Subjugating the Wokou (2)
The courtyard of the Gyeongju magistrate's office froze in an instant. The rank-and-file guards, overwhelmed by the killing intent radiating from the hundred elite Jangyongyeong soldiers, dropped their weapons and huddled in the corners, holding their breath.
Magistrate Kim Sa-ik stood rigid like a stone statue until Yi Si-woo's blade touched his throat. Only then did he scream and crawl across the ground.
"M-My lord! Please, quell your anger! How could a mere wretch like me dare discard His Highness's provisions? It's just... the wokou raids have cut off the supply lines, leaving us no choice..."
"That mouth of yours is the problem."
Yi Si-woo kicked him indifferently. With a thud, Kim Sa-ik's scream cut short.
Yi Si-woo brushed the blood from his sleeve and nodded to Baek Dong-su standing beside him.
"Brother, gather all the remaining ledgers piled in the courtyard and move them to the office. And bring this magistrate along—gently."
"Got it. Hey, you! Get up already!"
Dragged by Baek Dong-su's rough hands, the ashen-faced Kim Sa-ik was dumped to his knees on the office floor.
Yi Si-woo settled naturally into the magistrate's seat and began cross-referencing the half-burned ledgers with the warehouse lists Kim Sa-ik had offered as proof of his loyalty.
The only sounds in the office were the rustle of Yi Si-woo flipping through the ledgers and Kim Sa-ik's faint whimpers.
Yi Si-woo placed his pocket watch on the desk and pointed to the figures one by one.
Gyeongju's average annual harvest, the tribute rice sent to the capital, the reserves for wartime—once he'd reviewed every ledger, Yi Si-woo's eyes sharpened fiercely.
The numbers simply didn't add up.
"Magistrate Kim."
"Y-Yes! My lord!"
"Those warehouses you just offered me as a token of your sincerity? About three thousand seok, right? Impressive that you emptied your personal coffers for it."
Kim Sa-ik wiped at imaginary tears and bowed his head.
"It's everything I own, my lord! I offered it with the resolve to carve flesh from my bones, all for the Gigi-cheong Director's campaign..."
"But here's the thing."
Yi Si-woo flung one ledger right in front of Kim Sa-ik's nose.
"Over the past three years, ten thousand two hundred seok of rice has been stuck here in Gyeongju instead of going to Hanyang. Even adding your three thousand seok to the five hundred seok of rotten rice left in the office granary, that's still eight thousand five hundred seok missing. Where did it go? Did the rats eat it? Or did the wokou shoulder it away?"
Kim Sa-ik's face drained to the color of dirt in an instant. His lips trembled, words spilling out incoherently.
"Th-That... must be an error in the ledgers! With the chaotic times, the clerks must have made a mistake..."
"Too clear-cut for an error—the receiving seals are pristine."
Yi Si-woo tapped the edge of the ledger with his finger. There, instead of the office seal, was a distinctive private crest: the emblem of Kim Gwi-ju, the Noron leader who gripped all of Gyeongju in his fist.
"So the Gyeongju magistrate, feeding at His Highness's table, was actually playing warehouse guard for Lord Kim Gwi-ju. Isn't that right?"
Yi Si-woo closed the ledger for a moment and looked down at Kim Sa-ik.
"One condition, though. Cooperate with me here and now, and I won't touch your remaining assets. I've already taken the ill-gotten gains—I'm not greedy enough to strip you clean."
Kim Sa-ik trembled, but his eyes flickered with hope. A path to survival.
He slammed his forehead to the floor and nodded frantically.
Yi Si-woo rose from his seat.
"The remaining seventy percent of the provisions. Not hidden by you, but stashed deep in Kim Gwi-ju's household, I see. Guess I'll have to check myself."
"M-My lord! You can't! Lord Kim Gwi-ju is His Highness's kinsman by marriage, the pillar of the Noron! Even the Gigi-cheong Director can't touch that place without Hanyang coming down on you!"
Yi Si-woo answered with a sneer and strode out of the office.
"Consequences? If the kingdom's pillar is rotten, stealing rice from the people, then uprooting it is my job."
As Yi Si-woo descended to the courtyard, Baek Dong-su brought horses as if waiting.
"Director, where to?"
"The biggest house in Gyeongju. Kim Gwi-ju's family estate."
Yi Si-woo mounted, and the thunder of Jangyongyeong hooves echoed through Gyeongju's walls.
Yi Si-woo's horse halted at the highest point in Gyeongju's inner castle, before a massive tiled mansion ringed by a dense pine forest. More imposing than any government office, its grand gate flaunted ornate designs proclaiming Noron prestige.
