Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 289

289. Kyushu (2)

Sadamori wasn’t the only one with a bewildered expression; his retainers looked equally dismayed.

“To build an impregnable fortress in just two months… it’s like some kind of goblin trick…”

One of the retainers muttered, looking dazed, and the others nodded in agreement.

Amidst the general confusion, Hatoyama, the eldest retainer, was the first to regain his composure.

“If we were to attack that Joseon fortress, fire attacks would certainly be useless.”

Sadamori nodded at Hatoyama’s words.

“That’s right. Fire attacks would be impossible against such a stone wall.”

“The stone wall isn’t the only issue. Did you observe the surroundings of the fortress?”

“I was so focused on the stone wall that I didn’t see properly. What other tricks have those Joseon bastards pulled?”

“They’ve cleared all the trees within a radius of 10 ‘jang’ (approximately 33 meters) inside the fortress and 30 ‘jang’ (approximately 100 meters) outside. No matter how many fire arrows we shoot, they’ll be useless.”

“I see.”

Sadamori nodded, finally understanding Hatoyama’s explanation.

“And there’s more.”

Another retainer spoke up, adding to Hatoyama’s explanation.

“Looking at the fortress, there are no protrusions on the side facing the enemy. However, there are protrusions in several places on the inside. Those spots are clearly for placing cannons.”

“Cannons, huh…”

Sadamori muttered, looking troubled.

The lords of Wa [ancient name for Japan], including Sadamori, were aware of cannons. Since Choe Mu-seon developed them, Goryeo and Joseon had been steadily using them.

Among Ming [ancient China], Joseon [ancient Korea], and Wa, only Wa lacked cannons. To remedy this, the lords of Wa approached Ming merchants to try to obtain them.

However, even the Ming merchants, known for doing anything for money, wouldn’t sell cannons.

In the end, Sadamori had to accept the situation.

“The fact that the Joseon bastards are building a fortress means they only intend to defend, so that’s fortunate, I suppose.”

* * *

Not long after, Sadamori received a ridiculous report.

“A strange rumor is spreading among the people?”

“Yes. They’re whispering that the Joseon people are using Oni (鬼, demons or ogres).”

“Oni?”

The retainer relayed the rumors circulating among the residents of Tsushima.

The Joseon people weren’t conducting the construction of the mountain fortress in secret.

The work of digging the foundation for the fortress walls was carried out simultaneously with clearing all the surrounding trees. This was not only to clear the field of vision but also to use the felled trees as building materials.

Since the work was carried out in an open area cleared by logging, many residents witnessed the construction of the mountain fortress.

In addition, many Tsushima residents were hired as workers to scoop up sea sand, remove the salt, and transport it to the construction site.

The Tsushima residents who were hired to work spread what they saw to their families and neighbors.

“Those Joseon soldiers brought huge chunks of iron and assembled them, creating a massive iron contraption as big as a house.”

“And?”

“After making that contraption, they put black stones into what looked like a furnace or a mouth at the bottom and lit them on fire, you see?”

“They put stones in and lit them on fire?”

“Yeah! It caught fire!”

The neighboring men who were listening shook their heads.

“Hey! There’s no such thing as a stone that catches fire in this world. You must have mistaken it for charcoal.”

The man explaining raised his voice, veins popping out of his neck.

“Hey, people! Do you think I can’t tell the difference between charcoal and stone? It was a real stone! The stone caught fire!”

“Okay… so?”

“When that stone caught fire, blue flames shot up. And not long after, a loud noise came out of that contraption! I’ve never heard such a big and scary noise in my life!”

“So? What did the Joseon bastards do with that contraption?”

“They connected pipes to both sides of the contraption, one pipe to the stream and the other to the area with the sea sand. And you know what’s amazing? Water from the stream was pouring into the area with the sea sand through those pipes! A huge amount of it!”

“Huge? How much?”

“It seemed like the amount our whole village would have to work all day to scoop up!”

“Really?”

The residents who heard the rumors began to sneak around the site the next day to see the water pump.

Chug-chug-chug! Ppeeeaaak!

“Mommy!”

“Oh my!”

“Namuamitabul! Namuamitabul!” [Buddhist chant]

Every time the loud noise and steam burst out from the steam engine that moved the water pump, the Tsushima residents watching were terrified and made a fuss. But after a while, they gathered again to watch the water pump move.

“It’s amazing…”

“By the way, what is that stone? A stone that emits such blue flames…”

The Tsushima residents whispering like that were even more amazed to see the process of the fortress being built.

A mixture of sand, from which the salt had been washed out with fresh water, and a gray powder they had never seen before was poured between the wooden frames erected at the site of the fortress. After only five days, a stone wall without any seams appeared.

“You pour water on it, and it becomes stone when it dries? That must be lime, right?”

“Isn’t it lime?”

Even the Tsushima residents, unfamiliar with the ways of the world, knew something about lime. The residents who thought about plaster and secretly approached the fortress to examine it were horrified.

“It’s stone?”

They touched it here and there, and some even secretly hit it with a hammer, but the fortress in front of them was solid stone. A stone wall without a single seam had appeared in just a few days.

As the situation unfolded, rumors began to spread among the residents of Tsushima.

-The Joseon people are using Oni!

