Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 164
Episode 164 Purge (4)
While the uprising army was being crushed in Cheonan, the clash between the uprising army and the government army was getting closer in Gyeongsang-do and Jeolla-do as well.
Jeolla Barracks.
A map was spread out on the desk in the middle of the conference room, and large and small pieces of wood were placed here and there on top of it.
“What are the current movements of weightlifters?”
A military officer answered the question of Nam Gang-il, a military officer from Jeolla Province, by moving three large pieces of wood.
“Weightlifters are divided into three groups. “One unit is heading to our Jeolla barracks, and the other two units are heading to Jeolla Jwasuyeong and Woosuyeong, respectively.”
“What is the scale?”
“The number of weightlifters heading to Suyeong is approximately 6,000, and the number of weightlifters heading to our barracks is estimated to be approximately 25,000.”
“The scale has increased considerably.”
“The number of weightlifters involved in rebellion has slightly increased.”
“These guys are not good enough even if they take the sixth grade!”
Upon hearing the military officer’s report, Lee Han-jong of the Central Army immediately swore.
Most of the military officers attending the meeting nodded at his words. Nam Kang-il, who was quietly examining the map, asked a question to the military officer.
“What is the reason for the increase in the number of criminals participating in traitors?”
“Perhaps there were rumors about Beomgwol.”
“huh? “Are you saying that you participated in the rebellion even though you knew that Beomgwol was a failure?”
“Perhaps the government was shocked and decided that there was a high possibility of a conciliatory outcome.”
Nam Kang-il gritted his teeth at the military officer’s report.
“You idiots! Are you that bad at making decisions? “I want to see who the idiot was that thought like that!”
Nam Kang-il was truly curious as to who had come up with the dream and hope-filled prediction that the shocked king would come up with an appeasement policy as the uprising was followed by a rebellion.
“Well, the more stupid the opponent is, the more advantageous we are, so it’s a good thing, but… By the way, no matter how thoughtless you are, you’re thinking of attacking the navy… Now, I feel pitiful.”
“Haha!”
“ha ha ha!”
The conference room was filled with laughter at Nam Kang-il’s evaluation.
When asked who in Joseon were familiar with gunpowder weapons, the Joseon military would point out two fingers.
-One is a training center linked to Area 51 and the other is the naval force.
Ever since Choi Mu-seon developed artillery in the late Goryeo Dynasty, the Joseon navy and artillery had been inseparable.
Therefore, when the government proposed reducing the production of gunpowder – especially Deokgap-style gunpowder – the navy was the one who most actively opposed it.
It was a truly pitiful moment for the insurrectionists who were flocking to take on those who were most skilled in gunpowder within the Joseon army.
In any case, since the order to suppress the weightlifters had already been given, Jeolla Barracks proceeded with preparations step by step.
“The weightlifters are coming!”
“Where are you coming from?”
“It’s not deviating from what we expected and is coming in the direction of fire!”
Nam Kang-il stood up after hearing the messenger’s report.
“good! “We will destroy weightlifters!”
“ancient!”
* * *
In the battle that took place and was later named the ‘Battle of Wolchulsan,’ Jeolla Barracks annihilated the uprising army.
They blocked the embers and attacked the insurgent army from three sides, using the natural defensive walls of the neighboring mountains Wolchulsan Mountain and Saenggeumsan Mountain. When the uprising army suffered fatal damage and tried to retreat, the cavalry bypassed Wolchulsan Mountain and struck the rear of the uprising army, leading to its annihilation.
It was a textbook ‘three-front siege’.
* * *
This was also the case in the battle that took place at Mungyeong Saejae.
It was a ‘hammer and anvil’ tactic in which spearmen wearing full-body plate armor similar to that worn by cavalry blocked Saejae’s path, and artillery and riflemen behind them captured and tied down the uprising army, while cavalry hidden in Jigok-ri and Gakseori attacked the rear of the uprising army. .
The uprising army, whose front and rear were suddenly blocked, resisted fiercely, but the slaves who made up most of the force surrendered early and the trend could not be reversed.
But what was more pitiful than anyone else were the uprising troops who went to attack Jeolla Jwasuyeong and Woosuyeong.
After receiving the report that ‘the weightlifters are coming,’ Jeolla’s left and right officers unloaded all artillery from the anchored ship and fired it towards the path where the uprising troops were coming.
Thanks to this, the uprising troops approaching to occupy Suyeong were shattered into pieces by the shells fired from all the artillery guns the Navy possessed, starting from the Bigyeokjincheonroe to the Joranhwan.
In particular, in the case of Jeolla Jwasuiyeong, a unique tactic was used: the gunpowder used in the artillery and gun barrels were swapped.
According to the new doctrine, Deok-Gap-type gunpowder had to be used as the propellant gunpowder used in artillery pieces, and Eul-type gunpowder had to be used in the Gap-sik Jang Chong-tong and Masang Chong-tong used by the soldiers.
However, the Jeolla Left Suyeong replaced the gunpowder by going through the troublesome task of disassembling and reassembling the bullet packages supplied for the Gapsikjang Chongtong and Masang Chongtong.
“The wind blows well at sea, so smoke isn’t a big problem, but it’s not on land, right? change!”
Although this was done according to the orders of the Jeolla Left Chief Inspector, it was an amazing move.
Although the amount of smoke is said to have decreased, Eulsik gunpowder was also a black gunpowder that produced a lot of smoke. However, the use of Deokgap-style gunpowder greatly reduced the amount of smoke generated, allowing the naval commanders to snipe the uprising troops more efficiently.
* * *
In this way, the ‘Giyu Rebellion’ that occurred in Hasam Island ended with the annihilation of the uprising troops. While clearing the battlefield, soldiers and monks wrote general orders and sent them to Hanseong, while dividing their units into units to suppress the areas where uprisings had occurred.
