Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 801
Episode 801: Bloody Battle in the Jungle (7)
While Lee Jing-ok was organizing a reinforcement unit consisting mainly of military-type wagons and Bigyeokjincheonroe Japanese-style firebox units and sending them to the vanguard, the commanders of the Messika Army were listening to the news brought by the messenger.
“Good work. “Join the other warriors in the main camp.”
“yes.”
After sending out the messenger, Ab Zfu Achatsuku Okan, the general commander of the Messica Army, looked back at his subordinate commanders.
“It seems like the Korean warriors arrived sooner than we expected. “What should I do?”
When Admiral Ahn Sang-soo met Montezuma I, the admiral introduced himself as ‘the naval admiral of the Korean Federal Empire.’
In a situation where both sides could not communicate, the Messicans began to refer to the empire as Daehan.
Although it was a coincidence, it was the Messians who found the closest answer.
The subordinate commanders could not immediately answer Okan’s question.
Many of them were survivors of the bloody battle of Tenochtitlan and those who survived the curse.
They could not give an easy answer because they were the ones who experienced and survived the empire’s terrifying firepower.
In the end, the first person to speak was one of those who had never experienced combat at the time.
“According to the messenger’s report, the number of Korean warriors does not exceed 2,000. “The number of our warriors now exceeds 40,000, so wouldn’t it be a good idea to join forces?”
Survivors countered the belligerent remarks calling for a battle.
“The problem is their weapons. “Their weapons enable one warrior to do the work of more than ten men.”
“I agree. “Their weapons are the problem.”
Warlike commanders opposed the survivors’ opposition.
“So are you going to turn your back and run away? “If we leave here, it will be Tenochtitlan.”
“If we show our bad side, the Tlaxcaltecs will attack us!”
“you’re right!”
As the militants raised their voices, the survivors also raised their voices.
“We know full well that Tenochtitlan is right behind us! But it’s foolish to insist on fighting unconditionally!”
“Tlax Caltech? “Compared to those great warriors, they are nothing!”
While the militants and survivors raised their voices and fought, the prudentists who had been watching quietly moved.
“We also heard about their weapons. Tenochtitlan and its vicinity are open areas. “Maybe that’s why it showed such power?”
“huh? “What does that mean?”
“From what I heard in Tenochtitlan, I believe their weapons are similar to powerful bows or catapults. Isn’t it?”
“Hmm…”
In response to the cautious question, Okan and the survivors looked back on their memories for a moment and nodded.
“I guess you could say they are similar.”
“Definitely….”
The cautious group weighed in on the reactions of Okan and the survivors.
“The bow doesn’t do much in that jungle. “It’s useful in hunting or small-scale battles, but doesn’t it actually put you behind in a big battle?”
“That’s right…”
Okan nodded.
In a battle where large armies on both sides of the Pia gathered together, the bow had the role of inflicting damage to the enemy by firing large quantities from a long distance.
But it wasn’t easy in the jungle.
Even if they were fired in large quantities, the jungle trees became a natural barrier.
That wasn’t all. In a jungle filled with lush trees, close combat was bound to occur naturally, and bows were vulnerable to close combat.
Seeing Okan’s positive response, the cautiousists gained momentum.
“If their weapons are like powerful bows, they won’t be as effective in the jungle. So we’re taking advantage of that.”
The survivors again raised a counterargument to the words of the cautiousists.
“Of course you can. But their weapons are very powerful. “If you do it wrong, you can suffer great losses.”
Although they were still opposing, the survivors’ spirit had waned slightly.
In response to the survivors’ opposition, prudentialists pointed out a problem.
“We are aware of the problem. If you do it wrong, it can cause great damage. But consider this. This is the first battle. If you avoid battle and show your back from the first battle, the morale of your warriors will drop significantly. No, they will look at us funny. “You have to consider that many of the Jaguar warriors and lesser warriors came from slaves.”
“….”
Both the militants and the survivors fell silent with serious expressions upon the criticisms of the prudentists.
* * *
The points made by the prudentialists were reality.
The lower-level warriors of the Mesica army were primarily commoners graduated from Telpochkali (Military School in Mesica). However, frequent wars of conquest led to the exhaustion of soldiers, and the Messicans used captive slaves as soldiers.
Of course, a rebellion could occur, so officer-level prisoners were used as sacrifices.
If you accumulated merit on the battlefield, you were promoted from slave to commoner. If you accumulated more merit, you were promoted to jaguar warrior and provided with land and slaves.
In response to this compensation from the Messicans, the slave soldiers showed a strong will to fight, and the Messicans pushed more slaves into the army.
The problem was that this policy was slowly starting to show problems.
As more and more Jaguar warriors emerged, they began to unite into one force.
The commoners and nobles of Mesica could rise to the level of eagle warrior, but the jaguar warrior was the limit for soldiers from slaves.
The problem was the number.
They were Jaguar warriors who had suddenly become the core of the Messika army.
That is why prudentialists mentioned this issue.
If they retreated immediately without fighting, there was a good chance that the Jaguar Warriors would change their minds.
* * *
“Of course, you can fight, lose, and retreat. But in that case, the number of jaguar warriors will also be reduced, so it can be controlled.”
Okan and the commanders, regardless of faction, all nodded to the cautiousists’ further explanation.
In the end, Okan made a decision.
