Book 11: Chapter 9: Loyal Subject

Although he was still in a state of moving about while sitting in a chair.

Gong Ryang's eyes alone were vividly alive, shining brighter than any young man harboring ideals.

“Hehe, Eldest Young Master. This old man can still see that day vividly before my eyes.”

Yeon So-hyeon responded to the old man's words with a favorable attitude that Kang Ho had never seen before.

“By that day, do you by any chance mean the day you became Prime Minister?”

“Yes. That is the day.”

Knowing that this was a place where he dared not open his mouth to interrupt the conversation, Kang Ho only tilted his head inwardly.

'Why is he suddenly talking about the time he became Prime Minister while talking about Grandfather…?'

“That day was…” his question was naturally resolved by Gong Ryang's subsequent answer.

“It was also the day Elder Kang Sang, who opposed until the very end the resolution for the Northern War formed around the Sixteen Families of the Imperial Capital, stepped down from the position of Prime Minister.”

At those words.

“Eh? Elder. From what I know…” kang Ho cut into the conversation without realizing it.

“When a figure of the Prime Minister's level resigns, appointing the next successor is—” Gong Ryang, knowing that Kang Ho was Kang Sang's grandson, tolerated his rudeness.

“Indeed. The appointment of the successor should have taken place much later.”

“Originally, by custom, out of respect and honor for the former Prime Minister, the appointment procedure for the successor Prime Minister would not take place until at least one or two months later.”

Although Kang Ho knew he should not interrupt this conversation, since it was a matter related to his grandfather.

He had no choice but to throw a question.

“Then, why were you, Elder Gong Ryang, appointed to the position of Prime Minister immediately?”

The answer came from Yeon So-hyeon.

“It was because your grandfather, Elder Kang Sang, left the palace after causing too great a shock.”

“…Yes? A shock?”

Yeon So-hyeon did not answer further, but merely wore a bitter smile.

“On that day.”

The answer came from Gong Ryang.

“Elder Kang Sang reported the reasons why the Northern War should not be fought before His Majesty the Emperor's royal presence. There were as many as sixteen reasons.”

Kang Ho cried out as if screaming.

“I have never heard of such a story!”

“Because everyone in the Imperial Palace buried that matter in secrecy.”

Gong Ryang chuckled.

“Besides, the real shock was not because of those sixteen reasons.”

“Yes?”

* * *

On that day in the past.

A giant old man with a physique larger than a bear, rather than a human, stood tall.

“…This is up to the reasons why this war must absolutely not be fought.”

The old man who suited the word giant, Kang Sang, looked up at the Emperor with eyes containing a conviction that would never bend.

“Your Majesty, even so, will you approve this war?”

“T-That is…” the young Emperor had no power.

“Clearly, war is…” the words 'must be avoided' could not come out of the young Emperor's mouth.

Although his ability to judge was sufficient, he did not 'dare' to make a decision.

Therefore, the answer came from beside the Emperor.

“Prime Minister!”

A shrill voice.

“Does the Prime Minister not also know that His Majesty the Emperor has already approved this war resolution?!”

The owner of that voice was the eunuch Gongsun Na-gang, who served the Emperor closest at the time.

“Yet to behave so rudely in His Majesty's royal presence! This is disloyalty!”

“Disloyalty…” the ministers pushed Kang Sang, who repeated the word disloyalty in a self-deprecating tone.

“No matter if you are the Prime Minister, you cannot do this!”

“This is an insult to the Imperial Family!”

The civil and military officials attacked him.

The words flying like blades seemed to slash Kang Sang's body.

The words fired like arrows seemed to pierce Kang Sang's body countlessly.

“Prime Minister…” the words of the Emperor worrying about Prime Minister Kang Sang were buried in the angry shouts of the ministers and vanished in vain.

However, Prime Minister Kang Sang rather kept his giant body straight and endured all those attacks alone.

“…….”

“…….”

Those who were in the minority, whether they were loyalists following Kang Sang or reformists, did not dare to open their mouths.

'Prime Minister…' among those reformists was their leader, Gong Ryang.

'I am sorry for not being able to help you.'

The general trend had already tilted heavily toward the pro-war faction.

'All of them are blinded by the benefits that the victory of a war that has not even started will bring…'

Even if they stepped forward now.

The minority faction that had opposed the war was bound to be tied to Kang Sang's actions and suffer severe damage.

“…….”

However.

