Gu Moran flicked his wrist and threw the secret document from the shogunate directly in front of the messenger's knees.
The scroll struck the broken bluestone slab, rolled twice, and became covered in a layer of black mud.
"Is Princess Takaichi Nanako even good-looking?"
Gu Moran looked down at him, tapping the ground above the messenger's head with the tip of her boot.
The messenger lay prone on the ground, repeatedly banging his forehead against the stone slab until blood quickly appeared on his forehead.
"Reporting to Great Yan!"
Our Prince is the most beautiful woman in Capital!
Her skin is as white as the snow on Mount Fuji!
As long as the Great Yan retreats thirty li, the shogunate will definitely carry His Highness and a million taels of silver into the Prince's camp at dawn tomorrow!
Lin Qingdai stood to Gu Moran's left, glancing sideways at her master.
How could she not know that this man was so easily captivated by beautiful women?
Furthermore, holding the Wa Emperor's own daughter captive...
There are hostages readily available, so why not use them?
She stepped forward, her boots landing squarely on the scroll, and with a backhand motion, drew the scabbard of her soft sword from her waist and slapped it against the messenger's cheek.
"Go back and tell your general that if he doesn't show up by Chenshi (7-9 AM) tomorrow, he's dead."
The messenger's face was swollen on one side, and he spat out a bloody molar. He scrambled to the horse, mounted it, and rode off.
Lin Qingdai bent down to pick up the secret scroll, extended her thumb, used her fingernail to pry off a piece of purple-gold seal clay, and brought it to her nose to sniff:
"Your Highness, this seal contains a unique Bee-Attracting Incense from the mountains and forests of Kyushu."
Even from ten miles away, the poisonous bees in the mountains can smell it and come here. These Japanese are up to no good.
Gu Moran originally planned to take advantage of the momentum after breaking through Ghost Cry Shoal and send troops to pursue the defeated army that very night.
Hearing this, he stopped what he was doing, took the secret scroll from Lin Qingdai's hand, glanced at it twice, and casually tossed it to Tuoba Mang behind him:
"Throw it into the sea to feed the fish."
"Send the order: the entire army shall first garrison Tsukushi City and rest for the night. I want to see what treasure they can send over at dawn tomorrow."
Tuoba Mang grabbed the secret scroll, swung it around and threw it into the sea, then turned and shouted orders.
The army marched into the city.
As they approached the city gate, Kim Seon-a turned to the side and looked up at Gu Moran:
"Your Highness, according to the alliance we signed, Goryeo will receive 20% of the pig iron and sulfur after the city is captured."
The official granary and iron warehouse of Tsukushi are located to the west of the city. I plan to take three thousand Goryeo sailors to take over and inventory them first.
Before the words had even finished, Murong Xue, who was riding her horse, pulled on the reins, and held her spear horizontally in front of the city gate.
Murong Xue, dressed in that tight-fitting outfit, her chest held high, looked down at Kim Seon-a:
"Your Highness, isn't this inappropriate?"
You Goryeo just rebelled in Incheon, Kim Tae-won's head isn't even cold yet.
"If we let three thousand of you into the iron warehouse now, what if you make coffin nails for our Great Yan soldiers in the middle of the night?"
Kim Seon-a's right hand gripped the hilt of her sword at her waist, her neck stiffened ramrod straight:
"General Murong, this is a letter of state established with the blood seal of the royal family!"
If Great Yan has any doubts, he can simply send someone along; why resort to insults?
The two men faced off across the barrels of their guns, while the surrounding Goryeo sailors and Great Yan guards gripped their weapons tightly.
Gu Moran stepped forward, raised his hand and pressed it down three inches on Murong Xue's spear shaft.
He turned around casually, his fingers brushing against the back of Kim Seon-a's hand, which was resting on the hilt of her sword. Under the cover of his wide sleeves, he pinched the soft flesh.
