Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 210

210. Homecoming (3)

Oh Ha-seok cursed under his breath, but he knew he had no choice but to help Mansur.

He believed that if Mansur’s family fell, their chances of ever returning to Joseon from this foreign land would vanish.

“If we fail, we’ll most likely end up as slaves.”

Oh Ha-seok shuddered at the thought of slavery.

The images of slaves he’d seen in the Alexandria slave market flashed through his mind.

“Therefore, it’s all or nothing. Everyone, brace yourselves!”

“Yes!”

At Oh Ha-seok’s command, the military officers gritted their teeth and responded. Oh Ha-seok then turned to the interpreters.

“You all prepare yourselves as well. I saw how well you all shot on the way here. I’m counting on you this time, too.”

“Understood.”

The interpreters replied, adjusting the flintlock pistols and bows at their waists.

Having steeled his resolve, Oh Ha-seok went to find Mansur.

“I will help you, leader.”

“Thank you!”

* * *

Having made up his mind, Oh Ha-seok took immediate action.

“First, we need a map.”

“There is no map!”

At Mansur’s response, Oh Ha-seok cursed inwardly. Taking a deep breath to control his rising frustration, Oh Ha-seok said, “Then, draw one on the ground.”

“I understand.”

Mansur grabbed a nearby branch and sketched a rough map on the ground. After studying the crude layout of the Otaibi family’s residence and neighboring houses, Oh Ha-seok went outside the gate to gauge the actual distances.

“Hmm….”

Stroking his sandy, rough beard, Oh Ha-seok surveyed the surroundings before returning inside to instruct Mansur and the military officers.

“Go to the ship and bring all the Ilchongtong cannons [small cannons], gunpowder, and joranhan bullets [small, scattered shot].”

“Understood.”

“And leader, are you on good terms with the neighbors?”

“Most of them are our relatives or the families of those who work for us.”

“Then, gather them all….”

Pausing for a moment, Oh Ha-seok used the branch to point to various locations on the rough map drawn in the dirt and continued, “Fortunately, the back of the residence faces the sea, so there’s no road. That means the enemies can only approach from the front. There are three main roads leading to the residence. Immediately block the two outer roads and smaller alleys, leaving only the largest road in the middle open. We need to minimize the enemy’s access routes to make our defense easier.”

“I will do so.”

Mansur, responding to Oh Ha-seok’s instructions, immediately issued orders to the elders.

The elders, upon hearing Mansur’s commands, promptly began carrying out Oh Ha-seok’s plan.

Meanwhile, Oh Ha-seok continued to organize their defenses.

“That… Azram, was it? Did you request support from the family that traveled with us?”

“I sent someone, but there’s been no reply yet.”

“Damn it….”

Oh Ha-seok, hearing Mansur’s answer through the interpreter, cursed without thinking.

Mansur, noticing Oh Ha-seok’s expression, continued, “Their situation is probably not good either. They’ve turned three of the five families that control Aden against them.”

Oh Ha-seok retorted sharply to Mansur’s explanation, “That family may not be completely ruined yet, but don’t forget that your family will be if we fail.”

“….”

“They’re worried about themselves, yet they’re trying to help someone else…. Tsk!”

Clicking his tongue, Oh Ha-seok glanced at the camels and horses being led inside and quickly turned back to Mansur.

“Don’t tell me… you’ve already distributed the wealth you brought from Alexandria?”

“Not yet.”

Oh Ha-seok breathed a sigh of relief at the answer.

“Whew~. That’s a relief. Put the wealth you brought from Alexandria in the most secure part of the residence. And send someone to that Azram family and tell them, ‘If we fall, you fall too.'”

“…But, what if the Azram family resents that message….”

Mansur hesitated, thinking Oh Ha-seok’s statement was too extreme, and Oh Ha-seok’s voice rose.

“There’s no time to worry about the future right now! Worry about that after we survive this!”

“Ah, I understand.”

At Oh Ha-seok’s firm words, Mansur called for an elder. Oh Ha-seok’s words were harsh but undeniably true.

