Chapter 186 — Another Danger
Meanwhile, the gazes fixed on Youngwoo as he reported to the king were filled with discomfort.
The problem was Youngwoo's way of speaking, which exposed their shame without trimming anything away.
He spoke as if he himself bore no fault and they were the problem, and that provoked resistance from those being pointed at.
One daejanggun named Jin Garyang shook his head.
He was a daejanggun of Heunguiwi, from the Punggi Jin clan.
He was a descendant of Jin Pilmyeong, who had served as vice minister of the Ministry of War, joined Su Dingfang's army in the conquest of Baekje, and settled in Silla instead of returning after Baekje's fall.
Originally from Taiyuan in Tang China, he settled in Silla and was enfeoffed as Count of Taiyuan.
The new banju, Choe Yanghak, shook his head silently.
Banju: the head of the Jungbang. In this case, the sangjanggun of the Eungyang Army.
It was a wordless signal telling him to stay still and speak no further, but Jin Garyang rose from his seat.
It had not been long since all the previous men who had composed the Jungbang had fallen from their positions.
They wanted, as much as possible, to avoid clashing with Jungnangjang Lee Youngwoo, who had caused that event.
They had declared that they were very different from the men of that time, and they needed to show that they were different.
When the old Jungbang men fell, these men had risen into their places, but there had been little chance to prove themselves.
The perception was strong that they had simply climbed upward because the men above them had been cut down.
And among them were some who had been present during the Jungbang incident.
Of course, they had not been sangjanggun or daejanggun then, but they remembered the moment when Lee Youngwoo had been ambushed.
Memory sometimes appears as permission to do the same again.
Because it had been done then, it could be done again now.
The gazes of men who knew there was an easier road poured toward Youngwoo.
Jin Garyang said,
"Your Majesty, there is something misleading in Jungnangjang Lee's words."
The king turned his head.
"What is misleading?"
"He speaks as if all soldiers act that way. He enjoys Your Majesty's favor and moves his mouth recklessly."
The king looked amused, like a child who had been handed an interesting toy.
"Is that so?"
"Your Majesty, not everyone is like that."
"Of course not. But that does not erase the fact that such men existed."
"Your Majesty, an army rests on morale. What more can be gained by lowering the morale of soldiers?"
"Hyu. Morale. Are you saying faults should not be pointed out as faults because of morale?"
Jin Garyang seemed to steel himself and answered the king's words.
"In the previous period, several sangjanggun and daejanggun already took responsibility and stepped down. It is said that a matter once judged cannot be tried again. We cannot dishonor the leadership of the army again for the same reason. If those men already took responsibility and withdrew, what will happen if the matter is raised again?"
The king said,
"I see. But tell me this. Do you think all the men who did such things back then have been removed?"
"Your Majesty… the soldiers who have risen now were promoted through the process of personnel verification."
"That verification process is not so perfect."
"They do everything in their power to meet what is required in the appointment process. It is made up of what appointments deem proper."
"What would those proper things be?"
"Passing the military examination, military achievements, evaluations through the merit assessment system, and strict review of officials' abilities based on systematic records. For this, many people make great efforts. Yet all of that was invalidated by the words of one frontier soldier."
"So that is what happened. Your evaluations are handled by the Ministry of War, yes?"
"That is so, Your Majesty."
"The men handling those evaluations are the same sort of men. That is a problem of the system. There is something wrong with the system. I do not think the men who rose through that system are sound. So the system must be changed and improved. That is why I emphasized it several times. Change everything. Yet nothing moved. Only the people changed. Nothing else changed. What should I do with men like you?"
Because the situation was worsening, Banju Choe Yanghak stepped forward and spoke.
"Your Majesty, all of this is our fault. We must change even now, but our understanding is shallow, and we do not know how to proceed. It is not that we defy Your Majesty's command. It is because of the difficulty of changing truths we have trusted for decades."
"What are we to do?"
