As Prophet - Chapter 157



Only Noblemtl

Episode 157. The Secret History Revealed

The enemy’s camp was broken. They had nowhere to go, but they scattered in all directions. They ran left and right along the government office street, but they had nowhere to go. This was because our archers were standing densely along the government office walls, shooting arrows.

The leader of the rebels, whose thousands were in danger of being annihilated, bit his lip. The front and back were blocked. His eyes turned to the weaker side. He looked back and forward, then bit his lip.

“All forces, charge! Charge! Slay the reckless new king!”

It was an order given impulsively. But there was nothing else I could do. Wouldn’t it have been more humane to just disband and let them find their own way out?

The soldiers who were scattered by the enemy commander’s order ran north. They ran bravely through the rain of arrows. Yes, if I die like this, I won’t regret it. The enemy commander also got down from the command post and ran north. A few more Jincheon-roe flew in, but all they had to do was run far away before they exploded.

“Run! Run and catch the king!”

As dozens of black drones took the lead, the scattered rebels ran towards the front.

Yoo Seok-do, who was staring at the battlefield, looked around.

“Prepare for the new battle!”

“Prepare for the new battle!”

“Prepare for the new battle!”

“Prepare for the new battle!”

Five wagons, densely packed with hundreds of arrows, came forward. Five more were deployed behind them. Yu Seok-do, who had been measuring the distance, gave the order to fire. A torch was lit behind the Singijeon. The Singijeon, whose wick had caught fire, flew away with a sseuakseuak sound.

The flesh flew densely, leaving no room for anyone to escape, and fell into the center of the rushing enemy. Some were stuck, some fell, and then exploded once more. It was an oxidation-type machine. The gunpowder in the ignition tube exploded once more. The enemy who had rushed in as if making a last-ditch effort was annihilated.

Yuseokdo fired the two-row rockets once more, lined up his troops, and advanced. The governor’s flag* was raised.

* Poison Flag: A flag worn to supervise the fight and boost morale during battle.

“Charge with all forces! Wipe out the remaining enemies! Charge!”

At the shout of Yu Seok-do, the front of the cannon closed again and the army advanced. Park Geun-su firmly solidified the northern part of Wonjin, and the rebels were crushed and annihilated between the two armies.

Rebels surrendered from all sides. Dozens of them threw down their weapons and raised their hands, then knelt down. Where did they get so many people? I acknowledge their ability, but it was a major tactical failure.

Yu Seok-do led his men and ran to Dal-cheon. Dal-cheon, who was sitting idle in the center of the camp, greeted them and consoled them for their hard work.

“Thank you all for your hard work. Please clean up the battlefield. Many people died. Please work hard so that we can quickly return to normal life.”

The two armies joined together, and Dalcheon spoke what the king had to say. The king sat blankly behind the main camp. He was half out of his mind because he had witnessed the horrors of battle for the first time.

Dalcheon wandered around the battlefield. He was doing nothing but going around and helping out, seemingly without any specific purpose. He treated the wounded, searched through enemy soldiers’ belongings, grabbed weapons that had fallen on the ground and swung them around, and helped clear away corpses. He went to the place where the roster was written, checked the names, and helped retrieve weapons and armor. It seemed like a child was wandering around the battlefield.

There is nothing to do, and you don’t have to do anything. Yoo Seok-do, who couldn’t stand to watch, approached and advised him.

“How about reporting to His Majesty the story of the battle?”

“I saw Yu Gong do it earlier. Other people are good at it, so why would I add to it?”

“But isn’t the weight of the words different?”

“I won and defeated the enemy. That is enough.”

Jo Dong-gil, who had been following Yoo Seok around without him noticing, suddenly stepped forward.

“His Majesty has come to see me several times.”

“What did you say?”

“I told you I was busy with work. Hehe.”

“So what did you say?”

“You said work was more important.”

“okay.”

“But I am telling you this because it seems like you are just coming and going. It would be better for you to go to His Majesty, report, and discuss follow-up matters.”

“As for the follow-up… … hmm, I really want to stop now.”

Dalcheon looked down at the street in front of Gwanghwamun where countless corpses were strewn about like trash.

“You said you’d come again, enemy.”

“Yes.”

“What could it be?”

I frowned at how lightly he was talking about other people’s business as if he was gossiping about them. Did he not know about it? Maybe he didn’t have time to share the information.

“They said they were the Northern Army.”

“When you say the Northern Army, do you mean the border troops holding swords backwards and attacking Hanyangseong?”

“It’s not certain yet, but several squadrons of Jurchen cavalry were reported to have crossed the border. I suspect there was some kind of cooperation with them.”

“Jurchen cavalry?”

Dalcheon shouted at the surprised crowd.

“They are the strongest cavalry in existence. No country in the world can defeat them.”

“I think you are putting too high a value on a mere savage… … .”

“They are the ones who established the Jin Dynasty. They conquered that continent and pushed the Song Dynasty south. How can you say they are uncivilized?”

“Still, that’s true!”

“Establishing a country is not something that just anyone can do. They are not uncivilized. And they are people who have mixed with us throughout history. They were ruled by Goguryeo and Balhae, and did not invade each other in the previous Joseon Dynasty. It may be an unrecorded history that they helped establish this country, but it is a fact that everyone knows. Even if we belittle them, the threat they face will not disappear. We have to fight another war. We.”

“Ah! That’s why the generals’ faces were so serious. I didn’t realize it.”

* * *

Dalcheon called the three men from the training center. They were so busy dealing with the aftermath that they came running, waving bloody banners.

