Chapter 163
Chapter 163
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 163
Chapter Title: Descent from the Fortress (3)
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Ustru Naal shed tears as he gazed at the cannons, of which only three or four had burst apart.
It was far better than he had hoped. Considering all the hardships they had endured, the tears were inevitable.
There was a reason why East Asian governments of this era seemed indifferent to new technology.
Proposing to go far away and import technology at this time was akin to suggesting terraforming Mars by 21st-century standards. It would be nice if it worked, but there were too many practical hurdles, and even more urgent matters took precedence.
That said, they weren't entirely lacking in will. Nations like Joseon and Ryukyu, which lagged behind in total production compared to their neighbors and thus needed technology, took an approach similar to what modern people might think upon seeing a UFO.
In other words, they grabbed any foreigners who happened to arrive in their country. Even if the foreigner was a literary scholar, the ironclad rule was to assume they were experts in the sciences.
Fortunately, Ustru Naal wasn't from the literary side. He was originally the armaments officer of Dunisbelt—or rather, the ship's military police chief and weapons overseer.
Pondering Chae Je-gong's 21st-century-client-like demand to "deliver something good at the lowest bid price," Ustru had showcased the leather cannon, a stratagem of "Golden King" Gustav II Adolf.
The innovative idea of mobile artillery was highly commendable, but the concept itself dated back a century, and its poor durability meant it wasn't in long-term use.
Still, Ustru figured it was suitable for "primitive East Asian science and technology." Above all, it allowed for thin bronze barrels, keeping costs low.
And then Chae Je-gong had beaten him with the "Foreign Devil Spirit Injection Rod."
"You bastard! As Kim Chunsik said, even redhairs only listen after a beating. How dare you imitate Dorim to deceive the superintendent and squander the national treasury?"
"What's Dorim? Aaaagh!"
It was a cannon with the exact same concept, created in Joseon under King Injo's reign—not much different in timing from Europe. One shouldn't underestimate Yi Jong, the "Warlord" who stood against the world's strongest Great Qing.
Moreover, even if Europe originated the idea, Joseon had advanced it further.
Joseon had no need for Europe's expensive leather. Paper would suffice.
The notion that wrapping a cannon in paper would make it burn right away was a prejudice born of Europe's inferior papermaking.
Hanji paper was practically Joseon's plastic. This was a nation that made shoes, chamber pots, armor, and even greenhouses out of paper.
Hence, it wasn't called a leather cannon but a paper cannon [紙銃]. Had Joseon not fallen, they might have even tried paper ballistic missiles.
So it was no wonder Ustru got beaten for trying to peddle such outdated tech.
In the end, with their heads forcibly wrung, Ustru and the Dutch sailors reduced the cannon count but replicated the field guns aboard their ship.
They even introduced Sweden's rapid-fire technique [geschwind], which was futuristic even from a European perspective.
It was originally the brainchild of General Carl Cronstedt (born last year).
The technique used thin wooden cartridge tubes and a precisely systematized firing sequence—nothing requiring advanced engineering, just a battle of ideas.
And ideas are usually seized by the desperate.
Having awakened to the regressor's power amid the beatings, Ustru not only adopted future tech but improved it further.
He commissioned cartridge tubes made of paper (which produced even less residue than wood). In paperpunk Joseon, where even shin'gi-jeon fuses and cannon casings were made of paper, this was a simple task.
This was the human rights violation scene unfolding at the Military Armory while Kim Unhaeng was away in China.
Naturally, it required training soldiers on firing procedures and testing cannon flaws.
But "Spring in Hanyang" struck before they could. Chae Je-gong lost all prototypes to Kim Unhaeng. With the Crown Prince taking them for his special forces, even the slaves making new weapons vanished.
Chae Je-gong, who dreamed of parading new weaponry before the king (whomever it might be) to pitch a northern expedition, clung to Kim Unhaeng.
"They haven't been properly tested yet—they're dangerous. Just take the existing ones!"
"I won't be firing them myself, so it's fine."
