Monopolizing Fortunes (221)
Monopolizing Fortunes (221)
They must have been blocking anyone from entering while Gwak Pil-jung and his men killed Do Tong-dal's party.
"You're with the bastards who died inside, aren't you?"
They tried to draw the swords at their waists, but Do Tong-dal was faster. The Makya Blade had already slipped free and sent both their heads flying.
The two deaths seized every nearby gaze in an instant.
"Mu—murder!"
Someone shouted, and soon a whistle rang out. Soldiers appeared from all over the camp, not just the ones nearby.
To the soldiers of the camp, the two dead men were familiar, but Do Tong-dal's party were strangers. So Do Tong-dal's party could only look like the enemy.
"They killed our own!"
When one soldier pointed a finger at Do Tong-dal's party, soldiers with weapons drawn surrounded them in layers.
This time No Song-guk stepped forward. He couldn't leave everything to Do Tong-dal alone. They had come this far; even if he couldn't pull a full man's weight, he had to pull half a man's.
"You wretches! You dare point blades at the Provincial Commander appointed by His Imperial Majesty! You must truly be courting the extermination of your nine generations!"
At the end of his words, the thought crossed his mind: Was nine generations a bit much? I should have said three. But he couldn't very well say now, "Let's make it three generations."
In any case, it seemed to have worked. The soldiers who had looked ready to charge flinched and glanced at one another.
That was only natural, since quite a few of them had seen the imperial edict being received earlier.
"Lower your weapons this instant!"
When No Song-guk shouted once more, a few spear tips dipped downward. At that moment, someone burst out of the tent and yelled.
"His Highness and the Provincial Commander have been murdered!"
The lives of Ju Ja-ok and Gwak Pil-jung carried a different weight from the deaths of the two soldiers who had guarded the tent entrance.
As the startled soldiers adjusted their grips on their weapons, another shout rang out.
"All thirty men who went into the tent were slaughtered! Those bastards are the killers!"
When the soldier pointed at Do Tong-dal's party, the hostility of the camp's soldiers reached its peak.
A man wearing the rank of Thousand-Man Commander shouted at Do Tong-dal's party.
"You dare murder His Highness and the Provincial Commander in the Liaoning camp! Do you still hope to live after this?!"
Do Tong-dal asked the Thousand-Man Commander.
"Who are you?"
"Baek Du-ho, Thousand-Man Commander of the Left Army Command, Liaoning Province!"
"Baek Du-ho, Thousand-Man Commander. Are you plotting treason right now?"
The word "treason" from Do Tong-dal's mouth was perhaps the most terrifying word in the world. Robbery, murder, rape—the world held countless crimes.
But treason demanded more blood than all those crimes combined. If treason failed, the minimum was three generations, and in severe cases, entire families could be wiped out to the ninth generation.
Then someone burst out from the left. It was Nam Ju-bang, also dressed as a Thousand-Man Commander.
"What treason has Thousand-Man Commander Baek plotted?! On the contrary, didn't you people use His Imperial Majesty as an excuse to kill His Highness and the Provincial Commander, who were innocent!"
Another Thousand-Man Commander stepped forward and took their side. On top of that, a Command Adjutant and three Deputy Thousand-Man Commanders came forward, wailing about Do Tong-dal's party's wrongdoing.
"His Highness and the Provincial Commander were with us for years at the least, decades at the most! What possible motive could there be to brand people who could never plot treason as traitors?!"
"You're the traitors, colluding with the northern barbarians to weaken our army!"
"Seize those bastards and make them reveal why they killed His Highness and the Provincial Commander!"
The soldiers' hostility, which had wavered at the word "treason," began to burn again.
It was human nature for hearts to lean toward comrades they had rolled through the years with rather than strangers they had never seen before. So they couldn't be blamed.
The ones Do Tong-dal had to punish here were the group inciting the soldiers and trying to turn them into enemies.
So he let them keep shouting. Once the mood ripened further, more would step forward actively.
Sure enough, one Commander and one Vice Commander stepped forward.
