As Prophet - Chapter 178



Only Noblemtl

Episode 178. The Seat of Choice

Dalcheon turned his head. The military officer who had come with him came inside and assumed a still posture.

“Loyalty!”

Dalcheon seems to have something to say, so he shouts out a slogan to urge them to return to work.

“I’m afraid I can hear the noise down there. Go and tell them to come over quickly. I’ll give you an hour’s notice to come to this remote house.”

“That’s too short.”

“Just tell me.”

“Loyalty.”

When he disappeared, he called the other two.

“Look who’s coming down there. No one should come until our troops are ready to charge here.”

“What should I do when I come?”

“Please cuckoo.”

“Loyalty.”

The two men went out. Then Dalcheon called the soldiers outside the private gate and told them to put up a signpost on the assault track. He told them to do so so that even a fool could see it clearly.

Dalcheon asked the ten prisoners more questions and then headed down.

* * *

I went down the narrow path and climbed up to the ridge where I could see the whole area. The forest was so deep that I couldn’t see well, so I climbed up to the top of a tree. I jumped up and stood precariously on the tip of a thin branch. It was so thin that it could bend and break, but it was holding up a person. I strained my eyes to check each formation.

The Yeojin army was spread out in a long oval shape along the river. It was an army of 2,000 cavalry. The plains were filled with tents. The Joseon army was in front, and Nohoraha’s tent was in the center. If they came down and attacked, Nohoraha’s tent would be the first to be hit. It is the most dangerous place, the safest center.

I thought back to when Dalcheon fought the Japanese pirates. The army seemed to be larger than the number. It was not just people, but horses as well, so 2,000 looked like 10,000.

If you run down the valley from the mountain, you will hit the exact spot where their army is divided in two. There were many obstacles. I wanted to go down and capture the silver surface right away, but I couldn’t ruin the battle that was right in front of me.

The army that guided the border was called Hoeryong. We need to check if there is a white-clad man. He is a man who has always said loyalty. Even if his words were false, would someone who has said loyalty millions of times easily join hands with a group of traitors? We need to check. We need to first check if it is him, and ask if it was his free will to collude with a group of traitors.

The first is Baek Yi-hyung and the second is Noh Ho-ra Ha-teuk-ah. We need to ask why this decision was made.

It wasn’t easy to identify the flag in the dark. I caught one of the guys who came out to the shore to do some work and asked him where the headquarters were, and I also confirmed the location of the Joseon army’s barracks. Then I took his clothes and put them on. He was wearing a suit of armor that was connected from top to bottom, and he was wearing a helmet, so I couldn’t tell who he was. I hung the machete he was holding on my waist and advanced toward the center.

The eyes of the sentries guarding each camp were sharp. They did not seem like an army that had come a long way. They were originally accustomed to the wilderness and sleeping outdoors, but they were in good condition. It was not difficult to cover a distance of several hundred li in a few days.

Dalcheon approached the Joseon army camp.

“Who are you? Why is the yellow guy here?”

“This is an order to bring the magistrate to me.”

“Hyunryeol?”

“Loyalty!”

The sentry paused at the unfamiliar title. Dalcheon closed his eyes and glanced around the barracks on the other side. He could feel himself sighing. Perhaps he was regretting this.

The sentry cleared the way. When he went to the place where the flag was, two more sentries blocked his way. When he said the same thing, one of them tried to go inside. But what came out was not a sentry, but a man in white. Dalcheon laughed bashfully.

“No, you… … .”

Baek Ui-hyung was surprised.

“I came because I thought we needed to talk for a moment.”

“I heard you went to the mountains.”

“Yes, I did. I came a few days ago. What’s the matter with the execution? The general guarding the border.”

Baek Ui-hyeong shakes his head at the many questions that come to Dal-cheon’s eyes.

“Let’s go in first.”

Baek Ui-hyeong pushed Dal-cheon into his tent and circled the area. After calling the soldiers and having them guard the area tightly, he went inside.

“How did you come here?”

Dalcheon turned back to the face of the young priest.

“I came here on foot.”

“No, that’s not what I meant.”

Dalcheon stretched out his body and took off his helmet. His face, which had been awkward because he was wearing someone else’s armor, returned to its original color.

“I am now on the opposite side of your camp.”

Although the explanation is omitted, the meaning is clear.

“What should I do?”

“That’s exactly what I wanted to say. Why did you become their guide?”

Baek Ui-hyeong gave a brief and quick explanation of the situation before and after. Baek Sa-ban came in a hurry and reported the chaos in Hanyang. The abdicated king was incompetent and was driving the state affairs to ruin. The high-ranking officials, who could not stand to see this, stepped forward but were unable to persuade the king.

The discussion on deciding the succession has already ended, but the crown prince is incompetent and the grand prince Lee Young is treacherous. No matter who becomes the king, Joseon will face difficulties. The state affairs are in disarray because of the two fighting. Ambushes are rampant everywhere, and sword fights in the middle of the city are commonplace. It is almost impossible to stop them without mobilizing the army.

Originally, the person who had been fighting with the King for the succession was the one favored by the King. The purpose of this uprising is to put him on the throne. Banbon means to go back to the beginning. We want to put the King’s younger brother on the throne.

