Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 738

738. The Dagger (8)

Envoys from the allied nations arrived in Suez, some ahead of others.

“Welcome.”

Greeted by the commanders of the Allied forces, the envoys immediately got down to business.

“Is there any new information about the Empire’s new type of mobile artillery?”

The commanders gave the same answer to the envoys’ questions.

“Nothing new has been revealed except that it is called Byeongsik mobile artillery.”

“Byeongsik?”

When the envoys questioned the name ‘Byeongsik,’ the Portuguese commander explained its meaning.

“The Empire assigns names like ‘Gap, Eul, Byeong’ [similar to A, B, C] in the order of weapon development. ‘Sik’ can be seen as meaning ‘Model.’ So, Byeongsik mobile artillery would be the third mobile artillery developed.”

“Third? Not the second?”

“We are told that what we introduced is the second mobile artillery developed.”

“I see….”

The envoys, nodding at the commanders’ reports, soon got to the main point.

“So… have you found out what the performance is like?”

“I’m sorry, but we haven’t yet.”

At the Portuguese commander’s answer, the envoys looked at the other commanders. Seeing that they all had similar expressions, the envoys looked puzzled.

“They must be training, right? Why not request to observe?”

“We were refused.”

“We could secretly watch if they trained outside, but the training is also being done inside the fortress.”

“This is….”

The envoys, slightly embarrassed by the commanders’ answers, soon coordinated their opinions.

“First, let’s officially request to observe the training. If we go through diplomatic channels, they will have to respond.”

“Let’s do that.”

“Then let’s stop here for today.”

“Agreed. I am quite tired from the long journey.”

The envoys, having agreed to make a request through diplomatic channels, moved to the embassy built by their country.

As soon as they entered their own space, the envoys summoned the commanders and secretly gave orders.

“Get in touch with a high-ranking commander of the Imperial Army. Tell them we want to meet privately.”

“Does that mean you will act independently?”

“We must use every possible method, mustn’t we?”

The commanders looked embarrassed at the envoys’ words.

“It could cause problems between the allies if we do wrong.”

“Our interests come first. And those fellows are probably giving similar orders.”

The commanders hesitated for a moment at the envoy’s words that other allied envoys would be giving similar orders, but they all had no choice but to give the same answer.

“…I will try to make contact.”

* * *

Three days later, the envoys from the allied nations delivered an official request to the Imperial Ministry of Foreign Affairs official staying at the fortress.

-We would like to see the new mobile artillery used by the Empire.

The Imperial Ministry of Foreign Affairs official who received the request immediately sent a reply.

-This request is related to the military. It has been forwarded to the military, and the military commander has requested an answer from the headquarters in the home country. We will reply as soon as we receive an answer.

The envoys of the allied nations were taken aback by the reply sent by the Imperial Ministry of Foreign Affairs official stationed at the fortress.

“This is a very polite refusal.”

“It takes half a year just to go back and forth from here to the Empire….”

“It means they won’t show it at all.”

Having confirmed the reply containing the refusal, the faces of the French and Ottoman envoys were filled with anger instead of dismay.

“Are they making fun of our alliance—no, France!”

The French envoy shouted, and the Ottoman envoy nodded.

“That’s right! No matter how great the Empire is, this is rude!”

However, the Portuguese and Florentine envoys only gave bitter smiles.

“It’s unpleasant, but the Empire is not yet a member of the alliance….”

“And it is difficult to find fault diplomatically. They have not completely rejected our request….”

The French and Ottoman envoys had no choice but to shut their mouths at the Portuguese and Florentine envoys’ pointing out.

As they pointed out, there was nothing diplomatically wrong with the answer sent by the Empire.

The Empire was not a member of the alliance. Therefore, they could have refused the alliance’s request as soon as they received it.

However, the Empire’s official asked the home country as soon as they received the request and replied that they would wait for an answer.

This was a subtle refusal out of respect for the alliance.

It was a perfect response that would only make the alliance’s face ridiculous if they tried to bully the Empire on this pretext.

“They give you a punch while maintaining etiquette. I’m really curious who trained them like that.”

The Florentine envoy’s words were followed by the Portuguese envoy nodding and adding.

“Merchants who have gone to the Empire for business say that the Imperials are experts at turning people inside out while speaking very politely, regardless of whether they are merchants or nobles.”

* * *

Having confirmed the Empire’s subtle but certain refusal, the envoys personally tried to make contact.

However, their attempts ended in failure. The Imperial Army commanders, who had built some friendship with the Allied commanders, refused as soon as they heard the story.

“I know why you want to meet, but I can never respond until there is an order from the home country.”

The Allied commanders had no choice but to back down, smacking their lips at the consistent answer regardless of status.

In the end, they once again aimed for the time when the Imperial Army was training, but the result was the same as before.

The Imperial Army was still training only inside the fortress.

Thanks to this, loud gunshots rang out from the fortress every day, but the alliance had to smack their lips.

However, the Allied commanders soon realized a terrifying fact.

“They train with live ammunition every day?”

