Sengoku Jidai - Faction preview II - China and Korea

Sengoku Jidai: Shadow of the Shogun is a turn-based tactical and strategic game set during this turbulent time; primarily focusing on the Japanese Warring States period and Japanese Invasion of Korea. Other armies from East Asia are also made available to simulate different conflicts across the region.
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AlbertoC
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Sengoku Jidai - Faction preview II - China and Korea

Post by AlbertoC »

Ming Chinese

Ming Chinese armies were formed around the Wei-suo tradition where military service was an inherited profession. This ensured the availability of a standing army accessible by the Empire at all times, but as Chinese society embraced Confucian values that shunned wars, soldiers were seen as second class citizens. Training camps and military campaigns were run by civilian bureaucrats (scholars) instead of experienced generals. This led to mismanagement of military resources and low morale. Despite all this, the Ming army was still a viable fighting force and was active in quelling rebellions, protecting the borders and fighting pirates with varying degrees of success.

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The Chinese employed combined arms tactics. Even at the smallest scale, squads were composed of a mixture of missile and melee troops. This ensured tactical flexibility to suit the ever-changing battlefield situation. These mixed battalions are indicated as “protected” in the game.

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The Ming was basically a shooting army and was best suited to fighting their cavalry-based northern rivals like the Mongols and Jurchen. In addition to bows and crossbows, gunpowder weapons were extensively used. These weapons ranged from crude handguns to large artillery pieces. The simplest of all firearms were the antiquated fire lances and handguns. These had poor accuracy and were difficult to reload. Despite these disadvantages, however, they were still used extensively by Northern Ming armies even after the advent of the matchlock. Matchlocks, on the other hand, were more common among Southern Ming armies due to more contact with Western merchants.

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The Ming had a staggering arsenal of artillery pieces of both indigenous and Western design. They also employed rocket arrow launchers. These cannons have evocative names Hu Dun Pao (Crouching Tiger Cannon), Wudi Da Jiang Jun Pao (Invincible General Cannon) or Hong Yi Pao (Red Barbarian Cannon).

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Cavalry was important, though Northern Ming armies had more mounted troops than Southern Ming armies. These horsemen were mostly armed with bows and melee weapons.

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Tribal warriors were often employed in campaigns and were recognised for their fierce charges.

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As for personal protection, elite soldiers wore lamellar, scale, and brigandine armour while the regular troops wore padded cloth or no armour at all. Southern troops wore light but sturdy amour made of rattan. In the game, non-elite Ming troops are unarmoured.

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Joseon Korean

Joseon Korea also followed Confucian ideals and had a caste system. The population was divided into the yangban (scholarly aristocrats), sangmin (commoners) and cheonmin (lower class and slaves). The yangban held most of the wealth and took on government and military posts. The sangmin were labourers and were subject to conscription.

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The Koreans had a long tradition of archery and made use of powerful composite reflex bows. A majority of the population practiced archery, especially the yangban and the sangmin who were aspiring to gain status. But a long period of peace degraded the military’s efficiency and it was considered as a mere rabble when the Japanese invaded in 1592. The best troops were the Northern Cavalry (horse archers) which defended the borders against the Jurchen. Much of the cavalry arm was destroyed by the Japanese during the battles of Chungju and Imjin River. The Sogo system was introduced in 1593 so that the Koreans could build a new professional standing army.

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The Korean army was organized into battalions of mixed ranged and melee weapons. The most prominent missile weapon was the gakgung (composite reflex bow). Prior to the invasion, the Koreans did not bother adopting firearms because of the accuracy and speed of their bows. But bows proved to be inadequate against Japanese armour and tactics. They soon learned that the matchlock, though individually slow and inaccurate, could be quite devastating when fired en masse.

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The Sogo reform recognised the importance of firearms. In close combat, the Joseon used a variety of polearms in the form of spears and tridents. These are classified as Heavy Weapon in the game.

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Like the Chinese, the Koreans possessed several forms of artillery including the famous Hwacha rocket arrow launcher. Artillery was an important factor that contributed to the success of the Korean navy.

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Korean soldiers were largely unarmoured except for the heavy mounted troops and generals, who wore brigandine armour.

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During the Imjin War, resistance fighters called the uibyeong (righteous army) performed guerrilla raids and provided support during battles. They wielded various ranged and close combat weaponry and were sometimes thought to be better than the regular Joseon troops. Buddhist monks called the sungbyeong also joined the fight against the Japanese and gained a reputation for ferocity and bravery on the battlefield.

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kongxinga
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Re: Sengoku Jidai - Faction preview II - China and Korea

Post by kongxinga »

This is fascinating stuff. I had to look up pictures of nail armour (ding jia) because I had forgotten the western term for it, but realized it was brigandine armour. Would there be appearances of mirror armour (huxingjia) which is likely more a Qing dynasty thing but composed of this giant circular plate in the chest attached to the arms and torso? I do recall the Manchu were in but I assume these were early Jurchen and not the mid and later Qing.

Seems Ming would be very shooty (but not exposed, I am looking at you Janissaries!) while Koreans are closer to the versatile Pike and shot units, albeit a bit more vulnerable to cav but punchier versus infantry. Does any faction get actual pikes instead of the Spear or light lance? I guess the Japanese Yari would be a pike?

Ming KuiJia Bubing sounds like Ming (Tortoise Shelled) Armoured Infantry. Is that part of the Korean army list as auxiliaries from the Ming expedition? These guys look awesome, and look like they could be a stand in for Late Ming/ Ming Exile in Formosa famous Iron Troops led by koxinga/kongxinga/coxinga/GuoXingYe. I wonder if there could be an additional list for koxinga's forces.
jomni
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Re: Sengoku Jidai - Faction preview II - China and Korea

Post by jomni »

kongxinga wrote:This is fascinating stuff. I had to look up pictures of nail armour (ding jia) because I had forgotten the western term for it, but realized it was brigandine armour. Would there be appearances of mirror armour (huxingjia) which is likely more a Qing dynasty thing but composed of this giant circular plate in the chest attached to the arms and torso? I do recall the Manchu were in but I assume these were early Jurchen and not the mid and later Qing.
We just assumed standard brigandine. Manchus are in the game from Jurchen to Qing dynasty. Whatever variety, including lamellar, chain and mountain scale, it will be the same armor rating (but can be modded).
Seems Ming would be very shooty (but not exposed, I am looking at you Janissaries!) while Koreans are closer to the versatile Pike and shot units, albeit a bit more vulnerable to cav but punchier versus infantry. Does any faction get actual pikes instead of the Spear or light lance? I guess the Japanese Yari would be a pike?
No pike in the game is heavy pike. Asian pikes, though can get very long, are still spears for game purposes. Just in case someone mods and puts in a European Tercio in the game.
Ming KuiJia Bubing sounds like Ming (Tortoise Shelled) Armoured Infantry. Is that part of the Korean army list as auxiliaries from the Ming expedition? These guys look awesome, and look like they could be a stand in for Late Ming/ Ming Exile in Formosa famous Iron Troops led by koxinga/kongxinga/coxinga/GuoXingYe. I wonder if there could be an additional list for koxinga's forces.
I like your name Kongxinga. :)
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