On the smoke-filled battlefield, the Great Yu Empire soldiers cheered for victory.
After the barbarian cavalry retreated, they successfully occupied the barbarian camp. The Battle of Haigucheng finally ended in a hard-won victory.
Ye Qingyun smiled broadly. For him, this was more worthy of pride than defeating the Princes of Wei, Yan, and Zhao.
Decades of humiliation were fully vented in this battle.
“What a pity. If Qi Guangyi were here, Beshan and his men wouldn’t have escaped,” Ye Qingyun surveyed the battlefield, feeling a touch of regret.
Zou Cheng heard this and said, “The Emperor’s decree is for us to force the King of Goryeo to comply. Beishan is secondary.”
Ye Qingyun nodded. Regardless, Haigucheng was defended. Their purpose for coming to Haigucheng this time had been achieved.
Then he asked, “Oh, by the way, where is Li Cheng-jae?”
“General, I’m here,” Li Cheng-jae’s voice rang out.
At this moment, Li Cheng-jae’s eyes held a hint of awe. For these four days, he and the Great Yu Empire soldiers had experienced this battle together.
He had personally witnessed how the Great Yu Empire had repelled the barbarian attacks step by step, finally defeating the barbarian cavalry outside the city in one fell swoop.
This shocking experience made him feel humbled. The Great Yu Empire was no longer the Great Yu Empire of the past; it was a rising, powerful nation.
This further solidified his intention to follow the Great Yu Empire’s path. Perhaps the next King of Goryeo would be him. At this moment, his ambition expanded infinitely.
Ye Qingyun scrutinized Li Cheng-jae. He said, “You go to Ryukyo City. This King of Goryeo should also understand what he needs to do now.”
“Yes, General.” Li Cheng-jae felt a surge of excitement.
The first time he went, he was nervous, but now he was full of confidence. The barbarians were defeated; what else could the King of Goryeo rely on?
At the same time, as Haigucheng achieved victory, Yue Yun gained control of Bisa Castle.
After the rout, Goryeo soldiers scattered and fled, no longer able to launch attacks on the marines. He also discovered Kim Dong’s body in a residence in Bisa Castle.
According to the confessions of Goryeo soldiers, this Kim Dong was the commanding general of Bisa Castle.
“I didn’t expect them to start fighting among themselves before we even broke in,” Liu Chen said, his demeanor relaxed. After the Goryeo soldiers’ rout, the battle became much easier.
Yue Yun glanced at Kim Dong’s corpse, then looked at the gold and silver jewelry beside him, saying disdainfully, “He must have deserted and been killed by other generals. That general was a true man.”
Liu Chen didn’t care what happened to Kim Dong. He suddenly looked at a transparent stone in Liu Chen’s box.
He picked it up and said to Yue Yun, “General, what is this?”
Yue Yun looked at the transparent stone in Liu Chen’s hand. It resembled glass. He then suddenly remembered something and said, “Oh, by the way, didn’t the Mining Department send someone here this time?”
Liu Chen also recalled it. He said, “That’s right. The person from the Mining Department might recognize this. He specifically followed us to Bisa Castle.”
With that, Liu Chen immediately sent for the person from the Mining Department.
Soon, a young man dressed in the Mining Department’s attire arrived in the room. Yue Yun handed the item to him.
“This is a diamond,” Li Tai said. He was the person dispatched by the Mining Department this time.
Yue Yun and Liu Chen immediately smiled upon hearing this. They had never heard of such a thing. He said, “What kind of stone is this that it can be worthy of the word ‘diamond’?”
Li Tai said matter-of-factly, “Because this stone is very hard. It can even be used to cut glass and as tools. It is clearly recorded in the books of Bowen Academy that there are many of these near Bisa Castle, which is why the Mining Department dispatched me to search for them on site. It seems this place indeed has them.”
Yue Yun and Liu Chen were only responsible for fighting. Although they couldn’t understand things like tools, they felt this item was very impressive.
“So this Bisa Castle is indeed a treasure trove,” Yue Yun said with a sigh.
Li Tai’s face was somewhat excited. He listed them off, as if counting his family treasures, “That’s not all. Near Bisa Castle, there are also deposits of limestone, silica, asbestos, magnesite, talc, and also large iron mines and placer deposits. There are also some copper and lead-zinc mines, but in smaller quantities.”
Liu Chen was dumbfounded. He felt a bit jealous. After all, soldiers and scholars usually didn’t get along. He said, “You haven’t even gone to look, so how do you know everything?”
“Everything is in the books,” Li Tai said, completely unconcerned by Liu Chen’s attitude.
Yue Yun smiled. He used to never read books, but ever since he joined Xiao Ming’s command, he first learned to read under Xiao Ming’s guidance, and then began reading various military treatises. Because of this, he no longer had the same prejudice against scholars as before.
He said, “Since that is the case, you will spend these days finding these mines. Since the Emperor dispatched you here, it must be for these mineral resources.”
Li Tai nodded. The Mining Department naturally had a plan for Bisa Castle, provided Yue Yun could capture it.
“That’s natural, but General Yue also needs to cooperate with our Mining Department to establish imperial mines here,” Li Tai said.
Yue Yun was a bit surprised. He said, “How can I help you?”
“It’s simple. The Emperor will not allow the Mining Department to recruit artisans from the Great Yu Empire to come here. So, we can only have the Goryeo people of Bisa Castle mine the ore and transport it back to the Great Yu Empire.”
Yue Yun nodded. This was the current strategy of the Great Yu Empire. Their purpose this time was to make Goryeo a supply base for materials and a market for goods for the Great Yu Empire.
Liu Chen felt a sense of exhilaration upon hearing this. He said, “These Goryeo people used to send Great Yu Empire fishermen they caught to forced labor in the mines. Now, we can finally exact our revenge.”
Yue Yun also had no pity for the Goryeo people. Decades of bullying by the barbarians, Goryeo people, and Japanese people against the Great Yu Empire had taught them that cheap sympathy for enemies would only lead to all kinds of humiliation once the enemy grew strong.
For him, what they needed to do now was to make the Great Yu Empire strong at all costs. Only then could the Great Yu Empire avoid returning to the era of being bullied.
“We will cooperate with the Mining Department on this matter, Liu Chen. You now go and count the number of Goryeo people in Bisa Castle and register the strong ones for future needs.”
“Yes, General,” Liu Chen nodded. He then said, “What about the remaining Goryeo people?”
Yue Yun pondered for a moment. He said, “Although we need these Goryeo people to mine for the Great Yu Empire this time, we don’t need to overly coerce them. At least let them have enough to eat, otherwise, if they are driven to desperation, it will not be good.”
“General Yue is a reasonable man. That’s indeed true. What the Great Yu Empire needs is ore. As long as they can peacefully mine, that’s enough,” Li Tai said with a smile.
Liu Chen understood and turned to leave. The two meant that there was no need to escalate conflicts with the Goryeo common people.
Please support this translation by rating this novel in Novel Updates https://www.novelupdates.com/series/iron-dynasty/
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