Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 1216



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Side story 30. 1592 South Sea War. (30)

The urgent news that the Imperial Army had landed in the north of Shimonoseki (Ayaragi in the 21st century) and the northwest of Kitakyushu (present-day Ashiya-machi) was immediately relayed to Yamaguchi.

“Are you saying that they have started to land? Or have they landed?”

The Minister of the Army cautiously answered Toyotomi’s questions as he rushed to the Imperial Headquarters after receiving the urgent report.

“The exact information hasn’t been released yet… but I think it’s in full swing.”

“That’s called an answer!”

Toyotomi continued to shout loudly.

“If the Empire wants to come to Yamaguchi, it must pass through the Kanmon Straits! That’s why we must strengthen our defenses in Shimonoseki and Kitakyushu! Isn’t that what you’ve been parroting all this time? But we must assume that the landing is underway! That’s the answer! Shouldn’t we have stopped it before the landing?”

At Toyotomi’s criticism, everyone in the conference room at the Imperial General Headquarters, starting with the Minister of the Army and the Minister of the Navy, bowed their heads.

“I have no face, I have no face!”

“No matter what happens, push the Imperial Army back into the sea!”

“I will definitely do that!”

Toyotomi responded to the Army Minister’s reply with a voice full of life.

“It must be done.”

“Ha, hot!”

* * *

The Imperial Headquarters did its best to prevent the landing of the Imperial Army, but the situation was not easy.

There were several reasons for this, but overall, it was Japan’s ‘incompetence’ and ‘complacence’ that were at play.

-Since the Ouchi clan became the rulers of Japan, there has never been a bad relationship with the empire.

-Therefore, there was no reason to build defensive facilities in areas bordering the empire.

-It takes a lot of money and time to build a proper defense facility.

However, neither Toyotomi nor even Oda Nobunaga had any plans to build defensive facilities in that area.

– It was only because of the strategic value of the Kanmon Strait that coastal batteries were built on both sides of the strait.

It was also a facility that was completed before Oda Nobunaga seized power.

-Moreover, the empire preferred to force its way through based on its overwhelmingly powerful military power.

If an empire like this were to attack Japan, they would try to pass through the Kanmon Strait without question.

-Because of that, all we have to do is build a strong battery on both sides of the strait.

This was the Japanese military’s judgment.

And this was Japan’s ‘complacence’.

Japan’s ‘incompetence’ was its poor maintenance capacity of the rear system.

Logistics came to a halt as major rail and road networks were cut off by bombing by Imperial Army’s flying units.

Naturally, the destroyed transportation network had to be restored, but the problem was that the Japanese government’s repair capacity was not sufficient to support it.

No, to be more precise, it was a situation where we couldn’t overcome the situation where if we repaired two places, three places would be bombed.

Because of this, the process of sending troops to destroy the imperial forces that landed in Ashiyama and Ayaragi was hindered.

As the railway and road networks collapsed, it became difficult for heavy weapons such as tanks and cannons to move.

“Send at least the Ashigaru (modern-day infantry) as soon as possible!”

“Understood. I will give the order.”

The Army Chief of Staff relayed the order issued by the Army Minister, who was becoming anxious, to the vice admiral.

The deputy commander who received the order looked at the president with a dumbfounded expression.

The president, who had accepted the silent protest, had a helpless expression on his face.

“I guess we have no choice but to do it this way.”

“…All right.”

The vice-minister bit his lip and responded to the president’s words.

The vice-chancellor, the chief of staff, and even the army minister who gave the order knew how absurd this order was.

-There is no imperial army where there are no cannons.

There was a saying that cannons were at the center of the imperial army.

It was certain that the Imperial Army’s cannons and various heavy weapons would be swarming where they were landing now, and behind them, in the sea, Imperial Navy battleships armed with large cannons would be standing guard.

Sending Ashigaru, who were almost exclusively armed with rifles and wagons, to a place like this would only increase the number of casualties.

But there was no alternative.

-Annihilation of all air forces around the Imperial landing point.

-The Navy has only enough power to defend Yamaguchi. This is the best we can do.

-Collapse of the road and rail networks that transport heavy weapons.

The last problem in particular was fatal.

Imperial bombing not only blocked entry into Shimonoseki and Kitakyushu, but also exit from them.

In the end, the only one who could move in this situation was Ashigaru.

Even without seeing it, I could tell what would happen to the Ashigaru who were sent out like that.

However, if they could tie down the imperial forces even a little through that war of attrition, it would be a worthwhile deal.

Also, since it gave Toyotomi an excuse to do so, he followed along without saying anything.

* * *

The headquarters, which had provided emergency first aid and its own response measures, soon moved on to the next step.

“I’m sure they’ll try hard to block it, but I guess we can say that the Empire has succeeded in landing?”

In response to the Army Minister’s question, the Chief of Staff and the Vice Admiral nodded silently.

“So what’s next for the empire?”

The Army Minister who asked the question looked at the Navy Minister sitting across from him. The Navy Minister, who had been silent for a while, finally opened his mouth.

“I’ll go through the Kanmon Strait and come to Yamaguchi.”

“Do you have the power to defend yourself?”

“One or two days as the remaining fleet’s sergeant, and two or three days as the coastal batteries protecting Yamaguchi Port.”

“Is it best to hold out for three to five days?”

In response to the Army Minister’s question, the Navy Minister simply nodded silently, while the Chief of Naval Command and the Vice Admiral sitting next to him remained silent with gloomy faces.

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With the last Battle of Boryeong, it could be said that the Japanese Navy’s naval power was completely annihilated.

