I Became the Crown Prince of a Ruined Country

53 – Sinpyeonggun Yeompa

The progress of the war went as expected.

King Yan was shocked when the Xiongnu appeared in the kingdom, and ordered Yul-bok and Gyeong-jin to somehow make peace with the state of Zhao and return.

When the situation came to this, the main wave faction lost their right to speak and the main wave faction began to gain power. Yulbok hurriedly requested a meeting with Yeompa to settle the situation, but Yeompa did not budge.

If Yulbok, who is the main culprit of this war, says let’s stop fighting now, who will listen?

It was then that the government came to the fore. Guk Guk, who had been serving Yulbok, came out saying that he would meet Yeompa and build a negotiation.

This time, Yeompa also allowed an interview.

“You must have brought the conditions for an armistice, right?”

Yeompa sits in the seat of honor like a superior and speaks as if giving orders to the government.

It might stimulate his pride, but the government responded calmly, as if this level was nothing.

“Of course.”

“Listen.”

The Prime Minister suggested the maximum amount that could be presented in his line. To this extent, Ku Guk himself was confident that he would somehow persuade King Yeon.

While listening to the government, Yeompa spoke up.

“Whose idea was it?”

“What do you mean?”

“I expected that if it was the king of Yan I know and the superiors, they would surely take advantage of the weakening gap and attack. I was going to advance to the realm. But I noticed that and blocked it. From what I’ve seen, it doesn’t seem to be your idea. That’s why I’m asking. Whose idea is it?”

The Prime Minister kept his mouth shut and exercised his right to remain silent.

However, Yeompa did not ask the question because he wanted to hear the answer from the government.

“Young master of Yan as a hostage, right?”

“…Um.”

The Prime Minister tried to be as calm as possible, but he couldn’t fool Yeompa’s eyes.

“As expected. You were also that kid’s limbs. Were the conditions you brought this time also something that kid thought of?”

Yeompa tried to shake the state government to see if the successor of Pyeongwongun he had guessed was really Heidan, and to figure out how far Heidan had taken over as his own person in Yan.

Deciding that it was unreasonable to deceive Yeompa any longer, the government nodded obediently.

“…That’s right. It was the idea of Young master, who was a hostage back home.”

“For a kid, he’s quite good at judging the situation. I’m guessing he wasn’t living quietly in his home country. That’s why he would have brought in Pyeongwon-gun as my successor. He would have been able to see the situation in his country better since he was inside. Young master was quite smart. Gun, the Yan Dynasty.”

War broke out with the three tongues of Yulbok, but Heidan led the progress of the war.

Convince the Zhao army to carry out the war to protect the Yan army, secure Yan officials to claim peace, and end the war according to one’s intentions.

While Yeompa was evaluating Heedan, the government was surprised and asked back.

“Pyongwongun’s successor? What do you mean by that?”

“Hmm? Don’t you know? Well, it’s not like I’m going to show off in public.”

Yeompa noticed that Heidan was hiding the fact that he had inherited Pyeongwongun’s seal, and raised his evaluation to say that he had quite a bit of patience. He’s still young, so he’s supposed to brag about it, but he didn’t do that to his own person.

“Then I have nothing more to say.”

Yeompa, who had no intention of revealing the fact that Heidan was trying to hide, cut it off and the government did not demand any more. It was because I understood how self-centered the author of Yeompa was, even though it was a short meeting.

And there was no time to hold on to it any longer.

“And I have something to add to the conditions.”

“…Tell me.”

As various conditions flowed out of Yeompa’s mouth, the state official’s complexion gradually darkened.

If those conditions were Yeompa’s individual opinion, I would have tried to convince him somehow. Yeompa said that this was the direct meaning of King Jo, and even blocked the room for compromise.

In the end, the state government was able to sign an armistice treaty only after accepting all the conditions that Yeompa said.

§

The war between the Yan Dynasty and the Zhao Dynasty ended without causing any damage to each other, and the Yan Dynasty succeeded in sweeping out the Xiongnu with the quickly recalled army.

Everything went according to plan.

The people of Zhao grew to hate Yan more because of this incident, but the level was not so great compared to that of Qin.

“Yulbok was sacked, and the godfather, Janggeo, who was extremely opposed to the war, went upstairs.”

