1592 The Empire We All Dreamed of - Chapter 8
Only Noblemtl
(08)
When to step forward and when to step back
The eighty-room tile-roofed house was as magnificent as a palace.
It was the largest house in Gyeongseong, and was owned by the Guk family. Considering that several of the tile-roofed houses around it were also owned by the family, it could truly be said to be a palace with over a hundred rooms.
Guk Se-pil was not just a mere government official. He was the biggest local leader in Hamgyeong Province, leading dozens of vassals, hundreds of slaves, and thousands of tenant farmers.
After his family settled down in Hoeryong and Gyeongseong, they looked after the poor, assisted the government in its administration, and sometimes even emptied their own property to provide provisions for the barracks. For this reason, thousands of people followed him from early on.
Late at night, bonfires were lit all over the mansion, and the family soldiers were standing guard.
“Are you here?”
Guk-saeng entered the mansion while receiving the military salute from his troops.
I walked through a corridor under strict security, crossed several doors, and walked down a long hallway again on the wooden floor.
After a while, the student standing in front of the door spoke softly.
“Father, come on.”
“Come in.”
Knock knock.
As I opened the sliding door and went in, Guk Se-pil also put down the document he was reading.
“I’m back.”
After Guk-saeng bowed to his father, Guk-se-pil, he sat down.
Guk Se-pil looked at his son with a loving expression. He was pleased to see that he had a straight face and a tall stature that resembled his own, a man of exceptional ability.
“Did you find out?”
“Yes, according to the children who were there, it was Go Ji-woo, the leader of the party, who made a loud noise.”
“Go Dae-jeong?”
“When the governor of Jongseong, Jeong Hyeon-ryong, and his group suggested that they strike us down first, they responded that they should catch the Japanese first.”
“……”
“Afterwards, when they asked about the rank of the Grand Prince and told him not to dare interfere, he is said to have rebuked them, saying, ‘You defeated criminals who fought in the war are only trying to fight with your mouths.’”
“Hmm.”
Guk Se-pil closed his eyes tightly and tapped the armrest.
Gook-saeng, who was observing his father’s expression, said with a happy expression.
“This is truly a refreshing rebuke. If he gets angry on our behalf, doesn’t that mean he wants to give us strength?”
“Son.”
“Yes, father.”
Guk Se-pil opened his eyes slightly and looked at his son Guk-saeng. There was a smile on his face.
“He is not angry.”
“……?”
“By humiliating the third-rank deputy governor in front of the sixth-rank Bukpyeongsa, he protected the command authority of the royal court.”
The father’s voice was affectionate as he tried to wake his son. Guk-saeng opened his eyes wide and listened to his father’s words.
“Furthermore, by disparaging the crowd with the expression ‘sinners who lost the battle,’ he made it clear that he would not follow the instructions of the main office.”
“They are the ones who lead the volunteer army in white clothing, and he is a military officer of the Joseon army that has won successive victories, so he is trying to differentiate himself.”
The intelligent son understood his father’s teachings.
“That’s right. As the head of the government, I have nothing to say. How much of his achievements have you shared so far? If you think about it, the fact that the head of the government’s name is widely known now is largely due to the efforts of the late Daejeong.”
“Yes.”
“He is the balance of this city. On the contrary, we should be giving him strength.”
Guk-saeng nodded vigorously.
“I will actively cooperate with him in the future.”
“This is not cooperation. You are to follow his instructions in my absence.”
“Oh, Father?”
“You are my eldest son, my only son, and the eldest grandson of the family.”
Guk Se-pil warmly patted his son’s shoulder and encouraged him.
“It may be a heavy burden, but it is your job to lead the fate of the clan from now on. Do you understand?”
“……”
There was a heavy silence for a moment.
The father seemed to foresee a tragedy, and the son could not bring himself to ask any more questions.
“I will come close to the high court. And.”
“and?”
As the corners of Guk-saeng’s eyes turned red, he closed his mouth.
“I will follow his instructions in case of emergency.”
“Okay, that’s fine. You’re smart, so I’m sure you’ll do well.”
After a while, a maid brought out tea.
The rich man was silent, and the scent of tea lingered faintly in the room. And so the night deepened.
* * *
As soon as the sun rose, the training of the volunteer soldiers began without fail.
The training conducted every day under the command of the main office was an absolute principle that was never skipped even if it rained.
