Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 20

Extracurricular 20. 1592 Southern Sea Battle. (20)

The advance of Konishi’s unit initially proceeded smoothly, aided by supportive artillery fire.

As the Japanese soldiers pressed forward to the front of the first defense line, constructed along the white sandy beach, the Imperial Army soldiers defending it began to retreat.

“The Imperial bastards are running away!”

“Uwaaa!”

“Chase them!”

Spurred by the sight of the retreating Imperial Army, the Japanese soldiers’ morale surged, and they began to climb over the defense line.

Some ran along the flat ground beside the trenches, while many soldiers pursued the Imperial Army through the trenches.

However, some of the lower-ranking commanders moving with the soldiers felt a growing unease.

‘Are they retreating *too* orderly?’

‘This isn’t a rout!’

“It’s a trap!”

“Stop!”

The commanders, realizing the danger, shouted to halt the advance, but it was too late.

The Imperial Army’s communication trenches featured curves and obstacles like ledges and pillars.

As the Japanese soldiers navigated these curves, ledges, and pillars, they were forced into single or double-file lines.

Rounding the last bend in the trench, they suddenly emerged into a wide space.

On either side of the passage leading from this space, well-fortified gun emplacements were positioned, and the *hwachas* [Korean rocket artillery] opened fire on the Japanese soldiers.

Tatatatatatang!

The Japanese soldiers, funneled through the narrow passage, fell in droves.

“It’s a trap!”

“Stop! Stop!”

Surprised by the carnage unfolding before them, the Japanese soldiers frantically tried to stop, but those behind pushed them forward into the killing zone, where they were cut down by the relentless fire.

Finally, the Japanese attack stalled after more than a dozen soldiers had fallen.

As the Japanese army crossed the first defense line, the cannons supporting them from the landing craft ceased firing.

This was due to the risk of friendly fire.

However, the Imperial artillery did not stop. In fact, the shelling intensified.

As the temporary headquarters in charge of defending the Boryeong area had promised, they had a knack for ‘artillery bombardment’.

With the newly arrived cannons joining the barrage, the coast of the Boryeong area was transformed into a hellscape.

A covered trench served as a command post on the first defense line.

Bang! Kwakwang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Konishi and his staff huddled inside, unable to move as shells rained down around them.

Bang! Crash!

Konishi Yukinaga, covered in dust and debris from a shell that struck the ceiling, winced and covered his ears.

“Is this what the Imperial bastards call ‘giving back tenfold’? Crazy bastards! Do they even know how much a shell costs!”

Amidst the apocalyptic scene, the Imperial Army’s shelling gradually subsided.

As the surroundings grew quieter, Konishi and his staff cautiously rose and began to assess the situation.

The landscape was pockmarked with countless craters from the Imperial Army’s shells, and the corpses of Japanese soldiers were scattered everywhere.

Gazing blankly at the scene, Konishi muttered to himself.

“Is this why they insisted we had to go to Incheon no matter what?”

* * *

During the planning of this operation, the staff officers of the Imperial General Headquarters had identified Jemulpo [modern-day Incheon] as the optimal landing site.

Kato Kiyomasa and Konishi Yukinaga, the commanders of the landing forces, both objected.

“Jemulpo is too dangerous! The strongest coastal defense positions in the Empire are built around Ganghwa Island and the areas above and below it!”

“That’s right!”

As Kato and Konishi pointed out, the areas north and south of Ganghwa Island were heavily fortified with coastal defense batteries.

And these defenses were openly displayed.

A Ming Dynasty connoisseur with a keen interest in military affairs had even examined the number and size of the gun emplacements while cruising the Han River.

This could have been mistaken for espionage, but both the Ming Dynasty connoisseur and the Empire acted with a certain audacity.

“If they make it so open, isn’t it polite to examine and admire it?”

This was the Ming Dynasty connoisseur’s attitude.

“Heh heh! Admire and be terrified!”

This was the Empire’s attitude.

As a result of the connoisseur’s Han River cruise, it was estimated that the coastal batteries around Ganghwa Island and the entrance to the Han River contained ‘at least’ the firepower of 3 battleships and more than 6 cruisers.

In essence, the firepower of an entire fleet was concentrated within a defensive position that was even stronger than the armor of a battleship.

The connoisseur, upon returning to Ming, boasted about what he had seen, impressing other connoisseurs and Ming Dynasty military officials.

“Crazy!”

“Crazy bastards!”

The Empire’s response to these evaluations was equally bold.

“Thank you for the compliments. But you know what? Is what you see *really* everything?”

“Hey! You cannon-crazy bastards!”

“Crazy or not, we don’t have to worry as long as you don’t invade our country, right? Why are you making such a fuss?”

In any case, the senior staff officer of the Imperial General Headquarters acknowledged Kato and Konishi’s objections.

“We know it well too. But if we want to end this in a short-term battle, that’s the only answer.”

“Let’s land in Busan or Mokpo and go up! One thing the Imperial bastards never destroy is the railroad, right? If we take the railroad, we can get to Seoul quickly!”

* * *

The Empire’s ‘railroad love’ was well-known.

It began with Duke Jinpyeong, who was commissioned by Sejong and Yi Hyang.

