Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Great King Namsaeng
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He spoke up, completely oblivious to what was on my mind.
"I'd heard a diplomatic delegation was coming from Goguryeo, but I never imagined they'd come all the way to Geumma Temple."
"It's because of the rumors that a dragon lives here."
It was meant as a joke, but it put not only the man himself on edge but also Buyeo Seung standing beside him. Damn, I thought to myself.
There was only one goal for this trip to Baekje: to support Crown Prince Uija in ascending to the throne. And through a joint operation, to seize the Han River basin from Silla.
That would cut off Silla's exchanges with the Tang Dynasty. It was the first step in rewriting history.
No matter how brilliant a strategist I was or how much I knew about the future, it would be tough to face the Tang in a decisive battle with Silla at our backs.
In actual history, Silla forces had once supplied food to the Tang army when it was besieging Chang'an.
That happened after Baekje, which could have checked Silla, had fallen.
So, until the showdown with the Tang, we had to use Baekje to keep Silla in check.
To do that, I needed to ensure King Uija didn't make any mistakes. But I'd already doused his enthusiasm right from the start. Fortunately, the crown prince brushed it off without much concern.
As he turned and looked up at the wooden pagoda still under heavy construction, he asked,
"It should be complete by next month. What do you think of it?"
I'd once seen a model of this pagoda in the lobby of the National Iksan Museum at the Mireuk Temple site in modern times.
Building a wooden pagoda this tall without heavy machinery was nothing short of astonishing.
As I gazed up alongside him, I murmured without thinking,
"Simple yet not shabby, ornate yet not extravagant."
Crown Prince Uija, hearing my words, smiled faintly.
"Frugal without being crude, splendid without excess."
In truth, this line came from the opening of the Baekje annals in the Samguk Sagi, penned by Kim Busik. But the crown prince seemed pleased with it.
"I'll keep that deeply in mind."
"The pagoda is truly beautiful. Once Mireuk Temple is complete, what will you turn to next?"
"As crown prince, I must follow Father's will."
I could feel his profound filial piety down to his bones. But after seeing him here, I realized the situation he was in.
The kingdom's second-in-command and heir apparent was dozens of ri away from the capital. He was overseeing the reconstruction of a temple, yes.
Noticing my expression, Crown Prince Uija chuckled cheerfully.
"What are you thinking so deeply about?"
"I've been pondering ways to ensure this Mireuk Temple endures for ages."
"Wouldn't keeping it well-maintained suffice?"
"Regular repairs would help it last, but that's not enough."
"What more is needed, then?"
To his polite yet probing question, I looked up at the pagoda and replied,
"Stopping those who would burn it down."
"Who would dare set fire to the wooden pagoda of a temple King Mu himself ordered built?"
"Silla would burn it down hundreds of times over."
"How could those barbarians march all the way here?"
"To govern a nation, you must always prepare for the worst of the worst. Is there an uncrossable sea between Silla and here? Or an insurmountable mountain?"
"Since Father ascended the throne, Baekje has been steadily pushing back Silla and achieving results."
"Of course. But a fight only ends when it's truly over."
It was a slight twist on the famous American baseball player Yogi Berra's line: "It ain't over till it's over."
Go Jeong-ui, watching from the side, looked tense. But he quickly tried to compose himself.
To shake the mind of Crown Prince Uija, who had long hidden his true feelings, there was no choice but to press hard.
Perhaps to mask his rising irritation, the crown prince looked up at the pagoda.
Workers were laboriously hauling up tiles and timber via scaffolding surrounding the tower.
"I've thought it odd ever since you asked to meet me alone. But I never expected such pie-in-the-sky talk."
"How do you assess the current situation, Your Highness?"
"Under Father's rule, Baekje is growing stronger. Silla is fading like the setting sun. As for Goguryeo..."
He glanced at me briefly before adding,
"It's still the tiger of the north."
"The world doesn't consist only of our three kingdoms. Across the southern seas lie Wa, to the north are nomadic tribes like the Tujue and Khitan, and to the west is the Tang, which has unified the Central Plains."
"The Tang has only just unified the Central Plains and won't have the bandwidth for external affairs yet."
"Li Shimin, who just killed his brothers and claimed the throne, will quickly quell that chaos. Then he'll turn his sights back on Goguryeo."
"What does that have to do with us?"
"Isn't it a case of 'the lips are gone, the teeth feel cold'? If Goguryeo falls, Baekje will face the Tang directly. And if Silla allies with the Tang, what then?"
Crown Prince Uija snorted at my words.
"I heard the Silla queen was mocked by the Tang emperor."
"Silla won't give up. If Silla joins forces with the Tang to invade Baekje, can you stop them?"
