Joseon Military Officer, Establishing Balhae - Chapter 344



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Episode 344

Harvest season (2)

That night, after dinner, Lee Ha-ryun and Tae-geon met again in the secret room of Hamhwajeon.

“Brother. The report on Buryatia written by the 6th Corps’ Immigration Garrison has arrived. Almost at the same time, one has arrived from the Marine Corps in Dengzhou, Shandong Province.”

Lee Ha-ryun handed Tae-geon two reports. Tae-geon quickly glanced through them, placed the map on the table, and thought for a moment.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Isn’t this year 1615 AD?”

“Yes. But why the year?”

Taegeon tilted his head.

“It’s a little weird.”

“In the report, it was said that the Buryats wanted matchlock guns in order to rebel against the Khalkha Mongols?”

“Did the Mongols really behave that badly?”

“Well, I’ll get to that point.”

“At best, it’s just a tribute. Hmm, I guess it’s possible that they do that because they don’t like being ripped off all the time.”

“What’s the catch?”

“It’s Russian.”

“Ah, Russia! Already?”

When Russia was first mentioned from Taegeon’s mouth, Lee Ha-ryun’s eyes widened.

“The period of the Cossacks’ eastward advance keeps coming to my mind.”

In fact, the ones who made Siberia a Russian territory were the Cossacks (or Cossacks). They were a paramilitary autonomous group of East Slavic descent, and some even defined them as bandits. In modern times, those who allied with Imperial Russia and went on to conquer Siberia were a subgroup called the ‘Don Cossacks’.

“why?”

“At this point, it would be normal if we didn’t reach the Yenisei River in Western Siberia. It would take several decades more to reach the Buryat territory. There is a city called Krasnoyarsk on the Yenisei River, and the first fortress there will be built in the 1620s, ten years from now.”

“Wait a minute! Then where did you say the Buryat people live?”

“You can think of it as the area around Lake Baikal. Later, the location of the Republic of Buryatia within the Russian Federation will be on the eastern coast of Lake Baikal, but their current residence is distributed around Lake Baikal.”

“Brother, history has changed a lot, right? Then wouldn’t there have been changes there too?”

“That’s right. That’s why it’s so creepy.”

“Since the East Asian special occurred in Western Europe, it is possible that the Imperial Russians and the Cossacks concentrated their efforts and advanced eastward more quickly in order to open trade with us?”

“Oh, that’s what I’m worried about. So, there may have been cases in the western aimags of Buryatia that were already harmed by them, or they may have heard rumors from other tribes nearby.”

The ethnic groups distributed in the western region of Buryatia include the Khakass (or Yenisei Kyrgyz) tribe, the Tofa tribe, and the Shor tribe. If they had already been invaded, the news would have naturally been delivered to the western Buryat aimags (tribal groups). In particular, the Kazaks are a group notorious for being ruthless and ferocious, so if this news had been delivered, they would have been extremely nervous.

“If we go by your assumption, it would have been about 10 years earlier… Um, where was it? There.”

“Oh, Krasnoyarsk.”

“Yeah, Krasno or something. So you think we’ve come that far?”

“That’s right. Even though it’s Siberia, it’s a pretty good place to live. So, it’s possible that a great tragedy has already struck the indigenous tribes living there. So, it’s highly likely that they hurriedly fled to the Buryat settlement, reported the damage, and asked for help.”

“So, brother, are you saying that Buryatia should act as a dam to block Russia’s eastward advance?”

“Yes, if we have the means, we should help other indigenous peoples as well. To do that, we should first provide sufficient weapons to the Buryats, who have ties with us.”

“Then shouldn’t Awank help? The Cossacks are crazy about furs. So they take the native women hostage and threaten the men to hunt raccoons and give them their skins. If they don’t listen, they’ll massacre them.”

“But how can we help the reindeer herders who roam all over Siberia?”

“That’s the problem. If the Cossacks’ eastward advance is blocked in Buryatia, they will surely change course further north.”

“Anyway, if we arm the Buryat, we will definitely be able to escape from Khalkha’s interference. Then we should encourage them to establish a country. Then we have no choice but to help Awongki through them.”

“And we also supply matchlock guns to the Awongki tribe at our border trading post? Oh, and bows would be nice too. Our bows are the best in terms of performance.”

“That’s a good idea. If our weapons keep coming in, they’ll be able to fight the Cossacks properly someday.”

As the discussion on the Buryat issue was coming to a close, the secretary waiting outside announced:

“Giha! The Ikmunsa Dokri has come to Hongikjeon to report something urgent.”

“Okay. I’ll go soon.”

The two people got up and dusted themselves off.

* * *

Freshwater naval base in the northern part of Balhae Ridge, Formosa.

As Tammy got off the boat, Marine Corps Battalion Commander Hwang Jun, who was in charge of the military administration of Damsu-hyeon, greeted her with a salute.

“Welcome, Commander. Where do you come from?”

“On Hong Kong Island.”

“Oh, Hong Kong Island. How is Hong Kong Island these days?”

“It’s now starting to take on a more established appearance. Also, thanks to the advancement of Jeju’s Hamdeok Merchant Group, civilian residences are starting to appear little by little.”

“Has the top already advanced? We’re still at war with the Ming.”

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“Haha! That’s the merchant’s sense. They think at least one step ahead. If you advance after strengthening, it’s too late.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Furthermore, since they are Jeju merchants who entered the southern seas late, they need to take risks. Formosa is a place where not only Samjeong Shipping and Samwoo Shipping, but also large merchants with bases in the north have entered, so small merchants like them need a new base. In that sense, Hong Kong or Bongsan Island are pretty good choices.”

