Chapter 472
The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 472
Chapter 472. There are many (3)
The gift that Geum-ryung brought me for my birthday was a spiritual herb called Cheon-ryeong-geun.
As the name suggests, it is a spiritual herb that contains a thousand years of energy.
It is difficult to find any kind of spiritual herb, but this one is particularly hard to find.
It is buried deep in the ground, so unless the ground cracks or it is exposed by long weathering, it is difficult to find.
Naturally, its effects are tremendous.
With just one root, even someone with a serious illness could be brought back to life.
It is truly a panacea with maximum healing power.
“You got all dirty looking for this. Thank you.”
Geum-ryung blushed shyly at my gratitude. Today, I learned for the first time that Geum-ryung curls her tail when she is embarrassed.
“I'll make good use of this.”
“Kui.”
“Now, let's clean it up before Pal-gap starts nagging us.”
I took out a handkerchief, dipped it in the water bottle, and wiped Geum-ryeong.
.
.
.
That night.
I woke up to a faint sense of killing intent.
When I got up, Chang-woon, who was standing guard, asked me.
“Are you going to work?”
“No.”
When he saw me pick up my sword, Chang-woon's face froze.
“There are people targeting this place. Wake up the others.”
Following my orders, Chang-woon immediately began to wake up our group.
The killing intent directed at us was weak.
That was why even the elite bodyguards did not notice it.
It meant that they were still far away, so we had plenty of time to prepare.
As we busily gathered our weapons, other Trading Company guards who saw us approached and asked what was going on.
We had gotten to know them during our journey together.
“What's going on?”
“It seems that someone is targeting the food we are transporting.”
“Huh! You want to get past those imperial guards? You're brave.”
“That's right.”
Even those among our group who were at the peak of their powers now sensed the killing intent and tightened their grip on their swords.
There was only one reason they would target us: the food we were transporting.
However, they must know that the elite imperial guards are protecting the food, so they must have something to rely on.
Whether it be people, weapons, or tactics.
In my opinion, it was most likely tactics.
Tactics...
In that case, we must counter tactics with tactics.
* *
It was a dark night.
A group of people were making their way through the forest.
They stopped at a certain point.
In the distance, they could see lights that looked like bonfires and numerous carts lined up nearby.
“You're saying that's all food? Even just one of those carts would be enough to feed our families a bowl of warm porridge.”
“It will be soon. Right?”
“Yes, Boss.”
The man who answered was in his late thirties.
Unlike the others in the mountain keep, he wore a headband and his eyes were shining.
“If you do as I say, we will be able to take the food without any casualties.”
At that moment, a slight annoyance flashed in the boss's eyes, but it was so brief that no one noticed.
“We will divide into four groups. First, the advance team will approach and strike quickly to lure the imperial guards away. Then, another group will rush in from the opposite direction and lure the imperial guards there away as well.”
He continued.
“Meanwhile, one of the remaining groups will set fire to some of the food and their barracks to lure the rest away, and the last group will steal the grain and escape.”
Someone raised a question.
“But won't it be difficult if other royal guards come to their aid?”
“That's true. But the royal guards transporting the food are camping at a certain distance.”
It is difficult for a large number of people to gather in one place.
There are issues such as finding water and taking care of physiological needs.
We were able to plan this operation because we confirmed this through long observation.
“So we must finish the job before they notice and rush over from other places to help.”
“I see... Very clever!”
“As expected of our military advisor.”
“If this operation is successful, we will be able to live comfortably this winter.”
The people in the mountain keep began to praise the soldiers wearing helmets, and when the boss saw this, he bit his lip slightly.
“Then let's get ready.”
“Yes.”
“But what if we fail?”
“There's no way we'll fail.”
The soldier made a bold promise, and Boss quickly divided the men according to the soldier's plan. Then he headed to where he needed to be, muttering to himself.
“Just because you're smart, you think you're all that... I don't know who the boss is anymore.”
He even felt anxious that he might be replaced as boss if things continued like this.
In any case, securing food was the most important thing right now.
If he couldn't secure food, the discontent would be directed at him.
Therefore, he still needed the military officer.
Pee-eeek!
When they heard the sound of the flute, they rushed toward the royal army as planned.
“Attack!”
“Yes!”
Soon, they clashed with the royal army.
Chaeng!
Chaeng!
The sound of cold weapons clashing rang out, and the battle began.
However, the leader of the unit did not forget the orders of the military.
“We must not fight for too long. Even though they are not skilled in martial arts, they are elite soldiers. So, when you see the signal, retreat immediately.”
Fortunately, they were Royal Guards, not the Royal Guards or Dongchang, so even the Green Forest Bandits were able to fight them off for a while.
Squeak!
The signal came again.
They retreated, and the Royal Guards began to chase them.
Then, on the other side, other gangs attacked the place where food was stored.
This lured the remaining Royal Guards away.
Now all that remained were those who set fires and those who stole grain.
Among them were military officers.
This was because they had to give orders quickly at the right moment.
However, a problem arose.
“Former military officer!”
“It's a big problem.”
They were startled. This was because the Golden Army surrounded them in an instant.
The soldiers bit their lips.
“What is going on? Has backup already arrived? But the nearest unit is more than five miles away, and it's the middle of the night.”
It was too early for anyone to notice the commotion and come running.
However, it was clear that they were surrounded by the imperial guards.
A soft voice reached their ears, trembling with fear.
“Surrender, and we will spare your lives.”
* * *
Seeing their obvious panic, I smiled slightly.
I approached them and asked,
“By the way, you are quite brave. What were you thinking, trying to steal all this food?”
“...”
“Your diversionary tactic was quite clever. It's just that your opponent was too weak.”
“How... did you figure out our tactic?”
