Chapter 371. Guangyou Temple — Go Youngchang's Visit 3
"The reason I came here was to help your people return home."
Go Youngchang bowed his head deeply.
"That is true. We attacked the very man we should have thanked. It is shameful."
Youngwoo looked down at the document for a moment.
"There is no need to speak at length about this and that. I may have become angry over something that was never really mine to interfere with. Whether you establish a country or not is not my affair. I am clearly an outsider, and if I say even a single word, it can easily be taken as interference in your internal affairs."
Go Youngchang quickly raised his head.
"No. I gave a great deal of thought to the ten reasons you wrote down for us. I truly accept what you said—that if we continue this way, we will fail, perhaps within only a few months. All of it comes from my own shortcomings."
Youngwoo tried to speak at greater length, but Go Youngchang kept cutting in.
Even in the way he conversed, his impatience showed.
He could not even wait until the end of a sentence in which he was lowering himself.
Youngwoo continued calmly.
"I became deeply involved in this matter, so perhaps I started thinking of it as my own. But what does it matter to me what others choose to do? I can simply stay for a short while and then leave."
Go Youngchang's expression stiffened.
"You intend to just leave?"
"You say you will take responsibility. I cannot very well tell you to throw your life away for it. You are the leader of your people. If the leader is killed, that will only create another kind of chaos."
"Are you forgiving me?"
Youngwoo shook his head.
"I may have resigned, but I am still a commander of Goryeo. If we meet again under different circumstances, we may meet as enemies. If that happens, you understand better than I do what the result could be."
Go Youngchang spoke quietly.
"If we meet as enemies, we will not survive."
Youngwoo watched him for a moment before saying,
"I have not mentioned this before, but Goryeo and Jin are now discussing matters that go beyond an alliance. There has even been discussion of uniting the two countries."
Go Youngchang shot to his feet.
He had never heard such a thing.
Was that why they were so close?
Goryeo had been giving Jin assistance in nearly everything.
"What?"
Youngwoo raised a hand and gestured for him to sit.
"That is how far the discussions have gone, without much concern for private gain."
Go Youngchang looked as though he could scarcely believe it.
"Jin would never agree to such a thing…"
"It is true. You did not see Wugimai at the time, did you? The Great Khan's right hand was absent. He was meeting with the King of Goryeo."
Go Youngchang's eyes shifted.
Youngwoo continued.
"Jin understands very well that a country built solely on its own strength will have difficulty growing beyond a tribal state. They are trying to build an empire, but there are many obstacles. Uniting the tribes, governing cities, absorbing farming populations, establishing laws—none of it is easy."
Go Youngchang asked slowly,
"Is Jin going to be absorbed into Goryeo?"
"That much is impossible to know. But the idea has already been raised that, if a true empire can be born, it might unify the world through Goryeo's institutions and Jin's military strength."
A strange resentment stirred within Go Youngchang.
"Why is what they do called law and order, while what we do is called ambition?"
Youngwoo looked at him.
It was, perhaps, a natural question.
Go Youngchang was defending himself now.
Until moments ago he had said everything was his fault and that he would take responsibility, but as the conversation continued, he quickly began trying to reclaim his own position.
A faint, bitter smile appeared at Youngwoo's lips.
"They are not the same. They also rose against oppression. But what they dream of is a peaceful world where discrimination and exploitation disappear. That does not mean such a dream will be realized at once. At the very least, however, they try to correct themselves, they listen, and they are trying to overcome the limits of a tribal state."
Go Youngchang asked,
"Is wanting to become king not the same? Why do you hold only me to such a rigid standard?"
Youngwoo did not answer for a while.
There was resentment in the question.
There was ambition.
And there was also something almost childlike—a desire to be acknowledged.
Youngwoo finally spoke in a low voice.
"They dream of a true empire. An old symbol of peace that can contain many vassal states beneath it. They are thinking of an enormous order that could encompass Goryeo, Liaodong, Liaoxi, the steppe, and even the Central Plains. What they long for is peace. The peace of the past hundred years existed because Goryeo defeated Liao and a balance formed among Goryeo, Liao, and Song. Now we are in an age of war. It is no longer the same. Having experienced a century of peace, Goryeo is trying, somehow, to restore it."
Go Youngchang fell silent for a moment at the sheer scale of what they were considering.
What he had imagined was Liaoyang and the surrounding prefectures.
Restore the name of Balhae.
