Night was gradually falling.
Tonight wasn't good weather; it had just turned night, and the sea, which had been quite calm all along, suddenly became windy, with wave after wave stirred by the strong winds, causing the ship to rock incessantly.
A ship that seemed enormous in human eyes was nothing more than a tiny speck of dust before the vast ocean.
Although they couldn't enter the port, the Koreans dared not let Yun Tianyang drift out at sea like this. Under the guidance of a small Korean boat, Yun Tianyang steered his ship into a sheltered bay.
There was a small port here, and not far from the shore was a fishing village, where scattered lights in the darkness gave off a sense of quiet peace and harmony.
The port wasn't large; a few small fishing boats floated idly in the harbor, rising and falling with the surging waves, as if they would break free from their ropes and rush to freedom in the next second.
It seemed that upon seeing a large ship approaching, the lights in the fishing village quickly extinguished completely, and the village swiftly fell into a dead silence.
For common people, apart from that red army of later generations, all armies were the same.
Looking at the small village not far away, Zhou Yong's face showed a hint of a smile. He quickly found Yun Tianyang, who was standing at the bow of the ship.
“General, should I take some men to check out the village?”
Yun Tianyang turned his head, glanced at Zhou Yong, and said nothing. Go ashore, what for? To buy vegetables from the fishermen to cook?
Zhou Yong grinned, a rather savage smile appearing on his face: “Since these Koreans brought us here, isn't that what they mean?”
Yun Tianyang frowned, pondered for a moment, and immediately understood.
Back in Korea, those Korean officials would often, intentionally or unintentionally, lead the Ming Army through remote villages during marches, to reward them, these heavenly soldiers who helped them restore their nation.
As for what they went there to do, everyone who understands, understands.
After all, for those Korean officials, it was extremely cost-effective to satisfy these heavenly soldier lords by merely sacrificing some common people.
Yun Tianyang turned his head to the other side and glanced at Quan Huan, who was standing by the ship's side.
This fellow stood silently five or six paces away from Yun Tianyang, his body hunched and motionless, his head slightly bowed, his eyes fixed on his nose and his heart, as if he hadn't heard anything.
Zhou Yong's voice was not quiet, and Yun Tianyang didn't believe he hadn't heard it. It seemed that it was indeed as they thought: this village was the “tribute” the Koreans offered them.
One had to admit, these Koreans were truly generous in some sense.
Yun Tianyang was not actually opposed to such matters, after all, you cannot demand the veterans of this era to meet the standards of that red army.
For them, especially people like Zhou Yong, serving in the army was for food, killing enemies was for promotion, and defending the country was a pipe dream; they simply had no such concept.
Yun Tianyang also understood that as long as they didn't rob their own people, it was fine. As for military discipline, now was not the time to talk about it; they could only wait for an opportunity to rectify it later.
However, on the other hand, instead of painstakingly trying to rectify these people, it would be better for Yun Tianyang to train his own from scratch.
Looking at Zhou Yong's eager gaze, Yun Tianyang silently shook his head; he did not intend to grant Zhou Yong's request.
After all, the situation was unclear now, and if anything went wrong midway, it would truly be life-threatening.
Yun Tianyang pondered for a moment, then said to the somewhat disappointed Zhou Yong: “You know our current situation, it’s not a time to relax.”
“Understood.”
Zhou Yong nodded, his tone clearly a bit dejected. Yun Tianyang reached out and patted his shoulder, saying with a smile: “What's there to loot in such a poor village? Once we're safe, I'll take you to do something big then!”
Yun Tianyang had a clear understanding of the temperaments of his subordinates.
Bai Shugui was a good subordinate, intelligent and brave, and if well-trained, he could even lead independently. Moreover, he was a man with some ideals, someone who could be entrusted with important tasks.
Ji Dalin was an old soldier, and quite old; he was certainly not strong enough for charging into battle, but he was very reliable for holding down the rear. When fighting in Korea, whenever Yun Tianyang led men to charge, he always had Ji Dalin lead the remaining men to hold the line.
These two were excellent soldiers; let alone being a small Squad Leader, they would be qualified even as a Ba Zong, or even a higher position.
But Zhou Yong was not. This guy was a pure old military rogue. Brave and cunning, he fought without regard for his life, but similarly, he was also someone who regarded human lives as mere grass.