About 400 troops left Gyeongseong and marched east under the command of their generals.
Half an hour later, the troops arrived at the beach and gathered in a daze.
“Stop the unit.”
“Please take your seats in your respective units.”
“Come and get yourselves in line. You are now proud soldiers of Joseon.”
Former Vice Minister Jeong Hyeon-ryong, who got off his horse, clicked his tongue.
“Tsk tsk, you really did a great job of weaving victory with this rabble.”
“What can we do? We are the ones who blew away His Majesty’s elite troops, aren’t we?”
The main office’s pointed answer exposed everyone’s original sin.
“Ahem.”
“……”
Everyone remained silent and could not raise their heads.
They were intellectuals who had learned the basic principles of Confucius and Blindness, even though they boasted about their high self-esteem. At least they knew what shame was.
“Find your place. You, join the ranks.”
Kang Mun-woo’s cavalry circled around and pursued the scattered troops.
Soon, about 400 volunteers lined up on the white sand beach. In front of them was a steeply sloping sandy beach, at the end of which the blue sea entered.
“Let’s get started.”
“yes.”
Kang Moon-woo, who was saluting, shouted loudly.
“Let’s get started.”
“start.”
Then, soldiers carrying clubs ran in and drove stakes into the sandy beach. Then, they fixed five cotton shields on it.
“Ah, I get to see it again.”
“Today we will see the new recruits sitting down in shock.”
A rather cold wind was blowing, but the soldiers who had walked a long way were still warm. Those who were tired from the repetitive and arduous training showed interest in the spectacle.
The new recruits in particular watched with curiosity.
“What the heck is that?”
“Well? But why are the veterans laughing at us?”
The newly joined command staff also seemed bewildered.
“Are you trying to demonstrate the shield’s performance?”
Next to the main gate, Jeong Hyeon-ryong spoke a word. The generals gathered around them also whispered among themselves.
“To gather this many troops and demonstrate it……”
“Is that supposed to stop a rifle?”
“Speaking of reason, how can you stop an iron ball that can even pierce through a mirror plate?”
“Ahem. Oh, yeah.”
The main office glanced at what they were doing.
‘They are not fools, just inexperienced. All Koreans are like that.’
He turned and looked at the generals.
“Who said that? Why do you need an explanation? See it for yourself.”
When the main gatekeeper raised his hand, the brothers Jiro and Saburo stepped forward, holding their rifles.
There were no inspectors waiting behind like before.
“Load the powder!”
The brother took the powder pouch and brought it to the muzzle of the gun with a stealthy movement.
“Load the bullets!”
The brothers’ skillful movements continued.
Former Jongseong deputy mayor Jeong Hyeon-ryong sighed as he watched the scene.
“Even though they are prisoners, they are elite soldiers. When the gunshots rang out, the soldiers fell without even knowing what was going on.”
“Truly brave soldiers died in vain.”
Those who had always been blunt in their speech were momentarily silent.
“firing!”
Boom.
“Ugh.”
“Oh my.”
The new recruits, startled by the loud gunshot, fell to the ground.
“I don’t think my heart is pounding just because I’m surprised.”
Jeong Hyeon-ryong had a gloomy expression.
The head of the department nodded as if in agreement.
“We must never be arrogant again. That is why we must never forget that we are sinners.”
“I remember that guy who dared to say something like ‘a person who follows the army in white clothes.’ Actually, he wasn’t wrong.”
As the anger subsided, guilt came. How many elites had fallen in vain due to their own ignorance? They were all someone’s son and father.
Quick!
The Jiro brothers were diligent as they had first been instructed.
“Load gunpowder!…… Fire!”
Lie, lie.
The Jiro brothers retired after firing five times from a hundred to twenty paces.
“Now, get up. Everyone, go and check for yourself.”
“……”
Kang Moon-woo, who stepped forward first, flipped over the shield 100 paces away in front of everyone.
There were marks of bullet damage on the shield.
Kang Moon-woo pulled out the lead pellets embedded in the shield and showed them to everyone.
“What, you couldn’t get through the shield?”
“I thought it was going to break because I heard a thunderous sound, but it’s fine.”
Kang Moon-woo handed out the bullets he had collected one by one to the soldiers in the front row to try out.
“Is this piece of iron flying?”
“It’s a bit surprising that something as small as a soybean can kill a person.”
