Chapter 383
The Victor's Accounting
At dawn the day after the Battle of Dragon Bay ended,
Zhu Yuanzhang received his report inside the innermost tent of the camp.
The lamplight was dim.
The air beneath the canvas hung heavy and damp.
The one delivering the report was Feng Sheng.
Dark stains of blood still marked his armor.
"Your Majesty," he said.
"Chen Youliang's cavalry and infantry were nearly annihilated at Dragon Bay and along the Qinhuai River."
"The collapse of their formation was decided before sunset. At nightfall, we ceased pursuit and focused on consolidation."
Zhu Yuanzhang said nothing.
One hand rested on the map as his gaze lingered on the bends of the river and the narrow width of the gorge.
Tang He stepped forward and continued, his voice low and precise.
"The feigned defection worked exactly as intended."
"Chen Youliang did not stop. He drove his own forces into the trap."
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded.
It was a gesture of acknowledgment, not satisfaction.
"Losses?"
Feng Sheng replied,
"Minimal."
"Expenditure of archers and cavalry remained within projected limits."
A brief silence settled over the tent.
Anyone expecting celebration would have been disappointed.
Zhu Yuanzhang spoke slowly.
"Chen Youliang has been defeated."
"But this war is not over."
The generals lifted their heads.
Tang He asked carefully,
"Your Majesty's meaning?"
Zhu Yuanzhang pointed to the map, slightly upstream from Dragon Bay.
"Chen Youliang has lost his army."
"In exchange, he has gained rage and obsession."
He withdrew his hand.
"A defeated man becomes reckless."
"And a reckless man will always try once more to overturn the board."
Feng Sheng nodded immediately, understanding.
"The remnants are likely to move."
"They will," Zhu Yuanzhang said.
"And their movements will be rougher than before."
Only then did he raise his gaze toward the tent entrance.
Morning fog still clung to the air outside.
"But there is something else I wish to examine in today's victory."
All eyes returned to him.
"Why Chen Youliang failed to stop."
He tapped another point on the map—
the position where the Goryeo forces had remained.
"There were those who halted the pursuit."
"They did not press the front. They stayed behind and watched the board."
Tang He spoke cautiously.
"The Goryeo army."
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded.
"Yes."
"They did not enter."
"Though they could have won more, they chose not to."
A faint tension spread through the tent.
"Chen Youliang drowned in momentum," Zhu Yuanzhang said.
"The Goryeo forces measured it."
He gave a low, dry laugh—short, without warmth.
"In a contest for the realm, which is more dangerous?"
No one answered.
He supplied the answer himself.
"The one who understands momentum."
"The one who knows how to stop while winning."
Zhu Yuanzhang rose and stepped out of the tent.
The air outside was cold.
"Chen Youliang ends today."
"But the Goryeo army—today is their beginning."
It was not a proclamation.
It was a calculation.
In Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes, the next battlefield was already taking shape.