- The Battle on the Frontier (邊境)
Sosam let out a sigh and flopped down where he stood.
Thanks to Soun, they had spotted the enemy early and raised the beacon in time.
If he had dozed off, or if he had been doing something pointless on his own, it could have been a disaster.
From above, he looked down at the Baekryong troops rushing out in a bustle below and smiled faintly.
After days of having nothing to do, the sight of them suddenly startled and running off in a scramble was almost comical.
It was not his concern.
“Looks like they’ll have a rough time.”
“Who?”
“The ones who just went out.”
“Who are they?”
“Our Baekryong First Company.
The Second Company is already out, so that’s the First.
Only Baekryong has horses, and since they’re rushing out from there, they must have been the ones standing by.
Probably nodding off, too.
They’ll get a scolding.
But who are those men, anyway?
If they’ve come this close, we should have already heard from the Second Company out there.
Did they kill all the scouts…?
If they did, that would explain it.
But they couldn’t have killed every last one.”
He kept muttering to himself without end.
He muttered as he thought, and then muttered again what he had just thought.
Soun wondered if that might be his way of soothing his unease.
Sosam’s eyes stayed fixed on the barbarian cavalry riding in, and he could not look away.
A moment later, several horsemen came quickly up the narrow passage below.
Sosam sprang up as if his backside were on fire, and Soun followed with his spear in hand.
It was Lee Hui (李熙).
And Baekryong First Company commander Ga Gyeongpil—Sosam and Soun’s direct superior.
Behind them, signalmen and couriers followed, along with adjutants, deputy commanders, and the Great General himself—the command staff climbing up after them.
They intended to see the full scale of the enemy force from higher ground.
The Great General stood on the hill.
On either side, two adjutants remained mounted, looking down toward the dust rising below.
Dust raised by cavalry had a distinct character, different from yellow sand or a whirlwind.
The dust kicked up by hooves lay low and slanted in the direction opposite the wind.
It felt uneasy, dizzying, cold, and sharp.
They had drawn closer than when first discovered.
After confirming the approaching enemy, the Great General issued an order at once.
“All forces! Prepare for battle.”
When the Great General spoke in a low voice, the signalman beside him repeated it in a booming shout.
“All forces, prepare for battle! All forces, prepare for battle!”
The signalman shouted twice at the top of his lungs and raised the flag.
The command carried, and the horn blast rose high into the sky.
Soun did not know what the flag meant, but a moment later the heavy thudding of drums echoed up from below.
An order, and an answer.
He did not know how it worked, but the command was being transmitted and the army was moving.
The disciplined command system, moving according to the Great General’s orders, carried precisely regardless of distance.
The movements of the camp below felt close enough to grasp.
“What is it?”
The Great General’s eyes shone like a hawk’s.
“They don’t seem that far away.”
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Lee Hui answered.
Lee Hui’s men could be seen riding straight toward the front of the cavalry presumed to be the enemy.
But just before contact, they split into two, drawing a half-circle as they widened the distance.
It was clearly an evasive maneuver.
They rode as if charging, then turned aside.
The oncoming enemy faltered, and their formation wavered.
It looked like a great creature with will, writhing.
It might have been a kind of confirmation.
Even after confirming again, they were enemies.
If they had been allies, the vanguard would not have curved away as it approached.
The sight was almost like a picture: a few of the enemy’s leading riders burst toward the split vanguard, and the vanguard began to flee to the side.
“Definitely the enemy. I thought they’d still be far to the south.”
“Most likely an advance party checking our line of retreat.”
“Archers to the palisade front! Block the shield-bearers in front! Get archers up on the palisade!”
Cold, authoritative commands spilled from Jin Mugwang’s mouth.
Though the distance was somewhat great, the order was transmitted immediately, and he could see the archers moving between the armored infantry, toward the palisade and up onto it.
From above, everything was clearly visible.
Orders were relayed in a complex chain.
Even at that distance, it seemed to move on sound alone; the rushing flow of men shifted in a dizzying tangle.
Archers formed a straight line before the palisade with the shield-bearers, and the archers atop the palisade stood so close their shoulders nearly touched.
As the enemy drew closer, the size of their force became clear.
It was cavalry numbering over two thousand, and no supply train could be seen behind them.
As Lee Hui had said, it seemed only a part had returned first.
Racing over the snowfield, they kicked up flurries that rose high and, caught by the wind, swelled like a vast cloud of dust.
“That’s a lot.”
Sosam whispered to Soun, and Jin Mugwang spoke to Lee Hui.
“Call Baekryong Second and Third Companies back in. We can’t face them head-on.”
Lee Hui turned and gave Sosam his instruction.
“Tell the Second and Third Companies to return.”
“Loyalty!”
Sosam hurriedly rummaged behind his gear, pulled out two arrows, and set them alight.
Then, with all the strength he could muster, he shot them high and far at an angled arc.
Two fire-arrows rose high, trailing tails of flame.
“Wow.”
