It Became a Symbol of the Bronze Age - Chapter 354



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Episode 354. A Just War (1)

Starting with Yeonseo Daeboo, rumors about Asadal spread like wildfire.

As soon as he heard this news, Kang So-baek became angry.

“What the heck, what the heck is going on!”

The people have begun to turn away. The barbarians and merchants have long since turned away, and even the people of the country are wavering.

What is a country?

A nation is a place where people with spears, or soldiers, gather inside a castle. These people are distinguished from the barbarians living in the fields in one way.

It’s easy to recruit because it’s close to the castle.

That is, it is where the reservists live.

But are the hearts of these reserve forces moved?

This means that the army is wavering. Only then did Kang So-baek realize why they had not chosen a quick solution before the fall.

‘Trying to stop the conscription itself?’

Control public sentiment to prevent conscription.

This happened often in the Central Plains as well.

It was exactly the same when the Shang Dynasty was destroyed, and also when Jiang Xiaobo revolted against Gongsun Wuji.

However, Kang So-baek did not think that he would experience that. It was not a simple failure of self-objectification.

Unlike Gongsun Wuji, Jiang Xiaobai was a pretty good ruler, and won every war. Although he collected taxes heavily, he gave the country pride.

And with that pride, they secretly raised taxes and used that to start another war. 21st century historians call such a country a ‘war machine.’

A country exists for war, and without war, it cannot function.

Poongbaek knew well about this ‘war machine’.

Nowadays, there are no countries other than my country that can be called war machines, but the Seven Heroes of the Warring States period were all excellent war machines.

Among them, the Qin Dynasty accepted Legalism, devoted all its efforts to national development, and eventually won. However, the Qin Dynasty fell less than 40 years later.

The reasons for this are varied, but scholars see one reason as the failure of Legalism.

Legalism may have been good at making the country rich and strong, but it had no further goals.

They only value the development of the entire country, but neglect the development of each individual person.

That is why Asadal took advantage of this exact weakness. He took advantage of the feudal system and tied up the elite troops of the nobles on the front lines.

He took advantage of the Legalist tradition of hegemony to break the link between the ruling class and the people.

Kang So-baek felt happy when he saw this.

“Donggwak, how many troops do we have now?”

Donggwaka said.

“The cavalry led by the King number two thousand, and the chariots forty, six thousand. If we add those who protect the palace, the total number is ten thousand.”

This 10,000 is the number managed by Kang So-baek personally.

Usually, a big lord leads about 3,000 men, so this is about three times the number of lords, and at the same time, it is the minimum number of troops to guard the embassy.

That is, this is the entire force of Imchi, which is currently in summer.

But that’s not all.

First of all, it’s a matter of time.

If fall came like this, we could conscript those who had finished farming. Then 80,000 people would be easy.

There is also the question of context.

Even if it wasn’t fall, if the enemy crossed the river, they would have been able to conscript immediately. No matter how important the farming was, you couldn’t farm when the enemy was right in front of you.

So… if the time or situation is right, Kang So-baek’s 10,000-man army will grow to 80,000 in an instant.

But is that still the case now?

‘Public sentiment is in turmoil.’

In this situation, it is uncertain whether the citizens will respond to the conscription. There have been frequent cases of citizens who sensed the situation and left the castle without returning.

“Donggwak-ah. I believe you know how difficult the situation is. If things continue this way, our future is bleak.”

“…Yes.”

“We need to gather the troops right now. Can you stop farming for a moment and conscript them?”

Conscription not only means gathering troops, but also has the effect of suppressing rumors. This means that the entire province will be governed by military law. For a 21st century person, this is something that would bring to mind the word ‘martial law.’

Donggwaka said.

“However, it is also farming season now. If we force conscription at this time…”

“Okay.”

Kang So-baek passed away.

“So, what is going on with the conscription of people other than those engaged in farming?”

“For now, the recruitment of refugees is underway.”

These are not people who ‘came down because of the war’, but rather people who ‘ran away in fear before the war broke out’. They are not farming now, so they are suitable for conscription.

“How many people?”

“If we conscript only physically fit men, 5,000 men will be easily possible.”

First, we used up the surplus population.

“And next come the mercenaries.”

“A mercenary.”

“Yes. Recently, the merchants’ workload has decreased significantly, and since they travel through rough terrain, they are very skilled in combat. If we conscript them, we can easily make another 5,000. However…”

“Don’t even bring up money talk.”

Kang So-baek said.

It was not meant to be like Yeongjo telling Park Mun-su, ‘Conscript yourself without money!’

“I will empty my private property.”

“Wow, are you talking about the king?”

“If I lose my capital, what good will all the jade, gold, and silk be? You may take everything except what I need for my immediate war!”

Kang So-baek declared so.

***

Full-blown summer.

Asadal entered the midterm evaluation.

“Everyone is great.”

Hanho said so.

It was worth it.

“The navy firmly seized the enemy’s territory and crushed them, the cavalry of the steppe tore down numerous signal fires, and the cavalry of Asadal occupied many villages, bringing the savages under our control and shaking the hearts of the people.”

