Chapter 419
King Sejong explained why it was not possible.
“It’s not right to respond by unconditionally subjugating them without considering the consequences. Although they haven’t submitted yet, we ultimately need to bring them in as our Joseon people. Therefore, unconditional subjugation is not possible.”
As soon as King Sejong finished speaking, Jo Mal-saeng opened his mouth.
“The military also analyzes that subjugation is not a good option. The areas where railway theft mainly occurs are the land routes connecting to Dongbyeong Harbor. The forests in that area are dense, and there are climate issues, making a full-scale subjugation impossible.”
Jo Mal-saeng continued to explain why subjugation was difficult.
-Most of the tribes in this area connecting to Dongbyeong Harbor belong to the Udiha (Udege).
-The area where the Udiha tribes live is covered with primeval forests, unlike the Uriangkhai (Orankai, barbarian) areas we’re familiar with.
-In such primeval forest areas, cavalry is at an absolute disadvantage.
-To carry out proper subjugation, infantry must ultimately be deployed. However, we still haven’t properly grasped the situation inside the maze-like primeval forests. Therefore, the size of the deployed forces needs to be larger than usual. According to military calculations, even mobilizing more than three times the usual force would make it difficult to achieve proper results.