NIS Agents Tearing Up the Japanese Empire - Chapter 153



Only Krnovel

RISE(4)

With Hamheung and Nanam cleared out, the Japanese 19th Division stationed in Hamgyeong Province was virtually annihilated.

There was one regiment left stationed in Hoeryong, but those men were unaware of what was happening in the rear, so they simply followed in the footsteps of those who had gone before.

The battle at Nanam left the Japanese 19th Division a unit that existed only on paper, and the Korean independence army brought Hamgyeong Province under its control.

Of course, there were still a few Japanese troops left in the border area, including Hoeryong, but they were so few that it was not a big deal.

“Last night’s battle left the enemy with 232 dead and 112 wounded, while our side suffered 23 dead and 22 wounded, a total of 45 casualties.”

Despite the bombardment that lasted all night, the results were not very satisfactory.

“After firing so many shells all night, is that all you got?”

“I think it was probably because the artillerymen were not skilled enough, so their surveying and observation were poor. In fact, when I checked the traces of shells that had fallen in the morning, many of the shells fired all night fell not on the Japanese military camp, but on the surrounding farmhouses and fields.”

To put it simply, the problem was also a lack of training for soldiers and officers.

A cannon is not something that can be fired by simply guessing and hitting the target; it is something that must go through an extremely complex calculation process to perform its function.

“Hmm… … . So you’re saying I need more training.”

“It is true that support for artillery has been lacking during this time.”

“I skipped a lot of training because I was worried about wasting money on shells… … .”

As the independence army was always short on money, the idea of ​​actually training by firing expensive items like cannons was out of the question.

The live-fire training for infantry was originally supposed to be conducted once a month, but this was reduced to once every two months to save money.

Thanks to this, I was able to save money in normal times, but in actual battles, I ended up wasting money.

“When it comes to spending money, you have to be careful, but I ended up being frugal and ended up losing money in battle.”

“That’s true. It seems like you’ve blocked something with a sickle that could have easily been blocked with a hoe.”

“It’s really a shame.”

While the commander, Kim Dong-sam, and his staff were expressing their regrets, General Kim Jwa-jin, who had captured the enemy commander in this battle, laughed.

“It’s a shame, but what can we do? The battle has already been fought, and the winner has been decided. You can’t put water that has been spilled on the ground back into a bowl, so instead of regretting what happened in the past, we should learn from it and prepare for the future.”

“… … .”

“Am I wrong?”

It was true, but the staff members’ eyes lit up at the sight of Kim Jo-jin saying the same thing in a hateful way.

Thanks to this, the atmosphere in the conference room heated up and it seemed like a fight like that between gladiators in the Colosseum was about to begin.

Then, General Kim Dong-sam, the commander, intervened appropriately and calmed the situation.

“Comrade Kim is right. We shouldn’t keep regretting things that have already happened.”

“I believed that Comrade Kim would understand what I said.”

“I haven’t finished speaking yet.”

“… … .”

“As Comrade Kim said, we should not be overjoyed or saddened by every single thing that has happened in the past. However, that does not mean we should forget our human nature.”

So, what Kim Dong-sam meant was that we shouldn’t be swayed by past events, but that doesn’t mean we have to treat them like machines with no emotions at all.

“The shells didn’t fall where they were supposed to, but instead fell in many other places. There must have been many people who suffered damage in this battle. So I think the first priority is to bow my head and apologize to them, and give them appropriate compensation.”

Kim Joa-jin’s eyebrows twitched at Kim Dong-sam’s words.

“Comrade Kim, is it really necessary to do that? Even among the civilians of Nanam, there are probably many more Japanese than Koreans.”

As Kim Jwa-jin said, Nanam was a subsidiary city near the huge port city of Cheongjin, so there were more Japanese people who came from Japan than Koreans who had originally lived there.

The reason is that for the Japanese who lived in the warm south, Hamgyeong-do was an extremely cold and harsh place. It was better to live on the warm coast than to go somewhere else.

