Chapter 13. Returning Home
The place where the Baekje refugees live.
That place is
"Suo Province, where the Tatara clan resides."
"The Tatara clan?"
"They are the descendants of Prince Imseong of Baekje."
The descendants of Prince Imseong who had taken root in Suo Province.
At this time, they were not yet known as the Ōuchi clan, but as the Tatara clan.
Passing through the Heian era, they would grow into a warrior class and become an influential regional power.
In other words, a formidable local force.
Now that Naju had been reclaimed, maritime control had been secured and the navy could be expanded.
Rather than remaining in distant Wansanju, it would be better to build relations with them through Naju and establish them as my support base.
"Oh? I have heard of them," said Daebongye. "It is said they also spread Baekje culture among the Japanese."
"Such a place exists?"
Daebongye, who had come to Japan as an official envoy and was planning to proceed to Wansanju, followed me.
The man truly led a busy life. Traveling to Wansanju and then returning to Balhae would be no small task.
It showed just how much Balhae valued its diplomatic ties with Baekje.
He even selected several able-bodied young men from the Goma clan to accompany me.
They were future manpower prepared for war against the Khitans.
Originally they were to be sent to Balhae, but with Balhae still unstable, it seemed he intended to raise them under my command instead.
"Is this the village of the Tatara clan?"
"Ah, our leader is here. What brings you?"
Perhaps not many generations had passed yet.
"We are envoys of the Kingdom of Baekje. We wish to meet the head of the Tatara clan."
"Baekje? I shall inform our leader."
Matters were proceeding smoothly.
"Baekje… Indeed, the founding head of the Tatara family was Prince Imseong of Baekje. Never did I imagine that Baekje would be rebuilt and that its royal blood would visit this place."
"Though Baekje fell in vain during King Uija's reign, the spirit of the Baekje people never died."
Gyeon Hwon had won the hearts of the Baekje people under the banner of avenging King Uija and founded Later Baekje.
Even after hundreds of years, Baekje identity remained.
Silla may have taught that after unifying the Three Kingdoms all were one people, but Baekje's identity endured.
It was not until Goryeo that the identities of the Three Kingdoms were truly unified.
Silla, which had unified the land by borrowing foreign power, had even failed to unite national identity.
That was the limit of Silla.
"Of course. Seven hundred years of history would the spirit of Baekje vanish in merely two hundred years under Silla's rule, allied with Tang? But why has the prince come here?"
"I believe you already know."
"You wish for us to return to Baekje?"
"You have already settled here and built your lives. How could I ask you to return? No. I ask for your assistance."
If they returned, everything would collapse.
What I needed was a support base not refugees nostalgic for their homeland.
If the Baekje descendants of Tatara flooded into Naju, I would only exhaust myself feeding them.
"How are we to assist you?"
"I have captured Naju and expelled Goryeo's forces. Let Tatara become my support base — through trade and other means so that I may build my strength in Naju."
In short: become my force.
"Are you seeking the throne?"
"I have already received my royal father's permission to remain in Naju."
"…Hmm."
"Baekje is currently hemmed in by Silla and Goryeo. In such times, should not those of Baekje blood help one another?"
If I built strength only within Naju, Wansanju would move to restrain me.
But if I built power through Tatara?
They might suspect, but they would never imagine power being cultivated within Japan itself.
"And what do we gain?"
"Through marriage with the present Baekje royal house, the Tatara clan shall be restored as members of Baekje's royal lineage. All Baekje descendants in this land shall be recognized as Baekje citizens. I swear this in the name of Prince Buyeo Geumgang of Baekje."
Though I spoke gently, it amounted to bringing Tatara and its lands under Baekje's sphere.
"Even so… the Emperor resides upon this archipelago."
"Do not forget the blood of Baekje that runs through you."
How long had Japan's imperial authority truly been strong?
In the end, the regional lords held greater power.
I was not demanding immediate annexation.
Simply put I was asking them to become my patron.
"And I do not ask that all be placed under Baekje at once. For now, I ask only your support."
