Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 293

Episode 293: Savior. (6)

The greatest contributors to the Battle of Chikuzen were the batteries exported from Joseon.

Morimi used artillery batteries to bring water from the Ikisan River to the farmland that became the battlefield.

Farmland that had been plowed to dig furrows and planted with rice absorbed water horribly, and the farmland immediately turned into mud.

The role of the battery did not end there. Defensive points surrounded by batteries were created at key points on the battlefield, and spearmen and archers with long spears intercepted the enemies.

Because it was such a line of defense, Mitsushida said, ‘It’s not easy.’ That was what he said.

But Mitsushida could not retreat. At the largest redoubt behind the camped Ouchi army, Morimi suddenly appeared.

It was unacceptable to retreat from the battlefield where the enemy leader was located. If he retreated from this position, Mitsushida’s honor would surely fall to the ground, and in that case, there was a high possibility that the minor lords who followed him would abandon him and commit themselves to Ouchi.

As an aside, the wars fought by Japanese generals up to that time were quite classic.

As when the allied forces of Yuan and Goryeo invaded, the Japanese style of ‘Ilgito’ (一騎討) was an example of a Japanese style of going out on a single horse, revealing one’s family name and one’s name, and engaging in a one-on-one duel.

With this classic tactic seen only in China’s Three Kingdoms period – which also disappeared from the Korean peninsula after the Battle of Hwarang Gwanchang – when the Japanese generals came before the Allied forces of the Yeo-Mongolian Empire, the Allied forces responded with a rain of arrows.

Because of these restrictions, Mitsushida had no choice but to push his troops into the mud.

“Ouchi’s troops are smaller than expected! One hell of a lot of trouble! “The rise and fall of your family is at stake, so do your best!”

Following Mitsushida’s shout, Mochinao Otomo also raised his voice.

“We must win! If we win, Kyushu will become ours again!”

However, the soldiers and samurai who were stuck in the mud could not use their strength properly, and arrows rained down on these soldiers and samurai.

The soldiers who fought through the mud with all their might and arrived at the place where the Ouchi army was encamped had to deal with two to three long spears per person. Unlike Shonin Otomo’s soldiers who were stuck in the mud and could not move properly, Ouchi Shibukawa’s soldiers attacked the enemy with full force.

The reason they were able to move like that was because the walls built with batteries prevented water from entering, allowing them to fight on dry land.

While they were blocking the Shawnee and Otomo armies through defensive positions made using mud and artillery batteries, the main force of the Ouchi army, which had departed the day before and bypassed the mountainside, attacked the back of the Shawnee Otomo alliance.

Thus, the battle that took place at Chikuzen Fukae ended in victory for the Ouchi Shibukawa alliance.

* * *

This battle was a major turning point in history.

This battle also took place in history before the intervention of Hyang. However, the victor in that battle was the victory of the Shawnee Otomo Union.

It was not just a simple victory, but Ouchi Morimi was killed in this battle. When Morimi died, a civil war broke out to decide on a successor, and Ouchi’s growth came to a temporary halt.

However, as the battle ended with Ouchi’s victory, Ouchi clearly gained control of the northern Kyushu region. And the native lords of southern Kyushu paid close attention to Ouchi’s movements.

* * *

It was the Shawnee clan who found themselves in a difficult situation due to their defeat in this battle. Mitsusada and his son Sketsugu were killed while resisting the Ouchi army that had made a diversionary attack.

While the father and son of the Shoni clan were killed in action, Otomo Mochinao was able to escape with his vassals.

“Go back to Bungo as quickly as possible! Now that we are at the border with those damn Ouchi bastards, we must do our best to attack the castle!”

“hot!”

“I’m angry! “I am angry and resentful!”

Mochinao Otomo led his soldiers into retreat, shedding tears of blood.

The alliance withdrew, and the Shoni brothers Yoshiyori and Noriyori, who had lost their father and older brother, had to find a way out and escape. The Shawnee family’s vassals tried hard to save their young lord’s children, but there was only one answer.

“I’ll take you to Tsushima!”

“Please.”

The brothers boarded the ship with the surviving retainers and headed for Tsushima Island.

* * *

Although the battle was thus won, Morimi did not engage in additional battles.

“The southern lords must have become very angry. “If we keep moving in this situation, we will lose money.”

Morimi explained the situation to his retainers.

“With this, Kitakyushu (北九州) came into our hands. But our main force is still across the sea. “I need to gain more strength.”

“hot!”

While listening to the vassals’ answers, Morimi turned his gaze and looked at the battlefield.

Morimi, who was inspecting the batteries that were the main contributors to this battle, looked at the two-piece armor he was wearing.

Morimi muttered softly as she touched the several torn marks on the chest of the coffin with her hands.

“Monkey play….”

“Master. what did you say?”

Morimi sighed and answered the retainer’s question.

“Whoa~. “I said it was monkey play.”

“What do you mean by suddenly playing monkey?”

Morimi responded by pointing to the batteries.

“Look at those batteries. We have made a sack of fine fabric, worthy of formal wear, and are sitting there. And look at this armor. The arrow couldn’t even pierce it. What do you think Joseon, which has such capabilities, would have said if it had seen this battle? “Maybe they said monkeys play war.”

“Ah…”

The retainers nodded at Morimi’s words.

This was because they had also seen Joseon’s capabilities in Yunotsu.

The Joseon battle lines seen from Yunotsu looked large and solid. Not only was it large, but there were also many artillery pieces in sight.

