Somewhere deep within Mount Uamsan, is the base of operations of the Righteous Army operating in the Chungcheongbuk-do region.
The Righteous Army escorted the Ruthenian Special Forces to their base all the while the captain was looking around his surroundings as well as scanning the appearances of the irregular militias.
They have prevalent thin bodies and small statures with faces covered in grime and dirt to hide behind but it does not stop them from being easily recognizable. Their clothes consist of ragged long white garments.
One of the Chosonese noticed his inquisitive gaze to which he immediately averted his eyes back down and continued walking to where the group of men was leading them into.
After about five minutes of walking, they finally arrived at their base of operations. By the looks of it, it looked like a small military outpost with tents set up everywhere. Some were still in the process of building new ones to seemingly accommodate them or to receive a new band of Chosonese supporters who wanted to join their cause.
From the corner of the outpost, men and women are practicing how to shoot with a flintlock rifle. But instead of hearing gunshots, Captain Vasili and his men can only hear them shouting "Bang" as if to mimic the sound of the gunshots.
It was surreal.
Very soon the female officer by the name of Gang Eun-Ae, who declared herself the leader of the Righteous Army, approached him.
"Uhm...I am not fluent in speaking Ruthenian...but...I can...speak...English. Do you speak English?" she inquired in broken sentences, but somehow made her words understood through the gaps in her speech.
"I do speak some..." Captain Vasili confirmed.
He could feel her smile. It would be bad if both sides can't communicate with one another, which could lead to unnecessary troubles.
"Then, allow me to formally introduce myself. My name is Gang Eun-Ae, I'm what you call a Commander-in-Chief of the Gyeonggi district."
Vasili frowned upon her introduction. A woman leading a rebel group? Not to mention a young one at that. Speaking of which, this leads him to question. How were they organized? From the information provided by the Ruthenian Intelligence, it was evident that they had practically no organization at all. There were a number of separate bands held together by the loosest ties with each conducting operations independently to gather adherents and to deter the Yamato from staying in their lands.
"So what should I call you?" Vasili asked as he did not know how naming conventions worked in the Choson Empire.
"You can call me Eun-hae," she introduced herself, before changing the topic. "We are glad that you have come to aid us, mister Vasili."
"Yeah, that's basically why we are here," Vasili replied flippantly before signaling his men to set down the wooden crates they were carrying. "Anyways, is there something we need to know before we proceed to our main discussion?"
Eun-hae looked down as she thought deeply. "There was a scuffle yesterday night between the Yamato Army and the Righteous Army. Sadly, there is a traitor among us who sold our location out. Two of my comrades made a sacrifice to lure them away from our actual location and thus prevent them from finding our location."
"That's really an unfortunate incident. So, has the traitor been taken care of?" Vasili asked concernedly. Having a turncoat in their ranks would prove problematic for them.
She nodded her head and answered. "Yes."
Vasili hummed in thought. If what she said is true then the possibility of the Yamato Empire finding out their original location is now slim thanks to the tactic made by her two compatriots. But, both sides knew that they can't be complacent about this matter. The Yamato Empire could send another search party to the mountain to locate them. If that were to happen, then the clandestine operation they are to conduct along with the Righteous Army could be jeopardized.
"What are the precautions you had taken against after the night attack? Did you set up an outpost in positions? Is the riverway guarded?"
Eun-hae shook her head and responded with a smile. "There's no need for an outpost. Every man in Choson watches for us."
That was rather an ambiguous answer to his question. But she sounded confident when said that. So can he trust her for that? Well, developing trust between them is crucial for future operations. So he might as well start by believing what she said to him.
"Very well, is there a private tent that we can use? We have to set up this communication equipment to contact our headquarters." Vasili said as he extended his hand out, pointing to the crates his men just carried.
"Yes, we would provide one for you. Anyways, about contacting your headquarters, won't that be intercepted by Yamato?"
"Hoh. So you are aware of how radio transmission works huh?" Vasili said, intrigued by her insights. "Don't worry, our signals are very encrypted. They can catch our transmission but they won't be able to know its contents."
Eun-hae sighed in relief after hearing that. She gestured for them to follow her.
The Ruthenian Special Forces followed her inside the outpost. Men, women, and children were all looking at them inquisitively and apprehensively. Maybe this is their first time seeing a tall-looking foreigner as they towered over everyone with their height.
They were led into a vacant tent. Captain Vasili hailed one of his men to set up his equipment inside of it. He saluted and immediately got to work. Meanwhile, the Special Forces take a look around the outpost again and their attention gets caught by the ongoing pseudo-shooting practice.
"Why are they shouting 'Bang'?" Captain Vasili asked Eun-hae.
"That's because we are short on ammunition, sir Vasili," she explained simply. "Money has not been a problem for us, acquiring the weapons is."
Vasili understood that much. Since they are a rebel group working behind enemy lines, getting supplies and equipment would be challenging. Since every road and checkpoint leading to their position and out the border is manned by the Yamato troops.
Vasili also noticed a person standing behind the shooter.
"And those behind the shooters, what do they do?"
"Ah, that one? Well, we organized our troops into teams of two because we are short on rifles as well. If the shooter dies, the other person will have to pick up the rifle and fight."
"So that's how it works huh?" Vasili began to understand the issues the Righteous Army is facing right now. Good thing for them, the Ruthenians have something for them.
Vasili beckoned two of his men to pick one wooden crate and carry it over.
"Miss Eun-hae, I have something for the troops."
The two special forces set down the wooden crate and pried it open and revealed a large quantity of Mosin-Nagant rifles.
Eun-hae's eyes lit up, clearly excited over the prospect of having a better weapon for the troops.
"This is..."
"The Ruthenian Empire is slowly phasing out the Mosin Nagant as the Army's standard rifle so as a result, we have a large surplus of it. There are 15 rifles there with ammunition stored in another wooden crate. There will be more coming tomorrow. Our job is to train you how to act and fight like a soldier so that you will be able to join the combined offensive in the future assault of the capital Hanseong."