Rather, Kang Sang nodded slightly to Gong Ryang and cast a warm gaze at him.

“……!”

Gong Ryang instantly felt the meaning of that gaze.

'Do not step forward.'

'And I leave the rest to you.'

Gong Ryang ground his teeth.

'Elder Kang Sang…!'

“The Prime Minister must immediately kneel and apologize for his rudeness!”

“The Prime Minister—” at that moment.

A voice like thunder erupted from Kang Sang.

“Your humble subject, Kang Sang!”

At just those two words of voice, the royal presence fell into silence.

No.

It felt as though it fell into silence.

Although there were those still shouting as if struggling, Kang Sang's voice pierced through all of that and was ringing clearly.

“Since I wish to step down from the position of Prime Minister, do not forgive your humble subject who is disloyal to the very end!”

And then… the Prime Minister took off his official hat on the spot, placed it on the floor, and began to strip off his official robes.

“Uh-oh?!”

“W-What is he doing now…?!”

“Prime Minister!”

The more he took off his clothes, the muscles that put his age to shame were revealed just as they were in the royal presence.

“What on earth is this behavior in the royal presence?!”

Gongsun Na-gang's face flushed with anger, turning beyond bright red to a shade of red that seemed ready to explode.

“What do you mean, what behavior.”

Kang Sang answered as if it were nothing, continuing to strip off his clothes.

“Since everything this old subject wears and drapes is derived from His Majesty the Emperor's grace.”

He finally took off all his clothes.

“If I step down from my official post, should I not return everything before leaving?”

“……!”

The giant, exposing his entire muscular body, prostrated himself toward the Emperor.

It was a five-point prostration.

“Your Majesty! As this disloyal humble subject withdraws, please live for ten thousand years without illness!”

“S-Such a crazy person…?!”

The attendants rushed in immediately, but no matter how many rushed in, they could not drag the naked old man out of the royal presence.

“Please think of the millions of commoners who will suffer from the war…!”

Thud! Thud!

Now, the old man began to strike his head against the floor.

“Please preserve the national power and prevent the Western powers from eyeing this country…!”

Thud! Thud!

Every time he struck his head, the old man's skull cracked, and blood splattered.

“Please prevent this country's national fortune from declining, and preserve the Royal Ancestral Shrine and State Altars intact…!”

Thud! Thud!

The attendants who tried to stop him were rather flung aside.

The old man's head was already bloodied with disheveled hair.

And that eccentric behavior continued until the Emperor came down and personally stopped him.

* * *

“Heavens…!”

At the secret story he had never heard from anyone, Kang Ho pressed his forehead.

“Although I heard that Grandfather performed many eccentricities from the past and was even called by the name of the Madman of the Imperial Capital…” to perform a five-point prostration naked in the Emperor's royal presence…!

“To think he even did such a thing…!”

“That was not the end.”

Gong Ryang chuckled.

“Elder Kang Sang, who had laid down his office like that, intended to walk all the way to his private residence completely naked.”

“What?!”

Kang Ho's mouth fell wide open.

“Fortunately, we stopped him by all means and prevented even that.”

Yeon So-hyeon shook his head.

“I heard that he had already walked out to the main gate of the Imperial Palace naked.”

“He did. He did.”

Gong Ryang chuckled, recalling the memory of that day which was still vivid, and.

Yeon So-hyeon wore a bitter smile.

“…Ah, Grandfather.”

Kang Ho hung his head deeply in embarrassment.

“It was a flow that could not be stopped anyway, why did you go so far as to do such a thing—” Gong Ryang's low voice.

“Such a thing?”

“……!”

Feeling a chill, Kang Ho suddenly raised his head.

“You have indeed inherited his bloodline, but are you still merely a greenhorn?”

As Kang Ho was flustered at Gong Ryang's sharp words, Yeon So-hyeon opened his mouth as if to mediate.

“Kang Ho. Thanks to what your grandfather did that day, casting aside his own face…” Yeon So-hyeon's tone was calm, but the content contained within it was not.

“The history of the State of Zhongyuan changed.”

Kang Ho widened his eyes.

“History changed…?”

The alteration of history.

It was a matter of such a massive scale.

For Kang Ho, it was a word he could not even begin to guess.

“Yes.”

Yeon So-hyeon nodded.

“Thus, originally, the Northern War, which was destined to end in a thorough defeat, was able to end with a peace agreement.”

