The Tatars grew wary when they saw Jeok Wigang driving the ox carts and horse carts across.
“What is that?”
“It looks like military grain.”
“I’m asking why he’s bringing it to us.”
“I do not know either. Seeing as the soldiers over there are staying still, it seems their side has already discussed it.”
The Tatar commander stepped forward and shouted,
“Stop!”
At the command to stop, Jeok Wigang stopped.
“What are you trying to do?”
“This is military grain.”
“What scheme is this?”
“I would like to have a conversation.”
“A conversation? When we kept asking for dialogue, you would not even listen, and now you want to talk? Are you joking with us?”
“I am saying it is not too late even now. Are you going to keep fighting this meaningless war of attrition? Besides, we are now well supplied with military grain and weapons, so we will be completely different from before. Can you handle that?”
“Mm.”
“For now, why not hear me out?”
“Fine! Open the way!”
“Yes!”
The wary soldiers lowered their weapons and stepped back, and the ox carts and horse carts began moving again.
The Tatars swallowed as they watched the line of food enter one after another.
“Everyone seems very hungry. Why not eat first?”
“How do I know you have not poisoned that grain?”
“I have not eaten yet either, so I will eat with you. Will that do?”
“Mm. Very well. Everyone, prepare a meal!”
“Yes!”
The soldiers moved excitedly at the thought of eating a proper meal for the first time in ages.
At the sight, the Tatar commander’s expression soured.
“What is wrong? Does it displease you that your soldiers are happy about food given by the enemy?”
“It does. It would have been better if we could have earned it proudly with our own strength and eaten it that way.”
The commander looked at Jeok Wigang and asked,
“You came alone?”
“Yes. I came to negotiate. Was there any need to drag a whole procession behind me?”
“What is your position?”
“I am a seventh-rank Compiler of the Hanlin Academy.”
“Mm. Only seventh-rank?”
It was disappointing.
He could feel rage rising as he realized how lightly they must be taking his people.
“Not ‘only.’ I am a special official who came under His Majesty’s command.”
“The Emperor’s command?”
“Yes. My words are the imperial order. In this moment, I am not a seventh-rank Compiler. I am acting in His Majesty’s place. That is why, when I said I would come here alone, none of them could stop me. Now, what do you think? Am I acceptable as a negotiator?”
The commander nodded.
Acceptable was an understatement.
He was the best possible choice.
No—if anything, it was moving.
The Emperor had not sent some high-ranking official. He had personally dispatched an envoy.
“Please convey my gratitude to your Emperor.”
“I will.”
“As for the meal, we have nothing on hand right now.... We cannot receive you properly.”
“That is all right. Eating when it is time to eat is the best medicine, is it not?”
“Ha ha ha. The more I see of you, the more I like you. Come. I will invite you to my tent.”
“It is an honor.”
*****
After the meal, the two sat facing each other across a table for negotiations.
“Our demand is one thing. Return the salt trade rights and open the road again.”
“Understood.”
At Jeok Wigang’s all-too-easy agreement, the commander momentarily lost his words.
Then he frowned and said,
“If it were that easy, we would not have been waging war like this.”
“I will explain why it has not been easy until now.”
Jeok Wigang explained the current situation in the imperial palace in detail.
“Huh....”
“The current situation is so complicated that they have not been able to spare even a thought for this place. So no matter how many envoys you sent or wars you started, there was no response. No—they could not respond.”
“Mm.... Is it all right to tell me such things so freely?”
Jeok Wigang shrugged with both hands.
“Wait. If things are that chaotic, it means the current Emperor has no power.... Then what meaning does this negotiation have? If the officials oppose it anyway, is it not useless?”
“Do not worry. I will make certain it happens.”
“Huh.... I let myself hope for nothing. What power does a civil official have to handle people the Emperor himself cannot freely control? Surely you do not believe that nonsense about the brush being stronger than the sword?”
“That saying is true. The brush can wield great power in an age of peace. What I am talking about is force. If they refuse to listen, I intend to overturn everything.”
“Force? You?”
Jeok Wigang grinned.
“Would you like to test me?”
“You may get hurt.”
“If I pass the test, will you agree to the treaty?”
“Mm....”
“You have nothing to lose anyway, do you?”
“Very well! If you show power enough to convince us, I will agree to this treaty and withdraw at once.”
“Good. I feel pleased that this may be resolved more easily than I expected.”
“We are warriors of the grasslands. It will be difficult to convince us with ordinary force.”
“Yes. If you see my strength and still are not convinced, I will withdraw quietly.”
“How would you like to do it?”
“Let us do it your way.”
“I like you. I do not want to kill you.”
“I will not die, so go ahead.”
“Mm. Very well. If you die... I will hold as grand a funeral for you as I can.”
“That is very kind of you. But it will not happen.”
*****
The upper leadership looked absurdly stunned when they heard the commander’s words.
“A man who only held a brush said he would take our test?”
“Yes.”
“Does that make sense?”
“He seems confident. I do not want to kill him, so prepare something that will merely teach him a lesson.”
“Then let us have him attempt Fury’s Charge.”
“Mm. Could he not die if that goes wrong as well?”
“If not that, then he has to cross weapons with us. Is that not even more dangerous?”
“That is true. We have no such thing as moderation.”
The commander thought for a moment, then nodded.
“Yes. Fury’s Charge would be best.”
