Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 395 Has Seoul Fallen?

On April 22, at dusk, as twilight fell, the wind from the mouth of the Han River, carrying the smell of gunpowder and the salty tang of the sea, swept across Ganghwa Island, and the distant sound of cannon fire could be faintly heard from the mouth of the Han River.

Outside the archives of Dingzu Mountain Fortress, more than a dozen Korean scribes hurriedly grabbed bamboo tubes and books and retreated in a panic, trying to hide in the inner room. The sandalwood bookshelves cast spiderweb-like shadows in the flickering torchlight.

"Quick! Break down the door!" A deep, cold voice suddenly rang out from outside the door.

"Bang..." The wooden door was kicked open violently, and the light of the torches instantly flooded into the dimly lit warehouse.

Several soldiers from the Liaohai Self-Defense Army, dressed in gray uniforms and carrying muskets, stormed in. The officer in charge took off his military cap, revealing a angular face, and his sharp eyes scanned the room full of books and documents.

"Don't move!" he shouted sternly, pointing his command sword at the clerk cowering in the corner.

An elderly North Korean official stepped forward, his white beard trembling: "Who...who are you? This is the sacred grounds of our nation's archives, how dare you..."

"Enough with the nonsense!" the officer sneered, waving his hand to signal the soldiers to come forward. "Pack all these books and items into boxes, leave nothing behind!"

Upon hearing this, the soldiers sprang into action, roughly pushing aside the obstructing Korean officials and carrying off stacks of documents such as the "Annals of the Joseon Dynasty" and the "Diary of the Seungjeongwon" from the bookshelves. They also removed precious jade, porcelain, and other artifacts, stuffing them into wooden boxes that had been prepared beforehand.

A young soldier picked up a copy of "The Geography of the Eastern Kingdom" with a gold-embossed cover, flipped through it casually, and exclaimed in amazement: "Boss, this book is really exquisite, more refined than any other book I've ever read!"

"With your looks, how many books have you ever read before?" A soldier chuckled as he busily moved books from the shelf. "At most, you've only read tattered village almanacs. How can they compare to the royal collection!"

The officer glanced over and said calmly, "These are treasures accumulated over hundreds of years. Take them back; they'll be part of our collection. Everyone, be careful not to damage or tear them!"

Upon seeing this, the old official rushed forward and tightly embraced a box of books, shouting hoarsely, "No! This is the history of our Joseon nation! How dare you barbarians..."

"Shut up!" The officer kicked him away, and the old official staggered to the ground, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

The soldiers ignored them and continued moving the crates; soon, half the warehouse was filled with them.

The officer stepped inside, but his gaze swept toward a wooden box on the other side—where maps and secret documents of the Korean royal family were stored.

He stepped forward, opened the box, and took out a meticulously drawn "General Map of the Eight Paths," a slight smile playing on his lips: "This thing might come in very handy in the future."

Suddenly, a commotion broke out outside, and a soldier rushed in to report: "Captain, we've taken Waigyujang Pavilion too, but the Koreans are burning books and destroying things inside!"

The officer's expression changed, and he shouted sternly, "Stop them! Save as many as you can!"

Damn it, these Koreans would rather burn their books and documents and smash their precious artifacts than let these new Chinese steal them.

As the sun finally set behind the western mountains, turning half the sky blood red, several fires broke out on Ganghwa Island, with thick smoke shooting straight into the sky.

Zhong Minghui sat on the white marble steps of the Wanning Hall of the Jianghua Island Imperial Palace, staring blankly at the chaotic scene outside.

“Commander, those fires…were not started by the brothers.” Zheng Dayuan, deputy commander of the Liaohai Self-Defense Army, walked over cautiously.

"Oh, so you mean the North Koreans lit all those fires themselves?" Zhong Minghui asked casually.

“Uh…” Zheng Dayuan scratched his head, “General, those defeated soldiers gathered from Dengzhou, although they’ve been trained for over a month, they…”

"For those who disobey orders, do you not enforce battlefield discipline?" Zhong Minghui raised his head, staring at him intently with an unusually cold gaze.

"General, I will go right away..." Zheng Dayuan's heart skipped a beat, and he lowered his head, replying heavily.

“Da Yuan, you’ve been with Xinhua for eight years,” Zhong Minghui said softly. “We are different from the Ming troops in Dongjiang Town and Liaonan Town. You must remember that we are not a group of bandits who only know how to burn, kill, and plunder, but we must try our best to portray ourselves as liberators or saviors.”

“In this time of chaos, once people get used to killing and arson, the entire army, and even every soldier, will become more beastly and savage, and humanity will gradually disappear from us.”

"I have noted it down!"

