It Became a Symbol of the Bronze Age - Chapter 355



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Episode 355. A Just War (2)

For the past three months.

Asadalgun built a fortress around the high fortress of Gyehyeon and began construction to block the river flowing through Ubukpyeong. Looking at the sight, Gongsun Seopbung sighed.

“This is driving me crazy.”

Gongsun Wuji saw his enemies building forts like that, but he did not interfere much. It was only natural.

Gyehyeon’s soldiers number only 7,000, and the enemy has 30,000. It would be crazy to open the gate and leave here.

That’s why Gongsun Seopbong held on and held on, thinking, ‘Reinforcements will come,’ but… reinforcements did not come.

Rumor has it that Asadal mobilized the navy to completely cut off the Jesu. And surprisingly, the source of this information is Asadal.

-The reinforcements can’t come! We cut off the supply!

-The reinforcements of Kang So-baek are coming by cutting off the water supply? It is impossible unless you are a water soldier who can walk on water!

…In that state, it would be difficult to cross even my own country.

And it’s hard to see that statement as a lie.

It was the same even then.

“The river… is completely blocked.”

Originally, Gye-hyeon was a defensive stronghold. Behind it was a huge Yeon-san Mountain, and below it was Yongding-he. From the enemy’s perspective, there were few attack routes, and it was easy to supply through Yongding-he.

That is why, even in the previous Je-Yeon War, Asadal and Je did not choose a siege war. They attacked Je and defeated the main force of Yan that was returning, and naturally took the castle.

However, Asadal’s civil engineering skills are now beyond that.

As soon as they arrived, they started cutting down the trees around them and started making something.

In Asadal, they use a pulley device called ‘Geojunggi’ and a hydraulic device called Milmak, which was recently created.

He gained a reputation among the surrounding people and received support from the Central Plains people, who were skilled in civil engineering, so he was able to quickly build a dam on the large river.

Therefore, the path to Ganggil is blocked, and Gyehyeon is in a situation where his hands and feet are tied. It is not difficult to know the opponent’s goal here.

“I plan on completely drying you up and killing you.”

Asadal’s army has 30,000 men, and the army here has 7,000 men.

Even if it was a siege, it wouldn’t be strange if they surrendered right away. If this wasn’t a fortress called Gyehyeon but just a castle, they would have raised their hands and left the castle gates long ago.

No, it’s not like it didn’t happen.

“Wouldn’t it be better to surrender?”

At this time, there was considerable public opinion within the castle in favor of surrender.

Honestly, I’m glad it’s ‘public opinion’.

The number of soldiers was several times greater, and the enemy was Asadal, which was second to none in siege capabilities… Furthermore, even the public sentiment had turned towards Asadal.

“Now that the lord has been defeated, the army of the lords will not be able to come. Asadal has naturally ousted the lords and has secured the hearts of the people, so it will be difficult to see the volunteer army rising up for us. If this continues, we will all die!”

“No, not yet.”

Gongsun Sheepbong shook his head. He was a talented person, and even in such a difficult situation, he somehow managed to control his temper.

And there is always only one way.

Instilling hope through the mouths of trustworthy people. Since Gongsun Seopbong was a ‘trustworthy person,’ all he had to do was to instill hope.

“Biseong and Gosung. Reinforcements will arrive from that area soon. If you send about 5,000 men, we will be able to surround the enemy from the front and rear and attack them.”

“But hasn’t it been quiet until now?”

“Up until now, we’ve been keeping quiet, but by now, the two regions have probably changed their minds and are starting to attack Asadal. If we join forces with them, we’ll be able to overcome this crisis.”

Gongsun Seopbong’s words sounded quite convincing.

But that was only for a moment.

“Excuse me, they are doing something strange?”

“Something strange?”

After hearing the report, Gongsun Seopbung looked outside the castle.

They were ‘building up’ something.

“That’s…”

“It’s a tank!”

What they were building up were about 50 tanks.

And that’s not all.

Ding ding ding!

The Asadal soldiers struck bronze drums in front of him.

“Kiyaaaa! Do you really like Jungwonbuk?”

Gongsun Seopung fell into despair when he saw that sight.

The drum that commands the battlefield with its ears, and the tank that leads the battlefield with its eyes.

The fact that those two things were in Asadal’s hands only told us one thing.

“Go and Binara… have already been eaten!”

***

Asadal took away all the weapons of the Sawa and the other chieftains and left them there in a neat pile on the ground.

What if we get ambushed from behind?

How can you make a surprise attack without a tank or a horse?

