I Became a Fallen Noble of Goguryeo

Chapter 13: Yeon Jayu (2)

The year 568. The year I turned sixteen… and one hundred years before the fall of Goguryeo in the original history.

Word came that Silla's King, Kim Sammaekjong, was gathering troops to attack the Kaema Plateau.

In response, the Supreme Chancellor's son, Wang Godeok’s son and the Central Army Commander of Goguryeo, Wang Jun, formally received the title of General and led the government army to the front.

However, the reaction in Pyeongyang Fortress was roughly similar to how South Korea would react upon hearing North Korea launched an ICBM.

‘Those bastards are at it again.’

‘They think they can cross the Kaema Plateau? What nonsense.’

‘If not for King Gwanggaeto, those guys would’ve lost their capital to the Japanese; how do they expect to beat the Goryeo army?’

In other words, no one really cared. Because there was no way Goguryeo would lose to a country like Silla.

The time when Silla took the Han River?

From the perspective of citizens in Pyeongyang, it was an accident that occurred while fighting against three countries—Turkic, Baekje, and Silla—at once, not a loss due to incompetence.

No one believed Goguryeo would lose in a one-on-one fight with Silla, so citizens regarded this news as either Silla's suicide attempt or a mere show of force.

And if even Pyeongyang Fortress didn't care, there was no way Gomchon, two days' distance from Pyeongyang, would care.

Gomchon just kept picking mushrooms.

“Insane! Totally insane!”

“They say Grand King Mushrooms are multiplying! Doesn't that sound unbelievable?”

Mushroom cultivation in Gomchon had become a great success, and every household was filled with joy.

In the past, even after exhausting themselves farming, nothing remained after paying taxes—but now, they were printing money with every mushroom harvest, so it made sense.

Naturally, the procession of mushroom sellers heading to Pyeongyang Fortress was larger than last year. Even after mobilizing more carts than the previous year, it wasn’t enough, so they resorted to K-frames—A-frame carriers.

After that, I went, of course, to Yeon Jayu’s house.

“You're here to see Master Yeon Jayu?”

Unlike Jin Wootae, Yeon Jayu had proper retainers.

They belonged to a class commonly referred to as Jo-ui—which included not only retainers of nobles but also lower-ranking aristocrats without government posts and minor local gentry.

If prominent free villagers and national residents living in the fortress were the top among the ruled class, Jo-ui referred to the lowest rank among the ruling class.

Technically, as a fallen noble, I was also part of the Jo-ui class, but being in the same rank didn’t mean we were in the same position.

As a retainer of the Yeon family, one could easily rival other nobles, and if Yeon Jayu wished, he could easily bestow a junior rank upon any of his retainers.

So I spoke carefully in front of him.

“I wish to meet Master Yeon Jayu. Tell him that the grandson of Sohyeong Nak Woojin is here.”

Nak Woojin was the name of my maternal grandfather.

“Please wait here.”

The retainer went inside, and we waited for quite a while. The villagers were nervous.

“Will he really agree to meet?”

“Are we going to get beaten for no reason?”

Though the Yeon family was not as powerful as during Yeon Gaesomun’s time, they still held considerable influence.

Compared to Yeon Gaesomun’s era, the difference was merely whether they ranked in the top ten or top five within Goguryeo.

Naturally, they didn’t meet just anyone, and if they refused, their retainers sometimes beat up commoners for wasting their time.

I was worried that might happen to me.

“He has granted permission. However, you must go in alone.”

Fortunately, I passed.

The villagers murmured.

“He really accepted him?”

The mere fact that the Yeon family agreed to meet me surprised the people of Gomchon. But Munso seemed a bit worried.

“Insam, is it really okay to go in alone? Maybe we should just go back….”

“We’ve come this far. I can’t turn back now. I’ll be fine.”

I followed the Yeon family's guard and cautiously entered Yeon Jayu’s residence.

“Wow, this place is huge.”

Yeon Jayu’s house was several times larger than Jin Wootae’s and so luxurious that even squaring that wouldn’t do it justice.

Moreover, unlike Jin Wootae’s home on the outskirts of the capital, Yeon Jayu’s house was right in the city center.

If Jin Wootae’s house was like a 30-pyeong (about 99 square meters) home in Gyeonggi Province, then Yeon Jayu’s was like an 80-pyeong (about 264 square meters) apartment in Yeouido.

And being that many times larger meant many more people lived there.

The first I saw were blacksmiths.

‘They must be from the Yeon Family Ironworks.’

In the records about the Yeon Gaesomun family, there’s a line: “[Yeon Gaesomun was adept in ironwork, making the Goryeo army strong.]”

That record was indeed true.

The Yeon family originated from Dongbuyeo, now the eastern region of Goguryeo including Gando, Primorsky Krai, and parts of Hamgyeong Province.

This area was rich in iron, and even back in the Dongbuyeo days, the Yeon family had been known for managing iron and military affairs.

‘No wonder the Pyeongyang faction wanted Yeon Jayu.’

Since he had no base in Pyeongyang, he was politically useful as a lone wolf, was from Dongbuyeo and thus followed by many soldiers, and above all, had superior ironwork.

