I Became a Fallen Noble of Goguryeo

Chapter 17: The Great Chaos of Goguryeo

At a time when the central authority was in complete disarray.

I was much too far from Pyeongyang Fortress.

“Are you really planning to buy a field that’s nothing but sand?”

I was in the process of buying a field.

My 400 ginseng seeds planted in the first year had grown and produced about 10,000 seeds.

‘Ten thousand seeds is roughly around one kilogram.’

While 400 seeds fit easily in one box, the ten thousand seeds could not fit in just a box, so I needed a field.

“Ah, no one will buy it.”

But buying farmland proved to be more difficult than expected.

“If someone is going to complain that I sold a sand field? I myself felt like I was half scammed when I bought it….”

“Ah, I said I’m buying it. If the buyer says they will buy, why is the seller complaining?”

“No, agriculture doesn’t do well here… it’s all sand, right? And since it faces east, it doesn’t get much sunlight.”

“Both of those things are perfect for me.”

Ginseng grows best in moderately shaded, humid east-facing environments, and thrives in sandy soil.

It’s practically the opposite of grain cultivation.

“If someone who can’t grow crops wants to buy worthless land, you should sell it in a heartbeat.”

“If you try ginseng and it kills you, would that be possible?”

“Should I hit you?”

“You wouldn’t hit me, but other villagers might kill me, saying I deceived you.”

That is how my reputation stood.

Even if I seemed like an easy mark, others thought, ‘If they get scammed by you, I’m doomed!’

“If they say later that they were deceived by me, I’ll be driven out of the village….”

The villagers handed over the field to me at an almost free, dirt‑cheap price.

“Phew, you finally bought it.”

I spent several days vigorously planting new ginseng berries there.

And that’s not all.

“Hmm, smell of manure.”

Around the field, countless piles of manure were steadily transforming into fertilizer.

That gave me some pause.

‘I’d like to make gunpowder….’

The three major elements of fertilizer are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.

And those are exactly the ingredients of gunpowder.

The difference between bread and bread! is surprisingly small.

However, to me that’s like saying diamond and graphite aren’t so different.

So, how do I make it?

‘Hoo, if I’d known this I should’ve read alternate history novels more diligently….’

If I had known just how gunpowder was made during Joseon, I could’ve applied it perfectly here.

But that’s all.

‘Fertilizer will suffice.’

Originally, Goguryeo was the nation that clashed with Sui directly—and won.

Add in new farming methods, and that alone is more than enough capability.

And a few days later.

News of Goguryeo’s defeat reached back from those who had gone to Pyeongyang.

I wasn’t greatly surprised, because I already knew, but the villagers were.

“How can Goryeo do anything and lose to those Silla bastards? They broke the Naje Alliance by giving up the Han River, so Silla and Baekje are all theirs!”

“What was the reason they lost?”

That was something I was curious about too.

I knew they’d lost, but I didn’t know why.

Then the storyteller continued.

“They said it was because of the Malgal.”

“Malgal? Those Malgal bastards attacked them from behind?”

“No, they apparently held back because they were afraid of being attacked?”

…What on earth does that mean?

People typically say “Malgal belong to Goguryeo,” but that’s a simplification.

The so-called Sokmal Malgal around the Kaema Highlands near Silla’s attack area is a fitting example.

In original history, about a century later, Dae Jo‑young—a “Goguryeo outlier”—and the Malgal chieftain Geolsa Biu were from that Sokmal Malgal group.

And Mandol and Doljigye, who raided Goguryeo and fled to Sui with eight tribes and thousands of people after being suppressed, also originated from that region.

We group them under Sokmal Malgal for convenience, but within that there were Ye‑maek lineage like Dae Jo‑young, pro‑Goguryeo Malgal like Geolsa Biu, and anti‑Goguryeo Malgal like Doljigye—forming a mixed conglomerate.

Among them, the factions hostile to Goguryeo would sometimes lead small tribal groups down and raid nearby Goguryeo villages.

Of course, Goguryeo wasn’t too weak to deal with this.

Rather, it should be seen as a matter of cost‑benefit.

Wars start only when one can gain or avoid a big loss.

But the Malgal were neither lucrative nor a threat.

Good lands in Manchuria were already taken by Goguryeo, so the lands Malgal held were worthless.

Even if conquered and plundered, little came of it.

And though they caused some trouble, it wasn’t significant.

The Malgal were hunters; they rode well and shot well, but they didn’t unite well.

