The Divine And Demonic Doctor [EN]: Chapter 301

Divine Doctor of Primacy (301)

A few days later, Dan Akseon returned to Muwi.

Dan Akseon immediately gathered the key figures of Muwi, excluding Kang Wiryong, to discuss measures to deal with the Demonic Sect in earnest.

“The Beggars’ Sect is continuing its investigation, but we can’t just keep waiting.”

“Do you have a plan in mind?”

Dan Akseon nodded at Cho Akryang’s question.

“I’m thinking of looking into the Saeoe [martial arts world of the frontier beyond the Great Wall].”

At Dan Akseon’s words, Cho Akryang and Han Seolhwa exchanged glances and nodded.

“If we shake them, the Demonic Sect will also react in some way.”

Beyond the Great Wall, the martial arts world of the frontier, Saeoe.

It was revealed that four of the five places, known as the Five Powers of the Borderlands (邊荒五勢), excluding Potalla Palace, had already joined hands with the Demonic Sect.

In addition, Mansusan Manor, which had destroyed Dokgok and firmly established itself as the ruler of Naman, was replacing the vacant seat of Potalla Palace.

Although the Ice Palace had fallen, there were still four remaining forces.

Although it was damaged by No Danyang, the Blood Cloud Temple was still intact, and the existence of the Small Thunder Sound Temple (小雷音寺), which continued the lineage of Indian Yoga (天竺瑜伽), could not be ignored.

Not to mention the Black Night Squad (黑夜閥), a group of assassins presumed to be descendants of Salmak, and Mansusan Manor, which had built an absolute stronghold in the Naman area, was also a force to be reckoned with.

“Are you going to wipe out the Saeoe forces?”

At Cho Akryang’s question, Dan Akseon hesitated for a moment before bringing up an unexpected story.

“If possible, I want to win them over and make them oppose the Demonic Sect.”

“You mean bring them to our side? How?”

“I’ll have to contact them first and then think about a way.”

“It won’t be easy.”

Considering their tendency to reject the Central Plains martial arts world, he was even more skeptical.

However, Dan Akseon’s thoughts were a little different.

“In the case of Potalla Palace, they said that the Demonic Sect initially tried to win them over. But when they refused, they tried to destroy Potalla Palace using poison.”

“And?”

“There may be cases where their interests coincided, but in the case of the Northern Sea Ice Palace, there may be cases where they reluctantly joined hands to avoid annihilation, even if they didn’t want to. If we contact them, there will definitely be a gap to break through.”

Neng Somil nodded.

“Perhaps, like the Tang family, the lower ranks may blindly follow the unilateral decisions of the leaders. Or they may be dissatisfied with the decisions of the leaders.”

It was a plan that could lead to the best results, assuming it was successful.

Furthermore, if the forces that were won over were integrated, it would be difficult for the Demonic Sect to easily run rampant while keeping them in check.

The problem was that the process would not be easy.

In particular, Cho Akryang was concerned about something else.

“Even though they are enemies, they are also people. Surely blood will flow, and that blood will be on your hands. Can you bear the weight?”

Dan Akseon’s heart grew heavy at Cho Akryang’s worried eyes.

However, he nodded with determined eyes.

“It was something that had to be done someday. If we turn a blind eye to the current situation, we will pay a greater price.”

No matter how much one built a wall against the world and pursued one’s own peace, there was an inevitable trend.

You cannot change the flow unless you jump into that trend.

Now was the time to face the immediate threat.

Dan Akseon turned to look at Neng Somil.

“I want to get formal permission from the Emperor and the court officials.”

“What kind of permission are you talking about?”

“For this, we need to be able to freely cross the gates [border checkpoints].”

Neng Somil smiled bitterly.

He was at best a low-ranking official, not even at the lowest level.

It was by no means an easy task.

Contrary to his inner thoughts, Neng Somil answered immediately.

“I will take care of it.”

Dan Akseon smiled and nodded.

