Joseon Military Officer, Establishing Balhae - Chapter 331



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Episode 331

Formosa related policies (1)

The following spring. May 18th year of Geonheung, Seoul Stadium.

This stadium, built near Balhae University in southern Seoul, has a seating capacity of 40,000. It was the largest stadium in Balhae. The Balhae government built a stadium this large because it needed a space to hold not only sports games but also various national events.

Today, the stadium was packed with spectators, leaving no room for standing. This was because the soccer league, the Balhae soccer tournament, was finally opening. It was the result of preparations made since last year, when we were busy with the war. In order to launch this soccer tournament, last fall, Prince Tae-young, the eldest son of the new Minister of Foreign Affairs and Prince Tae-won (whose title was Prince Gyeong), was elected as the association president, and preparations for the tournament proceeded at a rapid pace.

Currently, a total of 12 teams, including the Seoul team, are participating, and all of them are soccer teams from cities belonging to the Seoul Byeolbu, Hyeondeokbu, Donghaebu, and Yeominbu.

The reason that leagues with games every weekend were possible was purely thanks to the railroad. Since all the cities where teams participated in these leagues were connected by railroad, it was possible to arrive leisurely by leaving the day before or the day after the game. As the number of residents who were enthusiastic about soccer increased, there were quite a few who went on away trips with their soccer teams by train.

Although there was still an hour left until the event began, most of the audience had already entered and taken their seats.

“We have to really crush those Ssalhae guys today. Thinking about losing to them last year makes me really angry even now.”

A young spectator who supports the Seoul Jeokbong Football Club said to his friend sitting next to him, “Today’s opponent was the Ssulhae Cheongryong Football Club. The Seoul and Ssulhae teams were fierce rivals, and when these two teams played, violence sometimes broke out.

“I told you so too. We only played one game last year. You can imagine how upset I would be if I lost that game.”

“Oh my! Look at this? There’s a really interesting article here.”

Another friend, who was reading a newspaper to kill time, showed me the article in surprise.

“Kuma and Ryukyu sent envoys together to announce that they are adopting our Hangul as their official script and to ask for help. In addition, the United Kingdom of Darida in central Formosa will soon follow suit.”

“It seems like the relationship between the Kuma Kingdom and the Ryukyu Kingdom is pretty good. Let’s send an envoy together.”

My friend took it for granted that these countries would adopt Hangul, so he paid attention to other areas.

“It’s not like neighboring countries are on good terms, but between these two countries is our Balhae Namhaebu territory, right? So they’re no longer neighbors. And since trade is active, they can’t help but be on good terms.”

“Hey! You’ve become so sophisticated since you used to read newspapers.”

The friend who read the newspaper was very knowledgeable. Since the knowledge conveyed by the newspaper was quite extensive and deep, the tendency to read the newspaper as if memorizing it appeared in Balhae society. When someone reached that level, they were often called an “educated person”, and this friend was one of those types.

“They say that everyone is on good terms there except for Japan. Since Japan is strong, the bond between Taizan and Kuma is bound to be strong.”

“Ugh! Joseon needs to come into our arms sooner than that.”

Another friend suddenly mentioned Joseon.

“There isn’t much left there. It is only thanks to the King’s mercy that the lineage is maintained. If he had been an ambitious monarch, it would have ended long ago.”

“That’s right. But it’s hard to criticize Giha’s choice. How easy is it to share blood with your own kind?”

“That’s true.”

“I heard the West is crazy right now. The Hujin kids are moving.”

“I heard that too. You’re going to pick people off again?”

“That’s right. They said they would take Mongolians, Han Chinese, and Jurchen people, not just the Goryeo people who are close to our bloodline. Likewise, they said they would take Goryeo people from the Later Jin territory.”

“I heard that many slaves who were released from the newly acquired Joseon territory migrated to Liaodong?”

“wait for a sec.”

The friend who was holding the newspaper quickly flipped through the pages and pointed to a specific spot.

“Here it comes. Adventure!”

The friend holding the newspaper coughed and began to read the article.

“It was announced internally that approximately 50,000 Koreans settled in Liaodong from last fall to this year. Most of them settled in Liaohai, and word has come to our office that the immigrants who arrived were speechless at the sight of the vast fields of Liaohai. There were also some who wept because they were so moved by the land allotted to their families. It says so.”

“Haha! How good must it be for you to cry?”

“They were slaves, right? How happy they must have been to be freed from their bondage and given possession of vast tracts of land.”

“There were many people like that in our neighborhood. Moreover, since the government provides food until the land is cleared and harvested, we don’t have to worry about the tedious livelihood.”

“Well, and some of them were sent to Hokkaido.”

“I heard it’s secretly a nice place to live too?”

“It’s because there’s a lot of snow in the winter. The land is fertile and it’s not too hot in the summer either, so it’s good. Also, thanks to the influx of people from Hwanghae Province, our Koryo people make up the vast majority, so it’s not dangerous.”

“Anyway, the newspaper is so interesting. Amazing things keep happening.”

“That’s true. I read an article about war last year and it was really interesting.”

They were so absorbed in chatting about current events before the soccer game that historical events kept happening and society was changing so quickly that this kind of chatter was just as interesting as the soccer game.

