Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 266
Only Noblemtl
#266. Surprise Gift (4)
“If we fail to respond appropriately… that’s what will happen. And there’s a great risk that we’ll lose all our power in Joseon before we can even properly face the Roske. The enemy is in control of the area, and we’re barely maintaining a point and a line. So we should withdraw the 1st Army to Gyeongseong, reorganize the troops, and send the 12th Division to Chungcheong and Jeolla provinces, and the 2nd Division to Gyeongsang province to suppress the rebels.”
“Send down the 1st Army, what does that mean!”
“Then you will go back north to fight? We should focus on dealing with the relatively weak enemy rabble, boosting the morale of the 1st Army, and temporarily stabilizing the supply and logistics lines until the mainland divisions arrive to attack Pyongyang and Uiju.”
In the end, the main idea was to give up individuality and withdraw.
For a brief moment, there was another heated argument over this, and shouts and screams were heard throughout the headquarters.
But the decision-making power lay with Kuroki himself, not with rational or fearful division commanders and staff officers.
And he had to choose the one he judged to be the wisest.
“···Let the entire 1st Army··· withdraw to Gyeongseong.”
“Your Excellency Commander!”
He struck first, even though he saw his commanders and staff members trying to vent their grievances on the side.
“Gaeseong is a difficult place to defend. Let the Guard Division take charge of the defense, using the Imjin River as the border, and let the remaining divisions go down to Chungcheong, Jeolla, and Gyeongsang to suppress the rebels according to Umezawa’s suggestion. I will not accept any further disagreement.”
He was thinking of taking full revenge for the humiliation of his defeat in Pyongyang in the three southern provinces of Joseon.
And I had already thought of a name for the operation.
A very rough and lengthy plan of destruction called the Southern Expedition was blossoming in his head.
***
From a corner of the naval telegraph station on Ulleungdo, a humming melody was heard.
It was a warship march that the Navy started singing some time ago.
Although he could not fight the Roske fleet on fancy battleships and cruisers like other sailors, it was a way for him to show off that he was a member of the navy.
“Even if I call you every day, strangely enough, I never get tired of it.”
“Hey, this is the fifth time already. Take it easy.”
“Would Roske or Joseon send a fleet in this bad weather anyway? It’s all good.”
A colleague next to him scolded him, but the veteran-looking soldier paid no attention and continued humming the melody.
Enemy fleet activity has certainly decreased in recent times.
This was thanks to the friendly fleets beginning to swarm around Jukbyeon and the construction of watchtowers and communication facilities leading to Sasebo along the east coast of Joseon, including Ulleungdo.
The enemy fleet’s attempts to destroy trade, which had been rampant in October and November, had virtually disappeared by December.
Although there were several instances of concern and alertness among the naval command, including the Imperial General Headquarters, that there might be an attack by the enemy fleet, there was no actual threat.
“Hey, wait a minute. Shut up. I’m going to take your whole body.”
“Hey, you must be coming from Sasebo.”
“That’s not it, so please shut up.”
A series of thumping sounds came in.
And this wasn’t a regular telegram, a regular report exchanged between Jukbyeon and Sasebo.
At this time, which should normally be quiet and could be called the most peaceful time, a strange telegram was coming into the wireless telegraph office.
There were continuous requests to take refuge in the Ulleungdo area due to strong winds.
The soldier who had been diligently taking down the entire message quickly relayed the information to the second lieutenant in charge, and he, who had been taking a nap in a corner of a conscripted house to calm his mind, which had been disturbed by the bad weather, started to get annoyed and then looked at the written content with surprised eyes.
***
“No, what is this? A ship of our nationality sent a distress signal?”
“Yes, that’s right! They say that while returning home from the Pacific, they encountered bad weather and storms, making normal navigation impossible. There is also a risk of attack, so they will come over here to where our forces are and take refuge for a while until daybreak.”
“No, there are bigger and safer ports, so why bother coming here? There’s a decent port over there in Jukbyeon.”
The lieutenant asked sharply, perhaps a little suspicious because of the sudden request for refuge, but the veteran answered while scratching his head.
“Well, the nearest port you can go to right now is right here. It’s supposed to be about 30 nautical miles from here, but the situation is looking pretty dire.”
“Are these guys by any chance Joseon guys?”
“I don’t think so. There’s no way those Joseon ships would have wireless telegraphs.”
The so-called was a little suspicious, but he didn’t think that someone would try to play a prank like this on this late night.
Before being dispatched here, I had learned that this area had a very harsh climate, with clear weather for only a third of the year, and that many ships of various nationalities actually took refuge here during the war.
Besides, as far as I know, I have never heard of the Joseon bastards, the so-called Navy, having a wireless telegraph system since I arrived here.
Finally, facing the storm, I never thought that the enemy fleet, which was already underpowered, would come to this secluded place.
If all these coincidences lead to the enemy coming in, it will be a stroke of luck for them.
