1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:03,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class from how 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:13,840 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,960 --> 00:00:16,560 Speaker 1: I'm Sarah Dowdy and I'm Debline A Chuck reporting. And 4 00:00:17,040 --> 00:00:19,560 Speaker 1: if you remember, we talked about shipwrecks a little bit 5 00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:22,040 Speaker 1: at the beginning of the summer, and after we covered them, 6 00:00:22,079 --> 00:00:26,520 Speaker 1: including the ironclad Civil War era Monitor, we started to 7 00:00:26,560 --> 00:00:30,480 Speaker 1: get some suggestions that really surprised me. They were suggestions 8 00:00:30,520 --> 00:00:35,120 Speaker 1: for sixteenth century Korean history. So I've got to ask 9 00:00:35,280 --> 00:00:38,840 Speaker 1: why would a civil warship have called to mind sixteenth 10 00:00:38,840 --> 00:00:42,760 Speaker 1: century Korea? And that's because Korea is famous for its 11 00:00:42,800 --> 00:00:46,080 Speaker 1: turtle ships, which are considered by some to be the 12 00:00:46,120 --> 00:00:50,520 Speaker 1: first ironclads. And the turtle ships were used long long 13 00:00:50,560 --> 00:00:54,000 Speaker 1: before the Monitor Mary Mack showed down about two fifty 14 00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:57,320 Speaker 1: years before, and they were used to great effect to 15 00:00:57,560 --> 00:01:02,000 Speaker 1: defensively against Japan, makeing them quite famous in Korea but 16 00:01:02,120 --> 00:01:05,280 Speaker 1: maybe not so well known outside of that country. Yeah, 17 00:01:05,319 --> 00:01:07,800 Speaker 1: but since it's usually more interesting when a military story 18 00:01:07,880 --> 00:01:10,880 Speaker 1: is attached to an individual, we were especially one over 19 00:01:10,920 --> 00:01:14,319 Speaker 1: when listeners like Suwan and Will told us about the 20 00:01:14,319 --> 00:01:18,319 Speaker 1: famous commander of these fire breathing turtle ships, Admiral Ye 21 00:01:18,400 --> 00:01:23,000 Speaker 1: Sun Sin and national hero, sometimes called Korea's Admiral Lord Nelson, 22 00:01:23,400 --> 00:01:26,760 Speaker 1: although like the Turtleships, Ye came along before Nelson did. Yeah, 23 00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:30,040 Speaker 1: this kind of reminds me of the Joan of Art 24 00:01:30,120 --> 00:01:32,960 Speaker 1: comparisons and and things like that, when people are are 25 00:01:33,040 --> 00:01:36,119 Speaker 1: compared to a Western figure who lived long after. Yeah, 26 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:37,800 Speaker 1: that's a great point. But still if it if it 27 00:01:37,840 --> 00:01:41,320 Speaker 1: helps anybody sort of give a comparison for what this 28 00:01:41,360 --> 00:01:43,840 Speaker 1: guy was like, then I'm all for it. Yes, But 29 00:01:43,920 --> 00:01:46,480 Speaker 1: before we talk about Admiral Yee, we have to discuss 30 00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:50,880 Speaker 1: his opponent, the daimyo warrior who unified Japan and then 31 00:01:50,960 --> 00:01:54,360 Speaker 1: went looking for a little bit more. Yeah, So backtracking 32 00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:57,920 Speaker 1: a little bit here, Japan in the sixteenth century was 33 00:01:58,120 --> 00:02:02,440 Speaker 1: just a mess of civil wars between these powerful daimio factions, 34 00:02:02,480 --> 00:02:06,640 Speaker 1: so local warlords who had their own armies and like 35 00:02:06,800 --> 00:02:09,320 Speaker 1: to fight a lot. So born a peasant. This guy 36 00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:13,680 Speaker 1: named Toya told me, Hideyoshi got involved in these wars 37 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:18,120 Speaker 1: and pretty quickly rose to the position of henchman for 38 00:02:18,400 --> 00:02:23,760 Speaker 1: Oda Nobunaga, who was a general who eventually deposed the Showgun. 39 00:02:24,160 --> 00:02:28,320 Speaker 1: And when Nobunaga died, Hideyoshi succeeded him. Even though he 40 00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:31,639 Speaker 1: couldn't claim the title of shogun for himself because of 41 00:02:31,720 --> 00:02:36,760 Speaker 1: his low birth status. Nevertheless, he was ostensibly ruling to 42 00:02:36,840 --> 00:02:40,240 Speaker 1: Pan or at least controlling the military aspects of the country, 43 00:02:40,280 --> 00:02:43,800 Speaker 1: and he went about unifying it too, getting all of 44 00:02:43,800 --> 00:02:47,160 Speaker 1: those daimio warlords to fall in line. It was just 45 00:02:47,240 --> 00:02:53,600 Speaker 1: this huge meteoric rise for this kind of obscure warrior. Initially, Yeah, 46 00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:57,440 Speaker 1: so once you've unified your country, what's one great way 47 00:02:57,480 --> 00:03:00,400 Speaker 1: to keep it together? In this case, it was fighting 48 00:03:00,440 --> 00:03:03,320 Speaker 1: someone else Hedeo. She believed that he was destined to 49 00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:06,959 Speaker 1: rule an enormous empire, starting by conquering China, of course, 50 00:03:07,320 --> 00:03:12,160 Speaker 1: and eventually extending into the Philippines. Unfortunately for Korea it 51 00:03:12,280 --> 00:03:13,480 Speaker 1: was in the way of all this. It was in 52 00:03:13,520 --> 00:03:16,200 Speaker 1: the way of his plan. Japan's invasion didn't start right 53 00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:18,840 Speaker 1: away though at first Hedo she sent on voice to 54 00:03:18,880 --> 00:03:22,520 Speaker 1: suggest renewed relations between Japan and Korea. Things between the 55 00:03:22,560 --> 00:03:25,120 Speaker 1: two countries had been pretty strained in the past century 56 00:03:25,200 --> 00:03:29,160 Speaker 1: due to ceaseless Japanese pirate attacks against Korean port cities. 