As the Japanese flocked in, land and house prices in the area became quite expensive, and as a result, many poor Koreans were pushed out of Nanam.

So, what this means is that most of the unexpected casualties in this battle were Japanese, not Korean.

“We came to fight the Japanese Empire, not to help them.”

“Of course, General Kim is right. We rose up to fight the Japanese. But that is why we must help them.”

“Why?”

“Because that’s the only way we can prove that our justice is better than Japan’s.”

“Comrade, aren’t you ultimately helping the enemy just because of a prestigious school?”

“Listen, White Night!”

Ji Cheong-cheon shouted at Kim Jwa-jin’s sarcasm and pointed out Kim Jwa-jin’s behavior, but Kim Dong-sam raised his hand and calmed Ji Cheong-cheon down.

“It’s just a pretext… …. Perhaps you could think that way. As Comrade Kim said, if we advance straight ahead without any consideration for civilians and only for victory, we might suffer less casualties in battle and win a few victories. However, even if we win continuously like that, we will not be able to collapse the great Japanese Empire.”

“Why?”

“They are a huge nation, and we are just warlords occupying a single city… … It’s a bit much to call them warlords. Let’s just call them a neighborhood club.”

Everyone in the conference room was shocked and looked at Kim Dong-sam’s words and actions, which instantly turned the Korean Independence Army into an independence club.

“Have you forgotten the days when we had to worry about the next meal every time we had a meal, and counted each bullet before we fought? If the Japanese want, we can go back to those days at any time.”

“… … .”

“Right now, we can maintain our finances to some extent because Mr. Lee from Gyeongseong is helping us both materially and spiritually. But what will you do if something happens to Mr. Lee and his support is cut off?”

“… … .”

“That’s why I said that our Korean independence army was just a club. Everyone only thinks about fighting the enemy, and doesn’t think about what comes after that!”

The audience was silent at Kim Dong-sam’s shout.

“Huh… … . I didn’t mean to sound harsh, but I didn’t mean to burden you all too much. I just wanted to say that while combat is important, you should also pay attention to things outside of combat.”

“… … .”

“We must not forget that what we are helping is not the Japanese or the Koreans, but the local residents of Nanam. We are doing this not because it is right or wrong, but because it is beneficial to us. Do you understand?”

Kim Joa-jin sat quietly, seeming to ponder something, then quickly got up from his seat without saying a word and left the conference room.

“No, uh… uh… . Oh my.”

“Let’s leave it alone.”

Some people clicked their tongues at Kim Joa-jin’s appearance, but Kim Dong-sam waved his hands as if he didn’t care and quickly changed the subject.

“Let’s see… … . Looking at the damage to our forces, I thought we took advantage of the surprise attack, but it seems that wasn’t the case.”

A single battle resulted in 40 to 50 casualties.

If it had been an ordinary country’s army, without having to go to the great powers, this battle would have been a great victory that would have been included in a military academy textbook, but for the independence army, which was missing a single person, it was a painful loss.

“The clocks of the artillery and the frontline infantry were clearly synchronized, and the infantry was deployed at the moment when the artillery fire ended… … Why did such great damage occur?”

“Isn’t this the damage that occurred as we fought our way into Nanam? According to war books imported from the West, battles fought in cities tend to result in more casualties than regular battles… … .”

“Rather than that, isn’t it a problem that arose because the timing of our artillery fire and the order of the infantry’s advance were wrong? If we actually look at the various cases that occurred during the last great war… … .”

The staff, including General Ji Cheong-cheon and General Lee Beom-seok, immediately put their heads together and began a postmortem examination of why this had happened.

“I… … . The damage to our forces was not caused by the Japanese army’s counterattack, but was caused by friendly fire due to a lack of communication between friendly forces.”

“What?”

But the cause was in a more unexpected place.

“A friendly force? Does that mean that friendly forces were shooting each other just now?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Heh heh… … . Really… … .”

The cause was simpler than expected.

