Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: Great King Namsaeng
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Hearing words of gratitude from Kim Yushin of all people left me in a daze. And when he even said he'd go easy on me if we met again later, I felt like I could float away.
"I'll gratefully accept your kind intentions."
Kim Yushin must have thought I wasn't taking it seriously, because he added in a firm voice,
"My subordinate Bi Ryeongja will vouch for those words."
Only then did I realize the young subordinate who'd come with him was Bi Ryeongja.
'Bi Ryeongja?'
In 647, when the war with Baekje turned against them, Kim Yushin had personally summoned him and made the request. It was an outrageous order disguised as a plea: infiltrate the enemy lines and fight to the death. Yet Bi Ryeongja was overjoyed that the command had come straight from him and charged in, dying in battle. His son Geo-jin and servant Hap-jeol, witnessing it, followed suit, plunging into the enemy ranks and perishing as well. The Silla troops, fired up by the sight, fought ferociously and routed the Baekje forces. It was just like how Bangul and Gwan-chang fell at Hwangsanbeol.
I turned to Bi Ryeongja standing by the cart.
"Is your son Geo-jin?"
"H-how do you know that?"
I gave the startled man a slight smile.
"Everyone knows."
Then I looked at Kim Yushin.
"I know your family has been struggling to prove themselves true Silla men since your grandfather's time. How do you think you've finally become one?"
I could see Kim Yushin's eyes redden. If the sight of his father's corpse hadn't changed them, I'd clearly struck a deep nerve.
"Though Gaya royal blood flows in my veins, my house has fought for Silla across generations. Who could deny we're Silla men now?"
"Your grandfather Muryeok took the head of Baekje's Arah at Gwan-san Fortress, and your father Seo-hyeon crushed the Goguryeo army at Nangbi Fortress. But plenty of Silla nobles still think that's not enough."
"Do you even know Silla?"
He didn't believe me, but knowing Bi Ryeongja's son's name seemed to sap the strength from his voice.
"I know it well enough. I even know that among the truebone aristocracy, no one truly sees you as one of them. Especially not men like Bi-dam or Yeom-jong."
It was an event from 647, but the conflicts were plain as day from here on out. My prediction hit the mark—Bi Ryeongja flew into a rage too. Seeing their reactions, I said politely,
"Let's meet again."
"I thought Goguryeo had no equal, but then you appeared. Next time, I won't be pushed back so easily."
I nodded instead of replying and turned my horse. Geom Mojam took the reins of the horse Kim Yushin had handed over and withdrew.
The moment we returned to base, Go Jeong-ui came bounding over excitedly.
"You're bursting with energy."
"How could I not be? Look over there."
Go Jeong-ui pointed at Niha Fortress's west gate. The Silla troops on the gate tower were milling about in chaos. Seeing it, I shouted,
"Success!"
Castle Lord Pil-jip, clad in silver plate armor, lay fallen outside the gate. Ita-in swung his curved sword and severed the head in one stroke. Then he grabbed it and retreated. The watching soldiers erupted in cheers. I rushed straight to the Yeon Clan Cannons and yelled at Ham-a,
"Pour everything we've got on them. Keep them from coming to their senses."
"Understood. We'll use up all the remaining fire jars."
The Sui Captive Village craftsmen sprang into action at Ham-a's command as he turned away.
I praised the elated Ita-in for a job well done. He beamed broadly, showing off Pil-jip's head with blood still dripping from it. I praised him again and summoned Gi-do-ryang.
"Shoot arrows with notes saying if they don't open the gate, we'll turn the castle into a sea of fire."
"Got it."
"Not just one—several. They might try to hide it."
Gi-do-ryang called over his archers. Geom Mojam, watching from the side, looked genuinely impressed.
"Master truly is a heaven-sent general. How does everything fall into place so perfectly?"
'Of course—I'm from the future, I've read the histories, and I pored over war records while writing.'
But I just grinned instead of saying that. Go Jeong-ui chimed in,
"It's like General Eulji Mundeok has returned."
"I'm a long way from that. Don't speak his name lightly."
I spoke sternly, but as usual, Go Jeong-ui ignored it.
The next day, Niha Fortress's gates opened. With Pil-jip dead, they'd lost all will to fight. On Sa-mun beamed at the sight of Silla troops discarding their weapons and surrendering.
"Adding the prisoners from the battle the day before yesterday to the soldiers and civilians inside, we can march off with at least three thousand."
In the meantime, Iri's Malgal tribe unit had returned from plundering the surroundings, bringing captives and loot in no small quantity.
"Above all, it's a relief our own forces suffered no heavy losses."
"You're unusual. Most care first about enemy casualties."
In my era, that was normal, but I couldn't say so.
"We'll need it for the big wars ahead."
"True enough. But the Great King has no intention of fighting, which worries me."