57 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:32,040 Speaker 1: So they chose Sun dynasty, and Korea was really interested 58 00:03:32,040 --> 00:03:33,880 Speaker 1: in these opening talks. They were like, okay, if you 59 00:03:33,880 --> 00:03:35,520 Speaker 1: guys want to work it out, well, we'll hear what 60 00:03:35,560 --> 00:03:38,920 Speaker 1: you have to say. But the request for relations came 61 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:41,640 Speaker 1: with a condition, and that condition was that the Koreans 62 00:03:42,040 --> 00:03:44,920 Speaker 1: should let the Japanese army pass through on their way 63 00:03:44,920 --> 00:03:48,320 Speaker 1: to China. But since Korea was a Chinese client state, 64 00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:51,360 Speaker 1: this was obviously an unacceptable arrangement. Yeah, they weren't going 65 00:03:51,440 --> 00:03:55,320 Speaker 1: to go lose their ally China, so no dice with 66 00:03:55,400 --> 00:03:59,080 Speaker 1: this Japanese plan. Still, though, Korea's king was a little 67 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:01,920 Speaker 1: bit worried that there might be some kind of deception 68 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:05,640 Speaker 1: going on, that Korea might be in danger itself, and 69 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:08,280 Speaker 1: so he sent his own envoice to Japan to try 70 00:04:08,320 --> 00:04:11,080 Speaker 1: to figure out what Hideyoshi was really up to. And 71 00:04:11,120 --> 00:04:15,520 Speaker 1: those envoys came back with conflicting reports something nothing's going on, 72 00:04:15,680 --> 00:04:18,800 Speaker 1: others saying yeah, he's going to attack. But ultimately the 73 00:04:18,920 --> 00:04:24,279 Speaker 1: king decided to make no military preparations for a Japanese invasion. 74 00:04:24,680 --> 00:04:27,720 Speaker 1: That turned out to be a really bad move because 75 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:35,240 Speaker 1: Hideyoshi was getting ready and on March Japanese troops made landfall, 76 00:04:35,360 --> 00:04:38,920 Speaker 1: which started the Engine War eventually known as the Seven 77 00:04:39,040 --> 00:04:42,440 Speaker 1: Year War, and the capital city, which is now of 78 00:04:42,480 --> 00:04:46,479 Speaker 1: course known to US as Soul fell only twenty days later. 79 00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:51,719 Speaker 1: So just a remarkably fast victory, it seemed for Japan. 80 00:04:51,920 --> 00:04:55,760 Speaker 1: And it wasn't just that the Korean troops were unprepared, though, 81 00:04:55,800 --> 00:04:59,040 Speaker 1: that they hadn't expected this Japanese attack, and that they 82 00:04:59,040 --> 00:05:03,760 Speaker 1: were outnumbered. The Japanese army's skill and firepower really better too, 83 00:05:04,200 --> 00:05:07,640 Speaker 1: That's true. The Japanese had well trained soldiers. Again, remember 84 00:05:07,640 --> 00:05:09,760 Speaker 1: all these civil wars that they had that we told 85 00:05:09,760 --> 00:05:13,240 Speaker 1: you about earlier, and they were led by experienced daimyos. 86 00:05:13,680 --> 00:05:16,000 Speaker 1: They had state of the art weapons too. They had 87 00:05:16,080 --> 00:05:19,400 Speaker 1: match luck firearms, while the Koreans had mostly bows and 88 00:05:19,600 --> 00:05:23,160 Speaker 1: arrows plus some cannons. But as quickly as the Korean 89 00:05:23,200 --> 00:05:26,159 Speaker 1: interior fell, the Japanese were in for a bit of 90 00:05:26,200 --> 00:05:29,080 Speaker 1: a surprise when it came to the navy. So enter 91 00:05:29,200 --> 00:05:33,359 Speaker 1: Admiral Yee, who had been born in against the wishes 92 00:05:33,400 --> 00:05:36,760 Speaker 1: of his illustrious but impoverished family, he had decided to 93 00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:40,560 Speaker 1: pursue a military career rather than a literary one. I've 94 00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:44,000 Speaker 1: never heard of a family encouraging someone to take an 95 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:48,080 Speaker 1: English major, Young Ye exactly, So just a note here. 96 00:05:48,200 --> 00:05:51,520 Speaker 1: This was kind of ironic since he's written accounts and 97 00:05:51,720 --> 00:05:55,279 Speaker 1: two thousand, five thirty nine diary entries are some of 98 00:05:55,320 --> 00:05:57,919 Speaker 1: the best sources historians have of this period. That we 99 00:05:57,960 --> 00:06:00,440 Speaker 1: did go on to become a literary figure year, but 100 00:06:00,480 --> 00:06:04,000 Speaker 1: he pursued the military career more adamantly, and at age 101 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:08,040 Speaker 1: twenty eight, he took the military service exam. This just 102 00:06:08,240 --> 00:06:11,479 Speaker 1: blows me away. He broke his leg during the test. 103 00:06:11,520 --> 00:06:14,920 Speaker 1: It had a horseback riding portion, and instead of calling 104 00:06:14,960 --> 00:06:18,279 Speaker 1: it quicks there, he amazed everyone by getting up on 105 00:06:18,320 --> 00:06:22,000 Speaker 1: the other leg and binding the break with a branch 106 00:06:22,200 --> 00:06:24,680 Speaker 1: and continuing the test. I guess he didn't pass, though, 107 00:06:24,720 --> 00:06:27,520 Speaker 1: because it wasn't until four years later that he passed 108 00:06:27,560 --> 00:06:31,720 Speaker 1: the service exam, And his career didn't exactly take off either. 