taken bribes to ignore the Joseon voyage.
But Chief Factor David Volun had no protest leisure.
Lost De尼斯벨트, rescuer Gustav Willem, now Nagasaki factory.
Stupid Batavia return? Galley fodder fate.
His survival: "civilized" direct homeland return.
Luckily, snagged copy of Joseon's Japan diplomatic docs. Draw investor eyes—board might forgive, not kill casually.
With luck, lead revenge fleet back.
David Volun fled nocturnally with papers, logs, bullion, men.
Abandoned Dejima thoroughly looted.
Historically, Joseon-Japan full openings near-simultaneous.
Many modern Koreans fantasize: Joseon slightly first?
Reverse works too.
Reseal Japan—gap nullified.
Kim Unhaeng's expelling-foreigners Tao unwittingly swayed Japan too.
Author's Note
1. Kim Unhaeng's "hung humans on masts as shooting targets"—Europeans did, precisely Portuguese during India route opening.
2. Japan's in-story Chunsik delivery: Higaisha system, public/private. Private charged by time, rivaled public; villages even for relays.