Joseon Military Officer, Establishing Balhae - Chapter 318



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Episode 318

Secret Negotiation (1)

The ridge top of Cheonbosan Mountain located in Yangju-mok, Gyeonggi-do.

As the late summer heat was at its peak, all of the subjects looked visibly exhausted. Even the king, wearing thick armor, was sweating like rain.

“I was very excited when I heard that a silver vein was discovered at Chukseokryeong Pass.”

The King of Joseon’s eyes looked incredibly deep. He thought back to the Chukseokryeong Pass he had passed two hours ago. He still felt regretful that he had not been able to look around properly because he was in a hurry.

“Haha! It’s already been six years. God also felt the same way. Didn’t you ask around for the people who worked at the Dancheon Silver Shop because they said there was silver in Yangju Chukseongnyeong?”

Left State Councillor Jeong In-hong also joined the king in his pleasant reminiscences.

“If we had mined and refined silver and released it into the market a long time ago, would the fate of our Joseon have been different?”

“Your Majesty! It is not too late. You must be strong-willed.”

“You’re not too late? Do you think so after seeing those soldiers?”

The king looked at the troops encamped in the plains around Duheomcheon with gloomy eyes and asked Jeong In-hong.

Duheumcheon is a tributary of the Han River and was the original name of Jungnangcheon.

When the king set out from Cheorwon, the number of his troops had been 20,000, but now there were only about 15,000 left. In the meantime, 5,000 had deserted.

“But isn’t the Later Balhae helping us indirectly? As promised, the Later Balhae troops in Pyeonggang are still holding their positions.”

Yi I-cheom also reminded the king that he had made conditional peace with Balhae in order to appease his feelings.

“Furthermore, the number of troops the rebels have is only 8,000. So we must defeat them in one fell swoop and head for the capital.”

“You are the most shameless traitors in the world!”

When the king thought about what the traitors had done, he suddenly became angry.

“You are emptying the border and aiming for the capital city.”

He was filled with anger when he thought of the five thousand soldiers who had forced the king to flee in the middle of the night. The capital was still under their control. He had also already been dethroned, and Prince Neungyang, the son of Prince Jeongwon, had ascended to the throne as the new king.

The fact that the great events of dethronement and enthronement occurred while the King was still alive was due to the Ming Dynasty. Thanks to the Ming Dynasty granting legitimacy, such absurd events could happen in reality. Also, the fact that most of the noble families were against the King played a major role.

“Your Majesty! The scout has returned. He must have brought news of the movement of the equator.”

Reporter Ki-Heon, who was looking ahead, reported.

The king nodded and turned his gaze towards the Yangju plains.

The reason they are currently encamped here in Yangju is because they have received intelligence that the two groups of rebels who left the border between Gaeseong and Saknyeong have joined forces in Jeokseong-hyeon and are moving toward Yangju.

It was welcome news to hear that the enemy’s number had been reduced to 8,000 ahead of the counterattack. Of the 15,000 troops guarding the border between Gaeseong and Sakyong, only 80,000 remained, meaning that nearly half of the troops had fled.

Of course, the king’s troops were also steadily decreasing. Desertions did not occur during the day, but night was a problem. No matter how brightly the lights were lit and even the generals stood guard, it was difficult to completely prevent the soldiers from secretly escaping. There were even cases of the generals in charge of guarding deserting. However, this phenomenon was stronger in the rebel groups, so the rebel forces were cut in half.

An officer quickly came up, knelt before the king and said:

“Your Majesty! As soon as the rebels reached Jindap, they turned west towards Chayu-ryeong. It seems they have sensed that our troops are waiting here.”

Jindap is a region located north of Yangju-mok.

“If it’s a car ghost, where does it go?”

“It’s towards Goyang. Once you pass the Chayu Pass, you’ll find a road from Paju to Goyang.”

“So you’re saying you missed it?”

“It seems so, Your Majesty.”

Kijaheon answered with a stern expression.

“and…….”

“Do you have anything else to say? If you have, say it quickly.”

When the officer hesitated, Yi I-cheom urged him on. Since the enemy had turned around and changed direction, they had to hurry to Hanyang.

“I am sorry to inform you, but the rearguard is pursuing them.”

“What!”

Jeong In-hong shouted in surprise.

“They passed through Gaeseong, Sakyong, and Majeon and reached the vicinity of Jangdan and Jeokseong.”

The king looked at the officer reporting with a blank expression.

“So it seems like the rebels have turned around in a hurry. The rearguard is chasing them, and we are blocking their way.”

Lee Yi-cheom immediately realized why the enemy had changed direction.

“But didn’t Hubalhae break his promise?”

Lee I-cheom asked Jeong In-hong.

“No. The reinforcement was partially achieved with our army. It has nothing to do with the rebels. Otherwise, there would be no reason for the later Wang Taegeon to make peace with us.”

“Are you saying you’re waiting for a civil war to mortally wound you?”

“That must be true. Also, they probably thought that we were better than the enemy who was extremely hostile to them from a latecomer position.”

Lee I-cheom gritted his teeth when he heard Jeong In-hong’s answer.

“You weaklings! You’re just trying to get away with it.”

“How many rear-facing naval forces are there?”

Now the king asked the officer who brought the news.

“24,000, 12,000 each for both sides.”

“Your Majesty, I heard that they are divided into divisions of 12,000 soldiers each, and that they move in division units.”

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“I know. In short, aren’t you saying that all the troops guarding the border are coming?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Your Majesty! We must hurry to the capital and destroy the rebels, and negotiate with the Later Balhae. After all, didn’t they make peace with us?”

