Chapter 556

Episode 556: Blood River (2)

“It’s coming!”

“atmosphere! atmosphere!”

As the neighing of horses and the shouts of people rang out from the river, the tension of the Joseon soldiers waiting on the walls and trench lines reached its highest point.

The Joseon soldiers swallowed dry saliva and stared ahead.

“Hey, youngest.”

Han Il-nam, who was very nervous in the imminent situation, answered immediately when the leader of the five divisions to which he belonged called.

“Soldier! “Hanilnam!”

“Youngest child, go back and resupply cartridges.”

Hanilnam asked back with a puzzled expression at the unexpected order.

“yes?”

“Today, be diligent in supplying ammunition. If I happen to shoot an empty gun today, you will die to me. Do you understand?”

“Yes old!”

“Then go and get the ammunition right now!”

“ancient!”

At the command of the commander, Han Il-nam ran backwards, following the traffic signal. Seeing this, the soldier who was with him made a joke to Ojang.

“Atta brother! “Someone would think that the youngest is your son!”

“Did you not see the youngest’s face? It seemed like a fight would start as soon as the trigger was pulled. “It’s easier to just grab a cartridge and run.”

“Aren’t you the guy who came in to eat the army knife meal anyway? “I think it’s better to experience what you’re going to experience in advance, right?”

“Not today. “Today...”

Ojang, who shook his head at the soldier’s words, looked at the river sparkling in the rising sunlight.

“They’re coming in droves.”

Ojang, who looked slightly fed up as he looked at the Liaodong army coming in such a large group that the river could not be seen, continued speaking.

“I shouldn’t think about eating fish from the Yalu River for the time being.”

The soldier who had been joking just a moment ago swore at the meaningful words of the commander.

“Fuck...”

“I brought a cartridge... Wow!”

Ilnam, who returned with the cartridges according to the five commander’s orders, froze as he spoke when he saw the pitch-black enemies approaching.

When Ojang saw that, he shouted at Ilnam.

“What are you doing! You know it because you saw it! Can that be done in one container? “Bring more now!”

“yes. ancient!”

“Bring more projectiles!”

“yes!”

At the command of the commander, Ilnam ran the traffic signal again. Meanwhile, Ojang shouted to the soldiers around him.

“Don’t pull the trigger until they grab the first wire! no! “Take your hand off the trigger!”

“Yes old!”

The distance from the banks of the Yalu River to the trenches of the Joseon soldiers is about 100jang (about 300m). The first row of 5-ply wire mesh was 60 pieces (about 180m) away from the trench. And the fifth row of wire netting was 20 rows (about 60m) away from the trench.

Although it was black gunpowder, the Joseon army’s black gunpowder, which had sulfur removed, produced less smoke. Of course, as the sulfur disappeared, the ignition point increased, but this was a situation that was solved with a copper percussion cap using Noehong.

Although it was not as effective as smokeless gunpowder, the Joseon army, with its low-smoking gunpowder and properly processed rifled guns, had an overwhelmingly longer range of fire than the armies of other countries.

And this time, the performance that had been hidden as much as possible was finally revealed.

* * *

“omg! omg!”

The soldiers of the Liaodong Army vanguard were crossing the Yalu River, breathing heavily.

Because it was still dry season, the depth of the river was mid-thigh at its deepest point. And the width of the river was significantly reduced.

But the luck didn’t end there. As the river water receded, the exposed river bed was a sandy flat. If you don’t keep moving, you’ll get stuck. Even though the thaw season had passed, we still had to wade through the ice-cold river water.

Armament was also a problem.

The vanguard of the Liaodong army crossing the river were those wearing the classic weapons of swords and shields. The shield was a heavy piece made of thick wood covered with iron plates, and the sword was a thick and heavy sword.

The mission of the vanguard was to protect themselves with thick shields and use long swords to break through the iron fence.

This was an added mission after arriving at the Yalu River and discovering the iron wire net.

In the original plan, the mission of the vanguard was simple.

“gear! gear!”

