Joseon Military Officer, Establishing Balhae - Chapter 324



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Episode 324

The Three Divisions of the World (1)

Plains around Seonghwan Station in Jiksan-hyeon (part of the future Cheonan City), located in the northern part of Chungcheong Province.

The king sighed deeply as he looked at the soldiers who were busy preparing for camp. Now, only about 7,000 troops were left to follow the king of Joseon. The morale plummeted as they left the capital city to Balhae and were chased away, and the number of deserters increased rapidly. Furthermore, the Balhae army, which was expected to spend some time in Hanyang, broke expectations and steadily advanced south, further increasing the soldiers’ anxiety.

“How can we maintain the country with that number of troops?”

“The propagandists sent to the south will gather troops. So please be strong-willed.”

Left State Councillor Jeong In-hong consoled the king’s feelings.

In fact, the propaganda officers sent to nearby Chungcheongnam-do, Yeongnam, and Honam were the only hope. If they could gather local troops and volunteers, it was expected that the country’s survival would be preserved.

“It would be nice if that were the case, but how easy would that be? If we were fighting an external enemy like during the Imjin War, we could unite and rise up, but this time it’s not like that. How many people would see Later Balhae as an external enemy? Furthermore, the anti-Han faction that was hostile to Later Balhae was not on our side.”

“But now that the weights are collapsing, public opinion will soon turn against them.”

Jeong In-hong tried to revive the king’s will, which was crumbling, but the reconnaissance officers who returned from their mission immediately made his efforts in vain. The officer from the north reported first.

“Your Majesty! The rear-facing navy has arrived at Jinwi. They are still advancing south and will arrive here soon.”

Jinwihyeon was a part of the future Pyeongtaek City, and was located in the northern part of the current Pyeongtaek County.

“Already at the truth? Did you really get to the truth?”

Lee Yi-cheom asked with a somewhat surprised expression.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Oh! This is it. Why are they chasing us? Didn’t they promise to strengthen our alliance?”

Another minister drove out an innocent military officer. Of course, it was a story the king had told him to hear.

“They’ve never crossed swords with us, have they? And now we’re just avoiding them.”

To make his subjects face reality, Kijaheon poured cold water on them.

“Hmm! That’s because I can’t trust them.”

“That’s a fair point. Weren’t they also fundamentally traitors?”

In fact, everyone was scared and avoiding the Balhae army. The king and his subjects continued to flee south because they were afraid that if they made hasty contact with Balhae and Balhae changed its mind, they would be captured and harmed. With only a handful of troops, they had no means to protect themselves, so they could not help but become infinitely weak.

Meanwhile, another officer came in and reported.

“Your Majesty! A second naval division is heading towards Wonju via Icheon and Yeoju. Judging from their route, they seem to be heading towards Yeongnam.”

“To Yeongnam? Are you saying you’re already aiming for Yeongnam?”

“Your movement speed seems faster.”

“You’ve already passed Yeoju? That’s faster than I imagined.”

The subjects murmured.

The king asked the military officer who had returned from inspecting Yeoju.

“Why are you so fast?”

As he had asked what his subjects were curious about, the surroundings suddenly became quiet.

“Was there no one who resisted? Was there no one who threw stones at the people in anger?”

The king’s voice was trembling. The more he spoke, the more his anger rose.

“that is…….”

When the officer hesitated, the king urged him further.

“Speak frankly. Shouldn’t we clearly understand the reality before we can come up with a proper plan?”

“Oh, I am sorry to say this, but the people are out on the street to welcome them. It seems they are afraid and forced to come out.”

The officer tried hard not to offend the king and gave a false interpretation.

“Oh, and there was an incident where some noblemen banded together and ambushed the enemy in the forest with their slaves and launched a surprise attack with arrows, but they only injured a few of the soldiers of the second naval force and captured them without any results.”

“Oh! That’s what happened? So there really were righteous people.”

The chief secretary, who had a history of taking care of the king’s feelings, reacted with a look of surprise. However, the others did not have the time to do so psychologically. They just sighed and looked elsewhere. Now, it seemed as if they were even bothered by the thought of the king.

“Your Majesty! This is urgent news.”

This time, the Left Vice Minister personally reported the report. In the meantime, reports had been coming in from various places by messenger.

“Your Majesty! A report has arrived that the second-tier naval force stationed in Gwandong is moving south to Yeongil and heading towards Gyeongju.”

“Yeongil? Yeongil? You said Yeongil?”

Lee I-cheom asked on behalf of the king.

Yeongil was a part of the future Pohang.

“Yes. We haven’t been paying any attention to Kanto at all so far. That’s why we seem to have continued to advance southward into uninhabited territory. I’m worried that additional troops will land at Busanpo. I’ve heard that there are also latecomer naval forces swarming around Tsushima Island and the former Japanese territory of Kuju.”

The Left State Councillor gave a relatively accurate picture of reality.

The king sighed and shook his head.

“So wasn’t that why you excluded Yeongnam from the beginning?”

“That’s true, but things are unfolding too quickly.”

Jeong In-hong was also bewildered by the speed of the Balhae army’s advance.

“First, we must go to the princess’s palace. The terrain there is advantageous to Su-seong, so we must gather our troops based there.”

“To the princess? Then let’s go there.”

The king also agreed to Jeong In-hong’s proposal. In this way, the first destination of the king’s forces was decided to be Gongju.

* * *

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The main force of the Ming Liaodong Army led by Yang Hao arrived at Yeoyang Station, located south of Guangning – the future Yeoyang Town of China.

“Let’s camp here!”