Sosam gaped.
He had launched two flaming arrows at once.
Right after that, the clang of gongs rang out below, jing-jing-jing.
“Is that the signal?”
Soun asked softly.
“Yes. It’s the signal to call back the cavalry that went out.
In Baekryong, when two arrows of different colors rise high like this, we take it as the signal to return.
It means reconnaissance is halted and battle preparations begin.
Wherever you are, if you see those fire-arrows go up, you return.”
“Battle… us…”
From afar, it looked unreal, like a painting.
The words battle and return pressed heavily against his chest.
Even now, they might have to move out and meet the enemy.
Soun drew in a deep breath.
“Yes. We’re vanguard, but we’re not just vanguard.
We’re the strongest armed force in the expeditionary army.
We have horses.
And full heavy armor.
Heavy cavalry.
There’s nothing that can defeat us.”
“No way.”
“No way? It’s true.
We don’t have enough horses, so our numbers aren’t enough, but our force truly is the strongest.”
“I can’t believe it.”
“In normal times we scout and ambush, but in battle we’re the strongest heavy cavalry.”
“Ah.”
Soun nodded.
The situation changed from moment to moment.
The enemy halted outside arrow range, then moved sideways, slowly encircling the palisade.
Outside the Han (漢軍) camp, they spread their wings wide to left and right.
Whether it was an attack formation or an attempt to surround them was unclear, but the shape of their shifting formation was visible at a glance.
“It’s Daltan.”
The Great General muttered.
His eyes seemed the sharpest.
He judged the enemy had no intention of charging in.
From far off, their posture looked like encirclement only.
“Send out the armored infantry.
Make dense formations with archers, spearmen, and shield-bearers as one unit, then spread them long and advance to arrow range.
If the enemy retreats, pull back. If not, engage.”
“Loyalty.” “Loyalty.” “Loyalty.”
Orders were relayed in a bustle.
The signal system was too complex for Soun to understand, but the Great General’s muttered words were carried out exactly.
He spoke to the man beside him, it was repeated aloud, and then passed on through shouts, flags, fire-arrows, drums, gongs, and messengers.
Countless armored infantry pushed through the palisade gate and formed in a crescent.
Spearmen and shield-bearers followed behind, and then the crossbowmen.
Many soldiers left the palisade and formed ranks.
Daltan halted, and the standoff began.
A night arrival aims at surprise.
But they had already been discovered, so the surprise had no effect.
The horses that had ridden in at speed panted, and the hot air they breathed changed the temperature around them.
Even from afar, the white vapor rising in the cold could be seen clearly.
The battlefield, heating up, stood on the edge of eruption.
Some of the commanders who had come up hurried back down.
If battle began, they would have to command their own units.
As they descended, the crescent line tightened even more firmly.
The command post settled into calm.
That was partly because of Jin Mugwang’s low voice, but above all because the enemy had stopped.
“Prepare the crossbowmen.
The crossbows don’t need to go outside the palisade.”
“Yes.”
After a moment, Lee Hui went down to meet the Baekryong troops returning one by one through the rear gate.
The other commanders, having received orders, also galloped down one by one.
“What should we do?”
Sosam ran down to Lee Hui’s side and asked.
Lee Hui’s gaze went to Soun, then back to Sosam.
He did not answer the question, and only looked at Sosam.
“Did you spot them?”
“No, sir. The kid spotted them first.”
“The kid?”
“Yes. That’s what we call Yu Saengwon.”
Lee Hui’s gaze turned to Soun.
Soun could not endure the cold stare resting on him and raised a military salute.
“Loyalty.”
“Well done. You two wait here. I’ll contact you separately.”
He looked as if he were about to give an instruction, but after seeing that Soun was a kid, he seemed to be sparing him by telling them to wait.
“Yes, General.”
Lee Hui spurred his horse and rode down the narrow path like the wind.
Soun felt regret.
The Baekryong unit he belonged to was gathering in full—those who had been on standby and those who had gone out to scout.
It felt right that he, too, should go out to fight.
He strongly felt as though only he was being spared.
Since Baekryong had not known of the enemy’s approach in advance, that was one mistake.
But two Baekryong men on watch had discovered them early and raised the alarm—one thing done well.
One mistake and one success.
Lee Hui rode with clenched teeth, thinking he would have to make up for the mistake in battle.
Why had there been no message at all from the Second Company that had gone out?
If the enemy had come this close, a report should have arrived beforehand.
The Second Company on reconnaissance was scattered, so it was not possible to kill every single one.
And word should have come from those sent out as vanguard, lying in ambush.
The direction might have been different, or the enemy might have ridden in while avoiding the Second Company’s movements.
Lee Hui’s heart pounded hard.
The Baekryong forces remaining were not many.
They could not face more than two thousand enemies with Baekryong alone.
Even if the enemy were fewer, they did not have enough mounts to win head-on.
With armored infantry it would be even harder.
If the enemy fled, they would not be able to pursue them.