Black Corporation: Joseon

Chapter 561

Episode 561: Blood River (7)

Jo Byeong-deok drew a circle around the Insan camp on the map with his baton and continued speaking.

“If we cut off the connection between this damned castle and the rear, the enemy will have no choice but to come out to avoid isolation. “We have to aim for that.”

At Jo Byeong-deok’s words, the commanders stared at the map and made various calculations.

One of the subordinate generals who was calculating the numbers pointed out a problem.

“If you do it wrong, you may be attacked.”

“Of course, that is highly likely.”

Jo Byeong-deok nodded in approval to his subordinate’s point and continued speaking with a grin.

“But the number of Joseon troops we have identified is 200,000. Half of them are naval forces. And the number of Joseon troops deployed to that damn castle right now is roughly 50,000. This means that the remaining 50,000 are spread throughout Joseon. Among them, how many troops will be able to arrive here in time? “If you were the governor of Joseon, under these circumstances, would you gather the remaining troops here or in Hanseong?”

The general who had pointed out the possibility of a joint attack in response to Jo Byeong-deok’s question thought for a moment and then answered.

“I have something to gather in Hanseong.”

“yes?”

After hearing the answer, Jo Byeong-deok looked at the other generals and continued speaking.

“If we succeed in detouring, they will have no choice but to abandon the castle and come out. If a battle takes place in a wide open area, we will have an overwhelming advantage. pincers? Of course, there is every possibility of being attacked. But how many of the Joseon soldiers who flocked in like that were properly trained elites? “It’s just a ragtag group, mostly made up of peasants conscripted from nearby areas.”

phut!

Cho Byeong-deok struck the map with his baton and finished.

“In this battle, the enemy forced us to choose and we had to be chosen. And I suffered a lot of damage. But now it is our turn to force them to choose. thus! First, focus on solidifying the beachhead you have secured! “We will restore the broken artillery pieces!”

The faces of his subordinate generals brightened at Jo Byeong-deok’s words. The size of Liaodong County was still overwhelming that of Joseon. If we could avoid a battle that would result in huge losses like today, we could continue to pressure the Joseon army. And in the rear, they continued to train the soldiers. And the number continued to grow from 50,000.

Among them, the commander of the Hwaryong Battery made a suggestion to Cho Byeong-deok.

“Restoration of the Hwaryong guns is important, but movement of the batteries is also necessary. When will you decide?”

“Three days later.”

“It’s not enough. “Please give me at least two more days.”

“Two days?”

“At least it comes.”

Jo Byeong-deok looked embarrassed at the Hwaryong Battery commander’s answer.

The firepower of the Hwaryongpo, which was confident, could not destroy the Joseon army’s walls.

However, if we were to give up the Hwaryong artillery, the problem was that damn Joseon iron fence. The firepower of the Hwaryong cannon was considered the most suitable to destroy that iron fence.

The problem was that in today’s battle, the Hwaryong Battery’s position was within the range of the artillery guns of those Koreans. In that case, of course it had to be pulled back, but moving and building the position took a considerable amount of time and manpower.

In other words, Hansi had become like a gye-reuk that was dragging its feet in an urgent situation and it would be a shame to throw it away.

Jo Byeong-deok, who had been pondering over and over again, eventually came to an ambiguous conclusion.

“I’ll give you one more day. And we will provide additional troops from nearby units. “Please complete all preparations within four days.”

“I will do my best.”

After hearing the answer from the Hwaryong Battery commander, Jo Byeong-deok again gave orders to his subordinate generals.

“I will write up an order soon and give it to you, so you can do your best to restore the Hwaryong Battery and other batteries. “In the meantime, do not engage in unnecessary offensives and only carry out the minimum amount of checks.”

“yes!”

“All battles are difficult, but the greatest of them all is siege warfare. “We must do our best to maintain the morale of our soldiers.”

“yes!”

When the meeting ended, only Jo Byeong-deok and his staff remained in the military camp.

“Whoa~. They say siege warfare is the best of melee warfare, but it is really difficult.”

As Jo Byeong-deok complained with a sigh, the staff member next to him comforted him.

“Isn’t the original siege a battle that can end overnight?”

“Not really. That’s true. It’s just surprising that there is a wall that can withstand that terrifying Hwaryong cannon, and it’s a bit surprising that the people who built that wall are Koreans. “Let’s refine the plan a little more until the final day.”

“yes.”

“The biggest problem is the strange object that those Joseon bastards flew into the sky. It seems clear that he is a monk who has only been heard about through rumors, but this is a real headache. “They are watching all of our movements from the sky…”

When one of the staff members expressed difficulty by mentioning the monk, the staff’s reactions were divided into two groups. One side had an expression of trouble, and the other had an expression that it was no big deal.

“Would that be a big problem? It may be difficult to look down at us from the sky, but isn’t communication from the sky to the ground a problem? Of course, I have prepared appropriate means, but wouldn’t it be useless without a messenger?”

“Of course you can see it that way. But since all our movements are being watched from the sky, wouldn’t the response be faster?”

As he continued to argue about the dangers of bhikkhu, the staff on the other side snorted.

“joy! “That is called delusion of grandeur!”

“what!”

“It would be very useful if the front line stretched for tens or hundreds of miles, but what about the front line now? It’s only a space the size of your palm! In a place like that, how much of a difference do you think there will be if you do it sooner or later? “If you don’t move properly because you’re conscious of the objects floating in the sky, that’s a bigger loss!”

In the end, Jo Byeong-deok stepped forward and put an end to it.

