Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 268

Episode 268: Battle of the Songhua River. (7)

“It’s a slash and burn attack!”

“It’s slash and burn!”

As thousands of new weapons flew, leaving white smoke like a tail, the Yeojin cavalrymen running at the front began to shout and scatter left and right.

Singijeon was not an unfamiliar item to the Huligai tribe.

The Ming Dynasty also had gunpowder weapons propelled with similar gunpowder under the name Hwajeon (火箭). The Huligai tribe, who often saw the Ming army use slash and burn fire against the Northern Yuan cavalry, learned the countermeasures devised by the Northern Yuan cavalry.

According to the countermeasures learned from that observation, the aftershock cavalry quickly spread out to the left and right.

Density and speed, which are the most important elements in the cavalry’s specialty, breakthrough tactics, would be lost, but density was a secondary issue and speed could be sufficiently recovered at the current distance.

But there was something the Huligai tribe did not expect.

The Joseon army’s fire wagon and singijeon (神機箭) were very different from the Ming army’s fire wagon and its firing device, the Ilwabongjeon (一窩蜂箭), which they were familiar with.

* * *

“It may be a cliché, but one thing that cannot be left out when talking about King Munjong is the freight train, so you can’t just ignore it, right? It means that I am that type of person. And it’s a pretty useful weapon for the time being.”

Due to this decision, the wagon and the new equipment that went into it were greatly improved.

The first thing Hyang touched was Singijeon. The shingijeon to be mounted on the freight car was decided to be a medium shingijeon rather than a small shingijeon.

As the capacity of the propellant increased, the new guns launched from the freight cars had faster flight speeds and had the ability to penetrate parietal armor even at a range of up to 500 paces (about 600m).

After completing the development of Singijeon, Hyang also worked on freight cars.

In history before the intervention of the township, one could choose to use one of the two types of guns, the Xia Chuntong and the Zhongsin Machinery, but the township boldly stipulated that only the Zhongsin Machinery be used.

The cart on which the frame was mounted was also modified to make it easy to attach and detach the launch frame.

Therefore, when a battle broke out and 100 salvos were fired, the time to replace the launcher by bringing in a new launcher that had been left in the safe area could be greatly reduced.

The Hwacha developed in this way showed a significant difference in power from the Hwajeon used by the Ming Dynasty and the Ilwabongjeon, which was a mounted device.

The Ilwabongjeon used by the infantry of the Ming Dynasty was capable of firing 32 rounds of fire at a time. However, Joseon’s freight cars fired 100 rounds at a time.

In theory, the Ming Dynasty’s fire fighter could fly 400 paces (approximately 480m). However, due to the fact that a person had to hold it and shoot it, the effective distance was about 200 paces (about 240m).

However, by using freight cars, the Joseon military was able to properly utilize the maximum theoretical range.

* * *

The guns fired by the Joseon army flew over the heads of the Huligai cavalrymen.

“uh?”

The cavalrymen, who were looking at the new weapons flying over their heads, realized that the target of the new weapons fired by the Joseon soldiers was not them.

“Against the infantry?”

The Huigai cavalrymen, who confirmed that the target of the new soldiers were infantry, burst into laughter without realizing it.

“stupid!”

The infantry had shields. Although the slash and arrow had the advantage of being able to fire a large number of arrows at once, the power of a single slash was not much stronger than that of a single arrow. It may be powerful against archers who do not have shields, but its power is significantly weaker against infantrymen who possess shields.

“It’s slash and burn!”

“Raise your shield!”

“shield!”

The infantrymen of the Huligai tribe, who saw the gods flying in the sky, raised their shields above their heads and cowered.

Sisising! Sigh! Kwasik!

Shingijeon began to be embedded in shields covered with leather and surrounded by copper plates. The eyes of the infantrymen were filled with fear as they saw the arrowhead appear through the wooden board along with the sound of wood breaking.

“Don’t be scared! Trust your shield!”

The soldiers who were fighting for the first time had to endure their fear at the shouts of their commanders and veterans.

“Ugh!”

“Kaaak!”

Meanwhile, some unlucky people were screaming as they got shingles stuck in their shoulders, arms, or legs.

