A thin morning mist enveloped Okpo Port near Geoje Island in North Korea. There were more than 50 custom ships, small morning ships and house ships moored at the pier. A large number of Japanese troops in the port are carrying grain and supplies to the shore. This is the main force of Japan's second Dutch fleet. Hodo means transportation in Japanese, so this fleet is actually the Second Transport Fleet.
"We finally arrived in Korea. After being bumpy on the sea for several nights, we were finally able to have a good sleep on land. In total, His Highnesses Konishi Yukinagawa and Kato Kiyomasa may have reached the Yalu River by this time. I This little Hetuo has to work harder to fulfill his duties." Fleet Commander Nagano Uhei thought to himself, looking at the busy soldiers in front of him, a smile appeared on his face.
"Look, what is that?" The shouts of several samurai on the shore caught his attention. Following the voice, Nagano Youhei tried his best to look up to the sea through the morning fog, and saw a row of rows of lines appearing on the horizon. Eliminate black spots.
The black spots moved quickly, closer, closer! A huge fleet is approaching here, with more than sixty or seventy ships. Is it an enemy? Hadn't the North Korean naval forces been annihilated by His Highness Gugui Jialong on Hansan Island? Yes, this must be the fleet of General Kamei Shimonomi, the Ryukyu defender, coming from afar. [Note: Ryukyu's duty-keeping does not mean actual service. ]
"Look, that flag is not ours, it's the Koreans, it's the Korean fleet!" The soldiers screamed, and suddenly there was chaos on the dock.
Impossible, where did they come from? Nagano Youbei's hand holding the handle of the knife trembled a little. The sudden battle situation made him both shocked and excited.
"The Korean army is nothing to be afraid of. Don't panic, get on the boat quickly and let us attack them!" Sure enough, it was the enemy who came! Well, look at me, Nagano Uhei, the Tamura Sea today will definitely be the burial place for you Koreans! Nagano calmed down, shouted loudly and led his troops to board the ship to resist the battle.
The Korean warship faced the wind and waves and headed straight for Okpo Port. On the leader ship, stood a middle-aged man wearing a wide-brimmed high hat, white clothes and a black robe, with a long beard. He held the arrow stack in his hand and stared sharply at the Japanese ships that were coming out of the harbor to prepare for the battle. This man was none other than Yi Sun-sin, the general of the North Korean navy and the envoy of the Zuo River in Jeolla Province.
Li Sunchen grew up in a poor family. He was the third among the four brothers "Xi, Yao, Shun and Yu" and was called "Shunchen". He went to the mountains to cut firewood to supplement the family income at the age of eight. He became a jailer at the age of seventeen. He passed the military examination at the age of thirty-two and was later promoted to a junior officer in charge of the Yamen. During the civil war, he repeatedly made military exploits and accumulated rich combat experience. Finally, at the age of forty-seven, he was appointed as the Jeolla Province Zuo Water Envoy.
Yi Sun-shin was sensitive to the navy. When the North Korean army still used swords, spears, bows and arrows as the main weapons of battle, he had already observed the armed transport ships of the Beiyang Sea Trade Alliance that came to North Korea for trade and discovered that firecrackers and artillery would play a vital role in future naval battles. He immediately learned and applied it to the warship.
Unfortunately, North Korea's financial resources are limited. When they heard that it would cost at least hundreds of thousands of taels of silver to imitate the Ming Dynasty's fleet, the entire court lacked interest. Many people even ridiculed Yi Sunsin because he wanted to make money from it. In the end, Yi Sun-shin could only piece together a few modified ships, and because the North Korean naval warships were much smaller than the Gyeonghwa armed transport ships, no one knew the final combat effectiveness.
"General, General Wonjun, the envoy of Gyeongsang Yousu, has sent a signal. Please feel free to attack. He will fully cover the general's rear and vow to fight to the death against the invading Japanese pirates!"
"Really, I hope so." Yi Sun-shin frowned slightly, snorted, and continued to stare at the approaching enemy ship.
"The Japanese ship was clearly in front. Even if the enemy really attacked from behind, General Wonkyun would have turned around and fled first! If he hadn't been timid and timid, how could the Gyeongsang navy have been defeated so miserably? Uncle, in my opinion …”
"Huh?" Li Sunchen's face darkened, and he turned to look at his nephew Li Wan behind him.
Li Wan's heart trembled, and he quickly changed his words: "Yes, General!"
Yi Sun-shin's expression softened a little, and he said calmly: "These words are not what you should say. There are so many soldiers beside you. The enemy is in front of you, so don't disturb the morale of the army!"
Li Wan's heart trembled, and he hurriedly cupped his hands and said: "General, I understand. Please forgive me."
"That's all." Yi Sunchen waved his hand and got back to business: "Look, the Japanese ships are in a chaotic formation and are obviously unprepared. They are attacking Okpo today. We have no worries and can attack with all our strength to annihilate the enemy in front of us! Li Wan listens. Order, I order you to lead three wooden ships (North Korea's main warships) to separate the Japanese warships and transport ships. If you fail, don't come to see me!"
