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An archery competition is going on at the archery range of the Jeju Prison Camp. [Read the latest chapter] Lord Mok of Jeju was very interested in the competition and personally summoned the main officials on the island to participate in the competition.
The ruling class of the Li Dynasty had a strong interest in bow shooting, and everyone from the king to the two groups of nobles used it as a pastime. There are often archery competitions in the palace and government offices, and rewards are given to the winners. Under such a trend, even civil servants' archery skills were quite impressive.
The arrow that was taken off its string flew quickly against the wind, making a whooshing sound as it broke through the air. The sharp arrow was inserted into a position just one finger away from the target. It trembled for a while and then froze.
The person who shot the arrow was none other than Lee Jin-gyeong, the herdsman of Jeju. Seeing this scene, his face immediately darkened. Without waiting to put away his disappointed expression, he hurriedly looked at the soldiers and his subordinates lined up beside the school field. Each of them put on a respectful expression, but they still couldn't hide the surprise on their faces.
Although Li Zhenqing is a civil servant, his bow skills are not inferior to those of judge Li Mansion. The two are equally good at bow skills.
Today is a sunny day, and the wind is much lighter. This is where the archers can show their greatest ability. Unexpectedly, Mr. Li's first arrow missed the target.
The surrounding atmosphere was a little stagnant, and everyone's expressions were a little ugly. After all, this Observer has always prided himself on his archery skills, so it goes without saying that such a scene would put him in a bad mood.
If the superior is in a bad mood, his subordinates will naturally have a hard time. Everyone's eyes fell on Li Mansion, who was about to shoot.
If Judge Li could miss a little bit - whether it was a real miss or an intentional one, it would at least make the atmosphere more relaxed. But this is hard to say.
Li Mansion is the judge of Jeju, the highest military attache on the island and the de facto second-in-command of Jeju. Many times the specific affairs are handled by the judge - so the relationship between the judge and the pastor is quite delicate. Because of the relationship between the two groups of nobles in the Li Dynasty, the culture of noble culture and low military power was not strong. What's more, the judge's immediate boss, Jeolla Province Soldier Shin Kyung-yu, was the main supporter of the king's overthrow of his predecessor Gwanghae Gun eight years ago. With the support of such an upstart of this dynasty, Judge Li may not be willing to join in the fun.
Li Mansion was dressed in military uniform, with a calfskin bow bag inserted into his waist, holding thirteen eagle feather arrows, and a bow wrapped with red lacquer vines in his hand. He attracted everyone's attention as soon as he appeared on the stage.
He took a deep breath and drew the bow calmly. When the bow string is fully drawn, it remains motionless. Standing still like mountains. Everyone stared at him intently.
However, his arrow also missed. Li Mansion shook his head slightly. A wave of uneasiness passed through everyone's hearts. Suddenly, a soldier hurried over to report: The beacon fire at the beacon tower was lit - there was a large-scale invasion of Japanese pirates!
Everyone was shocked. After the Tokugawa seclusion, the harassment of Jeju by Japanese pirates has dropped significantly. In 1605, after Korea and the Tokugawa Shogunate reestablished diplomatic relations. This area of Jeju has maintained peace for almost thirty years. Although small groups of Japanese pirates land and harass every year, there have never been large-scale invasions.
The news from the beacon tower was very simple. It could only be seen that a large group of Japanese pirates were invading the island from the direction of Chengshan. The specific situation needs to be reported by local soldiers and officials.
"Japanese pirates broke in?"
The judge was shocked. Although he was caught off guard, his response plan was successful: Li Mansion immediately ordered the beacon fire to be lit. Blow the trumpet to summon the garrison from each town.
The Jeju Island area has been continuously invaded by Japanese pirates since the Goryeo Dynasty. Murder, arson, and robbery were commonplace. In order to resist the invasion of Japanese pirates, King Sejong established defense facilities such as Sancheng, Jiuzhen, Shishui Battle Base, Twenty-fifth Beacon Tower, and Thirty-eight Yantai in 19 years. Han Chengshun, who was the pacifier at the time, created the beacon system and formed a complete guard and protection system. Beacons were built along the coastline, and beacons were also set up on the mountain peaks in case of emergencies. Jeju City and other towns and defense posts can be notified in time.
According to the combat plan, once the Japanese pirates land, beacon fires will be lit everywhere. Each settlement and city post communicated messages to each other by blowing horns and lighting beacon fires. The garrison troops guarded the city and controlled the port. To prevent Japanese pirates from using the island's ports for reinforcements, the garrison in each city dispatched the main force according to the Japanese pirates' landing areas, and cooperated with the warships of the naval warfare station to attack the Japanese pirates by land and water and destroy them.
The problem is that this seemingly good plan relies on an army that basically maintains combat effectiveness. The number of Japanese pirates landing at the same time cannot be too many. Because there are only 1,500 people in charge of the island, deducting the necessary defense forces everywhere, the number that can be dispatched from Jeju Island at one time is only 300 to 400 people. It is okay to deal with dozens or hundreds of Japanese pirates, but if there are more, it will be beyond the capabilities.
certainly. They can also rely on the "volunteers" formed by the island's villagers - Xiangyong who met the Ming Dynasty. Compared with the regular army, the volunteers protect the country and their families, and their combat effectiveness is quite good. During the Miura Japanese Rebellion, the "volunteers" on Jeju Island played a great role and fiercely resisted the Japanese pirates. However, in recent decades, Jeju Island has often suffered disasters. There is not enough food on the island, and a large number of people emigrate to the peninsula. Jeju Island's population has been declining. There are naturally fewer "volunteers" available.
