NIS Agents Tearing Up the Japanese Empire - Chapter 165



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NIS Agent Tears the Japanese Empire Episode 165

Dawn is Coming (1)

It’s a cold winter when the strong cold wind blowing from the north makes you shiver even when you’re just sitting still, and you can’t help but think of a warm floor.

Even in Pyongyang, which is relatively warm in the northern part of the Korean Peninsula, a cold wind blew.

Perhaps because the weather was so cold, the atmosphere in the conference room of the 20th Division temporary headquarters in Pyongyang became very subdued.

“Uh… … According to the testimonies of the soldiers released from Hamheung, the unit that attacked Hamheung was… … .”

“bag?”

The staff officer’s words caused a deep furrow to appear on the forehead of Lieutenant General Shoichi Kanno, the commander of the 20th Division and the commander of the combined forces of the 19th and 20th Divisions in Pyongyang.

He glared at the staff member who had referred to the armed group of rebels as a unit and corrected them.

“It’s not a military unit, it’s a rebel group.”

“Yes, yes! I will correct it!”

“Let’s continue.”

“Yes! The rebel group that attacked Hamheung is estimated to be battalion-sized, and it seems that they poured artillery fire into downtown Hamheung overnight to confuse our troops, and then made a surprise attack before they could come to their senses.”

“The rebels fired a cannon? The soldiers didn’t misunderstand something?”

“The testimonies of the soldiers, non-commissioned officers, and officers are all consistent. Therefore, it appears to be true that the enemy forces stationed in Hamheung… … . the rebel group possessed cannons.”

“Those guys who can’t even properly fire a rifle to their own side have cannons? That makes sense.”

General Kanno did not believe his staff’s words that the independence army had cannons.

They didn’t just disbelieve it; they outright laughed at it.

“The story that they have cannons is probably something the guys who lost at Hamheung made up to justify their defeat.”

“But if that is true, the testimonies of the prisoners who escaped from Hamheung are all the same.”

“That’s right. Even if the higher-ups tried to cover up their mistakes by forcing a lie into their mouths, there’s no way they can control all of an individual’s testimony.”

“It seems that the Manchurian rebel group has found a sponsor. Otherwise, how could those ignorant people be armed with such cutting-edge weapons?”

The staff all warned General Kanno about the dangers of the independent army, but Kanno did not take their advice seriously.

“Sponsor? I don’t know where you can find someone who would sponsor such thieves. Even if someone were to sponsor them, there would be clear limits to what a single individual could do.”

“However… … .”

“This is a fact proven by history. No matter how much money you have, you cannot run an army with private capital.”

“hmm…….”

General Kanno’s words were not wrong.

In the past, many wealthy people in Joseon packed up all their assets and left to fight for independence, but how many of them are still living in luxury?

There is not a single one.

Most of them either lost contact or died in poverty.

The few who were still alive were suffering from extreme poverty and were unable to die.

They were all either children of prestigious families that had been passed down for generations in Joseon, or were among the wealthiest people in Joseon, or were famous local tycoons.

The independence movement is what causes a family fortune that has lasted for tens or hundreds of years to disappear without a trace within a few years.

But it made no sense to support that all by myself.

“If such a thing were really possible, such a guy would have been noticed by the military or the police.”

“But considering that there was also a guy called the Ghost of Gyeongseong, it might not be completely impossible.”

“The Ghost of Gyeongseong? Do you believe such a tall tale?”

“Huh? You say it’s nonsense… …?”

Kanno waved his hand as if it was nothing.

“The ghost of Gyeongseong is a fictional entity created by the Governor-General’s men in order to extract more budget from the mainland.”

“Yes? Really?”

“Well then! If it’s true, and if you have any brains, think about it. Does it make sense that a guy who used to come and go from my living room in Gyeongseong would be killed by some nameless police officer?”

“surely…….”

“that…….”

When I thought about it rationally, there was nothing wrong with what General Kanno said.

“And the Bulyeongseon people are using cannons? Are those things worth just a few pennies? Do you know how much it costs to bring them, in addition to the cost of the weapons themselves, and the enormous cost of ammunition? At best, they’re probably using a few mortars or old-fashioned cannons that were used during the Bunroku War (Imjin War).”

“hmm…….”