“It would be a good idea to stick together first. But you shouldn’t use all your might. Let’s just push in about 1/3 and look at their strengths and weaknesses. And even if they are defeated, they do not retreat right away. We do our best to tie their feet. “Call the messengers.”
“yes.”
When the messengers arrived, Okan gave them a mission.
“Immediately go to other units and tell them that Korean warriors are coming here. And tell him to come here as quickly as possible.”
“yes.”
Okan, who had sent out the messengers with a mission, looked at the commanders.
“Then let’s figure out how to fight them.”
* * *
About half an hour (about an hour) after the end of the first battle, the native warriors who had entered the jungle returned once again and announced the enemy’s approach.
“How many enemies?”
In response to Gwon Ahn’s question, the native military officer and the native warriors who served as interpreters talked for a long time. The native military teacher, who ended the conversation by repeatedly nodding his head, reported to Gwon Ahn.
“They say at least thousands.”
“At least thousands….”
“I couldn’t check properly because the trees were so thick, but they say it’s at least thousands.”
“Okay. great job. Then tell them to prepare for battle.”
“yes.”
After finishing the conversation, Gwon An gave orders to his subordinate officers.
“Check your preparations again.”
“Yes, Nari.”
As the subordinate officers who received the order were scattered in all directions, Gwon An called a messenger and gave orders.
“Tell the artillery unit that the enemy is approaching again.”
“Yes, Nari.”
Gwon An, who sent the messenger, sighed lightly.
“Whoa~. “It’s fortunate that reinforcements arrived in time.”
The unit that followed Gwon Ahn immediately sent reinforcements, and an additional heavy weapons unit under Lee Jing-ok’s orders arrived.
As the number of troops increased, the defense of the vanguard became more solid.
The formation, shaped like an arrowhead aimed at the jungle, was able to reinforce the flanks that had been problematic in the first battle.
The advance route, which was like the body of an arrow, had troops deployed on the left and right, ready to block the enemy’s diversionary attack.
With the defense strengthened in this way, Gwon An heaved a sigh of relief.
Although his face looked much more relaxed than in the first battle, Gwon Ahn never relaxed.
“Don’t forget to fire the new weapon as soon as I give the order.”
“Yes, Nari.”
Gwon An, who gave instructions again to the soldier in charge of contacting the artillery unit located in the rear, again held the rifle in his hand and shouted in a loud voice.
“Never pull the trigger before the whistle blows!”
“Yes, Nari!”
While listening to his subordinates’ answers, Gwon Ahn put a whistle in his mouth. At that moment, soldiers’ shouts erupted from the front.
“It’s the enemy!”
At the shouts of the soldiers, Gwon Ahn climbed onto the driver’s seat of the carriage. At the sight of Messika warriors emerging from the jungle beyond the clearing in front of him, Gwon Ahn blew his whistle as hard as he could.
Beep!
Ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-tang!
As soon as the whistle sounded, the soldiers pulled the trigger.
* * *
The battle that lasted until the sun tilted to the west was literally a bloody battle.
Unlike the first battle, the large-scale Messica army continued to push forward due to its numbers.
Thanks to this, we were able to push in right in front of the conquering army’s trench lines several times.
What saved the Mesicas from the danger of their defense line being breached were the boxcars and artillery located right behind the vanguard.
Every time a soldier under the order of Gwon An fired a gun, the guns created a wall of fire in the jungle in front of the defense line.
While the barrage of artillery blocks the additional forces of the Mesica army, the armored fire wagons and armored light wagons positioned at the trench line dispose of the Messica warriors who were right in front of them.
A small number of Messica warriors broke through the wall of shells and bullets and jumped into the conquering army’s trench line to engage in close combat, but were dealt with by the officers’ single-shot guns.
In the end, the Mesica people, suffering huge losses, disappeared into the jungle again.
“There are some losses in this battle. “After all, there is no business in cramming a limited number of people into a limited space?”
Lee Jing-ok could not hide his regret after hearing the report that the vanguard unit had suffered a considerable loss of life.
“Just like the old Ming Dynasty guys, those who push with their numbers are very disgusting!”
Lee Jing-ok, who was tired of thinking about the battle he had fought against the Ming Dynasty in Liaodong, immediately began issuing the following orders.
“This battle has caused damage to the vanguard unit, so we will replace the unit! And in this weather, there could be an epidemic, so cremate the bodies right away!”
“yes!”
“Don’t forget the report!”
“yes!”
* * *
Meanwhile, Okan, who was observing the battle from a distance, gave orders to his subordinate commanders.
“As expected, it is impossible to fight head-on. “I’ll do my best to hold back.”
“yes.”
Afterwards, the Messica army chose a method similar to modern guerrilla warfare.
The Messika army, divided into dozens of units, scattered throughout the jungle and began harassing the conquering army.
The Messica army, ambushed in the jungle, either killed the indigenous warriors of the conquering army who were scouting or attacked the moving soldiers of the conquering army and fled.
Every time there was a surprise attack by the Messika Army, the conquering army had to stop moving and the pace of advance gradually slowed down.
In the end, Lee Jing-ok made a decision.
“Prepare the raiders.”
“Yes General!”
Soon after, a group of imperial special forces and native warriors escaped from the conquering army camp and melted into the jungle.
The imperial troops who had melted into the jungle had compound bows in their hands, and their traditional weapons were filled with swords.