As Prophet - Chapter 63
Only Krnovel
Episode 63. Fighting
The prince, Baek I-jeong, and the little boy, who did not take the military service examination, were dancing in the dark training ground.
Baek Yi-jeong paid attention to the child’s studies. She felt responsible because she had seen the faces of her parents. She helped the child study according to the times that Dal-cheon had told her.
“It’s time to meditate. There are people reading, so the seats are a bit cramped. How about the porch over there?”
“I will do so.”
Baek Yi-jeong gave the little boy a small cushion.
“thank you.”
The little guy greeted me politely and sat down on the porch across from me.
“Isn’t Your Majesty the Grand Duke coming home?”
“That’s… … . I feel like I’ll be teaching the secrets to the people who stay after I leave, so I can’t just leave this place.”
Baek Yi-jeong smiled brightly.
“No, that is not true. To teach according to a person’s temperament, that is the way of the Master.”
“That is true, but I am worried that I might fall behind because I am not being taught anything different.”
He is no longer the great general he was when he first came. It has been quite some time since he has studied like an equal student, respecting the people in the academy with honorifics.
“Yes, I’m curious about that too. I’m trying my best, but they didn’t teach me anything else. They just told me to keep doing what I’m doing, because people are different.”
“Is this the same case for the main island?”
“It’s not bad to ask. If you’re curious, ask.”
“I thought that if I stayed here and worked hard, they would say I did well and tell me to try this, but it wasn’t even a sack of barley I had borrowed. Haha. Ah! I’m not complaining.”
“At first, I was impatient too… … and when I saw other people, people who were doing well, taking care of them, I also felt a sense of speculation, but now I know that the Lord is still watching.”
“Are you watching? Without even looking back?”
“Well, how should I explain it… … If you could call the energy flowing inside a person as Naegi (內氣), well, it seems like I’m reading that. I read those who study as if I were reading a book. Sometimes, I’m surprised and wonder if they’re even reading my own mind.”
“Does that happen?”
“Yes. There were times when it wasn’t clearly said out loud during a conversation, but the conversation continued later.”
“ah!”
“If the Grand Princess continues, there will be good news. No, the Lord may be counting the days until that day. He may not show it, but… … .”
The conversation in the dark of the night ended like that. The general took out his sword and studied during the day by himself, while Baek I-jeong went around the places where the lights were shining and took care of it.
* * *
When the reading session was over, Dalcheon looked at the examinees with pity.
“I have news.”
“… … .”
“There is news that the military service examination schedule may be brought forward.”
“Oh, my! How much?”
“I heard news this afternoon that it will be brought forward by about ten days. The scholars at Seoun-gwan (書雲觀)* said that they have to reschedule the auspicious date.”
* Seoungwan (書雲觀): An office in charge of astronomy, calendars, meteorology, geography, and solar calendar selection during the Goryeo and Joseon Dynasties. It is said that the name Seoungwan was taken from a passage in the Chunqiu Zuo Zhuan (春秋左氏傳) that says, “When the spring equinox, autumn equinox, summer solstice, and winter solstice begin and end, the scenery [clouds] must be recorded [書].”
“Eh! Why those guys?”
“We’ll decide, but I heard that we’ll get help from the Seoun Hall scholars regarding the date. It’s very up-to-date information.”
“This is information from the training center.”
“Yes, you wrote a line at the end of the letter.”
“What should I do?”
“You have to do it as far as you can and look at it with confidence.”
“Does that mean you can’t do everything?”
“Starting tomorrow, I have to start playing kebab.”
“Are you talking about a competition? Isn’t that what happens when you pick three out of twenty-eight people to decide who is the best, middle, and lowest? We’re barely passing the exam.”
“No. You will all pass. What matters is what rank you get. There is no battlefield, but we will try to do something from the bottom. We have to get the first place and the prize.”
The four people studying thought that Dalcheon’s dream was too much. We are still lacking, and Guanzhou’s dream is too high. However, we could not break their motivation, so they forced themselves to do it and left the principal.
* * *
In the afternoon when the children returned home, they split into groups of four and stood. It wasn’t too small, but it was too small to be used as a sparring ground. The governor had been sparring all morning and set up two pillars at each end. He inflated an animal dung box that he had obtained from somewhere and wrapped it tightly with string and rope. After playing with it for a while, not knowing where it would bounce because it wasn’t round, he divided them into two groups and ordered (?) them to start sparring.
“Okay, there aren’t many days. It’s not the same, but if you hit it with a stick and put it in, you win. Easy, right? Hahaha! Oh, that’s fun.”
If it’s that fun, I’ll do it…
Because there were not enough people, even the army joined. The three trainees and the army formed a group, and Cheolmuwoong, Dalcheon, Baek Uihyeong, and Mukhyeong formed a group. They thought it would be better for those who were going to take the military service examination to be in the same group, so they split up.
Dalcheon called Baek I-jeong to watch the trial and stepped back, blowing the whistle. It was the whistle used when firing in unison.
Is that strange wind noise that viciously scratches the human heart? Those who were divided into two sides rushed toward the ball. It seemed as if they would collide as the two armies rushed in the narrow space. Adults and children, people change in front of the ball. They run like mad buffaloes.
I was worried that my head might crack if I hit him, so I grabbed the reins and Daegun ran out first. After all, Daegun had experience. The trainees who had similar experience opened up space on the left and right.
Seeing the military officers rushing in, the general thrust deeply into the left square. The dung house flew away with a thud and landed in front of the training center that had gone deep into the left. The military officers hastily turned their horse’s head, but the two men who had gone deep exchanged the ball once and struck it between the pillars in one breath. Baek I-jeong raised the white flag.
“1 win!”
