Chapter 6

◈ Falling into South America (4)

Why am I attending this meeting, and why am I acting so familiar?

Is this the essence of adaptability?

Adapting to the environment without even questioning it?

If I could return to reality with this body, I might even win an Olympic medal.

Numerous distracting thoughts flooded my mind, but somehow I managed to find my way well.

Occasionally, I saw higher-ranking officers around, and the pride I felt from being a Lang (a military rank) slightly diminished.

There was a part of me that should be grateful for not being a low-ranking soldier.

The position of Lang, a military rank, was quite ambiguous.

Although I'm not yet familiar with the rank system, the ranks of Sambyeolcho can be roughly interpreted as follows:

There were units similar to the central army of Goryeo, such as the Dragon Tiger Army (龍虎軍) and the Eagle Yang Army (鷹揚軍), and there were also different ones.

Jiyu (指諭) means commander and is a commonly used term.

It is used from Sanwon (散員) to Ling (領) and above.

It is used by high-ranking officials like Bae Jungsun, No Younghee, Yi Shinso, and Yu Junhyuk, and I am also called Jiyu by my subordinates.

The overall commander of Sambyeolcho is currently Bae Jungsun.

Below him are the generals and Zhonglang (中郎) who lead the Ling (領) units, which are equivalent to the rank of a thousand-man commander.

Below them are the mid-level commanders, Lang (郎將).

There are also Byeoljang (別將), which are similar to Lang but slightly lower in rank.

There is also the position of Sanwon (散員), which assists Lang and Byeoljang.

These can be roughly seen as equivalent to a hundred-man commander or a two-hundred-man commander.

Below them are the Wei (尉) or Owei (伍尉), which are fifty-man commanders.

Finally, there are the Daejeong (隊正), which are ten-man or twenty-man commanders.

However, the military system is not as neatly organized as in 21st-century Korea, so there are some chaotic aspects.

I didn't really like my own rank.

The formations of the Divine Army and the Left and Right Sambyeolcho were slightly different.

There were differences in scale and in the diverse origins of the members.

The Sambyeolcho army that arrived here numbered slightly over ten thousand.

As far as I know, it's around ten thousand.

So, roughly, there are about fifty to sixty Lang and Byeoljang level Jiyus.

If all the commanders of these units gather in one place, it would be quite chaotic.

Fortunately, only the Divine Army's Lang and Byeoljang are gathered here.

Including myself, there are twelve of us.

They all had sharp eyes and exuded a deep aura of killing intent, something I, as a civilian, had never experienced.

There probably wasn't enough time for personal maintenance amidst the endless battles.

But there was also a psychological scent in the air, not just a physical or biological one.

I couldn't even compare this to the army I had been in.

It wasn't about the superiority of firepower but about the mindset.

They are truly war machines.

They have killed enemies without shedding a tear or a drop of blood and will continue to do so.

Then, when I looked at my own armor, it was soaked in blood more than anyone else's.

The air suddenly felt suffocating, so I looked around and saw someone I knew in the corner, and naturally approached him.

"Brother Kang Hui, are you here?"

The one who called me was my close friend, Byeoljang Lee Mun-kyung of the Divine Army.

Close friends often call each other by their courtesy names or aliases rather than their given names or surnames.

Kang Hui.

I liked it much better than my own name.

I called him by his courtesy name.

"Joon-won."

As time passed and I became more familiar with this place, my memories slowly organized themselves.

It didn't feel awkward to act friendly.

Mun-kyung looked bright.

"Have you heard anything?"

I casually asked Mun-kyung, who had arrived earlier, and he smiled awkwardly.

"I don't know much. I just came here as a duty."

Still, there was a hint of expectation in his face.

Mun-kyung looked around, bowed his head, and was about to whisper when outside the tent, the overall commander of Sambyeolcho, Bae Jungsun, and the commander of the Divine Army, Kim Tongjeong, came out.

I had seen their faces in my memory, but this was the first time I saw them up close.

Both were famous enough to be mentioned briefly in history class, so it was quite surprising.

The Zhonglang, Lang, and Byeoljang all stood at attention and closed their mouths, waiting for the Jiyu to speak.

But as Jungsun spoke a few words, the surroundings quickly became chaotic.

"This is not Jindo, where we planned to relocate to, nor is it a region of the Three Souths."

