Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 330 The Actions of the Jianzhou Jurchens

"Why don't you take a look at this intelligence report from Yongmingbao (present-day Vladivostok)?"

On September 13th, a damp sea breeze, carrying a salty smell, swept across the mottled wooden exterior walls of the Eitai Fort (present-day Sapporo) government building. The copper bells on the eaves swayed gently in the wind, making a soft, fragmented sound, as if telling a story of unease about this land.

The two core leaders of the Beiying Island Colonization Team, Qi Yongze and Wei Zhonglong, rarely gathered here to jointly plan the development strategy for the next year.

After completing this year's immigration work, the colony area has temporarily relieved itself of its heaviest burden.

However, this does not mean that we can relax. On the contrary, the heavy task of infrastructure construction is coming one after another. It is related to consolidating local strength and also determines the stability of the strategic position of the immigrant transit base.

This year was of extraordinary significance for Xinhua, as the scale of immigration reached a record high.

As of August 24, with the departure of the last immigrant fast ship from Beiying Island, the colonization team conducted a preliminary survey, which showed that a total of more than 8 immigrants were transported back to the mainland of Xinzhou this year.

Among them, the Portuguese deployed six merchant ships with a displacement of 400-600 tons. After dismantling almost all the cannons and useless facilities, they transported a total of 2,200 Ming Dynasty immigrants.

Although these 9,000-plus immigrants will inevitably suffer some losses during the long sea voyage, the number of people who will eventually arrive safely in Xinzhou will be a huge number, thus giving Xinhua's total population a new leap.

Perhaps, in the next immigration season, the annual number of transport migrants will exceed 10,000!

This is a landmark event for Xinhua.

Despite the significant drain on population from the Beiying Island colony, the population still maintained a slight growth trend.

Although the counties and independent settlements under its jurisdiction have not yet reported their respective population data, based on last year's data and the immigrant ships that arrived this year, it can be roughly estimated that the population of the entire settlement area should remain at around 5.2 to 5.3, which is considered a densely populated area in the entire northern region.

In addition to establishing several immigrant settlements in the former Kuril Islands and Sakhalin Island, the Beiying Island Colonization Team also successfully established colonization sites in the former Vladivostok and Nakhodka in April last year, relocating dozens of people to each location and collecting a large amount of fur resources there.

In May of this year, the colonization team dispatched two armed exploration vessels, each over 100 tons in size, to the mouth of the Heilongjiang River. They then sailed upstream along the river to the confluence with the Ussuri River (present-day Khabarovsk).

Subsequently, a small wooden stockade was established there, and more than 30 armed militiamen were stationed there.

Although this wooden stockade was simple, it laid a crucial foundation in the Outer Northeast region, thus filling the void deep in the hearts of the time travelers.

Of course, this eagerness to extend its influence into the Outer Northeast region also had the strategic purpose of exploiting the Jurchens' "back garden" (referring to their perceived weakness).

Whenever the Jurchens suffered military losses, they would send out large contingents to sweep through the Heilongjiang and Ussuri River basins, capturing the Jurchen tribes to fill the vacancies in the Eight Banners.

After decades of continuous population "recruitment", the entire Outer Northeast region became extremely sparsely populated, and under the frequent military conquests of the Jurchens, it also lost its due local organizational capacity.

When invaded by a powerful external force, it will inevitably be unable to cope.

If nothing unexpected happens, following the historical trajectory, in about ten years (in 1643, when Khabarov reached the Heilongjiang River), the vicious Russians will come from the frozen Siberian region and wreak havoc on the entire Outer Northeast region.

Well, now that the new Chinese have arrived, they certainly won't allow such a terrible situation to happen.

However, the settlements established by the Beiying Island Colonization Team in the Outer Northeast region were ultimately quite far from the core headquarters, making transportation and communication extremely inconvenient.

Basically, every three to five months, Beiying Island would send one or two ships to deliver some daily supplies, and then pack up the furs collected there and transport them back.

In winter, the port is covered by a thick layer of ice, and the connection with headquarters is completely severed.

The immigrants in the settlements had to rely on themselves to deal with any problems that might arise.

When a supply ship returned from Yongming Fort, it brought back over a thousand furs, along with a wealth of intelligence gathered from various sources.

After reading several of the intelligence reports, Qi Yongze frowned more and more, and a major historical event about to happen immediately came to mind.

However, due to limited information, he could not be sure for a while. After pondering for a long time, he took the intelligence data and went to find Wei Zhonglong.

"Take a look at this intelligence report from Yongming Fort (now Vladivostok)?" Qi Yongze handed the report to Wei Zhonglong, his voice carrying a hint of seriousness.

