I Prayed for a Murim Reincarnation, But I Was Born as the Youngest Imperial Prince - Chapter 11

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 12
Seonwu did not have much of a connection with the General Dan Clan.
He had merely learned about the prominent families of this nation through Grand Scholar Jin.
In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, weren’t the Xun, Zhou, and Lu families considered the major prestigious clans?
Even during the Joseon Dynasty, the Andong Kim clan and others were the renowned families.
‘There were far more powerful local clans during the Goryeo period.’
Just like that, there were prestigious families in the current Empire as well.
Apart from the martial arts clans of the Wulin, these were noble families whose goal was to enter government service in the Imperial Court, but their numbers were actually far greater than those of the Wulin clans.
However, among such families, there were bound to be those that were particularly prosperous.
“If it is General Dan, is he not a master from a quite prestigious family? What is the matter?”
He was not one of the Eight Great Generals or the Two Admirals who occupied the ranks of the Ten Great Masters of the Court.
However, he was known to be one of the Transcendental Experts situated just below them.
He held a reasonably high position.
The court ladies hurriedly prostrated themselves, but since a prince was asking, they could not dare to refuse to answer.
“Yes, Your Highness. It is said that because General Dan suffered a great defeat while defending the border and caused many soldiers to be harmed, he is being held accountable and may face execution beyond just being stripped of his official rank.”
“Hmm? Just how badly did he lose…”
In truth, it was a matter for the Imperial Court to handle on its own.
If his royal father had made a decision, it was not something the youngest prince should carelessly speak about.
However, at the mention that an entire family might ruin, Seonwu became intensely curious about what had happened.
‘A defeat….’
He must have lost to the Demonic Monsters.
In the future, once he passed his coming-of-age ceremony, wouldn’t he receive a Princely Title and have to take responsibility for national defense in his own way?
‘Of course, I will receive Henan Province, which is in the interior and does not border the frontier, so it will be much easier….’
Even so, he could not afford to be complacent.
* * *
Seonwu intended to speak with Grand Scholar Jin to find out how General Dan had been defeated and what kind of punishment he would receive.
“It was a disastrous defeat, however….”
“Which is all the more reason to know the cause and be on guard, is it not? Although I am only about to turn eight years old, I am one destined to serve my royal father and contribute to the national defense of this country in the future. I wish to use this as a lesson from another’s failure.”
It was simply out of curiosity, but he attached a plausible justification.
“You are truly wise.”
Grand Scholar Jin bowed his head and said he would gather the information.
After about two hours had passed, he returned and handed the documents to Seonwu.
Examining the nature of the battle, Seonwu’s eyes widened.
‘Wow, this battle looks like something I’ve seen somewhere before.’
Since martial arts novels were his main interest, he had not delved deeply into the military history of famous generals.
Because of that, things he didn’t know in his past life didn’t suddenly come back to his memory now.
Even so, it was a tactic so exquisite that it felt familiar.
The problem was that it was executed by the enemy, not the allies.
When he thought of Demonic Monsters, he had pictured an endless horde of simple and ignorant beasts charging forward.
‘Feints, maneuvers, central breakthroughs, ambushes, pincer attacks from the left and right…. No, isn’t this an incredibly brilliant tactic?’
This was not a clash between a horde of beasts and an army.
It was a clash between an army and another army of a different species.
And….
‘It’s true that General Dan lost, but….’
Although it was indeed a crushing defeat….
‘The enemy is a brilliant commander.’
You know how it is.
Someone might actually be a prodigy, but if their opponent is someone like Napoleon or Subutai, they just get unilaterally smashed to pieces.
And this is a Demonic Monster?
A sense of vigilance suddenly welled up fiercely inside Seonwu.
Meanwhile, he had subconsciously thought of the Demonic Monsters as an enemy replacing the Northern Yuan.
In addition to that, even including the Demonic Practitioners on the inside, he had a lingering feeling that they were just remnants of the losing side anyway.
But they were capable of deploying tactics of this caliber?
“Grand Scholar Jin.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Do all the hordes of Demonic Monsters use such sophisticated tactics?”
If so, that would be a massive problem.
Or were the generals on their side also brilliant commanders?
“No, Your Highness. This case is extremely exceptional, which is why the Great Generals are also keeping a close eye on it.”
“Hmm, then from General Dan’s perspective, he must have been caught off guard by thinking of it as usual.”