Neng Somil was more reliable than ever at times like this.

“In the meantime, we will gather more information and make detailed plans.”

“Yes. Leave it to me.”

That night.

Neng Somil stood blankly in the quiet backyard, looking up at the night sky.

Unlike his bold words in front of Dan Akseon, his worries were deepening as time passed.

Although he held the position of Censor (監察御史) [an official who monitors the conduct of other officials], he was only a low-ranking official of the seventh rank.

He had no idea how to appease the Emperor.

How long had it been?

“You seem to have a lot of worries.”

“Ah, Brother.”

Neng Somil smiled bitterly as he belatedly discovered Sa Musim, who had come to his side and spoke to him.

“Nothing is easy.”

“That’s right. The authority to freely pass through the gates is not given to just anyone.”

It wasn’t as simple as he thought.

“Besides, even though it’s Saeoe, the imperial family, which has been checking the northern forces, won’t like the idea of bringing them together as one force.”

“That’s why I’m worried. If I accidentally submit the wrong report, I could lose my head.”

Not to mention the fastidious court officials, the Emperor was even more capricious and unpredictable.

“But I don’t think there’s no way at all.”

Neng Somil was surprised and asked at Sa Musim’s words.

“What do you mean?”

“We don’t have to lead everything.”

“What is that……?”

“We have two goals: to wipe out the forces that support the Demonic Sect among the Five Powers of the Borderlands, and to gather the rest into forces that can check the Demonic Sect. But we don’t have to be directly involved in that matter. If we have the justification that everything is for the imperial family and the court, and then involve the court in a series of processes to give them the impression that they are leading, that would be enough, wouldn’t it?”

“Ah!”

Neng Somil was greatly enlightened by Sa Musim’s advice.

“We can have the imperial family manage the forces that check the Demonic Sect. If a court official intervenes, it will be difficult for the Demonic Sect to easily interfere.”

“At the same time, if we use the foreign tribes of Saeoe, the imperial family is likely to readily accept this plan.”

“Yes?”

“Think about the nature of tributary trade [a system of trade where foreign states acknowledge the supremacy of the Chinese emperor].”

“Ah!”

Neng Somil immediately realized what Sa Musim was trying to say.

After overthrowing the Yuan Dynasty and founding the Ming Dynasty, the imperial family and the court continued to carry out northern expeditions to check the remaining forces of the Yuan, the nomadic people.

On the other hand, they have been using the method of appeasing them through tributary trade to prevent the forces of the steppe from being integrated into one.

Formally, they received tribute from them and bestowed goods worth several times that value to buy their loyalty to Ming.

As time went by, the court could only accumulate losses, and the national treasury was also wasted.

“I will gather the friendly forces of the steppe myself. It won’t be difficult because there are places I have connections with.”

It was truly telepathy (以心傳心) [understanding each other without explicit communication].

Neng Somil could immediately understand what Sa Musim intended without having to have many conversations.

“Then I should hurry too.”

Neng Somil smiled and hurried back to his lodgings.

And he immediately wrote a report to the Emperor.

When you think about it, the Censor’s power was even greater than his actual rank.

This was because it was possible to report directly to the Emperor without going through the intermediate process.

* * *

It was five days after Neng Somil submitted the report to the Emperor that he visited Jiayuguan (嘉峪關) [a major pass of the Great Wall], located on the narrowest land in the western part of the Hexi Corridor.

Jiayuguan, along with Shanhaiguan, the most important gateway to the Great Wall, boasted the impregnable fortress-like majesty of its location in rugged terrain.

Inside the castle were the Yugyeok Janggunbu (游擊將軍府) [the residence and office of the Yugyeok General], military training grounds, and garrison facilities, and in the distance, the snow-capped peaks of the Qilian Mountains came into view.

To the north, the peaks of the Longshou (龍首) and Mazong (馬鬃) mountain ranges were lined up, eliciting exclamations.

It was no wonder that this place was called the First Majestic Pass in the World (天下第一雄關).

