any way to repay this debt
After the battle report and council ended, the sun was already slanting toward evening.
As Park Seong-jin was about to enter the temporary barracks beside the military storehouse, two men appeared before him.
"Wahaha—so you saw the victory."
Jang Sayi rushed in first, with Jin Chong walking behind him.
Without even catching his breath, Jang Sayi blurted out,
"One shell and the ship just flew apart. If we'd used this earlier, this sea would've been clean a long time ago."
Park Seong-jin smiled awkwardly.
"What I saw at Poyang Lake was the beginning. Without support, we'd still be struggling."
Jin Chong raised a hand, pressing down Jang Sayi's momentum.
"The general always says that."
Then he continued,
"To His Majesty, anything involving Lord Park matters more than any other affair."
Jin Chong's voice dropped lower.
"Our situation isn't exactly comfortable either. That's why, even with fewer ships, we loaded them with as much artillery, gunpowder, and skilled men as possible. Honestly, we were nervous the whole way here, wondering if something might explode at any moment."
Park Seong-jin felt his fingers tighten.
"I can't think of any way to repay this debt."
Jin Chong shook his head.
"You already have. Thanks to you, we built an empire on the lands of Jiangnan."
His gaze drifted away, the water and flames of Poyang Lake still lingering in his eyes.
Jang Sayi laughed.
"That day was the beginning for us."
When the three sat facing one another, the conversation naturally returned to old memories.
Once Poyang Lake was mentioned, they spoke animatedly, spitting words as much as breath.
Jin Chong leaned forward.
"General. Clearing islands and bays one by one is fine—but there's also the option of striking Tsushima first."
Park Seong-jin's eyes narrowed.
"You know Tsushima."
Jin Chong nodded.
"It's the middle bridge they cross. Iki Island is another stepping stone. If we hit those two, the flow breaks."
Song I-jeong spoke quietly.
"The main force must arrive. With our current strength, occupation would be hard to sustain."
Park Seong-jin fell silent for a moment.
His gaze drifted beyond the edge of the map.
"Even so, my heart goes that way."
Jin Chong smiled faintly.
"Exactly. Otherwise we'll be chasing wave after wave forever. If we take that place, we can stop those coming—and crush those retreating."
Park Seong-jin nodded.
"We strike Seungju first. Then we revisit this."
For a brief moment, the three men's hands overlapped on the map.
The Battle of Seungju.
The bay was deep and narrow.
Outer ripples curled inward, forming ink-dark shadows within.
At the deepest harbor lay the largest hidden base of the Japanese pirates.
Song I-jeong's voice trembled.
"General… look. There are so many."
On the darkened waters inside the bay, ships lay packed tightly together.
Twenty. Thirty. More beyond.
"At least fifty."
Park Seong-jin said softly,
"So they were all here."
Haechil and four artillery ships slid forward quietly in a pin-shaped formation.
The lead ship angled slightly.
Its flank opened.
Enemy ships lay barely a hundred lengths ahead.
Before Haechil's portside heavy cannon, a single iron gun rested atop a heavily reinforced deck.
Freshly wiped black oil gleamed along the breech.
Around the barrel lay charcoal tins, powder containers, rammers, paper-wrapped charges, and wooden staffs—laid out in precise order.
The Daehan artillery adviser, an old man who also served as master gunner, tapped the barrel lightly.
"This isn't play today. Those you see—we're sinking them for real. So don't break the order I give you. Ever."
Two Goryeo gunners standing before him nodded, the smell of half-chewed rice still lingering on their breath.
The adviser raised two fingers.
"First: clear it. Second: come back alive. The order is always those two."
He picked up a long cleaning rod.
"Begin bore cleaning."
Cloth and dry straw were wrapped around its tip.
As the adviser pushed and twisted it inside, a Goryeo gunner supported from behind, turning together.
Scrape. Scrape. Scrape.
They scoured the bore once, twice, removing leftover powder residue, grit, and ash.
"If it's clogged, the gun explodes. If the gun explodes, so do people. That's why, no matter how tedious, this comes first. Understand?"
"Yes."
When the rod was withdrawn, the cloth was black with soot.
"Look. That's human life. Leave that in and fire—once, luck might hold. Twice? No promises."
After confirming the bore was clear, the adviser nodded.
He pulled out a powder charge from his belt—measured black powder wrapped in thick paper crackled softly inside.
"Insert charge."
As it was rolled in from the muzzle, the Goryeo gunner pushed it deep.
"Don't force it—use the rammer," the adviser said.
A long wooden rammer slid in.
Using shoulders and hips together, they packed it firmly.
Thud.
Tap.
"Any more and it tears," the master gunner warned.
"If it tears, powder leaks. Powder leaks, sparks find a path. Sparks always find a path. And whatever's on that path burns—face or chest, makes no difference."
The Goryeo gunner wiped cold sweat from his brow.
Next came the wadding—thick hemp cloth packed behind the charge.
"This keeps the force against the wall. When the shot goes, the charge kicks it from behind. Power mustn't leak."
They rammed it down tight.
Then came the projectile—a solid iron ball.
"Today we tear ships apart. Not fire arrows. We break wood and bone. So we use this."
Two men rolled the iron shot into the muzzle.
Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.
"Shot loaded."
They rammed it tight against the wadding.
The Daehan master gunner scanned the sea once.
"Remember. A ship has three parts: mast, belly, throat. Today we break the belly. Cut its organs, and the ship enters the water on its own."
He pierced the touch hole with a pick, exposing the powder.
Clink.
He sprinkled priming powder and covered it with dry cloth.
"Fuse ready."
He set the sighting ruler and angle gauge.
"From today on, no rough firing. See with your eyes, measure with your head, shoot with your hands."
He pointed.
"Third ship in the front row. The one with the half-furled sail. That's the first offering."
"Barrel up. One. Two. There."
The wedge shifted, lifting the muzzle.
"This gun now sees only that one."
The gun captain shouted,
"Portside Gun Two—loaded!"
"Portside Guns One, Two, Three—load confirmed!"
"All gun crew—ears covered!"
Soldiers crouched low.
The gun captain called the last command.
"Igniter forward!"
"Three. Two. One. Fire."
Scratch.
Click.
Hiss—
KWAAAAAAAANG—!!
The hull shuddered as if shoved sideways.
A pillar of fire turned the bay into daylight.
Boom—
The sound of splintering wood overlapped with screams.
The Daehan master gunner said calmly,
"That's one gun. Imagine what happens when it's twenty—thirty."
The Goryeo gunners' eyes had changed.