There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 397

398. God knows… (1)

Before Zheng He’s fleet vanished in a rain of fire, Shanhaiguan had already fallen.

Zhang Bo sensed the loss of Hebei around this point.

Retreat was already a foregone conclusion within the camp.

However, the question was how much to concede to the enemy.

“We must retreat to Henan,” Zhang Bo stated coldly.

Unlike Zhang Bo, however, his subordinate generals expressed fierce opposition to surrendering Beijing. Even though Emperor Yongle’s relocation project had been canceled, Beijing was the center of the north and the nation’s foundation.

Surrendering it without a fight would make it impossible to avoid accountability.

However, not everyone opposed it for that reason.

A rather realistic counterargument was also presented.

“Now is the dry season, so the Yellow River’s water level will be low and won’t properly deter the enemy. It would be better to fight once in Beijing!”

Historically, why hasn’t the Yellow River formed a natural border? Because depending on the season, its water flow decreases significantly, and there are sections with narrow river widths in between.

In the last war, Prince Zhao tried to block the suppression army advancing north along the Yellow River but struggled. Since it cannot be expected to serve as a proper defensive line, giving up all of Hebei would not buy much time.

But what Zhang Bo needed was that little bit of time – time to gather the defeated soldiers, bring up the armies of Jiangnan, and create the strength to fight Joseon once more!

“If Joseon occupies Beijing, the repercussions will be significant.”

“Furthermore, Joseon is not the only enemy invading the Great Ming. Fortunately, the Northern barbarians have not yet crossed Juyong Pass.”

“But if we empty the troops guarding Juyong Pass and bring them down, it would be the same as letting them join forces with the Joseon army!”

If Emperor Xuanzong were here, he could have gained the Emperor’s renewed trust and raised his voice. No, since the Emperor’s safety should be the top priority, the Henan retreat theory would have gained even more traction.

However, the Emperor had already retreated to the safety of Jiangnan. Unlike the Emperor, who could choose a ‘strategic retreat,’ the generals could hardly avoid the stigma of ‘defeat’ either way.

It might even be seen as treason.

Zhang Bo lamented, ‘I have tarnished my father’s and family’s reputation!’ Not to mention himself, who was praised as a famous general before this war, the lofty name of the Duke of England’s family is now ruined.

“……Summon the Prince of Beining. We must fight the enemy,” Zhang Bo said with a heavy heart.

* * *

– Doong! Doong! Doong!

– Hwiriririri~

The cacophony echoed from the military band led by Park Yeon.

‘Is this Hometown Legends [a Korean TV show featuring ghost stories and folklore]?’

At the same time, as our army burned water-soaked firewood to create smoke, the Ming army became very nervous.

“They’re using sorcery! They’re trying to spread poisonous fog!” The Ming soldiers stirred, and their formation began to change. They must have thought we would use chlorine gas again, as that ‘Banana Leaf Fan Unit’ began to come forward.

‘That was real.’ I couldn’t help but feel dumbfounded seeing an army actually wearing blue cloths and waving fans, when I thought our subordinates were just exaggerating.

And without missing the opportunity, our army unleashed a fierce barrage.

“Ugh, ugh?!

The desperate effort to block the chlorine gas was useless in the face of the shells. The Ming army will probably see this and think we’re using shells because gas doesn’t work? I hope they think that. The longer they have that ridiculous misunderstanding, the better for us.

As the Banana Leaf Fan Unit, which had far more numbers than reported, scattered under the impact of the shells, the cavalry began to charge to break down the Ming army.

The dense formation that the Ming army had practiced to death through mass games is just good bait in front of the shells. The Ming army had learned this fact through previous battles, but they had not come up with a proper countermeasure.

This is even more true in the current field situation. It would be better to defend Beijing, but since Shanhaiguan was breached, they must have judged that it would be meaningless if they couldn’t defeat us in a direct battle.

Anyway, because of that, the Ming’s camp, which was awkwardly keeping its distance from each other, was shattered under our army’s hooves. It wasn’t that there were no individuals resisting sporadically, but the musket bullets fired by soldiers who couldn’t form a firing line just passed through the air in vain.

Unable to bear seeing the Ming army being scattered so miserably, a group of soldiers stirred up dust and advanced from the rear.

“It’s the Tatar cavalry!” Mongol cavalry attached to the Ming army began to step forward.

On our side, the Jurchen cavalry, including Manchu, rushed out to stop them. Manchu seemed to want to say something, moving his lips, but it was drowned out by Chungshan’s voice as he drew his sword.

“Where do you think you’re going, you who were pushed out of your own homeland and ran away!” The Mongol cavalry and the Jurchen cavalry collided, each trying to push the other back.

Although they were pushed out of Mongolia, their momentum was not weak. Rotten, but still a crucian carp [a saying meaning even something bad still has some value]. However, the Jurchen volunteers, including Manchu, were fulfilling their role simply by dragging out time.

Judging from Manchu’s sweating, he seemed to be trying his best to overwhelm the enemy.

The Joseon army began to advance.

– Tatatang!

Our army didn’t need the complicated reloading of muskets. A soldier opened the barrel, pushed the bullet in to make contact with the gunpowder, and inserted the firing device into the gun. At the same time as pulling the trigger, a small explosion occurred, igniting the gunpowder and piercing through the enemy’s body. It kept repeating from there.

Ceaseless barrage and gunfire, and cavalry charging while shouting. There was no need for strategy or tactics here. The Ming army didn’t even have trenches or walls to rely on. Only the overwhelming power that the Joseon army had accumulated was brought down.

And at the decisive moment…

“It’s the Joseon army’s poisonous fog!” A desperate cry echoed for a moment.

