Joseon Military Officer, Establishing Balhae - Chapter 314



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Episode 314

Northern Front (3)

When both Yang Lanqi of Mangultai and Yang Hongqi of Hongtaiji returned defeated, Nurhachi was shocked. The reason he was shocked was not the defeat itself, but the size of the Balhae army they faced.

“Tell me more. What happened?”

“I am ashamed. I was unable to break through the enemy’s position defended by 500 troops. The power of gunpowder weapons was far greater than I could have imagined, and I was helpless.”

“Even so, didn’t you say that it was a low-rise wooden fence position, not a stone fortress?”

“Phew! I’m so embarrassed, but the truth is that it wasn’t because the palisades were so strong that we couldn’t get over, but because of their firearms, muskets, and various bombs.”

On behalf of Mangultai, An Piyanggu gave a brief explanation of the gunpowder weapons used by the Balhae army.

“So you’re saying that it’s not the weapon we saw before?”

After hearing the explanation, Nurhachi immediately realized that it was different from the gunpowder weapons of Balhae that he had witnessed at Ula Castle.

“Yes. The shells were exploding, and the matchlock guns were definitely different. It was amazing how quickly they could load the next round. They also threw rocks and such, which caused a huge explosion, and we lost many soldiers and horses.”

Anpiyanggu didn’t forget to mention the grenade either.

“Wow. You’ve already taken a few more steps.”

“Moreover, their link-up was frighteningly fast. Although we had a hard time, if we had been given a little more time, we could have easily defeated their camp, but reinforcements came rushing in from all sides, and we had no choice but to retreat.”

Nurhachi nodded. It meant that retreating was the right choice. It was natural for the Later Jin to conserve its troops as much as possible due to its small population. That was also Nurhachi’s usual position.

Nurhachi turned his head and looked at Guo Shi’s envoy, Hu Ruhan, who had been active under Hong Taiji.

“Our case was not much different from that of the Yanglamgi. Not long after we started attacking, their main force approached and we had to withdraw our troops.”

The Later Jin army also sent scouts, so they were well aware of the troop composition and location of the 26th Division headquarters. So when one of the battalions stationed near Tanghajin was attacked, all the other regiments in the area and the 26th Division headquarters were mobilized.

“So that guy floating in the sky was the problem?”

“Yes. Judging from the fact that the signal fires were also lit at the same time, it seems that the orb in the sky was monitoring the situation and relaying the situation to the surrounding units through the signal fires. It also seemed that the number of smokes conveyed specific information.”

“It won’t be easy to defeat them since they can clearly see our movements from the enemy’s camp and devise strategies. Then, is there a way to deal with the enemy’s gunpowder weapons?”

All the generals were dumbfounded by Nurhachi’s question. Nurhachi turned his head and looked at his eighth son, Hong Taiji, the leader of the Yang Hongji. Hong Taiji was now twenty-one years old and, like his other brothers, was doing his share well.

“Now that we know the strength of the Second Navy, it would be best to avoid a direct confrontation as much as possible. If we lose too many troops in this war, even if we win, how will we be able to stand up to the Ming, Ligdan Khan, and the Mongol Halkhabu in the future? In the end, a great loss of troops is no different from the path to national ruin.”

“That’s exactly what I think.”

Nurhachi nodded.

“The scout party has arrived.”

A general outside reported.

“Let me in.”

The leader of the scouts came in and began to report surprising news.

“A division of the Later Balhae forces is approaching the battlefield where Yang Ram-gi fought.”

“What? An entire division? Where did it come from?”

Nurhachi was completely unaware of the existence of the 14th Division.

The mid-level manager who came as a messenger simply nodded his head.

“That was a close call.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

An Pi-yang-gu asked.

“They set a trap and were waiting for us.”

“So one of the newly joined divisions was lying in ambush right behind them?”

“That’s right! So if we had broken through the border line early, we would have definitely been defeated by them. The second-generation navy must have anticipated our strategy. They even prepared for a blitzkrieg.”

“That’s surprising. So there could be more than just one division?”

Hong Taiji asked.

“That may be true. If that’s the case here, then Daishan’s situation must be similar.”

Nurhachi also began to worry about Daishan, who was heading towards Ulaanbaatar.

“By the way, I don’t know about the Ming army. If they could just break through the front lines, it would be a lot easier for us.”

As dark clouds gradually gathered over the Later Jin army, the only one they could trust was the Ming army.

* * *

Lee Ha-ryun’s office in the Seoul Byeolbu Government Complex. Minister of Education Heo Seong, Minister of Military Affairs Hwang Jin, and Minister of Political Affairs Cho Kyung-rin have come to visit and are discussing with Lee Ha-ryun.

Even though the war was in full swing and everyone was out of their minds, we had the time to discuss in depth the matter of the Joseon rebellion, which was a major event.

“So now that a civil war has broken out, how will it end?”

Minister of Justice Cho Kyung-rin asked Heo Seong.

“Well, let’s see. I can’t predict it at all. But, Minister of the Military! Do you think those two camps will fight properly?”

Heo Seong, who said he didn’t know the answer, asked Hwang Jin instead.

“I heard that the soldiers hate both leaders. They especially hate the coalition government of the Westerners and Southerners, who are the main pro-war factions. In any case, morale on both sides will hit rock bottom, and you know what will happen when that happens, right?”

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Hwang Jin-i smiled and spoke to Lee Ha-ryun.

“Oh! Of course. The number of troops will decrease in proportion to the marching distance, right? The common goal of the soldiers is not victory.”

“Oh! Now that I hear that, I understand.”

Kyung-rin Cho also smiled and agreed.

“Not only will there be a lot of desertions due to the military orders not being followed, but there will also be countless incidents of soldiers harming their superiors.”

