Ch.223Island Conquest (4)

# The Shogunate Army Moves in Haste

The Shogunate army was bustling with activity.

The reason for their hurried movements was that they had received reports from spies sent to Goryeo that large-scale troops were on the move.

Upon hearing this news, Minamoto Yoshitsune gathered all available ships and directed them toward Tsushima.

“The Mongol-Goryeo allied forces will come through Tsushima.”

His assumption was only natural.

After all, the routes to the archipelago were typically fixed.

The most common path was to cross through the peninsula to enter the archipelago.

The East Sea had not only fierce waves but also extremely fast currents.

This meant that while moving small numbers of ships was possible, large-scale movements were impossible.

For these reasons, maritime exchanges between China, Korea, and Japan were mostly conducted through the Yellow Sea.

However, while Japan did trade directly with China, the sailing distance was far, so they often traveled through Korea.

Above all, the situation suggested that large-scale troops were on the move.

Therefore, for stable transportation, the Mongol-Goryeo allied forces had no choice but to cross through Tsushima.

Thus, Yoshitsune’s strategic decision could be considered very reasonable.

“Musashibo.”

“Yes!”

At Yoshitsune’s call, a large man immediately approached.

He bowed and prepared to receive orders.

The large man’s name was Musashibo Benkei.

Once known as a troublemaker, he was almost like a barbarian.

Originally called “the child of a ghost” for his recklessness, he entered Mount Hiei to become a monk but was expelled due to his poor character.

Afterward, he traveled throughout the country engaging in battles and developed the strange hobby of collecting swords from battle spoils.

After collecting 999 weapons, he met Minamoto Yoshitsune.

Having been defeated by him, Musashibo Benkei had become Yoshitsune’s loyal retainer.

Yoshitsune also regarded Benkei as his right-hand man.

“You shall lead the naval forces to meet with the lord of Tsushima and request cooperation.”

“Understood.”

Though Benkei’s birth was unclear, there were rumors that he was an illegitimate child of the Fujiwara family.

At that time, the Fujiwara family led the Kumano naval forces, and Benkei was so skilled at leading naval forces that there were rumors he was indeed the son of Fujiwara no Tanzo.

Though the stories didn’t quite add up, such legends were common in the archipelago at that time, so no one questioned them.

In any case, Benkei was Yoshitsune’s right-hand man and one of the naval commanders of the Kamakura Shogunate.

“Move out!”

As the large Benkei raised his spear and shouted, the strong men following him boarded the ships.

From Chikuzen Province to Tsushima wasn’t very far.

Since they could arrive in a day and a half, they could receive a response from the lord of Tsushima within a day.

After Benkei departed, Yoshitsune was reorganizing his troops.

Suddenly, a horse approached urgently from the direction of Dazaifu.

Yoshitsune looked with a puzzled expression toward the approaching messenger.

“Something serious must have happened.”

Unfortunately, his prediction was accurate.

Upon arrival, the messenger bowed to Yoshitsune and began his report.

“Big… big trouble, General. A large fleet of unknown origin is reportedly approaching a small fishing village called Nagasaki.”

“What!”

Yoshitsune was greatly surprised.

This was because the enemy was coming from a completely different direction than the Mongol-Goryeo allied forces’ attack route he had predicted.

Therefore, Yoshitsune, who was at Hakata Port, couldn’t help but be greatly surprised.

“How long has it been since the enemy was spotted?”

“About 7 days ago.”

“Hmm.”

Seven days meant the enemy fleet had more than enough time to arrive nearby.

Therefore, even if they moved troops toward Nagasaki now, they would inevitably face enemies who had already landed.

They needed to block the landing itself, and allowing the enemy to land was unacceptable.

In short, they had been caught off guard.

“It’s not too late yet. I’ll request additional troops from the Shogunate and then attack the enemy’s vanguard to prevent additional troops from landing.”

The number of troops that could be moved by ship at once was limited.

Therefore, if they could somehow block the vanguard, they could prevent additional landings.

“Since the enemy didn’t come through the peninsula and Tsushima, they must have departed from far away. So if we block the vanguard well, we can certainly prevent additional landings.”

The advisor also made this comment to Yoshitsune.

Yoshitsune nodded in response.

“My thoughts align with the advisor’s.”

“Then would it be appropriate to inform General Musashibo, who is headed to Tsushima, to join the main force?”

“That’s a good idea, but it would be like opening the path to the enemy.”

Yoshitsune was assuming that the size of the vanguard that landed in Nagasaki wasn’t large.

As both he and his advisor thought, it was impossible for a large fleet to move at once over a long distance.

Therefore, for supplies alone, the enemy would have to come through Tsushima.

While supplies could be supplemented through local plunder, this was an act that relied on luck.

If the enemy had a proper commander, they would likely cause confusion to the Shogunate army through surprise landings, then send the main force through the traditional attack route of Tsushima for additional troop reinforcement and supplies.

