Joseon Military Officer, Establishing Balhae - Chapter 321



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Episode 321

Get Hanseongbu

Angukbang Street, located between Gyeongbokgung Palace and Changdeokgung Palace in Hanseongbu.

The 3rd Corps Special Forces Battalion Commander Jeong Gwon-bu and his men, who had been operating at Suyu Pass, had disguised themselves as peddlers and infiltrated the city. They had entered Hanyang a few days before to carry out a special mission.

The commander-in-chief kept blinking his eyes in disbelief at the sight unfolding before his eyes. Not only that, but the crowd in the street was also making a noise with shocked expressions.

“What is this? Abandoning the city.”

“That’s true. Is this because of the poster we put up all night?”

Lieutenant Colonel Chu Kyung-woon said.

“You can’t say it was ineffective, right?”

“Oh! Seriously, that fake king is leaving the palace.”

Because the evacuation was so urgent, Prince Neungyang rode his horse without taking a saddle and passed through Donhwamun Gate.

“It really is crumbling like a sand castle. The forces of Prince Neungyang who usurped the throne, and Joseon. Tsk tsk!”

The battalion commander clicked his tongue.

The Neungyang Army succeeded in seizing power by taking over the capital city with the 5,000 troops that returned from Saknyeong, but the next problem was. Not only did they lose the current king, but the king’s forces had already taken over the Cheorwon area and were advancing toward the capital city. In addition, calling in border troops to respond to them was another cause of trouble. This was because it ultimately led to the Balhae Army being drawn into Hanyang.

After the commander of the royal guard entered the city, he posted posters written in Korean every night everywhere, saying that 50,000 Balhae troops were advancing on the city to destroy the forces of Neungyanggun.

However, this strategy of public opinion manipulation fortunately served as a trigger for the current situation. In fact, the Balhae army was coming, and in addition, the current royal army was heading towards the capital, so the ruling party’s anxiety had already reached the point of explosion. However, the content of the poster that was put up as part of the operation spread among the residents and soldiers, and eventually caused chaos throughout the capital.

Originally, this was information that the Neungyang-gun forces had thoroughly hidden. Since it was certain that the inside of the city would become a battlefield in the future, if such a rumor spread, there was a high possibility that it would collapse from the inside. However, when this secret was eventually released to the public, as feared, a mass exodus of residents began, and soldiers were also greatly shaken, taking off their uniforms and hiding among the residents. In the end, as even the soldiers dispersed in large numbers, the Neungyang-gun forces also chose to leave the city.

The natural destination for Prince Neungyang and his men was Sungnyemun, the southern gate.

“There are only 2,000 troops left.”

“That’s right. What are you going to do with those soldiers?”

“I guess they’re thinking of merging with the kids coming down from the north.”

“How easy would that be? Even if we fought against our army, they would be no match for us, and on top of that, there’s the current royal army. Which soldier would risk his life to fight in such a situation where defeat was certain?”

“That’s right. It’s an obvious result.”

“But why can’t they put it down? It’s already a completely different situation.”

“Didn’t you think that if you ran south, there would be a way to survive?”

“Haha! I see.”

“Okay, now that Neungyang-gun’s forces have withdrawn, let’s go to Donuimun.”

“Yes, Commander.”

The reason they headed to Donuimun (Seodaemun) was to wait for the Balhae army. This was because the 7th and 8th divisions, which were pursuing the Neungyang army from the north, had already dispatched 4,000 cavalry.

When the troops of Neungyang-gun, who were advancing south, showed some delay, such as turning west from the northern part of Yangju, they sent word that they would go ahead of them and occupy the capital first. So they simultaneously carried out a plan to confuse the public sentiment of Hanseongbu, which worked amazingly well.

* * *

When the King’s army reached Suyu Pass, a scout who had been scouting the situation in the capital city brought urgent news.

“Huh! The capital was taken over by the second naval force?”

Lee Yi-cheom looked at the scout with a blank expression.

“Oh, what happened…….”

The scout reported in detail what had happened in Hanyang.

“Those traitors are not only shameless but also incompetent.”

The king spoke in a calm, resigned tone.

“The second-tier navy ended up taking advantage of the situation. Phew! Who would have thought that sending 4,000 cavalry first would have allowed them to capture an empty city.”

Jeong In-hong also spoke with a dejected expression.

“Then what will happen to the 8,000 or so people heading towards Goyang?”

Kijaheon asked Lee Icheom.

“The capital city has already been occupied by the rear navy, and the rear navy is pursuing us from the north, so we will disperse like smoke. Or else the rear navy will deal with it directly.”

There was no need to worry about the 8,000 troops of Neungyang-gun’s forces. Whether they dispersed on their own or were disbanded by the Balhae army, they were no longer a concern for the royal army.

After Lee I-cheom finished speaking, the king and all the other leaders fell into silence.

As September was just around the corner, the sky was high and clear. The fresh scent of pine trees was carried by the wind and reached people’s noses.

The king laughed hollowly.

“Hahaha! Last time we gave the capital to the Japanese, this time we gave it to the rebels, and then to the Hubalhae. Now! Where should we go? This time, not to the north, but to the south?”

“Yes, Your Majesty, you should flee south and seize the opportunity.”

Jeong In-hong answered right away.

“Where in the south? To Chungcheong-do? Or should I go to Honam?”

“Yes, shouldn’t we go to Chungcheong Province first?”

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Jeong In-hong’s voice was weak.

“Your Majesty! First, we must catch the rebels. They only have 2,000 men, so shouldn’t we send cavalry to pursue them?”

“Yes! That’s right. I don’t know about anything else, but we absolutely must catch that traitor.”

The king gritted his teeth.

