571.seeking a way to sever the root.
As the night deepened and the lamps in the camp went out one by one, Park Seong-jin sat alone at his desk, grinding ink.
The scent spread softly.
He unfolded a sheet of paper and wrote the first line.
"To Lord Yi In-jung, Middle Commandant."
The brush moved straight to the point.
I send this letter to you first.
Along the southern and western coasts of Jeolla Province, Wa raiders are rampant; towns have burned and the lives of the people have been laid waste.
On this land, we have defeated them multiple times.
Yet they fled to the sea, boarded ships, and vanished.
If they return from across the water, the front will remain open once more.
I am seeking a way to sever the root.
The brush pressed down firmly.
I have devised a plan to cross the sea myself and strike at the source.
However, Goryeo's ships are insufficient for this purpose.
Our artillery, warships, and even the manufacture of gunpowder are all lacking.
I intend to request support from Lord Chen Youliang of the Great Han.
Park Seong-jin paused, then resumed.
Please deliver this letter to Lord Chen Youliang.
At the same time, I ask that you report to His Majesty of Goryeo and petition for the construction of warships and the transfer of artillery techniques.
The sea now lies at the very center of the battlefield.
He folded the letter, sealed it, and spread a fresh sheet.
"To the Honorable Lord Chen Youliang, who leads the Great Han."
The brush flowed straight, like a soldier's stride.
I engaged the Wa raiders along Goryeo's southern coast.
They possess organization and armament comparable to a regular army.
Victory on land did not bring the conflict to an end.
They escaped to the sea and vanished aboard ships.
To seize those ships with cavalry is exceedingly difficult.
The thunder of Poyang Lake rose in his mind—the flashes tearing the night sky, the concussive force striking the ears.
I have not forgotten the might of the warships and naval artillery you displayed at the Battle of Poyang Lake.
That power is now required.
The request was clear.
Ten warships.
One hundred artillery pieces.
The techniques for manufacturing gunpowder and charges.
If this support reaches us, I will personally cross the sea and cut off the Wa raiders at their root.
He pressed one final line.
If the Wa are left unchecked, not only Goryeo but also the Great Han's southern transport routes, coastal trade, taxes, and storehouses will ultimately be shaken.
Uproot them now, and the sea lanes will stand as a border—
a pacified border that will return as profit to you as well.
Park Seong-jin sealed the letter.
The two missives were bound tightly under his fingertips.
The lamp flickered, casting long shadows across the paper.
He set the envelopes neatly aside and listened for a moment to the wind outside.
The courier rode off and disappeared into the dust.
Even after the rider vanished beyond the ridge, Park Seong-jin remained standing for a long while, as if he had left something behind—
a hollow space lingering in his chest.
There was no certainty that help would come.
I helped with all my heart, but to them it may have been only a matter of utility.
That was easy to happen. No—that is how the world works.
He had founded a state and become emperor; would he still remember old ties?
Song Yijeong approached.
"Do you regret it?"
Park Seong-jin drew in a slow breath.
"Well… it doesn't feel entirely right, but I couldn't just sit still either.
If I stay idle, things only get worse.
So… I had to do something."
Regret, unease, responsibility, and emptiness pressed against one another within a single sentence.
Song Yijeong asked carefully,
"What did you write, General?"
"I asked for ships and artillery. A navy… things like that."
"Did Goryeo have such things?"
"We have artillery, but it's meager. No real gunpowder—
only enough for firecrackers during the New Year."
Park Seong-jin smiled bitterly.
"I asked you not to stop me from requesting aid from the Great Han—that was about it."
Song Yijeong let out a short chuckle.
"When you make up your mind, you push through."
Then he drove the point home.
"But this 'artillery'—how is it different from existing siege weapons?"
"It uses gunpowder to hurl iron and stone."
"Explodes with a boom and flies on pressure—
longer range than Huihui trebuchets…"
"If it hits, a ship shatters outright."
"You saw it in Jiangnan."
"Yes."
Park Seong-jin nodded.
"That wasn't the open sea—it was inland water."
"Even if they ran, a single circuit brought them back."
"If they closed in… you could leap aboard and smash them."
Song Yijeong nodded.
"Inland waters have an end.
The sea does not."
Then he added one more line.
"General, the great ships of Jiangnan are monsters of the lake."
"But once they go out into the open sea, a ship must be reborn."
"The keel is different. The planking is different. The masts and bindings differ."
"Ships made for inland waters break in the outer sea."
Park Seong-jin's eyes widened.
"What? Ships are… different?"
"Yes."
Song Yijeong's voice dropped.
"The sea… is a different battlefield."
Silence gathered.
Then Song Yijeong asked,
"And if the Great Han says they can't help?"
Park Seong-jin's brow furrowed—but his eyes did not waver.
They were eyes that had already decided the answer must be obtained.
"Then… we find another way."
"Another way?"
After a brief silence, Park Seong-jin replied,
"I don't know yet."
"But if we stop here, there is no next step."
Only then did Song Yijeong see that Park Seong-jin's weakness was not naivety, but a habit of shouldering responsibility to the very end.
He softened the edge of his words as he spoke.
"General, the world does not turn on righteousness alone."
"The other side may move for profit."
Park Seong-jin lifted his head.
"Then… what should be done?"
Song Yijeong said only what was necessary.
"If they move for profit, then you must place profit in their hands as well."
"What do they gain by helping—
that must be written into the letter, and spoken aloud."
Park Seong-jin nodded slowly,
like a man taking hold of a sword hilt anew.
The night wind brushed the command tent.
The lamp swayed once.
A long breath escaped from Park Seong-jin's chest.