Wei Zhonglong took the intelligence report and his gaze fell on the paper:

"...On July 12, the Jurchens conscripted more than 2,000 soldiers from the Hurha, Solon, and Warka tribes to assemble at Hetu Ala and Fushun Pass."

"...On July 17, the Jurchens dispatched several armies to sweep through the Songhua River and Ussuri River basins, defeating more than 30 local tribes and capturing more than 1,000 members of the savage tribes."

"...On July 26, a Jurchen tribe attacked the vicinity of Dahu (now Xingkai Lake), destroyed more than ten Hezhe tribes, and captured more than 600 Yi people."

"...On August 5th, a Jurchen tribe attacked the vicinity of Khabarovsk, defeating several tribes south of the Heilongjiang River. War broke out everywhere, and countless tribes crossed the river to flee to the north of the river."

"...More than two hundred tribes in distress have been taken in around Boli Village, but their food supply may not last until the spring of next year."

"..."

"What do you think?" Qi Yongze asked after Wei Zhonglong finished reading the intelligence data in his hand.

“The Jurchens may be capturing wild men again to fill the vacancies in the Eight Banners.” Wei Zhonglongjiang gently placed the intelligence data on the table, smiled, and showed a dismissive expression: “In May, Huang Taiji attacked the Great Wall for the second time, broke into Dushikou, and fought with the Ming border towns for several months.”

"In July, the Jurchens engaged in a fierce battle with the Ming army in Yanqing, defeating more than 10,000 soldiers and officers of the Jizhou garrison. In August, the Qing army launched a fierce attack on Changping, ravaging the capital region."

"This battle lasted for more than four months. Although it devastated the capital region of the Ming Dynasty and severely damaged the local Ming army, the Ming army itself must have suffered considerable losses as well."

"The Jurchens have always replenished their forces after suffering losses at the front. In order to prevent the Eight Banners from being too short-handed after battles, they would send thousands of troops to sweep the rear, search out as many savages as possible from the depths of the forests, and then abduct them to their territory to replenish their own lost troops."

"Old Wei, didn't you notice the time shown on the intelligence report?"

“Uh…” Wei Zhonglong was taken aback, then picked up the intelligence documents from the table and read them again, word by word.

"Do you understand now?" Qi Yongze said with a smile, "The Jurchens' invasion of the Ming Dynasty and their dispatch of troops to sweep through the Three Rivers region and capture the Jurchen tribes didn't differ much in timing. What does this indicate?" "What does this indicate?" Wei Zhonglong's expression shifted, a hint of alertness flashing in his eyes, "The Jurchens are beginning to gather troops for a new military operation?"

“That’s right.” Qi Yongze nodded heavily and said with certainty, “The Jurchens are preparing for a new military operation. By ‘conscripting’ a large number of Jurchen tribes from the rear to participate in the war, they can not only increase their troop strength, but also reduce the possibility of them rebelling in the rear of the Jurchens.”

"Who are they planning to attack? The Ming army along the Ningjin line, or Huang Youlong in the Lushun area?"

"Did you forget about North Korea?"

"Korea?" Wei Zhonglong was taken aback, his face full of surprise. "I remember a few years ago, didn't the Jurchens attack Korea? Could it be that they're going to beat it up again?"

"Do you remember the intelligence report sent back from Korea a few months ago?" Qi Yongze asked with a strange look on his face. "In February, the Jurchens sent Ying Erdai with a delegation to Korea to pay their respects to the Korean king's deceased concubine and to propose that the Korean king support Huang Taiji to ascend the throne. However, they were turned away in Seoul."

"The Koreans neither received the Jurchen delegation nor accepted the Jurchen letter of credence. The Jurchen delegation was even pelted with stones by the people in the streets of Seoul, which made them look quite disheveled."

"In April, the Jurchen chieftain Huang Taiji changed the name of the Later Jin dynasty to the Great Qing dynasty and held a ceremony in Shenyang to worship Heaven and Earth, openly declaring himself emperor. Although the Koreans were afraid of the Jurchens' ferocity, they sent two envoys, Luo Dexian and Li Kuo, to Shenyang to witness the ceremony. However, at the ceremony, the Korean envoys showed great backbone and refused to kneel before the Qing emperor Huang Taiji, which greatly angered the Jurchens."

"So, the Jurchens want to launch another invasion of Korea as revenge?" Wei Zhonglong asked incredulously.

"What do you say?"

“I can’t be,” Wei Zhonglong said hesitantly. “Although the Jurchens later sent envoys to Korea, claiming that they would launch a large-scale eastern expedition starting in November, this move was clearly a form of military intimidation, forcing the Koreans to admit their mistakes.”

"But the question is, have the North Koreans admitted their mistake?"

"Could it be... that we really have to fight?"

