Gunsmoke still lingered on the battlefield. Suwon Bridge was littered with the bodies of Japanese soldiers. Blood stained the bridge deck, flowing through the gaps into the river.
Qu Dong stepped over the corpses of Japanese soldiers and walked onto the bridge. The brutality of war had taught him never to feel mercy for the enemy. Moreover, these Japanese pirates had massacred countless kind common people along the coast.
“Immediately construct defenses to prevent a Japanese pirate counterattack,” Qu Dong issued orders in an orderly fashion. He had learned many wartime skills at the Army Academy.
Twenty minutes later, the remaining seven thousand men, led by Ye Qingyun, arrived at the stone bridge. Besides musketeers, they also had thirty-six cannons with them.
Their real target was Suwon City. Once they captured this city, they would have a bridgehead for attacking other Japanese-occupied cities.
“Excellent, the battle was resolved so quickly,” Ye Qingyun said with a smile. Then he looked at the sky. “It’s almost dark. Suwon City can only be attacked tomorrow. However, we must be careful tonight to prevent Japanese pirates from launching a night raid.”
Qu Dong nodded. This indeed needed to be guarded against. Today’s Japanese banzai charge still had some impact on him.
After a moment of thought, he said, “I will have the soldiers lay some landmines outside the camp as a precaution.”
Ye Qingyun nodded slightly. It had to be said that landmines were indeed a good means of warning.
Turning around, he looked towards Suwon City, which was only twenty li from Suwon Bridge. This was his next target.
At the same time, the reporting cavalry galloped into Suwon City. News of the Great Yu Empire soldiers attacking Suwon Bridge quickly reached Edo Ichiaki’s ears.
“My Lord Flag-Leader, the Great Yu Empire is hostile. Our envoys sent to Jinzhou have not returned; they must have all been captured. They might have interrogated them about our alliance with the barbarians,” Koizumi Junichi said.
Edo Ichiaki frowned deeply. After the Great Yu Empire army defeated the barbarians, he put away his contempt. After all, he was a general and responsible to Lord Yamada.
At the same time, they also obtained the Great Yu Empire’s Conqueror Muskets from the barbarians through merchants. These excellent rifled firearms greatly shocked them.
And what surprised him most was the firing mechanism of this firearm. They simply could not understand this firing method, but it was certain that this method allowed the Great Yu Empire soldiers to fire one or two more times than them.
“We should have allied with the Golden Tent Khanate earlier,” Edo Ichiaki walked to the window, overlooking the scenery within Suwon City.
Inside the city, Goryeo common people were enslaved by them, constantly shuttling back and forth to transport supplies and repair the city for them.
After a pause, he said, “The Great Yu Empire’s firearms have a longer range than ours. If we continue to use three-stage firing, we will suffer greatly. The only way is close combat with them.”
Although he understood the disparity in firearms with the Great Yu Empire, this did not mean they should withdraw from Goryeo.
No one was willing to spit out meat that was already in their mouth. But now, he needed to find a way to defend Suwon City.
“Great Yu Empire soldiers will not engage us in close combat. Perhaps only a sneak attack can get us close to them,” Koizumi Junichi said.
Edo Ichiaki nodded. His thoughts were similar to Koizumi Junichi’s.
As the two were discussing how to prevent the Great Yu Empire army from attacking Suwon City, a soldier suddenly rushed to him and shouted, “My Lord Flag-Leader, Great Yu Empire warships are sailing on the sea!”
“What!” Edo Ichiaki was greatly alarmed. He had an even more ominous premonition than before. “It seems the Great Yu Empire intends to completely drive us out of Goryeo this time. After all, Goryeo is now a vassal state of the Great Yu Empire.”
Koizumi Junichi’s face darkened. “Seventy of our Japanese navy’s Atakabune (warships) are docked at the pier. This is one-fifth of the total number of warships that attacked Goryeo. If they are sunk by the Great Yu Empire, Suwon City’s supplies will be finished.”
Edo Ichiaki naturally understood this principle. His face flushed with anger. “Have the army in the city prepare! I will make the Great Yu Empire pay a price!”
With that, he led his personal guards towards the pier.
At sea, the Great Yu Empire warships were heading towards Suwon City harbor. Among them, the two leading warships were slightly different from the others.
Because a towering mast extended from the center of these warships, continuously emitting black smoke.
Compared to other warships, these two warships appeared to move effortlessly at sea, their speed much faster than the others.
“General, that’s Suwon City harbor ahead. Japan transports the wealth plundered from Goryeo back to Japan through this harbor,” Liu Chen said, pointing at the harbor filled with Japanese merchant ships and warships. By his calculation, Japan had occupied southern Goryeo for two years.
In these two years, Japan had exerted its utmost effort in plunder, acquiring much grain, ore, and gold and silver. These items were then used by Japan to purchase firearms.
It was even rumored that British ships transported supplies to Japan from the other side of the ocean.
For this, Yue Yun had once dispatched warships to search, but searching for the enemy in the vast ocean with only the naked eye was an almost impossible task.
“If it weren’t for the war with the barbarians, His Majesty would have already taken this place. Japan has been allowed to benefit for two years in vain.” For the Great Yu Empire generals, Goryeo was now the Great Yu Empire’s backyard, not to be touched by others.
With that, he put away his telescope, his expression stern. “Prepare the cannons. The blockade of Goryeo’s south coast begins here.”
“Yes, General.”
Liu Chen responded, immediately signaling the flagman. Then the fleet began to change formation, and fifty-two warships pressed in a circular formation towards the harbor.
Yue Yun and Liu Chen’s steam warships led the way. When they were only three hundred meters from the harbor, they aimed their muzzles at the ships in the harbor.
Explosive shells with fuses were loaded into the muzzles one by one.
As they acted, the Japanese warships also moved. Japanese sailors on the Japanese Atakabune scurried about. The wooden planks on both sides of the ships flipped open, revealing dark cannon muzzles.
“This is truly astonishing.” Yue Yun was surprised. The Great Yu Empire had been progressing over the years, but clearly Japan and Goryeo were also progressing. Firearms seemed to be spreading with the Great Yu Empire’s foreign conquests, so much so that even Japanese warships now had cannons.
Liu Chen was also somewhat surprised. He said, “It seems this Japanese navy must be eliminated even more.”
Yue Yun nodded and said coldly, “Fire!”
Following his command, the cannons on the warships fired shells one by one. Japanese soldiers, seeing this, instinctively sought cover.
But this time, they were wrong.
The shells striking their warships exploded with a “boom,” instantly shattering wood and sending flames soaring into the sky.
The novel has already been fully translated up to the final chapter. You can access it on my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/c/caleredhair