Chapter 89. Distributing Merit — The Bear Performs, Another Takes the Reward
A banquet was held to celebrate the victory.
Many tribes gathered.
The number of attendees exceeded the original three thousand seven hundred who had fought.
It surpassed ten thousand riders.
Wanyan Enga swiftly integrated and reorganized the forces, forming an army of ten thousand.
Those who had witnessed success rushed to join.
In the past, they would have imposed conditions.
Now, they accepted everything Enga demanded.
They agreed to break apart tribal units and reorganize into military formations without hesitation.
Even when their own tribal chiefs were not placed in command, no one protested.
Above all, the tribal leaders openly supported Aguda.
They had seen the future in his victory.
Those who had not taken part in the battle were given nothing.
Much was sacrificed to uphold what Young-woo had called fairness.
Fairness did not mean equal distribution.
That was made clear to all.
A large portion of the spoils was set aside for future wars, and even that was accepted.
Meanwhile, Young-woo shut himself inside his tent.
Through the battle, he had applied what he had learned.
He knew he had changed.
So Cheol-ryong kept asking what he should do with his share.
Young-woo told him he had no interest—handle it himself.
Cheol-ryong traded what he received, then traded again, steadily growing his wealth.
So Cheol-un chuckled.
"The bear does the tricks…"
The phrase sounded strange.
It made Young-woo the bear, and Cheol-un the master.
Gyeong-taek laughed quietly.
Cheol-ryong glared.
"Say that outside and I'll kill you."
"As long as the lieutenant doesn't hear it, what's the problem?"
"I asked him! He told me to handle it myself!"
"I know. I know."
While the three of them grumbled idly, Aguda arrived with his retinue.
The Goryeo soldiers immediately stood.
All the Wanyan leaders gathered—
Ogulma, Jongmang, Jonghan, Huiyun, Enga, and Sarigal.
Aguda's core commanders were all present.
Gyeong-taek rushed ahead to announce them,
but Young-woo had already sensed it and stepped out.
The day was clear.
White sunlight poured down warmly.
He narrowed his eyes against the brightness and bowed.
Aguda gestured inside.
"You must be busy. What brings you here?"
Jongmang spoke first.
"I told him. The credit for this battle belongs to the vanguard, and that credit belongs entirely to you."
Young-woo smiled lightly.
"We fought together. It's meaningless to argue over whose merit it is. I have no intention of claiming it."
Ogulma let out a low sigh.
"Incredible…"
In a world where men boasted of merit even when they had slain no enemy,
he refused to claim any.
Humility was expected of Goryeo men—but this went beyond that.
"We came to commend your achievement and discuss what comes next."
"There is nothing to commend. I came to fight, and the battle ended well—that is enough.
I hear my men have already received generous spoils.
Honestly, it feels embarrassing… as if I fought for that."
Outside, Gyeong-taek stifled laughter.
The soldiers joked about "the bear,"
while the commanders praised his humility.
In the end, the conversation returned to Aguda.
"Did you foresee the battle unfolding like this? Everything followed your words."
Young-woo spoke slowly.
"I once heard that the Liao feared the Jurchen gaining iron.
I wondered why.
I realized it meant they feared heavily armored cavalry.
If such forces existed, the enemy would collapse helplessly."
"How did you know of the old Iron Pagoda cavalry?"
"In Liao and Xia, they call them Iron Hawks. Among the Jurchen, they are Iron Pagoda.
Since we cannot fully equip them yet, I suggested layering armor.
Once properly armored, heavy cavalry cannot be stopped.
But armor brings weight.
Lose mobility, and it is all meaningless.
Steppe armies fall when they lose mobility.
In this battle, the enemy had none.
They simply waited.
Mobility must never be lost.
This victory—
it belongs to a mobile force clad in armor."
The words made sense, yet they wandered.
He repeated himself, circling the same ideas.
Outside, Gyeong-taek quietly laughed.
Aguda spoke again.
"You led from the front."
"The soldiers followed well. Ha… mobility truly matters. I realized that again."
Where words failed, he smiled.
People chose to understand him favorably.
He did not concern himself with whether that helped him or not.
Even that appeared as humility.
He never spoke of what he had done.
Aguda nodded.
He acknowledged the man.
"So—what comes next? That is why we are here."
Young-woo turned to Enga.
"Have we reached ten thousand cavalry?"
"Ten thousand?"
"Yes. It is said that once the Jurchen have ten thousand Iron Pagoda cavalry, nothing in the world can oppose them."
Enga answered.
"With the tribes joining, we have reached that number."
"And the Iron Pagoda?"
"Just under three thousand."
It was military intelligence.
Yet they did not hide it from him.
"Train those already organized. Then choose the next objective.
And… should we not establish a state?"
He said three things in a single breath.
The commanders hesitated.
He continued.
"The breakthrough power of the Iron Pagoda must be strengthened.
The mounted archers' support fire is inconsistent."
Jongmang lowered his head.
"My apologies."
"I may not know much, but we should move west.
Call it a western campaign.
They claim descent from Joseon and Buyeo.
Then the lands of ancient Buyeo will be the next target."
Jonghan bowed deeply.
"That is correct. Buyeo Province—Huanglong Prefecture.
It is the core among the five capitals."
Young-woo smiled.
"Then we think alike. Our next objective is Huanglong.
Securing Buyeo means inheriting the legacy of the ancient Liaodong wars."
He turned to Huiyun.
The strategist, who had been relaxed, straightened.
"You mean me?"
"Yes. Prepare what is needed to found a state.
We must establish it at once."
"Me? Found a state?"
Aguda struck his knee and laughed.
No one could have stated it more clearly.
The three points Young-woo made were the essence of everything.
Build a state.
Strengthen the army.
Choose the direction of conquest.
They had thought of these things,
but had never spoken them so plainly.
Hearing him, everything became clear.
He spoke in a scattered way—
yet he always said exactly what needed to be said.