109 00:06:31,760 --> 00:06:37,200 Speaker 1: He wasn't a brown noser, and he didn't exactly court favors, 110 00:06:37,240 --> 00:06:42,040 Speaker 1: and he was actually twice discharged because of false accusations 111 00:06:42,080 --> 00:06:46,280 Speaker 1: against him. Eventually, though, his hard work and his skill 112 00:06:46,800 --> 00:06:50,120 Speaker 1: got him a promotion and he was appointed the left 113 00:06:50,200 --> 00:06:55,000 Speaker 1: Navy Commander of the Chola Province in charge of protecting 114 00:06:55,200 --> 00:06:58,039 Speaker 1: Korea's southwest coast. And you'll see some variation in that. 115 00:06:58,200 --> 00:07:03,039 Speaker 1: Sometimes he's the Navy commander of the left Chola province. Um, 116 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:05,080 Speaker 1: I'm not sure about that one. It seems more likely 117 00:07:05,080 --> 00:07:07,920 Speaker 1: that you'd have a left navy commander than a left province. 118 00:07:08,200 --> 00:07:11,320 Speaker 1: It sounds strange to refer to the left side of something, 119 00:07:11,400 --> 00:07:13,000 Speaker 1: but he can let us know about that though, if 120 00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:16,120 Speaker 1: you want to. He really got the chance to shine 121 00:07:16,120 --> 00:07:18,960 Speaker 1: in this position. It was pirates central in this area, 122 00:07:19,080 --> 00:07:22,000 Speaker 1: so he started to build up his navy. He established 123 00:07:22,080 --> 00:07:26,880 Speaker 1: a new administrative system, better weapons, better discipline, and most famously, 124 00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:30,920 Speaker 1: better ships. Though he's often credited with their creation, Korea 125 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:34,480 Speaker 1: had turtle ships, those ships we mentioned earlier, or Kobukson 126 00:07:34,840 --> 00:07:38,360 Speaker 1: before Admiral Ye. It's hard to know exactly what they 127 00:07:38,400 --> 00:07:41,720 Speaker 1: were like, though there are reconstructions based on best guesses. 128 00:07:42,040 --> 00:07:44,080 Speaker 1: We really just have Admiral Ye in one of his 129 00:07:44,120 --> 00:07:46,720 Speaker 1: nephew's descriptions of them, but basically this is what they 130 00:07:46,720 --> 00:07:49,800 Speaker 1: were like. They were multi decked vessels with two or 131 00:07:49,800 --> 00:07:52,880 Speaker 1: three floors covered by a wooden roof curved like a 132 00:07:52,960 --> 00:07:56,280 Speaker 1: turtle's back, so their flat bottoms meant that they could 133 00:07:56,320 --> 00:07:59,680 Speaker 1: turn on a dime, and the ships could switch between sales, 134 00:07:59,760 --> 00:08:04,040 Speaker 1: which were usually lower during battle or oarsmen. Oarsmen were 135 00:08:04,040 --> 00:08:06,760 Speaker 1: on the lower level and fighters would be above. Yeah, 136 00:08:06,840 --> 00:08:10,960 Speaker 1: and he worked to fortify the existing turtle design, so 137 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:14,360 Speaker 1: he armed them to the teeth with cannons and bombs 138 00:08:14,440 --> 00:08:17,840 Speaker 1: and portholes for flaming arrows to be shot out of. 139 00:08:18,160 --> 00:08:21,720 Speaker 1: He placed dragon heads on the prows of the ships, 140 00:08:21,760 --> 00:08:24,560 Speaker 1: and this is just awesome. A cannon ball could be 141 00:08:24,720 --> 00:08:29,400 Speaker 1: fired through the dragon's mouth or sulfur smoke to sort 142 00:08:29,440 --> 00:08:32,920 Speaker 1: of obscure the movements and just to look really scary. 143 00:08:32,920 --> 00:08:35,439 Speaker 1: A lot of this was kind of an intimidation game. 144 00:08:35,920 --> 00:08:39,439 Speaker 1: He reduced the number of oarsmen from twenty to sixteen, 145 00:08:39,600 --> 00:08:43,080 Speaker 1: and he also lined the wooden roof with iron spikes 146 00:08:43,160 --> 00:08:47,120 Speaker 1: so that when enemy soldiers tried to board the ship 147 00:08:47,200 --> 00:08:49,679 Speaker 1: they would get a spike through the foot. Because they'd 148 00:08:49,679 --> 00:08:52,480 Speaker 1: be covered during battle with with matts, you wouldn't know 149 00:08:52,520 --> 00:08:55,200 Speaker 1: that they were going to be all those spikes on board. Um, 150 00:08:55,240 --> 00:08:58,600 Speaker 1: no hot bombs onto the Turtle ships. And some also 151 00:08:58,679 --> 00:09:01,640 Speaker 1: suggest that he arm heard the ships with iron plates, 152 00:09:01,640 --> 00:09:04,320 Speaker 1: the iron plates on the side on the turtle shell, 153 00:09:04,880 --> 00:09:08,000 Speaker 1: and that would of course make them the first iron clouds. 154 00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:11,400 Speaker 1: But Hidie Holts, in an article for Naval History Rights, 155 00:09:11,440 --> 00:09:15,080 Speaker 1: that the contemporary evidence for this is pretty slim. Definitely 156 00:09:15,080 --> 00:09:17,559 Speaker 1: have the spikes, maybe not so much the iron plates. 