The last one was most critical.

‘The Domestic Fortress faction has Liaodong, but there are few good iron mines near Pyeongyang Fortress.’

To match their weaponry or to meet iron demands after expelling the Domestic Fortress faction, the Pyeongyang faction absolutely needed Yeon Jayu.

“That over there is the master’s residence.”

There were many guards in front of the master's residence.

None of them looked weak, and if I asked how many people they had killed, I figured they’d answer, “Lost count after ten.”

‘My grandfather cut down seven people like them?’

Thinking that, I realized just how fearsome my grandfather's martial prowess truly was. Could I win in a fight against them?

‘Not at this moment.’

I hadn’t even killed one person yet, so comparing myself to such weapons was ridiculous. The guard guiding me glared.

“The master is waiting inside. Mind your manners. Or you might die.”

As I passed through the door, I saw a middle-aged man—Yeon Jayu.

“You’re the grandson of that warrior?”

He waved his fan as he looked at me.

He wasn’t wearing the typical silk clothes of a noble but the same rough hemp clothes I wore.

Just from that, he should’ve looked like an idle man, but I couldn’t see him that way.

‘…Damn, look at that body.’

Beneath the thin garment, thick muscles were clearly visible, and at his side was a massive sword sheath.

One large sheath was intertwined with smaller ones like branches, totaling five.

That alone was intimidating, but he also had a large scar on his face.

He looked like a character who’d jumped straight out of a martial arts novel—a deadly assassin. Yeon Jayu stared at me.

“That scar you just saw—your grandfather gave it to me. Just a palm’s width more, and it would’ve pierced straight through my eye, killing me. Are you, like your grandfather, here to find a place to stab me?”

“…Pardon?”

“Since I’m your grandfather’s enemy, have you come like some old swordsman to avenge him?”

At first, I thought it was a joke, but his expression was deadly serious. I quickly responded.

“My apologies for the late greeting. I pay my respects to the Eastern Lord, Middle-Rank Head Elder Yeon Jayu. Also, I have not come for revenge.”

“Not revenge? Then why did you come?”

“I came to sell Grand King Mushrooms.”

“Grand King Mushrooms? Huh.”

Yeon Jayu’s expression was strange.

If I had to describe it, it was disappointment.

“…I heard. Last year, you sold a pile of Grand King Mushrooms at Jin Wootae’s house.”

Wow, he really doesn’t miss anything.

Yeon Jayu was both the Eastern Lord and the Middle-Rank Head Elder.

At first glance, the title “Eastern Lord” sounded like a regional governor who ruled the East, but that wasn’t the case.

Regional governors weren’t called “lords” but were designated separately—large fortress governors were “Yoksal”, medium fortress governors were “Cheoryeogeunji”, and small fortress governors were “Nucho”.

“Eastern Lord” wasn’t so much an official title as it was a label for the most influential local figure in the East.

If that made “lord” sound like an empty title, of course that wasn’t true.

Just look at Jomsuni from Kim Yujeong’s novel The Camellias, who bullied the protagonist’s chicken and threw her weight around.

That Jomsuni was merely the daughter of a field manager, yet the protagonist couldn’t even properly protest against her.

Above that field manager was the landowner, and the largest landowners in each village were called “local elites”, and the lord was the top of all those elites in a given region.

Moreover, this title of “lord” was often hereditary—most lords had ruled their areas for several generations. The influence they held in this era went without saying.

A lord wasn’t a regional governor, but more often than not, governors were chosen from among the lords or those recommended by them.

They might not be governors, but they had the power to become one—or to choose one. They weren’t called lords for nothing.

And while “Eastern Lord” was an honorary title, “Middle-Rank Head Elder” was a central government position.

It meant he was the leader of the Jungri Bureau, holding the fifth rank out of Goguryeo’s five-tier nobility. Naturally, he also had the right to participate in the Jeja Council, which was like a cabinet meeting.

The Jungri Bureau was essentially the most powerful office in Goguryeo.

Acting as the limbs of the King, it handled intelligence related to officials and the military, and even had a military force it could mobilize independently.

Of course, this directly tied to personnel management. You couldn’t appoint someone flawed to key positions.

If this role were placed in the 21st century, it would be closer to a military intelligence commander than a director of the National Intelligence Service.

‘In modern terms, Yeon Jayu would be something like a steel company CEO, a regional landowner, and a military intelligence chief all rolled into one.’

That’s insane.

And as the head of Goguryeo’s intelligence agency, the Jungri Bureau, Yeon Jayu already seemed to know that I’d sold mushrooms to Jin Wootae.

I quickly spoke up.

“This time, it’s not a single pile of Grand King Mushrooms, but sixty. I guarantee it will be profitable.”

“So, you came to sell me goods. Not to stab me in the chest…”

“That’s right.”

“Well, with sixty piles of Grand King Mushrooms, there wouldn’t be many who could even handle them. If a mere merchant tried, it would cause trouble… so it makes sense to come to me. But why should I accept them?”

Yeon Jayu pointed at me with his fan.

“Your grandfather was a great warrior. Even your mother, Nak Geum-hwa, had enough pride not to seek me out. But you… you lower your head to your enemy’s house just to sell mushrooms. How should I view this?”