Oh Ha-seok, watching the scene, grumbled to himself.

“How can he make such sound decisions at sea, but why is he like this on land? Did he catch some disease that makes him a coward when he comes ashore?”

However, Mansur had his reasons. The five families of Aden, especially the Azram family, had the longest history and the greatest influence.

That was why Mansur felt intimidated without even realizing it.

* * *

After a while, the military officers who had gone to the docks returned with the sailors of the Mansur family.

“We have brought all six Ilchongtong cannons, joranhan bullets, and gunpowder!”

“You brought all the gunpowder and bullets for the Jangchongtong [larger cannon] and Masangchongtong [horseback cannon], right?”

“Yes!”

Oh Ha-seok, hearing the military officers’ replies, took one of the officers skilled in artillery and went back outside the gate.

Oh Ha-seok pointed to a small puddle in the center of the plaza in front of the gate.

“You see that puddle, right?”

“Yes.”

Oh Ha-seok pointed to the road stretching out beyond the puddle and continued, “We’re blocking all the other roads except for this one. That means the enemies will all converge on this road, right?”

The military officers immediately understood Oh Ha-seok’s plan.

“We can fire joranhan bullets from the left and right, using that puddle as our reference point.”

“That’s right!”

“Hmm….”

The military officers turned and examined the walls extending to the left and right of the gate.

“It would be good to leave about 1 jang (丈, about 3 meters) from the gate clear.”

“It would be better to create firing holes than to tear down the walls.”

“Since we have six Ilchongtong cannons, including the spares, we can divide them into three on each side and rotate them for continuous firing.”

Ideas poured from the military officers’ mouths.

Oh Ha-seok couldn’t hide his satisfaction at the sight.

“As expected of Joseon’s naval officers!”

The Joseon navy was the most experienced with cannons, surpassing even Ming and Japan. And the men before Oh Ha-seok were carefully selected from among those skilled officers.

“What are you waiting for? Move quickly, then!”

“Yes!”

* * *

Inside the Otaibi family’s residence, people were moving with purpose.

“Yalla (يلا, hurry)! Yalla!”

Amid the shouts urging everyone to move faster, Oh Ha-seok continued to issue orders.

“Remove the leaves covering the roofs of those sheds and stables!”

“Place water-filled buckets at the entrances of the buildings! We need to be able to extinguish fires immediately!”

“Gather all the cloths and make bandages! Prepare the medicines in advance!”

The interpreters and translators had to shout until their voices were hoarse to relay Oh Ha-seok’s instructions.

Although the communication relied on interpreters and translators, the work progressed rapidly.

The workers understood the desperate nature of their situation.

Oh Ha-seok smiled wryly as he watched the scene.

“I never thought I would use what I learned from being harassed by the Jurchens and Japanese pirates here.”

As the frantic preparations neared completion, someone shouted a warning.

“They’re coming!”

“It’s the Sindwa family’s flag!”

Hearing the shouts, Oh Ha-seok and Mansur climbed onto the makeshift watchtower next to the gate.

The only road leading to the Otaibi family’s residence was filled with the Sindwa family’s soldiers, advancing steadily.

* * *

The Sindwa family’s soldiers halted their march at the entrance where the road met the plaza.

A man on horseback rode forward from the ranks of the silent soldiers.

Mansur, recognizing the man’s face, muttered a curse.

“That damn bald head….”

The man who had approached was the bald merchant who had tried to seize everything they had brought from Joseon when they returned from their first voyage.

The merchant in the plaza raised his voice.

“Listen, Otaibi family! The Otaibi family and our Sindwa family have enjoyed a long and prosperous relationship! Don’t suffer a devastating loss by being greedy for petty gains. Let’s resolve this peacefully!”

Mansur shouted back at the merchant’s words.

“How do you propose we resolve it?”

“We want to share the wealth you obtained in Alexandria….”

The bald merchant couldn’t finish his sentence because the arrow Mansur had fired pierced his heart.