A monk is a job that only appears in Baldur’s Gate. In reality, going into battle with both fists clenched is suicidal.

Of course, I left the sword behind. However, its owners were not the Sah and the great officials of my country.

“Okay, I’ll give you this weapon.”

“You mean… to us?”

“There is no need to speak politely. Aren’t you a legitimate vassal of another country, one that was annexed by my country?”

At those words, a man who had lost his title as a vassal and become a mere lord after being defeated in a war with his former country spoke.

“Are you really… giving me back my country?”

“Of course. We have come only to help our brother state, the Zhou state, and to attack the state of Qi, which has disregarded the duty of a feudal lord. We have no desire to take over the lands of you, our brother subjects.”

Asadal’s justification is to annex the emperor and his country. He would rather not hear the neighboring countries say, “That bastard, he might not be the emperor.” after needlessly provoking the small countries.

In that sense, releasing this small country will have a significant effect in terms of justification…

That is, from the perspective of legitimacy.

It also has practical effects.

Once we take over these two countries, we will soon be on the border with the Eastern Jin Dynasty. The Spring and Autumn Period was basically about the Yuan and Jiao factions, so if we continue like that, all sorts of problems will arise.

However.

“I will give you these weapons, so never again lose the rights granted to you by our brother Zhou.”

It would be different if we completely included them in Asadal.

In the midst of the current war, they will serve as a proud breakwater.

Even thinking about the aftermath of the war, it would be much safer for Asadal to have a few small countries in between rather than having a border with Dongjin.

At least in the meantime, we can prepare defensive measures, and furthermore, we can even argue, ‘Jin, why are you messing with a small country? Are you crazy?’

Besides, Asadal’s capacity to swallow up all of this is ambiguous. If you just eat Gyehyeon and Imchi, it feels like Asadal’s population will almost double?

If we just blindly include small countries with different political orders here, there is a high chance that we will get a headache.

This is a strategic point.

Finally, from a strategic perspective.

“And I have a favor to ask of you.”

“What is it?”

“We will soon go to war with Imchi, and for that, stability in the rear is important. And near this Taehang Mountain Range, in addition to Go and Bi, there are many small countries and regions that are too small to be called states. These places are also ruled by the false emperor, Kang So-baek’s lackeys. If they protect my castle like an iron castle surrounded by boiling water, Asadal will suffer great losses.”

“…I guess so.”

“However, if you help, it will be different. If the two lords of Go and Bi can persuade those around them, won’t those who are suffering under the great men who follow the false emperor of my country rise up and open the city gates and surrender?”

“Hmm, then.”

The two lords asked.

“What happens to us after the war?”

“You will become a member of the Central Plains Heavenly Kingdom bestowed by Heaven… that is, the Central Plains Heavenly Kingdom of Humanity.”

“The land of benevolence and the source of heaven…!”

I think it’s a good name.

***

When the Zhou Dynasty destroyed the Shang Dynasty, it did not do anything to pacify it. It simply demoted the Shang king to a vassal of the Song Dynasty and made him its subject.

And my country followed this example well. After Jiang Xiaobai ate the qi and rain, he made the local lords into great men, the great men into servants, and the servants into commoners.

So these lords were alive.

-Go Nara drove out the great general of Je Nara and regained control of the castle!

-What?

-Brother, we need to move too! In my warehouse, there is something that can be called a tank, even though it is a bit old.

-Isn’t that a sled?

-If you ride a saddle cart with a bow and arrow, it will be a chariot. Asadal’s forces are close by now, so if you respond from inside, it will be quick!

As soon as they heard that the lords of Go and Bi had been ‘liberated’, they rose up like wildfire.

‘That’s the method used by the original history monster.’

And that’s not all the good news.

-We too, in the name of the Emperor, want to fight against the false Emperor of our country!

Those who were liberated sided with Asadal.

These people were Sawa lords until a few years ago, so they have some military capabilities, Han Ho said.

“Your morale is high, but the inside of the castle is still noisy and there are many remnants. Furthermore, it has been a long time since you took up arms.”

“…Are you saying that it is not enough to go into battle?”

“The front is not the only battlefield. If the rear is in turmoil, the friendly forces at the front will lose strength. So, I would like to ask you to stabilize the rear.”

The request was readily accepted. After all, the restored lords also knew that it would be difficult for them to rush to the battlefield right away.

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“Don’t worry about the rear. As a member of the Inui Central Heavenly Kingdom, we will never forget our duty to Asadal.”

“Thank you. I will trust only you.”

In this way, Asadal relieved himself of all worries about the rear and prepared for a full-scale siege of Gyehyeon.

