57
Meanwhile, the course of the battle was reported to Gaegyeong without delay.The communication network linking Liaoyang and the capital was restored alongside it.The distance was great, but thanks to the relay stations established during the northern advance, news did not falter.Baek In-gun secured a direct line of contact with Gaegyeong, and reports of the situation and its aftermath quickly reached the court.
With deepest respect, I submit this report.I, Baek In-gun, commanding the Left and Right Guards, the Sinhogwi, and the Heungwigwi, engaged the forces of the Northern Yuan commander Nahachu, who invaded the Liaoyang sector, from the dawn of the fifth day of the first winter month of the Eulsa year, for a period of three days.
The enemy force numbered approximately two hundred thousand, while our own stood at roughly thirty thousand.The enemy launched three assaults upon the fortress.The first and second attacks were repelled through concentrated fire from the defensive fire-net and artillery emplacements established along the battlements.
By the third assault, the southern gate area was severely damaged by explosions, placing the fortress in grave danger.However, this was a deliberate measure intended to break the enemy's momentum and draw them into the city.At the moment the enemy entered the interior of the fortress, our main force—previously redeployed—sortied through the western gate and struck the enemy's rear.
As a result, the enemy force was severed front and rear, losing both advance and retreat, and Liaoyang Fortress was restored to our control.During this engagement, the enemy commander Yarutai was gravely wounded and killed within the encirclement.Nahachu withdrew northward with the remnants of his army.
We captured the enemy commanders Nayanchiemur and Baiyan Buha, among others, and seized a considerable quantity of weapons, provisions, and horses.Our own casualties, including both killed and wounded, numbered approximately two thousand.These losses were incurred in the course of defending the frontier.
At present, Liaoyang Fortress has been stabilized.The Sinhogwi and Heungwigwi have restored order and are repairing the dwellings of civilians within and around the city.The gates are being rebuilt, and our banners now fly once more upon the battlements.
Thus I report the situation and await the instructions of the court.
Seventh day of the first winter month, Eulsa yearCommander-in-Chief of the Liaodong Expeditionary Force,Baek In-gun, humbly submits this report.
Winter in Liaoyang — The Shadow of Peace
Winter settled over Liaoyang.The bitter cold froze the fortress and the surrounding fields.Flames and shouts vanished.Only then did the sound of human breathing return.
Life among the civilian households resumed slowly.Food was distributed to the starving, and those who had lost their homes began stacking stones again before collapsed walls.The Goryeo army occupied the major buildings of the former Liaodong Provincial Administration and established the framework of governance.The fighting had ended; the work of restoration continued.
The wounds of battle closed quickly.Yet not everyone returned to their former selves.What could not be healed remained as it was.Those who survived carried on with their lives in that state.
There were many dead.As bodies were recovered, they were cremated, and the ashes were sent back to Goryeo.One thousand five hundred were confirmed.Another five hundred were never found.In the registers, the words missing in action were written again and again.
When Seongjin had once heard that his elder brother's name was on such a list, he had accepted it as unconfirmed.Now, it was different.Missing did not mean that no one knew where they had gone.It meant they had died, but without a place or moment remaining.They were left only as something that could not be verified.
They were gone, and only their names remained.
Seongjin closed his eyes.He accepted that these were not faces that would return if he waited.No tears came.His emotions had already dried up on the battlefield.
Instead, he remembered his brother's face from childhood—smiling.The memory settled on his shoulders like weight, not easily shaken off.
He raised his head and looked at the sky.Snow fell silently upon the battlements.The sky over Liaoyang was clear.Snowflakes scattered in the wind.
The Court of Gaegyeong — Memorial of Victory
News of the victory at Liaoyang reached Gaegyeong during the winter solstice month, on a day when the north wind was especially fierce.Until the day before, silence had filled the palace.That morning, a single document delivered by a messenger changed the air of the court.
"Liaoyang secured.""Enemy commander Yarutai killed.""Nahachu retreats north."
The king's fingertips trembled briefly as he received the report.Yet no joy showed on his face.His gaze was fixed not on victory or defeat, but on the situation that would follow.
"Our original orders were to suppress the Red Turbans,"the Royal Secretariat Scholar stepped forward and spoke carefully."A clash with the Northern Yuan was not part of the plan.""If this battle incurs the empire's anger, its repercussions will surely cross the frontier."
Another senior official spoke at once."Though General Baek In-gun recovered the fortress through stratagem, this matter may yet become a future calamity.""Liaodong is, by convention, considered territory under the empire's authority."
A low murmur spread through the hall.
After a moment, one Chancellor stepped forward, his voice quiet but firm."Liaodong is originally the foundation of Goryeo.""There is precedent for His Majesty holding the title of Governor of Liaoyang Province, and Liaodong has been inherited land since the days of our ancestors.""Are we to surrender a fortress when invaded?""Are we to leave the border empty?"
The murmuring grew louder.
The king closed his eyes briefly.This debate was old, and its conclusion was never easy.The Yuan was weakening, rebellions were breaking out everywhere, and even provincial governors were uncertain of their footing.Yet Goryeo could not plunge deeply into the center of that chaos.
"The fighting has subsided, but the situation is not yet settled,"the king said softly."Nahachu has withdrawn, but behind him stands the Great Khan.""The court at Beiping will not let this pass quietly."
At this, a clerk of the Secretariat stepped forward."Your Majesty, we should dispatch an envoy to the Northern Yuan.""We must make clear that we did not oppose the empire, but only dealt with rebel forces acting amid disorder. We occupied the land to destroy the Red Turbans' base."
The king nodded slowly."Let the Ministry of Rites prepare diplomatic correspondence. Write that we have not disrupted the empire's order, but merely dealt with those who violated the border."
The scholar asked again,"Shall we convey this to Baek In-gun as well?"
The king's voice grew lower."So do. His merit on the battlefield is unquestionable. Now he must sheath the sword and defend the country through diplomacy. We must not fumble diplomacy and cause our soldiers to bleed."
The ministers bowed in unison.Yet beneath their lowered heads, their gazes diverged.Merit became something to be watched.Victory became a political burden.
The king unfolded the report once more.One line held his attention for a long time:
Liaoyang breathes again, yet the scent of blood still lingers in the wind.
The king closed the document and spoke quietly."Convey this to Baek In-gun. Liaoyang has been defended, but the nation's boundaries are still being tested."
After a pause, he added,"Also examine the possibility of diplomacy with Nahachu.""If alliance is possible, consider it.""We cannot look only to the north.""The rebel forces in the south are also growing."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The doors of the great hall opened.Cold wind swept inside.The wind chimes beneath the eaves rang out.Their sound lingered in the court, as if to remind all present that the situation was far from over.