Joseon Military Officer, Establishing Balhae - Chapter 352



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Episode 352

Topa Expeditionary Force

The 22nd year of Jianxing, 1617 AD, summer. Tianping Town, Tianping County, Shenyang, Haeyobu.

Finally, the Gyeongcheon Line was completed, and the train carrying Taegeon and Lee Ha-ryun arrived at Cheonpyeong Station. When Taegeon got off the train, the crowd gathered in front of the station responded enthusiastically. Everyone, from officials of the Railway Administration to military personnel and settlers from the South, cheered and waved. This was a scene that was repeated many times whenever a railway line was opened.

Taegeon waved to them in return and sat down on the stage where the railway opening ceremony was to be held.

“The residents’ faces look very bright?”

“How great it would be if we could connect to Seoul by rail. This prosperous province of Cheonpyeong was treated as a remote area because it was inconvenient to travel to and from, but now we can escape that fate.”

When Lee Ha-ryun said something about Oji, Tae-geon smiled and nodded.

“That’s true. Most of the time, we traveled by sea through Ungak Port.”

The Gyeongcheon Line was a route that started from Seoul and passed through the cities of Gyeongwon, Hoeryong, Musan, Cheonpo, Buheung, Aha, Hwibal, and Musunseong, and ended at Cheonpyeong. It was a true east-west railroad route of Balhae, passing through the major river basins of Balhae, such as the Duman River, Songhua River, Hwibal River, and Pyeongjeong River (Honha).

With the completion of the Gyeongcheon Line, the existing names of Gyeonghye Line and Cheonbu Line naturally disappeared. However, the line from Cheonpo to Hyesan, located on the east side of Baekdu Mountain, was given a new name, Cheonhye Line.

“Should we start construction on the Yeonyeon Line now?”

The Yeoyeon Line was a section of the northwestern Balhae north-south railway route that ran from Yeonju (Jangchun) to Yeosun via Cheonpyeong, Yoyang, Ansan, Haeju, and Gaeju.

“The construction of the Yeoyeon Line won’t be that difficult. It’s all flat. But since there are many rivers, it will take some time to build bridges.”

“Anyway, as soon as Ansan is completed, we should start building the Ansan Steel Mill.”

The Balhae government planned to build the Ansan Ironworks first to utilize the bituminous coal of Musun and the iron ore of Ansan. Both places had enormous reserves of coal and iron, and the quality was high, so the Ansan Ironworks was to become the largest ironworks in Balhae. When this ironworks was completed, it would not only satisfy all of Balhae’s steel needs, but also export them to foreign countries. In addition, since the price of steel materials would drop significantly, the construction costs of social overhead capital would surely decrease significantly.

Taegeon rewarded not only the construction workers but also the prisoners of war who had performed the labor, and then headed to the Cheonpyeong County Military Government Office.

Tae-Geon was scheduled to handle some very important business here. Attending the opening ceremony of the Gyeongcheon Line was just one of many.

“Everyone, you’ve all worked hard. From what I’ve seen, it looks like the development of Cheonpyeong here is going smoothly.”

Taegeon first praised the officers of the 2nd Corps who were in charge of the military administration of Haeyobu.

“Thank you, Kiha. This place has good conditions for development and seems to be developing quickly. The immigrants also say in unison that it is a good place to live.”

Kim Moo-jung, commander of the 2nd Army Corps, answered.

“What is the population of Cheonpyeong-hyeon?”

“The population of the county is approximately 30,000, and about 10,000 people live here in Cheonpyeongjin.”

“You’ve grown a lot. How about the bandits?”

“When I first came here, bandits would occasionally appear, but since our military government took over, they have completely disappeared. It seems that they disappeared because we were so persistent in pursuing them and punishing them so severely.”

“Well done.”

After Tae-Geon roughly grasped Cheon Pyeong-Hyeon’s situation, he got down to business.

“How many prisoners did you say you had to send back this fall?”

“There are approximately five thousand people in the Department of Anatomy.”

“Is the classification finished?”

“Yes, I finished it a long time ago.”

