1592 The Empire We All Dreamed of - Chapter 348



Only Noblemtl

The iron ball that covered the sky blackened and crashed down to the ground.

Peewee, peewee, thud. Thud.

The iron ring flew in a parabolic arc and rolled around. Then, with the sound of thunder, it created hell on earth.

Boom, bang, bang.

Wave, wave.

The fence made of maple trees could not hold up and broke. Along with it were torn pieces of human flesh.

The screams were drowned out by the explosion, and the groans of those who escaped instant death filled the air.

“Eww, my legs.”

“Khuhhhhhh.”

The continued explosions drowned out even those groans.

Kwakwang, kwakwakwang.

“Ugh, I can’t fight this. Run away.”

It wasn’t a battlefield where swords were pointed at each other like we’d experienced before. Those exposed to unexpected firepower despaired.

“Run away? Where on earth are you going?”

“White flag, make a white flag and put it up.”

“Who the hell are these guys surrendering on their own? How dare they surrender to the shogunate······.”

bang!

The confusion was quickly cleared up.

Crimson blood and the remains of something were scattered across the ground. And then silence came.

The mine defense force was left in disarray, unable to put up a proper fight against the superior weapons and advanced combat doctrine.

Now no more groans were heard.

“This is how I die.”

The cloudy sky entered Murakawa’s eyes as he lay on the mat.

If it had rained, wouldn’t there have been such a relentless bombardment? Or would it have been better if we had just been demoted to this mine?

“Ugh, ugh.”

His eyes, which had been foaming at the mouth, slowly closed. His rough breathing gradually subsided.

A foul odor, a mixture of gunpowder and blood, wafted in the wind.

And then came the sound of regular footsteps.

Chuck, chuck, chuck, chuck.

“Stop. Put the shield down!”

Thud, thud, thud.

“Gun!”

“Beware of the four pillars!”

Under the cover of the sniper platoon, the beast stepped forward.

Warm, warm.

“How bland. If that was the case, then I should have suggested surrender.”

“But isn’t it uncertain whether he would have surrendered meekly?”

The beast glanced down.

Next to the horseshoes were the bodies of what appeared to be a commander and his adjutant. Judging from the state of their armor and swords, they appeared to be men with a lot of field experience.

‘Everything is useless in the face of overwhelming firepower.’

The beast spurred the corpse and passed it.

“There appear to be approximately 200 enemy corpses.”

“The fence was completely destroyed, but the rest of the building is fine.”

As we searched for the barracks and set up a command post, reports continued to come in.

“Something unusual came up during the interrogation of prisoners.”

“Where is the little lord?”

According to information from those captured at Nima Port, the owner of Iwami Silver Mine is said to be 10 years old this year.

“Yes, that’s right. They say he hid in the tunnel.”

“The ones who fought desperately were the troops dispatched from Osaka, but the lord himself went into hiding with his troops? That Mitami guy was right.”

They were threatening the owner and taking the profits from Osaka.

The bastard tapped the table with his fingers.

“What should we do? Should we throw a lightning bolt into the tunnel?”

“That would be fine too.”

As the adjutant was about to turn around, Chukseng raised his hand to stop him.

“That prisoner, Mitami… Let him in. Tell him that if he does something good, I’ll hire him.”

“all right.”

That evening, Kenta Mitami headed to Tunnel No. 5. And a day passed.

The next morning, just as the rifle battalion surrounded the tunnel entrance and was about to light the pylon, men waving white flags appeared from inside.

“Iwami clan lord Mori Hidenaru requests surrender.”

“Who are you? Come forward and reveal yourself.”

A little while later, a boy of about ten years old and a monk came forward.

“The young lord is in a state of confusion, so I have taken his place.”

“What the Master said is correct.”

“Master?”

The monk who heard the interpretation looked the monk up and down.

“I am the chief priest of Cheongsu Temple. I serve the Lord with my humble body. Amitabha Buddha.”

It was common in Honshu for literate monks to also serve as retainers.

The boy seemed quite intelligent, but he was not old enough to establish authority, and the monk who had claimed to be his vassal did not seem to be adept at political strategy.

‘Well, survival is also politics.’

The beast glanced at the man standing aside.

“Did you say Mitami? Thank you for your hard work. I will hire you as promised. Let’s start with 50 seats.”

