Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 381
Episode 381: East Jin Islands (3)
Southeast of Eonwol Peninsula.
In history before the intervention of the township, it was a small port city called ‘Petro Pavlovsky Kamchazka (Петропавловск-Камчатский)’, but now that the Joseon navy took control, it was called ‘Johang (鑿港)’.
The reason why the character ‘hole Joe (鑿)’ was used was because of the location of the port. It was in a similar position to the hole where decorative stamens are attached to the back of a scimitar sword.
There were other Chinese characters for hole – Gong (孔) and Hyeol (穴) – but they were often used as vulgar metaphors, so the name was given after searching the Chinese dictionary.
Even though it had this background, the location itself was a natural port. The port, located inside a round bay, was well protected from rough waves and winds.
“Yes, the problem is that it freezes as soon as the weather gets even a little cold…”
Go Il-nam muttered softly as he looked around while watching the supplies being unloaded to be supplied to the monopoly store.
* * *
The Joseon navy was able to bring the islands and peninsula in the Maritime Province and the northern part of Daeseoldo under Joseon’s influence through explorations that gathered available resources.
What followed naturally was the submission of the native tribes.
The one that played the biggest role in this process was the monopoly. Joseon, which had great fun using the monopoly in the process of taking control of the Jurchen tribe in the Duman River region, did not forget this experience.
Therefore, the monopoly station was installed as soon as the garrison was created not only on Daeseoldo but also on the Maritime Province and Jongjangdo Eonwol Peninsula.
The monopoly that existed in this way served the interests of both sides.
The indigenous tribes in the Maritime region paid tribute and submitted to the Yuan and Ming Dynasties not only because they submitted to force, but also because they wanted to easily obtain insufficient supplies.
However, because it was not easy to send supplies to this area, there was still a shortage of supplies for the indigenous tribes.
However, unless there was an unavoidable natural disaster such as a typhoon, supplies were steadily coming into the Joseon monopoly.
Therefore, the tribes of this northern region strongly wanted to trade at the monopoly.
To these indigenous tribes, Joseon presented only one condition.
-Dedicate yourself to Joseon. Those who are noble will be treated as Koreans.
“What does it mean to treat Koreans as Koreans?”
“It means that if you follow Joseon’s laws faithfully, there is no discrimination.”
“Ah…”
“Think about it carefully.”
The tribal leaders who heard Joseon’s proposal through writing returned to their tribes with faces full of worry.
The indigenous tribes did not make a decision right away. However, as the summer and fall of Imja Year (1432, the 14th year of King Sejong’s reign) arrived, the indigenous tribes saw more supplies coming into the monopoly and had to make a decision.
‘Are you a nobleman or a gambler called plunder?’
While they were worrying, a small group of impatient natives raided the monopoly near Yeongnyeongsa Temple.
“The Joseon army is small, so a hit and run is quite possible!”
Those who raided the monopoly after making calculations full of hope were torn apart by the crossfire of the Joseon Navy’s artillery and long guns.
The Joseon military’s response did not stop there. After finding out which tribe the raiders belonged to through interrogation, the Joseon navy immediately requested cavalry.
The cavalry that came in on the naval ships immediately struck the tribe in question and completely reduced it to ruins.
The indigenous tribes, who confirmed the power of the Joseon army, eventually had no choice but to make a decision.
The decision was, of course, a noble one.
Although there was bloodshed along the way, Joseon faithfully kept its original promise.
And the wealthy tribes became addicted to the monopoly. The monopoly shops built on the Eonwol Peninsula in Maritime Province and Jongjang Island were crowded with people trying to sell various things such as furs and medicinal herbs, as well as necessary items such as salt and candy and luxury goods such as black bean tea and pepper.
After receiving the related report, Hyang chuckled and muttered.
“As expected, it is ‘capitalism of all evils’…”
* * *
The impact of the ‘Battle of Yeongnyeongsa’ was not limited to the nobles of the indigenous tribes.
In the process of evaluating the results of the ‘Battle of Yeongnyeongsa’, Jang Hang-seon submitted a plan.
‘On the need to create a naval unit dedicated to ground warfare and the discretion of field commanders.’
Jo Mal-saeng, who saw the title of the report, immediately called Jang Hang-seon.
“Isn’t this a useless waste of budget?”
To Jo Mal-saeng’s question, Jang Hang-seon answered firmly.
“No! “It has ample utility!”
Jang Hang-seon explained in detail to Jo Mal-saeng.
-Looking at this battle at Yeongnyeongsa Temple, it took a considerable amount of time for the cavalry to attack after stopping the attack.
-The reason for taking so much time is that it took time to confirm the arrival of the general and for His Highness to make a decision and issue the order, but even more so was the time spent designating the cavalry in charge of the attack, disseminating the order, and transporting it to the front line. There were a lot.
-In the future, Joseon’s power area will gradually increase. If something like this happens when a conflict breaks out far away from the Joseon mainland, there will be a series of situations that are nothing more than posthumous medicine visits (seeking medicine after death).
-For this reason, it is more reasonable to station a separate force in charge of an offensive in a port that is far from the mainland in addition to the force that will defend the port.
-It is most reasonable to organize these separately stationed troops around cavalry and artillery. This is because mobility and firepower are the most important.
– Depending on the size of the port, about 100 to 400 troops are stationed, and depending on the intensity of the conflict, these troops are gathered and deployed quickly.
-To achieve this, the discretion of field commanders must be expanded.
“…Rather than gathering and sending troops from the mainland, it is more efficient to gather and deploy divided troops like this!”
