Chapter 179
Chapter 179
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 179
Chapter Title: Bursting the Shrimp's Back (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
If you're asking how over a hundred warships suddenly popped out of a land-based Qing headquarters, you need to start by rethinking the very definition of an 'army.'
This is a misconception that arises because people usually think in terms of European armies.
In East Asia, anyone mobilized by the state in large numbers counts as military personnel. Whether they're putting out fires (the Golden Flower Army), delivering goods (post runners), or mining ore (iron-mining soldiers), they're all called soldiers for a reason.
Thus, the ships that arrived here were mostly a coalition of merchant-pirate-navy hybrids from southeastern China. The navy part might sound odd, but the Qing navy essentially operated as one with pirates, renting out weapons to them by the fleet and such.
Questions about military corruption are also very European.
It simply means that even pirates are subjects of the emperor. It's just a fragment of the infinite dominion held by the lord of humanity.
In fact, when the Qianlong Emperor summoned them, they assembled. It wasn't out of fear that he'd follow his grandfather's example and raze the entire coast if they didn't.
And the one leading them was none other than Li Shiyao, the Governor-General of Liangguang—the very man who, after being humiliated by the British in Guangzhou and learning of Satsuma's crimes, had come to believe that the only good barbarian was a dead one.
Sadly, in school violence committees, it's the victim who shrinks back the most, not the perpetrator.
That was exactly the situation for King Shō Boku of Ryukyu at the grand international school violence committee hosted by Kim Unhaeng, the Nanhai 진무사, in the spring of 1761.
Just days earlier, unfamiliar Westerners had shown up demanding vegetables and directions to Joseon, causing chaos during negotiations. Sure enough, the universal taboo that strangers from afar herald disaster proved true.
But Ryukyu wasn't some defenseless nation. The three senior councilors (akin to Ryukyu's version of the Three Ministers) all proposed in unison.
"We must fire cannons simultaneously from Mie Gusuku and Yarazamori Gusuku!"
The sturdy batteries north and south of Naha Harbor, shaped like jars, were exactly what the ministers mentioned. Though in reality they were about as useful as Joseon's southern Hanseong Fortress, etiquette demanded silence on that.
But King Shō Boku was wiser than his ministers. He asked in a plaintive voice,
"At whom?"
Not a single minister could answer.
In the meantime, the gathered officials each chose what they deemed a rational course of action.
Among the junks, there were quite a few larger than expected.
Fujian ships, which lived off maritime activities, were twice the size of sand ships (flat-bottomed warships) from other regions. The big ones could easily carry 3,000 seok of grain.
Of course, not every one of the hundred-odd warships closing in was a giant. But in total tonnage, they'd laughably exceed the British side by ten times.
From an economic standpoint, it was hard to believe they'd come with friendly intentions.
And if war was to be waged, it wouldn't be against this palm-sized island kingdom or the ragged boats just spotted. There was only one opponent here—nay, on the entire planet—that required such a force.
Why the Chinese had suddenly gone mad and targeted the British was unknown. But first, the immediate reality demanded response.
Thus, the choice by British fleet commander Admiral Hyde Parker was inevitable.
"Anchored, we're at a disadvantage! Signal Endeavour and Argo! Depart immediately and break south!"
Endeavour posed no issue. She was already unfurling sails before the signal even dropped. No battle honor could outweigh the scientists and data aboard.
The problem was with the frigate Argo.
"Captain King of Argo is still ashore!"
Richard King had gone inland with James Flint (the only one who spoke the language) to negotiate trade and berthing with the Ryukyu court. Admiral Parker decided swiftly once more.
"Have the first lieutenant assume command! Depart anyway!"
"Pardon? Leave him behind? There are many sailors escorting him..."
"Precisely because there are many sailors, no need to worry. Richard's an old hand I've known for years; he'll coordinate on his own. Being ashore might even help us more. Relay it quick!"
Leaving Argo alone would just invite capture. A cold-blooded commander prioritized saving the ship over a fellow captain.
And the admiral had no intention of abandoning comrades either. He merely sought to shift the battlefield to favorable ground.
Sailors bustled, winding the catheads to raise anchors and clambering up rigging to catch the wind.
Starting with Endeavour, all three ships writhed urgently into motion.
Shuri Castle in Naha sat on high ground. Captain Richard King easily grasped the situation and acted at once.
He ordered his eighty-odd sailors.
"Men, fix bayonets."
As grim as the captain's voice came the metallic clinks of bayonets locking onto muskets. The heavy butts and short barrels of the sea service pattern Brown Bess muskets gleamed dully.
