389.
Zhu Yuanzhang — Report
Past midnight, the camp at Yingtian had yet to fall asleep.
Inside the command tent, only a map and a single lamp remained.
Zhu Yuanzhang stood before the table, still wearing his armor.
Even after battle, he rarely lay down to rest.
Footsteps stopped outside the tent.
The flap opened, and a courier knelt.
His breathing had not yet settled.
"Your Majesty. A report from the pursuit force at Yongman."
Zhu Yuanzhang gave a small nod.
He did not urge him on.
"The Han army's retreat… was cut short."
Zhu Yuanzhang's hand paused over the map.
It hovered at the route leading from the lower river toward Nanjing.
"Cut short?"
"Yes.
As the vanguard advanced, the flow was broken—by a single man."
The air inside the tent tightened slightly.
Zhu Yuanzhang's expression did not change.
"A single man?"
The courier lowered his head and continued.
"The moment he stopped,
the horses tangled, the formation collapsed.
Speed vanished. Fear spread."
A brief silence.
"The pursuit force withdrew on the spot."
Zhu Yuanzhang slowly folded the map.
The motion carried no emotion.
"The man's name."
The courier hesitated, then answered.
"A warrior of the Goryeo army.
Park Seong-jin."
The name fell into the tent.
Light as a stone dropped into water—yet precise.
Zhu Yuanzhang lifted his gaze.
His eyes deepened, just slightly.
"He did not stop an army."
He spoke as if to himself.
"He cut the flow."
Tang He cautiously spoke from the side.
"Your Majesty, the Goryeo forces never entered the front line.
Yet… they read the grain of the battlefield exactly."
Zhu Yuanzhang gave a short laugh.
It held neither joy nor mockery.
"That is why they are dangerous."
He placed a finger on the map.
Not at Yongman, but far to the east.
"When one enemy collapses,
I see the next."
Tang He steadied his breath.
"Then Your Majesty's judgment is—"
Zhu Yuanzhang already wore the face of decision.
"Chen Youliang is heading for his end.
The Goryeo army, however, is only beginning."
He looked beyond the tent.
The sun had not yet risen.
"There are many who can lead troops.
Few can make a battlefield stop."
Quietly, he added,
"That man will one day
stand before me."
It was neither a threat nor a prophecy.
It was simply the next move already calculated.