“You made even greater preparations than that?!”
“Incredible, Grand Young Master…!”
Unlike the generals, who possessed relatively simple minds, Moyong Ho could not comprehend the unfolding situation.
‘He thought something like this might happen, so he prepared in advance?’
What on earth did that mean?
‘From what I heard, using the Dasunrang to purchase food was also prepared months ago, wasn’t it?’
Months ago meant a time before the moniker ‘Dread King’ had even properly settled in the North. Furthermore, it was shortly after the Grand Young Master had ended his seclusion, a time when he was locked in a fierce power struggle with the Second Young Master, who had built up his influence within the Luoyang Sword Clan for years.
‘And in the midst of all that, he was concerned about the food situation in the Northern lands—a place he might not even have needed to visit?’
The generals, dull to the sense of money, might simply think, ‘He is the Grand Young Master of the Luoyang Sword Clan, so he must have bought food because he is rich.’ But Moyong Ho was not so simple.
‘How in the world did the Grand Young Master procure such an astronomical sum at that time?’
The woman named Ahn Song-gyeong was laughing heartily.
“Did you prepare another move as well?”
“As expected of the Grand Young Master!”
She clapped her hands, acting the part of a refreshing personality who shared everything with everyone present. Yet, Moyong Ho noted a crucial omission.
‘She hasn’t mentioned a single thing that could be considered sensitive information…!’
Where was the funding secured? How was that massive amount of food transported? Who moved it? And what, exactly, was the plan?
‘No matter how I look at it, the Dasunrang possesses excellent business acumen, but…’
They were, at most, a group expanding centered around Sichuan.
‘How could they possibly handle large-scale transport south of the Great Wall?’
If that was the case, it meant only one thing.
Moyong Ho’s trembling gaze turned toward their new commander, Grand Young Master Yeon Sohyeon, seated at the head of the table.
‘The Grand Young Master has a massive organization under him that has not yet been revealed to the outside world. Does this mean the Dasunrang is cooperating with them?’
Did his sister know something? Moyong Ho stole a glance at Moyong Woonjeong.
“……”
Her expression was stoic as always. It was impossible to tell what she was thinking or if she felt any emotion at all. However, upon closer inspection, he noticed her nose twitching ever so slightly.
‘…She’s absolutely dying of delight.’
Having accurately pierced through his sister’s mood—which no one else could easily grasp—he swallowed a quiet sigh.
‘…Right.’
Why complicate things?
‘If our new commander’s abilities are outstanding, then that is simply good news.’
“Let him in.”
At the Grand Young Master’s command, the doors opened.
‘Is there anything left that could surprise me now?’
So Moyong Ho thought, until he saw the figure revealing himself.
“I am seeing you for the first time, Grand Young Master of the Luoyang Sword Clan.”
“……!”
Upon confirming the identity of the visitor, Moyong Ho’s eyes trembled as if seizing in a spasm.
“The next Patriarch of the Gwak Clan?”
***
“Isn’t that… General Gwak?”
Escorted by a series of heavily armored troops, the man who appeared was indeed the one called General Gwak—the heir apparent to the Gwak Clan.
“……”
He was by no means a stranger to the senior officers of the Northern Great General’s Headquarters. Far from strange, the problem was that they knew each other too well.
“How dare you show your face here?!”
“You sat comfortably in the safe rear, offering not a shred of support to the Great General’s Headquarters! What business do you have here?!”
“You hold all that food produced in the Great Plains, yet you pretended not to hear our requests!”
The generals of the Headquarters leaped to their feet, grinding their teeth with such force that their chairs tumbled backward.
“Safe rear?”
However, General Gwak, thoroughly guarded by his heavy infantry, let out a low snort.
“My Gwak Clan pioneered the Great Plains north of the Great Wall before anyone here.”
Although his rank within the military was merely ‘General,’ the power of the Gwak Clan granted him influence far exceeding his station.
“During the Northern War, who was it that defended those plains until the very end?”
