We have fought to the Arctic Circle, and you want me to inherit the throne?

Chapter 645: Battle of Tsushima (Part 1)

In the waters of Tsushima Island, the Japanese Navy's flagship ship "Yawata Maru".

Kaifu Yoshihisa stood proudly at the highest point of the forecastle, holding the railing with both hands, looking down at the Goryeo fleet looming in the thick fog ahead as if looking down at ants.

He was not tall, but had a sturdy frame and a rough face. A hideous scar ran diagonally from his right brow to his left cheek, and his eyes were full of arrogance and contempt.

He was wearing a gorgeous set of armor, and the scarlet feathers fluttered in the salty and humid sea breeze.

This person does have reason to be proud. As the younger brother of Kaifu Munemasa, Kaifu Yoshihisa is not a playboy like Park Nan-sang, but has real military achievements.

During the civil war among the Japanese lords, Kaifu Munemasa was in charge of the overall situation, and the Kaifu family's fleet was managed by Kaifu Yoshihisa, who was quite prestigious in the navy.

"Hmph!" Kaifu Yoshihisa snorted disdainfully, "Is this the Fengguo Navy that has been worrying me, brother?"

"Just relying on these shabby little ships, Li Che dares to threaten to destroy our Yamato Kingdom?"

In order to please Li Che, the fleet of the Three Kingdoms Allied Forces also flew the Feng flag, so Kaifu Yoshihisa regarded these Goryeo warships as the main force of the Feng army.

It's like he defeated the Fengtian Army and thought he had won.

Several lieutenants stood beside him, and one of the most flattering, short and fat lieutenant immediately bowed and agreed:

"General, please understand. The Feng Kingdom is just bluffing. Look at their ships. They are clumsy and slow, without even artillery. They are only fit for fishing near the coast."

Kaifu Yoshihisa did not reply, but his eyes swept across the huge but bloated turtle ship opposite.

Especially when he saw the turtle ship's crossbow shoot out a crossbow arrow with all its might, which drew a weak arc in the air, and fell softly into the sea far before reaching his own fleet, splashing a small splash of water.

This scene completely ignited his contempt, and he couldn't help but burst into laughter:

"Hahahaha! A bunch of rubbish! They're not even equipped with artillery! Using these junk to fight a naval battle is a huge joke!"

The deputy general quickly flattered him: "General, your majesty is unparalleled, and the rats of the state are just chickens and dogs. Lord Haibu is really worrying too much."

"He told you to hold Tsushima Island for a month in order to persuade the daimyo to gather their forces. But in my opinion, why would it take more than a month? Today is the end of the Fengguo Navy!"

Upon hearing this, Kaibu Yoshihisa frowned and looked at the speaker coldly: "You dog, what nonsense are you talking about? Who is my brother? How can you question him?"

The deputy general was stunned. He didn't expect Kaibu Yoshihisa to change his expression so quickly. He was immediately terrified and bowed repeatedly to apologize: "Hey! General, please forgive me for speaking too much!"

Kaibu Yoshihisa snorted coldly, then changed the subject:

"However, you are not entirely wrong. My brother is too cautious nowadays."

"Once this general completely annihilates the main force of the Feng Kingdom, it will be equivalent to cutting off the Feng Kingdom's claws reaching into the ocean."

"When the time comes, this general will personally lead our Yamato warriors to pursue the victory and reach the mainland of Feng State... in five months! No, three months!"

"In just three months, this general will be able to crush Feng State and hang the head of Feng Prince Li Che on the city wall in Kyoto for public display!"

The more he spoke, the more excited he became, as if he had already seen the glorious scene of himself conquering Feng State.

The surrounding deputy generals flattered him again. The few deputy generals showed worries on their faces, but they quickly concealed it.

According to previous intelligence, many fishermen and sailors had seen Fengguo’s warships.

It is said that those warships are shaped like flying scissors, coming and going like the wind, and from a distance you can only see a black shadow rushing past.

But now, there is not a single such warship on the opposite side.

But no one dared to offend this upstart at this time, so they could only keep silent.

Who doesn't know that Kaibu Yoshihisa's elder brother is now all-powerful in Kyoto and has more power than the Emperor?

"Order!" Kaifu Yoshihisa drew his sword from his waist and pointed the blade at the Korean fleet ahead. "All ships, steer hard starboard! Face the enemy broadside!"

"Let these ignorant Feng people have a taste of my Yamato artillery!"

As the command flags were waved and the horns sounded, the huge Japanese fleet began to turn nimbly.

One after another, the Guan ships aimed their slender sides at the charging Goryeo fleet, and the gun ports on the sides opened one after another, revealing the black muzzles.

That was a mortar made in Japan, called the Kokubeng Pak.

This type of artillery was crudely cast, had a short range, poor accuracy, and mostly fired stone bullets or shotgun shells.

But in Kaifu Yoshihisa's view, it was more than enough to deal with the "Fengtian Army" in front of him that didn't even have artillery.

At this moment, as both sides were closing the distance and the fog was thick, the lines of the two armies were already very close.

This distance is enough for the Guobeng Cannon.

Kaibe Yoshihisa grinned fiercely and slashed down with his sword:

"fire!!!"

Boom boom boom boom——

Deafening cannon fire rang out instantly, and the thick fog was stirred up by the muzzle fire.

Countless stone bullets and dense lead bullets rushed towards the several Korean turtle ships charging in the front like a swarm of death bees.

The stone bullets hit the wooden dome of the turtle ship hard, sending wood chips flying. Even the reinforced iron plates were dented and deformed, making a harsh metal twisting sound.

What was even more terrifying was the shotgun shells, which splashed on the deck and the ship's tower like a rainstorm. The sailors and soldiers who were operating the crossbows were caught off guard and were mowed down in an instant.

The wailing sound suddenly echoed, making the soldiers on the surrounding warships shudder.

The ship's tower was hit by several stone bullets, making a creaking sound and shaking on the sea.

The morale of the Three Kingdoms Allied Forces was already unstable, and after the bombardment, it dropped even further. Although the main body of the turtle ship was not damaged, it completely stopped because of panic.

Panic spread like a plague. Many soldiers dropped their weapons and ran around with their heads in their hands. The ship almost lost control and spun in place.

The remaining warships that were not the focus of the artillery fire also tried to fight back with crossbows.

But the crossbow arrows flew out with a whistling sound, either falling far into the sea, or barely reaching the Japanese ship and only getting nailed to the planks, failing to cause effective damage.

The few that had sufficient range were useless due to accuracy issues.

On the flagship, Li Chunchen grabbed the side of the ship tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force.

He watched his own side fall into chaos in an instant, but his eyes were extremely calm, even with a hint of madness,

"Send the order!" Li Chunchen roared with bloodshot eyes, "Abandon the long-range attacks, abandon the crossbows, all ships accelerate to full speed, get close to me, and ram me!"

"Boarding! Boarding!"

"Fight them in close combat. Only by getting close to them can we survive!"