The novel has already been fully translated up to the final chapter. You can access it on my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/c/caleredhair
“Kill!”
In the narrow valley, soldiers from both sides almost simultaneously erupted in shouts of “kill” after a brief standoff.
The marines immediately formed ranks on the twenty-meter-wide mountain road. Their rifled muskets belched smoke and fire, and in an instant, the charging Goryeo soldiers fell one after another into pools of blood.
Encountering such a dangerous situation, Liu Chen immediately ordered his soldiers to protect Yue Yun and retreat, while also having his mortar operators continuously launch lime bombs into the Goryeo army.
In this situation, lime bombs were the most suitable type of projectile.
White lime powder exploded among the Goryeo troops. Goryeo soldiers, their eyes burned by the lime, stumbled around in the narrow valley, covering their faces.
Their originally orderly formation was suddenly jammed in the narrow passage due to the soldiers’ confusion.
“Bang, bang, bang…”
The marines, each with a grim face, continuously shot down Goryeo soldiers with their three-stage firing technique.
The Goryeo soldiers at the front had never seen firearms before. Seeing their comrades fall to the ground just a few steps after charging, they instinctively wanted to avoid the danger, but it was too late. They felt a sharp pain and then fell, their consciousness gradually fading.
As the soldiers at the front fell, the Goryeo soldiers behind, unaware of what was happening, continued to push and surge forward. However, due to the corpses on the ground and the effects of the lime bombs, the entire Goryeo army appeared somewhat disorganized.
A distance of several hundred meters quickly vanished. The Goryeo soldiers, having suffered heavy casualties, now picked up their swords and slashed at the Great Yu Empire soldiers.
This time, in attacking Bisa Castle, the marines were prepared for a tough fight. They fixed bayonets onto their muskets, and with a loud shout of “Kill,” charged towards the Goryeo forces.
The soldiers’ faces were resolute and courageous. They intended to make these Goryeo people understand that the Great Yu Empire soldiers relied not only on firearms, but even in close combat, they could still rout them.
The Goryeo general, who had thought they could defeat the Great Yu Empire army with sheer numbers, was instantly dumbfounded. The Great Yu Empire soldiers, brandishing gleaming bayonets, were like tigers entering a flock of sheep.
They used their skilled bayonet techniques to fight the Goryeo soldiers, and each thrust of a bayonet took a Goryeo soldier’s life.
The Goryeo soldiers despaired at this moment. The soldiers behind couldn’t keep up due to the chaos, and they also had to face the Great Yu Empire’s disciplined bayonet charge.
Leaving behind a pile of corpses, the Goryeo soldiers desperately retreated backward, while the soldiers behind them continued to push forward, making the narrow valley battle even more chaotic.
Liu Chen decisively seized this opportunity. He simultaneously had the mortar operators fire at the Goryeo army while commanding the marines to continue their charge.
Corpses piled up in the valley. The marines bypassed the city gate and began to charge towards the inner side of the valley.
The fierce fighting had by now broken the will of the Goryeo soldiers, who finally dispersed towards Bisa Castle.
Liu Chen was panting. The battle had lasted for over two hours, and he and many soldiers were exhausted, but looking at the fallen marines on the ground, his eyes reddened, and he shouted, “Kill! For our fallen brothers!”
As his voice fell, the sound of the charge bugle rang out. The soldiers, filled with fervent emotion, rushed out of the narrow valley and into Bisa Castle.
Yue Yun, who was with the army, felt a surge of energy upon hearing this news. He no longer cared for his own safety and, breaking through the obstruction of two soldiers, also headed towards Bisa Castle.
When the soldiers routed and scattered, Kim Dong fell into despair. At this moment, no matter how much he shouted, the fleeing soldiers only cared about saving their own lives, and no one obeyed his orders.
Around Bisa Castle was a low city wall. Goryeo soldiers climbed over the wall and fled west. The Great Yu Empire soldiers came from the East Gate, and this West Gate also had a path leading down the mountain.
The Goryeo soldiers, having lost over four thousand men in the valley, were utterly terrified. Using swords against the Great Yu Empire army, which was armed with firearms, was no longer a question of bravery. The sorrow of dying without even touching the enemy was something not everyone could bear.
“General Kim.” At this moment, Park Jeong-ho appeared behind Kim Dong.
Kim Dong, who was gathering gold and silver treasures, preparing to flee, turned around and saw Park Jeong-ho staring intently at him.
“This great defeat was caused by your incompetent command as deputy general!” Kim Dong instinctively shifted the blame. He knew very well that the blame for losing Bisa Castle was far more severe than Park Jeong-ho losing a few ships.
However, his voice abruptly stopped. Park Jeong-ho, with a grim face, drew his ceremonial sword and directly stabbed it into Kim Dong’s chest. “Do you think I would let you frame me again?”
