Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 340 Leveraging Power (Bonus Chapter for Alliance Leader 'Reserving Some Devotion for Now')
The 2th day of the first month of the tenth year of Chongzhen's reign (February 24, 1637).

A cold wind swirled snowflakes, raging through the withered yellow grass. In the mountains and fields of Hamgyong Province, an army in tattered armor, exuding a murderous aura, was slowly advancing.

A burly general, draped in a black cloak and with a long sword at his waist, reined in a chestnut horse and stopped on a high slope. He squinted at the towering walls of Mirror City in the distance, a cold smile playing on his lips.

"Brother Geng, the Koreans are indeed no match for the Jurchens." Kong Youde turned to Geng Zhongming beside him and said, his voice filled with barely concealed excitement: "We've been lying in wait here for years, and today we've finally got our chance!"

Geng Zhongming rubbed his frozen hands, exhaled a puff of white breath, and his eyes gleamed with cunning: "With the Jurchen army marching south, the Korean court and local authorities are too busy to care about us. Now is the perfect time to annex the Jingcheng Protectorate."

"Hehe... If the Jurchens were to destroy Joseon, we might be able to go even further and completely take over the entire Hamgyong Province!"

"Haha..." Kong Youde laughed loudly, pointing at Geng Zhongming with his riding whip, "I didn't expect that Brother Geng's appetite is even bigger than mine, actually plotting to swallow the entire Hamgyong Province."

"The Jurchens have already captured Hanseong, and the Joseon king and his officials have fled to Namhansanseong. Their demise is probably only a matter of time," Geng Zhongming said calmly. "At this time, Joseon is in great turmoil. If we don't have a big appetite, how can we establish ourselves as independent and dominate this region in the future?"

"Not bad!" Kong Youde put away his smile, nodded slightly, and a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes: "By taking over Jingcheng, a key town, we will have a base with relatively abundant resources. Then, we can take over Yulang, Huacheng, Mingchuan, Jizhou, and Duanchuan further south. In this way, we will have a territory that we can maneuver around."

"If Joseon is truly destroyed by the Jurchens, we can then further conquer Hamhung and eventually swallow the entire Hamgyeong Province. At that time, with our own army, who will dare to look down on us, whether it's the Jurchens or Joseon?"

"Well said!" Geng Zhongming clapped his hands in praise: "Although we lost Dengzhou, we did not lose! The Koreans are weak and incompetent. After the Jurchens plunder Korea, they will surely turn around and fight against the Ming Dynasty again. This is our opportunity to accumulate strength and actively expand!"

Two years ago, Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming led their remaining troops to flee to Qingjin. Based on several hundred rebel soldiers from Dengzhou, they recruited surrendered Korean soldiers and local militia. Utilizing their familiarity with firearms, they ambushed and launched surprise attacks, repeatedly defeating the Hamgyong Province government's suppression campaigns and establishing a foothold.

Subsequently, taking advantage of their last wave of victory, Kong, Geng, and other rebels took the initiative to request the Hamgyeong Province local government to offer them amnesty and surrender, speaking humbly and expressing their willingness to serve the court and defend the border.

Although Lee Kyung-seok, the governor of Hamgyeong Province, saw through their ambitions and knew that the "strongmen's" offer of amnesty was a pretense, and that they were actually looking for a foothold.

However, the local government's garrison suffered a crushing defeat and was unable to continue the campaign, so they could not do anything to them for the time being.

If so, requesting the court's assistance and urging the king to send the Five Guards to attack, it would likely invite criticism from the court, accusing him of mismanagement as the governor, leading to local unrest, or even being attacked and persecuted by political enemies.

Therefore, Li Jingshi reluctantly agreed to allow Kong, Geng, and other former rebels from Dengzhou to be pacified and recruited.

After some maneuvering, Hamgyeong Province obtained a fifth-rank official position, "Chungjin Pacification Commissioner," from the imperial court and appointed Kong Youde to guard Chungjin and protect the region.

Thus, this group of Denglai rebels transformed themselves into local guards of Korea and temporarily settled in the area.

During these two years, they did their utmost to conscript civilians and recruit men into the army to expand their forces, while using the wealth plundered from Dengzhou and Laizhou to purchase various supplies and privately stockpile weapons.

To ensure their rule in the region, they even devised a political system similar to the Eight Banners system of the Jurchen people, establishing a pyramid governance structure with Kong and Geng as the core and hierarchical control.

In addition to recruiting Koreans for their own use, Kong Youde and others also vigorously recruited the Jurchen Warka people from deep in the mountains and forests, offering them great benefits and training them into their own ranks to strengthen their military power.

However, these small actions could not escape the notice of the local military and political officials in Hamgyong Province, who sensed a dangerous undercurrent.

Just as local officials in Korea were repeatedly petitioning the court to dispatch a large army to conquer this ambitious Ming armed force, the Jurchens suddenly launched an invasion.