From noble mtl dot com

The content of the Armistice Treaty was representative.

As if the conditions presented through the government were not enough, Jo Nara put forward additional requirements.

Send out Yulbok, who insisted on war, and appoint Janggeo, the opposing faction, to the upper direction instead.

Not too long ago, the Yan Dynasty interfered with the Zhao Dynasty to expel Ye Ling. Now the situation in the two countries is completely reversed.

King Yeon accepted that condition. With the Xiongnu right in front of them, how could Yulbok be a big deal?

And add to that.

“I didn’t expect the territory exchange at all.”

“It seems that they thought this invasion was due to unstable borders. They would make it easier to defend next time by exchanging territories.”

Yan gives Gal, Muyang, and Peace, and Jo gives Yongtae, Bunmun, and Imrak.

It was a change that made it easier to defend from Jo Nara’s point of view, while tidying up the borderline that was a bit messy.

“With this, the winner of the war is decided.”

No matter who sees it, the one who intervened in internal affairs and changed the territory to their liking is not the winner.

Hankyung also agreed with what I said.

“First of all, it’s not an agreement where winners and losers are clearly divided, but it was Jo Nara who actually benefited the most.”

Even Jo Nara seemed to regard this war as their victory.

Looking at the fact that Yeompa, who earned time by completely defending against Yulbok, the captain of the Yan Dynasty, was given the title of Shinpyeonggun (信平君) despite the overwhelming inferiority of 1v4.

Akseung, who prevented Gyeongjin in his reign, was also recognized for his achievements by being sealed as Prince Muyang.

While Cho Na-ra was enjoying the joy of victory, I was also smiling and satisfied with the outcome of this war.

Did the motherland lose? Although Yan is nominally the motherland, there are too few good memories of Yan to be heartbroken that they lost.

But that doesn’t mean I’m happy that Yan lost. I am happy because my treatment has improved through this war.

There are two major reasons for this war in the Yan Dynasty. One was that the envoys were neglected, and the other was that the treatment of me as a hostage was not befitting my status. Both cases amounted to diplomatic rudeness.

The practical reason is to take advantage of the weakness of Jo Nara, but externally, that was the cause of the war.

Despite the actual defeat in the war, the Yan Dynasty obtained improvements for those two people from the Zhao Dynasty in order to preserve face to some extent.

In other words, I received Jo Na-ra’s promise that future envoys would not be neglected, and that my treatment as a hostage would be changed to suit my status.

Expanding my position and expanding my range of activities through a war that may cost my life.

“Isn’t this a consolation call?”

“But haven’t you seen the letter from the father-in-law? The real problem lies in the future, Master Young master.”

Hankyung immediately poured cold water on me, as if the sight of me intoxicated with myself seemed unsightly.

It would have been nice to let him be a little satisfied with this great achievement, but Hankyung said that worrying too much is his mask.

“I know. Me too. I heard Yeompa was eager to see me?”

“Didn’t Mr. Chu warn you that if he didn’t like it at all, he would overturn the blackout and put Young master on a pole and give a precept?”

At first, when I saw it, I thought it would be like that, no matter how desperate it was, but after reading the letter from the Prime Minister, my attitude changed. It was because he realized that if he was a Yeompa, he was a great person who would put his words into practice.

“When did you say you’re coming? Yeompa.”

Yeompa was scheduled to return to Handan only after completing all of the stabilization work in Gal, Muyang, and Pyeongsi, which were newly incorporated into the territory of the Zhao Dynasty.

I think I should have been on my way to Handan by now.

“Can’t you arrive within 15 days at the latest?”

“It’s a full moon…”

Long if long, short if short.

However, unlike Hankyung, I prepared for a conversation with Yeompa as soon as I received a call from Chuyeon. A fortnight was plenty of time to finish all the preparation work.

In an encounter with Yeompa, it is difficult to borrow the wisdom of Shin Leung-gun. Yeompara must prove his worth alone against his titans.

‘But this was the same for Pyeongwon-gun and Sinreung-gun.’

So even though I was trembling, I wasn’t afraid.

I thought so.

“Yes. Are you that kid called Heidan?”

‘Where do you see this, a 60th birthday grandfather?’

The salt waves I encountered were more brutal than I could have imagined.