Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 356



Only Noblemtl

#2-13. Zhang’s Rising (6)

The Russian Navy’s third Borodino-class ship, the Oryol, which had just been commissioned – originally supposed to be the Iwami in history – was able to be officially sold to our Navy, and after receiving about a year of training from the Russian Navy along with the protected cruiser Svetlana, which had been promised as a gift earlier, entered Jemulpo in early 1912.

Although one-third of the battleship’s crew was still comprised of Russian naval officers and sailors, the majesty of the 14,000-ton battleship, which had entered with the Taegeukgi and naval flags flying, was enough to stimulate people’s romanticism.

“It was a total mess when it came in.”

“At that time, thanks to the warship that entered Jemulpo flying our naval flag, the number of applicants for the Navy skyrocketed that year. I think it was more than ten times the average year.”

The crowds were so large that even the naval corps stationed in Jemulpo could not control them. In the end, all the police forces in Jemulpo, including two companies of the National Military Police dispatched by the Military Police Commander, rushed to the scene and were barely able to calm them down.

If we were to compare it to today’s Navy, which was mainly comprised of World War II destroyers and small speedboats, it would have had the same ripple effect as if they had given the Ticonderoga-class cruiser to the 1970s Korean Navy.

“Of course, this wasn’t all good. Not only did all of our Navy’s existing plans go awry, but it also created a deformed ocean-going fleet with all of its power concentrated in a single battleship.”

The unexpected introduction of battleships was enough to upset the existing 33-plan, so it was understandable that a deformed naval force emerged. It was to the point where one could begin to think that this might be exactly what Japan was aiming for.

As I said earlier, dreadnought-class battleships were already changing the trend overseas as the ‘true terror of the sea’, but we only now had the old pre-dreadnought-class battleships, so we couldn’t help but worry.

“Well, in any case, the fleet will be accompanying us on this expedition. The Navy Ministry said that the battleship Chungmu, the protected cruiser Gwangje, two gunboats from the 2nd Fleet, and all eight destroyers will be sailing to Lushun.”

“To Lushun?”

“We have already finished negotiating with the Far East Governor-General. At this point, it will probably be difficult for Yuan Shikai to intervene directly, so all that remains is for the Director to completely overwhelm Jang Zuo Lin.”

It is probably the first time since the Wonsan Landing Operation that the Army and Navy have been so closely involved in an operation. Moreover, since one-third of the Navy’s total forces are being deployed, it is impossible not to attract attention.

It seems that reporters have already flocked to Jemulpo.

“Even so, the sortie of the battleship was a bit unexpected. Bringing a slaughter knife to a place where chickens are slaughtered.”

“Haha, even this is a political issue. Our navy, which brought about the downfall of the Japanese, is now conducting operations with the only Korean warship in the Yellow Sea. This is a problem that has been a headache for them for a long time. The Minister of the Navy even allowed reporters to cover the story on purpose. If you want to see it, then see it, that’s it.”

Even though it was the Beiyang government, it was not without a navy. Immediately after the Beiyang fleet was completely destroyed, through Zhang Zhidong’s efforts that could not be seen without tears, they purchased destroyers, torpedo boats, and cruisers from Britain and Germany from 1896 onwards to expand their power based on five warships.

However, the fleet of the Beiyang government had already encroached upon practically all the land that could be used as a military port. The Russian fleet was stationed in Lushun and Dalian, the British fleet in Weihaiwei and Hong Kong, the German fleet in Jiaozhou Bay, and the French fleet was stationed in Guangzhou, while the remaining fleets were stationed at the Dago Battery in Tianjin and in Shandong and Zhejiang.

Among these, the fleets in the Tianjin and Shandong areas are the ones that can directly threaten us. If we bring out battleships and protected cruisers and make a show of force… no matter how strong Yuan Shikai is, there’s nothing he can do.

“… Admiral Jang Gi-ryeom has used his brain, yes.”

Besides, it was a good thing for us if the Navy attracted attention like that. Not only would the quick-witted Japanese Foreign Ministry not notice this movement, but the Japanese Navy would also know where and how our only battleship was moving.

If the enemy’s attention is naturally focused on the fleet and the 1st Guards Cavalry Division that have gathered at Jemulpo Port, they will not pay much attention to the assault infantry brigade that will mount the Gyeongui Line and launch a real counterattack.

“Anyway, I heard that the director himself is going up to Pyeonganbuk-do this time.”

“The situation is so dire that I have been ordered to subjugate Jangjakrim.”

“In any case, the fleet will cover the 1st Guards Cavalry Division, which will land in the Yongampo area within three days, and then head to Lushun. I hope you make the most of the situation.”

After Lee Dong-hwi saluted me, he quickly disappeared the way he came. I sighed as I looked at the situation in front of me, and thought about stopping by the house to say hello, but decided not to. There was not enough time for that. So I headed to Yongsan Station, and immediately started heading to Sinuiju with the assault infantry brigade that was ready to go.

***

… As I got on the train, I unconsciously remembered the Mugunghwa train car I had boarded at Daejeon Station while leaving for a training camp at the front line at the end of my OBC training. It was because of that nightmarish memory of us all huddled together, wearing the rank of second lieutenant with a red light on our heads, eating the ready-to-eat rations all the way to Chuncheon Station.

