TKTCJ 03

Chapter 3

The White-Cleaver (2)

It was deep into the night.

Darkness slowly settled over the world, pressing down upon it layer by layer.

The moonlight was bright, but not complete.

Thin clouds scattered the light,

making the land beneath Heaven appear submerged in a faint golden mist.

In the distance, even outlines were blurred,

while only things nearby managed to reveal their shapes.

It was a night perfect for hiding,

yet insufficient for revealing anything clearly.

An ideal time for a night raid.

Inside the tent, reports were being delivered in preparation for the upcoming campaign.

The staff officer Gwan Jeong quietly opened his mouth.

“There is one particularly noteworthy man among the rebels. I hear he has distinguished himself with nothing but a single wooden spear. Apparently, he was promoted to Gido-wi for his achievements.”

After choosing his words for a moment, he added in a low voice,

“They say he’s called the White-Cleaver on the battlefield.”

White-Cleaver?

The corners of Gongsun Zan’s mouth twisted.

“White-Cleaver?”

He repeated the name briefly before letting out a small laugh.

“An interesting fellow.”

A cold glint spread through his eyes.

“How dare he invoke the White Horse Riders? Bring him back alive.”

His voice fell coldly.

“I’ll tear him limb from limb myself.”

General Yan Gang stepped forward.

His face had flushed red, and his fury toward the man who had earned the epithet of White-Cleaver—the one who killed White Horses—was plain to see.

“Leave him to me, General. I will capture him without fail.”

Gongsun Fan, standing beside him, was equally red-faced as he spat out in anger.

“I feel the same way. How dare he call himself the White-Cleaver—he deserves to be torn apart.”

Without a word, Gongsun Zan raised his whip.

After sweeping his gaze across the moonlit fields,

he shouted loudly,

“Good. March!”

Gongsun Zan’s strategy was simple.

Move the cavalry to pressure the enemy,

then exploit their moment of carelessness to infiltrate spies and gradually bring the enemy down from within.

Once the date of the attack was set, the spies they had planted throughout the winter began moving and spreading rumors.

—The imperial court is organizing a punitive force and moving toward Zhuo Commandery.

At the same time, they persuaded generals who were exhausted by the stigma of being rebels and drew the powerful local clans to their side.

A siege had never been part of the plan.

The city would not collapse from the outside.

It had already collapsed from within.

The battle did not begin with a commotion.

There were no battle cries.

No drums of war.

The generals and powerful clansmen themselves threw open both the eastern and western gates.

The moment the gates opened—

White horses poured inside like mad.

What kind of battle could take place under such circumstances?

If Dapdon hadn’t managed to keep his wits about him, save Quluju, and rally the cavalry…

Zhuo Commandery would have collapsed without even managing a minor counterattack.

Meanwhile,

Jung-gyeom had already slipped out of the city and hidden his troops in a valley twenty li away.

Using night patrols as an excuse, leaving the city had not been difficult.

Gongsun Gi had even grumbled,

“If we were going to do this, we should’ve left ages ago.”

It was perhaps the hour of the Ox, sometime after midnight.

In the distance, the city engulfed in flames was staining the sky red.

Jung-gyeom’s gaze lingered on the glow for a moment.

Beside him, Gongsun Gi pointed toward one side of the valley and whispered,

“They’re finally here.”

It was easy enough to predict where Zhang Chun would flee.

The Wuhuan.

Or perhaps the Xianbei.

Both had their bases in the north.

Jung-gyeom had already been sending his men out for months to prepare an ambush and cut off the enemy’s retreat.

Zhang Chun had once wielded enormous influence after occupying the surrounding region.

Yet the sight before them was so pitiful that it was almost hard to believe.

Apparently, his greed for wealth had survived even this crisis.

Hundreds of carts stretched out in a long line.

Even with his life hanging by a thread, how could he be so foolish?

Jung-gyeom clicked his tongue inwardly, yet a smile unconsciously spread across his lips.

What a windfall.

He widened his eyes and examined them more carefully.

The number of troops on the move was barely three or four thousand.

It was the perfect opportunity to strip them clean.

