- On the Eve of the Battle of Poyang Lake
Night had settled over the ramparts of Nanchang.
Yet inside the city, it was not night.
Before a large map, candle flames flared and wavered, and on the faces of those gathered hung both tension and expectation.
There was no laughter, but their eyes were clear.
They were the eyes of men who knew what tomorrow would bring.
Footsteps came running outside.
The door opened, and Park Seong-jin entered without removing his blood-stained cloak.
Mud and blood fell from its hem.
They were not the traces of retreat, but proof of a task completed.
“I submit my report.”
Before the words had fully landed, Chen Youliang hurried to the door.
A general by rank, he moved now like a master whose house was on fire.
“Zhonglang-jang, did you truly accomplish it?”
Park Seong-jin raised his fists in salute.
An awkward smile touched his face.
“I moved as ordered.”
Inside the tent hung a vast naval map linking the Yangtze, Poyang Lake, Nanchang, and Hukou.
Red flags marked Chen Youliang’s forces.
White flags marked Zhu Yuanzhang’s.
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Blue flags marked Zhang Shicheng’s.
The commanders adjusted stones and wooden markers to align the situation.
Each small shift changed the movement of thousands.
Park Seong-jin’s gaze stopped at one point.
“There is Nan Yu’s banner.”
Yun Dam smiled.
“It has been planted again where you cut it.
Zhu Yuanzhang raised a new corps there.”
Park Seong-jin clicked his tongue.
There was ease in his eyes.
“And Zhang Shicheng?”
“He is moving down toward Yingtiān.
Zhu Yuanzhang sent Yao Yongchong’s corps.”
Park Seong-jin let out a short laugh.
“An empty-house raid.”
Below the map, small flags marking movements were packed tight.
Yun Dam folded his hands before it.
The sound of the night wind brushing paper passed through the tent.
The candles flared, then settled.
“The wind has changed.”
The commanders held their breath.
“Which way?”
Yun Dam pointed to the middle reaches of the Yangtze.
“From downstream to upstream.
It favors us.”
Park Seong-jin nodded.
“Their speed will drop.”
Yun Dam answered at once.
“It is the dry season.
Large ships cannot avoid the shallow channels.”
He tapped the wooden board.
Officers from the adjoining tent entered immediately.
“Avoid the capital ships.
Split into light vessels and maneuver inside Poyang Lake.”
A commander asked, “The target?”
Yun Dam’s finger stopped on Zhu Yuanzhang’s flagship.
“The main force.”
Park Seong-jin spoke quietly.
“The moment it catches on a sandbar.”
Yun Dam’s voice hardened.
“That moment.”
As the commanders moved to act, Yun Dam raised his hand.
“Remember this.”
He pointed to the lower edge of the map.
“We do not go below this line.
The water is shallow.
If a capital ship grounds, the light vessels will swarm.”
The commanders answered as one.
“Loyalty.”
Chen Youliang exhaled as he looked over the map.
“The great turning is near.”
Outside the tent, soldiers were preparing oars, bows, and shields.
On Poyang Lake, hundreds of ships stretched their shadows beneath the moonlight.
The night was deep.
But it was not a night that drew inward.
It was a night pressing forward.
After the council ended, Park Seong-jin approached.
“Yun-gong.”
“Speak.”
“The wind today feels wrong.”
Yun Dam studied him briefly, then said,
“It is not only the wind.
Fortune itself is tilting.”
“When do we move?”
Yun Dam parted the tent flap and looked out over the water.
“The moment Zhu Yuanzhang’s capital ship stops.”
He traced the ripples with his fan and added,
“Take his head then.”
Park Seong-jin raised his fists.
“As ordered.”
Outside, cannon were being loaded onto ships.
Ropes tightened, metal rang, and short commands bound the night tight.