My Younger Siblings Are the Greatest Masters in the World - Chapter 115

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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115.

“Brother, where are you going?”

“To send off Gwak Jongoh.”

“Huh? You killed Gwak Jongoh? Already?”

“I wanted to make him suffer more, but this isn’t a place where only we are present.”

If other people saw Gwak Jongoh, they would surely be frightened.

Seol Changho spoke to Seol Mujin in a small voice.

“Brother, the maids are calling us young masters.”

“Pfft!”

Seol Mujin spat out the water he was drinking and let out a ‘kuk kuk kuk’ laugh.

“Can’t we do something about this title?”

“Hmm… I can’t think of a suitable title? Young master isn’t bad either.”

Seol Mujin’s lips twitched as he tried to hold back his laughter.

“Tsk! I need to grow up quickly.”

“Even if you can collapse mountains with a single sword strike, there’s no way to age quickly. Young masters. Kuk kuk!”

Seol Ryeoseon spoke with her cheeks puffed up.

“When we return, I’ll have to beat up that guy in black.”

“Beat up what?”

“Tell him to find a way to grow quickly. It’s inconvenient in many ways because we’re too young.”

Seol Changho agreed too.

“That’s right. We have to use disguise arts and being called young masters… Haah!”

Seol Mujin smiled as he watched the triplets eating with dissatisfied faces.

“I like how you look though? I wish you’d stay in that cute form forever.”

“Brother, don’t curse us.”

“Kuk kuk kuk.”

As Seol Mujin burst into laughter, urgent bell sounds could be heard from afar.

“What’s going on?”

“It must be saying we need to eat quickly.”

As Seol Changho said, the four people busily moved their chopsticks.

Just as their meal was almost finished, the voice of a soldier who came to deliver news could be heard from outside.

“Is the Commander inside?”

Seol Mujin put down his chopsticks and opened the door.

A Baekho in his mid-twenties was standing respectfully.

“What’s the matter?”

“A civil uprising has occurred near Gongson County, about two hundred li south of here.”

Civil uprisings were mostly riots started by people whose lives were difficult, saying it was the same whether they died this way or that way.

They would be hard to see in peaceful times, but in chaotic times like these, civil uprisings often occurred in various regions.

And most of those who died were usually common people armed with nothing but pickaxes and pitchforks.

“What’s the scale of the uprising?”

“Approximately five thousand people.”

“Five thousand?”

Most didn’t exceed three hundred, so five thousand meant there was a strong central figure.

“Who’s the leader?”

“A man named Ju Hyeongwang, said to be a local magnate of Gongson County.”

“Is he perhaps of royal blood?”

“I heard he’s from a collateral line.”

Since times were so suspicious, even those with just a little royal blood would rise up claiming to become emperor.

“Where is the Provincial Commander General?”

“He’s at the command post near the South Gate.”

“Understood.”

After sending away the Baekho, Seol Mujin spoke to the triplets.

“I’ll have to go to war too.”

The triplets were startled.

“Why is brother going to the battlefield?”

“If I don’t go, most of the common people participating in the uprising will die.”

Seol Changho said.

“That’s natural. They’re no different from traitors.”

“Do you think the common people participating in the uprising rose up hoping for wealth and glory? They’re either exhausted by tyranny, or if local magnates are at the center, most were probably forced to join. That’s not a crime deserving death.”

“What are you planning to do there?”

“If I just eliminate the leaders of the uprising, won’t they naturally disperse?”

Seol Changho spoke worriedly.

“That would be ideal, but the military will try to kill every last person. If you stop that, brother will be branded a traitor.”

“I’ll have to find a way.”

Since Seol Mujin had made his decision, there was no way for the triplets to stop him.

Seol Mantong said.

“Then we’ll go with you too.”

“No. You need to wait here for any Demonic Sect figures who might come. It would also be strange for children to go to a battlefield.”

Though Seol Mujin’s words were right, sending him alone to the battlefield didn’t sit well with them.

Seol Mujin said with a smile.

“The opponents are just powerless common people. You don’t need to worry.”

After comforting the triplets, Seol Mujin went to the command post at the South Gate.

There, twenty commanders including Provincial Commander Baek Gangju had gathered.

All eyes in the hall focused on Seol Mujin as he entered the command post.

Though Seol Mujin didn’t recognize most faces, they seemed to know him as their expressions hardened.

Among regional military figures, not one would view the Geumeuiwi favorably.

“Hmm! Commander Seol has arrived.”

As Baek Gangju stood up, the other commanders also hurriedly rose from their chairs.

“Don’t mind me and continue your meeting.”

Everyone looked to Baek Gangju for cues.

“Then let’s proceed with the meeting.”

As Baek Gangju sat down, he gestured to Jeong Cheonho, who was hanging a map on the wall and explaining the strategy.

Seol Mujin didn’t sit in a chair but leaned against the wall to listen to the explanation.

“Currently, the rebel army has seized eight surrounding counties centered on Gongson County and is advancing north.”

“Didn’t you say six counties earlier?”

“According to new information, two more counties have fallen in the meantime.”

Whether transmitted through Jeon Seoggu or by messenger, information delays were unavoidable.

“At this rate of advance, the occupied area will be even larger when we arrive.”

“That’s highly likely. They’re advancing with unstoppable momentum. Until this morning, reports said the rebel army was around five thousand, but we should probably estimate higher.”

“How much higher?”

“We should consider at least ten thousand.”

The meeting room stirred at the number ten thousand.

A general with Provincial Deputy Commander insignia on his shoulders spoke.

“We’re currently mobilizing about four thousand troops, and even if county military units join us, it’ll be about seven thousand, but the enemy has ten thousand?”

