Chapter 247 — Persuasion II: Persuading the Junior Officer
Silence settled outside the cell door.
The officer glared at Yeongu for a long while.
This time, however, he did not curse.
He jerked his chin toward one of the soldiers behind him.
"Go... bring someone."
The soldier hesitated.
"Who should I bring, sir?"
The officer spoke in a low voice.
"This bastard wants someone high-ranking."
The soldier asked,
"What should I say?"
The officer answered shortly.
"Say he is asking for someone high-ranking."
The soldier hesitated again.
"Even if I say that..."
The officer clenched his teeth.
"Say we have captured Yi Yeongu, the highest-ranking officer of the Goryeo military advisory detachment attached to Jin."
"Loyalty."
The soldier hurried away.
His footsteps receded toward the yard.
He should have done that from the beginning.
Telling the truth was the fastest way.
Instead, he had tried to draw more words out of the prisoner and make a proper report without first revealing the fact, and now he had been caught in the prisoner's rhythm.
The officer did not want to admit it, but he had already been pulled into Yeongu's words.
He looked into the cell again.
"Go on, then. Keep talking."
Yeongu gave a faint laugh.
"Why act like you don't know?"
"What do I know?"
"That fellow does not govern. He only hunts. If that is how he lives, why be emperor? He should be a hunter."
The corner of the officer's eye twitched.
Facts everyone knew were the most frightening.
The political situation was so precarious that even saying such a thing was enough to cause a storm.
Yeongu pretended not to notice and continued.
"There are plenty of men like that in the world. Men who should be doing business go into politics. Why? Because they want to make money easily. A man who wants to play becomes emperor. Why? Because he wants to live easily. Then what happens to the empire? No, what fault does the empire have?"
Each noisy word scraped at the officer's mind.
The officer looked back.
The yard was full of archers.
They held their bows low, but none of them had relaxed.
They had been called in case Yeongu caused another disturbance.
After the jailers had been beaten senseless, the surest way to subdue that bound prisoner was to avoid getting close.
The junior officer said quietly,
"I am the same as you. I am a soldier too. I live and die by orders. No matter how much you rage, what can I do?"
There was a hidden resignation in that voice.
Yeongu did not miss it.
"That is why I am telling you to pass the words on. Make a report, man. You should send up what you have heard and say, 'This is what he said.'"
The junior officer scoffed.
"Do you think they will praise me for that? They will accuse me of rebellion and treason and chop my head clean off."
"Ah, come now. You would only be reporting the facts."
Yeongu slowly walked forward.
The junior officer, who had been resting his chin on the doorframe, startled and stepped back.
"What?"
Yeongu turned his body slightly and showed the front of his chest.
"Look here. I have a letter inside my clothes."
The junior officer narrowed his eyes.
"What trick is this?"
"What trick can I play with both hands tied?"
"You could bite me with your mouth. Like a dog."
"Ah, that is really too much."
Yeongu let out an irritated breath.
"There is a letter in my breast. Take it to your commander. Not your direct superior. Someone at the top. A man of the Xiao clan or the Yelü clan would be best."
The junior officer could not reach for it right away.
After being caught once, fear remained in him.
"You are not trying anything, are you?"
Yeongu lowered his head to show his chest.
Between the collars of the shabby martial robe he had deliberately chosen to wear, a folded paper was visible.
He pressed his upper body close to the door.
"Quickly. Mm, quickly."
The junior officer looked back.
The archers lifted their bows slightly.
Only then did the junior officer carefully reach out.
His fingertips touched Yeongu's collar, then seized the folded paper and pulled it out.
As soon as the paper came free, Yeongu stepped back.
He returned to the wall and sat with his back against it.
Only then did his face look a little more at ease.
Yeongu muttered,
"If I find out you failed to deliver it, I will reveal all your crimes during interrogation."
"What? What did I do?"
"Then a Xiao or a Yelü will come before me. I will give you one hour."
"One hour, my ass. Just sit there and die."