I Became the Crown Prince of a Ruined Country

13 – Handan Excursion

Handan, the capital of the Zhao Dynasty, was one of the largest cities in the world and an impregnable fortress.

Only Hamyang, the capital of the Qin Dynasty, and Linchi, the capital of the Qi Dynasty, were in the same rank as Handan.

Even at that time, Qi’s Imchi faced a period of decline as the country was driven to the brink of destruction by King Soyeonyang, and in fact, it was safe to say that only Hamyang, the capital of the Qin Dynasty, the most powerful country in the world, remained.

It was not for nothing that the people of Jo Nara living in Handan were very proud. A land that no country dared to invade. Even the Qin Dynasty, the incarnation of fear called the Tiger Country, could not raise its head in front of Handan.

Since Xianyang in the Qin Dynasty, which does not know art and cannot find rituals, is just big and crowded, the most superior city in the world is definitely Handan! That was the perception of the people of many Zhao countries.

And it wasn’t exactly wrong.

Locationwise, Handan, which is close to Qi, Wei, Little Wei, Han, and Qin, was the center where people and goods of all kinds flocked.

Art, academic, commercial, etc. If GDP per city during this period could be measured, Handan would have recorded the highest figure.

Is it because of that specialness? The structure of the capital city of Handan had a very unique shape.

Handan was not the usual square monolith. The three castles arranged in the shape of the character Poom (品) are combined to form the capital city of Handan.

West City, East City, North City.

Among these, the central one was Seoseong, a castle located in the west.

In Seoseong, which is divided into the most distinct city divisions in a square structure of about 1.3 Km from east to west and about 1.4 Km from north to south, the main palace called Yongdae, where the king resides, is located.

Although royal palaces existed in Dongseong and Bukseong, they were mainly used for going out and living in the busiest Seoseong.

For reference, this is where I currently live. Originally, I was in Dongseong, but thanks to Pyeongwon-gun, I moved to Seoseong when I moved my dorm.

Looking at the scale of Dongseong-do, it was as good as Seoseong. Dongseong, which is 0.9 Km from east to west and 1.4 Km from north to south, was formed along the north-south central axis based on two palaces, Bukjangdae and Namjangdae.

These two palaces were not located in the middle of the eastern castle, but rather to the west, because if you go further to the east, sunlight does not come in well due to the high walls.

And this meant that the value of the residential area declined as it was harder to see sunlight as it went east, and it was also said that the eastern part of Dongseong was underdeveloped and was forming a kind of slum.

“So, never go to the same s*x, okay?”

“Okay. Okay.”

Hankyung asked for trust, but unfortunately I had no intention of doing so!

But I didn’t intend to go all the way to the eastern part of Dongseong, which had become a slum.

A child who gave me unforgettable and shocking memories and then disappeared.

Because the place I met that child was of the same s*x.

“Whoa…Anyway, don’t get away from Seok and Hugh.”

“You know how good the security of Seoseong is. If something happens, I’ll run to the guards right away.”

Lastly, Hankyung tidied up my clothes. Full winter. The weather was very cold.

“You have to take care of yourself. No matter how much Pyeongwon-gun looks after you, Geonsin-gun, on the other hand, is looking for an opportunity to harm Young master.”

Being on someone’s side meant becoming hostile to the person who was on the opposite side of that person.

Since I put my line on Pyeongwon-gun, my competitor Geonsin-gun will look down on me.

‘But it’s Gunsin-gun who gave the first blow.’

Even if I stayed still, Gunsin-gun was my enemy.

Above all, at the point when King Jo followed Pyeongwon-gun’s words and treated me formally, it was too late for Gunshin-gun to use his hand.

Being a hostage does not mean that you are unconditionally neglected and persecuted.

A pawn is basically a collateral that guarantees a mutual agreement or non-aggression pact.

It is also true that if one side unilaterally breaks the promise, the hostage is the life of a fly that is in a state of disuse and, in the worst case, is killed. However, in other cases, it was common to treat them according to their status.

I am King Yeon’s unique enemy. At this rate, it was almost certain that he would become the Crown Prince and become the next Yeonwang. If you live a proper life as a hostage, it is difficult to treat you badly.

‘It was only until now that King Jo intentionally pressured me, and now I’ve stopped.’

Although the power of Gunsingun is great, it was never enough to go against King Jo’s decision.

Besides, like the logic I persuaded Pyeongwon-gun, a hostage is an existence that can easily become a friendly force in one’s country if raised well. It was also common to receive a title and serve as a government official in the country as a hostage.

Nevertheless, there is a degree. If I set out to go outside of Handan, I would be crushed without knowing the subject.

What I want right now is to wander around Handan for a while. Rather, he willingly allowed it in the hope of being influenced by the prosperity of Handan.

Leaving behind Hankyung’s old age, I finally set foot on the road to Handan.

Neatly divided city blocks and neatly arranged roads.