The soldiers of the Liaodong Army, who saw their comrades running ahead of them fall to the ground, hastily threw themselves to the ground.

The heavy and cumbersome shield suddenly disappeared. The soldiers, holding a rope in one hand and a sword in the other, or just the rope in their hands, crawled forward on the ground, writhing like caterpillars.

Their goal was only one.

Stay alive safely and hook onto the railing and support pole in front of you.

But the Joseon military did not just ignore it.

Shotguns had begun to join the weapons attacking them.

bang! Quack!

Each time the cannons placed in the solidly built cannons spewed fire, dozens of shells were spread out in a fan shape.

And each time, the Liaodong soldiers fell to the ground either dead or injured.

* * *

In some ways, the shotgun was a more terrifying weapon than the Bigyeokjincheonroe. The power of one shot was stronger with the Bigyeokjincheonroe, and the range was also longer with the Bigyeokjincheonroe.

However, the firing rate of the shotgun was overwhelmingly superior to that of the Bigyeokjincheonroe.

Bigyeokjincheonroe required that the toy be filled with propellant gunpowder and inserted by adjusting the neck angle each time it was fired. However, when the shotgun is fired, all you have to do is open the breech, take out the empty shell, insert a new shell, and close the breech.

Thanks to this, the shotgun boasted a firing speed that was three times faster on average than the Bigyeokjincheonroe.

* * *

“You’re more stubborn than I thought. Damn you guys.”

Jo Byeong-deok, who was observing the situation from the hill he climbed a few days ago, gritted his teeth and muttered.

“The damage to the vanguard is greater than expected. Shall we retreat?”

Jo Byeong-deok screamed when his subordinate general mentioned retreat.

“What nonsense! Are you talking about a retreat when not even 1/3 of the vanguard has crossed the river yet? “Are you sane?”

“However, the resistance of the Joseon army is more stubborn than expected. “After we step back for a moment and collect ourselves...”

“They will collect themselves while we collect ourselves! Are we going to repeat that damn thing again? you idiot! “We’re letting them fill in the hole they barely made!”

“Oh no!”

“Call a messenger!”

Cho Byeong-deok, who harshly called the messenger, gave orders to his staff.

“Tell the front artillery that has repaired the damage to immediately put pressure on the Joseon army! And tell the vanguard command to deploy the remaining troops as quickly as possible! Finally, delivered to Hwaryong Battery! “Tell them to shoot immediately!”

“ancient!”

The staff who received Cho Byeong-deok’s order quickly wrote an order and handed it to the messengers.

The messengers who received the order quickly mounted their horses and dispersed in all directions.

Jo Byeong-deok glanced at the rapidly disappearing messengers and then looked at the Joseon army positions through a telescope again.

“Cannonballs next to cannonballs... crazy guys... Joseon bastards who are crazy about artillery! And that damn iron wall was thought up by some crazy person!”

* * *

At the same time, the command center located in the Insan camp was also busy.

“Reporting from the left! Break through the second line of the enemy vanguard!”

“Reporting from the right! “The enemy’s second line of vanguard has arrived!”

Reports coming in through traditional means, including messengers as well as monks floating in the sky, were reported directly to Lee Jing-ok.

In the center of the headquarters, a large map depicting the topography of Insanjin was spread out, and all kinds of wooden signs indicating enemies and allies were changing positions in real time.

Additionally, reports coming from the front line were organized and recorded in real time on a large blackboard hanging on one wall.

Lee Jing-ok examined the situation by looking at the content on the blackboard and the situation displayed on the map.

“I don’t think we need to send out the reserves yet. “What about ammunition supplies?”

“There has been no request for further assistance yet!”

“It’s going to get crazy soon, so get ready right away.”

“yes!”

“What is the damage situation?”

“There was some damage from the initial bombardment, but almost nothing after that!”

Lee Jing-ok grinned at the aide’s report.

“As expected, artillery is the best... Anyway, why are their large siege guns so quiet?”

The moment the super-large siege artillery, which all the Joseon military commanders were paying attention to, was mentioned, a huge explosion and shock hit the command center.

Goong!