Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 468

468. Liaodong (4)

The luminous signal sent from Gamoksabo spread out like ripples, reaching directly behind and to the surrounding areas.

Upon confirming the luminous signal, the garrisons and forts immediately went into emergency mode and relayed the signal to the rear.

Thanks to this, before half a day had passed since the battle at Gamoksabo, the Ministry of National Defense in Hanseong [present-day Seoul] was able to confirm the urgent report.

“Additional dispatches have arrived from the garrisons and forts near Gamoksabo. They report that they entered emergency readiness immediately upon receiving the urgent message from Gamoksabo.”

Jo Mal-saeng, who received the report at the emergency meeting convened immediately after receiving the urgent message from Gamoksabo, checked the situation with a deeply concerned expression.

“It is fortunate that the surrounding garrisons and forts have initiated emergency response, but has contact been made with the mobile patrol unit?”

“Yes. The urgent message was delivered to the mobile unit that happened to be there for supplies, and the mobile unit has immediately dispatched.”

“How many squads were mobilized?”

“Three squads.”

“Hmm….”

Upon hearing the report, Jo Mal-saeng stroked his beard and calculated.

‘A fully manned squad has 640 men. Three squads would be nearly 2,000, and the mobile patrol unit’s composition must include one artillery company (旗, *gi*, a unit of 125 men), so there should be sufficient force.’

After mentally calculating, Jo Mal-saeng, having reached a somewhat positive conclusion, slightly relaxed.

As he felt relieved, Jo Mal-saeng had another thought.

‘There were many complaints, but the reforms implemented by the Crown Prince are proving useful.’

* * *

As the reforms progressed, Sejong overhauled many things. It goes without saying that Hyang was involved in the process.

“Simpler! More intuitive! More professional!”

“The most important thing is to increase efficiency!”

Shouting this, Hyang overhauled the entire administrative structure, starting with the central court.

Of course, overhauling an administrative structure that had barely changed its name over nearly a thousand years was no easy task.

“There is no precedent (典例, *jeonnye*) for this, nor is there any prior example (前例, *jeonrye*)!”

Such objections sprang up from all directions, but Sejong resolutely pushed forward.

“Even if there is no precedent (*jeonnye*), adhering to the norms of a thousand years ago does more harm than good! And, no prior example (*jeonrye*)? Isn’t that obvious? We are implementing it for the first time now!”

“But, Your Majesty….”

“Have you forgotten that the precedent (*jeonnye*) itself was a radical departure a thousand years ago!”

As Sejong resolutely pushed forward, the transformation of the administrative organization was achieved.

In the process of this transformation, Hyang’s influence first penetrated the military.

“If we continue to operate in this haphazard, disorganized manner, the budget will leak like a sieve!”

Thus, Hyang overhauled the military’s organizational system.

Through the reforms that followed, the Joseon army’s organization gained excellent efficiency.

“The most basic unit that never changes is the ‘伍’ (*o*)! The ‘*o*’ must always be filled with five men! When ascending from the ‘*o*’ to higher formations, multiples of 5 are the standard number!”

In addition, the units were divided into ‘甲’ (*gap*) and ‘乙’ (*eul*).

The ‘*gap*’ units stationed at the front lines strictly adhered to the rule of multiples of 5 to fill their ranks, while the ‘*eul*’ units at the rear were composed of a minimum of 2 times, and a basic of 3 times the number of soldiers. Furthermore, the composition ratio between each arm of service was also stipulated according to the organization.

Through this process of fixing the organization, the operational efficiency of the Joseon army improved dramatically.

Of course, there were many complaints from the military as well. However, through actual combat such as the suppression of the Hwacheok [a group of bandits], who were causing trouble throughout Joseon, the suppression of the Giyu Rebellion [a political uprising], and the suppression of the Horan (胡亂) [uprisings] caused by Yimanu and MeonTeMu, the effectiveness was confirmed, and the objections disappeared deep down.

Even in the history before Hyang’s involvement, Mun-jong, who was a military enthusiast, had revised the Joseon military system to match the Five Military Commands system.

