The Battle of Gwiju
"M-Milord Byeolgam! It's dangerous if you come here!"
"You trained so desperately, and now you're asking if you're real men? Look! I'm standing right here with you!"
Choi Yeon clung to the wagon fort and issued commands.
"Why did you train all this time? For this moment! Pikemen, thrust your spears!"
Only then did the soldiers assume their positions. They stuck close to the wagon forts, stabbing at the Mongol soldiers trying to climb over one by one.
Emboldened by the momentum, the pikemen in the other wagon forts did the same, thrusting their spears relentlessly. The Mongols couldn't breach the Wagon Fort Formation.
Goryeo's basic strategy against approaching Mongol forces was to bristle like a porcupine with spears.
Just then, as the Mongol cavalry seized the chaos to leap over the wagons—
"Raise the wagons!"
At Choi Yeon's command, the wagon handlers lowered the handles. Simultaneously, the blades attached to the wagons pierced the bodies of the Mongol horses.
"Gaaahhh!"
This seemed effective for defense, but to the Mongols, it looked like desperate resistance from frightened foes. Surely, even if there were trained soldiers behind those wagons, they couldn't match the elite Mongol army.
At first, the pikemen and wagons held strong, but gradually, the Mongol ferocity began to distort the formation.
As the Mongols prepared to overrun the defensive Goryeo wagon forts, Salitai was convinced of victory.
"Finally! They're breaking through those wagons!"
Just as he believed the Mongols had surmounted the wagons, it was time for Choi Yeon to unveil her trump card. She summoned the horn blower.
"Now! Horn blower, sound the signal!"
Bwooooooo!
The horn signaling gunfire blared.
Sounds erupted from the wagon forts.
Bang! Rat-a-tat-tat! Boom!
Gunfire roared simultaneously from the muzzles on the wagons. Mongols clinging to the wagons collapsed in droves.
"First rank, fall back and reload! Second rank, commence firing!"
The second rank immediately pressed against the wagons for the next volley. The rear rank delivered the final third volley. Cycling every 45 seconds, they poured bullets into the Mongols, who fell dead.
That wasn't all. Even just the front-line wagon forts—four of them, totaling 60,000 men—outnumbered the Mongols. To breach them, the Mongols had to cluster tightly, making them perfect targets.
As the Mongols had dispatched forces to the flanks, Goryeo's archers and artillery positioned on the flanking hills shifted flags to favorable winds and sprang into action.
"Deploy the siege weapons. Use the siege ladders and mantlets to overrun those wagons!"
"Archers, loose arrows! Artillery, fire the cannons!"
Fwoosh-fwoosh-fwoosh! Boom-boom-boom!
Mongols approaching the wagon forts suffered heavy casualties from arrows and shells again. Unlucky cavalry struck by shells toppled over; mantlets were shattered by shells, and ladder-bearing soldiers died.
This allowed the front-line wagon forts to reorganize.
But the Mongol pressure didn't end there. This time, their cavalry targeted the hills—but
Bwooooooo!
"Scatter formation! Switch to scatter formation to block the cavalry charge!"
The rear wagon forts under Chae Songnyeon and Lee Ja-seong spread into thin lines, halting the Mongol cavalry.
Crunch-crack! The cavalry pushed with their horses to pierce the scattered thin formation, while Goryeo troops desperately held.
Leg shots flew from the scattered wagons' muzzles, toppling Mongol riders.
"Hold! Don't give ground!"
"Break through! Break it! Flank and hit their center!"
After fierce fighting, horns blared again, and Goryeo's cavalry mobilized. The Jurchen Byeolcho and the Choe regime's elite cavalry, veterans of countless battles, charged as one.
"You bastards! This is your grave!"
"Regret invading Goryeo!"
The brutal melee between breachers and blockers raged on.
Another horn blast rang out, and Goryeo cavalry smashed into the Mongol cavalry's flank.
"Where did those guys come from?!"
"Daring to challenge Mongol cavalry?!"
Mongol cavalry attacking the rear wagons wheeled to clash with Goryeo cavalry—but they were no pushovers. These were the Choe regime's meticulously trained elite. Losing here was unthinkable.
A deadlock ensued. But for the Mongols, deep in enemy lines, they couldn't afford to be stalled by Goryeo cavalry.
"What is this? What's happening?! What are those sounds?!"
Why were the Goryeo troops so tenacious? What were those weapons?
"Commander-in-Chief! They're using gunpowder weapons!"
"What?! The Goryeo dogs have gunpowder?!"
How could they have gunpowder weapons?
"It's not like the Jin's! Theirs is some weapon I've never seen!"
Tangwutai, who had attempted central breakthroughs multiple times, had witnessed soldiers dropping amid those sounds from the wagons.
Continuing like this would only mount casualties.
"It can't be that many!"
Their numbers must be few. Salitai, unable to see directly, judged thus.