"I naturally trust Seon-a. Go, take men to the West City Iron Warehouse to take inventory."
Then, he gave Pu Yunshan a wink, signaling him to lead five hundred iron cavalry to guard the outer gate of the warehouse.
Kim Seon-a felt her ears burn from his public touch, her back went weak, and she lowered her head to reply, "Yes," before leading three thousand Goryeo sailors toward the west coast.
Half an hour later, at the West City Iron Warehouse.
Dozens of thick wooden doors were pushed open, and three thousand Goryeo sailors rushed in, rummaging through the wooden crates like hungry wolves pouncing on their prey.
In the very center of the warehouse was a pile of 100,000 catties of refined iron. When the box was opened, it was full of unsharpened Japanese sword blanks, which gleamed with a bluish light under the torchlight.
The Goryeo naval captain and his men exchanged glances, and while others were moving sulfur, they secretly stuffed as many as five hundred knife blanks into a hole covered by a piece of burlap in the corner.
Just as they had stuffed half of it in, a troop of Great Yan Iron Cavalry rushed in through the warehouse gate.
Pu Yunshan realized that so much time had passed, and the leader still hadn't come out to lead his men inside to investigate.
The guard kicked them to the ground, scattering the blades everywhere. He then pinned the captain and his accomplice to the ground and tied them up like dumplings.
Pu Yunshan strode in, glanced at the cave, and was greatly surprised.
This is Wa territory. How did this Goryeo know there was a secret chamber down there?
But Gu Moran wasn't there, so he didn't voice his question directly.
He drew the sword from his waist:
"Possessing military equipment is punishable by immediate beheading according to the Great Yan Military Law!!"
"Stop!"
Kim Seon-a ran over from the backyard, lifting her skirt.
She drew her sword and held it horizontally in front of the Goryeo captain:
" General Pu! They are my men. Even if they have made a mistake, it is up to me to deal with them according to Goryeo military law. It is not your place to take action directly!"
"By order of the Prince, all Goryeo soldiers must also act in accordance with the military law of the Great Yan!"
Pu Yunshan did not retreat an inch, and his five hundred iron cavalrymen drew their swords simultaneously.
The Goryeo sailors behind Kim Seon-a also drew their swords, and the two sides clashed at the entrance of the iron warehouse.
In the scuffle, a Goryeo sailor dropped his torch, which fell with a thud onto a pile of sulfur sacks beside him.
Flames suddenly shot up, blackening a corner of the sack, and the pungent smell of sulfur filled the warehouse.
Just then, footsteps sounded outside the door.
Gu Moran strode into the courtyard with Shen Ling'er, kicked the burning torch away, and stomped on the sack with his combat boots to extinguish the sparks completely.
Kim Seon-a glanced at the smoking sulfur bag, a cold sweat breaking out on her back. She sheathed her sword and knelt on one knee.
"Your Highness, it is Seon-a's fault for not managing her subordinates strictly."
But they were simply terrified of poverty and had never seen so much good iron before, which aroused their greed. They had absolutely no intention of rebelling. They begged the prince to spare their lives!
Gu Moran ignored her and directly activated the system's Eye of Detection.
In my field of vision, the leading Goryeo captain lying on the ground had a red glow emanating from his head, with a line of small characters marked below it.
[Shogunate spies are transferring refined iron out of the city through secret underground passages in the iron warehouse].
Gu Moran bent down, picked up a handful of knife blanks from the scattered ground, walked up to Kim Seon-a, and tapped her fair cheek with the hilt of the knife:
"Your Highness, open your eyes and look!"
This batch of iron was not intended for ordinary soldiers; it was high-quality iron reserved by the shogunate specifically for the imperial guards.
"You've picked a good subordinate."
Pu Yunshan clasped his hands and said, "Your Highness is right. He is just a Goryeo man..."
How do we know there's a secret room underneath this room?
Do you even know where the cave entrance is?