The one who asked the question was a young man wearing a yugwan.
His face looked familiar, but I couldn't quite place him.
In any case, I had to answer his question.
I chuckled at his words.
“It was obvious.”
“...Don't mock me.”
“I'm not mocking you.”
As soon as I realized where they were, I sent my bodyguards to scout them out.
The first step in devising a tactic is to accurately assess the current situation, and the second step is to assess the enemy.
I already knew the size and location of the imperial army, so all I needed to do was gather information on the enemy.
In particular, I had people who specialized in reconnaissance.
A warrior at the peak of his powers would never be detected by them, and Pal-gap also had the talent of a king.
So they infiltrated the enemy camp, listened to their plans, and reported back to me.
So, I wasn't lying when I said that I saw them.
“You lured the imperial army, but we pretended to fall for the trap. Then, we immediately changed direction and came here.”
I continued.
“Then, we had the imperial army who were staying elsewhere deal with those who attacked us and fled.”
When I gave the signal, the imperial army approached.
They had captured a considerable number of Green Forest Bandits.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“What is there to thank us for? Hahaha!”
The commander of the imperial army laughed heartily and waved his hand, but his face showed relief.
After all, if they had been caught stealing grain, they would have been severely punished by the emperor.
When I realized that they were targeting this place, I sent out scouts to gather information on their tactics and immediately headed for the commander.
To be honest, if the commander didn't listen to me, I was prepared to reveal my identity as an imperial inspector.
I couldn't let them take the food that the members of the Eunhae Trading Company had worked so hard to bring here.
However.
“Is that true?”
He trusted my words to such an extent that it made me feel uncomfortable.
“His Majesty the Emperor told me not to overlook even the smallest detail when it comes to you.”
Of course.
The emperor's influence extends even here.
“And seeing how you do your best in your work, I didn't think you would say anything untrue.”
Come to think of it, when I said, “No merchant would stray far from their goods while transporting them,” he looked at me strangely.
Anyway, with the cooperation of the commander, everything went smoothly, and we were able to prevent the attack without any casualties.
The man wearing a hooded robe sat down in front of me.
“Damn it!”
“It was you. You devised this tactic.”
At those words, a gruff voice came from behind.
“Yes! It was that bastard who devised this plan! You son of a bitch! I believed you and now we're all going to die! What are you going to do about it?”
Huh? The face of the man who was rebuking him looked familiar.
The man wearing a headband bit his lip and trembled.
I couldn't understand what he was feeling.
Was it frustration that his tactics had been seen through? Or was it fear of what was to come?
Or was it...
“Planning tactics means taking responsibility for the lives of countless people. That's why a skilled tactician must also consider alternatives in case of failure.”
Jin-yu Musha reported to me.
He said you were confident that there was no possibility of failure.
“It seems you did not understand the responsibility of devising tactics.”
His eyes turned to me.
“Devising and executing tactics is not a simple game of chess. If you do not understand the weight of the lives of those who execute your tactics, you are not fit to be a military commander.”
At my words, his head drooped helplessly.
I said to the commander of the imperial army.
“What will you do with them? You are the one in charge here.”
“To be honest, it would be easier to just kill them all...”
At this, their faces turned pale.
“Please spare our lives!”
“Please have mercy on us!”
“We have lost even the little land we had and are now wandering aimlessly.”
Come to think of it, most of the Green Forest Bandits are refugees.
They left their homes after suffering repeated crop failures and joined the bandits.
Then, a loud voice rang out again.
“He told us to do it, so why should we die? Kill him!”
Smack!
“Shut up!”
He was kicked in the stomach by another imperial guard and coughed.
I looked at the man who remained silent with his head bowed.
To be honest, the tactics he had devised were quite interesting.
His arrogance was a problem, but that was more a mistake born of youth and inexperience.
It's a shame he's so talented.
I approached him and asked quietly.
“What is your name?”
“Huh?”
“Your name.”
“My name is... Gal-hyun.”
“...!”
The moment I heard that name, I couldn't help but widen my eyes.
No wonder this soldier and the Boss looked familiar...
He was someone I had met in my previous life.
When traveling across the country for business, it is an unwritten rule to pay a small toll to the mountain keepers to cross the mountains.
I was indebted to a mountain keep that operated in the forest between Shanxi and Hebei.
One day, a sudden storm caused the mountain to collapse, and I was stranded there.
At the suggestion of a soldier from the mountain keep, I stayed there for a while, and that soldier was none other than Iza.
We spent the night talking, and I was quite impressed by his knowledge and strategic thinking.
I am very keen on talented people.
So I casually suggested that he join me, but he refused.
Later, when he left the mountain keep, I was worried about him.
The boss I saw was a narrow-minded person.
When I met him again, I asked him to join me once more, but he refused again.
That was my last chance to make him my man.
This was because the narrow-minded boss ended up getting rid of Gal-hyun.
Shortly after he was eliminated, the mountain keep was absorbed by another mountain keep.
It was a place that had prospered thanks to Gal-hyun's abilities, so the result was obvious without him.
By the way, because of the future I changed, I ended up meeting him in a place where I never thought I would encounter a connection from the past.
The reason Lee Ja's life was so difficult in his previous life was because he chose the wrong liege.
But that wasn't what he wanted.
He became a refugee with his family and was saved by Lee Ja, so he ended up relying on him.
In other words, he stayed to repay his debt.
I said to him,
“You're the one who was shouting loudly, aren't you, Boss?”
“...”
“You had no choice, so you chose a lord like that.”
He just listened to me silently.
Seeing him bite his lip, I could tell that he was also upset about the situation.
Is there anything more upsetting to a subordinate than having a liege lord who is incompetent?
“And you have no choice this time either. Will you work under me, or will you die?”