157 00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:21,840 Speaker 1: Here's a description of this from Ye's own diary. He says, 158 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:24,720 Speaker 1: I had a turtleship specially built with a dragon's head, 159 00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:27,800 Speaker 1: from whose mouth we could fire our cannons, and with 160 00:09:27,880 --> 00:09:30,720 Speaker 1: iron spikes on its back to pierce the enemy's feet 161 00:09:30,760 --> 00:09:33,079 Speaker 1: when they tried to board. Because it is in the 162 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:35,760 Speaker 1: shape of a turtle, our men can look from inside, 163 00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:38,760 Speaker 1: but the enemy cannot look in from the outside. It 164 00:09:38,840 --> 00:09:41,360 Speaker 1: moves so swiftly that it can plunge into the midst 165 00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:44,439 Speaker 1: of even many hundreds of enemy vessels in any weather, 166 00:09:44,600 --> 00:09:48,160 Speaker 1: to attack them with cannonballs and flamethrowers. And that was 167 00:09:48,200 --> 00:09:50,640 Speaker 1: the truth. He really could just kind of sneak in 168 00:09:50,679 --> 00:09:54,959 Speaker 1: there with these ships. But the turtle ships, despite being powerful, 169 00:09:55,120 --> 00:09:58,320 Speaker 1: were especially effective in the hands of Ea. He knew 170 00:09:58,320 --> 00:10:01,679 Speaker 1: how to use them. And the first major naval engagement 171 00:10:02,040 --> 00:10:06,480 Speaker 1: took place May seventh through eight at oak Po, and 172 00:10:06,800 --> 00:10:10,480 Speaker 1: Admiral Ye used this technique where he sort of enveloped 173 00:10:10,559 --> 00:10:13,600 Speaker 1: the Japanese who were busy raiding the town and we're 174 00:10:13,640 --> 00:10:16,240 Speaker 1: a little late coming back to their boats. And that 175 00:10:16,320 --> 00:10:19,840 Speaker 1: technique he eventually developed into something called the stork swing 176 00:10:19,920 --> 00:10:22,560 Speaker 1: or crane formation, just kind of coming around like a 177 00:10:22,640 --> 00:10:26,520 Speaker 1: v to to get the enemy from both sides, and 178 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:30,679 Speaker 1: he ended up destroying twenty six out of fifty Japanese 179 00:10:30,720 --> 00:10:34,160 Speaker 1: ships on the first day alone of fighting there. To 180 00:10:34,559 --> 00:10:38,880 Speaker 1: contrast with that, only one Korean sailor was wounded, supposedly 181 00:10:38,920 --> 00:10:43,520 Speaker 1: minorly wounded, so a huge success for the first naval engagement, 182 00:10:43,840 --> 00:10:46,560 Speaker 1: and those successes just continued. It was the first of 183 00:10:46,720 --> 00:10:50,920 Speaker 1: ten major naval victories that year. In the next five battles, 184 00:10:50,960 --> 00:10:54,480 Speaker 1: for example, the Japanese lost eighty three ships to Korea's 185 00:10:54,520 --> 00:10:57,880 Speaker 1: eleven sailors. The two battles after that, which took place 186 00:10:57,920 --> 00:11:00,920 Speaker 1: at hunts On Island, resulted in a Japanese loss of 187 00:11:00,960 --> 00:11:04,360 Speaker 1: one hundred and one ships to Korea's nineteen men. Then 188 00:11:04,480 --> 00:11:07,800 Speaker 1: next came the Battle of pussin Po, where Admiral Ye 189 00:11:07,800 --> 00:11:11,439 Speaker 1: and his fleet sank a hundred ships. So the tenth 190 00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:14,600 Speaker 1: victory earned him a promotion. Finally, after all of this, 191 00:11:15,160 --> 00:11:18,400 Speaker 1: he got promoted to Supreme Naval Commander of the three 192 00:11:18,400 --> 00:11:22,439 Speaker 1: Southern Provinces. So it's important here to understand something about 193 00:11:22,440 --> 00:11:25,840 Speaker 1: the Japanese navy, though it tells us why it fared 194 00:11:25,920 --> 00:11:29,400 Speaker 1: so poorly, but also about Admiral Ye's naval genius. We're 195 00:11:29,400 --> 00:11:33,240 Speaker 1: going to make some excuses here. Basically, the Japanese navy 196 00:11:33,559 --> 00:11:36,680 Speaker 1: was mustered on the command of the daimios, so they'd 197 00:11:36,679 --> 00:11:38,920 Speaker 1: get an order to raise a certain number of men 198 00:11:39,080 --> 00:11:41,760 Speaker 1: and provide a certain number of ships, and then carry 199 00:11:41,800 --> 00:11:44,920 Speaker 1: that order out, and you'd end up with a motley 200 00:11:45,040 --> 00:11:47,680 Speaker 1: crew of men and of ships, a bunch of different ships. 201 00:11:47,720 --> 00:11:50,320 Speaker 1: Not all of them would be war ready. For instance, 202 00:11:50,360 --> 00:11:53,560 Speaker 1: some of them were tiny and they had these little square, 203 00:11:53,960 --> 00:11:58,480 Speaker 1: hard to maneuver sales. Some required massive numbers of oarsmen, 204 00:11:58,600 --> 00:12:00,960 Speaker 1: so instead of having your guys fighting, you have all 205 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:04,920 Speaker 1: these dudes below deck rowing. And then some were large, 206 00:12:04,960 --> 00:12:07,520 Speaker 1: but they weren't very well armed because they were built 207 00:12:07,640 --> 00:12:11,000 Speaker 1: of lighter wood than the Koreans used. And then finally, 208 00:12:11,120 --> 00:12:14,280 Speaker 1: some would just corrode because they had iron fittings and 209 00:12:14,559 --> 00:12:19,559 Speaker 1: the Koreans used wooden nails instead, which supposedly would expand 210 00:12:19,920 --> 00:12:22,880 Speaker 1: in the water to make the ship even tighter and 211 00:12:22,960 --> 00:12:28,200 Speaker 1: stronger instead of corroding. So yeah, definitely a problem here 212 00:12:28,280 --> 00:12:31,400 Speaker 1: with the ships, but