327
Yingtian — The Court of Wrath
Zhu Yuanzhang was shaking with rage.
First Shang Youchun had fallen, and now word arrived that Seodal had collapsed as well.
It was hard to believe.
Two great generals, struck down in succession—by the same commander.
Not by Chen Youliang.
Not by Zhang Shicheng.
The opponent was the Goryeo army, a force said to be small.
Zhu Yuanzhang had once paid them little mind.
"A mere ten or twenty thousand troops."
He had thought them a presence that hardly mattered, incapable of shaking the larger tide.
Yet two of his foremost generals had fallen in the same place.
This was not a failure of tactics.
It was a sign that the rules of the battlefield were changing.
At this point, failing to recognize that truth was the same as forfeiting the right to rule.
Late that night, Liu Bowen entered.
The wind in the capital of Yingtian cut cold.
Since the news of Seodal's death, the court had sunk into a long silence.
The generals passed blame for the defeat among themselves,
while the civil officials kept their mouths shut, watching one another's faces.
Some said too few troops had been dispatched.
Others argued the advance had been rushed without proper intelligence.
All of it was true.
That was what made it more terrifying.
That day, without a word, Zhu Yuanzhang burned the bamboo slip bearing Seodal's name.
The flame flared briefly, then died down.
As the fire faded, Liu Bowen rose from his seat.
"Your Majesty, what is needed now is not anger, but a clear and steady eye."
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at him.
His gaze was cold, and within it lay exhaustion.
Fatigue lingers longer than rage.
"An eye?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked quietly.
"With eyes already soaked in blood, what is there left to see?"
Liu Bowen bowed his head.
"It is not only Park Seong-jin who is unsettling the battlefield."
"There is another strange matter."
He drew a breath, pressing down the air in the chamber before continuing.
"The Goryeo forces have joined hands with Chen Youliang."
"Why, and how?"
"A force dispatched at the Yuan court's request has allied itself with a rebel army."
The hall stirred.
"Goryeo is not a country to be taken lightly."
"Do they have reason to fight us?"
"Or if those sent at Yuan's behest joined the rebels… does that make us the rebels instead?"
Zhu Yuanzhang raised a hand, halting the murmurs.
"Report in detail."
Liu Bowen nodded slowly.
"Taiping's intelligence ships have reported it."
"Some rear units of Chen Youliang's army are cooperating with troops under the Goryeo general Park Seong-jin."
"They are skilled in gunpowder and artillery, and there are signs that Chen Youliang is borrowing their techniques."
Zhu Yuanzhang pondered for a moment, then spoke low.
"Goryeo."
"They were once a royal son-in-law state of Yuan."
Old memories clung to his voice.
"And now they have attached themselves to Chen Youliang."
A faint smile touched Liu Bowen's lips—as if to say, that is exactly the point.
"That is what makes it strange."
"They are neither Chen Youliang's true allies, nor our friends."
"Which is why we must learn their intent."
"And this man, Park Seong-jin—
he is the same commander who brought down Seodal."
Liu Bowen bowed deeply.
"Your Majesty.
If this man is more than a mere general, then he has already stepped onto the political board."
"Why he chose to join Chen Youliang—
that choice may one day determine this country's fate."
Zhu Yuanzhang fell silent for a moment.
"What would you do?" he asked.
Liu Bowen's voice dropped even lower.
The lower it was, the more dangerous the words.
"I will send an envoy.
The pretext will be negotiations for peace.
Outwardly, it will appear to be coordination of the battlefield.
In truth, it will be a probe."
"We will send an envoy to Yangzhou and make contact.
That is where the Goryeo forces are currently based."
The hall grew quiet.
The word dangerous rose to many throats, then was swallowed.
Someone spoke cautiously.
"Is that not too dangerous? They have allied with our enemy."
Liu Bowen shook his head.
"The moment we decide they are enemies, the war will never end."
"What we need now is to understand why they see us as enemies."
"If they could join hands with Chen Youliang, they could just as well have joined hands with us."
Zhu Yuanzhang thought for a long time.
The longer he thought, the clearer his anger became.
At last, he nodded.
"Very well. Do as you say."
Then he pressed his final words down, slowly and firmly.
"You will choose the envoy yourself.
Our intent is one.
Learn why they oppose us.
If possible, draw them to our side—
or, under the guise of negotiation, drive a wedge between them."
Liu Bowen bowed deeply.
"I will not forget."
As Zhu Yuanzhang dismissed him, he murmured low,
"Park Seong-jin. That Goryeo commander.
You stir the winds wherever you go.
Now I remember—years ago, when he slipped out of Liuhe Fortress, I heard that name as well.
Wherever the wind blows, the course of war is shaken."
That night, Liu Bowen drafted a sealed letter bound for Yangzhou.
Only three lines were written inside:
"The fires of Jiju Fortress have not yet gone out.
Go and hear the truth that lies within those flames.
If that truth runs deeper than a blade, the fighting can be stopped."
The envoy bearing the secret letter vanished into the darkness.
As they crossed the riverbank under the moonlight, the water gleamed red—
as if Seodal's blood were still mingled in the current.