Northern Campaigns
After rising to the throne, he began to reform and expand the military of Korea; first he removed Kim Ja-jeom, who had corrupted politics and had greater power than the king himself. Then, he called Song Si-yeol (Hangul: 송시열 Hanja :宋時烈) and Kim Sang-heon to his court, who supported war against the Qing Dynasty. His military expansion was massive, and he also built several border fortresses along Yalu River where Joseon and Qing shared a border. When a band of Dutch sailors including Hendrick Hamel drifted on Jeju Island, Hyojong ordered them to build muskets for the army, providing muskets to the Koreans for the first time after Seven Year War.
However, the Qing Dynasty continued to thrive, expanding quickly into the west after successfully conquering the Ming in 1644. The campaign was unable to be put in action, since the Manchus assimilated the massive Chinese army into their own. The Joseon military, although reformed and expanded, was no match against the combined Manchu and Chinese forces. Also, the Qing Dynasty began to treat Joseon as its friend and closest ally.
The expanded military was first put into action in 1654, when the Qing Dynasty called for help to fight against invading Russians. 150 Joseon musketeers, along with 3,000 Manchus, met Russian army at the Battle of Hutong (Hangul : 호통 Hanja : 好通), present-day Yilan), which was won by the Qing-Joseon allied forces. Four years later,in 1658, Hyojong sent troops once again to help Qing Dynasty against Russia; 260 Joseon musketeers and cannoners led by Shin Ryu joined the forces of Ninguta Military Governor Sarhuda, The joint force sailed down the Hurka and Sungari Rivers, and met the Russian forces under command of an Amur Cossack, Onufrij Stepanov near the fall of the Sungari River into the Amur, killing 270 Russians and driving them out of Manchu territory. The battles against Russia proved that Hyojong's reform had stabilized the Joseon army, although they were never put into action again. Despite the campaigns, Russia and Joseon remained on good terms. The Northern campaign is known as Naseon Jeongbeol (Hangul: 나선정벌 Hanja : 羅禪征伐), or "Suppression of the Russians".
Read more about this topic: Hyojong Of Joseon
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