Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 930

930. The Imperial March (2) – Assaulting Battleships, Running on Land. (18)

“Cannons? Cannons, you say…”

The French generals nodded at the Milanese officer’s response.

It was well-known that the Imperial Army ‘madly’ favored cannons.

Nevertheless, there were parts that didn’t make sense.

“It’s famous that the Imperial Army values cannons. But, you see, weren’t the walls surrounding Milan rebuilt to withstand such cannon fire? Yet, it fell so quickly? We thought it could hold out for at least half a month. But, considering when we heard the information that ‘the Imperial Army arrived in Milan’ and when you arrived, it didn’t even last ten days, did it? How did Milan fight?”

The Milanese officer, with an angry face, responded to the question that implied, ‘Didn’t you just surrender without even fighting properly?’

“Our Milanese army resisted with all our might!”

“Resisted, not defended? It’s even more puzzling. How exactly did it fall? No, let me correct that. How many days did it take to fall?”

At the French generals’ question, the Milanese officer lowered his head and answered.

“…A week.”

“A week? In such a short time?”

“….”

“Humph!”

At the French general’s sarcastic reaction, the Milanese officer could only lower his head, unable to speak.

Because there was one fact he couldn’t bring himself to say.

‘The actual fighting period was three days!’

* * *

The Imperial-Florentine allied forces’ capture of Milan was immortalized in a famous poem.

It was a poem written in sorrow by an anonymous poet living in Milan.

The poem he wrote went like this:

‘First day.

The army of the East arrived before the walls of Milan.

The proud walls of Milan were tall and magnificent like the Tower of Babel, and the trenches dug by the army of the East were deep and desolate like a graveyard.

One day passed.

Second day.

A messenger sent by the army of the East recommended surrender.

The brave citizens of Milan looked at the messenger and sneered, and the messenger also looked at the citizens and sneered.

Another day passed.

Third day.

The cannons of the Eastern army shattered the first wall.

The messenger came again to recommend surrender, but our valiant citizens refused to surrender.

The messenger sneered at us again. But half of our citizens could not laugh.

Another day passed.

Fourth day.

The cannons of the Eastern army shattered the second wall.

The messenger came again to recommend surrender, but our steadfast citizens refused to surrender again.

The messenger sneered at us again.

None of our citizens laughed.

A long day passed.

Fifth day.

The last wall collapsed.

Our wounded and exhausted citizens raised a white flag and demanded negotiations, but were refused.

Barely a day passed.

Sixth day.

The citizens of Milan surrendered unconditionally.

From the Eastern army’s camp, black smoke billowed into the sky from the ruthless steel warhorses, and from our pitiful homeland of Milan, black smoke billowed into the sky, carrying the dead.

Our pitiful citizens all wept.

Another day passed.

Seventh day.

The army of the East rested. But our citizens could not rest.’

This poem, titled ‘The Week of Collapse,’ would later be included in Italian textbooks.

* * *

Although not mentioned in this poem, Milan did not just passively suffer.

When the Imperial-Florentine allied forces first arrived, the Milanese army immediately launched an interception.

-They must be tired from coming all this way! We strike before they can regain their strength and complete their positions!

-In particular, we must inflict as much damage as possible before those Imperial Army artillery units properly set up! That’s the only way to last long in the siege!

It was a reasonable judgment by anyone’s standards.

The Milanese cavalry and infantry, having received orders, burst out of the gates and charged towards the allied forces.

However, the Milanese army, which had charged with such high morale, had to retreat with severe damage.

It was thanks to underestimating the fact that the Imperial Army carried around as many Hwachas [rocket-propelled arrow launchers] and Wangu [portable rocket launchers] as they did cannons.

The Milanese army, caught in the crossfire of the Imperial Army’s Byeongshik Hwachas [improved Hwacha], Gapsik Gyeonghwachas [light Hwacha], and Sowangu [small Wangu] and Jungwangu [medium Wangu], was literally torn apart.

After the battle, while cleaning up the battlefield, the Imperial soldiers, regardless of rank, muttered the same words.

“As expected, Hwachas and Bigyeokjincheonleis [a type of Korean bomb] are the best for dealing with those who swarm in hordes.”

“I was a bit worried about the newly made Bigyeokjincheonleis and Wangu, but they’re useful!”

The new Bigyeokjincheonleis and Wangu (碗口) mentioned by the Imperial Army were mortar shells and mortars.

* * *

Among the various cannons and projectiles used by the Imperial Army, the most favored was, of course, the Bigyeokjincheonlei.

From natives without proper armor to bandits and armies armed with guns, the Bigyeokjincheonlei showed definite effectiveness.

Although the Bigyeokjincheonlei and Wangu appeared in almost every battlefield like this, there were also many regrets.

“It would be great if they were just easier to carry around….”

Due to the shape of the Wangu, even the smallest Sowangu required a cart pulled by horses or donkeys for transportation.

Hyang, realizing this, proceeded with the development of mortars to satisfy his own interests as well. However, it was not adopted immediately when it was first developed.

“Is there a need to develop a new model when the existing Wangu and Bigyeokjincheonlei are sufficient?”

“If there is money to be used, I think it is a priority to improve and produce cannons and projectiles!”

Due to the priority of funds, Sejong [Korean King] and the ministers all opposed it, and it was buried.

Later, as time passed, funds became available, and small-scale irregular warfare became more frequent than large-scale regular warfare, the new Wangu and Bigyeokjincheonlei plan was revived.

