As Prophet - Chapter 10



Only Krnovel

Episode 10. Yangsan Gathering

Before the morning was over, I managed to form five females. Although there were many groups with less than five members, I continued on. It was my intention to form five females, if only to use the five-man formation.

In other provinces, not even a single female was created, but Bijang was barely able to fill the number because he mobilized all the active-duty soldiers, that is, the regular soldiers and the assistants who supported them.

The yard of the town wall was narrow because they were made of five females. They organized and built squares as they had trained, and on the outside were the Peng Baesu with swords and shields, followed by the Jang Changsu, and inside were the Jang Geumsu and the Archers, four rows, and the fifth row surrounded the four sides. The central army was inside, and the cavalry was deployed to help from inside. It took half a day for the five squares made like that to be set up in the unsown field.

* * *

“Let’s go.”

The magistrate, whose condition had improved and he had gained some stability after hearing the report from the spleen, raised his baton high.

“depart!”

As I shout, a signal is transmitted to each female leader.

“depart!”

“depart!”

“depart!”

The spleen placed the vanguard in front to guide the way and headed toward Yangsan. Many people saw them off, and women who had sent their fathers and husbands to the battlefield wiped away their tears. Those who had sent their loved ones to the army lined up along the road to see them off. The words to return alive broke the hearts of those who heard them.

“If those guys come all the way to Yangsan, it’ll be a big problem… … .”

He asks Dalcheon about his concerns without realizing it.

“Where do you think they’re aiming? Surely it’s not Hanyang. Then Yangsan will be fine.”

“It’s not Hanyang. Of course, they can’t attack Hanyangseong. They don’t know the way, and they don’t have the military to do it.”

Dalcheon nodded at the words that their target was not Hanyang.

“Then it seems right to choose Yangsan as the gathering place.”

“Is that so?”

“Will Udo’s troops not come?”

“I didn’t tell you that much. I told you to gather the troops on the left side in Yangsan by the day after tomorrow!”

“okay.”

“The left wing has about 3,000 men, the right wing has about 2,000 men, so that’s 5,000 men. The reason we mobilized so many men is because of the training we’ve had so far, and because we mobilized both regular troops and infantry!”

“I’m in trouble, so where is the difference between right and wrong? It’s only natural that all those who have served in the military should come out.”

The principle is like that, but the reality is not like that. There are many things that do not go according to the principle. There are many things that are thoughtlessly set and followed, but there are also things that do not work because they are ineffective.

The problem of military service is also a problem for the entire country. It is a principle of national conscription, but there are too many exceptions. Excluding the yangban, those who paid military service, and others, if you exclude one person, the reality is that even if there are people, there is not a single person who will go to war.

The reason Gyeongsan County was able to properly assemble a large number of troops was because they regularly conducted inspections and mobilization training.

“You too!”

The army of Gyeongsan-hyeon quickly advanced south. Since the time was short, they reduced their rest time and advanced south again.

A trained army shows its true colors when it moves. The army of Gyeongsan-hyeon did not have a single straggler. It was different from the regular army where desertions occur frequently while moving. They moved while helping each other as they usually trained.

Dalcheon closely observed the soldiers and had them rest frequently. He also deployed many vanguards to find easy routes and planted flags.

“It’s a really tight schedule.”

“How surprised the King must have been. The defense officers must not have been able to pass the tax office.”

Could the words have become seeds? As I was passing through Cheongdo, I met a group of defense officers coming down from Hanyang.

Someone shouted, “The enemy!” as they saw a small group of soldiers pursuing them from behind. It took less than half an hour for the troops to stop and form a defensive formation.

Dalcheon ran backwards with his spleen.

“what?”

The rear guard came running and reported.

“Soldiers are running from behind. There are about fifty of them. They are faster than us.”

“You’re not a pirate, are you?”

“The vanguard has been sent back.”

Dalcheon lifted his head and looked far behind. About fifty cavalrymen were running leisurely, and although their discipline was strict, there was no hostility.

“It seems like we are on the same side. I will go.”

“okay.”

