As Prophet - Chapter 132



Only Krnovel

Episode 132. The Key is to Leave No Other Choices

Dalcheon met Jo Dong-gil, telling him to be on guard against the outside. Jo Dong-gil was outside the corridor surrounding the side hall, so he didn’t know exactly what was going on inside, but he seemed to have guessed from the sounds he heard.

“What are you doing?”

“I hear what’s going on inside.”

“We are summoning the figures of the Great War one by one, holding a summary trial, and then immediately beheading them. About 20 people have been beheaded so far.”

“How could you do something like that without even blinking an eye… … .”

“Now, it’s time to choose. You are the commander of the Royal Guard with the most troops. Oh, and you beheaded Seo Jae-cheol. You are the master of the Great Army.”

“oh my god…….”

“Will you join us or will you oppose us and fight?”

“How far will you go? You’ll go back after you kill the bad guys, right?”

How much should I say? I don’t know the person, so I can’t estimate. We judge a person’s character by their eyes, face, posture, and expression, but as society becomes more complex, there are too many people whose insides and outsides are different. The most common people are those who have a smiling face but whose hearts are cold. There are also many who are willing to sell their relatives’ eighth cousins ​​to satisfy their needs. In any case, they are watermelons that are different inside and out.

“There is no time to explain the outline of the cause of the uprising. Things are moving forward very quickly. What I am asking of you now is a judgment call. I ask you to decide whether you will stand on our side and join in the work of rectifying the country, or whether you will risk your life for the lackeys of the old regime.”

“Did you just say ‘Qi’?”

“Yes.”

“Are you trying to drive out such a highness?”

“No. Your Majesty will ascend to the throne.”

“Is it like when King Taejo abdicated and went to Hoeryeong?”

“Yes. In fact, I wish you would disappear, but that won’t do. To be honest, that’s right. This kind of monopolization of state affairs is also a skill. The military government has collapsed, and tax collection has lost its fairness. The relatives of the Hungu ministers are monopolizing government posts, and those who are nameless but capable and have a strong sense of mission cannot even set foot in Hanyang. We are living in an era that is no different from the past. Due to strong reaction, the country has changed from a country for the aristocracy to a country for Confucian scholars and officials. There are too many people who do not pay taxes, do not join the military, and do not fulfill their military service obligations. Oh, why am I talking about state affairs that I don’t even know well? I plan to support the great prince and help him start the path of re-establishing a new country. Make your choice.”

“Now?”

“Then, when else would you do it if not now?”

“I’ll have to think about it.”

Dalcheon laughed bitterly.

“Can I take it that you are not cooperating right now?”

Those words were scary. The words behind them sounded like a threat, like, ‘I’ll hit you, I might hit you.’

“Give me some time.”

“how much?”

“How do you decide something like this now?”

“Then I will take it that you will not cooperate.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Aren’t you going to do as I tell you right now?”

“Do you need it?”

“Yes. We need to strengthen the defense of the palace.”

“The palace is solid.”

Dalcheon smiled brightly. It was a smile that said otherwise. He had entered the palace so easily. They would be able to enter even more easily.

“They will attack. We will deal with the Golden Army before that. Please make your position clear, whether you cooperate or oppose.”

“What if I object?”

Dalcheon slowly pulled back. It looked like he was preparing to draw his sword.

“I won’t be able to retire safely. Probably.”

“That’s a threat.”

“Depending on how you answer, you could lose your head right away. It’s that urgent. You’ve had enough time to think about it since dawn. It’s not like the head of a country’s internal security guard didn’t feel the wind of morale.”

Jo Dong-gil was not a person who spoke easily like he did at first. He seemed to be calculating the pros and cons with a serious expression on his face.

“I’ll give you half a penny.”

“After half an hour?”

“It’s either your full cooperation or your head is blown off this spot. It’s one of the two.”

“That’s a threat.”

“It’s that urgent.”

