Black Corporation: Joseon

Chapter 949

Episode 949: Battle of Corsica (5)

“Is it really Portugal that the French and Spanish will attack and overthrow?”

“Yes? Commander, what do you mean by that?”

The staff looked at the commander with puzzled faces. Admiral Ricardo, Commander-in-Chief of the Portuguese Navy, had an even more sinister smile on his face. Admiral Ricardo, with a fishy smile that gave off a strong bloody smell, asked his staff again.

“Which is more threatening, the imperial fleet in Livorno or our Portuguese fleet?”

The staff immediately answered Admiral Ricardo’s question.

“Of course the Imperial fleet is more threatening.”

“By any chance… has the commander judged that the French and Spanish fleets are using a deception tactic?”

Admiral Ricardo nodded to the question posed by this sharp-witted member of the staff. Another staff member objected to that appearance.

“No matter how France and Spain attack together, considering the strength of the imperial fleet in Liverno, they will have to suffer very fatal losses. It would be more reasonable to suppress our Portuguese fleet and then block the Strait of Gibraltar.”

“That’s reasonable… Is the only route for the Empire’s supply ships now to pass through Gibraltar?”

“No. There is also the Suez passage.”

“Still, do we have to block Gibraltar? Will it really have a significant effect?”

“……..”

“But considering the firepower of the Empire’s ships, I think that Spain and France alone are close. In particular, no one yet knows the power of the ironclad ships that the Empire calls ‘assault return ships.’ If we look at the deployment of one more ship following the first two…”

To summarize the ship’s logic, it was as follows.

-The Imperial Army, regardless of whether it is the Army or Navy, places importance on firepower and survivability.

-Currently, one additional ship is deployed in Livorno in addition to the first two assault return ships.

-This means that the center of the Empire’s naval power is the assault return ship. In other words, the firepower of the assault return ship is stronger than expected.

“….Even the French and Spanish would expect this, unless they are idiots.”

It was a logical rebuttal, but Ricardo also had his own basis.

-There are not only Spanish and French navies in the Mediterranean. There are also Venetians and Habsburgs.

In particular, Venice’s naval power is quite powerful.

-One of the navies that knows the Mediterranean region best is the Venetian Navy.

If it is a battle in the Mediterranean region rather than an ocean battle, those who know the terrain well will have an advantage.

-I admit that the assault return will be stronger than expected. However, it is impossible to handle both clearing and supply by assault return ship alone. If the accompanying fleet suffers serious damage, the imperial army will have serious supply problems.

“….. Therefore, we judged that the current movements of France and Spain were a deception. While our Portuguese navy was stuck in the port and just watching, the French navy passed through the Strait of Gibraltar and entered the Mediterranean Sea. Afterwards, it allied with the Venetian Habsburgs. . Strike the imperial fleet. If we move only then, it will already be too late. We must move now.”

At Admiral Ricardo’s last words, the staff sensed that the admiral had already made up his mind.

“If you are going to move right now, are you in the French Navy?”

“No, they are all enemies of us and the Empire. For this, we are tricked.”

Admiral Ricardo explains his planned operation to his staff.

-First of all, there is no movement in and around the ports of Lisbon and Ceuta, as if they had been deceived by France and Spain’s deception.

-As soon as the passage of the French and Spanish fleets is confirmed, they immediately set sail and chase after them.

-When the French and Spanish gangs enter into battle with the Empire, they attack the French and Spanish gangs.

“Hmm…”

After hearing Admiral Ricardo’s plan, the staff all looked embarrassed.

‘It would be easier to walk a tightrope in an ocean full of sharks.’

The operation the admiral had just conceived was one of a very grandiose scale. It was an enemy battle that required extreme delicacy. It was not easy to hide in and around the ports of Lisbon and Ceuta and then pursue the French and Spanish. If they were in too much of a hurry and France and Spain noticed, they would immediately turn their ships around and try to deal with the Portuguese Navy first. However, if we started too late, we would not be able to enter the battlefield in time.

“It is not an easy operation.”

Admiral Ricardo maintained a resolute stance in response to the senior staff member’s complaints.

“It’s a gamble with huge stakes, but did you think it would be easy? And I don’t think our Portuguese navy is so messed up that it can’t do anything like this.”

The staff all gritted their teeth at Admiral Ricardo’s words.

“I will definitely make it a success!”

According to Admiral Ricardo’s assurances, all responsibility for the failure of the operation would fall on the staff. This operation had to succeed in order for them to survive.

“We don’t have much time. I want to hear what’s sorted by tomorrow afternoon.”

“….I will do that.”

‘There’s a saying going around that the ranks of the Imperial Army are gangsters, right? Either there or here…’

* * *

“…Hmm. It’s okay. I’ll report it to His Majesty and get approval.”

Admiral Ricardo, satisfied with the operation that his staff worked hard to complete, headed to the royal palace with the plan in hand.

“If this operation is successful, what benefit will Portugal gain?”

“Most of the land in Iberia will belong to Spain, but the sea will belong to us, Portugal.”

“…..Enemy war is permitted. Bring victory to me.”

“I will risk my life to make it happen!”

With the approval of King Joao II, the Portuguese navy was busy. First, all Portuguese merchant ships in Lisbon harbor were conscripted into the navy. Next, naval officers searched houses in the port and arrested smuggling merchants.