“It might be the people I mentioned earlier, so please tell the magistrate in advance.”

The spleen nodded.

* * *

Gyeongsang-do Defense Commander Hwang Hyeong, who was running south, discovered a group of troops and slowed down. From the downhill road, the army’s movements were immediately visible. They first discovered the approach from behind, stopped marching, and naturally changed into a defensive formation. The army’s movements, stops, and formation changes seemed like a painting. They were a well-trained army. The vanguard jumped out, some hid on the nearby roadside, and five heavy cavalry cavalry charged straight ahead.

“Wow, that’s quite something. There was an army like this in the left lane?”

At the very front, a young general wearing a solid suit of armor came running, holding a blue dragon pole. Four lancers followed, riding their horses in a stable posture, as if pushing off the ground.

“Stop! We are the army of Gyeongsan County.”

The soldiers of the defense force, Hwang Hyung, slowed down and stopped slowly. They also wanted to see what the army they encountered for the first time after entering the left road would do.

“State your affiliation!”

When Hwang Hyung nodded, his subordinate stepped forward.

“This is the procession of Hwang Hyeong, the defense commissioner of Gyeongsang Province.”

They say it’s a defense unit, but there’s no flag. Dalcheon tilted his head. There needs to be a clearer explanation.

“I need confirmation. Show me the flag.”

“You are the Gyeongsan County army?”

“exactly.”

“You?”

“This is the secret weapon of the county magistrate Baek Sa-ban Nari, Dalcheon.”

Behind his pale face, a military banner was fluttering in the wind. The defender tilted his head.

‘Aren’t you too young?’

The flag of the defense force was raised late, and Dalcheon, who saw it with his own eyes, stepped forward. He jumped down from his horse, knelt on one knee, and reported the situation. The other turned his horse’s head and ran to the place he saw to report the news.

“Five armies of Gyeongsan County, about 500 men, are heading to Yangsan. We are rushing to make it on time, and will arrive by the day you commanded. I have contacted the headquarters, so the county magistrate will give a detailed report.”

“Oh, Gyeongsan County! How can you mobilize 500 people from such a small county?”

“We mobilized all the soldiers and military officers.”

“Oh, my goodness! I was worried we wouldn’t have enough troops. So, who are you?”

“This is Hyeon’s secret weapon, Dalcheon.”

“You’re young.”

“thank you.”

When Dalcheon finished speaking and tried to step back, Hwang Hyung came up to him and grabbed his shoulder.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“thank you.”

The magistrate came running with his chief of police and reported formally. Dalcheon quietly retreated.

He reported that he had mobilized many troops, was moving quickly, was equipped with weapons and paraphernalia, and had even trained in formation. The defense officer Hwang Hyung smiled happily and praised the county magistrate’s hard work. As a county magistrate, he would only be Yeosu, but although there were few in number, there were five Yeosu, so Hwang Hyung said he would inspect them on the spot.

The magistrate blinked, not understanding what was being said, but Bi-jang stood up and shouted.

“Prepare to inspect! Prepare to inspect! Do it now!”

Dalcheon ran like the wind and changed the formation of the stationary army. Hwang Hyeong came down after him and inspected. He was a simple-looking commoner, but when he was equipped with weapons and armor, he became confident in battle.

Hwang Hyung repeatedly comforted the soldiers for their hard work and personally inspected their weapons and equipment.

“Because there is someone like Baek Hyeonryeong, the king can sleep soundly. He is truly amazing. Thank you for your hard work.”

“Thank you. I’m worried I won’t be able to make it on time because there are so many armors.”

“No. Who would say anything to an army prepared like this?”

Hwang Hyung called Baek Ui-hyeong and Dalcheon and introduced a formation in which armor and cavalry would join forces. It was a formation in which the cavalry would attack and retreat while the armored infantry, armed with heavy armor, would push back.

“Is this a detour?”

“Block it with a hammer and strike it with a hammer.”

Hwang Hyung made a gesture of striking his palm with his fist.

“Okay, I’ll prepare it that way.”