To put it bluntly, this guy had no bottom line in his heart, and besides his physical prowess, he didn't have much ability; his whole life would only be that of a vanguard officer.
If he hadn't joined the army, this guy might have gone to the mountains to become a bandit at some point.
Dealing with people like him was actually quite simple; just promise him some benefits and that would be it.
Zhou Yong wanted to say more, but seeing Yun Tianyang's resolute stance, he gave up the idea of going ashore to have fun. He cupped his hands in a salute to Yun Tianyang, then turned and left with his men.
“Alright, then I’ll take my leave.”
“Go. Settle the brothers down and don't let anything go wrong.”
“Understood, sir.”
No sooner had he left than Ji Dalin and Bai Shugui walked up. After respectfully saluting Yun Tianyang, they slowly said: “General, those Koreans have arrived.”
Following the direction of Ji Dalin’s finger, Yun Tianyang turned to look, only to see a small boat swaying as it approached them.
Through the night, one could vaguely see that the boat was fully loaded with goods, and there were also more than twenty common laborers, simply dressed and holding tools, who appeared to be ship repair workers.
“Arrange the goods and the people properly; don’t let them cause any trouble.”
“Yes, I’ll go arrange it now.”
Ji Dalin decisively bowed his head in affirmation, then quickly walked away.
“Shugui, take a small squad and set up defenses. Our current situation is not yet safe.”
“Understood, I’ll go now.”
Only after seeing box after box of supplies being moved into the ship's hold under Ji Dalin's lead did Yun Tianyang finally relax a little.
“Assistant Quan, I wonder when the fine wine will be delivered. This general was hoping to have a drink with you.”
“Please wait a moment, General. I believe it will be delivered soon.”
“Alright then, let’s go to the ship’s cabin together and wait.”
“It is better to obey than to be respectful.”
Upon hearing Yun Tianyang's summons, Quan Huan seemed to activate instantly, immediately cupping his hands and responding with a smile to Yun Tianyang.
Leading Quan Huan into his captain's cabin, Chen Biao had already tidied it up.
As the two were about to sit down, a soldier on lookout outside rushed in.
“General, a boat of Korean soldiers has arrived outside!”
Yun Tianyang frowned and turned to glance at Quan Huan, who quickly cupped his hands and said: “It must be the Jeju Island Governor who is concerned about the General’s safety, and thus arranged for soldiers to come and guard the General!”
A Governor was an administrative official in Korea, ranking between a prefecture and a county, and was a third-rank official, considered a high-ranking regional official.
But why would this guy, who didn't send anyone at first, suddenly send a troop of soldiers now, what was he trying to do?
Seeing Yun Tianyang's expression was not good, Quan Huan quickly spoke again: “I will go and see now.”
“Forget it, let’s go together.”
Walking back to the bow of the ship, they saw a man wearing Mingguang armor and holding a long spear, standing at the bow of a small boat, seemingly intending to board the ship.
However, without Yun Tianyang's order, how could those soldiers let him come aboard?
Seeing Yun Tianyang arrive, a captain guarding the front quickly rushed up to report: “General, that man says he is the Jeju Island Garrison General, and that his superior arranged for him to deliver things to us.”
“Delivering things?”
Yun Tianyang was noncommittal, standing at the bow and looking towards the man's small boat. He saw a stack of exquisite square boxes placed beside the man, which clearly contained prepared meals.
“Do you know this guy?”
“I know him. His name is Park Zhiheng, the Garrison General of Jeju Island, but although he is called a general, it's actually an honorary title, and he only has fifty or sixty soldiers under him.”
“This fellow is a descendant of the Park family, a great Korean clan. He only came here to gain experience and was supposed to be promoted a few years ago. But when the Japanese pirates attacked, he could only continue to be their Garrison General.”
Quan Huan's tone sounded sour no matter how you listened to it, but thinking about it, it was normal. He had risked his life to become an official, and it was still uncertain when he would be framed.
And this guy? Simply by virtue of his family background, he could easily grasp things that Quan Huan couldn't obtain even by exerting his utmost effort. How could that not make one feel uncomfortable?
“General, don’t let his imposing appearance fool you; it’s all fake. His armor is made of cotton cloth, with only a thin layer of iron sheet on the outside. Even the long spear in his hand is made of wood.”
....
As Quan Huan said that, Yun Tianyang really did notice it; after all, whose long spear was crooked?
“However, the soldiers behind him are quite good; they look somewhat presentable.”
