Chapter 148
Chapter 148
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 148
Chapter Title: Muskets and the Northern Expedition (11)
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Just an hour earlier, Yi Man-ju had been convinced that victory was already in the bag for them.
The Jurchens took pride in their ability to unite their tribes into a force strong enough to make all under heaven tremble—their only flaw was that they rarely did so.
This confidence was far from groundless.
Even Kim Dae-bung, buried in paperwork in distant Hanyang and solely responsible for supplying an army of over 25,000 men, had been wary of the Jurchens' formidable cavalry.
Yet that overflowing confidence, that pride, that arrogance—all of it melted away like snow in sunlight the moment they laid eyes on the Joseon army.
"Commander, is this truly the same Joseon army that was little more than a rabble of conscripts and a handful of elite cavalry?"
To the Jurchens, who had learned war through lifelong hunting and constant intertribal skirmishes, the old Joseon soldiers had looked like nothing but a motley crew.
Ride in on horseback, loose a few arrows, then flee. Come back, shoot again, flee again.
Repeat that a few times, and the Joseon troops' morale would hit rock bottom...
Then unleash the heavy cavalry to trample them flat—that had been the plan.
"Look at them! Even from this distance, there's not a single flaw in their ranks, and they show no fear even with us right in front of them."
"You think I don't know that?"
"Shouldn't we rethink our strategy?"
Yi Man-ju's hand twitched toward the hilt of his sword.
He debated chopping off the head of this morale-killer to restore discipline.
But he reined in his emotions and stopped himself from beheading the chieftain of this minor tribe before him.
They needed to fight as one body if they had any chance at all, and killing a man who spoke the truth now would only spark mutiny and weaken their side.
'Disperse, and we die.'
Even a white-haired elder among the chieftains voiced the forbidden thought in his heart as he gazed at the Joseon army.
"It's like seeing Gabyeolcho in General Yi Seong-gye's day."
Yi Seong-gye hadn't known drill formations, so even at its peak, Gabyeolcho couldn't match the Joseon army's razor-sharp alignment of ranks and files.
But the high morale and unified movement were enough to evoke memories of that elite unit.
"Commander!"
"Shut your mouth! Are you saying it's fine if those Joseon bastards take our homes? You selfish cur, too cowardly to think of your tribe's warriors or your family's future."
Yi Man-ju had already revised his assessment of the Joseon army upward by several notches.
Still, he believed they could win.
'The moment they realize they're helpless against our archer cavalry, their morale will plummet.'
"Quiet! Send out every archer cavalryman to disrupt their formation first—that solves everything! Once their lines crumble, unleash the heavy cavalry all at once. Crush them then, and we win."
In this era, warfare followed similar patterns whether in the East or West.
Even against a million-man enemy army, victory went to the few who shattered their formation.
Conversely, even a larger friendly force would suffer humiliating defeat to a smaller foe if its own lines broke.
"We're all warriors, but the Joseon army has few who truly deserve the name! Only their elite cavalry called gabsa and some handpicked infantry qualify—the rest are slaves dragged into battle. Hand a spear to dirt-grubbing peasants, and their base nature doesn't change!"
Yi Man-ju couldn't even imagine it.
Drill training had transformed the very "slaves" he'd just belittled into hardened warriors.
So he deluded himself into thinking victory was still his.
And like a contagion, that delusion spread to the other Jurchen chieftains.
For in their common sense, farmer "slaves" were weak, lowly things.
"I'll lead the archer cavalry myself and ravage their formation. When their lines break, I'll signal you... A-hugai, take the heavy cavalry and smash them then."
"Yes, Commander."
Yi Man-ju finished issuing orders and immediately led his archer cavalry charging toward the Joseon army.
And inwardly, he prayed over and over.
That those foes were all show on the outside, soft as ever within—just the frail Joseon troops he knew.
Yi Man-ju, who never sought Buddha in peacetime, now prayed more fervently than anyone as he slowly advanced on the Joseon lines.
Full gallop on horseback came only when entering arrow range.
Start sprinting now, and...
The horses might collapse from exhaustion right when it was time to unleash hell.
"Commander, the Joseon army has entered our archer cavalry's range."
"Follow me! Loose arrows wildly!"
Among the Joseon soldiers in his sight, only those with long spears wore full armor—most others lacked proper protection.
So arrows would fell them helplessly.
"Loose!"
As Yi Man-ju showered arrows, Joseon soldiers began to drop.
The Joseon troops burned to counterattack, but matchlock range for reliable hits was only about 50 meters.
Yet Yi Man-ju and his archers' effective range reached around 150 meters.
