It Became a Symbol of the Bronze Age - Chapter 359



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Episode 359. The Unavoidable Battle (3)

Pachijijijijiji!

The sling of the old gun scraped and sparked. At its tip, a sharp blade was fired forward.

Kwajik!

“Kwaaak!”

Asadal’s cannon pierced through the center of the Golden Cavalry in an instant. Even though the armor could withstand the fragments of Asadal’s thunder, it was no match for the cannon.

However, the lords leading the cavalry of my country shouted steadfastly even in this situation.

“Don’t be afraid of the enemy’s old guns! They take a long time to reload! Now, let’s wipe out those old guns!”

“The greatest damage can be inflicted when the enemy crosses the river! Clear the enemy’s offensive!”

They didn’t stop charging.

The professional military class, the sa and daifu, were those who had been learning how to fight with spears and bows since childhood, so the military was their life itself.

They quickly changed course and aimed for the spot where Asadal’s old stores were crowded together, even stepping on the corpses of their comrades.

“Break down all the old stores!”

They swung their swords at the old cannons, cutting the strings or cutting the flesh of the loaded cannons. The cannons that had their flesh cut off while they were loading were immediately destroyed after drawing their empty bows.

“Mokpo-dae, don’t spare your shells and pour them out!”

“Gyeokmok, where did Gyeokmok go…?”

“Just throw it!”

Instead of using a pole, they simply set fire to Asadal’s thunder and fire itself and threw it, or pushed it with a burning cart.

Kwaaaaaaaang-!

Enemies who approached Asadal’s cart were struck by the exploding cart itself and fell down. Even their armor, which had withstood the shrapnel, could not stop all the shrapnel flying along with the cart.

They were literally ‘shattered’ or burned to ashes.

And in the meantime.

“How far have you crossed, Gaemamusadae?”

“About two dozen!”

“Formation!”

Gunmu shouted.

“Over there, we’re charging towards the enemy’s leader!”

As a cavalry commander, Geonmu had the authority to conduct independent operations without Hanho’s orders. Some of the Gaemamusa troop that crossed the river on the left side of the soldiers followed Geonmu’s command and charged toward the enemy lines.

“Put the crescent knife in!”

They raised their crescent-shaped swords, or moon swords, and aimed for the heads of their enemies. The enemies did not stay still either. They raised their spears. However.

“Kick the window!”

Asadal’s Gaemamusa-dae were masters of the moon sword without exception. They learned the moon sword technique from the Muye Dobo Tongji of Baek Dong-su, a Joseon Dynasty warrior who had been created (or copied) with Han Jin. After striking the enemy’s spears, they would circle the moon sword over their heads and aim for the necks of enemy cavalrymen. They would “pass by” enemy cavalrymen and harvest their heads.

This is why people usually refer to the moon as a ‘weapon that can defeat a spear’.

“Keuhuk!”

In a single clash, one enemy general and twelve of his men were killed, and the Gaemamusa cavalry suffered no casualties. It would be more appropriate to say that this was due to the difference in the bases of the two cavalry units, rather than the difference in the amount of training they had. Geonmu shouted with momentum.

“I cut off the godfather’s head!”

At that shout, the morale of the allies rose.

On the other hand, the soldiers who lost their commander, the cavalry, were confused. As is usually the case with most branches, the cavalry is a branch where the commander’s ability is most important.

Asadal took the moment when the godfather’s head was cut off as a starting point to lighten the mood.

“Don’t be stingy! Give it everything you have!”

Asadal poured all his weapons into preventing the appearance of the enemy, regardless of the number of old or new guns or wooden guns.

In that way, another enemy general was killed by a flying rock. Around that time, Asadal’s infantry also succeeded in crossing the river one by one and began to replace the Odosu soldiers.

One of the centurions was carrying eight shields on his head, probably to carry the shields of his panicked soldiers.

If he survives here, he’ll definitely get promoted.

“You guys, get your shields over there!”

“You guys this way!”

Chow stood in front of the river and placed the soldiers crossing it in the right places.

Upon receiving this order, the centurions immediately took up their shields and formed a phalanx.

In this way, Asadal took up battle formation one by one and blocked the enemy’s movement path. By then, the enemy’s attacks had also slowed down.

“Get out, get out!”

The surviving lords among the enemies quickly reorganized their battle lines and fled with the surviving cavalry.

At this, Chow shouted.

“The enemies are fleeing! It is our victory!”

At those words, the soldiers shouted loudly for victory.

***

We soon heard the results of the battle.

“600 enemy cavalry were wiped out.”

“Our army?”

