There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 388

389. Another Battlefield

“Give me a chance to prove myself, Father!”

Crown Prince Yi Dan was seething with discontent.

He had traveled all the way to Shenyang from the capital, only to find himself buried under a mountain of paperwork.

How long had it been since he swore revenge, symbolically carrying Yi Bang-won’s coffin, only to be stuck pushing pencils in the military headquarters?

He was learning the intricacies of military operations, which was somewhat helpful, but if he returned to the capital after merely staying in Shenyang, wouldn’t the world ridicule the Crown Prince’s filial piety as being so shallow?

No, it wasn’t just about public perception; he himself would be deeply ashamed.

“Why don’t you just ask me to kill you?”

“Then please, kill me!”

“…….”

Frustrated with the conversation that was looping like a broken record, I scratched my ear.

‘Who did this kid take after?’

With potential culprits on both his maternal and paternal sides, it was hard to pinpoint who he resembled.

Of course, it wasn’t me.

‘If I keep him cooped up in Shenyang, I don’t know what he’ll do.’

He’s clearly unhappy sitting at a desk, so letting him loose isn’t a terrible idea.

If I don’t let him get some fresh air, he might incite his cousins to stage a protest.

“Alright. Go to Chaoyang.”

“What is my mission?”

Yi Dan asked, his eyes shining with anticipation.

Even though the main force of the Ming army had been repelled, there might still be sporadic skirmishes.

Avoiding Yi Dan’s eager gaze, I answered.

“Rice delivery.”

After all, logistics are the lifeblood of war.

* * *

Thus, when Yi Dan arrived in Chaoyang, Zhu Chi came running barefoot to receive the supplies.

“Your Highness, the Crown Prince!”

“The Prince of Taining Guard himself has come.”

“The King of Joseon is providing so much material, of course, I had to come in person. I didn’t know Your Highness would be here!”

Zhu Chi grinned, gazing at the supplies piled high in Chaoyang.

It was worth emptying Taining Guard of its horses and cattle.

As the war intensified, Joseon seemed willing to generously support its allies.

The supplies provided by Joseon weren’t just food.

Along with gunpowder to operate the few remaining cannons, they also provided new firearms.

Cannons and Hwachas [Korean rocket artillery] were excluded, but even the small arms used by the Joseon army were incredibly useful.

“This is an amazing firearm. Does it really fire bullets?”

“Yes. I heard that His Majesty was inspired by the Sechongtong [a type of Korean hand cannon] to create it.”

Everyone around nodded at Yi Dan’s words.

The almost mythical story of King Yi Je of Joseon killing the leader of the Mansan bandits with a Sechongtong in his childhood was widely known.

Zhu Chi, fiddling with the pistol, exclaimed in admiration and slyly pocketed one for himself first.

Despite Joseon’s support, most would still have to be armed with bows and spears, but even arming a few with pistols would be a significant advantage.

Yi Dan asked Zhu Chi.

“Are you planning to return right away?”

“Battles are still raging in Mongolia. There’s no time to delay.”

Zhu Chi said, expressing his gratitude after receiving the supplies.

“Please tell His Majesty the King. Just like ten years ago, we will meet in Beijing.”

* * *

The highlands of Inner Mongolia.

Thousands of horses galloped forward, leaving a cloud of dust in their wake.

Similarly, thousands of beasts charged from the opposite side, their front hooves thundering towards the enemy.

Like a game of chicken, the two groups didn’t swerve even as they hurtled towards each other, until the very last moment.

– Swoosh!

Arrows rained down from both sides, flying over each other’s heads.

The range of mounted archers is not very long.

Unlike regular archers who can plant their feet on the ground and shoot, it’s not easy to hit a moving target while riding a shaking horse.

Therefore, the distance at which mounted archers exchange arrows is usually only 10 to 20 meters [approximately 33 to 66 feet].

They shot while charging towards each other, so the time between shooting and colliding was only a breath.

However, in that short moment, countless soldiers fell on both sides.

They fell, hit by stray arrows, trampled by the charging enemy, or pierced by blades they couldn’t dodge.

Some still clung to life even after falling from their horses, but no one could call them lucky.

The hooves of those following behind trampled equally on allies and enemies, corpses and those still breathing.

Hundreds of lives vanished in a single clash.

It was a familiar sight, but for nomads with sparse populations, people were as valuable as property.

The battlefield, which had been a back-and-forth struggle, suddenly began to tilt as some of the coalition forces retreated.

“The enemy is retreating!”

North Ning King Tokhtobuka cheered at his subordinate’s cry.

It seemed that some tribes, unable to withstand the losses, were pulling out, causing the battle lines to collapse.

“Now is the time! Push them! Completely crush the enemy so they can never regain their strength!”

At Tokhtobuka’s command, his subordinates charged with shouts.

With the enemy’s ranks shattered, this was as good as a victory.

Now, the key was how much they could capitalize on their gains.

So, they charged without looking back, trying to sweep everything away with their momentum.

However, when the vanguard, which had retreated briefly to conserve energy, rushed out again to pursue the enemy, an unexpected event occurred.

“Enemies on the flank, enemies are coming!”

At the urgent pointing, the soldiers all looked to the east.

There, the soldiers of the Taining Guard, aiming for the flank, were charging towards them.

“Reverse, reverse!”

But the vanguard, already committed to pushing back the enemy, was in the middle of a chaotic battle.

Before they could turn their spears in time, the enemy accurately pierced the gap between the vanguard and the following troops.

