The opinion to march immediately without waiting for the later divisions soon became moot.
It was not because of Lee Jing-ok’s decision.
It was due to the natural environment of the beachhead.
Around the time the sixth transport was completed, rain began to fall at the beachhead.
The rainy season had begun.
“This makes our country’s monsoon seem like nothing.”
Responding to Lee Jing-ok’s words as he watched the rainwater falling from the eaves of the headquarters building, a staff officer beside him replied.
“According to Lieutenant Ssang and his companions, they don’t move around carelessly during such rainy periods either. They say that after a heavy rain, even existing paths disappear.”
“How long does this rainy season last?”
“At the longest, half a year, they say.”
“Hmm… This is a problem. Considering the time it takes for our troops to move, by the time we reach Tenochtitlan, we might encounter this damned rainy season again.”
Lee Jing-ok looked up at the sky with a worried expression.
Lee Jing-ok’s concerns were not unfounded.
***
With the start of the rainy season, the weather around the beachhead became ‘just right for killing people.’
When the rain, which fell for nearly half of every day, stopped, it was followed by extremely humid and muggy weather.
“Damn it! Summer on the mainland was paradise!”
Tired from the sweltering weather, the soldiers wiped off their dripping sweat and voiced complaints.
“Is this weather why those bastards who deserve to be skinned alive and killed emerged?”
The soldiers, exhausted from the irritating weather, all became highly strung.
What was fortunate was that, exhausted by the excessively humid and hot weather, they had also lost the energy to quarrel.
“Every cloud has a silver lining…”
The commanders, who had been worried about fights breaking out among soldiers tired from the weather and waiting, looked up at the rainy sky with sighs of relief.
***
“It would be a disaster if we encounter the rainy season when we reach Tenochtitlan, the capital where those damned bastards live. The soldiers might be too exhausted to fight properly. Supplies will get soaked and ruined too.”
Lee Jing-ok’s face was full of concern.
A force of 30,000 was by no means small.
According to the plan, just for the 30,000 troops to leave the beachhead would take at least five days.
And there were hardly any proper roads on the route to the enemy’s capital.
Of course, there were paths used by natives, but they were essentially nonexistent for a force of 30,000.
In other words, they had to move while pioneering non-existent paths, and naturally, the column would stretch out considerably.
Naturally, the units at the front breaking the path would tire quickly, and the units would have to be rotated whenever possible.
And each time, the advance would be delayed.
Supplies were also a problem. The longer the column stretched, the more time it would take to supply.
“Supplies are the issue…”
Supplies were Lee Jing-ok’s biggest concern.
***
Even when first drafting the operation, there had been heated discussions to find solutions to the supply problem.
One of the proposals at that time was for soldiers to carry all their own food and ammunition.
“Both on the mainland and in New Frontier, it’s everyday life to walk tens of li in a day with a full load on a carrier! We can carry and move!”
“In the case of rations, they might be heavy at first, but they’ll get lighter over time because the amount will decrease as soldiers consume them!”
After hearing such proposals, Lee Jing-ok simply replied.
“Try walking once with the load as you suggested.”
“Pardon?”
“Shouldn’t officers move the same way as soldiers who carry their loads? So, you demonstrate first if it’s possible. Let’s see… How many days did they say it would take from the beachhead to the enemy’s capital?”
“At the shortest, fifteen days.”
“Hmm… Try carrying fifteen days’ worth of rations, ammunition for three battles, and necessary medicines.”
“Well…”
“Just do it!”
At Lee Jing-ok’s order, the proposers had to pack their loads and walk around the drill ground, and within half a day, they collapsed.
“Now… If you’re exhausted and can’t move after half a day on flat ground, what about where we’re going? We’ll have to cut through jungles and cross mountains. Do you think that’s possible?”
To Lee Jing-ok’s question, the proposers, with exhausted faces, painfully replied.
“We were mistaken.”
“Go and rest.”
After turning around, Lee Jing-ok muttered quietly.
“Was it too peaceful? There are too many who know combat but don’t understand war…”
Later, after hearing the report, Hyang snickered and muttered.
“We won’t see someone like our independence patriot, General Mutaguchi, I guess.”
***
“Though we planned for the jungle and rainy season, the situation is worse than expected, much worse.”
To Lee Jing-ok’s worried expression about the operation becoming difficult due to the Central American rainy season, the staff officer responded again.
“Didn’t Lieutenant Ssang report on that part? He said that Tenochtitlan doesn’t get this much rain. He said it rains for about an hour a day and the rest of the time is clear, so there shouldn’t be major concerns.”
“That’s the problem. We didn’t anticipate that Lieutenant Ssang’s experience would be so different from what we’re experiencing. When Lieutenant Ssang said it rained a lot all day, we were just thinking of something like the mainland’s monsoon. But look now. Isn’t the mainland’s monsoon nothing compared to this?”
“…”
At Lee Jing-ok’s observation, the staff officer fell silent.
Lee Jing-ok continued as he returned to his seat.
