Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 560

560. River of Blood (6)

The artillery exchange between the Liaodong and Joseon armies—more accurately, the Liaodong army’s relentless barrage against the Joseon forces—left the banks of the Yalu River and the area around the iron barbed wire defenses scarred with craters of all sizes.

Of course, these weren’t the massive craters created by modern 20th and 21st-century artillery shells. However, the soft ground along the riverbank and the surrounding area was pockmarked with holes deep enough to conceal a grown man lying on his side.

Having breached the first three layers of iron barbed wire and stalled before the fourth, the Liaodong soldiers used these craters and the bodies of their fallen comrades as cover from the Joseon army’s gunfire.

Once they found some respite from the Joseon gunfire, the Liaodong soldiers desperately began to dig into the earth with whatever they had—helmets, swords, or shields.

The situation was the same for the musketeer and archer units that arrived at the fourth iron barbed wire barrier, following the vanguard.

The musketeers and archers, who had stood rigidly ready to fire as trained, felt the sharp sting of the Joseon army’s volleys and sought refuge among the scattered corpses, digging into the ground for cover.

“Quickly! Quickly!”

“Faster! Faster!”

The Liaodong musketeers and archers frantically dug, using their helmets as tools.

However, their progress was painfully slow, as they had to dig while crouching low to the ground.

If they raised their bodies even slightly, Joseon bullets would find them instantly.

“Kuh!”

Wang Il quickly ducked as a comrade digging next to him briefly raised his head and fell, uttering a short scream.

After a brief pause, Wang Il pulled the body of his dead comrade and piled it on top of the corpse in front of him, adding to his cover.

As Wang Il felt somewhat safer, the face of his dead comrade came into view. The comrade’s wide-open eyes stared at Wang Il, unable to close even in death.

Wang Il raised his hands, stained with blood and dirt, and gently closed his comrade’s eyes, muttering.

“Namo Amitabha, Namo Amitabha…” [Homage to Amitabha Buddha, a common Buddhist chant]

Wang Il chanted the Buddha’s name with his hands clasped together, praying for his comrade’s soul and for his own atonement.

Thud! Thwack!

Suddenly, bullets struck the corpse covering him, and Wang Il frantically grabbed his helmet and began digging into the earth once more.

* * *

The reason the archers and musketeers were digging so frantically wasn’t just for shelter. They needed those holes to effectively use their weapons.

Bang!

Yi Sam, having pulled the trigger towards the head of a Joseon soldier visible beyond the iron barbed wire, quickly dropped down into his hole to reload.

Leaning at an angle, Yi Sam carefully poured gunpowder into the barrel of his matchlock [an early type of firearm]. According to training, he should have been standing upright to reload, but that was impossible in the current situation. He could only hope that as much gunpowder as possible would flow down the tilted barrel.

After loading the bullet and tamping it down several times with the ramrod, Yi Sam filled the flash pan with gunpowder and closed the cover.

Finally, Yi Sam cocked the hammer holding the flint and carefully raised his head above the hole, aiming his gun.

Bang!

Yi Sam pulled the trigger again, immediately ducking back down without checking if he had hit his target, and repeated the process.

For him, the most important thing was to keep firing without dying.

To survive and continue firing until the enemies retreated or his allies fell back.

The archers were in an even worse situation. While the musketeers could at least fire while lying down, the archers needed to raise their upper bodies to properly draw their bows.

Therefore, the Liaodong archers had to focus all their energy on digging rather than shooting.

In the process, many archers became targets for the Joseon soldiers, turning into shields for their comrades.

* * *

The desperate battle between those trying to seize and those trying to defend gradually subsided as the sun set.

As the western sky turned red, the Liaodong army, which had been charging in a frenzy, began to retreat.

“The enemy is retreating!”

“Did they cross the river?”

Yi Jing-ok asked, and the adjutant shook his head.

“No, it seems they have retreated to the bridgehead established on the riverbank.”

“Hmm…”

Yi Jing-ok hummed softly, rose from his seat, and went up to the castle tower.

Yi Jing-ok frowned as he surveyed the surroundings from the tower.

“How many do you think the enemy lost in today’s battle?”

“Current estimates are around 40,000 to 50,000.”

“40,000 to 50,000… That’s a lot of dead…”

Yi Jing-ok shook his head as he looked at the scene filled with corpses everywhere he looked.

“They lost 50,000 and still won’t give up? Well… I wouldn’t have given up either. The moment they retreat, everything is over…”

* * *

Both the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had come to the same conclusion regarding this war.

-No matter how violent Ju Gijin’s nature may be, he cannot start a war with such unreasonable demands. There must be someone backing him.

-Therefore, this is the bait of the Xuande Emperor [Emperor of the Ming Dynasty during this period].

-For the Xuande Emperor, Ju Gijin’s provocation would be a good thing whether it succeeded or not.

-They are merely consumables to deplete our Joseon’s strength.

-This battle is just the opening act.

Based on these conclusions, Joseon entered a full-scale war footing, conscripting reservists as soon as the war broke out.

* * *

Despite this grand strategy, the one commanding the Liaodong army, though merely a pawn, would move desperately.

Because if he were to lose here, he would be the first to be held responsible and executed.

Thinking about this, Yi Jing-ok muttered to himself.

