So it was still there. Within me. (2)
“What is the situation?”
“The worst it could be.”
A small chamber. A place that deserved to be called a ‘secret chamber,’ not because it was sealed, but because no one dared approach it without permission.
Four men clad in the official robes that symbolized the highest ranks of the Imperial Court were seated within.
“What do you mean by that? Are you saying they cannot be stopped? Just what are the Embroidered Uniform Guard* and the Imperial Army doing that they cannot handle a mere few hundred enemies!”
As the elderly high ranking official’s furious voice erupted, the middle-aged man clad in armor frowned.
“Mind your words, Grand Secretary. The Imperial Army is not weak. As you said, we are not the sort to be driven back by a mere few hundred enemies.”
“Then?”
“Surely you already know. It will not end with them alone. Have you learned nothing from history?”
The old official’s** face stiffened in an instant.
There was no possibility that it would end there… Yes, he was right.
It had been the same over a hundred years ago. At first, the Imperial Court had mocked the attacks of those they regarded as nothing more than a heretical cult. But after ten days, they could laugh no longer, and after twenty, they had been forced to abandon everything in their grasp and flee north.
Indeed, had the Emperor himself not eventually succumbed to the wounds he suffered during that desperate flight?
“How could I not know of that humiliation.”
That humiliation had not remained mere humiliation alone. They had lost far too much because of that dreadful calamity.
With the Northern Army annihilated, they had been forced to abandon their campaigns against the foreign tribes, while the Provincial Warlords [군벌(軍閥)] disregarded the authority of the Imperial Court and ran rampant as they pleased. To the west, mountain bandits plundered the Central Plains as though it were their own home, while rogues of every kind swept across the realm like a swarm of insects, tearing it apart.
Even as they watched all of this unfold, the Imperial Court endured… and endured. They needed strength if they were to punish them. Even as the rogues of Gangho roamed the land as though it belonged to them, and innocent civilians suffered from the wars that raged throughout Gangho, they had no choice but to remain silent to the bitter end.
And yet.
“Only now… Only now did I believe we had finally built enough strength to cast off that humiliation. Why must they rise again now? Why!”
The time had finally come. Their preparations to restore the authority of the Imperial Court and rule all under Heaven were finally nearing completion. How heartless Heaven was. Why, of all places, did those bastards have to come to Beijing?
“Lamenting it will accomplish nothing. The important question is how we are to deal with them.”
The beardless man seated across from the elderly official let out a sigh and spoke.
“So, Commander [도독(都督)***], what do you intend to do?”
The military official [무관(武官)] shook his head as though the question required no thought at all.
“We must abandon Beijing and flee.”
“What…..!”
The elderly official known as the Grand Secretary cried out as if in utter desperation.
“Do you even understand what that means? Abandon Beijing! Are you suggesting that His Majesty flee the capital? You would have us once again suffer the humiliation of abandoning the capital and fleeing before a mere band of heretics?”
It was unthinkable.
To lose power and be forced to flee [몽진(蒙塵) – archaic, specific to Emperor. Literally translates to ‘covered in dust.’]. In truth, it was not all that rare for a sovereign to abandon the palace and flee.
The problem was that every time such a flight occurred, the authority of the Imperial Court suffered damage beyond measure.
For the elderly official, who had devoted his entire life to strengthening the authority of the Imperial Court, it was something he could never accept.
“I do not know how great a humiliation it would be.”
But the military official refused to yield as well.
“Would that not still be better than His Imperial Majesty being slaughtered by a band of heretics?”
“You insolent fool! How dare you utter such nonsense just because you have a mouth…!”
“Enough!”
A roar like that of a tiger burst from the military official’s mouth.
“Look at the situation for what it is.”
“…”
“No one wishes to stand and fight more than I do. Rather than be remembered in history as a cowardly commander who fled before a mere band of heretics, I would rather be remembered as a valiant commander who died fighting them head-on.”
The Grand Secretary fell silent. The military official before him was undoubtedly the sort of man who would make exactly that choice.
“But that would be disloyal. Right now, what we must think about is not honor, pride, or the distant future, but the immediate survival.”
The hands of the military official, folded across his chest, trembled with barely restrained fury. Even he seemed to find it difficult to accept that he was arguing for retreat.
The beardless man, who had been watching in silence, finally spoke.
“Commander.”
“Yes, Chief Eunuch****.”
“Are they truly that powerful?”
The military official, the Commander, bit his lip tightly.
“The Imperial Army is not weak. Whoever they may be, they are not the kind of enemy that would make us give up on fighting them.”
“Then why do you insist on fleeing?”
“Because we do not know what may come after them.”
“What may come after? What do you mean by that..?”
