NIS Agents Tearing Up the Japanese Empire - Chapter 133



Only Krnovel

The nature of infantry (5)

The independence army unit that crossed the Tuman River consisted of one battalion of troops. The commander of the Korean independence army who led this operation, General Kim Dong-sam, the 1st Chief of Staff Ji Cheong-cheon, and the 1st Regiment Commander of the Korean independence army, Lieutenant Colonel Lee Beom-seok, originally wanted to send more troops across the Tuman River.

However, given the current situation, the Korean Independence Army did not have the ability to carry out such a large-scale river crossing operation.

Therefore, the best option was to first send two companies of troops across the Tumen River to take control of the guard posts, within the limits of their capabilities, and then create a temporary wharf where boats could dock, and then send one battalion across the river with great difficulty.

However, that is why the Korean Independence Corps put a lot of effort into selecting the units to send across the river, and sent them with the best equipment the Korean Independence Corps currently possessed, along with some additional weapons received from the Japanese to arm any local supporters who might be needed.

The one leading the 1st Battalion of the 1st Regiment of the Korean Independence Corps that crossed the Tuman River was General Kim Gyeong-cheon, who was called the Napoleon of Korea. He was originally supposed to be in charge of the newly formed 3rd Regiment of the Korean Independence Corps, but… … .

“For such a large-scale operation, an officer with professional training and experience leading large units must take the lead!”

“General Kim has already secured a position in the 3rd Regiment, so please leave this matter to the capable children… … .”

“Impossible! This operation is not about crossing the Silk River and attacking the Japanese army.”

General Kim Kyung-cheon explained to Commander Kim Dong-sam why he had to take charge of this operation.

“This operation is a very dangerous guerrilla operation that will involve hundreds of troops moving through the middle of enemy territory without any hope of supplies or support. If we leave this to an officer who lacks combat experience, it is very likely that we will face a disaster!”

“But I’ve already found a guide, and the unit members are from the area, so they’ll be familiar with the geography, so I don’t think there’ll be any major problems.”

“No! Those with little experience are bound to have less ability to prepare for sudden emergencies. Comrade Kim has already experienced this many times.”

“hmm.”

Kim Dong-sam also nodded in agreement with his words.

To be completely objective, among those currently called officers in the independent army, there are only a handful who can be called professional officers.

Those who could be considered as professional officers were mostly those who had served in the military since the days of the Korean Empire or graduated from the Shinheung Military Academy, but that alone was not enough to meet the officer resources that the military needed.

“Even at the moment, didn’t they just seat those who seemed to have a little following, those with high reputations, or those who had joined with their subordinates in the non-commissioned officer ranks?”

“hmm……!”

If an officer is like this, what more can a non-commissioned officer say?

At that time, the independence army was an army with sufficient manpower and weapons, but without a system.

Of course, the Provisional Government, the headquarters of the Korean Independence Corps, and even Mr. Lee of Gyeongseong were concerned about this and showed great interest in training officers.

Isn’t that why there is a training center in Yeongil now?

However, since it had only been created for a short time, the results were virtually non-existent.

“So, I will go myself.”

“Still… … Gyeongcheon, if something goes wrong when you cross the Duman River, it’ll be a big problem.”

“Life and death are matters decided by heaven, and I have no intention of dying yet.”

“Does that really work out as you think?”

Kim Dong-sam had already lost many comrades in a series of incidents, so he did not readily allow him to go on this expedition.

“We have lost many comrades, was it because of their lack of ability? The waves of the times are unpredictable, like the waves that meet in the great ocean.”

Kim Dong-sam earnestly tried to dissuade him, but Kim Gyeong-cheon’s will was firm.

“I must go to Joseon. Even if I die, I will set foot on my hometown once more before I die.”

“You, you need to think about your family.”

“If you step out of the gate, you will have to be prepared to die, so your family will understand. And if you stay here, you won’t have to worry about making a living.”

“Heh heh… … .”

In fact, when we look at each and every one of them, there was no one better commander than General Kim Gyeong-cheon as the commander of this expeditionary force.

First of all, even though the Japanese army was letting their guard down and their fighting power was not what it used to be, they were still a full-fledged regular army of the powerful country that was the Japanese Empire, and even if they fought well, the independence army was nothing more than a local warlord.

In the face of such an overwhelming difference in power, an all-out war was impossible, and the only way to overcome this difference in power was through guerrilla warfare, and the one who was good at this was General Kim Gyeong-cheon.

That is why Kim Dong-sam also secretly thought of Kim Gyeong-cheon as the right person for the job, but he was reluctant to send an irreplaceable figure within the independence army to such a risk, so he did not bring himself to say anything.

But since he came to see me like this and showed his firm will, Kim Dong-sam did not stop him any longer.

“If that’s what you want, I won’t stop you any longer.”

“thank you.”

“Please… … be safe.”

“It will be fine.”

* * *

The 1st Battalion of the Korean Independence Army, which crossed the Tuman River, immediately occupied the nearby town of Musan.

When the residents of Musan-eup saw the sudden incursion of gunmen, they all hid inside their houses, thinking they were a group of Chinese bandits who had crossed the river.

“Mom… … . We are all dead now.”

“Why are you guys doing this?!”

“Last time, when those bandits crossed the border, they took away all the chickens and pigs, and now they’re trying to rob us again… … .”

As the residents of Musan-eup were shut in their homes and shivering, suddenly a cheerful trumpet sound was heard from outside.

~♬

Then, the thick-haired man’s voice resonated loudly throughout the town.

“Ah! My fellow countrymen of Musan-eup, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen you. I’m Hong Yong-hwan, fighting against the Japanese in Yanji across the Tuman River. My father is General Hong Beom-do, who wrote the Chinese characters for “Bamboo” in Hongga!”