Chae Je-gong couldn't retort that no one was worried about him. At the time, in the capital, if Kim Unhaeng called you a traitor, you were a traitor.
In the end, Chae Je-gong had to hand over his entire stock.
And with the reasonable excuse that Joseon troops hadn't yet mastered Swedish light artillery tactics, plus Kim Chunsik-style reasoning that barbarians dying in accidents was fine, the Dutchmen were tasked with firing the opening shots in this crucial battle.
Greater risk brought greater reward. The Dutch special forces achieved the feat of annihilating the Royal Guard under the eyes of nearly all Joseon's royal officials and thousands of troops.
The Training Command, unable to lose to barbarians, fired diligently too.
Yet Swedish field gun rapidity peaked at 12 shots per minute—outpacing muskets despite being cannons.
Of course, amateur gunners and subpar field guns made it slower. But the Training Command suffered blows to pride, and the Royal Guard to lives; they couldn't avoid it.
Once the volley ended, Gu Seonhaeng—who had been flung from his palanquin moments ago and regained his senses—barely rose, leaning on his sword.
The Royal Guard in his eyes was no longer an army.
"Wh-what in the world..."
Even for a distant nomad nation, Gu Seonhaeng had never heard of annihilating an enemy in the field with gunfire alone.
But he wasn't shocked by the new weapon's power. Joseon matched Europe in cannon expertise.
Gu Seonhaeng soon grasped the situation.
This triumph was possible only due to the special circumstance of facing off in a narrow pass at knife-fight range.
The hostage ploy, his sole hoped-for reversal, had returned as a double-edged sword.
And Jangyongyeong Commander—no, Chief Social Worker—Kim Seong-eung was a traditional, commonsense Joseon general like Gu Seonhaeng.
He too believed that, cannons aside, battles ended in melee.
That was true at present. Cavalry, lords of the battlefield for a millennium, had ages left before fading into history, be it in Europe or Asia.
Unable to yield more glory to the redhairs, Kim Seong-eung halted firing and ordered the cavalry charge.
Even if the Training Command was gunner-heavy, its Pyongan Province special warriors prided themselves no less than Royal Guard knights.
The chronic horse shortage had been somewhat alleviated by Chunsik Delivery. The special warrior cavalry bravely kicked their mounts forward.
Around Gu Seonhaeng remained fifty or sixty cavalry.
The rest were dead, with broken horse or human legs preventing rise—but surprisingly few fled.
Command breakdown was inevitable, leaving one option.
With subordinates' aid, Gu Seonhaeng mounted, rasping hoarsely.
"This was never about surviving from the start."
Even Knight Commander Sim Ryeong, the highest surviving officer, nodded.
"Indeed. Sacrificing for loyalty holds no regret, but I worry the traitors will rampage unchecked."
"To prevent them harassing His Majesty at will, we must show savage resolve—prove righteous men remain in the land. Kill one more, die one more."
"Yes, General. Load all with great feathered arrows!"
Special warriors and capital knights exchanged ceremonial mounted shots. A few fell, but both sides' momentum held.
Melee range neared. Royal Guard drew bows, spears, and curved swords grimly.
But their resolve wavered seeing the special warriors' vanguard.
"Who the hell is that guy?!"
"Never heard of such a giant in the Training Command..."
"I know him. That's Jangbok, Kim Unhaeng's manservant brute!"
It looked like a bear riding a horse. Two fearsome beasts merged was nightmarish.
Gu Seonhaeng ground his teeth. What was Kim Unhaeng? Why did Heaven aid evil so fiercely?
The pigeon and palanquin horse earlier were suspicious to anyone. And that primitive warrior seemed unbeatable even by Fenghuo and Haryuk of ancient China.
Miracles from prehistoric times rampant. Unless Heaven lacked the Way...
Then Gu Seonhaeng seized a chilling conclusion.
"Has Heaven bestowed the Mandate on Kim Unhaeng and the Crown Prince?!"
Impossible. He desperately shoved the thought away.
Heaven granted Gu Seonhaeng's final wish.
The approaching pony rammed his mount. Forced by Kim Unhaeng to carry Eoji—who couldn't ride—Pony was furious.
