Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 546
Episode 546: All-out war. (4)
In the memory of the speaking scent, I remembered a Japanese movie I saw in the 21st century.
It was a scene from a movie glorifying the commander of the Japanese Navy during World War II. People tired of the Great Depression were sitting in bars hoping for war to break out. The reason they did this was because of the memories of the great benefits they gained in World War I.
That’s why I was worried about the scent.
‘It’s a really big problem that the entire population wants war.’
Hyang spoke to the four people.
“The way you thought, I thought too. And I can guarantee that there will be a report with similar content from the Ministry of Finance and Economy. So, if you really want to listen to the Great Gentlemen, think about how to suppress the people from falling into ‘belligerism’ and bring it with you.”
“Yes sir.”
The four took the report and left the room. Looking at the four people, Hyang muttered softly.
“Indeed… he has the ability…”
* * *
In history before Hyang intervened, Han Myeong-hoe and Kwon Ram ran state affairs as the core of power during the reigns of King Sejo and King Seongjong. Of course, he had the advantage of being King Sejo’s closest confidant, but he also had his own abilities, which made it possible for him to remain in power for a long time.
Hawiji and Seong Sammun were people who received King Sejong’s favor for the young Danjong.
King Sejong judged that although they were young, it was a decision he made after thinking that they would take over after Hwang Bo-in and Kim Jong-seo retired.
* * *
Three days later, in the conference room of Seunghwadang, an announcement was made by the Ministry of National Defense, represented by Cho Mal-saeng.
The person in charge of the presentation was Lee Jing-ok, who was promoted to Vice Chief of the General Staff of the General Staff Headquarters.
“First, let me explain the current status of our Joseon military.”
According to Lee Jing-ok’s explanation, the current situation of the Joseon army was as follows.
-The total number of members of the Joseon army is 250,000.
Of these, the land navy numbered 150,000 and the naval force numbered 100,000.
-If you look at the composition ratio of the ground army, it consists of 45,000 cavalry, 45,000 riflemen, 40,000 artillerymen, 10,000 engineers, and 10,000 other branches.
-If you look at the deployment of the Land Forces, 80,000 troops are deployed in the north. Of these, 50,000 are deployed in the northeastern region and 30,000 are deployed in the Yalu River region.
-In the case of the naval force, 40,000 people are on shipboard duty and 30,000 are engaged in the mission of defending the mainland and external swimming areas. and 15,000 sappers. There are 15,000 people in charge of miscellaneous tasks such as administration, supply, and maintenance.
-Specifically, among the engineers serving in the naval forces, 10,000 and 5,000 combat soldiers are currently active in Shinji.
The Army Corps also has a long-distance reconnaissance unit of one company active in Sinji.
When the report continued to this point, Kim Jeom opened his mouth.
“The proportion of artillerymen is quite high?”
Jo Mal-saeng stepped forward and responded to Kim Jeom’s point.
“I can’t help it. “Because artillery is the core of our military power.”
* * *
At this time, countries neighboring Joseon, or even countries that knew anything about the Joseon army, all had similar evaluations of the Joseon army.
‘People crazy about cannons’
Wherever the Joseon army was stationed, no matter how small the area, artillery was deployed.
To what extent, one battalion of troops stationed at each checkpoint between the forts and camps defending the north had two artillery units and two artillery guns deployed together.
The artillery they used was not a large toy or siege artillery that fired lightning bolts, but small shotgun cannons.
Santanpo was also a work of incense. The shotgun, which fires more than 30 bird rounds at a time, was the first in the world to adopt the rear loading method. Thanks to this, unlike other artillery, it boasted a very fast rate of fire.
Of course, there was an opinion that it was unnecessary to make a shotgun when the Eulsikhwacha (called Gatling in history before Hyang intervened) and the Bigyeokjincheonroe existed. In particular, there were many opinions that shotgun cannons, which only show their power within 20 shots (about 60m) at best, are useless.
However, the size of the Eulsikhwacha and Daewangu was considerable. And these were items that required a lot of skilled soldiers to operate. As a simple example, the Bigyeokjincheonroe was to be filled with gunpowder just before use. In order to proficiently carry out this task in an urgent combat situation, skilled personnel were essential.
In the case of shotgun shells, their size was very small. The method of operation was as simple as opening the stern, inserting a bag containing pills and a medicine container containing gunpowder, closing the stern, and pulling the lanyard. Therefore, it was adopted due to its advantages of being operable with only basic training and its high rate of fire.
And when this shotgun was deployed at the checkpoint, it took on the role of a machine gun.
However, it was definitely not the case that the Joseon military’s obsession with artillery disappeared after the proper machine gun was created in later history.
* * *
“I’ll say it again, artillery is the core of our military power. Artillery is absolutely necessary to replace insufficient troops.”
Kim Jeom kept his mouth shut in response to Jo Mal-saeng’s answer.
Lee Jing-ok’s explanation continued.
“I would like to explain about the reserve forces.”
-If young men aged between 14 and 35 are conscripted, the Joseon Army can mobilize approximately 2.8 million reserve forces.
Hyang muttered to himself at Lee Jing-ok’s explanation.
‘I’m 14 years old… Now I’m counting my age in 10,000 years, so if I count it in years, I’m 15 or 16. In the 21st century, it would be a perfect situation to be criticized for mobilizing child soldiers.’
* * *
In Joseon at this time, most people were considered adults at the age of 14. For ordinary people, adult certification involved proving that one could do one’s part by lifting a large stone called ‘Deuldol’ placed in the village and serving food to neighbors.
What’s interesting is that as social schools and middle school schools became widespread, the method of adult verification changed.
The trend was becoming established that those who graduated from Social Democratic School and entered middle school were naturally recognized as adults.
