Chapter 352: Defense

He also had a personal concern. He knew from the Park brothers that the “Wo-Kun” were extremely interested in horses. The “Wo-Kun” leader named Ni spent all his days in the stables since arriving on the island. Recently, he had been organizing men to sort through the horse records and various land documents in the government offices.

Although the government archives were a chaotic mess, they could still give a general idea of the scale of the official horse herds and pastures on the island. Master Kim was particularly worried about this. After the fall of the three cities and nine towns, during the brief period when the Joseon court’s control had just collapsed and the “Wo-Kun” had not yet extended their reach into the interior, he had ordered his men to carry out large-scale raids on the government pastures. They not only stole a large number of official horses and cattle but also incorporated many of the government slaves from the pastures into his fortress. In many places, his men had directly moved the boundary markers, seizing the most fertile lands of the official horse pastures for themselves.

Although Master Kim never left his home, he was well-informed about the situation on the entire Jeju Island through the active efforts of his cronies like Hwang Wun-u, Choi Hyeon-taek, and Jo Myeong-gwi. He watched as the “Wo-Kun,” like master strategists, methodically laid out their pieces one by one.

Recently, small groups of “Wo-Kun” had been active in the interior. Now, they had sent letters demanding that all the major families prepare to attend some “Political Consultative Conference.” Master Kim felt the crisis was drawing nearer.

It seemed that he couldn’t have peace without getting rid of the “Wo-Kun.” After several days of consideration, Master Kim finally decided that he had to welcome back the king’s army.

Master Kim was indeed a formidable figure on the island. He had seriously considered the issue of his “embezzlement of state assets” after the king’s army returned and had even discussed it seriously with his advisors. The final conclusion was that it wouldn’t be a problem. Although Jeju Island had always been a place of exile, it was still “the king’s land,” and the court would never sit by and watch it be lost. If his side could contribute to welcoming back the king’s army, the court would surely overlook past transgressions. As for the official horses, cattle, and government slaves, they could simply be reported as “lost in the chaos of war,” and there would be no evidence. As for the pasture boundaries, the court was too preoccupied with its own problems: natural disasters and barbarian incursions were constant, and the political situation was unstable. The new provincial governor would surely just want to keep things peaceful and would definitely not pursue the matter seriously.

Originally, Master Kim had instructed Jo Myeong-gwi to collude with Hwang Wun-u to bribe Park Deok-hwan as a traditional self-preservation tactic for the wealthy: to grasp the new rulers’ movements and try to profit from them. Now, he felt that having a person like Park Deok-hwan under his control added considerable weight to his plan of “welcoming the king’s army.”

This time, Choi Hyeon-taek’s trip to the peninsula was specifically to meet with the Jeolla Provincial Army Commander, Shin Gyeong-yu. The Jeju magistrate, Lee Dae-ha, who had died when Jeju fell, was his confidant.

“…Lord Shin said that the court is indeed discussing the recovery of Jeju,” Choi Hyeon-taek said in a low voice. “There’s no disagreement in the court debate, but the court currently lacks troops and provisions, so they can only order him to ‘recover it when the opportunity arises.’ Lord Shin doesn’t know the strength of the ‘Wo-Kun’ and can’t send troops for the time being.”

“What ‘recover it when the opportunity arises’? It’s just an excuse!” Jo Myeong-gwi cursed.

“No, according to Lord Shin, the atmosphere at court is different from King Gwanghae’s time. His Majesty is very dissatisfied with the arrogance of the barbarians and detests the previous peace negotiations,” Choi Hyeon-taek said. “The Old Westerners faction is in power now, and the lords at court are all clamoring to prepare for war and march to the Yalu River.”

Jo Myeong-gwi said impatiently, “We don’t care what the lords at court are saying. Just tell us about the ‘Kun’ bandits on this island. Is the court going to do anything about them or not?”

“They’re even going to fight the barbarians. What are a few ‘Wo-Kun’ on this island?” Choi Hyeon-taek took a few sips of wine. “Lord Shin said we have to find out all the details about the ‘Wo-Kun’ before he can send troops.”

Jo Myeong-gwi said, “What else? I’m afraid it won’t be that easy for these officials to send troops.”

“Master Jo, you are truly insightful!” Choi Hyeon-taek immediately laid on a thick layer of flattery.

“Cut the crap. Just tell us, what are Lord Shin’s terms?”

“Lord Shin said he doesn’t have enough troops, so he will need Master Kim to organize a ‘righteous army’ to respond in concert.”

Jo Myeong-gwi thought that wouldn’t be too difficult. Master Kim already had two hundred household retainers. The slaves, serfs, and hired laborers attached to him, including their families, numbered around ten thousand. Organizing a righteous army of a thousand men would not be a problem.

A righteous army didn’t require much expense. Just three full meals a day and the promise of some reduction in their personal tribute and rent would suffice. It was much more economical than the government troops, who demanded money just to move out. And if they died, no compensation was needed. Master Kim had already planned for this. The combat effectiveness of a righteous army was always stronger than that of government troops. If they won, the “Wo-Kun” would flee by ship, but the population and resources they had brought over would be left behind. This would not only be enough to feed the righteous army but also generate a considerable profit.

He nodded. “And then?”

“And then there’s the matter of provisions and rewards…” Choi Hyeon-taek said apprehensively, glancing at Jo Myeong-gwi.

