Joseon Military Officer, Establishing Balhae - Chapter 350



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Episode 350

Qing’s entrance (2)

Choryang Port in the southern seas.

When Navy Chief Lee Cheon-ho disembarked from the Haerang-class schooner, the first of the next-generation flagships of the Balhae Navy that was first introduced four years ago, he was greeted warmly by Navy personnel who had come out to greet him.

After exchanging brief greetings with the officers of the 3rd Fleet, Lee Cheon-ho looked around Choryang Port and the sea around Choryang Bay.

“There are quite a few Haerang-class ships visible here too?”

The Haerang-class ships he saw were not military ships, but civilian merchant ships. As the trend was to prioritize transportation speed over load capacity, the merchants who entered the shipping industry began to fill their lineup with ‘high-speed midshipmen’, civilian models of Haerang-class longships. The ‘high-speed midshipmen’ were named after the Aoji-class midshipmen, which were fast despite their size.

“I tried it and it was really good. It also requires less manpower. That’s why both the military and civilians want that ship.”

3rd Fleet Commander Tammy answered.

“How is it? What do you think?”

Lee Cheon-ho now treated Tae-mi like a princess, because he had decided to leave the military this time and take up a post as the governor of Gyeongsang Province.

“Do I need to ask? This is the seat I’ve been aiming for. Haha!”

Tammy gave him a look as if to ask why he was backing down now.

“You should have told me earlier. Then I would have backed off quickly.”

“Ugh! Actually, that’s not true. I like working in the field at the Southern Sea Department better, but the thought of just dealing with paperwork at the Navy Office makes me feel bad.”

Now that the Ming Dynasty was over, a large-scale reorganization of the military was underway. The Minister of War, Hwang Jin, also wanted to return to his hometown and was appointed as the Governor of Jeolla Province. So Song Chan-hwang took office as the new Minister of War, and Jeong Gang-bin took the position of Army Chief of Staff.

The naval organization was also reorganized on a large scale. Tammy was scheduled to be promoted to the new Chief of Naval Affairs, and two new fleets were created as an opportunity. First, one squadron was added to the 3rd fleet, which had five squadrons, and then the 5th fleet was newly created by dividing them into two fleets of three squadrons each. As a result, the 3rd fleet was in charge of the southern seas and the Ryukyu seas, including Yuldo (Aguni Island) and Goun Island (Daedong Island), while the 5th fleet was in charge of North Formosa, Hani Island, and Hong Kong Island. The new commander of the 3rd fleet was Isa Ro, who was from Colcan, and the 5th fleet was Song Hee-rip.

Also, because the 1st Fleet’s area of ​​responsibility was too wide, it was decided to create a 4th Fleet to share the area. The 1st Fleet was to be in charge of the Liaodong Bay, the Myodo Islands, and the northern part of the West Sea, while the 4th Fleet was to be in charge of the area south of Jangsan Cape in the Yellow Sea and the southern coast of the Korean Peninsula. The new commander of the 4th Fleet was Ham Gyeol.

“Haha! That’s really amazing. Do you like the ocean that much? But I think the Prime Minister will be very disappointed.”

“When you get older, let’s rest together. He’s so busy, isn’t he?”

A bitter expression appeared on Tammy’s face.

“I feel sad that I’m getting older so quickly, even though there are still so many things I want to do.”

Since they were all comrades who had been through thick and thin together for a long time, Tammy confessed her honest feelings.

“That’s right. In that sense, General Song Hee-rip. Congratulations. You will become the person with the most work to do in our Navy.”

“Ah! Thank you, President. But what do you mean by having the most work to do?”

“His Majesty personally gave orders. He ordered us to dispatch a squadron from the 5th Fleet to open up the southern route.”

“Huh? The Southern Route? If it’s Southern, does that mean Southeast Asia?”

Balhae’s geographical concept was the same as that of the 21st century. It used the names of world regions that would be used in the future, such as Northeast Asia, the Far East, Siberia, Southeast Asia, Southwest Asia, Europe, the Middle East, South America, and North America.

“That’s right. So, we need to open up a route and establish contacts with various countries in Southeast Asia. Go to Hoi An in Vietnam and go all the way to Kota Batu in the Kingdom of Brunei.”

“Haha! Great. I’m really looking forward to it. Since this is where the Kuma Nation fleet travels, how about asking the Kuma Nation for guidance?”

“Of course we should do so. I will ask the Admiral of the Southern Sea.”

“But do you know why His Majesty ordered the opening of the southern route? Is it perhaps to use this opportunity to conquer the Netherlands?”

“That’s not it. It’s not us who have to drive out the Dutch and the British, but the natives who are oppressed by them. Of course, we can help them.”

“Ah~ haha! So that’s what you’re thinking.”

Song Hee-rip immediately figured out Tae-geon’s intentions.

* * *

The Qing army’s artillery attack was so fierce. The gate had already been destroyed. So they had to bring in various things to block the gate. Also, iron rings flew over the walls, causing casualties.

Woong Jeong-pil also had no choice but to hide behind the castle walls and wait for the Qing artillery fire to stop.

“If we just leave those cannons alone, the wall will probably collapse soon.”

Turnip Wang Hwa-jeong spoke in an urgent voice.

“Still, the walls of Sanhae Pass are so strong that they won’t be broken easily.”

“But they only focus on a few places. No matter how strong they are……. GASP!”

Shhhhhh!

“Eww!”

“Cough!”

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Wang Hwa-jeong quickly lowered his head as something like a pebble suddenly flew and scattered over the wall and beyond. It was a jo-rantan.

Wang Hwa-jeong quickly turned his head. Quite a few soldiers were seriously injured and screaming.

