194.Stratagem
The Day After the Insurrection — A Stratagem Before the Throne
Park Seong-jin was summoned to the palace.
He entered the royal audience with Lee In-jung, following him into the gathering where the king conferred with his ministers.
It was because of the stratagem he had spoken of.
Beneath the red lanterns, the throne hall was still veiled in dark smoke.
The stench of scorched roof tiles and the drying smell of blood-soaked armor mingled in the air.
A heaviness darker than daylight pressed down upon the space.
Why does the atmosphere change with each matter at hand—why even the air itself?
Even the breathing of those who survived was cautious.
Among them, there could still be traitors.
Standing beside Lee In-jung, Park Seong-jin lowered his breath and lifted his eyes toward the king's face.
The blade of last night had brought him to this place.
Lee In-jung stepped forward and spoke carefully.
"Your Majesty. This is the thought of my junior disciple.
A stratagem offered to avoid war."
He measured his words and continued.
"We attribute all to error, proclaim amnesty and reconciliation, and hold a banquet to dispel suspicion.
With forces prepared, we subdue them at once.
The intent is to end this without further bloodshed."
The hall fell silent for a moment.
The king's expression hardened.
To speak of a banquet so soon after a night of blood sounded like a dangerous poison.
That night of blood, too, had followed a banquet.
The king looked at Park Seong-jin, then smiled faintly.
There was a trace of wariness in the smile.
"You are still young. Your design is simple."
Park Seong-jin swallowed.
It sounded almost like praise—and yet not.
Before blades he had been steady; before words, his heart wavered.
The king remained silent for a while, then slowly nodded.
Every decision bore responsibility, and the one who bore it was always the king.
"Still, the words 'to avoid war' are pleasing to hear."
His voice grew lower.
"However, I require a clear safeguard.
In drawing Gi Cheol out, we must avoid needless conflict with the Yuan.
If Yuan troops are stationed at Ssangseong, even a small blade may become war."
The resolve hardened slowly—yet firmly.
Park Seong-jin calculated inwardly.
Gi Cheol was the elder brother of Empress Gi.
To aim at him was to stand against her.
For her, kinship might precede right and wrong.
Had she been an empress who placed principle first, she would never have allowed her brother to dominate state affairs.
Those who usurp the state are usually alike.
They privatize what is close and trusted.
Above all, they feel no guilt.
They act as though they themselves were king.
At that moment, the Grand Princess Noguk stepped forward quietly.
Her face was weary from battle.
She had not slept even once, yet her lines were clear.
"Your Majesty. Please allow me to go first."
All eyes in the hall turned to her.
"I will personally lead an escort and enter their side.
Among my people are those with ties to them.
I will first test the atmosphere and gain their confidence."
She lowered her voice, but it did not waver.
"I will speak of amnesty and request reconciliation.
At the banquet, I will urge them to set aside malicious intent.
If Your Majesty is uneasy, I will stand at the front."
There was no hesitation in her thought.
The king, who loved his queen, opposed at once.
"I cannot permit you to place yourself in danger."
The Grand Princess did not retreat.
"They cannot treat me lightly, a Grand Princess of the realm.
Even if they harbor intent, the moment a blade touches me, they bare their own throats.
Grant permission. It is fortunate that there is something I can do."
The hall froze.
It was a woman's courage—and a political gamble.
That courage moved the king's heart.
He took the queen's hand and nodded.
"I will follow your will."
Then he added firmly,
"But proceed with utmost caution.
They will not dare provoke openly, yet blind blades and arrows must be avoided.
Do not step needlessly into danger."
"I will remember, Your Majesty."
Her reply was short and clear.
At that moment, the air in the hall loosened.
It was relief after immense bloodshed.
They had won; the king and queen were safe.
That single fact allowed exhausted hearts to ease, if only briefly.
There was also relief in the calculation that a thread to identify traitors had been found.
The king spread a map.
The location of Ssangseong, the Yuan garrisons, and Gi Cheol's escape routes were marked in points.
The queen organized the escort formation.
Lee In-jung explained the redeployment of forces.
Park Seong-jin stood beside them, silently recording the sequence in his mind.
It was a palace where the night of blood and the dawn of decision mingled together—
a place where small hope and great danger breathed side by side.
As the discussion of escort appointments drew to a close, the Grand Princess stepped forward once more.
"Your Majesty. Please attach one more guard to me."
"Whom do you mean?"
Her fingertip pointed to the very back of the line of military officers.
At the end stood Park Seong-jin.
"Without that boy last night, we would not have survived.
When we go to Ssangseong, allow Park Seong-jin to serve as my guard."
A murmur rose among the officials.
Those who did not know the night tilted their heads at the name of one without rank.
Those who had seen it swallowed hard.
They had not known such a terrifying warrior stood so near.
Those who had witnessed the blade kept silent.
Lee In-jung bowed his head quietly—assent.
Park Seong-jin hurriedly knelt.
"Loyalty! I will guard you with my life, Princess."
The form of address was rough, yet no one laughed.
The king spoke.
"It is granted."
With that single word, the command was set.
Park Seong-jin was appointed as the Grand Princess Noguk's formal guard.
He immediately made a request.
"Your Majesty. Please allow Song Yi-sul and the Heaven-ranked warriors to accompany us."
The king nodded.
"Very well. Select them."
Some twenty men were chosen.
Among them were warriors once laborers who had built ramparts—
men scattered in the chaos of the insurrection, summoned late back to camp.
They spoke with one voice.
"If it is an escort for the Princess, then this is a task worth doing."
They changed their attire.
The escort adopted the dress of the Gyeonryong Guard:
black headgear, and purple-patterned silk robes.
The purple silk shifted between red and blue with the light—
a color that held both blood and authority.
Three days later, departure was set.
Twenty warriors stood in plain dress, without ceremonial display.
Even without drawing blades, killing intent was palpable.
To draw near felt as though flesh might be cut by that aura.
It was the scent of loyalty forged in blood.
Park Seong-jin stood among them.
The warriors bowed their heads in unison.
The Grand Princess Noguk looked upon them once and said quietly,
"The place we go now is the edge of the realm."
Then she added, clearly,
"Hwaju.화주(和州)*"
*Yeongheung (永興) in Hamgyeong Province was incorporated into Mongol (Yuan) territory and became the Ssangseong Regional Military Commission (雙城摠管府). In the fifth year of King Gongmin's reign (1356), Goryeo dispatched troops to recover the region and reorganized it as Hwaju Prefecture (和州牧). In the eighteenth year of King Gongmin's reign (1369), it was elevated to Hwayeong Commandery (和寧府), and native officials (t'ogwan, 土官) were appointed.