BES: Interlude: Naval Battle of the Han River Estuary

The Mongol Fleet under the Hokkien Admiral Sak Kong Tee was not large by the standards of most fleets of the time. Seventy-Five Ships, of which fifteen were the Shine Ongots or New Ships of the designs laid down by Prince Dalai and Liau Yong Cho. To face them, Goryeo had assembled a fleet of fifty-five Pyeongjeonseon Gunships armed with rockets and small cannons, and fifty-five Gwaseon Ram Ships, which carried boarding parties and ranks of archers along their decks. The disparity of forces was clear, with the Fleet of Goryeo having almost half again as many ships as the Mongol Fleet.

Of course, the Goryeo Fleet had disadvantages elsewhere, owing to the political situation at the Court of King Gojong. The Admiral of the Goryeo Fleet was in actuality the forty-year-old Crown Prince of Goryeo, Wang Sik. However, the official Admiral was technically Ch'oe Ŭi, the twenty-year-old heir of Ch'oe Hang, Regent and Military Leader of Goryeo for the ailing King Gojong. It was a split in command, one that had political consequences, should Crown Prince Wang Sik go against Admiral Ch'oe Ŭi too blatantly. The difference between actual command and official command was a sizable disadvantage for the Goryeo Fleet, especially as compared to the Mongol Fleet's one commander.

If Ch'oe Hang or anyone in the Court of King Gojong was worried about such things, however, they showed no sign of it. After all, everyone knew the Mongols made for poor Sailors, and the impressed Chinese Peasants they forced to crew their ships suffered from morale issues, which likewise made them poor sailors. This had been shown time and again with the last several attempts to attack Gwangmu Island. All were confident that this new fleet would be seen off, a feather in the caps of both the Crown Prince and Ch'oe Ŭi, to better secure the rise of the next generation.

Indeed, the battlements of the Gangwhasong Fortress were crowded with courtiers and officials of King Gojong's Court, watching the two fleets square up in the estuary beyond the archipelago. The Scholar-Officials and Nobles of the Court brought their families to watch, as if observing the results of some sort of sport rather than an actual battle, all while the Military Officers of the Court murmured in the corners, grumbling about how the next generation would gain all the glory from this battle. This included Prince Wang Ch'ang, who had returned from negotiations with Mongke Khan in failure, and Princess Suheung, the only living Daughter of King Gojong. King Gojong was absent, owing to his health, but Regent Ch'oe Hang was present.

"It seems strange to watch men fight and die from the battlements like this. Should we not be inside the Keep, taking shelter?" Questioned Princess Suheung, her delicate fingers bunched up in the silken folds of her white and celadon Hanbok.

"Scared, Sister?" Queried Prince Wang Ch'ang, scratching at his slight beard with a callused hand, even as his other hand rested on the silvered hilt of his straight-bladed Jikdo Sword. He had begun growing his beard out after returning from Karakorum in failure, likely in an attempt to emulate Regent Ch'oe Hang's own Beard and show that his loyalties lay entirely with the court.

"Should I not be?" Asked Princess Suheung, a frown crossing her painted lips. Many would consider her beautiful, of course, but that was only the slightest aspect of her appeal. Princess Suheung was quite adept at reading people and situations, a talent that had allowed her to grow up independently in a court contested between the Royal Family and the Ch'oe Regents instead of being used in the struggle.

"I wouldn't worry, Your Highness. These Mongols will prove no more able to win a naval victory here than the last four attempts they made to seize the island." Boasted Regent Ch'oe Hang in his gravely voice. Choe Hang's voice matched his appearance, as while he had kept the shaved head he had as a monk before being recalled to Court on the Death of his Father, he had grown out a rugged beard, lending him a gruff appearance.

His confidence seemed boundless, if nothing else. However, Princess Suheung wasn't so certain of success. Princess Suheung's ability to read situations niggled at the back of her mind. There was something different about those ships at the center of the Mongol Fleet's Battle Line, something that didn't fit. In a situation this volatile, that could spell disaster.