“Even if their numbers reach ten thousand, most are just farmers, so they’re nothing but a ragtag bunch.”

Even so, numbers couldn’t be ignored, as the training state of their own troops also couldn’t be called elite soldiers.

County-affiliated soldiers were mostly forces who engaged in livelihoods during peacetime and were conscripted to battlefields during wartime.

So they weren’t much different from the rebel army.

Baek Gangju pointed out this aspect.

“Except for the four thousand we’re mobilizing here, the rest can’t be considered regular troops. What’s Ju Hyeongwang’s core strength?”

“That’s… It’s a sudden uprising, so it’s difficult to assess the situation at present.”

They say if you know yourself and your enemy, you’ll never be defeated in a hundred battles, but not being able to gauge the enemy’s strength made this a troublesome situation.

The Deputy Commander spoke to Baek Gangju.

“It seems we have no choice but to go and clash with them head-on.”

“Of course we can’t avoid fighting, but charging in recklessly will result in significant casualties on our side.”

“But we can’t just keep gathering intelligence forever, can we?”

One of the Deputy Commanders chimed in agreement.

“If we hesitate, the central government might even start suspecting us.”

Seol Mujin, who had been silently observing the meeting, asked.

“What’s the reason the rebel army is heading north?”

When all eyes turned to Seol Mujin, Jeong Cheonho answered.

“Isn’t Beijing their target?”

His expression suggested it was obvious.

Seol Mujin said.

“So their plan is to conquer counties while snowballing their forces to take Beijing in one swift strike?”

“They’ve built up a force of ten thousand through that method so far.”

“If the rebels continue on that path, they’ll reach Henan Province. Is the Provincial Command Headquarters of Henan Province just sitting idle?”

“Of course they’re preparing on their end as well.”

“If the rebels continue advancing north like this, they could end up surrounded by Hubei Province forces and Henan Province forces.”

“Given the rebels’ advance speed, we’ll reach the battlefield before the Henan Province Command Headquarters. The rebels have to fight as they advance, so they’re bound to be slower.”

“Is there really a need for us to fight first with insufficient forces?”

“If we delay, the central government won’t stand for it.”

“Rushing into an unfavorable battle out of fear of the central government is foolish.”

Everyone present knew this.

But in the current political climate where a single document could make you a traitor, they had no choice but to opt for this foolish battle.

Baek Gangju asked Seol Mujin.

“Does Ch’ŏmsa Seol have the power to protect us from the central government?”

He asked just in case, but Seol Mujin waved his hand dismissively.

“A mere Geumeuiwi commander couldn’t possibly have such power.”

The expression ‘I thought so’ appeared on people’s faces.

Seol Mujin said.

“No matter how bad the situation is, shouldn’t we fight to win rather than fight an unfavorable battle?”

“A winning battle would be…?”

“Anyway, it’s a battle where we just need the rebel army to disappear, right?”

“That’s… right?”

“In the case of Ju Hyeongwang’s rebel army, it’s not organized but more like a popular uprising, so if we just eliminate the leader, they’ll naturally scatter.”

“That’s true, but how do you propose to eliminate the leader?”

Seol Mujin studied the map for a long time.

“That spot with the banner must be where Ju Hyeongwang is located, right?”

Jeong Cheonho said.

“Currently, he should be positioned further north.”

Seol Mujin approached the map and pointed to a location.

“Then it would be around here, right?”

“That should be roughly correct.”

Good roads are essential for moving large numbers at once.

So the paths available to Ju Hyeongwang’s rebel army were inevitably limited.

Seol Mujin moved his finger along the roads and pointed to one location.

“What kind of place is this?”

The place Seol Mujin pointed to was called Seojin Plain.

Jeong Cheonho answered.

“It’s wasteland.”

“A perfect place for large numbers to camp. No, they’ll have to camp here. It would take a full day to cross those mountains.”

Jeong Cheonho asked.

“What’s the point of such assumptions? It would take us at least two weeks to get from here to Seojin Plain. By then, Ju Hyeongwang’s rebel army will be near Henan.”

“What if we could get there in three days instead of two weeks?”

Not only Jeong Cheonho but everyone in the hall looked incredulous.

Their faces clearly said, ‘As expected, the Geumeuiwi know nothing about military matters.’

“You’re talking about something impossible. Four thousand soldiers plus reinforcements joining midway marching there in three days? Absolutely impossible.”

“Do we really need to move all our forces just to kill Ju Hyeongwang and a few key leaders? I think five hundred elite soldiers would suffice.”

“What are you saying? Fight an army of ten thousand with five hundred men?”

“What we want is to suppress the rebel army, not annihilate them completely.”

Several generals nodded.

“That’s right.”

Seol Mujin drew a circle around Seojin Plain with charcoal.

“Let’s say the rebel army is camping like this. Where would the leadership be?”

“They’d be positioned in the center.”

That was common knowledge even for someone with little military knowledge.

Seol Mujin drew another small circle in the center of his original circle.

“If the leadership is here, we just need to take out that leadership.”

Seol Mujin drew a line from south to north, cutting the circle in half.

“We enter from the south like this, quickly eliminate the leadership, then exit to the north. Simple, right?”

Everyone looked at Seol Mujin with incredulous expressions.

The explanation might be simple, but breaking through the center of an enemy formation of ten thousand, killing their leadership, and escaping could hardly be simple.

Baek Gangju said.

“Are you saying this operation is possible with five hundred cavalry, Ch’ŏmsa Seol?”

“Of course. Though the enemy numbers ten thousand, if we break through the center like this, we’ll face at most two thousand enemies. We can kill Ju Hyeongwang and get out before the enemy can respond. It would take this long at most.”

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