He raised his hand ostentatiously.
“It was only my Gwak Clan that remained, sacrificing countless lives of our kin to protect the Great Plains from those barbarian savages.”
He swept the room with a sharp gaze and threw back a question.
“At that time, where were all of you, the proud generals of the Northern Great General’s Headquarters?”
“……”
“……”
As the generals ground their teeth, unable to find a retort, General Gwak continued, “And now? Now that you are desperate, you spout nonsense about a ‘safe rear’ and demand we hand over military provisions?”
His low ridicule filled the conference hall.
“You act as if you had entrusted those provisions to us for safekeeping.”
“General Gwak! Watch your tongue!”
Unable to endure it any longer, Moyong Ho stepped forward and shouted.
“You, too, are a general receiving a stipend from the state. How dare you speak so recklessly in front of whom?!”
At those words, General Gwak’s gaze flicked toward Moyong Woonjeong before he pretended not to see her and addressed the head of the table.
“Grand Young Master.”
He clicked his tongue.
“You invite a guest, yet the hospitality is terrible. If this is the famous Luoyang Sword Clan’s way of treating guests, I am disappointed.”
Everyone’s eyes turned to the Grand Young Master.
“……”
“……”
The Grand Young Master had certainly said he had prepared something. However, the attitude of the Gwak Clan’s heir was vastly different from that of the Dasunrang.
But then—
“It seems the Patriarch is still hale and hearty?”
At the Grand Young Master’s completely unexpected question, vivid confusion spread across the faces of the assembly.
“…Of course. My father is healthy.”
Along with the answer, General Gwak’s face contorted.
“If Father were not hale, I would have had no reason to come all the way here.”
It was famous in the North that the current Patriarch, General Gwak’s father, refused to retire despite his advanced age. As a result, General Gwak, who had long since entered middle age, was still unable to become the head of the family.
His reaction was not unusual to the people of the Headquarters. What concerned them now was the implication behind the question.
“Ho? That is the best news I’ve heard.”
The relationship between the elderly current Patriarch and the Grand Young Master.
“…Don’t pretend you don’t know.”
Tremble. The corners of General Gwak’s eyes quivered with rage.
“Last spring, you intervened thoroughly in the Wall Repair Project alongside my father, completely shredding my reputation…!” He ground his teeth. “And now you pretend to be ignorant of the news!”
“Wall Repair Project?”
When the Grand Young Master put on an expression of genuine ignorance, General Gwak exploded in anger.
“That so-called hero of the Northern War! I’m talking about the Wall Repair Project that Elder Yeom took…!”
As he said, last spring, the Grand Young Master had used his influence from his seat to accept the sword of Elder Yeom, who had visited him at the Wongakjeong.
“Ah.”
Only then did the Grand Young Master act as if he suddenly remembered.
“Come to think of it, was there such a thing…?”
Of course, it was impossible for Yeon Sohyeon to forget anything. This was merely an act designed to scratch at General Gwak’s insides.
“Grand Young Master!”
Indeed, the intention worked perfectly. Veins bulged on General Gwak’s crimson face.
“If you called me here just to mock me like this, I will return immediately!”
“No, no. You mustn’t do that.”
Seeing him ready to kick his chair and leave, the Grand Young Master gave a good-natured chuckle and continued.
“The Gwak Clan must supply the food produced in the Great Plains to the Great General’s Headquarters for at least the next three years.”
“…What?!”
Contrary to the benign laughter, the content of his words was enough to completely twist General Gwak’s temper.
“Do you think everything in this Central Plains belongs to you just because His Imperial Majesty appointed you as his proxy?!”
It wasn’t just General Gwak who was enraged; even the Gwak Clan’s escort troops bristled with anger.
“My Gwak Clan pioneered the Great Plains and defended them alone! Therefore, we were granted independent rights over the grain harvested there!”
That was the biggest reason General Gwak could raise his voice in the Great General’s Headquarters.
