The Nameless Brush and a Letter

Midping 5th Year (188 AD), May. Taishan General’s Headquarters Training Grounds.

“Shields tight! ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Long spears fixed! Advance two steps!”

Under the sun that beat down without mercy, the Black Mountain Army soldiers gripped their long spears and sweated buckets. Their armor was heavy and breathing was difficult, yet not a single man moved out of line.

I lay sprawled on a bench atop the hill, a tree branch between my teeth, looking down at the scene.

Neatly ordered ranks and movements without the slightest disorder. Normally I would have to scream myself hoarse to achieve this kind of training, but today was different.

“Fourth row, left side—the spear tip is wobbling. Hold those long spears straight.”

In the center of the training ground, Jeon Wi walked slowly, issuing commands. He wore a wooden sword at his waist instead of his axes.

And the soldiers’ movements followed his instructions with perfect discipline.

I narrowed my eyes and watched.

Jeon Wi. The axe I picked up in Jinryu. In other words, a stone that rolled in from nowhere. And… that was exactly the problem.

Behind the formation. Among the soldiers standing outside the square watching the drill.

One guy who still hadn’t read the room lowered his head, spat on the ground with a wet ptoo, and muttered.

“No matter what the general says… having some random bastard who just rolled in suddenly become the boss doesn’t sit right, does it…”

The man beside him who overheard cleared his throat and glanced around, but it was already too late.

Jeon Wi’s head turned a fraction toward the source of the sound.

Without a word, Jeon Wi walked silently toward the pile of wooden training spears.

He picked up one of the rods lying there. A wooden staff of good length, perfect for use as a spear shaft.

Watching the scene, I slowly rose from the bench.

I beckoned to a nearby cavalryman.

“Hey, tell the men to assemble up front.”

“Yes!”

The rider dashed toward the training field.

And Jeon Wi—right in front of the soldier—swung the wooden rod without a word, striking the man’s side with pinpoint accuracy.

Crack.

“Aaaaaargh!”

The soldier tumbled across the sand, kicking up dust in every direction. He let out one scream and curled into a ball.

The surrounding soldiers all flinched at once, but none dared move.

Jeon Wi remained utterly silent, his expression unchanged. The quiet was more terrifying than anything.

“Why aren’t you moving?”

At those few short words the soldiers reacted on instinct. The ranks reformed in an instant and the scattered spear tips snapped back into perfect alignment.

I walked slowly down to the training ground and spoke.

“Hey, fuck. Even I lose to Jeon Wi in pure strength, you know?”

My single sentence cut the taut tension like a knife.

One of the soldiers who had been watching from the rear shouted in panic.

“Th-there was never any complaint from the start! General!”

Another quickly added, “Of course not! Who would dare complain about a commander the general himself brought in!?”

“That’s right! Hahaha! Long live Commander Jeon Wi!”

I scratched the back of my neck and laughed in disbelief.

As expected, these bastards really do have sharp instincts since they started as bandits. No one would dare run their mouth in front of Jeon Wi from now on.

“Yeah, yeah. Watch yourselves from now on. Hey, Jeon Wi.”

Jeon Wi stood quietly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠before me.

I gave his shoulder a light pat.

“Do well from here on. You’re the one who will lead these men and smash the enemy lines first.”

Jeon Wi lowered his head and answered briefly.

“Yes. My lord.”

I looked over the formation and spoke slowly.

“From today onward this man is the assault commander of the Black Mountain Army. If anyone has complaints, step forward anytime. Your ribs will end up like that guy’s. Understood?”

Not one soldier in the ranks answered aloud. Instead they nodded vigorously, replying with obedience rather than words.

Jeon Wi. He was now the axe that would shatter enemy lines for our Black Mountain Army.

And I had already finished calculating exactly where this axe would strike.

After the minor disturbance was settled, the training ground moved into a short rest period.

Even during the break Jeon Wi maintained military discipline, keeping a measured distance from the soldiers.

I flopped back down on the bench atop the hill.

The sky was clear and the sun was blazing. My head felt just as tangled.

“Ha… Fuck. I never knew gathering decent people would be this hard.”

Yu Byeok, waiting beside me, lifted his head.