What are you saying?

Other commanders also seemed confused and started looking at each other.

"Moreover, there are no signs of the traitors from the north or Kaesong, and we cannot find any towns where the people live."

The soldiers murmured.

"Is it true?"

"The overall commander has no reason to lie to us."

"Everyone, stop!"

Tongjeong's shout made everyone fall silent again.

Jungsun spoke again.

"I know you are curious, but after reconnaissance, we must immediately move to a better location. Those not selected for the mission should rest and recover from the fatigue accumulated so far."

The commanders' expressions brightened.

No matter how elite they were and how many battles they had survived, the fear of the Mongol army had made their morale understandably low.

As the threat of death receded, everyone let out a sigh of relief.

The peace they felt after so long was palpable.

The sharp atmosphere had clearly subsided.

Still, if this is not Goryeo, then where are we?

They didn't seem to be lying. There was no reason for them to.

Indeed, after the fog, I opened my eyes and saw that this was not the west coast, near Jindo or Jeju Island.

There were no islands to be seen, even if I looked closely.

The coastline looked like it could be anywhere on the east coast.

And as far as I know, the current date is,

"It's the 17th day of the 8th month of Gengwu (1270)."

But it's quite cool.

Tongjeong and Jungsun were having a conversation.

"We will give you discretion over the command of the Divine Army. It would be good to reorganize the units that have been merged due to losses in the battles."

"What do you plan to do with the rest of the Sambyeolcho organization?"

"Hmm... That is,"

Jungsun sighed and muttered something.

The chatter around made it hard to hear.

Jungsun left first, and Tongjeong, who was deep in thought, eventually came forward with a piece of paper.

"Our mission is to guard the camp. Those called out, come forward and receive your orders."

"Lang Won Jonggang, Byeoljang Yi Seon…"

"Will guard the north…"

"Lang Hwang Saui, Byeoljang Kang Suk…"

"Will guard the west…"

As the list went on, Sangmin and Mun-kyung were called.

"Lang Kim Sangmin, Lang Park Ryang, Byeoljang Lee Mun-kyung, Byeoljang Jeong Chan-sung, come forward and receive your orders."

They quickly came forward.

"You will guard the royal family. All four of you will take turns guarding the royal family."

While Sangmin showed no change in expression, Mun-kyung looked like he had eaten something bitter and reluctantly accepted the order.

He then muttered under his breath.

"Damn it."

"Why are you saying that?"

Mun-kyung, taking advantage of the chaos as the command staff dispersed after the orders were given, whispered in his ear.

"Practically, Wang On, the Duke of Seonghwa, is just a puppet. Why is guarding such a person so important? Moreover, once we are fixed in this role, we will keep getting orders to guard these people."

"…That's a big problem."

But even if he is a puppet, he is still the king of Goryeo, isn't he?

I quickly covered his mouth to prevent anyone from hearing and returned to the tent.

Mun-kyung, who had been complaining behind me, entered his tent, which was next to Sangmin's, but brought another person with him.

"Brother Kang Hui, can I come in?"

Sangmin, taken aback, answered, and the person who entered with a military salute was Guo Yanshou, Mun-kyung's Sanwon.

I was close to him, but unlike Yonggil, who became more formal the closer he was, Guo Yanshou had gentle eyes and was friendly with everyone.

With the addition of Yonggil, the four of them sat around a small table and had a long conversation.

Since our duty starts tomorrow, we could rest today.

Other commanders also received orders to rest today, so they would probably be relaxing.

There was no precious alcohol for us, and even if there was, we wouldn't be allowed to drink it.

Just drinking water made the atmosphere feel festive, and we talked freely, like old friends.

Of course, I stopped any disrespectful talk about the king of Goryeo.

Living with people of this era, I noticed a few things.

Their personalities were such that, perhaps because they were from the past and not yet tainted, or because they were military men and relatively innocent, they generally did not manage their expressions well or were honest with their emotions.

The poker face, a kind of weapon, is a concept passed down through books and scriptures, so it would be difficult to expect such high-level self-management from people of this era, who have been through countless wars.

Especially for Sangmin, who had some social experience in the modern era.

Mun-kyung, among them, had an honest and unpretentious expression, making him seem like a younger brother.

It just means his way of thinking is immature.