At best, they were only capable of petty raids.

Thus, Goguryeo—with enough enemies already—found it more sensible to focus military forces on resisting Silla or the Turks rather than spend them on those petty Malgal.

The Malgal issue was postponed with a feeling of “we can handle it anytime,” so paradoxically, because the Malgal lacked wealth and power, they survived longer.

However, tasks deferred lightly often trip up people at critical moments.

That exactly mirrored the situation King Jun of Domo‑dal faced.

‑ Sokmal Malgal are coming!

‑ Damn, are they colluding with Silla?

‑ No, they say it’s a hunting procession? That is, the Sokmal Malgal Grand Chieftain’s hunt….

In the middle of a war with Silla, the presence of Sokmal Malgal behind the Goguryeo army was unbearably awkward.

At first, Jun wondered about killing them all, but that was only possible in imagination.

In front of the enemy, it was awkward to reorganize the rear, and half the Sokmal Malgal were friendly to Goguryeo.

If attacked wrongly, the entire Sokmal group might turn hostile.

‘Bloody hell….’

Had the Malgal‑ecology expert faction from Domestic Fortress or at least Yeon Jayu skilled in the area been present, this would never have happened.

But now, the Domestic Fortress faction opposed Jun.

And Yeon Jayu was a rival within the power structure.

If I accepted help from Domestic Fortress, it proved that the king’s appointment of Domestic Fortress faction was right.

If I accepted help from Yeon Jayu, I could not prevent Yeon Jayu’s faction growing within the Pyeongyang fortress faction.

In the end, King Jun had only one option.

With just the Pyeongyang city troops he had brought now, he had no choice but to stop Silla’s northward advance.

Honestly, I was confident.

If the Yeon clan of Dongbuyeo was famous for ironwork, the Wang clan of Nakrang was famous for woodworking.

The finest bows and paper in Pyeongyang all came from the hands of the Wang clan.

Naturally, King Jun was also a renowned archer.

In the Rebellion of Chugun and Segun, if Yeon Jayu—armed with Yongo Iron-armored armor and sword—killed the most of the Domestic Fortress faction by blade, then King Jun killed the most by bow.

If I only got a fair fight, shooting all those cowardly Silla bastards to death would be no difficulty.

If the opportunity came, that is.

– It’s the Malgal!

– They’re wild beasts! Damn lunatics!

Because of the Malgal tribes who were hard to tell if they were enemies or not, humans or beasts, the Goguryeo army’s mental and physical fatigue piled up like crazy.

Fatigue on the battlefield directly led to a drop in mobility.

What awaited those exhausted soldiers was the Silla army, having already occupied Maunryeong Fortress and aiming nomung bows as if promising to smash them if they approached, and the blue flag fluttering above it with a crescent moon insignia.

“How did they come this fast…?”

The answer came quickly.

Not in words, but in sound.

Piyyung!

With a thunderous sound from the fortress above, a harpoon flew in and lodged at King Jun’s feet.

Seeing that, King Jun was startled.

“…What on earth is this?”

At that moment.

Pibibibibing—!

Arrows like harpoons rained down indiscriminately into the ground. King Jun shouted.

“Noda! Run, run away!”

The many Pono mounted on the fortress flashed sparks from friction.

Standing before them, King Jun had no choice but to decide on a retreat without even properly firing his prized bow.

“Hmm, they’re just leaving.”

Kim Muryeok, the Silla japchan (迊飡, third rank official of Silla) leading the vanguard of this battle, climbed Maunryeong and watched the retreating Goguryeo army.

‘True, fighting when the high ground is already occupied is about the dumbest thing.’

As for who this Kim Muryeok was, he was the grandfather of Silla’s famed general Kim Yushin (金庾信), famous for marrying his nephew.

Just as the grandson’s lineage was extraordinary, so too was the genealogy of his grandfather, Kim Muryeok.

Kim Muryeok had married the granddaughter of his older brother.

Since his nephew was also his father-in-law, it meant that the future Kim Yushin and his grandmother shared the same rank.

Naturally, because the marriage happened quite late, at nearly forty years old he finally had a son, Kim Seohyeon (金舒玄).

Shortly after the child’s birth, under the orders of Kim Sammakjong, he invaded the Kaema Plateau and captured the fortress.

“When was the last time Silla defeated Goguryeo alone?”

“Twenty years ago, it was the Battle of Geumsanseong by General Isabu. Since then, lord, this is the first time.”