“Have you forgotten? Whenever that heretical cult has risen, a demon [마귀(魔鬼) – or devil itself] have always followed in its wake.”
“…”
“The demon recorded in the Imperial Palace’s secret chronicles. If even half of those unbelievable records – or no, even half of that half – is true… then we cannot guarantee His Majesty’s safety.”
“…And you expect us to believe those preposterous records?”
The Commander fixed the Grand Secretary with a hard stare.
“If those preposterous records prove to be true, and His Majesty meets with disaster, will the Grand Secretary take responsibility?”
The Grand Secretary closed his mouth. Naturally he did. Who could possibly dare take responsibility for such a catastrophe?
“We must at least ensure that His Majesty is escorted to safety.”
“Then what of the Imperial Army?”
“One force will escort His Majesty. The other will remain here and hold them back.”
“Hmm.”
The Grand Secretary pondered for a moment before nodding heavily.
“Then the civil officials [백관(百官) – just any type of government official in general, but not the military ones] shall accompany His Majesty.”
At that, the man called the Grand Eunuch clicked his tongue in disapproval.
“If that’s the plan, wouldn’t it be better to slip away quietly instead? What’s the point of making such a spectacle of it? Marching out with the Imperial Army and the entire court in tow.”
“…We cannot ask His Majesty to endure the humiliation of fleeing like a thief.”
“And does fleeing in splendid fashion somehow make it less humiliating?”
“Grand Eunuch!”
The beardless man slowly shook his head.
“Do as you please. I’ll follow whatever you decide.”
“Then His Majesty….”
Everyone’s gaze turned to the Grand Eunuch. Scratching his smooth chin, he answered in an indifferent tone.
“What’s so difficult about persuading him? If we tell him it’s the right thing to do, he’ll do it. He’ll grumble a bit, of course, but it won’t last long. If we tell him he’s simply taking a sightseeing trip to the south, he might even be delighted.”
Silence settled over them for a moment.
“…Shouldn’t we explain the situation to him properly?”
“Then you do it.”
“…”
With lifeless eyes, the Grand Eunuch muttered.
“Trying to explain something to a man who has no intention of listening is no different from talking to a wall.”
“Grand Eunuch!”
“I know, I know. Disloyal, wasn’t it? I’ll watch my tongue.”
Grand Eunuch waved his hand dismissively, as though he could not be bothered with any of it.
“Ahem.”
“Hmm.”
The Grand Secretary’s and the Commander’s faces reddened slightly. But they did not press the eunuch before them any further. They knew that his attitude did not stem from mere disloyalty.
“Then let us proceed as quickly as possible.”
“Let us.”
It was then.
“Wait.”
At that moment, the one man who had remained silent until now finally spoke.
Unlike the Grand Secretary, who appeared to be at least seventy, the Cheif Eunuch, who looked no younger than fifty, and the Commander, a middle-aged man who seemed to be around forty, he was a young man whose beard had not even properly grown in.
He looked utterly out of place in a gathering where such grave matters were being discussed.
“We have yet to finish the discussion.”
“What discussion do you mean, Academician [시독학사(侍講學士)*****]?”
Yet no one present seemed to find his presence there strange. That could only mean that this man enjoyed absolute trust, transcending both his rank and his age.
“What do you intend to do about the people?”
At those words, a different light appeared in each of the other three men’s eyes.
“The people?”
“Should they not be evacuated?”
For a moment, a troubled expression crossed the Grand Secretary’s face.
“I understand what you mean, but we do not have the means for that now. Time is pressing.”
The Grand Eunuch spoke in the same indifferent manner.
“If the people begin trying to flee as well, there is no telling what trouble may arise along the route of His Majesty’s flight. It would be better not to make the matter any larger than it already is.”
At that, the young man smiled faintly.
“The people trust and follow His Majesty as they would a parent, and His Majesty is meant to watch over the people as though they were his own children.”
“…Now, listen here.”
“What parent would abandon their children and flee alone?”
“Ahem.”
The Grand Secretary cleared his throat quietly. The Academician swept a cold gaze over them, then shook his head. It was a gesture that suggested he had expected nothing from them in the first place.
“I will do it.”
“.…You will?”
“Once His Majesty departs, everyone will undoubtedly follow after him, claiming they must attend upon him, so does that not mean someone must remain here and lead the people? I will do it, so assign me just ten thousand men from the Imperial Army.”
“Very well…….”
“Impossible.”
At that moment, the Commander’s cold voice cut in.
“The army cannot be divided.”
The Academician glared at the Commander with an icy gaze.
“The Imperial Army stationed to defend Beijing alone numbers no fewer than thirty thousand. Are you saying you cannot spare even ten thousand of them?”
“Twenty thousand must remain here to defend the city, and the remaining ten thousand must protect His Majesty.”