“However, as one entrusted with the soldiers of the state, he grew complacent, lost a massive force, and endangered the border, so how could his crime not be heavy?”
Seonwu fell into thought for a moment.
‘Of course, it is right that the decision is up to my royal father.’
“Grand Scholar, since you are already gathering them, bring a few more records regarding other battles with the Demonic Monsters that took place before this.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
After another two hours or so, the scholar returned with a few more documents.
After reviewing them, Seonwu came to a conclusion.
‘This really was an exception.’
In other battles, the movements of the Demonic Monsters were closer to the horde of beasts that Seonwu had imagined.
Though they possessed their own cunning, it was absolutely not the kind of sophisticated tactical maneuvering seen for the first time here.
Of course, one must always be on guard. Complacency is forbidden. But….
It was also understandable that it would be hard to imagine the enemy’s tactical capability suddenly skyrocketing like this.
Of course, if someone had responded well without missing this situation and blocked them, they would be called a brilliant commander, but….
‘The enemy was truly terrible here. Besides, looking at General Dan, although he fell for the feint and got caught by the enemy’s tactics early on, he tried his absolute best to salvage the situation.’
Instead of fleeing to save his own skin, he remained until the very end and fought desperately.
If the reinforcements had been delayed, he would have died in battle while guarding the rear.
Of course, is it a good thing for a general to die while making his soldiers retreat?
Though defeat is shameful, looking at the bigger picture, survival might be the right path, but still.
‘However, one cannot simply disparage that courage.’
Of course, he shouldn’t have lost the battle in the first place.
‘Given this, execution is a bit, hmm….’
Even if he receives punishment, can’t they keep him alive and give him another chance?
Perhaps because he himself had suffered so much in his past life, it felt somewhat pitiful to just end someone immediately because they failed once.
‘I also had a crisis from which I wouldn’t have been able to make a comeback if I hadn’t received help from that fellow Jun.’
What should he do.
‘If I bestow a favor upon this family using this opportunity, might there be an occasion where it gets returned later on? If not, then whatever.’
First, a sense of shared empathy from reflecting on his past self.
Second, with the mindset of scratching a lottery ticket, hoping that a reward might come someday.
Seonwu decided to step forward himself regarding this matter.
There was a finishing move to use at times like this.
Namely….
Acting Cute!
A fatal technique that was only possible because he was still a youngest child of a mere eight years old.
There was not the slightest bit of shame in using it.
Why?
Because he was eight years old.
Although he possessed memories of his forties, that felt somewhat like reading a book.
His current identity was clearly that of an eight-year-old.
Even so, before rushing to the Emperor, Seonwu grasped the situation first.
“Grand Scholar Jin, what is the public opinion of the Imperial Court regarding this matter? Is there truly talk that General Dan must be held responsible and executed?”
“That is so. As it is a great defeat unseen in the last twenty years, there are quite a few voices saying he must be executed to answer for his crime.”
Is the atmosphere starkly unyielding?
“Is there no other public opinion? Is there no opinion that even if he is held accountable, execution is excessive?”
“Victory and defeat are common occurrences for a soldier, and since the enemy was uniquely strong, public opinion stating that execution is excessive is also not small.”
This meant opinions were divided even within the Imperial Court.
If so, there was room for him to step in and alter the general trend.
“What is the ratio between the execution faction and the non-execution faction?”
“Ninety percent are for execution, while only about ten percent are cautiously speaking of sparing his life. It is a situation that will likely turn out that way unless something changes.”
“And my royal father has not made a decision yet?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
Good.
It was decided.
“I must see my royal father.”
I should go beg for a birthday present myself.
In a cute manner, fitting for an eight-year-old.
* * *
The Emperor was not someone you could meet just because you wanted to meet him.
This meant one must not carelessly visit without permission.
He was an august figure to whom even requesting an audience carelessly was forbidden for anyone.
However, the youngest prince was a special existence who could easily request it, and for whom permission was easily granted.
“You have exerted quite an effort over the past year. Your body has become much healthier.”
“I have worked hard for the day I can assist my royal father.”
“Seeing you speak so maturely, is there perhaps some special gift you wish to receive for this birthday?”
“Hehe, Your Royal Majesty truly knows this son well.”
An eight-year-old youngest prince was permitted to speak with a slight lisp in front of the Emperor!
This was something even his four older brothers could not do.
“What do you wish to receive? There should be an abundance of things like Spiritual Medicine or Secret Manuals.”