In the distant future, the Ōuchi clan would fall to the Mōri.
But if they came under Baekje now, such history would vanish.
"We shall follow the prince's will."
Thus negotiations with the Tatara clan concluded successfully.
From now on, their ships would frequently dock at Naju's port.
"There remains more than five years until Balhae's fall."
The Three Kingdoms Alliance had been formed.
The variable now was Goryeo's response.
Later Baekje had capable generals.
But Wang Geon of Goryeo was overwhelmingly formidable.
Skilled in both civil and military affairs practically overpowered.
Gyeon Hwon had endured thus far only through his own martial ability and command skill.
If we avoided a crushing defeat against Goryeo…
"Prince."
"Speak, Chief Minister."
"It is well to use them as a base. But if Prince Shingeom seeks the position of crown prince, it may be seen as a challenge to the throne."
"Chief Minister. Though frost has not yet touched my hair, there is one thing I must teach you."
Choi Seung-woo widened his eyes.
"If one is not caught, it is neither crime nor rebellion. I am merely building amicable ties with Tatara. What accusation could be made?"
So long as one is not caught.
He said nothing.
"When I return to Naju, I intend to begin training marksmen."
"Marksmen?"
"Baekje has always been strong in cavalry."
"Indeed."
"The people of Samhan have excelled in archery for generations. I intend to train mounted archers."
Would cavalry archers work against the Khitans?
I did not know.
But we had to try.
"Do you intend to face the Khitans?"
"Who knows?"
I gently stroked the tube in my hand.
That night
An icy chill woke me.
That atmosphere again.
Sure enough, the radiant and infuriating goddess appeared.
"Again? What now?"
"Leave Balhae alone. What do you gain from saving it?"
"Then abandon the Manchurian plains? Abandon Manchuria?"
"Could you?"
"Dae Insun would have led Balhae to its golden age if not for the Khitans. Even if you unify under Baekje instead of Goryeo, how will you fight Balhae?"
"So you want me to fight Yelü Abaoji?"
She spoke as if Dae Insun were greater than Yelü Abaoji.
If he were that great, would he have lost?
"You can unify quickly with your knowledge and defeat the Khitans alongside the Balhae Restoration Army!"
"You speak easily."
Did she think I would become invincible just because she granted me one ability?
An army with a nation behind it is different from a restoration army without unity.
If support alone could defeat the Khitans, Wang Geon would have done it.
"You misunderstand something."
"I am not foolish enough to sacrifice myself for your three-day vacation."
"If you will not help me with things like gunpowder technology, then watch quietly. Interfere with my dreams again, and I will ram my head straight into yours. You know the power you gave me."
She scowled and vanished.
The next day
"Daebongye, Vice Minister of Rites of Balhae's Great Jin Kingdom, greets His Majesty the King of Baekje."
He was far more formal than before.
"Ah, of the Dae clan of Balhae's royal blood."
"Yes. Our Governor-General values this alliance greatly. As proof of brotherhood, despite internal turmoil, we shall dispatch the Malgal forces of Sokmalbu to harass the Wang clan's state."
The Wang clan's state Goryeo.
"Then Baekje shall harass the Khitans through Liaodong."
"Is the navy prepared?"
"Since recovering Naju, we have expanded the fleet and are constructing ships. Soon we shall form a fleet to aid Jin."
"Hahaha! Those words are worth a thousand cavalry. Secure the seas firmly."
The Battle of Yesong River might come sooner than expected.
If Goryeo's fleet were destroyed and the seas seized, Goryeo would be confined to land.
And their land forces would be tied down by the Malgal in the north.
Even a few thousand Malgal troops were no small matter.
Wang Geon might possess overwhelming leadership.
But he was still only one man.
Even if he were unrivaled in his chambers, he could not be everywhere at once.
Yoo Geum-pil? Park Sul-hee?
Excellent but each had only one body.
Later Baekje failed to unify the Three Kingdoms.
But its generals had names for a reason.
They had defeated Goryeo's famed commanders before.