From the Imjin War to the Qing Invasion

Invasion

On a dim morning, Samsik was making his way toward the young master’s rice paddy located halfway up Yeomposan.

Samsik was well-known for being a skilled farmer, even in Ulsan.

His secret was his diligence.

“Yaaawn!”

Having finished preparing for work before sunrise, Samsik yawned as he walked down the path.

I can’t be lazy with farming even if I’m a bit tired, especially since that rice paddy is one the Young Master pays special attention to.

Last year, Samsik profited greatly from spreading fertilizer in the rice paddies.

When he finally arrived at the rice paddy located on the slopes of Yeomposan, he took a moment to look around.

The field was now full of traces of cutting rice, as the harvest had just ended.

But the end of the harvest didn’t mean there was nothing left for the farmers to do.

First, they had to prepare the rice paddy for winter, so they could farm it again the next year.

This year, it feels like the yield will be even greater than last year.’

Samsik smiled with satisfaction as he imagined his storehouse full of grain next year, all thanks to the young master’s fertilizers,

“Nureongi, I’ll be counting on you today, too.”

“Eummeoeoeoeo~”

Samsik, with Nureongi by his side, began his preparations for work as dawn was breaking up on the horizon.

Today’s task was to plow the rice paddy.

Even though an individual couldn’t plow such a vast area, thanks to Nureongi’s help from the Kim family, the task could be completed in just a few days.

“Let’s finish up quickly and go eat something tasty~.”

But as Samsik began to plow the rice paddy with Nureongi, he smelled something burning.

“Huh? What’s this burnt smell? Did someone from the neighboring village burn their rice while cooking?”

Riding on the pine breeze, the burnt smell was not that of scorched grains but something more pungent.

Ahh, never mind. It’s probably some foolish wife who burnt the rice.

At first, Samsik ignored the smell and continued his work, but the sharp, stinging scent made him uneasy.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

The more he tried to concentrate on his work, the more his heart pounded. Eventually, Samsik stopped working.

“Ugh, I can’t do it.”

“Eummeo?”

“Nureongi, wait here for a bit. I’ll be back soon after checking out Yeomposan.”

Samsik left Nureongi in the rice paddy and ran straight toward the summit of Yeomposan.

“Heugh, heugh! I hope some foolish wife just fell asleep and burnt the rice!”

Despite not wanting to climb the mountain, Samsik prayed that his worry would turn out to be baseless.

In about 20 minutes, Samsik arrived at the top of Yeomposan.

The first thing Samsik noticed from the summit was the countless ships anchored near the sandy beach.

They weren’t the traditional Korean ships but the ones used by Japanese pirates.

“W-what’s that?”

Samsik realized what the putrid smell he had smelled while working was.

A house at the foot of Yeomposan was billowing dark smoke because of a fire set by the Japanese pirates.

“J-Japanese pirates!”

Having confirmed that the Japanese pirates were invading their land, Samsik ran back to the village with all his strength.

I have to inform the village about this!

The greatest loss when Japanese pirates appeared was the loss of life.

Farming could be done again, but the crafty pirates always left casualties.

That’s why Samsik shouted at the top of his lungs.

“Japanese pirates! Japanese pirates have appeared!”

Samsik’s voice echoed through the quiet early morning village.

Hearing Samsik’s warning, the village began to get busy.

Samsik ran around the village, shouting over and over again.

“Japanese pirates! Japanese pirates have appeared!”

Like a broken cassette tape, he continued non-stop for a long time. After spreading the news of the Japanese pirates’ invasion, Samsik rushed to his home.

“Honey, what’s going on?”

Thanks to Samsik’s warning, his family was waiting for him and was ready to flee.

“Wife! The Japanese pirates have appeared. We must evacuate to the Kim residence right now!”

“Ah, understood. But what about you?”

“Ah! I can care for myself, so please evacuate with the children first! I’ll check if Chunsam and his family have escaped safely and then head to Kim’s house!”

“…You must come back.”

“Of course!”

After ensuring his wife had taken cover, Samsik hesitated momentarily, looking at the sacks of rice in his storage room.

They’ll probably take every grain of rice, won’t they? No, my life matters more! There’s no way I’ll starve to death, right?

Samsik knew that if he became greedy for wealth at this time, he could lose not only his wealth but also his life, so he gritted his teeth and left the house.

And he headed straight for Gaettong’s house.

“Mrs. Jesu! Where is Chunsam?”

“He went out to check the cotton field this morning.”

‘What a foolish guy! He’s working hard for nothing!’

Fortunately, the cotton field was near the Kim’s mansion, so it wasn’t too far.

“Jesu, you should evacuate quickly with your son, Gaettong!”

“What about my husband?”

“I’ll… take care of that foolish guy.”

There is still some time left since the invaders have to pass through the village below for them to reach Yeomposan.

“…Please take care of him.”

“Don’t worry about that fool, and get moving!”

Although Samsik was exhausted from going up and down Yeomposan, concern for his best friend, Chunsam, drove him to action.

When he arrived at the large cotton field a good distance up along the Taehwagang River, Samsik loudly called for Chunsam.

“Chunsam! Where are you? Chunsam!”

“What? Samsik, why are you here?”

When Samsik saw Chunsam casually poking his head out of the cotton field, he felt a surge of anger and relief at the same time.

