# Chapter 118: Made in Joseon. (1)
As the mysterious fleet approached, tension rose ever higher among the Otaybi family's patriarch and captain, as well as among the sailors.
"It's big..."
As the ship in question drew ever closer, the sailors of the merchant vessel grew increasingly cowed.
The dhow they were aboard was a large vessel called a Baggala, but the approaching ship's bulk was even larger than theirs.
To be precise, their ship was longer in length, but the ship in question was higher in elevation.
"It's definitely not a Ming ship. The shape is completely different."
"Then is it Cipango?"
"Cipango doesn't have ships that large."
"Then what country's ship is it?"
The patriarch, his chest tightening with anxiety, snapped in frustration, but the captain had no answer either.
"I don't know."
After a while, once the mysterious fleet had drawn close enough, a small boat was lowered and approached.
When they were close enough to distinguish the clothing of the people aboard, an elder who had accompanied them shouted in delight.
"It's the Joseon military! Patriarch! It's Joseon!"
"Joseon?"
At the patriarch's question, the elder nodded his head vigorously.
"Yes! It's definitely the uniform of the Joseon military that I saw when I went to Joseon last time!"
"Then why didn't we recognize the ship?"
At the patriarch's question, the elder answered with an embarrassed expression.
"I didn't see such large ships back then."
At the elder's answer, the patriarch looked at the ships presumed to be Joseon warships with surprised eyes.
"Are you saying they built such ships in just a little over a year? Enough to compose a fleet?"
At the patriarch's muttered words, the captain added.
"The pirates fled as soon as they saw that ship. Judging by that, those ships must have dominated these seas for quite some time."
At the captain's words, the patriarch nodded.
"That would be the correct assessment."
While the patriarch and captain were conversing, a Joseon soldier on the small boat that had approached right beside them put a strange-looking device to his mouth and shouted.
"Where are these ships from!"
At the Joseon soldier's inquiry, the translator aboard the ship answered in Ming Chinese.
"We are merchants from Aden! We have brought the items requested by the Joseon prince!"
At the translator's shout, the Joseon soldiers on the small boat conferred among themselves and then shouted again.
"Wait for a moment!"
"Understood!"
After that, the small boat made several trips back and forth while a brief verification process was conducted, and the Joseon military's decision was reached.
"Follow us! We will escort you!"
"Understood! Thank you!"
As the small boat returned, the patriarch and captain, as well as all the sailors, breathed sighs of relief.
"Phew. We're saved now."
"Indeed."
And so, the merchant ships of the Otaybi and Azram families - thankfully without a single loss - began their return to Joseon, surrounded by three Joseon warships.
Naturally, during this process, the Arab sailors were all dumbfounded as they watched the Joseon ships turn in place.
"Is that even possible?"
"I'm seeing it for the first time myself..."
At the captain's dazed response, the patriarch muttered to himself again.
"What kind of country is Joseon exactly?"
* * *
Meanwhile, with safety secured, the sailors who had regained their composure were observing the Joseon warships moving in parallel at a distance.
"The ship is quite peculiar."
"It seems shorter than our ship, but much higher."
As the sailors noted, the Panokseon operated by the Joseon Navy was quite tall.
Judging by the positions of the Joseon sailors visible behind the walls on the ship's sides, the first deck of the Joseon warship was at roughly the same height as the roof of the stern cabin, the highest part of the large dhow the Arab merchants were aboard.
Among the sailors observing the Joseon warships, the older and more experienced ones nodded.
"At the very least, they won't give up their ships without a serious fight."
"Old man. Those things sticking out from the side of that warship, aren't those large arrows?"
"Arrows?"
At the young sailor's observation, the sailor called 'old man' narrowed his eyes and observed the Joseon warship.
"Indeed... they are arrows, but... why would they use something meant for siege warfare?"
The old man, tilting his head as he looked at the large arrows loaded in the Janggunhwatong, wore an even more puzzled expression.
"What kind of crossbow do they use that has such narrow spacing?"
* * *
It wasn't only the sailors who were observing the Joseon warships. The Otaybi family's patriarch and captain were also observing the warships, and discovering what appeared to be crossbows, they exchanged opinions.
"It's probably not a crossbow."
The captain, who had observed with his eyes opened as wide as possible, reached a conclusion.
"The spacing is too narrow, and the arrow position is too low to be a crossbow."
"Then what is most likely?"
At the patriarch's question, the captain thought for a moment and answered briefly.
"Cannons."
"Cannons?"
The patriarch briefly questioned the captain's words and then shook his head.
"Just counting the arrows I can see, there are at least 10, which means that ship carries at least 20 cannons. Even those Catholic heretics don't carry that many."
At the patriarch's words, the captain asked in return.
"Aren't they not Catholic heretics?"
"Well..."
The patriarch muttered in disbelief.
"Are there madmen who carry more than 20 cannons per ship? Do they have gunpowder to spare?"
* * *
Meanwhile, a dispute was occurring within the Joseon fleet as well.
"Are they really merchants authorized by the court?"
At the question from the Mokpo Manho who was leading the fleet, the officer who had conducted the inquiry answered.
"I confirmed their trade license."
"The problem is that we've never seen merchants with such trade licenses in our Jeolla Jwasuyeong jurisdiction, is it not?"
At the Mokpo Manho's point, his subordinate officer answered.
