Chapter 400
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 400
Chapter Title: Inspection Through Actual Combat
Time flowed like running water.
To Yi Hwan, every single day was as precious as gold. He had never put off anything once he decided to do it, and once he started, he pursued relentless research to find the best method.
The same went for Haemun.
Craftsmen he had scouted from the Imperial Palace and Moon Pavilion were flocking to Haemun one after another. Enormous quantities of timber for building warships were piling up steadily.
Yi Hwan immediately ordered the construction of the warships. But among those orders was one very special instruction.
“We need to build one as quickly as possible.”
“May I ask why you want just one built first?”
To Wang Jeon’s question, Yi Hwan replied,
“I plan to test the new warship’s performance in actual combat.”
“In actual combat, you say?”
“We’ll find the opportunity ourselves, so Commander, just focus on building the warship. As I said, build it exactly to the blueprints, but complete it as fast as possible.”
“Understood.”
Everyone was puzzled. Where on earth did he plan to fight? This was Yeon Kingdom, so far north that even Japanese pirates didn’t venture here.
But no one raised any objections. Knowing all he had accomplished so far, not a single person doubted his abilities.
And so, after about a month and a half, the first warship was finally complete.
It was far faster than anyone had expected.
* * *
Whoooosh!
The wind was quite strong.
Yi Hwan looked up at the massive sails slowly unfurling their majesty and wore a satisfied expression.
Park Ji-mun smiled.
“The exterior looks like it turned out right, at least.”
“Making the bow like that—is it to brace for collisions with enemy ships?”
“Precisely, it’s not just for withstanding collisions but also to endure enemy broadsides a bit better. And when we ram an enemy ship, it’ll inflict major damage too.”
“No issues with maneuverability?”
“Of course not.”
Typically, warships focused on thickening the side armor facing enemy broadsides, which inevitably left the bow and stern relatively vulnerable.
Surprisingly, however, Yeon Kingdom’s new warships had reinforced even the stern with thick plating to minimize weaknesses. Despite the added weight, maneuverability had actually improved.
This remarkable result was entirely thanks to the Haedong techniques Park Ji-mun had passed on to the craftsmen.
Nodding in satisfaction, Yi Hwan lightly boarded the warship. Go Mi and the others followed behind.
Today was the monumental day to test the new warship’s performance, so Naval Commander Wang Jeon was there too.
“Preparations are complete, Great Prince.”
“Let’s go.”
“Yes!”
Splash!
The warship began heading toward the mouth of the bay.
The massive sails fully captured the strong wind, doubling the ship’s speed. Thanks to this, the rowers—one of the key elements of maneuverability—could conserve their strength until they reached the open sea.
Go Mi approached Yi Hwan’s side.
“We’ll need to run into some Japanese pirates for this to work.”
“I trust the Moon Lord’s judgment.”
“…….”
In fact, when warship construction began, Yi Hwan had given Go Mi a special mission: head to the area nearest Qin Kingdom’s waters and scout the timing and frequency of Japanese pirate and bandit appearances.
From then on, Go Mi had conducted reconnaissance near Qin Kingdom’s waters for nearly twenty days, and they were now heading there based on that intel.
“There could be issues later over invading Qin Kingdom’s waters.”
“The border waters can only be roughly gauged by eye anyway. As long as we don’t clearly cross the line, there won’t be problems—and if we fight pirates or bandits, they won’t make a fuss either.”
Splash!
The warship pressed southward at considerable speed. Part of it was the strong winds, but the new design itself was optimized for velocity, making it far faster than before.
Wang Jeon couldn’t hide his admiration. Even he, grizzled from a lifetime at sea, had never seen a warship this fast. His gratitude toward Park Ji-mun was immense.
Park Ji-mun was deeply satisfied too. He had worried the speed might fall short of expectations.
Yi Hwan asked him,
“How does it compare to Dongyeong’s warships?”
“As I mentioned before, maneuverability is on par with Haedong’s warships. Now we just need to confirm turning speed and durability.”
“Confident?”
“Of course.”
Heh.
Yi Hwan found Park Ji-mun’s rough smile particularly appealing today.
Splash!
How much farther did they go?
The archipelago slowly came into view. Hundreds of islands scattered like go stones on a board formed a scene as beautiful as a painting.
Go Mi said,
“Past there, it’s Qin Kingdom’s waters.”
“Where do you expect the pirates to show?”
“South of the archipelago. If they come up from the north side, we can engage, but if they come from the southwest, we’d have to invade Qin waters.”
Yi Hwan looked where Go Mi pointed. The tail end of the archipelago was densely clustered with especially small islands.
“That makes it the borderline, then.”
“Yes.”
Yi Hwan turned his gaze to the southern sea.
Though he had seen the ocean every day since arriving at Haemun, this place felt different in atmosphere and vibe. To him, who had never experienced naval combat, the sea remained an unknown realm.
It was then.
“Great Prince.”
Go Mi raised a hand and pointed to one side. Two ships were slowly emerging there.
“Japanese pirates?”
“Pirate ships.”
“How can you tell?”
“Japanese pirates don’t fly flags. And their ships are much smaller.”
Yi Hwan circulated his qi. The figures gathered on the deck came into sharp focus.
“Showing up right on time—luck is on our side. But will proper pirates give us a good test?”
