Joseon Military Officer, Establishing Balhae - Chapter 297



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Episode 297

From Wonsan (1)

Nambukcheong Station is one of the major railway stations on the Donghae Nambu Line. Since the downtown area of ​​Bukcheong, where the Yeominbu Governor-General’s Office is located, is located somewhat far from the coast, this Donghae Nambu Line railway station was built further south.

The train passed Nambukcheong Station, crossed the Namdaecheon Bridge, and ran along the railroad along the east coast. As I did so, I could see the cool ocean on the left window, but on the right, rugged mountain ranges repeatedly appeared.

“It must have been difficult to construct here too.”

As they passed through the coastal area, but the surrounding terrain was quite rough, and short tunnels continued to appear, Lee Ha-ryun stuck out his tongue and said a word.

“It was a bit difficult during the roadbed construction, but it wasn’t that difficult when it came to actually laying the railroad tracks.”

Han Hak-ju, the director of the Korea Railroad Corporation who was on board, answered.

“It certainly seems like the speed of laying the railroad is really fast since the roadbed construction has been completed well.”

“I guess so. In addition, the accumulated experience of railroad construction companies and craftsmen also played a part.”

The construction of the Donghae Nambu Line is currently progressing at an astonishing pace. This is the result of Taegeon repeatedly emphasizing that the Donghae Nambu Line is the main artery of Balhae. Accordingly, the Railway Administration has invested a lot of resources, and as a result, construction has already been completed up to Wonsan.

Tae-geon, who was sitting by the window, smiled at Han Hak-ju and praised the railroad officials for their hard work.

“How is it? How do you feel about visiting Yeominbu after such a long time?”

Lee Ha-ryun asked Tae-geon.

“There’s still a long way to go.”

“Oh! That’s true. Compared to the metropolitan area, it’s still less industrialized.”

As expected, the development level of the metropolitan area and the Donghae region was incomparable to that of other regions. It was not that Yeominbu was far behind, but it still fell short of Taegeon’s expectations.

“But Yeominbu is a region with a lot of resources, so things will get better soon. Both in terms of resources and population.”

The old Hamgyeongnam-do region, which formed the core of Yeominbu, had a population that mostly lived along the east coast due to its geographical characteristics. As a result, all the cities that were promoted from Yeominbu to cities were located along the coast. Bukcheong was the first to become a city, followed by Hamheung and Wonsan.

“What about beyond Wonsan? I mean Anpyeongseon.”

Tae-Geon asked Han-Hak-Ju.

“Yes, we have completed the roadbed construction up to Pyeonggang, and have started construction on the section from Pyeonggang to Pyeongsan in Hwanghae Province.”

The Anpyeong Line was a very important route that ran from Anbyeon through Pyeonggang, Anhyeop, and Tosan to Pyeongsan, crossing the southern part of Balhae from east to west.

Of the southern transverse railway lines examined so far, the most efficient route was actually the Pyeongwon Line connecting Wonsan and Pyongyang. However, the terrain in that section was so rugged that it was impossible to even think about building a railway at this stage.

The same was true for the Yalu River area. The extension of the Gyeonghye Line, scheduled to be completed this fall, from Hyesan to Anju in Pyeongan Province, was even more difficult. It was longer and the terrain was more rugged. So, only vague plans had been made, and surveying had not even begun.

Therefore, the Anpyeong Line was likely to be the only railway line connecting the east and the west for quite some time, and because of this, the Balhae government had no choice but to be even more obsessed with the Anpyeong Line.

“Once the Anpyeong Line is completed, the next route will be from Pyeongsan through Hwanghae-bu to Pyongyang. If only that is completed, Balhae’s biggest problem will be solved to some extent.”

Lee Ha-ryun smiled and agreed with Tae-geon’s words.

Balhae’s biggest concern was the problem of separation between the east and the west. Since the Baekdudaegan and the rugged mountainous regions of Pyeongan-bu and Yeomin-bu were located in the middle of the southern territory, land transportation could not be smooth. Although several roads were already in operation, they were winding and steep, so it took a long time to travel. Fortunately, maritime transportation was active, so goods and people could travel more easily than before.

Because of this, in the case of Pyeongan-bu and Hwanghae-bu, development was taking place little by little, centered around the coastal areas. In particular, Jeungnampo in Samhwa-hyeon, Pyeongan-bu, Seonsapo in Cheolsan-hyeon, and Sogangjin in Ongjin-hyeon, Hwanghae-bu, which were designated as gateway ports, were already quite prosperous.

“I have something to discuss with the Minister of State…….”

Tae-geon asked Han Hak-ju for permission to have a secret conversation with Lee Ha-ryun. Then, Captain Seon Gang, the captain of the royal guard, immediately realized what he meant and cleared the area.

Taegeun started with a very personal story.

“Still, it feels like a dream. Traveling all the way to Wonsan by train.”

“Yeah. Just coming this far is a great achievement.”

“But aren’t you guys having a baby?”

“Haha! Neither of them have any thoughts at all. And the great princess says she will continue to be the fleet commander.”

Tammy still did not return to Seoul, remaining faithful to her duties as Commander of the 3rd Fleet.

“Then we should respect it.”

“I’m fine with it. But are you really not going to have any more children? Is one nephew enough for you?”

Tae-hwan, currently Tae-geon’s only son, is in his early teens. However, since Tae-hwan is the only heir, the people and subjects cannot help but worry.