“I pledge my loyalty to you, Kenta Mitami.”

The conqueror who kept his promise turned his gaze to the monk.

“You didn’t really fight back, so you’re not the enemy.”

“······?!”

The priest sighed in relief after hearing the interpretation.

“Are these all the troops?”

“The family has 85 guards.”

The monk answered with particular emphasis on the word ‘escort.’

“I permit the Mori family to be armed.”

“Oh, that, thank you.”

As the order to kill was given, the bayonets were put away, and the teacher and disciple bowed their heads respectfully, feeling relieved.

The monk Onodera Yuji stepped forward and bowed.

“Thank you for your hospitality. I would like to treat you to dinner, so please come and visit me.”

“I am grateful for the invitation.”

A strange light appeared in the eyes of the beast.

In an instant, the invader or conqueror was elevated to a guest. The judgment that he was a monk and therefore ‘would not know politics’ seemed to need to be revised.

“But before that······.”

The two men’s gaze turned to the soldiers who were busy organizing the battlefield.

“Oh, we will help too, Chief Ono.”

“high.”

“Help the guests finish cleaning up right away.”

“Hi. You go and make a sack and a stretcher. You prepare to burn the body.”

As soon as the master joined in, the battlefield was quickly cleared.

Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine was a valley with steep slopes and low mountains.

Outside the fence, there were about 100 households with about 1,000 residents who worked in mining, while inside, about 500 slaves were imprisoned and forced to work in mining.

That night, the full moon illuminated the valley brightly.

“Out of the 1,000 residents, about 300 are employed. Including these people and slaves, about 800 people are mobilized for mining.”

“There are more enemies than I thought.”

The monk finished his meal and put down his chopsticks.

The meal of grilled fish with alcohol wasn’t bad, but it was so salty that I had to keep sipping water.

Slurp.

Fortunately, the bitter taste of green tea quenched my thirst.

“It’s not easy to bring in more people.”

“Wouldn’t it be better for others if we increased production? There is no such thing as sacrifice without a reward.”

“I’m sorry.”

‘Does this mean we should unite for a reasonable price?’

A strange sight caught the eyes of the monk Onodera Yuji.

‘The elite force dispatched from Osaka was annihilated in half a day. There was a lot of explosive noise, so it must have been cannons, but without gunpowder, wouldn’t they be useless?’

There hasn’t been much talk since the ordeal.

‘I’ll have to show some real strength to get a response. It’s ambiguous right now.’

He blew on the remaining tea and stood up without any regrets.

“I have been treated well. I will not neglect the owner in the future.”

“Oh, so early.”

Judging by his visibly flustered look, he seemed to have expected something more like a polite threat.

The beast was eating.

“Do you have anything else to say?”

“Oh, no. Take a look.”

The monk Onodera Yuji bowed. He held the young lord’s head with one hand and bowed.

“Take it easy. It’s better than giving everything to Osaka anyway.”

The monk who left behind meaningful words left the official residence.

An adjutant approached him.

“The soldiers have gone to bed. One unit is currently on night watch. It will be replaced by the second unit in two hours.”

“Thank you for your hard work. Bring Kenta Mitami.”

“I have placed you on standby at the barracks command post.”

“Well done.”

The bastard nodded and started walking.

It was a peaceful night with the moon shining brightly. The prelude had been decorated with victory, but now I had only turned the first page of a thick book.

‘There’s still a long way to go. We have to be vigilant.’

His mission is to hold out until the people’s mercenaries arrive and to ensure smooth supply from the upper ranks, thereby prolonging the occupation and creating a complete colony.

“Shin Mitami Kenta meets his employer.”

“Thank you for your hard work. Sit over there.”

As the sergeant gestured, adjutant Choi Joong-yeop spread out a map on the table.

“This isn’t all. Are there any territories nearby that could be attacked before Osaka?”

“ah.”

Kenta Mitami blinked at the detailed map he was seeing for the first time, then pointed to one spot after a while.

“The surrounding area is barren and there are no notable powers. If there are any, it would be the Oda clan.”

“Where are you coming from?”

“It is a territory worth 30,000 gyeokgo, including the coastal Hane Village and Toricho Village, a place that has been loyal to the shogunate for generations. Uh, the lord······.”

“How many troops are available for mobilization?”