Here, the word ‘wild man’ does not mean a barbarian, but rather refers to a person who lives outside the city walls, the opposite of a citizen.

The people of the Central Plains call the Jin yak barbarians not barbarians but Rong yik yi barbarians.

“And this means that the South and the North will soon be divided.”

In terms of public sentiment and information transmission, the South no longer has any influence over the North. They probably don’t even know about the movements of the Asadal Army.

“This is a really good thing.”

“Yes. The enemy will not know the location of our troops, nor even where they are crossing.”

By cutting off news from the North in this way, our military is effectively in hiding.

A surprise attack does not necessarily mean moving troops quickly and rushing in.

If you block the enemy’s eyes and ears and suddenly rush in to an unexpected place, that is a true surprise attack. So, Asadal has all the foundations for a surprise attack on my country.

“Now, after we finish organizing the areas north of Gyehyeon and Jesu, we can head south.”

Hanho’s hands were shaking slightly as he spoke. First of all, it was a health issue. Hanho was over 70 years old, and he was not old enough to do something like this.

Even though he is serving in the rear rather than directly leading the troops, it is still incredibly stressful to personally travel this far and command the troops.

But Hanho’s trembling hands now cannot be said to be only due to old age and suffering.

“In my previous battles, I couldn’t get past the enemy.”

“Yes, we were allies of my country.”

“But now it’s different. We can go beyond the Jesu and head towards Imchi. If we do that… we can finally connect the Naeminbu to Asadal by land.”

Here, the story of the Naeminbu came up after a long time.

What are the 5,000 troops of the Ministry of National Defense doing now?

It’s simple.

Stay still.

And standing still doesn’t necessarily mean ‘doing nothing’. In war, troops are often deterrents simply by ‘standing still’.

The Ministry of Justice was exactly like that.

‘Bongnae, the center of the Naeminbu, is less than 200km from Imchi.’

So, just by ‘standing still’, they can easily get on Imchi’s nerves.

Besides, it’s not like this is all it does.

They maintain the port and support Asadal’s navy. The blockade of Jesu would have been impossible without the cooperation of the Ministry of the Interior.

So, it is safe to say that they are faithfully performing their role of constantly confusing the enemy and dispersing military concentration.

Hanho evaluated it.

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“The fortress has been completed, the signal fire has been destroyed, and the limbs have been tied up… It’s time for Asadal to start a full-scale battle. Where did it start… Where, Poongbaek?”

I answered Hanho’s question.

“It’s the country of Bi and the country of Go. Now, they too will open the gates and rush out.”

***

The countries of Bin and Go appear in one line or so in the Spring and Autumn Annals. To give a rough explanation:

The two countries were located between Eastern Jin and Yan. Then, as Jin expanded, it swallowed up Holadang.

But this time, history is a little different.

The countries of Binara and Go were conquered by the country of Je.

And now, Binara.

“Those… cavalrymen, what the heck?”

After my country annexed the country of Bi, the person who had made great achievements was appointed as a lord there.

The Biseong Daeboo is of a much higher rank than the Yeonseo Daeboo who ran away a while ago. While the Yeonseo Daeboo was given the territory of the distant barbarians as a fief, the Biseong Daeboo was given the castle of the Bi nation as a fief.

And he was going crazy now.

“How can the enemy’s forces be right before our eyes!”

He didn’t move much even though he had heard news that the enemy had arrived at Gyehyeon a while ago.

I haven’t even seen the liver. You shouldn’t tie it up like the great men who went to Lu or Song.

They could see the liver because it was far from the battlefield. On the other hand, the Biseongdaebu had the enemy right in front of them, so there was nothing they could do about the liver.

Rather, it would be more accurate to say that he was unable to move.

The enemy’s army was no joke in terms of size, and they destroyed all the signal fires and such in the blink of an eye.

So, the Biseongdaebu also planned to somehow hold out in the castle until fall and then conscript the army to fight against them.

But now?

That became impossible.

-Hey buddy, have you tried this sugar?

-They really are going to kill me.

Asadal’s exchanges with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were virtually halted after the war. Therefore, they distributed the remaining sugar and cloves to the people of their own country for local supply.

-Is it really delicious?

-Stop eating! If I sell this, I’ll make money!

-Long live Asadal! Asadal!

Thanks to that, the people now praise Asadal more than their own country, and have driven out Yeonseo Daeboo.

Even the land of Yan, which had been subjugated for quite some time, was like that, so there was no need to even mention the land of Bi, which had been subjugated for only a few years.

‘I can’t waste any more time.’

Until now, the Biseongdaebu has been keeping a close eye on things. Thinking, “Can I join Asadal’s side?”

And, the judgment of the current situation is exactly the same as that of the Yeonseo Daebu a few days ago. If you stick to Asadal, you will not be able to do anything.

Of course, Asadal will give them some kind of ‘compensation’, but it will not be as a great lord ruling the region… it will be as a mere vassal’s domain.

‘I can’t stand seeing that sight.’

These people are feudalists to the core, and they cannot even imagine losing their family and fiefdom. After assessing the situation, the great general of Bisung finally got off his heavy haunches and opened the city gates with 30 chariots, or 3,000 men.

