Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 132



Only Noblemtl

#132. Last days in Beijing (4)

The discussion with Lieutenant General Chappie proceeded very quickly.

As time was short, volunteers from both armies were accepted to first subdue the enemies on the walls and secure a bridgehead, while all available troops were mobilized to build ladders by bringing down nearby houses and trees.

Since it ended up being a siege war, ladders were essential.

While the infantry on both sides was rushing to secure supplies, volunteers were gathered to break through the walls.

One squad from the US military and one platoon from our side were deployed, and the method used was very 19th century-like.

“It won’t be difficult. Just climb over the wall.”

“No, is there any room?”

“I guess there is something.”

“yes?”

I don’t know where that machismo came from, but they were quite confident.

Then, the vanguard platoon led by my brother also began to climb alongside them, with ropes tied tightly around their waists and daggers in their mouths.

They had thrown away all their cumbersome rifles and were only carrying daggers and revolvers to protect themselves.

It felt like a race between unpredictable lunatics.

“As expected, he’s manly.”

“Advisor Harcourt, weren’t you upset?”

“Ahem, be patient. It’s not like you should be upset about something like that.”

Advisor Harcourt, who had been quiet for a while, coughed and came over to me.

“Well, I’m sorry about that last time. It’s just how I was born.”

“I’m not trying to blame you for that. I’m just saying to be mindful of your actions. As you know, the soldiers who are risking their lives to climb over the walls in front of me are not swayed by race or ethnicity. They are simply swallowing death every day for their country.”

“I will be careful in the future.”

“Okay. That’s manly. Then I’ll give you a mission.”

I made a rather evil expression. I wanted to make him pay for the pain he had caused me, so I ordered him to take a platoon of Maxim machine guns from the artillery and directly cooperate with the American soldiers.

In times like these, it would be appropriate to mobilize American advisors.

Because of the sudden cooperation and unplanned battles, the presence of advisors who had served in that country was quite valuable.

“Hey, what do you want me to do with this?”

“The assault platoon will succeed. Break through the wall, and while the follow-up platoons climb up the ropes, disassemble the Maxims and place them on the wall. And you know what happens after that, right?”

I made a motion to cut my throat with my hand.

It meant to crush all the Qing troops and Boxers with machine guns.

No matter how fanatic they were, or how loyal the Qing dynasty was to defend the capital, even the rare loyal subjects and unrivaled military force would all be reduced to pieces of meat in front of modern machine guns.

“The flames are up, Colonel. It looks like the vanguard platoon has succeeded.”

In the distance, flames rose, indicating that a successful breach had been made in the wall.

The US military also responded and immediately deployed follow-up units.

It was still a bridgehead secured by a small force and had no tactical significance, but it was the job of commanders like me to make it valuable.

“The longer it takes, the greater the damage.”

“I know. This is a race against time.”

They lowered the rope and helped the troops climb up it, while the subsequent units, carrying ladders, continued to expand the breach.

In the distance, the harcourt counselor, clearly weeping, was tugging at the dismantled Maxim machine guns and ammunition tied to ropes with artillerymen and hauling them up the ramparts.

“How many ladders were made?”

“We still need more time!”

“First, tell them to go in with what they’ve already created! We need to expand the breakthrough. This is a fight against time!”

Even now, the battle at Jeongyangmun and Dongpyeonmun was becoming more intense every hour.

The Russian army continued to bombard the Qing and Boxers, trying to drive them out, but they were too numerous.

The Japanese army also deployed a large number of troops and engaged in fierce firefights, but they were unable to achieve any significant results.

In particular, the garrison led by Ma Bok-rok under Dong Bok-sang, who was desperately charging at Jeongyangmun, was causing considerable casualties as they charged at the Japanese army.

They would not back down an inch to avoid having their capital city trampled underfoot by foreign armies.

“Commander, this is a message from Admiral Alexeyev. He requests immediate assistance…”

In the end, the Russian side also asked for our help through the spirit of Kim In-su, who was dispatched.

It seemed like they were asking for the reserve forces to come out for help.

But I refused it.

“What are you asking for help with when you’ve set up a front line like this? You’re just going to push in without even taking down the walls, so it’s going to be a mess. Besides, what good will it do to mobilize the reserves now? Just look at the current situation. The breakout force and reinforcements are all tangled up and in disarray, and sending our troops will only make things worse.”

I got angry and pointed my baton toward the east gate.

This was the section where the bottleneck really exploded.