“Look at you…”
There was nothing strange about boys and girls wearing party uniforms at a middle school school using that tone of voice with serious expressions on their faces.
Hyang, who went out in hiding and saw the scene, smiled slightly and muttered to himself.
‘I heard that my grandfather’s time was like that?’
It was a scent that reminded me of my grandfather’s story that before the scent intervened, even in the days when middle school entrance exams existed, half of the people who entered middle school were recognized as adults.
* * *
Kim Jeom questioned Lee Jing-ok’s remarks once again.
“Are you really thinking about conscripting all 2.8 million people? If that happens, regardless of whether the war is won or lost, Joseon will be finished!”
Lee Jing-ok immediately responded to Kim Jeom’s words.
“This is a case of the lesser evil.”
“Lesser evil? So what’s the worst? “Are they going to drag all the men of Joseon into the country?”
“If it is necessary, then so be it.”
“Huh…”
Kim Jeom was frustrated by Lee Jing-ok’s calm answer.
Kim Jeom was not the only one who turned pale at Lee Jing-ok’s answer. Other ministers also had similar faces. Seeing that, Choi Yun-deok hurriedly joined the conversation.
“What I just said is about the worst and lesser evil. “We have been working hard to avoid such a situation, and we are still putting our heads together like this, aren’t we?”
Following the remarks of Choi Yun-deok, a senior member of the military, Hyang intervened.
“you’re right. Isn’t the announcement made by the military now referring to a case of the lesser evil? “I hope we don’t get too far ahead of ourselves.”
Kim Jeom bowed his head and responded to Hyang’s point.
“I apologize. “I lost my mind for a moment because the number was bigger than I expected.”
“I think you value human life that much.”
Kim Jeom bowed his head again at Hyang’s words.
“I am truly devastated that you are looking at me so favorably.”
After sorting out the situation, Hyang asked Lee Jing-ok.
“If something happens, we have to block up to 300,000 people with 30,000 people. This will certainly be impossible no matter how much firepower and terrain help we get, so what is the response plan?”
Lee Jing-ok answered Hyang’s question by taking pictures of various places on the map hanging next to him with a pointing stick.
“First of all, according to the plan, we will send troops upward directly from the Hoho region and the Samnam region. Fortunately, with the railroad, it has been calculated that the time will be reduced by less than half compared to before. At the same time, we will move about 10,000 people from the northeastern region to shake up the backbone of Liaodong. However, this is only first aid and requires the mobilization of reserve forces. According to the military’s calculations, at least 500,000 troops must be mobilized immediately to minimize damage to our troops.”
“Hmm…”
The ministers nodded at Lee Jing-ok’s explanation. The basic principle of military strategy was that the stronger the ally’s power, the less damage it would take.
“About 500,000….”
While Kim Jeom was nodding and muttering, Lee Jing-ok continued.
“The problem is that riflemen’s long guns are now divided into two types. All of the units deployed in the north have been replaced with Eulsik Long Rifles, but only about half of the units in the Kiho region have been replaced. The rifles allocated to the other half of the Samnam region and reserve forces in the Hoho region are still Gap-type rifles.”
As soon as Lee Jing-ok’s words came out, the Minister of Finance and Economy responded.
“I will immediately submit a plan for budget execution.”
The scent responded to the Minister of Finance and Economy’s words.
“I will pay for it as soon as it comes up.”
After passing one hill, another hill appeared.
“There is another problem. “We only have 100,000 servings of supplies for reserve forces.”
At Lee Jing-ok’s point, Kim Jeom turned to the Minister of Finance and Economy, and the Minister of Finance and Economy immediately opened his mouth.
“I will also write a plan for this part and upload it.”
Lee Jing-ok pointed out the problem again in response to the Minister of Finance and Economy’s remarks.
“Budget is important, but time is also an issue. In the worst case, something could happen next spring.”
Hwang Hee asked for the basis for Lee Jing-ok’s point.
“What is the basis?”
“The Jurchen people are good at magic, but they are weak at moving their forces and fighting according to military orders. “If you think about the time when it will be easier to get to Doha to train for that part and how to operate guns and artillery, it will be next spring.”
The ministers nodded at Lee Jing-ok’s answer.
Spring was the time when we had just left the dry season of winter. At this time, it would have been possible to cross the Yalu River with less effort than expected.
At Lee Jing-ok’s point, Kim Jeom turned to the Minister of Finance and Economy, and the Minister of Finance and Economy opened his mouth.
“This issue has also been discussed at the Ministry of Finance and Economy. So the alternative that came out was to actively utilize the top. “We entrust the production of materials such as swords and clothing, excluding guns and artillery that cannot be made by the private sector, to the upper level.”
“If you’re at the top, can you make it on time?”
Kim Jeom responded to Hwang Hee’s point.
“Currently, trade routes to Europe are blocked, so there are many merchants with surplus workers. “It is possible for them.”
The ministers nodded at Kim Jeom’s answer. But Hwang Hee frowned slightly.
‘It’s definitely a good alternative, but there’s something wrong with it. ‘What is that?’
When Hwang Hee, who felt something uneasy, was frowning, Hyang opened her mouth.
“I’ve already received a similar proposal, but there’s a problem.”
Hyang repeated exactly what he had pointed out to the four people. After hearing Hyang’s point, Kim Jeom and the Minister of Finance and Economy made expressions of regret, and only then Hwang Hee intervened with a bright face.
“also! “I thought there was a bit of a problem, but it turned out to be just that!”
Hwang Hee sorted out the problem with a bright face.
“In the current situation, the only answer is to lend a helping hand from the top! However, we must prepare in advance to deal with the problems you mentioned. Only then can we avoid going down the wrong path!”
At Hwang Hee’s words, the ministers looked at the incense and muttered to themselves.
‘The Crown Prince has become the Crown Prince again.’