“Now, the only choice left for him is the one Xiang Yu made at Wujiang.”

Xiang Yu, who lost the battle for the throne of the Central Plains to Liu Bang, sent his remaining soldiers to Jiangnan at Wujiang and then committed suicide by slitting his own throat.

Unless he could capture the Insan Garrison, his only option would be suicide.

Yi Jing-ok looked around once more and turned his body.

“Check the damage to our forces, and proceed with rest and resupply. Ah! Be thorough with the guard in case of a night raid.”

“Yes, sir!”

* * *

Meanwhile, across the Yalu River, a meeting was in full swing at the Liaodong army’s main camp.

The military tent where Jo Byeong-deok and other generals were gathered was filled with a heavy atmosphere.

Starting with Jo Byeong-deok, all the generals sat silently with gloomy faces.

“Hoo~.”

Jo Byeong-deok sighed deeply and finally opened his mouth.

“First of all, thank you all for your hard work today. It was a truly terrible day and a terrible battle. Even in such a situation, you deserve to be praised for making the soldiers stand their ground until the end.”

“You are too kind.”

“You are too kind.”

Jo Byeong-deok’s subordinates expressed their humility at his praise, but Jo Byeong-deok shook his head.

“No, considering that the vanguard today was the Jurchen [a Tungistic people who lived in the northeast of China], you really did a good job of commanding.”

Since the Jurchen soldiers were close to mercenaries, Jo Byeong-deok had placed them at the forefront. Despite the worst possible battle that followed, the Jurchen soldiers did not desert and fought to the end.

Pointing out that part, Jo Byeong-deok gave orders to the commander of the unit.

“Give the soldiers plenty of alcohol and meat, and let them rest.”

At Jo Byeong-deok’s command, the commander rose from his seat, clasped his fist in his palm, and shouted loudly.

“Thank you!”

Having rewarded the Jurchen unit in that way, Jo Byeong-deok moved on to the main topic.

“What are today’s losses?”

“Including those who died or were injured, it’s 38,000.”

“That’s not a small number.”

Jo Byeong-deok frowned and continued his questioning.

“The reason for the heavy losses in today’s battle is that we were pushed back in the artillery battle. What is the situation with the artillery unit? Excluding the Hwaryeongpo [a type of Korean cannon].”

“Many artillery pieces deployed on the riverbank were destroyed by the Joseon army’s shelling. Therefore, we are collecting the broken artillery pieces and sorting out those that can be reused.”

“So, what are today’s losses?”

“About 60%.”

“If we include those that can be salvaged, how much can we recover?”

“50%. And that will take at least three days.”

“Reduce it to two days.”

The commander of the artillery unit looked troubled at Jo Byeong-deok’s command.

“We are short of manpower.”

At those words, Jo Byeong-deok turned to the commander of the Jurchen unit.

“Deploy the soldiers to support the artillery unit. It seems they will be needed after we have suppressed that damn fortress.”

“I will do so.”

None of the commanders showed any dissatisfaction with Jo Byeong-deok’s orders. Judging from today’s battle, assault troops armed only with swords and shields were useless.

“Restore at least 60% within two days. Even if it is impossible to destroy the fortress walls, artillery is essential to suppress the trenches next to it.”

“I will do my best.”

After hearing the artillery unit commander’s reply, Jo Byeong-deok turned his head and looked at the Hwaryeongpo unit commander.

“Were all the Hwaryeongpo destroyed?”

“The surviving artisans are doing their best to restore them.”

Jo Byeong-deok’s face brightened at the Hwaryeongpo unit commander’s reply.

“Is restoration possible?”

“As of now, it seems we can restore one.”

Jo Byeong-deok’s face was filled with disappointment at the reply.

“One is too few…”

“I will urge the artisans.”

“We need at least two to crush the trench lines. Keep in mind that if we can’t crush the trench lines, we will have no choice but to continue this damn siege.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

* * *

The meeting continued.

Jo Byeong-deok pointed to the Insan Garrison on a map hanging on one side and continued.

“We suffered greater losses than expected in today’s battle. This means that the defenses of this fortress were stronger than expected. In other words, Joseon has put a lot of effort into defending this fortress. And this may mean that once we capture this fortress, the next one will be easier.”

The generals nodded at Jo Byeong-deok’s point.

According to information obtained from Ming, the Joseon army had less than 200,000 troops in total, and about half of them were naval forces.

And the size of the Joseon army confirmed in today’s battle was about 50,000.

This meant that if they broke through that fortress, half of Joseon’s ground forces would be wiped out.

Of course, if that happened, Joseon would raise troops through conscription, but an untrained rabble could not be a match for the Liaodong army.

Pointing out this part, Jo Byeong-deok continued.

“Therefore, the immediate task is to do everything we can to restore the artillery unit’s strength. As you saw in today’s battle, scaling the walls of that damn fortress is too costly. We will destroy the iron barbed wire with artillery and bypass it. And…”

Jo Byeong-deok used his baton to draw a virtual path bypassing the Insan Garrison on the map.

“After bypassing it like this, we will starve this damn fortress to death.”

“They won’t just stand by and watch it happen.”

Jo Byeong-deok nodded as one of his subordinates pointed out the problem.

“That’s right. That’s what I’m aiming for. To get those bastards who are cowering in that damn fortress to come out.”