episode_0036

“No.”

As he said that, he slowly shook his head. I don’t know how Jojo would have seen me like that, but I was sincere.

“I’m just curious about your thoughts.”

“Hmm.”

It looks like this one was close to passing. If you look at the deep emotion of satisfaction attached to the lightly uttered sound, it may be like that.

“So what are you thinking?”

“No matter what I was thinking or sleeping… I just realized it.”

What did you realize?

Out of curiosity, I gave him a questioning look, but even after confirming my gaze, Jojo did not give me an answer.

Instead, I just step back slightly and tip the bottle once again.

A sound reminiscent of a mountain stream echoed through the room. When I heard that sound, I felt strangely nervous, but that didn’t stop me from acting rashly.

What I truly wanted was something that came from my heart and was not something I forced out by scolding the other person like that.

So instead of saying something, he just gave me a blank look and a sigh escaped Jojo’s mouth as he continued to drink alcohol.

“···Ah.”

At the point when the size of the liquor bottle was a little more than the palm of my hand, did I feel regretful that the liquor ended up running out, even though it was certain that it would happen someday? After staring at the bottle, which was tilted to the side but with nothing leaking out, Jojo opened his mouth and called out to me.

Of course, he still had his back turned to me.

“Suhyeon.”

“Yes.”

“What do you think about this country and the Han imperial family?”

The moment those words flowed into my ears, my heart pounded loudly, probably because of something burning in the voice that asked that question.

“···It’s not normal.”

“That’s right.”

After saying that, Jojo once again tilted the liquor bottle in his hand to the side.

No, why do they keep bothering me about a bottle of alcohol that has long since run out? That doesn’t mean that the alcohol that isn’t there will come out.

It must have been a moment when I was muttering that to myself.

A drop of whitish liquid flowed from the inside and hung precariously on the spout of the bottle. It was right after that that Jojo’s voice continued.

“This is the royal family of today.”

“···.”

“What would happen if I shook the bottle here?”

“Of course…”

Wouldn’t something that is still hanging in a precarious shape not be able to hold on any longer and fall to the floor?

It must have been a time when I was swallowing back the words I couldn’t bear to say out loud, out of fear that someone might hear them.

“Do you know about the song going around among kids these days?”

“The one that starts with Changcheon Director Hwangcheon Dangrip?”

How could you not know?

It is a catchphrase of the Yellow Turbans who will soon appear at the forefront of history. Also… I listened to it live a few days ago on the way back from a dry goods store with Join.

“Changcheon has already died, so Hwangcheon will rise, and the world will prosper greatly in the year of Gapja.”

“···.”

“They say it came from a cult called Taepyeongdo, which is growing in popularity in each state, including Yeju, these days.”

“So?”

” Among the eunuchs in Luoyang, there are some who are in communication with the cult group called Taepyeongdo.”

“What?”

It must have been a moment when my eyes were wide open to something I had never thought of. Jojo, who had turned his back on me, turned towards me again.

“Difficult times will come.”

I looked at Jojo’s face as he spoke with confidence.

A smile that gave off a cool feeling like a well-forged sword hung over it.

A drop of whitish liquid fell from the tip of the bottle that was held in Jojo’s hand.

As if predicting future events.

*****

“So, let’s supply this to the soldiers?”

“Uh.”

“···Will that change anything?”

If you look at the arm, it’s just a piece of cloth with strange things hanging all over it, right?

The way Jojo looked at me seemed to say just that.

That’s right.

If it’s ‘as is’ now.

“Join.”

“So, let’s say you’re a teacher!”

“Just hand it over quickly.”

When I urged him on, Jo-in pursed his lips and held out the things he was holding in his hands towards me. They were wooden boards about as thick as a finger.

I stuffed them into the pockets attached to various parts of my cloth clothes. For your information, what Jojo said was the ‘strange thing’ was the pocket.

“How about it? Doesn’t it seem like the soldiers’ chances of survival are greatly increasing just by looking at it?”

“Hmm, I’m not sure about that, but it seems like it could be useful as a countermeasure against arrows.”

It must have been a moment when Jojo, who had relatively free time thanks to having finished adapting to the duties of a county governor so early, had time to prepare for the difficult times ahead.

“Tongue, Hyeonryeong, gasp…! Hyeonryeong Adult!!!”

Hyeonwi, who was in charge of public security in the county and assisting Jo Jo, who had been appointed as county governor, crawled into the back yard of the county office where we were, almost on all fours.

Eventually, what came out of that situation was–

“riot!! It’s a riot!!!”