"Your reason for killing His Highness and the Provincial Commander is clear! You were exposed because the imperial edict you brought and that identity token are fake!"
The Commander picked up where the Vice Commander left off.
"You are clearly in league with the northern barbarians! Soldiers! Strike off those three wretches' heads at once!"
"Waaah—!"
A battle cry erupted, and the encircling soldiers charged. No matter how strong Do Tong-dal's and Jang Yu-seom's martial arts were, there was no chance of victory against a hundred thousand soldiers.
No—even if they did win, killing a hundred thousand of their own soldiers was absolutely unthinkable.
So Jang Yu-seom's expression twisted harshly, and fear rose on No Song-guk's face.
"Damn it! This is going completely sideways!"
No Song-guk had no choice but to draw his sword. He didn't want to fight his own side, but he couldn't just become a nicely sliced slab of meat.
Then suddenly, with a boom, the ground shook. It heaved as if an earthquake had struck, and No Song-guk couldn't keep his footing and tumbled to the ground.
No Song-guk wasn't the only one to collapse helplessly. Most of the soldiers charging at Do Tong-dal's party couldn't withstand the shaking and rolled across the ground.
"Do you truly mean to stand on the side of traitors?!"
Do Tong-dal's voice was like thunder striking right beside the ear. No one knew how he did it, but the voice spread not just forward but in all directions, and the soldiers nearby covered their ears with pained expressions.
"Prince Yeongun died yesterday, and Ju Ja-ok died by my hand! They were killed for colluding with the northern barbarians to start a war on this land! The one who dealt them death was none other than His Imperial Majesty! And yet you dare to kill me, who follows His Imperial Majesty's command?! Do you truly not understand that this is treason?!"
The soldiers could only be thrown into utter panic. He had merely stamped his foot once, yet the earth shook, and his ringing voice struck with the force of tearing eardrums.
On top of that, Do Tong-dal's voice reaching clearly even to the soldiers at the far end of the camp was a marvel in itself.
Do Tong-dal's voice that followed was still clear, but it carried no pain with it.
"Keep this in mind: if you attack us, you become accomplices of those who plotted treason! Are you truly rebels?!"
The Commander who had been knocked down by Do Tong-dal's Earth-Shaking Step let out a shout that sounded like he was spitting blood.
"Lies! The traitor colluding with the barbarians is that bastard! Who killed His Highness Prince Yeongun, His Highness, and the Provincial Commander—!"
Do Tong-dal didn't wait for the Commander to finish. No one saw him kick off the ground, draw his sword, and swing.
Do Tong-dal had been standing in place, then suddenly seemed to appear before the Commander five jang away.
The Makya Blade, brimming with crimson energy, cut the Commander's neck. With his mouth still gaping open, the Commander's head tilted to the left. Before the head even hit the ground, Do Tong-dal killed the Vice Commander, and then cut the necks of the six who had incited the soldiers in a single breath.
The thick spray of reddish-brown blood brought silence. No one could muster anger at Do Tong-dal for killing eight men.
The martial prowess Do Tong-dal had just displayed was far too overwhelming for that. In that moment, the number of a hundred thousand soldiers lost all meaning.
The martial prowess Do Tong-dal had shown settled onto the shoulders of each of the hundred thousand soldiers with the weight of ten thousand geun.
"We are people who came bearing His Imperial Majesty's command to kill those who plotted treason and stop the northern barbarians! Anyone who does not believe this, step forward now!"
No one dared step forward. The hundred thousand soldiers would have believed Do Tong-dal was a war god descended from heaven.
"Commander Hwang Byeong-seon!"
One man came running from behind the soldiers. Yang Su-pan had told him this was the one person among the high-ranking officers in the Liaoning camp who could be trusted.
"Commander Hwang Byeong-seon, reporting as ordered!"
Hwang Byeong-seon rendered full courtesy. He too had suspected Prince Yeongun's treason, so he bore no hostility toward Do Tong-dal. He had been running over to try to hold the soldiers back.
"Let's go to an empty tent."