However, with Hyang’s involvement, the scope of the reform became incredibly large.

* * *

By the time the long-range mobile unit, which had stopped at the fort for supplies, arrived at Gamoksabo, the aftermath of the battle was in full swing.

Each time the mobile units arrived one after another, Oh Bang-seop, the commander of Gamoksabo, greeted them with a confident face.

“Welcome!”

Receiving Oh Bang-seop’s welcome, the commanders of the mobile units dismounted from their horses and looked at Oh Bang-seop after seeing the battlefield being cleared up.

“Is it over?”

“It is over. It was a great victory.”

“Congratulations!”

The commanders of the mobile units, offering words of congratulations to Oh Bang-seop’s announcement of victory, listened to Oh Bang-seop’s war stories. If they could refer well to Oh Bang-seop’s experience, it would be of great help.

“…We were able to achieve victory by utilizing this fort’s solid defenses and the superiority of our weapons. Of course, the difference in troop strength was also overwhelming.”

At Oh Bang-seop’s words, the mobile unit commanders nodded.

The size of the force stationed at Gamoksabo was a fully manned ‘sa’ (司, approximately 3,200 men). Therefore, the troop ratio with the Jurchens led by Ayuta was 10:1.

Despite this overwhelming troop ratio, none of the mobile unit commanders lightly regarded Oh Bang-seop’s victory.

Looking at the situation before the reforms, there were countless cases of Joseon forces being defeated by the Jurchens even in a 10:1 situation. Of course, there were many cases where cavalry battles were evenly matched, but in situations where infantry fought against cavalry, the Joseon army was usually defeated by the Jurchens.

“What are our casualties?”

At the commanders’ question about the army’s casualties, Oh Bang-seop’s face turned grim.

“20 minor injuries and 5 serious injuries. No deaths, but the residents suffered greatly.”

While working in the fields far from the fort, 15 deaths and over 40 injuries occurred due to the Jurchens’ attack during the evacuation process.

“Fortunately, the farmers escaped on carts, so they were only hit by arrows and not swords, which is why it ended at that level.”

“I see.”

As the story of the battle went back and forth, the commanders were able to see the body of Ayuta, who had been shot and killed.

Ayuta’s body, loaded on a cart, was naked. The clothes and armor he was wearing were collected separately. It was to be sent to Hanseong.

“He went cleanly with one shot.”

“That’s right. He probably didn’t even know what hit him and went instantly.”

“Which soldier hit this guy?”

“That’s right! Such marksmanship! Let’s see his face!”

The commanders, their eyes sparkling, looked for the person who shot Ayuta.

After a while, Man-bok came to the place where the commanders were gathered at Oh Bang-seop’s call.

“Chung! Private Man-bok! I came at your call!”

“Did you catch this guy?”

“Yes? Yes! That’s right!”

“The distance?”

“100 ‘jang’!” [approximately 180 meters]

At the word ‘100 *jang*,’ the commanders looked at Oh Bang-seop. Oh Bang-seop replied with a face full of pride.

“We call it a ‘Sin-chong’ (Godly Gun) in our fort.”

“Huh….”

“Hmm….”

The commanders, looking at Man-bok while listening to Oh Bang-seop’s words, soon opened their mouths in a hurry.

“Hey! Do you want to join our mobile unit?”

“Yes? Yes? Yes?”

Man-bok had a bewildered expression at the sudden offer, and Oh Bang-seop shouted.

“Hey, you guys! That’s not fair! Who are you doing this in front of!”

After the quarrel continued, Oh Bang-seop and the commanders turned to Man-bok.

“So, what do you want to do?”

At Oh Bang-seop’s question, Man-bok stammered and replied.

“I, I get motion sickness when I ride a horse….”

“Damn it!”

* * *

Ten days later, Oh Bang-seop and Man-bok arrived in Hanseong.

It was because Sejong, having received the report, summoned those who had performed meritorious deeds to Gyeongbokgung Palace [the main royal palace] to commend them.