also a problem with the men, because, 213 00:12:31,760 --> 00:12:35,920 Speaker 1: as we keep mentioning all that Civil War land combat 214 00:12:36,080 --> 00:12:40,400 Speaker 1: made really strong land fighters out and to hand. The Japanese, yeah, 215 00:12:40,640 --> 00:12:44,040 Speaker 1: so they were really more experienced fighting in that style, 216 00:12:44,120 --> 00:12:48,199 Speaker 1: and their preferred technique for naval battles was to board 217 00:12:48,240 --> 00:12:51,760 Speaker 1: an enemy ship and just start fighting just like you 218 00:12:51,800 --> 00:12:55,120 Speaker 1: were on land. So it was a really important move 219 00:12:55,240 --> 00:12:59,720 Speaker 1: that Admiral Ye avoided this. He would keep the Japanese 220 00:12:59,760 --> 00:13:02,679 Speaker 1: off of his ships and keep his men away from 221 00:13:02,720 --> 00:13:05,720 Speaker 1: that deadly hand to hand combat both with the Spikes 222 00:13:05,720 --> 00:13:08,520 Speaker 1: and the Turtle ships, but also that great canon power 223 00:13:08,679 --> 00:13:11,679 Speaker 1: just being able to stay far enough away from the 224 00:13:11,760 --> 00:13:15,160 Speaker 1: Japanese ships that they couldn't board the Korean ones. To 225 00:13:15,200 --> 00:13:18,360 Speaker 1: add to matters, the Japanese navy was controlled by several 226 00:13:18,400 --> 00:13:23,120 Speaker 1: senior officers who instead of really working together, they really 227 00:13:23,360 --> 00:13:26,760 Speaker 1: all each individually wanted glory rather than cooperation. So there 228 00:13:26,760 --> 00:13:29,680 Speaker 1: wasn't one commander over them. It was all master plan. Yeah, 229 00:13:29,679 --> 00:13:32,280 Speaker 1: it was several commanders fighting to just sort of be 230 00:13:32,360 --> 00:13:36,120 Speaker 1: the best one. Too many equals. So unfortunately for the Japanese, though, 231 00:13:36,640 --> 00:13:40,280 Speaker 1: their invasion really did require a certain amount of naval 232 00:13:40,360 --> 00:13:44,360 Speaker 1: success because the troops who had so easily taken over 233 00:13:44,400 --> 00:13:49,240 Speaker 1: the countryside and Soul really needed supply and communication lines, 234 00:13:49,480 --> 00:13:52,920 Speaker 1: and they were hoping to get those via boat. So 235 00:13:53,040 --> 00:13:56,200 Speaker 1: Admiral He and his navy put an end to both 236 00:13:56,200 --> 00:13:58,560 Speaker 1: of those, and you end up with all these Japanese 237 00:13:58,600 --> 00:14:02,079 Speaker 1: troops who are ice added without their their lines. So, 238 00:14:02,120 --> 00:14:06,080 Speaker 1: with those poor supply lines, a growing Korean guerilla movement 239 00:14:06,080 --> 00:14:09,480 Speaker 1: in the countryside, and the eventual involvement of the Chinese 240 00:14:09,600 --> 00:14:13,080 Speaker 1: Ming Army as a Korean ally, the Japanese were eventually 241 00:14:13,080 --> 00:14:15,640 Speaker 1: forced to a stalemate and they had to withdraw from 242 00:14:15,720 --> 00:14:20,000 Speaker 1: most of Korea in fifteen. But when peace talks started 243 00:14:20,040 --> 00:14:24,600 Speaker 1: between Japan and China excluding Korea, now Hiteo she thought 244 00:14:24,720 --> 00:14:27,480 Speaker 1: he had won. For some reason, he made outrageous demands 245 00:14:27,480 --> 00:14:30,640 Speaker 1: of China, but somehow, maybe because of court intrigue. Maybe 246 00:14:30,640 --> 00:14:32,840 Speaker 1: you know more about that, Sarah. It's believed to have 247 00:14:32,920 --> 00:14:36,640 Speaker 1: been court intrigue that just sort of threw his demands 248 00:14:36,640 --> 00:14:39,920 Speaker 1: out the window. They never made it to the Ming Emperor, 249 00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:43,320 Speaker 1: and instead the emperor ended up with a very different 250 00:14:43,400 --> 00:14:47,600 Speaker 1: peace proposal, and after a few years of delay, Chinese 251 00:14:47,600 --> 00:14:51,400 Speaker 1: emissaries returned to Japan with the Ming Emperor's reply to 252 00:14:51,440 --> 00:14:57,000 Speaker 1: this falsified treaty, and his reply was that Japan would 253 00:14:57,000 --> 00:15:01,880 Speaker 1: be recognized as a tributary state of China. So major 254 00:15:01,960 --> 00:15:06,400 Speaker 1: miscommunications here. Each side clearly thought that they had won. 255 00:15:06,640 --> 00:15:11,920 Speaker 1: Hideyoshi is furious and immediately it is back to war again. 256 00:15:12,080 --> 00:15:16,480 Speaker 1: Japan is invading Korea. The second invasion of Korea started 257 00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:21,280 Speaker 1: August seven, but this time around, the Japanese knew that 258 00:15:21,320 --> 00:15:23,200 Speaker 1: it would be best to get Admiral Ye out of 259 00:15:23,200 --> 00:15:25,640 Speaker 1: the way. So they had learned something from their experience 260 00:15:25,680 --> 00:15:27,440 Speaker 1: before and they were going to do something about it. 261 00:15:27,880 --> 00:15:31,680 Speaker 1: So a Japanese double agent planted information in the Korean 262 00:15:31,760 --> 00:15:35,360 Speaker 1: court about a Japanese attack. Admiral Lee was ordered to 263 00:15:35,360 --> 00:15:38,400 Speaker 1: a specific attack location based on this information that he 264 00:15:38,480 --> 00:15:41,280 Speaker 1: refused to go. So why did he refuse to go? Well, 265 00:15:41,320 --> 00:15:43,920 Speaker 1: for one thing, he was suspicious of foul play, so 266 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:46,880 Speaker 1: he was pretty smart here, and he knew that the 267 00:15:46,920 --> 00:15:49,080 