The Cycle of Poverty (2)
“You’re saying there are merchants who come to buy furs and hides toward the end of spring?”
“Yes. Most merchants arrive toward the end of winter, but some do come just before summer begins. Since spring is starting to settle in, it’s about time for them to show up.”
“Is this something all the residents of the North are aware of?”
“Of course, sir.”
Brikal, the head chef, explained that during the harsh winters, even the beasts grew hungry and descended closer to the villages than usual.
“Hungry beasts are ferocious, but they lose their cunning, making them easier to trap. Tracking them in the snow-covered fields is also quite simple. It is truly the season for hunters.”
“I see.”
“Since we can’t farm or forage in the winter, everyone usually spends their time chopping wood or out hunting.”
“And then they sell the hides and furs they’ve gathered to these merchants?”
“Yes. By then, the food stockpiled for winter is nearly gone, so we have to trade the hides for food just to survive the spring famine.”
Hearing this, Aiden couldn’t help but let out a dry, incredulous laugh.
‘What kind of absurd trade is this...!’
It’s common sense that commodities are relatively cheaper at their source, but to think that the furs and hides gathered by skilled hunters over an entire winter were being traded for only enough food to last a family a season or two?
‘Just look at these bastards.’
Aiden’s lips curled into a crooked smirk.
It reminded him of a story his instructor told him back when he was studying for the civil service exam in Korea.
— You’ve learned about the tributary trade of the Ming Dynasty, right? Do you know what that implies? It means that any private trade outside of the tributary system was strictly illegal. So, how were the Jurchen or Khitan tribes in the north supposed to sell their horses or furs? That’s right! Their only option was smuggling. And do you think those Chinese merchants gave them a fair price? Not a chance. They slashed the price to a tenth of its value right off the bat. Who knows, maybe that frustration played a part in Nurhaci rising up to establish the Qing Dynasty?
It might have been just a joke, but there were records of Han merchants buying high-quality sable furs—worth more than a cow—for the price of three or four chickens.
It wasn’t that the Jurchen or Khitan were stupid.
‘They knew, but they had no choice. They had no other way.’
This wasn’t the modern era, where a KTX train could take you from Seoul to Busan in under three hours.
Walking from the lands of the Jurchen to Beijing was a journey that took two months just for a round trip.
What if they went all the way to Nanjing, where goods were plentiful?
That was a grueling 150-day round trip.
Even if they hauled their furs all that way, there was no guarantee they’d get a good price.
As is the nature of merchants, they wouldn’t blink an eye at swindling a few country bumpkins if it meant lining their own pockets.
And what of the families left behind in the meantime?
‘...So that’s how such an unreasonable trade was possible.’
This unequal trade was being replicated exactly here in the North of this other world.
Aiden’s mind quickly organized the tasks he needed to perform.
Tap, tap, tap.
He drummed his fingers on the table a few times, and having finished his thought, he spoke bluntly.
“...It seems I’ll have to send out an official decree.”
“Pardon?”
“A decree stating that no external merchant may conduct any trade in the North without my explicit authorization.”
Let’s see what kind of faces these leeches have—the ones who have been sucking the North dry while the people here struggle to survive.
“Hah! Trade is prohibited!”
Jenkin faced a situation he hadn’t anticipated, and he finally understood what it felt like to have his blood boil to the very top of his head.
“I traveled this long, arduous road fearing they’d starve to death before the harvest, having eaten through their meager winter rations. And instead of welcoming a precious guest with open arms, what did you say?”
“......”
Before the merchant Jenkin’s sharp, murderous rage, the village head, an old man, bit his lip.
“I treated you people with humanity, even though your only trade goods are stinking piles of animal hides, just because we’re fellow citizens of the Empire! Hah! It’s laughable!”
Endless insults.
The sturdy young men standing behind the village head clenched their fists, which were like weapons, but they couldn’t talk back to a merchant.
‘If it weren’t for that food...’
The wagon behind Jenkin.
What was packed inside that wagon was undoubtedly wheat and barley.
And in this season, grain was literally the lifeline of the Northern people.
“...The newly appointed Administrative Officer has forbidden trade with merchants who lack a permit, and as citizens of the Empire, we have no choice but to comply. Please, calm your anger, Master Jenkin.”