"It is good you're confident, Regent." Offered Princess Suheung, noncommittally, trying not to give the Ch'oe any reason to press for a political advantage by voicing her dissent blatantly.

"It's good for morale, yes?" Questioned Prince Wang Ch'ang, siding with the Regent. Princess Suheung could hardly blame her brother for that. It was generally a safe bet these days to side with the regent in such things.

"It is. Though I am surprised that you harbor such reservations, Your Highness. Should not the Troops see that their Princess is confident in their victory?" Queried Regent Ch'oe Hang, probing for dissent he could attack to gain more potential political capital, as if he needed it.

"Those ships look different, Regent. I am not versed in military matters, though. Can you tell me what they are?" Asked Princess Suheung.

"I'm unfamiliar with their type. However, I am certain that whatever they are that the Mongols have come up with, they will hardly prove a challenge to our tried and true fleet." Admitted Regent Ch'oe Hang.

In this, he would prove both his supreme confidence and his folly. However, as the battle started, all eyes were cast out from the Court and into the Estuary to watch the scene unfold. It began with a salvo of rockets from the Pyeongjeonseon Gunships, acting more as floating batteries in an attempt to cover the Gwaseon Ram Ships as they surged forth like a wave, racing to get into boarding and ramming range. Many of the rockets missed the mark, their designs extremely inaccurate at these ranges, a few managed to land among various Junks, exploding in a wash of flames and starting fires, but that was it. Still, that was a decent start. After all, every Mongol fighting fires was one less to resist boarders.

What none of the onlookers were prepared for was for the odd-looking ships in the center of the Mongol Formation to turn, present their broadsides, and open small windows in their hulls, showing a deck completely below the initial deck. Out of these windows, the muzzles of bronze cannons protruded and began to fire a salvo back at the Pyeongjeonseon Gunships. These cannons that were larger by half again than the ones carried aboard the Pyeongjeonseon Gunships and deadly accurate, even at this range. These Improved Cannons hurled their projectiles, a combination of regular gunstones and an odd-looking contraption made of a pair of cast iron balls affixed with a length of chain between them, and tore through Pyeongjeonseon Gunships, smashing wooden hulls and tearing through rigging.

As the Junks began to open fire with similar weapons, albeit mounted in fewer numbers, owing to the poor shape of the standard Junk Hull for such devices, not having the cannon decks of the newer vessels. However, the toll that it was taking on the Fleet was severe. As the battle continued, more and more of the Goryeo Fleet was sunk with very little in the way of reciprocity, thanks to the inaccuracies of the smaller cannons and rockets at range. By the time the Pyeongjeonseon Gunships finally made it into range, they had lost the majority of their number, either crippled from shots to the rigging and sails, or sunk in the estuary.

However, now the Gwaseon Ram Ships entered their final approach to the Mongol Fleet, their Bowmen lining the decks and beginning to pepper the Mongols with Volleys of Arrows. It had been touch and go there for a while, but now it seemed that the Goryeo Fleet was poised to do what it had been designed to and smash the Mongol Fleet. Regent Ch'oe Hang puffed up as he saw that.

"See, I told you that there would be no issue. You must learn to trust those who have knowledge you lack, Highness. After all, even the Buddha recognized the value in the advice of experts." Smirked Ch'oe Hang.

"He also taught that such must be paired with personal experience, Regent. This particular experience is not yet over." Insisted Princess Suheung.

"Careful, Sister." Warned Prince Wang Ch'ang.

"Indeed. I was a monk before I became Regent, and am qualified to speak on such things." Insisted Regent Ch'oe Hang.

"Perhaps you would know better on such matters. I am, after all, a Confucian, even if not a very devout one." Demurred Princess Suheung.

However, before the religious argument could go any further, it was Princess Suheung who was proven correct as the next of the Mongols' new weapons were wheeled out. Boxy carts were literally wheeled into place on decks and set alight by Mongol Sailors. There was a noise like the ripping of cloth as the purpose of such contraptions became suddenly clear. Gunpowder-propelled arrows flew from the carts and scythed down boarders, sailors, and archers aboard the Gwaseon Ram Ships, clearing decks with lightning speed and even slowing the Gwaseon Ram Ships enough that many of them missed their ramming attempts thanks to lost crewmen throwing off their final approach.

