The Prince Consort's Procession
Lee Go-nap-hap was in the thick of preparations for his journey to Anchuunbugu.
He had gathered some hundred of his personal retainers and extended an invitation to Ichigeo, the younger brother of Onyan Isiha.
When Ichigeo arrived at the mountain stockade where Lee Go-nap-hap lived, he was dressed quite splendidly.
"Welcome, Lord Ichigeo."
Though short and squat of build, the clothes he wore were tailored from fine fabric that had likely been procured from Joseon. His ornaments, too, were rather skillfully wrought. In every respect but his attire, he was dressed as flamboyantly as any Joseon gentleman — only the cut of his garments still bore the flavor of the wilds.
Lee Go-nap-hap fancied himself somewhat of a dandy, but standing beside Ichigeo made him feel positively shabby by comparison.
"So this is how you live. Quite a fine place, indeed. Hmm, well……"
Onyan Ichigeo glanced around. Lee Go-nap-hap's dwelling was, at the very least, a cut above a hovel — on par with a prosperous commoner's home in Joseon. The houses of his retainers were shabby by comparison, but even those were the average standard among the frontier tribes.
"……You live frugally, I see."
Lee Go-nap-hap forced a smile, though inside he was quietly seething.
"Shall we go see your men?"
"By all means."
Lee Go-nap-hap put his forces on display. In the years since he had split off from his father's household with forty cavalry, he had expanded his band to nearly three times that size, securing a base of support not to be taken lightly.
Compared to the days when he'd been dismissed as little more than a lecher and a leech on women, this was a remarkable transformation, and Lee Go-nap-hap harbored no small pride in it.
"Well? Surely even Anchuunbugu will be impressed by this much?"
He was quietly pleased with himself. Bands that could keep a hundred men under permanent command were surprisingly rare in Jianzhou.
"Hmm……"
Ichigeo twisted his neatly trimmed beard between his fingers.
"Is this all?"
"These are my household troops. A hundred and twenty cavalry, no less."
"A hundred and twenty…… well, that's not nothing."
Lee Go-nap-hap felt his gall rising. This preening peacock, dressed to the nines, couldn't muster ten household troops, let alone a hundred and twenty — and yet there he was, putting on airs as if he owned the world.
But Lee Go-nap-hap had his pride too.
"Of course that's not all. I can bring two hundred if need be."
"Two hundred…… well, that would be enough to save face, I suppose. But tell me, Lord Kunaha."
"What is it?"
"Not to boast, but my elder brother is something of a marvel himself."
Lee Go-nap-hap couldn't imagine what about that was *not* boasting, but he nodded along anyway.
"And if you intend to impress a man like that…… you'll need to look rather more splendid."
"Splendid?"
"Indeed. Look at how your soldiers are dressed."
Lee Go-nap-hap followed Ichigeo's gaze across his men. Their clothing was mismatched and patchwork — frankly, at a glance they were indistinguishable from the bandits roaming wild through Jianzhou.
"Wouldn't it be better to dress them properly? It would do you credit as well, Lord Kunaha, to cut a finer figure. Pleasing to the eye, and all that."
"Hmm."
Lee Go-nap-hap fell into thought.
Whatever a repulsive toad Ichigeo might be, the observation itself had merit. He was, after all, the Deputy Dudu of the Jianzhou Guard — shouldn't he carry himself with some magnificent style?
"But that would require money……"
"Lord Kunaha, if this goes well, you will become a Buma — a prince consort to the old Jin imperial line. A man of that stature must needs display his grandeur."
Lee Go-nap-hap's ears perked up.
"Think it over."
With that, Ichigeo took his leave. Lee Go-nap-hap summoned his trusted men Irongha and Olanggamokya and turned the proposal over with them at length.
"What do you two think?"
"He has a point, my lord. You are every bit that caliber of man, Dudu."
"He seems a man of no substance," Olanggamokya agreed, "but there is reason in what he says."
"You see?"
Lee Go-nap-hap was already half convinced. In his mind's eye, a splendid troop of cavalry had appeared — resplendent in battle armor tailored from fine silk. Truly, it seemed fitting for the royal guard of an emperor's prince consort.
Black for the uniforms? Or gold?
"But outfitting them to that standard will be genuinely difficult, my lord."
At Olanggamokya's remark, Lee Go-nap-hap sighed.
"True enough."