"He must have a plan. Should we hand the fortress to the reinforcements from Sugok Fortress?"
"I've sent a messenger—they'll arrive in a few days."
On Sa-mun added his thanks for our efforts. And so my first battle, the Battle of Niha Fortress, came to a close. We'd beheaded Nangdang Commander Kim Seo-hyeon, crushed his main force, and in the momentum, secured the surrender of Niha Fortress, which clung to rugged mountains. We'd killed over a thousand and taken three thousand prisoner. This laid the foundation for my life as Yeon Namsaeng.
'Luck was on my side this time, but who knows next?'
And now history was starting to change, so my foreknowledge might become useless. I'd succeeded thanks to knowing the history and having new weapons like the Yeon Clan Cannons and elite warriors like Geom Mojam at my side. Even so, I'd nearly died.
'It's making me think deeply about everything.'
A few days later, the troops from Sugok Fortress arrived to take custody of the fallen Niha Fortress. In the interim, we'd treated the wounded and gathered the fallen, noting their names and hometowns before cremating them. We'd buried the severed enemy heads with the names of those who'd taken them. We returned Nangdang High Commander Kim Seo-hyeon's body. But we'd salted and boxed the heads of Niha Castle Lord Pil-jip and other high-ranking Silla generals to report to the Great King in Jang-an Fortress.
The seven hundred soldiers from Sugok Fortress entered Niha, we exchanged greetings with their horse-riding leader, and set off. Standing atop a high rock, I shouted to the passing troops,
"You are my brothers. Having fought shoulder to shoulder with me, you deserve the name. My glory is all thanks to you. Thank you—for winning, and even more for surviving. Now let's go home, shoulder to shoulder."
Stunned that the Eastern Division Leader's eldest son called them brothers, they roared in cheers. We filled our bellies with food from the Maemul Merchant Guild's ships, took the prisoners, and marched back proudly. There was plenty of loot too—the merchants would haul it with their wheelbarrows.
Crossing the Taebaek Mountains to reach Sugok Fortress, we were greeted with a grand welcome. The Yoksal rejoiced that it was their first major victory in years. From his perspective, having more territory to administer was cause for joy.
"For the Eastern Division Leader's heir to be so outstanding—the East will prosper greatly from now on."
Sugok Fortress's Yoksal was said to be close to Yeon Jeong-du, but he didn't stint on praise for me. I said it was luck and my men's bravery that won the day. Hearing that, the Yoksal called me humble and praised me more. He noted how heroes attract fellow paragons and took interest in my subordinates. Naturally weak to flattery, I made vague responses and slipped out early under the pretext of checking on the troops. Then I went to see Go Jeong-ui, who was exhausted from sorting documents.
Entering the corner room of the guesthouse, I saw him nodding off with brush in hand. Mischief struck me.
"If there's too much work, bring Go Yeon-mu to help."
"He's still too young. He just looks clever."
"That's why I'm afraid he won't live to a ripe old age."
"Everyone fought to the death—surely he won't die holding a mere brush."
He chuckled, yawned widely, and picked up the brush again. To such a Go Jeong-ui, I said,
"How many of our dead and wounded?"
"Two hundred fifty-one killed, four hundred fifty-seven seriously injured. Sixty-eight horses dead, thirty-two injured and under treatment."
"How do we notify the families of the fallen?"
"We write their names and inform them. Since we won this time, we could recover and cremate the bodies at least."
"Rewards?"
"A few years' tax exemption or a few seom of grain."
"That's it?"
"Isn't that enough? Sometimes they get nothing at all."
"This campaign was all for me—to boost my prestige."
I spoke somberly, and Go Jeong-ui blinked.
"Of course. Everyone knew, so they fought all the harder and rejoiced all the more in victory."
"I'm not glad at all that they'd die for me."
In novels, I'd killed countless characters, but seeing real death for the first time was different. Decapitated bodies and drained-of-blood corpses were gruesome. Go Jeong-ui set down his brush and looked at me, eyes blinking.
"I understand what you're saying, Master. And I'm truly grateful for your kind heart. But for the East to survive—and for us, your close aides—to live, you must be a bit more ruthless."
"Ruthless?"
"Standing by you means turning our backs on the Great King. We're all tied to your fate—live or die. You can't go soft. Not even for our sakes."
While everyone else was drunk on victory, Go Jeong-ui alone faced reality squarely. He grinned at my expression.
"Plus, with this absurd victory on the expedition, the Great King and Chief of Central Administration must be panicking."
"Because I won?"
"You won too big. Minimal losses, heads of a Nangdang commander and Niha's lord taken. And you magnanimously returned the commander's body to boot."
Thinking of Kim Yushin, building rapport over grudge made more sense. I'd even been moved by him charging alone to recover his father's body. Seeing me lost in thought, Go Jeong-ui added cautiously,
"And Master, you're in danger."
"Me, in danger?"