103 – Reunion
I don’t know what the Qin Dynasty would have thought, but Shinneung’s move was not so grandiose.
No matter how great Shinneung-kun is, she is not a god and there are limits to the given conditions.
In the first place, the purpose of this battle was not to capture Hamgok-gwan, but to instill a sense of crisis in the Jin Dynasty.
So, like the death squad of the Qin Dynasty, the Xinling Army selected those with exceptional strength and strong sense of purpose, organized a special force, and made a plan to lead the Qin army to confusion by climbing the wall by rock climbing rather than a ladder.
Modern people often think of castles from this era or the Three Kingdoms period as stone castles or brick castles, but in reality they are earthen castles.
Therefore, those who had a lot of mountain climbing experience were able to climb the rock wall. However, Shin Leung-gun did not just gather people and order you to go up by yourself.
They were given iron stakes and shoes with iron thorns on the soles like crampons. It was equipment completely for rock climbing. In addition to that, the special forces also wrapped a cloth almost similar in color to the walls of Hamgok Pavilion, and even covered it with protective colors for camouflage.
While the other soldiers draw the attention of the Qin army through the ladder, they stick close to the wall and dig into their blind spot.
It’s a simple plan, but if the commandos do it well, it’s enough to be a pretty sharp dagger.
A place where all the soldiers from the 5 countries, excluding Je and Jin, gathered. There were many who said they would join, but Shin Leung-gun set up a special force with his own guests, excluding them.
A disciple of Sinreung-gun, who is said to have gathered all kinds of talented directors.
Among her diners, a man who was said to have an astounding knack for rock-climbing served as the captain.
The special forces, united with respect for Sinneung-gun and hostility to the Qin Dynasty, climbed the walls of Hamgok-gwan without hesitation.
However, I couldn’t take a good look at the achievements they had made at the cost of their lives.
All my nerves were focused only on the reunion with Jung.
Neither the noise of the grueling battle, nor the smell of blood filling the nostrils, nor the thick dust that rose up did not disturb this moment.
The feeling of turning the surroundings into black and white and just me and Jeong facing each other with colors. Only the two of us were isolated in another world.
Although the distance was too far for the voice to be transmitted, there is no shortage of seeing each other’s faces and sharing our hearts.
‘You really intend to stop me.’
‘Unless you reap your ambition for the nations.’
‘Do you think it’s possible?’
‘It’s not because I can. It’s because I have to.’
Walking on parallel lines.
Revenge and repayment.
Since I was abandoned by the world, my desire for justice to possess the world and my promise to repay the favor I received from the people around me and carry on their wishes cannot find a compromise, and I just repeat my own assertion.
The conversation between the minds, not realizing that time was passing, ended with the sound of a horn announcing the end of the battle.
Only then did I hear the sounds around me, and the colorless world became colored again.
After the battle started, I remembered it for a moment, but after the battle ended, I asked how the situation was going.
“…How did it go?”
“Unfortunately, opening the gateway failed.”
It was Yeo Hong-seong who returned the answer. Originally, Yeo Hong-seong also wanted to join the commando, but as the commando was formed with the guests of Shinneung-gun, he had no choice but to remain as my escort.
“It was good to raid the enemy general, but the enemy commander’s skill was quite good. I’d rather not dwell on the enemy commander and concentrate on securing a base for the next generation to join. In terms of it, the commandos must have thrown a gambler.”
Sima Sang also agreed with Yeo Hong-seong’s cold-hearted assessment that even if he went in the direction of occupying the wall with the troops that would come up after him while defending the base on the wall, he would not have been able to reach the final goal of opening the gateway.
“However, it’s a different story if you capture the general. If the backbone of the chain of command disappears, there’s a chance you’ll be lucky enough to reach the castle gate. In the end, it failed, so it’s just a hypothesis.”
“I see…”
“More than that, Dan. You haven’t been looking at all? Where are you selling your mind…”
“This is not the time. I need to go to Xinling-kun.”
This time, it was Shin Leung-gun who approached the front line to boost the morale of his soldiers.
I drove the horse, pulling the reins of the horse I was used to.
“Uh, uh? Wait! Let’s go together!”
§
“So, the crown prince saw the princess of Jin?”