His trusted retainer Dodo (都刀) said.

“The power of the Pono (砲弩) developed by Nadeuk (an 11th rank official of Silla) is truly remarkable.”

Pono is a weapon that fires harpoons adult height long for hundreds of steps. It was nothing less than the top contributor to victory in this battle.

“It’s useful in sieges and its presence in defense is like a tiger. What if we place some on the cliffs? Ponos atop the cliffs… would surely be powerful.”

Kim Muryeok nodded.

“They rushed here and didn’t bring palisades (櫓) or siege carts (轒轀), so charging now would be suicide.”

Seeing this, we shouldn’t say King Jun lacked preparation.

Game characters can move fine even with a full inventory, but real soldiers get exhausted and slowed the more they carry.

A swordsman with a two-cheok blade can circle the battlefield to strike from the side, but if you gave that task to a spearman armed with a ten-cheok spear, he’d probably stand up and say, “You do it.”

Weapons must only be carried as needed; originally, King Jun’s objective was not siege warfare.

His plan was to exploit the time the garrison soldiers bided in the fortress and use swift auxiliary troops to strike Silla’s flank and annihilate them in the field.

But the Malgal caused major disruptions to the advance, and with the help of the new weapon Pono, Kim Muryeok captured Maunryeong Fortress more swiftly than expected.

Goguryeo was one step slow, and Silla one step fast—that was what produced the outcome.

“Phew, if those bastards had charged, we could’ve turned them into a beehive.”

“Regret?”

At those words, Dodo shook his head.

“Of course not. Do you think I’m like Buyeochang?”

The current king of Baekje, Buyeochang, during his crown prince years at the Battle of Baekhapya between Goguryeo and Baekje, once proposed a strategy reminiscent of Han–Chu warfare era’s Xiang Yu.

Not meaning brilliant, but meaning shockingly anachronistic by some seven hundred years.

– “I, 29‑year‑old Buyeochang, challenge the Goguryeo army!”

At that time, Buyeochang rushed out asking Goguryeo commanders to fight one‑on‑one to settle things.

If it had been me, I’d have immediately shot an arrow to knock him off his mount, and slaughtered the enemy deprived of their commander.

Even Liu Bang refused Xiang Yu’s challenge, saying, “Is this the Spring–Autumn period?” Challenges were already out of place even in that era.

Yet the crazy Goguryeo forces seemed impressed by Buyeochang’s spectacle, sent their own general to duel him…and were defeated by Baekje’s Xiang Yu, Buyeochang.

Afterward, emboldened, the Baekje army attacked Goguryeo and won—so through Buyeochang’s reckless gamble, Baekje effectively seized the lower Han River region.

But the problem was what came next.

If you are going to eat something, you should first ensure it will enter your mouth. Baekje didn’t do that.

Having fought brutal battles with Goguryeo, Baekje restored their old capital Wiryeseong in the lower Han River area, yet lacked the strength to hold it.

In the end, Baekje simply retreated from Hanyang, and Silla swiftly occupied the vacated Wiryeseong.

Letting it be would let Goguryeo take it—so naturally, they did.

At that time, Baekje's King Seong also married off his daughter, Princess Buyeo, to Silla and acknowledged the alliance.

It was as if the alliance with Silla was more precious than the Han River.

However, this was a deceptive tactic—smiling on the outside, while holding a dagger inside; a typical two-faced strategy.

King Seong and Buyeo Chang even dragged in Wa and the Banpa state (Daegaya) to launch a major offensive at Gwansanseong.

This act violated the diplomatic norm of keeping promises for at least three years, and Silla was completely unprepared for the surprise attack.

It was Kim Muryeok who turned the tide of this war.

Kim Muryeok took advantage of the moment when the enemy general, King Seong, came to inspect the battlefield and launched a surprise attack, having his servant Dodo behead him.

Even in his final moments, King Seong begged, “I accept death, but don’t let a mere servant kill me!”

But Kim Muryeok ignored his plea.

— In Silla, whether king or slave, those who break promises die all the same.

On that day, Baekje’s most noble being was killed by Silla’s most lowly servant.

With its chain of command shattered, the Baekje-Wa-Gaya allied forces collapsed helplessly, retreating with a loss of 29,300 troops and four ministers.

“At that time, Master, you didn't claim the honor of slaying King Seong yourself, but let me strike him down.”