* * *

The Ming army was completely wiped out. Those who survived and crossed the Yellow River were not even two or three out of ten. Even then, there was almost no organized retreat. They abandoned their weapons and scattered as if trying to survive on their own towards the side where there were no Joseon soldiers.

For that reason, there seemed to be no need to pursue them now after fighting a big battle. Even if they join the Ming army remaining in the south, they will only spread fear and dread of our army.

“To be back in Beijing, it’s a new feeling.”

This is my third time arriving in Beijing. The first time was when I visited as the Crown Prince of Joseon, on my way to Nanjing. The second time was when I set out to subjugate Prince Zhao. At that time, I was in charge of post-war processing with Hongxi.

This is the first time I’ve come as a real occupying force. But perhaps remembering that the Joseon army had been relatively gentle in its previous garrison – the Forbidden City was burned down by the people – Beijing did not put up meaningless resistance.

Well, even if they held out, they would be quickly destroyed by our cannons, so what’s the point of holding out?

“I ask for the generous treatment of His Highness, the Prince of Joseon.”

“Don’t worry. The people and property of the commoners, except for government offices and warehouses, will never be touched.”

In a city like Beijing, even if you only target government offices and warehouses, wealth and military supplies will pour out, so there’s no reason to exploit the people and cause trouble. Especially for those who surrendered without putting up any useless resistance.

Our soldiers who want to sleep in comfortable houses may be dissatisfied, but since I will stay in the military camp first, there won’t be many who entertain such thoughts.

As I did before, I set up a military camp behind Tiananmen Square, on the site of the Forbidden City.

“Still struggling to break through Juyong Pass.”

Juchi, you bastard, how much did I give you, what are you doing?

I heard that you utterly defeated Toktobuka and sent him south of the Great Wall. In the end, I was the one who cleaned up the mess?

The Allied Forces, excluding Joseon, have already missed the deadline. It has been revealed that it is difficult to face even a fraction of the Ming without cooperation with Joseon.

“Send a messenger beyond Juyong Pass.”

“Yes, Your Highness. What should I say?”

“Those who have been struggling in front of the Great Wall until now…”

I opened my mouth. “Gather them all.”

Game over. Allied Forces, let’s start calculating again from now on. Okay?

* * *

‘Damn it, damn it.’ Juchi bit his lip. ‘Because of incompetent and greedy bastards, I am in this situation!’

Upon hearing the news that the Joseon army had defeated the Ming army in Liaoxi, Juchi abandoned his previous cautious approach and immediately began attacking Juyong Pass. The Ming army’s forces would be concentrated on defending Shanhaiguan, and if he could break through Juyong Pass in that gap, he could reach Beijing in one fell swoop.

If he succeeded, he could have become the top contributor to the alliance. However, even though he pushed forward with everything he had, the attack on Juyong Pass was sluggish, and Juchi’s authority, which he had been able to gather to the fullest by defeating Toktobuka, began to crumble.

Primarily, it was because the steepness of the gate was more than he had thought, but it also meant that he had not overwhelmed the Ming army’s capabilities enough to overcome this.

And Shanhaiguan fell, and in a single battle, the Joseon army annihilated the Ming army. When the Joseon army appeared in the rear, Juyong Pass, which faced enemies from both sides, soon surrendered.

Juchi sighed deeply. He was too ashamed to lift his head. Whether he did or not, there was no way to turn back.

The procession that started from Juyong Pass continued for a long time. The sight of the world’s lords and brave generals, soldiers and carts heading towards the magnificent gate of Beijing was nothing short of majestic.

The scene was similar to the gathering at the Jinju Alliance before. However, there were also differences from that time.

No matter how much they boasted of their martial prowess and courage, when they reached Tiananmen [Gate of Heavenly Peace], the dignified spirit disappeared from their faces and they became nervous.

Using Tiananmen as the *yuanmen* [轅門, the gate of a military camp], beyond it, the Joseon army’s tents were spread out, and the Joseon Taewang’s [Grand King] throne was also in the center.

Looking at the scene, the name ‘Gate that pacifies the country by receiving the mandate of heaven,’ which Joseon Taewang Lee Je personally gave, was 받아들여지는 의미심장하게 자못 [accepted quite meaningfully].

On both sides of the gate, the Joseon army stood with their guns, glaring at them. A group of servants, who were clearly brought by the Joseon king, came out in front of the gate and shouted.

“The lords and generals must enter the gate with 엄정한 예 [strict etiquette] to the liege lord!”

Not many people here knew what ‘strict etiquette’ to be observed before the liege lord was. For that reason, each person had no choice but to observe the best etiquette they knew.

In other words, every time they entered the gate, they 복배(伏拜) [prostrated themselves] and crawled on their knees in a humble posture, kneeling on the ground with both knees. Even though no one told them to, without even thinking of looking up at the king, when they reached the gate, each of them knelt on the floor and lowered their bodies.

It was natural etiquette for the lords and generals to bow their heads and express reverence to the king, who had inherited the shining 전(典) [traditions] of the previous kings and built 무업(武業) [military achievements] that would never be seen again in the world.

“Have all the lords and generals of the world gathered?”

In this place where even the sound of breathing did not echo, there was only one person who could open his mouth. It was Lee Je, the Taewang of Joseon.

Only then did Sangseon No Bun take a quick look around the lords and announce in a thunderous voice. “As 하유(下諭)하신 [ordered], the civil and military officials of the world have 부복하였나이다 [prostrated themselves] according to the royal command without a single disruption.”

Whose command could they dare to ignore? Even those who were calling themselves Khan or King, that is, Daikhan Adai, Juchi of Taeningwi, and Esen of Oirat, were the same.

They pressed their foreheads to the floor, waiting for the stern command.

Not as allies, but as subjects.