The situation with submarine power was similar.

While the Imperial Navy’s submarines were paralyzing Japan’s trade routes, the Imperial Navy’s destroyers were diligently hunting down Japanese submarines.

With the Japanese Navy’s naval power in ruins, the Korea Strait became a playground and hunting ground for the Imperial Navy’s destroyers, and Japan’s submarine force became ineffective.

The Army Minister summarized the current situation.

“If the Empire breaks through the Kanmon Strait and comes to Yamaguchi, we can hold out for three to five days. If we think about it for three days… there’s not enough time to gather troops to Yamaguchi.”

The Minister of the Navy responded to the Minister of the Army’s remarks.

“It depends on how long Kitakyushu and Shimonoseki can hold out.”

The Chief of Staff continued speaking after the Minister of the Navy’s remarks.

“Fortunately, your side’s forces are the last remaining elite troops. They should be able to buy enough time to gather their forces.”

In order to invade the empire, the Japanese Army mobilized elite units from all over Japan, but the units defending Shimonoseki and Kitakyushu were excluded from the process.

It was because of the value of the Kanmon Strait.

Although it was a confident answer, the expressions on the faces of others who heard it were not very good.

‘Is it possible to just hold out and buy time instead of pushing the empire back into the sea? How bleak.’

The Navy Minister continued, holding back the sigh that was about to burst out of his mouth.

“Even if we calculate it as positively as possible, ten days is the limit. We also have to think about the aftermath.”

“Next up… will be Mongjin (蒙塵).”

“It’s a dream… Will the Prime Minister accept it?”

“You won’t accept it? No, you have no choice but to accept it.”

Everyone present had a serious expression on their face at the Army Minister’s meaningful words.

‘In order to survive, Taejeongdaemin will retreat. If that happens, the war will be prolonged.’

‘The Grand Master will welcome being drawn into a protracted war. The Empire is famous for disliking protracted wars. If they grow tired of protracted wars, they may negotiate. Then the Grand Master will be able to keep his position.’

‘He will not only keep his position, but he will also go around gilding himself as a hero who saved Japan from war.’

‘But Japan will be devastated. While others are doing their best to get ahead, we will have to hit rock bottom and start over. This is the worst.’

‘The best thing to do would be to stop Taejeongdaesin right now, but that’s impossible.’

“Phew~.”

Everyone gathered there let out a sigh, without exception.

The best solution to the current situation would have been to oust Toyotomi Hideyoshi from power and hand him over to the Empire. However, they did not have the power to do so.

Outside the capital, they could move hundreds of thousands of troops with a single finger, but inside the capital, they could not move even a few dozen men.

It was Toyotomi who took power after Mori and Oda who made it so.

It was to prevent another Oda Nobunaga or another Toyotomi Hideyoshi from appearing.

“Whew~. It’s regrettable in many ways, but for now, we have no choice but to proceed according to the rules. Let’s do our best to tie up the Empire’s hands while gathering troops in Yamaguchi.”

The attendees nodded at the Army Minister’s words and stood up from their seats.

* * *

On the second day of landing, the imperial forces, having secured a beachhead, began to advance beyond it.

The defensive line built by Japanese infantrymen dispatched to block the advance of the Imperial Army was completely destroyed by the Imperial Army’s artillery.

Having broken through the Japanese defenses and trampled their soldiers, the Imperial Army advanced toward their destination, the coastal fortresses of Shimonoseki and Kitakyushu.

As the Imperial Army advanced, Japanese villages along its path were stricken with calamity.

“The Imperial Army is coming!”

“The Imperial Army is coming!”

As a small Imperial Army vehicle with a white flag approached from afar, the villagers screamed and hid inside their houses.

A small car with a white flag stopped at the entrance to the village, and an imperial officer and an interpreter got out.

“Village chief, come out!”

At the interpreter’s shout, the village chief came out of his house and approached the imperial troops.

“Shonne is the village chief.”

The imperial officer, seeing the village chief bowing, gave an order through an interpreter.

“I will give you 2 minutes (about 30 minutes). All residents, pack your belongings and leave the village immediately.”

“Yes, leave the village? What do you mean?”

“We must open a path of advance. So, everyone, leave within two squares.”

“Oh my, Nari! It’s impossible to pack all your luggage into two compartments!”

“I’ll give you two.”

“Oh my, Nari!”

“The weather has cleared up, and new shoots are sprouting everywhere. So, there’s no need to freeze to death or starve to death, right? I’ll give you two.”

The Imperial Army officer and interpreter, who had been notified of the deadline, climbed back into the compact car and went back.

The villagers, who heard the Imperial Army’s notice through the village chief, began to pack up everything they could and leave the village.

However, there were many who ignored the imperial army’s warning and remained.

“Ugh! I can’t leave even if I die! What kind of house is this! Why should I leave my house and go?”

“You really think I’m going to kill you?”

After two shots, the cannons of the imperial artillery that had been waiting opened fire simultaneously.

And then the village disappeared without a trace.

Any traces of the remaining residents also disappeared.

The imperial army, having leveled the obstacles in front of their advance path, began to advance without hesitation.

What was unusual was that the Imperial Army’s advance was not surprisingly fast, and it was not in a straight line.

-Move on solid roads that tanks, self-propelled guns, and infantry vehicles can travel on.

-Flattening the road? It was just widened because the road was narrow. Japan is famous for its narrow roads, right?

This was the superficial reason, but the real reason was different.

– It engraves the fear of the empire and the horror of war into the bones of the Japanese people.

-So that they will never think of attacking the Empire again.

This was Yi Sun-sin’s true intention.

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