Joseon Military Officer, Establishing Balhae - Chapter 312



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Episode 312

Northern Front (1)

The movement speed of Taegeon and the 14th Reserve Division troops was very fast. The Cheonbu Line was laid to Songpo-sa in southern Heo-si-hyeon, which is 40% of the entire route, and the existing road condition was also very good. Thanks to the early opening of this road connecting Buheung-jin and Cheonpo-jin, small pioneer villages were also established around the post station.

“Perhaps it is because of the lack of water that the northern Baekdu Plains appear to be unsuitable for farmland.”

This vast plain, which stretches to the north of Baekdu Mountain, where Heo Si-hyeon and Ju Se-ri-hyeon are located, was still close to being an empty land.

“I guess that’s the case. Cheonpojin is fine, but this place is a bit barren. However, the Heo Siheo Donghae people who hunt and gather ginseng still live there, and there are also some Goryeo pioneer villages along the tributaries of the Songhua River and the post station, so it’s better than before. Also, since it’s a promising land for livestock, it seems like it would be good to develop it in that direction.”

As the commander of the Bal-i-dae division was well-versed in the conditions of the northern plains of Mt. Baekdu, his explanation was quite detailed.

“Livestock… I think it’s a good idea. It’ll be a lot better once the railroad is built here.”

“Then more people will come here.”

“How much further do we have to go to the revival camp?”

“I think there are about 12 roses left.”

“That’s a reasonable distance. Then, should we set up camp here? There’s no need to stick so close to the revival camp.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

The 14th Division’s mission was to support the forward units, so there was no need to move all the way to the front. Rather, it was easier to respond to the movements of the Later Jin army by staying slightly behind. If they were at the front and lost sight of the Later Jin army, they would be in a position where they would have to pursue them.

When the commander of the platoon gave the order to build a base, the barracks where Taegeon would stay were built first.

While Tae-geon was taking a short break in the barracks, the platoon came in with a liaison officer of the rank of lieutenant colonel and a sergeant.

“Giha, the 3rd Corps Commander has sent a report. This is Liaison Officer Kim Ho-ryong.”

“That’s good. I was already curious about the situation on the southern front.”

Tae-Geon quickly read the report submitted by Lieutenant Colonel Kim Ho-Ryong, then looked at him in surprise.

“A rebellion occurred in Joseon?”

“Yes, Giha. And the Joseon king who was driven out of the capital succeeded in taking control of the Cheorwon area. It was thanks to our military snipers who took care of most of their leaders.”

“Haha! Looks like we helped him.”

“Yes, Geometry.”

“Did the King of Joseon completely withdraw the Cheorwon area army? That would be difficult, wouldn’t it?”

Kim Ho-ryong’s eyes widened at Tae-geon’s question. Tae-geon’s predictive ability was truly remarkable.

“That’s right. The royal forces succeeded in seizing command, but it was difficult to prevent the soldiers from deserting. They had already experienced the firepower of our Balhae army, and they knew that the king was being driven out of the capital city, so there was a large-scale desertion, with nearly ten thousand soldiers leaving. There were also quite a few soldiers who came to our Balhae army camp, saying they would surrender.”

“Still, there are more left than I expected. I thought there would be more. There are 20,000 troops left in the Cheorwon area, so the opposing forces will also withdraw troops from the Gyeonggi-do front.”

Beol-i-dae tilted his head at Tae-geon’s prediction and asked Tae-geon.

“Are you saying there will be a civil war?”

“exactly.”

“But, no matter how urgent the internal situation is, I don’t understand why they would clear the border during a war.”

“Haha! If we lose to Balhae, there is a chance of survival, but Joseon’s civil war is not like that. If we lose, not only you but your entire family will be slaughtered.”

“Oh, so that’s what happened.”

Only then did Beol-i-dae understand Tae-geon’s reasoning.

“Do you need an answer for the King of Joseon?”

“Yes, Geoha. Grand Prince Park Seung-gyeong, who came as a lion, is staying at our military camp and waiting.”

“How funny. Strengthening as soon as the war starts. Hurrah!”

Taegeon, who was momentarily worried about what answer to give, burst out laughing.

“What is the opinion of the 3rd Corps Commander?”

“I’m just waiting for Geoha’s order.”

“Haven’t you always had a theory?”

“There was no mention of reinforcement. However, he often said that Joseon was collapsing from within.”

Tae-Geon smiled brightly and carefully examined the face of Lieutenant Kim Ho-Ryong.

“You’re smart. You’re secretly conveying your superior’s opinion.”

Taegeon understood what she meant and smiled.

“I think it would be better to strengthen it conditionally.”

“Yes? If it’s conditional…….”

Lieutenant General Lee Mong-ryeon, the head of the military intelligence agency that was carrying out the mission, tilted his head and asked.

“You are saying that the reinforcement is limited to the royal power.”

“Ah! So that means the group that rebelled doesn’t apply.”

“Yes. Our Pyeonggang area forces should hold their ground and give the King of Joseon some time. However, there is no reason to do so in the northern part of Gyeonggi Province. If the Joseon army vacates the border, there is no need to wait, right?”

Lee Mong-ryeon, who understood Tae-geon’s intentions, smiled brightly and nodded.

“Secretary General!”

Taegeon called in another of his attendants, the director of the Taewangbu Secretariat.

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“Do you understand what I mean?”

“Yes, Geometry.”

“Then bring it to me in writing immediately.”

“Yes, geometry.”

“Send that document to Seoul and have it processed externally.”

“Yes, geometry.”

Taegeon came up with the clever idea of ​​accepting the conditional peace treaty. It was a decision made to first strengthen the power of the Joseon royal family. It was obvious that if the anti-government forces ascended to the throne and seized power, the confrontation between Balhae and Joseon would intensify.

