In 1908 when he was 30, Ahn succeeded in creating the Daehan (Korean) Righteous Army with Kim Du-seong as commander and Yi Beom-yun as vice-
commander. After being elected Army Chief of Staff, Ahn launched an anti-Japanese independence movement also as an ad-hoc commander of a special
commando unit for national independence.
At that time, I set out my logical argument. We have a force of only 200 to 300 soldiers. As the enemy is strong and we are weak in terms of the numbers
of soldiers, we should by no means make a low estimate of our opponents. Ancient military strategies say, “Even though things are so pressing, we should
plan a big enterprise after mapping out all possible plans.” It is inevitable that we cannot make a success with a one-time revolt to the cause of justice. It,
however, is also inevitable that we should be fully determined to recover the sovereignty of our great nation with a firm conviction that we will accomplish
our goal in the end. We should attempt to accomplish our goal twice once we fail first, thrice once we failed twice, and then four times, ten times, and even
one hundred times, and more if necessary. If we cannot finish our mission this year, we should accomplish it next year, and the following year, and so forth,
too. If we cannot achieve our expected goal in our lifetime, the next generations led by our sons and even our grandchildren should do it.
In July the same year, Ahn brought 200 soldiers to cross the Tumen River and they were engaged in a gunfight against the Japanese soldiers and police
The army barely managed to stay alive virtually with the aid of herb-roots and tree-barks and could safely returned to the headquarters in Primorsky Krai
(Yeonhaeju) after having wandered in the forests under a continuous rainy spell for one and a half month. Likewise, the activities of the righteous army
suffered severe difficulties due to the counterattacks of the Japanese aggressors. When his fellow soldiers became disturbed, Ahn encouraged them
by writing a poem.