It was news I thought I would definitely hear before the end of the year.

“Even in the two western countries! Even in Chugun in the south! It is said that even in Yeonnam County, far away, people wearing yellow headscarves are rising up, killing officials, and looting government offices!”

It’s quiet right now, but are they confident that something similar will happen here in the near future? It was a voice that conveyed such urgency that it wouldn’t be surprising if I ran out of breath at any moment.

Could it be that he was responding to none other than that voice?

Jojo, who was sitting in the pavilion fiddling with the cloth robe with many pockets I gave him, slowly stood up.

Jojo’s face, as he stood up like that, was surprisingly calm… so much so that Hyeonwi, who had rushed to deliver the news, actually hesitated.

And the first person Jojo called after rising from his seat like that was neither Hyeonwi, who could be said to be his direct subordinate, nor Join, his second cousin.

“Suhyeon.”

It was me.

In order to repay Jojo’s trust, he couldn’t show his usual playful attitude.

“Okay, I’ll be back soon.”

“Yes.”

“Let’s go, join.”

“Not a joiner, but a teacher!”

I climbed over the wall and left the prefectural office. Normally I would have used the door, but right now it was urgent.

He immediately ran to the manor, grabbed one of the servants passing by, and ordered him to ring the ‘bell’ that had been installed earlier.

How long has it been like that? The loud, tinkling sound of the bell took over the whole place.

Thanks to this, the inside of the manor became crazy noisy, but I didn’t care and climbed up the wall of the manor.

It was scary to do that.

Finally, the people who responded to the sound of the bell that began to spread outside the manor and began to gather in front of the manor.

Private soldiers belonging to the Yun family were disguising themselves as workers at a merchant or paper workshop in case they were caught. That was their true identity.

There were as many as a thousand people gathered.

A thousand elite soldiers, not conscripts or anything like that.

Even within the worldview of the Three Kingdoms, where tens of thousands of troops would randomly pop out, it was a significant number, and some of the troops who responded to the call were left behind in the manor and went back to the county office to join Cao Cao.

Fortunately, preparations had already been completed on that side as well.

When we met again, Cao Cao was giving instructions to his subordinate officials in preparation for when he went to war.

“Aman!”

“Are you here? What about the soldiers?”

“I thought we needed people to guard the manor, so I brought all but fifty people.”

“So, a total of nine hundred and fifty? Among them, who knows how to ride a horse?”

“About one hundred and fifty.”

“If we combine with our side, we have about 700 cavalry and 2,300 infantry.”

A total of 3,000 people, including the soldiers originally assigned to Cao Cao.

Considering the scale of the Yellow Turban enemies that were rampaging everywhere by now, the number seemed relatively small, but it didn’t matter.

The number will increase on its own as we destroy the Yellow Turban groups we encounter one by one.

“Aman, you will take charge of the overall command as planned, right?”

“That’s how it should be, Suhyeon. You lead the cavalry.”

“No, if that’s the case, there’s someone better suited than me.”

“Are you the right person? Who?”

“Who would it be?”

While saying that, I nudged Jo In, who was standing next to me, on his back. Thanks to this, Jo In’s light blue eyes, which resembled protruding nails, widened significantly.

“? Me, me?”

“Isn’t this a good opportunity to test the strategy you’ve studied so hard, Master?”

“Ha, but…”

Is it because I have never commanded hundreds of people, even though I have commanded a few dozen people when we were hunting down bandits together?

I don’t know if that was why, but he seemed genuinely embarrassed.

Perhaps influenced by that appearance, Jojo’s reaction was not very good.

“Are you serious? Su-hyeon?”

“Why? Can’t you believe it?”

“···A little bit.”

Unlike Jo Jo, who distrusts Jo In in that way, I was already convinced.

If you leave Cao Ren in charge of the cavalry, the Yellow Turbans and everything will be destroyed without a trace.

After all, isn’t he the ‘Join’ and not just anyone else?

“Then, trust me. If it’s Join, I’m sure he’ll do well.”

So, I guess it was only after I said that that he gained courage from my words.

“My disciple, if you say that much… Okay, I’ll give it a try.”

Was he moved by the respect he finally received from his disciple after enduring a long period of humiliation and persecution? I don’t know if it was the effect, but Jo-in, whose face was slightly flushed, declared as he did.

And Jo In kept his declaration 100%, no, in fact, close to 200%.

By literally crushing the Yellow Turban horde that they encountered for the first time after going on the campaign trail.

“Did you see it?”

Even if you look at him like that, he’s the kid who beat Guan Yu as well?