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Zhu Yuanzhang was hanging from a rope, looking down beneath the wall.Through the dust, a sword flashed.Its edge caught the sunlight for a brief instant, then moved.He fixed his gaze.
Below, amid mud and smoke, Park Seong-jin was twisting his body, re-forming the line.He lowered his blade, glanced to the side, then briefly lifted his head to look up at the wall.
Their eyes met for an instant.There was no gesture meant to explain meaning.No distinction came first—neither cutting down an enemy nor seeking a comrade.What reached them first was the shared sensation of seeing the same battlefield, hearing the same noise, breathing the same air.
Zhu Yuanzhang tightened his grip on the rope.Then he turned his head away.
The order to withdraw beyond the walls was given.
Armor of soldiers crawling out of the muddy pool reflected the reddish light of dawn.The gate remained closed, and a final stone from the huihui trebuchet flew, smashing down upon it.
Yi In-jung spoke quietly.
"They're more cunning than I thought."
Park Seong-jin nodded as he caught his breath.The troops that had been pushing in scattered back outside the walls.
Tokto's Fall
It was the fifteenth day since the siege of Liuhe Fortress began.Though it was the south, winter had fully set in, and at night the water froze.The soldiers' breath rose like white smoke.
As Yi In-jung was returning from a strategy meeting, a messenger came running, breathless.
"Commander, urgent news from Beiping!"
"What is it?"
"An order has come down from the Secretariat."
The messenger lowered his voice.
"The court in Dadu has dismissed Lord Tokto."
"What?!"
Yi In-jung stopped short in shock.
To dismiss a general in the middle of a campaign…Rotten to the core.
"We're at war."
The messenger bowed his head.
"There was slander."
"They say His Majesty grew suspicious because the merits were too great."
"The Left Chancellor of the Secretariat, Aro, has taken over state affairs."
Yi In-jung's fist trembled.
"Heh."
A low laugh slipped out.
"That's the Yuan for you. Cutting off with its own hands the one who defended the state."
Beside him, Park Seong-jin muttered,
"Politics is frightening."
"Yes. Frightening."
Yi In-jung nodded.
"The battlefield moves on blood and sweat, but the court turns on jealousy and fear."
He sighed and looked toward the distant ramparts.
"Orders will come soon."
Words like withdrawal, reorganization of the front came to mind.
Tokto had already stepped away from command.Soldiers were gathered in the yard of the requisitioned house he had used as headquarters.
He stood there with his armor removed, gazing up at the sky.
"I held back chaos under heaven. They raised the realm above my head."
His gaze turned toward the far north.
"The young commanders of Goryeo must still be fighting."
A brief silence passed.
"If it's them… they might last longer than I did."
He loosened the cord binding his scabbard.His words ended there.
That night, he was dismissed from all offices.
Night on the Waterway — The Rebels' Escape
Inside Liuhe Fortress, a secret nocturnal current was flowing.
Below the hidden water gate on the southern downstream side—where water had drained since long ago—torches were extinguished one by one.The light vanished just before touching the water's surface.
Where the light disappeared, black ripples flowed quietly.The river slipped beneath the fortress, its sound subdued.
Zhu Yuanzhang stood before it.
"Lord Guo," he said softly."It is time for you to leave."
Guo Zixing, his lord, looked at Zhu Yuanzhang for a long moment without speaking.
"This fortress will fall soon."
"Yes."
A trace of regret.
Only the sound of the river passed between them.
"What will you do?"
"I will follow later."
Zhu Yuanzhang continued without hesitation.
"Someone must at least pretend to hold the fortress."
"If everyone leaves, they will rush in at once."
Guo Zixing gripped his shoulder.Strength entered his grasp.
"If you stay, we may never meet again."
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded.
"Life and death belong to Heaven. I did not wage war fearing death."
He turned back.
Dozens of small boats floated on the current.On each, soldiers held their breath and crouched low.Broken armor and banners torn by arrows hung limply.
As the night deepened, fog spread over the river.The soldiers rowed in silence, pulling on ropes laid along the waterway.
The current was unnaturally calm.There were no sounds, no shouts.Only a faint line of lights stretched across the black surface.
Through the night, the boats carried the key figures out of the fortress one by one, then vanished.
The movement was measured, the order intact.There was no haste, no confusion.It flowed like a sequence long prepared.
Zhu Yuanzhang watched.His gaze did not waver, yet he could not easily look away.
On the walls above, White Lotus soldiers still stood watch.They had withdrawn their eyes from what was happening below.
Near dawn, the riverbank lay empty.No boats, no people, no traces remained.Only the water flowed on, calm, as if nothing had happened.
Only then did the walls tremble again.A stone from the huihui trebuchet flew in and smashed into the already cracked wall.
Kwaaang—
Stone and earth collapsed, and part of the wall sagged low.
Zhu Yuanzhang heard the sound.
The main force had already escaped.
He looked up at the wall one last time.Then he boarded the final boat.
The oars cut through the water.Fog closed over the river once more.
Liuhe Fortress was left behind.
The walls were collapsing,and the presence within the city was steadily sinking into silence.