Speaker 1: area was filled with sunken rock, so he knew it 268 00:15:49,120 --> 00:15:52,640 Speaker 1: would be dangerous for his men. So King Sunjo wasn't 269 00:15:52,720 --> 00:15:55,640 Speaker 1: very happy about this, and he actually had Admiral Ye 270 00:15:55,840 --> 00:15:59,320 Speaker 1: tortured and then even ordered his execution as a trader 271 00:15:59,360 --> 00:16:02,200 Speaker 1: and a coward, only backing down at the suggestion of 272 00:16:02,280 --> 00:16:04,960 Speaker 1: his advisors. Pointed out that this man was a great 273 00:16:05,080 --> 00:16:08,840 Speaker 1: Korean hero and had helped them defeat or at least 274 00:16:08,880 --> 00:16:11,920 Speaker 1: get rid of the Japanese last around. So instead he 275 00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:14,200 Speaker 1: was still punished, but in a different way. He was 276 00:16:14,240 --> 00:16:17,440 Speaker 1: demoted to a common soldier and replaced by one Kion 277 00:16:17,880 --> 00:16:21,240 Speaker 1: who had a questionable naval record. So, sure enough, the 278 00:16:21,280 --> 00:16:24,080 Speaker 1: next Korean naval engagement was a total disaster. One Kon 279 00:16:24,200 --> 00:16:26,880 Speaker 1: took the entire Korean navy out to meet a Japanese 280 00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:30,080 Speaker 1: armada of five hundred to one thousand ships while a 281 00:16:30,160 --> 00:16:33,680 Speaker 1: storm was approaching and his's men were exhausted and tired too. 282 00:16:34,280 --> 00:16:36,680 Speaker 1: Twenty of their ships were sunk before the Koreans could 283 00:16:36,680 --> 00:16:40,600 Speaker 1: withdraw to a nearby island, which unfortunately was filled with 284 00:16:40,800 --> 00:16:45,440 Speaker 1: Japanese troops, so four hundred Koreans were killed. The Japanese 285 00:16:45,480 --> 00:16:49,040 Speaker 1: then attacked again and destroyed two hundred more ships, which 286 00:16:49,080 --> 00:16:51,440 Speaker 1: basically helped them secure lines in the southern part of 287 00:16:51,480 --> 00:16:55,000 Speaker 1: the country get those supply lines finally, So after this 288 00:16:55,240 --> 00:16:59,320 Speaker 1: total disaster, he got his old job back. It's lucky 289 00:16:59,560 --> 00:17:02,760 Speaker 1: for Korea that he was not actually executed. He was 290 00:17:02,840 --> 00:17:05,359 Speaker 1: able to come back to work and he started building 291 00:17:05,440 --> 00:17:09,480 Speaker 1: up the remaining battered ships, and after fighting off a 292 00:17:09,520 --> 00:17:11,919 Speaker 1: few attacks with this tiny fleet, he set up a 293 00:17:11,960 --> 00:17:15,560 Speaker 1: new home base on an island separated from the mainland 294 00:17:15,680 --> 00:17:20,160 Speaker 1: by the Raging Meong Nyong Strait, which is also known 295 00:17:20,280 --> 00:17:24,160 Speaker 1: as the Roaring Channel, and this was really the only 296 00:17:24,240 --> 00:17:27,120 Speaker 1: advantage he could rely on. He knew that this would 297 00:17:27,119 --> 00:17:31,399 Speaker 1: be an incredibly difficult channel or straight to cross, and 298 00:17:31,560 --> 00:17:34,119 Speaker 1: that he would have some defense there for his tiny, 299 00:17:34,160 --> 00:17:39,000 Speaker 1: tiny fleet that was left. So there in October, he 300 00:17:39,080 --> 00:17:42,679 Speaker 1: took on one hundred and thirty three Japanese ships with 301 00:17:42,880 --> 00:17:47,040 Speaker 1: his twelve remaining ships and lured them into that rapid 302 00:17:47,119 --> 00:17:49,879 Speaker 1: straight before attacking them with heavy cannon fire so the 303 00:17:49,960 --> 00:17:52,639 Speaker 1: Japanese couldn't retreat, they couldn't get out of the way, 304 00:17:52,680 --> 00:17:56,320 Speaker 1: and thirty one of their ships sank before the fleet 305 00:17:56,359 --> 00:18:00,320 Speaker 1: could finally escape from the straight retreat and it was 306 00:18:00,840 --> 00:18:05,400 Speaker 1: stunning victory for Admiral Yee and Korea, and it's considered 307 00:18:05,440 --> 00:18:09,000 Speaker 1: one of the most impressive naval victories ever, even though 308 00:18:09,280 --> 00:18:12,000 Speaker 1: once again it's probably not too well known outside of 309 00:18:12,080 --> 00:18:17,200 Speaker 1: Korea or outside of naval historian circles. So the defeat 310 00:18:17,480 --> 00:18:20,040 Speaker 1: was bad news for the Japanese too. It meant that 311 00:18:20,080 --> 00:18:23,440 Speaker 1: they couldn't resupply their army that was headed towards Seoul. 312 00:18:23,760 --> 00:18:26,480 Speaker 1: And it was also demoralizing. I mean, how embarrassed to 313 00:18:26,560 --> 00:18:31,560 Speaker 1: be beaten by this fleet of twelve ships um so devastatingly. 314 00:18:32,560 --> 00:18:36,199 Speaker 1: So by early FI reinforcements from Ming, China helped restore 315 00:18:36,240 --> 00:18:39,159 Speaker 1: the Korean Navy, and this was another point in Admiral 316 00:18:39,280 --> 00:18:42,159 Speaker 1: yeast favor. He worked really well with his main counterpart. 