Joseon Military Officer, Establishing Balhae - Chapter 292



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Episode 292

The Hani System and the Situation in Southeast Asia (1)

Ansan Port, the center of the Hani Islands.

Balhae changed the name of the Pengho Islands (Pescaredos) to Hani Islands. Since it was located west of Formosa, it was named Hani, which means west in the Goryeo language. And the center of this islands, where the Dutch East India Company was located, the future Magung area, became Ansan.

After reading Taegeon’s imperial edict, 34th Squadron Commander Song Hee-rip asked Lee Wan, who had come as a messenger.

“But how did my younger brother come as a lion? Has the general finally decided to break his seclusion and come out?”

As it had been a long time since we met, Song Hee-rip had a smile on his face as bright as the sunlight of this subtropical region.

Admiral Yi Sun-sin’s nephew, Yi Wan, remained at Tsushima Island’s Choryang and stayed by the general’s side even after Song Hui-rip left for his post.

“That’s not it. My uncle kicked me out, saying, ‘What are you doing here when you’re still working?’”

“Kicked out? Puhahaha!”

“Yes, so I went to Namhaebu and they immediately sent me to Seoul. I went there and met with King Giha, who was very pleased and gave me the temporary military position of liaison officer.”

“Oh! Then what’s the rank?”

“It’s a spirit.”

“Oh! A spirit? Hehe! It seems that Balhae truly cares for its general.”

Yi Wan was only 32 years old and had not made any achievements in Balhae. However, he was highly regarded for his contribution to assisting Admiral Yi Sun-sin during the previous Imjin War, and was given the rank of Jeongryeong (Colonel). It was true that he was treated exceptionally.

“I felt that too.”

“What about the general?”

“He said he would still remain a subject of Joseon and just spend his old age quietly. He also said often that he was very happy now. He said that he was happy living while enjoying the scenery of Daema Island, fishing, and cultivating his garden. He also said that he was not lonely because his old subordinates who served in the Balhae Navy sometimes visited him with drinks. He also heard all the news about the world through them.”

“Yes. That might be better. The King of Joseon had also changed in the past, so it wouldn’t be a big problem if news spread that the General was alive, but there was no need to step forward.”

“But… I like this place in many ways. It’s a bit hot, but it’s sunny and the view is really nice.”

“Haha! I’ll work here for that taste. Otherwise, how can I have fun? But looking at this edict, it looks like I’ll be busy from now on.”

Balhae decided to open the Hanui system to all countries except enemy countries. So anyone who paid the customs duties and land rent could come in, open a trading post, and trade. Of course, Ming and the Netherlands were excluded. This was put into an imperial letter and delivered to Song Hui-rip.

“Then shall we take a look around the port? Well, it’s not really much of a look around, but it’s pretty shabby. Compared to Choryang Port or Geumseong Port, that is.”

The three major ports under the Namhaebu were Choryang Port, Yejin Port, and Geumseong Port. Geumseong Port, which was acquired from Ryukyu, had already grown into a full-fledged international trade port. With its well-equipped facilities and the completion of the 35th Squadron, the safety of the sea area was guaranteed, so even if there were no plans to trade there, it became a place where both Western and Eastern merchant ships would definitely come in and rest.

In this way, since the Eohwajin-ho incident, the waters around Ryukyu and Formosa have become safe seas to the extent that not a single incident of maritime plunder has occurred.

Here at Ansan Port, three large ships belonging to the 34th Squadron and one merchant ship of Korea Line were anchored. In addition, a heavy ship in charge of guarding the shallow waters inside Hani Island was also visible.

Among the ships that made up the 34th Squadron, there were several that had been seized from the Dutch East India Company, and among them, the Korea was sent to the Seolhae Shipyard, where it was destined to be broken up for research on Western sailing ships.

After looking around the port, Song Hee-rip and Lee Wan headed to the 34th Squadron headquarters building.

“It’s the building that Hong Mo-jeok used to use.”

“Yes. The buildings next to it are the headquarters of our Balhae company.”

Balhae’s official residence buildings were of two types: Hanok-style and modern tuff-timbered buildings. Of these, Hanok was the official residence, and the tuff-timbered buildings were the accommodations for merchants and sailors. As European merchants liked Hanok, they began to use Hanok as official residences.

