Chapter 88
Chapter 88
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 88
Chapter Title: The Grand Minister's Night Visit
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Taking out the guesthouse slaves wouldn't have been a big deal at all, but it was obvious that would ruin everything. For the first time since possessing this body, I found myself deep in conflict and worry.
As the sun dipped low like that, the sudden rumble of cart wheels echoed from outside the guesthouse gate. The slaves swung the gate open. Outside blazed with torches, bright as midday. I stood beside Adokbang, who had been keeping watch, and took in the scene.
"Who is it?"
The man who crossed the threshold was a robust elder. He wore a purple robe topped with a scholar's cap adorned with silver flower ornaments. Though sturdy in build, he leaned on young warriors flanking him, likely due to age. Slaves lined up on both sides prostrated themselves flat on the ground. I stepped out, opened the door wide, and bowed with hands clasped.
"To what do we owe this midnight visit?"
"Let's talk inside. The night air is chill."
At the elder's raspy voice, I stepped aside. He entered with the warriors' support, and I followed. A gaunt official trailing behind unfolded a chair, and the elder sat with a bout of harsh coughing. His chin bristled with white beard, and age spots speckled his cheeks and face. After the cough subsided, he gripped a cane handed by another warrior in one hand and fixed his gaze on me.
"Send the underlings away. You and I will speak alone."
"Understood, but might I know your identity? You don't strike me as an ordinary man."
"Grand Minister Sataek Ji-jeok."
I tried to keep a straight face, but my eyebrow twitched involuntarily. A noble harder to meet than even the Great King himself—Sataek Ji-jeok—had come in person despite his frailty. Baekje's King Mu was famous as the hero of the Song of Seodong. His marriage to Silla's Princess Seonhwa added to his legend. But relics unearthed at Mireuk Temple revealed his wife was from the Sataek clan. After researching post-possession, I learned he'd indeed married Princess Seonhwa but lost her early and wed a woman from one of the eight great noble houses, the Sataek family. Their son was Prince Kyogi. Meanwhile, Princess Seonhwa's child, Crown Prince Uija, was sidelined. Even in Goguryeo, many believed Prince Kyogi would succeed King Mu over Uija. Sataek Ji-jeok was a key reason—initially thought to be Queen Sataek's father, he was actually her uncle and the Sataek clan's patriarch.
Truly a towering figure, exuding an aura to match.
Despite his discomfort, there was no hint of weakness. His solid frame and piercing gaze like a needle's point could intimidate most anyone. Seon Do-hae astutely fetched a chair opposite. Meanwhile, the guesthouse slaves brought in a brazier with roaring coals and set it in the corner. Seated, I addressed my men.
"Everyone, out."
Seon Do-hae led the way as they filed out through the door. Go Yeonmu, the last to leave, bowed with clasped hands and shut it behind him. Alone now, Sataek Ji-jeok eyed me sharply.
"So, what brings you to Baekje?"
He surely knew, so I chose my words with care. Clearing my throat loudly, I replied.
"To forge an alliance with Baekje."
"What reason do we have to join hands with Goguryeo?"
"Plenty. Starting with Silla."
Grand Minister Sataek Ji-jeok's face twisted at my words.
"Why does Goguryeo meddle in our affairs with Silla?"
"Because the three kingdoms are hopelessly tangled. When Goguryeo was strong, didn't Baekje and Silla ally against us? Now that Silla's risen, it's time for Baekje and Goguryeo to unite."
"To Goguryeo, we're no better than enemies. You crossed the Arisu River, seized Hansung, and beheaded our king—wasn't that you? Using traitors like Goiman and Jae Jeung-geollu at that."
"Of course. But didn't you storm Pyeongyang Castle earlier and take King Gogukwon's life?"
"Ancient history."
"True. But Silla beheading Baekje's king at Kwansanseong isn't so long ago. Not even a century."
"So you're stirring war between us and Silla for your gain?"
I nodded at Grand Minister Sataek Ji-jeok's words.
"Naturally."
"What?"
He scowled.
"The world's ways are all the same, aren't they? Merchants brave long roads for a single coin's profit. Alliances between nations are no different. Do you think Goguryeo extends a hand out of fondness for Baekje?"
Outrageously rude, yet Grand Minister Sataek Ji-jeok let it pass with a chuckle. Gripping his cane with both hands, he regarded me.