“It’s not that I didn’t see that object, and I think it’s sufficiently threatening. However, as I just said, considering the wide battlefield we are staying in, there is no need to worry about those pieces.”

“yes.”

After sorting out the situation, Cho Byeong-deok and his staff began to refine the next operation in more detail.

* * *

It was truly a day that could be described as a blood clot. However, the morale of Jo Byeong-deok, his staff, and the entire Liaodong Army did not suffer much.

-Even though it has grown these days, Joseon is a small country. They would not have had enough troops to oppose us.

-The fact that a siege is difficult means that a lot of troops are deployed to the castle. If you think about it the other way around, it means that if you just get over this hurdle, you’ll be on your way.

-In other words, if we just get over this hurdle, the wealth overflowing in Joseon will become ours.

The Jurchen soldiers, accustomed to plunder, raised their voices.

“I’m going to die anyway! “Let’s try walking properly!”

“Oh!”

“Joseon’s gold and silver treasures are mine!”

Following the words of the Jurchen soldiers, the soldiers from the Ming army gradually became similar.

* * *

However, the premise of this was seriously wrong.

-Joseon’s standing army was larger than they expected. Of course, because they had to protect a wider river area than expected, they were scattered here and there, but they were by no means a small number.

-The people of Joseon who were immediately conscripted and sent to the front when war broke out were not a ragtag bunch.

They were trained every farming season according to the reserve force system established by the township, and had experience shooting at least 10 rounds of live ammunition during each training session. In addition, he had even experienced the basics of fighting through the Seokjeon, which was always concluded.

-Jo Byeong-deok was confident that Joseon would not be able to meet the timing, but this was ignoring Joseon’s railway network.

It wasn’t that Jo Byeong-deok didn’t know about railroads. However, the railroads operated by the Ming were inferior to those of Joseon in all aspects. It was a fatal mistake to apply the experience of the Ming Dynasty to the Joseon Dynasty.

-It was the same for the monk.

As far as Insanjin is concerned, Cho Byeong-deok and his staff were right. However, through the light-emitting communication device mounted on the acetabulum, information on the front line could be obtained from the rear, and preparations could be made in advance accordingly.

-The last thing that Jo Byeong-deok misjudged was the size of the Joseon army he was dealing with and would have to deal with in the future.

He predicted the size of the Joseon army blocking him to be 50,000, which was correct to some extent.

According to the claim of the village, the size of the military deployed in Insanjin and the surrounding area was approximately 50,000 men in three departments.

However, the total number of troops deployed to the Insan camp and the trench lines on the left and right were two divisions. The remaining 17,000 troops were standing in reserve behind the scenes.

And the Joseon army waiting in the area named the offensive preparation line was now about 88,000 strong, and soldiers were still gathering through the railroad.

The final number of Joseon troops to be gathered at the offensive line was 260,000 from three units. And that was the beginning.

* * *

While a bloody battle was taking place in the Insan camp on the Yalu River, a bloody battle was also taking place in Hanseong.

“This is an urgent report from Insanjin!”

“Write a copy and send it upstairs! “You have to copy at least 20 copies!”

“We don’t have enough people!”

“What are you going to do with the typewriter!”

“Here’s your supply list!”

“The numbers here are wrong! What if the numbers are wrong from the first page? Are you playing the abacus with your toes? Or are all the branches broken? “Write it again and bring it back right now!”

While all kinds of shouting and swearing were being shouted at the Ministry of Defense, the same was true at the Ministry of Finance and Economy.

“I told you to limit withdrawals on the battlefield, but what is this!”

“I did, but how did I know…”

“Find out who leaked it right now! Find him and throw him in the archives right away! “If you don’t catch it, I’ll throw you in the record office first!”

“Hi! “I will definitely find it, sir!”

The Vice Minister, who was the flagship of the Minister of Finance and Economy, rushed out.

One wall of the Minister of Finance and Economy’s office was filled with all kinds of tables and graphs.

It was a war that was already expected, but as it actually unfolded, the Ministry of Finance and Economy was waging a war with numbers, with unexpected and larger spending than expected.

This situation was the same for the Seunghwa Party, the Prime Minister’s Office, and other government offices.

“It is certain that crimes taking advantage of the chaos will increase. “We need to pay attention to strengthening security.”

“yes. “I will issue an order to the provincial government.”

“Is the conscription situation going smoothly?”

“yes. Fortunately, the people are all following along. “I think we will be able to meet the scheduled timetable.”

“Thank goodness.”

Hyang, who looked like he had taken a breather, immediately gave a warning.

“Remember to check the quality of the supplies you give them. “You must keep in mind that people who do foolish things to satisfy their own self-interest should not appear.”

‘The National Guard incident should not come out!’

As Hyang continued to emphasize, Hwang Hee came forward and answered.

“I will keep this in mind.”

After handling the agenda, Hyang moved on to the next step.

“Have you finished selecting the envoys to be sent to Ming?”

Heo Hu stepped forward and answered Hyang’s question.

“I plan to go myself. “I will go and investigate properly.”

“If you do it wrong, your life could be at risk.”

Heohu responded to Hyang’s warning with a slight smile.

“Wouldn’t that be a good thing? It makes sense to use this as an excuse to burn down all of Ming’s ports. “Isn’t this a long-term business, since I can exchange one of my lives for my entire life?”

Hyang slightly shook his head at Heo Hu’s words.

“If things go wrong anyway, all of Ming’s ports will be burned down. So please take care of your life and come.”

“It may be difficult for me, but I will do my best.”