The Self-Proclaimed Son of Heaven (2)
The envoy sent by Jang Geo, the Governor of Taishan, carried himself with extreme arrogance. As the messenger stood before me, Yeon So-yeon quietly announced his arrival.
"This is the emissary dispatched by Governor Jang Geo of Taishan."
I smiled as I looked the bastard over. "Jang Geo of Taishan... That gentleman shouldn't have any business with me. What does he want?"
The envoy lifted his chin haughtily. "Black Mountain bandit Jang Yeon, listen well. The Mandate of Heaven has already abandoned the Han Dynasty. The Han is corrupt, and the world has fallen into a crucible of chaos."
I narrowed my eyes and listened to this fool's nonsense in silence.
"The people are starving, and the imperial armies cannot even properly stop the bandits. The age of turmoil has already begun, and Heaven has bestowed a great Mandate upon Lord Jang Geo."
I let out a snort and crossed my arms. "Jang Geo has the Mandate? What? Is he calling himself the Son of Heaven now?"
Even at my mocking tone, the envoy's momentum didn't falter as he continued. "Indeed. Lord Jang Geo will uphold the Mandate and become the Son of Heaven. The frontier tribes have already submitted to his heavenly decree and are preparing their armies. The rule of Han will soon come to an end."
I twisted the corner of my mouth. "The same governor who was so terrified of the Yellow Turbans that he hid in his fortress and only focused on preserving his health?"
The envoy's eyes flashed sharply. "You insolent wretch! Lord Jang Geo has been acting with the greater picture in mind. Though you are nothing but a bandit who knows nothing of the Mandate and thus behaves so rudely, Lord Jang Geo, who has received the Mandate, is magnanimous. Repent your sins even now."
The envoy took two steps closer. "To a lowly bandit like you, he offers the chance to participate in this great undertaking by upholding the Mandate. If you submit to Lord Jang Geo now, he has promised to grant you the position of Inspector of Yanzhou once he ascends as Son of Heaven."
I smiled faintly as I stared at the envoy. "If I become Jang Geo's subject, he'll give me the post of Inspector of Yanzhou?"
The envoy nodded. "Correct. That is the will of Heaven."
I burst into laughter, momentarily stunned by the absurdity. "Puhahaha! The will of Heaven? The Mandate?"
The envoy's expression hardened. "You wretch!! Do you intend to defy the Mandate!?"
I glared at the envoy with a low voice. "What kind of bullshit is this... The Han Dynasty is still breathing just fine, yet some crazy governor is declaring himself the Son of Heaven?"
I raised my voice so that even the subordinates around us could hear. "Is the position of Son of Heaven something any dog or cow can claim? Treason should be done in moderation. It's not time for the Han to fall yet, you fucking idiot."
The envoy trembled with rage. "You cannot even recognize the Mandate!? You vile bandit scum!!"
I scoffed. "Does that ink-stained brain of yours not know how to calculate? In a situation where the Han Dynasty is still perfectly intact, a governor declaring himself the Son of Heaven is the Mandate?"
I laughed coldly and gestured with my hand. "Go back and tell that great fake Son of Heaven Jang Geo clearly. From what I hear, the Son of Heaven is a position chosen by Heaven itself. If he truly possesses the Mandate, wouldn't I immediately kowtow the moment I see him? So tell him to come in person. If he really has the Mandate, I'll kowtow and become his subject."
The envoy's face turned deathly pale. "You...!! To insult the Mandate like this. You will surely receive Heaven's punishment!"
Hearing that, I smirked again. "Sure. If that great Son of Heaven you keep babbling about comes in person, I might seriously consider it. So go back and deliver that message."
At my words, my subordinates began to chuckle one by one. The envoy's eyes shook with fury, but in the end he couldn't say anything more and turned away.
Yu Byeok, standing beside me, glanced at my expression before speaking. "Boss, is it really fine to let him go like this?"
I scratched my chin and muttered quietly. "Then should I kill him? If I do, won't they come rushing in claiming they're here to catch the bandit bastards first?"
Yeon So-yeon approached and said softly, "Then what should we do? Should we report this to the court..."
I took a deep breath and looked up at the sky. "If bandits report it, they'll probably say 'How dare these lowly bandit scum accuse an imperial official!' and we'd be lucky if we don't get subjugated ourselves. Just prepare instead."