After observing the situation in China, Taegeon decided to send back the Ming prisoners who had been serving as slaves. Since the Qing controlled a large area, many of the Ming prisoners expressed their intention to return to their families even though they were under Qing control. Therefore, he decided to respect their wishes and send them to the countries they each wanted.

“What is the situation of the war between the Qing and Ming?”

Tae-Geon asked if there was any more information. Then Seok Jin-Tae, the head of the Ikmunsa branch who had been staying at the 2nd Corps headquarters and gathering information, stepped forward and answered.

“There is no significant difference. If they fight, the Qing army will naturally win, but they are short on troops and cannot even dare to cross the Yellow River.”

At present, the Wei River, a tributary of the Yellow River, and the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River functioned as the border between the Qing and the Ming. Accordingly, the Qing occupied Shandong Province, Beizhili Province (future Beijing and Tianjin, Hebei Province and Henan Province), Shanxi Province, and Shaanxi Province (future Gansu Province). Nurhachi was staying in Shuncheon Prefecture (Beijing) and was devoting all his efforts to stabilizing the occupied areas, and he was planning to make Shuncheon Prefecture the new capital of the Qing.

“However, it is said that he sent a large army, saying that Xi’an and Luoyang must be taken.”

“Xi’an and Luoyang?”

Xi’an was a city located in the Wei River basin, and Luoyang was located on the southern bank of the Yellow River. Luoyang was a bridgehead that could advance southward at any time, so it had high strategic value in terms of attack. However, on the other hand, Xi’an was important in terms of defense. It was blocked by mountains to the south and north, and the Yellow River and Wei River in the east served as natural defense lines, making it a land like a natural fortress.

“Kekekeke! We absolutely have to take over Seoan. That way, if there’s a problem, we can escape there.”

Yi Ha-ryun intuitively understood why Nurhachi was concerned about Xi’an (Chang’an) and Luoyang (Luoyang). Tai Jian also agreed with his opinion.

“That’s right. In that sense, Suncheonbu is a very dangerous place. As long as Balhae exists. Moreover, we have already fought a war with them.”

“Then, is there any new information about the internal affairs of the Ming?”

Lee Ha-ryun asked Seok Jin-tae.

“I’m sorry. It’s not easy to send a spy to Ming.”

Even Ikmunsa couldn’t know the inside story of Ming.

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“The name needs to be split further.”

Tae-Gun turned his gaze to the map and muttered to himself.

“It’s not impossible. We’re facing a fairly long border with China, right? If troops are concentrated on the border, local public power will inevitably be weakened.”

Lee Ha-ryun said with a smile.

“It would be very difficult now without a great defensive facility like the Great Wall of China.”

“It would certainly be difficult for Ming to maintain its territory now, right?”

“I am sure of that. You can see it just by looking at the Yang Eung-ryong Rebellion that occurred just over ten years ago.”

The Yang Yinglong Rebellion, one of the “Three Great Rebellions of Wanli” that occurred during the reign of Emperor Wanli along with the Imjin War, was a rebellion that occurred in the southwest. Yang Yinglong was originally from the Miao ethnic group, and the southern part of Sichuan Province and the northern part of Guizhou Province, where the rebellion occurred, were areas within the Miao ethnic sphere of influence, so it could be considered an independence movement of the Miao ethnic group.

“That’s right.”

“Up to the Ho-Gwang region, the Han Chinese are strong, but once you go beyond that and enter the mountainous regions, you will find countless residential areas of ethnic minorities.”

The Huguang region was the future Hunan and Hubei provinces.

“It won’t be easy to manage four provinces, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, and Guangxi, where Ming ethnic minorities reside. It will be even harder because of the rugged mountainous terrain.”

Taegeon was pessimistic about Ming’s future.

“Besides, the royal family is a mess. Haha!”

Yi Ha-ryun knew that Emperor Wanli’s days were numbered and that things would become even more chaotic after his death.

“Have you heard any news about the expeditionary force heading to Topah?”

Tae-Geon asked Corps Commander Kim Moo-Jeong again.