“Even a single pirate crew often has proper cannons, enough to trouble Qin’s navy at times, from what I know.”
“Then we’re in luck.”
Yi Hwan turned to Wang Jeon.
“Prepare.”
“Yes, Great Prince.”
Wang Jeon turned and shouted.
“Battle stations!”
“Battle stations!”
The warriors moved swiftly into position.
To let Wang Jeon command properly, Yi Hwan left the bow and climbed to the bridge above. The view was even better there.
Ju Tae said,
“Once we close in, we’ll board and take them down right away.”
“We came to test the new warship’s performance, so we’ll just watch until there’s a problem.”
“……Understood.”
Then Go Mi spoke in a perplexed tone.
“The pirate ships are turning southwest. No way around it then.”
As Go Mi said, the two pirate ships were veering toward Qin Kingdom’s southwest. A bit farther, and they’d be in Qin waters.
‘Damn….’
Even Yi Hwan, who had thought luck was with them, couldn’t hide his dismay.
But his decision was swift.
“Close in as much as possible for now!”
“Yes, Great Prince!”
Splash!
“Closing in won’t solve it, will it?”
“We haven’t raised our naval ensign yet. They might mistake us for a merchantman and turn our way.”
That was all they could hope for now. If the pirates slipped deep into Qin waters, pursuit would mean inevitably facing territorial violation charges later.
Splash!
The warship raced toward the archipelago.
But contrary to Yi Hwan’s hopes, the pirate ships kept heading southwest around the islands. At this point, even he had to give up.
It was right then.
“Qin Kingdom warships!”
A warrior scouting from the mast shouted ahead. But from below, the islands blocked the view.
Yi Hwan leaped up to the mast in an instant.
Swish!
“Look over there!”
Yi Hwan turned to where the warrior pointed. Sure enough, three Qin warships were closing fast on the pirate ships.
Swish!
Go Mi and Park Ji-mun climbed up beside him. The space was too cramped for anyone else.
“This might work out after all.”
“What are you thinking?”
“Let’s wait for the pirate ships to flee from the Qin warships into our waters.”
“Ah…….”
“Hold position!”
Closing farther risked getting dragged into the fight, so Yi Hwan ordered them to stop.
And after about fifteen minutes?
Boom boom boom!
Cannon fire echoed.
Flames erupted from one pirate ship. The pirates fired back.
Boom boom!
One Qin warship took a hit and burst into flames. But Qin’s follow-up barrage was much faster.
Boom boom boom!
Flames soared again from the pirate ship that had been hit first. Yi Hwan’s eyes caught pirates plunging into the sea.
Boom boom boom!
As the tide turned decisively, the pirate ships began turning their bows—not toward here, but south.
‘Nothing for it but to tail them as close as possible.’
Yi Hwan looked down at Wang Jeon and shouted.
“Turn south!”
Splash!
The warship sharply swung its bow. It was a chance to test the turning speed Park Ji-mun valued most.
The speed exceeded everyone’s expectations. Even Park Ji-mun, who had helped design it, let out a cry of surprise.
“Oh ho!”
Splash!
Boom boom boom!
Another Qin barrage rocked one pirate ship hard. Meanwhile, the other slipped past the archipelago’s end into the southern sea.
Two Qin warships pursued.
Yi Hwan turned to Go Mi and asked.
“How far is Qin’s territory?”
“Past the south end of the archipelago is international waters. They couldn’t claim territorial violation there. But we’d have to risk clashing with Qin’s navy—is that okay?”
“We’ll worry about that when it comes.”
“How far do you plan to test?”
“We need to fully check durability too. In naval terms, that’s the ram, right?”
“……!”
Go Mi’s eyes widened.
The ram was the pointed metal prow fitted to the bow for ramming enemy ships.
Though less common now with advanced cannons, it was still used as a tactic.
“Our ship could sustain heavy damage and sink!”
“Don’t worry. I’ll bring you back.”
“…….”
Splash!
The warship hurtled south after the pirates at tremendous speed. Passing the archipelago’s end, they ended up running parallel to the Qin warships in a strange formation.
But the distance was too great for communication. At this rate, Qin might mistake them for pirates and attack.
Wang Jeon’s shout rang out.
“Don’t enter their range—maintain distance!”
The most appropriate call for now.
Boom boom!
The Qin warships fired.
But the pirate ships were faster, quickly escaping cannon range. Moreover, with most guns side-mounted, only two could fire astern.
“Watch closely. We might fight them someday.”
“Yes.”
Splash!
The north wind intensified. Yi Hwan’s warship, with its larger sails and sharper bow, overtook the Qin ships and chased the pirates’ stern.
Yi Hwan looked down at Wang Jeon and said,
“Once we catch up, swing wide to the side and charge straight in.”
“Understood.”
Yi Hwan glanced back. The Qin warships were now over two hundred paces behind.
‘Speed: pass. Turning speed: pass. That leaves ramming durability.’
Yi Hwan descended to the deck.
Wang Jeon approached.
“Are you sure about this?”
“Worried about me?”
“If anything happens to you, Great Prince, this commander could never face His Majesty again.”
Yi Hwan smiled faintly.
“I trust you, Commander. So trust your skills and this ship too.”
“…….”
“Commander.”
“Yes, Great Prince.”
“Raise the naval ensign.”
“Understood.”