Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 148
Episode 148: The fall of that year. (3)
It was through this struggle with the Jurchen people that Kim Jong-seo earned the nickname ‘Ferocious Tiger.’ In particular, the battle that took place in the first month of the year solidified the nickname.
First month of the 11th year of King Sejong’s reign.
“Administrator Na-ri! “We’re in big trouble!”
When the person who was doing the chores at the pioneering headquarters came in yelling, Hwang Hee, who was reviewing the documents, asked in an irritated voice.
“What’s going on?”
“We were attacked!”
Hwang Hee jumped up from her seat at the word ‘raid’.
“attack! “Tell me in detail!”
“yes!”
According to reports, the wagons departing from Musan were hit while on their way to Gilju, where the pioneering corps headquarters is located.
‘Something happened!’ As soon as the words were said, Kim Jong-seo, who entered Hwang Hee’s office, asked a question on Hwang Hee’s behalf.
“Where exactly did you get hit?”
“According to the messenger’s report, it is near Shinchaeng.”
While listening to the answer, Hwang Hee traced the map with her finger.
“Newbie… newbie… new… here!”
Hwang Hee, who pointed out the newcomer on the map, screamed.
“Damn them, they came all the way in here!”
The new recruit was on his way from Musan to Cheongjin.
At the time the incident occurred, the northeastern region of Joseon had expanded to the Hoeryeong and Rajin lines.
The Musan area, which touched the Duman River, was a border area, so the Joseon army was under strict security. The new incident that occurred there was in the middle part of the Hamgyong Mountains, an area that was already considered safe.
“I’m going crazy. If you loosen it just a little, it will break through right away…”
As Hwang Hee said, Kim Jong-seo, who was next to her, pointed out the reason.
“We don’t have enough troops.”
“You have to believe that reinforcements will arrive soon. By the way, what about the damage?”
“Furs and wool collected by the Jurchen people in Musan and nearby areas, as well as the family register and land register…”
“Great sir!”
Kim Jong-seo’s eyes rolled back when he heard that there was a problem with the family register and land register.
Hwang Hee also gave permission right away without saying anything else.
“Take half with you.”
“yes!”
As soon as he answered, Kim Jong-seo jumped out and screamed.
“They all pop out!”
At Kim Jong-seo’s order, officials who were working here and there in the headquarters building came out.
Kim Jong-seo looked at the officials and explained the situation.
“Some damned bastards robbed the carriage carrying the family register and land register!”
“Is this such a damn thing!”
“Those people who hang stones from their heads and throw them into the Duman River!”
Hearing Kim Jong-seo’s words, all the officials, regardless of who they were, started swearing and became murderous.
“How long does it take to rewrite that!”
This was precisely why the officials were angry.
Having to work again.
Kim Jong-seo gave an order as he saw the officials whose lethality reached the sky.
“Stand in two rows!”
Chachak!
As soon as Kim Jong-seo spoke, the officials lined up in two rows.
“This way! Get ready and come out right away! “We have to get to Rookie before the sun sets!”
“ancient!”
The officials who had been singled out by Kim Jong-seo’s order quickly returned to their rooms, put on their armor, and began to take care of the commanders-in-chief.
The movement was as quick and rapid as that of well-trained Gapsa or military officers.
In less than 15 minutes, about 20 well-armed officials rode horses together with Kim Jong-seo and rode out of the headquarters of the pioneering group.
Doo doo doo!
The cavalrymen, who were not cavalrymen, disappeared, leaving behind the loud sound of horses’ hooves and a cloud of dust.
The merchant who ran the store near the pioneer group grumbled as he waved his hand and pushed away the dust.
“What kind of stupid Yeojin bastards caused the accident again?”
By the time Kim Jong-seo and the civil servants arrived at Sincham, Lee Jing-ok’s troops, who had come from Geumpae, were also arriving.
“female! This gun is broken! “It’s been a while!”
“It’s been a while, Deputy Kim!”
The two people exchanged greetings with each other, then moved side by side and exchanged information.
“Do you know which tribe it is?”
Lee Jing-ok answered Kim Jong-seo’s question in a voice full of cynicism.
“Are they going to speak properly?”
The ‘those guys’ that Lee Jing-ok spoke of were the noble Jurchen tribe.
Every time something like this happened, the Joseon army began interrogating the affected tribes and surrounding tribes.
However, when asked by the Joseon military, the Jurchen people routinely pointed to tribes with whom they had a deep grudge.
It was a random murder aimed at eliminating the tribes that were fighting against them through the power of the Joseon army.
Kim Jong-seo nodded at Lee Jing-ok’s cynical answer.
“Well, that’s true.”
When Kim Jong-seo agreed, Lee Jing-ok added.