Jo Myeong-gwi’s face was blank, and he didn’t speak for a moment. Master Kim had anticipated this. But the exact terms would depend on the other side’s price, and Master Kim hadn’t authorized him to agree or disagree to anything. He thought for a moment and said, “Provisions are not a problem. The government troops are coming across the sea to fight the ‘Wo-Kun,’ so of course Master Kim will contribute. As for the amount of the reward, we’ll need Lord Shin to give us a figure.” He smiled and said, “I’ll have to trouble you to make a few more trips for this matter.”

“Of course, of course. It’s my duty to serve you, masters,” Choi Hyeon-taek said with a subservient smile. “It’s convenient for me to enter and leave the island now—with Park Deok-hwan as a cover.”

“Park Deok-hwan is still quite useful. We need to hold on to him tightly!” Jo Myeong-gwi said.

“I understand,” Choi Hyeon-taek said loudly, startling himself.

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“Salute!” With Kim Yong-ju’s roar, the twenty-four members of the Jeju Island Public Security Army’s Korean unit military band, holding traditional instruments like the xiao, guan, and di, and wearing large black hats, began to play “We Salute You, Comrade Commander,” which they had been practicing for several months. Although the majestic march was clearly lacking in expression when played on traditional instruments, it was at least in tune.

All the public security soldiers simultaneously held their long spears upright. Zhu Mingxia, accompanied by Nangong Wudi, inspected the three hundred soldiers of the Public Security Army’s Korean unit.

The Korean Public Security Army, formed by recruiting government slaves on Jeju Island, had begun to take shape. Three companies were training while on duty and had already completed most of the Public Security Army’s training program. Since they were not yet equipped with Nanyang-style rifles, they had not undergone rifle shooting training. Nangong Wudi had used training rifles to drill them in formation, manual of arms, and bayonet fighting.

Due to a lack of long-range projectile weapons, with Nangong Wudi’s approval, Kim Yong-ju had started archery training, so now everyone was equipped with a bow and arrows. Zhu Mingxia was not particularly enthusiastic about this; it was better than nothing, but they needed to be equipped with rifles as soon as possible.

To the sound of the folk-style march, Zhu Mingxia, with his hand on his command sword, saluted and inspected the troops.

The music stopped. Zhu Mingxia returned to the front of the ranks and nodded. Kim Yong-ju quickly shouted, “At ease!”

The entire unit came to “at ease” with a single sharp sound. Zhu Mingxia was quite satisfied. The ranks were very neat. Although they didn’t look particularly imposing due to their nutrition, their spirit was already there. It seemed Nangong Wudi’s training work was quite good. Of course, the constant “three-guest treatment” (a euphemism for harsh training) from the Japanese Public Security Army NCOs in charge of the actual training also had its effect.

Zhu Mingxia cleared his throat and began to read aloud the order from the General Military Administration issued by the Senate: officially granting the Jeju Island Public Security Army’s Korean unit the designation of “Public Security Army Korean Advance Column” and the title of “White Horse” unit, with a galloping white horse as its unit insignia. As he read in clear, standard Mandarin, Park Deok-maeng translated loudly. To be honest, he had pondered for a long time how to translate this designation, and in the end, it was Chief Nangong himself who provided the translation.

After the order was read, the entire unit shouted “For the Senate and the People” three times—in garbled Mandarin. This was also the result of several months of hard training. According to a recent order issued by Fu Sansi, all regular army, national army, and public security army units had to use Mandarin as their common language.

There was some flexibility for public security army units composed of foreign personnel and ethnic minorities, but they were also required to promote the unified language as soon as possible.

After the inspection, Zhu Mingxia returned to the headquarters in the supervisory camp, where Nangong Wudi reported on the current defense work on Jeju Island.

Nangong Wudi explained the situation point by point on the map. Currently, of the three cities on Jeju Island, Daejeong County and Jeongui County each had an agricultural labor company. They were equivalent to garrison troops, equipped with cold weapons, and were mainly engaged in agricultural and pastoral production while also handling local defense.

Because the agricultural companies were all equipped with cold weapons and had insufficient combat power, Nangong Wudi had reinforced each county with a platoon of the Fubo Army as a core. After the local public security army was formed, each county would be equipped with a public security army company.

“…After a large number of refugees have been purified, several hundred households will be settled in each county. From them, we will slowly train local National Army soldiers to replace these public security army units,” Nangong Wudi explained his next steps.

“Good. How are the other units arranged?”

The company headquarters of the disbanded companies and the remaining platoon were deployed at the Chaotianpu docks as a garrison. To deal with a possible counter-attack by the Joseon army, Nangong Wudi had concentrated the remaining infantry company, an engineer company, and other miscellaneous units in and around Jeju City as a mobile force. In the other towns, he only deployed a small number of sentries. The Public Security Army’s Japanese company served as the garrison for Jeju City, with the Korean Public Security Army as an auxiliary force. The defense deployment showed a pattern of being heavy in the north and light in the south.

“Our forces are really a bit thin for such a large island,” Nangong Wudi said. “The interior is a blank. We can’t control these big landlords hiding in the mountains, and they’ve even seized a lot of the official horse pastures. Nick pesters me about this every day, but where do we have the troops and manpower to enter the interior and take over the horse pastures now?”