Chapter 46: Laughing and Crying Over Obsessions (11)
It took ten days for the Ministry of War to prepare the demonstration of cannons and muskets.
The reason it took ten days was that the small-scale demonstration initially planned for just the cannons and muskets had transformed into a full-scale firepower demonstration involving cavalry and infantry.
"Since I ascended the throne, I haven't properly seen the appearance of our Joseon army since the last expedition to Tsushima. I will also watch the demonstrations of the cavalry and infantry along with the cannon demonstration this time."
"Your command is received!"
Following Sejong's order, soldiers and cavalrymen were selected from the ten offices—after initially expanding from ten to twelve offices right after his ascension, they were reduced back to ten—and the artillerymen and musketeers were chosen.
While the soldiers were being prepared, the location for the demonstration was also decided.
"The riverside in front of Yongsan would be the best, wouldn't it?"
"That place would be the best."
Following the ministers' decision, the demonstration site was set up in Yongsan. The solid ground by the riverside was designated for the infantry and cavalry demonstrations, while the sandy beach was chosen for the cannon and musket demonstrations.
However, the preparations didn't end there. The work continued through the night to create straw dummies as targets for the soldiers and to paint wooden boards as targets for the arrows, cannons, and muskets.
Ten days later, the much-anticipated demonstration was held. Despite it being a busy farming season, the news that the king would be present drew farmers and scholars to the road leading from Namdaemun to Yongsan.
"Chui~. Step aside! His Majesty is passing!"
As the majestic music of the wind and percussion band and the shouts of the eunuchs echoed, the people gathered on the streets knelt down.
"To see His Majesty's face is the greatest honor of my life!"
"Long live His Majesty!"
"Long live!"
"May His Majesty live a long and prosperous life!"
Since the smallpox vaccination was implemented, the people's support for Sejong had been almost absolute.
Life was still tough, but the people were so grateful for the prevention of the deadly smallpox that they were willing to pretend to die if Sejong asked them to.
As Sejong ascended the temporary platform set up at the demonstration site, the general commanding the soldiers shouted loudly to the troops.
"Salute!"
"Attention!"
Sejong, who responded to the soldiers' salute, sat down and gave an order.
"Begin."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Following Sejong's command, the Joseon army's demonstration began.
The demonstration started with the cavalry.
Cavalrymen, dressed in various armors such as iron lamellar armor, leather lamellar armor, chainmail, mirror armor, and helmet armor, began to move slowly in formation.
"Is this a combination of spear cavalry and archer cavalry?"
As the demonstration began, Hyang's eyes sparkled, and he unfolded a writing board. On the paper already inserted into the board, items such as spears, swords, bows, cannons, and muskets were written in Chinese characters, and the items to be checked were listed.
These lists were prepared by Hyang to prevent any accidents. The potential accident was the risk of inadvertently writing in Hangul while absorbed in the demonstration, which could be as serious as a meteorite falling.
"Hmm…."
Hyang carefully observed the spear cavalry preparing to charge. The spears used by the cavalry seemed almost identical to those used by the soldiers guarding the palace.
"Looking at the spears I saw in the palace…"
The spears Hyang had seen had a shaft length of 10 cheok (210 cm) and a spearhead length of 1 cheok 5 chun (31.5 cm).
While observing the spear cavalry, Hyang muttered to himself.
"Are they so short?"
Hyang tilted his head and made check marks on the pre-prepared list.
While Hyang was giving a negative evaluation, the cavalry began their main demonstration.
"Fire!"
At the order of the cavalry commander, the archer cavalry, lined up at the back, released their arrows simultaneously.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The arrows, accompanied by a fierce whistling sound, flew in a parabolic trajectory toward the straw dummies set up far away.
"Charge!"
"Yah!"
"Wow!"
As soon as the commander gave the charge order, the spear cavalry kicked their horses' flanks.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Amid the thundering hooves of the charging horses, the spear cavalry charged up to the dummies, skillfully adjusting their horses' speed and direction to stab the dummies with their spears.
"Stab and withdraw? Reduce speed?"
Hyang continued to tilt his head, as it didn't quite make sense based on his 21st-century knowledge.
According to the knowledge he had acquired from movies and the internet in the 21st century, the role of cavalry was to break through the enemy's front lines like tanks.
They would collapse the enemy's front line with spears and then penetrate the enemy's ranks by swinging their cavalry swords. The moment the cavalry stopped, they became easy targets for the infantry.
"Why reduce the speed they've worked so hard to gain?"
Hyang continued to tilt his head.
However, this was a misjudgment on Hyang's part. For the spear cavalry to perform effectively, their sides needed to be protected. Their attack was limited to a straight line on the front. If the opposing cavalry were experienced, they could avoid attacks by slightly twisting or tilting their bodies. Attacking from the inside of the spear was the basic strategy.
The Jurchens were experienced cavalrymen.
Therefore, the method for the mounted spear technique examination in the Joseon military exams was as follows:
The examinee had to stab five straw dummies placed at regular intervals twice. Each time they stabbed a dummy, they had to assume one of five different postures. If they hit the dummy's face, they received 7 points, and an additional 7 points for each subsequent hit.
Later, when Hyang learned this fact, he sighed.
"Phew~. Nothing is easy."
After the cavalry demonstration, the infantry demonstration followed. While the archers provided cover, the spear infantry and shield bearers formed a defensive line.
"The enemy is retreating! Charge!"
"Wow!"
At the commander's order, some of the soldiers forming the defensive line rushed forward with a battle cry.
However, the unit at the forefront of the defensive line maintained its formation and guarded the main force. After the charging unit cut down the imaginary dummies, they let out a victory cry, marking the end of the cavalry and regular infantry demonstrations.
