Nobunaga’s Ambition Realized: Dawn of a New Rising Sun
- Thread starter Ambassador Huntsman
- Start date
The Japanese are exceedingly lucky that a certain overpowered Korean Admiral is not here.
Yeah.... with no Imjin War, Yi Sun-sin never gets the opportunity to make his mark on history. However, during that war the other naval commanders were a lot more incompetent than the ones that are leading the Joseon navy in the Asiatic Northern War so it balances out. The one OP military commander in this war is, unsurprisingly, Sakuma Moritora.
ooh is this the son of Yi Sun-Shin? Him fighting Koxinga is just so epic I love it, we'd basically see two of the best admirals of their era fight in front of the Europeans, with all the innovations and learning that all nations watching would learn quite a lot from this war in general. The Russians, dutch, british and such would definitely be learning a lot from the biggest war in Asia for quite a while...
All the other islands are very small and or very close to Korean mainland.
The only other island besides Jeju I think Japan should take is Ulleungdo so it can be used a port for an alternative middle route between Japan and the Manchu coast so we can avoid hostile Josean or the frozen seas to the far north.
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Chapter 107: Asiatic Northern War Part VI - The Battle of Alchuka Plains
Chapter 107: Asiatic Northern War Part VI - The Battle of Alchuka Plains
Despite the fall of Haishenwei from Japanese hands, the main Jin army had been preoccupied long enough for Bahai to finish raising a new army and then depart Nurgan, making camp not far from Kuromatsu Castle. This meant that between Kuromatsu Castle and Haishenwei, the Amur Jurchens and Japanese possessed a total of 35,000 men. The Amur-Japanese coalition began taking advantage of this newfound mass of manpower, with Bahai recapturing Jixi in the coming month and his men regaining all lost territories between Kuromatsu Castle and Lake Khankai-Omo [1]. In a poignant moment during this particular campaign, Bahai returned to the battlefield where his father had been killed in the beginning of the war and prayed for those who had fallen on that day with his men before giving the remaining skeletons strewn all around proper burials and final rites. In any case, the situation alarmed Gutai and he attempted to blunt and reverse the momentum of the enemy by marching directly towards Bahai’s main army. However, he was forced to stop after rumors of a new Japanese army led by Kaga Nagaaki marching towards the area spread. Indeed, Nagaaki had marched northwards from Kanazawa to Sakata in the spring months and taken transports from there along with his army far from the reach of Joseon ships to the mainland. However, he was still quite far away at the time, and the specter of his presence only gave him more time to march towards the positions of Gutai and Moritora, leading an army of 15,000.
Flush with confidence, Bahai plotted to carve a path through the heart of the Lesser Jin khanate towards its capital of Hetu Ala. To that end, he sought to capture the interior Jin stronghold at Alchuka Hoton [2]. He sent a letter to Moritora, requesting that he send 3,000 Japanese men experienced in siege warfare and artillery operations to assist with his planned siege of Alchuka Hoton. Moritora himself would stay in the area to wait on Nagaaki’s army of 15,000 and to stall any moves by Gutai or any other Jin-Joseon forces in the area. In response, Gutai began sending messengers across his own khanate, Joseon, and Amur territory occupied by his warriors to move towards the main army and help inflict a final defeat upon the Japanese and Amur Jurchens. One of these messengers reached the army besieging Russian-controlled Albazin, and this force withdrew from their endeavor to move southwards. On his way back to his sovereign, however, the khan’s messenger was intercepted and captured by the Japanese. Upon learning the information from the messenger after the latter was tortured and beaten, Moritora retreated north to Kuromatsu Castle to strengthen its defenses and prepare a surprise attack upon the northerly enemy. Gutai took advantage of this defensive withdrawal and the departure of Bahai’s main army, pouncing upon Jixi and retaking it in 2 days.
Flush with confidence, Bahai plotted to carve a path through the heart of the Lesser Jin khanate towards its capital of Hetu Ala. To that end, he sought to capture the interior Jin stronghold at Alchuka Hoton [2]. He sent a letter to Moritora, requesting that he send 3,000 Japanese men experienced in siege warfare and artillery operations to assist with his planned siege of Alchuka Hoton. Moritora himself would stay in the area to wait on Nagaaki’s army of 15,000 and to stall any moves by Gutai or any other Jin-Joseon forces in the area. In response, Gutai began sending messengers across his own khanate, Joseon, and Amur territory occupied by his warriors to move towards the main army and help inflict a final defeat upon the Japanese and Amur Jurchens. One of these messengers reached the army besieging Russian-controlled Albazin, and this force withdrew from their endeavor to move southwards. On his way back to his sovereign, however, the khan’s messenger was intercepted and captured by the Japanese. Upon learning the information from the messenger after the latter was tortured and beaten, Moritora retreated north to Kuromatsu Castle to strengthen its defenses and prepare a surprise attack upon the northerly enemy. Gutai took advantage of this defensive withdrawal and the departure of Bahai’s main army, pouncing upon Jixi and retaking it in 2 days.