-That contraption that draws water from the stream is an Oni in disguise!

-They mixed sand and a strange powder and poured it in, and a stone wall appeared! This is clearly the Oni using magic!

-That stone that burns with blue flames is a magical object that fills the Oni’s energy!

As such rumors spread, the fortress built by the Joseon people came to be called ‘The Fortress Built by Oni (鬼が作った城壁).’ [The fortress built by demons]

As rumors spread like wildfire, the residents of Tsushima began to fear the Joseon army. As time passed, this fear spread more and more, and those who lived around the fortress and docks built by the Joseon people led their families and left their homes.

* * *

Sadamori, who received the report through his retainer, muttered with a bewildered expression.

“Huh! If we were to cross that Joseon fortress, should we even look for the legendary Momotaro (桃太郞) [Peach Boy, a famous Japanese folk hero]?”

Although he brushed it off as a joke, Sadamori and his retainers were aware of the truth they couldn’t speak aloud.

-As long as the people of Tsushima are afraid, there is no way to attack that fortress!

War wasn’t something that could be done with just himself and his retainers. There had to be soldiers who would be the hands and feet of the samurai at the lowest level, and those soldiers had to be recruited from among the people of Tsushima.

However, bringing soldiers who were so terrified would inevitably lead to defeat.

In the end, Sadamori and his retainers came to a conclusion.

“We’ll have to leave it alone for the time being.”

“That’s right.”

“The wealth that Joseon provides has increased, so it’s better to build up our capabilities with that.”

* * *

The fact that Joseon openly carried out the construction was Hyang’s plan.

“Isn’t it dangerous to make it public? The Wa people might figure out the structure of the fortress.”

While the officials opposed Hyang’s plan, Jo Malseng surprisingly sided with him.

“We are simply building a fortress wall. It doesn’t matter if they see it. Instead of wasting time and money hiding it, it’s better to do it quickly and openly.”

When the Minister of National Defense said there was no problem, the officials no longer argued. In particular, Kim Jeom immediately agreed at the mention of reducing time and cost.

Seeing the reactions of the officials, Hyang continued.

“There is another hidden agenda in this plan.”

“Another hidden agenda?”

“Yes. What were your reactions when you first saw the ironclad warships or steam engines?”

“We were amazed. We were also envious.”

“That was even though I explained the principles in advance. What if you didn’t know the principles? What were the people of Hanseong [capital of Joseon] like?”

At Hyang’s question, Heo Jo answered.

“Hmm… Everyone was amazed. Especially the steam engine seemed like a magical object…”

Heo Jo, answering absentmindedly, couldn’t finish his sentence and looked at Hyang with a surprised expression.

It wasn’t just Heo Jo; all the other officials looked at Hyang with surprised eyes.

After a while, Heo Jo, who had calmed down, continued.

“Indeed, if you don’t know the principles, it would look like a demon or magic. The Wa people already have a lot of fear of all sorts of minor gods (雜神, miscellaneous spirits)… When they see steam engines or bamboo cannons, fear will precede curiosity.”

“That’s right. Originally, when people are overcome with fear, they can’t properly demonstrate their skills. If we instill such fear in Kyushu and Honshu [main islands of Japan], starting with Tsushima, the Wa people will not take our Joseon lightly.”

At Hyang’s explanation, the officials all nodded. Meanwhile, Lee Jik came to a conclusion.

“The best victory among victories is to win without fighting, so the plan presented by the Crown Prince is the best plan.”

None of the officials opposed Lee Jik’s words. According to the plan created in that way, construction was openly carried out in Tsushima.

Later, Sejong [Joseon king], who returned from Hamheung, received the report and looked back at Hyang.

‘His schemes are the best! Even Emperor Wu (武皇帝, Cao Cao) [famous Chinese historical figure] couldn’t follow your schemes!’

* * *

While they were busy building a base in Tsushima, a fleet headed to Wa.

The number of fleets heading to Wa was three. One was a fleet moving to create trading posts in Nagato and Naniwa (Osaka), and the other two were fleets heading to the Ouchi family and Kyushu Military Commissioner Won.

The fleet heading to Nagato and Naniwa departed from the Gyeongsang Right Naval Command. It was a fleet that moved openly, conscious of the eyes of the Wa merchants staying at the Waegwan [Japanese trading post in Korea].

However, since the other two fleets were moving secretly, they secretly departed from the Jeolla Right Naval Command and the Gyeongsang Left Naval Command.

In particular, the fleet heading to the Iwami Silver Mine had to carry out a deceptive operation of turning north and then heading south again in the open sea.

Thanks to this, the spies hiding in the Waegwan reported on the movements of the Gyeongsang Left Naval Command as follows.

-A fleet departs from the Gyeongsang Left Naval Command to support the conflict in the Liaodong region.

* * *

After such a deceptive operation, when the Gyeongsang Left Naval Command’s fleet arrived in Iwami, Ouchi Morimi, who had arrived in advance, received a report.

“People have come from Joseon.”

“Is that so?”

Morimi, who answered briefly, said to the retainers who came with him.

“Now is the time to move for our family’s long-cherished desire, the dream of becoming the Tenkatoitsu (天下人) [ruler of the country]. Let’s all do our best.”

“Hah!”