As Tae-Geon was wrapping up the agenda related to the Southern Front, a messenger from the 26th Division headquarters arrived with urgent news.

* * *

The Man-gang Valley, located between Buheungjin and Tanghajin. This is where the Later Jin and Balhae armies clashed for the first time since the start of the war. As expected of the Later Jin army, which was second to none in terms of bravery, the battle was fiercely fought.

Tata tata tang! Tata tang!

Boom! Boom!

Gunfire and the explosions of artillery fire were heard one after another, and the mournful neighing of horses and the screams of soldiers echoed through the valley.

After a decisive battle, Mangultai, the owner of the Yanglam Banner and Nurhachi’s fifth son, withdrew his troops to attack again. He became so angry that he shouted.

“How can this be possible! You can’t break through that small force?”

The Later Jin army consisted of four banners, with Mangultai’s Yanglan banner and Hongtaiji’s Yanghong banner taking the lead. Nurhachi, who also had two banners under his command, the Jeonghwang banner and the Yanghwang banner, was to wait in the rear and attack if a crack appeared in the Balhae army’s front line.

When the order to advance was given, Mangultai rushed to target the pre-planned prey. It was not that he chose the opponent he was fighting against because he looked particularly weak. In fact, all the Balhae troops looked weak. This was because all the Balhae troops on the border were stationed in various places at the battalion level. These battalions had taken over and were guarding all the expected routes through which the Later Jin troops could move.

At present, the average size of one corps in the eight divisions of the Later Jin was approximately 7,500 men. In contrast, the Balhae army had only about 500 men, so Mangultai thought he could sweep them away with a single attack. However, his confidence was immediately shattered in the West.

According to the basic tactics of the Later Jin army, Mangultai first used the rapid mobility of the cavalry to quickly approach and surround the Balhae army’s large-scale camp built with wooden palisades. The next step was, of course, to destroy it. However, he succeeded only in surrounding it, and the next step was a de facto defeat.

This Balhae battalion did not move from the frontier position, and faced the Yanglamgi of Mangultai with mortars and modern rifles. Although the number of rifles and mortars was not large, the rapid rate of fire gave off tremendous firepower. Except for the riflemen and gunners, the other soldiers fought the Later Jin army in a flat formation. Of course, there were casualties among the Balhae army due to the arrows fired by the Later Jin cavalry while moving, but it was not as severe as the Yanglamgi army.

“It seems that about 20% of them were affected.”

An Piyang-gu, the Guosa Emperor (Giju) who was assisting Mangultai, quickly relayed the situation.

“Anyway, the enemy must have suffered a lot of damage, so let’s charge again. This time, deploy the infantry as well!”

At his command, the Later Jin army shouted at the top of their lungs and charged toward the Balhae battalion camp surrounded by a fence. Then, the Balhae army’s mortars were the first to greet the Later Jin army.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

This time, the mortar attack was even more effective because the Later Jin infantry had entered the effective range. However, just like the previous battle, the Balhae army’s camp was soon surrounded by the Later Jin cavalry, and the Later Jin cavalry circled around the camp and continued to shoot arrows.

The Balhae soldiers also responded bravely. In particular, the riflemen with the Geonheung 1-type rifles fought with distinction. Since they had to fight while standing close to the fence, most of those who were killed or injured by arrows were these riflemen. When casualties occurred, the assassins waiting behind and below immediately jumped up onto the fence and transformed into riflemen.

Son Hyeong-un, the commander of the 2nd Battalion, 88th Regiment, 26th Division, Balhae Army, shouted and encouraged his soldiers.

“Infantry is approaching. Get your grenades ready!”

Although the orders flowed out of his mouth without hesitation, his eyes were already filled with tears, as casualties continued to rise.

“Damn! I was hoping I wouldn’t have to use a grenade.”

In the history of Balhae wars that he had actually fought and learned about, Balhae’s army had mostly won victories using only long-range weapons. But today, even while losing troops to the enemy’s arrow attacks, the distance had become so close that he had to use grenades.

“Grenade! Throw it!”

Eventually, as the Later Jin infantry, shouting loudly, advanced toward the fence under the check of the Later Jin cavalry, orders to throw grenades began to be heard from various places.

Boom! Boom!

Certainly, grenades were as effective as firearms.

The Later Jin infantry, who were running briskly with all sorts of siege tools, such as rope hooks and ladders, suddenly dodged when something like a rock flew at them. They thought that if they just avoided it, it would be fine. However, the rock burst and began to scatter fragments, killing many people.

An Pi-yang-gu, who was watching this scene from behind, opened his mouth wide.

“What, what is that?”

“It’s like a shell thrown by hand. That exploding shell…….”

The aide of Anpiyanggu, Myren Eunjeon, Borjin Hyaga, answered.

Mangultai, who heard those words from the side, shook his head and said.

“They say that gunpowder weapons are scary. But aren’t there too many of them? They’re enough to make the Ming army go away. Huh? But why are there so many scouts all at once?”

Mangultai was startled when the scouts came running towards him. They reported immediately without even getting off their horses.

“About one thousand five hundred enemy soldiers are rushing from the front, and one thousand of them are cavalry.”

“What? A thousand people?”

“Five hundred enemy troops have crossed the northern ridge.”

“The same is true in the south. Five hundred troops are rushing over the mountains.”

Mangultai looked up at the sky with a frown on his face.

“That guy was the problem after all.”

What he saw was a hot air balloon.

Mangultai took a deep breath and immediately gave an order.

“Retreat.”

As soon as his order to retreat was given, the Later Jin troops withdrew from the battlefield like an ebb tide.

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