Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 30

Extracurricular 30. 1592 Southern Sea Battle. (30)

Urgent reports that the Imperial Army had landed north of Shimonoseki—present-day Ayaragi in the 21st century—and northwest of Kitakyushu—present-day Ashiyamachi—were immediately relayed to Yamaguchi.

“They’ve started landing? Or have they already landed?”

Toyotomi, who had rushed to headquarters upon receiving the urgent report, questioned the Minister of the Army cautiously.

“Accurate information hasn’t come in yet… but it seems we should consider it to be in progress.”

“Is that your answer?!”

Toyotomi continued to shout at the top of his lungs.

“To get to Yamaguchi, the Empire must pass through the Kanmon Straits! That’s why we need to fortify Shimonoseki and Kitakyushu! Isn’t that what you’ve all been repeating like parrots?! And now you’re saying the landing is in progress! Is that your answer?! You should have stopped them before they landed!”

At Toyotomi’s rebuke, everyone in the headquarters conference room, starting with the Minister of the Army and the Minister of the Navy, bowed their heads.

“W-we are deeply sorry!”

“No matter what, push the Imperial Army back into the sea!”

“We will do so without fail!”

In response to the Minister of the Army’s reply, Toyotomi added with a murderous voice.

“You had better do so.”

“Y-yes!”

* * *

The headquarters did its best to prevent the Imperial Army from landing, but the situation was not favorable.

There were several reasons for this, but overall, it came down to Japan’s ‘shoddiness’ and ‘complacency.’

-After the Ouchi clan became the rulers of Japan, there was no reason for them to have a bad relationship with the Empire.

-Therefore, there was no reason to build defensive facilities in areas facing the Empire.

-Constructing proper defensive facilities required enormous funds and time.

However, neither Toyotomi nor Oda Nobunaga had any plans to build defensive facilities in the area.

-The only thing they did was build coastal batteries on both sides of the Kanmon Straits due to its strategic value.

Even that was completed before Oda Nobunaga seized power.

-Also, the Empire preferred to force their way through based on their overwhelmingly powerful military strength.

Given this, if they were to strike Japan, they would try to pass through the Kanmon Straits without question.

-Therefore, all they needed to do was build strong fortresses on either side of the straits.

This was the judgment of the Japanese military.

And this was Japan’s ‘complacency.’

Japan’s ‘shoddiness’ was its poor maintenance capabilities in the rear support system.

The Imperial Army’s air force bombings cut off major railway and road networks, halting logistics.

Naturally, the damaged transportation networks had to be restored, but the problem was that the Japanese government’s repair capabilities could not keep up.

No, to be more precise, they couldn’t overcome the situation where three places were bombed for every two places they repaired.

As a result, they were hampered in the process of sending troops to drive out the Imperial Army that had landed in Ashiyamachi and Ayaragi.

The collapse of railways and road networks made it difficult to move heavy equipment such as tanks and cannons.

“Send at least the Ashigaru (足軽, lightly armed foot soldiers) as a temporary measure!”

“Understood. I will issue the order.”

At the desperate order from the Minister of the Army, the Chief of the Army General Staff relayed the order to his deputy.

The deputy, upon receiving the order, looked at the Chief of Staff with a dumbfounded expression.

The Chief of Staff, accepting the silent protest, wore an apologetic expression.

“We have no choice but to do this.”

“…Understood.”

At the Chief of Staff’s words, the deputy bit his lip and replied.

The deputy, the Chief of Staff, and even the Minister of the Army who issued the order knew very well how absurd this order was.

-Where there are no cannons, there are no Imperial troops.

This was a common saying, as cannons were central to the Imperial Army.

It was certain that the landing sites would be swarming with the Imperial Army’s cannons and various heavy weapons, and behind them, the Imperial Navy’s battleships armed with large cannons would be waiting.

Sending only Ashigaru, whose main weapons were rifles and Hwachas [Korean rocket artillery], to such places would only increase the number of casualties.

However, there was no other alternative.

-The air force around the Imperial landing points was annihilated.

-The Navy only had enough strength to defend Yamaguchi. This was also the best they could do.

-The road and rail networks to transport heavy equipment were destroyed.

The last problem was particularly critical.

The Empire’s bombing not only blocked entry into Shimonoseki and Kitakyushu but also blocked exits.

In the end, the only ones who could move in this situation were the Ashigaru.

They knew what the Ashigaru would experience without even seeing it.

However, if they could tie down the Imperial Army’s feet even a little through that war of attrition, it would be a worthwhile endeavor.

Also, it was something they could use as an excuse to Toyotomi, so they followed the order without saying anything.

* * *

The headquarters, having delivered the emergency measures, quickly moved on to the next issue.

“We will try our best to stop them, but we should assume that the Empire has succeeded in landing, right?”

At the Minister of the Army’s question, the Chief of Staff and his deputy nodded silently.

“Then what will be the Empire’s next move?”

The Minister of the Army, who had posed the question, looked at the Minister of the Navy sitting across from him. The Minister of the Navy, who had been silent until now, opened his mouth with difficulty.

“They will pass through the Kanmon Straits and come to Yamaguchi.”

“Do we have the strength to defend it?”

“The remaining fleet’s suicidal defense can hold Yamaguchi port for a day or two, and the coastal batteries for two or three days.”

“So, holding out for three to five days is the best we can do?”

At the Minister of the Army’s question, the Minister of the Navy nodded silently, and the Chief and Deputy Chief of the Naval General Staff sitting next to him remained silent with grim faces.

After the Battle of Boryeong, the Japanese Navy’s naval power was virtually annihilated.

The situation with the submarine force was similar.

