Chapter 495 – 495

Somewhere upstream of the River of Recovery.

A military tent installed so as not to be easily seen by others.

Inside the hidden military tent, there were scattered maps and wooden dolls on a half-broken desk.

The strategic map favored by the Commander-in-Chief of the Joseon Army and wooden doll horses representing troops fell to the ground, seemingly hinting at the current situation of the Joseon Army.

Park Yu-min, the commander-in-chief of the Joseon army, was sitting in his chair, holding his face with his head down, trying to control his despair.

‘Thinking of an anecdote my grandfather told me a long time ago, I was in dire straits… No, the pardon team had prepared the operation. It seemed like I almost caught everything…’

Park Yu-min looked at the black ceiling in the tent and cried out as if he was lamenting.

“How did heaven allow my great-grandfather to exist in the world where I was born? “How was it that I was born into a world where monsters, not humans, existed?”

Park Yu-min lowered his head from looking at the ceiling in the tent back to the ground and muttered.

“… In the end, everything her grandfather said when he was alive was right. Even if he lived as a general in the Joseon army, he would never face the sacred imperial army, and if his great-great-grandfather approached him as an enemy, he would tell him to save his life and run away. He said he was not human… Grandfather, your foolish grandson didn’t listen to you and ruined the job…”

If she hadn’t kept it hidden in her family, she boldly used her granddaughter, who would be considered the most beautiful woman in Joseon, in this operation.
He recruited her granddaughter, gave her the name Woohee, and spread rumors about the enemy leader’s advance.

‘It was a plan to abandon her granddaughter, but it was ruined so vainly. I am a failure both as a general and as a grandfather.’

A black famous horse was prepared with the name Ochuma.

It was a horse trained to become fearful and freeze when it smells a specific scent that humans cannot smell, and not to move when necessary.

That’s how we prepared for the Battle of Haeha River.

‘As if that wasn’t enough, they even brought in the daughters and granddaughters of their relatives and used them as beautiful spies to capture the enemy leader while appealing for patriotism… Now, what kind of faces do I have to see the faces of my relatives living in Joseon?’

Park Yu-min thought he could definitely win.

Because he sacrificed many things.

‘I thought I had collected enough sacrifices to catch the son of God or the devil.’

However, his great-great-grandfather was truly a devil, and at some point he became stronger, as if he had grown by drinking blood.

Park Yu-min, who was watching the scene from afar, was dumbfounded.

Is that a human bastard? Are they the same person? Are you really the son of God? Are we really God’s blood relatives?

‘I was wrong. I am conceited.’

Park Yu-min stared blankly at the ceiling of the military tent, like a person who was abandoned.

The ceiling above the dark tent was as if he was looking into his own future.

“Your Excellency Commander-in-Chief… “How can you be like this?”

A man who appeared to be a high-ranking officer carefully entered the military camp and picked up the wooden dolls that had fallen on the ground.

A high-ranking officer approached Park Yu-min, who seemed to have already gotten into a fight.

“Am I still commander in chief? Didn’t the royal family dismiss me?”

“Dismissal… “How can you say such a thing?”

“I lost 30,000 troops because of my arrogant mistake. I should have thought about the case where the commander-in-chief of the enemy country directly carried out his own government…, I planned a strategy without her. She thought she would never leave her Korean peninsula in Seoul. “It was my perfect mistake.”

“Still, it is true that Your Excellency has cornered the head of an enemy country. This was something that none of the Joseon military generals had been able to do. If it had been any other general, he would have lost not just 30,000 men, but his entire force, 300,000 men, in something like this. “Thanks to your great wisdom, determination, and leadership, we only lost 30,000 men.”

“I cornered the enemy leader? Is that really the case? He is the son of God who single-handedly killed nearly 10,000 of our own troops. Of the 30,000 troops lost today, 10,000 died at his hands. Are we truly the same human being?”

Park Yu-min had a gloomy expression and was in a state of despair.

Park Yu-min’s feelings were evident in the expression on his face. ‘I have blown my only chance, how can I defeat the Holy Great Korean Empire Army? The expression on his face was ‘Is this just a losing battle?’

“Dismissal… ! Come to your senses! Don’t you think it’s great that you taught me, ‘It’s not over until it’s over!’ !”

