Beyond the Border
It was only natural that Ho-in should lose his way; had Hong-wi been slowing him down, they would have been even later. If that had happened, the two of them might well have run out of provisions in the mountains and perished from exhaustion by now.
The Master certainly didn't take him on for nothing.
Cha Gyeong-yeon found himself quietly reassessing Hong-wi.
But the road Hong-wi would have to forge ahead through was destined to be something far greater than mere physical hardship. Could this boy king see it through? At the very least, the start had not been bad.
"By the way, what do you make of that fellow Han Ga-ryeong?"
Hong-wi broke the silence. But even Cha Gyeong-yeon could hardly offer a ready answer.
"It is impossible to say. What that Han Ga-ryeong stood to gain from what he did, I cannot even begin to guess."
"He's said to be of commoner stock. Not a noble bloodline, that is."
Hong-wi spoke, lost in thought.
"At one point he told me the tribes of the wild lands have customs in which men contend for a chieftain's seat. I didn't grasp what he meant at the time, but looking back on it now, it was strange. It almost seemed as though he wanted me to challenge for my throne once more."
Cha Gyeong-yeon tilted his head, somewhat dubious.
"Well, even so, he is no one known to me or to Master Jeong. But among the wild tribes, there are those who hold your lineage in a kind of awe, Your Majesty. Didn't even the Great King Taejo, after all, keep trusted men of commoner stock at his side? This one may be connected to such a line."
"Ah, that did happen."
Hong-wi nodded, recalling the Jurchen chieftains he had seen at the Cheonggye Mountain hunt.
"Still, that Han Myeong-hoe would send such a man, of all people — it defies understanding."
"Perhaps... perhaps that too is a kind of fortune," Cha Gyeong-yeon answered slowly.
"If this is fortune, then it is a truly cruel one. There have been far too many sacrifices," Hong-wi murmured.
He thought of the Six Martyred Ministers, his uncle Grand Prince Geumseong, the old man Jeon Jung-jae, his father-in-law Song Hyo-bin — and Queen Hyo-bin, more precious to him than anyone. He lowered his head in silence.
The other two men watched him quietly. At length, Hong-wi slowly lifted his head. His eyes were filled with resolute will.
"...I must live carrying their sacrifice with me. That is my duty to the dead. And so — I must now learn what my future master, Master Jeong Ho-chan, truly intends for me!"
For a moment, both Cha Gyeong-yeon and Ho-in felt themselves overwhelmed by the spirit of that young king. This boy truly possessed a presence he had been born with.
Cha Gyeong-yeon thought to himself that when he reached manhood, he would indeed become a monarch of formidable majesty.
"I must know what it is I could possibly do on the northern frontier, and what is expected of me there," Hong-wi continued.
"Though I have been made a king of straw, it is not as though I can neither see nor hear anything. Since old Yi Jing-ok of Wonbong was slaughtered, the magistrates of Hamgil Province have been replaced, one and all, with men my uncle Suyang trusts. The situation in Pyongan Province is no different."
Cha Gyeong-yeon nodded. Ho-in still looked unconvinced.
"To be sure, the people of Hamgil are men of fierce spirit and free temperament; they are not the sort to bow easily to the authority of the court Suyang has seized. But even Hamheung, where the Great King Taejo laid his foundations, has lacked any worthwhile foothold for decades now. With things as they are, I cannot be certain there is any other ready remedy to be found there."
Ho-in said nothing. In truth, he had thought only of carrying out his father's last wish by getting Hong-wi to safety in the north — nothing beyond that. He had no clear plan for what to do once they arrived.
"You are precisely right," Cha Gyeong-yeon said. "Your Majesty's insight is exceptional. Yes — in truth, there is no way forward within Joseon itself. Both Master Jeong and I see it that way."
"What?" Ho-in raised his head. Hong-wi, for his part, showed little surprise.
"I thought as much. Then what did you intend to do? If there is no way within Joseon's borders, then—"
Hong-wi frowned. Surely not Ming? It was plausible, but on reflection, unlikely. Ming had suffered a catastrophic defeat at the hands of the Tatars only a few years ago, its emperor himself taken captive, and since then the dynasty had shown nothing like its former vigor abroad. Nor was that all. Yongle, the third Ming emperor, had seized the throne from his own nephew, the second emperor Jianwen — just as Suyang had seized it from Hong-wi. Weigh that, and while one might shelter oneself under Ming's roof, Ming would never actively raise itself for Hong-wi's sake. It would amount to spitting in its own face, wouldn't it?
"Not Ming, then," Cha Gyeong-yeon nodded. And then there was only one answer left.
"You mean to have me cast my lot with the wild tribes?"
Ho-in's face went white with shock. Born and raised in Gyeongsang Province, he had never in his life set foot in the wild lands, nor even come near them. To him, the tribes of the frontier were an ominous, untrustworthy breed of people. That he had journeyed all the way to the northern frontier, where those tribes held sway, was purely for his father's dying command and his own loyalty — that he must protect His Majesty.
