285."Those at the top always go for what's easiest first.
Song I-sul's Interruption — "Look at the Board"
The tent was quiet.
Night had deepened, yet the lamp remained lit.
Park Seong-jin sat absentmindedly before an unfolded map.
The clatter of silver chests, the rustle of documents, the noise of negotiations—
all had settled like passing din, yet his thoughts had only grown more tangled.
Then Song I-sul entered.
The dark shadows beneath his eyes and his clipped manner were unchanged.
He came straight in and threw the words as if tossing a stone.
"Why are you trying to work with that bastard?"
The tone was rough.
Park lifted his head.
"Because we're meeting him.
And because I find him agreeable."
"So just because you're sitting across from him now, you think we should hand over all our strength?"
Song I-sul's voice cut sharp.
"If you like him so much, why don't you be friends."
As always, his words were edged.
It should have stung—but Park found himself unable to answer.
He already knew where the words struck.
He let out a short breath.
"I nearly made a serious mistake."
Song I-sul folded his arms and looked down at him.
"Have you made contact with Chen Youliang?"
"No."
"What about Zhu Yuanzhang?"
"Neither."
Park hesitated, then added,
"There was contact two years ago. We crossed paths at the Battle of Liuhe, but we never met directly."
Song I-sul tilted his head.
"See?
The world you're looking at right now has narrowed to the one man sitting in front of you.
That's the error of diplomacy."
Park bowed his head.
The point had landed squarely.
Song I-sul continued.
"Those at the top always go for what's easiest first.
They prefer futures that won't really change."
Caught in the tension of the talks, Park had clung to the conversation at hand and lost sight of the whole configuration.
He forced a smile.
"You're right, senior.
Then let me ask plainly.
Regardless of our own strength, who should we be aligning with?"
Song I-sul was silent for a moment.
He walked slowly forward and spread the map wider on the table.
His fingertip traced Jiangnan, Huai'an, the southern coast.
"This board won't be settled by Zhang Shicheng alone.
He's strong, sure—but he doesn't have it in him to shape the world.
He's just right for ruining things."
His finger moved.
"Chen Youliang knows defense.
His army is solid."
The finger shifted again.
"Zhu Yuanzhang has the will to found a state."
Then his hand stopped.
"The question is—whose back are we going to ride."
Park swallowed.
"Then—"
"Right.
That's what we need to be talking about now."
Song I-sul looked him straight in the eye.
"I wasn't concerned with who you're talking to.
I wanted to know why you were talking only to him.
You went for the one who was close, the one you could speak with."
Only then did Park bow deeply.
There was no room left for excuses.
"Thank you for the warning.
I forgot that when the heart is taken by what's in front of it, the whole formation disappears.
I'll speak to the senior general."
Song I-sul gave a short laugh.
"Good.
Once you see that, you've already won half."
Folding the map, he went on,
"From now on, stop looking at talks with Zhang Shicheng.
Look at the whole board of the three southern powers.
Think big, Middle Commandant Park."
"Yes."
Song I-sul tossed out another line.
"Who do you think benefits from us fighting?"
"Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Youliang."
"Exactly."
"Without meaning to, we've been helping the other two."
"Right.
You think charging in is the only way to fight?"
"Then—"
"You can block.
You can evade."
He spoke as if reciting the basics of martial training, and a small smile touched Park's face.
"Ah."
Park nodded slowly.
A single map lay spread inside the tent.
When the papers recording the battles of Yangzhou were cleared away, all of Jiangnan was revealed beneath.
Song I-sul pointed at it.
"There are three flags standing on this land now.
Zhang Shicheng, Chen Youliang, Zhu Yuanzhang."
Park nodded.
"Yes.
All three began as anti-Yuan forces, but now each walks his own path."
"Right."
Song I-sul placed a small stone beside Zhang Shicheng's name.
"First, Zhang Shicheng.
Richest in Jiangnan, and the one who's endured the longest.