And then something else happened that the Huligai tribe did not expect.

Papang! pop!

“Aaaah!”

“Oops!”

“eye! “I can’t see!”

“homecoming! homecoming!”

“Off! “My arm!”

“leg! “My legs!”

In an instant, screams abounded among the foot soldiers of the Huligai tribe.

The magic weapons embedded in their shields and bodies exploded.

When the shingles embedded in the shield exploded, wooden fragments and iron balls contained within the shingles flew out, causing permanent damage to sight and hearing, and a scream came out.

Even worse than that were those who had shingles stuck in their shoulders, arms or legs. It was common for bones to be broken due to the impact of the explosion, and there were also people who had their arms or legs broken off. Those who had shingles stuck in their shoulders or chest died instantly on the spot.

* * *

Even in the history of Joseon before the intervention of Hyang, Joseon took great pains to strengthen the power of Singijeon fired from hwacha. After much deliberation, the result was to create a separate space filled with gunpowder in front of the propellant cartridge attached to the shingle.

When the gunpowder contained in this extra space exploded, it could cause additional damage, large or small, to the people or facilities hit by the new weapons, and the new weapons that fell on the floor could explode and cause confusion in the enemy camp.

And the scent was added to this extra space. It contained Deok-Gap-style gunpowder, which is more powerful than black gunpowder, and 5 to 6 small iron pills that fit into the Bigyeokjincheonroe.

As this space exploded, the accompanying iron rings spread out in all directions, causing additional damage.

* * *

Leaving behind the sight of their unfortunate comrades, the foot soldiers of the Huligai tribe had to keep moving forward, covering their heads with shields.

“Keep moving! “If you stop, you’ll end up in the same situation as those guys!”

Although they suffered significant losses as more than 1,000 rounds of new weapons were fired in an instant, the Huligai tribe’s infantry had no other option than to advance.

Sushi Sisik! See!

“Here we come again!”

“run! run! “There is no other way but to run!”

When the loud flying sound was heard in the sky again, the Huligai tribe infantrymen gritted their teeth and started sprinting.

As the infantry began to run, the Huligai cavalrymen who were moving ahead also had to speed up.

Their mission was to break the enemy lines and allow the infantry to rush to safety. Therefore, they had to move ahead of the infantry.

* * *

“The plan worked well.”

On the hill where the Joseon army was encamped, Lee Suk-myo looked back at his staff with a wry smile.

-Gives allies an advantage by breaking the enemy’s momentum and consuming energy.

This was Lee Suk-myo’s first thought.

In his opinion, the most powerful thing about the Jurchen tribe was that most of them were skilled horsemen and their ferocity.

In order to prevent this strength from being fully demonstrated, Lee Suk-myo had to use his brain thoroughly from the selection of the battlefield.

Using the mobile strike force and Woodiger’s cavalry, Li Manchu and Muntemu were forced to head towards Jilin and pass through the narrowest of the passages in the southwest area of Jilin.

And in the middle of the narrow passage, a blocking line was established with spearmen and riflemen, and artillerymen were placed on the hills on both sides. And by deploying the Joseon Army cavalry and Woodiger’s Jurchen cavalry to the left and right, Lee Man-ju and Muntumu had no choice but to attack head-on.

And they used the long range of the Shingijeon mounted on the wagon to shake the advancing warriors of the Huligai tribe.

“At best, it would be about 50 pieces (approximately 150m)…”

Lee Suk-myo hid his words as he saw the warriors of the Huligai tribe charging in, raising a cloud of dust.

For the cavalry, adding about 50 pieces was not a big physical problem. However, for the infantrymen who had to physically receive such a new weapon, 50 rounds would be a magical distance that would eat away at their mental strength and physical strength.

As the cavalry of the Huligai tribe began to charge, Li Sukmyo immediately gave an order.

“Let’s release the lightning bolt.”

“yes! “Sweet thunderbolt release!”

At the command of the staff, the rider waved the signal flag.

After a while, the artillery guns encamped on both hills simultaneously fired thunderbolts.

Kwakwakwak!

