Joseon Military Officer, Establishing Balhae - Chapter 317



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Episode 317

Battle of Haejuwi (3)

Nurhachi was still staying in Yangchajin. He planned to move after observing the situation. As he expected, soon messengers from various places began to arrive and report the situation. The messenger sent by Daishan, who led the left army, arrived first.

Nurhachi was horrified when he heard his story. Something similar happened there to what happened here on the southern border. They were humiliated in the Western Battle, and the Balhae army responded in the same way after that battle. However, the problem was the size of the Balhae army in the rear. Daishan’s troops also belatedly discovered the presence of the Balhae 11th Division, 15th Division, and 16th Division, which were crouching in the rear.

“There were three divisions supporting them? Huh! This is…….”

Nurhachi was momentarily speechless. Including the 1st and 2nd divisions guarding the front line, the number of Balhae troops on the Ula Castle front was a whopping 60,000. In a reality where it was difficult to deal with even one battalion and regiment, 60,000 troops was simply not something that could be handled.

The urgent reports kept coming in.

“The enemy forces guarding the Yalu River are advancing towards Perala?”

Now even the area north of the Yalu River has become dangerous.

“Furthermore, enemy divisions guarding the western border of the Perala region are also moving towards Perala.”

Yang Hwang-gi’s Guo Sa Eon Piong-don reported the information brought by the messenger.

“So you’re saying that two divisions are moving north?”

“That’s not all. Three divisions guarding the eastern border are also approaching here at the same time.”

This was also a very serious situation. If time continued like this, his troops would be surrounded by the Balhae army on three sides: west, south, and west.

“Me, by the way, Wang Taegeon is accompanying the unit approaching from the eastern border.”

“Well, he’s here? He also values ​​this place. So he wants to reclaim the old territories of Goguryeo and Balhae?”

Out of fear, Nurhachi assumed that Taegeon’s territorial goal was to expand the territory. Of course, Balhae’s territorial expansion meant the fall of the Later Jin Dynasty.

“This is urgent news.”

This time, a cadre of the rock rank sent from Golminala, not Piongdon, arrived and reported in person.

Nurhachi felt his heart sink when he heard that a messenger had arrived from the capital. He jumped up from his seat and asked.

“The capital! Is the capital in danger?”

“No, that’s not it. I came here in a hurry because the results of the battle between Ming and Hubal came in.”

“Whew! Really? Tell me quickly.”

“Yes, in Gaeju, the 25,000-strong navy and the 60,000-strong Ming army fought each other, but the Ming army retreated after losing half of its troops.”

The rock from Golminala only knew the situation of the Battle of Gaeju.

“What? The 60,000-strong army was defeated?”

“Yes, that too, one-sidedly.”

“So does that mean that the damage to the second-line navy was small this time too?”

“No, that’s not true.”

“Then, the damage to the second-tier navy must have been great. After all, it was a large army, and the main force of the Ming army was on that side.”

Nurhachi let his imagination run wild.

“No, that’s not it. The casualties from the second-line naval forces were minimal. This is what our scouts directly confirmed.”

“What? You said there was almost nothing?”

“Yes, I have never seen any casualties on the Balhae side during reconnaissance, but I guess it is impossible for there to be no casualties on such a wide front, so I guess I said almost.”

Nurhachi sat down, his legs giving out.

“You won a great victory against a large army without taking any casualties? Isn’t that the end?”

His eighth son, Hong Taiji, answered his question.

“It seems like the outcome has already been decided. If the Ming army’s main force has been defeated and retreated from the Gaeju front, then the Liaodong Plain is now no different from a no man’s land. Will the Ming plains really stand up to the cannons of Balhae?”

“That’s right. The flat terrain of the Liaodong Plains cannot stop the Balhae army.”

Nurhachi nodded, pulled out a map, placed it on the table, and pointed to each spot as he spoke.

“Haejuseong and Ujangseong will fall first, and then, of course, Yoyang. Then, Simyang and Cheoryeong will also be in danger?”

Nurhachi’s fingers were gradually moving towards Golminala, the capital of the Later Jin Dynasty. When Nurhachi realized this, his face turned pale.

“If Ming can’t hold out, our Golminala will be next. As a result, Ming’s Liaodong land has become a shortcut for them to our capital city. And it’s all flat, so it’s easy to move around.”

Hong Taiji made the situation clear.

Nurhachi came up with a solution as if there was no need to worry any more.

“We are going to Hoi Pa Castle. Tell them to get ready quickly.”

He initially thought of retreating to Volatile (Hoipa) where his eldest son, Chewing, was.

“And tell Daishan! Lead the left army and retreat to Golminala, join forces with the troops stationed in the capital, and strengthen the defenses.”

“Then what will we do with the rearguard that the left army was fighting?”

Mangultai asked.

“For now, the first priority is to defend the capital. We have no choice but to join forces with Chewing’s army at Hoipa Castle and attack the rear of the enemy forces who are targeting our capital.”

Because the Later Jin did not mobilize many troops for this war, there were still quite a few troops left in the capital, Golminala. In addition, some troops were stationed in the western part of Liaodong and north of the Great Wall.

So Nurhachi thought that if Daishan’s left army returned with its forces intact, it would be possible to defend the capital. Of course, this would mean losing a considerable amount of territory. However, at the moment, preserving the country’s existence was the priority.

After all the orders were given, Nurhachi felt goosebumps run down his body.

“Hubalhae has really prepared well for this war. In terms of troops and strategies.”

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“I……. Father.”

Hong Taiji, who had been deep in thought, cautiously called out to Nurhachi.

“why?”

“Isn’t the King coming out of his hometown?”

“yes.”

“How about negotiating with him?”

“Negotiation? Are you telling me to surrender?”

