Chapter 7

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Nammyeong's war hero was born.

“Huh, huh.”

After falling into the ancient Chinese land with his in-game body, Johann took his first deep breath.

The battle itself ended anticlimactically.

The morale of the bandits was so low that after being hit by two volleys, they panicked and fled when the Oubin soldiers charged.

However, Johann was not the type to be satisfied with the enemy's retreat.

The best moment to maximize the spoils of war was when pursuing the fleeing enemy.

“M, monster. To chase us this far.”

“Put down your weapons and surrender if you don’t want to die.”

Even now, Johann, despite his exhausted body, was chasing the fleeing bandits to expand his spoils.

Johann alone captured over a hundred bandits who were turning their backs and fleeing.

The Oubin soldiers merely followed behind Johann, binding the surrendered bandits.

“Huh, huh. Decide before I count to three, or I’ll kill you.”

The bandits, seeing Johann's exhausted state, exchanged glances.

They were communicating through their eyes, considering whether to launch a counterattack.

But in the end, they had no choice but to give up their resistance.

Because Oubin soldiers were running up from behind.

“I, I surrender.”

“You should have surrendered earlier. You’re just stalling for time.”

Smack!

Johann hit the back of the bandits' heads and handed them over to the Oubin soldiers.

Matus, who had led the Oubin soldiers, spoke to Johann with a tired voice.

“The soldiers are very tired.”

“What did they do to be tired? I did everything.”

“...”

“It’s a joke. Don’t look at me like you want to kill me just because I made a joke.”

Johann chuckled and asked Matus.

“How many prisoners did you capture?”

“So far, 157.”

“Did you count them so accurately in the meantime?”

“I just followed the orders.”

Hearing Matus's answer, Johann smiled in satisfaction.

The more he saw, the more he liked him.

He looked like a brute who only knew how to fight, but he was unexpectedly meticulous.

“Lord, Lord!”

In the meantime, a man ran towards Johann.

Wonjong, the scout prisoner Johann had first captured.

“Since when did you call me 'Lord'?”

“Hehe, from the moment you saved my life, you are my lord.”

It wasn't for some grand reason that Johann saved his life.

He just didn’t think it was worth killing him.

In the game, selling prisoners for money was common, so he usually kept them alive.

If they were high-level soldiers, he would even recruit them into his army.

“Lord, be happy. I have discovered some very important information.”

“What information?”

Wonjong didn’t answer immediately.

As if it were a huge piece of information, he looked around and then stared at Matus nearby.

It seemed he was hinting that Matus should step back for a private conversation.

Matus looked bewildered.

But before Matus could take any action, Johann moved first.

Smack!

“Aah!”

“Prisoner, how dare you ignore my confidant?”

“I, I am a Han. Lord.”

“What does that matter? Whether you are Han or not, you are just a bandit to me.”

Johann recognized Matus as a comrade.

And he was a generous man to those he recognized as comrades.

He would share even important secrets with them.

“So, what did you want to say? Don’t stall, just speak.”

“Ah, I understand.”

Wonjong made a slightly disappointed face for a moment, then revealed his information.

“I found the location of Songgang’s hidden treasure warehouse. Considering Songgang’s wealth, there must be a huge amount of silver there!”

Johann chuckled at Wonjong.

‘How did you find that out so quickly?’

While Johann was focused on the battle, Wonjong must have been doing something else.

Of course, it was fortunate that his side activities were helpful to Johann.

***

As the sun rose, the battlefield was gradually cleared.

‘I wondered why their formation collapsed so easily. Was it because their leader was killed?’

The Oubin soldiers probably didn’t see it clearly.

But Johann’s eyes could see far and clearly, and his night vision was as sharp as if he were wearing night vision goggles.

Johann knew that the enemy’s formation had already collapsed before they were hit by the volleys.

It seemed that Songgang was killed by a javelin Johann had thrown from a distance.

“Even capturing their leader, this is quite a profitable victory.”

One might have belittled them as just a bandit gang.

But the Ming Dynasty fell to such a bandit gang.

The same could be said for the Southern Ming.

Especially with the military strength lower than during the Ming Dynasty.

Even if the opponent was just a bandit gang, a victory was desperately needed for the Southern Ming people.

And Johann gave them a perfect victory.

He defeated the enemy with far fewer troops and almost no casualties.

This was truly an incredible achievement.

But the greatest achievement was something else.

It was Songgang’s military funds.

‘No wonder he had over a thousand soldiers.’

After the battlefield was cleared, Johann immediately attacked Songgang’s base.

The base wasn’t anything grand.

There was only one important thing hidden there: Songgang’s treasure chest.

The treasure chest contained a staggering 7,000 taels of silver.

Johann didn’t know the exact value of Southern Ming silver in modern terms.

But even a simple calculation showed it was an astronomical amount.

After all, an Oubin soldier’s monthly salary was about 2 taels of silver.

That means 24 taels a year.

7,000 taels could hire 300 Oubin soldiers for a year.

Since Oubin soldiers were paid more than regular Southern Ming soldiers, it could also hire 500 regular soldiers for a year.

‘That’s a lot. If I had this much money in the game, I could have declared independence right away.’

Of course, this was only in the context of the Mount & Blade world.

In the game, even a king could only mobilize a few thousand troops at most.

Here, tens of thousands were the norm.