Only a very few of the Gwaseon Ram Ships actually managed to hit their targets, and fewer still managed to disgorge any appreciable number of boarders onto the Mongol ships. Then those new Mongol Ships opened fire again, sinking several Gwaseon Ram Ships. That was when a fatal mistake was made aboard the Flagship of the Goryeo Fleet, the Pyeongjeonseon Gunship, Ganghanchang. Crown Prince Wang Sik, knowing the Fleet was now vulnerable to envelopment, ordered a withdrawal, only for Ch'oe Ŭi to countermand that order. The dithering caused by the split in command allowed the fatal blow to be struck as the Goryeo Fleet, paralyzed by command indecision, stayed the course and was further reduced, even as the Mongol Fleet began their envelopment.

By this point, the Goryeo Fleet had already lost the battle. It had been cut down substantially to around sixty percent of its starting numbers, while the Mongols had lost perhaps a bit less than a quarter of their own fleet and were now about to envelop the remnant of the Goryeo Fleet. That, it seemed, was too much for the sailors of the Goryeo Fleet. Ships began to break and flee from the cauldron of battle raging upon the sea, even as the Mongol Fleet's wings began to close the net as if catching fish. To top everything off, the Ganghanchang was hit by a full broadside of fire from the improved cannons that killed both Crown Prince Wang Sik and Ch'oe Ŭi.

In the ensuing disaster, only a fifth of the Goryeo Fleet managed to escape the encirclement, fleeing up the Estuary for the Han River and beaching themselves as their crews ran for the safety of the Hills of Gwangmu Island. Seeing this, her face ashen, Princess Suheung turned to face Regent Ch'oe Hang, and said with all the scorn she could muster at the moment, her final word on the matter of the battle.

"I hope this was worth continuing to antagonize the Mongols, Regent, because now it seems we will have a siege on our hands." Intoned Princess Suheung.

Then she left the Battlements, heading for the keep of the Gangwhasong Fortress. Regent Ch'oe Hang, on the other hand, was livid. His son and heir had just been slain, and he was too old to make another at this point in his life without there being complications in succession. He turned to face Prince Wang Ch'ang, whose face was similarly grave.

"No peace. If it kills me, no peace now." Vowed Regent Ch'oe Hang.

He left, his military officers following him out, along with Prince Wang Ch'ang. It seemed they would fight till the end, and thus had a defense of the islands to plan. That defense would be needed sooner rather than later. After all, by the end of the day, Mongol Troopships had started landing on the Island of Seodo. War had finally reached the shores of Gwangmu.

And it would be a hard-fought struggle to victory, if victory came at all. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, so here we have the next chapter. As you can see, the improvements made to ships, crew training, armaments, and morale by Prince Dalai, Liau Yong Cho, and Admiral Sak Kong Tee have paid off in a big way. It helps that the Admiral and his crews are Hokkien Chinese, and thus know how to sail, while also having it mandated that the crews be treated reasonably well in order to boost morale. This War has been in the offing for years, after all. They've had plenty of time to prepare.

Meanwhile, the Court of King Gojong is somehow even worse with politics than the Mongols have right now. This is largely because of the position of Regent, which is held by the Ch'oe Clan and which forms a sort of military dictatorship parallel to the Kingship, similar to how the Shogun is with the Emperor over in Japan's Kamakura Shogunate right now. It's come back to bite them in a big way this time, not helped by corruption within the Court. After all, Regent Ch'oe Hang grabbed a bunch of court positions for himself on seizing the regency a few years back and has yet to give them up.

At any rate, the next chapter will be a return to Dalai's POV as we see the landings on the Island of Seongdo, one of the outer islands guarding Gwangmu. Then we'll have an interlude with Uriyangkadai and the land campaign down the peninsula.

Stay tuned. . .