"That is true, but the same license has already been issued to merchants traveling to and from the Shandong region, and the official seal on the document was indeed from the court."
Hearing the answer, the Mokpo Manho sighed softly and reached a conclusion.
"We'll find out once we return and send a report. But putting that aside..."
The Mokpo Manho turned the conversation to his main duty.
"It's a shame we missed those damn pirates. Lately, they've been getting harder to catch."
"As soon as we fire the Singijeon, they immediately flee."
"The Singijeon is useful in many ways, but this is a side effect."
"Indeed it is."
At the Mokpo Manho's complaint, the subordinate officer nodded and added.
"There's also the problem with this Panokseon."
* * *
It wasn't just weapons that leaped several stages at once as Hyang intervened in history.
"We must make and use what is useful!"
Following Hyang's decision, weapons that existed in the original history were also created.
Naturally, they were not exactly as they originally appeared.
The representative example was the Singijeon.
Hyang developed the Small Singijeon among these Singijeon for two purposes.
One was a long-range suppression weapon using gunpowder as propellant, as originally intended, and the other was for signaling.
By loading a mixture of gunpowder with various minerals and dyes in the front compartment of the paper tube attached beneath the arrow, it was made to emit colored smoke during the day and colored flames at night.
And the type of color and the sequence of explosions made it possible to instantly grasp various situations.
This signal Small Singijeon was greatly loved by the military. And the combination of the telescope that Hyang had created by working Pietro and Rafael to the bone, along with the signal Small Singijeon, greatly expanded the operational range of the Joseon military.
In the case of cavalry engaging with the Jurchens, the vanguard cavalry found them very useful.
However, it was the navy that made the most use of the signal Small Singijeon.
It wasn't only the Small Singijeon that was useful.
The Large Singijeon, with a warhead made identically to the Bigyeokjincheonroe except that the body was made of paper instead of iron, was also a masterpiece.
While its power was half that of the Bigyeokjincheonroe, its range was 250 paces (approximately 300m) longer than the Bigyeokjincheonroe's maximum range, creating a monster with a fearsome range of 800 paces (approximately 960m).
* * *
When the subordinate officer mentioned the Panokseon they were aboard, the Mokpo Manho nodded.
"That's right. This Panokseon fellow, I like everything about it, but the one thing I don't like is this glacial speed. Because of that, pirates now flee as soon as they see the Singijeon signal or a Panokseon..."
The Panokseon that Hyang had created ahead of history satisfied the navy.
The tall and large hull, designed from the start for mass deployment of cannons, made it difficult for pirate ships carrying wokou or pirates to board even if they approached. And the arrow and cannon attacks utilizing that height difference could destroy enemy ships from a greater distance than before.
Additionally, thanks to the strength that increased as much as the bulk, there were cases where they outright smashed ships carrying wokou and pirates through collision.
However, the Panokseon had the fatal flaw of being slow.
The hull, which appeared rectangular when viewed from above, was useful in coastal waters, but speed became an issue when going out to the open ocean.
Thanks to this, the wokou and pirates who had initially underestimated and attacked, only to suffer greatly, would immediately turn and flee as soon as they saw a Panokseon.
Of course, there were some wokou and pirates who attacked trusting in their own speed, but after seeing ships shattered by cannonballs flying from beyond arrow range, there were no longer any wokou or pirates who acted with such reckless bravado.
The Mokpo Manho clicked his tongue and turned his head.
"I hear rumors that high-performance cannons have been developed, but what we need more than cannons is a faster and stronger ship."
"With the Crown Prince and brilliant people in District 51, good results will come soon."
At the subordinate officer's words, the Mokpo Manho shook his head.
"District 51? There are plenty of people crazy about cannons there, but no one crazy about ships. That's the problem."
However, this was the Mokpo Manho's misconception.
If Hyang had heard this, he would have responded like this:
"You try getting the budget from His Majesty! Even these days, I get cursed at with 'You rascal!' at least once a day!"
* * *
After five days of sailing, the merchant ships of the Otaybi and Azram families arrived at Jeolla Jwasuyeong and dropped anchor.
"They say a report has been sent to Hanseong, so please wait a few days."
"We'll do that."
"Ah! They asked if there's anything you need."
At the translator's question, the patriarch looked at the captain. At the silent question, the captain answered immediately.
"Tell them we only need food for now."
"Understood."
While waiting for a reply from Hanseong, the Otaybi family's patriarch and the captains of the merchant ships used their spare time to look around Jeolla Jwasuyeong.
"This is a military base, so don't wander around carelessly."
"Yes. Then may we look around the market outside?"
"Hmm... Today happens to be a market day, so go ahead."
With permission from the Cheomjeoljesa, the commander of Jwasuyeong, the Otaybi family's patriarch led his people outside and headed to the market.
The patriarch's face was filled with disappointment upon seeing the market.
"This is... there's nothing much. Compared to the Chinese market I saw once before, this can't even be called a market."
Grumbling as he looked around the market's wares, the patriarch stopped at one place.
"That!"
Where the patriarch's gaze landed was a small inn. On the tables where people had finished their meals, white porcelain vessels and glass cups were glistening.
"How do such magnificent items exist in such a backward place?"
The patriarch fell into confusion at the unexpected incongruity.
"What on earth is this country called Joseon?"