In addition to the Yongdae in the center, towering towers were showing off the beauty of the ancient Orient.

It feels like I am on an overseas trip. Oh, it’s actually a foreign country. Because I am a Yan person. I wandered around the group, giggling at the drip that didn’t work.

It feels a bit like a historical drama set or a folk village, so it’s a good idea to spend time eating street food or impulsively buying things that look good at stalls.

I arrived in front of the castle gate, the east gate of Seoseong and the west gate of Dongseong.

“Young master, please go away.”

When Seok, who had followed as an escort, spoke, Hugh also agreed.

“A lot of time has passed, so it would be perfect to go back now.”

“Hmm…”

Even thinking about it, I was so excited that I spent too much time stopping by here and there.

Well, you can’t be full on the first drink.

Let’s say goodbye for today, go home, and aim for the next opportunity.

Putting the regret behind me, I turned around.

After that, I went out once a week. At first, Hankyung, who poured out all kinds of worries, also stopped taking it seriously after the number of times exceeded 5.

The discipline of the attendants who followed me as an escort also loosened, but I didn’t particularly reprimand them. Rather, it was me who stepped into the s*x of the same s*x in a gap where they did not feel a sense of crisis.

“Are you fooling around today?”

Recently, my outings were focused on finding one person rather than looking around the city of Handan.

Each one was not a small castle, but it was an incredibly large adult, and the population was considerable. It was literally like looking for Kim Seo-bang in Seoul.

“Young master, it seems the time is up.”

“Yes. Go back soon… Huh?”

At a corner of the street I turned around for the last time out of regret. The little head sticking out just disappears.

Even though I was covering my head with a cloth, I definitely ran into it.

Instantly, with those golden eyes.

At the time I recognized it, my body was moving.

“Young master!”

§

As soon as our eyes met, the girl instinctively hid herself.

I myself did not know why. It was just an unconscious act.

No, the reason didn’t matter.

That’s him.

What I saw at first glance was not wrong.

Unlike back then, when he had a scruffy face, he had a polished look like a nobleman, but his smooth face was still there.

After crossing over to Seoseong, why did he come back here on a whim? Just longing for the old abode? Otherwise… ….

“It’s stupid.”

The girl buried her head between her knees, thinking it was stupid to think of it. He raised her knees and hugged her, curling her body up.

She blames herself for hiding in the shadows of the corner of the wall and holding false expectations.

Even though she was only 7 years old, the girl knew. She hoped that she was the only girl who was hurt and sad.

The year has passed, but spring is still here. The last cold of late winter seeped through the gaps in her torn clothes.

At that time, the trembling little body shrank even more.

The wind stopped.

“Ah…?”

“Isn’t it cold?”

Over her girl’s body, she covers her fur coat she was wearing, and the boy smiles.

The boy blocking the alley became a wall to block the wind, and the clothes that retained his body heat breathed warmth into the girl. The boy spoke again to the girl who was just staring at her boy blankly without saying a word.

“Are we old friends? Sit next to us?”

As if he wasn’t bothered by the dust on her precious silk clothes, the boy stuck his butt in the seat next to him.

The girl opened her mouth as she approached without hesitation.

“Do you know who I am?”

“Huh?”

The boy smiled awkwardly at the girl’s words as if he wouldn’t be able to do this if he knew who I was.

“Um…do I really need to know?”

“You don’t know who it is, but you say you’re helping…?”

“Just help if you want to help.”

As expected. I guess so.

If I had known who the girl was, that boy would have kept his distance like everyone else. Nothing would have come like it does now.

This favor is just out of curiosity out of ignorance. The girl’s brilliant brain calmly derived an objective interpretation.

But, I didn’t hate it.

“It’s stupid.”

Even if this favor was the result of ignorance, I didn’t want to refuse it.

No matter how smart you are, no matter how mature you are, you are still just a 7-year-old child.

“Isn’t that so? Then you can tell me. Can you teach me?”

“…I hate it.”

“Huh?”

“Say, I hate it.”

Because if you find out, you’ll leave too.

I don’t want to live a miserable life as a hostage, just like I left Dongseong after visiting Pyeongwon-gun.

The boy didn’t ask any more about the girl who kept her mouth shut.

Instead, I tweaked the subject of the question a bit.

“Then how about just the name?”

“Name?”

“Yes. I’m Dahn. Write like this.”

The boy wrote with her finger on her dirt floor. Dan (丹). It is the name of the boy, Heidan.

“You?”

Wouldn’t it be okay if it was just a name?

It’s a common name anyway. You wouldn’t know who I am with just a name.

If you think deeply, you will realize that the combination of age, appearance, and name can easily identify the girl, but the girl’s intelligence is hidden in front of her eyes.

Uncharacteristically thin fingers touched the ground.

5 Strokes. It was a very simple, neat combination of straight lines.

“Jeong.”

Jeong(正).

That was the girl’s name.