“That’s right, those soldiers are all brave warriors specially recruited by the Park family with heavy funds just to protect this good-for-nothing.”
“In that case, let him come up.”
“Yes.”
None of Yun Tianyang’s subordinates spoke Korean, so Quan Huan volunteered to relay the message. In a short while, he brought the man named Park Zhiheng to Yun Tianyang’s presence.
As soon as this fellow saw Yun Tianyang, he was immediately stunned by Yun Tianyang’s tall and imposing figure. He looked down at the cotton armor on his own body, and a feeling of self-abasement immediately arose within him.
“Park Zhiheng, Garrison General of Jeju Island, Korea, greets the Gen—General.”
This fellow's Chinese wasn't particularly good, and it carried some strange accent, but it was understandable.
Yun Tianyang nodded, adopting the demeanor of a Heavenly Dynasty General and staring at him for a moment. The murderous gaze instantly made the fellow break out in a cold sweat.
As expected of a general from the Heavenly Dynasty, this aura, this prestige, it's completely different from their Korean generals!
For a moment, Park Zhiheng’s heart pounded like a drum, “thump-thump,” and he didn't even dare to look into Yun Tianyang’s eyes, only lowering his head and bowing with cupped hands: “Gen—General, I… I am ordered to deliver a banquet and… and ten jars of fine wine to the General. I hope the General will not find them too crude.”
“Our Korean produce is not abundant, so the food and drink are inevitably somewhat rough. If there is any oversight, I hope the General will forgive me.”
He claimed to be from an aristocratic family, yet his demeanor was even more obsequious and sycophantic than Quan Huan, who came from humble origins.
However, thinking about it, it was quite normal. From ancient times to the present, the national policy that Koreans have always implemented is the so-called “Sadaejuui,” which means blindly fawning over the Central Plains.
They fawned during the Tang Dynasty, and also during the Song Dynasty; by the time of the Great Ming, they fawned even harder. When the Central Plains declined in later generations, they immediately turned their tongues, first fawning over the Japanese pirates, then over America.
Anyway, for them, as long as they pleased the strongest great power, they could live a stable life.
As for everyone else, heh heh.
Therefore, for these so-called aristocratic family members, their deference to the Heavenly Dynasty and their worship of the strong had become habits ingrained in their bones, whereas "unconventional" people like Quan Huan were not so exaggerated.
“Alright, just bring the things up.”
Seeing this fellow's incompetence, which perfectly matched Yun Tianyang's preconceived notions of Koreans from both his lives, he withdrew his gaze and no longer stared at him.
He was afraid that if he kept staring, this guy would probably wet himself.
Park Zhiheng also let out a long sigh of relief; being stared at like that, the pressure was simply too immense.
“General, you have truly worked hard fighting all this way. I will bring my men to guard the General, please rest assured.”
Speaking of this, Park Zhiheng seemed to gain some confidence. He turned and pointed to his subordinates, saying: “These are… truly brave warriors, absolutely capable of safeguarding the General’s safety.”
“Of course, they certainly can’t compare to the brave warriors under the General, hehe…”
Seeing this guy acting like a good-for-nothing, Yun Tianyang lost interest in wasting words with him: “Then I’ll leave it to you.”
“No, no, no, I don’t deserve the General’s thanks; these are all things I should do.”
Before the fellow could finish speaking, Yun Tianyang turned and walked into the ship's cabin, not giving any regard to this so-called general, this scion of a noble family.
Quan Huan glanced at the fellow, a hidden sneer playing on his lips.
Heh heh, what great aristocratic family? In front of the Heavenly Soldiers of the Great Ming, aren't they just like him, a humble scholar?
As for Park Zhiheng, he didn't feel offended at all. Wasn't Admiral Yi Sun-sin's title of “Universe's Number One War General” grand enough, and his official position high enough? One should know that in the later stages of the war, almost the entire Korean navy was under his command.
Yet, this so-called number one general wasn't even qualified to enter the main tent of Li Rusong, the commander of the Ming Army!
Compared to that, what was he, Park Zhiheng, anyway?
It must be said, Koreans were indeed very self-aware in this regard.
Seeing Yun Tianyang walk away, he quickly shouted loudly at Yun Tianyang's retreating back: “I will wait here tonight. If the General needs anything, please do not hesitate to ask, I will surely accomplish it for the General!!!”