State of the war, summer 1667
Initially, Gutai hoped to wait for Jin and Joseonite reinforcements at Jixi. However, Nagaaki arrived in the army, boosting the enemy’s manpower and increasing the precarity of Gutai’s position. Therefore, Gutai changed plans and instead left Jixi only days after he had recaptured it, leading his men straight towards Alchuka Hoton and Bahai himself. Although this would leave the Jin-Joseon army marching south near the Amur River alone against the Japanese, the move would allow Gutai to unite with the main Joseon army in the area led by Shin Ryu. Furthermore, a Jurchen force of 7,000 led by veteran general Ebilun had already arrived in the vicinity of Alchuka Hoton, although they had avoided direct combat with Bahai’s besieging force so far. As for Bahai, whose imminent encirclement by Gutai, Shin Ryu, and Ebilun was as of yet unknown to the khan of the Amur Jurchens, he had been busy engaging with the garrison in Alchuka Hoton and had successfully captured the outer elements of the fortress. The rapidly incoming Battle of Alchuka Plains, however, would inevitably force him to switch his focus to the field armies of his enemy.
Not long after the Japanese armies of Sakuma Moritora and Kaga Nagaaki made contact, news of Gutai’s departure towards Alchuka Hoton reached them, and a decision had to be made. They would both have to defend Kuromatsu Castle from the northern enemy force and rescue Bahai from Gutai’s encirclement strategy. A decision was made to split the Japanese force in the region to respond to both. The bulk of the Japanese army, around 20,000 and led by Nagaaki, would head towards Alchuka Hoton while the remainder of approximately 8,000 men would stay and confront the enemy just north of Kuromatsu Castle and would be led by Moritora. Nagaaki, now the official commander in chief of Japanese land forces on the Asiatic mainland as a blood member of the Oda clan, began his move in early September, accompanied by veteran generals like Sassa Katsutane and Mogami Yoshisato. He himself possessed a good deal of military experience from the Manji War despite his youth, having taken over for his father Tomoaki after the latter succumbed to his wounds at the Battle of Uonuma. His army also included 500 members of the rebuilt Konoe cavalry as well as the entirety of his father’s elite musketeers that had contributed to Moritora’s only loss on the battlefield at Uonuma.
On the plains surrounding Alchuka Hoton, meanwhile, Gutai had consolidated the forces of the Lesser Jin and Joseon, with a total of 47,000, composed of 28,000 Jin Jurchens and 19,000 Joseonites. Outnumbered by more than 2 to 1, Bahai and his entire cause seemed poised to be wiped off the map. The day before the Jin-Joseon coalition was planning to attack the Amur Jurchens, though, Nagaaki arrived with his army and had already begun to coordinate with Bahai through a messenger that had ridden ahead. The battle therefore would be delayed by 4 days and would take place on August 18th, 1667. Against the Jin-Joseon army, Amur-Japanese field forces numbered 38,000 including 21,000 Amur Jurchens and 17,000 Japanese [3] with 5,000 men continuing the siege upon Alchuka Hoton. What would be known as the Battle of Alchuka Plains would actually consist of 2 separate and simultaneous engagements. The smaller of the two pitted Ebilun’s 7,000 against a similarly sized force led by Mingginu, predominantly composed of Amur horse archers but also incorporating some Japanese samurai cavalry units.
The bigger engagement would directly pit the rulers of the khanates against one another, Gutai of the Lesser Jin and Bahai of the Amur khanates, together with their allied forces. On the Amur-Japanese side, the Japanese infantry was positioned in the center and was commanded by Kikkawa Hiroyoshi while the Japanese left wing and Jurchen right wing were cavalry-heavy, led by Sassa Katsutane and Jurchen general Mordaja respectively. Finally, Kaga Nagaaki and Bahai surrounded themselves with Jurchen reserves behind the infantry formation. The Japanese infantry was jutted out compared to the wings in an inverse crescent formation. Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, the main Jin-Joseon infantry mass held together the Joseonite right wing and the Jurchen left wing of, led by Shin Ryu and Gutai’s brother Sooge respectively and mostly made up of heavy and light cavalry. The khan himself would survey the combat from the back, surrounded by reserve Jurchen horse archers. Additionally, a frontline of horse archers from the retinues of the Jurchen chiefs that had joined the Joseon army 3 decades earlier screened the Jin-Joseon infantry. They, led by Manggultai’s descendant Sahaliang, were tasked with softening Japanese ranks ahead of the Jin-Joseon infantry, the latter who then would advance upon the Japanese.