“I owe no debt to the Luoyang Sword Clan, nor to you, Grand Young Master! Do not speak to me so recklessly!”
At his fierce shout, even the generals let out low groans of apprehension.
“You say you have no debt?”
The Grand Young Master spoke, his face still wearing that pleasant expression.
“If not for this Yeon Sohyeon, the Gwak Clan would never have succeeded in cultivating the Great Plains.”
What kind of nonsense was that?
The room buzzed with murmurs.
“Did you hear that just now?”
“He says the Great Plains were cultivated thanks to the Grand Young Master?”
“I’ve never heard such a story…”
Moyong Ho, hurriedly calculating in his head, looked bewildered.
‘No. Isn’t the cultivation of the Great Plains by the Gwak Clan something that happened when the Grand Young Master was still a child?’
Regardless of the commotion in the room, the Grand Young Master continued calmly.
“General Gwak, surely you are not completely ignorant of the situation back then?”
“……”
It was true.
In the past, when the Great Plains cultivation project had run into countless difficulties, his father had frequently exchanged letters with someone. Every time he did, the stalled project would proceed smoothly, as if a blocked waterway had burst open.
And from around that time, the name of the Luoyang Sword Clan’s Grand Young Master began to be mentioned occasionally by his father’s lips—a father who should have had no connection to him.
Thus, the hypothesis he had only suspected—that his father had succeeded in the cultivation with the help of a young Yeon Sohyeon—became fact and was revealed clearly in this moment.
“My father…” General Gwak mumbled. “He never told anyone exactly about your role—”
“That is because I did not wish to take credit for the lifelong toil of the Elder, so we agreed to keep it that way.”
The Grand Young Master tapped the desk lightly.
“And so, the Elder buried that fact.”
“……”
The Grand Young Master clicked his tongue and addressed General Gwak.
“The Elder, whose mobility is uncomfortable, sent you in his stead. He must have earnestly implored you: ‘You must accept Yeon Sohyeon’s request. Do not be obstinate.’ Isn’t that so?”
“……”
Because those words were true, General Gwak had nothing to say.
“Before resenting your aging father for not relinquishing the position of Patriarch, you should have thought deeply.”
The Grand Young Master’s voice resonated through the hall.
“Last spring. When the Elder, who had stepped back from the front lines, granted my request in the Wall Repair Project even at the cost of your face, did you feel nothing?”
“……”
Suddenly, the atmosphere shifted.
“Even when the Elder sent you here immediately in response to the letter I sent, did you feel nothing but resentment then, too?”
“……”
“Do you still not understand why the Elder has not shared the secret with you? Why he has not handed over the Patriarch’s seat to you?”
“……”
Yeon Sohyeon’s tone had shifted to one of addressing a subordinate, and the gaze looking down from the head seat was heavy.
“Did you say you owe me no debt? No. No, you don’t.”
Yeon Sohyeon slowly wagged his finger.
“The clothes you are wearing right now. The seat you occupy. Everything your family enjoys at this moment.”
His finger pointed at himself.
“Me.”
The Grand Young Master bared his teeth.
“It is a debt owed to Yeon Sohyeon.”
“……”
“……”
Amidst the silence where no one dared to breathe loudly, General Gwak opened his mouth with difficulty.
“…Did you say three years?”
“That is correct.”
At the Grand Young Master’s immediate answer, General Gwak drew a line.
“With this, my Gwak Clan owes no further debt to you, Grand Young Master.”
Having said that, General Gwak turned to leave.
“No, no. Not yet.”
The Grand Young Master’s words caught his steps.
“We must calculate exactly, shouldn’t we?”
General Gwak turned back around.
“…What do you mean?”
When he looked back, the Grand Young Master spoke, his face devoid of even a trace of laughter.
“The eldest son of the family acted so arrogantly in front of me, yet he is able to walk back on his own two feet…”
“……!”
A freezing killing intent flowed from the Grand Young Master.
“Rather, we should consider that the Gwak Clan’s debt has increased by one.”