“My lord, we already have twenty-five thousand men. Isn’t that quite a lot for our scale?”

I shook my head and rested my chin on my hand.

“Not those heads. I mean guys who can actually use a brush and roll their brains a little.”

Yu Byeok stared at me in disbelief.

I kept muttering.

“I’m offering every condition they could want, so why won’t those ink-stained bastards come under me? Fuck, where else will you find a general who turns a blind eye to embezzlement?”

At my words Yu Byeok quietly pressed his lips together.

But in the end he couldn’t hold back.

“…My lord. What crazy bastard would willingly serve under a bandit general—”

The moment the words left his mouth, Yu Byeok realized what he had said and clapped a hand over it.

I widened my eyes and glared at him like I wanted to devour him.

“Hey, you son of a bitch. Wasn’t Gojo a thug himself!?”

Yu Byeok broke out in cold sweat and stammered.

“Comparing bandits and… thugs is a little…”

I clutched my forehead and shot to my feet.

“Hey, So-yeon!”

“Yes!”

So-yeon, who had been organizing documents at the bottom of the hill, answered in surprise.

I grinned and shouted.

“Looks like our Yu Byeok wants to study writing! Teach him right now!”

Yu Byeok recoiled in horror.

“N-no! That’s not it, my lord! It was a slip of the tongue! A slip of the tongue!”

“Too late, dumbass! Time to study, you son of a bitch.”

“Uwaaaaa—!”

Yu Byeok fled as if his life depended on avoiding literacy lessons. So-yeon looked at me with a thoroughly dumbfounded expression.

I smiled bitterly and lay down again.

“Aish, fuck… Even if it’s a real criminal, isn’t there at least one useful guy who can use his head…”

My skull was throbbing.

Soldiers’ training and supplies, persuading Do Gyeom, the political situation in Luoyang and the Ten Eunuchs. On top of all that I had to find talent and prepare for what was coming.

Just thinking about it made my head hurt.

I let out a deep sigh, then jumped up.

“Hey.”

I called over one of the cavalrymen standing nearby.

“Yes, my lord.”

“Round up ten riders. Let’s take a lap around Chi County.”

“Understood!”

As the rider went to gather the men, I shouted to the soldiers.

“Hey, don’t slack off just because I’m gone. Only the bastards who want Jeon Wi to smash their ribs again should slack off. And tonight’s dinner will have plenty of meat, so eat your fill.”

The soldiers nodded, swallowing their laughter.

I mounted my horse and muttered.

“Hey, fuck. At least thanks to Jeon Wi one headache is gone.”

But the sigh that followed could not be stopped.

“…Now I just need one more guy who can actually use his brain.”

Outskirts of Chi County, Taishan Commandery.

The sound of horse hooves rang along the path beside the rice paddies.

The ten escort riders all held their reins lower than mine, following respectfully behind.

“Ah, it’s nice and quiet.”

I took a deep breath of the wind brushing my nose and cleared my head.

I had shed the heavy armor, and the glaring sun had climbed a little higher into the afternoon sky. The absence of the soldiers’ heat, shouts, and swinging spears felt surprisingly pleasant.

“Ha, to think bandit bastards like us can now roam a whole county without worry.”

An old memory suddenly surfaced.

Now we were the court’s army, but until recently we had been collecting tolls in Taishan.

I pulled the reins and slowed the horse.

The horse snorted and stopped.

“Let’s rest here a while.”

One rider nodded knowingly and gestured to the others. They dismounted and spread out along the paddy ridges.

I remained seated on horseback, gazing across the wide fields.

Then something odd caught my eye.

Beside a small stream by the road, beneath the shadow of a scrubby tree.

An old man sitting in the corner so no one would step on him.

Ragged, threadbare clothes. A bent back. A worn cane gripped in withered fingers.

At first glance he was just another unremarkable beggar, yet…

“…Hmm?”

My head turned slightly.

His eyes were sharp.

The old man, who had been looking down, lifted his gaze toward me. Those eyes were like a blade buried beneath the dirt.

That guy definitely isn’t an ordinary old man.

I beckoned one of the soldiers over.

“Hey, doesn’t that old man look hungry?”

“Pardon?”

