Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 902

902. The Imperial March (5)

The Empire went to great lengths to conceal the types and quantities of cargo being moved with the delegation, executing a thorough deception operation.

This was to evade the scrutiny of major powers along the route from Suez to Florence.

Therefore, military supplies such as firearms and ammunition were packed in disguised boxes instead of the usual wooden crates, and they were loaded as tightly as possible to minimize the number of transport ships.

The Imperial soldiers bore the brunt of this process.

They had to load and unload the cargo repeatedly to maintain the ship’s stability while maximizing the cargo capacity.

Thanks to this, the number of Imperial transport ships departing from Prince Henrique’s port to Florence didn’t increase significantly, leading the monitoring great powers to conclude:

-Slightly more than usual. Looks like a typical delegation.

The fact that the ships’ draft lines [the distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull] were lower than usual was unfortunately overlooked.

Despite these efforts, a considerable amount of military supplies had to be mixed into regular shipments to Florence.

And even after arriving in Livorno and Florence, the unloading of these supplies was handled exclusively by Imperial soldiers.

This was to deceive even the Florentine authorities, just in case.

“They are good friends, but… their mouths are the problem. They talk too much.”

“Being talkative is one thing, but their boasting is a bigger problem. They boast as much as those guys from the Ming Dynasty.”

“Isn’t that just how all Italians are?”

The Empire’s assessment of Italians wasn’t particularly flattering.

-Good company for leisure, but not ideal for serious work….

They were passionate but easily excitable and prone to carelessness.

* * *

The recruitment of Swiss mercenaries went better than smoothly; it was a whirlwind.

Volunteers began to flock to the recruitment offices from the areas near Bern where the notices were first posted. As time passed and the notices were disseminated or rumors spread even to small villages, the recruitment offices became packed.

Imperial Army officers attached to the delegation held daily meetings with officers of the newly formed ‘Swiss Confederation Army.’

It was called the ‘Swiss Confederation Army’ among the Imperials and Swiss, but externally it was known as the ‘Unified Swiss Mercenary Corps.’

This was due to the unique structure of Swiss mercenaries.

The origin of Swiss mercenaries lay in the militias of each canton [a Swiss administrative division, similar to a state]. The cantonal governments independently managed their armies. Consequently, the Swiss Federal Government sometimes hired them.

However, the situation changed when the Empire hired 100,000 at once and recognized the Swiss Confederation as an independent state.

-Integration is necessary for efficient operation.

The Swiss Federal Government accepted the Empire’s argument and integrated the militias, which had been independently managed by each canton, into a single army.

Of course, it was an army that operated under the single flag of the ‘White Cross,’ but it wasn’t yet a completely unified army.

The units stationed in each canton were primarily composed of residents of that canton, and manpower replenishment was also the responsibility of that canton.

For example, if a unit formed in the Canton of Bern suffered losses in battle, the replacements would be drawn from the residents of the Canton of Bern.

“This is very inefficient….”

“But we can’t simply tell them to abandon their traditions….”

It was frustrating for the Imperial Army officers, who had already experienced the challenges of manpower replenishment through numerous battles and had developed some solutions. However, they couldn’t arbitrarily force them to abandon their system. It was a foreign army, and such interference could be seen as meddling in internal affairs.

“It won’t be possible until they suffer a major defeat in a real war.”

“The supply officers are going to have a terrible time until then….”

The Imperial Army officers, after briefly lamenting the inevitable hardship of the supply officers, soon revealed their true feelings.

“Who cares? We’re the ones risking our necks now!”

“Just thinking about training those hulking guys makes me dizzy!”

Amidst all the confusion, the Imperial Army officers and Swiss Army officers tackled the problems one by one.

“…So far, we have secured a total of 34,000 troops.”

“How many of these have prior experience?”

“13,000. It could be more, but 2,000 hired by the Suez Defense Force couldn’t come due to their lifetime contracts.”

“So these 13,000 broke their contracts and returned?”

“Yes. They paid the penalties and returned.”

The Imperial Army officers looked concerned at the Swiss Army officer’s answer.

“Won’t there be a problem with trust?”

To the Imperial Army officers’ concerns, the Swiss Army officers smiled slyly and replied.

“It’s okay. Most of the units were terminated due to cost issues anyway, and in the future, the Empire will be the sole contracting party.”

“Is that so? Then we’ll take note of that and move on.”

The Imperial Army moved on to the next topic after the Swiss Army officer’s response.

“First, we recommend assigning 5,000 of the troops secured so far to the task of defending the homeland, and moving 29,000 to Florence.”

The Swiss Army officers frowned slightly at the Imperial Army officer’s words, did some calculations, and asked in response.

“We have already secured 10,000 rifles and ammunition; wouldn’t it be better to leave 10,000 men behind?”

The Imperial Army officer explained in more detail at the Swiss Army officer’s point.

“There must be reserves to supply the soldiers who will be assigned later or to replace rifles that are damaged or lost. And if you calculate the amount of ammunition you have now, it’s about 100 rounds per rifle. More supplies will continue to arrive, but we must also consider the possibility of supply being cut off. Or, there is a possibility that another country will cross the Swiss border before supplies arrive. Therefore….”

To summarize the Imperial Army officer’s explanation:

-First, if 5,000 are assigned, each of them will receive 200 rounds of ammunition.