If they had not sided with the Ming Dynasty and not been installed, they could have preserved the territory that had been torn apart, and continued the lineage of Joseon. Since they had already figured out that Taegeon was extremely reluctant to see their own people fighting, Balhae would not have forced its way down. So they judged that if they accelerated reforms and appeased the people, they could protect the Joseon Dynasty. However, the real enemy was within. They could not control them, and that is why they ended up in this situation.

“Your Majesty! First, I will take the road to Gwangju. From there, I will go through Suwon and Jinwi and head to Chungcheong Province.”

Jeong In-hong organized his thoughts and reported.

“Do so.”

“By the way, I don’t know how the latter will turn out.”

Kijaheon spoke to Jeong Inhong with a worried expression.

“They won’t chase us right away since they’ve taken over Hanseongbu. But if our troops are scattered, I don’t know what they’ll do.”

Since it was a situation where we couldn’t see even an inch ahead, it was all just empty talk.

* * *

“Haha! This is it. Should I call this a masterpiece?”

General Kim Moo-jung, commander of the 2nd Operations Command, climbed a mountain peak south of Yoyangseong Fortress, looked out over the battlefield, and burst into laughter.

“It’s really disappointing. I wish they would give up on the treatment and leave, but so many people are dying here. Even though they are the enemy, I wish I could stop seeing their misery.”

Chief of Staff Min Su-ho honestly confessed his feelings.

“I feel the same way. That’s what Yeonsangun said. No, the Battle of Gaeju was also terrible.”

“Because there were two battles there.”

“Didn’t that water stream tell you to do astronomy?”

The stream that Kim Mu-jeong pointed to with his hand was the river that Ming had named ‘Taejaha’. It was a fairly large river, a tributary of the Liao River that flowed north of Liaoyang Castle.

Later, the Qing Dynasty called this river ‘Daejaha’, but since the source of this river is Cheonmunryeong, Taegeon changed it to Cheonmunha.

“Yes, it says so on our map.”

“But the arrangement of the Ming army is a bit strange.”

“I guess it’s because there are 80,000 troops.”

“Is that so?”

The Ming army gathered in Liaoyang was a whopping 80,000. In addition to the original 60,000 troops, reinforcements were sent from the northern strongholds of Gaewon, Cheoling, and Shenyang, and from Guangning in the west, increasing the number to 80,000. When this large army was assembled, Ming general Yang Hao divided the army into two, deploying 30,000 troops in Liaoyang and the remaining 50,000 troops on the plains northwest of the west gate of Liaoyang.

“And look at the observatory to the north. Aren’t there several bridges there?”

“also…….”

“You think the same as me?”

“Yes. It seems like they’ve positioned themselves like that to secure a retreat route. They’re planning to hold out here for as long as possible, and if the situation turns against them, they’ll immediately cross the bridge and retreat to Gwangnyeong along the northern bank of Cheonmunha.”

“Haha! You must have been thinking hard.”

The Balhae army that faced the Ming army was also quite numerous. They mobilized five divisions belonging to the 2nd Operations Command, leaving only the 17th Division of the reserve army in the rear. They were currently deployed in a semicircle around the castle of Liaoyang.

“Should we just divert a division to the west and block their retreat?”

Chief Min Soo-ho asked.

“No. It would be better to open a way out. Aren’t the east and west sides of that castle flat?”

The sanatorium was not located in the city of the future sanatorium, but rather to the east. As such, it was not an open plain, but was surrounded by mountains to the south and north, and the Cheonmun River flowed in an open east-west direction.

“We can’t block both routes of retreat, and if we do, they’ll risk their lives by mobilizing cavalry to open up another route of retreat. Then we’ll inevitably suffer losses as well.”

“Okay, then I guess it would be best to go into attack in this state.”

“Okay. Let’s attack the hospital first as planned.”

“Oh, the flag signal is starting to rise.”

When the formation was completed, each division headquarters was to signal with flags, and the signals began to rise one by one. As soon as Min Soo-ho finished speaking, the same report came from the hot air balloon.

Soon after, when the signal came that all five divisions had completed their formation, Kim Mu-jeong immediately issued an order to attack. The artillery regiment under the direct command of the corps headquarters, which received his order, immediately began firing. This firing was the signal to attack.

Pufferpung! Pufferpung!

Now the battlefield had once again turned into a hell of chaos. All of the Balhae army’s shells were headed toward Liaoyang Castle. The plains near the west gate were next.

The Liaoyang Fortress, famous for its deep moat, high walls, and strong fortress walls, began to collapse as soon as the artillery units of the five divisions fired shells simultaneously. Not only the troops inside the fortress, but also the troops waiting in positions along the moat outside the fortress were not safe.

Among the Ming generals, there were some who thought that considering the artillery capabilities of the Balhae army, a defensive battle might actually be more disadvantageous, but the inertia of thinking was unavoidable. The fact that the Liaoyang fortress was so strong also made them ignore this opinion. As a result, the Ming army was now paying a heavy price for this.

Unable to withstand the continuous bombardment, the Ming army finally opened the gate and began to escape. Upon seeing this, Kim Mu-jeong immediately gave the following order.

This order was also first carried out by the artillery unit of the Operations Command, and other units followed suit. Now, the shells flew not only at the castle but also at the Ming troops camped outside the west gate.

“It seems they haven’t figured out the range of our artillery yet. They must have figured out that if they set up camp in the plain north of the west gate, our shells wouldn’t reach them. That’s why they deployed 50,000 men there.”

“They will never know. We always attack from inside their effective range.”

“Haha! That’s right.”

In the end, the Ming army lost 40% of its troops and began to retreat. Then, Kim Mu-jeong advanced the entire army and captured the city of Liaoyang. He also used cavalry to reduce the number of enemy soldiers.

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