“From now on, your job is simple! Go back and forth between Ceuta and Livorno, avoiding the eyes of the French and Spanish! Then search the surrounding area and destroy the French and Spanish scout ships!”

“If you perform well, you will receive not only a pardon but also a prize. That is equal to the number of enemy ships you have sunk and the number of missions you have completed!”

“If you refuse, I will hang you from the mast!”

At the crossroads of ‘death or gold,’ the smuggling merchants chose gold. This became an excellent choice for the Portuguese Navy. Most smuggling merchants had their own ships. Although their ships were small, their speed was outstanding. Since he also did piracy as a sideline, he was carrying appropriate armament.

Lastly, there were few people who knew the surrounding routes as well as these people. They were able to travel in and out of the Mediterranean Sea without the eyes of the French and Spanish navies. The Portuguese Navy loaded additional weapons on the ships of these smuggling merchants and put them into operation. Officers and soldiers from the Portuguese Navy were also brought on board to operate the additional armament. Its duties were to monitor battles and trades, and to record exploits.

As smuggling merchant ships went into operation in earnest, the sea west of the entrance to Gibraltar became stained with blood. The French and Spanish fleets were also deploying small ships for reconnaissance. The closer we got to Gibraltar, the more frequently we encountered Portuguese, French and Spanish scout ships. The scout ships encountered in this way, especially the Portuguese scout ships, rushed at the enemy ship like sharks that had caught their prey.

“It’s delicious food! Kill it!”

“Oooh!”

Portuguese scout ships persistently stuck to the enemy in hopes of receiving amnesty and money. French and Spanish scout ships also responded desperately.

pop! Puff! bang! Tatang!

Cuckoo!

“We’re stuck! Let’s move on!”

“Kill them all!”

The ships that approached each other fired small-diameter cannons and long guns like crazy. Then, at some point, when the two ships came together, the sailors on both sides went over to the other ship with all kinds of weapons, including swords and rifles, and engaged in hand-to-hand combat.

* * *

While the sea at the entrance to Gibraltar was stained with blood, a Portuguese ship arrived in Livorno.

“Captain Thief. This is an urgent report from Portugal.”

Son Il-won frowned after opening the document brought by his adjutant.

“It’s hard to read this damn Western cursive…”

Thanks to the nature of the imperial navy, which was frequently stationed overseas, Latin was essential for officers above a certain rank. Thanks to this, most of the piers were able to communicate in Latin. This was because the cursive handwriting, which had a lot of flair unique to Europeans – nicknamed Western Chaucer – was difficult to recognize. In particular, the higher one’s social status and knowledge, the more extravagant the cursive writing style became. In the end, the Imperial Navy made an extraordinary decision.

-Foreign official documents sent to the Imperial Navy will only be accepted if they are written in a clear voice! If you complain, send it to the Ministry of Defense!

And the Ministry of National Defense handed it over to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“But you sent it in Latin? Either way. Either it was to cause trouble or it was really urgent. In the current situation, the former is crazy and the latter is…” Son Il-won, who was muttering with a serious face,

immediately An interpreter was called and entrusted with translating the document. After a while, Son Il-won, who received the translated copy, frowned even more.

“A joint fleet of France and Spain? There is a high possibility that Venice and Habsburg will join it? Hmm…”

Son Il-won, who was glaring at the document, ordered his adjutant.

“Write a copy and send it to Marshal Dow as soon as possible, and then summon the staff.”

“Captain.”

* * *

A little while later, in the conference room where the staff gathered, Son Il-won informed them of the contents of the document sent by Portugal and held it out. While the staff with serious expressions were taking turns reading the document, Son Il-won opened his mouth.

“Considering the date and time the document was written and the time it took for the document to arrive, the combined fleet of Spain and France would have already entered the Mediterranean Sea. Under normal fleet operations, they would first have stopped at a nearby military port for rest and maintenance.”

Nodding their heads at Son Il-won’s words, the staff did the math.

‘If Venice and Habsburg join forces as Portugal expects…’

“It looks like it will be in 15 days at the earliest.”

“Fifteen days later would be a good time to go to bed. Then, where do you expect them to use as a battlefield?”

In response to Son Il-won’s question, the staff all looked at the map hanging on the wall.

‘If you think about the size of the friendly fleet and the size of the enemy fleet…’

‘For a large-scale fleet to engage in battle, a very large space is needed…’

The staff who were analyzing various reasons soon turned to this. A place was pointed out in the same direction.

“It’s the Sea of Tyrea between Sardinia and Naples.”

“This is the perfect place for large fleets to engage in battle.”

Son In-won nodded in response to the staff’s answers.

“It’s reasonable. Then…”

At that moment, Son Il-won suddenly stopped, with goosebumps appearing on his back.

‘wait for a sec! The prenatal situation is so smooth? Nonsense!’

It was Son Il-won who felt as if the sound of incense clicking his tongue was ringing in his ears.

– Whenever His Majesty Tae Sang-tae is nearby, always exercise caution. If you are even a little bit negligent in your precautions, all sorts of things will happen.

-When His Majesty Tae Sang-tae is nearby, even normally stupid enemies become smarter.