It had been a long time since the battle lines had turned into a crucible of complete chaos, with the units that had failed to break through and been cut off, and the reserve forces that had been hastily mobilized to rescue the troops that had entered, all tangled up together.

But senior officers quickly stepped in to control them.

Even they were hit by waves of troops and were unable to identify each other, so they just disappeared after being hit here and there.

The Japanese army was the same. They also showed all the shameful things they could.

“Commander! We are ready!”

With the messenger’s report, I shouted in an excited voice.

“Tell them to change everything without any mercy!”

It was time for judgment to be passed on Beijing, the city of flowers.

First, the 3rd Platoon of the 1st Field Artillery Company was dispatched, and behind them, the Demonstration Infantry Battalion and the Guards Infantry Battalion were preparing to advance.

The fall of Beijing is imminent.

***

The start of the battle, as always, began with the heavy breathing of the infantry and the scolding of the veterans urging them on.

When I first received the operational instructions, I was so confused that I thought the venerable regimental commander had finally gone mad from overwork.

They were told to climb over a 9-meter high wall. And they were doing so against a Qing army of 130,000 men and a rabble of Boxers.

Still, if the order had been given to the infantry, there would have been no question. That was the infantry’s destiny, their honor, and their duty, which they had been taught over and over again.

But the order was not given only to the infantry. Along with the fierce assault infantry, the order was given to the 1st Company of Field Artillery, and specifically to the 3rd Platoon.

At first glance, the tall walls looked like they would take your breath away, and from up there, I could hear the friendly infantry shouting harshly as they threw me a long rope.

Behind, the advance guard kicked the buttocks of those who hesitated to climb the wall and yelled at them, calling them cowards, so they had no choice but to climb up.

By the way, as I was going up, I saw that the guards were installing a pulley on the wall next to me.

I thought it would be easier to ride that, but the advance tow truck officer right next to me shouted in a fierce voice that if my limbs were intact, I should hold on to the rope next to me and ride up.

It was a moment of great fear. However, I did not have the courage to say anything to those rascals, so I barely managed to hold on to my trembling legs and climbed up the wall.

While he was pondering for a moment why he was doing the work of an infantryman when he was clearly an artilleryman, he drank some water from his canteen.

Right next to him, a veteran sergeant of the assault infantry, with a scar on his face that looked like it had been done not long ago, was helping the fallen men up, and was forcibly lifting them up, regardless of whether they were rookies or not, as if he was begging for something from his inferiors.

I met his eyes for a moment, and it was grim. Well, I guess someone like that would be able to command even among those vicious men.

Ironically, I felt empty seeing the precious Maximos being lifted easily through the pulley right next to me.

A weapon more precious than a person… After all, the last time in Langfang, I was able to put the swift Qing cavalry to sleep thanks to that Maxim cannon. The taste of that time still hasn’t gone away.

“Artillery, where is the artillery?!”

Just as the youngest member of the 4th Battery, the assistant gunner, was coming up, the platoon leader of the assault infantry who had been controlling this place could hear the sound of them calling out.

The 3rd Platoon Leader of the Field Artillery Company ordered the most senior member of the 1st Battery Squadron to gather the rest of the men, then headed to the assault infantry platoon leader.

“Have you found it?”

Although we were of the same class, we naturally spoke politely.

He couldn’t tell if he was more senior than him, but there was something about him, the leader of the assault infantry, that made it impossible to do anything rash.

He appeared to be looking for a target with a telescope, carrying a pistol and a club full of nails on his waist.

Perhaps it was seeing flames rising from all over the city within the walls and those struggling to break through the siege.

“It might be a tough task for you artillerymen, but don’t get discouraged just because you’ve barely crawled up there. This is where the real work begins.”

The infantry platoon leader looked somewhere for a while with his telescope without making eye contact, then desperately searched for something. When he finally found something, he grabbed the artillery platoon leader’s hand and pulled him along.

“Hey, do you see any enemies between 3 o’clock and 5 o’clock from our perspective?”

“yes?”

“Can’t you see?”

All that could be seen were refugees running around in fear, and the thick darkness between them.

He couldn’t tell what he found there, but he nodded and desperately took out his telescope and looked in the direction he had pointed.

“The Qing bastards have come out with a plan. They’ve brought the artillery that should have been deployed in the embassy area over there. Over there, the Russians and Japanese who foolishly barged in through the Dongpyeonmun and Jeongyangmun will be crushed by shells if they keep doing this. Since they’re artillery, don’t you know how powerful they are?”