“I always say this, but subjugation is more efficient than taming a horse. “You should be able to trust those Yeojin guys!”
At Lee Jing-ok’s words, Kim Jong-seo smiled bitterly and slightly shook his head.
Among those in charge of the northeastern development planned by King Sejong, Lee Jing-ok was a known hardliner.
Lee Jing-ok was the one who entered the military service as a Gapsa and after passing the civil service examination, he continued to quarrel with the Jurchen tribe and then entered the Joseon Army General Staff Headquarters.
In history before Hyang’s intervention, Lee Jing-ok was one of those people whose lives were subtly turned upside down after Hyang’s intervention.
In any case, perhaps because he began his life as a soldier fighting against the Jurchen tribe in the north, Lee Jing-ok always insisted on a hard-line stance in countermeasures against the Jurchen people.
“You must not take a conciliatory approach just because you have revealed your wishes! “We have to come out strong from the beginning!”
“One bee, one bee, a hundred? The Jurchen people are laughing! You have to be very careful! “Only then will you be safe!”
To summarize Lee Jing-ok’s argument simply, ‘The only good Jurchen people are dead Jurchen people.’ It was.
Whenever Lee Jing-ok insisted on a hard-line policy against the Jurchen people, Choi Yun-deok and Hwang Hee had to smile bitterly.
“I guess it’s because I’m still young.”
“I’m full of blood, so I need to let go of that blood.”
In this way, Lee Jing-ok led a unit consisting of 500 cavalry and 200 artillerymen.
The mission of Lee Jing-ok’s unit was a combination of long-distance patrol and mobile strike force.
* * *
When those led by Kim Jong-seo and Lee Jing-ok’s unit arrived at Sincham, where the incident occurred, the sun was just setting towards the west.
“Hurry and build a camp!”
At Lee Jing-ok’s command, the soldiers lowered tents from the accompanying supply wagon and began to light bonfires.
While the soldiers were busy constructing the camp, Lee Jing-ok, Kim Jong-seo, military officers, and officials inspected the scene of the incident.
At the scene where the corpses were put aside by the Jurchen people who first reported the incident, Lee Jing-ok and the military officers looked for evidence that could reveal who was responsible. And Kim Jong-seo and the officials looked to see if there were any traces of the documents.
“Here we go!”
“It looks like they fucking burned it down.”
The officials looked at the papers that had all been burned and only small pieces remained, and reported through gritted teeth. In response to the officials’ report, Kim Jong-seo cursed without even realizing it.
“Shit!”
Kim Jong-seo approached the place where the officials found the ashes of the documents and ground them hard.
“These damn bastards… First, if there are any salvageable items, find them and retrieve them as much as possible.”
“Yes, Administrative Officer.”
After giving orders to the officials, Kim Jong-seo walked over to Lee Jing-ok and asked.
“Have you found any traces of the guys who did this damn thing?”
Lee Jing-ok responded by pointing to the Jurchen people standing on one side and trying hard to explain to the interpreter.
“I heard it has its tail attached, so we will start chasing it as soon as dawn comes tomorrow.”
“What is the problem of border crossing?”
In response to Kim Jong-seo’s question, Lee Jing-ok looked at Kim Jong-seo blankly. In response to the silent answer, Kim Jong-seo let out a long sigh.
“Whoa~. Damn it… I guess I’ll have to write another document.”
* * *
The next day, just before dawn, the soldiers and officials cleared their places early, boiled water, and poured it into the combat rations.
After finishing their meal, the soldiers and officials prepared to leave.
Kim Jong-seo gathered officials together and gave orders.
“You guys go to Musan and re-write the family register and land register.”
“Aren’t you going, Adjutant?”
Kim Jong-seo answered the officials’ questions by touching the guns on his side.
“I’m going to go give these damn bastards a beating.”
“… be careful.”
“You guys be careful too. “There will be an escort, but we don’t know what will happen.”
“yes. “Adjutant.”
After bidding farewell to the officials, Kim Jong-seo got on his horse and headed to Lee Jing-ok’s side.
The officials who saw this whispered softly.
“Aren’t you going to take a breather rather than a punch?”
“I guess it’s half and half.”
“Let’s move quickly too. “I hope my friends in Musan follow the ‘3 principles.’”
“I guess I did. “They know that if they don’t, they will suffer.”
While talking loudly, the officials mounted their horses.
The ‘Principle of Three’, as spoken by officials, was a maxim that was born in the military and spread to all ministries in the government.
‘The report must be written in three copies. ‘One copy is to be submitted to superiors, the other copy is for emergency use, and the last copy is for your safety.’
* * *
Lee Jing-ok and Kim Jong-seo crossed the Duman River, following the marks left by those pursuing the Jurchen people who attacked the carriage.
“You can barely overcome it.”