A few soldiers stood behind Kang Moon-woo, carrying the remaining shields.
“As confirmed, this shield stops a rifle bullet from 20 paces.”
“Oh.”
“On the day the shields are issued, we will go out and take the balls off those Japanese. In the meantime, we will continue to focus on training.”
Four shields were given to the volunteers. They lined up, felt the shields, and observed the marks of bullets.
It was the same for generals including Jeong Hyeon-ryong.
“This is a shield that hit you from 20 paces away.”
Thud thud.
Kang Moon-woo tore off the front of the shield.
The bullet had penetrated the visor and lodged in the plate. The back of the shield was clean.
“Oh, it’s a divine instrument.”
“If we had this, we wouldn’t have lost so many soldiers in vain.”
“Ugh.”
The head of the department said with an emotionless face.
“We don’t even have the right to be sad. Saving even that time and defeating the enemy is the only way to wash away our sins.”
“I cannot help but be amazed at the results of the General’s painstaking preparations.”
Jeong Moon-bu turned his head toward Jeong Hyeon-ryong and turned his eyes.
“It’s not over yet, so let’s watch more.”
“Next, get ready.”
Kang Mun-woo followed the instructions and had his soldiers fix the captured Japanese shields on stakes. Then he set up a dummy wearing a helmet and armor behind the shields.
“Sort it out.”
Five soldiers stood in a line, each holding a long spear-shaped spear.
“Advance!”
“Wow.”
The soldiers who ran to Gang Mun-woo’s command struck down the enemy’s shields.
puck.
The spear was caught on the shield, but the chain-linked whip blew off the scarecrow’s helmet.
“Wow.”
“Huh? Isn’t that a pestle?”
“That’s amazing. So that’s how it works.”
“I didn’t know there was such a trick to using the pestle I usually use.”
“It won’t be difficult since I’ve always used it.”
Jeong Hyeon-ryong was impressed by the reaction of the volunteer soldiers.
“This is a weapon familiar to farmers. This is truly……”
It takes a lot of time and effort to train experienced soldiers.
It was truly a weapon that broke the mold, turning farmers into elite soldiers in an instant.
Even with the yoke of defeat and the death of his family, a ray of hope appeared for Jeong Hyeon-ryong, who was transformed into anger and devoted only his efforts to destroying the Japanese.
In his eyes, Jeong Mun-bu was the hero who would save Joseon.
* * *
“25 people from the first company have gathered.”
“I hope everyone knows their mission well?”
The bastard stepped aside without saying a word. It was his own expression of confidence.
Jiwoo approached the soldiers while snickering. Then he opened his eyes wide when he saw the person standing in front of him.
“Huh? Are you going to go yourself, Byungbang?”
“I am also a soldier of Daejeong. Besides, if it is the direction of Myeongcheon and Gilju, I should go there.”
“I feel relieved that the hospital ward is going to come in person, but he will never step forward……”
Jiwoo smiled bitterly after saying that. He thought it was funny to nag at someone who had lived longer than him.
Jeon Soo-gil, who had been staring at Ji-woo, said mischievously.
“Please do more. I can listen to the old chief’s nagging all day long.”
“Yes, Daejung’s nagging becomes blood and flesh.”
I heard playful remarks here and there.
An expression appeared on Jiwoo’s face, then subsided.
‘I’ve been expressing my emotions more often lately.’
Soon, Jiwoo stood in front of Gooksaeng.
“Is there really a need for the general to go?”
“We haven’t been together for long, but I’ve learned a lot. If you allow me, I’d like to do it together.”
Jiwoo sighed briefly and turned his head.
‘I thought of it as a consumable.’
He believes that he can kill nine people to save ten. He believes that this kind of cool-headedness has helped him survive so far. But he was shaken.
Jiwoo looked everyone over.
“Never overdo it. Your primary goal is survival, and your secondary goal is the enemy’s movements.”
‘Building trust with them is only superficial.’
“Think of your family. Making mistakes based on momentary emotions is neither loyalty nor sacrifice.”
‘Efficiency, always think about efficiency first. I have to live.’
“We will start from the first group and return when half of the food we each brought has been consumed.”
Jiwoo looked at each of the five generals.
“After departure, actions are based on the judgment of each organ.”
Those who appeared to be refugees scattered in all directions.
Jiwoo watched their backs silently.