Joseon Military Officer, Establishing Balhae - Chapter 343



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Episode 343

Harvest season (1)

Farmland located in Maengnyeong-dong, Yanggang-gu, Seoul.

This area, named Yanggang-gu because it is where the Duman River and the Nuri River meet, has the largest farmland among the few remaining rural areas in Seoul. It is a place with abundant water, lowlands, and far from the center of Seoul, so it was developed as a rice farming area from the beginning. As a result, the Ministry of Agriculture, which is in charge of agricultural policy, often used this area as a testing ground for new agricultural technologies and agricultural machinery.

“It’s amazing that rice farming is so successful even though it’s located so far north.”

Jeong In-hong, the magistrate of Hanseongbu who accompanied the King of Joseon to Hanseongbu, expressed his admiration and expressed his thoughts.

The surrounding scenery was also splendid, with golden fields swaying in the breeze and the water of the Duman River becoming even bluer as autumn deepened.

The Joseon autonomous territory, which was just a city, could not maintain the administrative system of the kingdom as it had in the past, so the highest administrative head was demoted to a panyun, and the six ministries were also changed to ‘guk’. In addition, most of the officials were dismissed or resigned of their own accord, leaving only a few close associates to the Joseon king.

“We are also growing rice in the Mitaho Plains further north. This is possible because there are varieties that are resistant to cold damage. We are also continuously researching ways to expand the rice cultivation area further north.”

Minister of Agriculture Joo Kyung-cheon answered Jeong In-hong’s questions.

“But is there a need to produce so much rice? I heard that the rice production in Namhae-bu is enormous.”

Even though Hanseongbu was an autonomous territory, it was part of Balhae. Therefore, Jeong In-hong had also been studying Balhae’s political system, geography, and customs, and so he had an accurate understanding of the enormous rice production in Namhaebu, which included the Bukguju region.

“Since wheat, barley, and corn are being produced in an uncontrollable amount, it would be much better to grow rice, which is good for selling to foreign countries, on the northern farmlands. Furthermore, for the time being, we need to feed the people of the Han River region and the three southern regions, and we need to continue to stockpile food to provide to the immigrants until the settlement process is complete.”

This was precisely why Balhae continued to focus on agricultural development. Even after unification, millions of immigrants were still in the process of settling down, and the people who remained in the old Joseon land were also short on food, so it was difficult to estimate the amount of grain that the Balhae government would have to stockpile at all times.

“It’s even more surprising when you think about it. That the government is responsible for providing that much food.”

Jeong In-hong turned his head and looked at the King of Joseon, who was sitting next to Taewang and Lee Ha-ryun, talking. They were on a makeshift platform.

The King of Joseon, Jeong In-hong, and Gi Ja-heon came here a few days ago at the invitation of the Balhae court. There were several reasons for the invitation, one of which was to watch the closing match of the 3rd Balhae Football Tournament, and another was today’s event.

Jeong In-hong brought up the topic of the soccer match that took place yesterday. Seoul Sports Complex was amazing, and so was the sight he saw there.

“The game of soccer was really fun. It was amazing and exciting to see the people flocking like clouds to cheer and cheer.”

“Oh my! Let’s not talk about soccer.”

Joo Kyung-cheon responded with a playful laugh.

“Why is that so?”

“I still feel bad because the soccer team I support lost.”

“Oh, so you cheered for the Wonsan Baekho soccer team?”

“Yes, my hometown is Deokwon.”

Wonsan and Deokwon were originally the same county, but were currently separated into Deokwon-hyeon and Wonsan-si.

“So, the Seoul Jeokbong Football Team won?”

“No. The Ssulhae soccer team won. The people of Ssulhae were really excited because of that. People flocked here because it was the last game, but in Ssulhae, the whole city was probably excited because it was a game that decided the championship. They’re probably celebrating even now.”

“Well, looking at the players’ movements, they looked very nimble. Their skills also looked great.”

“Now, players only play soccer. Since local residents or the upper class sponsor the soccer team, players now play soccer while receiving wages. Also, those who are skilled among them are called to other soccer teams and receive very high wages. So, there is a rumor going around that if you are good at soccer, you will be successful.”

“It makes sense, judging by the atmosphere in the stadium.”

While they were chatting like that, the preparations for the event were finally finished, and the characteristic noise of a steam engine could be heard.

“Ah, it’s starting now.”

Ju Kyung-cheon pointed north.

Jeong In-hong also quickly turned his gaze to the north. It was due to his boiling curiosity.

Soon, a machine that looked like a steam locomotive approached the stage, emitting a loud engine noise.

* * *

The Joseon king, who was fidgeting and watching with a strong curiosity welling up inside him, suddenly stood up as if he had been waiting for Taegeon to get up from his seat. Then, the new agricultural machinery that was being introduced today came into full view.

Kim Sa-in, the director of the Balhae Machinery Research Institute, greeted me and Tae-geon and other distinguished guests.

“Geometry. Then, we will begin the demonstration of the steam engine.”

He said this simply and then signaled to the mechanic. Then two steam locomotives slowly approached the field.

“What is a premonition?”

Unable to control his curiosity, the King of Joseon asked Yi Ha-ryun.

“I named this machine a reaper because it performs both pre-harvesting and threshing at the same time.”

