Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 586

586. The Fall of the Yellow Dragon (1)

Five days later, Joseon reinforcements arrived at Liaodong Fortress.

At the headquarters in the inner castle, Choi Yun-duk greeted the commander of the reinforcements.

“Thank you for coming all this way.”

“Not at all. It is you, General, who commands the battlefield at the venerable age of seventy, who truly deserves the credit.”

“I am grateful for your kind words.”

The two men, who began their conversation amicably, soon got down to business.

“Here is the table of organization for the troops I have brought.”

“Let’s see….”

Choi Yun-duk received the documents and frowned as he looked at the troop allocation section.

“An additional 150,000 troops have arrived, but only 50,000 are being assigned to me?”

“That is correct for now. As you can see in the table, I will only command 30,000 troops. The rest are under the command of the supply headquarters.”

“Hmm….”

Choi Yun-duk could only groan at the answer.

“Military strategy dictates that logistics determine victory or defeat….”

* * *

As Choi Yun-duk said, the importance of logistics in war has been emphasized repeatedly since ancient times.

Choi Yun-duk himself would even say this when educating young generals:

“Even with proper logistics, victory is not guaranteed. However, without proper logistics, defeat is guaranteed.”

And as the Joseon army made proper use of gunpowder weapons, the importance of logistics was further emphasized.

In the past, they could arm themselves with spears and swords made in makeshift forges on the battlefield, but guns, cannons, and gunpowder were not such items.

Therefore, the Joseon army had to rebuild everything from scratch for proper logistics.

A supply headquarters was created under the General Staff, where all logistics-related tasks were carried out.

This became the best place for military officers with ambition and ability because it was a new department. Promotion was possible faster than in other branches if they did well.

As ambitious people flocked to it, the supply headquarters quickly took shape.

Of course, Hyang did not fail to get involved.

And the supply headquarters, created in this way, more than paid for itself in this war.

The supply headquarters, which had secured as many giant horses imported from the West and bred in large numbers as possible, and also secured a large number of Hyang’s tractors, made good use of them.

Supply bases were established in key areas from the Yalu River to Liaodong, and tractors traveled between these bases, carrying supplies.

And between the final supply base and the front-line units, large wagons pulled by giant horses carried supplies.

This was the part where Hyang got involved.

“The depot system is optimal.”

Although very primitive, the application of the 21st-century logistics system relieved the Joseon army of its logistical worries.

However, in order to ensure smooth supply, the supplies consumed by the supply line itself also increased significantly.

The consumption of beans and grains to feed the military horses belonging to the transportation unit increased significantly, and the consumption of coal used by the tractors also exploded.

As a result, the Joseon army had to proceed with the occupation of Fushun, located nearby, while carrying out the capture of Liaodong Fortress.

Initially, it was planned to silence the Ministry of Finance, but the coal mines in Fushun became necessary for the military as well.

This was because securing coal from Fushun would solve the fuel supply problem for the tractors.

And the General Staff and the supply headquarters in Hanseong [Seoul] reorganized the relevant standards based on the consumption reported from the battlefield.

And Hyang showed a positive response after receiving a report on this matter.

“Plans and reality are always different. That’s why field testing is necessary. Anyway, we’ll be able to upgrade as we get actual data through this war.”

* * *

Choi Yun-duk, who had frowned at the fact that fewer troops had been added to his command than expected, soon relaxed his expression.

“It’s a bit disappointing, but I’ll have to let it go if the supply is good. Our soldiers are capable of doing the work of a hundred if the supply is good.”

He consoled himself in this way, but Choi Yun-duk still smacked his lips with regret.

“Tch! I’ll have to look forward to the next one.”

Choi Yun-duk put aside his disappointment and moved on to the next item.

“Speaking of supplies, did you bring enough water purifiers?”

“Yes. We brought 100 units, and 100 more will be added soon.”

Choi Yun-duk nodded with a bright face at the answer.

“That’s a great relief! It was harder to find clean water than good liquor!”

Securing drinking water was the biggest problem for the Joseon army as they crossed into Liaodong.

Unlike Joseon, Liaodong had more turbid water than clear water.

Of course, there were rivers and wells suitable for drinking water, but they were not enough for hundreds of thousands of soldiers and military horses.

Of course, the Joseon army, which had been scouring the border area of Liaodong, had prepared water purifiers, knowing this.

The water purifier, created by Hyang to prevent the outbreak of waterborne infectious diseases in the early days of the Gyeongjang [a period of reform or development], once again shone in this war.

Unless the water was completely rotten, the water purifier turned turbid water into clear water. In the front-line units, the water that had passed through the water purifier was boiled and cooled under the supervision of the military doctor before being supplied to the soldiers. As a result of these efforts, the Joseon army was able to minimize losses due to disease.

* * *

Two days later, Choi Yun-duk, having completed the handover, led his fully rested troops to the Daling River.