“Did you call, Lord Guan? No, Your Majesty!”

“I wonder what happened to the rest.”

Dalcheon confirmed what he had asked them to do at the end of the battle.

“I chased them as much as I could and checked, but there was no gathering place after that. It seems like they thought they would definitely win this battle.”

“Hmm… … . He’s in Hanyang. Is there no way?”

“Are you talking about the great goddess of the world?”

“yes.”

“We issued a wanted notice and posted signs everywhere.”

“You don’t mean to say that you have fulfilled your duty by saying that you have taken action?”

Dalcheon’s words were thorny. The three of them straightened their postures. I still remember the time I was treated like a child when I was called a kid. I crawled on the ground with the young kids, saying that we had to do the same thing regardless of rank. I showed them how new people should play a fresh role in every training session. I’m still scared of the sharp criticism that came flying at me every time.

“Honestly, I have no confidence. Instead, I think that by doing so, those who cooperate with the rebels will feel remorse and reflect on their cooperation with them.”

“Yes. Those corpses over there clearly look like civilians. Now, the number of people falling for their tricks will definitely decrease. But we still have to catch them, and I don’t have an answer.”

“I’ll do my best. Some people say they saw it, and others say it went underground. I’ve also heard that there’s a secret passage underground, but I’m not sure.”

Cheolmuwoong and Jindonghee came together and bowed.

“Your Majesty, we won.”

“Thank you for your effort.”

The commander-in-chief stood arrogantly behind the two men. He seemed to have always been arrogant, so his attitude did not seem awkward. Dalcheon told him that he had done well. He had been in charge of the vanguard and had completely blocked the enemy, but it felt like his achievements were diminished by the fact that Yu Seok-do was in charge of the entire force.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“You have truly worked hard. I never expected things to turn out like this.”

“A country is maintained by loyal subjects. It is a shame that we do not know this in everyday life.”

“I don’t want to hear people say that I am loyal or have great achievements after doing what was right. Rather, I sincerely respect the fact that someone who has no obligations and has never even seen the sunlight on a cloud, as you say, has stepped forward and defeated the enemy.”

“No problem.”

At first, it was rather awkward for someone who had taken quite the opposite path to change his attitude. You have to experience a person to know them, and you have to finish a task to know the merits. Dalcheon smiled bitterly. He was a person who would never have admitted it until he had tasted it, whether it was shit or soybean paste.

“Do you have any idea who that person is and where I can catch him?”

The commander-in-chief narrowed his eyes and looked up at the sky.

“It’s a case of going against the grain… … There aren’t many people who can lead many ministers and act like a king at an old age.”

“Yes. I don’t know this atmosphere, but I wonder if anyone who has been in this water might know.”

“Whew. Where should I start? It happened a long time ago. It was when the older and younger brothers were fighting over the position of the head of the state, just like now. The king became the head of the state, and he was buried. There were also reports that he traveled the world and learned martial arts, and that he had won over many people. There were also rumors that he was not the son of the former king, but of someone else. I suspect that he was perhaps the younger brother of the king.

He was more capable than anyone else, well-versed in the classics, and exceptional in martial arts. Many people followed him because of his outstanding personality. Although he was defeated by the former king’s will to uphold the principle of primogeniture, he was said to be several times better than his predecessor. Many Confucian scholars lamented that if he had become king, Joseon would have been much different.

To be honest, His Majesty the King’s character is not very generous. He is wrong, misguided, and in some ways very bad. It is said that he became so distorted during the struggle for the throne. As you know from experience.”

“What does it mean that the seeds are different?”

“It’s because of the timing of the pregnancy. There were rumors that she was someone else’s seed, and that offended the king. It came to mind when I heard the word ‘reverse heaven.’ If she wasn’t Lee, that is, if her father had known about her from the beginning. The clan is suspicious of her.”

While the long story was being told, the center of the battlefield became quiet as if it was isolated from the surroundings. It was a story that anyone would know, and everyone would have suspected that it might be so. He smiled slyly as if he was mocking the situation that had nothing to do with Dalcheonman.

“Oh my, there was such a secret story. People’s lives are all the same. How can they not be different even by an inch?”

“How can those of us who live in this world be able to match the Taoist teachings?”

“So, where is that person now?”

“It was a long time ago. He was confined to a corner of Deoksugung Palace and then released to his private quarters. If he was in Hanyangseong, there would be traces of him in his private quarters.”

“Are you by any chance Inchangbang?”

“Yes. We lived in a shabby house built to the north of Inchangbang.”

“There’s no such thing. They’ve already been caught and run away. Did they live at the foot of Namsan too?”

“My in-laws must have been there.”

Dalcheon looked at the new king through the open side of the tent in the distance.

“This time, the second son became king.”

“He would have tried to put the first son, Gukbon, in the seat and swing it from behind. You can see the context before and after. Since Gukbon did not oppose becoming king, it is likely that the innocent officials would have followed him.”

“Why did His Majesty, the second son, try to assassinate him?”

“… … .”

“They tried to assassinate him, but he didn’t die. Did he really fail? If a few people put their minds to it, there’s nothing easier than that. It would be a more meaningful inference to think about why he didn’t kill the new king. Well, now that I think about it, I wonder why. It would be a more plausible story if he had already died a long time ago, but he kept trying to assassinate him, but he didn’t kill him.”

“That’s not it. Your Majesty, it was with great difficulty that you came back to life.”

It was Cheolmuwoong’s rebuttal.