The Minister of Education, Heo Seong, gave a brief summary. He added one more thing.

“In my view, this fight is a fight for survival. Joseon’s safety is no longer a concern… Only the King is obsessed with the issue, and both sides seem to have judged that their subjects are already on the edge of a cliff.”

“Haha! Does this sound like a declaration that Joseon is already finished?”

Lee Ha-ryun said with a mischievous smile.

“That’s right. It’s over.”

“Then shouldn’t we prepare something too?”

The relatively young Cho Kyung-rin looked at the two senior ministers, Heo Seong and Hwang Jin, in turn and asked them.

“What’s the plan? Didn’t Giha already come up with a plan?”

“I think so too. Of course, we need to prepare too.”

Hearing this, Lee Ha-ryun smiled and said.

“In fact, I hope that the collapse of Joseon will happen more slowly. As you know, the territory of Manchuria will expand after this war ends. I don’t know how much more it will expand, but it’s not easy to stabilize that land, right? If we also take on Joseon, which is unstable in many ways, I’m a little worried about how much of an overload it will be on our government’s administration.”

“Well, that’s true. Joseon will be in great need. Now that the nobles have nowhere to go, we’ll have to embrace them in the end. Is that possible?”

Heo Seong answered with a bitter expression.

As Balhae’s occupied territory in the Korean peninsula expanded, the yangban living there organized their property and fled south, so there were no problems caused by yangban forces in Yeominbu, Pyeonganbu, Hwanghaebu, etc. However, it was clear that this would change in the future.

“Anyway, as His Majesty has commanded, we will occupy the front lines left vacant by the rebels. If we do that, won’t we reach Hanseongbu before we know it?”

Hwang Jin said that as Minister of the Armed Forces, he would be faithful to the mission given to him.

“That’s the right answer. We can take care of the things we’re worried about then.”

Lee Ha-ryun also thought the same thing.

“Well, since we have this opportunity today, there is something that Kiha mentioned, and I would like to hear your opinion on that matter.”

“Please speak.”

When Lee Ha-ryun started talking with a serious expression, which was unusual for his usual self, Heo Seong answered with a smile.

“Actually, this is a matter related to the Dean of the Faculty. His Excellency proposed that we separate cultural affairs from the Faculty and establish a new ministry called the Ministry of Culture.”

Everyone was interested because it was a very unique case. In particular, Heo Seong, the person involved, looked very pleased.

“I’m unconditionally in favor. The department is currently managing too much work, and the staff is complaining. You all know, right? The top priority of the department is education.”

“That’s right. Just establishing various schools is a huge and overwhelming task, so how much more so when it comes to cultural issues.”

Kyung-Rin Cho also responded positively.

The most difficult part was establishing public elementary, middle, and high schools. The staff had a harder time enduring public complaints than the practical work of securing teachers and financial resources and deciding where to establish them.

Certainly, Koryo people were a people with a special passion for education. Once the problem of making a living was solved, everyone became enthusiastic about educating their children. As a result, there was a flood of critical civil complaints such as, “Why is the establishment of elementary schools delayed? Please establish more middle and high schools.”

When the topic of establishing a school was mentioned, the topic naturally shifted to the issue of a state-run comprehensive university to be established in Pyeongan-bu.

“You said the people of Pyongyang rose up?”

Kyung-Rin Cho asked Seong Heo.

“Oh my! Don’t be ridiculous. Do you know how much controversy there was over the decision to set up the headquarters of the Governor-General’s Office in Yongbyon?”

“Yes, that’s right. However, Pyongyang was incorporated into our territory a long time ago, so there’s no reason to move from the existing Yongbyon to Pyongyang. Furthermore, Yongbyon is geographically in the center of Pyeongan Province, so it should naturally be Yongbyon.”

Kyung-Rin Cho answered.

“But how could the people of Pyongyang understand that? They are steeped in the old way of thinking that Pyongyang is the center of Pyongan Province. That is why there is no fuss about establishing a public university in Pyongyang, which has the largest population.”

Everyone clicked their tongues at Heo Seong’s words.

“Well, that makes sense. So what do you think of the department’s opinion?”

Lee Ha-ryun asked.

“The faculty members are leaning toward Pyongyang. Maybe it’s because they are so afraid of public opinion.”

“Well, it’s not a bad idea to divide it up like this: Yongbyon is the governor’s office, Pyongyang is the university. We should also respect the pride of Pyongyang residents. The important thing is the peace of everyone, including the university administration. Hahaha!”

Lee Ha-ryun burst into laughter.

“Anyway, we need to quickly come to a conclusion and start the opening process.”

“But once the Ministry of Culture is established, what will its main work be?”

Hwang Jin-i asked Lee Ha-ryun.

“There are a lot of things to do. We need to foster artists and create facilities and opportunities for the people to easily access art anytime and anywhere. We also need to foster sports through events such as soccer games and national sports competitions. Our government needs to take care of making it easy for the people to travel during their free time. The Ministry of Culture also handles the publishing and publishing-related work of newspapers and magazines.”

Tourism also became a rapidly growing industry in Balhae. In particular, after the late autumn harvest, the northern residents who had to endure the long winter and the harsh cold were eager to travel. Since their finances were also more affluent, they began to pay attention to such a noble hobby. Thus, travel agencies appeared and products for traveling to the warm southern seas during the winter were introduced. Also, those with strong financial resources wanted short-term jobs where they could live and work in the southern seas during the winter.

Taegeon and Lee Ha-ryun were greatly encouraged by this phenomenon. There was no industry better than tourism for circulating money in the country, and it also had the effect of utilizing the temporary idle labor force during the winter for the development of the southern seas.

For various reasons, everyone naturally agreed to separate the Department of Culture from the undergraduate program.

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