Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 288

288. Kyushu (1)

While Yi Man-ju and Muertemu were locked in a fierce, ongoing battle in the north, meticulous preparations were underway in the south, targeting Tsushima Island and Kyushu.

While Sejong directed the northern affairs from the Hamheung detached palace, Hyang oversaw the southern operations from the Donggung Palace in Gyeongbokgung.

“The operations concerning Tsushima Island and Kyushu must not be halted under any circumstances.”

“However, most of our forces are currently deployed to the north, and our finances are largely consumed by war expenses, with no end in sight. Wouldn’t it be wise to postpone the operation?”

As Kim Jeom argued for postponing the plan, Jo Malsaeng immediately opposed him.

“Absolutely not! The Japanese merchants at the Waegwan [a designated trading post for Japanese merchants] are well aware of the war in the north. They are undoubtedly scrutinizing Joseon’s capabilities! If we show any weakness here, the Wokou [Japanese pirates] might become rampant again!”

Hyang nodded with a serious expression at Jo Malsaeng’s words.

“That is a possibility.”

“But all the Challenger-class battleships are deployed to the north!”

Kim Jeom still reacted negatively, mentioning the Challenger-class battleships.

Although few in number, the Challenger-class battleships had become the core force of the Joseon navy. They boasted far superior performance to existing battleships, including the Panokseon [a traditional Korean warship], in terms of firepower, transport capacity, and operational duration.

Jo Malsaeng retorted to Kim Jeom’s remarks.

“Wasn’t it already decided that the Panokseon would take on the mission? Why do you keep mentioning the Challenger-class battleships? Are you opposing out of genuine concern, or are you just opposing for the sake of opposition?”

Kim Jeom’s voice grew louder at Jo Malsaeng’s criticism.

“Isn’t this about the finances? The finances!”

“Enough.”

Hyang, who had been watching their argument, intervened.

“I understand the Minister of Finance’s concerns, but this time, it seems right to proceed as the Minister of Defense suggests. With the eyes and ears of Waegu [Japan] focused on us, we must project confidence, even if it’s just a bluff. Even if it’s just ‘pissing on a frozen foot’ [a Korean idiom for a futile effort], we will divert funds from the Insunbu (the Crown Prince’s private fund management department) if necessary.”

Kim Jeom fell silent as Hyang strongly pushed forward.

Thus, a series of policies targeting Waegu could continue.

* * *

The first operation was launched against Tsushima Island.

Joseon first sent an envoy to the lord of Tsushima Island.

“As promised, we will begin constructing a base in Aso Bay.”

“Understood.”

“We look forward to working with you.”

After informing the lord of Tsushima Island of the base construction, Joseon immediately transported workers and materials to begin construction.

The first sites Joseon broke ground on were the Mizusaki and Toyotama areas.

“Ideally, we would like to turn the entire Asō Bay area into a Joseon naval base at once, but that would make the lord of Tsushima, the Sō clan, very wary, so let’s gradually encroach upon it.”

“Yes.”

“Where should we start first?”

“The Mizusaki and Toyotama areas would be ideal. They are not too far inland and have enough space to build a naval base.”

“Then let’s do that.”

Following Hyang’s decision, a Panokseon fleet carrying a large amount of materials and a large workforce entered Asō Bay.

The movements of Joseon, which had entered Aso Bay, were reported to the lord of Tsushima almost in real time.

“Mizusaki and Toyotama…”

The lord of Tsushima, Sō Sadamori (都都熊瓦, Dodoungwa), who received the report, stroked his beard and examined the map. His retainers, who were also examining the map, began to speak one by one.

“They have an eye for location.”

“Indeed. It is an easy place to move out from.”

Sadamori, who had been observing the map while listening to his retainers’ explanations, raised his head and glared at them.

“What about coming here, to Izuhara?”

His retainers, who re-examined the map at Sadamori’s question, immediately answered.

“It’s the worst terrain.”

“Coming by ship would require going around the outside of the island, making it immediately visible. Coming by land would require crossing Aso Bay and then climbing a mountain, which is not ideal.”

After the retainers’ answers continued, the eldest, Hatoyama, pointed to one spot on the map and answered.

“The only concern is here, Komoda. Landing troops here and then moving. Therefore, it would be best to build a mountain fortress at Shimobaru, which is the gateway, to block the path.”

Sadamori nodded at Hatoyama’s suggestion.

“That would be good. Let’s do that.”

“Yes, sir!”

After giving the order, Sadamori once again urged his retainers.

“Joseon may speak of peace now, but never trust Joseon.”

“Yes, sir!”

After the Wokou invasions of Joseon during the turbulent times of the late Goryeo and early Joseon dynasties, and after Yi Jong-mu’s conquest of Tsushima Island in the first year of Sejong’s reign, Joseon and Tsushima distrusted each other.

* * *

While Joseon and Tsushima were wary of each other, the Joseon army began construction of the naval base.

The first thing the Joseon army did was to build a mountain fortress surrounding Mizusaki and Toyotama.

A mountain fortress with a radius of about 300 jangs (990m [approximately 1082 yards]) centered on Mizusaki began to be built along the ridges surrounding Mizusaki and Toyotama.

Of course, this process was fully observed by the scouts sent by the lord of Tsushima.

Sadamori, who received the scouts’ report, could not hide his doubts.

“They’re building a mountain fortress first? What are they thinking? A mountain fortress is not something that can be built so easily.”

Sadamori’s retainers nodded with similar expressions.

Joseon-style mountain fortresses were not unfamiliar to Sadamori and the people of Tsushima.

