Black Corporation: Joseon

Chapter 892

Episode 892: Prologue (7)

Every time the shells fired by the Habsburg army hit the ground, a large plume of dust rose up and the Hungarian soldiers fell.

Maximilian I, who was watching this scene through a telescope, could not hide his disappointment.

“It is said that the cannonballs in the ‘Land of Flowers’ explode and cause even more damage… Those damned bastards don’t even try to sell cannons and shells…” Hearing

Maximilian I’s words full of regret, a loyalist next to him said, I received these words.

“It would be nice if there were more cannons, as well as artillery shells.”

“It would be even better if that were the case… Those damn Hungarians, that damn ‘land of flowers’…”

Maximilian muttered with a face full of dissatisfaction.

Making a cannon required a higher level of technology than making a gun. And, unfortunately for the Habsburgs, there were no such talented craftsmen in the Habsburgs. On the other hand, there were several in Hungary.

Fortunately for the Habsburgs, most of the Hungarian craftsmen in question had already moved to countries such as France, Ottoman Spain, and elsewhere.

“As for the cannon issue, we have already sent people to the Knights Templar and various places, so we will get a good answer soon.”

Speaking of solutions related to cannons, Maximilian I put the telescope to his eyes again and examined the battlefield.

“The Hungarians are in firing range!”

Almost immediately after the subordinate’s report, the five freight cars and soldiers sitting in the first trench line pulled the trigger.

Ta-ta-tang! bang! Bang bang bang bang bang!

As the soldiers fired volleys and the rapid fire of freight cars continued, the area in front of the Habsburg army’s trench line became filled with smoke.

* * *

“Argh!”

“Ahh!”

The Hungarian soldiers who were advancing in line fell under the Habsburg army’s volley of fire, all at once like a hay bale.

“Get down!”

“Get down!”

After receiving a volley of fire, the Hungarian soldiers immediately threw themselves on the ground and aimed their guns at the Habsburg army’s trenches.

“shooting!”

bang! Ta-ta-tang!

As soon as the commander’s order was given, the Hungarian army’s bullets poured into the Habsburg army’s trenches.

The Habsburg army, who had just finished reloading and was on the firing line, had to quickly hide from the rain of bullets. Also, some truly unlucky soldiers fell to the floor of the trench after being hit by bullets.

“It’s time! charge!”

“Wow!”

At the command to charge, the Hungarian army rose up and charged towards the Habsburg army’s trench.

bang! Tatang! bang!

The Habsburg army pulled the trigger on the Hungarian army’s charge, but could not break the Hungarian army’s momentum.

The Hungarian army, which reached the trench line while enduring the gunfire of the Habsburg army, jumped into the Habsburg army’s trench and began engaging in close combat.

“Why…”

Maximilian I, who was examining the battlefield through a telescope, looked incomprehensible.

This was because the unit armed with breech-loading rifles and sitting in the trench allowed the unit with full-loading rifles to charge.

* * *

European firearms developed rapidly after the empire appeared on the international stage.

And the war over Suez slowed down the pace of gun development in Europe.

Until the beginning of the Suez War, the Europeans, who had not been able to properly replicate the main rifles sold by the empire, were suddenly going beyond breech-loading rifles and attempting to develop long guns similar to the Florentine rifles.

This was not created unconditionally simply because it was created by the empire.

France, which confirmed its usefulness in actual combat, immediately followed the empire’s lead, and the experiences of mercenaries who fought in Suez made a decisive contribution.

-Rear-loaded long guns are definitely superior to full-loaded long guns!

Based on France’s movements and the mercenaries’ experiences, other competitors followed France’s lead.

Because of this, Maximilian I was unable to understand the current situation.

* * *

The reason the Habsburg army allowed the Hungarian army to charge was the result of a combination of problems.

The first was ammunition.

No, to be precise, the propellant of the ammunition was still black gunpowder.

The smoke produced by the black gunpowder momentarily blocked the soldiers’ view.

It wasn’t just the gaze. The fumes of black powder bothered the soldiers’ eyes and respiratory tract. This was reduced with the change to the post-garnish style, but it still remained.

In addition, the black powder used by the Habsburg army was of poorer quality, and even with the introduction of breech-loading rifles, it still bothered the soldiers.

This was because the moment the chamber was opened to reload, the soot remaining in the chamber flowed out and harassed the soldiers’ eyes and respiratory tract.

On the other hand, the Gap-style long guns and Eul-style long guns that the Hungarian army imported from the Ottomans used genuine imperial ammunition.

And the Empire used black gunpowder, which produces less smoke, from the time it introduced the box-type rifle. Afterwards, it was possible to reliably import saltpeter from the Sultanate of Bengal, and from the time the Japanese rifle was adopted, smokeless gunpowder completely replaced black gunpowder.

Thanks to this, the Hungarian vanguard was free from the problem of exhaust fumes compared to the Habsburg army, even though it was armed with a full-length long rifle. In other words, even though it is a full-length long gun, it is more advantageous for aiming and shooting.

Although it was often limited to the first shot.

Second, it was due to the weakness of freight cars and the Hungarian army’s tactics targeting them.

The Eulsik freight car, modeled after a Gatling machine gun, was quite large. Therefore, the Eulsik wagon, which was made mobile, was mounted on a large carriage.

In addition, as it used large cartridges rather than bullet feed using a bullet belt, it became larger and required more soldiers to operate it.

