Still, to understand how Joohyun came to be in Bonui, we must understand what happened before and after the catastrophe at Jeongseon where the Headmen of Iljin, commanding 30,000 men of the Iljin and Green Sea Protectorates, were swallowed whole by the rebellion. 

Carrying a decree from the late King Mundeok, the Grand Headman Moon Byulyi of Iljin gathered a great army from the barbarians of the protectorate: the wild warriors who inhabited the land in villages and hamlets, the local nobles, and regiments of Datar auxiliaries and mercenaries. It was said that this army would pacify all the north and bound Kim Minseok and deliver him to the feet of the King. The Sindeok had passed through more than one defeat, they said, but it contained inexhaustible force that could not be broken by a mere peasant sedition. Whoever thought that a simple priest at the head of a collection of the rabble could make the Sindeok question its survival was a man of little faith and a tiny heart. Even though many small government forces had been crushed, it was believed by most, not least Byulyi herself, that if the civilised professional troops of the King were not adequate to contain the rebellion, then the barbarian allies of the Sindeok, filled with martial vigour and righteous savagery, would be able to put down the rebellion, not with swords, not armour, but mere clubs. 

Minseok was not idle then, collecting his forces with his commanders and hurrying without delay to meet the great army of the Headmen. He had calculated that Byulyi, who disliked the great nobles of the realm, would seek to obtain the glory of quenching the conflagration for herself and not share with the other decorated soldiers of the Sindeok like Taemin and Jinki. Minseok dared not measure his strength against that of all their forces united, for he had not yet sufficient strength, and thus determined to eliminate the most pressing threat first from the wild north before the succour of the nobles and King could arrive. 

Along the way to Jeongseon, Minseok’s forces were joined by more crowds of peasants, fleeing the advance of the army of the Headmen and the depredations of the Datars. They brought news of the Headmen, who had advanced quickly from Iljin and had concentrated with terrifying speed near Jeongseon, which was quite deep in Ansu, with the aim of relieving the siege of the city of Ansu and saving the Governor. But the only news that was joyful was that Byulyi had indeed come as chief of ten Headmen and their forces, but aside from them no one else was coming to provide her assistance; Lee Taemin had offered it, but she had refused him, and besides he was too far away in Gyeonggu to arrive on the field of battle. 

Minseok felt relieved. He moved on without delay, advancing through insurrection and slaughter. The country rose before him, and was left a desert behind. He went like an avenging dragon: his breath kindled fire, his footsteps pressed out blood. At Jeongnam he halted his forces and sent in advance Donghae and his Niuche auxiliaries, who came up with the Datars and attacked without delay. They paid dearly for their boldness, and were repulsed with heavy losses. 

It seemed as if the hour of punishment had come for the Pure Realm. But Minseok hurried quickly to Donghae’s aid, and some other rebels went to dam the river that protected Byulyi’s position at Jeongseon. Seeing the superior main force of her enemy, and the river weakening, Byulyi ordered a retreat from Jeongson, the whole army moving along the road to Raiju in a corral formation. But now Minseok’s forces had surrounded them on three sides, and the Sage sent Oh Sehun with his trained soldiers to lay a trap in an impenetrable valley just before Raiju, where the road was flanked on both sides by trenches and swamps. When the better part of the army of the Headmen entered this valley, the entire rebel force descended upon them, and in the resulting chaos whole divisions were slaughtered where they stood. All of the Headmen save for Byulyi herself were killed, and only a single flying column of horsemen under a colonel Kwon Eunbi managed to escape. 

Thus the entire vault of Heaven dropped on the Sindeok, and all the evil that has been mentioned was unleashed on the motherland. The kingdom lay prostrate at the feet of a priest. The news of the great defeat and utter destruction of the armies of the Iljin Headmen preceded the advance of the rebels, and Taemin, who had quartered his army at Gabang, was one of the first to learn of the true scale of the insurrection, which had grown so strong that, like a whale, it swallowed up a whole army of martial barbarians whole. In addition, very shortly after the disaster of Jeongseon, Taemin also learned that the fortress of Taein was besieged, and that its commander Park Chaeyoung had almost no powder, and therefore could not defend herself for much longer. 

“That is an unspeakable loss,” said Taemin, “for the fortress of Taein might cause great damage and hindrance to the rebellion. Lord Chaeyoung is a guard of honour of the entire nation. Why did she not send to me for powder? I would have given it to her from my cellars and basements.”

“She must have been waiting for the Grand Headman to provide it by virtue of her office,” said Eunji. 

“But evidently she did not attempt to avail Taein,” said Taemin. He placed a hand to his temple, feeling an ache come on in his skull. “The Grand Headman is an experienced soldier with long lists of accomplishments and military services, but she had too much self-confidence; she underestimated the might of the rebellion, and when I tried to render my advice and assistance she refused it, not wishing to share any part of the glory with anyone, fearing that the victory would be attributed to me.”

“She thought to pacify the rebellion with only clubs,” said Eunji. “Heaven has punished her with captivity. Our kingdom is perishing through this sort of pride, of which perhaps no one is free.”

Taemin said nothing in reply, for he knew well that he was guilty of this same pride. 

“Taein fortress must be saved,” said Taemin to his officers. “If it falls, not only will the country lose another one of its sterling soldiers, but the road that leads to Jiphyeon-myeon will be open to the infidels, and they will be able to use it to come onto our rear, or southwards towards the Jangseong.”

“Or use it to flank Lee Jinki’s army from the north-east of Silsa,” added Eunji.

Even though Taemin and Jinki were actually distant relatives, there was little familiarity, and even less love between them; for their families had split from the original branch of the clan due to a fratricidal dispute between their ancestors. Therefore, even though Taemin had received the summons for aid from the General of the Armies, the Governor was interested in the situation in Ansu insofar as it affected the defence of his own province and strongholds. Jinki guarded one approach to the Jangseong, while Taemin guarded another that he regarded as separate and unrelated, even though their destinations were the same; thus he had his own obligations and therefore reasoned to himself that he could not assist the General of the Armies. 

“Taein is deep within enemy territory. A relieving force would have to contend with the roaming bands of peasants who will invariably give up the force’s position to the infidels, who will endeavour to intercept them.” Taemin closed his eyes as the ache in his head intensified, but he showed no sign of pain on his face. “Someone must quickly scout the road and discover what forces are arrayed around the fortress. Who will do it?”

Scouting and reconnoitering were not tasks usually given to nobles. But Taemin had a justification in mind for mentioning it to his officers: in war, the only quality that separated a peasant from a noble was honour — for it was honour alone that could compel a man to march into fire and steel that is trained on them, and honour could only be found among nobles. This mission was just that: a willing march into danger and certain death. Thus not one of Taemin’s officers was willing to go, save for Joohyun, who having grown in poverty and want had perhaps developed an honour more matured and true than others. 

“I will go, my lord,” said she. 

Taemin clapped his hands. “No one is as forthcoming to hard tasks as you, brave Joohyun. You will go for me into Ansu and to the vicinity of Taein fortress. The whole mission relies on your own wit; you are to see everything that transpires there — what troops the infidels have assembled; if they are assembling more; and how fares the fortress and its defenders. Once you have found out all you can, return to me immediately so that we can decide on a plan to relieve it as soon as possible. Do you underst