Joseon Military Officer, Establishing Balhae - Chapter 328



Only Noblemtl
Read Novel Noblemtl

Episode 328

Territory Management Plan (1)

Uijuwi, located at the western tip of Liaodong.

As soon as the Treaty of Yongmu was signed, Nurhachi moved quickly. He led the royal family, his subjects, and the troops of Jeong Hwang-gi and Yang Hwang-gi, whom he personally commanded, and first went to Uiju.

The reason he chose Uiju without hesitation as a candidate for a new capital was because the Later Jin was so familiar with the geography of Liaodong. The Later Jin was constantly gathering information and sending spies in order to swallow up the Liaodong region of the Ming Dynasty at any time, and by some strange coincidence, they were able to achieve their wish through Balhae. So naturally, Uiju, which they had been eyeing for a while, was chosen as a candidate.

Nurhachi had only heard reports about Uiju, so he wanted to see for himself whether it was suitable.

“You chose really well. Since that Uiju Castle is still intact, I think we can use that place as our royal castle for now.”

The place where Nurhachi was located was a hill on the northern bank of the Daling River. Although it was close to the river, the elevation was high and it had a clear view of the terrain south of the river.

The city of Uiju, built in the middle reaches of the Daerung River, was located on a wide plain between the eastern and western mountain ranges. The width between the eastern and western mountains was 20 meters, making it suitable for a large city. There were also hills to the south and north, making it advantageous for defense.

Moreover, since it was a place that Ming valued as much as Gwangnyeong, there were many fortresses and forts in the surrounding area in addition to the main fortress of Uijuwi. In addition, it was equipped with facilities that were sufficient for immediate use without having to carry out large-scale civil engineering work, so it was the icing on the cake in every way.

“Ah, the Balhae army is leaving the castle. It seems they received our message and are returning.”

It was just as Hong Taiji had expected.

When Major General Kim Wa-il-lan, commander of the 21st Division of the Balhae Army, discovered the Later Jin army, he left the parade, led the escort troops, and approached the Later Jin army.

Nurhachi also immediately crossed the Daling River with his subordinates to try to contact him.

Kim Wa-ilan got off his horse, bowed respectfully to Nurhachi, and greeted him in Jurchen.

“21st Division Commander Kim Wa-il-lan visits the Khan of the Golden Kingdom.”

“Oh! You speak Korean. Are you Manchurian?”

“Yes, I am from the Colcan tribe in the East Sea.”

“Haha! That’s amazing.”

Nurhachi was even more delighted to see that the person who had come out to greet him was also a Jurchen. He also looked at him with eyes filled with greed.

However, it was a matter of indifference. Kim Wa-ilan’s expression showed no respect for Nurhachi. He was only showing the minimum courtesy to a foreign monarch.

The Jurchen people of Balhae were more loyal to their country than the Goryeo people. This was because their quality of life greatly improved after becoming part of Balhae, and they were able to truly experience advanced civilization.

“Now that the palace has been emptied, you may enter.”

“Thank you.”

Nurhachi was truly grateful. If the Ming were to take possession of this castle, it would be at the cost of a great deal of bloodshed.

“Have you sent troops to the Sol-ling-ha front as well?”

Kim Wai-lan asked.

“That’s right. Since you left first, you should have arrived already.”

It was a natural measure. If the front line of the Soryung River was secured, the land west of the Liao River would become the territory of the Later Jin. Of course, Nurhachi planned to deploy some troops to the Liao River border with Balhae later. However, he had no time to worry about the Balhae border at the moment.

“Okay, then I’ll go now. Good luck.”

Kim Wa-il-lan lowered his head and immediately turned around.

Hong Taiji smiled and asked Nurhachi, who was watching his back slowly moving away.

“Are you interested?”

“If not, then it’s a lie. Look at the manners and dignity that he has. These are virtues that are not common in our generals. Besides, how many secrets of Balhae would a division commander know?”

“It will be difficult. I have been watching the Balhae military closely, and the generals and soldiers from Donghae-bu have already become Balhae people. They speak well and get along well with the Joseon people. Their loyalty also stands out.”

Hong Taiji reminded people that most of the Jurchen people who became part of Balhae were from the Donghae region, that is, the wild Jurchen people.

Nurhachi’s gaze turned to Uiju Castle again.

“Haha! I felt humiliated during the Gangwha talks, but looking back, I think I gained a lot, just like you said. For one, I gained ten years.”

According to Taegeon’s proposal, Balhae and Later Jin signed a non-aggression pact to refrain from military action against each other for the next ten years. This was also included in the Yongmu Treaty. Therefore, in the future, they planned to invest more forces in the Ming border than in the Liao River border. However, they could not completely empty the Liao River border, not because they were afraid of Balhae’s invasion, but because they had to prevent Later Jin people from escaping to Balhae.

“Balhae will definitely keep its promise. Up until now, Balhae has never broken a treaty between countries.”

“That is truly amazing. Only by consistently demonstrating such faith can other countries believe in you and follow you.”

Nurhachi was also confident that Balhae would keep its promise.

“Moreover, you delayed the migration period for our people, saying that we should avoid the harvest season and winter.”

“That was also a great consideration. If we were kicked out before we could harvest anything, there would be no answer. Also, he said there might be a food shortage during the migration next spring, so he promised to lend us food.”

Balhae and Later Jin decided to move their military first and postpone the migration of residents to a later task. This was because of the food problem. Therefore, the Great Migration of Peoples, that is, the migration of Goryeo people living in western Liaodong to Balhae, and the migration of Later Jin people and other ethnic groups other than Goryeo people living in Balhae’s new territory to Later Jin, was scheduled to begin next year.