Next instant, Eoji casually swung his bow to scatter nearby cavalry, then grabbed Gu Seonhaeng's neck with an arm 1.5 times longer and thrice thicker than average.
Eoji wasn't cruel—just ignorant of mounted combat. Luckily, Gu Seonhaeng's neck snapped instantly under the grip, killing him.
Knight Commander Sim Ryeong endured death's terror far longer.
Due to speed, Eoji merely flinging the corpse looked like whirling Gu Seonhaeng midair before slamming him down ferociously.
The Royal Guard lost melee's vital momentum. With blood cooled, defeat followed.
After Gu Seonhaeng and Sim Ryeong fell, the rest lost will and collapsed.
They had held out admirably. Deserters began trickling from the Royal Guard.
But they couldn't enter the fortress. Cursing the locked gate, they scattered up the slopes.
Gu Seonhaeng's order, fearing the numerically superior Crown Prince forces would storm in. Survivors would obey it over any countermand, even if he returned alive.
The social welfare army had no intent to press into the fortress on this momentum either.
They would have shelled Namhansanseong already if so. The Crown Prince mustn't aim a fingernail's worth of weapons at his royal father.
Instead, Kim Unhaeng prepared a far deadlier weapon.
By the time the battlefield roughly settled, they had leisure to escort the Crown Princess, two royal grandsons, and Princess Hwawan to safety. The Crown Princess sighed in relief; Princess Hwawan reminded her nephews not to forget their aunt.
The Crown Prince outside was busy too. Though underlings handled details, only he could symbolically order Gu Seonhaeng's head hung at the camp gate or praise Eoji while declaring his amnesty.
The greatest merit holder was indisputably Kim Unhaeng.
The Crown Prince considered likening him to Zhao Zilong rushing to protect kin but demurred—not due to Romance of the Three Kingdoms' status in Joseon, but fearing he'd have to hurl the royal heir to the ground.
As the Crown Prince wracked for better analogies, the pigeons that earned major feats earlier suddenly gathered and perched near him.
As people stared in wonder, Kim Unhaeng loudly congratulated the Crown Prince.
"When royal virtue shines, phoenixes cry from the east [Shijing]; when Jin's tyranny peaks, white deer are lost [Shiji]; Great Ming's sagely emperor gained the auspicious black rabbit. Thus, Heaven's entrustment of the realm is plain to see."
In truth, eastern phoenix cries symbolized admonishing virtuous ministers; white deer, the realm's throne—per original authors' intent, not modern gloss.
Moreover, Emperor Xuande's black rabbit drew Sejong's mockery: "Shall we catch some to tribute profitably?"
Yet premoderns were wiser than sloppy moderns. No one rebuked Kim Unhaeng for shaming Seomun Pyo.
That would be as foolish as shouting in modern Pyongyang, "How can pinecones become grenades?"
Thus Kim Unhaeng freely crowned the Crown Prince the nation's sun.
"Today, omens shine clearer: dogs and barbarians protect the righteous army; birds fly to strike traitors; horses emulate Teng Gong (Xiao Hehui), safeguarding Your noble form. How could this servant not prostrate in celebration?"
Thereupon, civil officials like Jeong Hwi-ryang and Yi Il-je vied to cite classics proving ideological purity.
None could match Kim Unhaeng scholastically. A hundred scriptures summoned every ancient-modern animal friend.
The Crown Prince, Three Kingdoms fan, again failed to flex learning. Red Hare was apt but unlucky.
So he merely demurred humbly.
"On the way to attend Father Royal, how can I rejoice only in battle功? I shall now don plain robes, kneel at the gate, and atone publicly."
No one found it odd.
Not because he was a pro at public atonement from old. It was the social welfare army's consensus ultimate attack.
The Crown Prince would never breach the fortress by force.
Did Shun raise a plowshare against parents plotting his death?
To make filial piety comprehensible to Westerners, liken to original sin, jokes go.
A perverse yandere ancient god slays Job's family sequentially—"Will you still call me Lord?"—yet Job serves Yahweh. Born sinner and slave, he was.
