Chapter 39
When Dongbaek unconsciously reached out her hand, there was a stone wall. The cold touch of stone against her palm pulled her from her thoughts back to reality. Dongbaek came down the stairs and stood at the training ground.
When Dongbaek arrived at the training ground, the soldiers who were running increased their pace even more. They wished she would just go somewhere else, but they didn’t make the mistake of saying it out loud. They had expressions of clearly avoiding her, or rather, fearing her.
Dongbaek stared blankly at the running soldiers. Among the thousand troops present, these were the very men who would eventually stand by her side during the Yellow Turban Rebellion. If that were the case, they couldn’t remain in their current state. A drastic overhaul was necessary. Dongbaek clicked her tongue in disapproval.
“I suppose I’ll have to secure more funding.”
Tap tap, Dongbaek muttered to herself while touching her chin. The mountain of work that would pile up was clear as day in her mind. Thinking of various enormous tasks ahead, Dongbaek smiled.
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The thousand soldiers under Dongbaek’s command stared wide-eyed at the transformed training grounds. On one side of the spacious field stood a herd of horses tied together, and on the other, a row of targets had been set up.
Horses weren’t cheap, not by any stretch of the imagination! The soldiers, afraid they might accidentally harm the prized animals, huddled nervously in the empty corners, far from the horses and the targets.
It wasn’t just the regular soldiers who were whispering. The ten captains were also daunted by the sight of the horses. Five were original members, and the other five were replacements from the major reorganization.
The captains spotted the Attendant Officer (從事) approaching them and gestured.
“What on earth is all that?”
“Don’t know. They say the Commander ordered it…”
“Where did the money come from?”
“No idea. Apparently, the Commander secured it himself.”
“Do you know anything?”
The captains looked at the Attendant Officer with incredulous eyes. Wasn’t an Attendant Officer supposed to be the Commander’s direct assistant! It was absurd that the document manager didn’t know about this. But the Attendant Officer shouted back with an almost tearful expression.
“Have I been treated as a proper Attendant Officer since falling for your tricks? It’s all because of you that I’m just a messenger running back and forth!”
The captains were struck speechless at the sight of the fuming Attendant Officer. This was because the Attendant Officer, Jin Jin, had lost Dongbaek’s trust after being persuaded by the captains to play tricks on her.
Jin Jin was gentle by nature and couldn’t refuse the captains’ requests. Well, the “tricks” were just minor things like bringing messy documents or delivering urgent papers late… No, thinking about it again, it was actually a big deal.
Still, Commander So didn’t get angry. She could have found fault with Jin Jin’s behavior and dismissed him, but she said nothing about it. Moved by the Commander’s magnanimity, Jin Jin soon stopped such foolish pranks. However, while there was no punishment, lost trust doesn’t return easily, so even today, Jin Jin was struggling to regain the Commander’s favor, ready to believe anything she said, even if she claimed beans would grow where she planted red beans.
“Hmph, anyway, the Commander orders you all to come to his office. If you have questions, ask him there.”
The captains watched Jin Jin hurriedly disappear, then looked at each other’s faces. Among them were some who had offered bribes to the general but had them returned. To keep their positions, they needed to get on Dongbaek’s good side, and this was true even for those newly promoted to captain by her. Without anyone taking the lead, they all hurriedly followed after Jin Jin, racing to be first.
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The Commander’s office reflected Dongbaek’s personality—neat and tidy. It sparkled without a speck of dust, as if constantly swept and cleaned. The bookshelf was full of books, and documents were piled high on the desk.
Ten captains stood in a line in front of the office desk, awkwardly swallowing their saliva.
Dongbaek didn’t even look at them as she stamped the remaining documents. As soon as she stamped each one, pushing it aside with a swish, Jin Jin neatly tied up the documents and placed them on a wooden board. The captains felt like they might grow mold in the quiet silence.
How much time passed in that stillness? Only when all the documents had been moved from Dongbaek’s desk to the wooden board did she finally raise her head to look over the captains she had summoned.
