Siege of Seonggyeong (2)
Geumsok Mountain.
As they passed through the dense forest and emerged from the emerald-green foliage, a massive fortress filled the view before them.
It was a fortress that wrapped its entire body around the long, twisting trenches like a snake’s coils.
“Huuu.”
The voice that came out was slack with fatigue from the endless trench warfare that seemed to have no end, looping back on itself.
“Is that… trenches?”
Han Seong-geun, the 3rd Division commander, knelt behind a protruding rock and used a makeshift telescope to observe the fortress’s surroundings. He let out a sigh at the horrific scene unfolding below.
Even after rubbing his eyes, the sight didn’t disappear.
No matter who the fortress’s defense commander was, the Republic Army’s good fortune that had seemed like a casual outing was definitely over from today on.
A pit that had been dug up as if the world had been flipped upside down by an earthquake.
After confirming the fences that looked like wooden stakes or perhaps bamboo, and the spiked wooden stakes, Han Seong-geun pressed his forehead.
Indeed, the height of the fences in the telescope and the doors of the bamboo that opened and closed up and down tied with ropes showed that this was definitely a defensive facility. Definitely.
“…Terrifying. I hope that the defenders are not stationed at every point in these trenches. Please!”
If snakes’ tongues like defenders were lurking in this labyrinth-like terrifying trenches that matched the bottomless pit, and if they threw in the innocent soldiers to retake it, they wouldn’t be able to avoid the attrition warfare.
And what would increase would be the enormous supply convoy heading back to the homeland.
At that moment, Han Seong-geun, who had unconsciously sighed, heard a deep voice from behind.
“That would be difficult. No matter how great the Daejeong is, he wouldn’t station a hundred thousand troops in one city just to block one Seonggyeong.”
“General Woo.”
“A hundred thousand troops, whether there are a hundred thousand is now in doubt.”
Han Seong-geun, who had carefully hung the telescope around his neck, gestured with his head towards the man behind him and greeted him as if happy.
The man was Woo Beom-seon, the second battalion commander of the 3rd Division on the northern advance.
Woo Beom-seon, who had gestured for his aides to rest, took off his leather armor and approached.
“This is a blessing for the front lines, or rather the opposite? It would be appropriate to have a snake’s tongue.”
“Of course, I used the luck first, but…”
“Haha.”
Woo Beom-seon, lightly smiling at Han Seong-geun’s teasing, took off the military cap of the Beiyang Army and put it in his side.
Then, his flat head appeared.
No. No matter how much I look, it’s not visible.
A topknot!
Han Seong-geun, startled, continued with hesitation.
“You… cut your topknot…?”
“Is it awkward? Well, the young friends of the Enlightenment Party liked it.”
“Ah, those guys…”
“It gets in the way, and if I have time to manage the topknot on the front lines, I thought I’d just do a round at the military camp. It’s not illegal or anything.”
“Haha.”
Unlike his straightforward attitude, perhaps because of the sneaky glances from around, Han Seong-geun slowly shrugged his shoulders after letting Woo Beom-seon ramble on.
Yeah, what does a mere topknot have to do with the northern advance?
The long-held desire for the ancient homeland of the Korean people was right in front of them.
If Han Seong-geun himself were to suddenly have the God of Catholicism appear and cut his topknot, promising to hand over Manchuria and Liaodong, it would be embarrassing for his elderly parents, but as a general of the Republic and a person of the people, he was willing to cut his topknot.
After organizing his thoughts, Han Seong-geun greeted Woo Beom-seon with joy again.
“Anyway, it’s good to see you early.”
“Thank you for the welcome. Thanks to you, the 3rd Regiment and the Northern Expedition Division, our regiment returned by the easy road.”
“Ah, you didn’t come with the vanguard?”
“Only the 7th Regiment and the replacement units. Send the vanguard first and then dawdle in the rear, that’s laziness.”
Han Seong-geun, who was a bit surprised by the marching speed of the 7th Regiment that quickly crossed Geumsok Mountain after reorganizing one regular regiment and two replacement regiments at Anpyeong, extended his hand towards him saying to climb the rock.
“You had plenty of time to join, didn’t you? You rushed too much.”
Han Seong-geun’s subtle worry that it was too hasty, Woo Beom-seon waved his hand and answered.
“Haha, you know that before the war, our 7th Regiment completed organization at Bukhansanseong Fortress. Rather, the conscription of the replacement units was a bit late.”
“Even so, it’s fast. The soldiers wouldn’t have been exhausted from forced marches?”
“Don’t worry about that. In the old army, they would have worried about the conscription and lost the soldiers’ stamina, but this time it’s different.”
