Chapter 109. Imprisonment
The Sangjanggun had Yeong-u formally confined—then immediately summoned him to his own chamber.
He had barely crossed the prison threshold before being called back out.
"My apologies. To a man who has fought for the country."
"No. I should have been more careful in Kaegyeong."
"Will you have some tea?"
"I would not refuse."
As the water came to a boil, a quiet pause settled in.
Waiting created space—
or rather, it revealed the space that had always been there, unnoticed.
The Sangjanggun, Jang Hak-won, asked quietly,
"What happened between you and General Lee Hui-song? Why are you so on edge around him? You served under him, didn't you?"
"Long ago, I must have done something wrong."
"Is that how you've always smoothed things over?"
"I had no choice. I was a subordinate."
"So the one above is always right?"
"That is the kind of world we live in."
"You don't find that unjust?"
"Even if I do, there is nowhere to take it. A man who should already be buried still holds a general's post."
"You've seen much, then."
"Yes. At the front, nothing is strange."
Jang Hak-won sipped his tea, his expression softening.
"My work deals with enforcing the law. I tend to weigh right and wrong."
"I defend the country. I yield many things. That keeps the country stable. If those of us at the front were to rise up—what would happen?"
Jang Hak-won's smile faltered.
It was a hard truth.
How could those who guarded the nation be the ones who must endure and yield?
The harshness of the front spilled over into the city.
They had not killed anyone.
They had not stolen anything.
They had simply clashed, unable to restrain their blood.
Words might have resolved it.
But if they had been men of clever tongues, they would not have remained soldiers.
Yeong-u spoke low.
"Many soldiers are desperate to rise. There are few positions, many contenders. Schemes are everywhere. In that, soldiers are sacrificed. Resisting that becomes a crime. They try to kill me to keep it hidden. Last night, five men waited for me in the forest. What should I do? I cannot kill them all. I put arrows in them and let them go. They are still people, are they not? That is how I must see them."
The final question lingered.
"I understand," Jang Hak-won said. "That is enough."
"What should be done?"
"What can I do?"
"Send loyal soldiers to the front. Men are dying. But that authority is not yours."
"It belongs to His Majesty."
"Then the fault lies there."
"The problem is those who speak wrongly into his ear."
"There are many of them. They fabricate information, form factions, protect each other. They make such behavior the norm and deny responsibility. Those with authority over appointments should act properly. Yet in a world where only such men are available, what choice do they have? They end up choosing those who flatter them."
Yeong-u's words spilled out, disordered—
but Jang Hak-won understood.
"Tell me exactly what happened."
"If it will only be used for the politics of sixteen generals, then I will not."
"That is not my intent."
"If you truly wish to correct things, send someone to the field. Even the merchants and children in the market know. They all know who sacrificed soldiers for what."
Jang Hak-won frowned.
He had thought Yeong-u restrained—but once he began, the words did not stop.
"What is it that binds men so tightly?" he asked.
"Something stronger than money, pleasure, drink, or home. Do you know it?"
"What is it?"
"The lust for power. It destroys people."
Yeong-u tilted his head.
He understood such a thing existed—
but he had never desired it.
"It is stronger than wealth, stronger than drink, stronger than desire. It endures. Stronger than all of them combined."
"Is it not all much the same?"
"You simply do not know the taste of wielding it."
"Since becoming a unit commander, I have had no time for anything but cleaning up after others."
Jang Hak-won continued,
"Those mad with power—do not see them as men. See them as dogs. They would sell even their own. Their words change in an instant. The country comes last. They forget what justice even means."
Yeong-u felt uneasy.
Such men existed within the very structure meant to defend the nation.
"Are they all like that?"
"Only in degree. When fools rise high, they mistake themselves for something greater. Yet their nature does not grow. It is pitiful. I, too, often think of leaving this post."
It was not the sort of thing one expected from a man at the center of power.
Yeong-u rose.
"I will take my leave. Thank you for today."
"If trouble arises again, come to me first."
At the word trouble, Yeong-u's eyes narrowed.
"It may not be avoidable."
"May I kill them?"
"The assassins?"
Jang Hak-won rubbed his chin.
"There are many such men along the Seocheon riverbanks. A few silver ingots, and they will do anything. But they fail against stronger targets. And the one who hires them bears no light罪."
"Then apprehend the one who hired them."
"There is no proof."
"Then we make them confess."
"A confession forced by coercion cannot be trusted."
Yeong-u said,
"If all I hear are reasons why it cannot be done, what is there to discuss?"
Jang Hak-won lifted his head.
"Come to the palace."
"…What?"