Baek Yi-jeong placed the ball in the center and made the two armies retreat to the end. Baek Yi-jeong blew the whistle loudly. This time, Cheol Mu-woong rode his horse in a hurry and galloped. His large body looked as if it would knock someone down.
As the men did, Baek-i-hyeong went to the right and Dal-cheon went to the left. The generals and the training center men, who judged that it was already too late, widened the gap and formed a defensive formation like a single-row formation.
Cheolmuwoong leaned over and hit the ball. He did the same thing as Daegun, but it didn’t fly properly. Coincidentally, it landed right in front of the training center’s office. Baek Uihyung and Dalcheon ran forward and curses came out of their mouths.
“Hey, Sipha.”
The one who did something wrong has always been the same. The one who got the ball stolen by a bad hit ran like crazy. Sa-jik, the training center, avoided the running Cheol-mu-woong and slightly turned the ball to the side, then blocked the guy’s path with his horse’s head and hit him forward. Sa-jik and Dae-gun ran toward the ball that flew halfway.
Baek Ui-hyeong and Dal-cheon had already entered deep into the enemy’s territory. Mukhyeong, who was behind, rode his horse. The three of them gathered toward the ball as if they were going to collide. At that precarious moment when it seemed as if they would collide if they continued to ride, Mukhyeong’s body tilted to the side, clung to the horse’s side, and slightly pulled the ball to the side.
The Great Army’s stick hit Mukhyeong’s stick late. Mukhyeong turned the direction while retrieving the stick that was spinning as if it was about to fly, and hit the ball that fell to the side far away. Baek Ui-hyeong, who was coming back, caught the ball and turned it. While he was turning his horse’s head sharply and turning the direction, the training center’s Sa-jeong quickly approached and snatched the ball.
The ball flew far again and landed in front of the general. The general chuckled and hit it with all his might, taking his time. The pigsty flew with a squeak and landed between the two pillars.
Beep!
The whistle sounded and the white flag went up again. Dalcheon, who was watching, snickered. The two military service students who had been pushed back gathered together and discussed their strategy. There was no way to do anything about being pushed back so badly. Once, they were pushed back because they were being pushed back, and another time, they were pushed back because they made a mistake while carrying out the same strategy.
“Let’s split up into two people in front and two people in the back.”
“great.”
“You shouldn’t run around in groups.”
“We have to hit the ball while looking at our side.”
“You need to move at an appropriate speed so that you can change direction quickly, rather than at the speed of the horse.”
There is a lot of talk. I know that I should do it. But my body didn’t follow. It’s because I have no experience. The trainees are those who passed the exam in the past, and the general has experience in martial arts since he was young.
Baek Ui-hyeong sat in a high place where he could watch the game and glared at Kwan-ju, who was laughing. Since they knew each other, he thought it was natural to divide the teams like this, but now that he looked at it, it seemed like they were divided into experienced and inexperienced teams. He can’t win. Kwan-ju’s tricks, his calculated gains and losses, were now obvious. But he couldn’t say a word. What good would a loser have to say?
Baek I-jeong blew the whistle to make both sides stand in line, but when this side did not respond, he shouted.
“Aren’t you going to do it? Is it a forfeit?”
“I will! I will! I will!”
Cheolmuwoong shouted loudly. Baek Uihyung placed the experienced Mukhyeong in the center.
“Mukhyeong needs to take the lead.”
“All right.”
“Since Dalcheon is quick, you must go into the enemy camp.”
“Are you shooting the ball?”
“I will do so. Since you are big, Mr. Cheolmuwoong, block their path while threatening them.”
“All right.”
“Don’t look at the ball, just look at the person.”
“What about Mr. Baek?”
“I will take the ball and send it to Mukhyeong unconditionally.”
That was just one operational plan, but they were going to do it again. Baek I-jeong blew the whistle and it started again.
Mukhyeong ran towards the ball, and Cheolmuung supported him. Dalcheon jumped deep into the enemy camp on the right. Fortunately, Mukhyeong caught the ball in the center first and threw it forward. However, the three opponents were all behind him. The three surrounded Dalcheon who caught the ball and took the ball away. The three of them spread out and passed it to each other, and Daegun put it back in with one shot.
I can’t win. I didn’t get better no matter how many times I tried. It’s because of the difference in skill. I spent a little more time on this angle, but I couldn’t score a single goal, and I ended up with a dismal record of 9 to 0. There wasn’t much time left for the martial arts exam, so I ran into a big problem.
When asked to play the second half again, Baek Ui-hyeong refused.
“Let’s practice among ourselves.”
“Oh my.”
Dalcheon sighed with an uncomfortable expression and said so. While everyone on the Daegun’s side went to rest, the four of them started playing with the ball. They had to get used to it first. They practiced running while hitting with a stick. Isn’t this kind of game something that you can do on your own without being told separately?
When Dalcheon came up to see the four people practicing, the prince greeted him with a big smile.
“That won’t work, will it, you gentlemen?”
“It’s all like that at first.”
The general looked down and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
“If you keep doing that, you’ll get used to it.”
Dalcheon asked Sajik.
“How was it?”
“Well, that sucks. Hahaha! I need to practice more.”
“During the past exams?”
“After all, it is better for someone to have the opportunity to ride horses a lot.”
“They rode it a lot too… … .”
“It must have been a means of transportation. Horses must have been more precious than people. There wasn’t much time.”
“Isn’t there any way?”
Sajik, who understood Dalcheon’s suffering, came up with a plan.
“Tell them not to get off their horses. Tell them not to put down their sticks. Except when eating, sleeping, and even when going to the side.”
From that time on, the four of them lived on horseback. It wasn’t a very large space, but they lived on horseback. They didn’t let them get off the horse even during other study periods. It was a vicious method. It was a special measure taken even though they knew it wasn’t the answer. It took time for others to get used to it.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