“That’s not enough. Aren’t there quite a few royals besides Hwan-i? If Hwan-i’s qualities aren’t outstanding, the throne will go to Tae-won’s family.”

Unlike Taegeon, his younger brother Taewon had many children. Among them, there were already several princes with a good reputation as royalty. Since Taewon’s title was a prince, his son was also a prince and was quite high in the line of succession to the throne.

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“Haha! So everyone is stamping their feet because the crowning of the crown prince has been delayed?”

“He’s still young, so why are you appointing him as crown prince? What if he shows signs of being a tyrant or a ruler?”

“Well, it’s still early days, so we have to be careful.”

“And absolute monarchy in our country will not last long. Our people are quickly becoming smarter.”

“I think so too. They have guaranteed freedom of the press from the beginning, and they have also been investing steadily in education.”

Now that Tae-geon was already in his mid-40s, the two of them occasionally talked about having a successor.

“I think I’ll have to activate the reserve force mobilization order after I return from this event.”

“That would be good. No matter how much I think about it, it seems like there isn’t much time left.”

The conversation between the two eventually returned to the current issue.

Balhae’s external intelligence capabilities were improving day by day. As a result, they were able to grasp the details of not only the external situation but also the deployment of the Later Jin and Ming armies.

The information that Henry Middleton passed on through Heo Gyun was also very useful.

“Will the Dutch come at us again without fear?”

“Haha! You know their temperament, right? I guess the kids here will be careful because they’ve been up against us, but I bet headquarters thinks differently.”

“That’s right, that’s right. He must have been furious that they had been humiliated by a low-level indigenous nation and that they would definitely repay the humiliation and get back what they had lost.”

“Of course. How much money have you invested? And besides, their essence is Jewish capital.”

Although not all of the investors in the Dutch East India Company were Jewish, the majority of the company’s shareholders and those who led its founding and management were Jewish capitalists.

“But the problem is, if we destroy them again this time, we don’t know how the situation in Southeast Asia and India will change. It has changed a lot already. Look at Taiwan. Spain, which should have been in the north, took over the eastern Hualien region, and the south was taken by Britain, not the Dutch. And that was more than ten years early.”

“Is there just one or two things that have changed? Everything has changed.”

“Haha! Now that I think about it, that’s true.”

“The problem is Joseon. I don’t know what they’ll do in the future.”

“I know.”

“Brother, this time, you have to make up your mind. Confucianism doesn’t change easily. It’s not as old-fashioned as the Confucian fundamentalism of the late Joseon Dynasty, but it’s still not easy. Look at how much they’re supporting the order, saying things like “Jaejojieun” and such. They call us barbarians, even though we’re blood relatives. Do you think that’ll change easily?”

“Well, that’s true. You have to decide based on the situation.”

Tae-Gun was again evasive. The thing he wanted to avoid the most was the tragedy of fratricide.

* * *

The train carrying Taegeon and his party entered Wonsan Station with its characteristically loud engine noise and black smoke. The numerous onlookers gathered inside and around the station erupted in cheers that were almost screams.

“Wow! It’s coming!”

“Wow! Is that an iron horse?”

“Oh my god, that lump of iron really runs on its own and spits out smoke?”

Most of the residents were from Wonsan. However, when the rumor spread that the railroad had been built to Wonsan and that freight trains had already run several times, and when it was announced that even Taewang would attend the opening ceremony of the Donghae Nambu Line’s ‘Hapyeong-Wonsan section’, people from nearby towns in the north as well as the Gwandong East Coast region in the south, such as Heupgok, Tongcheon Goseong, Anbyeon, and the Chugaryeong Gujogok, came to visit. Since there were not many things to see at the time, people did not hesitate to travel hundreds of miles to see these artifacts.

For many people who had not yet encountered a steam engine, the appearance of the steam locomotive was truly astonishing to them.

Steam locomotives naturally came to be nicknamed the iron horse. It was a term created from the idea that an iron horse would pull a train, just as a horse made of iron would pull a cart.

Shim Hyeon, who was the vice-commander of the Joseon Cheorwon Dohobu, and Im Jae-guk, the commander of the Daesol Army and the chief of the Cheorwonbu, also watched the train coming in with their mouths wide open.

Sim Hyeon was recently impeached and dismissed from office by officials of the Seoin faction due to a complaint from a local official living in Cheorwon-bu that he had failed to properly crack down on smuggling.

“I don’t know if I’m dreaming or not. I can’t believe what I’m seeing.”

Lim Jae-guk kept blinking his eyes.

“That’s the steam locomotive that was in the newspaper. That thing pulls several carts, so how much load can it carry at once? There’s a reason why Hubalhae is developing day by day.”

Sim Hyeon tried to calm his excitement and compared his knowledge with reality.

“Isn’t it really so different in every way? It hasn’t been that long since the country was divided. Even though they are the same people, their physiques and complexions are different. And the atmosphere is so lively. Everyone’s complexion is bright and they look flawless. In a word, it’s proof that the country is running well.”

As soon as Im Jae-guk finished speaking, loud cheers echoed throughout the station. This was because Tae-geon and Lee Ha-ryun had gotten off the train.

As the two people smiled brightly and raised their hands, the cheers of the people grew louder.

“Hurrah! Hurrah!”

“Long live King Taewang Giha!”

The sound was so loud that the two were so intimidated that they flinched. Furthermore, they couldn’t just sit still, since they were disguised and had sneaked in. So the two of them couldn’t help but raise both their hands toward Taegeon and shout “Manse!”

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