“I leave the rear in your care.”

“Don’t worry. I wish you good fortune in battle.”

“Thank you.”

Choi Yun-duk expressed his gratitude lightly and mounted his horse.

Soon, a long line of Joseon troops left Liaodong Fortress and began to move west.

The Jurchens, who were watching their procession nearby, exclaimed in admiration.

“What a sight!”

“Indeed!”

However, the Jurchens, who had some knowledge of military affairs, were terrified.

“Most of the soldiers are carrying guns, and there are cannons everywhere!”

“Even the mighty Ming army had more spearmen than gunmen!”

“How is that possible?”

* * *

In the process of materializing the ‘Great Eastern Strategy’ and preparing for this war, Sejong and Hyang firmly established a total war system.

“We must not only wage a total war in words but also firmly establish a mass production system!”

Hyang immediately told Sejong.

“In order to prepare for war and improve the lives of the people, the first thing we need to do is set standards!”

“Set standards?”

“Yes! First of all, we must unify the weights and measures!”

In this way, the unit of length was systematically established based on the Yeongjo scale [a standardized measurement tool], and other weights and measures were also standardized.

As large steel mills were built starting in Anju during the Gyeongjang, Hyang set standards for the grade and quality of the steel produced.

Through this process, grades were created for cast iron, wrought iron, and steel, and quality standards were set.

And they made it a habit to maintain this through strict management and supervision.

As a result, the quality could be maintained almost the same if the grade was the same, regardless of which Joseon steel mill produced it.

Of course, the artisans in Area 51 suffered terribly in this process.

And the preparations that had been going on for a long time were bearing fruit through this war.

The most representative example was the rifles carried by the soldiers.

Only the barrel part, which required grooves, was mass-produced at the armory in Area 51, and the other parts were produced at blacksmiths and woodworking shops throughout Joseon.

If they met the pre-determined figures and quality standards, they were immediately purchased, and the armory only had to assemble these parts to the barrels they had made to create finished products.

Of course, theory and practice were different, so high defect rates occurred in the early stages, and productivity was also low.

However, the artisans, who had excellent skills and tasted the money coming in through military supplies, quickly lowered the defect rate, and productivity also increased.

The same was true for other weapons such as the Eomshim armor and helmets.

It was created by Joseon’s industrial capacity, which had risen to ‘the level of the early Industrial Revolution,’ as Hyang evaluated it, or even surpassed it in some areas, and it was what made the surrounding countries evaluate it as ‘a mystery’.

* * *

The Joseon army, which had departed from Liaodong Fortress, marched west as quickly as possible.

“We must arrive at the Daling River as soon as possible to prepare!”

The Joseon army was in a hurry to arrive as soon as possible, but this was not an easy task.

Since ancient times, the Liaoxi region has been called Liaozawa, with many swamps and wetlands.

Therefore, they had to choose the driest land possible to move, and naturally, the speed of movement decreased.

“These adverse conditions are not unique to us, but….”

Choi Yun-duk was thinking as positively as possible, saying that the Ming army coming from the west would be in a similar situation, but he still could not hide his worries.

“Tell the cavalry to scout as far as possible!”

“Yes!”

“And try to launch more airships, even if it’s difficult!”

“Yes!”

After these hardships, the Joseon army arrived at the Daling River two days earlier than expected for the Ming army to arrive.

“Thank you for your hard work. Thank you for responding to my urging.”

“A, not at all.”

“No, I will be sure to inform the higher-ups of the hard work of the generals and soldiers.”

Choi Yun-duk waved the carrot and then wielded the whip.

“It will be difficult, but we must start working immediately. According to the documents they left behind and our calculations, it seems that we will meet in two days, but unlike expected, the Ming army may come tomorrow. Do not forget that the sooner we complete the trench line and the iron barbed wire, the less the soldiers will have to sacrifice.”

“Yes!”

“And do not forget that the cavalry and airships must not neglect reconnaissance.”

“Yes!”

According to the orders given by Choi Yun-duk, the Joseon army began to build a defensive line.

However, even after the expected two days had passed, the Ming army was not seen. As a result, the Joseon cavalry was forced to conduct reconnaissance even further.

And it was only a week after the expected arrival date of the Ming army that the Joseon cavalry was able to discover the vanguard of the Ming army.

The Joseon cavalry, hiding in the hills along the Ming army’s advance route, carefully observed the Ming army.

The cavalry commander, who was observing the Ming army’s procession through a telescope, tilted his head.

“Why do they look like that?”

From the soldiers walking at the very front to the soldiers holding the flags and the generals riding horses, it was clear at a glance that they were exhausted.

The cavalry commander, who was examining the Ming army once again through a telescope, shook his head and muttered.

“Are those soldiers or patients?”

The cavalry commander, shaking his head at the Ming army’s messy situation, soon smiled bitterly.

“If the rest are all like that, this battle will be very easy.”