Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 586

Episode 586 Hwangryongrak (黃龍落) (1)

Five days later, reinforcements from the Joseon army arrived in Liaodong Province.

At the headquarters located in Naeseong, Choi Yun-deok happily welcomed the commander who led the reinforcements.

“Thank you for your hard work coming here.”

“no. “The captain, who is over 70 years old and commands the battlefield, is truly doing a great job.”

“Thank you very much for saying that.”

The two people started talking amicably and soon moved on to the main topic.

“Here is the organization of the troops I led.”

“Let’s see…”

After receiving the document, Choi Yun-deok frowned when he first looked at the item about troop distribution.

“There are 150,000 additional troops, but you are saying that only 50,000 troops will be supported by me?”

“First of all, yes. As you can see from the table, the number of troops to be commanded by the commander is only 30,000. “The rest are all troops under the Supply Command.”

“Ugh…”

Choi Yun-deok couldn’t help but let out a groan after hearing the answer.

“It is said in the art of war that supply determines victory or defeat…”

* * *

As Choi Yun-deok said, the importance of supply in war has been emphasized over and over again since ancient times.

Even Choi Yun-deok himself went so far as to say this when educating young generals.

“Even if the supply is good, it does not guarantee victory by 10%. However, if it is not properly supplied, defeat is 100% guaranteed.”

And as the Joseon army properly used gunpowder weapons, the importance of supply was further emphasized.

In the past, it was possible to fight armed with spear knives made in a temporary blacksmith shop set up on the battlefield, but guns and cannon gunpowder were impossible to use.

Therefore, the Joseon army had to rebuild everything from scratch to ensure proper supply.

A separate Supply Command was created under the Chief of Staff, and all work related to supply was carried out here.

This became the best place for military officers with their own abilities and ambitions. Because it was a new department, rapid promotion was possible compared to other branches if done properly.

As ambitious people flocked in, the Supply Command quickly took shape.

Of course, the scent was not lost and I put a spoon on it.

And the supply headquarters created in this way paid off handsomely in this war.

The Supply Command secured as much as possible the large horses brought in from the West and bred in large quantities, and also secured a large number of locally made tow trucks, which they put to good use.

Supply bases were created in each important area from the Yalu River to Liaodong, and tow trucks transported supplies to and from those bases.

And between the final supply base and the troops on the front line, large carriages pulled by horses transported supplies.

This was the part where the scent was spooned on.

“The depot system is not optimal.”

Although it was very primitive, the application of the 21st century logistics system allowed the Joseon military to worry less about supply.

However, for smooth supply, the supplies consumed by the supply ships themselves also increased significantly.

Immediately, the consumption of beans and miscellaneous grains to feed the war horses of the Ministry of Transportation increased significantly, and the consumption of coal to be used by tow trucks also increased dramatically.

Thanks to this, the Joseon army had to proceed with its attack on Liaodong Province while also occupying nearby Fushun.

At first, it was planned to silence the Ministry of Finance and Economy, but the open-pit coal mine in Fushun became a necessity for the military as well.

This was because by securing coal from Fushun, the fuel supply problem for tow trucks could be solved.

And the Hanseong General Staff Headquarters and Supply Command reorganized related standards based on the amount of consumption from the battlefield.

And after reporting this, the scent received a positive response.

“Plan and reality are always different. So field testing is necessary. In any case, since actual measurement data has been received through this war, upgrades will continue.”

* * *

Choi Yun-deok, who frowned at the fact that the troops added to him were smaller than expected, soon relaxed his expression.

“It’s a little disappointing, but if it’s properly distributed, I’ll get over it. “If supplied properly, our soldiers are capable of earning 100 per day.”

Choi Yun-deok, who consoled himself like that, but still felt regretful, quenched his appetite.

“Tsk! “I guess I’ll have to look forward to the next one.”

Choi Yun-deok gave up his regret and moved on.

“I was thinking about supplying supplies, so I asked, did you bring enough water purification bottles?”

“yes. We have brought in 100 machines and will soon add 100 more.”

After hearing the answer, Choi Yun-deok nodded with a bright face.

“What a relief! “It was harder to find clean water than it was to find good alcohol!”

As the Joseon army crossed over to Liaodong, the biggest problem was securing drinking water.

Unlike Joseon, in Liaodong, muddy water was more common than clear water.

Of course, there were rivers and wells suitable for drinking water, but it was not enough for hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses.

Of course, the Joseon army, which knew about this through the Joseon army cavalry that had been roaming around the Liaodong border, had prepared a water purification frame.

The water purification frame created by Hyang to prevent the outbreak of water-borne infectious diseases in the early days of Gyeongjang shone once again in this war.

Unless the water is completely rotten, the water purification machine turns turbid water into clear water. In front-line units, under the supervision of a military doctor, the water that passed through the purification tank was boiled, cooled, and then supplied to the soldiers. As a result of these efforts, the Joseon army was able to reduce losses due to disease as much as possible.

