What the hell are you up to? (5)
“Grand General.”
Hwangbo Ung turned his head at the voice calling out to him.
“…..Please, at least mount a horse now. Walking like this, as though you were a common foot soldier, does nothing for your dignity.”
“…”
“Morale is important, especially for what we must do from here on. Please, if only for the sake of the soldiers.”
At those words, Hwangbo Ung looked back.
Red banners rose proudly into the sky. Yet, in stark contrast to the imposing sight of those banners, the men carrying them looked utterly wretched.
Their weapons were old and rusted, and their armor was so worn in places that it offered scarcely any protection.
Despite an army of this size being on the march, not a single man could be seen on horseback, and the cheeks of the soldiers, whose eyes gleamed with fierce determination, were hollow and gaunt, plainly betraying their hunger.
At best, they looked like the remnants of a defeated army. To put it bluntly, they looked more like a band of peasant rebels.
But it could not be helped.
Even with their departure, the northern frontier could not be left undefended. They had handed over all serviceable weapons and horses to the men who remained. That would give those men at least a little help in facing the enemy with their diminished numbers.
The weapons they themselves would use were already waiting at their destination. That was enough.
“Please, Grand General.”
As his adjutant bowed his head, Hwangbo Ung silently turned to face the road ahead. After a long silence, a deep voice emerged from his lips.
“There is no need.”
“Grand General.”
“If I must mount a horse to create an air of authority I do not possess, then I suppose I have lived my life wrongly all these years.”
“…”
“These men know me better than anyone. If I must borrow even the grandeur of a horse to command their respect, then our failure is as certain as day. Besides, I am not returning to my homeland for any joyous occasion in the first place, so what need have I to return in glory?”
At those words, the adjutant lowered his head.
“I merely…….”
“I know.”
Hwangbo Ung shook his head.
“There is nothing to worry about. I will not fall until I have fulfilled my final duty. Even if the King of Hell himself comes for me, I will send him away.”
“Grand General…….”
“We are almost there.”
The old general’s dry eyes turned towards the land stretching out before him.
He had spent his entire life defending this seemingly insignificant stretch of land. And now the time had come to achieve the final goal that would bring that life to its culmination.
“Advance without stopping. There is no turning back for us now.”
A fierce light shone in his wrinkled, aged face.
❀❀❀
“The Northern Army is a powerful force.”
“I know. You already told me.”
“What I mean is, it is a force of unrivaled strength.”
“I said I know.”
“And that powerful force is stationed near the Imperial Palace.”
“…Huh?”
Meeting the bewildered gaze directed at him, Jwa Gohak cleared his throat as though he had expected this reaction.
“What I mean is, that poses more of a threat than you might think…”
“Wait, are you messing with me, you bastard? What kind of nonsense is that?”
“Calm down, Chung Myung.”
“Listen, you bastard, it’s always been that way, so what’s your point.”
“Indeed…. You are right. It has always been that way. And that was why it was not a problem. Back when the Emperor was eager to lead campaigns in the north himself and make those lands our own.”
“…Huh?”
Chung Myung’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“But… the current Emperor has little interest in such things. He has no particular desire to conquer the north, and believes that any time and money available for such an undertaking would be better spent elsewhere.”
“Ah…….”
“How do you suppose His Majesty views the Northern Army, then?”
“Well….”
When Chung Myung turned to his fellow disciples, they each chimed in.
“Freeloaders?”
“Potential bandits?”
“Warmongers?”
“…Those are rather harsh terms, but they are probably not far from the truth. As you can see, even an army whose nature remains unchanged can be judged differently depending on how one looks at it.”
“Wow….”
As Chung Myung stared at Jwa Gohak with an expression of utter disbelief, Jwa Gohak’s face turned bright red, and he discreetly turned his head away. Apparently, even he found the whole thing embarrassing.
“No, wait a minute. That still doesn’t make sense? The reason the Northern Army is so strong, and so large in the first place is that the enemies they have to fight are equally formidable.”