Different from before.
That meant, unlike the past monarchy, the current Republic Army had somewhat escaped from chaotic command systems or inefficient supply systems?
Revolution is the best, right?
But the answer that came out of Han Seong-geun’s mouth was completely unexpected.
“Um, according to the Wolf’s Lair’s orders, the French Far East Fleet crossed the Yalu River.”
“Thanks to the telegraph installed in Uiju, news spreads quickly. I heard that only three ships were moving back and forth carrying supplies. As for ammunition, I heard they were carrying it themselves.”
“Even supplies, where did they come from? The pockets would have shrunk a lot.”
“Thanks to that, they didn’t build many temporary bridges or pontoons.”
Yes. It was still too early for the results of reform to appear in the Republic Army.
Therefore, the Republic outsourced. To the powerful allies.
And the beneficiaries of that business were the Beiyang Fleet shipping company and Mitsui Bussan of Japan, who aimed for the war special.
“Are you okay standing next to me?”
“Ah, of course.”
At that moment, Woo Beom-seon, who had climbed onto the large rock next to where Han Seong-geun was standing, picked up the telescope hanging around his neck and began to scan the area around the fortress with his eyes.
A moment later.
“Hmm.”
“Do you have any good thoughts?”
It was dizzying thanks to the doomed bamboo and trenches.
In response to Han Seong-geun’s subtle expectation, Woo Beom-seon nodded and opened his mouth.
“Surprisingly, Seonggyeong is located in a low area?”
“After exploring the nearby geography, it says that there are nine peaks growing high around Seonggyeong, and the terrain of the south and east with dense forests and thickets is chaotic.”
“Then, it would be good to place an artillery unit on that hill.”
Woo Beom-seon pointed to the hills protruding below the Geumsok Mountain they had just crossed and opened his mouth.
“Artillery unit? Are you assigning an artillery unit to our division?”
Artillery unit? If there was one, it would be good.
But our Republic doesn’t have that, does it?
Han Seong-geun, with a bewildered expression, tilted his head.
Woo Beom-seon smiled and solved his doubts.
“Ah, Han General probably didn’t hear. Originally, the French artillery regiment that was supposed to go to Dalian was sent to Seonggyeong. When I crossed the Yalu River, they had started crossing, so they should arrive here in about two days at the latest.”
“Oh!”
What a windfall!
“An artillery unit of regimental size! Is France more generous than we think? What’s the story?”
“I also heard only a rough outline through telegrams, so I don’t know the details. However, the colonel of the French artillery unit that had come up to the hinterland said he had made up his mind like that. Unlike Dalian, which can receive support fire from the fleet at the coast, Seonggyeong would be difficult to siege without strong firepower support.”
“That’s fortunate.”
I had heard that the French were steadily pushing to occupy Dalian first, which would allow them to control the Liaodong Peninsula and then hold all the trading rights in the West Sea, but the Wolf’s Lair must have used some trick.
Or perhaps the Tongryeong.
Still, in a corner of my heart, I was worried that the ally, France, might be playing openly above the Republic’s head like other great powers.
I secretly swallowed a sigh.
They even requested to dispatch a large army of 10,000 to Taiwan.
But on the other hand, unlike the tyrant era, there were many patriots instead of traitors who would sell the country, whether pro-French or pro-American, and I felt a sense of relief in the reality that they didn’t issue unreasonable orders.
‘Revolution is really good. Even if it’s an ally or a friend, I have to take care of my own country first.’
Anyway, thanks to not just throwing infantry into that terrifying trench and fence feast and being stunned, but being able to choose new options, Han Seong-geun smiled and continued.
Leaving his son-like subordinates, the fact that they didn’t throw soldiers into a slaughterhouse with foolish command and choices that clearly led to their deaths was a sufficient reason to be happy.
“Since we received a new answer sheet, we should prepare a new plan accordingly. Until just now, I was about to vomit from worrying about breaking through that huge fortress wall and the terrifying trenches surrounding it.”
“Haha, even vomiting. Well, I was suspicious at first too. I don’t know who, but the person responsible for Seonggyeong’s defense is definitely that kind of person. Unlike other cities or fortresses in the south, this place has prepared for war to this extent, and it’s the first time since the war began.”
“Correct.”
Not just haha, but the two of them, who were like ghosts themselves, the Qing soldiers and their incompetent commanders, searched with their eyes for places to build batteries and appropriate positions while talking.
“I didn’t see it directly, but I heard that the governor of Jiuliancheng committed suicide.”
The report that the Jiuliancheng responsible officer hanged himself on a beam after feeling the weight of his responsibility had been accepted by the Wolf’s Lair and distributed to the entire army just recently.
