Chapter 275 — Go Huiwon 1
There are people like that.
When there is something they need, they will badger the other person until they finally get it done.
They say the same thing again, and then say again what they have already said.
It looks as if they hope the listener will grant their request simply because listening has become tiresome.
Go Huiwon was such a man.
He was dignified and spoke little, but once he set his mind on something, he did not retreat easily.
It was clear he intended to bring up the request he had made earlier.
Yeongu had clearly said no.
Had his refusal been too weak?
Yeongu spoke first.
"Please speak. You said you had something to say."
Go Huiwon straightened his posture.
"The Liao Eastern Capital, Liaoyang Prefecture, is governed by its留守, Xiao Baoxian, and he has ruled the Balhae people with extreme cruelty. The people's hearts are already in turmoil."
Yeongu answered calmly.
"That is hardly something that began yesterday or today."
"That is true. But the situation has changed somewhat. In February of last year, Goyok raised a rebellion in Raozhou, on the upper reaches of the Shira Muren River."
"I heard the news. It may have been because of us as well. We achieved success several times against Liao."
Yeongu cut his words short.
"That is so. The rise of Jin has become hope for many peoples. Goyok raised troops in February, and in April he defeated the Liao punitive force led by Xiao Xiefuliu and gained momentum. In May, he also held off an attack by Xiao Taosuo, deputy commander of the Southern Administration. But in June he was defeated by Xiao Taosuo, and everything came to nothing. Thousands of righteous soldiers were beheaded."
Yeongu suddenly felt tired.
He did not yet know exactly what they intended to ask.
But he had lived long enough in Liaodong to understand the broad shape of it.
The descendants of Balhae had never been able to unite as one from the beginning.
Dae Gwanghyeon had fought his uncle, lost, and fled to Goryeo.
The Olya regime based in Osa Fortress took over Later Balhae.
The Yeol clan regime of Nanjing, Namhae Prefecture, took advantage of Dae Gwanghyeon's absence and founded Jeongan-guk in the Amnok River region.
Politically, the people had split into many paths.
Some went to Goryeo.
Some went to northern China.
Some submitted to Liao and were moved into the interior.
Some remained in their old homeland and continued to live as Balhae people.
The country had been lost, but the pride of being Balhae people endured for a long time.
Because of that pride, restoration movements kept rising, and even inside those restoration movements, they fought among themselves.
It was the same now.
Restoration forces, pro-Liao forces, pro-Jin forces, and anti-Liao forces were tangled together and unable to unite.
To put it simply, the difference lay in whether they should first bring down Liao, which had tormented them, or first rebuild their own country.
That difference divided people.
Yeongu asked,
"Master Go, which side are you on? Are you refugees, relocated people, or those who remained?"
The question already carried an unpleasant smell.
Go Huiwon felt a distant despair.
This man would classify their request into a form he already knew, and judge them according to that classification.
Regrettably, he still had to answer.
The moment he answered, Yeongu would measure them with his existing knowledge.
Cutting things apart cleanly made understanding and response easier.
But the true faces inside the matter would be covered.
A tool that helped understanding often blocked deeper understanding.
Such things happened all the time.
Go Huiwon answered slowly.
"By Jungnangjang Lee's words, we are those who remained in the interior. Those who submitted to Liao were moved to many different places. One could call us relocated people. We were fortunate enough to remain in Liaoyang. In return, we had to endure their tyranny."
Yeongu murmured,
"Those who remained. You are those who remained."
"That is so."
"You are enduring tyranny, harsh rule, and violence, and now the Eastern Capital留守 Xiao Baoxian is doing especially many evil things. Is that what you mean?"
Yeongu hurried to understand the matter in his own way.
The words themselves were not wrong.
But to the listener, they could feel rude.
Okjeong's eyes turned cold.
It was probably because she felt her father was being dealt with unfairly.
Yeongu hurriedly continued.
"I sincerely respect the later Balhae states that continued to rise, and the efforts of those who tried to carry on that spirit. Most countries would have already faded without a trace, but Balhae remains in people's hearts nearly two hundred years later. Since I was young, I have heard that the history of those who remained in this land is longer, and that they preserve the rightful continuity of this land."
Go Huiwon listened without speaking.
Yeongu chose his words carefully.
"Still, when I saw those people fighting among themselves, I worried. I worried that there might be people using the pain of their own people to satisfy their desire for power. They are no different from those who exploit their own compatriots. When you serve in Liaodong, you cannot avoid seeing this reality. Wherever you go, you hear those heartbreaking stories. It is certain that those who exploit such pain are evil. Yet someone once told me that even that is history."
Go Huiwon asked quietly,
"History?"
"Yes. I was told it does not mean only what has passed, but something that must be interpreted anew in the present and carried forward in meaning. In the end, it is a question of how we interpret it now."
Go Huiwon mulled over Yeongu's words.
"How we interpret it now."
"I think it is a question of how we should live now."
"I am very curious what you are trying to say."
Yeongu looked at Go Huiwon.
"Look at the restoration movements that failed several times. If you rise again now, can you succeed?"
Okjeong clenched her fist.
"Those words insult us. You are saying that because we failed before, we will fail again now."
Yeongu shook his head.
"What need would I have to insult them? I only ask that you listen with open ears. They failed before, and the causes of failure remain. If you rise again while leaving those causes as they are, what will happen? At first, anger will spread like wildfire. But the movement will be broken again in the same way."
Okjeong immediately objected.
"Those words sound like determinism, as if human effort means nothing."
Yeongu quickly corrected himself.
"I mean the chance of success appears low."
Go Huiwon quietly argued back.
"Right now, Liao is being pushed back miserably by Jin. Is this not precisely an opportunity?"
Yeongu shook his head again.
"That opportunity was not created by you. Whether it is Liao or Jin, the newly risen country will not simply leave you alone. An opportunity I did not create cannot fully become mine. Some gain may be possible, of course."
Okjeong said,
"See? It is determinism after all."
Yeongu said,
"I am saying that outcome looks highly probable."
Go Huiwon whispered,
"An order has now come down in Liaoyang to recruit two thousand Balhae cavalry, the Muyong Horse Army. They are to guard Baekchogok in Liaoyang Prefecture. This is an opportunity. If we gather the nearby Xi people and Balhae people, the number can approach ten thousand."
Yeongu sighed.
"You may be able to seize Liaoyang Prefecture. You may even capture and kill Xiao Baoxian. What comes next?"
No one answered at once.
Yeongu answered himself.
"You will be suppressed by someone. Like Goyok."
Goyok was the leader of a Balhae restoration movement that rose from February to July of 1125 in the upper reaches of the Shira Muren River. It was a rebellion raised by relocated Balhae people in one of Liao's core regions. After the defeat, thousands of Balhae people were beheaded. It was brutal.
Yeongu used what had happened just last year as his example.
Okjeong asked sharply,
"Then what are you telling us to do? Are you saying we should simply keep suffering?"
Yeongu pointed north.
"Right now, Jin and Liao are preparing for a great decisive battle. People speak of Liao's force as three hundred thousand, five hundred thousand, even seven hundred thousand."
Okjeong countered,
"Then that side will be suppressed in the same way."