The Ryukyuan official, mid-conversation in Chinese with James Flint right before Shuri Castle, paled. Flint asked, puzzled,
"What's wrong? What's happening?"
"Obvious, isn't it? The moment we arrived, Ryukyu summoned Chinese and Japanese forces."
Flint couldn't comprehend.
The British hadn't come to fight, so why? Were they humanity's public enemy?
Besides, even if so, the China Flint knew couldn't muster such a force so swiftly—unless some nefarious plot had been premeditated.
Yet the scene before them was undeniable reality. Flint accepted it promptly.
"Then we must hurry back to the fleet..."
"No. The fleet's already raising sails to depart. Right for battle. And we're not heading to the harbor."
"Pardon?"
Captain King said no more.
"You, fetch the interpreter. The rest, assault formation!"
Flint gaped at the captain's finger pointing opposite the harbor.
"We're storming this castle to seize the palace. We must enter before they realize and bar the gates. Hurry!"
Right now, the British were outnumbered both at sea and on land.
If Ryukyu had dug this trap, paralyzing their leadership swiftly was best. Admiral Parker's judgment that King ashore might prove useful was spot on.
Captain King gave a striking assault signal. He drew his cutlass and beheaded the Ryukyuan official who'd plotted to betray his guests.
The charge began before the unfortunate man's body hit the ground. Flint, too, was forced into a sprint before he could think further.
It was violence too sudden.
Thus, Shuri's guards failed to shut the gates in time.
Because Joseon fishermen had uncovered a crime that might have stayed buried forever, the Qianlong Emperor assumed Joseon knew Ryukyu well.
So, like the old Imjin campaigns, he demanded troops from Joseon too.
"Joseon once excelled at subduing wokou with Admiral Yi Sun-sin. To punish the deceitful Shimazu clan that duped the Celestial Dynasty and liberate Ryukyu's people from oppression, send elite ships and commanders inheriting that spirit."
Joseon gladly complied. They'd have sent aid even without the request.
This was utterly unlike King Hyojong's era.
Tributary issues usually warranted diplomacy. But mobilizing such a rage-fueled horde left no guarantee they wouldn't turn those blades on Joseon afterward.
The court, unaware of Kim Unhaeng's proactive meddling, naturally dispatched him. The Nanhai 진무사 role existed precisely for such crises.
Though unlike the Qianlong Emperor's words, his role leaned more toward Kang Hongrip than Yi Sun-sin. Crown Prince Yi Hwon had hinted as much.
Kim Unhaeng faithfully executed the royal command.
He boarded one of Joseon's official elite flagship 대전선 (which even Yi Sun-sin had commanded), joining with several other warships.
Not out of cowardice, but emulating Kang Hongrip who'd hidden behind Ming forces, Kim Unhaeng crossed to the safest spot: the fleet commander's ship.
There, he whispered to Li Shiyao, who already despised the British.
"As Governor-General of Liangguang, you know far better than I, but those English can't be trusted."
"The 진무사 of Joseon's insight matches mine. But didn't we deploy because Satsuma overreached, bullying Ryukyu into a so-called tributary? So is this the English snatching Ryukyu from Satsuma?"
Kim Unhaeng gravely shook his head.
"Not at all, Your Excellency. They know friend from foe's strength. How could weaklings like us face His Majesty's wrath fighting among ourselves? With Satsuma's recent crimes, they've lured the English into a joint ambush on Ryukyu, plotting to strike our heavenly troops—a vile scheme."
"What? Such malice!"
But Qing wasn't so short on men. Li Yingbiao, Li Shiyao's subordinate and commander of Yuehai Pass, raised doubts.
"Isn't that mere speculation? Why would the English suddenly attack heavenly troops? Governor, warfare demands precision. First, send men to their ships to ascertain how they reached here."
Valid points, all. Kim Unhaeng fretted over the unforeseen snag.
But Li Shiyao thought he knew why the British acted.
He was the top contributor to curbing British smuggling via edicts like the coastal defense regulations.
Surely Satsuma had tempted him with trade privileges in exchange for aid. Those bastards who'd threatened him with two big ships in Guangzhou were capable of it.
Decisively, the British fleet proved Kim Unhaeng's slander themselves.
Watching for cannon fire, Kim Unhaeng spotted the ships' subtle movements.
Synergy of telescope and Guan Yu's Patience skill. Soon, it was obvious even without skills.
"Governor, look. The English ships are hastily fleeing the harbor."
"What?"
Kim Unhaeng quickly lent the telescope. He pointed at the British fleet.
"Aren't they turning bows south? We're west. So they're shielding Satsuma's ships to the south.