Hwang Byeong-seon pointed to a tent on the left.
"This way, please."
As Hwang Byeong-seon walked, he shouted to the surrounding soldiers.
"Do not act rashly under any circumstances!"
Because the high-ranking figures, including the Provincial Commander, had been wiped out by Do Tong-dal, Hwang Byeong-seon now held the highest position aside from Do Tong-dal's party.
Inside the tent were a signing table and four chairs, which fit exactly when they each took one.
Do Tong-dal's party took their seats, but Hwang Byeong-seon remained standing in a respectful posture.
"Sit."
Only after Do Tong-dal's words fell did Hwang Byeong-seon carefully take a seat.
"You must be a bit dazed, but you've roughly figured out how things went, haven't you?"
"As you say, roughly."
"Did you know Prince Yeongun was plotting treason?"
Hwang Byeong-seon let out a long sigh.
"I had my suspicions."
"And yet you didn't report it to the imperial palace?"
"I needed more certain proof. If I misstepped, my own head could fly for the crime of insulting the imperial family."
Merely suspecting treason and not reporting it could itself be punished by death. Yet Hwang Byeong-seon had spoken honestly, which made him all the more trustworthy.
"In fact, before coming here, I heard from Minister of Personnel Yang Su-pan that the only person in this camp who could be trusted with certainty was Commander Hwang Byeong-seon."
"I am overwhelmed by such words. I merely devote myself wholly to His Imperial Majesty."
"So tell me—are the ones who died by my hand today all of those who took part in the treason?"
"I have not yet identified the dead, so I cannot give you a definite answer."
"Then first identify the dead, and if there are others who were loyal to Prince Yeongun, let me know."
"Understood."
"And for the time being, Commander Hwang, serve as adjutant to Provincial Commander No Song-guk here."
Someone who knew the atmosphere of this camp well needed to stay at No Song-guk's side.
"Also, three days from now, the northern barbarians will invade."
Startled, Hwang Byeong-seon half rose from his seat.
"I—is that true?"
"We have to set out after cleaning up Prince Yeongun's remnants, so hurry. Commander Hwang, you know the camp's current officers better than anyone, don't you?"
"I believe so."
"The vacancies left by the officers who died today need to be filled, so recommend capable people."
"Understood."
"Let's move quickly."
Before leaving the tent, Do Tong-dal gave Hwang Byeong-seon firm instructions.
"Keep in mind that this is wartime now. Regardless of rank, Provincial Commander No here holds the power of life and death. Make sure the officers and soldiers know that fact."
"I will keep it in mind."
From that moment on, the busiest person was Hwang Byeong-seon. He identified the list of the dead and, to the extent he knew, handed over a list of Prince Yeongun's remnants as well.
After receiving a list of twelve names, Do Tong-dal asked.
"Are these really all of them?"
"I selected only those I was certain of. I couldn't create innocent victims."
"Hand over the suspicious ones too."
"But...."
"I promise you that no innocent person will die."
Hwang Byeong-seon had no choice but to select ten more. Then he went with No Song-guk to fill the vacant officer positions.
Meanwhile, Do Tong-dal and Jang Yu-seom mobilized the military inspectors and arrested the twenty-two people Hwang Byeong-seon had handed over.
Some resisted, but Jang Yu-seom subdued them easily. Do Tong-dal shoved all twenty-two into one tent.
As always, the interrogation was simple. He only had to ask whether they had plotted treason with Prince Yeongun.
All twelve of the people Hwang Byeong-seon had first handed over had taken part in the treason without exception. And of the later ten, three more were caught in Do Tong-dal's net.
He didn't bother with the hassle of a trial. Rather, killing only them cleanly was the better path for their families and relatives.
They spent the day that busily, and the next day a new unit arrived.
Twenty thousand soldiers of the Left Army Command from Zhejiang Province were brought in as reinforcements. The procession of twenty thousand soldiers, including supply units, seemed to stretch on endlessly.
Do Tong-dal had traveled through countless battlefields in his past life, but he had never experienced a battlefield where such a great army had gathered.
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