604.An urgent dispatch from Jinju Prefecture.
The king did not rise even after the morning audience ended.
The palace air was still pressed down by the lingering echo of words that had not yet settled.
After the ministers withdrew, only the Supreme Marshal, Lee In-jung, remained before the royal throne.
For a time, the king said nothing.
A eunuch approached on his knees and lifted a sealed memorial with both hands.
"An urgent dispatch from Jinju Prefecture."
The king nodded and received it.
His hands were neither slow nor hurried as he broke the seal.
The sound of paper unfolding rang distinctly in the quiet hall.
The king's eyes touched the first line.
"Your servant, Middle Commander Park Seong-jin…"
The king did not lift his head again.
He followed the sentences, his pupils moving slowly along the lines.
Sea edge, point of origin, Heaven's timing, a momentum that must succeed—
phrases used when a soldier-subject submitted a report to court, yet the grain of the writing carried the smell of battlefield soil.
Holding his breath, Lee In-jung studied the king's face.
No anger showed, no joy.
Only the space between the brows narrowed slightly, then eased again.
Midway, the king paused—
at the passage that spoke of producing saltpeter and sulfur.
He read the line again, then dropped to the next without a word.
Even after finishing, he did not fold the paper at once.
He scanned it again, as if retracing each line.
Only when he reached the closing—"I bow twice and request leave to depart"—did his gaze stop.
Time stretched inside the hall.
The eunuch and the Supreme Marshal both stood, breathing carefully.
The king spoke in a low voice.
"This man…"
His words cut off for a moment.
Lee In-jung lowered his head further.
The king spoke again.
"He did not write that he will fight."
Lee In-jung answered cautiously.
"Your Majesty, Park Seong-jin has always submitted his memorials in that manner."
The king nodded.
"He did not write that he will win, either.
He wrote nothing of honor, merit, or position."
The king's hand came down upon the dispatch.
His fingertips pressed the paper lightly.
"This is not a petition.
It is closer to a notification."
Lee In-jung's shoulders stiffened by a hair.
Slowly, the king folded the sheet.
He did not reseal it.
"So this is what the southern sea has come to.
After abolishing private armies, the hunger left behind—this child is filling it with his own body."
The king's gaze drifted far away,
as if toward the unseen sea beyond the pillars.
"Not merely a Middle Commander…
even 'general' feels too small a word."
A silence passed, and then the king asked,
"Supreme Marshal."
"Your servant is here."
"If it were you, could you entrust this expedition to him?"
Lee In-jung did not hesitate.
"I can, Your Majesty.
If not him, then who could bear such a task.
Only—its weight must be shared by the court as well."
The king nodded.
"That is correct."
He unfolded the dispatch and set it beside the throne.
Then he spoke with crisp finality.
"Prepare the reply."
Those words were not yet an edict.
Royal Instruction—
A Commissioning Writ for Departure, issued to Middle Commander Park Seong-jin
The sea-borne bandits have flourished year after year,
so that the people abandon their homes,
and before grain can ripen in the fields, it vanishes again into flame.
I, We, have reformed the command of arms and abolished private armies,
yet the military administration still stands at a threshold of reorganization,
and affairs at the four borders press in dense layers,
such that it is difficult to gather the central elite in full to the southern sea—
this, too, I deeply recognize.
Yet Middle Commander Park Seong-jin, commanding only a thousand horse,
has pacified the southern sea,
and has struck down great bands of raiders six times,
whether they invaded inland or pressed into the mouths of the sea.
Hearing this, I marvel,
and rejoice that the pillar of the realm stands there.
Having received Park's memorial of departure,
I see his intent is vast and his sincerity urgent,
and it is plain that he means to shoulder the nation's worry upon himself.
If we now strike the enemy's point of origin,
the raiders will have little space to rise again year after year.
Thus does My heart stand alongside your will.
Therefore, by special command, I issue this instruction.