“I’m sure.”
Because he was wearing a helmet and behind Mong-oh, others did not notice Jung’s existence.
Actually, it was a strange thing for me to find out. It is said that silver hair and golden eyes are the characteristics of the Qin royal family, but not all of them are like that, and even collateral royals have silver hair and golden eyes.
Since there wasn’t even a military flag that symbolizes affection, who would think that the next heir to the throne, the Crown Princess, had come to this distant battlefield in person.
“But what does it mean even if you know it? Anyway, this joint army ends here. Since the Crown Princess is there, if you’re trying to say let’s continue the siege, you’d better stop.”
Bang Nan clicked his tongue at Hang Yan’s words.
“It’s in a corner of the country of Cho, so it’s hard to talk.”
“What?”
“The current Crown Princess of Qin has a very special relationship with the Prince of Yan.”
“With Prince Yeon?”
Hang-yeon’s eyes lit up.
“Hmm. Let me elaborate. Both Prince Yeon and Tae-Nyeo Jin were pawns of Joe, but at the time…”
“That’s enough!”
Interrupting Shin Won-yeon, who was about to explain, Hang-yeon shouted.
“So you’re saying that Prince Yan will at least make an agreement with the Crown Princess of Jin using his old friendship?”
“Agreement would be impossible. But if you ask for a meeting, I will.”
Taking my eyes off Xiang Yan who was about to say something more, I proposed to Xin Leung-kun.
“If we withdraw like this, the end of the joint army will eventually look like it was bankrupted by Hamgok Gwan. This is unavoidable. The gains from advancing to Hamgok Gwan were greater. If you withdraw after having the agreed talks, you can end it with a peace talks.”
It’s all the same that this was a half victory, but it was a much cleaner ending compared to the fuzzy disbanding.
“Certainly, there’s nothing to lose for us. Okay. Well, send an envoy to Hamgok Hall. Let’s have a meeting.”
When Xinlinggun, the musketeer, gave permission, Hang Yan also sat down without further questioning.
Shin Won-yeon and Hang-yeon expressed concern that there might be a possibility of rejection from the other side, but their thoughts were groundless.
The envoy who returned from Hamgok-gwan returned with the reply of Qin that he would accept the meeting.
The next day.
Both sides faced each other at the midpoint between the Hapjonggun and Hamgokgwan, which left the military behind.
According to the Qin Dynasty’s request, the number of people allowed to enter the brief barracks was limited to two.
Considering that Jeong was the subject of the Qin Dynasty who received this meeting, it meant that he would allow only two of the Xinling troops to come out of the Hapzong army.
Sinleung-gun also grasped the meaning and singled out me as a companion.
“Are you nervous?”
“…I’d be lying if it wasn’t.”
Although they confirmed each other’s existence during the siege and had a silent conversation, that inevitably becomes an exchange of fragmented information.
It was on a different level from meeting again close enough to really exchange voices.
“Coming.”
Unlike us, who arrived first and waited, in Jin Dynasty, they came out exactly on time.
A combination of an old man and a girl. It was a member as expected.
I looked at Jeongman without even checking what Mong-oh looked like.
A much different look from when we broke up.
His height had grown by almost two spans, so he seemed to easily exceed 150cm, and his sharp eyes had subsided somewhat, and his first impression had changed from sharp to haughty.
Approaching with a dignified gait, perhaps learning from being a princess of Jin, Jung stood tall opposite me and met my gaze.
“But.”
“…Jeong.”
After calling each other’s names, neither of them could say anything behind their backs.
What should I say?
What topic should I bring up?
All the words I thought of while looking forward to the moment of reunion have gone back to blank paper.
“Both of you, don’t just stare at me and sit down. General Mong-oh too.”
“It’s the first time I’ve seen this up close, Shin Leung-kun.”
“By the way. It seems that they both came out due to the same circumstances, so how about speeding things up?”
“There is no reason to refuse.”
The conversation between Sinleung-gun and Mong-oh was extremely short.
Each person’s request was communicated, but both sides refused. The talks ended like that.
In fact, it was like a pato with no results, but there was no sign that any of those gathered at the conference room would wake up.
It was because I knew that the main topic would start now.