Kanno didn’t even believe that the independence army had cannons.

No, I couldn’t believe it.

Of the 19th and 20th divisions under his command, a significant portion were infantry or cavalry, with only a very small number of artillerymen.

Even the proud army of the Empire of Japan, which commands Asia, is like this, so how can a mere local rebel force, and not even a main force but a battalion-level force, have artillery?

That was a story that made absolutely no sense.

“They don’t have cannons. That’s just an illusion created by weak losers.”

“Yes, I think so.”

“Hey, man… … . This is… … .”

The staff tilted their heads at Kanno’s confident appearance.

‘So, is this all a trick by an armed group that is trying to deceive us?’

‘What do they gain by making us believe we have cannons?’

‘Was the cannon really this important?’

General Kanno asked, leaving his staff with a huge question that would never be answered.

“Was there any other news? Something like news from Hamheung or Hamgyeong Province?”

“Other than that… … . Ah! It is said that the rebel group occupying Hamheung suddenly released the captured Japanese soldiers and hurriedly packed up their belongings.”

“Pack your bags?”

“Yes, they were talking as if they were prisoners who had been released.”

“Um… … . That’s right.”

Kanno noticed that the independence army had packed their bags in a hurry as if they were leaving Hamheung.

“The fact that they are leaving Hamheung is a trap.”

“also.”

He was convinced that this was a trap set by the independence army.

That would be the case.

“When you are at a disadvantage, deceive the enemy and make them let their guard down before attacking… … It’s a very basic tactic.”

“Then, the Bulyeongseon people of Hamheung are planning to trick us into believing that Hamheung has been emptied and then lure us back to Hamheung.”

“yes.”

General Kanno and his staff were confident that the independence army still remained in Hamheung.

“Hamheung is a strategic point. It is a place you absolutely have to pass through when leaving Hamgyeong Province or entering Hamgyeong Province.”

“So, if we block that place well, people in Hamgyeong Province will not be able to come out, and people from outside will not be able to enter Hamgyeong Province.”

“I don’t know the situation inside Hamgyong Province yet, but if it’s the 19th Division Commander, he’s probably still enduring the enemy’s barrage of attacks and waiting for support.”

Lieutenant General Taro Ueda of the 19th Division was captured on the first day of the attack and is now wasting time in a pigsty-like prison, but neither the 20th Division headquarters in Pyongyang nor the North Korean army headquarters back in Yongsan are aware of this.

“Your main force must have also requested support from the unit in Hamheung. So it wouldn’t be a complete lie to say that you are withdrawing from Hamheung.”

“Huh? You said they wouldn’t retreat from Hamheung, and now you’re saying they’re retreating… … I don’t know what you’re trying to say.”

“Um… … . Have you read Romance of the Three Kingdoms?”

“Of course I read Romance of the Three Kingdoms.”

“Then, do you know Cao Cao and Dong Zhuo too?”

“I know.”

“Then it would be easy to explain. If you look at the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Dong Zhuo was pushed back by the allied forces and fled to Chang’an. The allied forces were afraid of Dong Zhuo and did not pursue him, but Cao Cao pursued him.”

“And didn’t you suffer a great defeat by falling for Dong Zhuo’s hidden ambush?”

The corners of General Kanno’s mouth went up at his staff’s words.

“That’s exactly what the Hamheung Bulyeongseon people are after right now, a trap for a safe retreat.”

“her!”

“This is what I think.”

General Kanno pulled out a map that he had put aside and spread it out in front of his staff.

And I took a picture of Pyongyang on the map.

“This is where we are now.”

Then, as if drawing a line, I went all the way south from Pyongyang and followed the east coastline all the way up to Hamheung.

“Considering the enemy’s ambush, we will continue north along the east coast and enter Hamheung through the Hamheung Plain.”

* * *

Hamheung a few days later.

Provisional Command of the Korean Independence Army.

General Kim Gyeong-cheon, commander of the advance guard of the Korean Independence Army, called his subordinate officers together and discussed a plan to draw the Japanese army into Hamheung.

“… … I’m going to make that kind of plan.”

“You’re saying they’re pushing up the coast while guarding against our ambush?”

“Yeah, I guess we think that way we won’t be able to cause them any harm.”

“That’s actually true.”

