Chapter 1045: Occupation
"Are official slaves forbidden to marry?" Feng Zongze asked, his tone deliberately curious.
"Marriage is permitted, but there are many difficulties. Most cannot decide for themselves." Seeing that this "short-haired" high official spoke gently and showed apparent concern, Park Deok-hwan felt warmth kindle in his chest. They were lowly people, accustomed to being ordered about—even the official courtesans slightly favored by officials treated them like servants. He couldn't help but recount the struggles of preparing for marriage, which unconsciously became a litany of grievances: the exile to this island in their youth, just him and his younger brother, enduring every hardship the world could inflict. Tears streamed down his face as he spoke. Then he caught himself—he had lost his composure before a lord. He hurriedly wiped his face with his sleeve.
"This lowly one has made My Lord laugh."
"Such torments you've suffered. It truly wasn't easy, surviving here alone with your younger brother." Feng Zongze nodded inwardly—indeed, the human will to live was remarkably strong. A son of officials, accustomed to fine clothes and good food, falling into calamity and enduring every humiliation to survive, gritting his teeth through suffering on this remote island, and even raising his young brother to adulthood—quite an inspirational story. He offered a few words of praise, then asked deliberately:
"Do you and your brother both know characters? Can you read?"
"Yes. This lowly one and my younger brother both began learning as children. But my brother was too young when we lost our chance—he never had time to learn proper writing. He recognizes some characters. Since there are neither books nor brush and ink on this island, teaching him has proved impossible."
"Ah, so you were educated. You were either Yangban or Middle People. Certainly not common Baekjeong."
Speaking of his former status, Park Deok-hwan's tears flowed again. "This lowly one disgraced his ancestors. This lowly one was originally a son of Middle People." These words touched the sorest wound in his heart. He couldn't bear it any longer and collapsed to the ground, wailing bitterly.
Feng Zongze thought: Exactly the effect I needed. Such people had sealed away their past in despair. Now that he'd opened the seal, the agony came gushing forth, wracking and raw.
What would follow inevitably was all-consuming hatred.
For the sake of revenge, they would not hesitate to burn themselves to ash.
Feng Zongze said nothing, letting the man weep bitter tears and vent until he was spent.
That night, Feng Zongze ordered the brothers bathed and put through the complete purification process, issued brand-new naturalized citizen uniforms, and taken to eat.
Afterward, he instructed that they be detained separately, giving each ample time to digest what had been said.
He was confident that once the flame of revenge ignited in their hearts, it would not easily be extinguished.
Early the next morning, as the first gray light touched the sky, staff brought the Park brothers—their heads shaved completely bald—to the Seongsan base and led them into Feng Zongze's command tent. Looking at them, Feng Zongze already knew they had resolved to become collaborators.
"Very good." He nodded approvingly. "Sit."
How dared the Park brothers sit? Feng Zongze continued: "Since you have been purified, you are now our comrades. Tongzhi—people who share the same aspirations."
"Willing to be at My Lord's disposal!" Park Deok-hwan declared loudly.
Feng Zongze then proceeded according to the "1631 New Edition Mass Propaganda Manual—Korea Work Volume (Consultation Draft)" compiled by the Propaganda Department, explaining basic concepts about the Transmigration Group. Afterward, he inquired about conditions in Jeju City.
"Regarding Jeju City, we've told everything we know." Park Deok-hwan looked embarrassed. Though he burned with eagerness to prove his worth to his new master, he was merely an official slave. He knew surface-level matters, nothing deeper.
"No matter. Jeju is already as good as ours. We need only guides." Feng Zongze fixed his gaze on Park Deok-hwan.
Park Deok-hwan didn't hesitate. "This lowly one is willing to lead the way."
Park Deok-maeng stirred uneasily. "Big Brother—"
"It's nothing." Park Deok-hwan reassured his brother. "We brothers are both willing to guide My Lord. Through water and fire, we will not flinch."
"Good." Feng Zongze slapped the table. "Follow me."
He strode forward and threw open the tent flap facing the sea.
Feng Zongze's tent stood directly on Seongsan's shoreline. Dawn had broken; sunlight poured over everything. On the glittering sea beneath Mount Seongsan, the masts of more than a dozen warships and H800 transports rose like a forest, gun muzzles gleaming in the morning light.
The Morning Star Flag, the Navy Ensign, and the Iron Fist Banner snapped in the breeze. Dozens of medium and small motorized boats waited at the ready, black smoke rolling from their stacks. Every boat was packed with soldiers carrying live ammunition. Snow-bright bayonets flashed dazzling reflections in the sun.
The Park brothers froze, struck senseless. Dizziness overwhelmed them; their legs gave way, and they dropped to their knees. Park Deok-hwan trembled for a long moment before managing to speak: "This lowly one deserves death—having eyes but failing to see! Actually—" He suddenly realized he had voiced his inner thoughts aloud and fell abruptly silent.
"Actually thought we were Wokou—pirates—right?" Feng Zongze laughed heartily, affecting a forthright demeanor. Inside, he felt deeply satisfied. What is the aura of kingly dominance? he thought. This. This is kingly dominance.