"Yes!" Li Wan agreed resoundingly, turned around and got off the handsome ship, boarded his own warship in a light boat, quickly raised the tiger head flag symbolizing the forward assault, the conch horn sounded, and led the team straight towards the hanging long The Japanese fleet's main formation under the striped banner.
The warships of the North Korean army fanned out on the Yupo Ocean, forming three rows behind the three vanguard ships, following closely.
"Is it a building ship? Damn it! Stop them quickly!" Nagano Uhei shouted, standing on the highest point of the ship, commanding more than a dozen Japanese small boats to surround the three wooden house ships, and suddenly a barrage of arrows and iron cannons were fired. Also fired frequently.
Nagano Uhei's ship is a large Antaku ship. Japanese warships have been introduced in the previous article. There are basically four types: small morning ships, Kanbune ships, Anzha ships, and iron-clad ships. Currently, some are outsourced from Beiyang Maritime Trade. Some of the alliance's armed transport ships do not carry original artillery, so they are considered emasculated versions.
Since the Japanese-style armored giant ships were extremely slow and could only operate offshore, the main warships sent to Korea were mostly Anzha ships, which were divided into three sizes: large, medium and small. According to some well-informed sources, there are also a number of super-large Anzhai ships, which are "works that absorb the technology of the Tang Dynasty", but I don't know whether it is true or not.
Japanese Anzhai ships have houses on board and an arrow tower on the roof. Soldiers can stand on the arrow tower to fight from a high position. The wooden ship commanded by Li Wan was 30 meters long, had an archery tower, 200 soldiers, and 45 oars. It was equipped with 38 large-caliber muskets with an effective range of about 100 steps, as well as a large number of bows and arrows. ; The sides of the hull are covered with iron sheets, which can withstand arrows and musket bullets. The combat effectiveness and collision force are quite amazing in this era.
"The Japanese ships are surrounding us!"
"Listen to my order, light the fire cannons on both sides, aim, and fire!" The North Korean army's fire cannons are divided into "four-arrow, eight-arrow cannons", "Heaven, Earth, Xuan, and Sheng character cannons", etc., using Gunpowder was used to launch wooden arrows or rockets embedded with iron sheets.
At this time, only a loud "boom" was heard, two rows of red light were sprayed from behind the arrow stacks on both sides, and the besieging Japanese small warships suddenly screamed. "Fire gunners charge, archers cover!" Li Wan calmly directed the battle.
"Fire all the iron cannons!" Nagano Ubei then drew his sword and pointed it at the ship. The tachi is a typical Japanese sword with a large curvature and a blade about two or three feet long. It is expensive, but judging from his surname "Nagano", it is not surprising that he can afford the money.
He gave an order, and thirty iron cannons (Japanese matchlock guns) on the Anzhai ship were fired. The Korean naval forces were all crouching behind the arrow stacks. One piece seems to be of little use.
"Asshole, how can this go on? Baolao Jade Ship, rush up and open fire!" Nagano Youhei ordered his soldiers to use flags to direct the two Baolao Jade Ships to meet them.
As the name suggests, the Japanese baked jade ship was a warship equipped with baked jade. It was used to approach enemy ships, and then the soldiers with huge arms threw the baked jade to burn the enemy ships. In essence, the baked jade was equivalent to some kind of throwing. Incendiary bomb.
"Keep a distance, destroy them first, and then attack the Japanese transport ships!" Li Wan ordered loudly. The oars on the Korean plank-house warships swayed together and immediately left the Japanese baked jade ships more than ten feet behind. The Japanese morning boats and seki ships blocking the front were unable to stop the attack on the Japanese ships and fled quickly.
"Listen to my order, light the stern fire gun, let go!" There was a sound, and the Korean warship opened fire violently. The projectiles and arrows fell next to the Sun Fire Boat, raising countless water jets. The Fire Boat swayed left and right, desperately To avoid it, the other two Korean warships assisting in the battle also attacked from both sides.
"It's over, run away for your life!" The soldiers on the Japanese ship shouted desperately and jumped off the ship one after another. The two baked jade ships burst into flames almost at the same time and soon sank in the Yupo Ocean.
At this time, a large group of Korean warships commanded by Yi Sun-shin had joined the battle group. Twenty large wooden house ships attacked in front, and more than fifty hostage ships and Baosuo ships (small and medium-sized warships) were outflanked from both sides. Fire cannons, bows and arrows were fired at the same time. . The Second Transport Fleet of the Japanese navy was unable to fight back in the face of the well-planned attack by the North Korean army and retreated one after another.
"Your Highness Youbei, the North Korean warships are fierce and numerous. If we continue like this, we may be completely wiped out!" A general came forward and said.
"What? Do you want me to retreat? What a joke, how can a dignified samurai be defeated by the incompetent Koreans? I will not retreat!" Before he could finish his words, several wooden arrows fired from fire cannons hit the sails of the Anzha ship and immediately set them on fire. A raging fire broke out, and the Japanese troops on the ship were horrified and ran around on the deck in chaos.
"Your Highness, the ship is on fire, what should I do?"