Kim Dong looked at the sharp sword in his chest in disbelief. He wanted to say something, but his vision went black, and he completely lost his life.
Pulling out his ceremonial sword, Park Jeong-ho fled down the mountain. He had grown tired of the dark rule of the King of Goryeo and had no desire to remain loyal to him. For him, Goryeo’s current internal and external troubles were all caused by the King of Goryeo himself.
…
Haigucheng.
The battle here was equally fierce. Beishan’s siege had lasted for over three days.
Within three days, Beshan continuously dispatched soldiers to assault the city. Now, the area around the city gate and outside the city was littered with the corpses of barbarian soldiers.
“This is the fourth day.”
Ye Qingyun was somewhat tired, and the soldiers were equally fatigued, but Beishan seemed to have no intention of stopping the assault.
“This Beishan is truly persistent.” Zou Cheng frowned. He continued, “But since yesterday, he has been using barbarian soldiers to attack the city, right?”
“That’s right. These barbarian soldiers fight fearlessly and are clearly not slave soldiers or Goryeo soldiers.” Ye Qingyun’s mood improved somewhat. At least this meant Beishan was also at the end of his rope.
Zou Cheng said, “If that’s the case, Beishan won’t last much longer. Haigucheng is still strong; he won’t win.”
“Indeed. However, he has kept the city under siege, which means the Emperor’s plan to force the King of Goryeo to sign a treaty and open trade ports will be continuously delayed. This time, we must make the King of Goryeo understand that the barbarians cannot protect them!”
Zou Cheng sensed a hint of gunpowder in Ye Qingyun’s words. He said, “General, do you intend to go out and meet them in battle?”
“Only by doing so can we defeat Beishan. Rest for half a day, then launch an attack on the barbarian camp this afternoon.” Ye Qingyun said. The current situation was a test of both sides’ endurance.
He wouldn’t have dared to do this before, but now he had confidence because the army’s provisions had been very good these past two years.
The soldiers serving in the army were all well-fed and strong. With regular training, their bodies were even more robust, no longer skinny like before.
Noon arrived in an instant. Amidst the melodious sound of flutes, the soldiers assembled outside the city, marching to the rhythm of military music.
Ye Qingyun, on horseback, stood on the left flank of the formation. When the formation was complete, he ordered the soldiers to advance towards the barbarian camp.
“Thump, thump, thump… thump, thump, thump…”
As the soldiers advanced, the sound of drums and flutes rang out simultaneously. Soldiers, arranged in formations of two hundred men, marched steadily forward with their flintlock guns.
*Apologies, a chapter was missed. Below is the chapter that should have been the next one, but was accidentally skipped, so I’m adding it here instead.
Melodious music reverberated in front of Haigucheng.
For Beishan, this was not enjoyment, but despair.
Four consecutive days of siege had decimated more than half of his army. The Goryeo army was directly crushed. Now, he was isolated and helpless, facing the Great Yu Empire’s army alone.
“Prince, let’s retreat.” Guduo glanced at the Great Yu Empire army continuously approaching their camp.
If it had been before, they would surely have led the cavalry in a charge. But after experiencing the hollow square formation deployed by the Great Yu Empire army, they no longer had absolute confidence. Moreover, his current soldiers were very tired after four days of fierce fighting, and he no longer held a numerical advantage.
The marching music of the Great Yu Empire army grew closer and closer. Beishan’s brows furrowed deeper and deeper. He truly could not understand why an army on the march for battle would beat gongs and drums.
However, he understood that this was a dangerous signal.
Glancing at the twenty thousand cavalry behind him, a fierce glint flashed in Beishan’s eyes. He said to Guduo, “If I retreat, I will never again be able to hold my head high before my Father Khan. The other princes will also mock me. Only the heads of the Great Yu Empire generals can wash away my shame.”
With that, he shouted loudly, “Kill these Great Yu Empire bastards!”
Under his command, the bugle call suddenly blared. The barbarian cavalry furiously spurred their warhorses, charging towards the Great Yu Empire army in front of Haigucheng.
Ye Qingyun, seeing this, looked grim. He ordered the army to switch to a hollow square formation.
Previously, the Great Yu Empire army had never directly clashed with barbarian cavalry in open ground. If anything, they had only relied on the advantage of chariots to offset the cavalry’s advantage.
This time, he very boldly chose to rely solely on the hollow square formation against the barbarian cavalry. This was not Ye Qingyun being reckless, but his trust in the current Great Yu Empire army.
Excellent training, good provisions, and battle-hardened experience—all of this gradually transformed the Great Yu Empire army from a weak force into a formidable, wolf-like army.
Under Ye Qingyun’s command, the marching formation suddenly shifted rapidly. In a very short time, the soldiers formed five hollow square formations.