“How long has it been since you all became captains? Yet still lack the dignity befitting your rank. Look at yourselves—fidgeting, playing with your fingers, shifting your weight like restless children. And your armor? What kind of state is that?”
Dongbaek clicked her tongue looking at the captains’ dirty armor covered in dust and mud. The captains’ faces turned bright red at her words, but they had no way to refute them.
Dongbaek rose from her seat and slowly walked past the captains standing in line. As she passed by each one, they one by one assumed rigid attention positions. With their heads facing forward, necks strained, shoulders tense, and bodies stiff, their posture showed how nervous they were.
Dongbaek stopped in front of the one with the dirtiest armor. She ran her finger along the armor. At her sudden action, the captain’s face turned red up to his ears. But Dongbaek, unconcerned with his feelings, frowned at the dirt on her index finger.
“Make sure it’s polished and shining by tomorrow. Do you think you can be a role model for your 100 men like this?”
“No, sir!”
The captains shouted at Dongbaek’s question. Satisfied with their loud response, Dongbaek nodded. The quick-witted Jin Jin had already prepared a white handkerchief for her.
Dongbaek naturally took the handkerchief and wiped her finger. As her pristine white fingertips reappeared, the captain with the dirtiest armor blushed again for reasons he couldn’t quite understand.
“The reason I called you all here is because of the supplies that just arrived outside.”
Dongbaek gestured toward the window with her chin. Understanding what she was pointing to, they nodded and watched her lips intently.
“We’re going to develop cavalry and archery units in our army.”
With horses and targets prepared, it was obvious they would be training cavalry and archers. Though it was obvious, the gathered captains couldn’t believe Dongbaek’s words. In their common sense, they didn’t need cavalry and infantry.
Dongbaek sighed and shook her head.
“Though we must guard Luoyang’s twelve city gates, it’s truly absurd that until now this has been done with infantry alone.”
“But for public security, infantry alone…”
One captain hesitated and trailed off. But his words couldn’t continue. Dongbaek’s glare was too fierce. The captain who met her sharp gaze froze like prey before a predator. Dongbaek spoke coldly.
“Our job is to maintain order? Nonsense! Maintaining internal security is the responsibility of the Commander of the Guard. Our role is to defend the gates from external threats. Do you understand? We’re not here to governing the interior. We’re here to hold the gates against enemies. Learn your role, Captain!”
Not even knowing what they’re in charge of. Dongbaek’s angry demeanor was truly terrifying.
Dongbaek pointed to somewhere far beyond the window while watching them. Her finger was pointing at the First Gate.
“Inside the city gates, the space is narrow and cluttered—horses aren’t necessary there. But our ultimate responsibility is the first gate, and by extension, all of Luoyang! Do you really think infantry alone can handle that?”
They probably reacted like this because they couldn’t even imagine Luoyang being invaded, but that wasn’t such a distant future.
All the captains trembled at Dongbaek’s force. Her coolly sunken pale eyes were like the glass beads they’d only heard about. When those cold, smooth eyes stared at them directly, they could only shake their heads as if enchanted.
Dongbaek rebuked them even more harshly. Military discipline needed to be strict. Such dim-witted minds weren’t enough to become her people.
“Answer me! In which army do soldiers just nod at their superior’s words!”
“Yes, Commander! We will follow your orders!”
At Dongbaek’s severe scolding, they forgot that just a month ago, they had looked down on her as just a kid. Now Dongbaek was simply their stern superior, Commander So.
Dongbaek selected two who were good at riding horses and two who were good at archery from among the captains, making them in charge of cavalry and archery units respectively.
Honestly, cavalry wasn’t very cost-effective. But thinking about a few years later, they needed to be trained in advance. The very first event of the Three Kingdoms period, the Yellow Turban Rebellion, was coming soon.
When Dongbaek would be deployed then, she would almost 100% have to take these men with her. She had to train them until then. And bewitch them. So they would follow her with all their heart. So they would want to be loyal to her…
That’s why despite having separate Cavalry Lieutenant and Archery Lieutenant positions for training cavalry and archers, Dongbaek was separately developing cavalry and archery units within her own army. Like a private army.
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Thank you for reading! ♡