He was not without vanity, but he retained at least a rudimentary grasp of reality. The magnificent army of his imagination was one even his father, Lee Man-ju, would struggle to field.
It was then that Irongha spoke up.
"Wait — hold on, my lord. Isn't there a fat purse we can squeeze somewhere?"
"Who?"
"Oh, come now."
Irongha smirked slyly.
"Pushan Hadaru, of course. Who else?"
"Ahh!"
At Irongha's suggestion, Lee Go-nap-hap's face lit up and the corners of his mouth curled into a wide grin.
"That's right — Irongha, you do have a clever head on your shoulders. A wonderful idea. Let's go at once!"
Thoroughly energized, Lee Go-nap-hap immediately gathered his trusted men and galloped off to Hwangseongpyeong.
Pushan Hadaru, who happened to be eating his meal, was startled half out of his wits by this unannounced visit. He hurriedly changed his clothes and, bringing Ugunai and Wumubin along, went out to receive Lee Go-nap-hap.
"Nice place you have here. I should build myself a house like this one day."
"You speak only the truth, my lord," Irongha chimed in obsequiously.
"Hmm…… Ah, there you are, Pushan Hadaru."
"Dudu, to what do we owe this honor? What business brings you here today?"
Pushan Hadaru bowed and scraped repeatedly in his own house, while Lee Go-nap-hap lounged about as comfortably as if it were his own.
"Business? Why, business of course."
Lee Go-nap-hap swung around to look at his retainers with an insolent grin. Olanggamokya kept his silence, but Irongha smirked quite openly.
"I've come because I believe you might be able to help me."
"Yes, my lord! Whatever you need."
Pushan Hadaru smiled cravenly.
"If the Dudu commands it, of course I must help."
"Ah…… yes, I'm glad to hear you say so."
Lee Go-nap-hap nodded absently.
"You do know that marriage talks have been opened between me and the daughter of Grand Chieftain Onyan Isiha?"
"Of course, my lord. Of course I know."
"And I intend to travel to Anchuunbugu for it before long."
"Is that so? Splendid news!"
Pushan Hadaru laughed.
"The Grand Chieftain's daughter — a perfect match for the Dudu, if I may say."
"Ah, thank you. But you see, if that's the case, don't I need to cut a proper figure? Some dignity to my name?"
"Indeed. Absolutely right. Why, in the old days you'd be becoming a prince consort of the Jin dynasty itself!"
"Ah — this fellow knows a thing or two!"
Pushan Hadaru was nothing if not perceptive. He swept his eyes over Lee Go-nap-hap's attire and said,
"Might I be permitted the honor of presenting you, my lord — the future Buma — with garments worthy of the title?"
"Oh ho, that would be most welcome!"
Lee Go-nap-hap roared with laughter, and Pushan Hadaru beamed back at him.
If I win the young lord's favor, I might yet carve out a place for myself in Jianzhou.
So Pushan Hadaru thought to himself.
"But you know…… they say a prince consort's procession must be fitting to his station, as the old adage goes?"
"Pardon? Ah — yes, of course."
Pushan Hadaru managed an awkward smile. Lee Go-nap-hap grinned slyly.
"So here's the thing…… I intend to dress my men in garments befitting the occasion before I pay my visit to Anchuunbugu."
"Ah! Of course, naturally, of course."
Pushan Hadaru stole a sidelong glance at Olanggamokya and Irongha before continuing.
"Truly men of standing, the both of them. They must have fine garments made as well — I shall see to all three of you."
"Oh dear, oh dear…… Pushan Hadaru, my friend……"
Lee Go-nap-hap stepped in close — very close — to Pushan Hadaru, who shrank back.
"Wh-what is it, my lord? Have I said something amiss……?"
"It pains me, truly, how thick you can be. I've always thought so highly of you…… and yet if you disappoint me here and now, what am I to make of you?"
"Oh goodness, no — forgive me!"
Pushan Hadaru crumpled on the spot, dropping to his knees and prostrating himself before Lee Go-nap-hap.
"Please, forgive this humble wretch his offense!"
"Now, now! Come, Pushan Hadaru, there's no need for all that."
Lee Go-nap-hap looked down at him with an oily smile. He had been intending to get to the point, but there was something rather entertaining about toying with the man.
"Do you know, I wonder — why it is that I'm disappointed?"
