Joseon Military Officer, Establishing Balhae - Chapter 298



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Episode 298

From Wonsan (2)

Shim Hyun and Im Jae-guk barely managed to escape the event venue, backing away little by little as they were pushed by the crowd. The two quickly climbed up a nearby hill. There was a huge crowd of onlookers there too.

The two people who had barely caught their breath turned their gaze back toward Wonsan Station. Im Jae-guk was still in shock and kept shaking. He was getting goosebumps. His voice was also trembling.

“Isn’t that amazing? I heard that the Great King of Later Balhae is already no different from the Emperor.”

“Yes. I heard that in terms of military power, it is comparable to the Later Jin and even the Ming. Moreover, its territory is vast. It has taken over half of the northern part of our Joseon and Manchuria, and has territories in parts of Japan and the south, so it is no different from an empire.”

“But don’t the people treat the king with respect? They don’t bow down or bow to show respect. They laugh, chatter, and cheer like that when they meet the king, and no one says anything. I find that so amazing.”

Of course, the guards were guarding Taegeon, and there were plenty of secret police officers, so they were fully prepared for any eventuality. The people, in order to protect Taegeon’s safety, did not invade the area guarded by the guards, and cheered while maintaining order.

“I felt the same way. Look at the faces of those people. How bright they are.”

“It certainly seems that they were right when they said that there was an abundance of food and that everyone was living well. I thought that was only the case for those who migrated to the cold lands of the north. They got a lot of land in return for hard labor. But isn’t this Deokwon, not too far from Joseon?”

Wonsan City was originally part of Deokwon County. However, as shipping became more active, Wonsanpo grew rapidly. All of the merchants representing Balhae established branches in Wonsan, and factories were also built, so the population increased rapidly and it became an independent city last year. The two men were aware of this situation, but they called it Deokwon in the Joseon style.

“Now, I heard that Hubalhae is thriving in industry and commerce, and that there are quite a few people engaged in these fields, not just farming. If you don’t want to farm, you can go to the city and work as a factory worker. I heard that if you work there, you can support about four people, including yourself. In the case of a family of four, only the head of the household needs to work. If you have a larger family, you can also do farming.”

“It’s truly amazing. In every way…. I guess that’s why the people keep turning to the latter.”

“Huh? What the heck is this…….”

As the surrounding air suddenly turned cold, Im Jae-guk stopped talking in surprise. He was originally a military officer skilled in martial arts. However, in Balhae, only police officers and soldiers were allowed to carry weapons, so he was also empty-handed. That was why he couldn’t help but feel even more nervous.

Shim Hyeon also immediately realized that the atmosphere around him had become tense.

One of the men who had been glaring at the two people for a while shouted.

“Hey, you keep saying ‘latecomer’, ‘latecomer’ at the end of every sentence. Aren’t you spies of Joseon? I’ve never seen anyone call our country latecomer among those who immigrated to this land.”

“And besides, you just call Taewang Giha the king? What are your true identities?”

“Oh my! At first glance, they seem to be people who were powerful in Joseon. Are they noblemen?”

“There’s no need to look any further, he’s a spy. I saw Giha arrive earlier, and at first he was quiet, but then he reluctantly and halfheartedly shouted “Hurrah!”

“But aren’t you too old to be a spy?”

The men were talking one after another. The two men’s actions certainly caught the attention of others. They were so conspicuous that they were surrounded by people.

“It’s definitely suspicious. Let’s report it to the police.”

The words of the man who seemed to be rather old were decisive. As soon as he finished speaking, a young man ran down the hill. Then, those who had been creating a tense atmosphere naturally surrounded the two and blocked their escape route.

“What should I do?”

Im Jae-guk’s mood changed. He asked with the sharp expression typical of a military officer. He was planning to subdue the men if necessary.

“Let it be. Let’s meet those police officers.”

After hearing Shim Hyeon’s answer, he relaxed.

Even though it was clearly a situation that could have resulted in disaster, the two maintained a calm demeanor and waited for the police to arrive.

* * *

While in Wonsan, Taegeon visited several places and met with officials to encourage them. First, he visited the Wonsan Coast Guard District, which could be called the future maritime police.

The Coast Guard was established to guard the areas previously covered by the First Fleet, namely the East Sea, Yeomin, and Jeongri coastal areas. Since there were few enemies that invaded by sea, their main mission was rescue rather than defense. The headquarters was established in Seolhae Port, and there were district offices in Aranpo, Bichuido, Cheongjin, and Wonsan.

The Coast Guard mainly operated Pohang-class sailing ships. The patrol ships were equipped with steam engines and sails, and were armed with old-fashioned guns. Because of the increased number of fishing boats in each port, each district was overloaded, so Tae-geon visited the district and had time to listen to their grievances.

The next place I visited was Wonsan Middle and High School, the second liberal arts middle and high school opened by Yeominbu. As many universities were established, the Balhae government began to revitalize secondary education by establishing teacher training colleges as departments in each university and producing secondary school teachers.

It was not that there was no secondary education system in Balhae. Technical schools that invited artisans as teachers took on some of the functions of secondary education. However, once they began producing formal teachers, liberal arts secondary schools were also established. Technical schools were three-year courses, and liberal arts secondary schools were four-year courses. Therefore, graduates of these schools were automatically granted university entrance qualifications.

