302.
Beijing's Reaction
A fortnight later, the letter Yun Dam had sent reached Beiping (北平).
Officials at the Dadu (大都) Branch Secretariat who received it first erupted in anger.
"Goryeo has joined hands with the southern rebels?"
"This is treason!"
But as they read on, the air settled.
"Our struggle is not to change a country, but to save people."
The sentence was brief, yet it lingered long in the readers' minds.
One official quietly copied the letter and kept it in his private study.
He thought it was exceptionally fine writing.
Meanwhile, a Night in Yangzhou
That night, Yun Dam sat before the barracks.
Moonlight settled on the river and scattered across its ripples.
Park Seong-jin and Yi In-jung sat beside him.
Yi In-jung asked, "Will this change the world?"
Yun Dam smiled softly.
"The world moves slowly.
The soil we scatter today becomes tomorrow's road."
Park Seong-jin nodded.
"Then we will walk that road."
Yun Dam smiled again.
"From now on, intent steps forward before the sword."
That spring, a single page of writing spread from Yangzhou's army camp like the waters of the Jiangnan rivers.
Its current was slow, and it did not stop.
Ripples in Zhang Shicheng's Camp — Words Stir the Ranks
After the rain, the Huai'an plain lay damp.
Banners sagged heavily above the mire.
In the camp, soldiers worked in silence, wiping rust from their armor.
Through them passed someone holding a single sheet of white paper.
Words were written upon it.
"The people's will is Heaven's mandate (民心卽天命).
Cease the shedding of blood and gather the will of the people.
Goryeo and the southern armies have become one through righteousness (義)."
At first, no one knew who had posted it.
But after two days, the words had spread to every barracks, every market, every stretch of wall.
During supper, one soldier held the paper and said,
"What does this mean? That the Goryeo army is on our side?"
Another soldier laughed quietly.
"It means don't fight.
It means end this war."
After that, a brief silence followed.
Within that silence, a single thought began to grow.
When night fell, soldiers by the campfires recited the line aloud.
"Heaven is far away, and people are close…"
Zhang Shicheng's Main Camp
Beneath the long tent, commanders gathered with the strategist Wei Zhen (魏震).
Several proclamations lay piled on the table.
Wei Zhen spoke in a low voice.
"This is not propaganda.
It is poison that shakes the human heart."
A general slammed his fist.
"Does Goryeo dare meddle with the thoughts of our soldiers?"
Wei Zhen shook his head.
"The problem is the one who wrote it.
The Daoist Yun Dam.
That single line—placing people where Heaven once stood—has lit a fire in the ranks."
Zhang Shicheng stared at the text in silence.
Candlelight illuminated his face.
His gaze wavered, just slightly.
"'The people's will is Heaven's mandate'…"
He murmured softly.
"I was taught that Heaven's mandate is granted to kings.
Now the people themselves are called Heaven.
Truly… frightening."
Signs of Division
The next morning, rumors spread through the camp.
"Goryeo won't strike us."
"Chen Youliang is building a people's state."
"The people are the king."
The words seeped in like spring mist.
No one raised their voice to dispel them.
In some units, soldiers secretly waved toward the direction of the Goryeo banners.
Zhang Shicheng's trusted aide Yao Gang (姚剛) rushed in.
"My lord! In the barracks, there are men reciting strange lines—
'Heaven is far, and people are near.'"
Zhang Shicheng clenched his fist.
"Arrest them."
Yao Gang hesitated.
"There are already too many."
Zhang Shicheng's Anguish
That night, Zhang Shicheng sat alone in his tent, rereading the proclamations.
The tips of his fingers trembled faintly.
The inked characters were neat and still.
"Those who contend with blood will perish;
those who unite through the heart will flourish."
(以血爭者敗, 以心合者昌)
He gazed at the line for a long time before speaking.
"Words now walk ahead of blades."
Not a realm of battlefields, but a realm atop the hearts of the people.
The location of that battlefield became unmistakably clear.
Burning Paper, Shaking Banners
That night, flames rose from a supply storehouse in the camp.
Confusion spread, and the culprit was never found.
Someone whispered softly,
"Heaven is far, and people are close."
The words spread again.
They became a chant, then resistance, then belief.
A single page written by Yun Dam shook Zhang Shicheng's army.
The heart moved first.