“That is also true. Things should have gone wrong long ago, but the problem is that General Hwangbo Ung is a brilliant commander.”
“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Even a brilliant commander ought to have his limits, but Grand General Hwangbo Ung is so brilliant that… Even with that dwindling support, he has crushed every last invader.”
“Ah… So that’s how it happened.”
“And so, the central government takes the position that if he’s already defending the north so well, why bother providing any more support? So they withhold support, and General Hwangbo Ung goes right back to crushing the bastards who come to plunder our lands….”
“A vicious cycle straight out of hell.”
“Is this the result shown by a man who possesses not even a shred of flexibility?”
“Well, it’s not as if he could just lose on purpose.”
“Then is this a disaster caused by someone being too competent?”
Jwa Gohak lowered his head and let out a deep sigh.
“That vicious cycle has been continuing for quite some time now. By now, even the Red Banner Army must be unable to hold out much longer. They are probably at their limit.”
“What do you mean by their limit?”
“A crushing defeat, I’d say.”
Having witnessed similar situations before, Chung Myung understood the reality all too well. When a place had somehow managed to hold out by grinding its people down to the bone like that, once its defenses were breached, the result would never be a mere defeat.
Just as a breach in one section of a dam can trigger a chain reaction that causes the entire structure to collapse, a single defeat could cause those who had been barely holding on to crumble all at once.
And if the force that collapsed was the army defending the north? It would undoubtedly be something so horrific that even the word calamity could not fully describe it.
“Hmm.”
Chung Myung shrugged.
“Anyway, if that’s how it is, that explains one thing.”
“What?”
“Why a man said to have such fine character suddenly chose to rebel.”
“Ah.”
Under circumstances like these, even the most loyal of men would have had every last shred of loyalty ground out of them. To speak plainly, hadn’t they shoved him into the desolate north and simply waited for him to drop dead.
“So that’s why he took action?”
“…I have not witnessed it myself, but the General Hwangbo Ung I know of would not have abandoned his loyalty. If his own life were the only one at stake.”
“But with the Northern Army facing annihilation, he had no choice?”
Jwa Gohak did not answer. But his expression revealed the thoughts he kept to himself.
“But in that case, might he not necessarily be rebelling? He may be bringing his army here, but perhaps he only intends to lodge a protest or offer some earnest counsel…”
“The very act of leading an army here constitutes treason. If the reports are true, General Hwangbo Ung will be put to death by slow dismemberment, and all nine degrees of his kin will be exterminated.”
“That’s brutal…….”
Jo Geol, who had been listening quietly, scowled.
“What a stubborn old man. Then he should have come alone and requested an audience long ago.”
“He did. But he was refused every time.”
“What? Why?”
“…His Majesty said he had no need to meet a mere military man.”
Everyone’s mouths fell wide open.
“W-What the hell is wrong with that bastard…”
“Y-You’re calling the Emperor a bastard? You insolent fool!”
“But it’s true. An old general who has defended the north all this time asks for an audience, and he turns him down? He tells someone who has come all that way to just go back? Is he telling him to stay stuck in the north and drop dead, or what? No one with any common sense would do that.”
“Ahem.”
Jwa Gohak cleared his throat awkwardly, apparently embarrassed.
“The Imperial Family’s idea of common sense often differs from ours.”
“So you’re saying they have no common decency.”
“That is not quite what I mean.”
“Then you’re saying they’re out of their minds.”
“…It could seem that way.”
“Oh-ho. What was that? What outrageous words just came out of a Confucian scholar’s mouth.”
“Eek!”
Jwa Gohak clapped a hand over his mouth in horror. Talking with these lunatics, he had unwittingly gotten swept up in their madness.
“Anyway, to sum it up, the Northern Army could collapse at any moment, and if it does, a terrible catastrophe could follow. Is that right?”
“Yes. The enemies in the north may invade and plunder the Central Plains once they are left undefended.”
