Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 994 North Korea ([-])

"President Jin, why is this? Why is your country raising troops for no reason?" Looking at the "stick and stick army" that surrounded the Busan county government, Kim Hong-beom, the county magistrate of Busan, the Kingdom of Korea, asked in astonishment.

Jin Wugui glanced at this old opponent who had just crawled out of the bed——Jin Hongfan has caused him a lot of trouble in secret all these years—then snorted coldly and said, “Take them all for me, and hand them over to the superior.” Master Guo." After finishing speaking, he walked away in a haughty manner.

Dozens of security forces wearing uniforms held sticks, and under the supervision of the Japanese police, they captured all the Koreans in the government office. The official warehouses and houses were also sealed and sent to guard, waiting quietly for the old men of the country. Come and count.

And when Jin Wugui led the Japanese police and stick soldiers in the city to raid the North Korean government office, a mixed force of 500 Japanese police and the Busan garrison (also [-] people, Doshandan people and Japanese Ronin) was formed. Under the command of the officer, he crossed the Nakdong River and attacked Gimhae County under the jurisdiction of the Governor's Office of Gyeongsang Province without declaring a war.This small North Korean county, which is said to have "elite soldiers and strong generals", originally had more than [-] troops stationed in it, but it was defeated by the First World War. middle.

After the launch of this force, the 4 officers and soldiers of the First Division of the newly-built army, which had already arrived in Busan County from Jeju Prefecture, also marched northward along the Nakdong River, and quickly defeated several North Korean local troops who were caught off guard by thunderbolts. More than [-] prisoners were wounded, and two counties were conquered, which basically solved the encirclement circle set by Li Chao in the west and north of Busan. Of course, Li Chao did not dare to place the main force in the area close to Busan. It was pierced by a single blow, so the main forces of Gyeongsang-do against the east bank were distributed in Gyeongju-fu (the seat of the government envoy and the official office of the Dao observation envoy), Sangjumok (the seat of the official office of the shepherd envoy and the military envoy), and the important city of Jinjumok. , There are not too many troops, about [-] to [-].

Zhai Cong'e, the commander of the First Division, once found out that the North Korean army was vulnerable, he once wanted to lead his 4000 troops and light soldiers to rush straight to Gyeongju Prefecture, the core of Gyeongsang-do, but finally, under the opposition of the East Bank staff who accompanied the army, he had no choice. Don't stop the troops, waiting for the arrival of the follow-up main force.

On June 6, 25 Shandan soldiers who had received horses, armor, and weapons from Hallasan Ranch landed in Busan with their ships.While familiarizing themselves with the habits of the half-breed horses eliminated by the Ma Zheng, this sturdy troop went north to reinforce Zhai Cong'e, the first division of the New Army, under the urging of the East Bank staff, and temporarily accepted the command of Division Commander Zhai.

On June 6, Shao Shude, who "personally conquered" North Korea, led a part of the main force to arrive at Pusan ​​Port. In the afternoon of that day, 28 members of Sun Shouzheng, the third division of the New Army (relatively weak in combat power), crossed the Nakdong River to the west and joined the garrison More than a thousand "Busan Soldiers" (mainly Japanese police and garrison ronin) gathered here.Their task is to build a camp here, resist the North Korean army that may come from the direction of Jinju with inferior forces, and defend the flank of Busan County.

On the second day, Shao Shude led 4000 people from the Qin Shangxing Department of the Second Division of the New Army, more than 4 people from the 7000th Battalion of the Black Eight Banners Heavy Infantry, and more than [-] people from the Fifth Battalion of the Standing Squadron after a night of rest. Nearly [-] artillerymen and miscellaneous personnel went north to support Zhai Cong'e's troops who continued to advance after receiving the military order.Tens of thousands of Denglai spear-wielding soldiers are stationed at Busan Port, trying their best to transfer all kinds of materials to the front line. Apart from them, only [-] Japanese policemen and the same number of North Koreans are left in the defense force of Busan City. "Bang Bang Army".

And just two days after Shao Shude led the main force northward, on July 7, Wei Boqiu and Liang Xiangjian, two guys who didn't like each other, rushed to Wonsanjin in Hamgyong Road by boat.Wei Boqiu came from Kushiro Port with more than 1 people from the First Independent Defense Brigade, while Liang Xiangjian brought a small amount of Heishui militia to escort a batch of military supplies - Gyeongsangdo, where the main force is in the south, has already started fighting with the Koreans. Yuanshanjin, a commercial port that has been operated by people from the east coast for many years, may be attacked by the enemy, so some reinforcements are urgently needed.

Yuanshanjin was originally a small fishing village with a narrow terrain and a small area. Therefore, after building a series of fortress-like commercial houses, the people on the east coast only needed to garrison a small number of soldiers, which was enough for defense.The only thing they need to do now is to judge when the North Koreans will come, so as to end the trade in time - it is the peak season for purchasing medicinal materials, and there is a huge demand for Korean medicinal materials on the east coast. If you can do business for one more day, you will make more money. one day.

However, the minds of Liang Xiangjian and Wei Boqiu who came to Yuanshanjin are obviously not focused on the acquisition of medicinal materials. Their focus is obviously on other aspects.

