Joseon Military Officer, Establishing Balhae - Chapter 290



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Episode 290

The outbreak of the second civil war in the country (3)

The autumn colors in the north are splendid. Much faster than in the south, winter is approaching breathlessly, and the plants are changing just as quickly. The sudden decrease in the water volume of the Nuri River that flows through Seoul was also one of the signs that autumn is coming.

Last summer, Balhae changed the name of the Hunchun River to the Nuri River. It was changed to a purely Goryeo word, as it is a water stream symbolizing the capital city of Seoul.

The space between this Nuri River and Taehwamun, the south gate of Geonheung Palace, was named Jung-gu because it was the core of the Seoul Byeolbu. As the heart of Balhae, Jung-gu was filled with major government agencies and private company headquarters. As the population skyrocketed, high-rise buildings of six stories or more (under Balhae’s new building code, buildings of six stories or more were classified as high-rise buildings) began to be built one after another.

Thanks to the mass production of steel bars at the Yeonggangjin Steelworks, most of the newly built high-rise buildings were constructed with reinforced concrete. In addition to the spread of steel bars, another factor that made these high-rise buildings popular was the steam-powered mechanical elevator developed and released by the Balhae Machinery Research Institute. Therefore, these elevators were required by law to be installed in all high-rise buildings.

This elevator quickly attracted the attention of outsiders. Some people even came to Seoul just to ride it. But now, an even more amazing ride has appeared, drawing people back to Seoul again: the steam locomotive.

Taegeon boarded the King’s steam car to attend the opening ceremony of the Gyeongseul Line. As Taegeon boarded, the car left Bonghwang Square and entered Geumoh-daero in Jung-gu, which was lined with tall buildings.

As it was the first formal procession in a long time, the King’s procession was magnificent. The royal cavalry in their splendid uniforms led the way, followed by steam-powered cars owned by the King’s family.

When the King’s procession arrived at Seoul Station, located on the northern bank of the Nuri River, the waiting people welcomed him enthusiastically.

The Taegeon couple entered Seoul Station, which was built on the northern bank of the Nuri River.

“Welcome, Geoha.”

At the Seoul Station event venue, several ministers, including Lee Ha-ryun, had already arrived and were waiting. Also, at Seoul Station, a steam locomotive with passenger cars that Tae-geon and his party were to board was standing there, belching smoke.

The opening ceremony of the Gyeongseul Line was held very briefly. It was more effective to show the actual thing to the people who gathered like clouds.

After a brief ceremony, Taegeon, officials, representatives of the people, and reporters from newspapers boarded the train, and it departed immediately.

“It feels like a dream. I’m finally getting to ride a steam locomotive in Seoul.”

Hong Eun expressed her feelings with a dreamy expression. Taegeon also nodded.

“Everyone really worked hard to open this Gyeongseul Line.”

The steam locomotive began to pick up speed as soon as it passed the Nuri Bridge over the Nuri River.

“Geometric, this vehicle can run at up to 45 km/h, but for safety reasons, we are running at 30 km/h for now.”

Kang Seung-deok, who was newly appointed as the Minister of Posts and Transport, reported to Tae-geon while standing.

“Haha! I understand. It’s dangerous, so please take your seats. I will report to you from the Seolhae Station.”

“Yes, geometry.”

After passing through the Gangnam area and a slightly uphill section to Jeollyeong Pass, the train entered a tunnel.

“This is the Jeolyeongsudo.”

Taegeon told Hong-eun.

“I know. That old man. When I sold this, it was often in the newspapers.”

“That’s right. That’s right.”

Balhae called the tunnel ‘Sudo’. It was named ‘Sudo’ by using the character ‘굴 수’ instead of ‘물 수’, meaning ‘water’, and meaning ‘oyster’, meaning ‘oyster road’.