Musketeers and pikemen firing back wouldn't even reach.
Counterattacking now was pointless.
And with matchlocks' long reload times, one missed shot left them vulnerably exposed for ages—no counterfire possible.
Thus, as Joseon soldiers toppled one by one under the arrow storm without retaliation, Yi Man-ju and his archers breathed sighs of relief.
They mocked that the Joseon army looked elite only on the surface—like an empty barrel.
And swelled with pride that Jurchen archer cavalry remained supreme.
But the scene that followed left them aghast.
"Reform the front line!"
That command echoed everywhere, and even in their terror, the Joseon soldiers instantly filled the gaps left by their fallen comrades.
The advancing troops trembled in fear, some even soiling themselves...
But crucially, not one broke formation.
Their postures, steps, and movements in single file matched with uncanny precision, as if one man.
No sign of the lines cracking.
This was possible because drill training had instilled fear of deserting ranks worse than death itself—through swift, harsh corporal punishment via due process.
"......."
It was absurd.
Even well-trained elite infantry showed gaps under mounted archers' arrow barrages, but these Joseon soldiers revealed none.
And from behind the Joseon infantry, a volley of arrows from the army's archers rained down on Yi Man-ju and his cavalry.
"Arrows incoming!"
A massive number of feathered bolts and arrows hurtled toward the archer cavalry.
Though most dodged thanks to their speed, the Joseon arrows began slowly whittling their numbers.
For Yi Man-ju, it was a disaster.
The Joseon troops had taken minimal losses, their formation intact.
Yet his tribe's elite archers were the only ones dying?
'Damn it all.'
Flustered by achieving nothing, Yi Man-ju slightly missed the moment to order retreat.
Seizing that opening, Yi Sun-mong thrust in.
Yi Sun-mong's lancer cavalry, plus flail cavalry wielding Kim Dae-bung's flails, began slaughtering the Jurchen archers.
"His Highness will grant a huge reward for Yi Man-ju's head—kill him!"
Yi Man-ju fled desperately from Yi Sun-mong.
"Sir, at this rate, only our archers will die! What's the point of circling and shooting when their formation won't break?"
"Damn it! Retreat! Signal A-hugai to smash the spot we just hit with heavy cavalry! Long pikes can't fully stop our charge!"
"Yes, sir!"
Of course, the Jurchen vanguard charging spear-wielding cavalry would be butchered.
But weren't they fighting to save their homes?
Sacrifices were necessary to wound the Joseon army enough to halt their expedition.
"Sir! Joseon archer cavalry—archers are targeting our flank! We'll be annihilated!"
"Retreat without looking back, reform after!"
"Yes, sir!"
Yi Man-ju learned viscerally how insanely solid the Joseon army was.
Now he knew they were far more fearsome than Ming forces.
Ming troops were just numbers without cohesion, but Joseon had numbers and unbreakable strength.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Left Army Commander Yi Jing-ok watched the scene before him, inwardly marveling.
The Jurchen archer cavalry getting routed by Joseon archers and lancers was expected—that wasn't the surprise.
The true marvel was how the Joseon army held formation unshaken under the Jurchen arrow storm.
"The outcome of war hinges not on numbers, but on formation discipline..."
Though casualties mounted, the Joseon soldiers endured the barrage to the end.
Trembling in terror, some wetting themselves in fright... yet the lines held firm.
With enough troops like this, even Ming armies could be crushed.
No—crushed and then some.
The long-dormant "Goguryeo spirit" within him suddenly awoke and stretched.
"Commander! Jurchen cavalry charging us!"
"Form up!"
An anti-cavalry square blending front-line infantry and tercio formations.
Pikemen block cavalry approach while matchlockmen at 50-meter range unleash endless volleys to annihilate the foe.
Soon its power would shine.
Even as heavy cavalry charged spear-first, not one Joseon soldier panicked—maintaining perfect square.
Drill training's harsh whippings for the slightest misalignment made it possible.
The Jurchen cavalry loosed arrows just before impact.
The formation wavered briefly, but soldiers filled gaps on their own, holding like bedrock.
"Level pikes! Musketeers, aim for their bellies!"
One hit from a matchlock killed anyone anyway.
So the gut was the sweet spot.
"Fire!"
At the command, first through fourth ranks fired in sequence.
The vanguard and those behind fell in droves before matchlock might.
Yi Jing-ok swallowed hard at the sight.
"...... The Jurchen cavalry couldn't even graze our square, let alone breach it."
Thousands of Jurchen corpses littered the field before him.
By any measure, a crushing Joseon victory.