Chapter 226 — Enemy Spies
It was not strange for Liao spies to be here.
Yeongu judged them to be spies of Liao.
They must have come out from Huiling Fortress after his return became known.
Their conversation continued.
"Why did he come? He ran away."
"They say he will stay with them to the end."
"Why come again instead of just staying gone?"
"Was there not a great deal to eat?"
"What?"
"Rumor says they poured an enormous amount of spoils onto him."
"So he came back because of that?"
"Would that not be one of the reasons? There is also a rumor that the man opposed spoils being given to the tribes."
"Who would like a man who opposes that?"
"He has no sense."
"They say he is a genius of strategy."
"You know how it is. Some men are clever in the head but weak when calculating profit…"
"That makes no sense. Why do we live through such hardship? It is not as though I do this so I alone can prosper. It is because I want my family to eat well and live happily."
"That is so. If one person's sacrifice brings peace to the whole family, then it must be done."
"Anyway, how long are we going to keep doing this?"
"There will be someone who comes out to piss. We will snatch him and drag him away. We will be able to obtain more information."
He understood why they were there.
They meant to snatch someone and dig out information.
Two of them were speaking, but there were three people.
Yeongu approached without making a sound.
For a moment, he thought it might be better to leave them alone.
He circled behind the men who lay flat on the ground, only their heads raised, spying on the campsite.
In any battlefield, if one walks around, such men are easily found.
Friend and foe are unclear, and they behave as if they are not spies, yet what they do is hover around the military camp.
Some claim they came to sell something.
There are strangely many men who say they lost the road.
Some say they came looking for a son.
Others say they brought hay and horse-feed beans in large quantity.
Though it is a struggle of killing and being killed, war in Liaodong is, in many ways, economic activity.
Yeongu moved behind them and struck their vital points with his fingertips.
He struck Dazhui, Fengmen, and Feishu, and the three men twisted in pain.
Dazhui lies behind the neck, beneath the most protruding bone when one lowers the head.
It is a place where the energy of the neck, back, and whole body gathers. When struck, the neck stiffens, and numbness spreads through the shoulders and back.
Fengmen lies in the upper back, spread to either side below Dazhui.
It is near the inner upper side of the shoulder blades, between the shoulders and back. When struck, the breath is blocked and the shoulders stiffen.
Feishu lies in the upper back, near the inner side of the shoulder blades.
It is a back-shu point related to the lungs. The moment it is struck, the breath catches and strength leaves the arms.
When he struck the three points on all three men in an instant, their bodies stiffened rigidly.
"Ah!"
"Who is it?"
"What is this? Why is my body like this?"
Each of the three said something different.
Yeongu roughly flipped the sprawled men over with the tip of his foot.
"Ah!"
"Why are you using your foot?"
"Aaah, my side!"
They were talkative men.
They would tell him many things.
"Name?"
Yeongu asked, but they did not answer.
"We have done nothing wrong—ugh!"
Instead of answering what was asked, one spoke uselessly.
Yeongu's stiffened knife-hand drove into his stomach.
"Answer only what I ask."
"That is not—aaak!"
This time, he stepped on the shin of the man lying down.
The expression showed pain spreading through the whole body, impossible to endure.
"Answer only what I ask. Understood?"
"Yes."
"Yes."
"Yes."
"Name!"
"Agol."
"Hori."
"Ogo."
After being hit a few times, the answers came immediately.
"Age!"
"Twenty-four."
"Thirty-one."
"Thirty-three."
"Agol answers. Why did you come?"
"There was a rumor that the Goryeo man Yeongu was returning, so we came out to see."
"Is that important?"
"It is important. Orders came down to manage him specially."
"In a military camp, is it not natural for there to be Goryeo people, Balhae people, Jurchen, Xi, and Khitan?"
"They are preparing to protest if Goryeo's military support is confirmed."
"Hm. So?"
"They told us to bring evidence."
Leaving Agol aside, Yeongu asked Hori.
"So you meant to capture someone?"
"Ah! No. He is a master, so we cannot capture him."
"Then?"
"We heard the men under him are weak. We planned to capture one of the Goryeo support group."
"And hand him over to whom?"
"There is a man called Zhao Lao'er. He said he would pay a rich reward if we brought someone in."
"You capture one of the Goryeo men and give him to Zhao Lao'er?"
"Yes. That is so."
"Hm. Hm. I see."
Yeongu put his fingers to his mouth and whistled.
The sentry signal rang long, and the sentries scattered in all directions turned their horses.
Those who could move while still guarding their own positions immediately rode in.
"Loyalty! What is the matter?"
It was one of Zongwang's scouts.
"I caught spies."
"These men here?"
"Yes. Agol, Hori, and Ogo. Do not kill them and do not wound them. They have a use."
"Loyalty."
The men dismounted and moved to bind the spies, then tilted their heads.
The men looked unharmed, yet they could not move.
They trembled intermittently, like diseased chickens.
"What is wrong with them?"
"Ah, I struck their Dazhui, Fengmen, and Feishu."
"…What do you mean by that?"
"I struck their blood points, so they cannot move."
"Ah. What should we do?"
"Rub those three points."
"Ah, understood."
As Yeongu turned to leave, one of the scouts handed him the reins.
He was telling him to ride his horse back.
Yeongu shook his head.
"I cannot sleep, so I am going to walk a round."
"Loyalty."
He entrusted the spies to them and went back.
Not long afterward, a report came up.
The three were spies who reported to Zhao Lao'er, said to be a high official of the Northern Privy Council.
They seemed not to know his exact office or rank.
They said the plan was to capture a Goryeo man and use him as a witness for a diplomatic protest.
The captured men were made to name the other spies in Huiling, and men had gone to arrest them.
They expected around ten more spies to be caught.
Reports came in several times as men went back and forth, so Yeongu pulled a wool blanket over himself and tried to sleep.