Since ancient times, it has been a center of East-West transportation, and the Silk Road also passed through here, so it is considered a key point among the nine gates of the Great Wall.

Neng Somil, who had the endlessly undulating Great Wall in his eyes, once again enjoyed its majesty.

In fact, the Great Wall itself was not an iron-clad defensive fortress.

In reality, its main purpose was to control important passages and delay large-scale enemy invasions.

By discovering the invasion of nomadic peoples and delaying it even for a short time, it was possible to buy time to prepare for practical defenses, such as forming mobile forces for defense or fortifying strongholds in the rear.

If there had been no Great Wall, the North China Plain would have suffered even more from the looting of nomadic people.

In fact, it was not entirely impossible for nomadic peoples to break through the Great Wall if they were determined.

However, the passages through which large armies could pass were limited.

The Great Wall itself is not an invincible defense line, but from the opponent’s point of view, they have to find a way to bypass or break through the operation area, so the effect is sufficient.

The long supply lines after breaking through the Great Wall also acted as a disadvantage that restricted them.

That alone was enough to make the Great Wall worthwhile.

In addition, fortresses specialized in defense, such as Jiayuguan, were built in the middle of the Great Wall to fundamentally block large-scale expeditions.

Postponing the appreciation of the surrounding scenery, Neng Somil headed straight to the Yugyeok Janggunbu (游擊將軍府) located in the inner castle.

In this area of ​​Jiayuguan, the judicial and administrative departments were not installed separately.

As a military stronghold, the Yugyeok Janggunbu itself was the command post of the defense system and also an administrative facility that oversaw all general affairs such as politics, military affairs, and commerce.

Gansuk Yugyeok General (甘肅遊擊將軍) Si Jo Gyeong (施朝卿) could not hide his embarrassment at the sudden visit of the Censor.

This was because the Ministry of War, not the Dochalwon [Censorate], was in charge of the inspection duties here.

However, he could not turn away an official with the authority to submit a report to the Emperor.

“What brings an official from Dochalwon here?”

At Si Jo Gyeong’s suspicious eyes, Neng Somil smiled and handed over a letter.

“I came to deliver a letter from Minister of Personnel.”

“Personnel?”

Deep suspicion arose in Si Jo Gyeong’s eyes.

But soon his eyes flashed coldly.

Two forces opposing each other within the imperial family.

At the center of these forces were the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of War.

Recently, he had been demoted to this place due to being pushed out by rival forces.

It was interesting that the Ministry of Personnel, the opposing force of the Ministry of War, had approached him at this point.

Si Jo Gyeong’s eyes wavered as he checked the letter sent by the Minister of Personnel.

Not missing this, Neng Somil cautiously opened his mouth.

“Let’s do something big together. You’re not someone who will be facing sandstorms here for the rest of your life, are you? If you seize this opportunity, the position of General Commander (總兵官) [commander-in-chief] to command the entire army will not be just a dream.”

“……!”

Si Jo Gyeong was impressed and nodded at Neng Somil’s explanation.

A few days later.

Neng Somil and Si Jo Gyeong, who were summoned by the Emperor, rushed to the Imperial Palace day and night.

Looking down at the two people prostrating before him for a moment.

The Emperor opened his mouth.

“You have a plan to promote the peace of the world?”

“That is correct, Your Majesty.”

“I will listen.”

As soon as the Emperor’s permission was given, Neng Somil buried his face deeper on the floor.

“I have sought several plans by borrowing the experience and insight of General Si, who guards the north, and I have no doubt that it will bring an era of peace to the world ruled by Your Majesty, so I stand here.”

Si Jo Gyeong was inwardly impressed by Neng Somil’s words, which naturally praised him.

“What is that plan?”

Neng Somil answered immediately at the Emperor’s question.

“Please allow the Shinma Merchant Guild to freely enter and leave Jiayuguan.”

The Emperor frowned at the unexpected words.