“It could be up to 3,000, but I would estimate it would be around 1,000.”

Fortunately, it didn’t look that powerful.

Following the defeat in the Battle of Imjin and the division of northern Honshu, the destruction of Sekigahara, and the loss of Kyushu, Japan’s military power was noticeably weakened.

“What is the level and armament of the soldiers?”

“They are inferior to the garrison of Nima Port and the mine guards here.”

“The distance is approximately 30 ri (12 km), and the level is that of a typical local government.”

Kenta Mitami nodded silently in agreement.

“Tomorrow will be tough, and we’ll probably only meet at sand. The question is how long it will take for Osaka to respond.”

“······.”

The long contemplation of the beast has begun.

* * *

In Solbin, a meeting on border security was in full swing.

“We were so busy expanding our periphery that we neglected internal security.”

“It can be said that continuous management and supervision is necessary, as some of the recent cases of swordsmanship have been nixed in the bud.”

Jiwoo shook his head.

“More fundamental than public security, defense measures along the vast border are urgently needed. In particular, the safety of the pioneer villages is a top priority.”

“The problem is that the area is too wide.”

The North was vast and the harsh nature was full of unknown enemies, including indigenous people and wild beasts.

“But that doesn’t mean we can limit the autonomy of the pioneers.”

Jiwoo touched his forehead.

“How about launching a boat? You could quickly get across the lake, and you could even use cannons.”

“There’s floating ice for almost four months a year. And there aren’t enough people left to keep a navy tied up on the lake.”

“Is that so?”

Jiwoo raised both hands as if he had no choice.

“The chronic shortage of manpower still persists.”

“That may be true for now, but if you look at it from a long-term perspective, I think Your Majesty’s words make perfect sense.”

“No. In terms of efficiency, it’s best to train cavalry.”

Jiwoo’s gaze turned to Gaarab.

“Could you please send more cavalry?”

“My lord, I am ready to carry out any command of Your Majesty.”

“Okay, but that’s not enough. We need a more fundamental solution to cover that wide area.”

Jiwoo closed his eyes and crossed his arms.

“What you call a fundamental solution······.”

“If you have any opinion, feel free to share it.”

Vice Minister of Construction Oh Jong-seok opened his mouth cautiously.

“This year, the population of Ussuri, including its surrounding areas, has exceeded 150,000. Honey.”

“Let’s build a new city?”

It wasn’t bad. The area north of Honggaeho, which was considered a harsh wasteland, was surprisingly densely forested and had many indigenous people. Groups of refugees from the old Haeseo and Mongolia also appeared frequently.

Han Chang-geun raised his hand and added.

“I think it would be a good idea to follow Ussuri’s example.”

“A new trade city······.”

“What if it were a military city with 1,200 cavalrymen and their families staying there?”

“The foundation is sufficient, Prime Minister.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I will grant you full authority to finalize the scale and prepare the budget through a meeting of the ministries.”

“I will follow Your Majesty’s orders.”

“I will obey your command.”

The new city construction plan was pushed forward without much opposition. This was possible because sufficient funds were secured, including millions of seoks of state funds.

This was followed by a series of inter-ministerial meetings.

“If there are 1,200 cavalry families, we will assume a population of 10,000.”

“If we add to that the creation of a market, accommodation facilities, and military camps.”

“It seems that we can directly refer to the construction process of Ussuri.”

“Let’s first make a budget.”

“The Ministry of Construction will be responsible for procuring manpower and materials······.”

While each ministry divided up the work and held discussions, measures were also taken in the military field, and only in this field was it close to Jiwoo’s dictatorship.

“I appoint Gaarab as governor of the new city.”

“I will obey your orders.”

“The administrative personnel will be dispatched from the central government, so you will be responsible for the defense of the Honggaeho area.”

“We will do our best to carry out defensive missions through mobile patrols.”

Gaarab took a step back and saluted.

“The new city is named Shinshi (神市) and the 1st Mobile Brigade is stationed there. This will ensure the safety of the North.”

“Your kindness is truly infinite.”

The officials in place were furious.

“You stand up first, then everyone else will work hard.”

Gaarab stood up following Jiwoo’s nod, and the rest continued their meeting.

In June (July in the solar calendar), the sunlight outside the window was drowsy.

End