Yeon So-yeon and Yu Byeok nodded silently.
I shouted to my subordinates. "Listen up, everyone! That Governor of Taishan, Jang Geo, has clearly gone mad! He might come for our heads soon, so stay sharp. Thoroughly inspect all the paths, watchtowers, wooden fences, and everything else!"
The subordinates answered in unison. "Yes, Boss!"
I twisted my lips as I thought to myself. Fucking lunatic. A mere governor calling himself the Son of Heaven? And right in the middle of the Central Plains?
Jang Geo had clearly lost his mind, but if things went well, this would allow me to blow a completely different trumpet than the original historical Jang Yeon.
"Let's see just how impressive this guy who claims to have received the Mandate really is."
It didn't take long to discover that Jang Geo was mobilizing people. At first, men pretending to be merchants began slipping out of Taishan. They might call themselves merchants, but just from their gait and eyes, it was obvious they weren't ordinary traders.
I didn't stop them from crossing into Jizhou. Or to be precise... I pretended not to notice.
Yu Byeok kept clutching his head in worry. "Boss, is it really okay to just let them go? They're openly sending troops like this... It's clear they're preparing something."
I crossed my arms, tapping on the table as I replied, "So what do you want me to do? Stop them? You think the court would actually believe what a bunch of bandit scum says?"
Yu Byeok closed his mouth, having nothing to say.
"Whether that bastard really received the Mandate or is just crazy... If he's truly starting a rebellion, we have to watch for now. This might actually be an opportunity."
And so I essentially condoned his rebellion.
One month. For exactly one month, Jang Geo moved his troops while I simply watched and calculated.
When is he going to rise up?
It was then that the tent flap was violently thrown open.
"B-Boss!!"
It was Yu Byeok. The usually composed man came running in, panting heavily. His sweat-soaked clothes already signaled how urgent the situation was.
"Why are you making such a racket? You're going to bring the tent down, you bastard."
"It's... It's terrible, Boss. Something huge has happened."
I slowly turned around. "Something huge? Did that Jang Geo bastard finally start his rebellion?"
Yu Byeok took a deep breath, swallowed dryly, and spoke. "The Wuhuan tribe under Gu Luge... has allied with Jang Geo. Their numbers... total a staggering 150,000."
My brow furrowed involuntarily. "What? Fuck, 150,000?"
"Yes. Right now, Youzhou and Jizhou are simultaneously under attack by the Wuhuan. Jang Geo led 10,000 troops from Taishan to join Gu Luge, and..."
Yu Byeok continued without pause. "Jang Geo has declared himself the True Son of Heaven and sent envoys to Youzhou, Jizhou, Yanzhou, Qingzhou, and Xuzhou, ordering them to serve the 'new Son of Heaven.'"
I pressed my lips tightly together. But that wasn't the end.
"Moreover, a close friend of Jang Geo named Jang Sun... has also risen up, gathering 10,000 troops from various regions. He calls himself the General Who Covers the Heavens and the King of Anping."
"...These crazy bastards are for real."
I let out a dumbfounded laugh on the spot, then lowered my head and rubbed my forehead. "Fuck... This is serious, isn't it?"
I had thought that even at most it would be around 50,000... Jang Geo. So this guy wasn't just crazy after all.
I bit my lip hard. Goosebumps slowly crawled up my spine. This wasn't some simple rebellion of modest scale. When I had been mocking the guy who kept talking about the Mandate, I never imagined the board would grow this big.
...Fuck, this isn't completely fucked, is it?
Yu Byeok looked at me cautiously. "Boss... What will you do?"
I took a deep breath and clasped my hands together again. "...It seems it's time for us to move as well."
While we busily prepared, the rebellion of Jang Geo and Jang Sun swept through Hebei and Liaodong like a storm.
Yu Jeong, the Grand Administrator of Youbeiping in the northeast of Youzhou, fought desperately when the rebel army surrounded his city, but after only one week the fortress fell to the 150,000-strong force and his head was cut off.
The rebel army did not stop there. Riding their momentum, they ambushed and annihilated the forces led by Yang Jong, the Grand Administrator of Liaodong.
