The Fall of the Japanese Archipelago (6)
Otogui, known as Nobunaga's most trusted retainer, hesitated for a long time before speaking. "Surrender."
"What?"
"I said surrender."
"Impossible."
"Why?"
"Our lord has fallen, but if we charge through the confusion now, we can escape."
"After escaping?"
"You idiot! What nonsense are you talking?"
"You think we can raise an army again after escaping?"
"That is..."
The vassals had no counterargument. They understood what Otogui meant. In this war, most of the conscripted soldiers had already died. Only a handful had followed here. On top of that, word had spread that Nobunaga's two younger brothers had fallen in battle. Rebuilding in their territory seemed nearly impossible. "Then surrender."
"Otogui! Even if our lord wakes up later, it would be better if he makes the final decision."
"You know when he'll wake up?"
"Soon, of course. He took a bad head wound, but he's young and healthy. He'll get up immediately."
Nobunaga, thrown from his horse, had received a savage head injury that sent blood flying. Yet the vassals still insisted he would wake up any moment. The only other hope was that he remained alive. They believed only their lord could absolve them of blame for the war. Otogui could not have missed that. To betray his master and then profit from him—rage burned in his chest, but he swallowed it. Now was not the time. Besides, even if the master awoke, nothing would change. The enemy they had faced so far, and the Joseon army, were entirely different. He drew a deep breath to steady himself. "We could all die miserably. So surrender."
Fortunately, the Joseon soldiers blocking the road had already been told to surrender and were simply waiting. They knew not why. But time was running out. They had been told the Joseon Eastern Army would arrive any moment. That raised a problem. Even sacrificing every last man, escape looked impossible, and there would be no time for seppuku. The Joseon Eastern Army was blind with greed for trophies. Or worse—total annihilation. Unlike the Joseon, these men had no sense of a victor's mercy. So they rose to surrender. But the vassals blocked the path and shouted from their knees. "Otogui! You can't!"
"Why? Don't you want to die by your own hand?"
"That's not it..."
"Then what?"
Otogui drew his blade and swung it at the nearest vassal, slicing him in half. He was tired of the endless delays and irritation. "Who else will stop me now?"
At that, the vassals crawled forward on their knees and cleared a path. They feared death by sword more than death by their own hand. Otogui strode between them, mounted his horse, and raised a white flag as he rode toward the Joseon lines. He had already given up on the war.
* * *
Kim Yeomul, commander of the Third Cavalry Brigade of the Joseon Firepower Army, had been hiding in the mountains for over two weeks, his men scattered. The order had come to capture the fleeing enemies, and now they could finally carry it out. They had crawled into traps the wretched prisoners had dug. It was tempting to wipe them all out. But they did not. Instead, they had given them time to surrender. The king had said: develop the wetlands bigger than Gangwon Province, farm them, and take prisoners if possible. Three thousand cavalrymen would never manage ten thousand men, though killing every last one would have been easy. So they waited. Until the Joseon Eastern Army arrived. Only then could they round them all up and put them to work. Of course, any who resisted would be killed. Kim Yeomul did not want to spare them. He held an MG3-style Joseon-made machine gun in one hand and wiped a rag with the other while speaking to his adjutant. "His Majesty is truly magnificent. He turned weaklings into a slaughterhouse and finished them off."
"Indeed. But will they surrender?"
"They will. For survival."
"We don't need to do anything? They'll kill themselves."
"Do you think so?"
"Of course. Their custom, they say."
"No way?"
The adjutant eyed Kim Yeomul with deep suspicion. Kim Yeomul snorted. "Hah! Or we'll just make them farm."
"That would be best. They're small but obedient and hardworking."
"Not all of them. Not all of them volunteer."
"What?"
"Then we'll kill them."
"No way! Where on earth would such a place exist?"
"Right here."
Since arriving, the Japanese workers hired here had obeyed with absurd ease. They had stayed cautious, measuring every move, yet still made Kim Yeomul angry. He had learned the reason: the local daimyo had given samurai permission to kill civilians without cause. It was absurd. In Joseon, even killing a rebellious slave was a grave crime for the king. "Primitive fools." He clicked his tongue and continued. "His Majesty ordered every man who carried a sword to be disarmed. It was all for a reason."
"Really?"
"Yes. From now on, any man carrying a sword must be rounded up immediately. Resistance means execution."
"Understood. Colonel."
Only now did Kim Yeomul fully grasp the king's words. That was why the Japanese pirates who had come to plunder had committed such cruelty without hesitation. This land was a completely different world, and the people thought completely differently. "So they went mad without restraint..." * * *
Kim Yeomul had raced here at the king's summons with the axe he favored for guarding the north. But he had not brought the axe. He carried the Joseon-style machine gun he had designed after studying the MG3. He had tested it on the voyage and loved it instantly. A million soldiers could be wiped out with it. So whenever he had a moment, he would take it apart, reassemble it, and clean it. Ready for use at any time. "Damn it. I wish we could just open fire right now."
The stories he had heard here were impossible to believe. This was anarchy. The shogun ruling as hostage of the emperor—something the former scholar who had once studied Neo-Confucianism could never understand. He had originally intended to become a civil official. His academic excellence had earned him top honors at twenty. But he had heard the recruitment notice for the Firepower Military Academy and applied at once. His father, who managed relays, had always been too strict. He wanted freedom from the rigid rules of the law. Yet his family opposed it fiercely. They had raised him to be the top scholar and glorify the family name. So even after entering the academy he had struggled. Should he return to the past? But he no longer asked himself such questions. The academy graduates could not participate in politics, yet he saw a machine gun that could sweep away any enemy in a single breath. He could conquer Japan, win glory, and shine in the family name. The opportunity had come. The pattern embroidered on the fleeing Japanese soldiers' banners was exactly the one that had screamed "I will become the shogun!"—Oda Nobunaga's crest.
