143
After Victory — The End of the Banquet
The wine cups were emptied, and the drumbeats faded.The banquet had reached its end, yet few rose to leave their seats.Victory had already passed. What remained were calculations—each one private.
Toqto'a set down his cup for the last time and stood.His gaze naturally turned toward the Goryeo delegation.
"That will be all for tonight."
His words were gentle, but the intent to dismiss was unmistakable.The ministers rose one by one to offer their farewells.Laughter was exchanged, but no one lingered.No one believed this victory would last.
Lee In-jung left the hall with Park Seong-jin.Outside the main pavilion, the air was cold, the night deep and heavy.
"Senior Brother,"Park Seong-jin asked quietly,"Is that man… on our side?"
Lee In-jung did not answer at once.He looked up at the northern sky above Beiping, then spoke.
"On the battlefield, we moved together."
After a brief pause, he added,"In the court, everyone judges for themselves."
Park Seong-jin nodded.He now understood clearly that this victory was not an ending.
Footsteps stopped behind them.
It was Toqto'a.
"I watched today's battle carefully,"he said, looking at Park Seong-jin.His eyes were warm, yet their depth was unreadable.
"You're young—but your blade is fast."
It sounded like praise.At the same time, it felt like an assessment.
As Park Seong-jin tried to bow, Toqto'a raised a hand to stop him.
"The battlefield is settled."
Then he continued,
"But for someone like you,what comes after matters even more."
With only those words, he turned away.In his retreating figure lingered the air of someone already measuring the next current.
Lee In-jung spoke quietly.
"You heard him."
"Yes."
"Surviving means your choices only grow heavier from here on."
Park Seong-jin looked toward the battlements.The fires were out. The smoke was dispersing.
He felt it then—that one war had been concluded this night,and that the struggle surrounding him had finally acquired a name.
A late dawn wind brushed over Gouwu Fortress.The aftertaste of victory had already left.
At that moment, the cup in Park Seong-jin's hand trembled faintly.He realized suddenly—
That man was not merely a general.He was the empire itself.
When the banquet ended, Toqto'a entered a private chamber behind the curtains.His aide, Baira, stood beside him like a shadow.
"Lee In-jung of the Goryeo forces,""Toqto'a said softly,"and that young one, Park Seong-jin."
"Names we've been hearing often of late."
"Yes, Chancellor."
"Value their loyalty," Toqto'a said,"but do not let them rise as independent heroes."
A brief silence followed.
"Merit that grows too large becomes a crime.After dynasties are pacified, it is always such men who cause trouble."
Baira bowed deeply.
"I will remember."
Toqto'a stepped toward the window and looked out between the curtains.Faint lights still trembled in the sky above Gouwu.
Watching them, he murmured lowly—then, almost to himself:
"We won the battle.But human desire is harder to govern."
"This empire is still in the midst of a struggle.No—one might say the gate to an even greater struggle has opened."
After a pause, he added quietly,
"One day, the Goryeo army may shake the state itself."
There was another reason Toqto'a found them unsettling.
He had poured all his strength into suppressing Zhang Shicheng.He drew in forces from the Western Regions, even the Goryeo army from the east,assembling them under his command.
On the road to Gouwu,he offered sacrifices to Confucius at Quliand to Mencius at Zouxian.
This war was not a simple suppression.It was an act meant to establish legitimacy before the realm.
In the eleventh month,he won victory after victory against Zhang Shicheng's forces,tightening the noose until surrender was imminent.
Yet Zhang Shicheng himself was never his true concern.What mattered was the people's hearts after the rebels were broken.
Calming the shocked and excited populace.Restoring order to the world.
That was the true duty of a Chancellor.
Still, a victory was a victory.
The subtle distance felt at the banquet came from that truth.
Soon, news of the Goryeo army's exploits reached the court in Beiping.Those who had advocated sending Goryeo forces gained momentum.At the same time, those wary of Toqto'a's growing prestigesought to divide his achievements.
As a result,the name of Goryeo spread even further.
Hearing that Goryeo had distinguished itself,Empress Gi was pleased.
A staff officer entered with documents.
"Chancellor,the court in Beiping reports that Her Majesty was pleasedto hear of the Goryeo army's accomplishments."
"And others," he added,"say your merit has grown too great,and must therefore be divided."