Main engagement of the Battle of Alchuka Plains (Salmon = Japanese, Green = Amur Jurchen, Blue = Joseon, Brown = Jin Jurchen)
The battle began with a salvo of cannonfire from both sides followed by the commencement of the Japanese infantry’s steady march towards the Jin-Joseon army. As planned, Sahaliang’s horse archers galloped across the Japanese front line, firing arrow after arrow upon the musketeers and yard ashigaru. However, the Japanese were able to fire back effectively and Amur horse archers in reserve swung around the infantry to retaliate. Soon, Sahaliang’s horsemen retreated through gaps in the Jin-Joseon infantry and the battle transitioned to a standard infantry slog in the center. Meanwhile, the wings of both armies had made contact as well, both light and heavy cavalry on both sides engaging fiercely. Over time, the Joseonite and Jin wings benefited from their greater size and began to push back the Amur-Japanese cavalry. Numerical superiority did not make the difference in the middle, where the better training and greater experience of the Japanese musketeers helped them hold their ground. Additionally, the yari ashigaru were better able to defend the Japanese frontline against the Jin-Joseon musketeer and swordsman formation. Soon,the Jin-Joseon infantry formation began to break, only to be saved by Gutai’s rallying of the reserves and the Joseon horse archers that had retreated. At the same time, the Jin left finally broke through their foe and despite Amur Jurchen reserves joining the fight against them, the former seemed poised to stampede upon the main Amur-Japanese camp.
It was at this moment that Gutai made a hasty decision and chose to retreat upon seeing the state the infantry was in, using the horse archers as cover. Upon receiving the orders, Shin Ryu also withdrew the Joseon cavalry from the battlefield. However, Gutai’s cavalry on the left continued to fight and nearly killed Bahai and Nagaaki. With the rest of the Amur-Japanese army gathering around their position, however, Sooge realized what was happening and finally retreated. The day finally ended at a significant cost. The Jin-Joseon army had lost 6,000 men while the Amur-Japanese army had lost 4,500. Meanwhile, at the smaller engagement, Mingginu had repelled Ebilun, forcing the Jin army back northwards.
After the battle, Gutai and his army retreated back south while Alchuka Hoton fell on August 23rd. Despite the victory, however, the Amur-Japanese army had suffered heavy losses and emerged exhausted. While Bahai consolidated his position around the fortress, Nagaaki and the Japanese retreated eastwards, recapturing Jixi in the process. In his absence, Moritora and Jin-Joseon forces clashed in what ended in a Japanese victory and a successful defense of Kuromatsu Castle. The Tiger of the North would set his sights on occupied parts of the Amur river valley and the far northern steppes that were largely now under Jin control. The approaching winter would delay his plans, though, and this coincided with a brief break of the fighting due to weather conditions and the exhaustion of men on both sides. One takeaway from the Battle of Alchuka Plains as well as from the naval warfare was that the war was increasingly costly for both sides, influencing some minds to begin considering a negotiated peace.
[1]: TTL’s and OTL’s ancient name for Lake Khanka
[2]: Jurchen name of the Acheng District of Harbin
[3]: Kaga Nagaaki’s army included 3,000 Amur Jurchens amongst its ranks.
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ooh seeing the Joseon in this engagement with the Japanese is very interesting. With the Joseon exacting quite a lot of pain despite their loss I think the war is nowhere near ending. Considering that Joseon and Japan are peer powers, this being such a slog was to be expected, and considering that the Ming and Russians are all watching from the sidelines for now I can't wait to see how the war will continue going!
Considering that the split is roughly between inner and outer manchuria from otl I really do wonder how will things go in the future. Hopefully we'd get more movements across the front soon enough by next campaigning season!
huh I didn't see this pop up for some reason...
