Joseon Military Officer, Establishing Balhae - Chapter 327



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Episode 327

Post-processing (2)

Gongju-mok, where the Chungcheong-do provincial government office is located.

The king’s party was not particularly welcomed in the princess’s palace. Since they had brought thousands of troops, no one came forward, and the people looked at their entrance with disapproving eyes.

“Damn it! If this continues, isn’t the princess going to turn into a battlefield?”

“That’s true. I heard that the people of the southern part of Gyeonggi Province were dancing around in excitement, saying that they had now become part of Balhae. Now we have to worry about war.”

The people were muttering as they watched the procession heading to the camp. Some people bowed down to the ground to pay their respects to the king, but most people were standing and watching. In such cases, it would have been normal for the soldiers to come forward and shout at them, but the king, who needed to gain the support of the people of Gongju, prohibited such behavior.

“Huh! Who is that?”

As the convicts’ carriages appeared one after another in the middle of the line, the attention of the residents was focused. The appearance of the convicts was beyond words. They all had disheveled hair and were dressed in white.

The military officers, noticing the people’s murmuring, shouted loudly.

“The leader of the rebellion, Prince Neungyang, and the traitors who supported him!”

Then the people’s uproar grew louder.

“They finally caught him. But what’s the point? It’s like a family fight in a corner of a house that’s about to fall apart.”

“Has that ever happened?”

Rather, there were many people who did not even know that a treason had occurred.

Information about Balhae was widely spread in Chungcheong Province as well. This was the result of Ikmunsa agents and merchants recruited by them continuously spreading rumors. In contrast, rumors about the Joseon court were spread slowly, just like before.

The king’s forces deployed about 4,000 troops to various routes in the northern part of Gongju, such as Charyeong, Ssangnyeong, Gakheulchi, and Galhyeon. Then, he led 3,000 troops and entered Gongju. As a result, the areas beyond Cheonan, Onyang, and Yesan naturally came under Balhae’s control.

“But their line split up?”

“Well, what’s going on?”

Some of the king’s followers went straight into the princess’s camp and began preparing to welcome the king, while most of the king’s subjects and troops headed toward Geumgang. Naturally, the people followed them.

“Tch! I guess I’m about to see a horrible scene.”

“Execution as soon as you get here?”

The people who arrived at the Geumgang River soon learned what was about to happen: the execution of the criminals who had committed treason.

The King’s party, who had already completed all preparations, quickly cleaned up the place and made them kneel. Next, Lee I-cheom came out and read out their crimes, and immediately the sentence was handed down that they would be beheaded.

The king stood firm until the execution procedures were completed, including that of his nephew Prince Neungyang. He was so angry at them that he did not even look away.

One of the reasons the royalists publicly executed the rebels they had managed to capture as soon as they arrived in Gongju was to set an example. They wanted to show that the royal order was alive and still powerful.

This was also due to the rebellion of Yi Mong-hak. The rebellion of Yi Mong-hak, which occurred during the reign of King Seonjo between the Imjin and Jeongyu Wars, ended only after sweeping through the Chungcheong region. So, out of fear that the people of this region, who still had strong resentment toward the Joseon government, might rise up, he carried out a public execution as soon as he arrived in Gongju.

* * *

Taegeon opened his mouth.

“First, I plan to send an envoy to the Seten Khanate of Khalkha Mongol.”

“That’s a priority, now that we’re on the border with them.”

Lee Ha-ryun also agreed.

“Isn’t there a ruling power that controls Halkha Mongolia? That’s the real deal.”

When Hong Eun asked, Tae Geon answered.

“We should all consider them as independent forces and contact them separately. Do you know how large the Mongolian Plateau is?”

“Well, I remember hearing that it’s five times the size of the Korean peninsula. Since there’s no central power in such a large land, it’s right for each to survive on their own.”

The forces that currently make up Khalkha Mongol, or Outer Mongolia of the Qing Dynasty, are divided into Seten Khanate, Jasaktu Khanate, Tusyed Khanate, and Altan Khanate, and they are all independent forces. Of these, Seten Khanate is located the farthest east, so it naturally borders Balhae.

“Then what do you plan to do with the lands of Barga and Daur?”

Taegeon answered Lee Ha-ryun’s question without any hesitation.

“We should make it our vassal state and then make it independent.”

“Yes? After colonization, then independence?”

Hong Eun asked in surprise.

The place they talked about was the Hulunbuir region of the future Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China, and the tribes living in this area were the Barga and the Daur. The Daur were a people believed to be descendants of the Khitans, and the Barga were said to be a branch of the Buryat tribe with roots near Lake Baikal.

Since this area was occupied by the Later Jin, this area naturally became Balhae territory according to the Treaty of Yongmu, a peace treaty concluded between Balhae and the Later Jin.

“Even though Nurhachi took good care of the tribesmen, he didn’t take them all. Also, there are Buryat tribes that have moved south and are living there, so we need to create a country and make them independent. So for now, let’s call that land the Dalai region.”

“Dalai? What is that?”

Lee Ha-ryun asked.

“There is a huge freshwater lake there that will be named Hulun Lake in the future. The locals call it Dalai Lake.”

“What does Dalai mean?”

Taegeon answered Hong-eun’s question with a smile.

“In Mongolian, it is called sea. So, the name of the land is sea.”

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“The name of the land in the Mongolian steppe is Bada? How strange!”

“Since it is a place where many tribes coexist, we should use the names of lakes that are characteristic of the region, rather than naming places after tribes.”

“I completely understand.”

“So the northwest of our northern territory will be the Greater Khingan Mountains as its border. And the north… Wait a minute!”

