394.
At night, the military camp of Yangzhou grew unnaturally quiet.
Unlike the clamor of daytime, the night air carried not the smell of war, but the presence of something vast approaching.
That night, Park Seong-jin sat alone, gently calming the restless energy stirring near his upper dantian.
His breathing was deep.
Behind him, a small fire of stacked logs burned down in silence.
A shadow suddenly fell across the entrance of the tent.
A familiar voice followed—low, steady.
"You're awake, General Park."
It was Yun Dam, who had been traveling in and out of Yangzhou.
Park Seong-jin rose and saluted respectfully.
"Park Seong-jin greets Master Yun."
Yun Dam waved it away.
"Spare the formalities."
"I came because there is something you must hear in advance."
Inside the tent, only a single oil lamp burned, stretching their shadows long against the canvas.
After a moment of silence, Yun Dam spoke carefully.
"A grand decisive battle is approaching."
Park Seong-jin's gaze trembled, just slightly.
"So… the time has finally come."
Under the lamplight, Yun Dam spread out a map.
He calmly traced Zhu Yuanzhang's reorganization of forces, Zhang Shicheng's inaction, Chen Youliang's weakened morale, and the shifting sentiment of Jiangnan.
His fingertips did not shake, but tension was tightly wound into his wrist.
"The longer time passes, the advantages we hold will continue to fade."
"Zhang Shicheng has no intention of moving to the end. The alliance has lost its substance."
"In the end, we must fight alone."
"Zhu Yuanzhang is tightening his grip over all of Jiangnan, and a bloodbath divided by the river draws near."
"If this continues, we will be remembered as a failed coalition that stood with no one."
Park Seong-jin drew in a quiet breath.
"Then we must fight independently."
"Yes."
Yun Dam's voice dropped even lower.
"Zhang Shicheng is better absorbed later."
"Many among his ranks seek only to enjoy their comfort while time passes."
"Even our requests for pressure from the east were met with nothing but formal replies."
"They seemed almost pleased by this recent defeat."
Yun Dam did not fold the map.
If he did, it felt as though his resolve might fold with it.
"This is the decisive battle."
"One great clash to overturn the entire course of the war."
"We cannot delay any longer."
He looked directly at Park Seong-jin.
His eyes did not waver. The meaning within them was heavy.
"The success or failure of this battle rests with you."
Park Seong-jin's eyes shook openly.
Yun Dam continued.
"The persuasion of Zhang Shicheng, the gifts, the suppression of internal dissent—
all of it was done to buy time for you."
Park Seong-jin swallowed in silence.
The full weight of the war seemed to settle onto his shoulders.
After a long pause, he spoke quietly.
"I will lead from the front. Advancing on the battlefield is my role."
Then his tone shifted.
"No matter how great the battle, it cannot be decided by one man alone."
Yun Dam smiled faintly.
Park Seong-jin lowered his gaze.
"That may be so. Or it may not."
Yun Dam's voice hardened.
"You are not yet whole."
"Your energy is unstable. The upper dantian is being stirred. Body and mind are shaking together."
Park Seong-jin acknowledged it softly.
"That is true."
Yun Dam seized on that very point.
"That is why I entrust this to you."
Park Seong-jin looked up in surprise.
Yun Dam's words were cold and precise.
"This confusion, this instability, is the sign of someone standing just before crossing a threshold."
"You are ascending."
He rose slowly.
"The time is close. From now on, prepare yourself."
"I will no longer restrict your movements."
As he opened the tent flap, he added,
"On the day of the decisive battle, your blade will decide the fate of this war."
Just before leaving, he paused and whispered in a voice barely audible.
"…In the end, all of this fighting is for Goryeo's tomorrow—and for world peace. Do not forget that."
The wind stirred the tent slightly.
Yun Dam's robe vanished into the dark, leaving only silence behind.
Park Seong-jin remained seated, letting the final words sink in.
The energy that had surged toward his upper dantian flickered once more, faintly.
He closed his eyes.
Yun Dam's Persuasion
Chen Youliang's main camp was filled with the traces of retreat and exhaustion, yet the tension of war still lingered.
That night, Yun Dam went once more to Chen Youliang's command quarters.
Upon receiving the message, Chen Youliang summoned all his advisors and generals.
The oil lamps inside the hall swayed with the wind.
Defeat cast deep shadows over the faces of strategists and commanders alike.
Yun Dam stepped forward calmly.
"Your Majesty, retreat does not mean defeat."
A general snapped back irritably.
"We have already lost four cities. If we withdraw further, morale may collapse."
Yun Dam raised a hand.
"Morale collapses not from defeat, but from losing direction."
The room stiffened into silence.
He continued.
"This retreat occurred because Zhu Yuanzhang's momentum was too sharp."
"It was a tactical choice—distinguishing battles we can fight from those we cannot."
He lifted his gaze to Chen Youliang.
"Your Majesty, this is not the end."
A trembling advisor asked,
"Then where does this retreat lead?"
Without answering, Yun Dam spread the map on the floor.
He slowly placed one finger on a single point.
Poyang Lake.
The center of regional roads, where Jiangnan's waterways converged—
a place where land and naval warfare could unfold together.
The room inhaled sharply.
"Poyang Lake…!"
"Zhu Yuanzhang's main force will gather there!"
"A colossal clash is inevitable!"
Fear and ambition stirred together.
A general asked,
"Then when?"
Instead of answering, Yun Dam drew out a small bundle of divination sticks from his waist.
The room fell silent.
He cast and divided the sticks repeatedly, forming a hexagram.
Under the lamplight, Yun Dam's shadow trembled long across the floor.
He wove together the flow of days and nights, the positions of sun and moon, the currents of the battlefield, the fortunes of men, and the wavering of armies.
After a time, he opened his eyes and exhaled.
"…Several months from now."
The room murmured.
It meant the fate of Jiangnan could be decided within that span.
"I cannot name the exact month, but the timing is clear."
Yun Dam's voice cut through the hall like a proclamation.
"Preserve the army until then. Withdraw further if necessary."
"Reorganize the troops. Remove unfit commanders. Stockpile provisions."
"Build a fleet, deploy weapons, and train as if each drill were real battle."
He lifted his head.
"Until then, do not give Zhu Yuanzhang a moment to catch his breath."
Silence followed.
Yun Dam added,
"The battle at Poyang Lake is not a single engagement."
"It is the contest for Jiangnan, the fate of Your Majesty, and a struggle tied to the order of the eastern realm itself."
"For this, the current retreat is essential."
The hall fell completely quiet.
Chen Youliang stared at the map of Poyang Lake for a long moment, then exhaled slowly.
He rose and declared to all present,
"We withdraw to Poyang Lake. Until then, we rebuild the army."
In his eyes no longer lingered the shadow of a defeated general—
but the resolve of one staking everything on a single throw of the dice.