Hearing Jang Hang-seon’s explanation, Jo Mal-saeng stroked his beard with a troubled look on his face.
“It looks okay, but this is the problem. The part about ‘expanding the discretion of field commanders’. What will we do if we start a conflict due to a misjudgment by a belligerent field commander? Or what if the field commander plans a mutiny?”
To Jo Mal-saeng’s point, Jang Hang-seon immediately responded as if he had already thought of something.
“That’s why the unit was split up! The standard for determining the size of the units to be divided and deployed in this way is to ensure that the enemy cannot easily decide to attack, and at the same time, our Joseon army cannot easily decide to attack first!”
“Hmm…”
Jo Mal-saeng, who had been pondering Jang Hang-seon’s words for a while, opened his mouth as if he had come to a conclusion.
“I will report it to His Majesty the Lord.”
Jang Hang-seon bowed his head deeply and responded to Jo Mal-saeng’s words.
“Thank you!”
And King Sejong, who received the report from Jo Mal-saeng, reviewed it and came to a conclusion.
“It seems like a good opinion. After reviewing it further, I will supplement it and upload it again. In particular, pay special attention to the field commander’s discretion.”
“I follow your orders!”
Meanwhile, after hearing the news, Hyang immediately went to Jo Mal-saeng.
“I have some equipment in mind, but if the decision is made to actually create a unit, please evaluate it.”
Jo Mal-saeng responded to Hyang’s words with a big smile.
“Is this true! If so, I will do my best to make it happen!”
“And please be sure to pay attention to the issue of the field commander’s discretion.”
“yes!”
Hyang muttered softly as he came out after warning Jo Mal-saeng.
“At least we shouldn’t end up looking like the Kwantung Army…”
In any case, a new branch of the navy was created based on the plan submitted by Jang Hang-seon. This was the birth of
the ‘Joseon Naval Rapid Response Mobile Unit’, which was
later evaluated as ‘one of the sharpest swords of the Joseon Army’.
And it was something that foreign armies sharpened just as much as other Joseon weapons and classes.
* * *
As soon as the weather gets cold, snow starts to fall, and as soon as the snow starts to fall, it immediately leads to heavy snow. As soon as heavy snow starts to fall, as Goilnam was grumbling as he looked at the frozen sea, a light flashed from the watchtower erected at the entrance of the bay. .
“huh?”
After checking the light on the watchtower, Go Il-nam immediately began to decipher the signal.
“Multiple unidentified ships approaching?”
Whining!
Hoe hoe hoe!
In addition to Go Il-nam, the sound of gongs and gongs began to overflow here and there in the port due to those who checked the signal.
As the port defenders, who heard the loud sound of gongs and cymbals, gathered up their weapons and prepared for battle, Goilnam was also busy moving around.
“bosun! “Is the unloading finished?”
“I still have some left!”
“Stop it now! “Ready for battle!”
“Ready for battle! Stop unloading!”
“Ready for battle!”
While the sailors were busy following Go Il-nam’s orders, the commander approached and asked.
“Aren’t these ships coming from Bering Island?”
In the article, the manager mentioned an island about 1,400 ri (about 580 km) to the northeast. When I mentioned an island named ‘Dasangdo’ because it experiences a lot of frost, Go Il-nam shook his head.
“Wouldn’t the watchtower’s defenders be aware of the ships coming from Dasang Island?”
“Oh, I guess so.”
The manager nodded his head and immediately agreed to Go Il-nam’s point.
“Just in case, raise the anchor immediately and prepare to leave the dock. “Our ship must move freely in order to exert its power properly.”
“I understand!”
The manager immediately responded to Go Il-nam’s command and moved to lead his subordinates.
* * *
While the Joseon military was on high alert, the ships in question entered the port.
“It’s a little bigger than a narrow boat. “If I do well, I can finish it in one shot.”
While Go Il-nam was assessing the size of the ships approaching the dock, the ships in question docked at the dock where the indigenous people’s ships docked.
Those who docked the ship got off the ship with very nervous faces. They were oppressed by the rush of Joseon soldiers who had gathered around the dock.
While the natives who landed at the dock were standing in silence, a military officer accompanied by an indigenous interpreter approached them.
After the conversation continued for a while, the military officer led the natives and left the place. And soon after, the sound of gongs and gongs rang again.
“Emergency lifted!”
“clear!”
When the port defenders who had begun preparing for battle canceled their preparations, Goilnam also gave an order.
“Disarm from combat readiness. And the ship docks again.”
“yep!”
As the order spread, the tense atmosphere in Jilin became relaxed.
When the Jilin docked again and was firmly tied to the dock, the sailors resumed the unloading of supplies that had been suspended.
Go Il-nam, who saw the scene, gave an order to the manager.
“I’m going to go to Port Command for a while. “Please take care of the boat.”
“I understand. “Please just leave it to me!”
Go Il-nam, who entrusted the ship to the manager, got off the ship and headed to the headquarters.
He, too, was a native Korean who was a corpse except for his curiosity and laziness.
* * *
After arriving at the port headquarters, Go Il-nam found a military officer he was acquainted with and began talking to him.
“Where do they come from?”
“They say it’s their first time hearing about this island. “I would say that those who live in Dasang Island may know.”
Ko Il-nam’s eyes began to shine at the military officer’s answer.
“Is this an island you’ve never heard of before?”
“I would say it is about 2,400 ri (about 960 km) east of Jojo here.”
“2400 miles on a boat like that? wait! “It’s east!”
Go Il-nam’s eyes opened wide.