Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 741

741. Bayonet (11)

The Imperial troops stationed in Suez weren’t having an easy time either.

“Don’t spill a single one! Collect them all!”

Having returned from battle, the Imperial troops on the flatcars were sweating as they engaged in what could barely be called cleaning.

Soldiers with brooms, rakes, and shovels gathered the spent casings, belts, and ammunition boxes scattered on the flatcar floor into one place.

And on one side, a group of soldiers sat huddled together, sorting through the mountain of spent casings.

“Good ones go in this sack, crushed ones in that sack….”

Next to them, other soldiers were similarly scrutinizing the condition of the ammunition boxes and belts, focusing on the sorting work.

The most striking sight was the soldiers with chisels in their hands.

The flatcar floor, made by laying wooden planks, naturally had many gaps, and many spent casings were caught in those gaps, kicked and trampled by the soldiers running around during the battle.

The job of the soldiers with chisels was to use the chisels to remove the spent casings stuck in the gaps.

“But, do we really have to go this far?”

One soldier, tired of taking out the spent casings in a hunched posture, protested to the military instructor—equivalent to a modern-day sergeant—who was commanding them.

At the soldier’s protest, the military instructor pointed to the sacks of spent casings piled up on one side with an indifferent face.

“That’s all copper, you know? You know how expensive copper is, right?”

“Isn’t our Empire not that poor?”

“That doesn’t mean we can waste it and then not get paid later. No, it’s not just about the pay. Wouldn’t it be nice to be the only one with a sword while everyone else is shooting? Huh?”

“….”

“Hurry up and get back to work.”

At the military instructor’s words, the soldier cursed inwardly and went back to work.

On the other side, other soldiers were also complaining.

“Sigh~. I have no luck… It’s already unfair that I was dragged out to fight while everyone else is relaxing, but now I’m stuck collecting spent casings in the scorching sun….”

“Tell me about it….”

“Even the guys who got grazed on the arm are lying down as wounded soldiers…. Sigh~.”

The soldiers投入 into cleaning and collection work were the soldiers who had participated in the last battle. They thought they would get to rest after the battle, but they were mobilized for work after only one day of rest.

“After the collection work is finished, the flatcars and rifles will be serviced! If the maintenance condition is poor, you will be immediately demoted! Do it right!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Listen to that voice! Should I demote you right now?”

“I’ll do it right!”

The soldiers who had answered vaguely to the commander’s order from one side straightened up and answered with a jolt at the threat of demotion. However, as soon as the commander turned around, the soldiers grumbled in small voices.

“Threatening us with our pay in such a petty way….”

“I wonder who created the punishment of demotion…”

At that time, in the Shinji Imperial Villa, Hyang grumbled while picking his ear.

“Who is talking about me like this?”

While the soldiers were suffering in the scorching sun, high-ranking officers were watching them and talking.

“They are exhausted from fighting and haven’t had a proper rest. Some might say it’s too much.”

Lee Dam, who had issued the order, shook his head at the subordinate officer’s comment.

“No, we have to make their bodies tired. You saw it too, didn’t you? As soon as the battle was over, they saw the enemy’s corpses and started throwing up everywhere. If we just let them rest to relieve their fatigue, not many of them would be able to sleep properly at night. We have to make them so exhausted that they can’t think about anything and just fall asleep. And replacement troops will arrive in a month, so we can replace them right away then.”

“That’s true, but….”

Lee Dam patted his subordinate’s shoulder lightly at his still worried appearance and continued.

“I learned this from the last Yalu River defense. The effect is certain.”

* * *

While the Imperial army was diligently engaged in resource recycling inside the fortress, the allied envoys were on their way back, carrying carefully prepared reports.

As when they came, the envoys passed by the railroad construction site on their way back.

“How much longer did they say the construction would take?”

The French envoy asked the Portuguese envoy next to him. At the French envoy’s question, the Portuguese envoy paused to recall and answered.

“If there are no more bloody incidents like last time, they say it will be finished in three years.”

“Three years….”

The French envoy, who was looking at the site while slurring his words at the Portuguese envoy’s answer, muttered softly.

“Will we be able to move around a little more comfortably then?”

* * *

As soon as the allied envoys returned to their countries, they immediately sought out their monarchs.

“You have worked hard to travel between the outposts. So, have you seen the new flatcar in question?”

“We have seen it, but we were unable to properly confirm its performance. However, we were fortunate.”

The envoys reported to their monarch and high-ranking officials about the battle with the bandits who attacked the railroad construction site.

“We were able to take advantage of that opportunity to infiltrate spies, and we were able to learn to some extent about the performance of the Empire’s new flatcar, the Byeongshik flatcar.”

After finishing their explanation, the envoys submitted the reports they had brought.

“This is a report written by the commanders stationed in Suez, and this is what I have written with my opinion.”

The reports brought by the envoys drew the attention of the allied monarchs as well as the high-ranking officials of the military and administrative departments.