"Old Liang, can you give me some machines? There are a few projects going on at Kushiro Port, the deep processing of agricultural products, the market is basically aimed at the surrounding areas, how about it? Now the equipment sent by the local area is basically used by you It’s hard for me to get a miscellaneous steam engine.” Sitting under a gazebo outside the business hall, Wei Boqiu said while drinking tea.

"Deputy Commander Wei, it's not that I, Lao Liang, don't give face. I really can't get it out. The tasks in the county are also very tight now, and there are a lot of projects. It's not bad to have a few of the equipment eliminated from the local area to the Far East. We It’s not enough, I really can’t give it to you.” Liang Xiangjian has always been careless, so he is not so polite: “Besides, these are all state-owned assets, and their value is higher in the Far East. I'm afraid this kind of public-private partnership is unreliable, right? Deputy Commander Wei, please be more patient."

"Hehe." Wei Boqiu took a sip of tea upon hearing this, and then shut up and didn't bring up the matter again.He knew in his heart that it was useless to say good things about Liang Xiangjian, and the matter had to fall on Shao Shude.If it really doesn't work, he can still find a way to contact the local people. Toto's relationship, go through the back door, and he can always buy a few second-hand equipment. This is much more comfortable than looking at Liang Xiangjian's stinky face.Could it be that without you butcher Liang, I can only eat hairy pigs?

Liang Xiangjian and Wei Boqiu didn't talk to each other, so they didn't talk any more.After a simple lunch in the commercial barracks (there are two hundred soldiers guarding the commercial hall), in the afternoon, under the escort of several Heishui County policemen, he went around the nearby towns and cities.The so-called "Xiangshi" is a form of trade fairs that have appeared in South Korea's three provinces (Gyeongsang-do, Jeolla-do, and Chungcheong-do) in recent years.The emergence of this new thing that broke through the lifeless small-scale peasant economic system in North Korea was actually inseparable from the factors that led to the great development of the commodity economy in the Kingdom of Korea after the implementation of the "Daedong Law".

Of course, the emergence of towns and cities in places like Wonsanjin is actually mostly related to the opening of ports to the east bank—even though the conservative officials of the Joseon Kingdom tried their best to prevent the people under their rule from starting trade with the people on the east bank, but driven by profits , how could such a thing be tolerated?It is no exaggeration to say that the people on the east bank buy all kinds of medicinal materials worth more than 20 yuan from the Wonsanjin Commercial Port every year, and at the same time sell some cheap and high-quality goods here. The North Koreans may be able to resist it in the short term, but it will take a long time. Only ghosts can withstand the corruption of money, they must be dragged into the water from top to bottom.

Liang Xiangjian walked around the commercial port casually, but found nothing worthy of attention.The person in charge of the East Bank Commercial Station who came with him took a money box and ordered traditional commodities such as medicinal materials, ox horns, tendons, pig iron, and lead blocks sold by North Korean merchants in the market, and then called He bought many carts and bought all the charcoal, chicken, duck, game, honey, bacon and other commodities sold by ordinary North Korean farmers. The war has officially ignited in the south. Feed me full, but maybe one day I will be unable to withstand the pressure to close this market, so let's buy as much as I can now.

It is worth mentioning that the currency used by the personnel of the East Bank Commercial Station includes both silver coins minted by the Dabo Mint and counterfeit money minted by imitating North Korea (Changping Tongbao launched by North Korea in 1651, 1 tael of silver is about 400 money).After the Ming army used a large amount of silver to purchase materials in North Korea during the Wanli War of Aid Korea in 1592, the Koreans quickly accepted the circulation of silver as a general equivalent—copper coins were no exception. In 1633, North Korea even officially minted several Shaowanli Tongbao (I don’t know why it’s not Chongzhen Tongbao...) was later abolished until 1651 when the Ui government of Korea ordered Changping Tongbao to be minted as the official currency to officially replace cloth, grain and other "primitive currencies".

After learning that the Koreans had minted a large amount of copper coins, the people on the east coast who had mastered a large amount of copper due to trade were surprised and inexplicable. Ever since, the Dabo Mint began to mint Korean counterfeit coins in small batches after casting counterfeit Japanese coins. Invest in the North Korean market for profit.And because the quality of this kind of fake money is better than that of the real one, it is very popular among North Koreans. Together with the exquisitely crafted and fine East Coast silver coins, it has become a hard currency in the market in nearby areas.A North Korean businessman once even said that he had seen the fake money flowing in from Wonsanjin in Hwanghae-do, which shows its wide spread.

After walking around the market, Liang Xiangjian went back to the trading station, loaded a batch of supplies from here, hurriedly boarded the ship and returned to Heishui Port, while Wei Boqiu continued to stay here with his troops.

On July 1653, 7, with the deepening of the war, the Wonsanjin trading market was banned by the Koreans.Later, Gu Sheng (the nephew of Gu Hong, the elder of the Western People’s Party) personally led more than 10 people from far and near to the outskirts of Wonsan Jinshang Station. After a two-day rest, the North Korean army went to the The strong fortress-style commercial station launched a tentative attack.At this time, there were about 600 original defenders, more than [-] militiamen from Heishui County, and more than [-] soldiers brought by Wei Boqiu in the commercial station. There were more than [-] soldiers in total. , They rely on the strong city wall of the business station, which should be enough for this unknown North Korean army to drink a pot.

(End of this chapter)