The second worst place to be in a war behind decisively losing: Having just fought several bloody and costly battles yet seeing no decisive shift in the balance of strength. This epic battle of the northern forests is becoming a senseless waste of human life, one the Russians have been able to exploit will. Even if Japan and Korea have a status quo ante now, this will not be the end of conflict in the North.
tbf the Russians won't be able to seriously attack the Joseon or the Japanese unless both get very very exhausted by the fighting. I see Russia (and Albazin) exploiting the fact to go into places like the Kamchatka peninsula and meet the Japanese fleets that way, but the fact is that Russia won't be able to field the armies the Joseon and Japanese are using rn, and there'd probably be no anarchy at the end of it.
Defo hope the Joseon win big, but a status quo ante bellum wouldn't be the worst too, with how the Japanese are constantly watching quite a few fronts if the Joseon attack with a stronger position than this time there's a chance they'll succeed.
Considering that Japan has already faced civil wars that could've been averted I'm not exactly sure if that's the case.
Chapter 108: Asiatic Northern War Part VII - A Ming Embargo Amidst the War
Chapter 108: Asiatic Northern War Part VII - A Ming Embargo Amidst the War
Throughout the course of the Asiatic Northern War, the Ming emperor had observed the carnage on land and at sea from the confines of the Forbidden Palace in Beijing with increasing worry. As his armies continued to battle the Northern Yuan in what was looking to be a victory for the Ming, Yongwu had begun to hear how the raging war, particularly on the seas, was disrupting trade, including that which flowed into Chinese ports. Most alarming were rumors of Chinese ships being accosted by both sides, their sailors harassed and mistreated, and their properties seized or taken hostage. Whatever the truth, it was clear to Yongwu that Japan and Joseon had gotten too involved in the affairs of the Jurchens and had discarded respect for Beijing, the ultimate authority of the East, in the process. This conclusion was further reinforced by Beijing’s attempts at mediation falling on deaf ears.
Therefore, on January 7th, 1668, Yongwu issued a decree that suspended all trade and tribute from Japan and Joseon to the Ming realm until hostilities ceased between the two warring states. Japanese and Joseonite merchants were also barred from Ming ports. As soon as the expelled merchants began returning and Ming diplomats informed Azuchi and Hanseong of the emperor’s decision, both realms witnessed a backlash against the continuation of the war among the ruling class. However, the scale of these reactions differed between the two. In Japan, many daimyo and merchants joined the conservative, Sinophile nobility in quiet opposition against the war and Azuchi’s deep involvement in mainland affairs. The realm, however, would only experience moderate repercussions as Japan by now possessed an extensive trade network throughout Southeast Asia where they could continue to access Chinese goods via enterprising Chinese merchants. This mitigated opposing voices within and outside the government. By contrast, Gyeongseon experienced a broader backlash, especially from the Confucian bureaucracy, that threatened to undermine his very rule over the peninsular kingdom due to the greater impact the Ming embargo would have on Joseon and its diplomatic and economic activities. Recent defeats also contributed to the uproar the king faced. He subsequently shut down dissent and emphasized a commitment to win the war within the year and get back to normalcy swiftly afterwards.
Therefore, on January 7th, 1668, Yongwu issued a decree that suspended all trade and tribute from Japan and Joseon to the Ming realm until hostilities ceased between the two warring states. Japanese and Joseonite merchants were also barred from Ming ports. As soon as the expelled merchants began returning and Ming diplomats informed Azuchi and Hanseong of the emperor’s decision, both realms witnessed a backlash against the continuation of the war among the ruling class. However, the scale of these reactions differed between the two. In Japan, many daimyo and merchants joined the conservative, Sinophile nobility in quiet opposition against the war and Azuchi’s deep involvement in mainland affairs. The realm, however, would only experience moderate repercussions as Japan by now possessed an extensive trade network throughout Southeast Asia where they could continue to access Chinese goods via enterprising Chinese merchants. This mitigated opposing voices within and outside the government. By contrast, Gyeongseon experienced a broader backlash, especially from the Confucian bureaucracy, that threatened to undermine his very rule over the peninsular kingdom due to the greater impact the Ming embargo would have on Joseon and its diplomatic and economic activities. Recent defeats also contributed to the uproar the king faced. He subsequently shut down dissent and emphasized a commitment to win the war within the year and get back to normalcy swiftly afterwards.