Even the collapsing Southern Ming military had several hundred thousand troops (though there might be some exaggeration typical of China).

‘But with such a large sum, it’s best to keep it hidden for now.’

Even if Jeong Jiryong was rich, he would surely covet such a sum.

After all, he was a merchant by origin.

The Oubin soldiers were his private army, so it was only natural that he should share the spoils with them.

But Johann had no intention of handing over the money that could be his military funds to Jeong Jiryong.

Fortunately, only Wonjong knew the location of the treasure chest.

If he could keep Wonjong’s mouth shut, the 7,000 taels of silver would be his.

“Lord, can I be spared the death penalty?”

Indeed, his perceptiveness was impressive.

Johann chuckled inwardly as he saw Wonjong approach him.

“With a Grand Secretary of the country behind me, can’t I protect your life?”

“Hehe, you are truly remarkable. To have a Grand Secretary as your backer at such a young age!”

Wonjong retreated with a relieved face after hearing Johann’s answer.

Then Matus approached and asked Johann.

“Aren’t you going to kill him?”

“I promised to spare him, so I have to keep my word.”

“Surprising.”

“Why? Does it feel strange for me, who is usually ruthless, to do this?”

Matus said nothing.

But silence is often consent, and his reaction showed how he usually viewed Johann.

“I may look ruthless, but I keep my promises very well.”

This was not a lie.

He just didn’t make promises often, but when he did, he kept them.

“Matus, what about you? Will you tell Nam Anhou about the treasure chest?”

Matus shook his head in response to Johann’s question.

“I don’t want to.”

“Why? Aren’t you loyal to Nam Anhou?”

“I am loyal, which is why I want to keep it a secret. It’s not much money for Nam Anhou. I don’t want to see a conflict between you and Nam Anhou over this small amount.”

Perhaps because he grew up in the West, his thinking was different.

But it wasn’t wrong.

It was rather rational.

“You made a good choice. I don’t intend to keep this money for myself. I will distribute it fairly when the opportunity arises.”

As mentioned earlier, Johann was generous to those he recognized as comrades.

He treated the Oubin soldiers like slaves because they weren’t his comrades yet.

If they were comrades, it was only natural to distribute the spoils fairly.

“How fair is fair?”

“I’ll take half, and the rest will be distributed according to merit.”

Of course, it was called a fair distribution, but Johann would take half for himself.

But Johann thought he was being fair even by taking half.

And Matus also thought so.

No one could deny that Johann’s performance in subduing the Songgang army was decisive.

***

After leaving the treasure chest behind, they descended the mountain.

They were heading back to Fuzhou.

At that moment, a group of troops was seen approaching from the direction of Fuzhou.

It was the Southern Ming army led by Hwang Heonshin.

Johann didn’t avoid the Southern Ming army.

He even approached Hwang Heonshin and provocatively said,

“You’re late. Didn’t I tell you to hurry?”

“This scoundrel!”

“With 500 men, you couldn’t capture a single bandit. You must be very disappointed.”

Hwang Heonshin dismounted.

Then he suddenly kicked Johann.

“Do you really want to die!”

Of course, Johann wasn’t the type to fall for such a clumsy attack.

He grabbed Hwang Heonshin’s foot with both hands and pushed him away.

“Oof...”

A subordinate caught Hwang Heonshin, who almost fell backward.

Then Hwang Heonshin, even more furious, drew his sword from the scabbard.

“Can you handle it?”

Looking at Hwang Heonshin, Johann asked coldly.

“You seem to be acting so boldly because you trust Nam Anhou, but I’ve known Nam Anhou longer than you!”

“No, I’m not asking about Nam Anhou. I’m asking if you can handle my strength.”

Hwang Heonshin, a commander of Hwang Heonshin’s level, didn’t need Jeong Jiryong’s help to be dealt with.

It meant that Johann could handle him alone.

“...”

The original Hwang Heonshin would have attacked without hesitation.

He wasn’t a patient person.

But seeing Johann, who was covered in blood and had a calm expression, he hesitated.

Of course, his hesitation was only momentary.

It seemed he had made a decision, and his eyes turned deadly.

Johann knew what that decision was.

‘I need to clearly show the Southern Ming commanders the difference in level. That way, no one will dare to mock me again.’

Johann didn’t intend to kill Hwang Heonshin.

His goal was to clearly demonstrate his skills so that no one in the Southern Ming could ignore him.

In a situation like this, where Hwang Heonshin was within his reach, Johann could easily subdue Hwang Heonshin and his troops.

“General, the Tartars have appeared!”

“What do you mean, suddenly?”

“Look over there!”

But the conflict between the two didn’t happen.

A third force had appeared.

The third force referred to the Qing army.

Johann turned his head to look in the direction the subordinate was pointing.

There, a cavalry unit of about 500 men was approaching.

It was probably the Qing army’s Banners.

‘I can understand the bandits, but how did the enemy’s army appear near the capital?’

Johann was once again amazed by the openness of the Southern Ming.

After trading with countries like Japan, Vietnam, Spain, the Netherlands, England, and Portugal, it seemed they had now opened their territory to the Qing army.

“How did they get here?”

“We don’t have time for this. We need to retreat!”

“As a Southern Ming general, how can I retreat without fighting?”

“General! They are Tartars!”

While Hwang Heonshin and his subordinate were arguing, Johann silently prepared for battle.

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