Bribery is Business
The smell of roasting meat and raucous laughter that had filled the training grounds all night had been swept away by the north wind.
But what lingered wasn't the languid haze of a hangover.
The 2,200 troops sat in perfect formation from the crack of dawn, eyes locked solely on Jinhyuk's lips.
The lavish meat and hot stew he'd bestowed on every slave soldier the night before had ignited a fire in their parched hearts.
Excluding Wiji Gang, Jo Pil, and the Iron Blood Unit's officers, the feast had filled every belly equally—no favoritism.
'Follow the commander, and you can live like a human.'
This simple truth had transformed the gaze in 2,200 pairs of eyes.
Now, the air in the training grounds thrummed with the fierce loyalty of a pack of starving wolves—tails wagging at their master, yet ready to tear into anyone at a single command.
Jinhyuk rubbed his throbbing temples and lifted his heavy eyelids.
'Ah, my head hurts. Did I overdo the hard liquor trying to build some guanxi? Still, worth it seeing those eyes. 2,200 men... solid two-regiment size now. A long way from brigade strength at 5,000, but big enough to draw side-eye from the Great Wall garrison. Me, with my bayonet drills? No way I can train this many myself. Gotta poach some experts.'
Jinhyuk drew his dagger and scratched a line in the dirt. He beckoned Beom Dal and Doksa to stand at the end.
"Beom Dal, we're formalizing the chain of command today. Doksa, you're 1st Regiment commander. I'll mix vets and newbies to give you 1,000 under you. The remaining 1,200 I'll command directly as the straight-leg regiment. Beom Dal, you're senior regiment staff. Stick by me, assist command, and translate my Korean orders into something they get."
Jinhyuk repeated it three or four times, staring straight into Beom Dal's eyes.
Beom Dal nodded carefully, memorizing the lip movements and tone.
Doksa, standing beside him, furrowed his brow, face screaming he couldn't make heads or tails of the Korean.
Jinhyuk smacked the back of Doksa's head lightly and drilled the order once more.
After dozens of smacks and repetitions, Doksa finally nodded dumbly.
Jinhyuk shoved Beom Dal into the center of the training grounds.
Beom Dal cleared his throat and boomed out the commander's decree.
"All eyes front! Hear the solemn command of our exalted commander and senior regiment leader! From this day, the Heavenly Wolf Unit restructures into two regiments! 1st Regiment under Doksa: 1,000 strong! Direct regiment under the commander himself: 1,200! Hwang-yeonggam the elder is appointed quartermaster. Bureaucrats to administrative and clerical roles, forming a new logistics office! Select officer POWs immediately as drill instructors to compile regiment tactics!"
As Beom Dal orchestrated the new structure with thunderous commands, Jinhyuk spotted Hwang-yeonggam in the corner, puffing his pipe and watching.
The old man ambled over, eyes hidden in pipe smoke, and jerked his chin toward the north wall battlements.
"Commander Kang, you've got a visitor. Han Noya's waiting in the Heavenly Wolf commander's tent."
Jinhyuk nodded and followed Hwang-yeonggam to the tent by the north wall battlements of The Outpost.
Inside, the din outside cut off, leaving a heavy silence.
Han Noya sat there already, fiddling with a teacup. He'd come light with the inspectorate—just a few wagons—but they brimmed with prime trade goods.
"Commander Kang, that snow wolf pelt you offered is worth its weight in gold... but warhorses and iron ingots? Can't just buy those off the books. One missing iron bar on the ledger, and my head rolls."
Han Noya feigned distress and gestured to luxuries unloaded from his wagons.
"How about this instead? Top-grade tobacco and liquor from the Central Plains, plus plenty of rice. No records, perfect for boosting your men's morale. Safer than risky iron or horses—better business for both of us."
Jinhyuk kept a cool, lordly facade, but inwardly marveled at the old fox's sleight-of-hand.
'Old man, you messing with me? Tobacco and booze? Nice to have, but luxuries right now. I need iron plates for armor and draft horses for mobility yesterday. Pros like this guy are different—already haggling like it's scripted.'
Jinhyuk bellowed for Beom Dal, who was hyping the reorganization outside.
As Beom Dal entered, Jinhyuk murmured low.
