Ming East India Company

Kuroshima knew that his only advantage was his tall ship, which allowed him to unleash a barrage of fire on the galley ships from a high vantage point, hoping to gain a slim chance of victory.

But this last glimmer of hope was soon extinguished.

The small oar-sailed ship suddenly stopped when it was several feet away from the Atake ship. Then it turned around and sailed towards the Atake ship, maintaining the same distance. No matter how the Atake ship moved, it could not get any closer to the oar-sailed ship.

The oarsmen rowed with all their might, while the captain waved a flag at the bow to direct their actions. These oarsmen, after months of sea trials, had long since become obedient to the captain's orders.

Meanwhile, the cannons at the bow were not idle. Before each cannon was ready to fire, the oarsmen on the other side would move together to the opposite direction of the cannon's firing direction to balance the recoil of the cannon. Therefore, the oarsmen could fire even when the ship was sideways. This made it difficult for the Atakebune to board, and there were blind spots in the cannon fire, leaving it only able to passively take hits.

"Sizzle," the chain shot hit the sail of the Atakebune precisely, tearing a large hole in the sail and snapping a mast. Almost instantly, the massive Atakebune lost its mobility.

Next, the galley fired several more shots into the side of the Ataka ship. Like the previous Seki ship, the Ataka ship's side was also made of cork and could not withstand the bombardment of the Köfflin heavy cannons. It was quickly pierced through.

After a series of draws, finally a cannonball hit Ataka's waterline, and seawater surged in...

Just then, the oarsman strangely began to move its oars and sailed away from the Ataka-fune.

For Cheng Keqin, the Atate ship was now a lamb to the slaughter, unable to run or fight. He could calmly pursue the other fleeing ships first, and then deal with the Atate ship.

During the struggle between the Atakebune and the oar-powered sailing ships, the smaller Japanese ships nearby were also in complete despair. They had originally hoped to rely on the tall Atakebune for protection, but now that they realized the Atakebune was in danger of being destroyed, these ships did not hesitate to flee.

Cheng Keqin directed the oar-powered sailboats to begin pursuing the ships.

The speed advantage of the galleys near the sea was fully utilized, and they quickly caught up with the ships, then used heavy cannons to send them one by one to the bottom of the sea.

The Japanese soldiers drowning on the sea were shouting and yelling, but Cheng Keqin had no intention of helping them.

As the Japanese fleet sank and fled, Cheng Keqin chose to turn around and seize the last remaining Japanese fleet, the Ataka fleet.

At this point, the three large Atakebune ships had become like dead fish floating on the sea, having lost their masts and sails, and could only drift with the current.

After water entered the waterline, the crew of the Atakebune could only do their best to plug the leak and bail out the water, barely managing to keep the ship from sinking.

Upon seeing this, Cheng Keqin immediately signaled with flags, ordering the eight "protection" Fujian ships following behind to deliver the finishing blow.

At this point, Cheng Keqin could choose to continue shelling to sink the enemy or let the metal ram of the oarsman deliver a fatal blow.

However, for him, cannon fire would consume ammunition, and ramming might cause unknown damage to the hull of the galley. It would be better to let the Fujian ships do this "dirty work." Anyway, there are countless Fujian ships available on the Ryukyu Islands in Shirakawa, so there is no shortage of these "cannon fodder."

Moreover, although the ship was not heavily armed, Shirano equipped it with metal rams, which would allow it to launch a final attack on Ataka.

Moreover, the forecourt of the Fukusen was even taller than that of the Atakasen, so there was no fear of the enemy boarding.

The fully-sailed Japanese ships rammed into Ataka one after another. Ataka's ships attempted a final counterattack with the Kunikō (national slug), but having lost their maneuverability, they struggled to adjust the firing angle. Furthermore, the Kunikō, weighing over a thousand pounds, couldn't be spun quickly by human power…

With several loud bangs, the three Ataka ships sank into the water one after another.

Cheng Keqin commanded expressionlessly:

"The entire army patrolled the vicinity of the battlefield. When these Japanese were almost frozen, they pulled up some of the half-dead ones, chopped off their heads as a reward, and threw the corpses back directly."

In early spring, the East China Sea was icy cold, and the Japanese soldiers who clung to the planks and masts and "drifted with the current" quickly fell into hypothermia.

The galleys and Fujian-style ships scooped them up one by one like ducks, then chopped off their heads and threw them back in. It was like hunting shark fins in the ocean.

Only when dusk fell and all the heads that could be harvested had been collected did Cheng Keqin raise the command flag to return to port.

"Is the inventory finished?" Cheng Keqin asked.

"The ships have been counted. A total of 3 Atate ships and 13 Seki ships were sunk. About 10 Seki ships escaped. More than 1,000 heads were taken."

The person who reported was Wang Song, originally a commoner from southeastern Fujian. He was recruited into the navy by Bai Ye a couple of years ago and has now become Cheng Keqin's adjutant.

"So many?" Cheng Keqin hesitated for a moment.

"Judging from their attire, many of them were probably infantrymen who accompanied the ships, and they were also sent to feed the sharks," Wang Song said with a cold smile.

Cheng Keqin nodded:

"What were the losses?"

"The Sea Falcon II galley lost three propeller blades, but the other ships were not significantly affected. Also, two men on the Sea Falcon III were in the wrong position when the cannons were fired from the side and were thrown into the sea by the impact."

"How could there be such an idiot? Didn't I tell you not to go in the opposite direction of the cannon when firing from the side? It's a small matter if people die, but if the ship loses its balance and capsizes, that would be a much bigger problem."

Because of their low center of gravity and small tonnage, galleys are prone to capsizing when launched from the side due to recoil. Therefore, it is necessary to move personnel to balance the port and starboard sides.

This is also why Cheng Keqin was furious. You should know that during the previous sea trials, the ship had capsized twice because the crew did not move in time. Fortunately, Bai Ye was leading them in shallow waters for the sea trials, so after the ship capsized, it took a lot of effort to finally salvage it.

We're out at sea now; if the ship capsizes, we'll lose everything.

"Brothers, please forgive our lack of training."

"Arrest the captain of that galley and give him twenty lashes. Behead the two crew members' direct superiors on the spot and hang their heads on the mast. Inform the entire army."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Also, retrieve spare parts from the Fujian ship and replace the missing propeller blades. Don't let it affect our combat effectiveness later on."

Cheng Keqin anticipated the possibility of propeller damage, so he prepared a large number of propellers on the Fujian ship in case of emergency.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Next, we will continue to patrol near Busan Port according to the pre-arranged patrol pattern, aiming to completely blockade Busan Port and strike at every single Japanese fleet."