While the Imperial Navy’s submarines were paralyzing Japan’s trade routes, the Imperial Navy’s destroyers were diligently hunting down Japanese submarines.

With the Japanese Navy’s naval power depleted, the Korea Strait became a playground and hunting ground for the Imperial Navy’s destroyers, and the Japanese submarine force became virtually non-existent.

The Minister of the Army summarized the current situation.

“If the Empire breaks through the Kanmon Straits and comes to Yamaguchi, we can only hold out for three to five days. If we assume three days… we don’t have enough time to gather troops in Yamaguchi.”

The Minister of the Navy responded to the Minister of the Army’s words.

“It depends on how long Kitakyushu and Shimonoseki can hold out.”

The Chief of Staff continued the conversation.

“Fortunately, the forces in that area are the last remaining elite troops. They will be able to buy us enough time to gather troops.”

For the Imperial invasion, the Japanese army mobilized elite units from all over Japan. However, the units defending Shimonoseki and Kitakyushu were excluded from this process.

This was because of the value of the Kanmon Straits.

It was a confident answer, but the expressions of the others who heard this answer were not very good.

‘Instead of pushing the Empire back into the sea, we can only hold out and buy time… This is bleak.’

Forcibly suppressing the lament that was about to burst out, the Minister of the Navy continued.

“Even with the most optimistic calculations, ten days is the limit. We need to think about what comes after that.”

“After that… it will be Mongjin (蒙塵, the king fleeing the capital).”

“Mongjin… Will the Grand Minister accept it?”

“Won’t he accept it? No, he will have no choice but to accept it.”

At the Minister of the Army’s meaningful words, everyone in that place had a serious expression.

‘The Grand Minister will flee to save himself first. If that happens, the war will be prolonged.’

‘The Grand Minister will welcome the prolonged war. The Empire is known to dislike prolonged wars. If they get tired of the prolonged war, they might negotiate. Then the Grand Minister will be able to keep his position.’

‘Not only will he keep his position, but he will also paint himself as a hero who saved Japan from the war.’

‘But Japan will be devastated. While others are doing their best to get even one step ahead, we will fall to the bottom and have to start over. It’s the worst.’

‘The best thing to do is to stop Toyotomi Hideyoshi right now, but it’s impossible.’

“Hoo~.”

Everyone gathered in that place sighed in unison.

The best way to resolve the current situation was to oust Toyotomi Hideyoshi from power and hand him over to the Empire. However, they did not have the power to make that happen.

Outside the capital, they could move hundreds of thousands of troops with a single finger, but inside the capital, they could not move even a few dozen people.

This was what Toyotomi, who had taken the throne after Mori and Oda, had created.

It was to prevent another Oda Nobunaga or another Toyotomi Hideyoshi from emerging.

“Hoo~. It’s a shame in many ways, but we have no choice but to move according to the book right now. Let’s do our best to tie down the Empire’s feet while simultaneously gathering troops in Yamaguchi.”

The attendees nodded at the Minister of the Army’s words and rose from their seats.

* * *

On the second day of the landing, the Imperial Army, having secured a beachhead, began to advance beyond it.

The defensive lines built by the Japanese infantry, who had been urgently dispatched to stop the Imperial Army’s advance, were easily destroyed by the Imperial Army’s artillery.

After destroying the Japanese army’s defensive lines and trampling on the soldiers, the Imperial Army advanced towards the coastal fortresses of Shimonoseki and Kitakyushu, their destination.

As the Imperial Army advanced, the Japanese villages along the route suffered misfortune.

“The Imperial Army is coming!”

“The Imperial Army is coming!”

When a small Imperial Army vehicle with a white flag approached from afar, the villagers screamed and hid inside their houses.

The small vehicle with the white flag stopped at the entrance of the village, and an Imperial officer and an interpreter got out of the car.

“The village chief, come out!”

At the interpreter’s shout, the village chief came out of his house and approached the Imperial Army soldiers.

“I am the village chief.”

The Imperial Army officer, seeing the bowing village chief, gave an order through the interpreter.

“I will give you two ‘gak’ (刻, approximately 30 minutes). All residents must pack their belongings and leave the village immediately.”

“Yes, leave the village? What do you mean by that?”

“We need to clear the path of advance. Therefore, everyone must leave within two ‘gak’.”

“Oh, sir! It is impossible to pack all our belongings within two ‘gak’!”

“I will give you two ‘gak’.”

“Oh, sir!”

“The weather has warmed up, and sprouts have sprung up everywhere. Therefore, you will not freeze or starve to death, will you? I will give you two ‘gak’.”

The Imperial Army officer and the interpreter, having announced the deadline, got back into the small vehicle and returned.

The villagers, having heard the Imperial Army’s announcement through the village chief, began to pack everything they could and leave the village.

However, there were also many who ignored the Imperial Army’s announcement and remained.

“Hmph! I can’t leave even if I die! What kind of house is this! Why should I leave my house!”

“Surely they won’t kill us, will they?”

After two ‘gak’, the Imperial artillery unit, which had been waiting, fired all at once.

And the village disappeared without a trace.

The traces of the remaining residents also disappeared with it.

The Imperial Army, having flattened the obstacles in front of the advance route, began to advance relentlessly.

What was unusual was that the Imperial Army’s advance speed was surprisingly slow, and it was not a straight line.

-They move along solid roads suitable for tanks, self-propelled guns, and armored vehicles.

-Flattening bombardment? They only widened the road because it was narrow. Japan is famous for its narrow roads, isn’t it?

This was the superficial reason, but the real reason was different.

-To engrave the fear of the Empire and the horror of war into the bones of the Japanese people.

-So that they will never think of challenging the Empire again.

This was Yi Sun-sin’s true intention.