BANG! RATATA!

The Joseon forces that had breached the collapsed inner fortress walls advanced fiercely to secure the streets within.

“Move only in squad formations! Squad leaders, watch your men properly!”

“Don’t all five shoot at once!”

The commanders leading the platoons and companies, the units above the squad level, bellowed orders as they directed their troops. Following their commanders’ orders, the Joseon forces moved in squad formations, sweeping through the streets and securing buildings.

“Throw! Throw!”

BOOM!

In the intense urban combat, the most useful weapon for Joseon forces was the throwing grenade.

Having proven its effectiveness since the palace incident of the Gyeyu year, the throwing grenade continued to prove its worth in defensive battles against the Jurchen.

Additionally, the throwing grenade suited Joseon people well, as they traditionally enjoyed stone battles.

• Regardless of social status, those with money enjoyed archery, while those without enjoyed stone battles.

For these Joseon people, rifles and throwing grenades were optimal combat weapons.

And artillery was the supreme weapon.

For such Joseon forces, the defending Liaodong soldiers were having a hellish time.

“Those fucking thunder bombs!”

Ming also had a weapon called the ‘thunder bomb’ similar to throwing grenades.

It was the same ‘thunder bomb’ from ‘Flying Thunder Bomb.’

It was a weapon where gunpowder and caltrops were placed in a round container made of pottery or metal, then thrown after lighting the installed fuse.

However, the thunder bombs used by Liaodong forces were very inconvenient compared to the throwing grenades used by Joseon forces.

They were much larger and heavier than throwing grenades. Consequently, their throwing range was much shorter.

But the biggest disadvantage was having to light the fuse right before throwing. Even in the midst of battle, soldiers had to carry tinder boxes or lit slow matches wrapped around their hands.

It was a life-threatening gamble to carry fire while already laden with powder pouches and cartridges for their matchlocks.

In contrast, Joseon’s throwing grenades, which adopted the concept of stick grenades, only required removing the cap at the end of the handle, striking the exposed primer against something hard, and throwing.

***

Though the Liaodong forces were overwhelmingly outmatched in individual firepower, they resisted tenaciously.

“Don’t retreat!”

“This is where His Majesty the Eastern King resides! Protect His Highness!”

Although most were soldiers who had fled from the Yalu River front, they were still elites carefully nurtured by Emperor Xuande. Moreover, as soldiers guarding Zhu Qizhen and his family, their elite status was exceptional.

And rumors that reinforcements would arrive soon drove even those other than the guards to resist desperately.

“Flee again and it’s execution!”

“Better to die fighting than be executed for violating military law or become slaves!”

They feared the punishment that would follow after reinforcements arrived more than dying now.

THUD!

“Ugh!”

In the fierce exchange, a Joseon soldier who took a shot to the chest fell backward.

“Little brother!”

A fellow soldier nearby rushed to check on the fallen soldier’s condition.

“Ow, damn…”

As the fallen soldier got up with a groan, his comrade who had hurriedly checked his condition grinned and spoke.

“The heart-protecting armor saved our youngest, eh? Did you get hit properly?”

At his comrade’s words, the fallen soldier looked down to check his chest. The dented part of the heart-protecting armor was exactly where his heart was located.

“Uuung…”

After confirming the point of impact, the soldier rolled his eyes and lost consciousness.

“Hey! Little brother! Hey! This bastard! This punk fainted!”

***

Another advantage the Joseon forces had over the Liaodong army was their efficient protective gear and the presence of medics.

Through the chain reaction of Hyang’s intervention, not only Joseon but also Ming acquired very advanced firearms.

With firearms that could easily riddle ordinary armor with holes, commanders from both Ming and Joseon began seriously contemplating the significance of armor.

What drove them into contemplation was that most neighboring countries still used cold weapons like arrows, spears, and swords as their regular troops’ main weapons. Most countries only used gunpowder in artillery.

“If they have any sense, they’ll surely adopt firearms… Then naturally armor should be eliminated…”

“The problem is we can’t eliminate it right now.”

“But continuing to wear it is useless against guns, and making it bulletproof would make it too heavy to wear…”

Ming and Joseon commanders had to halt at the hurdle of creating armor that combined protection and mobility.

But here appeared the cheat key called Hyang.

Hyang introduced the concept of plate carriers that were popular in the 21st century.

Two appropriately sized and thick steel plates protected the chest and back—specifically the heart and spine areas—with weight distributed by thick and tough leather shoulder straps and waist belt.

In particular, the wide shoulder straps made of thick, tough leather also served to protect the shoulders from arrow attacks.

However, what differed from 21st century plate carriers was the addition of neck protection to the front plate.

Since they still more frequently faced enemies wielding swords, they needed to protect the neck from enemy blade attacks.

Thus, after completing all design elements, Hyang muttered while looking at the finished product.

“What is this terrible hybrid?”

It was a Joseon soldier wearing a pressed peaked helmet with metal-reinforced brims on the sides and back, and heart-protecting armor modified from 21st century plate carriers over a 19th century-style uniform.

While Hyang lamented it as a “terrible hybrid,” the Joseon military leadership highly praised the finished product and decided to supply it to the entire army.

And in this process, there were unexpected victims.

As Joseon’s economy improved, the number of people who had grown portly increased, and the practice of “fitting the body to the uniform” existed in this period as well.

As a result, soldiers appeared running laps in the military compound courtyards morning and evening with full gear.