Having heard that much, Kang Ho remembered the words he had heard at the beginning of the conversation.

“By that day, do you by any chance mean the day you became Prime Minister?”

“Yes. That is the day.”

“Ah…!”

Realizing something, Kang Ho looked at Gong Ryang.

“Because my grandfather stepped down after causing such a big shock…!”

If his grandfather, Kang Sang, was the head of the loyalist faction, this figure in front of his eyes right now, Gong Ryang, was the head of the reformist faction.

“His Majesty the Emperor was able to gain the justification to appoint you, Elder Gong Ryang, the head of the reformist faction, as Prime Minister!”

“Yes.”

Yeon So-hyeon nodded in agreement.

“Furthermore, since there was a justification that the shock and confusion had to be resolved, it was also possible to immediately appoint the new Prime Minister, ignoring custom.”

“So that is why…!”

Gong Ryang nodded.

“This old man ascended to the Prime Minister post, but because the former Prime Minister stepped down abruptly, I was able to gain the justification of not having received a single handover.”

“That was also Grandfather's aim!”

Kang Ho could not conceal his excitement.

“Yes. Thanks to that, this old man was able to revise from the very beginning the war plan that was cursorily constructed and filled with loopholes.”

“So you changed the direction of the war that was on the verge of becoming a defeat!”

Although they could not stop a war that was already decided.

The result of the war could be changed.

“How could that be…” now Kang Ho could completely understand the statement that his grandfather's eccentricity 'changed history.'

“Still, seeing that you follow this conversation, you are not just an ordinary greenhorn.”

Gong Ryang revised his evaluation as he looked at Kang Ho, who was submerged in shock.

“Is it that bloodlines cannot be hidden. Even if it is a young tiger, a tiger is a tiger.”

That praise did not even register with Kang Ho.

'I thought it was just Grandfather's eccentric behavior…' the high-level political aiming contained within it and the power to make it fall into place.

That was the dignity of a person who had performed the Prime Minister duties across two Emperors.

“And at that time.”

It seemed Gong Ryang's story was not finished yet.

“There was another reason why Elder Kang Sang and this old man could be certain of the result of the Northern War.”

“Indeed.”

Submerged in shock, Kang Ho focused on Gong Ryang again.

“Both of you must have had certainty about the outcome of the war that had not started at the time in order to accomplish all that. But…” kang Ho, who was speaking up to that point, adjusted his glasses and tilted his head.

“How were you certain of the war's outcome?”

Gong Ryang answered immediately.

“Although Elder Kang Sang and this old man were vaguely predicting the outcome.”

Kang Ho nodded.

“You could not be certain.”

It was a natural thing.

Even if one were 'confident' about predicting the affairs of the future, there was no way one could finalize a thing that had not even occurred as if prophesying it.

“But a letter arrived for us.”

“A letter?”

“One day, it was a letter from a young boy claiming to know the outcome of the war.”

Gong Ryang's gaze as he continued to speak was directed toward Yeon So-hyeon.

“Could it be…!”

Gong Ryang nodded.

“Yes. That letter was sent by the Eldest Young Master here.”

“……!”

“And each of us read that letter and was convinced enough to be certain of the war's outcome.”

“…I see.”

Although Kang Ho was surprised, he did not panic or doubt the truth of the story.

The story that two faction leaders of the Imperial Capital came to move with conviction at the letter of a young boy.

Originally, it was a statement that was absurd beyond measure, but.

To the current Kang Ho, the thought rose that it would have been fully possible if it were Yeon So-hyeon.

“Thus, all of this was possible.”

With that, Gong Ryang's story was concluded.

Why at the very beginning.

“Your grandfather. How much do you know about Kang Sang?”

Yeon So-hyeon had asked about his grandfather.

Now Kang Ho also understood completely.

Looking at Yeon So-hyeon, he opened his mouth.

“The Eldest Young Master ended his seclusion.”

And next, he looked at Gong Ryang.

“Elder Gong Ryang returned as the patriarch of the Gong Family.”

And next, he turned his gaze toward the scenery spreading beyond the window.

It was the direction where the Imperial Capital was located.

“And even the statement that Grandfather is entering the palace again this time.”

Kang Ho could understand.

That although those three events seemed like separate stories, they were by no means separate.

And.

“All those secret stories did not end there on that day in the past, but are continuing through you all even until now.”

Gong Ryang smiled.

“Yes.”