Neither could Hong-wi entirely hide his bewilderment. When he had first heard of the flight north, he had assumed they would merely hide themselves somewhere in Hamgil or Pyongan Province; it had never occurred to him that they would leave Joseon altogether.
"Even if I am a king without a kingdom, what am I to do wandering alone into barbarian lands?"
"Your Majesty!" Ho-in cried out. "Impossible. Hamgil Province is vast. Somewhere we could hide Your Majesty and—"
"Vast? Vast in what way? Well, I grant you, if all you count is acreage, it is vast. But most of it is barren land where not a single soul lives. The ground fit for habitation is scarce, and what little there is, Suyang grips tight. As His Majesty said just now, the men of Hamgil are hardy folk — but do not imagine they can simply shake off Suyang's hand. If they could, His Majesty would never have been driven to this point in the first place."
Cha Gyeong-yeon spoke calmly. Ho-in's face burned crimson. He was opening his mouth to shout when Hong-wi raised a hand to stop him.
"He has a point. But neither is the land of the wild tribes guaranteed to be safe. Even while I still held the throne, I remember receiving a steady stream of detailed intelligence on the frontier. South of the Amnok and Tumen Rivers, of course, among the settled tribes — but across the rivers too, Suyang's hand can reach as far as it pleases."
"That is true. But not all of it is so. Since old Yi Jing-ok was slaughtered, no small number of the tribes who feared him have been wavering. In Jianzhou Guard, Yi Man-ju is rising to prominence once more. And though decades have passed since he departed, the awe of the Great King Taejo still lives on — the people of that land still sing of him."
Cha Gyeong-yeon carried on in an even voice.
"And even though the tribes once submitted to Your Majesty's court... their submission is deeply double-edged."
"I know they are divided between the beonho who bow to the court and the jeokho who defy it. I know how readily they change their loyalties. My ministers say it is simply the unrefined habit of the wild tribes — is it not?"
"That is part of it. But there is something else Your Majesty must understand: they carry the pride of being the descendants of the great empire that once commanded the Central Plains. Though they have fallen into deep decline, they have not forgotten that even the people of Joseon once bowed beneath their yoke."
Ho-in cleared his throat awkwardly. To him, the wild tribes were simply barbarians, nothing more.
Cha Gyeong-yeon smiled faintly. "True enough — but that is how they see it, and it happens to be the truth. Though it was all some hundreds of years ago now. In any case, the way they look upon us is rather complicated. Understand this well, and if Your Majesty can take hold of their hearts, they will never bind Your Majesty and send you across the Amnok."
"We must pray it so," Hong-wi said quietly.
"Of course. I am hardly making this long journey to hand Your Majesty over to traitors. We must somehow find a safe corner even within the lair of the tribes," Ho-in grumbled. Cha Gyeong-yeon laughed.
"Once you grow used to them, you'll see they're people just like the rest of us. Their customs are a little different, is all. Now then — shall we be off?"
Before they knew it, the ninth month by the lunar calendar had passed its midpoint — nearly two months since Hong-wi had fled Yeongwol. In the time between, several storms of blood had swept through Hanyang.
Grand Prince Geumseong, Lee Yu, who had failed in his attempt to restore Hong-wi and been arrested, was put to death by royal decree, and Magistrate of Sunheung Yi Bo-heum and all implicated with him were slain alongside him. Worse still, the household of Song Hyo-bin — Hong-wi's father-in-law, who had joined the restoration movement — was torn apart root and branch. Thus was every power base from which Hong-wi's loyal defenders might have drawn uprooted entirely.
And yet Hong-wi's own whereabouts remained utterly shrouded. This did not sit well with Suyang. Irritated, he neglected the affairs of state while burying himself in hunting and archery. That day, too, he was enjoying his bow at Gyeonghoe Pavilion with his cronies in attendance.
"Becoming king, and what does it feel like? Like being fitted with shackles. I've even got to lug around that burden they call a historiographer. I don't know how Father (King Sejong) and my brother (Munjong) ever put up with this!"
Suyang laughed heartily, and the trusted minions who now each clung to at least one high office laughed with him. Minister of Personnel Gwon Ram spoke.
"Even so, Your Grace cuts a fine figure upon the throne."
"Ah — that much is true! But there are so many useless trappings. Those censors of yours run their mouths about how we're all lining our pockets. And one can't even order them silenced without a fuss!"
At that, Gwon Ram, Han Myeong-hoe, Hong Yun-seong, and the rest of the cronies laughed with strained, sheepish faces. For it was precisely they who had thrown themselves into enriching themselves since seizing power.
"It is true that affairs of state demand some wealth now and then — but mind your measure. Those damned censors are a pestilence. The fools can't even grasp whose backs they're sitting on."