“This operation was based on our experience from the mainland. As the local situation exceeds our expectations, adjustments are needed. Call the commanders.”
“Yes, sir.”
***
Surprised by the local natural environment, which exceeded their expectations, the imperial army commanders diligently revised their operations and monitored the soldiers.
Thanks to the diligent efforts of Lee Jing-ok and the commanders, the expeditionary soldiers stationed at the beachhead were able to endure the rainy season without significant losses.
And all of these processes were detailed in reports loaded onto returning transport ships.
After confirming the contents of the reports carried by the transport ships, Hyang ordered the officials.
“This is a very important lesson. Copy it properly and send it to the mainland as well.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
In accordance with Hyang’s order, copies of Lee Jing-ok’s report were also sent to the mainland. Upon receiving Lee Jing-ok’s report, King Wan carefully examined the contents and ordered Hwangbo In.
“Command the Ministry of Defense to revise the manuals and doctrines based on this report.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
As a side note, thanks to such feedback, the imperial army came to possess environmental information for virtually all regions. And based on this information, they became the most adaptable army.
Furthermore, as the entity with the longest-accumulated weather and environmental information for the widest regions, meteorologists, environmental scientists, and biologists around the world came to call the imperial Ministry of Defense a “treasure trove of data.”
***
As the rainy season neared its end, all the forces of the expeditionary army gathered at the beachhead.
Thanks to the continued expansion of the beachhead during the rainy season, by the time the last troops arrived, the beachhead had become a proper naval port and defensive facility.
“This will be very useful!”
Seeing the well-constructed facility, the admiral exclaimed in admiration, and Lee Jing-ok smiled and replied.
“Consider it payment for the transportation fare coming and going.”
“Then a bit more…”
“My goodness, man!”
“I’m joking. Just joking. Hahaha!”
“Hahaha!”
After creating a warm atmosphere with light jokes, the two continued their conversation.
“By the way, the reports you sent have been tremendously helpful. I’m particularly grateful for the investigations into the times of strong winds and weather changes.”
The admiral’s gratitude was not just lip service. For sailing ships, wind was both medicine and poison. Therefore, the imperial navy meticulously recorded the times when storms frequently occurred on major routes. However, compared to the mainland, New Frontier’s records were still lacking in both quantity and accuracy.
As the ships and personnel belonging to the New Frontier-stationed navy increased, the information was growing, but there was still much to be desired. In this situation, the weather reports that Lee Jing-ok had prepared and sent were like rain at the end of a drought.
“I’m glad they were helpful.”
“Will you march as soon as this rainy season ends?”
“According to Lieutenant Ssang, the rainy season should end within ten days, so we’ll depart five days from now.”
“Is that so? Once again, I wish you success in battle.”
“Thank you.”
Five days later, the gates of the beachhead opened, and the vanguard of the expeditionary force finally began to step toward the jungle.
***
“The jungle of the south is harsh.”
Moving along the path cleared by the vanguard, Lee Jing-ok clicked his tongue.
The soldiers who entered the jungle grew tired much faster than they had initially expected, or even than they had planned after revisions.
Not only did they have to be wary of possible ambushes, but poisonous plants that could be lethal with just a slight touch swarmed everywhere, and venomous insects and fierce beasts were abundant.
When clearing the jungle near the beachhead, the soldiers had not been so exhausted.
This was because the beachhead was right behind them. The existence of the beachhead, where they could immediately retreat if there was any danger, was a great support for the soldiers.
But now, they were in the middle of the jungle.
The only entities the soldiers could rely on were their fellow soldiers. However, if they were even slightly careless, they could become isolated alone in the jungle. This was because the dense undergrowth of the jungle made it impossible to see others even if they were just a short distance away.
In fact, similar incidents occurred, causing the march to stop several times.
When an advancing soldier disappeared, or when the connection with the following unit was broken, all units came to a halt.
“I have to abandon the idea of traversing the jungle within two weeks.”
At Lee Jing-ok’s words, all the commanders nodded with gloomy expressions.
To lift the gloomy atmosphere, the staff officer reported on the most positive aspects he could find.
“We’ve prepared sufficient supplies in anticipation of that. And if we meet Ssang’s tribe and other tribes, we can secure an adequate number of guides, which would eliminate such hardships.”
“There’s never been a time when I’ve looked forward to them more than now.”
Three days later, the vanguard made contact with warriors from Ssang’s tribe.
Ssang, who had been leading the unit at the front, welcomed the tribal warriors with a bright face, and the commander of the vanguard immediately sent a messenger.
Receiving the report through the messenger, Lee Jing-ok’s face finally brightened.
“Finally, we can catch our breath!”
Lee Jing-ok paired warriors from Ssang’s tribe with imperial soldiers and positioned them at intervals throughout the column.
These combined units moved back and forth along the column, preventing soldiers from getting lost or taking wrong paths, and quickly finding water sources needed by the expeditionary force.
As a result, the expeditionary force’s pace began to gradually increase.