“General Hong?”

“General Hong’s son?”

When Hong Yong-hwan came forward and mentioned Hong Beom-do’s name, the people of Musan-eup also quietly opened the bars on their doors and stuck their heads out.

Then, what appeared before the residents was a soldier in a neat military uniform, different from the brutal bandits who were spreading blood and looting wherever they went or the Japanese police who were picking trouble on the streets with annoyed expressions on their faces.

Seeing that, the village chief gathered his courage and approached Hong Yong-hwan and asked him.

“That… … young man is really General Hong’s son?”

“Do you know my father?”

“I know! When our eldest son was taken away by the Japanese and was being tortured, General Hong came and saved him. How could I forget that?”

“oh.”

“People of the town! Everyone stop and come out! There are a lot of these people, they’re General Hong’s people!”

At the village chief’s words, the villagers completely let their guard down and came out of their houses one by one.

Then, hundreds of soldiers gathered in front of them, but for some reason, they seemed to have no interest in the residents.

The soldiers gathered in front of the Musan-eup government office were looking at the flag fluttering on top of the government office.

“Get down.”

The Japanese flag hanging on top of the government building was lowered at the order of someone who appeared to be an officer.

Naturally, the empty space was replaced with the Taegeukgi.

As they watched the Taegeukgi slowly rising, the residents of Musan-eup also realized that the soldiers here were not ordinary soldiers.

“Hello, residents of Musan-eup. I am Kim Il-sung of the Korean Independence Corps in Yanji. I crossed the Tuman River and came to Musan-eup not to harm the residents here, but to drive out the Japanese from our land.”

“Kim Il-sung?”

“Who is that?”

“Fighting those Japanese… … Heh heh… … It must be tough.”

General Kim Gyeong-cheon, the commander of the expeditionary force, gave a pseudonym instead of his real name or primary name.

At the same time, they tried to win over the hearts of local residents, which can be considered the basis of guerrilla warfare.

“We plan to use this as our base for the time being. We won’t be here for long, and our military base will also be located far from the village, so don’t worry too much.”

“It’s a bit… … to have soldiers in the village.”

“What if I get caught by the Japanese later… … .”

“There is only one thing we ask of you. Please do not let anyone related to the Japanese or the Governor-General know that we are here. If you do that, we will come like the wind and disappear like the wind.”

General Kim Gyeong-cheon was not a man of words alone.

“Isn’t it hard for everyone to make a living in the winter? After paying taxes, what’s left is not enough to last until the barley harvest, and if we go hunting, the Japanese have taken away all our guns, so even that is not possible. How cold and hungry must it be every winter?”

General Kim Gyeong-cheon won the people’s favor by generously sharing the food and firewood he brought.

Anyway, since it’s food, if we can just get the people here on board, we can bring in new food from the Korean Independence Corps base across the river.

He planned to make Musan-eup a forward supply base for the Korean Independence Army’s invasion of the mainland.

“Can I really take as much as I want?”

“Of course. Take as much as you want.”

“Oh my… … Oh my! Thank you. Thank you so much!”

“No problem.”

Winter is a very difficult season.

The weather was cold, there wasn’t much to eat, and even firewood was scarce, so people living in underdeveloped regions rather than cities like Gyeongseong or Pyongyang often heard news of people dying every winter.

General Kim Gyeong-cheon, who was well aware of this fact, took advantage of this and won the people’s favor by providing them with food and firewood.

General Kim Gyeong-cheon smiled happily when he saw smoke rising from cooking rice from each chimney in the quiet Musan-eup when he first arrived.

‘We’ve definitely made it a point to keep a close eye on the mouths, so even if the Japanese army comes, the people here won’t open their mouths for a while.’

Although they did save some food and fuel to distribute to the people, it wasn’t a huge loss considering that it was for the cost of concealing the unit and securing local support.

“General, I have distributed it to all the residents.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“It’s almost lunch time. Should I order the men to start cooking?”

“No, we’ll just pack our bags and head south. For lunch, we’ll eat the leftover rice balls we brought with us on our way here. And since that might not be enough, let’s distribute some millet powder.”

“Ah… … . I confirmed it.”

“And to make contact with the main force in Yeongil, deploy one platoon of troops here in Musan-eup.”

“Are you in the village?”

“No, this area is an iron ore region, so there should be several abandoned mines. So tell them to use one of them as a base.”

“Confirmed.

General Kim Gyeong-cheon was carefully planning his future schedule in his head.

‘We arrived at Musan-eup today, so we should arrive at Yeonsa-gun by tomorrow evening.’

Rather than advancing westward and directly attacking Nanam City, he planned to occupy Musan-eup, then advance south to occupy Baekam with the 75th Regiment of the 20th Division of the Japanese Army at Hoeryong, thereby preventing the 74th Regiment in Hamheung from contacting the two regiments in Nanam, and then attack Nanam City during that gap.

‘Hit fast, get out fast.’

It was a bold strategy that would have been unthinkable under normal circumstances, but now General Kim Gyeong-cheon was holding in his hands the map of the Japanese army’s deployment that Mr. Lee from Gyeongseong had sent him.

And it wasn’t something from a few years ago, it was something that had been updated a few weeks ago.

Sun Tzu’s The Art of War says that if you know your enemy and know yourself, you will not be in danger even in a hundred battles. That must be what he is talking about right now, in this very situation.

At least that was what General Kim Gyeong-cheon thought.

‘How can I ever repay this favor… … . Later, I should catch a bear and send it to Gyeongseong.’

NIS Agent Tears the Japanese Empire Episode 134