The hastily aimed arrows flew one or two at a time towards the enemy, but the damage was minimal.

Because they were aiming haphazardly, they flew far over their heads or didn’t even reach the target.

– Tatatang!

Tokhtobuka’s soldiers fell without much resistance under the barrage of bullets from a distance.

“Firearms! Can they be used on horseback?”

Where did these things come from?

“It’s Joseon!”

The one who shouted that was Kim Chung (金忠), the Loyal and Brave King (忠勇王) under his command.

Kim Chung was the leader of East Mongolia and had consistently maintained a pro-Ming stance from the beginning.

After the formation of the coalition, he defected to Emperor Xuande [the fifth emperor of the Ming dynasty], was appointed the Loyal and Brave King, and received a Chinese name (漢名) [a Han Chinese name given to non-Han people].

He was known for being fierce and cunning, so he was made to assist Tokhtobuka, the North Ning King who claimed to be the Mongolian Khan, but in fact, he was in charge of communication with Ming.

“I heard that the Ming army was badly defeated in Chaoyang, so it seems the enemy has reopened its connection with Joseon.”

“What?”

Tokhtobuka’s face contorted.

‘Why? Weren’t we winning?’

Before this battle, he had already defeated the coalition forces several times.

However, no matter how many times he fought and won, the situation did not change significantly.

No matter how well he fought, he was losing out in terms of power because the tribes that joined the coalition were constantly joining the enemy.

After Joseon won the battle of Chaoyang, the tribes of the coalition, who had been watching, also slowly joined.

In the end, he had no choice but to fight a decisive battle to reverse the situation, and he had finally managed to draw the enemy into a fight.

‘These, useless……!’

Tokhtobuka’s antipathy towards the Ming Dynasty suddenly surged.

He was winning every time, but he was suffering a loss all at once due to the defeat of the Ming army.

However, he couldn’t switch sides now.

At least, not him, who claimed to be the Khan.

“The situation is critical. What should we do?”

“Our army has lost its momentum and cannot fight back. Let’s retreat to the Great Wall first!”

Tokhtobuka let out a hollow sigh at Kim Chung’s words.

“If we retreat?”

“His Majesty has returned to Beijing, so if he hears our news, he will surely send troops to help us. Let’s rely on that and fight another battle.”

Tokhtobuka didn’t like Kim Chung’s words very much, but he had no other choice.

“Retreat!”

It was fortunate that they had no possessions to protect and no important strongholds because they had moved their entire force beyond the Great Wall.

However, that did not comfort Tokhtobuka.

* * *

“We would have been in big trouble if the Taining Guard hadn’t rescued us. I’m truly grateful.”

Khan Adai expressed his gratitude.

However, his heart was still heavy.

Tokhtobuka, who claimed to be the Khan, was advancing, calling for the unification of Mongolia, so Adai, who was in Monasan, had no choice but to scrape together all his troops and join the coalition forces.

He was nominally in charge of commanding as the Khan, but he had little real influence due to his weak power.

Just now, he had failed to control some tribes from retreating at will, and they had almost suffered a major defeat.

‘Those who don’t want to fight are of no help, and those who want to fight are full of ambition, so I’m in a dilemma.’

The same goes for Zhu Chi in front of him.

The more this man achieves, the more unstable his position becomes.

But without Zhu Chi’s support, they would have suffered a defeat.

Zhu Chi seemed to know that, and his nose was held high.

Adai was uncomfortable with that.

Even more so when he saw people gathering around Zhu Chi, expressing their gratitude.

‘They talk about subduing the rebels, but they don’t listen to my words, yet they try to flatter Zhu Chi like that.’

However, Adai shook his head to clear his thoughts.

In the end, people gather where there is power.

What would have happened if Joseon had failed to repel the Ming army?

The coalition would have been shattered, and he wouldn’t have been able to guarantee his own survival.

The reason why the center of the coalition was the King of Joseon, not himself, was there.

He just had to achieve great things and erase Zhu Chi’s presence.

“Shouldn’t we follow the enemy and crush them?”

“No. It is not right to pursue them any further.”

Zhu Chi stopped the coalition forces, including the Khan.

No one dared to oppose him, who had timely rescued the coalition forces.

“We were able to rescue the Khan’s army in time, but if we recklessly pursue them to the Great Wall, we are likely to be counterattacked. The Jurchen volunteer army has also left to join the Joseon army, so we must be even more careful.”

“Damn it, those guys were a big help after all.”

Someone muttered, and a subtle atmosphere filled the tent.

It was a long time ago, but weren’t the Jin and Yuan originally irreconcilable enemies?

However, since the formation of the coalition, the Jurchens naturally followed the orders of the King of Joseon and set out to help Mongolia, and they also received weapons from Joseon and fought shoulder to shoulder with them.

Soon, the Joseon army might come to help in place of the Jurchen army, or conversely, they might join the Joseon army.

The same goes for the Waegu [Japanese pirates] and Southern Barbarian [likely referring to Southeast Asian or possibly European soldiers] armies they saw in the coalition.

They were beginning to realize, vaguely, the reality of the coalition, a sight they could not have imagined when they signed the oath of the coalition.

Was the army of the Great Yuan Empire, in which Mongols, Han Chinese, Muslims, and Koreans all participated, like this?

They were briefly seized by a strange feeling.

‘Then is the King of Joseon no different from the Emperor of the Great Yuan?’

Many may not admit it yet, but if this war ends in Joseon’s victory.

Then maybe it could be so.