Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 294: Defeat
On December 1634, 12, fine snowflakes fluttered down like salt grains sprinkled from the sky, light and sparse.

They spun in the air, sometimes dancing with the wind, sometimes falling slowly, as if hesitating whether to land on the earth.

As soon as the snowflakes touched the ground, they melted instantly, as if the earth still had the residual warmth of autumn and was unwilling to let the chill of early winter stay.

On the wet ground, scattered water stains reflected the faint skylight, like small mirrors, reflecting the hazy world.

On the streets of Mirror City, pedestrians walked hurriedly, and the soles of their shoes stepped on the wet ground, making a slight "rustling" sound.

The trees in front of the Protectorate government office had long lost their autumn splendor, and their trunks were exposed to the cold wind. Occasionally, a few stubborn dead leaves swayed on the branches, as if bidding a final farewell to the snowflakes.

There is a hint of coolness in the air, mixed with the fragrance of soil, as if reminding people that winter has come quietly, but has not yet completely occupied the earth.

Lee Kyung-seok, Right Censor of the Censorate of the Joseon Kingdom and Governor of Hamgyong Province, stood at the window, looked at the desolate yard outside, and sighed softly.

The bleak scenery outside is just like our Joseon Dynasty, which is constantly attacked by foreign winds and snow, and is gradually entering winter, making people feel a chill that penetrates their bodies.

Although he was a descendant of the imperial family's side branch, Li Jingshi was not a dissolute and foolish person. Instead, he was extremely talented and had an extremely brilliant resume.

He passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi in the 1613st year of the Wanli reign (, the fifth year of King Gwanghaegun of Joseon).

In the 1617th year of the Wanli reign (), he passed the preliminary examination for the expanded liberal arts exam, but was stripped of his title for not participating in the "petition to depose Queen Inmok".

After King Injo's restoration, Lee Kyung-seok took the imperial examination again and passed the third grade of the imperial examination. He was initially appointed as the deputy secretary of the Seongmunyuan, and later entered the Hanlin Academy and became a historian. He served as the inspector and teacher of the Arts and Literature Museum, and also served as the recorder of the Chunqiu Museum.

During the Yi Shizhi Rebellion, he served as an annotator at the Seongjeongwon and was trusted by the king. He later served as a librarian at the Sungkyunkwan, a clerk at the Ministry of Rites, a clerk at the Sijianyuan, and a proofreader at the Hongmungwan, rising through the ranks.

In 1627, the seventh year of Tianqi's reign, the Dingmao Rebellion (the invasion of Korea by the Later Jin Dynasty) broke out. As an official of the Inspector General Zhang Wan, he was sent to Gangwon Province to recruit soldiers and dispatch military supplies. The "Exhortation to the Scholars and Elders of Gangwon Province" he wrote became popular and inspired countless scholars.

After the war, he was promoted to Licao Zuolang and soon became Chengzhi. In the second year of Chongzhen (1629), he requested to be transferred to Yangzhou Mushi, and after completing his term, he continued to serve as Chengzhi. In the fifth year of Chongzhen (1632, the tenth year of King Injo), he was appointed Right Censor of the Censorate and appointed Hamgyeong Province Surveillance Commissioner, becoming a high-ranking frontier official.

Faced with the increasingly severe domestic and international situation, he strongly advocated "reform" and strengthened domestic military equipment to respond to the threat of slave bandits.

He believed that after the Dingmao Rebellion, the five guards of the Korean imperial army and the garrison troops in various provinces were no longer sufficient and needed to be disbanded and reorganized to strengthen the army in order to protect themselves.

Facing the powerful enemy, North Korea had no chance of winning at all, and the leader of the Celestial Empire was also plagued by internal and external troubles and had no support.

Therefore, on the issue of the slave bandits, he strongly opposed the court's blind "rejection of peace theory" and advocated a more flexible strategy towards the slave bandits. When the strength was difficult to match, he could temporarily feign compliance in order to protect himself and wait for the "divine opportunity" to come.

In other words, in its attitude towards the Later Jin, North Korea does not need to appear too tough, let alone give others a handle, so as to avoid a military attack from the Later Jin.

The Later Jin today is no longer the barbaric vassal states that were not under the control of the Koreans and were at the mercy of the Koreans decades ago.

He is now waving one fist towards the Ming Dynasty, hitting the Mongols with another fist, and stepping on the head of the Kingdom of Korea with one foot. He is extremely fierce.

Times have changed, and the situation has reversed so quickly that it makes people sigh when they think about it.