The allied monarchs and high-ranking officials, who carefully read and analyzed the reports written by the Suez commanders and the envoys, all had troubled faces.

“Its performance is overwhelming.”

“The problem is that its price is sure to be overwhelmingly expensive as its overwhelming performance, isn’t it?”

“That is true.”

“There is another problem. The overwhelming rate of fire compared to the Eulshik flatcar means that more bullets are needed. All the bullets that go into the flatcar are imported from the Empire, so we have to think about that cost as well.”

“What do the generals think?”

“It certainly has excellent performance. Frankly, it is a very desirable weapon. However, battles are not only defensive but also offensive. More supplies will be required for offensive operations, but will supply be possible?”

The reaction of the high-ranking officials who analyzed the report was mostly negative, regardless of the military and administrative departments.

They had experienced the light and shadow of gunpowder weapons to the bone through the last Suez battle.

If the power of gunpowder weapons was light, the war expenses, which were several times more than before, were shadow.

Therefore, most of the allied powers were heading towards a similar conclusion.

-The weapons we have now already secure a clear advantage over the weapons of enemy countries.

-It is a waste to bring in new weapons in such a situation.

As the decision was being made not to introduce it, someone interjected.

“But what if one of the allied nations other than us introduces the Byeongshik flatcar? We are allies now, but we don’t know what will happen in the future, do we?”

At the problematic statement, the powerful people became serious again.

“The enemy was within….”

* * *

Although they were bound by the name of alliance and the common interest of the ‘Suez Railway,’ it was actually a very precarious cohabitation.

There was the immediate problem of religion, Islam and Christianity, and the difference in national power was also a problem.

-France, a powerful European country that is almost finishing the Hundred Years’ War and is starting to stretch again.

-Portugal, which has a strong naval power but a weak land power.

-Florence, which has the strongest capital power in Europe but cannot escape the limitations of a city-state.

-Ottoman, a rising power in the Middle East.

Among these, France, Portugal, and Florence were most wary of Ottoman.

Mehmet II, who inherited the Suez War started by his father, Murat II, and finished it, was once again enthusiastically attacking the surrounding areas.

In particular, the rumor that Mehmet II, who had secured artillery and riflemen trained through the Suez War, would soon attack Constantinople was becoming almost a foregone conclusion.

-If the attack on Constantinople is successful, what will be Mehmet II’s next target? Maybe Suez? No, Suez is the most likely.

Because of these concerns, Portugal, France, and Florence drew Ottoman even closer.

This was the reason why the allied commanders in Suez moved together and worked together on matters related to the Empire.

It was to keep Ottoman in sight at all times and monitor them.

However, the relationship between the three Christian countries was not always good.

The best example was Florence.

* * *

They brought in France to solve an unavoidable situation, but the most dangerous opponent was France. France was a country that overwhelmed Florence in all aspects except for capital power.

They could check France by using the funds lent to France as leverage, but this could be reversed at any time.

-If the lender ceases to exist, wouldn’t they not have to repay the money?

France was a country that could strike Florence at any time after reaching this conclusion.

It wasn’t just Florence. For France, the entire Italy was a tempting prey.

* * *

Because of these internal affairs within the allied nations, the agenda regarding the introduction of the Byeongshik flatcar was re-examined from the beginning.

The officials who reconsidered this and that all sighed at once.

“Hoo~. To think that we have to decide to introduce it because of the allies, not the enemy….”

“This is difficult.”

“Anyway, it’s fortunate that it uses the same bullets as the Eulshik flatcar. Otherwise, we would have had to buy all new bullets from the beginning, right?”

“That’s a bigger problem. If the bullets were completely different, we could have used that as an excuse to block the introduction….”

After much deliberation, the officials submitted a report to the higher-ups recommending that ‘even a small amount should be introduced.’

“Hoo~. It can’t be helped.”

The high-ranking officials who confirmed the report submitted it to the monarchs and said.

“It seems good to send an envoy to the Empire.”

“Do so.”

* * *

While the allied nations were selecting envoys to go to the Empire from their capitals, the allied commanders stationed in Suez had serious faces.

The allied commanders’ gazes were directed at the Imperial army conducting outdoor maneuvers.

“Now they’re doing it right out in the open….”

“Tell me about it.”

The Imperial troops, who had been hiding their weapons inside the fortress until recently, were now openly taking them out and training.

The Ottoman commander, frowning and observing the training scene, sighed as he watched the Byeongshik flatcar being moved by soldiers.

“Hoo~. The Eulshik flatcar was something that required at least one horse or donkey to move, but the Byeongshik flatcar only needs one soldier.”

The Byeongshik flatcar was made similarly to the Russian PM M1910 in the history before Hyang intervened.

Thanks to this, the Byeongshik flatcar’s gun carriage had wheels similar to the PM M1910.

Thanks to this, the Byeongshik flatcar could be easily moved here and there with just one or two soldiers.