* * *
Unlike Kim Yeomul, Li Gyeongrok had spread his Fourth Cavalry Brigade wide. He drove the fleeing Japanese soldiers like sheep. "Drop your weapons!" "Surrender!" "Resistance means death!" His men shouted with awkward pronunciation into the wind. But the enemies backed away instead of throwing down their arms, protecting their ornate armored companions. "Sir! That man looks like a leader."
"Hmm... seems so. Why doesn't he surrender?"
"Because of their custom of committing seppuku if they surrender."
"Such a custom?"
"Yes, sir. I was just as surprised as you."
"So that's why?"
"Probably."
"Then kill the bastard first."
"Yes, sir."
Li Gyeongrok gave the order without hesitation. If such a custom existed, they would fight to the end and risk harming their own. The moment the command fell, a sniper raised his bolt-action rifle and fired at the ornate armored man without mercy. "Bang!" With the sound, the head of Hojo Ujiyasu, leader of the Sagami Lion, exploded in a hole. His face mask and helmet shattered. The enemies howled and charged wildly, swords and spears raised. Unlike other daimyo, Hojo Ujiyasu had been kind, so many followed him. "Bang! Bang!" "Screech! Screech!" But when the bolt-action rifles and machine guns roared, the enemies could not even scream. They met their lord first. At that moment, the Japanese soldiers who had been watching from the rear dropped their weapons and lay down. Li Gyeongrok felt a pang of pity. It had been one-sided slaughter. "Should we have let them live?"
"Is that necessary? They were going to kill themselves anyway."
"I don't know who he is, but seeing how his men behaved, he seemed like a decent man."
"Decent? Haven't you heard that kind Japanese men are only the dead ones?"
"That was said?"
"Everyone in the southern provinces I lived in talks that way."
"Because of the pirates?"
"Yes, sir. They were so cruel that people said they weren't even human. So His Majesty ordered every man who had drawn a sword to be shot down."
"That's right."
Li Gyeongrok, a royal kinsman and sixth-generation descendant of Hyoryeong Dae-gun, brother of King Sejong, knew little of the world's affairs. But he was bold and had a warrior's spirit; he would not tolerate injustice. He was also an outstanding archer and horseman, so he had applied to the Firepower Military Academy. In logistics and management he showed rare talent. That was why Yi Yeon had named him commander of the Fourth Cavalry Brigade. The brigade was meant to operate as a support force, so he had assigned it to Li Gyeongrok, who excelled in every field. Yi Yeon had organized the Firepower Army in tens. He created squads of ten, then merged five squads into platoons. Five platoons became companies, four companies became battalions, and three battalions became regiments. Why the system? Joseon loved the number five. Soldiers were formed into units of five soldiers, five files, five squads, and five companies. The central army was likewise structured in fives. Yi Yeon had wanted the same. But operating in fives caused problems. Unlike before, soldiers now had ranks. To eat, sleep, move, and fight, at least ten men were needed. But he could not stretch to full battalions and regiments. The numbers did not divide evenly, and there were still too few academy graduates. Yet the system worked better than he expected. It matched the military organization from his past life. Five squads equalled a platoon of fifty. Five platoons equalled a company of two hundred fifty. Four companies equalled a battalion of one thousand. Three battalions equalled a regiment of three thousand. It was also excellent for formations. With a thousand men, he could arrange left, right, and center. The real problem was the division. Three regiments would not reach ten thousand. So he added one more regiment to form the division. The added regiment would serve as reserve and could be called at any time. The real question was who to name as reserve commander. Everyone was exceptional and reluctant to leave the main force. The only choice left was the former slave Yu Geuk-ryang for the infantry reserve. For the cavalry, because he was a royal kinsman, Li Gyeongrok was given the reserve. He had performed his duty perfectly despite his high-spirited nature. With only three thousand cavalry he captured thirty thousand Hojo troops and marched them back to the base.
* * *
Admiral Yi Sun-sin, having declared the war over, sought out Professor Jeong Geol. "Professor, I will go on reconnaissance for a moment. Please guard this area."
Yi Sun-sin had called Jeong Geol "Professor" even though he had arrived as temporary captain of the third innovation ship. He had simply followed the academy's tradition. "Hmm... where do you plan to go?"
"I received word that the enemy's transport ships are lined up densely along the southwest coast."
"Really?"
"Yes, Professor. Fresh information."
"Then go quickly."
"Yes, Professor."
Yi Sun-sin saluted. Jeong Geol returned it and added one more line. "Be careful."
"Yes, Professor."
* * *
Hashiba Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu had survived. Hideyoshi had sensed danger and slipped away early. Ieyasu had panicked the moment the massive gunfire began and fled at once. Both had met at the coast of the Onodake Strait. "Yield!" "I cannot!" "You dare defy me, you bastard?" "Hah! Coward!" "You bastard!" Fuming, Ieyasu drew his sword. But he did not charge Hideyoshi. He had heard that Hideyoshi was as quick as a monkey. That alone made him afraid. Hideyoshi, noticing the fear, mocked him. "Why? Scared?" "Ah..." Ieyasu clenched his sword and trembled. Hideyoshi laughed mockingly. The vassals and soldiers watching were helpless. Yet just as the escape route was about to be cut off, a voice like thunder rang out. "Joseon army!" Soldiers who turned south at the shout paled and screamed in terror. A massive iron turtle was approaching. "That one over there is also a Joseon army!" Someone shouted from the north. In that direction, similarly shaped ships drew near. Boom! Boom! With the sound of cannon fire...
* * *