317 00:18:42,640 --> 00:18:46,040 Speaker 1: The Japanese land forces couldn't survive without their supply lines, 318 00:18:46,280 --> 00:18:49,159 Speaker 1: partly because they had wrecked the countryside so badly the 319 00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:52,200 Speaker 1: first go round, So they began a slow retreat, hoping 320 00:18:52,200 --> 00:18:54,439 Speaker 1: to hold onto at least some of their gains. But 321 00:18:54,520 --> 00:18:58,240 Speaker 1: when Hideo She died in September fIF and the Japanese 322 00:18:58,240 --> 00:19:02,160 Speaker 1: infighting began again, the withdrawal was sped up. So during 323 00:19:02,160 --> 00:19:06,000 Speaker 1: the Nord Young Sea Battle in December, which was the 324 00:19:06,080 --> 00:19:09,879 Speaker 1: last naval battle to evacuate Japanese troops, Admiral Lye was 325 00:19:10,080 --> 00:19:14,240 Speaker 1: killed by stray bullet, which I just think is so yeah, sad, 326 00:19:14,400 --> 00:19:19,040 Speaker 1: after he survived all those battles and almost secured the 327 00:19:19,080 --> 00:19:22,640 Speaker 1: war is over, and then he's killed. You know, he'd 328 00:19:22,640 --> 00:19:25,479 Speaker 1: probably get like a nice house or something for his trouble. 329 00:19:25,800 --> 00:19:27,920 Speaker 1: I don't know, some kind of a war, I hope, 330 00:19:27,920 --> 00:19:31,520 Speaker 1: so at least a break a vacation. So yeah, that's 331 00:19:31,560 --> 00:19:34,439 Speaker 1: that's too bad. But we have one more sort of 332 00:19:34,520 --> 00:19:37,719 Speaker 1: theoretical thing to discuss a little bit. We mentioned how 333 00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:41,320 Speaker 1: he holds this article for naval history earlier on, and 334 00:19:41,520 --> 00:19:45,080 Speaker 1: there's one more interesting point to race. She writes that 335 00:19:45,560 --> 00:19:49,040 Speaker 1: military historians like to debate which is more important in 336 00:19:49,119 --> 00:19:53,639 Speaker 1: determining the outcome of an armed conflict, technology or genius, 337 00:19:53,800 --> 00:19:56,639 Speaker 1: and the story of Admiral Ye really makes the case 338 00:19:56,680 --> 00:20:00,159 Speaker 1: for both, because there is technology the turtle ships, and 339 00:20:00,200 --> 00:20:03,639 Speaker 1: there's genius Admiral Ye, of course, but this case is 340 00:20:03,760 --> 00:20:08,080 Speaker 1: especially interesting because we have that failed one Keion interlude 341 00:20:08,200 --> 00:20:11,920 Speaker 1: where the replacement admiral has the same ships, he has 342 00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:14,960 Speaker 1: the same canons, he has the same men, but he 343 00:20:15,400 --> 00:20:18,840 Speaker 1: makes poor decisions and allowed the Japanese within range so 344 00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:21,280 Speaker 1: they could board and fight man to man like they 345 00:20:21,320 --> 00:20:25,320 Speaker 1: like to. He attacked in unfavorable conditions, whereas Ye, on 346 00:20:25,359 --> 00:20:29,399 Speaker 1: the other hand, won every single one of his naval battles, 347 00:20:29,440 --> 00:20:31,800 Speaker 1: even when he had a fleet of twelve ships and 348 00:20:31,840 --> 00:20:35,479 Speaker 1: there were no turtle ships included. So I kind of 349 00:20:35,520 --> 00:20:39,159 Speaker 1: like this speculation, and I guess that's what military historians 350 00:20:39,200 --> 00:20:42,200 Speaker 1: really like to do, to look for these case studies 351 00:20:42,240 --> 00:20:45,280 Speaker 1: to illustrate their arguments. But I mean, I think it 352 00:20:45,320 --> 00:20:48,280 Speaker 1: does make a good case for for both, but maybe 353 00:20:48,400 --> 00:20:51,880 Speaker 1: suggest that in in this case, at least you can 354 00:20:51,920 --> 00:20:54,560 Speaker 1: have technology, but unless you have genius too, it's not 355 00:20:54,600 --> 00:20:57,320 Speaker 1: going to do you much good. Yeah, Japan would have 356 00:20:57,359 --> 00:21:00,399 Speaker 1: conquered Korean possibly gone on from there to Nina and 357 00:21:00,440 --> 00:21:04,160 Speaker 1: the Philippines, where they would have been up against none 358 00:21:04,160 --> 00:21:06,760 Speaker 1: other than the naval power of Spain fresh off its 359 00:21:06,880 --> 00:21:09,720 Speaker 1: Armada defeat if it hadn't been for Ye. Well, and 360 00:21:09,760 --> 00:21:13,679 Speaker 1: that's kind of a that's kind of a history path 361 00:21:13,840 --> 00:21:20,640 Speaker 1: less traveled, I guess speculation, Yes, speculative disclaimer here exactly. So, um, 362 00:21:20,680 --> 00:21:23,080 Speaker 1: you know, let us know if if you have any 363 00:21:23,119 --> 00:21:27,040 Speaker 1: thoughts on that, what what that alternate history might have 364 00:21:27,119 --> 00:21:29,480 Speaker 1: been like. And I guess that's probably a good time 365 00:21:29,520 --> 00:21:36,040 Speaker 1: to go ahead and transition to listener mail. So our 366 00:21:36,080 --> 00:21:40,400 Speaker 1: first item for discussion is actually a listener mill present. 367 00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:44,960 Speaker 1: And I was amazed when I opened a box to 368 00:21:45,160 --> 00:21:50,320 Speaker 1: find a real beaver king inside. I mean, how how 369 00:21:50,359 --> 00:21:55,000 Speaker 1: can we describe them to Bluina. He is fuzzy and adorable. 370 00:21:55,520 --> 00:21:58,359 Speaker 1: He wears a cloak, like a plaid cloak like the crown. 371 00:21:58,440 --> 00:22:01,119 Speaker 1: Names Strang version of the Beaver King has a crown, 372 00:22:01,200 --> 00:22:04,000 Speaker 1: oh in. My favorite part is that he has a 373 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:07,760 Speaker 1: acorn topped scepter, like a real acorn on top, and 374 00:22:07,800 --> 00:22:10,399 Speaker 1: he has a beaver teeth. He's really cute. So we 375 00:22:10,520 --> 00:22:14,080 Speaker 1: got that from Colleen and she wrote a little note 376 00:22:14,119 --> 00:22:17,359 Speaker 1: to include with his majesty. She said, this thank you 377 00:22:17,400 --> 00:22:20,200 Speaker 1: note is long overdo. However, it took quite some time 378 00:22:20,200 --> 00:22:24,280 Speaker 1: to wrangle the real King of Beaver Island and get 379 00:22:24,359 --> 00:22:27,440 Speaker 1: him into the box. Although my mom and I thoroughly 380 00:22:27,600 --> 00:22:31,240 Speaker 1: enjoyed your podcast and learning more about my grandfather's boyhood home, 381 00:22:31,920 --> 00:22:34,480 Speaker 1: the little guy in close with a bit miffed that 382 00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:37,720 Speaker 1: James Strang's claim to his throne was brought up again. 