As an aside, there was a reason why Hyang continued to use the names Wangu and Bigyeokjincheonlei instead of the names mortar and mortar shell.

“‘Fired at a high angle and falls over the enemy’s head.’, ‘Relatively short range.’ Whether it’s Bigyeokjincheonlei or mortar, they’re almost the same, right? Then there’s no need to use the ‘Made in Japan’ name of mortar, right? And, at this time, the name Wangu is more familiar than the word mortar.”

In this way, mortars and mortar shells inherited the names of Wangu and Bigyeokjincheonlei.

* * *

In the Milanese army’s interception against the Imperial and Florentine armies, the Imperial Army’s Hwachas, Jungwangu, and Sowangu boasted rapid response speeds.

In addition, the quantity was no joke.

‘Combat is firepower! Firepower is cannons!’

The Imperial Army, especially the Imperial Army, which was faithful to this concept, once again revised the existing 5-unit organization.

In the case of the smallest group, ‘O (伍),’ it consisted of 3 musket soldiers, 1 commander of the Ojang (伍長) [squad leader] or Gunkyo (軍校) [military school graduate] or Jinmu (鎭撫) [pacification officer] class, and 1 Hwacha soldier operating a Gapsik Gyeonghwacha.

The ‘Dae (隊),’ a group of 5 Os, consisted of 3 musket soldier Os, 1 Hwacha O operating 2 Byeongshik Hwachas, and 1 Wangu O operating 1 Sowangu.

The ‘Yeo (旅),’ a group of 5 Daes, consisted of 3 musket soldier Daes, 1 command Dae, 1 Jungwangu Dae, plus 1 medical soldier O, 1 supply 담당 [in charge] O, and 1 catering 담당 [in charge] O.

In this way, as firepower was overlapped and strengthened, the power of the Imperial Army became exponentially stronger as the group grew larger.

Of course, the consumption of supplies, including ammunition, also increased exponentially, and the supply 담당 [in charge] could not take their hands off the calculating machine and calculating machine 통 [counter]. In addition, the Ministry of Finance officials also.

Anyway, because the Imperial Army was so serious about firepower, they crushed the Milanese army with just the Gapsik Gyeonghwacha, Byeongshik Hwacha, Jungwangu, and Sowangu.

The Swiss and Florentine armies, watching the Milanese army rush in to inflict damage but instead suffer great damage and retreat as if fleeing, shone their eyes.

“That Gyeonghwacha looks useful too. It would be nice to have more Wangu….”

“The Sowangu’s size was small, so it looked ridiculous, but it’s okay. It’s even better for traveling around the Alps. I’ll have to ask for more for the compatriots in my home country.”

The commanders of the Florentine and Swiss armies, who realized the value of the Gyeonghwacha and Sowangu, which had been neglected due to the heavy and large cannons and tractors, took out the 고급 [high-end] wine bottles hidden in their luggage and muttered.

“Who should I butter up to get it delivered to His Majesty the Emperor the fastest?”

* * *

“Since Milan has already fallen, let’s find a second-best option.”

The French generals, quickly acknowledging reality, put their heads together to find an alternative.

“Now that Milan has fallen, there are two directions the Imperial Army can go: Genoa or Venice. In my opinion, they will try to deal with Genoa first.”

“Genoa? Considering the firepower of the Imperial Army that captured Milan, is there a need to send additional troops to Genoa? I think it is reasonable to go to Venice?”

“Think about the supply. What is the reason why the Imperial Army insisted on occupying Genoa first? Isn’t it to supply a large amount of 물량 [supplies] easily and quickly by using ships rather than long and complicated land routes? Rather than wasting time against Spain, they will concentrate their forces and try to deal with it quickly.”

“That’s right.”

The French generals all nodded at the story.

“And, since they must have noticed that our French army has arrived, they will definitely come this way.”

“That’s true too. Then where is the best place to fight?”

The French generals, convinced that the Imperial Army that had captured Milan would come down south, put a map in the middle and 고민 [pondered] where it would be best to fight.

The generals, 고민 [pondering] to find a good place, soon focused their attention on one place.

“How about Pavia?”

“Pavia?”

“It’s about 45 leagues (about 189km) from here.”

“45 leagues….”

A normal adult male could walk 1 league in 1 hour. Even considering rest time, meal time, and sleep time, if you walk a little diligently, you can walk 10 to 11 leagues a day.

“Then we can arrive in about five days.”

“But isn’t Pavia too close to Milan?”

When a cautious general pointed out this problem, the general who first recommended Pavia immediately answered.

“That’s why I think it’s even better. If rumors spread that we are approaching, will the citizens of Milan stay still? The Imperial Army will not be able to move easily.”

Following him, another general added.

“The Milanese guys will still be in a rebellious mood. We have to fuel the fire even more before the Milanese guys’ spirit is broken.”

“That’s true… but still….”

As the cautious generals 납득 [understood] but could not easily agree, the general who first recommended Pavia emphasized why Pavia.

“If we can properly 박아놓을 [wedge] a wedge in this Pavia, we can block the supply route from Genoa to Milan. And, if the Spanish guys do well, they can push down to Bologna.”

“Aha!”

The generals who examined the map all exclaimed.

Pavia was located in the middle of the transportation route from Milan to Genoa. And, if you go a little further east, you can use the road from Milan to Bologna.

It was an important transportation route that had been used since the old Roman era.