In fact, he had never handled a real gun before. After all, he had only handled the rotary gun and the current Maxim gun at the training ground.

Anyway, as he said, the field guns brought by the Qing army were visible here and there.

The distance was roughly within the effective firing range of the Maximo, and a considerable number of enemy infantry were observed next to it.

“If we want to save those poor fools, we should strike first while they’re still confused, right?”

“But I still have orders from the captain-”

“The regimental commander assigned you to me. If you want, I can show you the orders.”

And he showed me a sweat-soaked order from inside his bosom.

When he was embarrassed because the letters were all torn and unreadable, he quickly put it back in his bosom and said.

“Anyway, we’re going to go save them. Hey, those Mirigyeon guys are going to do that too.”

Right next to me, I could see those dwarfs wearing hats and their eyes gleaming.

They climbed up this high wall with their bare hands too? They’re crazy as hell.

“Then, we should go down together···.”

“Hey, I didn’t expect that much. You were panting while climbing up the wall.”

It was a hurtful thing to say, but I had no choice but to admit it.

And I also felt a sense of relief that I wouldn’t be thrown into the middle of a battlefield.

Unlike the platoon leader, he was skeptical that he would be able to save his men on the battlefield.

“Until we get close enough, pour down a hail of smoke grenades at them so they can’t even raise their heads. Don’t commit the misfortune of shooting our kids in the back of the head while they’re waiting around.”

“Don’t worry about that.”

Although he did not have the courage and guts to face the enemy, throw dynamite grenades, fire rockets, or swing swords and clubs, he was confident in his Maxim gun.

Considering this situation from the beginning, we had conducted training several times at the shooting range built on the site of the old General Headquarters.

“But I wonder how we would know to charge into enemy territory at this hour of the night.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. Before charging into the enemy’s positions, the platoon messengers will send out a signal to charge. You’ve probably heard that before.”

“ah······.”

I heard it. It was a creepy tune played on the gong and taepyeongso, creating an atmosphere as if evil spirits were pressing in.

It wasn’t a long performance, only a few dozen seconds at most, but the impact was significant for everyone.

“Set the clock to 0:00 and complete dissipation by 5 minutes.”

The platoon leader of the assault infantry platoon patted the shoulder of the artillery platoon leader and then turned to his men without looking back.

Soon, he adjusted the mask he was wearing like a scarf and shouted in a loud voice.

When I took out my pocket watch, it was soon time to finish discharging the Maxim guns. The artillerymen were discharging the Maxim guns they had taken out from the pulley, loading the ammunition, and taking the best firing positions.

“Beijing, the city of flowers, will soon be in our hands! You know our mission, don’t you?!”

Instead of an answer, there was the sound of boots hitting the ground.

The thumping sound seemed more intense than the Russian artillery fire I had heard in Tianjin.

Tick ​​tock.

The clock finally struck 00:05.

When the Maximo’s heat dissipation was finished and they gave a thumbs up, the assault platoon leader raised his hand without hesitation and ordered the charge.

“Now is the time!”

“From 3 o’clock to 5 o’clock, fire!”

“Bomb!”

At the signal of the battery commanders, all Maxim batteries from batteries 1 to 4 opened fire with a loud roar, making a sound like roasting beans.

The dogs that happened to be nearby were also surprised by the sound and had quite a showy expression on their faces.

“It’s hitting me hard! Keep shooting! I’ll crush it so it can’t even lift its head!”

As the platoon leader had said earlier, in the direction of their firing, the Qing army’s artillery and infantry were howling.

They were at a loss as they were hit by the pouring fire, and could only flail around or lower their heads, while friendly infantry quickly approached them.

And soon the signal they had promised came.

They would bring silence to the battlefield, but in the process, the sound of the taepyeongso, which seemed to rip through the surrounding air, and the equally strange rhythm of the gong were heard.

The platoon leader, who had stopped firing his Maxims, watched their fight through his binoculars.

They were the most well-organized war machines.

At one point, the creepy melody suddenly stopped and I saw a few flashes of light.

And as expected, they entered through the smoke with an explosion.

All that could be heard there were shrill screams and the occasional crack of cannon fire.

The platoon leader, who had been watching their slaughter for a while, soon turned his head away.

Now as day broke, more targets came into view.

Without any hesitation, he visually checked the next course of the assault infantry that had taken out the targets and gave the order to fire again at the remaining enemies here and there.

The fall of Beijing, the city of flowers, was taking place slowly in a sea of ​​fire.