At the Fortress Commander’s order, soldiers rushed forward and tore open the grain sacks.
“Urgh!”
Rice that looked rotten at a glance spilled out.
“Wh-what is this?”
“It seems Cloud-Sea Fortress sent spoiled grain again.”
“That can’t be! Before, they did it because there was no budget, but this time His Majesty personally issued an imperial order.”
Jeok Wigang, listening to the exchange between the officials and the Fortress Commander, asked,
“Looks like this has happened before?”
“Yes. They sent grain like this before too, and the soldiers and civilians suffered for it.”
Behind them, Ye Yahyeon, who had been listening quietly, let out a hollow laugh.
“So the bastards siphoning off the budget were somewhere else, and the wrong people got audited.”
Then he said to Jeok Wigang,
“It looks like the military governor of Cloud-Sea Fortress diverted the budget and pulled this stunt.”
“I think so too. Looks like I’ll have to visit Cloud-Sea Fortress.”
“You intend to conduct an audit of Cloud-Sea Fortress?”
“Yeah.”
“To audit Cloud-Sea Fortress, you need the command tally suited to that place.”
Jeok Wigang grinned and opened the box.
Inside were every command tally for every fortress in the northern region.
“His Majesty told me to handle this thoroughly, so he gave me all of them.”
“There is no imperial edict.”
“What does that matter? I have this too.”
What he pulled from inside his robes was a black tablet the size of his palm.
The tablet’s border was decorated with gold in the shape of a dragon. On its front, the words By Heaven’s Command were written in large characters.
On the back were engraved words stating that the bearer of this tablet acted in place of the imperial order, along with the Imperial Seal.
It was an Imperial Command Tablet.
The moment the tablet appeared, the Fortress Commander and every official present turned pale and threw themselves flat to the ground.
Only then did Jeok Wigang realize his mistake. He slipped the Imperial Command Tablet back inside his robes and said,
“Get up.”
“We obey the command!”
The holder of an Imperial Command Tablet was as good as the Emperor himself, and had to be treated as one would treat the Emperor.
Failing to do so could be judged as treason, leading to immediate execution—or, in severe cases, the extermination of three generations of one’s family.
Ye Yahyeon asked with an absurd look on his face,
“When did you receive an Imperial Command Tablet too?”
“His Majesty gave it to me before I left. He said to use it as much as I wanted if I had any need for it. So I figured I’d use it as much as I want before I go.”
Ye Yahyeon could see Cloud-Sea Fortress’s future all too clearly.
As the head of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Ye Yahyeon knew quite a bit about Cloud-Sea Fortress.
They were the sort of bastards who regarded imperial orders as trifles and ignored them lightly.
That might have worked with someone else, but if they did that in front of Jeok Wigang, hell would open.
“Gather all the military grain that came today in that warehouse.”
“What? You’re not distributing it right away? Not only the civilians, but the soldiers are starving badly too.”
“No. Feeding them that would make them sick instead. Gather it all in the warehouse.”
At Jeok Wigang’s words, the Fortress Commander and the officials looked disappointed.
They thought he meant to throw all that grain away.
The Fortress Commander pleaded,
“There should still be some good grain mixed in. Could you not give us time to sort out at least that much?”
“Hmm. Set aside a few of those carts over there.”
The carts Jeok Wigang pointed to were piled with grain that looked the least edible of all.
The Fortress Commander squeezed his eyes shut.
He had offended Jeok Wigang by asking him to leave some behind.
“I apologize. We will throw it all away.”
“What? Why would you throw it away? What a waste.”
“What? Did you not tell us to gather it so it could be discarded?”
“No. Why «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» would I throw away precious rice? That would be wasteful. And is this really the time to throw rice away? People are starving everywhere.”
“Th-that is true. Then why did you tell us to gather the grain in one place?”
“You can’t eat rotten grain. We need to make it good again before eating it.”
“What?”
The Fortress Commander and the officials could not understand what he was saying.
Ye Yahyeon, watching from the side, offered a word.
“Remarkable things are about to happen, so you would be wise to brace yourselves before you watch.”
“Remarkable things?”
“You will know once you see them.”
They would know once they saw?
See what?
Tilting their heads, the people watched Jeok Wigang’s actions.
Jeok Wigang stood before the grain piled high inside the warehouse.
Then he murmured a mantra.
“Wash away the old scars. Renew all things in radiant form.”
It was a mantra that changed the old into the new.
Zzzzzng—
As he recited the mantra and placed his hand on the floor, white light drew a circle and enveloped the enormous warehouse.
At the mysterious sight, the people gulped and watched.
The light wrapped around the entire warehouse, then began to shine brightly until it became dazzling.
The light was so intense that the people were blinded for a moment.
As the light slowly faded and their vision returned, a miracle unfolded before them.
The grain that had reeked and turned a sickly yellow was now gleaming as if freshly harvested.
“Wh-what is this?”
It was a sight they could not believe even after seeing it.
The people kept rubbing their eyes, checking again and again.
“Wh-what is this? What in the world just happened?”
The shocked Fortress Commander stammered as he asked, and Jeok Wigang smiled.
“Sorcery.”
“Sorcery? Do you mean... the sorcery that Daoists use?”
“Yes. That is right. I have always had a lot of interest in sorcery, so I studied it a little. I never expected to use it like this. Fortunately, it seems the sorcery unfolded properly.”
“This is... sorcery....”
Even after hearing the explanation, he still could not believe it.
Sorcery.
But he could not refuse to believe it either.
Had he not witnessed it vividly with his own two eyes?
“What are you doing? Hurry and send it to the foremost line, and distribute some to the civilians too.”
“What? Yes! U-understood.”
