Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: Farewell at Ansi
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"What are you thinking so hard about?"
"Complicated stuff."
I replied with a genuinely troubled look on my face, and Yang Man-chun gazed out beyond the walls as he spoke.
"You don't need that kind of thinking around here."
"Then what?"
"See that horizon out there?"
"Yeah."
"From there all the way to here—that's the land where the people of Ansi Fortress live. If you come as a friend like you did, we throw our arms wide open in welcome. But if you come wielding a blade..."
Yang Man-chun let out a deep breath before adding,
"We chase you off. We can't let anyone take our land. Doesn't matter if it's Goguryeo, the Tang, or the nomads from the north. We'll fight to the bitter end."
"Then if war breaks out with the Tang, I guess I'll have to ask you to help me out as a friend."
Yang Man-chun paused at my words, then burst out laughing.
"Sure, I'd help you any time."
For the first time since arriving in Liaodong, I finally felt at ease.
We stood on the watchtower, chatting about this and that until the sun began to set. As I turned to leave, watching the sun dip below the horizon, Yang Man-chun asked,
"Where to next?"
"I'll look around Liaodong some more. If I get the chance, maybe head even farther north."
One of the reasons Goguryeo struggled in the war against the Tang in 645 was the cavalry of the Tujue and Cheolrok.
The Tujue tribesmen, who had become the right-hand men of Tang Taizong Li Shimin, led the charge against the Goguryeo forces.
Goguryeo's defenses relied primarily on mountain fortresses, but they couldn't hold out alone—they needed support from other forts.
Yet the Tujue cut off that network.
For instance, when Baekam Fortress was besieged, a relief force was dispatched from Ogol Fortress. But the relief army, commanded by Go Dol-bal, was blocked by Gae Pil-ha-ryeok of the Cheolrok.
With the network between fortresses severed like that, mounting a proper defense became impossible.
Even Ansi Fortress's siege wasn't lifted because its relief force suffered a crushing defeat at Jupil Mountain.
"We need our own cavalry units."
Yang Man-chun echoed my mumbling words with a question.
"Don't we already have Molgal cavalry?"
"They're not enough. We need nomads who can harass the enemy's rear and cut their communication lines—not ones who clash head-on."
Yang Man-chun's expression turned serious as he listened.
"Now that you mention it, you're right. The Tujue have been the Tang's lapdogs for ages, and plenty of Molgal have defected too."
"No one rides and strikes like nomads—hit and run. That's why we need to recruit nomads to our side."
"You're thinking far ahead."
"We have to, or we're in danger."
Come to think of it, to Yang Man-chun and the people of this era, I probably seemed overly preoccupied with the future.
That's why I had to go meet these tribes myself and see if they'd join us. Once that was settled, the next issue was siege defense weapons.
"We'll definitely need the Yeon Clan Cannon and Greek Fire. No, Goguryeo Fire."
It was obvious that launching Greek Fire from the Yeon Clan Cannon would be a huge boon in defending a fortress.
My gaze naturally turned to Ham-a.
Ham-a bowed his head low.
"The Goguryeo Fire you ordered is still being mixed from the ingredients, but it hasn't been perfected yet. I'll make sure to complete it once we're back."
Ham-a spoke as if he'd committed a grave sin, but of course it wasn't easy.
Even in the Eastern Roman Empire, the recipe for Greek Fire was a state secret. No other nation ever cracked it.
"What's this Goguryeo Fire?"
Yang Man-chun asked with a curious look, and I glanced at the torch hanging on the watchtower pillar.
"We're trying to mix something into fire so it doesn't go out."
"Fire that doesn't go out?"
Yang Man-chun stared at me in disbelief.
I nodded and explained.
"Something that won't extinguish even with water, or if you dump sand or dirt on it."
"Hey, if we had that, it'd be perfect for defending Ansi Fortress."
I grinned at Yang Man-chun's excited expression.
"Exactly. Most siege engines are made of wood. Burn those up, and defending gets a lot easier."
"And that's not all. We could pour it on enemies climbing the walls."
Yang Man-chun went on about how we could defend the fortress once Goguryeo Fire was ready.
As I listened, a soldier on watch at the tower shouted,
"A messenger's coming!"
I looked down at the gates alongside Yang Man-chun.
Yang Man-chun muttered as he spotted the rider galloping across the darkening plains.
"Three flags on his back. Must be urgent."
The messenger dismounted as the gates opened, rushed inside, and yelled,
"A letter for Elder Yeon Namsaeng, eldest son of the Eastern Division Leader!"
Moments later, footsteps echoed up the stone stairs. Geom Mojam blocked the messenger's path, frisked him, and took his weapons.
The messenger knelt on one knee before me in greeting and handed over the quiver strapped to his back. Three flags fluttered from it, secured with intricate leather straps.
I untied the straps and reached inside. Out came a small wooden slip, engraved on one side with a knife-carved message.
Yang Man-chun, watching from the side, remarked,
"It's a code using hanja characters."
I felt a bit awkward, but thanks to the lingering memories of the original Yeon Namsaeng before possession, I could decipher it.
"Father's calling me back."
"To Jang-an Fortress?"
I nodded and flipped the slip over. Then I said to Yang Man-chun,
"Lend me your sword."
He handed me the sword at his waist.