He is of a lower rank and younger than me, but he is not young. I heard he is in his mid-twenties.

I remember that the average life expectancy of Goryeo nobles was around forty, and it was even shorter during the war.

So, by today's standards, being in your twenties would be considered middle-aged?

Of course, a short life expectancy doesn't mean rapid aging, and hormones are secreted according to age, so there are aspects that are hard to understand from a modern perspective.

But he looks young, yet his muscles are tightly packed from real combat.

He is even known in the Goryeo army for his sword skills.

Sangmin suppressed the rising competitive spirit.

Is it because I'm younger, or because of the traits I chose? I sometimes felt emotions I couldn't understand, and even felt like my hormones were surging.

Please, don't act out.

—–

An emergency meeting of the leadership was held.

Unable to establish a base in Jindo, Sambyeolcho faced a significant problem.

While the Sambyeolcho uprising was somewhat spontaneous due to the king taking the ledger, the plan had been established quite a while ago.

Jindo had always been the central point of the plan.

Most of Goryeo's tax revenue was transported by sea, not land, and Jindo, located at the crossroads of the logistics and grain transport of the Three Souths, had been strategically important since ancient times.

Moreover, the lands of the Three Souths and their surroundings had been the front yard of the Yabechos, who had served the Choi military regime since the time of the Choi military regime.

Jindo itself was a fertile island capable of producing a significant amount of supplies.

While Sambyeolcho had plundered the Hanyang warehouse in Asan, the Yeongbong warehouse in Seosan, the Jinseong warehouse in Impho, the Hye-ryeong warehouse in Naju, the Anheung warehouse in Buan, and the Buyong warehouse in Yeonggwang as they moved south along the west coast, the amount of food required to sustain a large army was truly enormous, and it was unknown when it would run out.

The original plan was to establish a base in Jindo, exploit the commoners of the Three Souths, and continue the resistance, but the first step had already gone wrong.

"We need to plant crops quickly."

"Agreed. Once the reconnaissance report comes in, we should move to a place suitable for farming."

There was no real disagreement.

Then, why did they gather?

It was because of a divination.

Anbang-yeol, the court astrologer who had previously informed them of the strange star patterns, had cast a divination in front of the portrait of Taejo (Wang Geon) shortly after the Sambyeolcho uprising.

The result of the divination was "half survive, half perish."

Anbang-yeol interpreted this as those who perish are those who leave for the mainland, and those who survive are those who follow the Sambyeolcho, and he joined the Sambyeolcho himself.

He also linked this divination to the popular Daoist prophecy of the Goryeo era, "the dragon's descendants will end after twelve generations, and a new capital will be built in the south."

Interpreted, it means that the bloodline of the dragon (Taejo) will end after twelve generations, and a new capital will be built in the south.

It sounds ridiculous.

Especially since Wang Jeong, the king of Goryeo, was the 24th king of Goryeo.

It was similar to the popular prophecy of the Tang dynasty's establishment during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, "the eighteen sons will be king," and was a somewhat cliché story that repeated every time a major national crisis occurred.

That was the case.

At least until a few days ago.

When they first heard this prophecy, the soldiers didn't really believe it.

They only used it to spread among the ignorant commoners in Jindo to legitimize the Sambyeolcho government.

But the current situation was completely different.

They didn't know if this place was in the south, but they had come to a new land.

There were no commoners of the Three Souths to exploit here.

The mask they were wearing was no longer necessary.

Moreover, the prophecy itself gained a new appeal and persuasiveness.

Once they started to believe, the power of the prophecy began to envelop the soldiers.

Like stepping into sticky mud.

Was it really the end of the Wang bloodline, the descendants of Taejo?

Even though Wang Jeong was the 24th king of Goryeo.

If it was not about the order of the kings but about the lineage of the Wang family.

From Taejo Wang Geon to Anjong Wang U, through Hyejong, Munjong, and Injong, Wang Jeong was the eleventh in the lineage.

And the current king, Wang On, is...

Someone swallowed hard.

"The coronation of the king is a significant national event. Even in these difficult times, we must do our best. We must not be negligent in any way."

"I agree."

Most of the commanders agreed.

Some found the reason in farming,

Some found the reason in defense,

Some even found the reason in supporting the king.

But none of those present here intended to consult the king himself.