139.Drive into the City
Yang Johwi shouted in shock.
He had said it could be done, yet he had not truly believed it.
There had been a trace of expectation, but no certainty.
Even the gate of a small fortress would not easily break, even if it were set ablaze and hammered again and again by several men taking turns.
Yet Sowoon had leapt from his horse and shattered it in a single motion.
Part of Johwi almost wished it had failed—so they could report that it could not be done.
But it was too late.
Leaving the men who still hesitated behind him, Sowoon vaulted over the collapsed gate.
Inside the gate, the scene was pitiful.
The soldiers crowded atop the gate tower, shooting arrows and trying to put out the flames, had no control over what lay directly behind the gate.
A dozen gate guards who had been lounging there scrambled to their feet in confusion.
The routed soldiers gathered in the open yard beyond sprang up at the sound of the gate splitting apart.
However few they were, that place should have held a defensive line.
Sowoon swung his hwageuk wide and drove straight forward.
The Baekryongdae followed immediately behind him.
As originally planned, they advanced toward the county office.
Gagyeongpil would handle the center force.
Seizing the moment, Gagyeongpil charged in with determination, and the main body behind him surged through the shattered gate like a rising tide.
The wave that poured in behind was immense.
Just as Sowoon moved to cut down the enemy before him, Yang Johwi shouted and tossed him a rein.
"Scholar Yu! Just go!"
Sowoon had intended to finish them off, but at the shout he changed direction and sped down the main road leading to the county office.
There was no need to worry about the rear.
Gagyeongpil's supporting force was already flooding in.
After one more sweeping strike, Sowoon fully turned.
The fighting beyond the gate did not last long.
The Baekryongdae held overwhelming superiority, and once the final psychological barrier—the city wall—had been breached, the only choice left for the defenders was to flee.
The soldiers found no ground to stand on.
They scattered in every direction.
Those atop the gate tower fled at the sight of the flames climbing the structure.
Those behind the gate were driven back by Gagyeongpil's central force, cut down from horseback by spears and crescent blades from higher ground.
The Imperial Guards fled into the alleys.
Sowoon abandoned his horse and ran.
The broad road to the county office lay empty of people.
War had broken out; they had all taken shelter somewhere.
He matched his pace to the thunder of hooves behind him.
Two gate guards stood before the county office entrance, frozen stiff.
The cavalry charging behind Sowoon frightened them more than he did.
They dropped their spears and fled to either side.
They saw no reason to give their lives for this.
Sowoon did not pursue them.
He smashed through the front gate and passed inside.
Three or four guards blocked his way.
With a single motion he severed the spearheads thrust toward him and forced his way through.
The magistrate rose from his chair.
"You wretches!"
He tried to shout, but no full voice came from his throat.
The two clerks at his sides bolted for the exit.
The sight of armored riders storming into the building broke their nerve completely.
Yang Johwi swept his blade through the furnishings.
Official instruments shattered and crashed to the floor.
The magistrate's face drained of color.
His legs trembled so violently he could not move.
He stood frozen in place.
Sowoon hesitated.
Killing a man who could not resist was not a simple matter.
"Shall I kill him?"
He asked Johwi.
The thought of cutting down a defenseless man troubled him.
"Why are you asking me that, damn it?"
Johwi snapped, slashing down a stack of objects beside the magistrate.
The crash echoed loudly.
The magistrate wet himself.
"You seem a timid man. Why did you do this?"
"Why… what do you mean…"
The magistrate, small and thin, stammered.
"If you were going to tremble like this, why mobilize troops to attack Jinga Village?"
"To strike rebels—what reason does that need?"
Sowoon seized on the answer.
"Calling loyal men rebels is a convenient measure power uses to preserve itself.
Do you truly believe that to be the truth?"
"Whether it is true or not matters little.
If His Majesty declares someone a rebel, then he is a rebel."
Because Sowoon's voice was young, the magistrate's reply carried a brittle firmness.
"So even if they were not rebels, you summoned troops and requested reinforcements because the king said they were?"
"Yes."
"If I were in your position, I would not speak so carelessly before a man holding my life in his hands.
If you mobilized soldiers to preserve your post or seek promotion, then to preserve your life you would do far worse.
Would you not?"