The Gyeongseul Line has just opened, but the Yeongbong Line connecting Bongsan and Yeonggangjin, the Usuri Line connecting Yeonggang and Amba Station, and the Donghaebukbu Line connecting Yeonggang and Hapyeong Station in Jeoryeong City have already opened. Jeoryeong City became independent from Yeonchu County as a satellite city of Seoul, and the Jeoryeong-dong and Hagusa areas corresponding to the Jeoryeong River Valley were combined to form Jeoryeong City.

Ha-pyeong Station, located in Ha-pyeong-dong, Jeo-ryeong-si, was the starting point of the Donghaebukbu Line and Donghaenambu Line, and was a key point for railway traffic as the Seolhae Line passed through. The Seolhae Line, which passed through this station, was built along the Seolhae Bay coast, and its terminus was Seolhae Port. The Donghaenambu Line was planned to pass through Paljiryeong, Akyang-hyeon, and then pass through the Duman River Bridge, Gyeongheung-si, and Josan-si, and then be built along the east coast.

“I think it was a really good idea to double-track the Gyeongseul Line.”

As we passed the Jeoyeongsudo, Lee Ha-ryun said.

“That’s right. If we had enough money and time, I would like to double-track all the lines, but for now, at least the Gyeongseul Line, which has a lot of traffic, should be double-tracked.”

Because there was no proper means of communication, there were many problems in operating the single-track railway. So, we had to build evasive routes here and there to avoid the opposing trains. To do this, when we were constructing the roadbed, we made the road quite wide so that we could build double tracks. Since we had to build a lot of evasive routes anyway, we built the roadbed wide enough to accommodate double tracks.

As soon as we passed Ha-pyeong Station, Seolhae Bay appeared on the left side of the train. As always, there were many ships floating in Seolhae Bay. There were quite a few ships going to and from the ports located in Seolhae Bay, such as Yeonchu Port, Seolhae Port, and Bonghwang Port. There were even passenger ships and cargo ships connecting to Byeokhae Island, which is located somewhat offshore.

“This is just the beginning. Only when the railroads are connected to Hwanghae-do and Pyeongan-do will the identity of the Balhae nation be solidified. The information gap will disappear, and the constraints of time and space will be reduced. However, if information sharing is slow and it takes a long time to move it, national integration will be delayed as well.”

“Oh! That’s right. I hope the line to Wonsan opens soon.”

Lee Ha-ryun let out a soft sigh. It felt like there was still a long way to go.

Once the railroad was connected to Seoul, materials produced in the north for railroad construction began to be transported quickly, and construction of other railroad lines also progressed rapidly.

First, construction on the Gyeongma Line, which was scheduled to be built up to the village of Hyeondeokbu, the Gyeonghye Line connecting Seoul and Hyesan, and the Donghae Nambu Line had already begun.

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“Still, thanks to this railroad, a lot of people will flock to the north.”

Hong Eun said.

“That’s right. Besides, if the mining industry grows bigger, it will suck in more people.”

Even if the population of Balhae increased more than it is now, there were many officials who were skeptical about how many people would flock to the barren and cold north, but Taegeon simply dismissed such a prediction. The north was rich in resources, so the prosperity of mining and manufacturing was inevitable, and many quality jobs would be created. Furthermore, the productivity of primary industries such as agriculture, fisheries, livestock, and forestry was high, so anyone who wanted to live a wealthy life had no choice but to head north.

In fact, the city of Dancheon in the East Sea was growing rapidly as a steel and non-ferrous metal industrial complex. As a result, it was rapidly absorbing the labor force from the southern part of the East Sea and Yeominbu.

“Solbin Jin will also grow.”

Lee Ha-ryun said to Empress Hong-eun.

“Why Solbin Jin?”

“Because steam locomotives, freight cars, and passenger cars will be manufactured there. The production facility in Yeonggangjin is too small, so a new, large-scale factory is being built in Solbinjin.”

“Haha! In addition, Cheongnyangjin is scheduled to be developed into a steel industrial complex in the future.”

Taegeon also added a word.

