As Prophet - Chapter 197



Only Noblemtl

Episode 197. At the Ogansumun (Five-bay Water Gate)

When Dalcheon comes in, everyone stands up and stops what they are doing and looks at Dalcheon.

“It’s going to be hard to get through tonight.”

It was an absurd judgment, but it was the words of a true person. Everyone in the audience took a deep breath.

“We haven’t discovered any more of their caves yet. The cavalry is running in all directions, but it’s not easy to stop them from suddenly rushing in. At any moment, hundreds of enemy soldiers appear inside Hanyang Castle.

During the day, many generals worked hard, but they were not found. They will come back at night. Their target is the castle gate. They will not be able to enter through the narrow caves on horseback, so the fast soldiers in the form of a special force will open the gate from the inside and let the enemy cavalry rush in. We should discuss what we should do when that happens.

Discussion is a process of coming up with the best solution, but it is also a time for each general to realize how they should move. Our goal is to abandon the castle, preserve our forces, and in the process, inflict as much damage as possible on the enemy.”

Cavalry Corporal Jo Dong-gil raised his hand.

“I heard you well. But we will do our best to find where the enemy is coming from.”

“It will be difficult at night. Rather than running around recklessly, feel the vibrations and listen for sounds. Please do so. I hope we can bury them underground once again.”

“Is there a region you have in mind, sir?”

He is a quick-witted Jo Dong-gil. He is very tenacious in getting anything that can help him with his work. Dal-cheon closed his eyes and pointed south.

“I can’t be sure, but I think it’s the south. I hit two places during the day, and they were on the north side of the street from Unjong-ga to Heunginjimun. I don’t think they’ll come to the same place.

Considering that their bases, or gathering places, were two in the south, I think there might be a dark road in the south as well. Since the water flows out, the ground might be softer and easier to dig. Instead, it would collapse easily. Some parts of it might have already collapsed.”

“It’s probably a guess, but I think it’s a ghost. I’m also thinking of sending more personnel to the south.”

“It’s important to find them, but it’s also important to respond when they pour out. We need to divide our response force into several locations and then rush in all at once to secure numerical superiority in the combat zone.”

“Loyalty! I will do so.”

The two men looked closely at the southern wall. It was only a guess, not a sure thing. After sending Jo Dong-gil away, Dal-cheon sat down with the commander-in-chief.

“Now they will pour in and try to open the gates.”

“You probably thought they were coming.”

Dalcheon nodded.

“We have the military, we have the brains, we have the ability. It would be foolish not to come in.”

“We are not stupid either.”

“That’s not what I meant… … .”

“We will also do our best.”

“Yes. Anyway, when the gate opens and they come in, we inflict as much damage as possible and then escape.”

“I don’t like the plan, but I’m loyal!”

Dalcheon glanced south. The commander was still dissatisfied with the abandonment of Hanyangseong. Above all, he was dissatisfied with why they were running away from them when it was still intact. Yu Seok-do quietly intervened.

“I think it is better to do as the true man wishes.”

“I understand that the two people have the same opinion since green is the same color.”

In the previous battles in front of the palace, Yu Seok-do had a strong influence, but the battle of Hanyang was entirely the province of the commander-in-chief. So, it was not Yu Seok-do’s place to step forward, but he stepped forward when the commander-in-chief expressed his dissatisfaction with the fact that Hanyang was being vacated several times.

“When we were together, I was a fool who lost my memory.”

Dalcheon waved his hand as he tried to protest.

“Oh, you two don’t have to do that. I’m the problem. You underestimate the power of the North Korean army, and even though morale has increased a lot, you don’t reflect it in your fighting ability. Even in these difficult times, I’m the one who thinks they’re in bad shape when I see them training on the street. So there’s no reason for you two to have different opinions.”

The commander-in-chief looks away with a blank expression, and Yoo Seok-do looks up at the distant sky. The way they look away is also different. Dal-cheon changes the subject.

“He’s still alive. He’s really a freak. How could he have known that the Shinkijeon would fall there and put someone else out as a fake?”

Yoo Seok-do answered.

“It’s not strange that there are already one or two fakes. The question is where the real one is.”

The commander tilted his head.

“They may have planned to occupy Mapo Ferry first, but since Your Majesty has already departed for Ganghwa Island, they probably don’t have any other plans.”

Yoo Seok-do, who was still anxious, expressed his concern to the commander-in-chief.

“I am worried about the Donmun Gate. If some of them bypass it, and one of the generals guarding the gate betrays… … .”

“That won’t happen. Don’t worry.”

Dalcheon was lost in thought.

“I think so. We all know that when the situation changes, the strategy must be revised, and we must avoid fatal errors such as abandoning the main base. How should I explain it? Even if our three armies fight together, they cannot handle even one of them. However, their numbers are several times greater. This war cannot be won easily. Therefore, it is not too late to recover Hanyang after the royalist forces arrive. For now, let’s focus on reducing their forces.”

“Okay, who said what?”

The commander-in-chief, not wanting to hear the same thing any more, went up to the gatehouse waving his banner. Then, just in case, he sent a naval officer to check on the situation at Donuimun.

Dalcheon stood up, and Baek Ijeong, who was far away, stood up as well. Dalcheon walked south. If it was an underground vibration, there was no way he wouldn’t feel it. He had the ability to sense the vibration of someone running ten li away and judge the level of their martial arts, so how could he not do it? The problem was that there were many other noises and many vibrations mixed in. As he walked south along the wall, he occasionally put his hand on the ground and listened.