“Permission to evacuate. Let them come in as quickly as possible. This place is basically the front yard of Roske and the Joseon guys.”
He barely suppressed the yawn that came with sleepiness and instructed her to answer the questions about her whole body.
In preparation for any unforeseen circumstances, he ordered that the Sasebo and Jukbyeon fleets also be informed of this fact.
Well, it was okay even if there was something that didn’t seem right.
Before we can even destroy all the telegraph facilities and watchtowers, the Jukbyeon fleet will rush in and wipe everything out.
The lieutenant stretched out, emptying the cup on the table, to wake up from the sleep that had not yet run away.
A rather strange feeling ran down my spine.
“hmm···.”
“Why are you doing that?”
“How many people are on leave now?”
“It will be around twenty or so.”
“Just in case, wake everyone up and send them to the port. And ask the police for support.”
Just in case, he woke up the soldiers on duty and ordered them to go out towards the port.
I couldn’t shake off this uneasy feeling.
At first I thought it was because of sleepiness, but that didn’t seem to be the case.
It seemed as if something inexplicable was approaching, with the sound of rough waves crashing against the small island all around.
***
“You little bastards, you’re so foolish.”
“You don’t even have a doubt.”
The unexpected bad weather in the East Sea made things easier.
This was thanks to the close examination of the records investigation room’s records of wiretapping and eavesdropping in that area on several occasions.
This is because accidents due to bad weather frequently occurred in the East Sea during the winter, especially at night, and requests were sometimes made to take refuge in Ulleungdo to avoid them.
“We know our seas, but they don’t know this place as well as we do. And the price they pay for it will be irreversible.”
Shin Soon-seong spoke in an unusually agitated voice.
As if they couldn’t stand the fact that enemy ships were running wild in our seas.
In any case, they set sail relatively quietly and decided to enter the ports in the northwestern and southeastern parts of Ulleungdo Island, pretending that they were merchant ships that had no choice but to take refuge in a nearby port due to bad weather.
“But if we approach, the enemies might notice, so let’s lower our flag on the flagpole.”
“All right!”
Even amidst the waves that were pounding like a storm, the hardened sailors held their ground and followed orders.
Now, in an hour, the full-scale operation was scheduled to begin on Ulleungdo.
The infantrymen aboard the two destroyers checked their weapons one last time, and the sailors’ eyes gleamed in the darkness as they prepared their cannons and rapid-fire guns.
“Surely they didn’t inform my fleet at Jukbyeon?”
“There will be only the usual telegraphic reports going back and forth. And since there will be countless ships of their own nationality taking refuge in this storm, they won’t pay much attention.”
“···Isn’t it something you don’t want to use?”
“No, I’m sure they won’t. The fleet hasn’t been on an operation for two weeks now. They’ll be even more so because they’re under the impression that we’re stuck because of the nets they’ve set.”
As Shin Sun-seong pointed out, it has already become so bad that the navies of the Korean Empire and the Russian Empire have not even engaged in operations, let alone a combined fleet.
Thanks to that, the enemy transport fleet was able to survive.
In any case, from today onwards, the enemies would realize that such predictions were far too optimistic.
“I’ll be there soon.”
Between the crashing waves, Ulleungdo Island began to come into view.
It was between darkness and high waves, but I could definitely see it with my own eyes.
“Full combat deployment.”
Shin Soon-seong spoke in a mumbling tone.
Now all that remained was to delegate the tasks to the Army friends aboard each destroyer.
***
“Squad, deploy to the operation as of now.”
As soon as he got off at the port, he subdued a couple of enemy soldiers who were just standing there dumbly, and then Hong Beom-do recited a verse along with a hand signal.
The Japanese naval soldiers, who had been approaching the ship as usual, ignorant of what was going on, could only watch as fully armed soldiers ran toward them as soon as they got off the ship.
After knocking down one of the enemies who was standing there dumbfounded with his butt, he walked up to another bewildered man and thrust his Mauser pistol into his face.
Only then did he realize the situation and try to shout to warn his comrades nearby, but he was unable to make a sound in front of those wolves who devoured death with only two eyes gleaming in the darkness.
Like a frozen mouse in front of a cat.
That’s why they had no choice but to do whatever those who held their lives in their hands told them to do.
“Take off everything except the uniform. Oh, and just in case, take off half of his pants too so he can’t run away.”
“Hey, are there any sailors?”
“Do as I say.”
Under the orders of the sharp-tongued squad leader, the soldiers disarmed the Japanese soldiers and half-rip off their trousers to prevent them from escaping.
Then they put gags in their mouths to prevent them from screaming, and tied them tightly to a telephone pole leading to the telegraph office.
“Ugh! Ugh!”
“Oh, that kid is so noisy. I won’t kill him. I won’t kill him. Anyway, he’s still nagging.”
Even though one of them peed himself, the soldiers of the Sunmuyeong direct unit treated the frightened prisoner as if it was nothing and continued walking.