“Yes, they keep coming in every month or two.”

Kim Mu-jeong was receiving information through the 6th Corps and reported the latest news to Tae-geon.

* * *

The 25th Division commander, Major General Ko Lian, looked at the Kachinsky Fortress (the future Krasnoyarsk) built on the banks of the Yenisei River with his telescope and smiled.

“Those guys who are not even a fist away are more vicious than the demons of hell. Where do they come from?”

The atrocities of the Kazaks that I had heard of while trying to save Topain were so brutal that it was hard to even describe them. That was why Major General Goryeon was not showing any mercy to the Kazaks.

Prince Tulkan of Arin looked at Goryeon with expectant eyes and asked.

“Can you drive them out?”

Then the interpreters busily relayed the message. The Topain, who spoke Yenisei Kyrgyz (Khakas), translated it into Topain, and the Topain interpreter, who spoke Buryat, relayed it to the Buryat guide Bayar Dorji, who then relayed it to Bargain, who spoke Balhae, and only then did it reach Goryan’s ears.

The original location of the Kaczynski fortress was the Aryn region of the Yezer Principality, one of the vassal states of the Yenisei Kyrgyz kingdom. The Yezer Principality was in shambles due to the invasion of the Kazaks. The brutal slave labor of obtaining furs had already begun.

“Of course it won’t be difficult. The only problem is that even if we drive them out this time, they’ll keep coming. If we drive them out this time, do you think you can protect them again?”

When asked a difficult question, Tulkan answered without hesitation.

“I am confident if Balhae supplies weapons.”

“Heh heh! Really?”

Goryeon smiled as he recalled the events he had experienced.

The Balhae Expeditionary Force caused a great stir in Siberia. Goryeon personally led the 121st and 122nd Regiments on the expedition. The 122nd Regiment was tasked with guarding key bases and maintaining supply lines, while the 121st Regiment was in charge of the attack.

The Balhae Expeditionary Force and the Buryat Support Force spent the winter in Erkikoto, the future Buryat name for Irkutsk, on the west bank of Lake Baikal, on the banks of the Angara River. While his force was there, the process of establishing Buryatia was very rapid. Representatives of each aimag gathered and agreed to establish a federal republic like Dalai. Bayar Dorji was elected as the first president, and it was decided to return after this expedition and formally declare the founding of the state.

The Goryeo troops that left Erkikoto immediately entered the Topa territory and easily defeated the Cossacks. The Cossacks, surprised by the powerful firepower of the Balhae army, hastily retreated to the Kaczynski fortress, and the Balhae army pursued them and reached here.

The Balhae army laid mortars after surrounding the fortress. The 121st Regiment was armed only with 60mm small caliber mortars that were easy to carry. They didn’t bring many shells, but since they had no use for them, there was no particular problem. However, they were now using them for the fortress attack operation.

“Fire!”

As soon as his order was given, mortar shells flew toward Fort Kaczynski.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Tulkan and Bayar flinched in surprise at the thunderous roar that shook the earth.

Even more horrified than these were the Cossacks inside the fortress. Although it was a small fortress, they thought that it would be safe for them in Siberia. However, the power of the shells they first encountered was too terrifying. The shells flew over the fence and exploded inside the fortress, causing casualties every time.

In the end, the two leaders of the Cossacks, Urnuq and Namak, who could no longer endure, decided to abandon the fortress, opened the gate, and charged forward. They tried to break through the encirclement somehow by using the mobility of the cavalry. However, what awaited them was the Balhae standard rifle, the Geonheung Type 1 rifle.

Tata tata tang! Tata tang!

The Cossack cavalry fell helplessly to the new rifles that loaded and fired quickly. However, a few, including Urnuq and Namak, barely survived and fled south. They intended to join their comrades who were causing trouble in the Khakass region.

“Shall we chase after them?”

When the manager asked, Goryeon shook his head.

“Let them go. Fear is contagious. We can slowly chase them south.”

After finishing speaking, Goryeon looked at Tulkan. He was watching the burning fortress with a strange expression of surprise and joy.

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