* * *

Handeok-hyeon and Bongsanjeong, northern Formosa, border area between Balhae and Darida Kingdom.

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“I understand why they call this place Handeok.”

Tammy said as she climbed the hill and looked out over the surroundings.

“Anyway, the terrain here is unique. Thanks to the long hills, it wasn’t difficult to draw the border.”

Namhaebu Admiral Heo Gyun answered.

Handeok is a long, hill-shaped mountain range that stretches from east to west. The southern part of the mountain, where the relatively large river Bongsan River (Bongsan Stream) flows, is steep and the northern part is flat, so it looks like a hill. That is why the Darida United Kingdom and Balhae agreed to use Handeok as their border.

Once this border was established, Balhae reorganized its administrative districts, dividing the existing territory into Damsu County, Galan County (Taipei area), and Keelung County, and additionally dividing the acquired southwestern region into two, naming the northern one Guishan County and the southern one Daeduk County.

Of course, most of the residents of the Formosa region are indigenous people, but since the military government was already in place, the administrative districts were divided for convenience.

“How are the circumstances?”

Tammy left the coastal blockade operation to her squadron commander and, after a long time, toured the naval bases belonging to the 3rd Fleet and came here to North Formosa.

So Heo Gyun asked about Choryang’s circumstances first.

“Haha! What if the Governor asks me about the situation in Choryang? The Governor’s Office is in Choryang.”

“Oh my! I’ve been away for too long. But there’s so much work to do here in Formosa. I think I’ll have to return as soon as I finish this one.”

“That’s right. But there’s chaos at Choryang right now.”

“That’s right. The southeastern coast of Joseon was incorporated into Balhae.”

“That was just last winter, right? But already so many merchants have flocked here that the entire city is bustling.”

“As if you had been waiting for this?”

“Yes, it looks very firmly planted.”

“It’s only natural, considering how rampant smuggling has been. It’s like a floodgate bursting.”

The ships of Joseon merchants were not large enough to cross the Joseon Strait. So they used Balhae merchant ships to arrive at Choryang. The Balhae government also operated regular ships between Choryang and Busanpo for them.

“I think this phenomenon will continue until our Balhae merchants open a trading post in Busanpo.”

“It will remain the same even after that. Isn’t Choryang an international trade city? So, if you want to get products from other countries, you have to come all the way to Choryang.”

“Well, that’s right. In the future, Dongrae merchants will also try to expand overseas by building large ships.”

“By the way, many of our Korean people should come to Formosa as well…….”

“Won’t that happen soon? I thought so when I saw the first batch. And I heard a rumor in the first batch that a large number of Jeju Island people will come to Formosa.”

“Oh! Was there something like that?”

“Yes. As you know, Jeju Island people are very active in our Namhae Department, right?”

The population of Jeju Island has grown explosively, and in proportion to this, the number of people moving to other regions of Namhae-bu has also increased. In addition, thanks to the various benefits provided by the Balhae government, they have been able to secure various rights and interests in Namhae-bu and expand their businesses. Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that Namhae-bu is virtually controlled by Jeju-do people. They have taken up executive positions in various Balhae merchants and have also taken Namhae-bu management positions. In addition, the number of merchants established by Jeju-do people has been steadily increasing.

“So that means you’re eyeing new markets?”

“Yes. Jeju Sangdan and Halla Sangdan, which were founded by Jeju Island people, are particularly like that. Since the Choryang area is dominated by northern merchants and Samwoo Shipping, it is not easy to compete there. That is why they must have targeted Formosa. So they are bringing in a large number of Jeju Island people to settle down here and do business properly.”

“Haha! That’s great. Then, we can settle the people of Gyeongsang Province in the nearby Buk-gu Province and the surrounding island regions.”

“Yes, we are going to deploy the slaves liberated from Gyeongsang Province to the northern part of the country and the surrounding large islands.”

“It seems that many difficult problems are easily solved now that most of Joseon has come in.”

“That’s right. But what’s the situation in Formosa?”

This time Tammy asked about the situation in Formosa.

“There have been many changes here as well. You know why I am meeting with the people of the United Kingdom of Darida today, so let me tell you about what happened in the East.”

“East? Then Spain?”

“Yes, the Santa Ana region is on the way to expansion. The mountains to the west are too rugged and inhabited by fierce natives, so we continued to conquer them along the eastern canyon.”

The Balhae side named the long, north-south plain formed by several rivers flowing between the central and coastal mountain ranges in the eastern part of Formosa the Eastern Great Plain.

“And then eventually they moved south to Phu Son, which was occupied by the British. It was really amazing speed. So they made an agreement and eventually set the boundary between them as the southern foot of the Binam River and Mt. Doran.”

Just like Britain, Balhae also had a steady trade with the British, so it was aware of these circumstances in detail.

“But it seems that the situation in Spain is not easy. The Great Plains are flat, so they conquered them incredibly quickly, but because the supply line is long, they seem to be constantly being attacked by the Bunun people living in the mountains and the Ami people, the original inhabitants.”

“Anyway, the greed of the Spanish people… They stole someone else’s land, so they should endure that level of punishment.”

Tammy commented in a cool tone.

“Yes, that’s right. Oh, the Darida delegation is here. Over there~”

Heo Gyun raised his hand and pointed to a group of natives crossing the Bongsan River.

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