Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 274
Only Noblemtl
#274. The Time of Destiny (3)
The painful and fearful times will not be short, but that does not mean the enemy will remain in power forever.
Paradoxically, the more the enemy presses down, the more the friendly forces in the north will regroup.
“The Japanese will just cause trouble enough to open up the supply line and then leave. After they leave, we can start counterattacking again. That’s why the Marshal’s Office and the Records Bureau ordered us to preserve as many troops as possible.”
“But we cannot just withdraw like this. We cannot tolerate the atrocities of the Japanese. We must find another way.”
“Oh, hold on.”
The branch manager put his hand on the shoulder of the young records officer and said, “Young people are originally the most uncontrollable and fearless, but now they have to control it.”
Just as you have to be careful when crossing thin ice, this time was no different.
The rain had to be avoided for a while, but it had to be endured and endured until the opportunity to fight and win came.
“The pain is short, the glory of victory is long. And for us who support the second front and the guerrillas from the rear, they are like friends who cannot help but suffer. Endure, endure, and look toward the north. Someday, they will answer for our sacrifice.”
There is only one answer to that sacrifice.
The branch manager ordered all remaining documents to be destroyed, and then ordered them to move to the southern part of Gangwon Province where the 10th Brigade had retreated.
Leaving behind a Taegeukgi flag, which they said they would return to someday, they simply packed their bags and disappeared into the crowd.
***
In the Samnam region, the second front bought enough time.
Former officials, scattered Jinwei troops, and those still loyal to the emperor and the country, even bandits and remnants of the Donghak movement who had been the targets of continuous suppression, walked willingly toward certain death, shouting the slogan, “For the emperor and the country,” knowing what would lurk at the end.
The fierce fighting on the second front for several weeks was enough to destroy the Japanese supply line.
They overthrew the traitors who had betrayed them and briefly regained control of the occupied territories, gaining momentum.
Their resistance was so dazzling and fierce that all communication networks and transportation routes leading to Gunsan and Busan were paralyzed, and at one point, the only supply line left for the Japanese army was Jemulpo.
But even the most intense flame could not burn forever under a fierce storm, however brilliant its end might be.
The Japanese army reorganized the main units of the 1st Army that had withdrawn from Gaeseong and sent them down to the three southern provinces.
···And their sacrifice soon became known to all.
However, in order to continue the war for a longer period of time and to prepare a battlefield that would completely crush Japan’s ambitions, I silently decided to retreat using the time they had given me.
It took quite a while for the Pyongyang patrol, combat troops, and many non-combatants and civilians to withdraw to Hamgyong Province, but the Second Front did not let go of the main Japanese force deployed on the Korean Peninsula.
Thanks to that, we were able to withdraw in an orderly manner.
The 7th Brigade, which suffered the most damage, was the first to be moved, along with the wounded and the elderly, then the skilled workers from the factories, the 4th Brigade, and the administrative and security personnel from the Pyongyang area were moved to Hamheung.
I commanded the withdrawal operation at the very end.
Although I was not the first to arrive in Pyongyang after the war broke out, I had to stay until the end as a commander and prepare for any eventuality.
Fortunately, the terrified Japanese troops did not move until the last day of our withdrawal.
Only after the safety of the front and rear was secured, I began to march the 300 km mountainous region with the remaining troops and civilians who had not yet left.
The road was very painful, but he didn’t show it.
No, I couldn’t even show it.
Because everyone who marched with me was silently following my orders.
So, after walking and walking for a whole week, I was able to cross the rugged mountains and enter the wide plains of Hamheung.
By the time we reached Hamju-eup, the Guards Division was waiting for us, having sent out its subordinate units.
“Sergeant! It’s been a while. But why is this happening…”
The first person to greet me was the 1st Brigade Commander, Lieutenant General Park Seung-hwan, who looked at us with surprised eyes.
Of course, it was not the Japanese Guards Division, but our only division that had been quietly maintaining its strength in Hamheung.
“I hope you are all well. I am fine. Please lead the wounded and bring them food. We are all very tired from the long march.”
“Yes, I will do that.”
Among the hungry and exhausted soldiers, I was walking on foot, even giving horses to the wounded.
The road was so rough and the cold so harsh that even a commander leading an army had to risk his life to cross it.
A good number of people disappeared into the cold or set out on a journey from which there was no return.
Some people were unable to leave the rough road and had no choice but to return to North Pyongan Province, where they could find another route.
Of those who left like that, not many have arrived in Hamheung so far.
Nonetheless, a significant number of troops and refugees were able to set foot in the relatively safe Hamgyong Province.
While the soldiers of the Guards Division were looking after and evacuating those who had fallen behind in the retreat, Commander-in-Chief Lee Gyu-tae, who was commanding the troops in Hamgyeong Province, grabbed my hand as soon as he saw me.
It was an expression as if he had met a thousand troops.
It was clear that he must have been overwhelmed with all that time, having to endure the Emperor’s beatings, comforting the frightened ministers, and governing the people, officials, and military whose morale might be low.
“I’m so glad you came, really.”
“I feel ashamed to have handed over Pyongyang without a major battle…”
“No. It is inevitable for the greater war. Come in.”
While the exhausted soldiers were regrouping and resting, I headed to the Naval Headquarters in Hamheung, which was being used as a temporary headquarters building.
“Everyone has a strange look in their eyes.”
“The atmosphere in Hamheung is very subtle right now.”
“If it’s subtle···.”
“His Majesty is openly dissatisfied that you withdrew from Pyongyang without even fighting. However, the majority of the Marshal’s Office and field commanders are dissatisfied that the Emperor is intentionally belittling the bravery of Sun Mu-yeong. Well, since you withdrew your troops and residents in a timely manner without causing any major damage, I will not say anything more.”
