There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 91

I see the *Wokou* [Japanese pirates] gaping stupidly.

Well, where else would those bastards have seen a matchlock?

“Hoo.”

Hit.

I lowered the matchlock and performed *zanshin* [a state of relaxed alertness].

Nobun quickly took the matchlock and began reloading.

– Tatatang!

The bullet I fired served as a signal.

The *Wokou*, who had been stuck to the ground, fell like leaves to the simultaneous fire of the Training Garrison soldiers.

Only then did the surviving bastards scream.

“Huh? They’re running this way?”

They crumbled like rotten straw a moment ago, but as soon as the gunfire stopped, they contorted their faces and charged at us.

I don’t know if it’s courage or some kind of frenzy.

Seeing them charging headlong with swords, without any formation, I guess it’s the latter.

“T, they’re coming! Protect His Highness, the Crown Prince!”

At the magistrate of Geoje’s cry, the people raised their wooden spears with trembling hands.

Our soldiers had long since pulled out their daggers and stuck them in the gun barrels.

“Don’t back down!”

The Training Garrison soldiers shouted, but the hastily mobilized men didn’t seem to have any intention of running away.

They seemed daunted by our gunfire, but having realized that the attack was directed at the *Wokou*, not themselves, they were rather reassured.

That’s why, even though the *Wokou* charged, the people didn’t collapse, even in this precarious situation.

“Protect His Highness, the Crown Prince!”

“If you fall, His Highness will be in danger!”

I could see more strength going into the raised spears and swords at the soldiers’ shouts.

My staying behind to fight with them seemed to give them a sense of duty.

Something welled up in my chest.

If I had panicked and fled on a ship alone, would I have been able to feel this?

“Kill!”

“Die!”

The *Wokou*, who had already closed in, charged over the slope.

The spear blades pierced the *Wokou*.

Screams echoed from here and there.

The humans gathered here, including me, couldn’t understand each other’s words at all.

There might be some among the *Wokou* who knew Korean, or some Koreans who knew Japanese, but it wouldn’t be easy to understand the enemy’s words on this battlefield.

So, it didn’t matter whether they called for their mothers or sought Buddha or God in their death throes.

– Whoosh!

“Your Highness, dodge!”

“Ah!”

Nobun saw the flying arrow and tackled me.

I stumbled to the side from the sudden attack.

“What are you doing?”

The arrow shot by the *Wokou* didn’t have a strong draw, and it seemed like there weren’t many skilled archers, as it fell far short.

Nobun had been frightened and pushed me.

I thought about holding him accountable for distracting me at this crucial time, but I decided to forgive him since he had tried to save his master.

“You goddamn *Wokou* bastards!”

The Training Garrison soldiers thrust their bayonets into the chests of the *Wokou* and kicked them.

The *Wokou*, who had been charging recklessly after the volley, couldn’t break through the orderly defense of our soldiers.

– Thwack!

A Training Garrison soldier struck a *Wokou* with the butt of his rifle.

The *Wokou*’s face turned sharply, and teeth flew out in a shower.

‘It’s like popcorn popping.’

I thought as I looked at the whitish-yellow teeth.

Nobun, who had been having useless thoughts, called me.

“Your Highness!”

“Yeah!”

I took the matchlock reloaded by Nobun and shot the enemy again.

The recoil was severe, but it was manageable enough.

Perhaps the greatest achievement of training with Yi Seong-gye.

The matchlock bullet pierced the *Wokou*’s head.

The *Wokou* reflexively ducked at the sound of the gunshot that rang out again after the volley, and so did our people.

But it was different for the Training Garrison soldiers, who were used to the sound of gunfire in Hanyang.

They didn’t miss the opportunity and seized the momentum in close combat.

The spear thrust by the garrison soldier pierced the waists of two *Wokou*.

‘That looks like chicken skewers.’

I’m going crazy.

I was chased in without even finishing my meal, so I’m having all sorts of crazy thoughts.

It’s dangerous for the commander to be thinking about other things, but I’m not actually in charge of the command.

But frankly, I didn’t think we would lose.

The level of our soldiers was too high for that, and their morale was also high.

However, the *Wokou* seemed to be daunted by the unexpectedly stubborn resistance.

‘Well, the guys they’ve attacked so far must have all been guys who ran away with just a little intimidation.’

I thought so.

Even to my untrained eyes, this fight didn’t seem like it would last long.

“The *Wokou* are retreating!”

Someone shouted.

Indeed, as if there was a signal from behind, the *Wokou* were retreating like a receding tide.

“Pursue!”

One of our military officers shouted, and everyone rushed down the hillside.

I was startled by the sight.

‘Wait, is it okay to just chase them like that?’

It is always the superior who plays tricks in battle.

Their retreat doesn’t seem very orderly, so it clearly looks like a rout, but that’s just our perspective.

For the *Wokou*, who have repeated looting and escape dozens or hundreds of times, it could be different.

“Wait a minute······.”

But before my cry could reach them, our soldiers rushed down.

As a result, their posture was often disrupted.

This was no exception for the Training Garrison soldiers.

‘Is this what Grandpa was worried about?’

If they were more experienced soldiers, they might have approached more cautiously.

A little cold sweat trickled down my back.

At this rate, if some of the *Wokou*, who were superior in close combat, were to strike from the side, the tide could turn.

This was just my hunch.

Indeed, as the man at the bottom waved his katana and shouted, the *Wokou* could be seen running in droves.