Tae-Geon stopped talking, got up from his seat, took the map, and placed it on the table.

“Here! There’s a long mountainous region between the Awongki Mountains and the Oehingganling Mountains?”

The Oehingganling Mountains are the future Stanovoy Mountains of Russia.

“Oh, that’s right. It’s a bit disjointed here and there, so it’s hard to call it a single mountain range, but when you look at it broadly, it looks like a mountain range that runs parallel to the Oehingganryeong Mountains.”

“Okay. Let’s call it Mount Solon for now.”

Solon was an appropriate name for the mountainous region in the center of the territory of the northern Tungusic peoples of the Later Jin Dynasty.

“Then is that the northern limit?”

Lee Ha-ryun asked in surprise.

When Tae-geon nodded, Hong-eun also showed the same reaction as Lee Ha-ryun.

“Wow! Then the land becomes too wide?”

“Well, it is still like that now, but most of the northern territories will be managed as indigenous self-government.”

Taegeon had taken Balhae’s territory very large. However, he had no intention of developing it from now on. His words continued.

“We have a territorial classification system, right? We should utilize it.”

“Then, the civil administration area where the current Tohobu is installed, something like that?”

“Oh. The scope of the civil government area will expand a bit in the future. It will expand to the Yoha Plain and Songnun Plain, right?”

“Of course. That is the place that absolutely must be developed. There is no reason to leave such a granary as it is. But we will have to enforce military rule for the time being.”

The Liaohe Plain is a concept that includes the Liaodong Plain and its surrounding areas.

Balhae divided the territory into three: the civil administration area, the military administration area, which was planned to be developed in the future or was managed by the military for the time being, and the military occupation area. Therefore, all the territories currently secured or to be secured were classified as military occupation areas and were managed by sending only military troops. In other words, it was a territory that could be managed at a very low cost, without any need to invest any finances for security or administration other than the military expenses.

Currently, even the Samgang Plain is being managed as a military occupied area because there is no population to settle in it, and the areas north of the Samgang Plain, the Heilongjiang River basin, the area around Ula Castle, the coastal mountainous areas, and the northern and eastern parts of Hokkaido are also included in the military occupied area. Therefore, it is highly likely that an area equivalent to 40% of the entire country falls into this category.

“It may take at least several decades, or even several hundred years, before the vastly expanded military occupied area can be developed, so let’s just think of it as land reserved for future generations. Leave it to the natives until full-scale development begins.”

“Oh my! Then it looks like the military system will have to be reorganized again. Now, the Later Jin border will be reduced, and the northern territory will be greatly expanded.”

“Hoho! The explorers are flying around again.”

Hong Eun responded with a big smile.

Explorers were a new profession in Balhae. As Balhae’s territory rapidly expanded, they ran around in all directions to satisfy the curiosity of the Balhae people. They traveled around various places, recorded the stories of the foreign people they met and the landscapes they saw with their own eyes, and submitted them to newspapers and magazines. When the volume accumulated, they were published as books, and the books were adopted as valuable textbooks at various universities.

The northern and eastern Hokkaido explorations were published under the title “Journey to the Ainu Village in Hokkaido,” and many books related to Formosa were published. As a result, place names were created by them. In the process of communicating with the natives, existing place names and river names were discovered, and there were many cases where the names they created on the spot were adopted as official place names. In this way, Balhae’s geography expanded and developed day by day.

“It’s a good thing. It’s beneficial for everyone.”

Taegeon also welcomed their presence.

“But shouldn’t we put more pressure on Ming?”

Lee Ha-ryun asked.

“I was going to ask you what you thought. I don’t think we should fight more in this situation, so how about a small-scale operation involving the Navy and Marines?”

“First, let’s occupy the entire Myodo Archipelago.”

The Myodo Islands were islands located between the southern part of the Liaodong Peninsula and the Shandong Peninsula.

“Then, our territory will expand to the very edge of the Shandong Peninsula, which may be difficult to manage?”

“Anyway, if a famous navy is deployed to those islands, it’s going to be tiring. What if a pirate den is created? It’s going to be a headache. In that case, wouldn’t it be better for us to occupy and manage them?”

“I see. And we need to use this opportunity to attack Dengzhou and chill Ming’s liver and gall bladder.”

Dengzhou was also one of the coastal strategic points that the Ming Dynasty valued, and was located in the northern part of the Liaodong Peninsula.

“Let’s get started right away.”

Lee Ha-ryun answered with a bright smile. He also brought up Joseon, which had been put off for some time, as a topic for discussion.

“And since our army has advanced to Gyeongsang Province, how about we mobilize a division from the Namhae-bu garrison and have it land in the Honam region? We can also have the Marine Corps Reserve Division, which has been mobilized but not deployed yet, land in strategic points along the southern coast, including Busanpo.”

Gyeongsangjwa-do refers to the eastern region of Gyeongsang-do.

“That would be fine too. Looking at the situation in Gyeongsang Province, there wouldn’t be any particular problem if we deployed our troops in full force.”

Taegeon had already received reports that the Balhae army was moving while being welcomed by the people of Gyeongsang Province, so he judged that the possibility of a military conflict, which he had been trying so hard to avoid, had decreased.

“They said that the divisions belonging to the 3rd Corps have crossed the Mungyeong Pass, so they should be in charge of Gyeongsang-do, and for the Honam region, they should land at Mokpo and keep pushing forward, right?”

“Right. Leave the southern coast to the Marines?”

“yes.”

“Okay. Let’s put pressure on Joseon as well.”

Tae-Gun smiled with satisfaction and raised his glass.

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