After King Yi Jong fled to Namhansanseong, he issued an edict on the seventeenth day of the twelfth lunar month, calling on the people of all provinces and counties to fulfill their duties as subjects to the king and to raise an army to rescue him.

Therefore, Min Seong-hui, the governor of Hamgyeong Province (whose predecessor, Yi Gyeong-seok, had already entered the central government), conscripted all the guards and soldiers within his jurisdiction, gathering more than 7,000 troops, and they traveled a long distance to Namhansanseong to aid King Yi Jong.

When conscripting troops from the local garrison, Min Shenghui did not forget to send a transfer order to Kong Youde, the Pacification Commissioner of Qingjin, requesting him to lead his 300 troops (the approved force after being pacified and recruited) to join forces in Xianxing.

Kong Youde naturally ignored the transfer order and delayed it with various excuses. On the surface, he claimed that Qingjin's defenses were weak and that pirates and savages frequently invaded the border, but in reality, he secretly sent people to closely monitor the movements of Min Shenghui's army.

After Min Seong-hui hastily led his troops south, the entire Hamgyong Province was suddenly left with no troops. Under the pretext of rescuing the emperor, he extensively "requisitioned" supplies from surrounding counties, towns, and villages, and recruited local deserters, constables, and able-bodied men.

In just over ten days, the army was expanded to more than 1,500 men.

Upon learning that the Jurchen army had consecutively defeated more than ten waves of troops from various provinces who came to the aid of the emperor, and had begun to besiege and attack Namhansanseong, Kong Youde knew that his real opportunity had arrived. He immediately gathered all his forces and began to plunder the surrounding areas.

He first easily captured the northern counties of Musan, Hoinyeong, and Funyeong, thus securing the rear of Cheongjin.

Two days later, he led his troops south, heading straight for Gyeongseong, the most important military town in Hamgyong Province.

That day, at 3 PM, Kong Youde easily captured Jingcheng without bloodshed.

In the days that followed, Kong Youde's army swept through the surrounding counties like autumn leaves in the wind.

On the second day of the second lunar month, Yulang County was captured.

On the third day of the second month, Huacheng County was destroyed.

On the fourth day of the second month, Jizhou was occupied.

On the sixth day of the second month, according to Xuchuan County.

Wherever he went, he strictly enforced military discipline, forbidding soldiers from indiscriminately killing innocent people. Instead, he opened granaries to distribute grain and provide relief to the people, winning the hearts of many.

On the eighth day of the second month, a scout reported that the King of Joseon surrendered from Namhansanseong Fortress and performed the three kneelings and nine kowtows ceremony before Huang Taiji.

Upon hearing the news, Kong Youde burst into laughter: "Heaven is on my side! Issue the order that from this day forward, we shall establish the 'Jingdong Garrison' here, and I will volunteer to be the 'Jingdong General' to resist the invaders and bring peace to the people!"

Geng Zhongming, Cao Shaozhong, Li Jiyu, and others shouted in unison, "We are willing to follow the general and accomplish great things!"

"Li Jiyu, take a few men and some gold and silver and go to Pyongyang to pay a visit to the Jurchens, oh no, I mean, the Qing Dynasty's Prince Dudu, to show your respect."

"Ok?"

"what!……"

Upon hearing this, everyone stared at Kong Youde in astonishment, their faces filled with shock.

Wasn't it to resist the invaders and bring peace to the people?
Why are you trying to collude with the Jurchens again?

“General…” Cao Shaozhong said with a frown.

"Brothers," Kong Youde smiled and said softly, "Even if we occupy Hamgyong now, could we possibly stop the entire nation of Joseon from launching a campaign against us?"

“……”Everyone was silent.

Although, in less than half a month, taking advantage of the fact that all the troops in Hamgyong Province had gone south to defend the king, they swiftly occupied a large area of ​​northern territory.

However, these were all newly annexed territories, and a stable foundation for rule had not yet been established.

If Korea recovers and the Jurchen army retreats north, Korea will surely mobilize troops from all provinces to annihilate them.

Of course, after the Jurchens' rampage, Korea was almost completely ravaged, and its army lost half of its troops.

But even a starved camel is bigger than a horse. Once the enemy gathers the strength of the whole country and sends several armies to surround you from all directions, no matter how strong your own forces are, you can't withstand the enemy's superior numbers.

"Therefore, we must take the Dengzhou incident as a warning!" Kong Youde said in a deep voice. "If we want to gain a foothold here and achieve our great cause, we can only seek help from outside to resist Korea."

"Will the Jurchens accept us?" Li Jiyu asked in a low voice.

“If they want to better control North Korea and bring it under their control, then supporting a local separatist force that opposes North Korea will be their best option,” Kong Youde said with a confident expression.
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(End of this chapter)