As steel products were mass-produced at the Yeonggang Iron and Steel Works and coal production from the northern coal mines also increased rapidly, the need to develop Cheongnyangjin (Vladivostok), which would become the northern maritime gateway, arose. Therefore, when the Solbin Bridge was completed, a branch line branching from the Donghaebukbu Line and connecting to Cheongnyangjin was also planned.

* * *

Himeji Domain located on the coast of the Seto Inland Sea.

As the siege guns imported from Balhae began spitting out heavy iron rings, Himeji Castle gradually turned into a mess. And soon after, a messenger sent by Lord Ikeda ran out of the castle and announced his intention to surrender.

As the battle ended so blandly, the Taizan army cheered.

“Haha! Thank you, Your Majesty!”

Motofusa Nagai congratulated Terumoto Mori.

“Thank you. Everyone worked hard. The power of that cannon is truly amazing.”

King Mori was once again impressed by the power of Balhae firearms. In fact, it was Balhae firearms that led to the victory of this expedition. Of course, due to the civil war, a significant portion of the troops guarding each territory fled to Osaka, but the firearms were effective in siege warfare, which inevitably resulted in many casualties, and thus preserved the troops, making it easier to advance eastward.

Now, the territory of Taizan Province had doubled compared to before. This was the result of successively conquering Matsue Domain, Tottori Domain, and Toyooka Domain in the north, and taking over Tsuyama Domain in the central part, and Okayama Domain and Himeji Domain in the south.

King Mori led his subjects and generals into Himeji Castle and received the surrender of Lord Ikeda. King Mori released Lord Ikeda and his vassals. That was the prerequisite for surrender.

King Mori immediately ordered the construction of a fort in the mountains east of Himeji. He changed his policy from attack to defense because he saw signs that the civil war raging in Osaka was about to end.

His prediction was right on the mark. The soldiers who had gone on a scouting expedition to the east returned with news that the civil war had ended with the victory of the Tokugawa shogunate.

Motofusa Nagai, who was present, organized and reported the information brought by the reconnaissance party.

“The shogunate army steadily filled in the moat and eventually launched a fierce attack on Osaka Castle, achieving victory.”

“That’s amazing. Even though our army possesses powerful firearms, we are not confident in Osaka Castle.”

Osaka Castle was famous for being impregnable. This was because the castle was strong and high, and because of the moat surrounding the castle. Furthermore, the natural rivers or canals located outside the moat also served as the outer moat. Therefore, the shogunate army spent several months breaking through the outer moat, and when they reached the inner moat, they chose the strategy of filling it in.

“Toyotomi Hideyori and his biological mother Yodo-dono committed seppuku, and most of the warriors who sided with Hideyori were killed or surrendered.”

“Well, that’s the fate of the loser.”

“And because news has spread that we are attacking Himeji, some of the shogunate forces are coming this way.”

“Huh huh! You’re leading an exhausted army?”

King Mori was not shaken at all. He was that confident in battle.

“Do you think they’ll fight us?”

Nagai shook his head at the king’s question.

“If it were me, I would never fight. They know how we got here so quickly.”

“Hmm, then maybe we can negotiate.”

“Yes. As long as they acknowledge the areas we have occupied. The shogunate no longer has the capacity to fight. Their finances are probably in shambles, and they lost Shikoku to the Kuma Kingdom during the civil war. Their subordinate daimyō are probably very anxious.”

Mori nodded, thinking it was a valid opinion.

“Phew! So this is how the full-fledged Three Kingdoms period arrived in Japan.”

The division into three kingdoms had been going on for quite some time, but Mori believed that the era of the Three Kingdoms had now arrived in name and reality. This was because the Taizan and Kuma kingdoms, which were younger in size, now had similar national power. Of course, the Edo shogunate still held the title of Japan, and there was an emperor, so Japan could act as a suzerain state to some extent.

In fact, the population of Kuma was quite large compared to the size of its territory, but the land was somewhat lacking. So they were focusing on Shikoku, which was right next to it. They were determined to take over that island, and a great opportunity came just in time. Furthermore, there was a high possibility that the Shikoku clan would also participate in this civil war, so Konishi could easily decide to go on a campaign.

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