* * *

Gunpowder was a very expensive item. Therefore, even in Florence, known as a wealthy city, only the Florence regular army could do live ammunition training. Even then, it was only 4-5 rounds a year.

The situation for the mercenaries, who were the main players in the war, was even worse. Their training consisted of repeating the process up to just before firing, or repeating forming and moving in formation.

Most of the combat training was routine, aiming empty guns and making noises with their mouths.

“Bang! Bang, bang!”

“Hey! Who shoots two shots so quickly!”

* * *

The Allied commanders were all experienced in combat.

-The difference between soldiers who have properly fired even one live round and those who have not is like heaven and earth.

The commanders, who knew this well, became serious about the Imperial Army’s training.

“As far as we know, there are about 3,000 troops stationed in that fortress. And they train with live ammunition every day?”

“There won’t be any guys who pee their pants in surprise at the sound of their own gunshots.”

“If they have so much gunpowder, they should give some to us….”

The Allied commanders were having a conversation full of envy and complaints.

However, this was their misjudgment.

There was a limit to the number of people who could train at one time at the shooting range created in the Imperial Suez Fortress.

Therefore, the Imperial soldiers’ shooting training was once every seven days.

And they couldn’t shoot as much as they wanted.

“Here, this is the ammunition you will use for today’s training.”

The soldier who received the ammunition belt from Jinmu, who was in charge of supplies, looked at Jinmu with a dumbfounded face.

“Sir, I am a mobile artillery shooter?”

“That’s why I gave you the ammunition belt.”

The soldier continued to argue in a charming Seoul dialect [a regional accent].

“Look. There are only twenty rounds? It’ll be over as soon as I pull the trigger once?”

“You’ve been receiving that every time, why are you complaining? If you’re not happy, write a petition! Say, ‘I can’t train properly because of the Ministry of War!’”

The soldier shut his mouth and stepped back at Jinmu’s scolding. As he moved to the shooting range, the soldier continued to grumble.

“This isn’t dried corvina [a type of fish]… is it a string of bullets….”

* * *

The alliance’s attempts to confirm the performance of the Byeongsik mobile artillery continued to fail. However, the alliance’s commanders and envoys persistently looked for opportunities.

And their waiting paid off thanks to an unexpected presence.

The unexpected presence that helped them was the Mamluks.

The Mamluks, who had lost the Suez region and the eastern Nile Delta, eventually had to sign the armistice agreement.

However, the Mamluks did not give up on recovering Shinji, and waged guerrilla warfare using their cavalry.

However, the Mamluks, who did not have enough power to start a full-scale war again, disguised their cavalry as bandits and deployed them.

Therefore, the alliance could not wage war against the Mamluks even though they knew it.

If they made a mistake, they could be branded as the first to break the agreement.

The Mamluk cavalry, disguised as bandits, roamed around the Suez area and harassed the Allied forces.

As time passed, these disguised cavalrymen turned into real bandits.

However, since they did not commit crimes in the Mamluk region, the Mamluks sold them gunpowder and firearms for money, but steadily supported them with manpower.

These forces, who had strengthened their power in this way, began to target the Imperials building railroads in Suez.

* * *

Ding ding ding!

The sudden emergency bell rang, and the railroad construction headquarters was put on alert.

“What’s going on!”

The employees who were working in the office rushed out at the emergency bell.

After a while, people covered in blood were carried down on stretchers from a train that had come in reverse.

“A doctor! Call a doctor!”

“This way!”

“We don’t have enough hands!”

While everyone nearby was helping to lower the injured, the construction manager, Lee Gil-son, assessed the situation.

“What happened?”

A man with a bandage on his head answered Lee Gil-son’s question.

“We were attacked by bandits.”

“Bandits? How many came?”

“At least thousands….”

“Damn it! Take this friend away!”

The man who was answering collapsed halfway through. Lee Gil-son, watching the man being carried away on a stretcher, became serious.

“There were already more than 30 armed men on the scene, and more than 200 Allied soldiers… even if it wasn’t thousands, it would have been at least a thousand.”

Lee Gil-son, who analyzed the situation, immediately headed to the fortress.

* * *

The fortress commander, Han Taek-gil, who heard the story from Lee Gil-son, made a decision immediately.

“I will support you with troops. Prepare on the train.”

Lee Gil-son nodded immediately at Han Taek-gil’s words.

“I will prepare as quickly as possible.”

Lee Gil-son, who heard the answer he wanted, immediately returned. One of the commanders who was listening to the conversation carefully opened his mouth.

“The Allied forces can know the performance of the Byeongsik mobile artillery.”

“Seoul had already expected it. We’ve lasted this long. Instead, if we’re going to show it, we’ll show it properly. Prepare well.”

“Yes!”

The commanders, who shouted loudly at Han Taek-gil’s order, quickly went outside. Soon, the sound of whistles and shouts rang out from all directions, and the soldiers began to move busily.

Han Taek-gil, who was looking down at the scene, muttered while looking in the direction of the Allied forces.

“They were lucky….”