17th century depiction of Guangzhou, a major Chinese port for Japan and Joseon
Regardless of the sentiments triggered by the Ming embargo, the war would trudge onwards. At sea, the focus shifted to Jeju Island as Tagawa Seikou prepared a significant amphibious invasion fleet of 131 warships and transports as well as 23,000 men to direct against Joseon’s biggest island. He launched the planned assault on April 3rd, 1668, quickly surrounding Jeju Island and beginning to stream troops onto its beaches. The land troops were nearly exclusively from the western and southern provinces and were jointly led by both Ryuzōji Tomoie and Ikeda Yoshitsugu (池田由嗣) while Kobayakawa Motokane would assist Seikou in the open waters. They first landed on the southern and western sides of the island while ships focused their cannonfire on the city of Jeju and Byeolbangjin Fortress after defeating a moderately sized Joseon fleet. The Japanese land troops faced no resistance when conducting the amphibious landings and proceeded with the land invasion. In fact, the outnumbered Joseonites, who numbered only 8,000, had purposefully let the Japanese land on the beaches without any resistance. Their commander, Kim Dal-yong, instead directed the majority of his men to engage in guerrilla warfare while the rest garrisoned Jeju and Byeolbangjin Fortress. He hoped to wear down the Japanese and hold out until the main Joseon fleet arrived and broke the siege around the island.
Seikou was all too aware of that outcome as well, and so sent Hongou Hisamoto with a fleet of 50 ships to the southern coast of the peninsula to raid and distract Joseon’s attention from Jeju Island. Hisamoto targeted the coastline between Busan and Yeosu, ravaging seaside villages and taking out any vessels on the seas. Soon enough, though, these activities would incur a response from the new admiral of the Joseon navy, Yi Sang-seon. He sent orders to Bae Seol-rip, a provincial army commander stationed on the coastline, to concentrate his forces and any available cannons and hwachas on Namhae Island. Seol-rip would also refurbish medium-sized fishing and merchant vessels for combat and gather any panokseons in the area, accumulating a sizable fleet large enough to catch Hisamoto’s attention. Yi Sang-seon himself would prepare a fleet to retaliate against the Japanese marauding the coastal waters. As expected, the Japanese sailed towards Namhae Island near the main fortress of Imjinseong on May 16th where Bae Seol-rip had chosen to position the bulk of his artillery and men. Hisamoto’s galleons and zentousens immediately began firing upon the coastlines while other ships made amphibious landings, landing small groups of men intending to launch sorties upon the Joseon garrison in the fortress. Seol-rip’s men, under immense pressure from all sides, hung on and responded with their own cannons and hwachas while holding steady against the land sorties. This perseverance was maintained for several hours while Yi Sang-seon sailed towards the fortress. By the time Hisamoto realized that he had sailed right into a trap, it was too late and the main Joseon fleet unleashed its wrath upon the Japanese. At the same time, the bulk of Seol-rip’s fleet, which had remained docked in the Noryang Straits up until now, also set sail and confronted the encircled Japanese. Hisamoto ordered a retreat but it was too late, and only 13 of his ships evaded capture or destruction in comparison to the handful of Joseon’s ships that had been sunk.
Seikou was all too aware of that outcome as well, and so sent Hongou Hisamoto with a fleet of 50 ships to the southern coast of the peninsula to raid and distract Joseon’s attention from Jeju Island. Hisamoto targeted the coastline between Busan and Yeosu, ravaging seaside villages and taking out any vessels on the seas. Soon enough, though, these activities would incur a response from the new admiral of the Joseon navy, Yi Sang-seon. He sent orders to Bae Seol-rip, a provincial army commander stationed on the coastline, to concentrate his forces and any available cannons and hwachas on Namhae Island. Seol-rip would also refurbish medium-sized fishing and merchant vessels for combat and gather any panokseons in the area, accumulating a sizable fleet large enough to catch Hisamoto’s attention. Yi Sang-seon himself would prepare a fleet to retaliate against the Japanese marauding the coastal waters. As expected, the Japanese sailed towards Namhae Island near the main fortress of Imjinseong on May 16th where Bae Seol-rip had chosen to position the bulk of his artillery and men. Hisamoto’s galleons and zentousens immediately began firing upon the coastlines while other ships made amphibious landings, landing small groups of men intending to launch sorties upon the Joseon garrison in the fortress. Seol-rip’s men, under immense pressure from all sides, hung on and responded with their own cannons and hwachas while holding steady against the land sorties. This perseverance was maintained for several hours while Yi Sang-seon sailed towards the fortress. By the time Hisamoto realized that he had sailed right into a trap, it was too late and the main Joseon fleet unleashed its wrath upon the Japanese. At the same time, the bulk of Seol-rip’s fleet, which had remained docked in the Noryang Straits up until now, also set sail and confronted the encircled Japanese. Hisamoto ordered a retreat but it was too late, and only 13 of his ships evaded capture or destruction in comparison to the handful of Joseon’s ships that had been sunk.