“So he kept asking for support, and they kept ignoring him.”
“….Rather than ignoring him, it was a matter of… resources.”
“Bullshit. Is there any reason the resources they used to have would suddenly disappear?”
“The affairs of state are exceedingly complex.”
Chung Myung clicked his tongue in disapproval. As though there was no point in saying anything more.
“Right, sure. I get it. Let’s say that’s how it is for now. Anyway, after trying everything and getting nowhere, the old general finally snapped and is marching south with his troops?”
“…”
“Meanwhile, Do Hyeon, the Chief Eunuch, who already had half the court under his thumb, decided that since things had come to this, he’d latch onto the old man and wipe out everyone he’d always disliked, then put that Hwangbo… Hwangbo……”
“Grand General Hwangbo Ung, the Iron Pillar of the North.”
“Right. He intends to put that Hwangbo Ung fellow on the throne?”
“Most likely……”
“And what’s here is both the evidence of that plot and the preparations for it?”
With a grave expression, Jwa Gohak slowly nodded.
Having finally understood the entire situation, Chung Myung nodded as though he had made up his mind and turned to the others.
“That settles it.”
“Huh?”
“We can’t stop it. Let’s go home, before we get caught in the crossfire.”
“Noooooo!”
As Chung Myung turned away without the slightest hesitation, Jwa Gohak lunged forward like a bolt of lightning and clung to him desperately.
“It’s treason, I tell you, treason!”
“So what do you want us to do? What’s that got to do with us?”
“Even if you are Taoists, surely you owe the country something for the favors it has bestowed on you!”
“Go tell Wudang. We’ve never received any.”
“But you still have to do something! Anything!”
“Oh dear, lowly Taoists like us really ought not meddle in affairs of state. Now now, please stop insisting, and perhaps you distinguished Confucian scholars could discuss it among yourselves.”
Deciding there was no getting through to Chung Myung anymore, Jwa Gohak whipped his head around to look at the other disciples of Hwasan.
“P-Please do something. Anything!”
“Yoon Jong.”
“Yes, Sasuk.”
“Have you packed our stuff?”
“Of course. We can leave right away.”
“Then let’s hurry and get our things. If we hang around here for nothing, Sect Leader will end up caning our calves.”
“Yes! Sasuk!”
“Sasuk!”
At those words, Tang Soso indignantly spoke up. A brief glimmer of hope appeared in Jwa Gohak’s eyes.
Yes, the others might blatantly show their lack of proper upbringing, but this female Taoist clearly bore the marks of an education befitting a prestigious family. Naturally, she was bound to see things differently.
“There’s still some time before the people marching from the north arrive.”
“…That is true. It is no short journey.”
“Then let’s buy some souvenirs before we go. We’ve come all the way to Beijing, so how disappointed would the Elders be if we returned empty-handed? Let’s buy some gifts for our Sasukjo [Un generation] too.”
“Ah…… Right. Ha, you really can tell when someone’s had a proper upbringing.”
“Then let’s get going.”
“Right.”
With Tang Soso leading the way, the disciples of Hwasan turned around and began walking back with a spring in their steps.
“…”
Jwa Gohak, left alone, and the East Depot agents standing some distance away stared blankly at the scene.
“They’re leaving.”
“They’re really leaving.”
“But can we just let them go?”
“We were told to let them go.”
Hearing the dejected voices of the Eastern Depot men behind him, Jwa Gohak slowly sank to the ground.
Thud.
Sitting flat on his backside, Jwa Gohak let his mouth hang open as he gazed up at the sky, where the first light of dawn was already beginning to break.
“…Those useless bastards*.”
The Confucian scholar, whose hatred of Taoists had now reached its absolute peak, could do nothing but tear at his own hair in frustration.
________
*Jwa Gohank is calling them rice weevils (쌀벌레), which is synonymous to someone freeloading/being useless in general/being a parasite.
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