"Long live Your Grace." Suyang roared with laughter. But the mirth drained from his face quickly enough.
"Now then, about that matter."
"Yes, Your Grace." The minions tensed. And just as expected, the dreaded topic fell.
"Where on earth has that Hong-wi gotten to? If he lives, he ought to have been dragged back by now; if he's dead, we should at least have his corpse delivered. So why is it that to this day there is not a word?"
"If he perished in the mountains, it may be hard enough for so much as a scrap of his remains to survive," Minister of Rites Hong Yun-seong ventured. Suyang let out a discontented grunt.
"It has been a full month since Hong-wi's party was last sighted leaving Wonju."
"Your Grace, there is no proof anywhere that those men were actually Lord Nosan."
"Warriors personally handpicked by the Minister of War himself were slain, and three horses lost — practically at the provincial commandery's front gate!" Suyang snapped with irritation.
"Could some common bandit be so audacious? The moment one steps from Yeongwol onto the slopes of Chiaksan, one is in Wonju. If not the remnant of Lord Nosan's men, who else would do such a thing?"
The minions fell into silence at once.
"To think we cannot even learn where the boy has fled to. And from his wife? Have you gleaned nothing from her?"
"With apologies... she is terribly stubborn," Chief Royal Secretary Han Myeong-hoe reported. Hong Dal-son cleared his throat.
Queen Hyo-bin had come down to Yeongwol to follow her husband, only to be seized by the warriors Hong Dal-son had dispatched and made into bait. In that situation, she had astonishingly tried to throw away her own life to set Hong-wi free.
A vicious woman, that one. But if she were my own wife, I doubt I could have done even that much.
Having heard the whole account from his men who had returned alive with the queen, Hong Dal-son thought her ruthless even as he could not help admiring her inwardly.
"Interrogation would be proper," he said.
"Is that truly necessary?" Suyang's reaction was unexpectedly lukewarm. It was Suyang, after all, who had pursued absolute royal power more than anyone — Suyang who had raised a coup for it. Traitor or rival though she might be, Hyo-bin was kin to the royal house by marriage — and above all, she was a woman. Come to think of it, the very man who had recommended her as Hong-wi's lawful bride had been Suyang himself.
And Suyang hesitated for another reason besides.
"Hong-wi is a traitor and deserves death... but a wife who followed her husband all the way to Yeongwol and then tried to take her own life for him has no precedent, ancient or modern."
Suyang, too, had been deeply struck by Hyo-bin's conduct. Had it been mere regret at having made her a queen destined, before long, for the begging bowl, he would not have bothered with such delicacy. Indeed, he had crushed without hesitation the very family he himself had recommended into Hong-wi's in-laws. He was profoundly admiring of a resolve and fidelity in Hyo-bin that rivaled her husband's.
Had I known the girl was such a paragon, I should never have sent her to Hong-wi — I should have made her my own daughter-in-law.
"A traitor's daughter and traitor's wife, yes — but she was once a member of the royal house all the same. Interrogation is unseemly. And would a woman who tried to cast away her life for Hong-wi now grovel to save her own skin?"
"Understood, Your Grace."
"How wretched must Hong-wi be, that he abandoned his own wife and fled. A worthless husband, and she deserves better. What could such a man have said to his own wife? Nothing worth extracting, and nothing to extract."
Even while praising Hyo-bin, Suyang did not forget to snipe at Hong-wi in the aftertaste.
"Is she still imprisoned in the Uigeumbu?"
"She is."
"I wish to see the girl myself. Have her brought in upon my return to the palace." Han Myeong-hoe was a little dissatisfied. Once that happened, the spectacle before the world's eyes would not be a graceful one. But he knew well that once Suyang fixed his mind on something, he never turned it back.
Then Gwon Ram spoke. "By the Great Ming Code, the wife of a traitor must be made a slave. What is Your Grace's will?"
The Great Ming Code was the Ming law that Joseon, as yet lacking a legal code of its own, had adopted. There had long been recognition that, since domestic circumstances and customs could never be identical to Ming's, Joseon needed its own statutes — but the undertaking was so vast that it had yet to be begun.
"That must follow the law. But though her station be that of a slave, she must not be treated with contempt." Suyang pondered a moment. "How about entrusting her to one of the Meritorious Subjects of the Jeongnan Restoration?"
At those words, the cronies glanced around at one another. Every one of them, in his own way, admired Hyo-bin — but taking charge of her sat ill with them all. As Suyang himself had said, had she not been a member of the royal house?
Left State Councillor Shin Suk-ju interposed. "As Your Grace says, Lord Nosan's queen is a remnant of traitors — yet she was a member of the royal house. How could your humble servants dare to keep her beneath us?"
"Hm, that is true enough. I will think on her treatment." Suyang nodded and closed the matter.