“About 2,500 people… were killed. In addition, the old cannons, gunpowder, and tanks were practically useless.”

In the case of the old store, its durability was already half ruined due to the recent rainy season.

There, they were subjected to additional moisture while crossing the river, and they even crossed the river ‘with their bows tied to the bowstring’ for rapid fire, and were even subjected to concentrated enemy fire.

It’s more surprising that it doesn’t break.

The same was true of gunpowder.

Normally, the rule is to distribute gunpowder appropriately and shoot it, but the battle just now was not in that situation. If I had been lost in such complicated thoughts, the entire battle line would have collapsed in an instant. Asadal fired shells indiscriminately and even pushed the gunpowder cart itself.

“2,500 men, most of the machinery and gunpowder.”

Hanho felt sick.

But at the same time, his head made a different judgment. This was a trade-off worth making.

It is no exaggeration to say that the most dangerous of all army operations was the successful crossing of the river with only 2,500 casualties. Moreover, most of the victims were Odo soldiers.

Human life may not be of equal importance, but human life on the battlefield is of equal importance. The Odosu-byeong was only needed in the river crossing operation, but its role in the battle that will unfold will not be significant.

Therefore, by sacrificing the Odosu-byeong, the main force of the shield bearers was protected… and the enemy’s cavalry force was also destroyed to a considerable extent.

600 cavalry is by no means a small number. It is estimated that the total number of enemy cavalry that appeared was around 2,000, so this is a third of the number… During the battle, only three men, presumed to be lords, were killed.

This is the loss of three mid-level commanders, so there will definitely be a disruption in the cavalry force. In other words, Asadal has practically succeeded in crossing the river by preserving all of his army force by sacrificing all of his mechs, and it is no different from destroying about half of the enemy cavalry force.

So it was a fairly successful operation.

If there’s one thing that bothers me.

The other person will probably be thinking the same thing.

***

“You neutralized all of the enemy’s gunpowder and artillery?”

“Also, we destroyed over 2,000 enemy soldiers.”

“What about the friendly damage?”

“Three of our lords were killed… and 600 cavalry were lost.”

In a way, this was natural.

No matter how hard my country worked to develop cavalry, the origin of cavalry was Asadal.

The utility of Asadal’s throwing weapons was so great that even Asadal Duke Kang So-baek could not keep up with it.

There would also be differences in armament. Asadal’s iron cavalry was armed with stronger armor than the Golden Cavalry of the Central Plains.

‘We couldn’t even bring all the cavalry there.’

Kang So-baek honestly wanted to create more cavalry, but the Sawa and other great generals were strongly opposed to it.

-Aren’t cavalry the property of barbarians?

-Besides, cavalry can be sufficiently crushed by pikemen!

Actually, that’s probably not the important reason, since these people have been driving tanks their entire lives.

It would be difficult to learn new things, and it would not have been good for new people to take my place. That is why Kang So-baek had no choice but to create cavalry with young Sana and the great masters.

Therefore, if you add up all the mounted soldiers of the current country, it would be around 6,000, and out of that, excluding the paratroopers and the dismounted archers who shoot from horseback, it would be safe to say that the heavy cavalry capable of mounted combat is only 2,000 men commanded by Kang So-baek.

And now.

Of the 2,000 cavalrymen who were left, a third were lost, and three of their five commanders were killed.

“Three great men and 600 cavalry.”

Jiang So-baek could not calculate which would be more fatal: losing three of his generals or losing six hundred cavalrymen. Both were fatal.

But ironically enough… at the same time, I also felt like it was a worthwhile exchange.

‘If the biggest obstacle in war now is the enemy’s navy, the biggest obstacle in battle is the enemy’s machinery.’

Even if we assume that the Onagi siege gun is for siege use, the Mokpo and Nopo are weapons that can be used in close combat.

The fortress of Asadal, which is so firmly protected by these things, is so strong that it is difficult to guarantee victory even if several times as many troops are sent in.

Therefore, they successfully exchanged enemy machines with 600 cavalrymen. This does not mean the destruction of weapons alone.

If the number of weapons is reduced, the strategy naturally changes as well. In other words, my country has practically changed the enemy’s battle plan by sacrificing 600 cavalry.

Besides, they may have fewer cavalry, but they have more tanks. And their opponents have lost all of their tanks.

So it was a fairly successful operation.

If there’s one thing that bothers me.

The other person too.

I think you’re probably thinking the same thing.

***

As soon as Hanho crossed the river, he quickly ordered them to move.

“The soldiers are exhausted.”

“Still, we must move. After everyone has had enough to drink from this water well, tell them to fill their leather pouches with water.”