When American battleships and transports covered the waters off Okinawa, anyone who witnessed the spectacle had to acknowledge that Americans were qualified to establish a "New World Order."
Strength was the most eloquent form of authority.
"Yes... this lowly one is dull..." Park Deok-hwan bowed even lower.
"Come. We go to Jeju together."
"Yes, My Lord—Chief."
Storming Jeju City took less than an hour: fifty minutes of preparation, ten minutes of assault. The Public Security Army's Japanese Company once again led the charge, first to scale the wall and seize the gate under covering rifle fire.
When Shikawa Shuji led his BattĹŤtai screaming up the wall again, hacking down defenders and smashing locks to throw open the gates, all resistance within Jeju City collapsed. Hundreds of Joseon soldiers scattered under the sweep of tachi and Southeast Asia Pattern rifles.
Judge Yi Dae-ha had assumed the enemy were Wokou and had been waiting for the Jeolla Province Navy to arrive with reinforcements. Moreover, reports indicated the enemy was still lingering around Seongsan. He hadn't anticipated a sudden assault. He had believed holding Jeju would pose no difficulty, but the "Wokou" possessed terrifyingly effective firearms—a few volleys routed the wall's defenders. When word came that the city gate had fallen and enemies were pouring in, he hastily gathered more than a hundred elite Tooth Soldiers and moved to counterattack, intending to drive the enemy out.
Yi Dae-ha's assessment was reasonably accurate: the enemy force was small, winning through courage and superior firepower. Their charge had dispersed ordinary soldiers with minimal fighting ability. If he could stabilize his formation in time and check their momentum, the routed men might rally, and the outcome remained uncertain.
Wearing armor and carrying his bow, he chose not to mount his horse. Instead, he took up a Ming-standard border army long saber and led the Tooth Soldiers directly toward the city gate. Rounding a street corner, he saw Shikawa charging at the head of his men, tachi raised, screaming "Banzai!"
Yi Dae-ha drew and loosed in one motion. The dozen Tooth Soldiers behind him let fly a volley simultaneously.
Shikawa, leading the charge, screamed and fell. Cries and groans erupted from the Battōtai around him—three or four were struck by arrows.
"Fire!"
Dense white smoke erupted from the Southeast Asia rifles, and a dozen of Yi Dae-ha's Tooth Soldiers crashed to the ground. Then both sides lunged forward, engaging in a mêlée of sabers, tachi, and bayonets.
The hand-to-hand combat lasted less than five minutes before Yi Dae-ha's Tooth Soldiers buckled. Close-quarters fighting tested discipline and training severely—and Joseon's elite guards were clearly inferior to the Public Security Army in both, to say nothing of the disparity in equipment and physical conditioning.
Yi Dae-ha was wounded in the fighting. Protected by his guards, he tried to fight his way clear, but the Public Security Army, having lost several men, attacked with demonic fury. Before long, his Tooth Soldier formation disintegrated. Every guard around Yi Dae-ha died fighting, and he himself was struck down by rifle fire.
The death of Jeju's highest military commander shattered all remaining resistance. Soldiers dropped their weapons and fled in every direction, rushing toward various gates in desperate attempts to escape. But ambushes had been prepared outside every exit, and snipers from the Special Reconnaissance Detachment used precision fire to check the fleeing soldiers and stem the exodus.
Magistrate Yi Jin-gyeong, amid the chaos, was hustled onto a horse by his guards and servants, who attempted to break out through the South Gate. The moment he emerged, snipers positioned outside the city began picking off his escort one by one. His guards shielded him with their bodies, trying to force their way through. Then a "typewriter"—a machine gun—let out a ferocious roar. Yi Jin-gyeong and all fifteen of his subordinates were cut down.
Though fighting and localized disorder occurred within Jeju City, none lasted long. The Public Security Army and regular Army soldiers quickly secured control of the entire city.
On January 12, 1632, Jeju City was declared fallen. All three cities of Jeju Island now belonged to the Jeju Island Special Task Force.
The commoners of Jeju City cowered inside their hovels, trembling as they awaited whatever disaster was coming. Many had witnessed or heard from elders about Wokou atrocities. Watching this horde of bald-headed pirates charge in brandishing great swords and rout the government troops, they could only resign themselves to fate.
Rounding up scattered soldiers, confiscating weapons, securing warehouses and government offices, clearing corpses, treating the wounded—entry operations proceeded methodically under naturalized citizen cadres trained to follow the "City Entry Manual" precisely.
Feng Zongze and Xue Ziliang entered the Jeju Government Office together. It had already been selected as the headquarters for the Jeju Forward Command. In the compound courtyard, a temporary flagpole had been erected. The Morning Star Flag rose slowly. The two men stood at attention and saluted together.
"Jeju Island is ours," Feng Zongze said.
Though as of today they controlled only three cities and the Seongsan base, the island's administrative centers had been uprooted—the Joseon Dynasty's rule was effectively over.
As for the several garrisons not yet taken, they had lost their command structure and supply bases. Their original function had already been negated. They were ripe fruit, ready to be picked at leisure.
(End of Chapter)