Salmon = Japan, Blue = Joseon
The Battle of Imjinseong proved that despite Joseon’s loss at Daesambudo, the Joseon navy was far from defeated and that in Yi Sang-seon it possessed a new and talented leader. Furthermore, Hisamoto’s devastating loss exposed the Japanese at Jeju Island vulnerable to an attack by one of Yi Sang-seon’s fleets. Therefore, Seikou now sent orders to Nanbu Naofusa, who had just recaptured Okishima from Joseon, to sail with the Kanazawa and Hakodate squadrons of the navy to Tsushima and attack the Joseon fleet from there. Meanwhile, Yi Sang-seon began gathering a new armada with the intent of sailing directly upon Jeju Island and relieving it of the Japanese besieging. On Jeju Island itself, most of it had fallen to the Japanese, including the strategic Byeolbangjin Fortress. However, the main city, Mt. Hallasan, and the forests surrounding both remained under Joseonite control and proved difficult to pierce through. Kim Dal-yong’s men conducted hit-and-run attacks upon any Japanese that attempted to pass through the mountainous and forested terrain around Jeju and took guns and ammunition from the dead samurai and ashigaru. Despite this relative success, however, the Japanese were successfully grinding the defenses and manpower of Jeju Island bit by bit.
The war also continued unabated on the mainland. For the most part, the spring of 1668 witnessed standoffs, sieges, and skirmishes as both sides focused on maintaining their gains and retaking what was recently taken from them, namely Alchuka Hoton, Jixi, and Haishenwei. Neither side was successful in taking any significant positions on this front. On the other hand, the northern front was defined by the Amur-Japanese campaign to retake the entirety of the Amur river valley, including Russian-occupied Albazin. Sakuma Moritora, fresh from his victorious defense of Kuromatsu Castle, would lead this initiative and was confident in his ability to accomplish this. Upon retaking Albazin, the plan was to sweep into the northern interior occupied by the Lesser Jin and nearly complete the reversal of Jin-Joseon territorial gains. This campaign, however, would not make it to Albazin. Although Moritora initially swept northwards with little resistance, a horde of Jin Jurchens ambushed his army near the frontier town of Aigun [1] and inflicted heavy losses upon the Amur-Japanese army despite being rebuffed. Thus, Moritora was forced to halt and rest in the town while gathering more supplies.
As the spring campaigning season drew to a close, no clear-cut conclusion to the war loomed on the horizon, and pressure was building on every participant as they incurred ever more manpower and financial costs. Swaths of steppe and farmland in the collective lands of the Jurchens lay devastated while both Japan and Joseon now faced a trade embargo from Ming China. As both sides continued to fight, it was clear that one major development could break the camel’s back and lead to one side’s victory and the other’s loss.
The war also continued unabated on the mainland. For the most part, the spring of 1668 witnessed standoffs, sieges, and skirmishes as both sides focused on maintaining their gains and retaking what was recently taken from them, namely Alchuka Hoton, Jixi, and Haishenwei. Neither side was successful in taking any significant positions on this front. On the other hand, the northern front was defined by the Amur-Japanese campaign to retake the entirety of the Amur river valley, including Russian-occupied Albazin. Sakuma Moritora, fresh from his victorious defense of Kuromatsu Castle, would lead this initiative and was confident in his ability to accomplish this. Upon retaking Albazin, the plan was to sweep into the northern interior occupied by the Lesser Jin and nearly complete the reversal of Jin-Joseon territorial gains. This campaign, however, would not make it to Albazin. Although Moritora initially swept northwards with little resistance, a horde of Jin Jurchens ambushed his army near the frontier town of Aigun [1] and inflicted heavy losses upon the Amur-Japanese army despite being rebuffed. Thus, Moritora was forced to halt and rest in the town while gathering more supplies.
As the spring campaigning season drew to a close, no clear-cut conclusion to the war loomed on the horizon, and pressure was building on every participant as they incurred ever more manpower and financial costs. Swaths of steppe and farmland in the collective lands of the Jurchens lay devastated while both Japan and Joseon now faced a trade embargo from Ming China. As both sides continued to fight, it was clear that one major development could break the camel’s back and lead to one side’s victory and the other’s loss.
[1]: Jurchen name for Heihe.
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@Ambassador Huntsman, amazing as always! You got me at the edge of my seat! Really rooting for japan!