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Of course, if you just drink the water from the priest’s bowl, the water will change. That’s why the Asadal soldiers roughly purified the water using the charcoal they carried with them beforehand, or mixed it with Hongikju and drank it.

If that didn’t work, instead of drinking the river water directly, they dug a hole next to it with a shovel and drank the water that came out.

This will purify some of the water as it passes through the sand and dirt of the river. In any case, it’s better than just drinking it.

After about three hours, after making sure the soldiers had had enough water, Han Ho gave an order.

“The enemy’s main force is pikemen. So, you should stay as far away from the river as possible.”

Hanho also had experience using pikemen before. In his experience, pikemen are virtually invincible when fighting from the front, but are weak on the flanks.

“If the enemy attacks with the river as their side, or if we meet the enemy with our backs to the river… the end will be defeat.

After the signal fire went up, the enemy cavalry arrived in less than two days. This means that the enemy main force is not far from us. Let’s move as quickly as possible!”

Therefore, Han Ho quickly marched as far away from the river as possible and took the battle position. After a day, the soldiers were completely exhausted from the triple combo of construction -> crossing the river -> marching.

“If Kang So-baek comes in now, I won’t be able to even find his bones.”

Hanho said so.

Chow asked.

“Shall we have the soldiers build a fort?”

“…No. The soldiers are too tired for that. Besides, it would be difficult to build a fortress that could block the pikemen in just one or two days. If you build a fortress carelessly, the enemy will use it against you. It would be better to win through mobility.”

“but…”

“Rather than that, tell the soldiers to simply create a space where they can avoid the rain and then rest. The battle will probably break out tomorrow or the day after.”

“Shall we light a fire?”

“You can smoke. After all, this is a battlefield.”

Hanho looked out at the open plain.

“This is the place where we can defeat the enemy. Give the soldiers everything they have, including meat, pork, and liquor, except for alcohol, and feed them their fill.”

***

Cucumbers and eggplants, I had no idea how the past two days had gone by.

All I remember is that enemy cavalry arrived while crossing the river. A battle broke out with a loud noise. And after successfully crossing the river, I heard shouts of victory… that’s about it.

After this, they marched like mad for two days, getting farther from the river, and only after occupying a hill could they begin to rest properly.

“It’s fortunate that at least the rainwater has collected. If it hadn’t been for this… I would have had to dig the ground and drive a hammer in.”

“But it’s better than a well, right?”

Cucumber spoke from the eggplant’s side. After several battles, the two had become close enough that they could almost be considered brothers.

“When you dig a well, you have to dig it wide… and after you dig it, you have to scoop out buckets of water with a gourd, but when you put in a spoon, it just comes out when you press it.”

What they call a ‘shovel’ is, of course, a shovel-type pump. It is something that can be made out of rubber.

This greatly helped in hydration as water could be drawn continuously without having to throw the bucket.

“But, well, if there’s a well, there’s no need to go all out.”

“It’s really strange here. In my hometown, there are springs on every mountain, right? But here, there are springs on only a few mountains… It’s really strange, really strange.”

“That’s right…”

Anyway, the soldiers of Asadal, who were lucky enough to find a spring, simply pitched a tent and rested.

“By the way, do you know Jang Chang-byeong?”

“Well…”

Eggplant answered Oi’s question about not knowing much about long-distance relations.

“…They are literally soldiers carrying large spears and thick shields. They are invincible at the front.”

“We have shields, right?”

“What about the shield? Doesn’t it break if hit by a spear?”

“At that level, isn’t it a total fraud?”

The cucumber asked.

“Why don’t they use that in Asadal?”

“Well, there are a few reasons…”

“What is the reason?”

“…that is.”

Of course, Gazi, who was just an ordinary soldier, had no way of knowing this.

It’s the same reason why 21st century conscripts don’t know why the M16 was replaced with the K2 and why a “designated marksman” position was suddenly added to the squad composition. (If they know this, it’s likely not because they’re soldiers, but because they’re military enthusiasts.)

However, regardless of time and place, senior soldiers hate to look bad in front of junior soldiers.

“You’ll find out when we fight tomorrow. So, just cut the stone straight. Do you want to die in the middle of a fight because you don’t have any bullets?”

“…I’m working hard to cut it.”

“If you cut it like that, it won’t fly well, right?”

But I was talking nonsense for nothing.

Unfortunately, the timing was bad.

“Are you guys really curious about that?”

“Huh, huh!”

Because, of all things, he was caught by Poongbaek, who was watching the soldiers taking a break.

The cucumbers and eggplants jumped up.