Looking to either side, Jung-gyeom saw that Jeon Ye and Gongsun Gi were also beaming with delight.

Swallowing nervously, Jung-gyeom waited for Zhang Chun’s forces to enter the valley.

Eventually, Zhang Chun’s troops advanced deep into the valley.

Jung-gyeom drew his sword.

“Attack!”

His shout seemed powerful enough to shake the valley.

Gongsun Gi and Jeon Ye rose almost simultaneously.

“Roll the logs!”

“Fire!”

The subordinate commanders shouted their responses in unison.

Rumble—

Crash! Crash!

Logs came rolling down the slopes, while arrows poured down like rain.

Startled horses reared on their hind legs and screamed,

while the desperate cries of soldiers began filling the valley.

Zhang Chun was utterly stunned.

Where did these enemies come from?

The enemy had cut off his rear, leaving him unable to retreat.

A sigh escaped him.

“On this day next year… it’ll be my memorial day.”

Only his own soldiers were falling.

There was nowhere to go, neither forward nor backward.

Suddenly, Xiang Yu came to mind—the great hero who had been surrounded on all sides at Gaixia.

His breathing gradually grew ragged.

His chest felt as though it were being squeezed.

The screams and neighing horses coming from every direction blurred his mind.

Is this… the end?

A hero who had once ruled over this entire region—

To fall here without even leaving his name behind.

His lips twisted.

That was when—

A voice came from somewhere.

The enemy commander was shouting.

“Surrender!”

Jung-gyeom emerged through the forest and swept his gaze across the battlefield at a glance.

The battle was already over.

The enemy formation had collapsed, and their fighting spirit had been broken.

The survivors stood holding their swords, but they showed no intention of continuing the fight.

Jung-gyeom caught his breath and raised his voice once more.

“Surrender!”

His thunderous shout echoed through the valley.

His men repeated his words, shouting together.

“Surrender! Surrender!”

The shoulders of the soldiers who had been stubbornly holding out began to droop one by one.

Swords fell from their hands.

Knees buckled.

With their will broken, there was no resistance left.

A few men still fought wildly here and there, but they were far too few to change the course of the battle.

And so the battle ended.

Jung-gyeom immediately began reorganizing his men and sorting through the prisoners.

The battlefield was cleared quickly, and casualties were minimal.

Aside from a few minor injuries, there wasn’t a single seriously wounded soldier.

It was a resounding victory.

The heads of Zhang Chun and Zhang Ju were severed and stored separately in boxes.

Jeon Ye approached quickly with several of his men.

“The wealth loaded onto the carts… it’s beyond anything I could have imagined.”

Jung-gyeom lightly nodded and asked,

“How much do you think there is?”

“Even excluding the silk and other valuables, there should easily be several million geum worth.”

This was wealth that Zhang Chun had swept up from Zhuo Commandery and all across Youzhou.

Jung-gyeom nodded instinctively.

What should I do with this?

Hand all of it over to Liu Yu?

Liu Yu was a member of the imperial household.

Given his temperament, he would surely send most of this wealth to the imperial capital as tribute.

If that happened—

He couldn’t simply hand everything over.

All this wealth had come from Youzhou.

Wouldn’t it be right to use it somehow for the people of Youzhou?

“What do you think would happen if we presented all this wealth?”

Jeon Ye couldn’t immediately answer.

He had barely managed to scrape together enough to feed himself under the pressure of the powerful clans.

He had ultimately followed Zhang Chun simply to escape starvation.

He remained silent for a moment, thinking, before cautiously answering,

“…It’ll only fill the officials’ bellies.”

Jung-gyeom smiled.

“The imperial court won’t sit quietly either.”

His voice trailed off.

There was no need to say what came next.

If the imperial court intervened, it was a foregone conclusion that all this wealth would end up in the eunuchs’ hands.

Jung-gyeom thought carefully about something before slowly speaking.

“There is a large village along the road from Zhuo Commandery to Ji County. Anping.”

Jeon Ye nodded.

“It’s not far from my hometown.”

“About thirty li from Anping toward Beiping, there’s a small village famous for its bamboo.”

Jung-gyeom’s gaze pointed toward somewhere in the distance.