"This the place? Kim Gwi-ju's villa."
Baek Dong-su whistled in awe.
Without a word, Yi Si-woo dismounted and kicked the gate.
Bam—!
The heavy doors screamed open. Servants sweeping the courtyard scattered in panic, tumbling over themselves. Two men in silk robes burst out from the inner quarters, pointing spears.
Kim Gwi-ju's retainers and hangers-on.
"Who dares! Do you know whose house this is, using force like that?!"
The fat one in front blocked Yi Si-woo's path. The estate manager, lording over Gyeongju thanks to Kim Gwi-ju's backing.
"Jangyongyeong Gigi-cheong Director Yi Si-woo. The magistrate's ledgers show seven thousand seok of His Highness's provisions stored here. Open the warehouses now."
The manager and hangers-on burst into laughter at Yi Si-woo's words.
"Gigi-cheong Director... An honor that the Jangyongyeong Gigi-cheong Director graces distant Gyeongju. But my lord, this rice is legally Lord Kim Gwi-ju's property. Perhaps a mistake in the ledgers? We wouldn't want any misunderstanding to tarnish your reputation later."
The hanger-on beside him chimed in.
"Even a Gigi-cheong Director can't just barge into a yangban household like this. We'd hate for you to regret it later."
Yi Si-woo's expression didn't twitch. Instead, a sneer curled his lips as he tapped the hilt of his sword.
"Propriety? With the kingdom on the brink of wokou blades, squeezing blood from the people to fatten yourselves—that's your yangban propriety?"
Yi Si-woo stepped forward, and the manager's composed facade crumbled.
"M-My lord! Even so, this is too much! If Lord Kim Gwi-ju hears of this, not even the Gigi-cheong Director will escape unscathed!"
Yi Si-woo looked down at him impassively.
"Talk all you want—it changes nothing. This courtyard is already under Jangyongyeong control."
Yi Si-woo thrust the ledger in the manager's face.
"I took the three thousand seok Magistrate Kim threw at me to save his neck. But the ledgers show another six thousand seok of rice lost beyond that wall."
Yi Si-woo snapped the ledger shut.
"If the kingdom's rice is lost in this house, I'll find it myself. If your lofty propriety means savoring rice stolen from thieves' granaries, then today I'll uproot the whole pillar from the root. Step aside."
That was when it happened.
The heavy inner door creaked open.
Silence fell like a lie over the courtyard thick with shouts.
A woman emerged slowly, her hair immaculately swept back without a strand out of place. Her fine silk skirt hem swept the dust, but she paid it no mind. Her graceful steps exuded an odd, overwhelming pressure as they cut through the blood-scented Jangyongyeong ranks.
"Such a commotion. The Gigi-cheong Director's fame echoes to Hanyang, yet your propriety seems lacking and your violence hasty, it seems."
Yi Si-woo narrowed his eyes at the woman. Clearly from Kim Gwi-ju's household. That gaze and rigid poise could only come from one raised at the pinnacle of power.
Who is she? Definitely Kim Gwi-ju's blood.
And for a moment, unbidden, Yi Si-woo paused.
Since reincarnating in Joseon, I've seen countless women, but never a face like that.
She was beautiful. Not just any beauty. Like a viper luring prey with vivid patterns—impossible to look away from, yet instinctively screaming danger.
Yi Si-woo shook off the thought, his sneer returning.
"Indeed, if the master is Kim Gwi-ju, even the house dogs wear silk. But miss, how's the taste of rice made from the people's lifeblood? Goes down smooth, does it?"
The woman's eyes trembled faintly for the first time. Her composure cracked by the insult.
But only for a moment—a strange curve touched her lips.
"If you're so curious about the taste,"
She stepped forward, meeting Yi Si-woo's gaze head-on.
"Why not try it yourself, my lord? We have some rice I prepared carefully this morning."
She stared straight into his eyes.
"But take care. If the Gigi-cheong Director, so cherished by His Highness, should fall ill from it, how great would His Highness's worry be?"
Yi Si-woo didn't evade her provocative gaze. He leaned in close to her ear and whispered low.
"No need to worry. My stomach's ironclad. Especially rice from thieves' granaries—it's a rare delicacy. But miss, with the warehouses overflowing sans owner, I suppose I can claim ownership of this rice."
Yi Si-woo turned to Baek Dong-su.
"Brother, open every warehouse. Not a single grain left behind."
The woman's face hardened for the first time.
Yi Si-woo passed her with a mocking glance.
"I'll have that rice later. After I take the wokou scum's heads at Busanpo first."