208.
Gaegyeong Court
As the sun tilted toward the western hills, the palace of Gaegyeong sank into a deep stillness.
A single crow lifted low from the blue-tiled roof and vanished into the dark.
In the courtyard before the Royal Secretariat, a courier knelt.
Dust clung thickly to his robes, and the horse that had carried him stood with its head lowered, breathing hard.
"An urgent report from Hwaju!"
The sealed letter was carried straight into the royal presence.
Yi In-jung received it himself and stepped forward before the king.
Lamplight washed over the hanging curtains.
The king broke the seal in silence.
Grains of earth scattered softly onto the floor.
His eyes moved swiftly across the page.
"The Heishui Jurchen have invaded without pretext, but the fortress was held and the attack repelled.
However, the enemy's equipment and arrows bear the marks of imperial armories, and their backing cannot but be suspected."
It was a brief report.
Yet its weight was anything but light.
The king's fingers stilled.
"…Imperial markings, you say."
Yi In-jung bowed deeply.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
For a long moment the king said nothing.
In the lamplight, weariness settled on his face before anger did.
"The Khan who permitted Goryeo's rule over Hwaju would not have done this.
Then… Empress Ki has moved."
There was less surprise than resignation in his voice.
It was a course long anticipated.
"Driving out Ki Cheol would never still that woman's hand."
Yi In-jung stepped forward carefully.
"Your Majesty, it is yet too soon to conclude.
It is possible the Jurchen diverted supplies from remaining Yuan troops.
They may have seized them.
That region is rife with theft—
to them, it is not theft but livelihood."
"Diverted, you say."
The king rose slowly and began to pace.
"I would praise your caution, but not agree to it here.
This is Empress Ki's design."
He stopped and turned back.
"This is no longer a mere skirmish.
It is diplomacy with the Empire.
We must see it as such."
Yi In-jung did not press further.
The logic of soldiers had already lost its place.
"What is to be done, then?"
The king was silent for a time before speaking.
"We cannot utter Empress Ki's name lightly.
This is not the moment to bare my anger."
His gaze flickered faintly beneath the lamp.
"We have gained Hwaju.
For that, a price will be demanded.
Politics and diplomacy are exchanges—
that is the Empire's way."
Without another word, the king withdrew from the chamber.
Left alone, Yi In-jung unfolded the letter once more.
The nangjang's hand was firm and clear.
Yet it was the final line that held his gaze.
"I cannot yet be certain, but I hope this struggle is no more than a northern disturbance."
Yi In-jung traced the sentence slowly with his fingertips.
A very faint smile touched his lips.
"So he, too, has begun to see the shadow of war.
Does he hope it may be resolved by diplomacy?
Is this the work of diplomacy?
Sending an envoy to the Khan would be diplomacy—
but can Empress Ki's dark stratagems be checked by diplomatic means?"
Outside the palace, the moon hung in the night sky.
Cold air cut deep into the lungs.
"His Majesty has swallowed his anger.
And Empress Ki will know it—
no, she aimed for precisely this.
She would have foreseen our predicament.
She wanted Hwaju struck, to watch us struggle."
Yi In-jung did not slow his steps.
He turned toward the Guard Command.
New orders were needed.
The unseen war was already in motion.
The wind of Hwaju was slowly reaching Gaegyeong.
Renewed Military Tension in Hwaju
Through Park Seongjin's Eyes
Night in Hwaju was quiet—
so quiet that sleep came with difficulty.
Such stillness always follows battle.
People do not feel peace;
they wait for the next sound.
Park Seongjin stood atop the walls.
The defensive works repaired during the day showed only their outlines in the dark.
The moats were filled, wooden obstacles removed, and the parapets rebuilt in Goryeo style.
On the surface, all seemed calm.
Yet he knew—
this fortress had already been tested once, and the test was not over.
Footsteps sounded from the watch post below.
A смена guard.
"Anything amiss?"
"No issues."
The reply was brief, but the voice carried too much force.
Park asked no more.
The soldiers felt it as well:
their presence here was not a simple garrison.
He walked slowly along the wall.
The northern sky was unusually dark, thin of stars.
"The wind does not rest," he murmured.
An adjutant following behind nodded.
"It blows from the Jurchen lands."
Park stopped.
"This will not end here."
He looked into the darkness beyond the walls.
"They were probing us.
They will come again."
He climbed to the northernmost watchtower.
From there, the northern road of Hwaju lay fully in view.
By day, a road for a few laborers.
By night, a road no one traveled.
Yet when war began, it was the first to awaken.
He placed his hand on the stone of the wall.
Cold seeped into his palm.
"This fortress is not yet ours."
The Khan's edict had come down, and on paper Hwaju was Goryeo's land.
But parchment and reality were not the same.
One must have the strength to hold it.
That night, Park summoned the leaders of the warrior units.
"At dusk, the gates are to be closed until dawn."
His words were unambiguous.
"Double the night patrols.
I will personally inspect the North and West Gates."
One soldier asked,
"Do you believe they will return?"
Park nodded.
"They will.
Next time, it may not be under the Jurchen banner.
It could be bandits, a merchant caravan—
or men bearing no sign at all."
After the meeting, Park remained alone.
Inside the tent were only a single lamp and a map.
On it, Hwaju and Ssangseong were marked, and to the north the Jurchen routes traced in red.
He set his finger upon one of those lines.
"The war has ended.
But the fight begins now."