“We’ll wipe out half of them with archers and then crush them. There’s no way we can avoid close combat with the Japanese pirates. They rush forward fearlessly, trying to engage in close combat.”

“I will definitely do it.”

Hwang Hyung went to the end of the military camp and praised the Gyeongsan County army once more before running south. The defense force, consisting entirely of cavalry, could not help but be faster.

The county magistrate, who had gained strength under the defense commander, encouraged the soldiers.

* * *

Dalcheon asked.

“Are you perhaps planning to use this opportunity to achieve something and overcome the current situation in which the magistrate is being ignored by the Hanyang political circles?”

Is it okay to say that? Baek Ui-hyung flinched at the innocent question that could be embarrassing to hear. If it were someone else, he would say no and that he was only doing his best at work, but he was Dal-cheon, a fellow family member. He couldn’t ignore that natural and innocent question.

It is not true that a Mokmin-gwan will rise because he does a good job. There are so many people who want to go to Hanyang that it is realistically very difficult to enter Hanyang. Even if you send the grain collected from the military fields every year to the powerful people in Hanyang politics, it is very difficult to get on board. It would be correct to say that the competition is fierce. No matter how well you do, if the competition is fierce, it is determined by chance rather than ability.

“Oh. How could I not think so? I don’t know much about politics, but it would be helpful if he achieved something. In fact, yes. Even if he is not a relative, he is a truly great governor. I hope he does well, but he has been moving from one local government to another for quite some time. It is the third or fourth time already. He should have gone up to Hanyang by now, but it is truly a shame. It is truly frustrating that Hanyang does not recognize him. It is just as you said. I think that if I achieve something through this, my reputation will change. That is why I intend to do well.”

“For your merits, you will be promoted to Hanyang. Ahem.”

“Don’t think I’m being too calculating. It was very difficult because of the sinking of the Segok Line last time… … . The fact that the Hanyang government is ignoring such matters is also a problem, but what can I do? If they pretend to know, they should reduce the tax burden or something, but that can’t be done when the tax is already lacking. If they say they don’t know, they think the county will take care of raising it again. They know that it costs the people’s blood and sweat, but they can’t help but do that.”

“Why do you run your finances so tightly?”

“I’m angry, but when I think about it carefully, I have nothing else to say.”

“why?”

“Do you know what the tax rate is?”

“Isn’t it 10%?”

“Yes. But has there ever been a time in history when tax rates were that low?”

Dalcheon’s eyes blinked and he nodded.

“Ah! That’s low.”

“It is the founding ideology of the country to feed the people even if it means lowering taxes. We are struggling because we don’t even have enough salaries to pay the officials.”

“Whew. The tax rate is so low that it’s hard to maintain control. That’s the point.”

“That’s right.”

“… … .”

“That’s why it’s like that. There are no people starving in the whole country. There are poor people, but they don’t worry about their food.”

Dalcheon nodded. It would be a lie to say that there were no groundless complaints about the management and control. When I was young, I saw things going wrong and easily thought that it was the fault of the king and the fault of the law and the officials who enforced the law.

“There are bad guys who buy and sell official positions. The old officials often do that… … Even so, you can’t criticize the system itself for being wrong. It’s the corruption of those who work within it.

There may also be complaints about why they don’t inspect and correct the situation. If that function is in their hands, it may be understandable. I tried my best to resolve this matter, but I got nothing from the Hanyang political circles. That’s why your achievements are so noble. How grateful I am.”

“What’s going on?”

“Well done, and I appreciate it, but don’t make the mistake of looking at only one side of the story. This time, they must have used excessive methods.”

“… … .”

Dalcheon didn’t answer because he didn’t want to admit it.

“It’s a good thing it ended well. Always think twice before taking action… … .”

I’m worried. Since his martial arts skills are high, I’m more worried about excessive violence than about death.

“On the battlefield?”

Baek Ui-hyeong laughed heartily at Dal-cheon’s unexpected question.

“There is no forgiveness or repentance. The enemy on the battlefield.”

“Ahaha. Right.”