“Those guys are the firefighters?”

When the Qing army, which had only fired siege cannons, brought in mortars, Wang Hwa-jeong became very angry. The Ming army also had mortars, but they were still unable to use them, as they were placed close to the castle walls for fear of being hit by enemy siege cannons.

“What is the enemy’s distance from the fireball?”

Woong Jeong-pil asked.

“Oh no… we’re out of range.”

The Ming army had already figured out the effective firing range outside the castle, intending to use the fireball, but the Qing’s Jamopo was beyond that. Of course, it was located far ahead of the siege cannon, but it was just a pie in the sky. This was because Balhae had improved its performance.

“What? So you’re saying that its performance is better than ours?”

“Damn it! The Balhae guys have armed those barbarians well.”

“I see.”

Woong Jeong-pil’s gaze naturally turned toward the sea. The castle wall, which corresponds to Yongdu, the starting point of Jangseong, stretched out to the sea.

“But why is that blue soldier doing that?”

“You’re trying to lower our morale.”

Wanghwajeong was very concerned about the cannons, but the expressionless, motionless posture of the Qing troops was also very disturbing. They did not flinch throughout the entire cannon attack, and only glared at Shanhaiguan, maintaining that posture. The Ming troops, who were closely guarding the front, felt even more fearful because of this. The sound of hundreds of cannons, the sound of iron rings hitting the wall, and the screams of soldiers who were hit by iron rings were strangely contrasted, making them even more fearful.

At some point, the Qing army’s artillery fire stopped. Then, the Qing army camp became busy with the vanguard and rearguard changing places. As the sun began to set, torches began to light one by one.

“Phew! I guess this is all for today.”

Wang Hwa-jeong soon let out a sigh of relief.

* * *

Henry Middleton, the Governor of British South Formosa, and John Sarris, an officer of the British East India Company, arrived at Cho-Ryang Port and immediately disembarked and approached the steam crane.

Sarris, who recently came from the mainland to South Formosa and was appointed as the person in charge of the three countries of the Wae series, has been diligently visiting the ports of these countries. Today, he visited Choryang Port for the first time, accompanying Middleton.

“Ah! That’s the machine. The one I’ve been hearing about so much it’s almost painful to the ears.”

“Right. What do you think?”

“It’s amazing. Not just that machine, but this entire place called Choryang. It’s amazing that such a bustling and sophisticated city exists in Asia. In fact, when I visited Kuma and Taishan, Japan, I was surprised because it was different from what I expected, but I think this is on a whole other level.”

“Haha! The country that split Japan, which was originally one country, into three countries, and the country that took over part of that Japanese territory is Balhae. So they are incomparable.”

The civilizations of the three Japanese countries were also quite advanced, to the point that Saris was impressed. This was the result of constant contact with the Balhae civilization through the Namhaebu.

Whatever was popular in the South Sea region was also popular in these three countries with a slight time difference. Balhae food, clothing, and general household goods continuously flowed into these countries. It even had a great influence on their language. Balhae words and expressions were completely absorbed into these languages. Furthermore, this trend was even stronger in Guma, which adopted Hangul as its official script.

In addition to these, the Balhaeization of Ryukyu was also progressing more rapidly.

“The center of these Northeast Asian countries is right here in Choryang. Of course, their capital is Seoul, which is in the north.”

“You don’t know what Seoul is like?”

“I can’t know since I haven’t been there. But thanks to Choryang, I can get everything I need, so how great is that?”

Henry Middleton had already lived well beyond his appointed lifespan. In the original history, he should have closed his eyes several years ago. However, he had escaped the long-term seafaring work that was cutting into his lifespan by becoming the governor of South Formosa, and he was still alive and well thanks to the treatment he received at the nearby Hani Islands whenever he was sick. The same was true of his younger brother David.

“Think about Balhae medicine.”

“I’ve never really seen anything like it. Nutmeg, cloves, and porcelain were like, ‘Go away.’”

Henry Middleton purchased a large quantity of Balhae medicine four years ago and handed it over to the East India Company to see how the European market would react. Of course, the results were explosive.

For those who worked in hot regions, the anti-malarial drug Cinnamon was a lifeline. If you offered it as a cure to those who were on the verge of death from malaria, they had no choice but to buy it regardless of its effectiveness or even its price. However, it was effective for most people, and as soon as people started to leave their places, Cinnamon became expensive to buy.

The same was true for tuberculosis and syphilis. When the noble families who had patients were told that they had a cure from Balhae, it sold like hotcakes. Thanks to this, Balhae’s antibiotics gained the reputation of being a miracle cure, and the British East India Company made a profit of more than 100 times its total cost from this first drug transaction. News of this transaction quickly spread throughout Europe, and most of the East India Company employees aspired to go to Formosa. Of course, Henry Middleton also made a big profit for himself.

“Oh! But the price has gone up, so now the profit margin is going down. Portuguese and Spanish merchants have also jumped into the trade, so the price has gone up tremendously. How great would it be if we could smuggle in what we bought cheaply within Balhae?”

“Isn’t that why we designated separate ports to prevent that kind of thing? But just wait and see. There will definitely be Balhae merchants who try to collect medicine and smuggle it out from us.”

“Haha! It won’t be easy. Up until now, there have been very few cases like that. Maybe it’s the nature of the Balhae people, but there are only a very small number of such people.”

“Well, is that so?”

“Besides, there is an information agent sent from the Balhae court, so we have to be careful. If we get involved, we may suffer some disadvantages. If we do, we may be excluded from the transaction.”

“Okay, I understand.”

“It’s very different here from Europe. So don’t do anything stupid without my permission.”

Sarris was still ignorant of Balhae affairs, so he tended to always think in a European way.

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