Duke Jinpyeong, regarded as ‘a man who would have staged a coup for railroad construction,’ was so devoted to his task that the Empire’s railroad officials were fiercely protective of the railroad network.

They always had a warning for the Imperial Army.

“If you even touch the railroad, we’ll drag you out and use you as railroad ties!”

Hearing these threats, the high-ranking officials of the Imperial Army would shake their heads.

“Hoo~. Duke Jinpyeong raised his successors wrong.”

To which the railroad officials would retort.

“Huh! Do you think only we are like that? All the other departments except the Ministry of National Defense are successors of Lord Kim Jongseo! Do you not know how well they shoot long guns and horse-mounted guns? If we touch the railroad and increase their workload, do you think they will stand still?”

In the past, during the pioneering of the Northeast region, Kim Jongseo and his officials fought alongside the soldiers and achieved great victories.

The only reasons Kim Jongseo and the officials participated in battle were:

-When the Jurchen people, staging rebellions, interfered with administrative work.

When such events occurred, Kim Jongseo and the officials would arm themselves and mount their horses.

As the territory expanded, starting with Daeseol Island, more and more officials were dispatched to the newly secured areas.

The officials dispatched to these areas, regardless of gender, were trained in the use of long guns and horse-mounted guns.

The justification was ‘self-defense,’ but the truth circulating among the officials was different.

-For smooth administrative work.

Even after the Empire was established and stabilized, officials periodically received shooting training.

Of course, this was even more true for the imperial family. Shooting skills were included in basic education, and gathering at the shooting range to enjoy shooting was a popular social activity, especially for women, within the imperial family.

Foreigners who witnessed this culture, particularly European scholars, admired it, saying:

“I thought it was Athens with greatly developed academics and technology, but it was Sparta!”

* * *

The senior staff officer sighed softly at Konishi and Kato’s words.

“Hoo~. Yes. I know very well that you won’t touch it because you don’t want to waste money on re-laying the railroad. But you see, you don’t touch the railroad, but you destroy the iron horses very well. And….”

The senior staff officer paused, looked intently at Kato and Konishi, and asked a question.

“Have you ever been to the Empire’s mainland?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“Is that so?”

Oda Nobunaga had promoted ‘de-imperialization’ with his slogan ‘Wa-fuu jyouka (和風淨化, Japanization)’. Since then, studying in the Empire had been banned in all fields except science and technology. Soldiers, in particular, were forbidden from taking vacations in the Empire.

The first generation raised in Japan, free from the Empire’s influence, was the Konishi and Kato generation.

Therefore, Kato and Konishi had never actually seen the Empire.

The senior staff officer, hearing their answer, explained the reason to them.

“Our Japan also has many mountains, but the Empire’s mainland has even more mountains. And the Imperial Army is stationed in all the mountains of moderate height. The railroads and roads that you covet so much pass between those mountains.”

“If we move along the coast….”

“There’s not enough time.”

“Then, if we use deeper mountain roads….”

“Think of the places where the Imperial Army is stationed as the last border line where you can pass by in one piece.”

“Border line?”

“If you cross that, you’ll be attacked by tigers or caught by tiger hunters. You must know that the Empire is called the ‘Land of Tigers,’ right?”

The vast area stretching from the Empire’s mainland, North Ji [likely refers to a northern province], and the Northeast forest area and its west, to Lake Baikal was teeming with all kinds of wild beasts. And the tiger reigned as king among them.

The mainland and North Ji were also notorious for ‘tiger attacks (虎患)’, but over time, these attacks had almost disappeared.

This was due to the prohibition of human activities that encroached on tiger territory, such as slash-and-burn farming (火田) and poaching, and the persistent efforts of tiger hunters to track down and eliminate tigers when attacks did occur.

After nearly 100 years, a kind of border line had been established.

“So, to summarize the situation, it’s like this.”

The staff officer finally summarized and explained why Jemulpo was the chosen landing site.

-Let’s say we land in Mokpo or Busan and advance north.

-First of all, a short-term battle becomes impossible.

-It seems possible if we use the railroad, but the moment we get on the iron horse, we become a defenseless target.

-If we advance north via roads instead of railroads, we have to cross passes several times a day. The problem is that there are Imperial Army garrisons at very ‘appropriate’ intervals.

-What’s overflowing in each garrison is cannons.

-If the soldiers are attacked by cannons, the commanders are attacked by tiger hunters.

-If you choose a deeper or more remote road, you will be tormented by all kinds of wild beasts, including tigers.

“…So it’s Jemulpo. If the surprise attack on Jeju Island succeeds, our Japanese Navy fleet can immediately go north and deal with Jemulpo and the surrounding coastal batteries. Then the army advances as quickly as possible and gets the emperor in Seoul into their hands.”

Konishi, listening to the senior staff officer’s explanation, asked a question.

“If the navy’s work goes wrong and they can’t go up to Jemulpo, what do we do?”

“Then we’ll have to land on the nearest coast and go up to Seoul.”

“Is it impossible to withdraw and try again?”

“Impossible. Withdrawal will lead directly to defeat. You must know the reason, right?”

At the senior staff officer’s question, Konishi and Kato nodded silently.

The Empire’s national power was overwhelmingly stronger than Japan’s. We had to finish everything before the Empire could pull itself together.

Because there would be no chance after the Empire came to its senses.