Pirate Subjugation (3)
A heavy warehouse door creaked open with a groan, unleashing the musty, thick scent of grain that lingered in a space sealed away for far too long. As the Jangyongyeong soldiers thrust their torches high, a massive shape hidden in the darkness slowly revealed itself—from floor to ceiling, mountains of tightly packed rice sacks without a single gap.
Yi Si-woo approached one sack with an impassive expression and inspected the seal stamped on its surface. He then pulled a ledger from his robe and ran his finger down the numbers. The rustle of turning pages shattered the silence.
"Six thousand seok. Exact, without a single discrepancy."
His voice echoed softly through the warehouse. Trailing behind him, a young woman crossed her arms and boldly stepped forward to block his path. Her cheeks flushed red with anger, trembling faintly, yet she held her chin high, clinging to the dignity of a noble house's daughter.
"Now you've seen it, haven't you? As I told you, not a single grain is missing! This is all because you, my lord, misread the ledger and treated our household like thieves, committing this outrage. How do you intend to take responsibility for this commotion?"
Yi Si-woo didn't respond. Instead, he prodded a sack with the tip of his greatsword, catching the spilling grains in his hand. They were pristine, glossy top-grade rice. Emboldened by his silence, thinking she'd gained the upper hand, she took another step closer. The hem of her silk skirt brushed against the rice sacks, but she paid it no mind.
"My lord, are you even listening? As you can see, the rice is intact without a single sack diminished. So apologize for your rudeness and be on your way. We only temporarily stored the nation's rice that nearly spoiled on the road. If anything, we could demand storage fees."
Yi Si-woo slowly raised his head and met her gaze head-on. He shook the grains from his palm onto the floor and thrust the open ledger under her nose.
"Temporary storage...? Miss, if you're going to argue logic, start by getting your terms straight. Where in Joseon's legal code does it say that stashing the nation's military provisions in a nobleman's inner quarters without central approval is called 'storage'? By the code's terms, it's misappropriation of military grain and concealment of stolen goods."
"Wh-what kind of outrageous nonsense is that? We protected it in good faith!"
"Good faith? Miss, the safe place for the nation's rice is the government granary, not a lord's inner chambers. Hiding it without reporting is explicitly recorded as misappropriation in the legal code. And one more thing I'd like to ask. Earlier, you said the pirates blocked the roads and cut off supplies, right?"
As Yi Si-woo took another step forward, she faltered and retreated.
"Then let me ask: Did the pirates so admire you that they opened the warehouse door themselves, neatly stacked the rice, and left? They blocked the road, so how did the rice crawl into your household courtyard instead of heading to Hanyang? Did it grow legs?"
"......!"
The young woman's face flushed crimson in an instant. She had no rebuttal. Her lips quivered as her eyes darted frantically, and in a last resort, she resorted to petulance.
"Anyway! No matter the reason, this rice is inside our walls, guarded with our retainers' lives. You can't just take it! This is the rightful property of the Kim household..."
Baek Dong-su, watching from the side, finally couldn't hold back a snort and turned his head. His stifled cough barely concealed his laughter. Yi Si-woo gazed down calmly at the woman firing back retort after retort. Her eyes, desperately pretending victory despite her stunning beauty, were almost pitiable.
Without hesitation, Yi Si-woo turned and raised his hand toward the soldiers.
"Load it all. Every sack."
"M-my lord! Stop! Who's there—stop the Gigi-cheong Superintendent at once!"
Despite her shout echoing through the warehouse, the Jangyongyeong troops didn't budge. Instead, the moment his order fell, they dragged carts inside.
"Brother, prepare the carts. Not a single grain or speck of dust left behind—transport it all to the Gyeongju magistrate's warehouse."
"....."
Clutching her silk skirt, she blocked Yi Si-woo's path again.
"This is illegal! Even as Gigi-cheong Superintendent, plundering a noble's private property like this—Lord Kim Gwi-ju in Hanyang won't stand for it!"
At that moment, a steward rushed up from behind, shouting desperately.
"Miss So Hee! We'll handle this, miss. Please step back!"
Yi Si-woo's eyes flickered subtly. His finger paused on the ledger, and his impassive gaze finally lingered on the woman's face.
So Hee.
A name meaning "bright glow," yet it suited this den of greed poorly. Ignoring the woman whose name had been called, Yi Si-woo added coldly,
"It's not illegal. Merely recovering illicitly seized national funds."
As he brushed past So Hee, he added icily,
"If you feel truly wronged, go to Hanyang and argue your case. Lord Kim Gwi-ju will explain well enough whether misappropriating national funds or abandoning military grain is the better charge for execution."
So Hee ground her teeth, watching Yi Si-woo's retreating back and the rice sacks pouring out of her family's warehouse. For the first time in her life, she'd been overwhelmed by logic. For the first time, her background meant nothing against this impenetrable wall of a man.
"...Just you wait. I'll make you regret this. I swear it."
She muttered low to the empty air, unheard. But Yi Si-woo's ears were filled only with the clamor of Jangyongyeong soldiers hauling carts and the triumph of reclaiming the unjustly stolen rice.