“Anyone have rice balls?”

One soldier behind me hurriedly opened his sack.

“Ah, yes! We have about ten!”

“Take them all out. Bring my liquor bottle too.”

While the soldiers prepared the food and drink, I dismounted and walked quietly toward the old man.

Flustered noises came from behind, mixed with the cool sound of the wind.

But the old man ignored the commotion and stared straight at me with clear eyes.

“Old sir, you must be very hungry.”

I set down the liquor bottle and the bundle of rice balls the riders had brought.

The old man nodded silently, picked up a rice ball, and began devouring ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it like a starving beast.

I watched quietly.

After he had eaten roughly eight rice balls on the spot, he finally opened the liquor bottle, took a long drink, and spoke.

“Who… are you?”

I shrugged lightly.

“Me? You may have heard the name. I’m Jang Yeon.”

The old man’s hand froze.

He slowly raised his head.

“Jang Yeon… Ah, perhaps—that bandit?”

Behind me the soldiers jumped in shock.

“What did you say!? This old bastard—!”

“How dare you speak to our lord like that!”

I raised a hand to stop them.

“Hey, hey, fuck. Only move when I give the order. Yes, old sir. I was a bandit.”

I grinned and raised a finger.

“But now I am a general of the court.”

The old man stared at me for a long moment, then slowly burst into laughter.

“Puhahaha. A general of the court… Truly, the affairs of the world are unpredictable.”

His laughter faded.

He rubbed the cane at his waist with his fingers several times.

“A bandit becoming a court general… The world is fickle these days, but this is truly strange.”

I neither laughed nor frowned.

I simply answered in my usual calm tone.

“You may think so. But has there ever been a time without strange things in this world?”

The old man’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“A general of the court. Then are you now… moving with a sense of righteous cause for the sake of the nation?”

I shook my head lightly.

“Well. I’ve never once spat out nonsense like ‘righteous cause’ from my own mouth.”

“Then what drives you? Why seek office, gather soldiers, and dip your feet into the muddy waters of politics?”

The old man hid nothing in his words. This was not mere curiosity but a direct jab: Why would a bandit set his mind on politics?

But I didn’t even blink.

“Old sir, I didn’t become a general because I wanted to rise in the world. I just… became a general so I could live a little on my own terms.”

I picked up a nearby twig and chewed on it.

“Do I look like the kind of person who worries about state affairs? I simply entered this game because I wanted to live comfortably.”

The old man stayed silent for a moment, but I continued.

“But living comfortably… that’s actually the hard part. I learned it while cracking heads around me and crushing the bastards aiming for my rice bowl.”

The old man’s fingertips trembled slightly. It was the gesture of an old scholar who had been struck somewhere tender, neither pure anger nor embarrassment.

“I’ve heard a thousand times that righteous cause will set the world right… Honestly, among those who preach it, I’ve never seen a single one who truly possessed it. They all just wrapped their own greed in the word ‘righteous cause.’”

The old man laughed quietly.

“Your words are incredibly crude… yet I cannot deny them.”

I shrugged.

“Ah, and among those who speak politely about duty and righteous cause, I’ve hardly seen any who died a peaceful death.”

At that the old man lowered his head for a moment, then quietly recited.

“Confucius said, ‘When three people walk together, there is sure to be a teacher among them…’”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“Haha. It means that among three people walking the same path, one is certain to be my teacher.”

I raised an eyebrow in surprise.

“Are you calling me your teacher?”

The old man chuckled and lifted the liquor bottle.

“You probably had no such intention. Yet I found something worth learning in your words.”

“I don’t have the brains to teach anyone. I can’t read many books and know little of etiquette, but I do pride myself on knowing one thing.”

“And that is?”

“How to survive in the world as it is now.”

At those words the old man paused mid-drink.

He quietly set the bottle down.

“Yes… I never learned that.”

For the first time he lowered his head deeply.

“When I was young… I believed that if I wrote upright words and lived by the Way, the world would change.”

I tilted my head and listened in silence.

The old man’s voice was low but clear and precise.

“I wanted to become an incorruptible official. I truly believed I could change the world without ever picking up a sword.”

He planted his cane on the ground and spoke weakly.