“I vaguely remember that the Jurchens launched two large-scale military invasions against Korea in history,” Qi Yongze said slowly, his eyes seemingly traveling through time. “Nine years ago (1627), the Jurchens launched a major eastern expedition, forcing Korea to reduce its support for the Ming army in Liaodong and to establish a brotherly relationship with them.”

"Several years later, the Jurchens launched another major attack on Korea. This time, it seems they completely subdued Korea, turning it from a brotherly state into a subordinate relationship. Now, the Jurchens are constantly mobilizing troops and actively stockpiling grain, so they are probably planning to conquer Korea again."

"Is it November, the month they've been claiming to be?"

"How could I possibly remember the exact time!" Qi Yongze said with a wry smile.

"Then, how should we deal with this?" Wei Zhonglong asked softly. "With our current strength, we probably can't save North Korea."

“Yes, the Jurchens will surely be sending tens of thousands of elite Eight Banner troops on this eastern expedition. Our strength is simply not enough to save Korea.” Qi Yongze raised an eyebrow. “Speaking of which, why should we save Korea? We should figure out what benefits we can gain from this Jurchen invasion of Korea.”

“Population, supplies, and some necessary strategic locations.” Upon hearing this, Wei Zhonglong’s eyes lit up. “With the Jurchens launching a full-scale invasion of Korea, the Koreans’ fighting strength is likely insufficient to resist. They will be swept aside in one wave and driven directly to the walls of Hanyang.”

"If that's the case, the entire Korean peninsula will inevitably be destroyed, and all the troops within its borders will be drawn to the Jurchens. We can then seize the opportunity to land in Korea and capture young men, women, and various artisans."

"Most importantly, we must seize the opportunity to capture several strategic points to lay the groundwork for our future operations in Korea."

“Jeju Island!” Qi Yongze uttered a place name softly.

“Yes, we’ve occupied Jeju Island,” Wei Zhonglong said. “In this way, we can control the entire Tsushima Strait and secure the sea route between Beiying Island and the Ming Dynasty.”

"Then we need to issue a mobilization order on Beiying Island, and recruit at least three thousand armed militiamen and eight armed merchant ships."

"It's harvest season now..."

"Well, let's recruit five hundred men first and transport them to Lianshan Port (now Hidakatsu Port on Tsushima Island) to prepare for the attack. After the autumn harvest, we'll recruit more militia to participate in the attack."

“Okay, let’s do it this way!” Wei Zhonglong nodded, agreeing with Qi Yongze’s suggestion, then suddenly thought of something, “Should we notify Zhong Minghui on Ku Niang Island (now Haiyang Island in Liaoning)?”

"Of course," Qi Yongze said with a smile. "He may have already received the news and made the necessary preparations."

"Preparations?...What will he do?"

"He might incite Dongjiang Town to launch a surprise attack on the Jurchen rear while the main force of the Jurchens is out in force," Qi Yongze said. "Of course, it's also possible that he'll do what we did and go to Korea to loot and plunder, taking some people and supplies."

"Do you think there's really no way to save Korea?" Wei Zhonglong said with great regret. "If the Jurchens had completely subdued Korea, they would have gained a stable rear area and indirectly had a continuous supply of manpower and materials."

"With the Koreans' military strength being so weak, even worse than the Ming army, how can we possibly rescue them? One wrong move and we'll be trapped ourselves." Qi Yongze shook his head and said, "Besides, our Beiying Island colonization team's resources are no match for the Jurchen army of over 100,000."

"If the Koreans themselves had any spirit and had launched a people's war of resistance when attacked by the Jurchens, oh no, I mean a people's war of resistance against the Jurchens, they might have had a tiny chance of wearing the Jurchens down."

"The most crucial point is that the Korean king and his ministers should not kneel too quickly, but should act as firmly as Emperor Chongzhen."

"Hehe, if the Koreans were this tough, they wouldn't have been constantly humiliated by the Jurchens." Wei Zhonglong laughed.

"That's right! Rather than hoping that the Koreans will rise up on their own, it would be better to send a few armed merchant ships to the walls of Hanyang, rescue the Korean king and his ministers, and then use the emperor to command the other lords, so that the Korean army can launch continuous attacks on the Jurchens."

"Once we have driven out the Jurchens and saved their country, we can ask the Koreans for some rewards. They can give us people, gold and silver, supplies, and even land."

"Ha ha……"

"Ha ha……"

Both of them burst into laughter.

His words were full of mockery and ridicule of the Kingdom of Joseon.

"Hey, I think your idea is pretty good."

"Is that so? Then write a letter and let Zhong Minghui try to manipulate things." Qi Yongze said nonchalantly, "If we really manage to rescue the Korean king and his ministers from the Jurchens' massive siege, then we'll have them send us a few islands."
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(End of this chapter)