“Isn’t it just doing whatever you want?”

“The Great Plan will be revealed. We will mobilize all our power to attack the palace.”

“No way.”

“It’s a force that can’t be compared to the 450 thugs who attacked the school building yesterday. It’s okay if you refuse to cooperate and join them. Our position is more urgent than numbers.”

Jo Dong-gil, who was faced with a difficult choice, looked up at the sky.

“Should I not go and speak to His Majesty? I will follow His Majesty’s orders.”

Dalcheon nodded slowly. He immediately brought Jo Dong-gil inside and went into the side room. Jo Dong-gil’s jaw twitched as he witnessed the tragedy as he came inside.

“Your Majesty, I asked the commander of the royal guard to join our side, and he said he would ask you and then do it.”

“You rascal! How dare you insult the royal family?”

Dalcheon did not answer, but pushed Jo Dong-gil into the side room and came out. Surrounded by terrified officials, Jo Dong-gil knelt before the king.

“Your Majesty, please tell me the way. I will do as you command. Now that the black and white are unclear, I am foolish and do not know what to do. Please tell me to attack them or to help them.”

The king looked down at Jo Dong-gil with a fierce look. It was his order, but it was ridiculous that the chief of the royal guard would just sit by and watch these unruly men. There is no fool in the world. No, perhaps we put such a man in that position. We must have put such a man in that position who does nothing even in the midst of a dangerous war.

“What is the current status of the Golden Army?”

“The power is surrounding the perimeter of the power plant.”

“What are you going to do?”

“They want us to take their side.”

“so.”

“We are Your Majesty’s army, so we will follow Your Majesty’s will. So they let us into the side hall. We will follow Your Majesty’s orders. We are Your Majesty’s army.”

I glanced around at the ministers who were still in the front yard. Most of them had faces that were pale and tired. They couldn’t look away from the tragedy unfolding in the front yard. Some were shaking their hands, and others were still in a state of guest spirit, and were loudly denouncing the situation. There wasn’t a single person who could make a judgment.

“You are still loyal.”

“I am embarrassed.”

“The reason they passed safely was because there was a clause, and it was managed by the Office of the Inspector General.”

The king’s gaze lingered on Do Seung-ji. It meant, “Isn’t it your fault, Do Seung-ji, the head of the Office of Royal Secretariat?”

I came out at dawn after hearing the news. I didn’t have time to check it out. I just slept.

“It was inevitable that they came, but why did you stay still when they surrounded the crown prince’s palace?”

“His Highness the Crown Prince was held captive by them. They said they would kill him if he attacked.”

“I see. I see… … . Now?”

“I will follow your orders.”

“If we attack now, the inside of the palace will become a sea of ​​blood. The lives of the innocent officials and the life of this pitiful king will be lost.”

“majesty…….”

Jo Dong-gil bowed his head. He finally realized that it was a good choice for the king to appoint a separate commander of the royal guard and distance himself from the three military departments. Power must be shared. The fact that they were able to check each other became the card that allowed me to move and maneuver today.

* * *

Meanwhile, Dalcheon, who had come to the front yard of the palace, ordered the soldiers to prepare for battle. Even if they were whispering secretly, he could hear everything they were saying.

“Prepare for battle!”

“Prepare for battle!”

“Prepare for battle!”

“Prepare for battle!”

“Prepare for battle!”

“Prepare for battle.”

The soldiers who had turned their heads away from the brutal trial scene reorganized their ranks as they returned to their positions. Compared to the royal guards, they were no less equipped with horses, armor, and shields. Most of the royal guards wore thin, single-layered uniforms and carried only swords. Some held bows, but there were not many. This was because bows were rarely used in the palace guards. Protocol was more important than force.

Dalcheon gave another instruction.

“When a battle breaks out, detain everyone in the garrison, put dog leashes around their necks, and use them as shields.”

“What should I do, Your Majesty?”

