Chapter 216 — The Report
A short while later, the silk screen was quietly lifted.
A court lady entered, carrying a tea tray.
Her steps were low and quiet, like a leaf floating on water.
Her toes did not press roughly against the floorboards, and though the hem of her skirt brushed the floor, it never fell into disorder.
Her shoulders were straight, her head lowered at the proper angle, and her two hands did not let the height of the tea tray waver in the slightest.
On the tray were small celadon cups and a teapot.
Thin steam rose from around the cups and scattered into the morning light.
The scent of tea mingled with the faint fragrance inside the bedchamber and spread softly.
The court lady turned to the side where she would not block the king's view, then lowered herself at a place that did not obstruct the path of words between Park Geun-su and the king.
First, she lowered her forehead toward the king.
She adjusted the direction of the cup so that his hand could reach it easily, and turned the edge of the saucer ever so slightly.
The sound of the teacup being set down was almost inaudible.
It was a gesture that drew sound back into the fingertips until the very moment the porcelain touched the wood.
Watching her, Park Geun-su felt anew the law of the palace.
At a single word, a single gesture, a single glance, people moved.
That movement contained haste while showing no sign of being hurried.
The court lady was one who served the king, and at the same time, one who upheld the king's private time as if it were the most solemn ritual in the world.
The king lifted the cup without stopping his speech.
The court lady bowed once more and withdrew with the same steps by which she had entered.
Even after her feet had gone, the scent of tea remained.
In the languid morning of the bedchamber, steam from the tea rose thinly, and beside it, Park Geun-su waited for the king's next words.
"Next!"
"Song wishes to make contact with Jin. They are sending an envoy, and I thought it might be good to call one of the young men of the Wanyan house and have him accompany them."
"You mean send an envoy to Kaifeng?"
"That is so. Song will hesitate, but they will be pleased. And this matter will be arranged by Goryeo. It would be even better if peace were made or a diplomatic agreement concluded. But that is a matter for later."
The king chuckled.
"Song will throw itself at this like a madman."
"They will propose a military agreement. They will think that if both sides attack, one from each direction, Liao will weaken. What they want is the recovery of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun."
"How long ago was that… Was it not taken in the time of Shi Jingtang of a previous age?"
The king fell into thought.
Moving Song had its difficulties.
The promise of nonaggression among the three states had not been formally written in name, yet for the past hundred years, it had been like a promise that could not be broken.
During that peaceful period, Song had prospered, and Liao had built an empire.
The king accepted the point.
"Let it be done that way. The Ministry of Rites will be busy."
"The Ministry of Rites will send an envoy, so have them ask him to go together. Mm, it would be good if someone from the Jungbang went as well."
Park Geun-su lowered his head.
They were still people who valued vested interests.
They would never welcome this kind of transformation.
Ban Ju in particular would dislike it.
When Park Geun-su gave no answer, the king said,
"Select the men. Tell them to raise three names."
"Loyalty."
They had completed what needed to be done before the morning council.
The king asked about Lee Yeongu's state.
"How is that fellow?"
The question was not easy.
It was not clear exactly what he was asking.
At such times, one had to answer on one's own, and it was best to speak around the situational truth.
The questioner may well have asked vaguely.
"He came intending to resign, but I persuaded him and sent him back. He has many complaints, but he seems to recognize matters concerning his homeland as tasks to be resolved in the time ahead. On the surface, his present dissatisfaction is directed at Jin, and that must be resolved. It does not seem like something he will simply let pass. It may become a major obstacle to the submission of each tribe, which the Great Khan values. Since this is tied to Jungnangjang Lee's convictions, I could not persuade him on that point."
"Hm. You see this as a matter of conviction."
"He has his own stubbornness."
"Who does not? Everyone has it."
"There is stubbornness one can acknowledge, and then… In this case, he left the military camp. Had he left and gone elsewhere, it would have been desertion from military duty, an offense worthy of beheading."
