Joseon Military Officer, Establishing Balhae - Chapter 342



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Episode 342

Northern Exploration (2)

Dengzhou water castle in Shandong Province, a famous country.

For several years, this coastal fortress had been the base of the Balhae army. Of course, the fortress had long since collapsed due to the terrifying attacks of the Balhae navy. However, the marines guarding this place did not bother to repair the Dengju fortress, but simply reinforced the collapsed sections of the fortress walls with wooden palisades and lived in peace.

The Dengzhou garrison consisted of only one regiment. It was the 18th Regiment of the 5th Marine Division. However, the Ming army did not dare approach the Balhae camp. This was because of the cannons on top of the ruins of the Dengzhou fortress. After witnessing the Dengzhou fortress collapse helplessly under cannon fire, the Ming army did not dare to even attempt to fight the Balhae army.

Kim Tae-deok, commander of the 5th Marine Division, climbed up the watchtower again today and looked around. It was one of his repetitive tasks. The camp itself was cramped, and it was frustrating to sit in the dormitory, so whenever he had time, he would climb up the watchtower and look at the sea and the surrounding famous troops.

“No matter how I look at it, it seems like the reason they can’t even think of attacking us is not just because of our firearms, but also because of our naval ships.”

Kim Tae-deok pointed to the ships belonging to the First Fleet floating on the sea. The First Fleet sent three large ships in turns to support the Marines at Dengzhou. So, if a battle broke out on land, they would provide support with cannons, and if the situation became unfavorable for defense, they would immediately take the Marines and retreat.

“But you must return to command on the next ship. It is too dangerous here.”

Manager Hwangbo Min said with an earnest expression.

Division Commander Kim Tae-deok has been staying in Dengzhou for quite some time. That is why his adjutants are restless.

“What’s the danger? All the 18th Regiment troops are armed with new rifles.”

Since the Dengzhou garrison was located in the most dangerous place, the Marine Corps issued the entire force with the Geonheung Type 1 rifle. In the circumstances of the time, it was a tremendous firepower. In addition, they had two types of mortars in more quantities than required, so the 18th Regiment alone could deal with tens of thousands of Ming troops.

Knowing that, Kim Tae-deok felt no anxiety at all.

“Because of the sagging supply lines, we won’t be able to attack Shandong Province with just this force. Still, it will be enough to defend one stronghold in Dengzhou. Even if a large army comes, we won’t be shaken.”

“Well, that’s true.”

Hwangbo Min answered with resignation.

“I think I’d like to bring our entire 5th Division and occupy all of Shandong Province.”

“That’s right. I heard that the purpose was to put pressure on the Ming court, but if we continue to hold out like this, I don’t know what we’re doing.”

“It seems that the military leadership is suggesting that we take over this area, even if it’s just the Dengju area, but everyone in the government is against it.”

“What is the reason?”

“The land we have to govern is too vast, and the number of foreigners is also large.”

“Well, that’s true. If we take over this place, a huge number of Han Chinese will be incorporated into our people.”

Hwangbo Min immediately understood the Balhae government’s intentions and agreed.

“Well, it seems like a messenger from the Ming court has arrived.”

“Oh, you’re sending it so shamelessly.”

All the houses between the Dengzhou fortress and the Ming army camp were empty, and most of them had collapsed from the artillery fire, so if a messenger came out from the Ming army camp, they would be immediately visible.

Eventually, the lion arrived and faced Kim Tae-deok.

However, the messenger who came today showed a much gentler expression than before. The messenger who came before was angry and scolded and shouted at them to retreat immediately, and the Balhae army responded strongly each time. It also reminded them that the war between Balhae and Ming was still ongoing.

The person who came as a lion this time was a fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Rites.

“Isn’t it time to end this war of attrition? So I would like to open peace negotiations with your representative.”

“You want to open a ceasefire negotiation without any basis? Is that official? Or is it a secret negotiation?”

Kim Tae-deok asked a question with a sharp expression.

“Hmm! This is a secret negotiation.”

“Haha! Then that’s right.”

Kim Tae-deok immediately understood the doctor’s intentions.

“What are the conditions?”

“I intend to open everything up for negotiation.”

“How about the place?”

“You can open it here, at the point between Mercury and our camp. We will send Yebu Sirang as our representative, so please send an official of the same rank from Balhae as well.”

The Yebusirang was an official of the same rank as Balhae’s external advisor.

“Understood. I will convey this message to the court. As soon as I receive a reply, I will send a messenger to the Ming army’s camp.”

“Thank you.”

The lion of the name immediately got up from his seat and went back.

Director Hwang Bo-min, who watched this brief interview scene, briefly shared his thoughts.

“It seems that Ming can no longer bear it.”

“It can’t be helped. They must have realized that the Later Jin would now turn into a formidable enemy. Also, since our navy has blocked the northern and southern coasts, water transport has stopped, and the inflow of silver will not be the same as before.”

With the northern and southern coasts of the Ming Dynasty blocked, the main trading port of the Ming Dynasty was now Ningbo (Ningbo) near Hangzhou in the central region, and it was through these central ports that it was able to breathe a sigh of relief.

“If it’s a secret negotiation, then we’ll give and take something, and then end the war under an appropriate pretext.”

“I guess so.”

“Will our court respond?”

“Well.”

Kim Tae-deok tilted his head.

* * *

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Mayzin (Kholmsk) region located in the southern part of Sakha Island.

The Maijin region as a whole had little flat land, but there were wide, not-so-steep hills near the coastline. So the Balhae military base was located on a hill near the port, and the first immigrant village, or rather, the exile village, was built around the military camp.