***

-Listen, Gongsun Seopbong. There is no chance for you to win now. Are you really not going to surrender?

To this, Seopbung replied.

-We can still fight!

…Honestly, I’m surprised. Even though it’s gotten to this point, you’re still controlling your temper.

‘Is this really Gongsonseobong?’

One of the six people who helped Jiang Xiaobai revive his country was none other than Gongsun Xiubeng. (Unfortunately, Bao Shu was not included in this group. The historical Duke Huan of Yuan also tried to make Bao Shu a meritorious person… but it was not smooth sailing. He may be a good teacher, but he was not a good ruler.)

And as his name suggests, Gongsun Seopbong retained a certain amount of power even in the midst of all this chaos.

“If we keep sieging like this, it’ll be difficult.”

Here, the issue of ‘getting harder’ is not a question of collapse.

The fall itself is possible. Asadal has gunpowder, old guns, and Onagers.

However, it is quite ambiguous to write this.

“Because we came in a hurry, we don’t have much machinery and gunpowder. If we use them here, the siege of Imchi will become difficult.”

In the end, the important thing is the inventory, and it’s not good to use up all your items here.

Besides, public opinion is well-controlled right now, so if you throw even a little shit at Gyehyeon, it could be the end of public sentiment.

This analogy is a bit strange, but… even if you kill 1,000 people during the war, the feeling you get from killing them with a weapon of mass destruction like poison gas and shooting them is different.

The latter is still ‘war!’ It feels like, but the former becomes a real nerd.

“You have to keep in mind that this is completely different from the previous Yan Dynasty battle.”

During the previous Je-Yeon War, Asadal laid siege to the East Hall of the Yoseo Corridor. It was more of a military facility than a castle, and there were few civilians there.

But this one is different.

“The central plains is a village ruled by a ruler holding a staff, and is called a county. The land where the head of the previous ruler was cut off and hung on a high pole by tying it to a thread to announce conquest is called a county.

In short, all counties are places where people live, and Gye-hyeon is also a county. This means that many civilians live there.

“The attack there is not an attack on the people, but an attack on the military. However, that Gye-hyeon is different. It is a castle with a population of 10,000 households, and if we throw shit there, the people’s hearts will completely turn away from us.”

The difference between Genghis Khan and other conquerors.

In general, ‘throwing corpses or feces’ is an attack tactic that has appeared many times throughout history. So why did only the Mongols get criticized?

It’s simple. Genghis Khan threw it not just at a fortress where enemy troops were gathered, but also at a castle where people lived.

What’s the difference between dropping a bomb on a ‘military base’ and dropping one on a ‘civilian residential area’?

Of course, it’s not just because Genghis Khan was particularly cruel.

The fact that he was a nomad probably played a part.

For nomadic peoples, ‘men = potential soldiers’, so killing potential soldiers was seen as killing two birds with one stone.

Unlike Mongolia, the distinction between soldiers and farmers was clear in Europe and the Central Plains at the time, so Genghis Khan was reviled as a mass murderer.

And this is also the case in the Central Plains during the Spring and Autumn Period.

Throwing feces into Gyehyeon, a city with a population of 10,000, is tantamount to killing all the people, and is an act of turning Asadal into Genghis Khan.

If Asadal were really like Genghis Khan and could lead hundreds of thousands of cavalry and conquer the Central Plains, then I don’t know… but would that be possible?

A guy who isn’t Genghis Khan imitates Genghis Khan?

Even if it succeeds, it’s an ending where you whine like in this country, saying, “No! Why is it so hard to rule the people of the Central Plains?”

If it fails, it’s back to Junggar.

In this situation, throwing shit is a handshake.

The excrement we throw will turn into the wrath of our enemies.

‘By the way, I didn’t think you’d surrender yet.’

Honestly, I thought they would surrender if I showed them the Go and Binara books… but the castle was still strong.

At this point, I too am curious. With the Go and Bi states gone, how on earth is Gongsun Xiubeng suppressing the discontent within the city?

‘Anyway, a fraud is a fraud…’

The Yuan Dynasty’s Guan-o advised, “Although Po-suk is excellent, fish cannot live in water that is too clear. So, appoint Seop-bung as prime minister.”

Of course, since Seop-bung died too quickly, the opening of the country to the West turned the country into a mess… In any case, it seems that Gwan-o saw Seop-bung as having similar abilities to himself.

‘I want to bring the author to Asadal too…’

But anyway, the important thing is to occupy Gyehyeon.