Even if the Jin had shared gunpowder tech by chance, how much could they have? A slight difference wouldn't stop the Mongols.
"Casualties are too high! We should pull back once and regroup!"
Salitai hurled his baton at Putao's report from the left flank.
The invincible Mongol army retreating against Goryeo—not even the Jin? They'd already shown their backs at Hamsinjin. This alone was humiliating enough—but here too? And the enemy would regroup in the meantime? Regrouping now would disadvantage the attackers.
"Regroup? We'd be too late!"
Salitai couldn't stop here. Things were more urgent than expected, but they could still fight.
Look—the front wagons were crumpling.
Of course, there was a slight flaw in that observation. Corpses piling from continuous three-rank fire had merely warped the formation slightly.
If it collapsed like this, Mongols could pour in easily. Worst case for the Iron Cannon troops: clinging to wagons, stabbing with spears, barely holding against Mongol pushes—supporting pikemen would suffer heavy losses too.
One mistake could flip the momentum.
But holding firm would force Mongol retreat with massive losses—assuming the rear wagons stayed put.
"Scattered wagons, advance! Support the front wagon forts! Push the barbarians back!"
"Push! Keep pushing!"
Rumble-grind! Thanks to Goryeo cavalry's flank attack, rear wagons shoved forward.
"Don't give the Goryeo dogs any openings!"
"Push! Push!"
As Mongols yielded, hill archers rained arrows again. Rear wagons linked with the front.
The trapped Mongols in between were doomed.
Fwump! Fwuk! Swoosh! Bang! Boom!
Caught as spear and bullet fodder, 4,000 of 30,000 Mongols were annihilated in moments. And still, they died to the wagon forts.
"The central mines are probably cleared, so they might break through. Shift the line more central for defense!"
Assessing in real-time, Choi Yeon issued orders. Meanwhile, she clicked her tongue at the relentless Mongols.
"Those guys are insane."
"No way back now."
Choi Yeon tsked at Kim Jun's words.
Salitai's Mongols had no retreat. Having come this far, failing to bypass the main army meant doom.
Mongol armies have no rear.
Goryeo might seem defensive, but Mongols couldn't easily withdraw. They'd bypassed Hamsinjin straight to Gwiju—initially lured as easy prey, now trapped knowingly.
Goryeo's rear forces, with eyes open, would move. Northwestern fortresses would rise to aid Gwiju or cut off retreat.
Thus, Salitai's force must shatter the 100,000-strong main army here, even at total annihilation—to open the path for future easy invasions.
But.
Goryeo held numerical superiority. Not slamming in like the Mongols. Just endure, and victory was visible.
Mongols couldn't even touch the rear archers and artillery. Crossing the wagons cost too much.
And Goryeo had ample cavalry. Theirs already flanked the Mongols.
This was a battle of time. Unless she exposed her neck personally, defeat was unlikely.
Choi Yeon saw defeat only as her capture. But Iron Cannon troops, drilled in three-rank fire, fired steadily. Hit-and-run meant nothing against wagon forts.
To crack 100,000, Mongols attempted frontal assault over hit-and-run. Unless their time attack succeeded, Goryeo would win.
If 50,000 Mongols had come, danger—but a mere 30,000. Goryeo's Iron Cannon wagon forts turned them into moths to flame.
The world-conquering Mongols suffering real blows from a frontier minnow. Choi Yeon couldn't help but feel elation.
History is changing.
In original history, northwestern fortresses fell while the three armies gathered and were crushed at Anbukseong. Here, the pre-positioned 100,000 held the line.
Boom! Boom-boom!
"Commander-in-Chief! Those rear bastards firing arrows and iron balls are piling up our losses!"
"Do something about those flying iron lumps!"
Meanwhile, Salitai seemed possessed. Where had this war gone wrong?
Tracing back, they'd danced in Goryeo's palm.
They knew we'd invade?
No fool would ignore that, but look at this formation. Not some hasty fear-driven setup—Mongols were helpless.
Proof of Goryeo's thorough war prep.
"Ha, who the hell is in charge of Goryeo?"
"Commander-in-Chief, what do you mean?"
"It's all calculated meticulously. Hamsinjin was one thing, but they used our pride to drag us into 100,000. Even their regent led personally. We're trapped in their anti-cavalry trap—their own invention."
Even if not the main front like Jin or Western Xia, numbers aside, military quality undeniable.
Someone in Goryeo was toying with this Mongol army.
The homeland had been too complacent. A mere Jin vassal, unable to crush Khitan remnants, ruled by incompetent warrior—should've folded. That was the mistake.
Come to think, Goryeo had easily repelled Khitans before, and even Jin—pushing Song south—never dreamed of invading militarily. Goryeo was no ordinary nation.
Look at that—Gwiju was becoming a Mongol graveyard. Boldly sallying for field battle meant they'd hidden much. Forced into maneuver battle, Mongols had to respond.
Who turned the Mongols into moths to the flame?