*****
On the road to the foremost line with the military grain.
Jeok Wigang was there.
Since Jeok Wigang said he would personally deliver the military grain, the Fortress Commander came along as well.
“You do not have to go this far.”
“Since I came all this way, I should check the state of the battlefield and report it to His Majesty. There may be something I can help with too.”
“I understand that you possess special abilities, but the battlefield is dangerous. One misstep, and you could lose your life.”
“You do not need to worry.”
The Fortress Commander tried to stop him until the end, but he could not overcome Jeok Wigang’s stubbornness.
It cannot be helped. I will just have to protect him with everything I have.
The Fortress Commander followed behind Jeok Wigang with a resolute expression.
Watching him from behind, Ye Yahyeon let out a hollow laugh.
What a useless worry.
The most useless worry in the world was worrying about Jeok Wigang’s safety.
If anything, the ones they should worry about were not Jeok Wigang, but his enemies.
“By the way, why do the enemy keep trying to cross over here without end?”
“That is... because of salt.”
“What? Salt?”
“Yes. Originally, we had granted them the right to trade salt, but the previous Emperor blocked it. Their invasions intensified after that.”
“Hmm. So they did not do this before?”
“No.”
“Then will the matter be settled if the salt issue is resolved?”
“I do not know.”
“Then I should speak with their side too.”
“I do not know whether they will try to talk.”
“Well, it would be good if it could be settled through conversation, wouldn’t it? If not, then there is nothing to be done.”
“That is true, but who would hold that conversation?”
“I will.”
“What? N-no, you cannot! Who knows what they might do to you, my lord? Absolutely not.”
“His Majesty granted me full authority. So I think it would be right to resolve the border dispute before I leave as well.”
“B-but....”
Just as the Fortress Commander faltered, the battlefield came into view in the distance.
Even from afar, the fighting looked fierce. The enemy and their own side alike seemed badly exhausted.
Ding, ding, ding, ding—
A loud bell rang.
The fierce battle entered a temporary lull.
The exhausted soldiers’ morale had fallen as far as it could go.
Then the soldiers’ eyes caught sight of a long procession of ox carts and horse carts.
“Huh?”
The soldiers stared, wondering what it was.
Soon they realized it was military grain and cheered.
“M-military grain!”
“We’re saved! Food is here!”
“Hurrah! Hurrah!”
The soldiers, whose morale had sunk to the bottom, erupted the moment they saw the military grain.
Their overall commander, Chiliarch Gam Seok, ran over as soon as he saw the carts.
“Chiliarch Gam Seok greets the Fortress Commander!”
“Yes. You have worked hard. We brought military grain, so take it quickly and feed the men.”
“Understood! Thank you!”
Chiliarch Gam Seok smiled brightly and shouted to the soldiers.
“Boys! It’s food!”
“Waaah!”
The excited soldiers ran to the carts and unloaded the military grain.
And the carts did not contain only military grain.
“Wow! There are weapons too!”
“There are clothes and shoes!”
“Hey, hey! Make food first!”
“Yeah!”
The way they carried away the military grain and supplies was like a swarm of ants.
The grain and supplies were organized in an instant.
Then they moved to unload the carts in the back, but the Fortress Commander stopped them.
“Not those.”
“What?”
Chiliarch Gam Seok asked with a puzzled face.
“Are you taking those back?”
“No. Those are... food meant for the Tatars.”
“What? Wh-what do you mean? Are you saying we should share food we don’t even have enough of with the enemy?”
“It is diplomacy. You all stay here.”
“Surely... you are not crossing over now, are you?”
“That is right.”
“You cannot. Who knows what the enemy will do?”
The Fortress Commander’s expression turned grave.
He thought the same thing.
At that moment, Jeok Wigang said,
“I’ll go alone.”
The Fortress Commander was startled and tried to stop him.
“N-no! That is absolutely impossible.”
“No. I think going alone is the way to avoid provoking them and resolve this peacefully.”
“I cannot allow you to go.”
When the Fortress Commander came out firmly, Jeok Wigang grinned.
“Yahyeon. Clear the way.”
At Jeok Wigang’s words, Ye Yahyeon, who had been standing quietly behind them, stepped forward.
“Move aside.”
“...I-I cannot move.”
Then a tremendous force burst from Ye Yahyeon’s body and pushed away the people blocking the road.
“Urgh! Wh-what is this?”
“Th-this is incredible inner qi! Who in the world is that man?”
“I-I do not know either. He is one of the attendants who came with my lord.”
At the Fortress Commander’s words, Ye Yahyeon introduced himself.
“I am Ye Yahyeon, head and Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.”
“Gasp! Th-the Commander?”
“That is right.”
“The same position as me....”
It was unbelievable.
For a Commander to have come all the way here as someone’s guard.
“Now, move aside. I do not wish to hurt you.”
“It is dangerous for him to go alone.”
At the Fortress Commander’s cry, Ye Yahyeon gave a faint laugh.
“Dangerous? The strongest person here is that man. Those bastards over there will not be able to touch so much as the hem of his robe.”
“What?”
“You need not worry. Rather than worrying about him, you should worry about them.”
How was he supposed to believe something that absurd?
And yet Ye Yahyeon stood before him, his expression unwavering as he looked toward Jeok Wigang.
Before anyone realized it, Jeok Wigang had already crossed the boundary and was walking toward the enemy.
Behind him, ox carts and horse carts were following in a line.
The soldiers could only stare blankly at the absurd sight.
Then one soldier asked,
“What should we do about that? Should we stop him?”
The Fortress Commander shook his head.
“No... Let us watch for now. Still, just in case, tell every soldier to prepare for battle.”
“Yes!”