Middle Commander Park Seong-jin is granted leave to depart
to strike the root of the southern sea raiders.
Let it be transmitted to the districts of Haeyang and Sannam:
gather provisions,
assemble private troops and able-bodied men,
and attach them to Park Seong-jin's field command.
Let the local chieftains and influential men be informed:
if they possess armed retainers and soldiers,
let them set a term and cooperate with Park Seong-jin.
After the disorder is quelled,
they shall be returned as before.
Mobilize the workshops and the artisan skills of government bondsmen,
to aid in the making of warships, crossbows, and artillery.
I cherish the army and cherish the people,
yet I deem this a great chance to uproot foreign calamity;
thus My intent is the same as yours.
Park Seong-jin:
examine the situation, cherish the people,
and do not let the heart be stolen by victory,
wasting the sword point in vain.
When ruler and subject are of one mind,
we shall guard the sea Heaven has given.
From afar I watch,
and each day I pray for your safe return.
Zhizheng Year 11, First Day of the Second Month
Issued under seal by the King of Goryeo
It was cold still—too early to call it spring.
The sea held winter's chill.
The sea wind cut at cheeks like a blade.
Yet within that cold air, Susahyeon harbor burned with breathless heat.
People, horses, cargo, and noise tangled together, and the entire harbor lived and moved.
Fifteen warships lined the port.
Thirty military vessels supported them behind.
Twenty supply ships formed a long tail.
It was a number without precedent—
a count pulled together by squeezing every last force that could be mobilized.
Watching the ships, Park Seong-jin remembered the day he first came here—
when not a single vessel could be secured,
and he had stood barefoot, staring at the sea.
Compared to that, this scale felt like a miracle.
Even so, he counted again and murmured inside his heart.
"So this is the edge of what we can reach."
The sea was still vast.
Even after men wrung themselves dry, the sea remained.
Still—this was enough to open a road.
And that road had to be opened.
The plan was simple.
First, destroy every enemy ship on the water.
Second, commit the landing force and seal the strongholds.
Third, break the fortresses and rip up the raiders' base by the roots.
Inside those simple lines, countless bloodstains, wills, and despair were packed tight.
Below the harbor, sails began to rise one by one.
The mouths of the great naval guns gaped black.
The scent of newly refined saltpeter and sulfur seeped into the cold air.
In the holds, gunners checked cannon angles and powder charges one last time.
Under the military banner, Yun Dam shouted as he inspected the logistics officers.
"Warships, second line—confirm forward alignment.
Supply ships keep to the rear, two-line formation."
Leaning on his sword, Song Yi-jeong asked Park Seong-jin for the final confirmation.
"Do we proceed as planned?"
Park Seong-jin nodded once.
"The navy erases their ships first.
Land comes after."
The departure drums sounded.
Boom—boom—boom—
as if the mountains around Nangju harbor trembled with them.
Multiple warships caught the wind, their sails swelling like enormous white wings.
The lead vessel, the Haechil, opened the way.
Behind it, the artillery ships followed in a line, splitting the water.
Park Seong-jin turned back for a moment.
Some waved at him.
Some bowed their heads.
They were men who had been refugees, now standing as soldiers.
Men who had been corvée laborers, now gunners.
Men who had been private retainers of great houses, now re-formed as Goryeo sailors.
Fear, trembling, and excitement lay over their faces together.
And beneath that—solid resolve.
Park Seong-jin spoke as if whispering.
"…Now we go."
He lowered his hand from the sword at his waist and tapped the ship's rail softly.
A dull vibration spread through the grain of the wood.
Fifteen warships slid out to sea.
Thirty military vessels followed behind.
Twenty supply ships completed the long procession.
Yun Dam corrected the wrist of a logistics officer checking the ropes.
Song Yi-jeong crossed the forward deck and set the gunners into line.
Jang Sa-ui retied the knots on the powder sacks at the edge of the hold.