Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 815

815. Siege of Tenochtitlan (1)

As the Joseon Dynasty on the mainland slowly returned to normal after Sejong’s funeral, the final battle was being prepared in the south of Shinji.

“To be precise, it wouldn’t be the final battle. They have a form of a nation, after all. It’s more like cutting off their head and breaking their back. So, don’t think it’s over. Be careful.”

At the meeting of commanders, Lee Jing-ok urged the commanders, who were beginning to relax.

However, Lee Jing-ok was also expecting victory in his heart.

‘The question is whether it will be an easy win or a hard-fought one.’

There was a reason why Lee Jing-ok and the commanders of the expeditionary force were confident of victory.

* * *

The expeditionary force, having achieved a great victory in the battle at the jungle entrance, pursued the retreating—no, fleeing—Mexica warriors.

Because the expeditionary force was relatively and absolutely heavier [better equipped and supplied], a considerable distance opened up between them and the fleeing Mexica warriors.

However, Lee Jing-ok ordered his subordinates to be prudent.

“It is said that a cow’s pace reaches a thousand miles [slow and steady wins the race]. Now, it’s more important to take care of the wounded soldiers and maintain the supply route firmly than to expand our gains by chasing the fleeing enemies.”

One of the subordinate commanders raised an objection to Lee Jing-ok’s words.

“The best way to expand the gains is to pursue the fleeing enemies. If we leave them alone now, we’re giving them time to recover. Moreover, we’re giving them time to devise a plan to deal with us.”

“So, you’re saying we should continue the pursuit right now?”

“Yes. We have a very useful tool called a wagon. If we use it well, we can maintain our strength and slaughter the enemies.”

“Then, what about the treatment of the soldiers who were injured in the previous battles?”

“We can leave an appropriate number of medical officers and medics behind. If the remaining medical officers and medics go with us, they can also take care of the casualties from the continued battles.”

“Hmm….”

Lee Jing-ok nodded as he listened to the subordinate commander’s words. The speaker, who thought Lee Jing-ok’s reaction was positive, wore a confident expression.

“Tsk!”

Lee Jing-ok, who was staring at the subordinate commander’s confident expression, clicked his tongue with a displeased face.

After the Gyeongjang [political reforms] and the proclamation of the founding of the empire, there was one unwritten rule for the empire’s officials.

-A sigh from a superior is a warning, a click of the tongue is an alarm.

This unwritten rule was the same in the military, so the speaker turned pale at the sound of Lee Jing-ok’s tongue-lashing.

Lee Jing-ok, with an unhappy expression, continued the questioning.

“The battle will continue, and there will be casualties every time. If we leave medical officers and medics behind every time, there will be a severe shortage of medical officers and medics by the time we reach their capital. What will we do then?”

“Then we can mobilize the medical officers and medics left here….”

“Where will we get the wagons to carry them? No, let’s say we have the wagons to carry them. Are you saying we should abandon the wounded left here?”

“If we use the reinforcements that will come….”

“What if the supply route is a mess? You know this jungle well, don’t you? Even if we cut down trees and bushes to make a road, it will disappear in a few days if we don’t pay attention to it.”

“If we leave an appropriate amount of troops….”

“How much? We talked about reinforcements, but most of the expeditionary force are volunteers, and the additional ones will be only a few hundred at best. Even if we do this or that, the place where the enemies will fight most fiercely is right in front of their capital. It’s a place where we need to mobilize all our forces, but you’re saying we should divide our troops?”

“….”

“And, you, you’re from the Northwest, right?”

“Yes, I am, but?”

“You know that people from the Northwest were banned from entering the government before the Emperor announced the Northwest Gold Bank, right?”

“…Yes.”

“The soldiers who are being treated outside are mostly the ones who will be civilizing the natives here after the war. What do you think will happen if we treat those who are in charge of such important tasks carelessly? Do you think they will have loyalty to His Majesty the Emperor and the Empire?”

“….”

At Lee Jing-ok’s criticism, the person who made the statement shut his mouth. Even after thinking about it, he couldn’t find a suitable answer, so the speaker had no choice but to wave the white flag.

“My thinking was short-sighted.”

“Think once more before you open your mouth next time.”

“I will engrave it in my heart.”

“You guys should also keep it in mind.”

Lee Jing-ok looked around at the commanders who attended the meeting and continued.

“There will be those here who have experienced the war in Liaodong. At that time, our advance was very fast. However, even though it was so fast, we never neglected the treatment of the wounded soldiers. As much as our troops advanced, more medical officers and medics rushed to the front from the rear. What’s more? Look at the Military Academy. It is divided into three parts: the Army, the Navy, and the Medical Corps. Why do you think this is? Do you think it’s simply because of His Majesty the Emperor’s merciful decision? The soldiers outside are the foundation of maintaining the Empire. If they know that the Emperor and the Empire value them, they will also value the Empire and His Majesty. Keep in mind that loyalty cannot be achieved simply by coercion.”

“We will engrave it in our hearts, General!”

Even after hearing the answers from his subordinate commanders, Lee Jing-ok continued his sermon.

“The same goes for the soldiers outside and the natives in this land. It would be foolish to think that we should just subjugate them. We must civilize them and make them loyal citizens of the Empire. That is the purpose of this conquest. If you are a commander, the first virtue is to think about the purpose of the war you are carrying out and how to achieve that purpose. Keep in mind that you can never win if you ignore even the smallest unit!”