"It is something that needs time."
"Have you made a plan for what will be done during that time?"
"Your Majesty, it is not that we refuse…"
"If you are so incapable that you cannot do it, would it not be right to step down?"
Choe Yanghak came forward and knelt.
"If Your Majesty commands it, I will resign at once."
"Hm. In the end, that fellow resigned first. Then is that not enough? Things have gone the way you wanted."
"Your Majesty, Jungnangjang Lee did not resign because of our country's internal problems."
The king tilted his head.
"Now he has resigned because of the difficulty of serving in another country. But did our army do well?"
"Your Majesty, with the surface truth before us, what more do you seek to find?"
The king struck the table where the documents lay.
"Under normal circumstances, if service in Jin was difficult, he would have asked to be sent elsewhere. But he said he would resign. Because even if he came back, there would be nowhere for him to go."
Jin Garyang thought inwardly.
After causing such a mess, where could he go back to? If not the expeditionary force in Jin, he has nowhere.
Banju Choe Yanghak offered an excuse.
"We will hurry to improve, Your Majesty."
"The law of war is changing. How does the Goryeo army intend to face fully armored iron cavalry?"
There was no answer to that.
The king, having received the war report from Youngwoo, already knew well.
"Ah…"
The king turned toward Lee Youngwoo.
"Is that armor you are wearing now Jin armor?"
"That is so, Your Majesty."
"Can it block attacks?"
"It blocks most arrows, and with a shield added, it is almost complete. It also blocks a great number of spear and sword strikes."
"Oh. Show us."
Youngwoo pushed the shabby wind cloak up over his shoulder.
The cloth slipped aside, and the metal hidden beneath appeared all at once.
Iron lamellae joined in layers were densely interlaced.
Each small piece of cut iron had been threaded with leather cords and locked together with the others according to his movement.
When he turned his body, the iron pieces brushed against one another with a low scraping sound.
When light touched it, the armor did not simply shine.
Hundreds of metal pieces moved separately, each throwing back light at a different angle.
A flowing silver shimmer, like rippling water, ran from his chest to his waist and thighs.
The room swallowed its breath.
"Oh…"
The armor covered the front without gaps.
Iron plates flowed down from the shoulders and wrapped around the arms, while the skirt armor continued below the waist and reached the thighs.
Beneath that, the folds of a red skirt brushed between the iron plates whenever he moved.
When he stepped, the metal pieces shook in succession and surged like waves.
The weight could be felt, and yet it was flexible, as though alive.
It was not fixed plate armor.
It flowed with the movement of the body, while remaining ready to deflect blades and arrows.
When he took one step forward, the iron pieces locked together again and rang briefly.
"Remarkable. How is it made?"
"The soldiers make it themselves. Iron lamellae are supplied from various places, and attaching them to leather and cloth is the soldiers' task. They make it directly in the camp, and when it is damaged, they remove and repair only that part."
"Are the horses protected in the same way?"
"Yes."
"Iron cavalry is becoming the main current."
"It is one of the secrets behind breaking the numerous Liao forces with small numbers. Not only do they gain the advantage in arrow exchanges, but in a charge they are overwhelming."
The king leaned toward Banju Choe Yanghak.
He tapped the table once with his fingertips.
"How does the Goryeo army intend to face such troops?"
Choe Yanghak lowered his head.
"Your Majesty, after receiving the recent report, we are preparing."
The king's gaze hardened.
"Nothing has yet come up to me."
His words were short, but his voice was pressed low.
"You said you are preparing."
"Not a single line has reached me about what you are preparing, how you are preparing it, or to what extent."
The room held its breath.
"Do you know what stands before your eyes right now?"
"They are already seeing the end and fighting for it."
The king's hand struck the table again.
A dull sound filled the room.
"And we are preparing?"
The final words stretched long.
"I wish to see at once what this preparation is."
His gaze remained fixed.
It was a question with nowhere to hide.