“… !!”

Park Yu-min came to his senses after hearing the words of a high-ranking officer.

‘Okay. Yet…, We don’t know yet. If there is even a glimmer of hope, you have to struggle until the end. Those who fight and lose have a second chance, but those who simply give up do not even have that chance. I am the Supreme Commander of the Korean Army. If I do this, what will happen to Joseon?’

“… You are right. … “I looked ugly.”

“No. Dismissal. Please show the power of the Joseon military. Our country will not collapse like this. Volunteer armies are rising up all over the place. Volunteer soldiers are joining the government army one after another. Is there anyone who would not be enraged upon hearing what the enemy leader and his royal guard had done to each village? Our forces are increasing, so take heart. “Your Excellency Commander-in-Chief.”

“… Okay. That’s right. I only failed once. “I still have a chance.”

Park Yu-min, commander-in-chief of the Joseon army, reopened his strategic map on the half-broken desk and rearranged the wooden dolls and horses.
After thinking about it carefully, he took a brush and drew a few dots and lines on the map.

“Dismissal. What does this mean? Are they defense bases and defense lines?”

“That’s right. We face a fierce defensive battle. There is no other way. If the Holy Korean Empire Army finds an opening during a defensive battle, they launch a large-scale counterattack. That is the only way. You can never defeat the Holy Korean Empire Army with general strategy and tactics. You should know this well since you have dealt with the Holy Great Korean Empire Army. They use a new weapon called iron rather than bronze, and they are all physically strong, so it is difficult for ordinary Joseon soldiers to defeat them. We must aim for the advantage of defense.”

“But if you only engage in defensive warfare, the royal family may look upon you negatively.”

“So what? So should we fight the enemy in a flat battle where death and defeat are certain? Don’t you know the answer too?”

“… Yes, that’s right. “Your Excellency Commander-in-Chief.”

“As you said, I have not been defeated yet. I still have 270,000 troops in the main army alone. There are also 100,000 defenders. And as you said, if volunteer soldiers start joining one after another, the number of troops will increase. Strengthen your defense with these troops. Even if a little territory is lost, the core territory will be preserved. “Lean against the wall and completely stop the enemy’s advance.”

“Yes, Excellency Commander-in-Chief.”

“Also, I need to order an emergency fortification in a place where the enemy’s attack has not yet reached. If the enemy captures one of our castles and forts, we will build 10 castles and forts. Since the castle was built in an emergency, its durability cannot be guaranteed, but the presence or absence of even a poor castle wall would have a significant impact on the morale of the soldiers.”

“Dismissal. “Do you mean something else besides the castles and walls that you have already indicated?”

“Okay. “We are now in an unlimited defensive war.”

The Commander-in-Chief of the Joseon Army declared unlimited defensive warfare.

In the future, the Joseon army will not go beyond the walls and defense lines… It will only be a time to counterattack the enemy’s weaknesses.

#

As punishment for not listening to the instructions of my eldest sister, the commander-in-chief, I was tied tightly to a rope and stood with my hands raised.

It is said that because of me alone, the entire imperial army’s front line was put under strain.

My eldest sister was Seonghwa, who said that numerous attack plans were disrupted as she had to withdraw 100,000 troops from the Joseon conquest front to save me.

My older sister kept grumbling and getting annoyed, saying that the 100,000 troops mobilized to save me didn’t just magically appear.

There was no one who could force me to do anything by force, but when my big sister glared at me and told me to go to the end of her tent and stand with her hands up… Because of my past record of ignoring my eldest sister’s orders, I received a lot of criticism, so I just quietly raised my hand and took punishment.

The reason my eldest sister had her men tie me up with rope was to humiliate me even more. To be honest, she said, “If I apply a little bit of force, the rope will break right away.”

“Eldest sister. The kids below keep looking at me, so I don’t think it’s right to punish me so publicly.”

“The rule of law shows that even emperors are punished if they break military orders. Because it’s you, I’m only looking at you at this level. If it were anyone else, I would have cut off your head right away. I was going to cut off your head because I was so upset, but I barely held back because you are my precious younger brother and emperor. There, looking at the tent, I held my hands up and reflected.”