“But what if he passes it?”
“Then he will have to receive the Red Baptism.”
“And if he passes the Red Baptism too?”
“Does that make sense?”
“Still, you never know. If he is that confident, he may have something.”
“Then at that point, it means he is real. We will have to face him properly.”
“Understood. Then I will prepare everything.”
“Very well.”
*****
Jeok Wigang appeared at the place where the Tatar soldiers had gathered in a circle.
At the center stood a horse, and its eyes alone were vicious.
Jeok Wigang tilted his head and asked the commander,
“What is this?”
“Our test. It is called Fury’s Charge. That horse is a Fury Horse. If you tame that horse and make one circuit around this place, you earn the right to undergo the warrior’s test.”
“Is that so? Understood.”
“Be careful. That horse will charge and fight even if a tiger comes at it.”
“I like that.”
Jeok Wigang looked at the Fury Horse.
Its red mane rippled, and muscles that looked ready to burst out at any moment twitched beneath its hide.
Seeing that it had no saddle and only a rope around its neck, he could tell there was not a single person who could handle it.
It seemed they had brought a horse even they could not control.
When Jeok Wigang approached, the Fury Horse opened its eyes wide, showing the whites, and snorted hard.
The Fury Horse’s eyes held the madness of a wild beast.
As Jeok Wigang came closer, it raised its forelegs and kicked the air.
It was threatening him not to come any closer.
But Jeok Wigang did not stop.
Prrrrrrr—
It snorted even harder and pinned its ears all the way back. {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} Its forehoof scraped the ground, ready to attack at any moment.
Even after being threatened this much, Jeok Wigang still did not stop, and the Fury Horse charged at him.
NEEEEIGH—
CLOP— CLOP—
Jeok Wigang moved aside to avoid the Fury Horse as it charged fiercely. The running horse came to an abrupt stop and kicked powerfully at Jeok Wigang with its hind legs.
As if it had expected him to dodge.
The sight of the Fury Horse attacking like that left Jeok Wigang dumbfounded.
He lightly avoided the flying hind legs as well and began observing the Fury Horse.
When even its sure-kill attack was avoided, it seemed to grow even angrier.
The Fury Horse charged fiercely again.
The situation was exactly the same as before.
This time, Jeok Wigang did not dodge.
BANG—
NEEEEIGH—
THUD—
The Fury Horse charged into Jeok Wigang, only to be flung back instead and flip over.
The people who saw it were horrified.
“Wh-what? He collided with a horse, but the horse went flying, not the man!”
“What did we just see?”
The Fury Horse also stared at Jeok Wigang with a dazed look, as if it had no idea what had just happened.
Then it got back up and charged again.
BANG—
NEEEEIGH—
The Fury Horse was flung away again.
Even though it was a horse, its expression looked flustered.
Jeok Wigang smiled and walked toward it.
“Come here.”
The Fury Horse backed away.
“Oh? A horse is backing up? You are a fine horse, aren’t you?”
Due to their body structure, it was difficult for horses to walk backward.
Yet the Fury Horse was backing up with complete naturalness.
Jeok Wigang liked that horse.
He wanted it.
“If I tame that horse, may I keep it?”
At Jeok Wigang’s question, the commander nodded.
“D-do so. We were going to kill it anyway, since no one could handle it.”
Jeok Wigang let out a faint laugh.
So they had handed him a horse so ferocious they themselves could not handle it?
They had likely put it forward expecting him to be frightened and run away.
“Stop running.”
In an instant, Jeok Wigang moved in front of the Fury Horse and grabbed the reins hanging from its neck.
As the Fury Horse resisted fiercely, Jeok Wigang said,
“If you do not like me, I will let you return to the grasslands. So stay still for a moment.”
Had it understood Jeok Wigang’s words?
The Fury Horse stared at him steadily.
“I will smash that earthwork fortification over there for you, so go straight back to the grasslands.”
The Fury Horse tilted its head.
It was as if it were answering that such a thing would be difficult.
At the sight of it seeming to understand human speech, Jeok Wigang gave a faint laugh.
“Do not worry. I will break through it for you.”
Jeok Wigang said to the commander,
“May I smash that earthwork fortification?”
“With your strength alone?”
“Yes.”
“Try it. However, you have only until noon.”
Everyone laughed.
The earthwork fortification Jeok Wigang had pointed at was large and elaborately built.
Tens of thousands of soldiers had been mobilized to build it, and it had been made sturdy enough to withstand enemy attacks.
And he was going to smash it with his strength alone?
It would be difficult even with several months.
But they had given him only until noon, making it impossible.
At most, there was one double-hour left until noon.
Everyone shook their heads.
But Jeok Wigang smiled and said,
“You gave permission.”
That confident expression made the commander feel oddly uneasy, but he nodded, thinking there was no possible way.
Then Jeok Wigang clenched his fist and said,
“Could you move the soldiers standing near the wall back?”
What in the world was he trying to do?
“Move back!”
At the commander’s order, the soldiers split to either side, revealing the wall of the earthwork fortification.
Everyone watched, swallowing nervously.
Then Jeok Wigang thrust out his fist.
The very moment they were about to feel disappointed and wonder, What is that?
KWA-KWA-KWAAANG—
RUMBLE—
The wall collapsed.
If only the wall had collapsed, they would not have been this shocked.
But the low mountain behind the fallen wall had vanished without a trace as well.