As soon as I entered Hamheung, I felt a stinging smell.
Anxiety and fear.
These two smells felt like the stench of a battlefield that had just ended.
It wasn’t a fear that was slowly rising from below, but the Emperor was already exploding with discontent and anxiety, so what could be done?
“I guess he never thought that Hamheung would fall if he stayed there and fought until the end.”
“Your Majesty has been doing things like that lately, you know. It just goes with that. Lately, I listen to everything Your Majesty says with one ear and let it go out the other.”
“Oh, and then you get hit by a siren.”
“If you were going to strike, you would have already struck. Who is going to drag me out?”
Lee Gyu-tae opened a door, whining and receiving salutes from passing officers and guards.
“His Majesty has ordered you to be brought to the palace as soon as you arrive, but that is not important right now. There are more urgent matters waiting for you.”
“What is it?”
“You’ll know when you get there. You need to get some rest too, but I’m really sorry I can’t do that···.”
And then, through the wide open door, neatly dressed people were sitting in rows on chairs placed around a long table, looking this way.
***
“Prime Minister and Cabinet members, I am glad that you are all safe.”
“Isn’t that what we should be saying, Commander? Anyway, it’s fortunate that we achieved a great victory and withdrew without any major damage. However, I feel sorry that I can’t rest, even though you need to. Could you please look into this?”
“···Sergeant, you must not reveal what is happening now to anyone else. It could lower the morale of the soldiers.”
It seemed like it was quite a sensitive topic, so I nodded and looked through the pages of the document in front of me.
And what was shown at the very top was an overview of the large-scale suppression operation being carried out by the Japanese army in the Samnam region and the tactics they were employing.
“Operation Samkwang···.”
“Huh? Did you know this? The Japanese military is currently calling the atrocities they are committing under the pretext of suppressing South Korea the Samkwang Operation.”
As expected, the level of brutality was head-scratching no matter how many times I saw it.
The stories were outrageous, ranging from throwing children into wells and slamming them against rocks, herding people into buildings and setting them on fire, to raping women and burying them alive in huge holes.
The branch managers of the records investigation office who wrote the report also tried to suppress their emotions as much as possible, but they couldn’t hide everything.
“Just hearing it makes me unable to describe the horror···.”
“The enemies are taking everything, burning everything, and killing everything.”
Tong-eosa Lee Gyu-tae also opened his mouth while lighting a cigarette. It seemed that it was impossible to listen without a cigarette.
Ignoring their words, I continued to flip through the papers of the report.
It was thoroughly described how various methods were used, such as rounding up all the able-bodied men who could directly serve as manpower resources for the guerrillas and beheading, shooting, or mass murdering them by drowning them in the river.
“In early December, the enemy, who had been defeated at Hwangju, gave up on Gaeseong and retreated to the Hansung area. They sent a large-scale punitive force starting from Gyeonggi and Hoseo to Honam and Yeongnam. All of them were reorganized… They were units under the 1st Army.”
As I went on, the things written were so horrific that I could only say they were beyond the pale.
The Japanese military is carrying out Operation Samkwang, a retaliatory operation in the form of looting, burning, and killing everything, against villages and towns that support guerrillas or are suspected of supporting such forces. Dozens of villages and towns have already been wiped out and thousands of people have died.
The damage was indescribable, and even fellow Japanese soldiers were astonished at the horrific nature of the situation, so there was no need to say more.
“The Records Investigation Office’s 5th Division has also temporarily suspended its activities. The Japanese military’s suppression is too harsh and cruel.”
“The surviving guerrillas are retreating to Jirisan and Gangwon-do. Do you understand what this means?”
“···This means the enemy will be coming here soon.”
In the early days of the Second Front, the guerrilla forces of each region were gaining momentum by attacking or temporarily occupying Jeonju, Gunsan, Daegu, Yangsan, Chungju, and Cheongju, but they were unable to avoid being defeated by a large-scale punitive force.
They brutally cut off the guerrillas from the people, and as their supply of materials and men began to become limited, they gradually began to fall into a disadvantageous position.
After the guerrilla units that had engaged in several decisive battles were shattered, the remaining units began to hide, retreating to the rugged Jirisan Mountains or the even further Naju or Haenam areas.
Because the overwhelming force that could not be resisted was effective in breaking the will to fight.
With the reinforcements from Jemulpo and the 45,000 troops of the 1st Army, along with the Iljinhoe, a group of pro-Japanese puppet government members who were derogatorily referred to as the puppet army, a total of 20,000 troops moved south at the same time, sweeping away the guerrillas as if sweeping with a broom, so there would have been no way to hold out.
“His Majesty criticized the retreat from Pyongyang because of that. The brave men of the second front are dying, but the Sunmuyeong at the front is busy retreating instead of helping.”
“So you’re saying you’re going to fire me?”
Since it seemed like the Emperor was going to strike in this manner, I also spoke in a somewhat strong tone.
Then the ministers burst into small laughter. They all laughed as if it was nonsense.
“Surely, without you, it would be difficult to stop the Japanese pirates. Of course, there are many excellent generals in the Marshal’s Office and the Commander-in-Chief, but in the end, the only one the enemy truly fears is you. And even if His Majesty orders your dismissal, the cabinet and the Marshal’s Office will not sit idly by, so don’t worry.”
I will not sit idly by.
Seeing such words coming out of the mouth of Han Gyu-seol, who was classified as a pro-royalist, it was clear that the military and cabinet had greatly lost faith in the emperor.
“And there is something you absolutely must do.”