As the hills on both sides were covered in gun smoke, Lee Suk-myo muttered.

“Would you like to see how useful the remaining skills learned in the navy are? By the way…”

Lee Suk-myo smiled deeply as she felt the wind tickling her cheeks.

“The wind is very nice. I like the wind direction and volume. “I think Poyeon will go easily.”

While Lee Suk-myo was enjoying the breeze, about 100 pieces of explosive smoke spread all at once over the heads of the charging Jurchen cavalry.

Kwakwakwak!

“Aaaah!”

Hee hee hee!

Close to 100 thunderbolts exploded at once above the heads of the charging Huligai cavalry.

As the thunderbolt exploded, numerous fragments and the iron pills inside were scattered in all directions, and the Huligai cavalrymen and horses riding beneath them were covered in blood and rolled on the ground.

* * *

It was the navy that first thought of an aerial explosion using Bigyeokjincheonroe’s Mokgok.

As they fought against Japanese pirates’ front lines and Chinese pirate ships, the navy became dissatisfied with the artillery on the front lines.

“All you have to do is hit the pirate ship. The problem is that it’s hard to hit it.”

Even if the naval forces were well trained, it was difficult to expect a certain level of accuracy in an artillery battle in the choppy sea.

Janggunjeon (將軍箭) and Cheolhwan, which are large arrows used in Janggun fire barrels, showed hits that were almost wasteful even when the waves became a little rough. Therefore, the navy fired four rounds from a smaller gun than the Daejeon or loaded up with pills and fired them at the pirate ship.

At this time, young naval officers came up with a new tactic.

“The most powerful one is Joranhwan, so let’s use Bigyeokjincheonroe!”

When I used Bigyeokjincheonroe, I saw better results than expected. I don’t know if it was accidental or intentional, but the navy, which confirmed that Bigyeokjincheonroe exploded in the air with a small amount of firefighting fire, had the most lethal effect, began to use Bigyeokjincheonroe against pirate ships.

And this tactic was immediately passed down to the Land Forces.

* * *

Quack!

There was a slight difference depending on whether it exploded higher in the sky or at a lower altitude, but each time the thunderbolts exploded above the heads of the Huligai cavalry, dozens to hundreds of cavalrymen were sent rolling to the ground.

“You crazy!”

The Huligai cavalrymen, with bloodshot eyes, kicked the sides of their horses like crazy.

Blood oozed out from the side of the horse that had been pierced by the spur, but no one had time to look at him.

“We have to get out of this hell!”

“We must get close to the enemy lines as quickly as possible! “If we get closer, they won’t be able to do anything rashly!”

“Run even if you die!”

Thanks to the quick judgment of veteran soldiers with extensive battlefield experience, the cavalry galloped like crazy.

Muntumu shed bloody tears as he rode with the tribe’s warriors.

“I should have taken a detour, even if it meant taking the damage!”

Due to pressure from the hybrids of the Woodiger tribe and the Korean cavalry, Lee Man-ju and Muntemu had to turn to Jilin.

But the problem was next. The place where the Joseon army pushed them was the narrowest of the many roads leading to Jilin.

The width of the road between the low mountains on both sides and the hilly area connected to them is about 400 jang (about 1.2 km).

Normally, this would have been no problem, but when tens of thousands of troops were gathered like now, it wasn’t like that.

In particular, it was a narrow space for a cavalry force of nearly 20,000 to maneuver as it is now.

For the Joseon army, which used artillery as its main force, the tribal warriors were pushed into the optimal killing space.

“It’s the Joseon Army!”

“It’s the Joseon Army!”

“The Joseon army is on the front lines!”

Muntemu looked ahead at the sound of shouts coming from around him.

In the distance, I could see the formation of the Joseon army blocking the road, holding long spears.

After gauging the distance, Muntumu instinctively grabbed his bow, took out a long gun from the bow attached to the right side of his saddle, set the string, and pulled as hard as he could.

“Hmph!”

Muntumu straightened up, took a breath, and let go of the bowstring.

Whoosh! Hiss!

Soon the arrows fired by the Jurchen cavalry fell in a parabolic arc over the heads of the Joseon army that was blocking their path.