* * *

After completing the handover two days later, Choi Yun-deok led the sufficiently rested soldiers and departed for Daereung River.

“Please move to the rear.”

“Don’t worry. “I wish you good luck.”

“Thank you.”

After lightly expressing his gratitude, Choi Yun-deok got on his horse.

Soon after, a long line of Joseon troops left Liaodong Province and began moving west.

All the Jurchen people who were watching their procession nearby let out exclamations of exclamation.

“What a sight!”

“That’s right!”

However, the Jurchen people, who had some military knowledge, fell into fear.

“Most of the soldiers have guns and there are tons of artillery pieces!”

“Even the great Ming army had more spearmen than musketeers!”

“How is that possible?”

* * *

In the process of materializing the ‘grand strategy eastward’ and while preparing for this war, King Sejong and Hyang clearly established an all-out war system.

“Rather than just launching an all-out war with words, we must firmly establish a mass production system!”

The scent was immediately reported to King Sejong.

“To not only prepare for war but also to enrich the lives of the people, the first thing we need is to set standards!”

“Should we set standards?”

“yes! “We must first unify weights and measures!”

In this way, a system of length units was established based on Yeongjocheok (營造尺), and standards for other weights and measures were also established.

As the war progressed and large-scale steel mills were built, starting with Anju, the township set standards for the grade and quality of iron produced.

Through that process, grades for cast iron and wrought iron were created and quality standards were established.

And through strict management and supervision, maintaining it became a habit.

Thanks to this, regardless of which steel mill in Joseon it was made in, the quality could be maintained almost the same as long as the grade was the same.

Of course, during this process, the craftsmen of Area 51 suffered to death.

And the preparations that had been going on for a long time yielded results through this war.

The most representative example was the long guns carried by soldiers.

Only the barrel parts that required rifling were produced in large quantities at the armory in Area 51, while other parts were produced in blacksmith shops and carpentry shops throughout Joseon.

If it met pre-determined dimensions and quality standards, it could be purchased immediately, and all the armory had to do was assemble these parts into the barrel they made and create a finished product.

Of course, theory and practice were different, so there was a high defect rate and low productivity in the beginning.

However, craftsmen who saw the characteristics of the Joseon people, known for their excellent manual skills, and the taste of money coming in through military service, quickly lowered the defect rate and increased productivity.

This was the same for other weapons such as Eomsim-gap and helmet.

As in Hyang’s assessment, some parts of it reached the ‘level of the early industrial revolution’ and were created by Joseon’s industrial capabilities that reached a level beyond that, making neighboring countries evaluate it as a ‘wonder’.

* * *

The Joseon army departed from Liaodong Province and advanced westward as fast as possible.

“We must arrive at Dalinghe as quickly as possible and prepare!”

The Joseon soldiers were in a hurry to arrive as quickly as possible, but this was not an easy task.

Since ancient times, the Liaoxi region has had many swamps and wetlands, so much so that it was called Liaozhe (遼澤).

Therefore, I had to choose the dryest land possible to move, and of course my movement speed decreased.

“We are not the only ones facing these adverse conditions, but…”

Choi Yun-deok was thinking as positively as possible, thinking that the Ming army coming from the west would also be in a similar situation, but he still could not hide his worries.

“Tell the cavalry to scout as far as possible!”

“ancient!”

“And even if it’s difficult, let’s make more monks fly!”

“ancient!”

After all these fierce battles, the Joseon army arrived at Daling River two days before the Ming army was expected to arrive there.

“Good work. “You had a hard time responding to my urging.”

“Oh no.”

“No, I will definitely inform you of the efforts of the commanders and soldiers.”

Choi Yun-deok, who waved the carrot, then swung the whip.

“It will be difficult, but we have to get to work right away. According to the documents they left behind and our calculations, it looks like we will meet face to face in two days, but contrary to expectations, the Ming army may come as soon as tomorrow. Don’t forget that the trench lines and wire mesh walls must be completed as quickly as possible to reduce the sacrifice of soldiers.”

“yes!”

“And don’t forget that the cavalry and monks must not neglect scouting.”

“yes!”

According to the orders given by Choi Yun-deok, the Joseon army began to set up a defensive line.

However, even after the expected two days, the Ming army was not seen. Thanks to this, the Joseon cavalry was able to carry out reconnaissance even further.

And it was not until a week after the scheduled arrival of the Ming army that the Joseon army cavalry was able to discover the vanguard of the Ming army.

The Joseon army’s cavalry, hiding in the hills along the Ming army’s advance route, carefully observed the Ming army.

The cavalry commander, who was observing the Ming army procession through a telescope, tilted his head.

“Why are you guys like that?”

From the soldiers walking at the front, to the soldiers holding their military banners, and even to the generals on horses, it was obvious at a glance that they looked very tired.

The cavalry commander, who was once again examining the Ming army through a telescope, shook his head and muttered.

“Are those soldiers or sick people?”

The cavalry commander, who was shaking his head at the messed up situation of the Ming army, soon laughed bitterly.

“If everything else was like that, this battle would be very easy.”