And at the front of each hollow square formation were twenty heavy smoothbore guns. They now aimed their muzzles at the charging cavalry.
Amidst the rumbling of hooves, dust swirled up from the ground. Barbarian cavalry, clad in silver armor, brandished their sabers high. Under the golden sunlight, a cold glint flashed.
The Great Yu Empire soldiers held their breath at this moment. The front-rank soldiers tightly gripped their flintlock guns as if holding onto their lives.
This was their first direct confrontation with barbarian cavalry. Amidst their nervousness, a sense of heroic pride also swelled within them.
“Boom, boom, boom…”
Before the barbarian cavalry could approach the hollow square formations, the artillery on both sides of the hollow square formations began to unleash cannon fire.
As the soldiers advanced, the artillerymen also pushed their six-pound field cannons, following the soldiers forward. These six-pound field cannons were light, and three men could push them forward.
And while the field cannons bombarded the barbarian cavalry, the soldiers carrying mortars also shelled the barbarian cavalry with lime bombs.
Under the artillery’s attack, barbarian cavalry began suffering casualties four hundred meters away.
This time, to assault the open square formation of the Great Yu Empire, Beishan chose a dense charge, because only this way could he break through such a formation in one fell swoop.
And once the formation was broken, what followed would be their massacre of the Great Yu Empire soldiers.
However, the dense formation immediately became a target for artillery fire at this moment. Solid shot, like skewered gourds, instantly took the lives of over a dozen barbarian cavalrymen.
These cavalrymen fell to the ground, impeding the actions of the cavalry behind them. Some cavalrymen, unable to dodge in time, were tripped by the fallen cavalry, causing them to fall with their horses.
And those cavalrymen who managed to dodge immediately fell into disarray.
Even more terrifying than live ammunition were the lime bombs. These shells had little lethality but were enough to blind cavalry.
Blind barbarian cavalrymen and horses crashed around like headless flies. The formation Beishan had organized quickly fell into confusion and was utterly disrupted.
Ye Qingyun watched this scene with satisfaction. The purpose of artillery was to disrupt the enemy’s formation.
Engaging cavalry on such open ground was terrifying, but if the cavalry became chaotic, they would be easy to deal with.
However, despite the confusion, the barbarian cavalry continued to charge towards the hollow square formation. At two hundred meters, the heavy smoothbore guns in front of the hollow square formation opened fire on the barbarian cavalry.
Clusters of steel balls rushed towards the barbarian cavalry from the muzzles, and instantly, another horse fell, further disrupting their formation.
Two hundred meters was but an instant for cavalry. The heavy smoothbore guns had one more chance to fire.
The soldiers immediately reloaded and fired a second volley.
After firing, the heavy smoothbore gunners retreated to the inner side of the hollow square formation.
While the heavy smoothbore guns fired, the rifled musketeers also fired simultaneously. Using their range advantage, they fired from over two hundred meters away.
Under successive volleys, the barbarian cavalry charging towards the hollow square formation were in utter chaos. As they entered the one hundred-meter range, the flintlock guns fired their last volley.
Immediately after, the first rank of soldiers in the hollow square formation quickly knelt down, tilting their flintlock guns towards the direction from which the cavalry came. The second rank of soldiers continued to fire, followed by the third rank.
Under the fierce firepower, the barbarian cavalry left a trail of corpses. The remaining scattered cavalry charged towards the hollow square formation like moths to a flame.
Warhorses were impaled by bayonets. Barbarian cavalry slammed directly into the Great Yu Empire soldiers. Under the immense impact, the Great Yu Empire soldiers immediately staggered backward, and a slight disarray appeared where they were hit.
But the soldiers behind immediately braced against the cavalry’s impact, preventing them from breaking through the formation.
Under the continuous assault of firearms, the charging barbarian cavalry were merely splashes of water hitting a rock. The hollow square formation remained as stable as a rock.
The first wave of five thousand men failed. Beishan’s face turned ashen. The Great Yu Empire soldiers before them seemed to have become an insurmountable obstacle.
He was shocked. When did the Great Yu Empire’s army become so refined?
“Prince, let’s retreat. Our tribesmen are not afraid of death, but they shouldn’t throw away their lives for Goryeo,” Guduo said anxiously.
Beishan’s eyes dimmed. The Great Yu Empire army then advanced again. As they passed by each wounded cavalryman, the Great Yu Empire soldiers would end the Golden Tent Khanate soldier’s life with a bayonet.
This round of assault made Beishan realize that he could not easily break the formation as he had defeated the Great Yu Empire army before.
Turning his horse around, Beishan headed in the direction of Ryukyo City. At this moment, he suddenly realized that the Golden Tent Khanate needed time to train a firearm army, otherwise, they would never be able to defeat the Great Yu Empire.
Perhaps he should heed the Japanese’s suggestion and meet that British man.