"Th-that is……"
In truth, Pushan Hadaru was racking his brains desperately. But Lee Go-nap-hap's intentions were utterly beyond his fathoming, and all he could do was fret.
"Tsk, really now……"
Lee Go-nap-hap clicked his tongue for no reason and turned to gaze at some distant mountain. Pushan Hadaru was caught fast between a rock and a hard place.
It was then that Irongha crouched down low, leaned in, and whispered into Pushan Hadaru's ear.
"This is getting painful to watch…… Come now, think, man. A prince consort comes a-calling — and you'd have his retinue be just the two of us? Is that fitting, do you think?"
"Ahh!"
Only then did Pushan Hadaru grasp the meaning of it. The next instant, he barely managed to suppress the expression of a man being served a plate of bitter greens.
Lee Go-nap-hap affected a cough and pretended to look elsewhere, while Irongha watched him with a smirk plastered across his face.
What was there to say?
Pushan Hadaru hesitated a moment, but the answer was already half made up. What else could he possibly say?
"I have been foolish, and failed to consider it. Of course. To proclaim your authority as the future prince consort before all the world, you must lead a procession that would draw gasps of admiration from any who behold it."
"Now we understand each other! Splendid!"
Lee Go-nap-hap turned to Irongha and broke into a wide grin — the unmistakable smile of a child who has gotten exactly what he wanted.
Pushan Hadaru forced a laugh in return.
"But — how many should I prepare, my lord? If I'm to make the arrangements, I'll need at least a number to work with……"
Pushan Hadaru's mouth had gone bone dry.
How much will he demand?
Ten? Twenty? Fifty would already be a considerable burden — a serious expense in these hard times. Even if he used high-grade fabric for Lee Go-nap-hap and his cronies and clothed the rest in coarser stuff, it would still hurt. A hundred he didn't even want to imagine.
"Three hundred."
"I beg your pardon?"
Darkness closed in before Pushan Hadaru's eyes. His face turned the color of ash.
Three hundred?
He wondered if he had misheard. Even for a man as divorced from reality as Lee Go-nap-hap, this was too much — outfitting three hundred men in battle dress was an expense beyond imagining.
"Three hundred. If you can put them in silk armor, so much the better. And if you can match them with helmets and mail, better still!"
Lee Go-nap-hap squared his shoulders proudly.
In truth, the direct troops he could muster numbered a hundred and twenty; even drawing loosely from the bands nominally under his sway (bands, indeed — they might better be called gangs of bandits and ruffians), he could scrape together a little over two hundred. Three hundred was, by any measure, an outrageous asking price.
But wasn't that simply how one negotiated? Throw out something absurd, then magnanimously trim it down?
"Ideally I'd have them properly armed as well…… but I suppose that's asking too much."
Weapons, at least, even a shameless creature like Lee Go-nap-hap could not demand. Had that been possible, Pushan Hadaru would long since have handed iron over to Lee Man-ju. But cloth, leather, quilted armor, and helmets he could procure — at a ruinous cost, to be sure.
Lee Go-nap-hap fully intended to squeeze Pushan Hadaru until there was nothing left to squeeze.
"Well? Too much of a stretch?"
Lee Go-nap-hap decided to test the waters. If the man agreed, excellent; if not, even wresting two hundred out of him would leave a handsome profit.
Meanwhile, Pushan Hadaru felt as though his skull were cramping.
What do I do?
He could not bear to look at Ugunai or Wumubin. What they would say was all too obvious. For months now they had been warning him, over and over, about the company's steadily deteriorating finances.
And yet Pushan Hadaru believed this was the opportunity he had cherished his entire life. Born into a merchant house, he had wanted for nothing material — but status had always been the itch he could never scratch. Lee Go-nap-hap's reputation was nothing to boast of, but whatever anyone said, the man was certain to become the next Dudu of the Jianzhou Guard — and under the right circumstances, might rise higher still.
The world was already murmuring that within a few years, real power in Jianzhou would pass to that very man, Lee Man-ju.
Pushan Hadaru swallowed hard.
"Surely not, my lord. It can be done."
"Oh…… truly?"
He could feel it in his skin — Ugunai's eyebrows shooting up, Wumubin slowly shaking his head. But there was no turning back now. In for a penny, in for a pound — come what may!
Pushan Hadaru simply blurted it out.
"Yes. It can be done."