Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 273
Only Noblemtl
#273. The Time of Destiny (2)
“That’s Hongju Castle. About a week ago, the mob took it by surprise, and the garrison and residents there barely managed to escape.”
“You damn thugs, I knew you’d do this, I brought the machine guns too.”
Immediately after the 1st Army moved south, the punitive warfare became quite active.
The attack by 3,000 rioters on Gunsan was only defeated by the cannon fire of Japanese naval ships that happened to be anchored at that time, armed residents and police, and finally the mobilization of a battalion of the 47th Infantry Regiment that was urgently reinforced from Jemulpo.
They immediately withdrew south and are probably now hiding somewhere in Jeolla Province.
The former officials who had occupied Jeonju Castle and the remaining Joseon soldiers also withdrew toward Jirisan when the full-scale suppression began.
However, as the mob continued to attack in Gongju, Suwon, and Gwangju, the Parking Command and the 1st Army decided to respond by calling in additional reinforcements.
While increasing the police force in the home country, he decided to call in the 60th Reserve Infantry Regiment and carry out a large-scale punitive operation from Jemulpo to Hoseo, Honam, and Yeongnam.
“The man named Min Jong-sik who took over Hongju Castle is no ordinary man. He took over Hongju Castle in just one night with a small force.”
“It doesn’t matter. That’s why I’ll be an even greater example to you.”
Commander Kuroki of the 1st Army smiled bitterly after hearing the words of the military police chief stationed at Hongju Castle.
He personally led the entire 1st Army and started from the southern part of Gyeonggi Province, crushing numerous rioters with firepower and large numbers of troops.
Divisions were sent out to each province to reinforce the local garrisons and the new government forces of Joseon, but they were still having a hard time as they were still resisting in vast areas.
Rioters numbering from as few as 30 to as many as 10,000 were rising up all over the country, and even if they were suppressed for a while, it was still a problem.
With the powerful Japanese forces leaving, Kuroki was forced to admit that a new method was needed as he had to fight by ambushing and driving out the relatively weak new government forces and cutting off their rear, which was becoming a headache.
However, since they had to advance to Manchuria soon, they could not fight with all their might, so they had to instill shock and fear in order to break the enemy’s spirit with a single operation, and this soon led to a scorched-earth operation involving large-scale killings.
This was Kuroki’s plan, known as the Three Lights Operation: take everything, burn everything, and kill everything.
Here, I planned to apply the tactics I learned from the Joseon people in my own way.
The so-called assault tactic, a front-line breakthrough tactic by a small number of elite infantry, would be an effective solution against poorly equipped opponents.
“As an example…?”
“The rebels of Hongju Castle and all the Koreans who did not escape from there are designated as enemies. And do not leave even a single one alive here.”
The military police captain looked puzzled, but Kuroki didn’t show any sign of agitation.
Starting with this Hong Joo-seong that you are seeing now, I planned to give this ‘warning’ to all of the three southern provinces.
Well, that may be why he came all the way to the countryside.
“Kikoshi, let’s get started.”
“yes.”
Although his expression was not favorable, Major General Kikoshi, the 23rd Brigade Commander, gestured to his subordinates. And soon, a huge flame began to rise from the west gate of Hongju Castle.
***
“The enemies have broken through the west gate.”
“Guerilla leader Kim Gwang-hyeon, who was defending the west gate, is fighting fiercely, and the central commander is resisting with reinforcements, but they say they are at a disadvantage.”
“Damn, this is why I said there should be government troops.”
Min Jong-sik was busy grinding his teeth. The 10th Brigade of Yeongnam, which had been fighting alongside him with troops and firearms until the time when they were recapturing Hongju Castle together, refused to cooperate any longer and disappeared to another region as soon as Min Jong-sik and his staff announced that they would increase their forces after capturing Hongju Castle and recapture Hanseong.
The orders of the Marshal and the Sunmuyeong were not to recapture the area, but to confuse the enemy, and that they should avoid pointless battles so as to preserve their strength for future operations.
Rather, he said that they should withdraw to a deeper area where they could fight the enemies by collecting supplies and troops from Hongju Castle.
Such cowardice could not be tolerated by scholars.
Although the Hongju and Jecheon volunteers were relatively weak in terms of weapons and manpower compared to other regions, the retreat of the Jinwi troops was criticized as a grave betrayal.
But they didn’t care and just left. They even took back the supplies that had been provided to the volunteers and scrounged them up.
“If only there were government troops···.”
“If we continue like this, the West Gate will be breached. The Japanese soldiers are attacking too quickly!”
The enemies were pouring out artillery fire and not even hesitating to set fire.
There are also civilians left here who have no will to fight, but they don’t seem to take that into consideration at all.
Rather, it seemed as if they were deliberately focusing their fire on residential areas, as if they were trying to leave nothing that had survived in Hongju Castle.
Moreover, he screamed that the Japanese army’s tactics had changed significantly even in the midst of a fierce battle at Seomun.
