It was a chilly morning in the mountains of Uamsan, Captain Vasili was sipping his coffee as he stood to watch in the outpost.
A chorus of sounds sounded across the forest. Birds were singing, the cicadas were chirping, and the wind was blowing softly as it blew the leaves in the trees. Everything seemed so peaceful that it made him think for a second that this nation was in the middle of the war.
Well, not that it got here yet, that is.
Captain Vasili walked around the camp and observed the morning activities of the Righteous Army. The women were preparing breakfast by making vegetable porridge and boiling hot water. The men were training with their flintlock rifles under the supervision of a young nobleman who was once part of the now-dissolved Choson Imperial Army, and the kids played around with his men and poked their equipment.
During also his first twelve-hour stay here, he learned that the number of people hiding in this mountain was around 500. Twenty percent of it made up their forces.
"Sir," one of his men approached him with a map fluttering in his hand. "I got what you asked for."
Captain Vasili set down his mug and grabbed the map. He pulled out his compass as he took a look at the map.
"So you figured out where we were right?" Vasili asked.
"Yes sir, we are 800 meters away from the landing spot."
"Good, now we have to find out the wind speed and direction so we can know exactly where our supplies are going to land. How's the first-grade science experiment going?" He looked at this man.
"You mean the anemometer? The latest readings were 30 rotations over 15 seconds."
"So that gives us an approximate wind velocity of twelve points eighty-seven kilometers per hour," Vasili muttered as he finished solving the wind velocity equation on the map. What about the wind direction?"
"Approximate wind direction southwest."
Captain Vasili performed some mental mathematical equations to determine the path their supplies are going to take and within ten seconds, he arrived with an answer.
He grabbed a marker and drew a line across the map. "Have our men in this position, near this terrain..."
Vasili encircled the approximate location of the drop with a marker. His men looked over the map and nodded.
"Understood captain. Anyways, just a heads up, the Ruthenian Air Force dropped bombs on the Port of Busan about ten hours ago."
Vasili scoffed. "So the High Command wants to capitulate the Yamato Empire in the Choson peninsula within a month. Such a huge undertaking. In that case, we have to move fast and give Chosonese's farmers some Ruthenian military training."
"They will need it, sir," his men chuckled as he wrote something in his pocketbook. "Anyways, captain, the Bogatyr will be arriving in our airspace in five minutes, so I better get moving."
"Yeah, go ahead," Captain Vasili grabbed his coffee mug again and continued drinking while watching the Chosonese's training progress. "The sooner they learn to use those weapons, the easier it'll be for them when we start the assault towards Hanseong."
"Very well captain," his men saluted and Vasili returned the salute. He watched him disappear from the distance before going back to drink his coffee.
While doing so, Vasili watched the training unfold from a distance, especially a man in the Imperial Army uniform.
"Say 'Bang' when I say 'Fire.' Aim...Fire!" the nobleman military commander yelled and the three men holding the flintlock rifle shouted "Bang".
Even though they are speaking in their native language, Vasili could understand the way their body moved and the tone of their voice. "Okay this is not going to cut it," Vasili walked over to them, passing by an open wooden crate on the ground containing the Mosin Nagant bolt action rifle.
He picked one rifle out of the crates and arrived at their location. "Okay, that's enough. Let's get practical," Vasili handed the rifle to one of the men who was once a farmer.
The nobleman stepped in and faced him. "Sir, I was informed of our ammunition supply. We can't afford to waste it on training," he said in English.
"Look, I understand your situation but in order for you guys to be useful in the upcoming operation, you guys must have experience firing a real weapon. When they shout 'bang' how certain are you that they are going to hit their intended target?"
The nobleman couldn't reply back to that, because his question had a good point. Yeah, they know how guns work and how it's going to kill people. But without having experience in firing a weapon, it would be a shock to them.
They are going to find that out on the battlefield anyway so he might as well prepare them well before getting into contact with the enemy. However, their lack of supply still concerns him.
"Look, in five or ten minutes my men are going to arrive with more weapons and ammunition," Vasili said, placing a hand on his shoulder assuring him of his worry.
The nobleman snapped out from his reverie and looked eye to eye at Vasili. "How are you going to do that? Are you going to send more soldiers?"
"No, only weapons and ammunition. They are going to be delivered via supply drop."
"Supply drop?" the nobleman blinked, he couldn't follow the idea as the concept was unknown to him.
"In basic terms, the supply will be dropped from the sky."
"Dropped from the sky?" the nobleman tilted his head in confusion.
"That's just how it is. They are going to be dropped from the sky," Vasili explained simply. "Enough of that, what's your name?" Vasili changed the subject from his conversation with the nobleman.
"My name is Jang Hui-seong, sir."
"Jang Hui-seong..." Vasili repeated his name slowly, trying to pronounce it correctly. "That's kind of long so I'll call you Jang for now. So, Jang, I want you to gather your comrades here. I've heard about your recent clash with the Yamato during the Battle of Namdaemun."
"Well that is because we don't want to be controlled by foreign powers," Jang answered. "Sixty-eight of my comrades were killed during that battle. I've seen them fight courageously and valiantly, and die as free men. This may appear random, Captain Vasili but may I ask about something?"
"What is it?" Vasili prompted him to continue as he lowered the Mosin Nagant rifle.
"Should the Ruthenia Empire win the war, expelling the Yamatos out of our lands? What does the Ruthenia Empire plan to do? Are they going to colonize us and replace Yamato?"
Tension grew between the two soldiers, Vasili stared at him straight in the eye with an unwavering gaze as if he wanted to burn the insolence out of him.
But the truth is, Vasili, doesn't know anything.
"We are soldiers, fighting for our motherland. Our goal is to win the war for His Majesty and for the Empire. Whatever comes after our duty is none of our concern. We are His Majesty's swords and we shall obey. So in short, I don't know. Now gather your men, it's time to get started."