"Go ahead and keep your troops in check, lest you tarnish Xinhua's reputation." Zhong Minghui waved to him.

More than half a month ago, Xinhua gathered more than 400 Liaohai self-defense troops at several settlements such as Ku Niang Island, Baengnyeong Island, and Tamna Island, and mobilized more than 1,000 militiamen, making a total of 1,500 people. They boarded more than ten boats of various sizes and joined more than 5,000 troops from Dongjiang Town to march into the Han River in a grand manner.

As expected by the allied forces, the Joseon Kingdom was surprised and fearful of the sudden arrival of the Ming army. They also felt a sense of unease, which led to chaos and disorder throughout Seoul.

The Korean troops on the shore did not even attempt to stop the Allied forces from landing; they simply watched from afar as squads of Ming soldiers rushed onto the riverbank and then took control of a large area of ​​the landing zone on the north bank.

When the allied forces rested briefly and then marched toward Seoul in orderly formation, the Joseon soldiers who had been "watching the spectacle" shouted and swarmed into the city to escape.

Originally, Seoul and its surrounding areas were garrisoned by more than 7,500 of the Five Guards (Uiheung Guard, Yongsang Guard, Huben Guard, Chungmu Guard, and Shinmu Guard), more than 3,000 Imperial Guards (Inner Guard and Special Guards), and 4,000 local garrison troops, with a total force of more than 15,000 men.

Two years ago, however, the Qing army suffered a heavy blow, and the troops in the entire capital region were completely disintegrated and almost lost their organizational structure.

Later, although it underwent some reconstruction, its troop strength and combat effectiveness were far inferior to what they used to be.

In early March, Gwanghaegun, who had been lying in wait in Kangryeong County, suddenly launched an attack, leading his troops to capture Haeju and Yeonan in succession, and advancing on Gaeju. He was forced to send 5,000 troops from Joseon to quell the rebellion.

As a result, when the allied forces arrived, the garrison in Seoul numbered less than four thousand, leaving the defenses extremely weak and causing the Joseon king and his officials to be caught off guard and panicked.

Of course, even if the city had tens of thousands of troops, let alone insufficient troops, the Korean army would not dare to confront its former suzerain state.

With centuries of Ming tradition and the long-held concept of "loyalty to the emperor," how could a vassal state possibly take up arms and launch a fierce attack against the Ming army?
Two years ago, when the Tatars forced the surrender of Korea, they conscripted more than 10,000 Korean troops to launch several sieges of Tieshan City, which was entrenched in Dongjiang Town. Although the Korean troops were forced to attack Tieshan City under the strict supervision of the Tatars, the officers and soldiers of each unit did not exert their full strength and were extremely lazy. After encountering a slight setback at the city, they took the opportunity to flee back to their camp.

Although the Ming army in Dongjiang Town frequently sent troops to raid coastal towns in Korea in the past two years, there was not much resentment in Korea. It was just that the Ming army was punishing them for their betrayal of the Ming and defection to the enemy.

All the mistakes were caused by the Tatars!
This time, the Ming army, with its thousands of fierce soldiers, advanced to Seoul. All Joseon could do, except send several waves of messengers to Shengjing to request reinforcements from the Qing Dynasty, was to close the four gates tightly and stand ready to prevent the Ming army from entering the city.

The Ming army attempted several attacks, but seeing that the defenses were too strong and they could not break through the city, they ceased their attacks and built fortifications and stockades along the riverbank. Relying on the naval gunboats sailing on the river as cover, they adopted a posture of long-term siege.

Before long, the allied forces sent out small groups to plunder the area. Villages, granaries, and manors around Seoul were attacked one after another, and war broke out everywhere.

After sweeping through the area for more than half a month, both the officers and soldiers of Dongjiang Town and the Xinhua Liaohai Self-Defense Army had reaped a great harvest.

More than 4,000 North Korean artisans, craftspeople, and young women were escorted onto ships and transported continuously to Baengnyeong Island.

Grain, cloth, livestock, iron, gold and silver were piled up like mountains on both banks of the Han River.

Squads of Dongjiang Town cavalry and groups of fierce Ming soldiers roamed the counties, villages, and towns, displaying their might and experiencing once again the feeling of being part of the mighty army of the superior nation.

The Korean king and his ministers watched from the city walls, terrified but helpless.

Just as the Allied forces were expanding their sweeping operations deeper into the south bank of the Han River, someone suddenly discovered that Ganghwa Island, located near the mouth of the Han River, seemed to have not yet been captured.

This island has always served as a royal retreat or temporary refuge for the Joseon Dynasty.