“Unfortunately, that’s not the case.”

If the Japanese army advanced northward along the coast through the Hamheung Plain, there was no way to stop them.

The Japanese army in Pyongyang, including the remnants of the 19th Division and some troops from the 20th Division, was several times larger than the independence army stationed in Hamheung.

So, if they decide to push forward into the plains where they cannot take advantage of the terrain, there is no way for the independence army to stop them.

“So we meet the enemy here.”

“Yes? Here?”

The place General Kim Gyeong-cheon pointed to was Hamheung.

To be exact, it referred to the banks of the Songchon River located on the outskirts of Hamheung City.

“The core of this operation is to build defensive facilities that maximize the defensive capabilities of the natural obstacle called the river and inflict losses on the enemy.”

“What exactly does it mean to force an enemy to take losses?”

“It’s literal.”

General Kim Kyung-cheon picked up a document that had been placed next to the map and thrust it at his officers.

“According to military secrets that Mr. Lee of Gyeongseong had previously leaked from the Joseon Army Headquarters in Yongsan, the firepower of the Japanese infantry divisions currently stationed in Joseon is inferior to that of our forces.”

“… … ?”

“Thirteen… … . You say? I don’t quite understand.”

The officers politely questioned General Kim Gyeong-cheon’s words as if asking what he meant.

“I know you don’t understand, I understand. I was quite shocked when I first received this information.”

The reason we heard that the Japanese army’s firepower was inferior to that of the independence army was very simple.

“Our independence army suffered through several disasters in the past, was disbanded once, and then re-established. After that, we tried to transplant the latest military technology from the West by referring to various war books imported from the West.”

The introduction of those expensive machine guns and even more expensive cannons was proof of this.

As soon as the independence army received funds from Mr. Lee in Gyeongseong, they linked up with independence movement forces in the Primorsky Krai, imported the latest military technology from the West through the Soviet Union and China, and contacted corrupt local officials or soldiers to import their weapons.

In particular, the Primorsky Krai region was in a situation where the Russian Civil War had just ended, so all kinds of weapons, including rifles, machine guns, cannons, and tanks used during the civil war, were circulating on the black market.

Of course, the Soviet government was aware of this fact and seemed to be trying to control it to some extent, but after Lenin, the head of the Soviet Union, fell, they didn’t seem to care much about the situation here either.

Thanks to this, the independence army was able to secure a lot of the latest military technology and weapons from the West with the funds they received from this teacher. Among them, cannons, which could be called the flower of the army, were imported in such large quantities that each company could set aside a separate artillery support unit.

Even the infantry firepower there is like that.

Japan has been developing a new 11-year-old machine gun and has been supplying it to frontline units since this spring, but unfortunately, the North Korean army (Japanese army) has been pushed down in the priority for supply.

What does that mean?

“It means that our current opponents, the 19th and 20th Divisions, do not have light machine guns.”

On the other hand, the Independence Army had so much to spare that each platoon was supplied with one machine gun.

There, the independence army even had submachine guns, a weapon that the Japanese army did not have.

In other words, when considering various factors objectively, it could be said that the current independence army had an advantage in firepower over the Japanese army.

“So, in order to further maximize this firepower advantage, we will set up a defensive line on the Seongcheon River and block the enemy’s offensive.”

“It’s not a bad plan. It’s not a bad plan… … .”

“Isn’t it impossible to hold back the enemy from the river forever?”

“The Seongcheon River is quite wide, but if you make up your mind to cross it, it’s not impossible.”

The officers under General Kim Gyeong-cheon showed reluctance.

The battles they had experienced were all guerrilla warfare, where they would first attack the enemy in the mountains or fields or be attacked in return, but this was the first time they had fought the enemy in earnest.

In particular, it was their first time building defensive facilities along a river to meet the enemy, so they were afraid.

“Do not be afraid, the knowledge that I now have in my head is a fact proven by the blood of European youths tens of thousands of miles away. We are merely recreating the battlefield of a foreign country far away here.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes! Be confident, what is happening in my head right now… … No, if the series of battles that took place in Europa a few years ago were to take place here in the Songcheon River… … The Japanese army would be forced to recall the terrible battles they experienced at the Port Arthur Fortress.”

Kim Kyung-cheon’s eyes were filled with confidence.