Cut One and Two Grow Back - 4
The Inspectorate handling the Zhejiang region was the Left Army Inspectorate, while the one overseeing Fujian was the Front Army Inspectorate. It was a hassle that these two areas fell under different commands. I'd been agonizing over which office to visit first when—
"Branch Manager of Wenzhou Prefecture humbly greets Your Highnesses Gu Gangwang and Dong-gu Wang!"
The two kings suddenly descended, forcing my dilemma to a halt. No one could have predicted their arrival—not the Wenzhou branch office, nor I. I rushed to the docks right alongside them to greet the pair. Who could've guessed the men who'd gone off to thrash the wokou would show up here in Wenzhou?
"Oh come on, no need to grovel on the ground like that. We dropped by unannounced, and now you're making us feel bad with this welcome."
"Not at all, Your Highness! In this great Dasong, is there any place Your Highnesses cannot go?"
The branch manager cried out toward Gu Gangwang, who was stroking his beard, bowing as if ready to kowtow. His desperation tugged at my sympathy. Even a rank-four official like him would tremble facing a king, but these two had brought a fleet for a military op. With hundreds of warships anchored behind them, anyone would feel primal fear, guilty or not.
"If anything, this lowly one apologizes for failing to preemptively deal with those vile parakho blocking Your Highnesses' path!"
And if those kings had just crushed pirates off Wenzhou's coast? From the branch manager's view, it'd be a disaster worthy of foaming at the mouth and passing out. Everyone knew mountain bandits, river pirates, and sea raiders respawned like trash when forgotten. But if that trash showed up in front of a king? That changed everything.
Dust gathers naturally in any building over time. But if the division commander suddenly inspects and finds dust everywhere? Even if it's inevitable, the manager's blood runs cold. This pirate mess was just like that. Pirates might be naturally spawning filth, but if they caught a king's eye, the branch manager's competence would be questioned.
"Apologize? In this vast sea, if only one ship drifts by, that's good management."
"Gu Gangwang's right. From Ryukyu to Wenzhou, those were the only pirates we met. Seeing the branch manager's efforts for Wenzhou's security was satisfying."
But Gu Gangwang and Dong-gu Wang were veterans soaked in field experience. They knew theory and reality differed better than anyone, so they showed no anger. Instead, they praised the manager's skill and zeal, seemingly content with just that one pirate encounter.
"Th-this is an honor!"
Receiving praise instead of rebuke, the branch manager bowed deeper, voice quivering. He must've felt like he'd ascended from hell to heaven. Congrats.
"Anyway..."
Gu Gangwang, watching the manager fondly, turned his gaze to me.
"Not even surprising anymore."
Fuck.
I bowed my head solemnly at his words. Context aside, I knew exactly what he meant. Me, Gu Gangwang, Dong-gu Wang, the branch manager. An odd diplomatic summit of mismatched ranks unfolded in the manager's office.
"Hah."
"So that's what's happening."
The two kings reacted sharply upon hearing about the massive clusterfuck party in Fujian and Zhejiang.
"Big bandit dens collapse, so the small and mids go wild. Reminds me of when we crushed the linyi."
"Bandits have this weirdly ironclad hierarchy. Insurbordination's rampant inside a den, but between dens, the pecking order's crystal clear."
"Hilarious, right? They flout imperial law but keep their own rules. Makes no sense."
They trashed the bandit backlash in Fujian first.
"And what? Pirates claiming descent from the Marquis of Huangyan? They're solidly insane."
"Parakho daring to invoke a marquis's name. We can't let that slide—"
"Pirates loafing around on land instead of water?"
"...That bothers you?"
On the pirates self-proclaiming as Marquis of Huangyan's heirs and hitting the mainland, they scorned the impudence and cowardice. But amid it, Gu Gangwang fumed not over the title claim, but them abandoning sea for land. A bizarre rage point.
Why snap at that?
Are you bummed your killable sea trash is shrinking?
Pirates in southern Zhejiang anyway—you'd never cross paths.