Therefore, they couldn’t leave Tsushima defenseless by recalling Benkei.

“I apologize for causing confusion to the General with my inadequate thoughts.”

The advisor bowed and apologized on the spot.

Yoshitsune gestured to accept his apology and calmed him.

“You are my advisor. It’s natural for an advisor to give counsel, so don’t worry about it.”

The advisor repeatedly expressed his gratitude for Yoshitsune’s words.

After sorting out the situation, Yoshitsune took out his command fan and shouted loudly.

“All troops head to Nagasaki. It’s time to show the barbarians the dignity of the Shogunate that unified the realm!”

* * *

“We landed in Nagasaki more easily than expected, brother.”

I nodded at Munglig’s words.

Then, as I thrust my sword into the body of a fallen Japanese soldier in front of me, I continued speaking.

“From now on, it will get harder.”

Modern Nagasaki was a fairly sizeable city in Kyushu.

But at this time, Nagasaki was just a small fishing village.

Therefore, unless the enemy commander had predicted and deployed troops in advance, they had no choice but to allow our landing.

Thanks to that, the Ulus and Goryeo allied forces could easily arrive in Nagasaki.

The landing was easy, but what came next was the problem.

“I hope the follow-up troops led by Irin successfully break through Tsushima.”

A unit without supplies was as good as a defeated army.

Therefore, we had no choice but to employ tactics to surprise attack Nagasaki, catch the enemy off guard, and receive stable supplies.

“Wouldn’t it have been better to join from the peninsula from the beginning and attack through Tsushima?”

Munglig spoke to me as if wondering why we did such a troublesome thing.

His words had some merit.

Battle was always a struggle of forces.

Therefore, we, who had numerical superiority, had a high chance of winning.

However, in naval battles, which are greatly influenced by the environment, numerical superiority might not have a significant impact.

Moreover, most of the Mongol troops participating in the eastern expedition were ground forces for the conquest of the archipelago.

This meant that if a naval battle unfolded, the Ulus army would find it difficult to influence the battle.

“Are you suggesting we go and cheer them on?”

“That’s not what I meant, but wouldn’t we be able to provide some support if we landed on Tsushima?”

“That’s what the enemy wants.”

Since most of the Ulus forces were ground troops, they could naturally support by landing on Tsushima and attacking enemy fleets entering the coast.

However, in this case, the initiative of the battle would inevitably pass to the enemy.

In other words, if the enemy maintained distance and didn’t approach the coast of Tsushima, the Mongol troops who had landed on Tsushima would have nothing to do.

In actual history, the Goryeo-Mongol allied forces landed on Tsushima.

Later, when they tried to land on the mainland, they encountered several unexpected ambushes and eventually had to withdraw.

In other words, landing on Tsushima was a failed strategy proven by history.

“If the enemy doesn’t engage in battle, the Ulus troops who landed on Tsushima can’t do anything.”

“Then can’t we also board ships and respond?”

“Do you think the enemy will just watch as our troops board ships?”

“Ah…!”

Munglig was a capable commander.

However, that was only applicable to land battles.

With just one naval battle experience, and that being leading the landing during the siege of Constantinople, it was natural for him to ask such questions.

“Your words are correct, brother. I was mistaken.”

“It’s alright. And asking such questions helps you develop further, doesn’t it?”

“I thought you’d be angry at times like this.”

“What do you mean?”

“Nothing. It’s just that I’ve been thinking for a while that you might be someone from another world or the future.”

I couldn’t say anything to Munglig’s playful words.

Because his words were true.

Of course, I’ve been covering it up by claiming to receive divine revelations, but it was difficult to deceive Munglig, who had been with me since childhood.

Anyway, when I didn’t respond, Munglig looked puzzled.

“Brother, could it be…”

“Gather the troops. Something is approaching.”

At my calm voice, Munglig regained his composure.

And he looked where I was pointing.

In the thick dust, Munglig took out a leather flute from his waist.

Pwooooo!

At that sound, the soldiers who were dealing with the remnants resisting in Nagasaki stopped moving.

And they began to gather in one place, following their centurions.

Those gathered under the flag maintained their formation and waited for orders to be issued.

“Of the 3,000 soldiers who landed in Nagasaki, most have gathered, excluding ten wounded.”

I nodded at Elunka’s report.

And looking in the direction of the approaching enemy, I spoke.

“Send 100 swift cavalrymen to find out the size of the enemy force. And have a thousand-man unit support them from behind.”

Elunka, who received my order, raised his command baton.

Following his command, 100 cavalrymen moved first, followed by Mingat.

“Munglig and I will fortify this place with the remaining troops.”

“I’m not sure if fortification is possible with the enemy right in front of us.”

“Because the enemy is right in front of us, we must do it. This is the beginning of a tedious battle.”

In terms of an RTS game, this was the beginning of a scenario where we block the entrance and hold out until the final stage.

So to survive, we had to both engage in battle and fortify this place whenever possible.