The novel has already been fully translated up to the final chapter. You can access it on my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/c/caleredhair
Li Cheng-jae returned to the Goryeo royal capital, Ryukyo City, in a sorry state.
Looking at the prosperous capital, hailed as Goryeo’s Western Capital, he could imagine his elder brother’s scornful “Good-for-nothing” to mock him.
But compared to losing his life, what did losing dignity matter? Dead, he would have nothing, but alive, there was still hope.
“Hahaha, Li Cheng-jae, how many heads did you chop off in Dengzhou and bring back this time?” Just as Li Cheng-jae was hesitating whether to enter the city, a pair of Goryeo soldiers wearing red-tasseled round helmets stopped before him.
The one who spoke to mock Li Cheng-jae was indeed a young man about his age.
“Look how clean their hands are. They must have run back without killing a single person,” a soldier behind the young man sneered loudly.
Another soldier said, “Not only did they not kill anyone, but they probably lost a few of their own.”
After speaking, all the soldiers burst into laughter. At the same time, they raised the bloody heads in their hands, seemingly showing off to Li Cheng-jae.
“Hmph, every fishing village in Dengzhou is heavily guarded. There are soldiers in full armor guarding the villages. How easy is it for two hundred men to attack a village? What I, Li Cheng-jae, cannot do, you, Kim Chang-seo, will not be able to do so easily either.”
Li Cheng-jae’s face was ashen. He looked at the fierce-looking soldiers behind Kim Chang-seo and said, “The heads in your hands are probably not from Great Yu Empire citizens, but from indiscriminately killed Goryeo common people to make up the numbers.”
Kim Chang-seo’s pupils suddenly contracted. Li Cheng-jae had hit the mark regarding the origin of these heads.
This time, many ships that went to Goryeo returned empty-handed. So, to claim merit, many generals set their sights on the Goryeo common people. They killed some common people from remote villages and brought back their heads.
“You yourself are a good-for-nothing, so does that mean everyone else is a good-for-nothing too?” Kim Chang-seo looked at Li Cheng-jae arrogantly. He and Li Cheng-jae were both second sons in their families.
This adventurous outing was all about performing well in front of their fathers, to shake off their inferior status at home.
This time, to repay Japan’s reparations, the King of Goryeo promised that anyone who beheaded ten Great Yu Empire common people would be promoted to squad leader, one hundred would be promoted to centurion, and one thousand would be promoted to chiliarch.
One-tenth of the plundered wealth submitted to the national treasury could be kept. At the same time, according to their official rank, they could also receive residences and land.
Most importantly, this time, the plunder did not differentiate between nobles and ordinary soldiers. As long as one met the requirements, one could be promoted.
With such enormous temptation, from ordinary soldiers to generals, they all flocked to the Great Yu Empire.
“Who is a good-for-nothing, who knows in their heart.” Li Cheng-jae and Kim Chang-seo were at loggerheads. In official circles, their fathers were rivals, so there was strong animosity between the two.
Pursing his lips, Kim Chang-seo flashed the head in his hand. “Too lazy to argue with you. Now I’m going to claim my merit with this head.”
With that, Kim Chang-seo ignored Li Cheng-jae and swaggered into Ryukyo City.
Li Cheng-jae gritted his teeth. This time, he truly lost to Kim Chang-seo.
When he returned, soldiers had also suggested this to him, but he ultimately didn’t have the heart to do it. Now, looking at the triumphant Kim Chang-seo, he felt a mix of emotions.
The soldiers who accompanied him to Goryeo this time were his family’s private soldiers. Now, they had achieved no merit and had lost twenty soldiers. His father would not give him a second chance.
As he was contemplating, a palanquin came out of the city and stopped before him.
At this moment, he and his soldiers simultaneously knelt. This palanquin belonged to his father.
The palanquin curtain was lifted, and a middle-aged man with a large beard and a fierce face walked out.
The middle-aged man looked at his disheveled private soldiers, then kicked Li Cheng-jae in the chest.
Li Cheng-jae felt a sharp pain in his chest, then a great force sent him tumbling to the ground.
“You have completely disgraced the Li family! I only regret not strangling you back then! Get out! Never appear in Ryukyo City again!” Li Hyuk-jae roared.
When he arrived, he saw Kim Chang-seo returning with a rich bounty, which made him even more enraged. If he hadn’t been worried about his eldest son’s safety, he would not have let Li Cheng-jae go to the Great Yu Empire.
But he hadn’t expected Li Cheng-jae not only to fail to achieve any merit but also to be completely inflexible. All the credit this time had been snatched by others.
And how many of these heads were from the Great Yu Empire, and how many were from Goryeo?
Now, Japan was in the south, and Goryeo people from the occupied territories were constantly fleeing north. Who would care if a few people died?
Li Cheng-jae’s eyes gradually reddened. His mother was merely a singer from the courtesan bureau. Because of this, he had never seen his mother since he was born.
His status at home was also like that of a servant. This time, he almost lost his life in the Great Yu Empire, and upon returning, he had to endure his father’s humiliation.
At this moment, Li Cheng-jae was enraged. His eyes were bloodshot. Getting up, he said word by word, “Sooner or later, I will make you regret this.”
Having said that, Li Cheng-jae headed south without looking back.
“Go! Don’t come back! Your lowly mother is in Haigucheng. I truly doubt you’re even my son!” Li Hyuk-jae kept shouting, but Li Cheng-jae left him only a determined back.
…
On the sea two hundred li south of Haigucheng, the Qingzhou warships were arranged in a single line, advancing towards Haigucheng with two hundred meters between each ship.
The leading flagship, the Emperor, was a second-rate sailing warship, already a behemoth in naval warfare.
At this time, Liu Chen, Xie Yuan, and other naval generals were all gathered on the Emperor warship, discussing how to encircle and annihilate the remaining Goryeo warships.
“Liu Chen, you lead the left wing. Xie Yuan, you lead the right wing. We will sandwich them from three sides, letting no Goryeo warship escape,” Yue Yun spread a map of Haigucheng on a low table, with the generals gathered in a circle.
“Yes, General, I will absolutely not let any Goryeo warship escape,” Liu Chen said excitedly.
This time, not every village that Goryeo attacked in the Great Yu Empire had an old veteran like Gao Shan in Blackrock Village.
Over eight hundred soldiers died at the hands of Goryeo soldiers this winter.
Every time they arrived at a plundered village, Liu Chen’s hatred for Goryeo increased. For years, they had been brutally bullied by Japanese pirates disguised as Goryeo people. Previously, they had no means to fight back and could only endure it, but now it was different. They had warships, and finally, they no longer had to swallow their anger.
Xie Yuan seemed still shaken by the previous encounter with the British warship. He said, “Fighting Goryeo is easy, but dealing with Western warships might not be so simple.”
Liu Chen was excited when Xie Yuan poured cold water on him. He angrily said, “You can’t defeat the British, does that mean everyone can’t defeat the British? General Yue Yun once sank a British warship!”