The Hungarian army took advantage of this weakness.

The Hungarian army gathered soldiers with good shooting skills and provided them with Japanese-style long rifles. They were then deployed immediately behind the first line and at the left and right ends.

After the bombardment ended and a gunfight broke out, they were tasked with hitting the Habsburg army’s high-value assets.

They were the commanders of the Habsburg army and the artillerymen of the boxcar cannons.

When this mission and operation was first created, many commanders and soldiers expressed disapproval.

“The commanders are nobles…”

Traditionally, capturing nobles was a priority. This was because it was good for exchanging prisoners or receiving ransom later.

However, starting from King Matthias I, the attitude of high-ranking commanders was strong.

“Follow orders!”

And the Hungarian soldiers who faithfully followed these orders sniped at the soldiers operating the freight cars, rendering the freight cars useless.

As the most powerful support weapon, the freight train, became useless, the Habsburg army allowed the Hungarian army to break through.

* * *

As close combat broke out in the first line of trenches, the Habsburg and Hungarian commanders simultaneously issued the same order.

“Send in the reserves!”

After a while, reserve forces from both sides entered the trench line where close combat took place almost simultaneously.

With the introduction of reserve forces, close combat became more intense, but the superiority and inferiority of the game was not easily determined.

After confirming this, the commanders on both sides frowned and shook their heads.

“If we do this, the losses will be too great…”

In the end, the Hungarian military commander made up his mind first.

“Signal to retreat. And deploy the remaining reserves to cover the retreat.”

“yes.”

After receiving the order a short time later, the Hungarian army came out of the trench and began to retreat to the main camp.

Additional Hungarian army reserves were deployed to block the pursuit of the Habsburg army, but no Habsburg army pursued.

Because they too were tired.

* * *

The subsequent battle situation turned into a series of boring confrontations.

This was because it was not easy for both sides to recover the troops and resources lost in the first battle.

“War is something that normally consumes a lot of money, but it is increasingly taking up more and more money.”

“But war will not disappear.”

“I guess so.”

Intellectuals discussing the war between the Habsburgs and Hungary soon came to similar conclusions.

“In the coming war, the losers will meet a terrible ending. Because the winners will take everything.”

A similar story was circulating among the ambassadors at the imperial embassy in Florence.

“Wouldn’t war disappear if you knew that the moment you lose, it’s over?”

“It won’t disappear, but won’t it decrease a bit? “It used to cost a huge amount of money, but now it has become something that requires a lot of money.”

Yu Eung-bu shook his head at Shin Suk-ju and Seong Sam-moon’s words.

“No one goes to war thinking they will lose. “Everyone only thinks about the future where they are the winners.”

“Hmm…”

Shin Suk-ju and Seong Sam-moon became speechless at Yu Eung-bu’s cold words. Seong Sam-moon, who had been thinking about something for a while, asked Yu Eung-bu.

“Then what about our empire?”

Yu Eung-bu answered Seong Sam-moon’s question right away.

“From the time of the Crown Prince to your Majesty, from Emperor Yuan to your current Majesty, have you ever mentioned the word ‘war’ before? “They are probably the people who hate war the most.”

Shin Suk-ju immediately responded to Yu Eung-bu’s words.

“I guess that’s because they are originally of high virtue.”

At Shin Suk-ju’s words, Seong Sam-moon and Yu Eung-bu put down the teacups they were holding and looked at Shin Suk-ju.

“Why do you look at me like that?”

“Let’s talk properly here.”

“What am I?”

“….”

Shin Suk-ju, pressured by the two people who exerted silent pressure, finally waved the white flag.

“I made a mistake. “They are people who will not go to war even if it is a waste of money.”

“They are the ones who will never reduce the budget for Area 51 and the research institute.”

“Isn’t the biggest reason they care about national defense because it allows them to build their favorite weapons and military ships?”

-You bastards! You know me too well! If we don’t deal with it somehow…

If they had smelled the scent, they would have said this. The three people who had the conversation soon changed the topic.

“How do you think the war in Austria will end?”

In response to Seong Sam-moon’s question, Shin Sook-ju, who is well versed in diplomacy, opened her mouth.

“It will probably end with negotiations where both sides give and take a reasonable amount of time.”

“Will the Habsburgs come to negotiations?”

“Because Italy will provide greater benefits than Hungary. And the Pope also came forward.”

“The Pope…”

Seong Sam-Moon, who was thinking about the word ‘Pope’, shook his head.

“When I came here, I saw and heard a lot of things I couldn’t understand, but the thing I couldn’t understand the most was the Pope. What on earth is the Pope? I can’t really tell whether he is the head of a religion or a secular monarch. Also, the attitude of monarchs towards the Pope is the same. Sometimes they ignore it, and sometimes they obey it unconditionally, saying it is the order of heaven…”

In response to Seong Sam-moon’s criticism, Shin Sook-ju gave a brief definition.

“I can’t define the Pope’s justice, but isn’t the attitude of monarchs just one thing? “If it’s sweet, you swallow it. If it’s bitter, you spit it out.”

The other two nodded at Shin Sook-ju’s words. Yu Eung-bu, who quenched his thirst with a tea cup, continued speaking.

“The biggest problem in this war is that the number of troops who know how to use guns and artillery properly is increasing. If you think about the difference between training and actual combat, this is the biggest problem. “It is also the biggest problem our imperial army has.”