Hong Taiji could not bring himself to answer. But it was not exactly the right thing to say. He began to carefully unravel his thoughts.

“It’s not that it has to be like that. However, their power is much stronger than expected, and their numbers are unimaginably large. In my opinion, with that much power, they could occupy the Ming’s Liaodong Taoist region, our Golminala, and even the Mongolian region that we have occupied. I think that the King of Later Balhae set such a strategic goal when he entered this war.”

Everyone flinched at Hong Taiji’s words. Unable to accept it, his older brother Mangultai became angry.

“What kind of nonsense is that! If what you say is true, then we are doomed!”

However, Nurhachi rather agreed with Hong Taiji’s analysis.

“Yes. It may seem a bit excessive, but if you think about it calmly, it’s not wrong. So?”

“Yes, shouldn’t we meet the king later and give him what we have to offer and at least make peace? Of course, we may have to endure a humiliation close to defeat.”

“Phew! Maybe that’s the right answer. The great king I trusted is collapsing so easily.”

Even though he only received reports of the Battle of Gaeju, Nurhachi concluded that the Ming army had already collapsed. This was because he had always thought that the Ming army was not very strong. To that extent, he was confident in the strength of the Later Jin army.

“But it’s too dangerous here. They’re closing in on us from three sides. Let’s go to Hoi Pa first and then proceed with negotiations.”

Nurhachi nodded at Hong Taiji’s advice.

* * *

Upon receiving the urgent news, Lee Yeo-baek thought that it was urgent to rescue the central army, so he increased his movement speed. However, contrary to his expectations, instead of rescue, he encountered the remnants of the central army, who had been severely defeated by the 20th Division of the Balhae Army and were approaching in a hurry. Fortunately, the Balhae Army was not pursuing the remnants.

The commander of the central army was General Marim, the commander of the Gaewon Army. He met Lee Yeo-baek in a half-mad state.

“What is this? It hasn’t been long since I heard that a battle broke out.”

“Phew! I’m so embarrassed.”

“How many troops do we have left?”

“About half of them survived. We were able to preserve them by deciding to retreat early.”

Since the central army had about 20,000 troops, it was considered that 10,000 men successfully retreated. Marim continued.

“You know that Haeju Castle has fallen, right?”

“Yes. Then Commander Yoo Jeong too…….”

“Since no one came out, we don’t know if they were killed or captured.”

“Then what happened to Woo Jang-seong?”

Marim shook her head when Ujangseong was mentioned.

“That place also fell. I don’t know if I should call that fortunate, but I heard that Commander Kang Eung-geon, who was guarding Ujangseong, withdrew his troops early and retreated across the Liao River. He said he intended to save at least 10,000 troops. I sent a messenger to tell him this. Right now, it is more important to preserve troops than to lose them in vain.”

Kang Eung-geon, who was the commander of the rear army, is said to have added that after encountering the Balhae army in the Battle of Gaeju, he judged that siege warfare was more disadvantageous.

Lee Yeo-baek felt envious of Kang Eung-geon’s situation, who had fled across the Yoha River toward Gwangnyeong, and unconsciously showed deep sympathy for the last part of Marim’s words. Marim also had the same thoughts.

“Anyway, we had to fight against the enemy’s 20th Division. We didn’t know that the unit we thought would attack Haeju Castle would be facing us. Since our 20,000 friendly troops were in Haeju Castle, we expected the enemy to engage in a siege with both divisions.”

In the case of a siege, it was common sense that the attacking side should mobilize far more troops than the defending side. Marim was also caught up in that thought.

“Are you that confident in your abilities?”

“That’s right. However, when we saw the enemy’s 21st Division, which was facing off against our troops on the northern Usimsan frontline, join the battle, we immediately retreated.”

“Up to the 21st Division? Yes. They must have followed the central army when it retreated.”

“That’s right.”

“So we have to deal with four divisions?”

Lee Yeo-baek’s eyes widened.

“No. There are three divisions. I heard that one is scattered around Ujangseong and the rear. It seems likely that they will be in charge of maintaining the supply route.”

Inspector Yeom Myeong-tae intervened in the conversation between the two.

“Instead of dawdling around here, I think we need to make a quick decision. Should we choose a suitable location, set up camp, and face the approaching enemy, or…?”

“Or retreat to convalescence?”

When Lee Yeo-baek asked, Yeom Myeong-tae nodded and added one more thing.

“If this trend continues, the left wing of the Yeonsangun area will likely not be safe either. Perhaps the outcome may have been decided by now.”

“Yes. The Yeonsangun was also a problem. They said that two divisions of the rear-deployed naval forces were deployed there. Of course, our left-wing forces also numbered around 40,000, so it’s not a small number.”

Lee Yeo-baek’s tone was filled with skepticism.

“Let’s retreat to recuperation. As General Kang Eung-geon, who retreated first, said, it seems more important to preserve the troops. They are the ones who easily defeated the strong defense line north of Gaeju. But even if we set up a temporary base, will we only do that?”

“That’s right. Then let’s go back to the nursing home. Send a messenger to the nursing home to inform them of this decision. Then the Yangho Strategy will give us the answer.”

Lee Yeo-baek thought that retreat was the way to go.

“With the 10,000 troops of the Central Army, the 20,000 troops I brought, and the 10,000 troops remaining in Liaoyang, we should be able to defend Liaoyang. Liaoyang Castle is strong.”

“The left wing of the Yeonsan-gwan will join as well. Of course, if we can win the battle and defend the Yeonsan-gwan front line, that would be great.”

Marim expected that the surviving remnants of the defeated army would eventually join the army in convalescence, as the left army was defeated in the battle of Yeonsan-gwan. Of course, he had to be conscious of the public’s expectations and express his expectation that he would win the battle at Yeonsan-gwan.

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