"They say a winged tiger's appeared in the Yeon clan—quite the sharp tongue, indeed."
"I could dress it up nicely. How about uniting to punish those brutal, treacherous Silla dogs?"
"Fancy words don't change facts, but good packaging matters. Goguryeo's been sending envoys lately. But none quite like you."
"My rough speech?"
"That I can overlook. But an envoy at odds with Chief Central Administrator, the Great King's close aide—that's a first."
Information worthy of a grand minister. Or perhaps someone had sabotaged my mission.
"The Great King and Chief Central Administrator believe war with Tang won't come."
"Then shouldn't a subject simply obey his lord?"
"Lest the kingdom fall and the people suffer. Tang invading Goguryeo is a foregone conclusion. To stop them, we must secure our southern border."
"Even defying the Great King's will?"
"He hates Silla too. Otherwise, he wouldn't have given me troops to take Nihaseong."
"I heard. Victory with strange weapons and brilliant tactics."
"Ally with us, and those weapons are yours."
"Is that all we gain?"
"Striking Silla hand-in-hand with Goguryeo—is that 'all'?"
"Why must Baekje stake everything on attacking Silla?"
"Has the grudge not piled high enough for that?"
"Goguryeo's just as loathsome. When King Seong assaulted Kwansanseong, Silla's Kim Muryeop led troops south for a surprise attack. Goguryeo was right there, yet did nothing."
His angry recount stirred memories from history books. Baekje held the early advantage at Kwansanseong, but Kim Muryeop's Silla army from the Seoul area turned the tide. King Seong was captured and beheaded; Baekje routed.
"War demands accounting for such risks. And with no reason for Goguryeo to aid Baekje, why resent them blindly?"
Grand Minister Sataek Ji-jeok clicked his tongue at my response.
"After losing Hansung, our kings always borrowed our eight great clans' power to reclaim it. But return there, and we'd be nothing from that moment."
Losing the Han River basin fractured the elite, Baekje's gravest woe. Kings sought to restore lost royal authority by retaking it. But clans like Sataek, rooted in Sabi and Ungjin, saw no welcome in it. Back in Hansung, they'd be like duck eggs in the Nakdong—exposed and helpless. That's why they opposed the Kwansanseong campaign. Even King Uija faced a quasi-palace coup post-ascension.
Clashes and divisions among the rulers doomed Baekje to ruin.
As I pondered, Grand Minister Sataek Ji-jeok spoke.
"Our king thinks of nothing but Silla morning and night."
He coughed lightly and shook his head.
"Amaksanseong, Gajamseong—massive losses. Some victories, sure, but heavy toll in lives and supplies."
"Revenge on Silla, no? I thought king and all united against them."
"When lives are lost in vain repeatedly, even the staunchest grow weary. Our eight great clans faithfully backed the king. Yet gained nothing—whatever we won went straight to him."
The talk veered into treacherous waters; I sharpened my focus.
"Do the eight great clans resent the king's moves?"
"How could we not? Lands and triumphs from them become his alone."
Baekje's kings suffered unusually. More died untimely than in Goguryeo or Silla. King Mu had ruled over thirty years unscathed—or so it seemed. Inside, fierce intrigue raged, I now realized. Time to turn the questioning.
"Why tell me of Baekje's internals, Lord Grand Minister?"
"Since you've allied with us—or so I hear. Though whispers say you're tied to Crown Prince Uija."
"He's crown prince; who wouldn't?"
Though he botched the end and led Baekje to doom, early reign saw Silla reeling—Dae-ya Fortress fallen, others seized, terror sown.
I don't know the local dynamics, but history's the only guide.
Still, worry gnawed. My possession sparked the Nihaseong battle; history was shifting.
What if some butterfly effect I can't foresee alters it all?
The thought of history veering unknown tightened my nerves. Watching closely, Grand Minister Sataek Ji-jeok said,
"You look troubled. The prince at Mireuk Temple will never take the throne."
"Hope? Or certainty?"
"His mother's from enemy Silla—fit for kingship?"
"They'd have deposed him long ago if so. No moves yet means no intent."
"The king has many sons. Dethrone the prince, and brutal strife erupts over succession. You know what that brings."
"Bloodbath. Goguryeo's seen it."
I recalled the civil war between in-laws Segun and Nokgun vying to crown their grandsons.