It was an accident that happened in the middle of the night because the allies could not identify each other.

“No matter how much of an accident it is, it is something that cannot be overlooked.”

“General Ji is right. It is common on the battlefield for friendly forces to die while engaging the enemy, but it is not common for friendly forces to die while fighting each other.”

“It seems that in this battle, they did not pay attention to the issue of friend and foe identification during night operations… … .”

The staff members once again sat down among themselves and began a postmortem.

Then, General Kim Dong-sam, the commander of the Korean Independence Army, who had been left alone, smiled awkwardly, scratched his forehead, and quietly got up from his seat.

As Kim Dong-sam moved, his bodyguards quickly followed him.

“Is it really necessary to do this?”

“As the old saying goes, a potent weapon is a weapon against all odds. If something happens to General Kim now, the Korean independence army that he has worked so hard to gather will crumble like a sand castle before the waves.”

The current Korean Independence Army was, in fact, a unit maintained by Kim Dong-sam’s personal connections and charisma.

This was inevitable, because the members of the unit were not originally formed as one unit, but were small units scattered here and there in Manchuria, Gando, and the Maritime Province, and were united at General Kim Dong-sam’s request. As such, although the unit displayed decent combat power in small-scale unit tactics, its combat power declined when used as large-scale unit tactics due to its lack of unity.

Things have gotten a little better because they have unified their military uniforms and weapons, and even their families live together as one unit. In the past, there were even some people who didn’t think of each other as comrades.

“Especially if the General is in trouble, there is no telling what Comrade Kim Jwa-jin will do… … .”

“hmm.”

Kim Jo-jin was usually a cheerful and outgoing person, and many people followed him, but he had a strong tendency to do everything his way.

In particular, even when there were conflicts of opinion with others during meetings, he displayed an autocratic attitude by pushing forward with his own ideas until the end, insisting that they were right.

As a result, Kim Jwa-jin became a hot potato for the Korean independence army, causing friction with all kinds of people after joining the army.

If there were only people who hated him, Kim Jo-jin would have been somewhat cautious, but within the independence army, there were just as many people who supported him as those who hated him.

Who is Kim Joa-jin in the first place?

He was a man who cooperated with many warriors of the independence army and led the Battle of Cheongsanri to victory.

Although he showed some flaws in public, in private he displayed a manly disposition and bearing without a single flaw, so how could anyone not follow him?

Thanks to this, even within the independence army

“Even if Comrade Kim Dong-sam steps down from his position as commander, Comrade Kim Jwa-jin should not take his place.”

“Would that be something that someone would want to happen? It’s something that happens because other comrades want it to happen.”

“I don’t think other comrades’ thoughts are much different from mine.”

“If you get to know him, he’s actually a deep and thoughtful person.”

“I know! That’s what I’m telling you.”

“Please note.”

Kim Dong-sam laughed silently.

But his smile didn’t last long.

“Comrade Commander! Comrade Commander!”

“What’s going on?”

“This is a big problem! This is really a big problem! Haa… … . What should I do about this… … .”

His personal aide came to see him in a hurry, holding a newspaper in his hand.

“What is going on?”

“Please read the newspaper!”

“Newspaper? Come to think of it, I haven’t read a newspaper lately.”

Kim Dong-sam was the one who usually read the Chosun Ilbo sent to him by Comrade Woo Deok-sun, who had participated in the Harbin Uprising with Ahn Jung-geun, at the Chosun Ilbo branch in Harbin, but these days, he was busy concentrating on the conquest of Nanam, so he was a bit late in hearing the news.

“What news is written there?”

“Just take a look!”

“Oh, really. Seeing you getting so worked up, I have a feeling it’s not going to be any good news… … .”

[The Ghost of Gyeongseong Returns to Hell!]

Kim Dong-sam’s face hardened as he saw the first article that adorned the front page of the Chosun Ilbo, which was as big as the front page.

NIS Agent Tears the Japanese Empire Episode 154