It sounded like something out of a macho drama, but Goguryeo was half built on machoism and charisma to begin with.

“If I accept you, you’ll become a laughingstock. But I’ll become one too. Enough—I have no interest. Get lost.”

With that insult, I was dismissed, and the guards approached me. But I had no intention of leaving just yet.

There’s no way someone like Yeon Jayu had me come just to curse me out, right?

As my father the factory owner once said, the hardest part of any business is the first meeting. The fact we’ve met means he’s at least a little curious to see what I’ve got.

I looked at Yeon Jayu.

“From what you’ve said, it seems the problem isn’t the mushrooms—it’s me. Then would you allow me to explain why you should accept me?”

At that moment, Yeon Jayu definitely let out a “hoh” sound.

“You’re a bold one. What are you going to say?”

“Shall we start with the war that’s just broken out?”

“You know about war?”

“My maternal grandfather was a warrior.”

“Hoh.”

That gaze wasn’t expectation—it was curiosity.

A look of: “What’s this punk going to say now?”

“Go ahead. This better be interesting.”

Curiosity, after all, is the beginning of everything.

In the future I know, the next Prime Minister is Yeon Jayu.

But right now, his faction isn’t quite that powerful. His position is massive, but his base of power lies far away in the East.

‘He doesn’t have much influence in Pyeongyang, right?’

Perhaps that’s the reason no one is openly objecting even though he holds the enormous post of Middle-Rank Head Elder and effectively heads the Mulseong Bureau as well.

Even people in this era weren’t foolish—they knew better than to give too much authority to someone already too powerful. Maybe they thought it was safer to appoint an outsider with no Pyeongyang base.

Then who’s the top of the current Goguryeo political world?

Do I even need to say?

Wang Godeok, a native of Lelang since the days when Pyeongyang was part of Lelang Commandery, is currently serving another term as the Supreme Chancellor, a top first-rank position elected by the nobles of Goguryeo.

‘The Prime Minister, symbolizing military authority, is Gohul.’

Gohul was a famed general of Goguryeo who once repelled an invasion from the Turks, but now, approaching sixty, he was set for retirement.

Wang Godeok was of a similar age, but it seemed he had no intention of retiring yet. Understandably so, since the retirement timing for a Supreme Chancellor and a Commander-in-Chief would differ.

Honestly, Kim Yushin and Gang Gamchan were exceptional for still serving as commanders at seventy, and sixty was indeed an age where battlefields became hard to tread.

And Wang Godeok was using this opportunity to push his son Wang Jun as the next Prime Minister… though Yeon Jayu, too, likely desired the Prime Minister’s seat.

‘As it stands now, Wang Jun is far ahead.’

Wang Jun’s current post as Daemodal was akin to the Capital Defense Commander, overseeing the government troops of Pyeongyang. He had now headed east to face the Silla army at Kaema Plateau.

And I predicted this year would be when Yeon Jayu would overtake Wang Jun. Not by a coup.

Yeon Jayu was the grandfather of Yeon Gaesomun and currently held a position similar to a Security Commander, naturally clashing with the Capital Defense Commander—but this didn’t necessarily lead to a coup.

‘It’s because of the war.’

The Kaema Plateau, where the Silla army was invading, lay in the East, and the one who knew the East best in current Goguryeo was Yeon Jayu, the Eastern Lord.

Yet the current commander wasn’t Yeon Jayu—it was Wang Jun. And Wang Jun hadn’t even brought Yeon Jayu along.

A man like Wang Jun, born and raised in Pyeongyang, heading to an eastern battlefield he knew nothing about, while leaving out Yeon Jayu, the East’s expert? That defied all common sense.

In most state matters, if something defied common sense, ninety percent of the time, politics were involved.

‘Supreme Chancellor Wang Godeok must want to pass his position on to his son Wang Jun, so he found the rising influence of Yeon Jayu distasteful.’

This whole affair was likely both an attempt to create a military success for Wang Jun and a scheme to ensure Yeon Jayu didn’t rack up any more merit.

What if they lost? That question was meaningless. They probably hadn’t even considered the possibility of defeat.

The idea that Goguryeo’s government troops would lose to Silla—and in a defensive battle on their own soil—was like suggesting Italy’s elite legions would be blocked by a French mountain division.

Unbelievable, yet bound to happen.

This time was no different.

“I heard Kim Sammaekjong is invading Kaema Plateau.”

“Yes. More precisely, it's Maun Pass. They say he’s leading with Kim Muryeok of the Geumgwan nation, who once beheaded the Baekje King at Gwansanseong. Daemodal Wang Jun has gone to intercept him with eight Malgaek commanders.”

“This war will be lost.”

The victor of this war would not be Wang Jun, but Kim Sammaekjong.

Because I knew Kim Sammaekjong’s posthumous title, I could be certain.

‘…King Jinheung.’

Goguryeo’s nightmare, the Monument King, Jinheung.

The man born to erect stone monuments.

The same King Jinheung who once seized the Han River from Goguryeo would also win this war and erect another Stele of Purity at Maun Pass.