Dalcheon chewed on his words. He said to detain and deal with everyone. He had to think about whether the word “everyone” included the king. There should be no exceptions. All these troubles stemmed from that pointless exception.

“Kill him!”

“yes?”

Dojeong blinked. I’m not saying we should kill everyone, I’m just saying we should lead things in the right direction. Dalcheon said once more.

“Kill me.”

“It has huge repercussions.”

“The key to this battle is to leave no other choice. After today, you must not be seen in Hanyang. Can’t you see it when you see it? It’s not a person. It’s a non-person who pretends to be a person, and when it’s in a high position and acts like a fool, the government is ruined. Of course, it’s not for me to judge, but don’t make exceptions.”

“Loyalty!”

Lee Ki-moon sent dozens of soldiers into the annex. They drew their weapons and pushed forward fiercely, distorting the form of the meeting that had been divided into two groups. He drove everyone to the center.

“No, this is so outrageous… … .”

The old official’s mouth, which was about to protest, suddenly stopped because there was a knife in his mouth.

“What do you mean?”

“Please gather in the center.”

“How dare you barge into the guest room wearing shoes?”

“Their attack is imminent. We plan to gather them together and kill them all at once.”

The military is not shy about their words. They may have lived their lives proudly, thinking that they were important people in high positions, but if you think of them as a bad group that has been monopolizing state affairs, aren’t they worthy of being killed? They should have been caught a long time ago. They are not people who are like whales. They are not treated as people.

Just because you’re standing there with the same weapons doesn’t mean you have no humanity. I was aware of the situation and now I know that things I never dreamed of were happening.

These are the ministers who were fooled by the words of the great king. They did not listen to the king and ignored the people’s requests. They tried to kill the smart and good-natured prince and put a slightly lacking person on the throne, who they could manipulate as they pleased.

Although they did not know the details of the details, the attitude of the soldiers who had seen the situation in the palace was firm. It seemed as if the threatening tip of the sword would pierce into their bodies at any moment. They crowded them tightly inside the veranda, shoulder to shoulder. The military officer reported to Lee Gi-mun.

“Loyalty! Gather in the center and surround with fifty soldiers.”

“When the Royal Guards start attacking, don’t look back and kill them all!”

“Loyalty!”

He wanted to ask the question of who should be saved and who should be killed, but he did not leave room for that. The officials gathered in the center were murmuring anxiously. The face of the Royal Guard Commander Jo Dong-gil, who was listening to the order in front of the king, turned pale.

“Your Majesty! What should I do?”

The question was whether they could proceed as is. The king’s expression distorted miserably. After sounding out Jo Dong-gil’s intentions, he said he would go in and consult with the king and follow his wishes, and then pushed the soldiers into the side hall. Heavily armed soldiers came up onto the floor of the side hall and rushed in.

“You’re going to kill them all?”

“majesty.”

But their blades were aimed at the ministers, not at the king. The thought, ‘Why not just take this opportunity to wipe them all out?’ came to the king’s mind. As it climbed up the dark wall of his mind like a secret temptation, the officer shouted.

“Now that the conversation is over, I would like Your Majesty to go inside!”

“Hey you!”

Jo Dong-gil stood up, shivering. Perhaps he thought he had to do this in front of the king. The five archers at the gate pulled their bows and aimed at Jo Dong-gil. Jo Dong-gil preferred light and stylish things, so he didn’t even wear armor underneath.

“Do you want to go in there too?”

“no.”

“The enemy attack will begin soon, so please hold on tight.”

“It hasn’t been decided yet.”

“Then disarm and lie down.”

Cho Dong-gil ground his teeth. If I meet you anywhere else after this is over, I will kill you.

Meanwhile, the king, realizing belatedly that he too would be dealt with like those gathered at the center, withdrew his order to attack.

“My guards should cooperate with them to save the lives of me and my subjects.”

“debriefing!”