Therefore, an unofficial directive had been issued to the Qing units that chose to resist rather than surrender to each regiment and unit.
As a civilized nation, should we show courtesy to soldiers who bravely fought against the Republic, even if they are enemy collaborators?
‘Rather than that, they would have been conscious of the articles and media of the war correspondents.’
Probably, the Tongryeong would have been more concerned about the eyes of the foreign war correspondents who would follow from now on, Han Seong-geun thought, and bowed his head slightly up and down.
Because instead of finding fault, they thought that by portraying the governor of Jiuliancheng as having died as bravely or justly as possible, the honor and prestige of the Republic Army that had occupied it would also be preserved.
“It was a solemn atmosphere. The biggest thing was that he felt the responsibility for losing the border fortress himself. As soon as the south gate flew away, he immediately hanged himself.”
“Um, that’s surprising. The commanders of the garrisons or Qing soldiers stationed in other villages or cities just slipped away in the back.”
They’re the ones responsible for a big fortress, aren’t they? Later, upon checking identity, they were from the Eight Banners.
“That would be it.”
No matter how corrupt, the Manchu Eight Banners, who were part of the ruling class, would do that.
If it were an unknown village chief or a single soldier, but if it was an Eight Banner whose name was recorded in the Qing official records and sealed in Beijing, apart from the responsibility, it would be hard to avoid the yoke of ‘defeating the enemy and harming the country’ and protecting their own families from collective punishment.
Recalling some of the Ming citizens who threw themselves into the government after the abolition of collective punishment for treason and other crimes as a starting point for revolution, the two shook their heads, saying that was something they couldn’t understand about the world.
*****
Sechung, a bondservant who escaped from Jiuliancheng to Geumsok Mountain and then from Geumsok Mountain to Seonggyeong, the center of Liaodong, entered Seonggyeong about three days before the Korean Army arrived and immediately regretted it.
First, let’s get to the point: Seonggyeong had a clearly large army stationed, unlike Jiuliancheng.
Supplies were abundant, and the elite soldiers who were different from the clumsy conscript militias he had seen before were present everywhere in the streets.
The staff and officers were somewhat nervous, but they gave them food and a place to sleep easily, saying they were preparing for the upcoming battle by supplementing their lack of hands because Sechung and Daiching had fled.
Instead of punishing them!
“Damn, I didn’t come to Seonggyeong because I was hungry!”
But this was an understatement; it was like they had crawled into their own positions.
If they had even a little bit of brains, they would know.
Why would the commanders of Seonggyeong have recorded them again in the military register as deserters, regretting their situation?
“Since this is now the front line! Damn, damn!”
If it weren’t for the poor Daiching who had been starving for days and whining, they would have just passed by the dreary Seonggyeong!
Sechung, who had thrown down the useless shovel after digging the trench, glared at the side with resentful eyes.
“All because of you…!”
“Uu, uu.”
Then, the dull voice and the sharp gaze came.
Yes. Sechung, who had unconsciously brought Daiching, was also in a difficult situation, and the commander of Seonggyeong entrusted him to Sechung.
Sechung sighed at the sight of Daiching staring blankly at him without knowing the sin he had committed.
“…Well, what are you saying. Damn.”
After watching Daiching, who was playing with the shovel in his hand, blankly, Sechung sighed again and collapsed into the corner of the trench.
I couldn’t die like this again.
That idiot Daiching.
“Even if I can’t, the Korean Army will cross the mountain tomorrow. Then, I have to escape in about three days, right?”
Although I didn’t see everything, the Korean Army that had instantly occupied the fortress Jiuliancheng, which was different from the Yalu River fortress where he belonged, was definitely a large army.
How could they occupy a fortress in one day if it wasn’t a large army?
Sechung, who didn’t know the truth, just guessed that the Korean Army was an enormous large army and propped up his chin.
“Seonggyeong is a big city, so they must have set up positions and formed formations, so it would take time for the offensive. But when the enemy appears, the governor locks all the city gates, so to escape north, they must enter the city tonight.”
And necessarily, when the large army crosses difficult terrain, it wastes time with boats and the soldiers are greatly exhausted, so if Sechung had decided to desert with resolve, tonight would be the right time.
“Today’s lunch and dinner should be saved. If I divide it for Daiching too, I can save it for two days to get home.”
Now that he had no hesitation in deserting the front lines, Sechung was making up his mind like that when someone let out a shrill scream.
“Artillery fire!!!”
<BOOM! BOOM! CRASH!>
Unfortunately, this time too, Sechung’s resolution seemed a bit late.
The Korean Army’s artillery that everyone hadn’t expected had started.