383 00:22:39,080 --> 00:22:42,159 Speaker 1: So I like that, and we'll try to not mention 384 00:22:42,320 --> 00:22:46,600 Speaker 1: James Strang around this new beat. And I'm just so glad. 385 00:22:46,640 --> 00:22:49,359 Speaker 1: That's what it was. When Sarah texted me because I 386 00:22:49,400 --> 00:22:51,320 Speaker 1: was out of the office and said we got a 387 00:22:51,359 --> 00:22:54,280 Speaker 1: real King of Beaver Island, and I was like, what 388 00:22:54,400 --> 00:22:57,800 Speaker 1: could she be talking about? So it's a delightful surprise 389 00:22:57,880 --> 00:23:00,720 Speaker 1: to come back too. I was here and on a 390 00:23:00,760 --> 00:23:03,359 Speaker 1: Friday afternoon, and not too many people were around, and 391 00:23:03,400 --> 00:23:05,400 Speaker 1: I just wanted to show it to somebody. I went 392 00:23:05,440 --> 00:23:09,000 Speaker 1: around like looking for for anyone who could appreciate it, 393 00:23:09,040 --> 00:23:12,600 Speaker 1: who could appreciate the real King of Beaver Island. So 394 00:23:12,760 --> 00:23:15,240 Speaker 1: thank you very much to Colleen and to your mother. 395 00:23:15,800 --> 00:23:18,440 Speaker 1: We will take good care of him, and we'll we'll 396 00:23:18,760 --> 00:23:22,639 Speaker 1: keep mentions of James Strang to a minimum. Our next 397 00:23:22,720 --> 00:23:26,720 Speaker 1: email comes from Jennifer and she wrote, I've been hooked 398 00:23:26,720 --> 00:23:29,080 Speaker 1: on your podcast for a few months now and listen 399 00:23:29,160 --> 00:23:33,280 Speaker 1: for hours on end while shooting in archaeological shovel test. 400 00:23:33,359 --> 00:23:36,960 Speaker 1: She also describes that as GPS thing quote, if that's 401 00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:39,960 Speaker 1: even a word. She goes on to say, my coworkers 402 00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:43,119 Speaker 1: always know where I am by keeping an ear open 403 00:23:43,160 --> 00:23:46,800 Speaker 1: for your podcast. I have my iPod on speaker to 404 00:23:47,040 --> 00:23:52,199 Speaker 1: alert bears to my presence. We have to address that 405 00:23:52,280 --> 00:23:54,840 Speaker 1: really quick. I'm kind of amazed that we are like 406 00:23:54,960 --> 00:23:59,640 Speaker 1: audio bear spray. Yeah, I mean, I'm I'm glad. I'm 407 00:23:59,680 --> 00:24:03,360 Speaker 1: glad that our voices are so loud and startling us 408 00:24:03,400 --> 00:24:06,560 Speaker 1: to keep the bears away. I think if we ever go, 409 00:24:07,040 --> 00:24:09,320 Speaker 1: I don't know, hiking in this area or something. The 410 00:24:09,359 --> 00:24:12,000 Speaker 1: bears will hear us. That would be like, oh my god, 411 00:24:12,080 --> 00:24:15,160 Speaker 1: it's one of them again. You know, they never stopped 412 00:24:15,160 --> 00:24:18,600 Speaker 1: talking um and then we get eaten, you know, like 413 00:24:18,640 --> 00:24:21,400 Speaker 1: they would take revenge on us or something. Well, hopefully 414 00:24:21,560 --> 00:24:24,879 Speaker 1: it's just to alert bears to to her presence and 415 00:24:24,960 --> 00:24:27,600 Speaker 1: they don't dislike us. The bears don't dislike us. But 416 00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:31,879 Speaker 1: Jennifer goes on to write on a controversial archaeological theme, 417 00:24:31,960 --> 00:24:36,719 Speaker 1: have you considered researching that Kensington runestone? It engenders endless 418 00:24:36,760 --> 00:24:41,480 Speaker 1: conversations and stories and potential bouts of fisticuffs and archaeological 419 00:24:41,800 --> 00:24:47,200 Speaker 1: and geological community. So thank you Jennifer for your archaeological 420 00:24:47,400 --> 00:24:52,639 Speaker 1: controversy suggestion, and um be aware of the bears. So 421 00:24:52,720 --> 00:24:56,400 Speaker 1: if you have any more fisticuffs inducing ideas for us, 422 00:24:56,480 --> 00:24:59,840 Speaker 1: please email us our Addresses History podcast at how stuff 423 00:24:59,880 --> 00:25:02,200 Speaker 1: we dot com or you can look us up on 424 00:25:02,240 --> 00:25:05,399 Speaker 1: Facebook or on Twitter at Myston History. And if you 425 00:25:05,400 --> 00:25:07,520 Speaker 1: want to learn a little bit more about chip wrecks, 426 00:25:07,640 --> 00:25:10,200 Speaker 1: which is loosely related to what we talked about today, 427 00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:13,480 Speaker 1: you can look up an article called how to Survive 428 00:25:13,480 --> 00:25:17,520 Speaker 1: a shipwreck on our homepage by visiting www dock how 429 00:25:17,560 --> 00:25:23,399 Speaker 1: stuff works dot com. Be sure to check out our 430 00:25:23,400 --> 00:25:26,800 Speaker 1: new video podcast, Stuff from the Future. Join how Stuff 431 00:25:26,800 --> 00:25:29,719 Speaker 1: Work staff as we explore the most promising and perplexing 432 00:25:29,800 --> 00:25:33,720 Speaker 1: possibilities of tomorrow. The How Stuff Works iPhone app has 433 00:25:33,720 --> 00:25:36,200 Speaker 1: a rise. Download it today on iTunes