Chapter 260 — The Old Man's Offer
"If you tell me what you are trying to do, I may be able to help."
The old man lowered his voice.
"This humble man knows a little about the roads near the Yazi River and the way people live there."
His kindness was excessive.
It was not something one said to a traveler met for the first time.
Still, Yeongu did not refuse at once.
They could speak to each other, and he felt that they had branched from the same root.
"You are Balhae, are you not?"
The old man smiled for a moment.
"That is so. Though it was long ago... we are still called by the name of that old country."
"I heard that even after its fall, the resistance of its remnants continued, and many Balhae people were moved into Liaodong, Liaoxi, and the Khitan interior."
The old man looked down at his cup.
"The country disappeared, but the land remained. The people remained and lived there. In spring they plow the fields, in winter they go to market, and when a road is blocked, they take another. They live that way, scraping by."
Yeongu looked at the old man again.
His white hair, ruddy complexion, straight back, and the firm hand holding the cup caught his eye.
He was pretending to be a merchant, but he had the bearing of a man who had survived a long time on the road.
For a moment, Yeongu thought he might be able to rely on them.
Not because they were trustworthy.
Because Yeongu no longer had many paths left.
When choices shrink, a person wants to believe the road in his hand is the right one.
Yeongu was the same.
Since he had to keep walking the road he had chosen himself, he wanted to believe that road had not yet collapsed.
"It is nothing special.
I am planning to disrupt their rear, and it seems they needed someone whose face was not known.
I have no skill in this sort of thing, yet they told me to do it, so I had no choice but to come."
The woman asked, "So this was not originally the kind of work you did."
"That is right. Tch. But I do not know what they saw in me... Tch."
The woman said quietly, "It must have been that important."
She was direct.
Looking carefully, Yeongu noticed a short sword placed beside her.
Without meaning to, he smacked his lips.
She was lively and healthy.
There was little blocked in her words or expression, and her eyes were bright.
The old man said, "If you explain the circumstances, we may be able to help."
Yeongu looked around.
The men at the next table, who had been making noise, were still clinking cups and shouting.
"I would prefer to finish eating and move somewhere else if possible. It is difficult to speak here. I am staying in the room marked 'Spring.'"
Yeongu rose without waiting for an answer.
The old man nodded.
When he entered the room, there was a bed inside, and in front of it sat a low table.
Through the door, he could see a small courtyard.
A corridor ran along the edge of the courtyard, and several chairs had been placed facing it.
Before long, the old man came.
"I noticed that you were the man those fellows were looking for earlier."
"Thank you. I was safe because of you."
"Now, may I sit?"
"Of course."
Yeongu offered the inner seat.
The old man, the woman, and one warrior entered one after another and sat down.
Yeongu asked, "May I ask who you are?"
The old man answered slowly.
"I am called Go Hoewon. I know the name alone explains nothing. I have no office worth presenting, and I come from no great lineage. I am a humble man. I have merely lived here a long time, and have kept the old country in my heart. I am not someone who can call himself a loyal subject."
Yeongu paused for a moment.
He could not judge how much he should tell them.
The hardest thing in the world to trust was another person's words.
At that moment, the woman's eyes sparkled.
She did not urge him to speak, but curiosity already filled her face.
It was an expression that said, hurry and tell us.
"I am Yi Yeongu, Jungnangjang of the Sinhowi of the Goryeo army.
At the moment, I am handling some military affairs for Jin."
The old man slapped his knee.
"Ah, I knew it. I thought as much."
Yeongu smiled awkwardly.
"Does it show that much? I thought I had disguised myself somewhat."
"You had the air of a warrior. Even sitting still, it showed. You were a man of the army. You are a remarkable person."
Yeongu shook his head.
"I am not remarkable. I am only a common soldier trying to be loyal to my country."
Go Hoewon introduced his daughter.
"This is my daughter. Okjeong."
Yeongu almost gave a military salute without thinking.
His fist began to rise toward the left side of his chest, then stopped awkwardly, and only then did he bow his head.
"It is good to meet you. And thank you for earlier."
Yeongu explained the task he had undertaken.
"A great battle with Liao is waiting. If we win here, Liao will find it difficult to rise again. That is why it is extremely important. They are gathering a large army. The palace guard cavalry, twenty thousand imperial troops, have already set out, and they are gathering more tribal soldiers. Their number is said to exceed several hundred thousand."
The father and daughter listened quietly.
"So we devised several measures to scatter them.
First, we sent an envoy to Song to have them move from the south.
