Chapter 670

Episode 670: Stories from other countries (5)

As guns and artillery were distributed in large quantities, the clothing of the shogunate army became very light. The cone-shaped iron jingasa (陣笠) was almost the only protective equipment.

On the other hand, the uprising troops were wearing all traditional armor.

Therefore, in a chase that lasted about 3 ri, the uprising troops had to endure a great deal of physical exhaustion compared to the shogunate army.

Like the soldiers, the commanders of the uprising army, who had been chasing the shogunate army while breathing heavily, paused for a moment when they saw the wooden fence in front of them, but soon raised their voices.

“charge! A flimsy fence is everything! “Destroy it!”

“Charge! “You can receive a reward every time you cut off a shogunate’s head!”

“It’s the shogunate army that was just running away! “Don’t be afraid!”

“Wow!”

At the encouragement of their commanders, the soldiers of the uprising army charged toward the fence with shouts.

At that time, the shogunate commanders shouted from beyond the fence.

“shooting!”

Ta-ta-tang! Ta-ta-tang!

With loud gunshots, the uprising soldiers began to fall down.

“charge! It takes time to reload...”

Ta-ta-tang!

Contrary to the vanguard’s expectations, the shooting of the shogunate soldiers behind the fence was rapid.

“Why...”

The commanders of the uprising army, confused by the suddenly powerful gunfire of the shogunate army, soon grasped the situation.

“It was a trap!”

According to their judgment, the shogunate army had dug a trap here.

The unit that first dealt with the vanguard of the uprising army was assigned the Suzhou-style rifles used to fight the Muromachi shogunate, Ming artillery captured from the Ming Dynasty, and old-fashioned black powder.

Naturally, due to the slow rate of fire, short range, poor firepower, and massive deflagration, the vanguard of the uprising suffered less losses than expected, and their morale was high.

Afterwards, at the right moment, the shogunate army retreated, and the uprising army entered into a chase without any hesitation and pursued the shogunate army.

And here, about 3 ri away, the main force of the shogunate army was crouching and waiting for the uprising army.

Toys already loaded with bigyeokjincheonroe, as well as Japanese-style freight cars imported from the empire in large quantities formed a fire net along the fence and trench lines, and the elites of the shogunate armed with Japanese-style long rifles were waiting for the uprising army.

* * *

After the shogunate army’s first salvo, the vanguard commanders of the uprising army all had the same thought.

‘It’s over!’

The vanguard of the uprising army, realizing that it was a trap, urgently stopped the charge and tried to retreat, but due to inertia, they continued to be pushed into the barrier.

The vanguard of the uprising army that was so pushed in was caught in the fire nets of the Bigyeokjincheonroe and Eulsikhwacha and began to melt.

“Run away too!”

“Run away!”

The remaining troops of the vanguard army who survived the crossfire of the Bigyeokjincheonroe and Eulsikhwacha quickly turned around. But at that very moment, the main camp of the tangled uprising army rushed in.

The vanguard trying to retreat and the main base pushing in became entangled, creating a situation where they were stranded.

The commanders of the shogunate army who saw this raised their swords high and shouted.

“Wipe it away!”

“Don’t spare your ammunition!”

Even if it was not an order from the commander, the soldiers of the shogunate were launching a merciless attack on the uprising army that was tangled in front of them.

“Do or die! “I have to kill them before I die!”

“Kill the traitors!”

“Subdue the traitors!”

With cries of ‘Put down the traitors!’ erupting from all directions, the soldiers turned on their eyes and attacked the uprising army.

The situation in the Japanese country was conveyed to the empire almost in real time. The reason this was possible was because the overseas scholars working at the core of the shogunate used ships to send news almost every day.

“This is definitely possible only with the permission of the shogunate general, right?” Heo Hu immediately answered Hyang’s question.

“That’s right. “It is unprecedented to have such a detailed account of what is going on in the Japanese Empire.”

Following Heo Hu’s answer, Hwang Hee spoke.