He surrendered once, then raised troops again.
That means people follow him.
Why else would he try to pull in Goryeo?"
"He has a certain appeal."
"Are we keeping him as a pet?
Why care about appeal?"
"No."
"He made money off salt.
His army is large but loose.
Profit comes before discipline; merchants outnumber soldiers.
Think about it—what happens when you hand a country to traders?"
"They'll look to their own gain first, and judge everything by profit."
"Exactly.
You never entrust a state to merchants."
After a beat, Park answered gently,
"His Majesty the Great Founder also began as a merchant."
Song I-sul fell silent, then groaned low.
"Ugh… are you just going to keep contradicting me?"
"I'm sorry."
Park wiped away his smile.
"But Zhang Shicheng is cunning.
After defeat, he binds troops with silver and deceives enemies with documents.
He's better at negotiation than at battle."
"True," Song I-sul said firmly.
"Zhang Shicheng is a man of calculation.
Join hands with him and the short-term gains are big.
Long-term, it's no good.
He's easy to talk to—that's all."
His hand moved northwest.
"Next, Chen Youliang.
Born a commoner.
Better at defense than attack.
He's on the back foot now against Zhu Yuanzhang.
He reads terrain well, turns waterways into fortresses.
His land is small, but his people are many.
His subordinates are loyal."
Park spoke low.
"Hard to expand, hard to crush.
A master of defense would shine in a long war."
Song I-sul nodded.
"Right.
Chen Youliang endures like soil.
An alliance with him brings trust—but don't expect decisive action."
"So we avoid him as well."
Instead of answering, Song I-sul moved his finger south.
"That leaves Zhu Yuanzhang."
Park's expression tightened slightly.
Song I-sul ignored it and continued.
"He's a peasant by birth.
He's known hunger in temples, knows how the world works.
Once led bandits—but now his organization is the most orderly."
"Yes."
"Zhu Yuanzhang isn't a brawler.
He's an administrator.
He levies taxes, sets laws.
Of the three in Jiangnan, he's the only one truly 'building a state.'
They say he favors the learned."
Park drew a breath.
"Then—"
"The scholars of Jiangnan, the small landholders, the private gentry—they'll back him."
Park asked again,
"Is it right to join hands with him?"
Song I-sul slowly swirled the remaining tea.
The liquid caught the light, making small waves within the cup.
"Take his hand and you gain a firm order.
In exchange, you lose your freedom."
He went on without setting the cup down.
"One day he will reach north.
That order will rival the Yuan court itself.
His ambition is vast.
Jiangnan won't satisfy him.
He'll reach for the steppe—and for Goryeo too."
Park stared silently at the map.
Three points: Zhang Shicheng, Chen Youliang, Zhu Yuanzhang.
Somewhere among them lay the shadow of Goryeo's army.
"Then where should we stand?"
Song I-sul drew a circle around the center of the three.
"Between them.
Lean to none.
Make the three check one another."
"Use all three."
"Not use—balance."
Song I-sul's eyes deepened.
"The one who holds balance holds the board.
That's the essence of diplomacy."
Park bowed his head.
"So the talks with Zhang Shicheng were the first move to test that balance."
"Yes.
It wasn't a failure."
Song I-sul tapped the map beside Zhang Shicheng's name, as if placing a brush mark.
"He probed us.
Through him, we can also guess how the other two will react."
After a pause, he added quietly,
"From here on, this isn't a fight to get answers.
It's a fight to buy time."
"Then we don't move yet?"
"To not move is itself a move," Song I-sul said softly.
"When three states brace each other like the legs of a cauldron, the most stable place isn't a leg—it's the center."
Park smiled.
"As expected, your words cut cleanly."
"Empty praise."
As he stepped out of the tent, Song I-sul added,
"Zhang Shicheng is already preparing his second move.
We need to read through the third."
Park looked at the map left behind.
The three points wavered beneath the lamp.
"This fight won't end with battle anymore."