Great Ming Dynasty Wen Chao Gong

Chapter 126 Visiting the Turtle Ship

"General Li, please call me. I heard that the general built turtle ships, trained the navy, and repelled the Japanese navy's invasion many times. Zhang is also very impressed." Zhang Xiao said.

"Li abandoned his civil service and joined the army, but was unable to defend the country. Wang Jing fell, and King Bo Yue relied on Admiral Li to lead his army to help recover Wang Jing, and our country's country was able to survive. Although Shun Chen won a few small victories at sea , but it is not beneficial to the overall situation, and the defeated general really dare not speak bravely." Yi Sun-shin said seriously.

"No one person can save the country from a catastrophe. General Lee can preserve North Korea's only navy and contain the Japanese navy from moving north. He is already much better than your colleagues."

"This time the Japanese invaded, it can be said that the dignity of our country has been ruined. If officers cannot defend, they cannot fight. Officers at all levels usually regard the army sergeants as slaves and drive them around. They only know how to live in peace while stealing military merits, not knowing that the disaster is coming. . When encountering the Japanese, they cannot fight or defend. They can only flee all the way and collapse for thousands of miles. If the Ming Dynasty had not come to rescue them, the Korean country would have been destroyed. We still have to thank the heavenly soldiers so that Yi Sun-shin will not become a minister of the country's subjugation."

"I cannot comment on your internal affairs. General Li, how many troops do you have now? How many battleships are there? Can the turtle ship travel far?"

"Angels forgive me. Li was so angry that he made the angels laugh. I have thousands of men and horses and dozens of warships. However, Prime Minister Liu told me not long ago that the king intends to let me command the navy of the three roads. The Taoist navy has more than 10,000 men and hundreds of warships in total. If we want to be aggressive, we still don't have enough troops, but we are still more than enough for defense. With such a navy, our country can defend the coast and prevent the Japanese from going deep into the interior. I made turtle ships based on the original drawings. There are only a few of them, but they are quite effective against the Japanese warships. However, they can only move near the coast and cannot go out to the open sea because there are no settings on the ship for protection. What a decent sail.”

"Are there any other naval forces in North Korea right now?"

"Reporting to the angel, these three naval forces are basically the only remaining navy in our country. Since the Imjin Japanese Rebellion, our navy has been basically wiped out by the Japanese navy. To this day, although I We have repelled several Japanese attacks, but Japanese ships can still travel between the two countries unimpeded. Now that the Ming Dynasty soldiers have arrived in North Korea, I wonder if the Ming Dynasty will send the main navy to assist our country? If there are not enough navy , If the Japanese shipping channel remains open and the Japanese continue to come in for reinforcements, then this battle will be endless and too difficult to fight."

"The Ming Dynasty Navy should also be preparing to arrive. The ships of the Ming Dynasty Navy are all large ships, not comparable to the small boats of the Japanese. When the water and land advance simultaneously, the Japanese will not be able to resist it."

"That would be great. When the time comes, please ask the Ming Dynasty Navy to cut off the Japanese's retreat. Li will charge forward and help the Ming Dynasty soldiers wipe out the Japanese army."

"Zhang cannot directly command the army. Whether it is on land or at sea, it is the generals' business to fight. However, if General Li wants to cooperate with our army, I can contact the commander of the navy on your behalf, general. Our Ming Navy doesn’t know much about the coastal areas of Korea, and we don’t know much about the coastal areas of Japan, so we will need your department to guide and assist us in the war,” Zhang Xiao said.

"That's natural. Li will definitely cooperate with the Chinese navy and defeat the Japanese navy."

"Have all the turtle ships built by General Lee been placed in Jeollabuk-do? Zhang also wants to see what these turtle ships look like."

"As for the turtle ships, there are two in the Incheon area. They are mainly used to protect Wang Jing's maritime direction. If Zhang Angel wants to see it, Li is willing to lead the way."

Zhang Xiao is still very interested in turtle ships. Liu Chenglong heard that Zhang Xiao was going to Incheon to see the turtle boats, and he happily said that he would go too. Li Rusong was busy with military affairs and naturally had no time to see any turtle ships, but he asked Li Rumei to lead five hundred Liaodong elite cavalry to escort Zhang Xiao.

"Is this a turtle ship?" Zhang Xiao was a little disappointed looking at the turtle ship parked in the port.

"This is the turtle ship that Li improved based on the old drawings. Why doesn't Zhang Angel look very satisfied?" "It looks smaller than I thought." Zhang Xiao said truthfully.

"By the way, it must have been last year. The Ming Dynasty also ordered our country to pay tribute to the blueprint of this turtle ship. At that time, the Ming Dynasty knew about our country's turtle ship. It was really an honor for this country." Liu Chenglong said.

"Yes, I heard that this turtle ship is an iron-clad ship, so I wanted to try to imitate it," Zhang Xiao said.

"Zhang Angel, the turtle ship is actually a wooden ship. That is, the top of the ship is covered with a thin layer of iron and inlaid with some spikes to prevent enemies from boarding. Moreover, this ship can be used for offshore defense. Zhang Angel, do you want to board it? Take a look at the ship and I will tell you all the advantages and disadvantages of this ship." Yi Sun-shin said.

"Of course that's good."

"However, the number of people that can be seated on the turtle ship is limited. Except for a few of us, the number of people accompanying us cannot exceed 20 people." Yi Sun-shin said.

"It's three-thirds of the risk to travel by car, let alone by boat. The number of followers will be as per your request." Zhang Xiao replied. I just complained silently in my heart, no wonder Yi Sun-shin was so capable, but it was not until the Japanese invaded Korea that he had the opportunity to ascend to a high position. The boss wanted to brag, but was interrupted.

A group of people boarded the ship, and Yi Sun-shin began to introduce again: "Although the turtle ship has sails, the shape of the ship is such that the speed of the sail alone is limited, so it has to rely on rowing to move forward. Therefore, although the turtle ship is protected It is high and its function is very limited, so there is no need to build too big, and only a few ships are built. Therefore, this ship can really only be used for offshore defense. If you want to rely on turtle ships to fight the Japanese, then It’s a bit difficult to handle.” Yi Sun-shin explained.

"I see there are many holes on both sides of the turtle ship. Are they used to fire cannons?" Zhang Xiao asked.

"Yes, you can also shoot arrows or launch rockets. If these holes are not needed, you can also block them to increase protection."

"This ship is quite good. General Lee is the mainstay of North Korea. All the armies retreated, but you recruited troops and bravely killed the enemy, preserving the vitality of the navy for North Korea."

"The angel was so complimented. In fact, our country also has many generals and sergeants who are capable of fighting. But at that time, the DPRK and the Central Government were busy with internal fighting and did not take good defense. They were disrupted by the large-scale Japanese raids. Otherwise, they would not have been defeated in a month or two. So much land was lost. Every time Shun thinks about it, he feels really sad."

Zhang Xiao didn't say anything, because Liu Chenglong's face turned dark. He didn't know if he regretted promoting Yi Sunshin.

(End of this chapter)