Two years ago, during the Second Sino-Japanese War, the island was attacked by the Qing forces. However, with the help of several gunboats from Xinhua, the attack was repelled, and the royal family members and many officials and their families who had taken refuge on the island were saved. It is one of the few places that has not experienced war.

Moreover, the island has palaces such as Changning Palace and Wanning Palace, as well as collections of ancient books and cultural relics such as Dingzu Mountain City Archives and Wai Kui Zhang Pavilion. If it were to be conquered, one would surely be able to obtain many fine items.

So this morning, more than a thousand allied troops arrived at Ganghwa Island by boat, easily disarmed the hundreds of guards on the island, and then began an organized looting operation.

Compared to the Dongjiang Town soldiers who focused on "hard currency" such as gold and silver during their looting, the Xinhua people preferred various collections of books, historical artifacts, and a large number of precious works of art.

Moreover, they went to great lengths to package it meticulously, for fear of damaging it.

Xinhua's actions were ridiculed by the officers and soldiers of Dongjiang Town as "literary theft," drawing much mockery.

The saying goes, "Gold is valued in times of chaos, and antiques in times of prosperity." In these times of turmoil, it's natural to want to grab as much gold and silver as possible, so that you can exchange it for food and clothing wherever you go.

You tell me, what are the books, paintings, and a bunch of antique artifacts that the Xinhua people snatched up worth?
"They know nothing!" Zhong Minghui clapped his hands and stood up from the steps of Wanning Hall. "In the future, with these collections of books, cultural relics and historical sites, we, the people of Xinhua, will be able to control the interpretation of the civilizations of these countries and nations."

"Their history, language, writing, and even traditional culture can only be explained most accurately and directly by us. In other words, hundreds of years from now, their civilization can only be 'rediscovered' and 're-verified' through us."

"In the future, we can't just casually claim what cultures and traditions these countries and nations possess. What they have and what they don't have, we must decide!"

Captain Lu Xiaochuan blinked. He didn't quite understand what the commander-in-chief was saying, but it sounded grand and profound.

Good heavens! Centuries later, if North Koreans want to figure out what their ancestors did and said, will they have to rely on Xinhua to prove it for them?

The commander-in-chief is indeed farsighted!

"General, General..." Zhong Minghui was on his way to see Prince Linping (Yi Jong's third son), who had been captured by the Allied Forces, when a captain of the Self-Defense Army rushed over. "General, news has come from the front... Seoul has fallen, and thousands of soldiers from Donggang Town have all entered the city. The King of Joseon, along with a large number of his officials, escaped in the chaos and their whereabouts are unknown!"

"Huh?" Zhong Minghui was stunned upon hearing this. "Seoul has fallen?...How did it fall?"

Could the more than 5,000 Allied troops stationed outside the city possibly breach the capital of Korea?
What an incredible feat!
It should be noted that two years ago, during the Bingzi Campaign, the Tartars captured Seoul with tens of thousands of troops and suffered hundreds of casualties.

Was Shen Shikui possessed by a military genius or a god of war, enabling him to storm into Seoul with a mere five thousand soldiers?

"...I heard that the Koreans surrendered the city themselves." The self-defense force captain grinned and said, "The messenger said that the entire Korean army and civilians came out of the city and welcomed General Shen into Seoul. They told us to quickly end the military operations here, return to Seoul, and quell the situation in the city to prevent any reversals."

"General, we've...crushed North Korea!"

Before their arrival, no one expected to be able to capture Hancheng. The plan was to rely on their water advantage to block the Han River, create the appearance of an aggressive attack, lure the Tartars in, and thus relieve the military pressure on Liaonan Town.

Of course, sweeping through the surrounding counties, towns, and villages of Hanzhou and plundering people and property was also the main objective of the allied forces.

As for capturing Seoul and taking the Joseon king and his officials prisoner, that was never part of their battle plan.

Because the coalition forces were too small.

Although North Korea's military strength was weakened after being severely defeated by the Qing Dynasty two years ago, and most of its troops had lost their fighting capacity, North Korea was still a regional power with a population of several million. Even if they just piled up their numbers, they could still muster an army of 100,000.

When the allied forces swiftly entered the Han River and reached the walls of Seoul, King Injong of Joseon issued an edict to the eight provinces to assemble local garrison troops to come to the rescue of the king.

If the Korean navy had not been completely wiped out, and if the allied forces had not been stationed with their camps along the Han River, placing them in a favorable position to attack or defend, the continuous influx of loyalist troops from various regions would have been enough to annihilate them.

We're here to rob, not to fight the North Koreans.

As soon as the Qing army arrived to rescue them, the allied forces immediately sailed away, not lingering for even a minute longer.

But to everyone's surprise, Seoul fell without a fight.
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(End of this chapter)