We also sent an envoy to Goryeo requesting military action.
Even if they do not come all the way to the battlefield, it will be enough if they can scatter the enemy's strength.
Third, we tried to shake the issue of deposition and enthronement inside Liao.
The conditions seem ripe for a rebellion inside, but old inertia appears to be holding everything in place without incident."
Yeongu gave a bitter smile.
"But when they said there was no one to do that work, I ended up coming. I have no skill in this sort of work at all. It was only because my face was unknown. Most of the Wanyan people had shown their faces at Liao gatherings, so I fell for the argument that it would be dangerous for them.
And then I was captured as soon as I arrived. Ahaha. Before I could say even a few words, somehow the news leaked, and I was seized at once."
Okjeong's eyes flashed as she said, "There was collusion."
Go Hoewon exclaimed in admiration.
"To escape from prison. That is remarkable."
Yeongu waved his hand.
"Remarkable? No. They were weak, that is all. Ahaha. At any rate, I am now looking for someone from the Yelü clan or the Xiao clan to stir that rebellion. If there is a dissatisfied faction among the highest ranks, I intend to persuade them, support them, and try to open the board."
From the way he spoke, it sounded as if Yeongu had planned all of it himself.
Go Hoewon asked, "Did you perhaps plan all of this yourself?"
"I did. And for that sin, I was even given this task. What I had in mind was simply to ask them to do it. I meant to say that if they did, those of us fighting in the vanguard would have a slightly easier time. But then they suddenly told me to do it myself."
Go Hoewon clicked his tongue.
"Why did you not entrust it to someone?"
"Of course I did. And then the person assigned to the task said that I was the one most suitable to act as a spy. What a world."
Okjeong smiled.
Looking at her closely, she was beautiful. Red lips and white teeth.
With one smile, the air in the room seemed to brighten a little.
"Then what is your original specialty?"
"Me?"
"The thing you do best."
"Hmm. I suppose I am best at standing at the sharp point of the vanguard. Standing in the lead and breaking the enemy formation."
"Ah. So military force is your specialty."
"These days, I had been trying to modernize the Jurchen army. And now, all of a sudden, I am a spy."
Yeongu looked down at his cup.
In life, one rarely gets assigned the work one is good at or wants to do.
Most of the time, people cling to work they dislike, work that is hard, work that may not even be of any real use.
He knew that.
Still, this task truly did not suit Yeongu.
Okjeong asked, "So what do you intend to do?"
Yeongu answered, "I intend to find a high-ranking person here in Changchun Circuit and persuade him.
I was told I must find someone from the Yelü or Xiao clan."
Go Hoewon asked, "Is there a possibility?"
Yeongu paused for a moment.
"I hear there are many who are dissatisfied with the emperor's misrule.
There are also quite a few who believe deposition and enthronement are necessary to rebuild Liao.
They say the late emperor had considered a man named Yelü Chun as crown prince. Because the wrong man became emperor, the country has come to this state... Hmm, yes.
But even if I meet a high-ranking figure, persuading him will not be easy."
At Go Hoewon's gesture, someone standing at a distance immediately approached.
At first Yeongu thought she was an attendant of the inn, but looking closely, she was Go Hoewon's maidservant.
"Bring some tea here."
"Yes, I understand."
Yeongu took note of the maidservant who had come running.
She was not merely someone who ran errands.
She was a woman, but at her waist hung a thin, short sword.
Yeongu's gaze lingered briefly on her waist, then returned to Go Hoewon.
"She is also a warrior."
Okjeong answered, "I am the same. I have enough martial skill to protect my own body."
Yeongu nodded.
"Impressive."
Go Hoewon said as if making an excuse, "There are many dangerous places in Liaodong.
One needs arms to protect oneself."
Only then did Yeongu remember his own situation.
"Ah. I left everything behind in the jail when I hurried out.
More precisely, it was taken from me."
A look of regret passed over Go Hoewon's face.
A little later, tea was brought in.
After the attendant placed the cups and withdrew, Go Hoewon looked down at the teacup once.
His face was that of a man who had made up his mind.
"If you go straight north from here, there is a fairly large estate.
Yelü Zhangnu is there."
Yeongu sprang up like a released coil.
"Yelü Zhangnu?"
Go Hoewon asked in return, "Do you know him?"
"He is the deputy commander in this war."
"Ah. Then of course you received a report on him."
Yeongu nodded.
"I know him as a man with dissatisfaction."
Go Hoewon seemed to think for a moment as he looked at his teacup.
"He does not show it outwardly."