By succeeding in suppressing this ‘Giyu Rebellion’, the government achieved one more unintended result.
It was the ‘extinction of the private army’.
From the early days of the founding of the nation, the ‘private army revolution’ was carried out endlessly, but the private army tenaciously survived. In particular, in the southern region of Joseon, the size of the private army was gradually increased, citing the reason of protecting against Japanese pirates.
However, through the failure of the ‘Giyu Rebellion’, the private soldiers completely collapsed. Not only the private soldiers who belonged to the uprising army camp, but also the private soldiers who stood in the anti-uprising army camp were consumed on a large scale during the battle.
After that, private soldiers were never organized on a large scale again.
This was because after the Giyu Rebellion, the government created the formula ‘training of soldiers = rebellion’.
Later, romantic historians gave the ‘Guille Rebellion’ a subtitle, ‘The Twilight of the Private Soldiers.’
* * *
The rebellion is over, but the blood continues to flow.
“Capture the traitors!”
According to the king’s order received in advance, Byeongma Jeoldosa dispatched troops to the area where the rebellion occurred.
In the process of catching traitors, the military had to deal with unexpected people, who were the families of those who lost their lives for opposing the uprising.
“Oh my…”
Entering a village near Naju, Kang Chun-bae sighed over the solution to the case he had to deal with.
The main gate of the large tile-roofed house of Oh Saengwon, which started the uprising, was wide open and a group of men greeted them with blood-stained clubs.
“Welcome!”
“Who are you!”
In response to Chunbae’s nervous question, a nobleman stepped forward among the men.
“My name is Jo Il-gu, the second son of Jo Saeng-won from the next village.”
When the man who revealed his identity answered politely, Chunbae asked again in a slightly relaxed voice.
“okay. Scholar Cho, what is going on here?”
“My father and older brother died at the hands of traitors. “How can we just leave the family of Bulbuldaecheon’s enemies alone?”
Chunbae hurried into the house at the strong scent of blood emanating from Jo Il-gu’s answer.
“Oh my…”
Oh Saengwon’s house was a sea of blood. The walls and walls everywhere were covered in blood stains, and the house was full of corpses here and there.
Chun-bae, who saw that, glared at Jo Il-gu.
“Do you not know that no matter how much you come from a family of traitors, you should not kill people carelessly?”
“Does that mean we should just overlook the enmity of our father and brother?”
“Huh…”
Jo Il-gu calmly answered, perhaps knowing Chun-bae’s frustration.
“Except for taking the lives of my enemies’ families, I did not touch a single hair, so you will be able to find physical evidence.”
“Huh~. “You know this isn’t something to just ignore, right?”
Jo Il-gu responded with a sad expression to Chun-bae’s voice, which couldn’t hide his frustration.
“How can you not know? However, since I have avenged my enemy, I have no regrets.”
“Huh~.”
Chunbae let out a long sigh and answered briefly.
“First, stay in prison. Hello! “Get these people out of jail!”
“yes!”
The soldiers who received orders from Chunbae snatched the clubs from the hands of the men who came with Jo Il-gu and dragged them to one side. Because they knew the situation, the soldiers did not treat the men harshly.
Chunbae, looking at that scene, let out a long sigh.
“Huh~. That’s right! “Do I have to write a petition in addition to the general report?”
* * *
Incidents like this occurred frequently in areas where rebellions took place. The soldiers had to sweat hard to stop those who wanted to take revenge, or they had to clean up houses that had already become a sea of blood and ask who had done it.
In the worst case, revenge was turned a blind eye on the condition that the family property would not be touched.
As the situation became more difficult, there were cases where families who participated in the uprising chose to commit group suicide.
Bloody revenge took place and various tragedies occurred, but the chaos in the South Island began to subside little by little. This was because the government that had received urgent information dispatched additional troops and officials.
* * *
King Sejong took off his armor only after the general message arrived from Jeolla-do and Gyeongsang-do saying, ‘Rebellions have been suppressed.’
Only after King Sejong took off his armor were the government ministers able to breathe a sigh of relief.
As King Sejong took off his armor, the atmosphere in the court, which had been like a sheet of thin ice, regained some composure.
“So… how much progress has been made in sorting out the traitors’ families?”
The sentencing judge answered King Sejong’s question.
“The family members who started the uprising have already been detained and all their family properties have been sealed.”
“Good job.”
As soon as Sejong finished speaking, Heojo came forward and pointed out the problem.
“The problem comes from their relatives. According to the law, the three clans must be destroyed, but the scope is too large.”
“Hmm…”
“If we arrest them all according to the law and make them all slaves, the number will be in the thousands. We also need to disperse them to prevent them from interfering with each other, but due to the newly changed law, there are fewer people who want to receive slaves.”
“There was such a problem.”
“also. Although they are from the same family as the traitors, there are people who were detained or lost their lives while opposing the traitorous plot.”
Sejong, who was looking for various solutions to Heo Jo’s words, asked Hyung Pan.
“Does the law say what to do in a situation like this?”
“According to the Great Ming Ryu, a person guilty of treason and treason shall be punished, his father and son over 16 years of age shall be executed by death; his son under 16 years of age, his mother’s wife’s wife’s wife, grandson’s siblings, and the son’s wife’s concubine shall all be made servants of public servants, all his property shall be confiscated, and his uncle and uncle shall be sentenced to death. “The nephew is to be exiled 3,000 miles away, regardless of whether he lives with him or not.”
“Hmm… let’s think a little more. “Traitors must be punished clearly, but the scope is the issue this time.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
After passing one hill, another hill appeared.