Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 788

788. Internal Troubles (6)

Ding, ding, ding!

The loud ringing of the bell startled the Ouchi army soldiers who were resting in their barracks, and they rushed outside.

“Arm yourselves!”

“It’s the rebels’ attack!”

“It’s the rebels’ attack!”

At the words ‘rebels’ attack,’ the Ouchi army soldiers hurriedly grabbed their rifles and cartridge belts.

They were in such a hurry that a considerable number of soldiers, barefoot and wearing only fundoshi [traditional Japanese underwear], put on their cartridge belts and jingasa (陣笠, hat-shaped helmets) and moved with their guns.

At that moment, the Jonchi faction soldiers hidden in the darkness simultaneously pulled the triggers.

Bang! Tat-tat! Bang!

“Ugh! Keuk!”

The Ouchi army soldiers, who were killed or seriously injured in the sudden attack, rolled on the ground.

“Get down!”

“Find cover!”

“Move the wounded!”

“Find the enemies’ location!”

At the urgent commands of the commanders, the soldiers immediately lay down on the ground or threw themselves into places where they could hide as soon as they came out of the barracks.

“Eeu-tta-tta-tta…..”

The soldiers, who had quickly secured their safety, seemed relieved and frowned, stroking the wounds caused by being dragged on the ground or scratched by the barracks pillars.

However, those minor scratches were not the problem now. They were in a situation where a bullet hole could be made in their bodies with the slightest mistake.

The soldiers crouched down as much as possible and carefully looked around, only slightly raising their heads.

“Chikusho!” [Damn it!]

Meanwhile, Yamashita Goro, the Jonchi faction commander, who was watching the Ouchi army’s movements from the dark shadows in the forest, muttered a curse. After taking a moment to catch his breath, Goro couldn’t hide his disappointment.

“The Ouchi bastards are reacting faster than expected. Are they really the Ouchi after all…..”

* * *

The initial plan was to retreat immediately after the surprise attack.

However, Goro, who was in charge of the operation, confidently replied to his superior.

“If they are attacked at night, the enemies will be in chaos! If we attack the enemies in confusion, we will win a great victory, and we can even secure the military equipment that we lack!”

At Goro’s confident appearance, his superior sighed softly and replied.

“Don’t underestimate the Ouchi bastards. They are veterans on the battlefield.”

“We have enough chances to win.”

“Don’t talk back and follow the plan.”

“…Understood.”

After answering that way and coming out, Goro muttered to himself.

“The on-site command is the responsibility of the on-site commander. I can make up for the punishment with merit later.”

* * *

He started the battle with his own calculations, but as his superior said, Ouchi was indeed Ouchi.

The Ouchi army, which had been in chaos at the first gunshot, was now calmly moving out of the confusion.

At the sight, Goro punched a tree with his fist and cursed.

“Chikusho! If we had the same rifles as the Ouchi bastards, the situation would have changed!”

The main rifles of the Jonchi faction were the Ming Dynasty-made rifles used in the last civil war.

Unlike those used by the Muromachi Shogunate, they had rifling, which showed superior accuracy, but they had a fatal weakness of being muzzle-loading.

If they had breech-loading rifles like the Ouchi army, the Ouchi army would have suffered fatal damage before they could even respond properly.

However, while the Jonchi faction soldiers were putting gunpowder and bullets into the muzzle and reloading after firing, the Ouchi army had time to reorganize.

Goro looked at the Ouchi army camp with a face full of regret.

“If we had a little more troops, or even if we had brought in Joseon-made horn bows…..”

The best way to compensate for the shortcomings of muzzle-loading rifles was to mobilize a large number of troops to perform sequential firing, such as three-stage firing.

Or, they could have poured arrows during the reloading to keep the Ouchi army from moving.

However, the number of troops the Jonchi faction had was too small to carry out the first operation. Even now, they were secretly gathering people from Kyoto and the nearby Kanto region.

However, because they were doing things without being noticed by Ouchi, gathering people, training them, and obtaining and supplying weapons were all sluggish.

Using bows, the second operation, also had many problems. Japanese bows were very large. The problem was that the range was too short, about 20 jang (about 60m), compared to its size.

It was impossible to carry out surprise attacks with such a large size and short range, like the Ming Dynasty-made rifles.

The only bows that could be used in this kind of operation were Joseon-made horn bows. A properly made horn bow could easily fly about 100 jang (about 300m).

However, obtaining Joseon-made horn bows was like a pie in the sky. Because it was forbidden to take them out of Joseon.

Also, even if they brought them in, it was not easy to store them in the natural environment of Japan.

In the end, Goro, unable to hide his regret, had no choice but to make a decision.

“It’s a pity, but it’s better to stop here this time.”

Goro sent hand signals to the surrounding soldiers. The soldiers who confirmed the hand signals quietly began to retreat.

* * *

The bombing operation in Omi was just the beginning.

After hearing the news from Omi, Ouchi immediately began preparing to send reinforcements to Omi on iron horses [trains].

“The guys who are doing this kind of thing can’t be in their right minds. But even if they are not in their right minds, they are still able to think, so they will try to damage the railroad! Send orders to the military camps near the railroad! Tell them to search the railroad!”

“Yes, sir!”

Shortly after, Yoshinori’s orders were transmitted using flashing communicators installed along the railroad.

Interestingly, the communication code of the flashing communicator was the Jeong-eum code [Korean alphabet] used by the Empire. They transcribed the Japanese pronunciation into Jeong-eum and then sent it.