Hearing that the Japanese pirates had landed near Chengshan, Jingyi County Supervisor Cui Renjian's face immediately turned pale - this area was under his jurisdiction, and as a local official, he was duty-bound to resist the Japanese pirates.
"Please order the supervisor to send hundreds of elite soldiers. I will go back to the county to fight against the Japanese pirates!"
Although I am afraid, I cannot escape the responsibility of protecting the land. Cui Renjian said bravely.
Rather than being forced to return to the county, it is better to take the initiative and bring more troops back for reinforcements. It is still uncertain whether they will win or not, but at least they can keep themselves safe and sound. This kind of Japanese pirates only focus on plundering, and they will naturally retreat after they have plundered enough.
"If the situation of the Japanese pirates is unknown and they send troops rashly, it may be difficult to win. The army on this island is the one in Jeju that is more useful. If something goes wrong, the soldiers and people on the island will be in doom." Li Mansion said.
Although this was said grandly, the underlying meaning was that there was no intention to send troops for reinforcements. Mr. Li himself also has Xiao Jiujiu: The Japanese pirates will always retreat. Even if the county town is temporarily captured, it is inevitable to recover the county town after the Japanese pirates retreat. However, it is the judge's responsibility to lose troops and generals.
As a judge, he had no idea what the status of the three armies on the island was. There were only a handful of sentries and tooth soldiers available, no more than one or two hundred at most. Zhen may not be a match for Japanese pirates.
Cui Renjian was about to think of a reason to refute Li Mansion's words when Li Zhenqing spoke. As a third-grade civil servant, he had the ability to "not be surprised by changes" and his expression was quite calm. After coughing, he slowly twirled his beard and said, "Even though the Japanese pirates are powerful, we need to stay calm and collected."
He said two words to "calm down" the officials, and sure enough they stopped whispering and turned their eyes to him. Let’s see if the shepherd has any good strategies to defeat the enemy.
However, Li Zhenqing didn't have any "ingenious ideas." He had nothing new except instructing Li Mansion to "immediately formulate a strategy to retreat from the enemy" and ordering Cui Renjian to "quickly return to the county and sit in defense." Everyone had no choice but to shout loudly.
In a tense atmosphere, the two county supervisors Cui Renjian and Li Qiu, protected by servants and guards, returned to the county seat on fast horses. The city of Jeju immediately blew the trumpet, summoned the garrison outside the city, closed the city gates, and entered a state of war.
Li Mansion returned to his office and immediately sent out sentries to detect the enemy's situation. Then he wrote a handwritten letter to his immediate superior: Shin Jingyu, envoy of Jeolla Province, informing him that a large group of Japanese pirates had landed and that he was making arrangements to retreat from the enemy.
This letter is not a formal request for help, just a private message. Whether he needs to urgently request reinforcements or not depends on the report after the reconnaissance team came back. He called his servant and told him to immediately select a capable servant to deliver the message. Then he ordered: "Please come to Park Zhongjun."
Gongshe hurriedly dispersed, and the entourage surrounding the officials also dispersed. Only a few petty officials from the Jeju prison camp were left to direct dozens of official slaves to clean up the mess.
An awning was set up next to the bow field. This was originally a place prepared for the banquet after the bow shooting. The table had been set up early, with cups, plates, bowls, chopsticks and four types of fruits and four kinds of dried fruits on it for drinking. The official prostitutes who had prepared for the banquet and fun were all wearing heavy makeup and gorgeous clothes. They looked at the suddenly empty place at a loss. They didn't know whether they should leave immediately or wait for the fate of the seventeen-year-old official slave Park Dehuan. He glanced at the official prostitute in the awning and swallowed. He started to pack up the items scattered on the bow field, when suddenly he was punched hard in the back. When he looked back, he saw that it was his brother Park Demeng.
"Brother, why are you still working here? Go and get something delicious!" Pu Demeng still had traces of doenjang on the corner of his mouth. "If you go late, you won't get anything!"
As soon as his brother said this, Pu Dehuan immediately dropped the clutter in his hands. He followed his brother and ran towards the temporary kitchen. The official slaves and maidservants ate barley and buckwheat all year round, and the only food they had for food was low-quality soybean paste and seaweed. I can't even eat the slightly more advanced radish kimchi.
In the makeshift kitchen, the servants and servants were pushing and shoving each other for food. Naturally, no one can enjoy the food carefully cooked by the official slaves in the prison camp - it is cheap for the petty officials and official slaves who usually only have pickles and miso to satisfy their hunger. Their loyalty and patriotism are not as strong as those of the scholar-bureaucrats. As long as they are not cut on the head with a knife, they still have a full appetite.
The best barbecue and fish soup are not available to the official slaves, but ordinary food such as fish sauce, fish porridge, and pickles are quite abundant. The two Pu brothers quickly got two large bowls of fish porridge, poured a lot of miso, crab sauce and other things on top, and hid aside to eat.
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