“Yes. Only then would the Baekje bastards be more confused, more terrified, and scatter further. A general’s honor lies in victory, not in heads taken.”

“I think the same. War isn’t about killing as many enemies as possible, but about gaining what you came for. This time is no different.”

Dodo spoke.

“By taking Maunryeong with so little bloodshed, even Silla’s True Bones won’t be able to ignore you, calling you a descendant of a fallen kingdom.”

The fallen kingdom referred to is Geumgwan Gaya.

Originally, Kim Muryeok was a prince of Geumgwan Gaya, but after the country fell to Isabu, he surrendered and became his subordinate.

In that he aligned with the force that destroyed his country, he felt similar in many ways to Yeon Jayu.

Perhaps the long animosity between the Eastern Yeon clan and the Gaya Kim clan stemmed from mutual hatred among kindred.

Fortunately, Kim Sammaekjong treated the royal family of Geumgwan as True Bones of Silla and supported them heavily.

For Kim Sammaekjong, who dreamed of becoming a True Bone above all others, backing the rising Gaya faction was likely a strategic move to strengthen royal authority.

Kim Muryeok, too, proved himself worthy of that trust by taking King Seong’s head at the Battle of Gwansanseong.

If the Wa reinforcements hadn’t supported Baekje at Gwansanseong—or at least if there hadn’t been among them someone on par with Chumo (since he’s the founder of the enemy state, it's okay to say “on par with”)—then?

Perhaps even Buyeo Chang could’ve been captured and killed, rendering Baekje incapable of recovering.

Thinking of that time, Kim Muryeok felt fury boil up to the top of his head.

It wasn’t merely because he missed a war achievement.

It was closer to betrayal.

“Damn those Wa bastards.”

The Wa—Yamato—had once been allies of Geumgwan Gaya.

Thirty years ago, Geumgwan and Taksun sought help from Wa to avoid Silla’s onslaught, and Wa sent 60,000 troops (later claiming this exact number in receipts) to support the two states.

But they were worse than the enemy.

Wa’s reinforcements did not help Gaya fight Silla—instead, they holed up in fortresses, causing chaos.

They boiled and killed the Wa people who served Gaya at their whim, behaved like thugs, and oppressed the populace.

No Gaya person escaped suffering under their tyranny.

Yet the moment Isabu’s 3,000 Silla troops attacked, they ran away without even looking back.

As a result, Taksun, Geumgwan, and the other three Gaya states were destroyed—bastards to the end.

But when those same Wa bastards came as Baekje’s reinforcements, they clenched their teeth and saved Buyeo Chang?

Upon seeing this, Kim Muryeok felt indescribable disgust.

If they were capable of that, why did they treat me that way?

What did I lack compared to that bastard?

“You son of a….”

“Pardon?”

Dodo, startled by the sudden curse, was confused.

“Did I say something wrong?”

He had apparently been speaking.

Kim Muryeok straightened his face and asked naturally.

“…What did you just say?”

“I said the Maunryeong fortress was easier than expected. Shouldn’t we just cross the mountain like Deng Ai of the old Wei and storm Pyongyang?”

Kim Muryeok regretted straightening his face. He furrowed it again.

“Are you insane? If we enter the Kaema Plateau, we’ll be surrounded on three sides. That’s not becoming Deng Ai, it’s becoming Ma Su.”

Neither Kim Muryeok nor Kim Sammaekjong believed they could hold this land surrounded by Goguryeo for long.

This operation was less about territorial gain and more a political ritual to gain legitimacy.

If they pushed further, they would likely be annihilated and forced into an all-out war with Goguryeo.

“If an all-out war breaks out with Goguryeo… the only ones who’d be laughing are Buyeo Chang, who’s raging to avenge his father, and those Wa bastards.”

At least Baekje would fight over land directly…

But the Wa bastards would hover around, reaping all the benefits, and he didn’t want to see that again.

Even if it’s a political ritual, a defeat is still a defeat.

Its impact was not small.

Goyangseong immediately convened the ministers and entered a long conference.

‘It’s about to begin.’

I thought about the coming events.

Wang Jun’s defeat was due to a lack of knowledge about the Malgal.

Conversely, it wouldn’t have happened if he had help from the Domestic Fortress Faction, experts on Malgal.

In other words, now is the perfect time for Goyangseong to push for the inclusion of the Domestic Fortress Faction.

Which means—

“Shall I go… collect that office?”

It meant my appointment was now in sight.