Republic of Korea in Yeokcheon - Chapter 19



Only Krnovel

#19. A big fish was caught.

As the cold subsided after February 10th, special recruiting units ran out to the field to resume business.

The orders I received upon leaving this time were to not conduct business in the areas where I had been operating so far as much as possible and to never overdo it.

The agents bravely answered that they all understood and left, but it was unclear whether they would properly follow the instructions due to their overflowing motivation.

However, the only thing that was reassuring to the headquarters was that preparations for the 30th Division’s deployment were in full swing and that the activities of soldiers in the entire North and South Pyongan Provinces, including their operational areas, were significantly decreasing.

At this rate, it seemed like the conditions for activities would improve as time passed.

On March 10th, a month after the special recruits went to the field again.

The number of Korean volunteers in the expeditionary force camp increased by an additional 1,200, increasing the number of volunteers receiving military training to 2,300.

“one! two!”

“Left foot! “Left foot!”

“PT number 6! Jump with your feet apart 90 times! several times?”

“Episode 90!”

The faces of the trainees who began to eat well and move properly had noticeably improved complexion and gained quite a bit of weight.

“Your complexion has improved a lot. Besides, you’re better than I thought?”

“Because we pay so much attention to feeding them well. “It is said that many of the first generation students are quite tall.”

“Hoo? okay?”

“Yes, it seems that the person who was unable to grow taller due to not eating well is growing taller due to proper nutrition and exercise. “I also have a friend who is over 20 years old and is 5cm taller.”

“How long have you not been able to eat?”

“Well, that’s just the way the world is now. “Except for a few people, they couldn’t make a living.”

“Right”

“And there’s a reason they’re good at it.”

“What?”

“Many of them have already received military training.”

“huh? ah! Youth training center?”

Only then did Lee Kang-cheol remember that teenagers and young adults at that time received basic military training from the Japanese.

Of course, it was to use Koreans as cannon fodder.

“The first generation students are in their second training, right?”

“Yes, I am currently undergoing in-depth training in a 4-week course, and it is almost finished.”

“When is that over?”

“We assign and educate students with special skills by taking their aptitude into consideration. It’s a kind of late-career education. And those with excellent grades receive separate squad leader training.”

“What about armor?”

“Gov is selecting and training 50 people from the first group. It’s difficult because you can’t shoot live fire and you can’t actually control it. Well, the same applies to common firearms such as recoilless guns and mortars.”

“Tell me to hold on just a little longer. “There isn’t much left.”

“yes”

At that time, Lee Kang-cheol’s expression frowned as he looked at the trainees.

“Hey, Chief of Staff!”

“Why are you doing that?”

“I told you not to do something like that, right?”

“What?”

Go Seok-man followed the finger pointed by Lee Kang-cheol and frowned as well.

“What a bunch of bastards!”

Where Lee Kang-cheol’s finger pointed, there was a trainee with his head pressed into the ground.

The so-called bombing of Wonsan is one of the cruel acts strictly prohibited by the command.

“Chief of Staff, stop the training and tell all instructors and assistants to gather.”

“All right.”

After a while, the instructors and teaching assistants lined up in front of Lee Kang-cheol in an unmoving posture with expressions of not being able to breathe.

This is because the commander’s expression was not very good.

Lee Kang-cheol is usually a personable and smiling commander, but when he gets angry, he becomes intimidating.

“Do you know why I told you to gather together?”

“…”

There was no way I knew.

“I said it before, but you all need to have a little more sense of responsibility and mission. because? This is because the trainees who learned from you will one day teach juniors. What this means is that each and every one of your actions will become a tradition of our new Republic of Korea Armed Forces.”

“…”

“That’s why I made a new request in advance. Should we think about the world beyond? How many decades has our military tried to escape from the imperial army’s damning practices? Although we tried so hard to eliminate cruelty and absurdity, it was only in the 2010s that it began to disappear. “It is the ruined imperial army that has undermined the combat power of our Armed Forces for more than 60 years and forced many soldiers to choose a place from which they can never return.”

“…”

“But are you trying to spread the seeds of this damn bad habit again in this world? “Many of them have already received training fraught with beatings and cruel treatment from the Japanese!”

“…”

“If you are not confident, speak up. I’ll give you another mission. However, if any abuse is discovered in the future, severe punishment will be imposed. Did you understand?”

“yes!”

“I’m really begging you. And I believe. I hope you will create a great tradition for our Armed Forces. I know all the hardships that come to this world. But the Commander promises. When all wars are over, you will be able to taste the fruits of your hard work in the heart of the new Republic of Korea. Did you understand?”

“yes! All right!”

“Okay, good luck.”

The instructors and trainers were heading back to the training ground, and among them, the trainer who had ordered the bombing of Wonsan earlier was seen apologizing to the trainees.

“It’s really hard to create a good tradition.”

“yes. If we are not careful, bad habits will wear the guise of tradition and last for decades.”

The intense training of Korean replenishment troops in the expeditionary force had to be temporarily halted in April.

This is because in the conscription examination conducted nationwide from April 1st, a large number of conscription candidates near Ganggye-gun did not show up at the Pyongyang military headquarters, causing an uproar in the Ganggye-gun area.

“Make sure it’s covered up! “Outside activities are prohibited for the time being!”

“Contact the special recruitment unit and tell them to return if possible, and to hide if return is impossible!”

The video sent from Albatross showed real-time Japanese soldiers and police searching around the Ganggye-gun area.

“I worry a lot about the families of the remaining soldiers.”