Tammy did not go straight to the naval base, but instead went to the county office built near the base. Since the military administration was in progress, all business was being handled at the county office.

As Tammy took her seat, Navy officers including Vice Admiral Hwang Jun also came and began reporting on Navy-related matters that had been going on in Formosa.

First, Vice-Captain Son Woo-il, the head of the 3rd Fleet of the Navy working at the freshwater port, reported.

“The Keelung Port naval base has also been completed, and marines and naval forces have already settled in. In addition, the Ketagalan and Vasai tribes living in the mountainous regions are lining up to return, so it seems likely that we will need to build a naval port and base in Kibanoran on the northeastern coast in the future.”

“Kibano? Where is that?”

Son Woo-il quickly pointed to a spot on the map of Formosa.

“This is the northeastern coast, the territory of the Basai people.”

Kibano is a Basai-style place name, and corresponds to the future Gongliao District of Taiwan.

“So the territory has expanded in the meantime?”

“That’s true, but we are not in a position to manage the deep mountain valleys, so the territory is expanding mainly to the coastal areas.”

“So it’s like we’re right up to the Kavalan territory?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Haha! Anyway, that’s good news. I’m sure the Southern Sea Commander will be very pleased.”

Tammy thought of Heo Gyun’s face, which had an expression that said he was dying of joy.

“Oh, and I just got a call from the Han Deok-hyeon Military Government that the negotiations to form a unified kingdom in the western region of Formosa have finally broken down.”

The construction of the Darida Kingdom was reported by Marine Corps Vice-Captain Hwang Jun.

“I knew it. How is that easy? Especially in the South, the lifestyle and language are completely different from those of the Darida Union.”

“So, it seems that several tribes in the south, centered around Siraya, have united to establish another country. They even sent messengers to Damsu County by land.”

“Another country altogether?”

Vice Minister Hwang Jun quickly began reporting what the messenger had told him.

“The four tribes of the Siraya lineage, the Taiboan tribe, and the Makatao tribe living in the east are planning to unite to establish the Talag Federation, and it seems that the negotiations have already been concluded. They have even chosen one of the elders of the Talaban family of Siraya as their representative.”

Talaq is a word in the Siraya language that means ‘house’ or ‘family’, and Talaban was the most common surname among the Siraya. Also, the Siraya are close to a matriarchal society and have a custom of having representatives but no rulers because they are an egalitarian society. Therefore, negotiations with other tribes can proceed smoothly.

Also, the main residence of the Macatao people is the current British territory of South Formosa, but those who live in the eastern mountainous areas of Siraya, which were not yet subject to the British, also joined the Talague Federation. Because of the British threat, they had no choice but to join the formation of this federation.

“Doesn’t Macau joining the Federation mean that it will ultimately fight against Britain?”

“I guess so. That’s why the lion came and asked for Balhae’s support. At the very least, he asked that we be treated on an equal footing with the Darida Kingdom.”

When the Talague Federation was established, its territory would be about 30% of the size of the Darida Kingdom. It would be the land corresponding to the Tainan region of future Taiwan.

“Of course we should support it. And wouldn’t it be good to let our higher-ups know about it?”

“Yes, I would love it. I would be running to get it done.”

“But why is Britain so quiet these days?”

“There are rumors going around that relations with the Dutch in the south are getting so bad that a major war is imminent.”

“Is that something that happened in just one or two days? In any case, it seems that England is unable to expand its territory in Formosa any further thanks to the Dutch restraint.”

“That would be right.”

Tammy had the Talag Federation write a report.

* * *

Kim Sol, the poisonous snake of Ikmunsa Temple, reported.

“Giha, urgent news has arrived that the Later Jin army has finally taken over Jinju and is advancing south at a rapid pace. The report was made ten days ago, so it seems that they have passed through Songsan and reached Haengsan by now.”

“Is Yeongwonseong next to Haengsan?”

“Yes, Geometry.”

“The fact that they have banned alcohol means that the Mongol expedition to the west has been successfully concluded.”

“Our Ikmunsa also believes so. An accurate report will come in soon.”

“How was the battle? Tell me more.”

“Yes, Giha. They did not cross the Soling River, but rather broke through the so-called Yoseo Byeonjang spread out in the western mountainous region and surrounded Jinju Castle. In addition, they used a tactic of maintaining the siege and defeating the Ming rescue force that had hastily advanced from the south with their powerful cavalry.”

The Liaoxi border area corresponds to the border between the Ming and Mongol tribal territories, and instead of a barrier like the Great Wall of China, it was a border position with several defensive forts and watchtowers placed closely together. It was not difficult for the Later Jin army, equipped with gunpowder weapons, to break through the dense defense line like the Liaoxi border area. Furthermore, since the Mongol tribes beyond the border area, such as the Haraqin, had all become part of the Later Jin, the Ming army could not concentrate its forces on one point.

“And as the siege began in earnest, the siege guns we provided were used to great effect, and the gates were broken and the walls were destroyed in places, so eventually all the Ming troops surrendered.”

“Well, the siege guns really played a big role.”

Tae-Gun nodded with a smile. Things were going as he had intended.

“If the battle goes on like that, then eternity will soon fall?”

Lee Ha-ryun also added a word.

“I guess so. Haha! Nurhachi must have been really excited.”

If the Later Jin army had firearms, it would have been a disaster for the Ming. It was too much of a burden for the Ming army to face the Later Jin army, which was composed of the Mongols and Jurchens, who were second to none in terms of bravery, in a field battle. So they had tried to block their southward advance through defensive battles, but now even that method was no longer effective.

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