The laughter inside the command tent slowly faded.
Youngwoo set down the cup he had been about to drink from and rose to his feet.
The comical expression of a man who had just been dragged into the banquet vanished at once, replaced by the face of a commander.
Aguda's gaze rested on him.
The blood and dust of Hubodagang still remained on Youngwoo's armor, and the soft light of the banquet lamps settled over it. Even the smell of blood had yet to leave him.
Aguda slowly rose from his seat.
The remaining laughter died away.
Hands holding wine cups stopped in midair, and the commanders turned their attention toward the Great Khan.
Aguda looked around the gathering once.
The commanders of Goryeo.
The submitted Balhae leaders.
The Jurchen Meng'an and Mouke.
Even the immortals.
All were gathered there.
At last, he pointed toward Yi Youngwoo.
"Today, we achieved a great victory.
"We broke the personal forces of the Liao emperor, shattered their central army, and broke the body of their empire on the fields of Hubodagang.
"Liao will never rise in the same way again. All that remains is for it to fall.
"Every commander and every soldier gathered here fulfilled his duty. The right wing engaged first and drew out the enemy front. The left wing pressed into the opening. The Iron Pagoda Cavalry broke through shield and spear. The Goryeo army came from far away and pressed between the Liao left wing and center. The Balhae troops established their name with their own blood.
"I remember all of those achievements."
Aguda paused.
His gaze returned to Youngwoo.
"Today's victory was won through the blood of many commanders and soldiers.
"But among them, the achievements of Commander Yi Youngwoo of Goryeo must be spoken of separately.
"He changed our army.
"First, he made preserving men the first principle of war.
"He told us not to send even a single soldier onto the battlefield poorly protected.
"Put armor on them. Repair the leather cords. Relace the iron plates. Protect horse and rider alike from arrows.
"At first, some thought his demands excessive.
"Today, we saw what he meant when he valued men.
"One suit of armor saved one man.
"And one man who survived remained in the formation and fought again."
A low murmur rose among the younger commanders.
Aguda heard it and continued in the same measured voice.
"He also refused to let men charge forward with nothing but a blade and courage.
"He made them prepare their hwando, spears, shields, short bows, spare arrows, and even the cords needed for repairs.
"He divided what a man should carry, what could be loaded onto a horse, and what should remain behind as replacement supplies.
"He would not send an ill-equipped soldier into battle.
"He put weapons properly into soldiers' hands and made those hands remember their training.
"The strength that drove into the center of two hundred thousand Liao troops today came from that preparation."
Aguda raised one hand and gestured toward the outside of the command tent.
Wagons and horses were still moving there, carrying away spoils.
Now that the banquet had gone quiet, the voices outside could be heard clearly.
"Put it down there!"
"Line them up straight! It's easier to count that way! Commander Yi said so!"
"Write everything down and put your name beside it before you leave! Commander Yi said if it isn't recorded, you don't get so much as a drop of broth!"
"To the north! Repair the wheels on the emperor's carriage and bring it back intact! Commander Yi said if it breaks again, he won't forgive anyone!"
Youngwoo's face turned bright red.
Aguda continued.
"He made the management of horses a central part of military operations.
"He separated warhorses from pack animals, sent exhausted horses to the rear, and ordered that fodder, horseshoes, and saddles never be neglected.
"Some of you must have thought him excessively meticulous.
"But today, you saw why.
"Without horses, we cannot pursue the enemy.
"Without fodder, we cannot sustain a long campaign.
"While the rest of us spent the days before battle growing impatient, he looked after the horses.
"He divided the mounts, separated warhorses from pack animals, secured fodder, and ordered saddles repaired.
"He had grain for men and fodder for horses entered together into the ledgers.
"All those troublesome details became our speed today.
"We caught the enemy quickly.
"We struck quickly.
"And we began clearing the battlefield quickly."
Aguda's voice deepened.