As six thousand seok of rice piled up in the Gyeongju magistrate's courtyard and Yi Si-woo stamped the [National Treasury Recovery] seal, a thunderous rumble of hooves shook the ground from the north gate.
"Main force! The Jangyongyeong main force has arrived!"
Yi Si-woo looked up at Yi Myeong-hun's shout. Four hundred elite Jangyongyeong troops, kicking up dust in their relentless charge from Hanyang, filled the courtyard in perfect formation. Their momentum alone overwhelmed Gyeongju's corrupt officials.
"Brother, designate two thousand seok of this for immediate Busanpo resupply. Leave the remaining four thousand seok here at the Gyeongju magistrate for famine relief. Tell Magistrate Kim Sa-ik to submit a distribution plan by morning."
Baek Dong-su nodded and noted it in the ledger.
"Got it. But Superintendent, what about Kim Sa-ik? He cooperated, but his crimes are grave."
"Keep him in position for now. Replacing the magistrate outright would paralyze administration. I've made sure he knows I hold his leash—he won't stray for a while."
Yi Si-woo set down his brush and gazed at the southern sky through the window. The night air was bitterly cold.
"Brother, now we head to the real battlefield. We depart for Busanpo at dawn."
Before the dawn mist had fully cleared the land, the thunder of Jangyongyeong hooves echoed through the silent Gyeongju outpost. A caravan of carts laden with two thousand seok of provisions followed behind. As Yi Si-woo passed through the gates, the distant tang of the southern sea seemed to waft toward him.
The road from Gyeongju to Busanpo was treacherous. Even escorted by Jangyongyeong elites, the carts heavy with two thousand seok of rice struggled to maintain speed. But Yi Si-woo didn't rest. From horseback, he pored over maps and cross-checked the secret ledgers seized from Gyeongju.
"Superintendent, there it is. Busanpo."
Baek Dong-su pointed, and a slate-gray sea came into view. The once-bustling port was deserted; along the coast, jagged wooden barricades and fluttering banners lay in disarray. Black smoke rose sporadically from the harbor—scars from the pirates' incendiary arrows.
The moment their hooves hit the port entrance, a sharp watchtower horn blared.
"Halt! Who goes there?"
Gyeongsang naval troops leveled spears to block the column. Yi Si-woo, still mounted, produced the Jangyongyeong badge and the king's edict.
"Jangyongyeong Gigi-cheong Superintendent Yi Si-woo. By His Highness's command, I bring five hundred troops and provisions. Tell the Naval Commander to open the way."
The soldiers glanced between the name "Jangyongyeong" and Yi Si-woo's youthful face, visibly flustered. Moments later, the heavy fortress gate swung open, and a man strode out with imposing steps.
It was Samdo Naval Commander Yu Jeon-gan. His rock-like frame, forged by decades of sea winds, bore a deeply scarred face. He eyed the badge, snorted, and spoke.
"Jangyongyeong Gigi-cheong Superintendent, eh? I thought some battle-hardened veteran from Hanyang was coming... His Highness must have a twisted sense of humor, sending a beardless youth to this savage sea."
Yu Jeon-gan's gaze held more bafflement than contempt. With pirate battles imminent, the man His Highness sent as aid was barely in his twenties.
"His Highness had his reasons for sending you, but this ain't a scholar's hall. Hanyang laws and lofty debates wash away lighter than sand in the waves. We'll take the provisions gratefully, but head to the rear barracks and rest. I don't fancy tossing away a young life needlessly."
As Yu Jeon-gan turned to order the unloading, a breathless messenger arrived, caked in dust.
"Naval Commander!"
He dropped to his knees and shouted,
"Two hundred bo ahead, off the coast—massive pirate force sighted! Landing troops number at least... a thousand, heading along the shore toward the port!"
Yu Jeon-gan's face hardened.
"Not a sea battle—a landing?"
"Yes! They're disembarking and charging straight in! Their momentum is fierce—they're aiming to raid the villages!"
Yu Jeon-gan's complexion darkened instantly. The Busanpo navy was battered from days of siege warfare. Elite troops were on standby aboard the panokseon warships, leaving only about three hundred guards at the port, riddled with casualties. Far too few against a thousand landing pirates.
"Sound the drum! Land the panokseon forces and have the port guards form a village defense line..."
As Yu Jeon-gan issued urgent orders, Yi Si-woo dismounted.
"Brother."
"On it."
Baek Dong-su grinned and drew his sword. A hundred Jangyongyeong elites silently formed ranks. Amid the Gyeongsang navy's chaos, only the Jangyongyeong stood in perfect order.
Yu Jeon-gan looked down at Yi Si-woo.
"I told you to go to the barracks."
"I will. After this battle ends."
Yu Jeon-gan eyed him a moment, then said,
"...His Highness sent you for a reason. There are two paths they're landing on. Block and hold them. The Joseon navy will annihilate and reinforce—just hold till then."
Yi Si-woo answered by wiping his blade and staring ahead. Distant screams of villagers mixed with pirate war cries. His eyes turned ice-cold.
"Jangyongyeong, advance."