He scowled at my question.
"We've sent tribute to the Tang and received investiture. There's no special grudge. Even the Tang has no reason to cross the vast sea with an army."
"What if..."
I paused briefly before continuing.
"Silla offers to help attack Goguryeo in exchange for the Tang attacking Baekje together? What then?"
Hearing that, Crown Prince Uija scoffed in disbelief.
"That's pure fantasy. Even if Silla proposed it, would the Tang accept?"
Realizing things wouldn't go smoothly, I glanced up at the pagoda.
At that moment, a worker carrying a basket of stones up the scaffolding glanced down. His eyes were blood-red.
It sent a chill down my spine, but I decided to keep watching for now.
There was a more pressing issue.
"If the Tang attacks Goguryeo, they'll use the same strategy as the Sui. The army crosses the Liao River by land, the navy enters via the Paekgang River by sea, and they besiege Chang'an."
"Probably."
"For that to succeed, the army must break through the defenses smoothly and reach Chang'an, while the navy links up to supply provisions. That failure led to the Sui army's crushing defeat."
"I know. They were slaughtered at the Battle of Salsu."
"Exactly. The Tang army has no choice but to use the same approach. And they'll know better than anyone that it could fail the same way. Failure would mean hundreds of thousands dead, enough to shake the empire."
"I know that too."
"What if Silla..."
I caught my breath and eyed the worker whose eyes had turned red earlier. He had climbed halfway up and stopped.
It looked like he was just resting sore legs. Keeping my eyes on him, I continued,
"Offers the Tang to handle their army provisions and attack the southern border? What happens then?"
This was historical fact for modern folks like me. But it seemed to shock Crown Prince Uija.
His face twisted as he said,
"Would we just sit idly by?"
"Right. We'd mobilize immediately and strike Silla while their forces are tied up with Goguryeo. But here's the thing."
The red-eyed worker craned his neck and looked down.
Pretending nonchalance, I glanced up. Timing this right was crucial, so I spoke,
"What if Silla tells the Tang about it?"
"Tells them what?"
"That they want to help the Tang, but Baekje is holding them back."
"You think they could persuade the Tang like that?"
Crown Prince Uija shot back. Meanwhile, the worker peering down gripped his stone-filled basket.
I realized what he was about to do. Casually placing a hand on the crown prince's shoulder, I replied,
"If the Tang is dead set on destroying Goguryeo, they'll heed Silla's plea."
"Hard to believe."
The worker on the pagoda had nearly shoved the basket outward.
Gauging the moment, I pretended to look up and shouted,
"Watch out!"
I grabbed Crown Prince Uija and hurled us sideways.
Stones spilled from the toppled basket like rain. Fist-sized rocks that could crack a skull if they hit right.
The startled crown prince was speechless.
"Wh-what in the world."
Buyeo Seung and Geom Mojam, a few steps back, drew their Hwandu Greatswords in unison.
Then, several nearby workers' eyes turned red. Buyeo Seung charged forward, yelling,
"Protect the crown prince!"
His men formed a circle around us, blocking the perimeter.
Geom Mojam and the guards joined them. But with no way to tell which workers were foes, they hesitated to act.
"Geom Mojam! The two on the right!"
The workers I pointed to pulled shuriken-like blades from their baskets and hurled them. One of Buyeo Seung's men took a hit and collapsed.
Geom Mojam surged forward with his sword, decapitating the pair mid-throw in a flash.
I scanned for more assassins, but Buyeo Seung's men and the guards were in the way.
"Damn it."
Shoving through them, I emerged and looked around.
From the stone pagoda on the right, a hooded worker dashed toward us—his eyes glowing red.
"Over there!"
Hearing me, Geom Mojam bolted. The approaching worker grabbed a hidden crowbar from his waist. But Geom Mojam's swing severed the hand holding it.
Wrist gone, blood spraying. Meanwhile, more assassins disguised as workers lunged. Buyeo Seung's men held their ground, repelling them without budging.
Buyeo Seung swung his massive blade, felling assassins left and right. Regaining his wits, Crown Prince Uija shouted,
"Capture one alive! We need to uncover who's behind this!"
Buyeo Seung roared acknowledgment and smashed the hilt into an assassin's skull.
By then, Geom Mojam had dispatched the red-eyed ones I'd marked. No more red eyes in sight. Catching my breath, I asked the rising Crown Prince Uija,
"Are you all right?"
"Are all the assassins down?"
No further attacks came, so I nodded.
"Seems so."
But suddenly, a chill ran down the back of my neck. Geom Mojam, watching me, yelled urgently,
"Get down!"