“Hide the carts there.”

Jeon Ye cautiously asked,

“You mean entrust them to the village?”

“No. How could we trust the mouths of villagers, even in a small settlement? Send a few reliable men to guard the carts.”

He paused briefly before adding,

“If a group of sturdy young men pretends to settle there, the village will surely welcome them, since it’s such a small place.”

A look of admiration flashed through Jeon Ye’s eyes.

“I’ll follow your orders.”

He lowered his head for a moment before speaking again.

“I’ll choose men with pleasant faces to send.”

Jung-gyeom smiled faintly.

“Your words are exactly my intention.”

After Jeon Ye withdrew, Gongsun Gi came riding over with several horses.

Holding the reins, he grinned and spoke.

“We secured no fewer than four hundred and twenty good warhorses. Once we get riders for them, we won’t have anything to envy from the Wuhuan.”

The wealth was valuable enough—

But warhorses?

This was a harvest so great that it couldn’t even be compared to the wealth.

It would change their entire foundation.

Jung-gyeom quietly nodded as he watched his men busy themselves gathering the horses on one side of the valley.

It was an unexpected harvest, and his heart burned with excitement.

But then, as though a thought had occurred to him, he raised his gaze toward the south.

The sky was stained red.

A small sigh escaped his lips.

“Brother Dap… he made it out safely, right?”

Gongsun Gi stood shoulder to shoulder with Jung-gyeom and shrugged.

“The captain left instructions with the Wang brothers, so there’s no need to worry too much.”

For some time now, Gongsun Gi had been calling Jung-gyeom Captain and following him.

After pausing briefly to catch his breath, Gongsun Gi continued, as though telling him not to worry needlessly.

“You know Brother Dap. He’s quite capable.”

Yes.

That was true.

Dapdon had surely made it safely back to the grasslands.

There was no point worrying any further.

Before long, the day would come when they could raise their cups and talk about this day.

Jung-gyeom quietly nodded.

That was when—

Jeon Ye hurried over and spoke in a low voice.

“I’ve handled it as you ordered.”

Jeon Ye certainly worked quickly.

“Good work.”

Jung-gyeom lightly patted his shoulder to convey his approval, then calmly asked,

“How is the sorting of the surrendered soldiers going?”

Jeon Ye immediately answered.

“We’ve separated all those who were wounded or too old.”

Gongsun Gi casually cut in from beside him.

“We grouped the useful ones separately. There are quite a few more than I expected.”

Jung-gyeom tilted his head slightly.

“And the rest?”

Jeon Ye hesitated for a moment before answering.

“For now, as you ordered, we’re giving them a reasonable amount of wealth and releasing them.”

His voice trailed off.

“But… they took part in the rebellion. If the Inspector decides to investigate who was right and who was wrong, they could end up suffering for it.”

Jung-gyeom shook his head.

His expression made it clear there was nothing to worry about.

“The Inspector understands the will of the people and is a gentle man. I have already carried out his wishes by taking the heads of Zhang Chun and Zhang Ju and putting an end to the chaos in Youzhou. That should be enough to cover their crimes with merit.”

He paused before adding in a low voice,

“Given the Inspector’s temperament, he would sooner weigh their merits and faults and grant even a small reward than punish them.”

Jung-gyeom’s gaze returned to Jeon Ye.

“Besides, they are merely elderly and wounded commoners. Who would dare demand that they be punished? So—”

Jung-gyeom finished quietly.

“Put those needless worries aside.”

Both Jeon Ye and Gongsun Gi looked deeply impressed by Jung-gyeom’s words.

“Some of them… recognized you, Captain, so I was worried. But I suppose that concern was unnecessary.”

Gongsun Gi glanced at Jeon Ye and added with a meaningful smile,

“Rumors will grow wings and spread in no time. Isn’t that right, Guk-yang?”

Jeon Ye immediately nodded.

His expression suggested that he understood what Gongsun Gi was implying.

Gongsun Gi’s quiet voice continued.

“With the Captain’s virtue and strategy running this deep, who in all of Youzhou would dare treat the Captain carelessly?”

Jung-gyeom said nothing.

He merely nodded once.