The Weight of Iron and Blood
I sent Song Eok, the man of iron blood, on his way and summoned Mao Sui.
“You called for me.”
Perhaps it was because he had returned from serving in the Alliance Army, carrying on Lord Pingyuan’s will to stand against Qin. Mao Sui’s attitude toward me had grown noticeably more respectful than before.
“Have you heard as well, Lord Mao Sui?”
“If it concerns the Guan-gang-beop, then yes.”
“What is your assessment?”
“If this is the foundation of the great cause Your Highness has prepared….”
Mao Sui paused deliberately, as if to show how difficult it was to offer a judgment. Then he delivered a startling verdict.
“Your Highness has already surpassed Lord Pingyuan.”
“…Indeed.”
Mao Sui, who had not hesitated to observe three years of mourning for Lord Pingyuan. His evaluation carried all the more weight because it came from him. The weight of the steel sword Song Eok had left behind felt like a pillar holding up the entire realm.
“If this falls into Qin’s hands, the Alliance Army will lose all meaning.”
“Truly so.”
“It must be protected at all costs. Treat the craftsmen involved in the Guan-gang-beop and their entire families with the utmost respect, but monitor their identities in real time to prevent any from slipping away. If any suspicious individuals attempt to approach them, stop them by any means necessary. I authorize you to act first and report afterward.”
“I will keep it in mind.”
The Republic of Venice had relocated all its glass craftsmen and their workshops to the island of Murano to prevent the leakage of its foundational industry. Though such measures might draw even more attention, they demanded exceptional vigilance.
The Cho-gang-beop was one thing, but the Guan-gang-beop must never be leaked. Even if the former spread, Yan—home to the most advanced ironworking techniques—would still struggle to replicate it. But the Guan-gang-beop was far too simple. All one needed was to amplify heat with waterwheels and draw out steel through the co-fusion method.
“Still, thanks to Your Highness’s foresight in directing the spies’ attention toward the political strife, security will be considerably easier. A truly prescient move.”
“It was done with the Cho-gang-beop in mind, yet something even greater has emerged… We’ll need to strengthen security even further.”
“Of course. For the time being, I will entrust internal Yan intelligence to Jing Ke and the Wumyeong Trading Company while I focus entirely on the Guan-gang-beop.”
Reliable as always. If Mao Sui was committing his full effort, I could set aside at least one worry regarding the security of the Guan-gang-beop.
“What about the other matter?”
“The King of Yan’s movements are proceeding exactly as anticipated. Given that he is also reaching out to Lord Xiao Dai, who once led the old Ancha Army faction, it seems he has not yet realized that Lord Xiao Dai has already pledged himself to Your Highness.”
The King of Yan—my father, who clung so desperately to his own safety. I had never believed he would relinquish power so easily. But neither would I. That was why I had secretly approached and won over Yan’s key figures one by one, turning them into my own people. In the military, there were Jin Kai, Ji Xin, and Yue Jian. In the court, there were Guo Wu and Xiao Dai.
It appeared the King of Yan had tried to draw Xiao Dai in by promoting him from a mere guest minister to the rank of Upper Minister, but that would not be enough. Xiao Dai was not a man who chased wealth and glory. He moved for the great cause of alliance—something his elder brother had failed to complete. For him to follow a king who pursued only personal power and safety was as impossible as the sun rising in the west.
That he fails to understand even this only proves how limited the King of Yan’s insight truly is.
I could not entrust Yan to him. If the King of Yan retained power, Yan would ultimately be dragged into Qin’s orbit. Qin, which wielded both war and diplomacy with masterful precision, was truly a virtuoso of the whip and the carrot. Its devilish ability to divide and conquer—reminiscent of the British Empire at its peak—had shattered the alliance of the feudal states time and again. Only on rare occasions, when towering figures like Gongsun Yan, Su Qin, or the Four Gentlemen of the Warring States emerged to serve as focal points, had the alliance managed to overcome Qin’s countless obstructions.
Now, Lord Xinling and Lord Chunshen remained. But even they could not last forever. We had to prepare for the time after they were gone.
“Have there been any further updates regarding the alliance army Xiang Yan mentioned, the one meant to chastise Qi?”
“As it happens, a message has arrived from Chui Yan.”
“Oh?”
This was welcome news indeed. Mao Sui handed me a bamboo slip, saying the man had sent a proper letter. I quickly accepted it and unrolled the strip.
I offer my respectful greetings. Your Highness the Crown Prince has already passed the age of intellectual awakening and is now nearly seventeen years old.
After a simple greeting, Chui Yan briefly recounted his travels. It seemed that after persuading Ji Xin, he had gone to Jixia Academy in Qi. There he spoke with old acquaintances before crossing over to Chu, just as I had heard.
This letter is being written in Nanling, where my former mentor, Master Xun Huang, resides. It is a fine place. The name itself carries a great purpose worthy of fulfillment.
Nanling. For some reason, the name felt strangely familiar.
Now that I have wandered the realm and accomplished all I set out to do, I intend to return to Yan.