We must occupy Asadal without losing the people’s hearts, and at the same time without causing major damage to the army.

I’ve been waiting like that.

Woorung- Woorung.

Dark clouds are rising in the sky.

And when that time came.

I sent a message to the castle.

[Listen, Lord Gongson Seopbong. I have something to discuss with you. I wish to speak with you in person.]

Gongsun Seopbong of Seongan responded immediately.

[I will go out myself.]

So, a momentary meeting place was set up between the castle and the fortress. The sky was still gloomy.

***

Surprisingly, it is common for generals to meet and discuss just before a battle.

In Korean history, there is a record of Eulji Mundeok personally entering the enemy camp and talking to Woo Jung-moon, and in Western history, there is a record of Scipio and Hannibal meeting each other through interpreters right before the Battle of Zama.

“Are you Poongbaek?”

“That’s right. Are you the Gongson Seopbong?”

“…That’s right. You’re quite fluent in our language.”

“I’ll learn a little. But, I’ll use an interpreter for full-fledged conversations.”

“That would be nice.”

I first conveyed my greetings in my native language, and then brought along an interpreter. It was Gongsun Seopung who spoke first.

“Originally, the relationship between Asadal and my country was not bad. Your daughter Yeoreum and the king of my country married each other and strengthened their friendship. However, you have suddenly invaded us. What kind of strange behavior is this?”

…Hmm, even though we’ve come this far, it still starts with the theory of justification.

I could roughly guess his personality. Perhaps, his ability to control his anger was largely due to that kind of personality.

I answered.

“I have something to say. You were the first to try to arbitrarily control trade with Asadal, and didn’t you treat my daughter Yeoreum badly by confining her to the villa, as you said? Treating us like this and demanding that we continue to maintain the old relationship is nothing but the arrogance of our country.”

You guys started messing around first.

I added one more thing to that.

“Also, we are your friends, but that is not all. We are also brothers of the Zhou dynasty. And your lord has privately claimed to be the emperor and has disturbed the order of the Central Plains. As a brother of the Zhou dynasty, how can I just stand by and watch this?”

“That’s ridiculous. There is no one who doesn’t know that you, Asadal, don’t have to worry about the Zhou Dynasty’s feelings. Instead, how about following our new emperor instead of that false emperor? He never betrays those he likes.”

“…If the Emperor was really so kind, why is Posuk in Asadal? Surely, I believe he wouldn’t say something so outrageous as to say that we really kidnapped Posuk.”

“…Ugh.”

“Honestly, is this conversation even meaningful?”

I asked.

“I think this is a pointless conversation. We both know each other’s situation. Stop making pointless arguments and get straight to the point. Surrender.”

“Surrender? There’s no need to do that.”

Gongsun Seopbung pointed to the sky.

“It’s going to rain soon.”

“Vira…”

“Your navy is occupying the lower reaches of the Je River. However, if it rains, that won’t be possible. The Je River’s waters will overflow, and no matter how sturdy the ships are, it will be difficult for so many ships to anchor in the Je River’s harbor. They will probably retreat to the land of the Naei in Shandong. If that happens, the Je River you have blocked will be opened, and Imchi’s army will be able to arrive.

If you really wanted to take over Gyehyeon, you should have thrown the shit you were good at from the beginning instead of coming here to negotiate.”

“You know why I didn’t do that?”

“It’s public sentiment.”

I nodded.

“The moment we throw it into the castle where the people live, the people’s hearts will turn.”

This means that the all-out war I was so worried about is about to begin. Seopbung laughed.

“That’s right. We still have enough food to last. Of course, you can throw dung at the gates and open them. But if you do that, the people will turn away. No, I will make them turn away.”

“Well, you could do it. You were able to unite the castle with just a single drop of rain.”

I also looked up at the sky and said.

“So, the rain that will fall soon is your hope.”

“You may say so. At least, it is true that the rain has helped rally the soldiers inside.”

Yeah, the rain is nice.

But there is one problem.

“After the rain, the army of the Imchi will arrive. That may be possible. But you will not be here then.”

That’s not necessarily good for you, is it?

“We are not here?”

“exactly.”

I said to the flustered Seopbung.

“There is a dam we have built upstream of the river that flows to Gyehyeon where you are, and we also have a drainage ditch to drain the castle’s sewage, and our fortresses surround your castle. Imagine that it rains in the meantime.”

“…Huh?”

At that point, confusion spread across Gongsun Seopbong’s expression.

He seemed to have noticed it too.

“Are you saying that you’re going to flood the castle with water?”

I’m talking about the possibility of a water attack.

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