Conversely, upholding Shun's attitude left the Crown Prince unassailable. Like Job, he deserved prosperity outweighing losses.
So what of the king's retinue in Namhansanseong?
The Crown Prince ascends not. And that's right.
Logically, then, the king must descend.
The Joseon King, second time in 120 years, must resolve on Jeongchuk Year's descent.
Yi Geum felt no gratitude toward Gu Seonhaeng whatsoever.
To him, his traitorous son defying him or Gu Seonhaeng charging out against orders to annihilation looked the same. Both evaded his control.
Yi Geum glared at the desk's liquor bottle as if to devour it.
Even without sacrificing his cat—beloved more than his son—he knew its contents.
It was the bottle he'd sent Princess Hwawan. Yi Geum could see why the Crown Princess fled.
Yi Geum recalled the wind-up doll from a palace maid's quarters when scheming to ensnare Kim Unhaeng.
Then, he'd confidently thought to puppet all, doll-maker Kim Unhaeng included.
As he'd deftly controlled ministers for 30 years under evenhandedness banners.
Now, he feared becoming the puppet.
If the Crown Prince's army arrived, best case he'd be Ming's Xuande Emperor; worst, Zhao's King Muiryeong. He'd need permission to twitch a finger.
"No! Never."
Yi Geum clutched the bottle. Failed controlling others, but he controlled his life.
And death.
The Crown Prince would suffer paternal murder nightmares lifelong.
Yi Geum slowly raised the bottle.
Then, the unimaginable happened.
The door to the king's chamber—even if a temporary lodging—burst open.
There stood Left State Councillor Jo Jae-ho, whom should be jailed.
Seeing him with Defense Minister Hong Gye-hui (forcibly reinstated after fleeing), it clicked.
Jo Jae-ho kowtowed outside with soldiers, then entered unbidden.
Yi Geum was dumbfounded amid chaos. He'd expected betrayal to the Crown Prince, but not so brutishly rude.
"Have you lost your mind?"
Jo Jae-ho neither hated the king nor sought petty gain.
He just wanted to end this pointless fight grandly.
So he didn't snark at the king's question. His courtesy was disregard.
The Defense Minister eyed the soldiers.
"The liquor ban Your Highness personally decreed lingers long; seems forgotten in haste. Remove the bottle."
Soldiers knew dementia blanks even that. They took it from powerless Yi Geum.
Only then did Jo Jae-ho politely address the king.
"Your Highness, your excursion dragged too long. Time to descend."
Tears streamed from his eyes, inexplicably.
Author's Notes
1. Ryukyu didn't torture, but like Joseon with Westerners, had stranded Joseon sailors craft cannons (Danjong Annals).
2. Jijong ordered manufactured in Injo 26 (1648) per Uijeongwon Diary; 100 made and tested next year (Injo Annals). "Test South Manse's precise Jijong method"—likely European tech transmitted. (Europe used leather cannons 1620s.)
Injo worried durability: "Unharmed after multiple shots?" Defense Minister Yi Si-baek confidently assured.
Apparently succeeded, as rewards given. Warlord Injo passed a month later after this trial.
3. Qin losing its deer is Guoci's famed "deer in the central plains" anecdote.
Xiao Hehui sheltered Han Gaozu's family in escape. God slaying family is Book of Job.
4. Carl Cronstedt no fool but famed for defeat. Surrendered Sveaborg in early 19th Finnish War; death sentence in absentia. Sweden lost Northeast Europe dominance thereafter.
5. Sejong eyed Xuande's black rabbit, black fox, white goose tribute: "Gather ours too?" (Sejong 10.11.9).
Thus theorized auspicious zoos; tactless minister: "Ming has qilin, but hooves differ from texts?" Sejong: "Idiot, exotic beast is qilin henceforth."
6. Wind-up doll from Yeongjo's thoughts in Ch. 135 "Crab Rang's Counterattack." Ming Xuande, Zhao Muiryeong: both confined by ministers. Former restored; latter failed.