"Hey, Beom Dal. Tell the geezer: I know tobacco and booze are great, but I'm not here to party. We took 500 gold upfront—pay up or fold. Scared of risk? Quit the business. I'm not taming stallions. Scrounge up shit horses that could drop dead any day. Iron ingots, needles, thread, cotton cloth—non-negotiable. Or I walk on this deal."
Jinhyuk repeated it slowly three times.
Beom Dal pierced the intent from Jinhyuk's glare and whispered it to Han Noya.
Pressed by Beom Dal's savvy negotiation and Jinhyuk's icy aura, Han Noya tapped out his pipe and nodded.
"Heh heh... fine. Twenty catty of low-grade iron ingots and 100 steel needles from the wagons now. The rest—fifty worn-out horses, eighty catty more ingots, cotton and thread—I'll send separate once back at the fortress, dodging the inspectorate. But we gotta blindfold So Jinpyeong's eyes tight."
"Deal."
Jinhyuk replied curtly.
Meanwhile, in the inner keep offices of The Outpost, whispers stirred among So Jinpyeong's direct officers.
At Jinhyuk's order, Beom Dal handed Doksa sacks of Red Rock Salt.
Doksa, with assassin-honed speed, slipped them into officers' quarters and offices.
"What's this? Red Rock Salt? Prime stuff!"
The officers' eyes gleamed with greed as they checked the sacks.
For these outcasts dumped at the Great Wall, this quality dark salt was something only inland salt merchants or high officials touched back home.
"This Kang guy knows manners, unlike the rumors. Barbarian who doesn't speak our tongue, but deep pockets."
Soon, a meeting convened in the offices' conference room with So Jinpyeong.
As So Jinpyeong eyed a chance to squeeze the Heavenly Wolf Unit's arming, his greased officers spoke first.
"Inspector, the Heavenly Wolf Unit under Kang has imperial-level momentum. Their beast hunts will soon be merits stamped with your name."
"Agreed. He seems dead set on loyalty to you. Armor repairs? Just to bag bigger beasts, right?"
So Jinpyeong blinked at the unexpected praise but took it as proof of his own grandeur, smiling smugly.
Then Jinhyuk strode in. So Jinpyeong haughtily tilted his chin.
"Commander Kang, rumors fly you're arming 2,200 slave soldiers. Don't you know overarming slaves breeds rebellion?"
Jinhyuk met So Jinpyeong's greedy stare and tossed out in Korean.
"Inspector, I'll copy-paste those merits for you? Pretty pelts fixed up nice in a box. So just squint while we sharpen blades and craft bows—say we're prepping for hunts. Win-win, yeah?"
Beom Dal seamlessly embroidered with florid rhetoric.
"Inspector! Our commander's intent is clear. Soon, beast hides flooding The Outpost will bear your seal as merits. View these minor fixes as raising fine hounds. We'll spill the blood; you claim the glory."
So Jinpyeong's lips twitched. The scent of merits to wash away his central demotion tantalized him.
"Heh heh... Commander Kang, you speak sense. Fine, no rebellion, and I'll look away. But those promised merits report to imperial command in my name. Clear?"
"Of course."
After leaving the offices, Jinhyuk summoned Hwang-yeonggam and the drill instructors.
Work began with Han Noya's initial iron and needles.
"Quartermaster, use Han Noya's iron ingots for covert armoring. Stitch thin iron plates between beast hides for reinforced armor. Slip plates between shield wood for strength. Rods get slender iron cores."
Jinhyuk handed Hwang-yeonggam sample steel needles and continued.
With the inspectorate watching, even hiding his main force's Heavenly Wolf Bow was necessary—teaching archery would just invite suspicion.
"Two hundred smiths—push the pace. Instructors, compile elite tactics from all nations into a regiment curriculum. Spears and formations first, basics from scratch."
On the training grounds, under Beom Dal's lead, 2,200 troops chanted Korean codewords dozens of times.
"Assemble!"
"Charge!"
"Thrust!"
Jinhyuk watched, feeling the hidden weight of his Heavenly Wolf Bows.
'Just the start. Solid foundation with these materials; once Han Noya's rest arrives, we're golden. 2,200 pros' touch, covertly honed. So Jinpyeong thinks he's using me? Same here.'