At Yang Ho’s order, the main force of the Ming army, 10,000 men, prepared to camp. Yang Ho divided the four surviving high-ranking commanders into 10,000 men each and had them move sequentially. So the left army in the lead reached the 13th mountain station, and the rear army, which was far behind, followed about 10 li behind.

“Should we have fought at Gwangnyeong? I heard the enemy soldiers were quite tired from marching.”

Yangho was so sorry that he had given up the excellent defensive stronghold of Gwangnyeong, that he said something he didn’t mean. Guan Byeongchung, who could read his mind, just smiled. However, since he needed a rational reason for retreating, he gave him a kind word.

“If some of them get to Bansan via the southern route and arrive at the 13th Mountain Station first, we will be trapped without being able to move.”

The 13th Mountain Station is a fortress located at the point where the South Road and the North Road meet, and is the future Seoksanjin of Linghai City, China.

“Phew! Right. That’s why I had to empty Gwangnyeong.”

“It was a great decision.”

“But seeing as they keep chasing us, it looks like they’re going after the entire Liaodong region?”

“It seems so. As long as our Great Ming Empire occupies Liaodong, these kinds of conflicts will continue to occur, so it seems they are planning to push us south of the Great Wall.”

“That won’t happen. We have to stop them this week.”

“That’s right. We have to show that we’re fighting. That way, our necks will stick around for a little longer. After all, it won’t be easy to call in a general who is fighting on the battlefield and decide to kill him.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

Yangho answered with a stern expression. In any case, Gwanbyeongchung’s logic that he could survive by fighting the Balhae army was reasonable.

“Not only am I worried about our situation, but the future of our country is also extremely bleak.”

“That’s true.”

The Ming was a declining empire in many ways. The two major wars with the Japanese and Balhae cast a dark cloud over the Ming’s future, but the biggest problem was the Wanli Emperor. The Wanli Emperor neglected state affairs and was obsessed with making money for the imperial family, so there was no hope. If a capable emperor had remained in power, these losses could have been quickly recovered, but if it was the Wanli Emperor, the future was clear as day.

Both of them were aware of this fact, but they could not bring themselves to say it.

After dinner, just as they were about to go to bed, the liaison officers who had gone to the western camp in Liaodong returned and began reporting to Yang Ho about what had happened.

“The troops guarding the fortress in the northwestern region are currently gathering at Ryun-dun.”

The northwestern region fortresses were several fortresses managed by the Uijuwi, including Daecheongbo, Daepyeongbo, and Daeanbo. These fortresses were located west of the Daling River, on the border of the Later Jin.

“The troops south of Daemubo are heading straight to Geumjuwi.”

Yang Ho planned to gather all the defensive troops scattered on the west side of the Daerung River, which numbered 20,000, to Jinju. He judged that with 60,000 troops, he would be able to defend the front line of the Soryung River in Jinju.

* * *

The Mongolization of the Later Jin Dynasty.

Eventually, the Balhae army, consisting of three divisions from the 1st Division led by Taegeon and two divisions from the 2nd Division from Gaewon, reached a total of five divisions and was catching its breath at Mongol Hwara (Yeonhwajin, Tieling City, China in the future). It was only about 15 miles from Golminala, so it was almost at the foot of the Later Jin capital.

“Geography! The Northern Army has already arrived near the northern gate of Golmin-Ala and is waiting with a position established. Two of their divisions have advanced to the eastern mountainous region to block the eastern retreat route.”

The 2nd Operations Command chiefs reported to Tae-geon the information pouring in from all over the place. Since this was the last operation of the Liaodong War, all the command officers, including the Operations Commander General Kim Mu-jeong, accompanied Tae-geon to assist him.

“What is the situation of the people of Houjin?”

Taegeon asked a question.

“Yes, most of them have fled to the vicinity of Golminala, and there are quite a few of them. I think there are about 100,000.”

“It seems that all the people of the Later Jin Dynasty living in Yeoheoha Valley have gathered here.”

Since the length of the Yeoha Valley was a whopping 60 meters, it could accommodate quite a large population.

“If we have to fight the final battle, we may have to face all of the Later Jin people who have flocked to Golminala.”

Commander Kim Moo-jung said with a worried expression.

“That’s right. The Jurchen said that all of them except for women, old people, and children were warriors.”

“But are you really going to strengthen them? Is there really a need to strengthen them when we have already broken their leashes?”

“How much have their troop losses been so far?”

“I heard reports that there are only a few thousand.”

“Then it seems that there were almost no losses in this war.”

“That’s why I’m more worried. If we continue to strengthen like this…….”

“That was my intention. If the losses are small, we can use the Later Jin as Balhae’s workers.”

“yes?”

“They have a lot of work to do in the future. So is it really necessary to cut them off? If so, we will have to take care of the countless Jurchen and Mongol peoples.”

“Well, I think I know what you mean.”

“Is that so?”

“Isn’t this just like last time, where we are allowed to occupy part of their territory and take away all the people living there?”

“Haha! Some of it was right. But we need to look at the bigger picture.”

“yes?”

“The world is divided into three parts.”

“The world is divided into three?”

Kim Moo-jung’s eyes were wide open and he was rolling them around. He was frantically trying to guess the meaning behind Tae-geon’s words.

“Giha! The King of the Later Jin came out of Golminala Castle to participate in the peace negotiations.”

“Oh? You’re finally out.”

Another report came in shortly thereafter.

“The King of the Later Jin stopped by Hong Taiji’s tent first.”

Since Hong Taiji’s barracks were located on the northern outskirts of the Balhae camp, Nurhachi had no choice but to stop there first.

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