“Father, the sea breeze is still cold. Let’s go home now.”

A young son approached a man sitting on a rock and staring blankly at the sea and urged him to go home.

“No. Let’s stay a little longer.”

“Yes, father.”

The man in the first row was Lee Jin-sa. He was originally from Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, and was the head of a family called Lee Cham-pan’s House because his grandfather had served as a minister.

He sighed without realizing it and asked his son.

“Have you plowed the field yet?”

“Yes, I received a large piece of land, but I have never farmed it before, so I am a little worried about how much I will harvest.”

“Haha! I guess I’ll have to learn farming too.”

Lee Jin-sa smiled bitterly.

“The Marines are coming and helping out a little bit. I’m also learning farming from them.”

“Phew! I’m sorry. You’ve suffered a lot because of me. We’ve been living in exile together at such a young age.”

The stern and stern Lee Jin-sa began to show some weakness after arriving at this place of exile. As he was far from his hometown, his heart and beliefs also became weaker. Furthermore, this place was located across the sea, in the middle of the border, and was a land inhabited by natives who were very different from Koreans in terms of appearance due to their thick hair.

“It’s okay, Father. And I also didn’t officially join the uprising, did I?”

“What is the matter?”

Lee Jin-sa laughed it off.

Yi Jin-sa was a so-called thought criminal. He gathered his fellow nobles and the villagers who followed him to form the so-called volunteer army. When he heard that a small force of Balhae soldiers was passing by the village, he ambushed them on the mountain path and attacked them. However, only two Balhae soldiers were slightly injured by arrows, and it ended up as a minor incident without any results. However, his son firmly believed that it was an ‘uprising’.

It was a backlash that only hurt. The Balhae army captured the twenty or so people without casualties and handed them over to trial. So the younger ones were sentenced to hard labor, and the older ones and their fellow noblemen were sentenced to ten years of exile. However, since the place of exile was Saharan Island, and the Balhae army offered to protect them and give them land if they accompanied their families, the son who had been sentenced to hard labor applied to follow his father. As a result, some of the family ended up living in Saharan until the exile was over. Since the head of the family and the successor to the family were exiled, Lee Jin-sa’s grandson and eldest daughter-in-law also accompanied them.

“Okay, let’s just hold out for ten years. Our family’s land remains in our hometown, so when we return, we can start over again.”

“I can’t be grateful, but I can’t criticize you either, since it’s something that will help our family by preserving our wealth.”

“It is nothing more than a clever scheme to win the hearts of the people. Why would the Balhae government, which has so much land that it cannot control, really want to take away our land? They are just pretending to be kind in order to confuse the hearts of the people, relying on their vast land.”

“okay.”

“But how long can we only farm the fields?”

Lee Jin-sa turned the conversation back to farming. He couldn’t help but show interest in farming, since it was a matter of his family’s livelihood.

“Yes. It’s not irrigated yet, so it’s probably hard to grow rice. And I don’t know if there are any rice seeds that can grow in this climate. That’s what the Marines said.”

“Then I guess I’ll just grow grains and sesame seeds.”

In fact, the main products of Saharan Island were sorghum, livestock products, and marine products. In the case of livestock farming, the future Russian residents of this land adopted the method of cultivating fast-growing forage crops. Therefore, instead of general crops that do not grow well due to insufficient sunlight, oats, which are both grain and forage crops, were often chosen. If the oats open and ripen, it is a success in its own way, but if not, they can be harvested whole and used as hay.

However, since it was highly unlikely that the noble class would engage in livestock farming, they had no choice but to farm, no matter what.

“Yes, I think so. Still, they say that merchants will come and go and buy the furs that the natives have collected, so they will be able to obtain grain and other goods that they are lacking. They also said that if they are hungry due to lack of food, the army will provide food rations. This was guaranteed when they were tried. Of course, they are still living on that grain.”

“Okay, I got it.”

Lee Jin-sa turned his gaze back to the East Sea. His eyes were filled with endless longing.

“I miss you so much, but I don’t know if it’s my hometown or my motherland, Joseon. Everything is already fading away.”

Eventually he had to lower his head.

* * *

Wuhecheon, the capital of the Later Jin Dynasty.

Nurhachi laughed heartily when he read the victory report sent by his eldest son, Chuying.

“Hahaha! You’re really amazing. It’s only been a short while since we left for the expedition, and you’re already bringing us news of victory.”

“It looks like the Rick Dankan camp has completely collapsed.”

Shurhachi also smiled and agreed.

“That’s how it is. How large is the land of Ordos? We took it over in an instant.”

Ordos was also a grassland. It was also a fairly high-altitude plateau. Of course, it was located north of the Great Wall. The Later Jin army of Chewing was moving west along the Great Wall, conquering the Mongol tribes north of it. In addition, Ordos was a tribe belonging to the Chahar.

“Our military is already strong, but with the addition of gunpowder weapons, they seem to feel even greater fear.”

Hong Taiji added his own analysis.

“That’s right! That’s probably true. Chahar-kun must have been shocked. That’s why the results came out so quickly.”

“Now that we have taken Ordos, the conquest of Alsha and Tumed will soon be over.”

“Should we see it that way?”

“Then, let’s hurry up and prepare to conquer Geumjuwi from now on. At this rate, the western conquest will probably be over soon.”

“Good idea. This time I will be leaving my parents’ home, so you should prepare yourself as well. My younger brother, you will guard the capital.”

“Yes, brother.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“As you said, ending the war with Balhae early seems like it would be a blessing in disguise. I really like that feeling.”

Nurhachi smiled faintly at Hong Taiji.

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