“I have passed over it so often that I feel indifferent now.”
The two people had been joking lightly before crossing the Duman River, but after crossing the Duman River, they remained tense the entire time.
After crossing the Duman River and having gone about 20 ri, the Jurchen people who had set out to pursue them approached me on horseback.
Lee Jing-ok, who received the report from the Jurchen people, turned to Kim Jong-seo.
“If you go 20 ri further north from here, there is the tribe of those who attacked the carriage.”
“Then let’s go.”
Lee Jing-ok, who stopped his troops behind a hill located a little away from the tribe in question, got off his horse and moved carefully.
Lee Jing-ok, who had climbed the hill, knelt down on the ground and quietly took out his monoscope and examined the problem tribe.
“Am I right?”
In response to a question from Kim Jong-seo, who had suddenly come up next to him, Lee Jing-ok handed him a monoscope.
“Look at the carriage in the house on the far left.”
Kim Jong-seo sharpened his teeth after setting the monoscope at the spot pointed out by Lee Jing-ok.
“It’s our carriage.”
* * *
“Hit!”
Lee Jing-ok, who caught the physical evidence, ordered his men to attack.
At Lee Jing-ok’s order, the soldiers wore windshields made of glass instead of crystals, and pulled up the cotton cloths around their necks to cover their noses and mouths.
The windshield was to prevent wind from bothering the eyes when riding a horse, and the cotton cloth that covered the nose and mouth was to prevent smoke from firing the barrel.
The masks that covered the soldiers’ noses and mouths had the mouths of goblins engraved on them. The soldiers, whose faces were covered with windshields and face masks, looked like evil spirits.
When his subordinates finished preparing, Lee Jing-ok swung his arms wide and stretched them forward.
“Hit!”
“attack!”
“Hey!”
Hee hee hee!
“Wow!”
With the loud sounds of soldiers and horses, the Joseon soldiers and noble Jurchen tribesmen began to run towards the Jurchen village in front of them.
The battle that followed was a complete landslide victory for the Joseon army.
The Jurchen warriors who rode out to block the Joseon army’s charge were swept away in an instant. After dealing with the most difficult Jurchen cavalry, the Joseon army began to reduce the village to ruins. Flames rose from all directions, and many Jurchen men fell to the ground and lost their lives due to the Joseon army’s offensive.
“Holy shit!”
Kim Jong-seo swore at the sudden crisis. The moment he turned a corner chasing the fleeing Jurchen tribe, the hidden Jurchen stabbed the horse with a spear.
The moment the horse fell, Kim Jong-seo quickly took off, took out two horseback rifles from his side, and pulled the trigger.
bang! bang!
Before I knew it, the bodies of the Jurchen people who had lost their lives were scattered around Kim Jong-seo.
Slam! Slam!
Kim Jong-seo, who had already fired 12 shots, urgently looked around. When Kim Jong-seo saw the bag containing the extra bullets lying on the dead horse, he swore.
“Damn it!”
“Wow!”
Kim Jong-seo, who saw the Jurchen people rushing to kill him, swore and held the horseback rifles upside down.
“Hey shit!”
* * *
After completing the subjugation, Kim Jong-seo returned to Gilju with Lee Jing-ok’s unit and headed to the Joseon army barracks located next to the headquarters of the pioneering team.
When Kim Jong-seo entered the barracks, he headed to the place where the President’s repairs and receipts were handled.
“The Fuhrer is broken. Please change it.”
“yes?”
Jinmu, who was in charge of repairs and exchanges for the President, looked puzzled by Kim Jong-seo’s words.
At Jinmu’s expression, Kim Jong-seo took out two badly broken horse barrels from the bag he was carrying and placed them on the desk.
Jinmu, who saw Ma Sang Chong-tong covered in hardened blood, splattered Kim Jong-seo’s entire body.
“The place where you were injured….”
“It’s not my blood.”
“Ah yes…”
Jinmu muttered without realizing it as he was looking at the President while listening to Kim Jong-seo’s answer.
“What on earth should I do with the commander-in-chief?… A guy who is fine even when a horse or cow steps on him…”
* * *
Jinmu, who exchanged Kim Jong-seo’s commander-in-chief, inquired about the soldiers who participated in the subjugation.
“What’s going on?”
“Oh, I was going to ask you something. “How did the administrative officer use the President?”
“It’s too bad I didn’t see it….”
After continued questioning, Jinmu found the soldier who had seen Kim Jong-seo’s bloody fight.
The soldier shook his head in response to Jinmu’s question.
“I think it was because he ran out of bullets… He grabbed the horse barrel upside down. “He broke the heads of the Jurchen people… He broke the heads of the Jurchen people like a potter breaking a piece of pottery that turned out incorrectly.”