Who threatened Cheonma Hara with a knife - Chapter 460



Only Krnovel

460 Allies (2)

Since he couldn’t swear at a public event, even at a meeting hosted by the cult leader, Ichimoku tried to speak calmly.

“Why is everyone looking at me?”

Before I could even utter the words, I am still a patient.

Zhuge Liang answered with a faint smile.

“Well, isn’t that because everyone recognizes the ability of the Left Commander?”

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone gathered nodded in agreement.

With the approval of the audience, Zhuge Liang continued speaking.

“If the leader is a monarch with a great capacity to embrace all, then the left-wing leader has an outstanding talent for mediating so that various people can come together. This was proven during the last war. If the left-wing leader had not been there, would it have been possible for these people from different forces to join forces?”

So, the idea was to use that talented talent to persuade the Northern Military Governor-General and the rebels in the South.

Wei Jin-hak, who had been quietly listening to Zhuge Liang’s words, burst out laughing.

“Hahaha. Zhuge Jun’s words are indeed right. The Zuo Shi’s martial arts are martial arts, but our cult leader also values ​​his abilities the most. Above all, if he is Zuo Shi, he will be able to determine whether they are people to be recruited on behalf of our cult leader or people who must be dealt with even if it means prolonging the war.”

It was a wise man’s teaching that at the same time he praised them, there was no need to unconditionally persuade them.

Since even the leader agreed to this, it was not easy for Ichimoku to refuse this matter.

But you can’t do everything by yourself.

With the thought that you should die too, Ilmok opened his mouth.

“I am truly grateful that the leader is kind to my weak convictions. However, it is impossible for me to visit the Northern Army and the Southern rebels at the same time.”

“Hmm. What the Left Commander said seems reasonable. Then, who would be best to send?”

“In my opinion, it would be more appropriate for the other side to have Zhuge Jun visit. No one can match his eloquence and improvisation, and above all, the Guangdong Jin family and the Haenam faction, who lead the southern rebel army, are originally from the Jeong faction, so it would be more beneficial for the talks to go smoothly if Zhuge Jun visited rather than me.”

Wi Jin-hak nodded readily, seemingly finding Ilmok’s suggestion reasonable.

* * *

The next day.

Ilmok rode in a carriage with several of his companions and headed north.

It was a situation where they had to move quickly, and since the movement was not for combat anyway, not many people participated.

In the carriage were Ilmok and his maids. In addition, Assemblyman Seo Jae-pil and Seo Wan-pyeong were also with them.

The reason Seo Wan-pyeong joined was to prepare for any unexpected accidents.

It may be possible to move around, but it is difficult to display even half of one’s original abilities.

If the talks seemed to be going wrong, the plan was to escape the Northern Army Command under the protection of Seo Wan-pyeong and his men.

Since the plan was to flee towards Beijing if they were defeated, there was no need to bring a large number of people in the first place.

It took two days to leave Beijing and head north.

“Left Sergeant. We will soon arrive at the Northern Army Command.”

Ilmok nodded at Joo Seo-yeon’s voice coming from outside the carriage.

‘It’s fortunate that the North is closer than the South.’

Zhuge Liang would probably have to travel a few more days to reach the south.

Ilmok calmed his mind as he recalled the thought that he had succeeded in taking a small revenge on Jegalmun, who had pushed the work onto him with his words.

And soon, the carriage carrying them stopped.

“The Great Heavenly Demon Sect’s Gwangmyeongjwasa has come to talk to the Northern Army Commander!”

Immediately afterwards, the shout of Joo Seo-yeon, who was driving the carriage, was heard.

It seemed like a shout to those guarding the Northern Military Governor’s Office.

Immediately afterwards, a ‘creaking’ noise as if something heavy was moving echoed around, and the carriage moved forward again.

I glanced outside through the carriage window and saw soldiers standing on the castle wall with a solemn air.

‘They are regular soldiers.’

At the end of the war, it felt completely different from the ragtag group of imperial soldiers who were mostly conscripts.

I thought that if the North had joined the war earlier, the war would have been much longer.

‘If the Northern Army had joined before Shin Seung was killed, the war could have been more difficult than it was prolonged.’

Just as that thought occurred to me, the carriage stopped and someone’s voice was heard.

“You can’t travel by carriage from here on out.”

The eyes of those riding in the carriage turned to Ilmok.

Since he hadn’t come here to cause trouble anyway, Ichimoku got up.

“I’ll let you get off first.”

“If that is what the Master wants, I will follow it.”

Ilmok smiled bitterly at the polite words of the third brother, Seo Wan-pyeong.

As they got off the carriage, a middle-aged officer standing in front of the carriage approached them and took the ticket.

“I am So Ji-ak, the Northern Army Commander-in-Chief. I will guide you to the Commander-in-Chief.”

An example, but not a mean one. It seemed to be due to his restrained attitude.

‘How strange.’

They were the government troops of the Han Dynasty. From their perspective, the Cheonmasin religion was clearly a rebel force.

Still, seeing that example made me think of many things.

They crossed the Northern Army Commandery along Sojiak and arrived at a large but simple-looking pavilion.

It was a palace that had a sense of grandeur, but no sense of splendor whatsoever.

Immediately afterwards, the warriors guarding the front of the pavilion blocked the entrance with spears and spoke.

“Only the left priest of the Cheonmasingyo sect can enter the hall.”

When the Shibis and Seo Wan-pyeong who were together tried to show a fierce attitude, Ilmok raised his hand.

“Judging from the sounds, it seems that only the Northern Army Commander is inside the palace. Since the person we are talking to has come out alone, it seems right for me to come out alone as well.”