"Next, we will have the cannon and musket demonstrations."
At the mention of the cannon demonstration, Hyang's eyes sparkled even more.
Shortly after, cannons of various sizes were brought to the demonstration site on carts.
"The largest is the Cheonja cannon, followed by the Jija cannon… and finally, the improved Janggun cannon."
"Begin."
At Sejong's command, the commander loudly ordered the artillerymen.
"Fire!"
Boom! Boom!
Following the commander's order, the artillerymen fired the cannons. Each time the cannons fired, large arrows soared into the sky, creating water spouts in the Han River.
"Wow!"
Each time water spouts appeared in the Han River, the ministers exclaimed in admiration. Their admiration reached its peak when the Janggun cannon was fired.
"Amazing! How far is that?"
In response to Sejong's amazed question, the commander answered with a proud expression.
"1,300 paces (approximately 1.6 km)."
"Truly amazing! Crown Prince, what do you think?"
At Sejong's question, Hyang, lost in thought, did not answer immediately.
"Crown Prince?"
Only after Sejong called again did Hyang snap out of it and hurriedly replied.
"Yes? Yes?"
"What do you think of the power of the Janggun cannon?"
"It would be very effective if mounted on warships. Since the Wokou's habit is to board our ships and engage in close combat, it would be best to annihilate them before they get close."
"I see."
Sejong nodded, and the commander looked at Hyang with pride.
'He knows military tactics so well at such a young age. This is the revival of Joseon!'
"Now, let's begin the musket demonstration."
"Your command is received!"
Following the commander's order, the soldiers operating the muskets stepped forward with their weapons.
"The ones on those carts are single-shot muskets."
"I see. Proceed."
"Fire!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Following the commander's order, the single-shot muskets and various other muskets were fired. Only the single-shot muskets, which had the longest range, were fired toward the Han River, while the others targeted the dummies about 100 paces (approximately 120 meters) away.
After the demonstration, Sejong praised the commander.
"Truly a magnificent sight. Well done."
"Your grace is boundless!"
"Crown Prince, what do you think?"
"With such elite commanders and soldiers, I feel very secure."
"Your grace is boundless!"
With the Crown Prince's praise, the commander bowed with a broad smile. Hyang then turned to Sejong.
"Father, may I inspect the targets and talk to the soldiers for a moment?"
"Why?"
"There are things I need to check."
Sejong's eyes narrowed at Hyang's answer.
'This kid? Does he have some ulterior motive?'
After a brief moment of thought, Sejong nodded.
"Permission granted."
"Thank you! General, let's go together!"
* * *
Hyang, accompanied by the general who had led the demonstration, headed to where the soldiers and weapons were. The soldiers, seeing Hyang, all saluted.
"Welcome, Crown Prince!"
"Thank you for your hard work. I can sleep soundly knowing we have soldiers like you. I am truly grateful!"
"Your grace is boundless!"
Hyang's praise boosted the soldiers' morale. Observing the soldiers, Hyang carefully checked the situation.
"Are the armors they are wearing the ones you provided?"
"Yes, they are!"
"I see…."
'No wonder. They have all kinds of armors.'
In Joseon, when soldiers were conscripted, they had to provide their own weapons and armor. In particular, the cavalrymen had to provide their own horses, so they were mostly the sons of wealthy families.
'This is why, as the number of cavalrymen increased, all sorts of people joined, and the real cavalrymen focused on studying for the exams. As a result, the defense became a mess, and a vicious cycle ensued… Damn! I'm getting sidetracked again!'
After a brief self-criticism, Hyang diligently inspected the equipment.
What Hyang was most interested in were the cannons and muskets. After examining the insides of the cannons, Hyang nodded.
"Indeed…"
The main cannons used by the Joseon army at the time were of the non-segmented type. The internal structure, similar to a long funnel and a tube combined, did not allow the use of wadding because the bore of the powder chamber was wider than the narrowest part of the barrel. In such cases, only large arrows could be used.
Nodding, Hyang inspected the cannons of various grades, including the Cheonji cannon, and then focused on the Janggun cannon.
"It's a segmented type, right? Is that correct?"
"Yes, Crown Prince."
"Hmm…"
Hyang looked at the cannons with a thoughtful expression.
'How should I modify this? Should I start by upgrading the muskets?'
After much deliberation, Hyang turned to the general.
"I want to inspect the muskets."
"Yes, Crown Prince."
Hyang, heading to where the musketeers were, carefully examined the muskets. After inspecting the insides of the muskets and the arrows and lead balls they used, Hyang went to the target boards.
"Indeed…"
Upon reaching the target boards, Hyang nodded. The number of arrows stuck in the targets was clearly fewer compared to the number fired.
'With aimed shooting and the one-shot-many-arrows method, only area suppression is possible.'
While inspecting the target boards, Hyang asked the commander who followed him.
"What is the penetration power like?"
"Penetration power?"
"The Jurchens will also wear armor, won't they?"
"Yes."
"How does it compare to our Joseon armor?"
"It can be considered similar. Smaller tribes mainly wear leather armor, while more powerful tribes wear chainmail or helmet armor."
"If we shoot the helmet armor with these muskets, what happens?"
The commander looked perplexed at Hyang's question.
"Since we haven't conducted experiments… but according to reports from the northern regions, the Jurchens were killed within 40 paces (approximately 50 meters)."
Hyang stroked his chin in response to the commander's answer.
'From the videos I saw on the internet, even arrows shot at point-blank range were deflected. I should start from here.'
"I've seen enough. Let's return."
"Yes, Crown Prince."
As Hyang moved toward where Sejong was, he muttered to himself.