Currently, there are two schools in Seoul Byeolbu, two schools in Donghaebu and Yeominbu, and one school each in Hyeondeokbu and Solbinbu. Since there are so few schools, there has already been fierce competition for admission. This is because if you enter one of these schools, you are virtually guaranteed to be admitted to university. In Balhae, graduating from university is a sure thing, so now the competition has spread to middle and high school admissions.

Taegeon now headed to Wonsan Stadium to complete his final schedule.

As soon as Tae-geon and Lee Ha-ryun entered, the playground once again turned into a frenzy. This playground was also filled with people.

“Wow! It still looks like a playground.”

Lee Ha-ryun responded with a big smile.

“Yes. The blue grass is a nice sight.”

Wonsan Stadium was surprisingly covered with natural grass and had a running track. It even had wooden and concrete stands.

“We are planning to replace the wooden seats with ash wood. We will do so as soon as the budget is secured.”

The original market was guiding Taegeon and Lee Ha-ryun.

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A playground like this was built in each area that was promoted to a city. So, not only were local sports days held, but occasionally soccer teams from other areas were invited to play soccer games.

Today, to commemorate Taegeon’s visit, a match was scheduled to be held between the Bukcheong Football Team and the Wonsan Football Team.

After a brief pre-game ceremony welcoming Taekwon, the game began right away. The crowd completely forgot about Taekwon and became absorbed in the soccer game.

“Did you know that every soccer team has a nickname?”

The mayor of Wonsan asked Lee Ha-ryun.

“Haha! Of course I know. I love soccer so much. Isn’t Bukcheong Soccer Team’s name Taeho, meaning big tiger? Wonsan Soccer Team’s name is Baekho. Come to think of it, they’re both tigers?”

“When you think of a brave beast, you think of a tiger, so everyone seems to have given it a nickname.”

In addition to Bukcheong and Wonsan, football clubs were also created in Seoul, Seolhae, Jeoryeong, Hada, Cheongjin, Gwangmyeong, Hoeryeong, Hamheung, Gyeongheung, Josan, and Anhwa. All of these teams were run by city halls. They all had nicknames, which were related to tigers, dragons, and phoenixes.

“Wow! A score!”

“Wow, wow, wow! We scored first!”

“Arongga put it in.”

The goal scorer was a player from the number 1, who came from far north to become a soccer player.

When the home team, Wonsan, scored a goal, the crowd stood up and jumped up and down in joy. They used the word “score” instead of “goal.”

Taegeon watched this scene with a smile. He had promoted future sports to provide entertainment for the people, and it was working well. In particular, soccer spread very quickly and became a major topic for Balhae newspapers. Local newspapers published by each governorate had a strong attachment to their hometown team, and they even reported on the players’ every move.

Lee Ha-ryun, who had been jumping up and cheering like the audience, whispered to Tae-geon as soon as he sat down.

“Now that the railroad has reached Wonsan, let’s start the regular league. Since the travel time has been greatly reduced, it seems like we could play every weekend.”

“Oh! That’s a good idea.”

Currently, most of the lines included in the first plan, except for some sections of the Gyeonghye Line, have been completed, and construction of the second plan lines is now in full swing. Not only the Gyeongma Line connecting Seoul and Hyeondeokbu Maeulhyeon, but also the line connecting Amba and Aranpo in Jeongribu has been opened. In addition, the Mucheong Line, which is included in the second plan and connects Cheongjin and Musan, has been completed early, and iron ore from the Musan mine is already being supplied to the Cheongjin Iron and Steel Company.

“How about the league name Balhae Soccer Tournament?”

“Soccer rotation? Haha! Sounds good? Then let’s go back and get going right away.”

“Right? You never know when war might break out.”

“The more so, the more our daily lives must remain peaceful.”

“Okay, okay. Let’s get started right away.”

“Hey, Geometry!”

The two stopped talking when Captain Sogang of the Guard approached and handed Taegeon a note.

Taegeon looked at Sogang in surprise when he saw the note.

“Are you here?”

“That’s right. There was no need to treat him like a criminal, so I brought him here to watch the soccer game.”

“Good job. There’s no rush, so let’s meet after this game.”

“Yes, geometry.”

When Sogang stepped aside, Lee Ha-ryun asked.

“What’s going on?”

“It seems like Joseon sent a secret agent. At first, they thought he was a spy and arrested him, but they say he claimed to be a secret agent.”

“Then you were carrying a secret letter from the King of Joseon?”

“No. For security reasons, they couldn’t bring any marks or secrets. They might have been tailed by the anti-North Korean faction.”

“Then how can I believe what he says?”

“Haha! I know that person too. He’s Shim Hyeon, who served as the deputy governor of Cheorwon Dohobu.”

“Oh, I see.”

In fact, the Balhae court was well aware that Joseon had sent numerous spies and that they were traveling around collecting information. However, they did not make an effort to arrest them. Since immigrants were constantly coming in anyway, it would be a waste of administrative power to pick them out.

“As expected, the situation in Joseon is complicated.”

“That’s true. Gwanghaegun will really be in trouble.”

“But how much will Joseon be a variable?”

It was a topic that was always on the minds of Balhae officials. However, Taegeon did not dwell much on this topic.

“It doesn’t matter whether you join the Ming and Later Jin alliance to complete the Triple Alliance or take your own path. After all, our Southern Army won’t move this time.”

The Southern Army was the nickname for the 3rd Army Corps, which guarded the border of Joseon.

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