"He organized the army.
"He decided who would stand in front, who would support from behind, who would carry the wounded, who would repair armor, and who would gather horses and wagons.
"He gave a place within the army to the man who fights and the man who repairs, the man who rides and the man who records, the man who carries a spear and the man who counts grain.
"Today's victory erupted at the point of a blade.
"But countless preparations brought that blade to the place where it could strike.
"Commander Yi brought all those hands together."
The gathering was silent.
Even the younger commanders who had been laughing earlier now listened with lowered heads.
Youngwoo stood there looking increasingly uncomfortable.
Park Geunsu gave a faint smile, then quietly set down his cup.
Baek Ingyeom watched his disciple without speaking.
Aguda looked at Youngwoo again.
"On the battlefield, he also stood at the very front.
"He is not a man of words alone.
"He was the first to drive into the Liao center.
"When his banner unfurled and his halberd opened the road, the Balhae and Goryeo troops followed behind him.
"Go Youngchang and Go Hoewon guarded either side.
"The Balhae heavy cavalry widened the road behind them.
"The banner of the Liao emperor began to waver because of that charge.
"When the emperor moved, the imperial guards moved.
"When the imperial guards moved, gaps opened in the central defenses.
"And through those gaps, all of us entered."
Aguda raised his wine cup.
He did not drink yet.
"Even after the fighting ended, he did not stop working.
"He refused to leave the spoils to individual greed and ordered that they be gathered as the property of the army.
"He had horses and cattle marked and sorted, armor and weapons repaired, silk and silverware entered into ledgers.
"He ordered that shares for the wounded and the families of the dead be set aside first.
"He did not regard prisoners merely as men to be killed, but as sources of information and people who could serve in what came next.
"He has not allowed victory to end in a drinking cup.
"He is turning it into grain, armor, and order for the next war."
Aguda slowly swept his gaze across the gathering.
"I do not want these measures to belong only to this one day.
"From now on, our army must have armor.
"It must have weapons.
"It must have horses.
"It must have provisions.
"Spoils must be entered into ledgers.
"Prisoners must be classified.
"The wounded must be cared for.
"And those who earn merit must receive the shares due to them.
"On the battlefield, we must be an army of courage.
"After the battlefield, we must be an army that understands order.
"That is the road by which a gathering of tribes becomes the army of a state."
The atmosphere inside the pavilion changed.
The tribal chiefs glanced at one another.
The Meng'an and Mouke commanders lowered their heads.
The expressions of the Goryeo command became solemn as well.
Aguda's words had gone beyond praising Youngwoo.
They had become both a command and a charge to the entire Jin army.
Aguda raised his cup high.
"I thank every man who contributed to today's victory.
"And I offer special thanks to Commander Yi Youngwoo of Goryeo, who showed us how to keep that victory from scattering as a moment of courage, and how to make our army stronger because of it.
"Do not be irritated by this man's troublesome demands.
"Those troublesome demands will save men.
"They will save armies.
"And they will help build a nation."
Aguda tilted his cup toward Youngwoo.
"Commander Yi Youngwoo.
"Today you fought beside us, and you worked for our army.
"I know your efforts.
"The commanders gathered here know them.
"And the fields of Hubodagang will remember them.
"Fill your cups.
"Let us drink to this young commander."
Everyone in the command tent raised their cups at once.
The young Jin commanders shouted first.
The Goryeo soldiers and Balhae troops answered them.
The immortals quietly raised their cups.
A faint smile appeared at the corners of Baek Ingyeom's eyes.
Youngwoo rose with his face burning red, completely at a loss.
He lowered his head.
Raised it again.
Then finally bent deeply at the waist.
The man who had charged toward the emperor's banner on the battlefield now froze before praise like a boy who had lost his way.
Aguda watched him and slowly smiled.
There was less of the triumphant laughter of a victor in that smile than the warmth of a man who truly knew gratitude.