I used it to carve a reply on the back of the slip. Then I put it back in the quiver, closed it up, tied the leather straps tight, and handed it to the messenger.
"Deliver this back."
"Yes, sir."
The messenger took the quiver respectfully with both hands and descended the stairs. He mounted up and galloped back into the darkness.
Watching him go, Yang Man-chun asked,
"Heading back now?"
"I wanted to go farther north, but Father's calling."
It was a shame, but there had to be a reason. Yang Man-chun looked regretful too.
"It's late today. Better to leave in the morning."
"Yeah. I'll head back to the guesthouse."
"Alright, see you tomorrow morning."
I bid Yang Man-chun farewell and came down from the watchtower. Geom Mojam, who had followed, said,
"I'll prepare to depart in the morning. Which way are we going?"
"What's the fastest route?"
"We can go to Bisa Fortress and take a ship. Gaean Fortress works too, but it's a detour around the land roads, so southern Bisa is better."
I thought for a moment, then looked at Geom Mojam.
"Since we're here, I should visit the Gukdong Daehyeol in Guknae Fortress."
"To meet the Celestial Maiden?"
I patted the blade of Jumong's spear at my waist and replied,
"Yeah. To ask why she gave me this."
"Then I'll prepare to head to Guknae Fortress."
"Tell everyone to rest early tonight. We leave at dawn."
"Understood."
We talked as we arrived at the guesthouse.
Geom Mojam gathered his men and issued orders. I went up to the second floor and lay down on the bed.
Truth be told, I wanted to stay longer in Ansi Fortress. Becoming friends with Yang Man-chun, the legendary hero who saved Goguryeo, filled me with pride.
"Why at this timing of all times..."
Father Yeon Gaesomun had told me to explore as much as I wanted—why call me back so suddenly?
"Doesn't feel like good news."
The situation in Jang-an Fortress was already a tangled mess, making my head spin just thinking about it.
There must have been intense political intrigue leading up to Yeon Gaesomun's coup. The records barely mention it, though.
"What to do?"
For starters, I had to prevent Father Yeon Gaesomun's coup.
Things ran smoothly enough while he was alive. But right after his death, his sons turned on each other.
That meant there were agitators stirring the pot from the shadows. Of course, knowing that, I could deal with Nam-san and Nam-geon preemptively.
"But that's not the end of it."
In a feudal state, a vassal could never hold more power than the king.
All sorts of unreasonable conflicts and oppression were bound to arise.
"Better not to let it get to that point at all."
The good news was, meeting the real Yeon Gaesomun, he was different from what I'd imagined.
I'd thought he'd be a brute—reckless and hot-headed—but he was surprisingly cool-headed. And his poker face gave nothing away.
"So he must have weighed all the options and decided a coup was necessary when nothing else worked."
No matter how much Father trusted me as his successor, stopping the coup would require justification.
Now I had to build that up and persuade him—which made my head hurt even more.
I took off my helmet and muttered,
"Guess I should just sleep for now."
The next day, noises from downstairs woke me naturally. Geom Mojam was having his men pack up.
I stretched, got up, and opened the window first. As I gazed outside to shake off sleep, the door opened.
I almost snapped about knocking, but held back.
It was Go Jeong-ui who opened it.
"Awake, my lord? Have some simple porridge and let's head out."
"Got it. Be down soon."
I threw on my helmet and went downstairs, where the men were eating.
Geom Mojam glanced at an empty spot as I descended. I sat there and dug into the steaming porridge.
We filled our bellies simply and prepared to depart. I mounted the horse they'd brought to the guesthouse front, and Geom Mojam, holding the reins, asked,
"Shall we go?"
I nodded instead of answering, and Geom Mojam shouted the order to move out.
As our procession reached the gates from the guesthouse, Yang Man-chun rode up from the roadside, raising his hand in greeting.
Wearing the same red conical hat as yesterday, he spurred his horse forward.
"Came to see you off."
"Thanks."
Being seen off by Yang Man-chun moved me to the verge of tears.
'If by some miracle I return to the modern day, this'll be one hell of a brag.'
I pulled my reins to ride alongside him toward the gates.
"Talked with Father and my brothers last night."
"About what?"
"Decided to stop causing trouble and live properly from now on."
"Turning over a new leaf?"
"I've been pretty half-assed up till now."
"You knew?"
I laughed outright, and Yang Man-chun playfully swatted my arm.
"Of course I'd know. If I didn't, how would I cause all that trouble? Truth is..."
I spotted the young men from Ansi Fortress who'd arm-wrestled with us yesterday.
I waved in greeting, and they grinned wide, shouting their goodbyes. Once that was done, Yang Man-chun added,
"The world felt boring."
"Boring?"
"Turns out life's decent enough to get by, but with older brothers above me, there wasn't much for me to do."
"Big ambitions but nothing to aim them at, so you raised hell?"
"Raised hell? What's that?"
Whoops—I glossed over it.
"Means sabotaging things on purpose. It's a saying they use in Jang-an Fortress sometimes."
"I see. Anyway, that's how I lived until I found a reason."
"A reason not to raise hell?"
Yang Man-chun nodded with a smile as we waited for the gates to open.
With a creak, the gates swung wide, and morning sunlight poured in.
Yang Man-chun watched the rays brush past him, then turned to me and said,
"It's because of you."