“The building on the left is Korea Shipping, the one in the middle is Samwoo Shipping, and the building on the right is Samjeong Shipping.”

“So, only the top three have made it so far?”

“That’s true so far.”

“Still, that’s amazing. To open a relationship in such a distant place.”

“Haha! He said that he invested only in the future. He thought that if he opened trade here, he would be able to advance into the Ming Dynasty or Nanman in the future. Right now, the relationship with the Ming is not good, but once trade begins, it will be like a new world has opened up. Just think about the population of the Ming Dynasty.”

“Well, I guess so. I heard that even now, a lot of our Balhae products are imported into Ming.”

“That’s right. I heard it from a Samjeong Shipping merchant. He said that they sell it for a huge amount of money. He said that the person at the top of the Guma Kingdom, who has a business relationship with him, told him so.”

Samjeong Shipping was a naturalized merchant from Wa, so it had many trading partners in Guma, Taizan, and Japan. The main business model of these Wa merchants was to buy Balhae products from places like Choryang and Yejin and sell them to Ming merchants. They preferred to use the money they earned to buy Balhae or Ming products and sell them in their own markets to make a profit. Since there were no products produced in their own countries that were worth selling, they all jumped into this kind of intermediary trade.

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Donghaebu Majinhyeon Madalsa – the former Majeokdal region – the Gyeongan Line railroad bed construction site located in the mountains.

Hadad Construction, a construction company affiliated with Piosangdan, has received a contract from the Korea Railroad Administration to build the Gyeongan Line, a railway track connecting Seoul and Anchun, and is currently working on the construction. It has completed the Madalsa section.

Lee A-eul, who used to be the adjutant of the former lord of Pioseong and chieftain of the tribe, Cheok Deok-hyeon (Cheomteo-heo), was the president of this company, and he visited the site with Jang Dong-il, a section chief from the Korea Railroad Administration, to inspect the progress of the work.

Soft!

Wheeing!

Logging work was in full swing in the area where the railroad bed will be built, and the loud noise of chainsaws was shaking the valley along the Nuri River. This chainsaw was first introduced to the market this year, and although it was quite expensive, Hadae Construction succeeded in purchasing three units, and today, they were used for the first time on site.

“Wow! It takes less than a minute to cut down a tree as thick as a man’s waist.”

President Lee Ah-eul opened his mouth wide. As the three of them took turns working, the loggers’ shouts of “It’s falling!” and the crackling sound of trees falling could be heard incessantly.

“What do you think? Is that machine expensive?”

Manager Jang Dong-il asked with a smile.

“I see. But the fuel seems quite expensive. So isn’t there a shortage of supply?”

“There is enough. We are continuously producing and stockpiling it at the Aoji Industrial Complex.”

Developing a two-stroke chainsaw engine was not that difficult. Lee Ha-ryun quickly drew up the engine design, and after several years of research by the mechanics, they made it into a real thing. The chain saw blade part could also be made sufficiently with the current alloy and processing technology.

The problem is the supply of petroleum products as raw materials, and this problem is easily solved by producing gasoline at the Aoji Coal Chemical Complex. Currently, the Aoji Chemical Complex is producing and stockpiling naphtha, gasoline, kerosene, heavy oil, and kerosene. Another byproduct, petroleum gas, is immediately recycled as fuel within the complex.

As the production of petroleum products began in earnest, Lee Ha-ryun began developing new products useful for daily life, including lighting fixtures such as kerosene lamps and kerosene lamps, gasoline lighters, and kerosene stoves. Of these, lighting fixtures with a simple manufacturing process were the first to come out, and they sold like hotcakes as soon as they were released on the market. Since candles were still expensive, kerosene lamps were especially popular. Of course, the raw material, kerosene, was also released in glass bottles.

“I think that machine will speed up the construction process tremendously.”

Iaul Lee was very satisfied with the performance of the chainsaw.

The Gyeongan Line under construction here was a line included in the second railway line construction plan. It is scheduled to be constructed upstream along the Nuri River basin starting from Seoul Station, and its final destination was Anchun. The reason the Gyeongan Line was planned was, of course, to develop the eastern and northeastern parts of the metropolitan area.

