Pyongyang, the capital of the Goguryeo Dynasty, is located in the west-central part of the Goguryeo Peninsula. It is surrounded by mountains on three sides and faces the sea on one side, making its geographical location extremely advantageous.
Nampo Port on the west coast of the peninsula was the main base of the Goguryeo Dynasty's naval fleet and the mouth of the Taedong River.
One hundred miles east of Nampo Port lies Pyongyang, the capital of the Goguryeo Dynasty.
After rounding the Changshan Islands, the Tang Dynasty's naval fleet was heading in a grand procession towards Nanpu Port.
At dawn on March 21, at the Goguryeo naval camp in Nanpu Port.
The Goguryeo naval soldiers on duty at the watchtower of the naval camp were yawning and leaning against the railing of the watchtower, half-closing their eyes and dozing off.
Suddenly, a biting sea breeze swept in, making the drowsy soldier on duty shiver and instantly wake up. Instinctively, he wrapped his clothes tighter to keep warm.
Immediately afterwards, while yawning, he subconsciously looked up at the sea.
That one glance almost made the Goguryeo naval soldier stumble and fall headfirst off the watchtower.
The weather at Nampo Port was excellent today, with extremely high visibility at sea. So much so that the Goguryeo naval soldiers standing on the watchtower, which was more than ten meters high, could see more than ten nautical miles with the naked eye.
Suddenly, a vast naval fleet appeared out of nowhere on the sea outside Nanpu Port. Hundreds of warships were sailing in orderly formation on the sea, constantly approaching Nanpu Port.
"Damn it!"
The Goguryeo naval soldier spat out a mouthful of phlegm while cursing, thinking he had just seen things too much and rubbed his eyes hard with both hands.
Upon closer inspection, the naval fleet that had appeared out of nowhere on the sea had not disappeared; instead, it was getting closer and closer.
"Enemy attack—"
Almost instinctively, the Goguryeo soldier who was the first to spot the Tang Dynasty's naval fleet spoke in a trembling, tearful voice.
Wow!
After a brief silence, the Goguryeo naval soldiers on duty in several watchtowers spotted the Tang Dynasty naval fleet cutting through the waves on the sea.
"Enemy attack—"
In an instant, the sounds of enemy attacks echoed across the early morning sky above Nanpu Port.
Next, the Goguryeo naval officers and soldiers on the watchtower quickly sprang into action, beating war drums and blowing horns, the piercing alarms waking countless Goguryeo naval officers and soldiers from their sleep.
Inside the central command tent, Go Moo, the half-brother of Gojang, the Goguryeo naval commander and the current King Bojang, was fast asleep when he was awakened from his dream by the shrill alarms from the camp.
"Damn it!"
Gao Wu, whose peaceful dream had been disturbed, looked impatient but had no choice but to get up with a belly full of anger.
"Report—"
"Reporting to the Grand Commander, at sea, several hundred unidentified naval vessels have been spotted and are heading at full speed toward our naval camp at Nanpu Port!"
Just then, a messenger's panicked announcement came from outside the tent.
Teng!
The next moment, Goguryeo naval commander Go Mo, who had been cursing and getting up from the bed, suddenly jumped up as if he had been electrocuted.
Ignoring his disheveled appearance and whether it would affect his authority in the eyes of the soldiers, he rushed to the entrance of the main tent.
After lifting the heavy curtain, he grabbed the messenger by the collar, glared with his bull-like eyes, and roared furiously, "Did you see clearly? Which country's naval fleet is coming?"
The messenger replied tremblingly, "Reporting to the Grand Commander, the enemy's naval fleet is still more than ten nautical miles from the port, and the soldiers on duty are still unable to determine which country's navy it is!"
"Damn it!"
Gao Wu shoved the messenger aside, cursing, "A bunch of good-for-nothings! The enemy is already at our doorstep, and you still haven't figured out who they are!"
"Who is the commander in charge of patrolling the coastal waters? I, the governor, will have his head chopped off..."
"What are you all standing there for? Help this commander put on his armor and face the enemy!"
While Gao Wu continued to rant and rave, he also began to change his clothes and put on his armor with the help of a messenger.
Soon, Gao Wu, having donned his armor, grabbed his sword and rushed out of the central command tent without even washing his face, shouting, "Guards!"
"By order of the general, the vanguard shall immediately board ships, weigh anchor, and proceed to sea to engage the enemy; the central army shall hold the main camp and be ready to provide reinforcements at any time."