“That’s the boss!”

I clicked my tongue and shouted.

“Nobun, are you still not done reloading?”

“I’m almost done!”

Nobun, who was tearing open the paper and packing the gunpowder, shouted.

It didn’t take 10 seconds to reload the bullet and hand it over.

I aimed it straight at the boss.

At that moment, my eyes met the boss’s eyes over the sights.

The moment his eyes widened, I pulled the trigger of the matchlock.

– Bang!

The next moment, the boss’s body twisted greatly and he fell forward.

“Cut!”

When I shouted, everyone’s attention was focused there.

“Huh?”

The *Wokou* looked behind them.

Several people had already gathered at the spot where their boss had been, forming a cluster.

“The *Wokou* boss is dead!”

“The Crown Prince has killed the *Wokou* boss!”

The soldiers and people shouted in loud voices.

The Joseon army, which had been gaining momentum, drove the enemies with excitement.

Whether they were originally running away, or retreating with some kind of scheme, the *Wokou* couldn’t continue the fight with their boss fallen.

They had no choice but to run towards the port.

“Waaaaa!”

“His Highness the Crown Prince has defeated the *Wokou*!”

“Long live Joseon, long live His Majesty the King!”

No one expected it, but I had won the first victory in Geoje.

The people’s praise reached the sky, but I quickly came to my senses.

“We must not let those bastards escape by boat! Quickly pursue the retreating enemy!”

I didn’t have the worry that the same situation would be repeated.

The enemy was failing to counterattack and retreating in panic.

I believed there would be no more schemes.

Our army ran hard to annihilate the defeated soldiers.

The Joseon army trampled on the *Wokou*, who were being chased away like beaten dogs, and drove them away by stabbing them with spears and swords.

Until they reached the place where there was no more retreat, the sea.

===

“Huk, huk. Is my head still on properly?”

Contrary to Ije’s expectations or what the Joseon people believed, Soda Saemontaro had not been hit by the matchlock, and he was not in critical condition.

He had simply ducked to avoid the demonic weapon that was slaughtering his men when it was aimed at him and thundered.

His surprised subordinates quickly supported him, thinking he had been shot.

But that brief action completely blew away the chance for a counterattack.

When his subordinates surrounded and supported him, the pirates who were preparing to counterattack were panicked, thinking that Saemontaro was really in danger.

Anyway, Ije was very lucky.

“Damn it, what is that weapon that even that young Joseon bastard knew how to use? If only I knew its identity!”

Saemontaro gritted his teeth.

That demonic bastard who smiled at him and ‘fired’ the weapon when their eyes met.

He wondered how such a guy could exist in the country of etiquette, Joseon.

‘I wonder if I saved half of my forces.’

Without even having time to count, he was terrified and boarded the ship to escape, and he realized that he had reached land.

“Hmph. Where is this?”

“This is Tongyeong County in Joseon.”

“At least I got away from that damn island. Let’s rest here for a bit, then raid the villages to replenish supplies and move on.”

Saemontaro said that.

He had a bitter experience in Geoje, but he had no intention of returning from here.

Defeat in battle is commonplace.

It would be a greater disgrace to return to Tsushima without any results.

As a *Wokou*, he was used to such defeats.

Although he lost some face and suffered losses in this battle, he could recover if he succeeded in looting again.

Because they are not regular soldiers, but pirates.

The most important thing for a pirate is the ability to survive a crisis and plan for the future.

Therefore, they survived even as countless heroes and warlords fell, and they were responsible for a corner of this chaotic world.

Therefore, their defeat and survival was not embarrassing, but rather fortunate and proud.

Saemontaro regained peace of mind by thinking that way.

He briefly poked his head out of the ship to scout, and then took his men ashore.

Saemontaro looked around the quiet village, where all the people had fled, and shouted with a feigned boldness.

“Haha, there’s not even an ant.

The Joseon army is also foolish. If they had deployed troops here, I would have been dead for sure.”

The subordinates, who had been looking at each other at Saemontaro’s bluff, soon chimed in.

“Hahaha, that’s right. They put troops on a remote island, but not in a big county like Tongyeong. They don’t even know how to distinguish between big and small.”

“Hahaha!”

“Hahahaha!”

“Puu.”

“Puu?”

Saemontaro tilted his head when a strange sound was inserted between the laughter that echoed like a chorus.

He wondered if he had misheard, but the sound echoed again, shaking the ground.

– Puuuuu

It sounded like a flute or a conch, and it suddenly brought back Saemontaro’s old memories.

It was definitely the sound he had heard when he invaded Goryeo decades ago.

The strongest corps led by Yi Seong-gye, the former king of Joseon.

The sound that *Gabyeolcho* [elite light cavalry] used to play before the battle.

“Daera (大螺)······.”

Saemontaro murmured faintly.

“N, no way. I heard that he has already been pushed back as an old man······.”

But regardless of whether it made sense or not, the sound of *Daera* [large conch shell trumpet] was already echoing here.

Saemontaro blankly dropped his katana from his hand.

A cloud of dust was rising from the road with mountains in the distance.

The northern cavalry that even the *Wokou*, who prided themselves on being unmatched in close combat, could not dare to face head-on.

*Gabyeolcho* was in front of him.

“Wipe out all the *Wokou*!”

Of course, in reality, it was just the Training Garrison soldiers,

But nothing would change.

End

ⓒ Pitkong