Dusk was just beginning to set in on the Terasun-Korean border. Just thirteen miles north of the border, the Naran Provincial Forces had been assembling for the past two weeks. Almost thirty thousand soldiers and military personnel had been mobilised from the province itself so far, neighbour provinces had also begun to prepare for the same cause but Nara was the be the first into combat.
The border lay half a mile south of a mountain chain on flat ground, hundreds of years earlier a previous invasion attempt by a renegade daimyo had forced the border back beyond the mountains and now the poorly defended line of fences, razor wire and sandbags lay on what used to be a flood plain. This line was punctuated by a dozen or so small forts, most of them abandoned or maintained by literally a handful of Korean soldiers. Bar the mountains on the Terasun side, all that really made the landscape difficult to cross was a river which wouldn’t pose much of an issue due to a single bridge spanning it infront of the Korean gate. Traffic between the two nations was so rare there was only a single gateway existing on Korean side but others could easily be made within the thin defences.
“This is too easy.”
“I know, Lieutenant, how many of them?”
“I’m counting thirty, most likely another thirty inside.” Lieutenant Gentaro Hasegawa lowered the binoculars, removed his cap and scratched his head.
“I’m surprised they can’t see the light reflecting off your head, Lieutenant Hasegawa.” The painfully sarcastic General Yamagato leant from the turret of his tank and smiled, safe in the knowledge that he could irritate his subordinates as much as he liked and they could do nothing about it. “Do the honours for me, you can order it.”
Hasegawa’s face changed rapidly from a scowl to a subdued smile, “Yes sir!” he said while bowing down.
Yamagato picked up his own binoculars and inspected the Korean barricades before shifting his view to the large bunker like structure laying just behind them. “They probably aren’t even real soldiers.” He mumbled under his breath as the characteristic thudding of artillery sounded behind him. He let the binoculars dangle on their cord around his neck as the bunker disappeared behind a wall or dust and flames.
There was a long silence after the last shell exploded as everyone watched the clouds of dust and smoke disapate.
“Time to go!” The voice crackled loudly over the radio and broke the silence. “You heard him,” Lieutenant Umezu prodded the driver of the tank in the back with his foot “keep up with number three and six.” He yelled as the tank rumbled through the gateway on the Terasun side. Umezu was in charge of number nine, it was his first time in combat and it was the tank’s too.
“You shouldn’t meet any resistance, just make sure that if there is, you take it out.” .
The Imperial Palace
Jushiro stood a few paces away from the woman, a messenger from Daimyo of Nara, Ienari.
“My Lord, Daimyo Ienari is proud to report that the Korean border now belongs to us and that preparations are being made to head south and claim more land in Your name.” Her voice trembled as she spoke and she was flanked by two of the Emperor’s Personal Guard.
Jushiro smiled slightly, “Hm, good.”
Also, I’m not too sure about place names and such so I’m just going to use real Korean province names