“Asadal!!!!!!”

“No, no, just relax.”

“Oh, no! It’s comfortable!”

“Anyway, I’ll tell you the story of why we no longer use the long spears that were so commonly used in the North or on the Korean Peninsula. Since you’ll be going to the front lines yourself, it would be good for you to know this much…”

As soon as he heard that, he glared at the cucumber.

‘You’re talking nonsense!’

That’s what it felt like.

***

Kang So-baek also had similar concerns.

-Why didn’t Asadal use this good stuff more and replace most of his troops with Paeto warriors armed with huge shields, swords, and javelins?

The reason for this ‘why it was changed’ is important. Because the fact that it was changed means that there was a problem. And, Kang So-baek soon realized this reason.

‘It’s because of the difference in training.’

The soldiers in Jangchangjin hold their spears with their right hands and their shields with their left hands. So, the defense of my right hand holding the spear depends entirely on the shield of the person on my right.

As a result, often poorly trained soldiers would stick ‘too much’ to the right.

If this is repeated, the battle itself will shift to the right, or a strange pattern will appear where the right side fights while the left side retreats.

It was the same in the professional army, which had its own military tradition and consisted of Sawa and Daifu.

How does this relate to the Asadal situation?

The answer is easy.

Even during the Je-Yeon War, Asadal had many warriors. They had been a tribe until recently. Asadal, with its many skilled warriors, was able to effectively use long spearmen.

However, now that time has passed, warriors are not as common as they were back then. During the 20-year reign led by Poongbaek and Barang, the center of Asadal was agriculture, and the center of the military naturally shifted from warriors to self-employed farmers.

Of course, if the composition of the army changes, the strategy has to change as well.

Asadal abandoned the pikemen who used small shields and relied on the shields of those around them, and instead created the shieldmen who carried large shields and completely covered their own bodies with their own shields.

‘Although it was born in Asadal, it is a tactic that can be used better in the central plains than in Asadal…’

The first thing that comes to mind is a tank.

Originally, the chariot belonged to those whom the Central Plains called the Rong, but the Central Plains brought the chariot back and drove out the Rong.

By the time of the Emperor Zhengzong, the fish-scale formation, where chariots were hidden behind infantry and attacked, had been perfected. Now, the Central Plains are more advanced than the steppes.

Kang So-baek thought that Jang Chang-byeong was the same.

This is a method that suits the Central Plains, which has a strong military tradition, rather than Asadal, the father of Jangchangbyeong.

‘Our long spearmen were a military force with great momentum, literally consuming the power of Noh and Song, and the same will happen to Asadal.’

Kang So-baek thought so.

***

“…That is why Asadal no longer uses long spears well.”

At Poongbaek’s words, Gaji asked.

“So in the end… Asadal became more centered around self-employed farmers and the long spearmen started to disappear? I thought there was a more strategic reason?”

At first, it was absurd that Asadal’s Poongbaek would meet him face to face… but when I actually listened to it, Poongbaek’s story was quite interesting.

It was understandable. In his previous life, Poongbaek had aimed to be a professor, and when he was attending graduate school, he even practiced lecturing while looking in the mirror.

Above all, it was a field that I liked. The stories of people explaining what they like are often enjoyable.

“No, no. That’s not all. It’s the other way around.”

“upside down?”

“If the long spearmen were unconditionally strong, Asadal would not have chosen to conscript self-employed farmers. The reason he chose to conscript them in the first place was because they didn’t have to be long spearmen.”

“Then, what is the reason?”

“Pikemen are literally invincible at the front. If they were to fight in a place like Thermopylae where they were surrounded on all sides, they would be able to take on enemies a hundred times their size.”

“Ter… where is that…?”

“Oh, I made a mistake. Anyway, think of it as a valley. That’s why Asadal used long spears well in the north and the Korean peninsula, where there are many mountains and rivers.

My country was probably the same. They fought mainly in Lu and Song, where Lu had many mountains and Song had a lot of water. That’s why they won a great victory with their spearmen at Mount Tai in Lu, and fought along the great lake (Weishan) in Song and won a great victory. In addition, based on my superior mobile force, I made good use of my spearmen’s weaknesses of mobility and flank vulnerability.”

This is why my country is confident of victory.

Because they have never been defeated by pikemen.

but.

“In other words, they have hardly ever used their pikemen against more mobile enemies in their homeland, that is… this vast North China. They have only conquered. And… this is Asadal’s hope.”

“How can we hope that the enemy will win every battle?”

To Gaji’s words, Poongbaek answered.

“Those who have never been defeated usually don’t know what their weaknesses are.”

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