One might ask what kind of luxurious statement it was to say that Spiritual Medicine and Secret Manuals were overflowing, but.
‘They really were overflowing.’
In any case, going from the Peak Realm to the Transcendence Realm could not be done with Spiritual Medicine.
What was possible with the efficacy of medicine was only up to the Peak Realm.
And not to mention the Spiritual Pills offered to him from the Wulin, if he combined all the Spiritual Pills he could take out and eat from the Imperial Family’s medicine storehouse, they simply overflowed.
It was far too vast an amount to consume alone.
“This son wishes to obtain a person.”
“A person?”
“If I bestow a favor upon the General Dan Clan, I thought that perhaps they would assist me with all their might in the future.”
Personally, it was also a bit pitiful for him to suffer execution.
Though there is no excuse for a defeated general, if it was a special circumstance involving the sophisticated tactical maneuvers of the Demonic Monsters that differed from the norm, couldn’t it be taken into consideration a little?
Though he hoped the general would grow into a more prudent and outstanding commander so as not to repeat the same mistake hereafter.
“No solicitation to save his life should have reached you.”
‘As expected, he knows just about everything that happens around me.’
“It is merely this son’s own thought.”
“I know you gathered the records regarding his battle and the various battles prior to it. Although it was a great defeat caused by complacency, the movements of the Demonic Monsters this time did indeed deviate from normalcy.”
“That is deeply worrying in its own right. What if such a thing is repeated in the future?”
“It turned out that way because the leader, the Great Yoma who commanded the Demonic Monsters this time, was a special fellow. Fortunately, the Great General who went to reinforce them has subjugated it.”
That was a relief.
“However, since a fellow like that appeared once, a similar one could appear again.”
“That is true. In fact, this is not the first time either. Therefore, though it is a rare case, it is a precedent that should have been rightfully guarded against….”
Could it be that his royal father’s displeasure at the general’s negligence was added to the discussion of General Dan’s execution?
Reading that sign, Seonwu swallowed his saliva.
Could he end up getting scolded by his royal father for no reason?
Let’s use the finishing move here.
“Daddy, can’t it be done?”
Opening his eyes wide, he asked cutely with a baby smile that flashed dimples.
The Emperor laughed loudly at that sight.
“Hahat, do you wish to obtain him that much? Very well. Since it is also your birthday, why could I not grant a general another chance.”
“Oh, thank you.”
“However, because it is a matter you requested, making it widely known will make things troublesome for you in the future. Let us only secretly inform the Dan clan that there was a request from you.”
“Yes.”
That was enough.
Seonwu stood beside his royal father with a bright smile.
The Emperor raised his large hand and stroked his head.
“You rascal, to want a person rather than Spiritual Medicine or a Secret Manual as a gift. You have already realized that principle. Splendid.”
“Hehe.”
Seonwu wore a smile of victory.
‘This is what you call the power to whisper beside the Emperor.’
Who says only royal concubines or treacherous officials can do it.
A cute youngest son can do it too.
“I have one more request.”
“What is it?”
“Since General Dan has been saved, the souls of the officers and soldiers who died in the commander’s defeat must be resentful. This son wishes to summon monks and Daoists to hold at least a ceremony for them.”
“Hmm, that would mean you, who are practically a prince, will directly host it.”
Of course, the invited individuals would handle the actual work on their own.
However, who gave the order itself determined who became the top person responsible.
‘Does this also go against etiquette?’
But soldiers were precious lives too.
‘Even if the situation was difficult, so that it wasn’t solely General Dan’s fault, they too would need consolation.’
“Hmm, but the numbers are not to the extent that you, a prince, should directly host a Consolation Ceremony….”
“It is just that this son’s heart is troubled, so it is so.”
“If it were an army under your command, it would be different, but what will you do if a similar thing happens again after establishing a precedent?”
It was best not to have such a great defeat.
However, since the Demonic Monsters were a much greater threat than expected, another defeat could occur in the future.
“Um, uh…. Then couldn’t we just do it for them again? The authority of the Imperial Family won’t be diminished just because we comfort dead soldiers, right? It is not a Consolation Ceremony that this son is performing because I am responsible for the defeat, but merely because I pity them.”
The Emperor smiled.
‘You certainly possess a different disposition from your older brothers.’
A king’s path unique to the youngest would be fine as well.
“Very well. Do as you please.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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