Clearly, the enemy’s tactics that they had learned from the Jinwidae were to suppress them with firepower through repeated cross-advances and cross-fire, but this time it was different.
It was a melee battle in which small infantry units would fire volleys of fire to disrupt the battle line, then immediately charge with spears.
The volunteer army, with its weak firepower, could not even properly counter these Japanese tactics.
Moreover, due to the extremely strong attack, even the defensive line set up within the castle was riddled with holes.
Under the swift and bold attack, the lack of firepower left for the volunteers to do nothing but retreat towards the center of the castle.
Several explosions were heard, and soon a messenger came running, crying.
“The north gate has been opened! If we continue like this, the castle will collapse!”
“The soldiers are everywhere. They are killing everyone they see without any hesitation. It’s a total mess!”
It seemed that they had now broken through to the north gate.
In preparation for such a situation, they prepared for street fighting and tried to lure the enemies into the complex residential areas.
However, the enemy bombarded the houses and set them on fire to prevent the volunteers from using them, making the attempt futile.
The enemies drove the volunteers from all sides as if they were driving rabbits.
The burning and broken houses, the infantry’s rifle fire, and the hail of artillery and machine guns were clearly pushing them into one place.
“···Now there is only one thing left. To give our lives for our country, that is all there is to do.”
“Now, the Jade Seal… is that all?”
Min Jong-sik said as he picked up the sword that was on the table.
“I would throw away this one life like a sack of straw, so that the righteous light of the world may not go out. If we do not burn, who will light the darkness of this world?”
The darkness of the world was engulfing Korea.
We have entered a world where strong countries prey on weak ones, a world of survival of the fittest.
Korea was weak and the Japanese were strong. This was an undeniable fact.
But they had no intention of surrendering meekly.
Even if the darkness of the world brought by those terrifying Japanese slowly descended upon them, and even if many succumbed to that darkness and were suffocated, they would not give up and would not abandon their determination to reclaim Hanseong and serve His Majesty the Emperor once again.
When the country was in crisis, they were confident that they would face it with their own deaths.
In times like these, those who learned the ropes and were of service to the country had to take the lead and fight the enemy.
Even if they were defeated and everyone died, even if it was their fate, the loyal soldiers of this country would never surrender.
With the strong soldiers of the North and the Sunmuyeong and Tongeoyeong who led them continuing their will, and with the belief that if His Majesty the Emperor residing in Hamheung would hold on, they would eventually achieve victory, they would willingly walk toward certain death.
Min Jong-sik put on his official uniform, bowed to the Taegeukgi (Korean national flag) that the emperor had bestowed upon him, and then marched into the battlefield with the rest of the volunteer army.
The burning Hongjuseong came into view, but there was absolutely no way to retreat.
If even this could be a ray of light for the country, I would fight and die again and again.
***
“Hongju Castle has fallen.”
“That’s why I told you to retreat quickly···.”
“You all know how old-fashioned the Confucian scholars are. They didn’t even run away, but fought and were all slaughtered. Whether they were volunteers or civilians, the Japanese killed them all. Not even one of the livestock survived.”
The tragic news brought silence to the 770th branch of the Records Investigation Office in the Hoseo area, except for sighs.
I didn’t think Hong Joo-seong would collapse so easily.
And this also meant that the role of Branch 770, disguised as an ordinary lumber store, was slowly coming to an end.
“It is said that the Guards Division and the 2nd Division will head to Yeongnam, and the 12th Division will head to Honam. It seems that the leader of the 1st Army, a man named Kuroki, will be working with the 12th Division to suppress the guerrilla forces in Honam.”
The enemy was definitely leading a large regular force and moving south all at once.
Although this was reported to the higher-ups, they only gave orders to evacuate while avoiding possible enemy attacks and preserving as many troops as possible.
And the special order from the Marshal’s Office was for the troops in the Yeongnam region to withdraw to the rugged mountains of Gangwon-do, and for the troops in Hoseo and Honam to withdraw to Jirisan.
Some branches, enraged by the merciless suppression of the enemy, suggested that sending troops from Pyongyang might allow them to reclaim Hanseong, but the Marshal’s Office in Hamheung resolutely refused.
Even if the Pyongan Province forces were to capture Hanseong, which was suffering from accumulated losses and a lack of ammunition, they would ultimately collapse.
“Is the collapse of the second front inevitable?”
“That’s right. It’s just buying time for our troops in Pyongyang to withdraw. Tell the branches that you’re in contact with to stay out for the time being. The enemy’s regular troops are advancing, so we’ll have to stay out for a while too.”
Most of the guerrilla units and branches had already cleared out their bases or cut off contact and remained silent here and there.
Hong Ju-seong and the Hoseo volunteer army refused and burned with the will to resist fiercely, but the result was only annihilation.
“Those damn bastards, they’re scorching every region they pass through, calling it Operation Samkwang or something. If they keep doing this, won’t the area become so devastated that they won’t even be able to plan for the future?”
The branch manager spoke with a cigarette in his mouth.
“···No, that won’t necessarily be the case.”