The king chuckled.
"You do not have the nerve to do that, yet you speak well."
"That is how important the matter is. Jungnangjang Lee is thinking of Jin unifying the steppe and even taking the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun. In this, he wants Goryeo not merely to establish relations with Jin, but to go beyond that, even toward merger. It seems that in Liaodong, he learned they share one root with us. He knows they were people of Balhae, and that Balhae and Goryeo are brothers. He even knows that their root is of Silla lineage."
The king nodded, but it was not a sign of agreement.
When speaking with the highest power, one must not judge too quickly.
"Above all, Jungnangjang Lee's argument resembles the northern advance policy of His Majesty Taejo the Great."
"He said to place importance on Seogyeong. That…"
"It troubles me because it also resembles the argument of the Seogyeong faction. Of course, he is not of the Seogyeong faction. What is different is that they argue for northern advance by force, while Yeongu believes peace will come if the two are merged through peaceful negotiation, and further, if a Goryeo-Jin empire rules northern China."
The king let out a long breath.
It was easy to say in words, but it required a great decision.
The king asked, "What is your thought?"
"I do not agree with the Seogyeong faction's thinking. Rather, how would it be to meet Lord Kim Bu-sik and consult him?"
"Kim Bu-sik?"
"I am not certain, but I understand that he shares the same root as the Great Khan. Hambo, whom they regard as their root, came from Goryeo. He was a Silla man by the name of Kim Saeng. It seems he crossed into Liaodong shortly after Silla's fall."
"The leadership is of Silla lineage…"
"His Majesty Taejo the Great incorporated Silla through righteousness and propriety."
The king understood exactly what Park Geun-su was saying.
General Park's explanation sounded clearer than Yeongu's words, which had poured out without order.
"Hm. So that is it. That is what it means. If We ask him, he will say no."
"That would be the crime of deceiving the king."
"Hm. What should we call the instinct to preserve one's clan? We cannot blame even that."
One must not reduce it to right or wrong.
It was enough to confirm that the king held goodwill toward Kim Bu-sik and those like him.
Park Geun-su bowed deeply.
"Is there anything else?"
"What kind of…"
"Jungnangjang Lee. Has there been any change in his person?"
"Mm. He seemed distracted trying to finish looking after household matters. Ah, he said before that his cultivation had advanced another stage."
Because he said it like a passing remark, it sounded unimportant.
That was why context mattered.
"Well, that man has always been skilled, has he not?"
"The stage itself has changed. He is not the same as before. He is what people call a master."
"He seemed to fight well before too…"
"He should now be seen as being the same as the so-called immortals of Jo."
At the words immortals of Jo, the king narrowed his eyes.
Martial arts that surpassed the human realm.
Endless devotion to protecting the homeland.
Service to the people.
All of that was good.
But they did not enter his embrace.
They could not be pulled into the organizations of the army or the bureaucracy.
The thought came to him that Jungnangjang Lee too might leave one day.
"Yes, then it is something to celebrate. In that case, will he soon abandon his post and depart for the mountains?"
Park Geun-su blocked his mouth with his fingertips.
That could very well happen.
But it was not something he could say with certainty.
He should have realized it from the moment that fellow said he disliked receiving things.
He too would one day leave.
He would escape this shabby world and devote himself to the Way of Immortals.
But he could not say that.
"He is a soldier who fulfills his duty, Your Majesty."
"Fulfills his duty… until the war, perhaps."
"Your Majesty, this humble general does not doubt him. He places loyalty to the country and service to the people above all else."
"Yes. He is that kind of man."
The king acknowledged it.
But that was precisely what made him feel regret.
"Why is it that fox cubs keep loitering around Us, while such good men leave?"
"A soldier protects the country at the front. He is not leaving."
"That is true. Yes, but We would like to keep him nearby."
"Even from far away, his heart will be one with Yours."
"You truly speak well."
"Only in words."