"Immediately dispatch a messenger back to Pyongyang to report the enemy fleet's attack and request Your Majesty to send reinforcements."
"Hurry, hurry, hurry—"
In fact, even without the order from Admiral Gao Wu, the deputy generals and lieutenants in the Goguryeo naval camp took immediate action upon hearing the warning from the watchtower.
Squads of Goguryeo naval officers and soldiers rushed out of the camp in an orderly fashion and boarded their warships, then made preparations to raise the sails and weigh anchor in an orderly manner before setting sail.
Once all preparations were complete, under the command of the warship commander, the warships were sailed out of the harbor and headed toward the approaching Tang Dynasty naval fleet.
However, due to the hasty response, the Goguryeo naval fleet at Nanpu Port was unable to assemble into a battle formation and launch a counterattack against the Tang Dynasty naval fleet while providing mutual cover.
It was somewhat like a "piecemeal attack" tactic, with three or five ships rushing up at a time.
The warships of the Goguryeo navy were very similar to those of the navy of the Daesin dynasty. They were all wooden warships, which were the most popular type at the time. The bow and sides of the ships were covered with iron plates and copper nails to increase their protective capabilities.
In terms of weaponry, crossbows and ballistae were the main weapons, while the soldiers' melee weapons were cold weapons such as swords, spears, halberds, and knives.
Apart from officers of the rank of centurion and above, as well as the personal guards of the naval commander and his lieutenants, other soldiers only had cloth armor or cotton armor for protection.
In comparison, the Tang Dynasty's naval fleet was far superior to the Goguryeo naval fleet in terms of the size of its warships, the equipment of its weapons and equipment, and the equipment of its rank-and-file naval officers and soldiers.
All the warships of the Tang Dynasty's naval fleet, regardless of their model, were equipped with red cannons; the 108,000 naval officers and soldiers, apart from the sailors and other technical troops, even the supply troops were equipped with black armor.
In addition, Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huai'an specially approved the Shenji Battalion's musket team to board the ships, providing a full 10,000 three-eyed muskets for the use of the naval officers and soldiers.
In terms of weaponry alone, the Tang Dynasty's naval fleet was more than capable of overwhelming the Goguryeo navy.
In terms of total troop strength, the Tang Dynasty's naval fleet that set out to attack Goguryeo consisted of 108,000 officers and soldiers, while the Goguryeo navy had only 50,000 men.
Therefore, this naval battle between the Tang Dynasty's navy and the Goguryeo navy was a one-sided crushing battle in terms of both weaponry and manpower.
Let's get back to the main topic.
On the 21st day of the third month of the first year of the Zhaowu reign of the Tang Dynasty, the battle between the Tang navy and the Goguryeo navy officially began at 3:45 AM.
This naval battle between the Tang Dynasty and Goguryeo was one-sided from the very beginning.
It was less a battle and more a one-sided naval massacre.
Whoosh, whoosh whoosh, whoosh whoosh whoosh—
Boom, boom, boom!
On the sea outside Nampo Port, the sounds of cannonballs whistling through the air and exploding as they crashed into Goguryeo warships echoed one after another.
Some of the exploding shells failed to hit the Goguryeo naval warships but instead landed on the sea surface, creating pillars of water that shone brightly in the morning light.
Faced with the Tang Dynasty's naval fleet equipped with cannons, the Goguryeo naval officers and soldiers, who were only equipped with crossbows and ballistae, were forced to defend themselves and had no power to fight back.
The few arrows and stone cannons fired at the Tang Dynasty's naval fleet were unlikely to inflict significant damage on the heavily armed Tang Dynasty soldiers.
On the deck of the Tang Dynasty's super warship "Destroy the Japanese Pirates", Prince Chen Longxiang, the third prince of Jin, wearing golden armor and carrying two golden hammers, coldly watched as Goguryeo warships were blasted to the bottom of the sea by the powerful firepower of the red cannons.
Immediately, he issued his first command as the vanguard commander of the Tang Dynasty's naval fleet: "Men, come here!"
"By order of the General, the warship 'Destroy the Japanese' shall advance at full speed, tear a breach in the enemy's naval fleet, and strike directly at the Goguryeo naval camp at Nampo Port;"
"Use flag signals to command all warships in the vanguard to follow the route opened up by the 'Destroy the Japanese' ship and prepare for an amphibious landing. There must be no mistakes!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
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