-Of these 200 rounds, 50 rounds will be used for training, and the remaining 150 rounds will be used to prepare for actual combat.

“…To maximize the effectiveness of these 150 rounds, ambushes and sniping that actively utilize the terrain of the Alps are the best.”

The Swiss Army officers nodded at the Imperial Army officer’s words.

Most of the Swiss Army officers in this room were commanders of mercenary units.

These commanders, who already knew about the existence and tactics of the rifle, which had newly emerged as the main player on the battlefield, had similar thoughts whenever they returned to their hometowns.

“If we had to defend our hometown with rifles and hwachas [Korean rocket artillery], what tactics would be best?”

“Hwachas are expensive. We poor people can’t even dream of them. We have to limit ourselves to rifles.”

The tactics that emerged from such 고민 [Korean for “deliberation” or “worry”] were the ambushes and sniping that the Imperial Army officers were suggesting now. Switzerland was a poor country, so it lacked the ability to fight large-scale battles involving cannons and hwachas like other great powers.

Therefore, they immediately understood and nodded when they heard the explanations of the Imperial Army officers.

* * *

Thanks to the Swiss Army’s immediate agreement, the 29,000 Swiss mercenaries who would be assigned to the Imperial Army moved with the returning Imperial delegation.

Because they were hastily formed troops, the Swiss mercenaries’ weapons and uniforms were all different.

The only commonality was the long spears and halberds [a two-handed pole weapon] they carried on their shoulders.

It looked like a ragtag group’s march, but their morale was high.

“Unexpected. It’s unexpected.”

The Imperial Army officers watching the march of the new mercenaries couldn’t hide their surprised expressions.

The Imperial Army officers in this place had already traveled back and forth between Europe and the Middle East several times or had stayed for a considerable period.

Thanks to this, they were familiar with mercenaries, which ordinary Imperials wouldn’t be familiar with.

Mercenaries were people who sold their lives for money.

Most of those who applied to these mercenary groups were those who jumped at the opportunity to escape poverty or their boring villages.

Desperation and adventurousness were mixed together when they entered the mercenary corps, but soon after, most of them began to regret it.

In particular, the recruits who experienced combat for the first time and learned the reality were at a crossroads.

Run away or just become corrupt.

Therefore, what they saw in various places in Europe and the Middle East were the bodies of mercenaries who had deserted and been hanged, and the bodies of mercenaries who had been hanged for giving up fighting during battle and engaging in excessive looting.

But now, unlike their messy appearance, the ragtag group marching in front of them had high morale, and their discipline was fairly well maintained.

“Is this why they are called Swiss mercenaries?”

At the unexpectedly impressive sight, the Imperial Army officers asked the Swiss Army officers who were moving with them for the reason.

And the Imperial Army officers were taken aback by the answer from the Swiss Army officers.

“Most of them are from the same hometown. As I said before, the composition of the mercenary corps is based on cantons or villages. So, if they are in the same unit, they are all from the same hometown. But what if they desert or show cowardly behavior on the battlefield? As soon as that news reaches their hometown, all the families in their hometown will be branded as ‘families of deserters’ or ‘families of cowards.'”

“Ah….”

* * *

Two weeks later, the delegation and the mercenaries arrived in Florence.

The ambassadors, Lorenzo de Medici, and Giovanni de Medici, who had heard the news in advance through messengers, waited for the returning delegation and mercenaries at the entrance of Florence.

People belonging to the Medici family, Shin Suk-ju, and Seong Sam-mun were waiting with excited faces, unable to hide their expectations, but Yoo Eung-bu and the Imperial Army officers had uneasy expressions.

This was because of the report that the Imperial Army had sent separately from the officially sent report.

-Sent 29,000 ragtag troops. The condition is terrible, but the morale is high.

-Please save us! Or send more people!

“It seems really serious….”

Yoo Eung-bu and the Imperial Army were worried as they recalled the reports sent by the Imperial Army officers who remained in Switzerland.

“The only good thing is that we took over the Swiss mercenaries hired by Florence?”

Not long after the Imperial delegation headed to Switzerland, Shin Suk-ju and Seong Sam-mun worked hard to persuade Lorenzo and Giovanni to hand over Hans’ unit.

-The Empire will also hire Swiss mercenary corps.

-To increase the efficiency of operation and command, the Empire will manage all Swiss mercenaries.

-Instead, the Empire will be responsible for all supplies and salaries.

Perhaps the last condition was effective; Lorenzo and Giovanni handed over all the Swiss mercenary corps, including Hans’ unit, to the Empire.

The Empire, which had taken over the mercenaries, began to train them.

“The training to familiarize them with the new weapons seems too excessive?”

“It looks like they are training their own regular army, not mercenaries?”

“Rather, it looks like they are training instructors?”

When the Florence army officers were questioning the unexpectedly intense training, news came that the Empire had outmaneuvered the great powers in Switzerland.

The Florentines who heard the rumor all looked at the Imperial Embassy and the Imperials with surprised eyes.

“So!”

It was certain that those who were being trained so hard that they were getting a metallic taste in their mouths would become instructors to train the compatriots who would arrive in the future.

Thanks to securing enough instructors, the newly arrived Swiss mercenaries would be able to become combat-ready in a short period of time, and the existing power structure would be overturned in an instant.