These Jurchen bandits were watching closely, like a sword hanging in the air, which kept the Joseon Dynasty in constant fear and worry, and domestic problems were also troublesome.

Farmers went bankrupt due to conscription and hunger and turned to banditry. The situation was particularly serious in Seoul and the two lakes area (Jeolla Province and Chungcheong Province).

Civil unrest, banditry, and various political struggles within the court made it impossible for the entire court to focus on development and improving military strength.

Last year, a group of overseas forces calling themselves New Continent China seized several islands in the West Sea, built cities and forts, and acted as if they were going to occupy the islands for a long time.

The local military and political officials of Hwanghae Province tried to send troops to expel them, but due to the weakness of the navy, they were unable to fight at all, and were unable to cover and transport the local garrison troops across the sea to attack. They could only watch the other side occupy those small islands.

Fortunately, this Xinhua force has not invaded any coastal villages and towns, and has only engaged in some secret smuggling of goods. It does not pose a threat to the security of North Korea for the time being, so we can just let it deal with it.

However, last May, a group of pirates from nowhere attacked and captured a small fishing port in Jingcheng Protectorate. After burning, killing, and looting, they actually stayed there. This is the native territory of my Kingdom of Korea!

After two consecutive attempts to expel the pirates failed, local officials in Jingcheng sent a letter for help to Hamheung Prefecture (the seat of Hamgyong Province), saying that the pirates were extremely powerful and well-equipped, and were by no means ordinary people.

They claimed that in order to completely eradicate this group of pirates, they would have to deploy an army of 3,000 to 5,000 to have a chance of defeating them.

After receiving the report, Li Jingshi was immediately furious.

After he issued a document severely reprimanding the local officials of Jingcheng for dereliction of duty, he ordered Cui Youxiang, the military governor of Hamgyong Province, to mobilize the local garrison troops to suppress the bandits as soon as possible and pacify the area.

It was almost early winter and the weather was cold, which was not the best time to send troops. The military governor Cui Youxiang kept complaining about the shortage of troops and the insufficient military equipment. It was impossible to mobilize enough troops in a short period of time to wipe out the pirates entrenched in Rajin.

However, under his constant urging, Cui Youxiang still managed to mobilize and assemble 3,000 troops and successively stationed them in Jingcheng.

In order to ensure the smooth progress of the suppression operation, Li Jingshi arrived in Jingcheng in mid-November with the last batch of garrison troops, ready to personally supervise the battle to boost the morale of the troops.

The army swore an oath and set out twelve days ago, marching towards Luojin in a mighty force.

Jingcheng is more than 180 miles away from Luojin. According to the itinerary, they should have arrived at the small fishing port by now, and may have even engaged in battle with the pirates.

Perhaps, the battle report will be delivered today or tomorrow.

In Li Jingshi's opinion, this time he sent out nearly 3,000 troops, which was almost like a lion attacking a rabbit. No matter how many and powerful the pirates were, they could not avoid the fate of failure.

Even though these 3,000 garrison soldiers were gathered from various protectorates and counties, their combat effectiveness was not very high, and some of them were even farmers who had just been conscripted, but they had an absolute numerical advantage after all, and they would not be defeated when facing 300 to 500 pirates.

It’s just a matter of casualties.

"Report!"

"…Urgent report from the army!"

Just as he was leaning against the window in deep thought, a series of loud and urgent reports broke the tranquility of the government office.

A messenger rushed into the Protectorate Office in panic and presented a battle report from the front line.

Under the eager gazes of many officials, Li Jingshi calmly tore open the seal and took out the battle report inside.

"Huh?..." After just one look, he suddenly stood up, his eyes wide open, with an expression of disbelief on his face.

"Sir..." Seeing this, Jin Zhai, the judge of Xianjing Province, felt a bad feeling in his heart.

"Prime Minister Cui You is utterly incompetent!" Li Jingshi handed over the battle report, a ferocious expression on his face. "The army was defeated, suffering over a thousand casualties, and then collapsed for a hundred miles!"

"Hiss..." The officials in the hall took a deep breath when they heard this.

An army of three thousand was defeated?
Despite having a six-fold advantage in military strength, they were defeated by a group of pirates who raided the shore!

Moreover, there were more than a thousand casualties and the army collapsed over a hundred miles.

This is so embarrassing!
Li Jingshi clenched his fists, his heart burning with anger.

He knew that this defeat would not only severely damage his prestige in the court, but would also make the situation in the entire Hamgyong Province even worse.

He must come up with a solution as soon as possible, otherwise the winter he faces will be even longer and colder.
-
(End of this chapter)