The growth rate of the capital city of Seoul was unimaginable. Accordingly, it quickly attracted people from all over the country and its territory expanded. Accordingly, major changes were already taking place in the administrative system of Seoul and the metropolitan area. Gyeonggi-hyeon, formerly Hunchun-hyeon, was completely absorbed into Seoul and divided into several districts such as Gukhwa-gu, Palyeon-gu, Hunchun-gu, and Yanggang-gu. Hadah-hyeon, adjacent to the east, was also scheduled to be promoted to a city soon.

So, in order to disperse the population to the eastern part of the metropolitan area, a railroad was built along the Nuri River. Also, since the Nuri River basin is rich in mineral resources such as gold, tungsten, and coal, it was necessary to expedite the railroad construction from an industrial perspective.

“By the way, which company won the contract for the Gyeongjangseon roadbed construction?”

Lee Ah-eul asked with regret, licking her lips. Since the Gyeongan Line section had already been won, Hadah Construction could not participate in the bidding for other lines.

The Gyeongjang Line was a railway line connecting Seoul and Jangnyeongjin in Hyeondeokbu. This line also started from Seoul Station, passed through the coal chemical complex in Gukhwagu and its northern mountainous region, and went on to Samhancheon, Hajon-dong, Daedong, and Hoepa-dong in Onseong-hyeon, and then over Guktoryeong to Jangnyeongjin, the center of Jangnyeong-hyeon.

“Onseong Construction won it.”

“Well, it’s a new construction company…….”

“That’s why I gave him more points. He was also very qualified.”

“I know that they give extra points to companies that focus solely on construction.”

“The Gyeongin Line will be put on public notice soon. It looks like it will be really fierce there. Songhwa Construction and Hamgang Construction didn’t even jump into the Gyeongjang Line bid competition because they were thinking of going there.”

“I really want that place, but who else but those companies could handle that? Especially that section where I have to go.”

“That’s true. There are quite a few bridges and waterworks to be built there.”

The Gyeongin Line was a route connecting Seoul and Inanjin. It was a fairly long route from Seoul through Onsung-hyeon, Gaya-hyeon, Gwangmyeong-hyeon, and Myeongwol-hyeon to Inan. The most difficult section of the Gyeongin Line was the section that corresponds to the border between Onsung-hyeon and Gaya-hyeon. It is where the Duman River and Gaya-ha meet, so a bridge had to be built across the two large rivers. After that, the Hapsu-dong Valley section where the Gaya-ha and Buru-gang meet awaited. This place also had rough terrain and a large river, so a bridge and many water channels (tunnels) had to be built.

Because there were so many difficult construction sections, only the two major construction companies, Songhwa Construction of Songhwa Sangdan Group and Hamgang Construction of Hamgang Sangdan Group, were able to bid for the project.

Currently, all of Balhae’s major merchants have construction companies as their subsidiaries. As the demand for civil engineering and construction skyrocketed, the Balhae government broke its previous policy of restricting the expansion of octopus tentacles and encouraged each merchant to enter the construction industry.

In addition to the three lines of Gyeongan Line, Gyeongjang Line, and Gyeongin Line, the section from Bongsan to Haerang, which can be considered an extension of the Yeongbong Line, the second section of the Donghae Nambu Line to be built up to Wonsan Port, and the Dongsol Line connecting Solbin and Dongnyeong were also included in the second railway construction plan.

“Well, we just have to work hard at our assigned tasks, but it seems like the work of the Railway Administration will never end.”

President Lee Ah-eul comforted Manager Jang Dong-il.

“Oh! That’s right. King Taewang Giha visited our country and said that. The railroad construction will continue for hundreds of years, so don’t be impatient.”

“Hundreds of years? Come to think of it, that would be true. I knew it when I actually rode it. There is no other means of transportation as convenient as the railroad. If we were to lay these railroads evenly across the entire country like a thread, it would take a ridiculous amount of hundreds of years.”

“You’re going to lay the railroad like a thread? Oh my! Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps.”

Jang Dong-il burst into laughter.

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