“…You have strived to save the people from the extremely ferocious Jurchens, so your merit is truly great! Therefore, I bestow upon you medals and rewards!”

“Your benevolence is boundless!”

Following Sejong’s commendation, medals were awarded to the commanders and soldiers who had contributed to the battle, and considerable rewards were given.

As the event continued, Sejong and Hyang’s attention was focused on Oh Bang-seop and Man-bok.

“*Gwon-gwan* [military rank] Oh Bang-seop is promoted to *Jongsa-gwan* [another military rank].”

“Your benevolence is boundless!”

“Oh Bang-seop is to be transferred to the Tactical Research Department of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.”

“Chung! I obey your command!”

Oh Bang-seop replied, filled with joy. The promotion was a promotion, but it was also about entering the core of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

‘If I work a little harder, the day I hear the word ‘General’ is not far off!’

Oh Bang-seop was filled with dreams and hopes. However, Sejong, looking down at Oh Bang-seop, was thinking differently.

‘He seems to be good at managing troops in fixed positions. He would be useful if I took him to Shinji later?’

After the handling of Oh Bang-seop was completed, Sejong, Hyang, and the ministers’ attention was focused on Man-bok.

“You caught the leader of those barbarians (胡賊, *hojeok*)?”

At Sejong’s question, Man-bok trembled and shouted at the top of his voice.

“Th, that’s right!”

“You caught someone outside of 100 *jang*?”

“Th, that’s right!”

“It wouldn’t have been easy?”

Hyang, who was listening to Sejong’s words, nodded.

‘Roughly, it’s a bullet made to produce a power similar to a 7.62mm NATO round, but that’s just a numerical value…. Is it possible to do that with the naked eye without any auxiliary devices?’

* * *

The Gap-sik Jang-chong (Type A Long Gun) that Hyang made was a gun that used a half-*chi* (approximately 1.7mm) caliber bullet with black powder.

In short, the bullet was cal.50, but the power was 7.62mm.

Thanks to this, the gun’s performance was a maximum range of over 800 ‘bo’ (approximately 1.4km), a maximum effective range of 500 ‘bo’ (approximately 900m), and an effective range of 250 ‘bo’ (approximately 450m).

However, even that effective range of 250 ‘bo’ was the result obtained from experiments in the laboratory and the process of suppressing areas through mass firing by a large number of gunners. In actual combat, the best record for an individual firing alone was 100 ‘bo’ (approximately 180m).

But now that record has been broken.

* * *

At Sejong’s question, Man-bok answered immediately.

“My father taught me!”

“Your father? Hooh~. What does your father do?”

“He was a ‘Yeopbu’ (獵夫, hunter).”

“A hunter? Yes. What does he mainly hunt well?”

“He was good at catching tigers and leopards! He even caught a big tiger with one ‘Yukryangjeon’ (六兩箭, large arrow for killing) [a heavy arrow used for large game]!”

Sejong was greatly impressed by Man-bok’s answer.

“He is truly a great man! That is why he raised someone with such excellent marksmanship like you! I would like to see him once.”

“He passed away.”

Sejong was sincerely saddened by Man-bok’s answer.

“Oh dear! How did it happen?”

“He was mauled by a tiger….”

“Ah….”

Sejong closed his mouth at Man-bok’s answer. However, Man-bok did not have a very heartbroken face.

“My father always said this to me. ‘I have caught so many tigers that it is inevitable that a tiger will catch me.’, ‘Hunting beasts is a matter of risking each other’s lives. The result depends on who is lucky, so don’t worry about it.'”

“He was not an ordinary man…. It is a great pity that I missed the opportunity.”

Sejong, who had a great desire for talent, could not hide his regret.

Hyang, who was listening to Man-bok’s answer from the side, began to calculate diligently in his mind.

‘Let’s see…. Breathing is important for both bows and guns. And, you have to be familiar with the weapon you use…. Bows are the national rule of Joseon people, but guns aren’t? Wait, there’s a familiar word…. That’s right! Jäger [German term for hunter or marksman]! That’s it!’