At last, it seemed Chui Yan would be freed from his long life of restless wandering. Once he returned, I hoped he would stay by my side and assist me, much like the late Master Jeon Gwang. As a yin-yang scholar well-versed in the twenty-four solar terms, Chui Yan also possessed considerable knowledge of agriculture. With iron farming tools soon to be distributed, combining his expertise with them would make us the envy of even Do Gang-eon.
I also have someone I wish to introduce to Your Highness. We will return together, so please take care of your health until then. With deepest respect, Chui Yan.
I rolled the bamboo slip back up and spoke to Mao Sui.
“Master Chui says he is returning.”
“It is about time. Considering the location and timing from which this letter was sent, he should already be in Qi or Zhao by now.”
“He mentioned coming with a companion he wishes to introduce to me. Wasn’t there someone you intended to speak of last time, Lord Mao Sui?”
“Indeed there was. But since he says the man will arrive soon, it would be better for Your Highness to deduce it yourself. Unless Master Xun Huang is coming from Chu, the identity of the person is already decided.”
I smiled faintly at Mao Sui’s words. In truth, I already had a fairly good idea. He had given me all the necessary clues the last time. If Chui Yan had gone all the way to distant Chu, the connection could not be ordinary. Though I had expressed it with some uncertainty, if Mao Sui’s words were correct, then the person I had in mind was almost certainly right.
I spoke my conclusion with confidence.
“It is Gu Jing.”
When King Soyang of Yan bought the bones of a thousand-li horse from Guo Kai, talented men flocked to him from across the realm. Yue Yi came from Wei. Ji Xin from Zhao. Chui Yan from Qi. Su Qin from Zhou. And Gu Jing from Chu. When these men gathered, King Soyang built a lofty pavilion by the waters of the Yi River. Those who assembled there were called the “buried bones of fine steeds,” and the pavilion itself became known as the Golden Terrace.
Chui Yan had persuaded Ji Xin and then set out to meet Gu Jing. To rebuild the Golden Terrace.
“Exactly. If Gu Jing joins us, a second Golden Terrace will rise tall and proud.”
Su Qin had his younger brother Xiao Dai. Yue Yi had his son Yue Jian. This was truly a reunion of those who had built Yan’s golden age, along with their successors. I did not know Gu Jing’s character well, but being grouped alongside Chui Yan, Ji Xin, Yue Yi, and Su Qin meant his abilities were surely far from ordinary.
Talent was always better in greater numbers. I had already entrusted diplomacy to Xiao Dai and personnel affairs to Guo Wu, so I needed someone who could focus solely on internal administration. I hoped Gu Jing excelled in that area.
Perhaps sensing my anticipation, Mao Sui spoke with a touch of playful mischief.
“At this rate, I wonder if we should start collecting gold.”
“Instead of gold, let us prepare something else. How about an Iron Terrace?”
“Hah, an Iron Terrace. If it is a display of how much iron we possess, that would not be bad at all.”
Mao Sui seemed to take it as a joke, but I was entirely serious. If I had decided to emulate King Soyang, then I ought to do it properly. I would embrace his talented retainers and their successors and walk in his footsteps. In doing so, I would strengthen Yan and win its people’s support. Wasn’t this what I had been preparing for since the very day I first met Lord Pingyuan long ago?
“Let us truly do it. We will make the beams and pillars of the first floor out of steel. Let us show them the greatness of iron—so that even those who still feel aversion toward iron tools will gasp in admiration and grow impatient to use them.”
“Won’t it rust?”
“If we coat it with tin, it will not rust. Iron is about to replace bronze in every respect. What use would we have for hoarding tin?”
A well-crafted steel structure could become a landmark all by itself. Just as the Eiffel Tower became the symbol of France despite the existence of the opulent Palace of Versailles, people might initially see it as an eyesore, but constant exposure to the unique beauty only steel could offer would eventually captivate them.
It would also serve as practice for iron-smelting techniques and provide a convenient use for the troublesome scrap iron produced during Cho-gang-beop research.
“But wouldn’t that make it difficult to maintain secrecy around iron?”
“What we must protect is the technology. Iron tools themselves will inevitably leak eventually.”
Should we refrain from making farming tools out of fear that ironware would spread? That was impossible. Nor could we stop producing weapons. And once iron tools were sufficiently distributed throughout Yan, I intended to sell them.
“Let us make it so that none of the feudal states can survive without Yan’s ironware.”
At the entrance to the road leading from Zhao into Yan, a small procession had halted for a brief rest.
Chui Yan, whose hair had now turned completely white, quietly watched the man sitting across from him as he surveyed the surrounding landscape.
“As expected of Yan. It is truly a distant land. So different from our Chu. The air is crisp, and instead of wetlands, solid ground stretches out before us.”
“Because they are two countries standing at opposite ends of the realm.”
“Yet those two countries will become the greatest pillars to stand against Qin in the days to come.”
The man’s eyes seemed to gaze upon a scene far in the future. Even Chui Yan found it difficult to guess what lay within that mind. He could not understand why someone bearing such an immense burden would travel all the way to this distant foreign land. Yet the man behaved as though none of that mattered, his expression filled with anticipation for the meeting that awaited him in the capital.
“Let us see whether he truly deserves to succeed the Four Gentlemen.”