Satsuma let the English dock unhindered, proving collusion. The English only turned after spotting heavenly troops, not Satsuma—obvious even to a child. Delay the decision, and regret will be too late."
Li Shiyao slammed the desk with his fist.
"Insolent barbarians! Think two rats can fell a tiger? Relay my command: annihilate the English and Satsuma pirates at once!"
Qing's last rationalist, Li Yingbiao, urgently restrained the commander.
"Too hasty, sir. Our ships are numerous but untrained in formation, cannons understocked. They're just fleeing; no need to pursue..."
Kim Unhaeng instantly activated 'Sea East's Evil Strategist' mode. Sternly rebuking as if to a subordinate,
"Though a foreigner, I dare speak bitterly: such words unfit a loyal servant! If they flee now, where to? Guangju's innocent folk could die, ports burn!"
And Guangju fell under Li Shiyao's jurisdiction.
Enlightened, Li Shiyao drew his sword.
"Hesitation in orders means military law! Advance at once!"
Kim Unhaeng knelt in apparent感動.
"Your Excellency's valor and loyalty shame ancients. I'll return to my ship to obey!"
Kim Unhaeng departed immediately.
And never returned.
In truth, Li Shiyao needn't have rushed.
The British couldn't flee: Richard King and allies ashore, and Admiral Parker had no intent to anyway.
No first-strike planned, but challenged thus, His Majesty's navy wouldn't evade. The admiral stood tall on deck.
"Fleet, obey my commands henceforth! Single column line of battle!"
If armies had line infantry, navies had line of battle.
Deserters from formation faced execution. Thus, Parker's 'obey only the admiral' reiterated meant stripping captains' freedom for strict line discipline.
James Cook signaled protest from Endeavour—'we're a science ship'—ignored. Now, her ten cannons mattered, not science.
"Fire on signal! Thereafter, as ready!"
Moments later, sailors yanked lanyards, feeling like shooting at locusts.
Meanwhile, the Satsuma fleet just wanted to go home.
An apocalyptic barrage unfolded before them, sea shrinking from blasts and thunder.
But as perpetrators in this violence committee, they couldn't just leave.
Somehow, Satsuma's ultimate secret would leak—via British or Chinese (unaware it already had, sparking this mess).
They had to control the Ryukyu royals.
Sakuma Gentao, 'punitive' fleet leader, racked his brains.
Sakuma wasn't military. The domain never considered Ryukyu resistance; he was more a negotiator boosting tribute via the liaison attack pretext.
Recognized for handling shogunate's 'river works' tyranny years prior. Botch this, and like the fifty domainals who'd seppuku for overspending, he'd gut himself.
Sakuma leveraged river works experience.
"Naha's channel silts heavily. Likely partially blocked downstream. Sneak south near Yarazamori Gusuku, ford via sandbars to Shuri."
Naval battle outclassed them. Hide ashore instead.
Couldn't expel foes, but coordinate with inner-cell Zaiban Fugyo to threaten the king silent.
Just like 21st-century bullies.
As brutal Qing charges met evasive British thrusts nearing climax, gasping muddied Satsuma samurai reached Shuri.
Fortuitously, Ryukyu's scant troops rushed to batteries, none blocking them.
But Sakuma couldn't rejoice.
"What's this corpse?"
Seeing the Ryukyuan official's body, dread hit Sakuma.
Something happened inside Shuri. The pre-notified Zaiban Fugyo absent.
Then, anxious Ryukyuans paced the battlements.
Sakuma shouted in Chinese per secret protocol for Chinese envoys—no Japanese.
"We're from the Shimazu clan! What's happening? Where's the Fugyo?"
But out came Europeans who shouldn't be. Worst imaginings echoed in Sakuma's mind.
Richard King on the wall, hearing Flint's translation, grinned cruelly.
"Ah, your comrade? This one?"
At his nod, a sailor dropped a heavy, pumpkin-like object.
Ryukyu's Zaiban Fugyo was high-ranking in the domain. Sakuma knew him from visits home.
Thus, he instantly recognized the head.
"......!"
A warrior might roar; bureaucrat Sakuma froze in horror.
Then another Westerner's Chinese shout.
"The Ryukyu Kingdom severs diplomacy with Satsuma henceforth. That severed head, by king's order, proves it."
Rational Satsuma folk would see it as cornering the royals into Britain's arms.
But shit-eyed, past sins made all samurai believe Ryukyu turned genuine.
Return now? Mass seppuku. Better storm Shuri for slim odds. Failure still honors families as martyrs' kin.
Sakuma recalled troops rushed harborward. Clinging to faint hope,
"Breach the gates!"
Japanese unknown, intent clear. British opened fire from walls as if waiting.