The destination is Gonaara.

The great generals of Go would probably think similarly to him, so if we combine the armies of the two countries, there would easily be 6,000 men.

If they make a surprise attack on the enemy staying in Gye-hyeon and at the same time join the army of Gongsun Seop-bong in the castle, the enemy will be attacked from the front and rear.

Even though their numbers are half, if they are attacked from the front and rear, the area of ​​the front line will increase by that much… so it’s a fight worth fighting. At least, isn’t it better than sitting still and waiting for your balls to be cut off?

It wasn’t long after the army was brought out like that.

Five days at most.

however.

“…What the hell are those things!”

As soon as they turned the hill, they encountered the cavalry force of Gunmu waiting there.

Of course I know that Asadal’s cavalry force is strong. But why are they here and not in Gyehyeon?

This is like a spell.

But in fact, there is no such thing as witchcraft.

First of all, transmitting information at the speed of light is not a privilege of modern people. They also transmit information at the speed of light using signal fires. However, this is paralyzed.

Then the next fastest one is the cavalry, which has also been happily captured and beaten by the steppe cavalry for a long time.

Next are the feet.

In particular, information transmission through refugees and merchants is likely to be effective.

They are naturally slower than cavalry.

That is, among the northern information transmission mediums in my country at the moment, there was nothing faster than Asadal’s cavalry.

“First, fight! I mean fight!”

The Biseongdaebu sent the tanks forward to fight a battle worthy of being called a battle.

“What are these? Why is the formation like this?”

As soon as he saw the head of the soldier leading the tank fall off when Geonmu playfully swung his sword while passing the tank diagonally, his momentum was quickly broken.

At that point, when the five chariots were destroyed, an experienced man among the soldiers came running. The Biseongdaebu was filled with anticipation. Is there a way to overcome this?

“Let us surrender.”

…what he said was surrender.

The sage father said.

“Surrender! How can that make sense! If we just turn back here, the existence of Binara will be over!”

“Then what, are we going to die here? It is impossible to fight the enemy in the current situation! If this were a narrow valley, the shock power of the tanks would be enough to deal with the enemy’s cavalry. But what about now?”

Saga spoke of the current state of affairs.

“The formation is a mess right now. The tanks are all out in front and the infantry is stuck behind! We advanced with the tanks in front and the infantry following!”

This isn’t exactly a ‘mistake’. It’s the way to do it. It’s the least tiring.

The basic rule of the infantry is to move in a less tiring manner in normal times, and to move the troops when the enemy is seen, so that the formation of ‘infantry protecting tanks’ is established.

But now that this was a surprise attack during a march, they had no time to get into formation.

“And look at their armor! They are all heavy cavalry. They are probably the proud cavalry of Asadal, and they are veterans of chariot warfare, having fought against the chariots of the Yan state on the grasslands in the past! If we had the proud pikemen of our country, that would be different, but right now they are all gathered on the front lines of the Lu or Song states, and there are no proper pikemen, right?”

The nobleman gritted his teeth at the words that were so logical. It was wrong from the start.

Rather, when Asadal first arrived in front of Gyehyeon, he should have led the army out. He had been sulking, saying, “The enemy has more numbers now, but we will have more in the fall!” Now, he was shaking hands with them.

And then, in the midst of all this, a rustling sound was heard from behind.

“Kkiyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

The light cavalry and chariots of the plains led by Deulguljurak. They were also the ones hiding behind a suitable hill.

If it were North China, there would be plenty of places to hide cavalry in this area surrounding Yeonsan.

As soon as I saw it.

“Surrender! Surrender!”

They all raised their hands, without exception.

That day, Asadal achieved the feat of capturing all of the enemy’s bronze weapons and 20 chariots without even a single battle. The commander of the Biseongdae murmured.

“At least… Gona-ra shouldn’t have to go through this.”

“Huh, what are you talking about?”

Hearing those words, Damdeok, the youngest leader of the Gaemamusa Corps and son of Poongbaek, smiled brightly.

“Go was already taken. I liberated Go two weeks before coming here.”

“What?”

“Look here.”

The chief priest couldn’t help but frown when he saw the object Damdeok was handing him. There was a drum with the word “go” written on it.

“The Go people discovered our army a little early. And they hurriedly fled to the castle.”

“So you’re saying that there was a siege?”

“no.”

Damdeok shook his head.

“The gate won’t open?”

The people of Go took advantage of the gap in the city gates while the soldiers were out and when they saw the returning Go troops, they simply closed the gates.

“The Go forces that were unable to enter my castle surrendered immediately.”

The sage thought it was fortunate.

But there is someone who is inferior to you.

Wouldn’t it be better to surrender after fighting anyway than to come out of the castle without understanding the situation and be abandoned by the people without even putting up a fight?

But other people’s opinions were different.

“We’re finished too.”

“why?”

“Isn’t that what our last name is?”

just now.

It was clear that the wind called public sentiment, which determines victory or defeat on the battlefield, was blowing in the direction of Asadal.

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