The combine harvester of the future is called the Yettagi because it performs the combined processes of harvesting and threshing grain.

This was an agricultural machine that Lee Ha-ryun, who remembered that Holt, an American company, had been releasing steam combine models one after another from the late 19th century to the early 20th century, developed with the help of researchers at the Balhae Machinery Research Institute.

“You said the machine did it all?”

“Yes, that’s right. You can see it for yourself later.”

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“The person who invented that machine was the Minister of State. Of course, he developed it together with researchers.”

Tae-geon intervened and praised Lee Ha-ryun’s achievements.

“I’ve heard that the Prime Minister is a genius, and he really lives up to his reputation.”

“A genius? That’s too much praise. How could I be in front of Kiha?”

Lee Ha-ryun displayed an unusually humble attitude.

“So now in Balhae, machines will take over farming. I heard that the steam locomotive I saw last time also does the plowing of the fields. Is that right?”

“Yes. If you attach a cart to a tractor, it becomes a cart, and if you attach a plow to it, you can plow the fields. There are also machines for sowing seeds, so in the future, we will enter an era where farming will be much easier.”

Lee Ha-ryun answered kindly.

“So you provided the immigrants with land that was too large to handle?”

“Since agricultural machinery is not yet widely distributed, most people are doing it by hand, and some of the land they have received has not yet been reclaimed. Also, even though they have completed the reclamation, there are cases where they leave the land fallow for a year due to a lack of manpower. However, when these machines become widely distributed, they will be able to utilize all of the land they have been assigned.”

“It seems like it will happen that way, even to me.”

Finally, the steam hoe entered the field and began to work. Since the harvest was imminent, the field was very dry, so the machine had no difficulty moving.

The steam reaper was quite large. The wheels on the main body were also large, and a long, stick-shaped reaper that cut the rice stalks was attached to the side of the main body. As the reaper turned fiercely and cut the rice stalks and moved them to the main body, the main body automatically performed the threshing process. The threshed straw fell to the ground, and the grains poured into a bag fixed on the outside.

“Ohhhh! Okay, okay!”

“Wow! This is amazing.”

“What! Isn’t harvesting and threshing done at the same time?”

The farmers in the neighborhood who were watching screamed in surprise. The painter also stopped painting with his mouth open and watched the work. The reporters were the same.

“Wait a minute, so does that mean people only need to dry those grains?”

“I guess so. I can’t keep every single grain in that bag.”

“If just one of those comes into our neighborhood, we won’t have to worry about the harvest, right?”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

“How much easier is harvesting with just a treadle-type threshing machine? But now there’s something even better.”

The farmers soon came to their senses and began to talk realistically. The pedal-type threshing machine was now common in every rural area, and almost every other household had one.

The King of Joseon was so surprised that he stared at the work scene with his eyes wide open.

“It was a success. Thank you for your hard work, Minister of State.”

Tae-geon congratulated Lee Ha-ryun.

“There are many things to improve. First, we need to reduce the size, but it seems difficult to reduce it further due to the nature of steam engines.”

“There’s nothing we can do. We’ll have to use that for the time being until the internal combustion engine comes out.”

“Yes, I think we’ll have to run it steadily during this harvest season and then go back to work on improving it.”

“Do so.”

Taegeon looked at the Joseon king again. He was still looking at the scene of the work of the yetalgi. It was a rare sight to see the work being stopped in the middle to replenish coal and water, or to change the sacks full of grains.

The King of Joseon, realizing that Taegeon’s gaze was directed at him, bowed his head slightly to Taegeon and spoke.

“It is truly an amazing machine. Today I realized again how useful a steam engine is. I also heard that steam engines are used for excavation.”

“That’s right. If you’re curious, you can visit Jeongmiso too.”

“I will do so.”

“The King of Joseon is scheduled to return in two days?”

“Yes.”

“Come with me then.”

“yes?”

It was an unexpected event.

“That’s actually why I invited you. There are many exciting things to see this fall, so I wanted to show you some of them, and I also invited you to go to Hanseong together by train.”

“Oh, is that so?”

The King of Joseon quickly figured out Taegeon’s intentions.

After unification, Taegeon had not yet visited Hanseongbu or the southern part of Joseon. This was because there were still yangban forces that were unhappy with Balhae’s return to the country. The situation was very different from when he had previously taken over Pyeonganbu and Hwanghaebu. At that time, most of the yangban who rejected Balhae had gathered their family properties and fled south, but now that unification had occurred, they were so angry that they were stationed everywhere.

However, the land of southern Joseon had become much more stable, and conditions were prepared for Taegeon to visit. So Taegeon created a painting of himself visiting Hanseong with the King of Joseon, in order to let the world know that unification had reached a practical stage.

“It turned out like that because the opening ceremony for the Han-An Line railroad was scheduled to be held.”

“Oh, now that I think about it, that happened.”

The Hanan Line was a section from Anbyeon to Hanseongbu. Accordingly, the Anpyeong Line name was abolished. Only the east-west cross-country railway section from Pyeonggang to Pyeongsan in Hwanghaebu was named Pyeongsan Line. The Pyeongsan Line railway was also completed, and now the construction of the line connecting Pyeongsan to Pyeongyang and the section from Pyeongsan to Hanyang via Gaeseong was underway.

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