While traveling to and from Goryeo, and later Joseon, Sadamori and the Japanese had gained some knowledge of Joseon-style mountain fortresses. In addition, there was also a real Korean-style mountain fortress called Kanetatsuki (金田城) at the top of Mount Kurosegisan (黑瀨城山) in Mitsushima (美津).(Note 1)

Thanks to this, after the conquest of Tsushima Island, Sadamori and his retainers built Joseon-style mountain fortresses at key defensive points. In the process, they knew that building a Joseon-style mountain fortress was not an easy task, and they began to question what the Joseon navy was doing now.

“Isn’t it natural to prepare the anchorage first and then maintain the defense facilities?”

“That’s right. I have no idea what the Joseon army is up to.”

Since he couldn’t find an answer no matter how much he thought about it, Sadamori had no choice but to issue a fundamental order.

“Send more scouts.”

“Yes, sir!”

The additional scouts who were deployed continued to report on the movements of the Joseon army.

As the scouts’ reports continued, Sadamori became even more clueless.

“They’re scooping up sand?”

“Yes, sir!”

The Joseon army was not only scooping up sand from the streams flowing into Mizusaki, but also indiscriminately scooping up sand from the beaches near Mizusaki.

Sadamori, who received the report, had a headache.

“I have no idea what they’re doing.”

* * *

While Sadamori was struggling to solve the mystery, the Joseon army was moving busily.

“We will build a mountain fortress from here to here.”

The official from the construction department who came with the navy looked at the map, turned his head, and examined the ridge where the mountain fortress would be built. After roughly estimating the scale, the official soon opened his mouth.

“We will need a lot of sand. We need to start work as soon as the water pump arrives.”

“The water pump will arrive on the next trip. In three days.”

“Then I need to examine the area where the mountain fortress will actually be built.”

As the official stood up from his chair, Kim Gyeong-sik, the Pajong (把摠) [a military rank, roughly equivalent to a company commander], the commander of the Tsushima garrison, added.

“I’ll assign you an escort.”

“Thank you.”

Three days later, the work began in earnest with the arrival of water pumps, workers, and materials.

“First, scoop up the sand piled up in the stream.”

“Yes, sir.”

At the official’s order, the supervisors began to work with the workers.

While some workers scooped up sand from the stream and moved it, workers in other groups began to dig along the ridge.

Soon, as engineers dispatched from Joseon arrived, the work began to speed up.

As holes of considerable depth were dug like trenches, a large amount of rebar began to be moved.

When the rebar arrived, rebar technicians used wire to tie the rebar together. And when the rebar was properly in place, wooden frames coated with pitch were used to make the formwork.

When the process was all over, well-mixed hoejuk [a traditional Korean building material, a mixture of lime, sand, and other ingredients] was poured into the mixer.

And five days later, when the wooden frame that had been used to make the formwork was removed, a solid wall appeared.

Of course, it was only natural that the amount of sand scooped up from the stream would not be enough to handle the amount.

Because of this, workers began to scoop up sand from the beach.

And in this process, the water pump that was brought in played an active role.

Chikchikpokpok!

When the steam engine moved with a loud explosion, the fresh water of the stream was sprayed on the sea sand piled up in the filtration plant.

The sand, which had been rinsed with fresh water for several days to remove salt, was soon loaded onto carts and transported to the construction site. When the sand arrived, the workers in charge of mixing put the arrived sand, gravel, slaked lime (消石灰), and water into the mixer and started mixing.

The properly mixed hoejuk was placed in a large container and then loaded onto a cart using a crane. When the cart arrived at the formwork, a sturdy steel-made winch (轆轤) lifted the container over the formwork, and workers poured the hoejuk into the formwork.

Both the crane and the winch were Hyang’s works. The officials, who had doubted the usefulness of the crane and winch, applauded when they saw them playing an active role in the construction sites of Bukhansanseong Fortress and Namhansanseong Fortress.

“Immediately! These must be supplied to all sites across the country!”

While the officials were chanting like that, Sejong muttered, glancing sideways at Hyang.

“Certainly…. I have to catch him someday and shake him down…. He’s only releasing it little by little when he needs it….”

Hyang, unaware of Sejong’s mind, was grumbling to himself.

“When the steam engine is miniaturized and has high output, I have to make a forklift right away. It would be over in one scoop….”

* * *

Two months later, a mountain fortress made of solid stone walls along the ridge appeared.

“I can’t believe it!”

Sadamori, who received the report, jumped up from his seat.

Sadamori and his retainers, who had left Izuhara, visited the Joseon army’s garrison.

“Welcome.”

“Thank you for welcoming me. I should have visited sooner, but I was too busy.”

“Don’t mention it….”

After the formulaic greeting, Sadamori brought up the main point.

“I heard that the mountain fortress has already been completed, even though the Joseon navy has not been here for long. It’s truly amazing.”

At Sadamori’s words, Kim Gyeong-sik Pajong replied with a nonchalant expression.

“It’s a small mountain fortress, so the work was a little faster.”

“Building a fortress is not an easy task, is it?”

“If there is a will, there is a way.”

“May I take a look for a moment?”

“Of course.”

Kim Pajong, who answered coolly, personally guided Sadamori and showed him the wall.

‘How can this be!’

Sadamori, who examined the wall, could not open his mouth. It was clearly made of stone, but he could not find the seams.

Sadamori, who returned with a frustrated face, stammered and told Kim Pajong his impressions.

“It’s truly amazing.”

“This is normal. There are more than one or two castles in Joseon that are bigger and stronger than this.”

“Is, is that so?”

* * *

On the way back to Izuhara, Sadamori was still muttering with a bewildered face.

“How…. How is that really possible?”

* * *

Note 1) Joseon-style mountain fortress on Tsushima Island. Lee Deok-il. Chosun Ilbo. 2008.07.22.

https://www.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2008/07/22/2008072201622.html