"Well, it seems... it is necessary for our army to make a strategic shift first. After meeting the fleet of General Kamei Shimonomi, it will not be too late to deal with the Koreans!" Nagano Youbei said with a pale face and a trembling voice.
"Your Highness Youbei is wise! You, you, and you, please help His Highness to transfer to the fast ship. Our army will return to the port at full speed and make a strategic shift to the shore!" the general shouted wildly.
The Japanese fleet retreated while fighting under the fierce attack of the North Korean naval forces. Injured Japanese ships continued to sink into the sea in flames. The remaining ships retreated hastily into Okpo Port, relying on the protection of shore artillery fire to retreat.
"General, we have won, the Japanese soldiers have been defeated by us!"
"This is just the beginning." Yi Sun-shin put down his telescope, turned around and said to the excited generals, "We have to cut off the Japanese's maritime supply line. Because only in this way will the inland Japanese army lose the food and weapons necessary for combat. Next In the next step, we will look for an opportunity to engage in a decisive battle with the main fleet of Japanese pirates. I hope all the generals will advance and retreat with me and fight to the end!"
"Yes! The general is mighty!" All the generals responded in unison.
A satisfied smile appeared on Yi Sun-shin's face. He looked at the wreckage of Japanese ships floating on the sea, and his heart surged with infinite pride: "Kuki Yoshiro, I heard that you are Japan's number one sea admiral, known as Hideyoshi of the sea, no. Do you know where you are now? Come on, my turtle ship fleet is about to be completed, let us compete to see who else can be regarded as the real hero of the sea besides the Chinese navy!"
The Battle of Okpo lasted from early morning to afternoon. Under the command of Yi Sun-shin, the envoy of Zuoshui in Jeolla Province, the Korean army fought bravely and won a complete victory, annihilating 26 Japanese ships and not a single ship of our own was sunk. This battle was the first victory achieved by the Korean army since the Imjin War. The Japanese army, which was invincible on land, finally tasted defeat at sea.
On August 29, the two armies of North Korea and Japan launched their second naval battle - the Battle of Sacheon. Yi Sun-shin used his secret weapon "turtle ship" in the naval battle. The Turtle Ship is a type of warship invented by the Koreans very early. The hull is equipped with hardwood protective panels that resemble turtle shells, hence the name Turtle Ship.
Yi Sun-shin improved the structure and equipment of the turtle ship and made the hull larger, more than ten feet long and more than one foot wide. There is a thick wooden roof above the deck, which is covered with iron plates to protect the navy on board from enemy firearms.
There are many sharp nails and iron hooks installed on the roof and beside the deck to prevent enemies from climbing. There is a large dragon head installed on the bow of the ship, with two cannon holes pierced through it, and metal spikes at the head and tail, which can be used to ram enemy ships when necessary. There are seventy-four gun holes on the front, rear, left and right of the hull, and shooters can lay down inside to fire firearms. There are ten large oars on each side of the hull, all rowing, and it is as fast as flying. In addition, the hull is large and can carry a lot of drinking water and food, which makes the turtle ship more suitable for long-term battles on the water.
However, the turtle ship is not really advanced in terms of its construction ideas. Just looking at the "ten large oars" required by this kind of warship, you know that it was originally too bulky and had to rely on oar power assistance. In fact, this approach of trying to strengthen the old ship type is itself a symptom of technological stagnation.
In the Battle of Sacheon, the Korean navy sailed a turtle ship and sank thirteen enemy ships;
On September 2nd and 5th, under the leadership of Yi Sun-shin, the Korean army once again launched a continuous fierce battle with the Japanese army in the Tangpu waters, sinking the flagship of the Kyushu daimyo Kamei Harumi, and destroying thirty-three battleships of Kato Kiyomasa;
On September 6, the Japanese Navy's famous fleet, Kurushima Tsutsuhisa, was completely annihilated, and Kurushima Tsutsuhisa was killed on the spot;
On September 12, the Wakisaka Anji navy was defeated in the naval battle of Hansan Island, and thirty-nine Japanese ships were destroyed...
At this point, North Korea's victory in the war has been brought about by Yi Sun-shin alone. However, the victories in these naval battles cannot fundamentally change the overall situation of the war. For this war in Korea, Toyotomi Hideyoshi mobilized the first fleet of more than 700 ships. The total losses above were less than 100 ships. How much could Hideyoshi be affected? You must know that most of the above losses were smaller Kanbune ships and small morning ships. Even the losses of Anzha ships were not large, only six ships.
At this time, the North Korean Army had been retreating steadily and suffered heavy losses. The Japanese land offensive was devastating. As a result, the North Korean navy had fewer and fewer land bases to supplement its combat effectiveness. It was forced to mainly rely on maritime guerrillas to support itself. .
At this moment, Gao Pragmatic, who had triumphed over Yuan Dynasty, finally assembled the Imperial Guards requested by the emperor in Yanqing Prefecture, as well as a small number of troops from Tumut, Ordos and other departments, and began to head towards the capital. What awaits them is not only a welcome from the emperor, but also possibly the largest triumphal ceremony in the history of the Ming Dynasty!
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