As soon as I got off at Chuncheon, I thought about how I had finally arrived at the damned Central and Eastern Front after passing through the winding valleys, and I couldn’t help but think about the time when the regimental commander, who looked like a soldier to the core, climbed Mt. Daeseong with the new second lieutenants and said, “Now, this is where you should be.”

“Did you have a bad dream?”

“Well, I guess that’s what it is.”

Looking outside, it was now completely dark. The soldiers sitting in the carriage were eating the lunch boxes they had received just before departure, and the smell of mackerel and beef wafted up, so I thought that the Quartermaster Command had recently purchased canned food and supplied it to them.

And this was a pretty popular special dish for the soldiers, and they said it was really tasty when eaten with rice. They were quietly eating with kimchi and bean sprouts as side dishes. Sometimes, there were people who complained that the canned food was swollen, and the battalion officials would replace it with new ones.

Since sodium nitrite was not used properly in those days, unlike modern canned foods, there were frequent cases of canned foods spoiling. In such cases, he directly ordered the Quartermaster Command to replace them immediately. This was to prevent cases where people ate the wrong food and ended up dying.

Anyway, everyone was skillfully opening cans with the can openers on their military ID tags, and some were opening them with their newly issued rifles, and they were happily eating while opening the lids of the lunch boxes they had received when they left. If it weren’t for the dull uniforms and guns, it was as if they were students on a school trip.

“Aren’t you going to eat, Director?”

“I haven’t thought about it yet. Let’s eat first.”

Unlike the soldiers’ sack full of barley rice, the officers’ sack was full of white rice, and I handed it to a young soldier who was passing by. The soldier looked at me with surprised eyes, but when I put my finger to my mouth and signaled for him to be quiet and take it, he saluted with an unbearable smile and quickly ran back to his seat.

“No, brother, I want your lunch box… … .”

“Oh, okay. Anyway, everyone seems to be in a good mood.”

“They’re the ones who have to run around the dull battlefield, so even at times like this, we should just leave them alone.”

My brother said, taking a sip of the cider that was served for dessert, as if he had already finished eating.

“How much is left?”

“Two hours from now. I’m fine, except for the brief delay due to getting water.”

I finally realized why there was only one express train per day from Hansung to Uiju. In order to send this one, they had to stop all the other trains on the single-track section and order only this one train to run.

And now, three more express trains are following behind, leaving gaps in between… Until they all pass, the remaining trains have no choice but to stand by and wait for the situation to end. I could understand why the railway director was upset.

“Oh, you brought that too?”

“What? Ah, ah.”

My younger brother seemed to not understand for a moment, but soon nodded and clapped his hands.

“Just in case, the Assault Infantry Command sent it to Uiju in advance. Looking back now, it seems like a good idea. It would have been quite a sight if they had squeezed that into this small carriage.”

“I guess so. By the way, do all the soldiers in the brigade know how to ride that?”

“Of course. There is nothing that an assault infantryman cannot do. As our command motto goes, ‘If it can’t be done, make it happen.’”

I’m not a special forces soldier, so if it doesn’t work out, make it happen. It seemed to me that just as tactics evolve, the unit’s mottos also evolve in a convergent manner.

“The cavalry division will arrive in three days, so you must cross the river and begin maneuvering as soon as they arrive.”

“What about the front?”

“I should leave it to the 7th Brigade guys. I’ll give them operational instructions as soon as they arrive, but… … . You keep it brief.”

The approximate distance they had to move was about 30 to 40 kilometers. Since Jangjakrim’s advance party was still lingering in Dandong, they planned to use the lower islands at the mouth of the Yalu River.

While the 7th Brigade and the 5th Infantry Division here were attempting to cross the river toward Hwangcho-pyeong, the largest of the lower islands in the mouth of the Yalu River, and thereby deceive and tie up the enemy’s main force, the 1st Assault Infantry Brigade planned to cross the bridge on bicycles as soon as all units were assembled and immediately strike the enemy in the Dandong area from the rear.

While those idiots were lingering, it was possible to take control of most of the bridges toward Sinuiju thanks to General No Baek-rin. However, as time passed, there would come a time when our forces, who had to reduce their bridgeheads, would have to give up, but this time it would not be that way.

“What about the assault rifles you asked me to bring?”

“You placed it in the right place.”

It wouldn’t have taken the form of deploying a few carbines per rifle squad… and would have been closer to being armed only with automatic weapons, like the South Korean assault units, the Chinese army, and the first wave of the North Korean army during the Korean War. At least if it were my brother’s personality, he would have concentrated the carbines on the most powerful assault units at the front.

“Since the Western Front is also prepared, I think we can just attack the enemy’s rear as soon as they attack.”

“Good. While the enemy’s main force is focused on the 7th Brigade in the Hwangcho-pyeong area along the Amnok River, you will attack the rear… … Let’s turn this entire area into a no-man’s land and wipe it all out.”

When I smiled, my brother nodded, saying he understood what I meant. In just a few hours, I would be able to show Jang Jag-rim, his friends, and many of his subordinates a very warm Korean welcome.

On the train that was getting closer and closer to Sinuiju, I waited for the sun to rise soon.