And the size of the soldiers manning those front lines was also unusual. Basically, he was about half a head bigger than the samurai who were confident that they were big. The discipline was strict and there was never any confusion. Even the lowest-ranking soldiers knew what they had to do and moved ahead of time.

Morimi continued.

“It is clear that the world is changing and we are not seeing it. Now you have to open your eyes and look outside. I will learn what I can and receive help where I can, even if it means begging. “I need to find out more about the academy that Mochiyo mentioned last time.”

“hot!”

“Then let’s get ready to go back.”

“hot!”

While the vassals who responded to Morimi’s orders diligently cleared the battlefield and prepared to retreat, Morimi sighed as he gazed at the sky as the sun set.

“Whoa~. “There’s a lot of work to be done, but not much time…”

After winning, Morimi got busy. ‘Subdue the Shoni and Otomo.’ The shogunate’s order was both justification and shackles. Since the subjugation was carried out according to orders, the related general report had to be written and posted. This was like admitting that Ouchi was under the shogunate.

Morimi, who gritted his teeth and wrote a letter, helped Shibukawa Yoshitoshi, the Kuju thief, solidify his control over Hakata and Chikuzen, and then returned home.

It was Mochiyo from Iwami who welcomed Morimi, who crossed the strait again and returned to Suo.

“I congratulate you on your great victory.”

“thanks.”

“This is the amount allocated to us among the ore produced here in Iwami.”

“okay? “Hurry and give it to me!”

Morimi smiled happily and received a report related to the ‘Iwami Ginzan’. Looking at the numbers written in the report, Morimi had a strange expression of joy and regret.

“The amount of ore (original ore before smelting) is considerable. This is more than enough to make up for the wasted military expenses. But it’s a pity. If our craftsmen’s smelting skills were as good as those of Joseon and Ming, we would be able to make even greater profits…”

Morimi, who was losing his appetite with regret, gave an order to another vassal.

“Ask the famous merchants again to get some silver jewelry. It doesn’t matter if you ask for a lot of money. “Once you get the technology, you can immediately make up for the loss.”

“hot!”

After giving the order, Morimi opened another report.

“You want me to save the cows?”

“That’s right.”

“Are you planning to expand the mine shaft?”

Mochiyo answered Morimi’s question with a perplexed expression.

“It’s edible.”

“Edible?”

In response to Mochiyo’s answer, Morimi looked at the report again. Morimi checked the numbers written on the report and looked at Mochiyo.

“Do Koreans only eat meat instead of rice?”

“I eat more rice.”

“Huh….”

* * *

One of the ‘culture shocks’ that Mochiyo experienced was the ‘love of meat-eating’ among Koreans.

Koreans working in mines ate meat whenever they had time. The meals distributed to them did not contain any meat at all.

However, Koreans ate meat whenever they had time.

“I’m feeling a bit weak these days. Should I eat some meat?”

“That’s good!”

When one person expressed an opinion, others responded. Once that decision was made, I immediately saved up money to find a cow and slaughtered it.

The sight of Koreans eating meat like that was an unfamiliar sight to the Japanese. The moment they worked together, the Japanese people, who were able to communicate to some extent, asked questions while making gestures with their hands and feet.

“Aren’t you eating meat too often?”

Every time they were asked that question, the Koreans’ answer was the same.

“Eat well and use your strength!”

“Do you know why the market opens every five days? “There is a 5-day market so you can eat meat once every 5 days!”

“You have to work hard after eating meat to get a meat side dish the next morning! “Meat calls meat!”

“Meat is truth, and the precepts in it are common sense! Ah! Now that I think about it, I’m craving gyejak… I wonder if they opened a gyejak restaurant in Yunotsu?”

They were Japanese who could not get used to the sight of Koreans speaking passionately.

“Ha…”

But soon, when the Koreans held a meat feast, Japanese people began to sneak in.

It’s not that Japanese people don’t know the taste of meat. Long ago, after Tenmu Tenno promulgated the ‘meat ban’, eating meat was banned in public. However, people ate meat by pretending that it was ‘medicine’ or that it was ‘bird’ or ‘fish’.

However, eating in secret and eating openly were completely different things. Koreans ate huge amounts of meat. That’s why there were Japanese people who secretly noticed and interfered with the banquet.

“Ano~. That creepy body over there…”

“Oh my! In our work, our bodies are our assets! “Come here and let’s take medicine together!”

The Japanese who intervened like that were never empty-handed. There was alcohol from unknown sources, and these people received warm hospitality from the Koreans and took ‘medicine’.

This mass consumption of meat did not only occur in mines. A significant amount of meat was also consumed in Yunotsu.

* * *

“Can’t we just bring it from Joseon?”

Mochiyo explained the reason to Morimi’s question with a troubled expression.

“Other goods also need to be transported, and it is said that transporting cows and pigs is not profitable.”

“Huh…”

Morimi thought for a moment and soon came to a conclusion.

“We will build ranches nearby. “If you just buy it like that, I will spend all the money from the silver mine on meat.”

“hot!”

Morimi sat alone that night, looking over the reports, thinking with a serious look on his face.

“Koreans… meat… hmm… should we also feed meat to the people of our country?”

* * *

Funnily enough, it was only after the introduction of gyeongjang that Koreans began to eat meat with ease. This was because the supply of meat became smoother as ranches and poultry farms were built throughout Joseon.

Of course, there were occasional complaints saying, ‘People eat too much expensive meat, so we must be careful,’ but King Sejong, a famous meat lover, did not treat it as an appeal at all.