Perhaps it was because Ichimoku immediately read the inside. The soldiers who had blocked him showed signs of flinching for a moment.

But, perhaps because of the soldiers, the atmosphere quickly returned to its original strictness.

“one….”

As Jin Ha-yeon was about to say something, Ilmok sent a signal.

– If I continue to hesitate and you continue to try to stop me, it will only show that I am not in good condition.

Jin Ha-yeon thought that what he said was reasonable, so she gave up on persuading him and bowed to Ilmok.

“We will have you wait here.”

– If the Northern Commander shows even the slightest hint of something strange, send a signal immediately.

Ilmok nodded to Jin Ha-yeon’s words and voice, and passed the soldiers blocking the entrance and entered the palace.

There, there was a large old man.

A muscular physique and serious eyes. And on top of that, muscles built through consistent training.

If it weren’t for his wrinkles and gray hair, he wouldn’t have looked old.

“This is the Gwangmyeongjwasa Ilmok of the Cheonmasingyo.”

When Ilmok briefly greeted him with a lottery ticket, the old man also got up from his chair and took the ticket.

“My name is Han So-ryong, the Northern Army Admiral. Hmm. Since the person who gave me the title of Northern Army Admiral is gone, it would be ridiculous to call myself the Northern Army Admiral now.”

Because he spoke in a calm tone, it was hard to tell whether he was joking or being indifferently serious.

Then Han So-ryong pointed to the chair across from him and said.

“There’s no need to stand and talk, so please sit down comfortably.”

“Then excuse me for a moment.”

As soon as Ilmok sat down, the old man poured him a cup of tea.

Although Ichimoku was not an expert in tea ceremony, it did not feel like there was anything special about the tea.

“I’m sorry, but I just used common tea leaves. I’m not disrespecting you, but that’s the only tea we have here.”

Il-mok nodded as if he understood everything.

“I don’t think you like vanity and waste very much.”

“If you’re going to spend that kind of money, it would be more helpful to just buy one more suit of armor for the soldiers.”

As expected, Han So-ryong answered in an indifferent tone and asked.

“So, why is the left-handed priest of the Cheonmasin Church here?”

Now that Ilmok had a vague idea of ​​what the old man was like, he could tell that his words were not sarcastic.

It seemed like he just preferred to get straight to the point.

“I came here to ask the Northern Army Commander-in-Chief his exact intentions.”

“My exact doctor? What doctor are you talking about?”

“For example, the answer to the question of why the Northern Army didn’t join forces until the end of the war. Things like that. Or was it Taekong-gong’s order?”

The Northern Army Commander shook his head at Ichimoku’s question.

“It was the old man’s judgment. Those who are going to destroy the North are wicked people. If you leave, they will come attacking you at any time.”

“So, are you saying that you refused even though Taekonggong gave the order?”

“exactly.”

Up until this point, it was an unknown matter for Ichimoku, who had been the enemy.

“If the war had gone in Han’s favor, wouldn’t it be possible that Taegonggong would have accused you of treason?”

“The job of a border general is to protect the people from external enemies. I, Han So-ryong, have lived my entire life thinking only of that.”

I thought the same thing.

‘What a crazy old fart.’

To put it in a nice way, he was a man with a big personality. If he had to break, he would break, and he had no intention of bending it back.

If there was one silver lining, it was that the obsession was focused on ‘border defense’ rather than ‘loyalty to the royal family.’

‘At this point, it probably wouldn’t matter who came.’

He was not a man capable of negotiation or persuasion.

If we were compatible, we would stay together, and if we weren’t, it was over.

Ichimoku asked, thinking that the meeting would not be prolonged.

“Is that thought still the same now that the Central Plains’ skies have changed? Is protecting the northern border still the top priority?”

“You are asking the obvious.”

I have no interest in civil war, I only want to stop the cries.

It seems that the Northern Commander-in-Chief was treating this war as a civil war.

Ilmok asked him questions as if testing him.

“Your Majesty, by simply maintaining neutrality, has been of great help to our religion, but you have not joined our religion in this war. I am sorry to say this to you, but you may be demoted to a rank lower than that of a governor. Does that not matter to you?”

“I don’t know why I keep talking about useless things. My mission is only to prevent foreign invasion. Even if I have to go down in rank, if I can prepare to block foreign enemies and drive them out, that’s enough for me.”

At first glance, it sounded like it had a slightly different meaning.

It’s like saying that it doesn’t matter if I’m demoted, but I won’t tolerate it if they try to send me somewhere else.

‘Hmm. Even if his rank is lowered, all the soldiers will follow him, so it’s a rather delicate matter.’

That doesn’t mean there was no solution.

All we had to do was leave that stuffy old man alone and spread out the generals and soldiers following him evenly.

Just like the civil servant life he suffered from in his previous life.

‘It would be good to form a huge front line to protect the north by mixing in the Shinkyo forces that are currently fighting against the Myeol-A-Geol guys…’

For a moment, I thought that rather than confronting this old man right away, wouldn’t it be better to absorb him?

Suddenly, a terrifying picture appeared in Ichimoku’s mind.

‘Wait a minute. The commander-in-chief of the northern faction of the Shinkyo side is that gentleman.’

A man with the same power as Ichimoku. Another second-in-command of the Cheonmasingyo.

Dokgo Ryong of Gwangmyeong Woosa.

‘This stuffy old man is under the command of that crazy old man… .’

It was a combination that made it impossible to even guess how the northern front would turn out.

But one thing we know for sure is this.

‘Only the staff will die.’

The point was that you shouldn’t even come near that area.