“It is clear what the shogunate general means when he does that. “It’s about keeping an eye on our empire.”

“Are you looking into our empire?”

In response to Hyang’s question, Hwang Hee explained the reason why the shogunate kept an eye on the empire.

“From a narrow perspective, we must express our regrets to our empire in order to replenish the bullets and artillery shells used up in this war. “From a broad perspective, the safety of the shogunate regime can only be secured if the legitimacy of the shogunate is recognized by our empire.”

“Hmm...”

Hyang hummed at Hwang Hee’s words and analyzed the situation for a moment before asking Hwang Hee.

“Prime Minister. Then, will our empire become the superior state of the country of Wa?”

Hwang Hee answered Hyang’s question right away.

“That’s right.”

“Hmm...”

In response to Hwang Hee, Hyang considered the situation again.

‘Is it because of the stability of the regime? It was the same reason why we brought the Ming to Shangguo.’

After thinking that far, Hyang asked Hwang Hee again.

“What do you think is the reason why the Waeguk wants to welcome us as the Shangguo instead of choosing Ming?”

“The Ming is a traditional powerhouse, but its ruling power is now greatly weakened. However, since our empire is now in unity, anyone who can read the current trend will treat our empire, not Ming, as the superior state.”

“Is this a good thing?”

“It can be both a good thing and a bad thing. It is a good thing that not only the Japanese country but also small countries such as Yugu are volunteering to welcome our empire as a superior country, as it means that our empire has become stronger. However, it is not a good thing for a superior state to not be generous in giving to a small state that has declared itself to be prompt.”

The ministers all nodded at Hwang Hee’s words.

This was because Joseon also had a history of engaging in tribute diplomacy with the Ming Dynasty. Many people shed tears to meet the amount of tribute demanded by the Ming and the bribes demanded by envoys from the Ming, but the amount taken from the Ming was also enormous. And among the ministers filling Daejeon, most of the senior ministers had the experience of steadily extorting money by going back and forth between orders as envoys.

Kim Jeom, who was next to Hwang Hee, continued speaking.

“The good news is that our empire declared in advance that it would not engage in tribute diplomacy. Thanks to you, that burden has been greatly reduced.”

At Kim Jeom’s words, all the ministers and ministers nodded.

After summarizing the situation up to this point, Hyang asked what the number of options the shogunate would choose in the future.

“A general of the shogunate has achieved the rank of government official. Will he be satisfied with this?”

Hwang Hee answered Hyang’s question again.

“This comes down to half and half, as we’ve discussed before. The Emperor of Japan is a famous and insignificant person, so there is a high possibility that the shogunate generals, who hold all civil and military authority, will push him out. But in God’s opinion, I don’t think it’s right now. Because, even if he is an obscure being, he is an emperor who has been in power for over a thousand years. Public sentiment may be shaken. “Shouldn’t it be at least 230 years?”

Following Hwang Hee, Heo Hu received the message.

“Just as Cao Cao did above, the general of the current shogunate will stop at the government post. However, there is a high possibility that the person who succeeds him will make the same choice as Cao Pi.”

“Same choice as Joby?”

“Zen is coming.”

Cao Cao’s son, Cao Pi, succeeded Cao Cao as minister of the Later Han Dynasty and took over the throne from Emperor Xian to become emperor.

Hearing Heo Hu’s words, Hyang asked a question with a slightly mischievous smile.

“What should I do? “Shall we make a little fuss?”

In response to Hyang’s question, Heo Hu immediately expressed his opposition.

“For the first time in a long time, we have a government that will listen to our empire. Is there even a need for that? And the Japanese people are a people who are by nature two-faced and forget favors easily and remember grudges from generation to generation. The day will come when they will set their teeth on us, but we must not be the first to provide the factor.”

“What the Minister of Foreign Affairs said is reasonable.”

“So it is.”

At Heo Hu’s words, Hyang took a step back.

“Then let’s move on to a better direction for each other first.”