“I think next year I will have to stay put and focus on my internal affairs.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * Baca Novel Korean * *
* * * Noblemtl dot com * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“That’s right.”

Nurhachi’s gaze was still fixed on Uiju Castle.

“Should we name this place Uru Nara?”

“Where are you?”

‘Uru Na’ is a Jurchen word meaning ‘right land’, and is a direct translation of the Chinese character ‘Uiju’.

“Wouldn’t Heo Cheon be better than me?”

The meaning of Heocheon was ‘seong’.

“Good. Uruhecheon. Then let’s name the new capital Uruhecheon. I don’t know how long Uruhecheon will serve as the capital, but we should use this place as our base and rise again.”

If you change Uruheocheon into Chinese characters, it becomes ‘Uiseong’.

“But, the Mongolian Beilers and Taijis may be dissatisfied. How will you handle this?”

The most painful thing about this defeat in the war was, of course, the loss of a huge amount of territory. And much of this territory was the home of each Mongol tribe. As a result, the tribal chieftains were likely to be disappointed or dissatisfied with the Later Jin court.

“I’ve thought deeply about that problem. There’s only one solution: as soon as we finish moving the capital and relocating the people, we’ll go after Likdan Khan. After we’ve taken over the entire southern Mongolian region, including Ordos, we’ll give them fiefdoms.”

Maknam Mongol is the southern Mongolian region located south of the Gobi Desert. Currently, Ligdan Khan of Chahar, who fled after being defeated by the Later Jin, was ruling this region. So Nurhachi planned to take this opportunity to kill Chahar.

“Father. Once the conquest of Rickdankan is over, how about changing the name of the country?”

“Should we change the name of the country? Why?”

“Didn’t we suffer humiliation from Balhae and lose our land? However, if we can regain that much land in the west, we will be able to regain our lost honor. So, in the sense of renewing our national administration.”

“Well, that’s a good idea. The price is already a national shame. Do you have something in mind?”

“How is the main hall?”

“Daecheong? Daecheong… Hmm, that’s good. Good! Let’s conquer more Mongol tribes, expand our territory to Shanhaiguan, and then use a new national title.”

Nurhachi liked the name of the country, ‘Daecheong’. It was originally a name that would appear after his death.

* * *

The interior of the government building in Seoul.

Based on the results of discussions with Lee Ha-ryun and Hong Eun in the secret room of Hamhwajeon, Taegeon personally designed a future management plan for the newly expanded territory. He also established an administrative district reorganization through close consultation with the internal affairs, and held an event to announce it today.

Hyun Yang-geon, who had become the Minister of the Interior after his predecessor, Son Jung-il, had taken over as the Governor-General of Pyeongan-bu several years earlier, began to personally announce this plan to several high-ranking officials and the leaders of the Privy Council.

First, everyone’s mouths dropped open as information about the expanded territory and the territory to be acquired in the future was announced in detail.

“So, you’re saying that the Solon Mountains are our territory? In that far north?”

Heo Seong, the Minister of Education who opened a new era of Balhae travel literature by expressing in elegant writing what he saw, heard, and felt while traveling around the country, was the first to respond. Thanks to his previous experience, he had a unique perspective on geography. In particular, he had extensive knowledge of the northern mountain ranges, waterways, and foreign peoples. However, his gaze had never reached the Solon Mountains. To that extent, Taegeon had set the northern limit of Balhae’s territory in a groundbreakingly broad way.

“Haha! That’s right.”

Hyun Yang-geon answered with a smile. He also had the same reaction as Heo Seong when he first heard this story.

Heo Seong smiled faintly at Tae Geon, who was sitting at the top. Tae Geon smiled back.

Heo Seong immediately asked Tae Geon a question.

“Giha, then what will you do if the natives living further north ask for your return?”

“I won’t accept it.”

Taegeon answered Heo Seong’s question without any hesitation.

“yes?”

It was an unexpected answer.

“It is difficult to manage the lands beyond that northern region. Even if the population of Balhae increases in the distant future, it will be the same.”

Taegeon explained the reason in detail. The idea was that if a country has too much land compared to its population, the cost of maintaining it would actually weaken national power.

“But it’s a bit much to just throw it out.”

“Instead, I will establish their own country.”

“Oh, then that will work.”

“Of course, that country will remain as a country close to our vassal state. We can easily obtain interests there. So there is no need to spend a huge amount of money to manage it as a territory.”

Taegeon planned to actively support the indigenous peoples of the Far East Siberia, namely the Buryats, Sakha (Yakuts), Awenki, Ramut (Eben), Chukchi, and Koryaks, to establish their own states.

Next, Hyun Yang-geon announced a new plan for managing the territory in the west.

“We plan to immediately implement military rule in the western territories acquired from the Later Jin. As you know, there are already a small number of Goryeo people living there, so it will be classified as a military administration area, not a military occupation area. First, we will maintain the existing Liaodong area as it is, but change the name to Bonghwangbu, and combine the former Jianzhoubu and Hoipa regions of the Later Jin to form the Central Plains, call the Ming territory east of the Liao River Haoyaobu, and temporarily call the area north of the Liao River Buyeobu.”

The name Haeyobu was created by combining the first two letters of Haeju and Yoyang. The southern part of Songnun Plain was also combined into Buyeobu. In this way, three governorates were created.

Read Novel Noblemtl
Read Novel Noblemtl