“You fool! Do you know what’s happening right now?”

“What happened? Why are you sweating so much? The weather is so cool.”

“Sigh, Japanese pirates are here, and they’ve cleared out the entire village below! You idiot!”

“What? Japanese pirates? Why did they come?”

“How should I know that? You idiot!”

“Ah! W-what about Gaettong and my wife?”

“I already told her to evacuate, so don’t worry too much.”

“That’s right! Now’s not the time for this! Ah, Samsik, let’s hurry and go!”

Goodness, I don’t know how such a smart guy like Gaettong came from that fool.

Just as Samsik was about to lead the panicking Chunsam towards the safety of the Kim’s house, a group of people appeared from beyond the field.

Unfortunately, they looked completely different from Koreans and were armed with knives and spears.

“Wait, aren’t those the invaders?”

“How the hell did they get here so fast?”

After receiving Takeyoshi’s order to block the path by going around Yeomposan, Enma arrived at the cotton field where Chunsam was.

“Captain, I see some Koreans over there.”

“Those annoyingly diligent guys. Kill them all!”

Samsik knew he had to run, but when he saw the blood-soaked invaders, his feet seemed glued to the ground.

Rabbits indeed freeze when they encounter a tiger!

“Sa-Samsik! I’ll try to hold them back. You run away first.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Am I not the best slingshot marksman in our village? I’ll throw stones to lure them away, so at least you should live!”

“I promised your wife I would bring you back with me!”

“I trust you to protect my family. Now go! I can’t hold them off for long! Hurry up and go!”

Chunsam pushed Samsik’s shoulder with a determined look.

While the two men argued, the invaders had already closed in on them.

Is it too late?

Chunsam showed off his skills as the best slingshot marksman in the village.

Whoosh! Thud!

The stone thrown by Chunsam accurately hit the invader’s philtrum.

The impact was so powerful that the invader who was hit couldn’t even think of getting up.

“Shota! You must kill this kid.”

An invader charged with fire in his eyes and the distance between the two rapidly closed.

“Let’s bring down one more!”

“Eh?!”

Chunsam charged at the incoming Japanese with a sword, striking the bridge of his nose with the rock in his hand.

However, the Japanese pirate wasn’t playing around either, so Chunsam’s side was slashed by his sword, causing blood to flow out.

“Chunsam!”

That fool! Hurry up and go! I said go.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Chunsam repeatedly struck the fallen foreigner with the rock to cut off their breath.

The more blows he dealt, the more Chunsam’s hands were stained with thick blood.

“Damn! You brat!”

Before he knew it, another one of the Japanese pirates had appeared.

These pesky Japanese bastards!

Whoosh!

Chunsam tried to show off his usual polished stone-throwing skills, but because of the injury he had sustained while dealing with the previous one, the stone flew toward the pirate’s shoulder instead of his head.

“Urgh!”

“Are you alright?”

“Ah, it hurts a bit, but I can bear it.”

“You’re pretty good. But now you don’t have a weapon.”

Tsk, I can’t believe I, Park Chunsam, can only take down two pirates.

Chunsam wanted to somehow bring down the third Japanese pirate, but strength was gradually draining from his arms and legs.

“Hehehe, where should I stab?”

A pirate approached Chunsam with a wicked smile.

And just as that pirate’s spear targeted Chunsam’s chest, a miracle occurred.

Swish!

An arrow lodged itself in the foreigner’s forehead, splitting the air with its sound.

Who?

The arrow that flew from the top of the mountain was shot so far away that the person who fired it couldn’t even be seen.

However, Chunsam knew of one person who possessed such miraculous archery skills.

“Could it be, Young Master? No, perhaps the Instructor?”

Swish!

As if to prove that the previous incident wasn’t a coincidence, another pirate about 30 steps away fell from an arrow shortly afterward.

As his carefully raised subordinates fell from the unseen arrows, Enma flew into a rage.

“Damn! Where the hell are these arrows coming from?”

“It seems the direction is from that mountain. However, judging by the fact that we can’t see them, it must be a Joseon sharpshooter.”

Swish!

Every time the sound of an arrow cutting through the air was heard, one more of his men fell.

“How many enemies are there?”

“Judging by the speed of the arrows, there must be one or two.”

Damn it, we’ve already lost six men.

The pirates led by Enma were no different from his own disciples, whom he had painstakingly trained.

Losing six battle-hardened subordinates, Enma had to think.

If we continue to face these archers hidden in the mountain like this, we might lose even more lives.

Even during the short moment of Enma’s contemplation, another arrow flew.

Swish! Thud!

Now there were seven dead pirates.

“Damn it! The captain’s order was to block the reinforcements from the Joseon army. Retreat for now!”

As Enma withdrew his forces, Samsik ran towards Chunsam.

“Hey, buddy! Are you alright?”

“Ugh, at least I’m not dead yet, right?”

“No time for that. Let’s hurry to the Kim’s!”

Samsik carried the injured Chunsam on his back and ran desperately toward the house of the Kim family.

“Hey, Samsik, just hold on a bit longer! We’ll be at Kim’s house soon.”

“Ugh!”

Samsik cursed his heavy footsteps today and ran even more.

“…”

And there was one shadow following the two.