Beginning with the Ubume Bird - chapter 55

Chapter 55: The Lady of the Haengju Fortress
Interpreter Song took one look at Kobayakawa’s corpse and ran to Li Yan.

“Do you know who that man is?”

“Seeing that he’s guarded by the Japanese troops, he must be of high status,” Li Yan answered as he studied Kobayakawa’s magatama beads.

“He was the son of Kobayakawa Takakage! The famous samurai!” Kobayakawa Takakage was the commander of Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s sixth army. His status was as high as his target, Konishi Yukinaga.

Li Yan was shocked.

“So it seems like I’ve made a big contribution for the Chinese army?”

“You will definitely be promoted!” Interpreter Song exclaimed with conviction.

Li Yan looked at Interpreter Song and said, “We’ve already come so far. I won’t forget about your contributions along the way. If I do get promoted, you will as well.”

Interpreter Song’s face turned red as Li Yan teased him.

When the Japanese attacked, Interpreter Song had hidden himself away, unwilling to take part in the fight. Not only was his intellect not of much use in battle, he was lucky enough to have not gotten hurt.

There were so many of the Chinese soldiers out there who risked their lives to fight the Japanese. He felt ashamed as he cleared his throat and replied, “Commander Lee, you have greatly underestimated the Joseon people. We would never take credit for work we haven’t put in.”

“Oh, haha,” answered Li Yan, playing with his wristband.

…

“Diao! Diao!”

The old soldier slowly opened his eyes and saw Deng Tianxiong’s face. The sun reflecting off the snow was too bright. Deng turned his head and saw the new grave they had built for the dead.

“Diao, how are you feeling now?”

He saw Blind Diao’s fingers move and almost cried out for fear of losing another brother.

“Don’t worry, he won’t die anytime soon,” Li Yan remarked as he walked towards them.

“Staying alive seems to be the bigger problem,” said Blind Diao hoarsely.

“Commanderl Li, let me be clear. If I become a burden…”

“Let me be clear, I will bring you back!” Li Yan interrupted as he glanced at the old man and added a stick in the bonfire, causing it to crackle.

Blind Diao tried to say something, but instead he turned his head away.

“You beheaded the Japanese commander despite your injury. Why? Trying to get a reward so your son can have a good life?”

Blind Diao didn’t answer his question.

Li Yan looked at Deng Tianxiong, who said, “The Emperor has announced that beheading a normal Japanese soldier will be rewarded with two maces. Killing a soldier from the red-armored troops will be rewarded with a hundred maces.”

Li Yan thought about it and said to Blind Diao, “You’re afraid that I will claim your merits as mine.”

“Commander, that’s not what he meant.”

“I know,” Li Yan nodded and stood up.

“Everyone,” he drew all of the men’s attention as he spoke. “It’s not an easy route back home. I understand that you guys are risking your lives, relying on me.”

He paused before continuing, “Although I am your commander, my title is not that big. You must know that going back with me won’t grant you any awards or promotions. I’m guessing that the other general commander who lost his battle is still being punished now.”

One of the soldiers said, “Commander Li, we know how hard you tried to protect all of us.”

Everyone agreed with him and began to comment.

“A lot of us here would have been dead without you.”

Killing Kobayakawa, making arrangements along the way, using those special weapons. and saving their lives had already made Li Yan’s subordinates trust him unconditionally.

Li Yan raised his hand to request silence.

“The purpose of me delivering this speech is not for you all to thank me. Instead, I want to make a promise.” He looked around before continuing, “I am leading you all to wealth and higher status, not pushing you to death.”

He squinted, “I believe that my kung fu is better than any of those useless general commanders of China.”

He raised up a bowl of water and said with a firm tone, “The government will surely send more troops over because of today’s loss. That will be the time we make rapid advances in our careers.”

Li Yan pointed at the corpse on the ground.

“The awards obtained from killing this man will be shared by all of us, and I will contribute my share to the families of the two brothers who died. I hope I have made myself clear that if you trust me and are willing to follow my lead, I promise you a wealthy life and decent status after the war.”

Everyone was shocked, and Blind Diao was touched.

The least trustworthy people are those who like to inflate their achievements, but Li Yan wasn’t bragging. He was indeed capable.

Li Yan had wanted to deliver this speech for a long time but hadn’t yet found the chance. He finally seized this moment to say all of this. Li didn’t expect these men to obey him completely from now on, he just wanted them to know that he was worthy of their trust.

Deng Tianxiong was the first one to step up. “Commander Li, I won’t repeat what I have already said. Even if you had not said this, I will always follow your lead.”

Everyone stood up with determination and certainty of the following days.

Blind Diao couldn’t move, but sighed as he leaned onto a stone, “As long as General Li does not think I am an old burden, I will contribute as much as I can.”

Interpreter Song was standing not too far away, with mixed feelings about what Li Yan had just said.

Li Yan tightened his lips and nodded.

“Let’s go.”

The group walked for another half day. Wang Sheng suddenly shouted as they were about to walk out of this mountain.

“Do you guys hear a woman singing…?”

Li Yan stopped and listened for a while.

“I think so. But I’m not sure…”

One of the soldiers frowned. Li Yan was surprised at Interpreter Song’s facial expressions. He looked amazed, confused, and shocked.

“Interpreter Song, what do the lyrics mean?”

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“The lady of the Haengju Fortress…”

“What?”

Interpreter Song tried to calm himself down and said, “There is a story about the lady of the Haengju Mountain being spread in Pyongyang. She was the sixteenth wife of Tsuneo, the son of God. Tsuneo didn’t return after losing his battle, and the lady kept waiting for him on the mountain.”

Li Yan rubbed his neck and laughed, “The daughter-in-law of the Joseon Gods?”

At the top of the Haengju Fortress, a lady sang while holding a little girl’s hand, watching them leave the mountain.