Gain support from nearby regions.
Find room to maneuver between Liao and Jin.
What Youngwoo described was a dream of an entirely different size.
Yet Go Youngchang soon understood that it was also nearly impossible.
"A dream, then."
Youngwoo nodded.
"Yes. A dream. But the moment you proclaim an emperor here, that dream will be distorted. Jin will attack."
"Because they dream of an empire?"
"Yes. If you were the king of a vassal state within that empire, there might be room for discussion. But if you proclaim yourself emperor, that ends the matter."
Go Youngchang swallowed.
"What if I become king?"
Youngwoo thought for a moment.
"You would have to accept a number of restrictions. Nothing has been decided yet. But there is no possibility that Jin will recognize you as an independent emperor. Liaoyang lies directly on their road forward, and Liaodong is territory they must secure if they are to become an empire."
Go Youngchang's expression grew heavier.
Youngwoo folded the document.
"So if you truly want to keep the Balhae people alive, first abandon talk of an emperor. Do not rush even the word king. Find a way to survive first. Defend Liaoyang. Settle relations with Jin. Feed the people. Rebuild the army. You can decide what to call it afterward."
Go Youngchang pressed his lips together.
He still looked like a man unable to abandon the throne.
But perhaps now he could at least see how thin the ice beneath that throne truly was.
After taking in much of what Youngwoo had said, Go Youngchang quietly asked,
"Why did you tell us to put our strength into the war against Liao?"
Youngwoo answered,
"Because that is the only road by which you can stand alongside those who dream of peace."
Go Youngchang listened without speaking.
Youngwoo paused briefly, choosing his words.
"You have already fought together. You fought at Hubodagang. You retook Liaoyang yourselves. That has earned you a certain stake in what comes next. That stake is not empty rhetoric. Those who have shed blood earn the right to speak."
Youngwoo looked at him.
"But that stake does not extend all the way to an imperial throne. A tribal state, perhaps, or control of several cities and prefectures—those things may be tolerated. It is possible to discuss binding Liaoyang and several surrounding prefectures together and securing a place where Balhae people can live. Beyond that, things become difficult."
Go Youngchang's gaze darkened.
Youngwoo saw it, but continued.
"I am not especially good with words, so I tend to drop conclusions one by one. But realistically, it will probably end with this city and several surrounding prefectures being joined together. Dream beyond that, and you will clash with Jin. Proclaim yourself emperor, and that clash will come even sooner."
He pressed one fingertip against the folded document.
"I think it would be better to help bring about the unification of the empire, then secure a degree of autonomy within it. I am not telling you to abandon the name of Balhae completely. If you want that name to survive, the people must survive first. Defend the city. Feed the people. Build enough merit in the war that you have something to negotiate with when the fighting ends."
Go Youngchang spoke quietly.
"You mean we should become a vassal state?"
"You could call it that."
Youngwoo's voice remained calm.
"But it must be a bargain, not submission. We fought Liao. We retook Liaoyang. We contributed to Jin's unification. Therefore, guarantee autonomy for the Balhae population and the Liaoyang region. Recognize a degree of authority over taxes, military affairs, appointments, and laws. You need to create the grounds on which you can make such demands."
Go Youngchang's hands stiffened on his knees.
"And those grounds are the war?"
"Yes. No one recognizes claims made only in words. You need achievements earned by fighting together. You must continue to play a role in the war against Liao. Only then will Jin see you not as remnants of a rebellion, but as one pillar of an alliance."
Youngwoo let out a short breath.
"If you proclaim an emperor now, Liao will attack you as rebels and Jin will attack you as an obstacle. Goryeo will find it difficult to become deeply involved. Song is far away. Liaoyang will be isolated. You may call yourselves Great Balhae, but in reality you will be nothing more than one city under siege."
Go Youngchang remained silent.
Youngwoo added in a lower voice,
"Fight Liao. But do not fight in order to found a country. Fight to earn the right to survive. The difference may sound small, but the results are entirely different."
Go Youngchang raised his head.
"Then what about the throne?"
Youngwoo did not answer immediately.
After a moment, he spoke quietly.
"The throne should be discussed last. Speak of it now, and it is ambition. Speak of it later, and it becomes negotiation."
Go Youngchang's face hardened.
This time, however, he did not argue.
Youngwoo's words were not pleasant to hear.
But at the very least, they pointed toward a road by which Liaoyang might survive.