He is a man with a strong will to recover the lost land of Liaodong and strengthen the relationship with the Jurchen to unite the north. This is evident from the fact that he led an army to come to help.

Dalcheon immediately guessed that they had only conveyed part of the facts and had persuaded the border commander who was absolutely lacking in information. It was foolish. Even if the information was insufficient, if you looked closely, you could tell who was right, but it was a shame that they made such a poor judgment.

“So you helped that army attack Hanyang?”

“He said I had to go secretly. He wanted me to tell him a different route other than Cheoryeong.”

“Putting the younger brother of the former king on the throne is interference in internal affairs. And it is said that the throne is given by heaven. There were many things that happened, but they should be viewed as part of the political process. It is their job, not the military’s job to step in and do this or that.”

“Why are you there like that?”

In any case, political judgment and position are relative. This is a world where the question of who is right and who is wrong is diluted. Looking back, it must have been a question of standing in the place of the people, but the moment he ascended to the throne, he forgot the people too easily.

“Me? I was attacked as a student at our school. I almost got into big trouble. Once in Hanyang, once they mobilized hundreds of people and attacked the school. I evacuated the young students… … Ahem, that night I chased the source and entered Hanyangseong. It happened yesterday.

“That guy, the one wearing a silver mask, is behind it all. So he’s trying to usurp the throne and establish the Jeon clan’s country, and he’s trying to kill the great general, who’s the only alternative.”

“The land of the Jeon clan?”

“Didn’t you know? The second son of the Grand King is that man with the silver face, and it seems he was an illegitimate child. He fooled people so well. And he pretended to be the Grand King’s son and fought in the battle for the throne, but as you know, he lost to the current king. He set up a plan and manipulated the court from behind the scenes. Ahaha! So you call the court the one who is being manipulated?

However, no matter how much I thought about it, it seemed that the Grand Prince was not going to be able to do it. He failed several times in his ambush. It seems that he tried to control the foolish Crown Prince by making him the King, but he ended up killing the Crown Prince while he was in Hanyang. And he strongly urged His Majesty to step down as the retired King.”

Baek Ui-hyung tilted his head.

“Isn’t that proof that the great general had a prepared army?”

“Ayuu, what kind of army is the army? I requested Yang Ju-hyeon’s troops because the school was in danger. I asked them to maintain public order. And there were people from the training center who came as students, right? I asked them to support the soldiers from the training center who were training nearby.”

“Does that make sense?”

“It’s true. Since their fighting power was weak, they borrowed horses from a nearby ranch and made them all cavalry, which made them look good. They headed straight for Hanyangseong and entered the castle gates without fighting. They also entered the palace through legal means.”

“Oh my, what kind of novel-like story is this?”

“There was no army, it was hastily assembled. The ones who raised the army to plan a rebellion were none other than the Il-dae-gye group. You know the black group? They are all masters. Look at the word Il-dae-gye. It means breaking. It is a heavenly contract. It means to become king. Think about the word Yeo-ui, the leader. It means to do whatever I want.

“Over the years, they have been able to influence government officials, and there are few who are not connected to them. The fact that Baek Sa-ban came to Hanyang was also due to their manipulation.”

“No. My uncle came up here because of his contribution to suppressing the Japanese invasion.”

“No. Even if he has great merit, would you entrust him with the most important practical work of the Ministry of War? Your Majesty may not know what he has done, but in terms of practical work, he was put in the most important position. As a result, he actively helped their cause rise, and now he is in a position where he cannot be left out. It seems that he worked even harder since he was already involved. In the end, he succeeded in persuading his Majesty, and with his help, 20,000 Jurchen troops have now reached Hanyang Castle.”

Baek Ui-hyeong was in trouble. If what he said was true, then the treason was not theirs but his own. And bringing in foreign powers could cause a very big problem. In such a case, it would be best to continue as I have been doing, following my inertia.

“It was a bit excessive to kill the Crown Prince, but it was inevitable because he was at the core of their strategy. And the Crown Prince was behind many assassinations. I learned that politics is politics. Shouldn’t such a person not ascend to the throne?

“In this situation, should we push back against someone who was pushed out of the succession dispute decades ago, and who is trying to change his surname and carry out a revolution?”

“Killing the Crown Prince? That was too much.”

“Yes, but we were attacked and went to destroy the source.”

“How could this happen without moving within a really well-written script?”

“No. I was involved in the process afterwards. I used force to do what I couldn’t do.”

“It’s your ball, huh?”

“Hmm, I have nothing to brag about. I just want to get out of this world as soon as possible. I’ve dipped my toes in too deep.”

“Oh my.”

“Now, look back and make a decision. There is no time.”

“I need to see my uncle. Why did he do that? Is it possible to change it?”

“My uncle was in the most important position on their list. His greed to rise to the political ranks of Hanyang was the cause of his trouble. He is the most important axis of Yeoui.”

“Still, uncle.”

“For me, death is death. After my teacher left, he took care of me alone.”

“Who is being looked after by whom?”

“Leave the camp. And confess your sins. Or… … .”

Dalcheon couldn’t bring himself to say that an attack was imminent. I don’t know if he succeeded in persuading her, but at least he told her the whole situation. The choice is hers. I want to grab her by the collar and drag her out, but it’s a matter of choice. The fate of the Baek clan is at stake.