“So… I submitted memorials, exposed the corrupt, and remonstrated with His Majesty.”

I narrowed my eyes. I didn’t speak, but I could guess.

“There was a man named Hou Lan. On the surface he was frugal and mild, but inside he was greedy and cruel.”

At the name I stroked my chin.

Hou Lan…? What kind of bastard was he?

“I accused him. Gathering evidence of corruption and petitions from the people, I submitted a memorial under my own name.”

“And what happened?”

The old man smiled bitterly.

“So… I was driven out. Dismissed in a single day. My disciples scattered, and several lost their lives because of me.”

I remained silent.

The old man’s gaze drifted far beyond the stream.

“I was upright, honest, and spoke the truth without fear.”

He gave a small nod and concluded.

“And… I could not protect anything. Not my disciples, my friends, or even my family.”

“Well… that’s exactly the story I hear from every Confucian scholar I know.”

The old man looked at me. There was no resentment or anger in his eyes. Only lingering regret and resignation.

I spoke slowly.

“Old sir.”

“……”

“You can still change things now.”

The old man frowned.

“Even now?”

“You’re drinking the liquor I gave you, aren’t you? The principles, the writing, the knowledge you’ve learned all this time… can’t you still put them to good use?”

I smiled mischievously.

“How about using them… under me?”

The old man’s eyes widened in shock.

“I… under someone like you—”

“You’ve already been expelled from the court and hold no office now, correct?”

I cut him off immediately.

“The ‘righteous lord’ you’re waiting for will probably never appear in your lifetime. So you might as well use the next best option—a former bandit general who knows how to compromise with reality.”

The old man said nothing.

I delivered one final blow.

“I have no intention of changing the world, but can’t I at least change what lies beneath my own feet?”

The old man stayed silent for a long time.

Then, very slowly, he picked up the liquor bottle again.

One sip. The sound of it sliding down his throat filled the quiet air.

He lifted his head.

And looked at me with a strange expression—bitter smile and resignation, yet within them a very faint spark of lingering attachment.

“…I thought you were mocking the world. But you’re simply trying to live within it.”

I poked between my teeth with the twig and answered.

“The world has to be worth mocking for me to bother living in it, doesn’t it?”

The old man laughed.

“Hahaha. Mencius said, ‘The heart of compassion is the sprout of benevolence…’ If you lack even that heart, you have no right to speak of benevolence.”

I tilted my head slightly.

“Old sir, I don’t pity people. I just… hate seeing the people under me living in pitiful conditions.”

The old man’s laughter stopped.

Very slowly, he bowed his head.

“…My name is Jang Geom. Courtesy name Wonjeol. Would a general have any use for an old wreck like me?”

I raised my eyebrows and snapped my fingers.

“Oh, you even have a courtesy name. You must have been quite the big shot in your younger days.”

Jang Geom set the bottle down and chuckled quietly.

“Hehehe… I was indeed prominent. So prominent that I got cut down.”

I grinned and stroked my chin.

“Good. From today, old sir—no, Teacher Jang Geom—you are a member of our Black Mountain Army. Our boys know how to swing swords, but men who can wield a brush and use their heads are precious.”

With that I extended my hand.

Jang Geom took it without hesitation.

Taishan General’s Headquarters.

“Hey, call So-yeon and Do Eung.”

Luoyang, deep within the imperial palace.

Beyond the splendid red lanterns, thin threads of incense smoke rose.

In the depths of that imperial city, the Palace Attendant Jang Yang slowly unfolded the letter in his hand.

The paper had been sealed with black wax, and the sender was a name that had already reached even Jang Yang’s ears.

『Taishan, General who Establishes Righteousness Jang Yeon』

Jang Yang raised an eyebrow slightly and began to read in silence.

After finishing, his fingertips lightly brushed the letter. His eyes were not smiling, yet the corners of his mouth rose faintly.

“…Huh.”

Jang Yang glanced toward the incense burner and muttered.

“That bandit bastard writes rather well.”

He folded the letter in half again and quietly tapped the tabletop with his fingertips.

“An army outside the eight gates… Since the bandit has sharp ears and a clever mind, I’ve gained quite a useful piece on the board.”