With these movements, all of Youzhou was thrown into turmoil. As the Wuhuan stirred and other barbarian tribes began showing restless movements, the Colonel Who Protects the Wuhuan, Gong Gi-jo, mobilized the tribes that followed him to ambush the main rebel force and achieved some success. However, he fell into an ambush and was annihilated as well.
As the local armies failed to mount a proper response and Youzhou and Liaodong fell into chaos, the rebel army plundered the Youzhou region extensively. This greatly enraged Inspector of Youzhou Yu U.
Eventually, while the rebels were plundering Gyuhyeon, Gongson Chan, who had received orders from Inspector Yu U, led 20,000 troops to smash the enemy lines and severely broke the rebels' momentum.
In just one month, the rebel army had turned half of Youzhou into a sea of flames. But after their forces were broken by Gongson Chan's counterattack, they descended into Jizhou.
Moreover, rather than simply staying in Jizhou, they began showing signs of turning their eyes toward even richer regions and moving south.
"Fucking hell. These bastards aren't the True Son of Heaven, they're just bandits, you sons of bitches!!"
I glared at the map and spat out the wooden chopstick I had been chewing on. "Is this what the so-called True Son of Heaven does?"
At first Jang Geo had waved his banners claiming to be the Son of Heaven, but after getting beaten by Gongson Chan, there was no longer any distinction between him and common bandits.
"The guy who kept ranting about being the Son of Heaven is doing things no different from plain old banditry, you fucking bastard!!"
While I was grinding my teeth, Yeon So-yeon spoke up in a quiet yet calm voice. "Lord Jang Yeon, the rebel army is now heading down toward Qingzhou. At this rate, they will definitely reach Yanzhou and Xuzhou as well."
Yu Byeok immediately continued. "Some of their forces have already scattered and entered Xuzhou. If we stay still like this, they will surely descend upon Yanzhou and Xuzhou."
I shot up from my seat and strapped my sword to my waist. As I stepped out of the tent, I let out a sigh. "Ha... But do you know what's funny about this situation?"
Yu Byeok and Yeon So-yeon followed me out and looked up.
"The court still hasn't moved. A fake Son of Heaven is running around committing banditry, yet they won't mobilize the army? It's 150,000 men. 150,000."
Yeon So-yeon answered bitterly. "It seems the court does not view this matter as particularly serious."
"Ha, yeah. Compared to the Yellow Turbans, this is just child's play to them."
I chuckled softly. "It's a complete mess, seriously."
Yu Byeok lowered his head in silence, then spoke carefully. "Boss. Then what should we do moving forward?"
I tapped my scabbard and muttered under my breath. "From the beginning... I was planning to stop those bastards the moment they actually started their rebellion."
Yu Byeok lifted his head. Yeon So-yeon narrowed her eyes as well.
I twitched the corner of my mouth and continued. "Do I look like the kind of guy who would just sit back and observe like this? Ha, still, I didn't expect them to rise up on this scale."
I placed my hand on the table and pointed at the map. The empty Taishan Commandery region was marked in red.
"Jang Geo took his rebel army north, and the court still hasn't sent a new governor. In other words, this place is currently empty land."
Yu Byeok's eyes gleamed. "Not just Taishan, but the entire Taishan Commandery would make an excellent forward base. Taishan Commandery borders Qingzhou, and if we occupy it first, we can quickly move our forces even if the rebels try to descend on Yanzhou or Xuzhou."
Yeon So-yeon also spoke quietly. "Since the court isn't moving, we must stop them. And if we successfully repel the rebels, the court won't be able to see us as mere bandits anymore."
I nodded and gave the order. "Send messengers to the entire Black Mountain Army. We are descending from Taishan to occupy the entirety of Taishan Commandery."
Yu Byeok nodded and asked, "Will you then advance into Qingzhou?"
I turned my head to look down at the map. The hand that had once committed banditry was now moving to crush rebels in place of the imperial army.
"Yes. No matter what, I can't let them into our lifeline of Yanzhou and Xuzhou. And after we advance into Qingzhou... we'll move according to the situation."
I finally let out a light laugh. "Time to see with my own eyes what a bandit who claims to be the Son of Heaven actually does."
The banners of the Black Mountain Army finally began their descent from Taishan.