“Yes, General!”

“Also keep in mind that there is no promotion without victory.”

At Lee Jing-ok’s last words, the subordinate commanders answered in an even louder voice.

“Yes, General!”

According to the results of the meeting, the expeditionary force began to catch its breath.

The wounded soldiers were treated, and those who were more seriously injured were sent to the bridgehead under the careful care of medical officers and medics.

This was because the navy’s ships regularly came to the bridgehead to unload supplies, and proper treatment facilities were also built.

Then, warriors from the Xiang and other surrendered tribes were mobilized to thoroughly manage the supply route.

It wasn’t just the natives who were mobilized.

A large number of engineers mobilized from the mainland and Shinji came to the bridgehead, and a road began to be laid from the bridgehead to Tenochtitlan.

After that, the foundation of the ‘Shinji Expressway Network’, which became a specialty of Shinji, was born.

* * *

Through this respite, the morale of the expeditionary soldiers gradually increased.

The soldiers who had suffered minor injuries were properly treated and returned, and other soldiers recovered their strength by taking sufficient rest.

In addition, more wagons and livestock were supplied, and the mobility of the expeditionary force was further strengthened.

The expeditionary force, which had been resupplied with depleted ammunition, shells, and gunpowder, got back on the wagons and began to pursue the fleeing Mexica warriors.

To be precise, they were not chasing the Mexica warriors, but starting to advance towards Tenochtitlan.

“The showdown will be in their capital anyway, so there’s nothing to worry about!”

Lee Jing-ok explained the situation to his subordinate soldiers with a confident expression.

“Advance while being careful of the flanks! If there are any fools blocking the way, run them over!”

“Yes, General!”

* * *

While advancing towards Tenochtitlan, the expeditionary force encountered an unexpected sight.

They found piles of human bones on the road to Tenochtitlan.

The problem was the condition of these human bones.

“According to Xiang Chogwan, they seem to have been eaten.”

Lee Jing-ok, who was examining the piles of human bones, frowned at the adjutant’s report and spat out a curse.

“Have I ever seen such sons of bitches who deserve to have their three generations beg and freeze to death!”

Lee Jing-ok, who cursed roughly, called Xiang and asked him in more detail.

“Is it common for those Mexica bastards to do this?”

“No, they only do it in Tenochtitlan.”

“But why?”

“It seems to be a problem with supply.”

“Supply?”

Xiang explained his speculation.

-The Mexica people operate a large-scale supply unit when they go to war. However, this supply unit alone cannot cover all supplies.

-Therefore, the Mexica people send messengers and merchants in advance to the colonial cities around the invasion route. Then the merchants prepare supplies, and the Mexica people buy supplies from them.

-The situation is a bit different this time. First of all, the area where the battle took place is far from the colonial cities. There would have been little supply to spare.

-In the case of retreat, it was not an orderly retreat but a disorderly rout.

Of course, there was no time to properly pack supplies.

“…In the end, they would have eaten the injured or slaves in the process of fleeing.”

“That makes sense.”

Lee Jing-ok, who was nodding at Xiang Chogwan’s words, muttered to himself without realizing it.

“To think they would eat people… Ah! They were originally such guys!”

Lee Jing-ok, who frowned and examined the pile of human bones, ordered his adjutant.

“Show these piles to the soldiers and explain the situation. And, tell them my orders. There is no need to take those Mexica bastards as prisoners. Kill them all! Those mixed-breed sons of bitches who are worse than the Yain Jurchen [a particularly brutal nomadic tribe]!”

To Lee Jing-ok, who had fought with the Jurchens in the northeast when he was young, the expression ‘guys who are worse than the Yain Jurchen’ was the ultimate curse.

At Lee Jing-ok’s order, the adjutant immediately answered.

“Yes, General!”

According to Lee Jing-ok’s order, the expeditionary soldiers who saw the pile of human bones had their animosity towards the Mexica warriors boiling over.

Originally, most of these expeditionary forces volunteered because they were angry at the Mexica people’s human sacrifice and cannibalism.

However, hearing it secondhand and seeing it with your own eyes were completely different cases.

Even those who had volunteered for the expeditionary force, aiming for ‘new opportunities’ rather than ‘conquest and civilization’, had a strong animosity towards the Mexica warriors after seeing this tragedy.

Thanks to this, those who suffered were Xiang Chogwan and other natives who had surrendered earlier.

“Don’t tell me you guys too…?”

“We’re not!”

Every time they received such gazes, Xiang Chogwan and other surrendered natives desperately denied it.

“We don’t even have many warriors in our tribe, why would we do such crazy things!”

“Attack a smaller tribe…”

“It’s easier and safer to hunt!”

“Ah….”

The expeditionary soldiers nodded at Xiang’s group’s answer.

If they were in a position with similar weapons and armor, the attacker could also die. Considering this, hunting was easier and safer, as they said.

Hello?

This is Gukbbong, who is writing ‘Black Company Joseon’.

Fortunately, my mother was discharged from the hospital yesterday.

She hasn’t regained her strength yet, but I’m praying that she will regain her strength soon.

I’m worried about the fact that she will have to go to the hospital regularly from next week.

I sincerely apologize for not being able to serialize during that time.

I will do my best to focus on serialization in the future.

I sincerely hope that you will continue to love ‘Black Company Joseon’.

I will do my best.

Sincerely,
Gukbbong.