Toqto'a's brow tightened slightly.
"So Goryeo's name will spread even more."
He let out a short laugh.
"Those who fear my riseare elevating Goryeo in my place."
That night, Toqto'a received word that Zhang Shicheng had fled toward Liuhe.Without delay, he divided his forces.
It went without saying that the Goryeo troops would head for Liuhe.What consequences that decision would bring—no one yet knew.
The Biographies of the Yuan History records Toqto'a thus:
"Toqto'a was dignified and imposing,a man who stood out at once even among thousands.His capacity was vast, his knowledge deep,and the depth of his character beyond measure.Though he rendered great service in safeguarding the state,he did not put himself forward.Though he rose to the highest rank,he never grew arrogant.He valued wealth lightly, shunned indulgence in women and pleasure,admired the worthy, and treated scholars with courtesy.None of this was affectation—it arose from his nature.In serving his sovereign, he never forgot the integrity of a minister,and could stand beside the loyal officials of old without shame."
Yet the record does not say everything.
Toqto'a did not trust people.
More precisely—he did not trust merit.
He had seen countless victories.The greater one's achievements grew,the more one came to equate oneself with the dynasty itself,until loyalty quietly turned into ambition.
Thus he divided merit.Scattered names.Ensured that no single light lingered too long in one place.
He believed this was how an empire endured.
His composure at the banquet,his praise of the Goryeo forces—all of it was calculated.
He did not underestimate Lee In-jung and Park Seong-jin.If anything, it was the opposite.
And that was precisely whyhe would never allow the moment they became "heroes."
Battles could be won.But the human heart,he knew better than anyone,could not be organized like records in an archive.
As the banquet drew to a close,Toqto'a summoned Lee In-jung.
"You called for me?"
"Let me commend your achievements once more,""Toqto'a said."Thanks to you, Gouwu was secured."
Lee In-jung stepped back and bowed.
"I have already received more praise than I deserve."
"The war is not yet over,""Toqto'a replied."You need not restrain such words."
He suddenly thought of the Beiping court.Why was it that the capital was filled only with wolves and jackals?A bitter smile flickered across his face.
Lee In-jung continued,
"The one regret is that he escaped."
"He cannot maintain his former strength,but it is too early to call this struggle finished."
He added, almost apologetically,
"The battle pressed us hard.We could not pursue him to the end."
"Some feared our numerical disadvantageand withdrew after reaching the hidden passages,returning to support the main force."
"Had we pressed further,we might have captured him."
Toqto'a stopped him with a gentle smile.
"No."
"Once again,I thank the Goryeo forces."
He spread a map across the table.
"But Zhang Shicheng still remains."
"Look here."
He pointed south of the fortress, toward distant Nanjing.
"Liuhe."
"It seems he fled in that direction."
Lee In-jung studied the map.
"I do not know the geography of the Central Plains well."
Toqto'a traced the routes with his finger.
"Near present-day Nanjing, on the outskirts."
"It is highly likely he has reached out to Guo Zixing."
"Another leader of rebellion."
"Indeed.And beyond him lies Chen Youliang."
"Three fronts, then."
"In broad terms, yes."
Toqto'a tapped the map lightly.
"Zhang Shicheng in the south,Guo Zixing in the west,and behind them, Chen Youliang."
"These three are the embers sickening the empire."
After a pause, Lee In-jung asked,
"Then will you pursue again?"
"That is my intention."
Toqto'a's voice lowered.
"Before he enters Guo Zixing's protection."
Slowly, he continued,
"By noon tomorrow, assemble a force bound for Liuhe."
"We will depart as soon as the lines are reformed."
"Thank you."
As Lee In-jung turned to leave, Toqto'a called out once more.
"I summoned Goryeo and the Western kingdomsto tend to the hearts of the realm."
"I understand."
"But that justification is now being used to attack me."
Toqto'a smiled wryly.
"They say this campaign was Goryeo's achievement,not Toqto'a's."
He looked straight at Lee In-jung.
"I never intended to diminish your merit."
"I only wished to distance myselffrom being used in that way."
Lee In-jung did not hesitate.
"I understand."
"I hold no resentment."
In those words lay both a soldier's disciplineand the silence of one who understood the shadow of politics.