Gu Gangwang roamed the Yangtze; southern Zhejiang pirates were Dong-gu Wang's turf. Normally, he'd smash them or ignore. Fair question, but I kept it internal. Gu Gangwang was never one for common sense anyway.
"Those guys we nabbed earlier. Decent loot for their numbers, right?"
Gu Gangwang, pausing thoughtfully, eyed Dong-gu Wang.
"Yeah. Thought they were just oversized pests poking around at first, but nah—they were transporting."
"Looks like those 'Marquis of Huangyan heirs' were hauling sea booty to land."
Dong-gu Wang closed his eyes briefly.
"Branch manager."
"Yes, Your Highness Dong-gu Wang!"
"Fetch the torture kit. Bandit sweeps take time, but we handle name-defilers quick."
"Right away!"
Dong-gu Wang calmly ordered pirate interrogation. No one pitied the limbless wretches. Live like scum, prepare to die by the law. No way they picked piracy without that resolve. Even if not pirates, invoking a Dasong marquis casually warranted beheading—navy or not.
"Who's the Marquis of Huangyan again?"
"...Pardon?"
Right after the manager left for tools, Gu Gangwang casually asked.
No way.
Gu Gangwang and the marquis were same generation, right? Even if Huangyan surrendered late, a Mongol-titled figure? No way he didn't know.
"Means Fang Jin."
"Oh, Fang Jin was Huangyan? Forgot the title calling him by name."
I sighed inwardly in relief at his sheepish chuckle. He knew the man, just blanked on the title. Good—nearly summoned Huangyan's ghost with resentment.
"You're persistent. Even if Huangyan was ex-pirate, Taizu granted him marquis—still salty?"
"Salty? Just a bit miffed! Know how bad I wanted a showdown with Fang Jin? Few match his naval skill—I prepped thoroughly! Who'd guess surrender right before battle?!"
I bowed quietly at his earnest rant. Felt like facing a truth best unknown.
"Anyway, chasing wokou remnants instead of pirates. World makes no sense."
"Don't say that out loud. Folks might think Huangyan bred real pirates."
"There's a connection, no?"
"Drop it."
While spacing out bowing, I caught odd words.
Wokou subjugation instead?
What? Sounded like they bailed without fighting wokou.
Impossible. Two Dasong kings—including wokou-obsessed Gu Gangwang—with hundreds of ships. Large-scale op. And they just... returned?
"Your Highnesses."
"What's up, Han Un?"
"Any issues during the campaign?"
Gu Gangwang's brow furrowed fast.
"Right, haven't told you yet. Hear me out!"
His rant—packed with gripes and fury—boiled down simple:
They got scooped.
Someone stole their turn. The big wokou event, snatched by Goryeo—of all places—with its messy ties to Dasong.
"Never thought those lunatics would expedition right away! Civil war with tens of thousands just ended—counterattack in under a year? Insane!"
Couldn't argue, so I nodded. In real history, Yi Seong-gye's Hwangsan wokou smash and Bak Wi's Tsushima conquest were 8-9 years apart. This world's Goryeo weaker, yet still blistering speed.
"So we skipped wokou, toured Ryukyu instead. They were polite, unlike Goryeo."
He kept bashing Goryeo, but I knew: not hate, just sore over lost chance. If they'd said, "Too tough alone—team up?", he'd praise Goryeo as Dasong's finest tributary now.
Yangtze River Eighteen Bandits birthed a monster...
Flash of the culprits behind Gu Gangwang's family slaughter—and his pirate hate. No such chaos, no monster. River pirates never helped anyone.
Super-coward ex-pirates, now bandits dodging Gu Gangwang, targeted niche markets. But hauling old pirate treasure? Caught by the very king they fled—hybrid fools spilled everything at interrogation. Realized their fate, ditched resistance.
"We didn't just land blindly! Allied some Fujian dens already!"
"Teamed big Nokyong Band too, but they got smashed mid-base hunt..."
"Fujian's bandit-saturated; picked looser Zhejiang!"
Gu Gangwang nodded calmly at their unprompted flood.
"Since we're here, might as well wipe 'em all."
Inspectorates sidelined; time for kingly action.