“Shit! There’s nothing we can do for the time being! “Nothing will happen, so just be patient.”

“All right.”

The good news is that the Japanese soldiers’ search area was concentrated on both sides of the Yalu River because the reinforcements left their homes and said they would go beyond the Yalu River.

That was inevitable, as they instructed the recruiters to tell them that they were taking them across the Yalu River when they brought in the reinforcements, so they did not know whether the reinforcements themselves would come here until they arrived at the expedition camp.

Therefore, no matter how much the Japanese military pressured the remaining family members and some of them confessed, they could not help but assume that they had gone north of the Yalu River.

In the end, the Japanese military and police realized that everyone had escaped beyond the Yalu River and stopped the search after about 10 days, and training began again.

April 18, 1944.

Recruitment activities were discontinued because there was no longer a need for them.

“Tell everyone to return safely! “This is enough.”

“There are 2,755 supplementary soldiers recruited so far. Of course, some accompanying family members and those who failed the physical examination were excluded.”

“it’s okay. Now we have to take action ourselves.”

“Are you finally moving?”

“Yes, I’m going out into the world in May.”

“ah···.”

“Wow!”

The staff, including Go Seok-man, cheered in unison.

“As we have discussed, May is the best time for us to go out into the world. The 30th Division left for the warm southern country to die, except for the supplementary unit and the minimum number of troops, and the continental invasion operation began in China. This means that now, in fact, there is no proper Japanese military on the Korean Peninsula other than the 19th Division.”

“When are you going to leave?”

“We will decide between May 15th and 17th.”

“Are you also going to occupy Ganggye-eup?”

“We will occupy all 2 towns and 15 myeons within Ganggye County simultaneously and make the entire Ganggye area the base for our expeditionary force.”

“Oh oh!”

“Colonel Oh Byeong-moo!”

“Yes, Commander.”

Colonel Oh Byeong-moo, head of the engineering unit, gave a courageous answer today.

“Starting today, we will build a road leading to Ganggye-eup.”

“You will hear construction noise as you approach the border.”

“doesn’t care. “We scout the area with Albatross and drones and will let you know if someone approaches, and if not, we will eliminate them.”

“All right.”

“And the commanders of each echelon clean and maintain the equipment that has been locked away for so long.”

“Yes, Commander!”

“Especially Aviation Brigade Commander So Gwang-ho.”

“yes”

“Helicopters will be the main force in this operation, so make sure they are well maintained. Do you think that if you fall, you will die by my hands?”

“ha ha ha! “Don’t worry.”

“Special brigade commander”

“Colonel Jeong Gwang-ryeol”

“We will allow shooting training outside from May 1st, so let the special forces members warm up. “I probably lost my sense of it because I’ve mostly been shooting indoors.”

“Hehehe! Do not worry. Our kids are doing well. “So are we the vanguard?”

“Okay, as you wish, I will put you guys first. “We have to occupy the entire Ganggye County at the same time using helicopters, so prepare well.”

“All right!”

“Finally, air defense!”

“Colonel Lee Chil-ho!”

“Okay, Colonel Ichiro.”

“Why do you keep saying that, Lee Chil-ho?”

“Okay, dude. You will shoot down aircraft that approach within a 10km radius until the end of April, and from May 1st, this will be expanded to a 30km radius. “Just shoot it down!”

“all right.”

“Whoa…”

Lee Kang-cheol gave instructions non-stop, then sighed for a moment and then opened his mouth again.

“Don’t get excited. Do a good job controlling your subordinates. “If there is someone who throws shit at the last minute, he will die by my hands.”

“Yes, Commander.”

“Okay, be careful so no one gets hurt while using the equipment. Then, let’s disperse.”

The area inside and outside the expedition cave became bustling.

Since moving over in August 1943, the heavy equipment has been mostly in storage, so there is a lot of maintenance work to be done.

Meanwhile, on May 8th, Lee Kang-cheol sent a communication to Uncle Sam for the first time in a long time.

– General Lee, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Korea, to Uncle Sam in Hawaii.

Now we go out into the world.

We will hear good news from the Korean Peninsula within at least a few months.

Please keep an eye on this.

The reply came right away.

– Uncle Sam of Hawaii to General Lee, Commander-in-Chief of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces.

We finally know your official identity, General.

Congratulations on coming out into the world.

However, I am worried.

Isn’t it too hasty to come into the world?

The Japanese army is still strong.

– General Lee, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Korea, to Uncle Sam in Hawaii.

Thank you for your concern.

As you said, the Japanese military is strong.

But our Republic of Korea military is stronger.

We will soon prove our strength.

– Uncle Sam of Hawaii to General Lee, Commander-in-Chief of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces.

I wish the general and the Republic of Korea military good luck.

If possible, please contact us as often as possible and let us know the general situation.

– General Lee, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Korea, to Uncle Sam in Hawaii.

Even if it is not the case, I will contact you occasionally to let you know that I am alive. ha ha ha!

Please tell this to Washington.

Overlord will go well.

Ike will do well.

A day has passed since the last communication and there has been no reply.

“Wasn’t it too hard of a shock?”

“No, we need to make a shock like this to make our presence known, right? “We don’t have time”

“Oh, that’s still true…”

At that time, I received a call from the communication room that a communication was coming in.

– Washington’s crippled Uncle Sam to General Lee, Commander-in-Chief of the Republic of Korea.

Will Ike really do it?

“Great, great!”

“A big fish was caught!”

A big fish was caught.

FDR was at stake.