Mansur, having shot the arrow, muttered with a satisfied expression, “Damn bald head.”

“Otaibi shot an arrow!”

“It’s war!”

“Charge!”

At the command from behind, the Sindwa family’s soldiers surged into the plaza with loud battle cries.

“Uwaaaaaa~”

* * *

“It has begun.”

“Yes, it has.”

The head of the Sindwa family and the elders knew that the battle had commenced with the sound of the shouts from the front.

The atmosphere among the family head and elders was filled with optimism.

The Sindwa family’s power far exceeded that of the Otaibi family.

Based on current intelligence, the number of soldiers in the Otaibi family, including the sailors, didn’t exceed 200. However, the Sindwa family boasted more than 400 dedicated combat troops, excluding sailors.

Of course, the Azram and Zayed families were a concern, but those two families were currently being contained and monitored at their entrances by the soldiers of the other two families allied with Sindwa.

“Although their strategy is transparent….”

The head of the Sindwa family licked his lips.

He could see that the two allied families were employing shallow tactics to avoid suffering heavy losses.

However, the Sindwa family had to tolerate it, even knowing their intentions.

The best course of action for them was to deploy overwhelming force and crush the Otaibi family swiftly with minimal casualties.

“If we overwhelm them with sheer power from the start, they will collapse on their own.”

The head of the Sindwa family nodded at the elder’s words.

“Dealing with those two foxes later will be a bigger problem.”

The head of the Sindwa family was more concerned about the two families allied with his own.

At that very moment, a tremendous explosion rocked the plaza.

Bang! Kwakwang!

* * *

“They’re coming! Wait! Wait!”

At Oh Ha-seok’s command, the Otaibi family’s archers nocked arrows to their bows and swallowed hard.

The main strength of the Otaibi family was its sailors.

Having received training in Joseon and experienced real combat on the journey back, they had become seasoned warriors. And the sailors understood Oh Ha-seok’s orders even without an interpreter.

All those orders consisted of just four words: ‘Wait!’, ‘Aim!’, ‘Fire!’, ‘Shoot!’

Of course, they were also several times more familiar with Joseon swear words.

In any case, through the battles they had fought on the way back, the sailors had developed absolute trust in Oh Ha-seok’s judgment.

Mansur also trusted Oh Ha-seok implicitly.

In fact, Mansur had even given the sailors the following order.

“If a battle breaks out, obey the orders of the Joseon commander without question! My orders come second!”

Therefore, the sailors who had climbed onto the platforms along the walls and gripped their bows were waiting patiently, following Oh Ha-seok’s instructions.

Even though the Sindwa family’s soldiers were approaching directly in front of them.

As the vanguard of the advancing Sindwa family passed the puddle, Oh Ha-seok shouted and pulled the trigger of his flintlock pistol.

“Fire!”

Bang!

The gunshot served as a signal flare, and the military officers who had been waiting lit the fuses of the cannons.

Kwakwang!

With a deafening explosion, two Ilchongtong cannons unleashed a torrent of fire.

A total of about 200 joranhan bullets loaded into the cannons rained down upon the Sindwa family’s soldiers.

With a single barrage, the Sindwa family’s vanguard was utterly decimated.

The Sindwa family’s soldiers froze in their tracks, stunned by the unprecedented event.

The soldiers muttered to themselves in disbelief at the horrific scene unfolding before their eyes.

“Oh, Allah….”

The comrades who had been charging forward so enthusiastically just moments ago were now lying in a pool of blood.

The newly improved joranhan bullets – maintaining their lethality while minimizing their size to allow for a greater number to be fired at once – were once again proving their effectiveness against soldiers instead of pirates.

“Shoot!”

At Oh Ha-seok’s continued command, the waiting sailors released their arrows in unison.

It wasn’t just the sailors positioned behind the walls.

The soldiers of the Otaibi family, who had been concealed behind the roofs and windows of the houses surrounding the only entrance, revealed themselves and began to draw their bows towards the Sindwa family’s soldiers.