The Ouchi military camps, which received Yoshinori’s orders, began to send out soldiers to inspect the surrounding railroads.

* * *

Currently, near Himeji City in Japan.

“What are you doing!”

At the shouts of the Ouchi army soldiers who were searching the railroad, the Jonchi faction members who were installing explosives on the railroad began to flee to the nearby forest.

“Chase them!”

“Stop right there!”

At the commander’s order, the Ouchi army soldiers chased after the Jonchi faction with their guns in hand.

When the Ouchi army soldiers reached the edge of the forest, the Jonchi faction warriors hidden in the forest simultaneously drew their swords and rushed at the soldiers.

“Keuk!”

“Block them!”

Unfortunately, the Ouchi soldiers who were attacked by the Jonchi faction warriors were new recruits. They had received bayonet combat training, but they were no match for the Jonchi faction warriors who were skilled in swordsmanship.

The Jonchi faction warriors, who quickly cut down the soldiers, ran towards the Ouchi army soldiers who remained around the railroad, covered in blood.

“Huh? Huh?”

The Ouchi army new recruits were slow to react to the unexpected counterattack, and the Jonchi faction warriors did not miss the opportunity.

Before long, most of the Ouchi army soldiers were cut down by swords, and a small number of soldiers threw away their rifles and fled.

“Hoo~.”

Himura, a Jonchi faction warrior, took a long breath, shook the blood off his sword, and put it back into its scabbard.

“What are you doing! This is not the time to show off! We have to collect the Ouchi bastards’ weapons and blow up the railroad right now! Move!”

“Ah, yes! Yes!”

At the commander’s scolding, Himura quickly moved and searched the dead Ouchi soldiers.

Shortly after.

Bang!

The explosives installed by the Jonchi faction exploded, and the railroad was cut off.

“We have to get out of here before the Ouchi bastards come! Move!”

* * *

Similar incidents to what happened near Himeji City occurred here and there on the railroad to Omi.

However, successful cases like Himeji were rare.

The Ouchi army, led by hasty commanders, immediately pulled the trigger as soon as they saw the Jonchi faction trying to do something on the railroad.

Relatively cautious commanders divided their troops into soldiers in charge of searching and tracking and soldiers preparing for surprise attacks.

The worst case was the Jonchi faction members who met the Ouchi unit with the batto unit deployed.

The batto unit members were warriors skilled in swordsmanship, and they were additionally armed with short guns that the shogunate had purchased from the Empire and distributed.

Interestingly, the batto unit members favored these short guns over swords. The short guns, which had enhanced punching power rather than penetration power, referring to the taste of the emperor and the previous war lessons, were showing definite lethality.

The batto unit members, who were fascinated by the lethality and heavy recoil of the short guns, called these short guns ‘Six-Hole Cannons’ and cherished them.

The Jonchi faction members who encountered the batto unit members resisted fiercely, but they were quickly suppressed before long.

The Jonchi faction members who were injured and arrested at the end of the battle were immediately dragged to the batto unit’s garrison. The Jonchi faction members imprisoned in the garrison prison were soon subjected to harsh torture.

“Where is your base!”

“Tell me who your comrades are!”

* * *

In any case, even with a small number of successes, the railroad was cut off, and Ouchi’s reinforcements were stranded.

“Chikusho!” [Damn it!]

Yoshinori, angry, threw the report away with a curse.

“Hoo-eup! Hoo~.”

Yoshinori, who calmed down his excitement with deep breaths, immediately gave orders.

“Send the reinforcements right away! Tell them to move by railroad to the place where the railroad is connected, and then move on foot from there! If it’s too late, those stubborn people in Kyoto might do something stupid! We have to finish it before that!”

“Yes, sir!”

* * *

As the activities of the Jonchi faction became more active, the atmosphere in Yamaguchi gradually became heavier.

“Those crazy bastards might do something in Yamaguchi. Assign escorts to officials of Senior Fourth Rank and above.”

“Yes, sir!”

According to Yoshinori’s orders, high-ranking officials of the court integrated with the shogunate continued to commute with strict escorts.

And as Yoshinori expected, surprise attacks by the Jonchi faction targeting them occurred.

Ta-a-ang!

“It’s a surprise attack!”

“Lord! Lord!”

Blood splattered on the canopy of the palanquin along with the sound of gunfire heard from afar. Amidst the urgent shouts of the escorts next to the palanquin, the surrounding warriors and batto unit members looked around.

“It’s over there!”

“It’s over there!”

The batto unit members, who saw the fading gunpowder smoke around the two-story building a little further away, immediately drew their swords and ran to the building in question.

Assassination attempts on key figures continued thereafter.

As the number of key figures who were killed or seriously injured by the attacks of the Jonchi faction members increased one by one, the batto unit searched every corner of Yamaguchi City, tracking down the Jonchi faction.

The batto unit immediately arrested and interrogated anyone who was even slightly suspicious.

In the process, innocent people were harmed, but since there were also gains in catching actual Jonchi faction members, the batto unit gradually increased the intensity.

In this investigation and tracking process, the batto unit gained an unexpected harvest at all.

-The Jonchi faction and the Emperor are connected.

Yoshinori, who received the report, became serious and gave orders.

“Seal off Kyoto! Make it impossible for even a rat to get in and out!”

“Yes, sir!”

* * *

While Japan was falling back into the whirlpool of civil war, the Empire was moving busily in a different sense.

-Let’s go and get those bastards who used the population control!

The New Territory Conquest Force, led by Yi Jing-ok, finally began to board the ships.