Jeong In-hong urged them to go to Hanyang quickly.

“The advancing navy seems to be moving very quickly. If they reach the city before us, we will lose it without a fight.”

Kijaheon was concerned that the Balhae army might arrive in Hanyang first.

“Whew! Okay, let’s hurry up and go.”

The king decided to head straight to Hanyang.

* * *

General Kim Moo-jung was promoted to the rank of Yeonsangun together with the 2nd Operations Command executives.

“Oh my! This is ridiculous.”

He frowned as soon as he arrived at the coffin. Yeonsan-gwan was already in ruins. The walls had completely collapsed, and none of the positions the Ming army had used were intact. This was the result of the 10th Division and the 2nd Operations Command pouring enormous firepower into Yeonsan-gwan and the Ming army positions surrounding it.

“Wasn’t it because of the imperial edict that if a battle had to be fought, it had to begin by pouring out all the firepower possible?”

The 10th Division Commander, Major General Odam, said with a smile.

“That’s true. Because of that, we’re stuck until the next supply arrives.”

Taegeon ordered the 2nd Operations Command’s right-wing forces, who had to face the 40,000-strong Ming army in the rugged mountainous terrain, not to fight recklessly. After all, Gaeju was the main front line, and if they broke through there, it was clear that their defense line would be weakened as well.

However, even though the results of the Battle of Gaeju had already been reported, the Ming left army of 40,000 men remained steadfast. So in the end, they faithfully followed Taegeon’s instructions and used shells to the point where it felt excessive. As a result, it became one of the battles in Balhae history that mobilized the most firepower. As a result, the Ming army was unable to move from where they were sitting, and when the Balhae infantry began to move, they eventually abandoned their ruined positions and retreated.

The 2nd Operations Command deputy chief, Lieutenant General Min Su-ho, brought a report.

“Commander. It seems that we have killed half of the enemy forces in this battle. This is the result of a tally of reports from Yeonsan-gwan, Sasuryeong, Jangwaryeong, and Dongbangryeong.”

This Yeonsan-gwan was not the only battlefield. The 3rd and 10th divisions of the Balhae Army and the artillery regiment directly under the 2nd Operations Command fought battles in various places, and the results were just coming in.

“So does that mean 20,000 enemy soldiers were killed?”

“Yes. There are no injured prisoners. It seems they took them all away.”

“So many people died.”

Kim Moo-jung said with a bitter expression.

“Anyway, since we’ve broken through all the borders, the situation is completely reversed.”

Odam said.

“That’s right. There’s not much time left.”

“The Ming armies that were defeated on all fronts will eventually gather in Liaoyang and hold out, right?”

Odam asked.

“That’s right. The healing power is strong and large, so it won’t be easy to abandon it.”

The Liaoyang Fortress, the military stronghold and center of Liaodong, had high and strong walls and was very large. The moat was also deep, so to attack the castle, you had to block the waterway of the moat and fill it in, or advance while capturing the bridge over the moat. Without high-performance firearms, it was a castle that even the strongest Balhae army would have difficulty conquering.

The scouts who had been observing the Ming army’s camp returned and reported.

“All the defeated Ming armies from various places are heading towards Liaoyang. And our scouting party was able to meet the left army scouting party that was chasing the enemy’s defeated troops and hear information about the battle that took place in the west.”

“Oh! That’s great. I was wondering because the report hadn’t come in yet. Tell me quickly.”

“Yes. First, the Battle of Haeju. There, we captured over 10,000 prisoners, including the commander of the Ming army, Yu Jeong. Our forces suffered almost no casualties.”

“10,000 prisoners? So the rest were killed in action?”

“Yes. It seems that about half of them were killed by the concentrated fire of our forces.”

“Is it because of the power of the new shells? There are too many casualties.”

“That’s the only downside.”

Odam said with a smile.

“That’s right. It’s a bit excessive. Continue.”

“Yes. And the 20,000-strong Central Army of the Ming Dynasty and our 20th Division fought each other, and the results were similar. Only about 10,000 enemy troops completely retreated, and about 4,000 were captured. The rest…….”

“Warrior Army.”

“Yes. And the 20,000 soldiers of the Ming army who came from the city of Liaoyang to rescue them later gave up fighting and immediately retreated.”

“Then how many enemy soldiers are there in the convalescent hospital?”

“10,000 in the center, 20,000 in the rear, 20,000 who retreated here, and 10,000 who remained in the castle, so there are about 60,000 left.”

Chief Min Soo-ho quickly calculated and told me.

“Out of 160,000, we lost 100,000 and only about 60,000 remained? Haha! If I were you, I would give up on convalescence and retreat.”

“That’s right. What good would it do to watch over the situation when we’ve lost Southern Gaeju and Haeju? If we turn some of our troops around and attack Gwangnyeong, wouldn’t our retreat route be completely blocked?”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

“Well, maybe they’re thinking that too.”

“Then it’s good for us. Haha!”

“Then how about leaving the battlefield cleanup to the 3rd Division and having the 10th Division advance first?”

Suggested by Chief Min Soo-ho.

Since the left army was the main force in the 2nd Operations Command, there were no reserve units in the right army camp to support them. Therefore, it was proposed to assign this task to the 3rd Division, which was in charge of the attack on the Jangwaryeong area west of Yeonsan-gwan.

“Then let’s show that our army is also moving and move to Cheomsu-cham. We’ll receive supplies there. As soon as the 3rd Division finishes clearing the battlefield, we can leave one regiment behind to guard the supply route and follow them.”

Kim Moo-jung intended to exert psychological pressure on the Ming army.

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