“What are you doing?”

Baek I-jeong approached when there was no one around and asked with interest.

“I’m checking to see if they’re coming underground.”

“I think that would be better outside the castle than here.”

“Outside the castle?”

“It might be quicker to find their starting point.”

“Ah, ah, I see. I hadn’t thought of that. But since we’ve come this far, let’s go to the water gate.”

“The eastern side was low and damp, so the walls collapsed several times. At first, we only rebuilt the walls, but later we replaced the earthen walls with stone walls and installed two more water gates to drain the water.”

“Is that the water from Cheonggyecheon?”

“Yes, it’s Cheonggyecheon.”

“It wasn’t even that clean, so why did you call it Cheonggye?”

“Haha. It used to be clean. It’s like that for a while after the rainy season ends.”

Baek Yi-jeong covered her mouth with her hand and laughed.

The two walked side by side, and about ten soldiers followed behind them. They were used as messengers from the beginning. Wherever they went, they followed them and quickly relayed news, and relayed more news. As the two walked, they also got off their horses and walked.

After a short walk, the Ogansumun appeared. Dalcheon put his hand on the ground and felt the vibration. His forehead furrowed slightly. He tried to distinguish them among the numerous vibrations and noises. It was difficult to distinguish them because of the sound of water, but Dalcheon thought they were passing below not far away.

“What are you doing?”

When Baek Yi-jeong, who couldn’t wait any longer, asked again, Dal-cheon stretched his body and smiled brightly.

“Well, they say that if you listen to the sound of water, your worries will go away.”

“Does the true man have worries too?”

“Ahahaha! If I told you the same person, you’d say it’s disgusting, right?”

“Haha, that’s right.”

“It depends on where you start. There are two doors to practice. One is to return from the dharma realm and control the physical body, and the other is to advance from the physical body to the dharma realm. * They are commonly called sex and life. Sex is the study of the mind. In other words, it is wisdom. Life is the study of the body, which is breathing. The current trend is to do these two together. If the former is Avatamsaka, the latter is Neng-eom. We advance from the physical body. If we succeed in advancing to the dharma realm, there is no way to discuss the body and the mind separately.”

* From 『Sungmyeonggyuji』.

He is a person who has the ability to explain difficult things very easily. But is that really easy?

“what…….”

“I was saying that I also study the mind.”

“ah!”

“I studied while listening to the sound of water. When I listen to the sound of water, all my worries disappear. In retrospect, studying is all about concentrating your consciousness. The Buddhist koan is also about concentration. In Neung-eom, they say to concentrate on the sound of water.”

“This is the Ogansumun. The red gate has been expanded to five to allow water to drain away, and thick iron bars have been installed to prevent water from entering. Please come back to reality.”

Dalcheon smiled brightly and stretched his body. Not far away, perhaps because of the flickering torches, the Hongye of Ogansumun looked like an ancient trace. He shivered at the feeling of having come to find an old relic and found himself alone in an empty courtyard with no one around.

“Ahaha, I see. That’s reality… … . That’s right. That’s reality.”

“Sometimes when I see you, Lord Guan, I often feel like I’m leaving reality and the world behind.”

“Was it so?”

“Especially when teaching children, I thought that I could fly like a crane and disappear transparently into the air.”

“Ahaha! I guess that’s when I really focus.”

People disappearing into thin air sounds like absurd talk, but it seems like they are accepting it.

“Have you found it?”

Dalcheon drew a long line to the right from the southern wall of Ogansumun with his fingertips.

“It looks like it’s over there.”

“You found it. Should I call the soldiers?”

“Not yet. I can’t pinpoint the location. When my worries disappear, I can hear things I couldn’t hear before and see things I couldn’t see before. I had forgotten this obvious truth. What distracts my attention is not external noises, but the vain things within my own imagination.”

When Baek Yi-jeong nods in agreement, he smiles brightly again.

“I don’t understand how someone who studies so well could stay home.”

“I will study. When this war is over.”

“Please do so.”

“Instead, there should be a master. You said it before. A teacher is more important than a book.”

“Oh, what do I know? Heh heh, let’s go. Let’s go.”

Baek Yi-jeong nodded secretly while looking at Dal-cheon.

“Why? Is it weird?”

“No. It also suits you well with the armor and the sword.”

“A short skirt doesn’t suit you, does it? When I first saw you, you were wearing your everyday clothes.”

* In the early Joseon Dynasty, the length of the upper garment and the lower garment were similar, half and half. As the era progressed, the lower garment became longer.

“No. I felt very young and fresh back then.”

“It was three years ago, so I was young then… … . I’m still young now though.”

The two walked along the dark streets where there was no one. A dozen or so messengers followed them at a distance of about ten feet. Dalcheon, who was walking along the dry dirt road away from the castle walls, suddenly stopped and looked at the training grounds spread out wide in front of him. Dalcheon felt the vibrations that the guys were making near the training grounds.

“Contact officer!”

“Loyalty!”

The messenger came running and stood there.

“I don’t know where the training center leader is.”

“I’ll find it quickly.”

“I haven’t seen you since a while ago. Ahem.”

“What should I do?”

“Please make it a priority to come here, and gather all those who graduated from the training center and those who are studying at the training center here.”

“Loyalty!”

We must find the invisible person at Heunginjimun. A dozen or so messengers were divided into areas and scattered in all directions. They ran while blowing their whistles and shouting.