“Is that so? Then what about five thousand?”
“Impossible.”
“Hah. Really? Then one thousand?”
“That is impossible as well.”
“…”
The Academician silently stared at the Commander. The Grand Secretary spoke.
“This cannot be helped. Surely you, more than anyone, understand that His Majesty’s safety must come before all else?”
“I wonder.”
At that, a peculiar smile appeared on the Academician’s lips.
“I cannot say whether His Majesty’s safety truly comes before all else, but there is one other thing I understand very well.”
“…And what is that?”
“Why this nation is doomed to fall.”
“You insolent wretch!”
“I understand. I need neither the Imperial Army nor any other support. Simply grant me the authority to evacuate the people… No, never mind. I’ll go see His Majesty myself and obtain it directly.”
The Academician sprang to his feet. His eyes, as he looked at the other three men, were filled with contempt.
“I sincerely hope you all manage to cling to your precious lives, so that we may meet again.”
“You insolent…!”
Without so much as a backward glance, the Academician strode out of the room. After crossing the courtyard and walking some distance away, a group of young officials who had been waiting in the distance hurried over to him.
“Sahyeong! What happened?”
“Was it any different from what we expected?”
“Damn it!”
Every one of them ground their teeth in frustration. In the end, those men had chosen to preserve their own lives under the pretext of protecting the Emperor.
“So what do we do now?”
“The twenty thousand Imperial troops will hold the enemy back. While they buy us time, we’ll evacuate as many people as possible.”
“Can that really be done?”
“They’re the Demonic Cult. Troops like the Imperial Army, softened by years of peace, are no match for them. It might be different if the Crimson Banner Army****** were here. But they’ve been exiled to the Western Regions, haven’t they?”
“If we’re not careful, the civilians could be massacred, and we might all die with them.”
“So what?”
The Academician shot his fellow disciples an icy glare.
“Are you suggesting we run away with those old geezers instead? Following them around, currying favor with the Emperor?”
But rather than flinching beneath that icy gaze, the others merely grinned.
“What are you talking about? We’re saying that means we need to prepare thoroughly.”
“Shall we proceed according to the evacuation plan we prepared?”
“Stop glaring like that. You’re not scaring anyone.”
Listening to their flippant voices, the Academician could not help but chuckle. Well, it was precisely because they were this sort of men that they still stood by his side now.
“We evacuate the people as quickly as possible.”
“Sahyeong. But there is no denying that this is reckless. At this rate, not only will we die, but more than half the people here will be slaughtered as well.”
“I know.”
“Then how can you be so calm? Do you have something you’re counting on?”
“Something I’m counting on. Well, rather than saying I trust them…”
The Academician, Jwa Gohak, raised his head and looked up at the sky. An enigmatic smile formed upon his lips.
“…It’s more that they’re completely out of their minds, you see.”
“Pardon?”
They would be coming. If it was them, they certainly would. Jwa Gohak believed that.
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*금의위(錦衣衛) – the imperial secret police that served the emperors of the Ming dynasty.
**High ranking officials is a general term that had been used 고관(高官). And the old official here is specified as 신하(臣下) – official in feudal court, retainer.
***In the dictionary it says ‘commander in charge of all military assets for a zhou.’ Where zhou were historical administrative and political divisions of China. So I assume he is the Commander of the zhou where Beijing is.
****사례태감(司禮太監) – salye-taegam – The highest-ranking position held by eunuchs during China’s Ming dynasty. After the reign of the Emperor Yongle, they strengthened their influence under the emperor’s protection, participated in government affairs, and exercised power over the court and affairs of state.
From the spinoff too: Grand Secretary [대학사(大學士) – daehagsa] – one of the highest positions in Imperial Court.
*****Academician-in-Attendance for Lectures or Imperial Lecturer. There is no direct translation for this government title into English. I will give an explanation and we will just call it Academician for short. It was one of the offices of the central government of China during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Officials holding this post were primarily assigned to the Grand Secretariat or the Hanlin Academy. Subordinate officials included positions such as Registrar (dianbu, 典簿) and Attendant Drafter (shizhao, 侍詔). They could also be attending upon the emperor or court and give lectures or explanations of classical texts.
******Crimson Banner Army – 강기군(絳旗軍) – I can’t find any historical reference for an actual division like this, but what I found is that it’s a term used for preliminary siege warfare. In the ancient text of Mozi, it is a command unit and defensive formation under the supreme commander’s red banner. The red flag was always the highest one, and the soldiers of the red banner also had different badges. But it’s all about just siege tactics. I have no idea why biga is using it here, it doesn’t rly make sense?
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If you didn’t read the spinoff – Jwa Gohak is one of the main characters from it! Happy to see him here.
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