Because of this, the village head bowed his head.
“Ah. The Administrative Officer?”
At the mention of the Administrative Officer’s order, Jenkin’s expression softened instantly.
‘So the new Administrative Officer is the type who wants a bribe.’
Heh.
If that was the case, it was something to welcome.
‘Softening up an Administrative Officer is our merchant guild’s specialty, absolutely!’
Sometimes, Administrative Officers who were demoted to the North would just come to drink themselves into a stupor, but Jenkin’s family didn’t particularly care for those types.
After all, things only work well when the government and the people cooperate, don’t they?
‘Heh heh. To think he’s already looking for a bribe not long after taking office.’
If things went well, they might even be able to monopolize the trade permits for a few of the most profitable villages.
Just in the last few years, a few bottom-feeders had been trying to sneak their feet into the Northern fur trade, calling themselves merchants, and he had been thinking it was about time to teach them a lesson.
‘This works out perfectly.’
For Jenkin, who intended to use the fur trade as a stepping stone to enter the heart of the Empire within a few years, there was no ally as reliable as a “bureaucrat who understands how things work.”
‘Furthermore, if the Lord’s Castle could handle the fur procurement on our behalf...’
Naturally, the purchase price could be slashed even further than it was now, and he could significantly reduce the number of mercenaries he hired to keep these savage, ignorant Northerners from getting any funny ideas. If he saved money here and saved money there,
‘It’s a goldmine!’
Having finished his calculations, Jenkin turned around without a second thought.
“Let’s go to the Lord’s Castle. I must meet the new Administrative Officer.”
“Yes, Guild Master!”
Naturally, he was a merchant who didn’t offer a single word of greeting to the village head or the residents.
His mind was occupied solely with how he could minimize the bribe he’d have to pay the Administrative Officer.
Neigh-!
“Giddy up.”
The distance from the village to the Lord’s Castle was a stone’s throw.
“What is your business?”
“I’ve come to see the Administrative Officer.”
Jenkin tossed his identification plaque through the half-opened carriage window.
‘It’s a pathetic excuse for a castle, no matter how many times I see it.’
Perhaps because it lacked a proper master, it was desolate beyond measure.
That must be why two out of every three Administrative Officers who were assigned here went insane, and the third went missing.
“I’ve come to receive a trade permit, so tell him.”
“...Yes.”
“Tsk, tsk. Look at that state of things.”
Watching the adjutant head toward the office, Jenkin clicked his tongue without even bothering to lower his voice.
A short while later, the adjutant returned, and the gates of the Lord’s Castle swung wide open.
Creeeeeak-.
“He says you are to be escorted in.”
Jenkin’s expression relaxed instantly.
He had been worried that, despite being demoted, the man would be stiff-necked because he was from the central administration, but the new Administrative Officer was clearly a man who could communicate well.
However, ten minutes were more than enough to shatter Jenkin’s confident expression.
“You say you require a trade permit?”
The newly appointed Administrative Officer was much younger than he had expected,
‘And handsome, too.’
He was even slick-looking.
‘Was he demoted because of a romantic scandal?’
In the mind of the money-grubbing merchant, an affair scandal was instantly constructed.
‘If that’s the case, he’ll be even easier to handle.’
A young man who couldn’t overcome his desires.
Heh.
Jenkin had to struggle to pull down the corners of his mouth, which kept wanting to curl upward.
“How much trouble you must have gone through to come all the way to this barren land.”
Jenkin pulled the lighter of the two pouches he had prepared in advance from his robe and slid it onto one side of the Administrative Officer’s desk.
Clink!
The sound of coins colliding was heard faintly.
“What is this?”
Aiden asked back with a calm face, even after seeing the pouch.
“Haha! It’s nothing much. It’s just a small token of my sincerity for those who are working so hard for the North, so please, accept it.”
“Ah. Thank you. I will put it to good use.”
The pouch went straight into the drawer. Hole in one.
“Haha, then when might the permit be... I’d appreciate it if it could be issued immediately. As you know, in the merchant business, prices change from today to tomorrow, so time is money.”
“Ah, that’s right. You said you needed a trade permit.”
Aiden handed a single document to the smiling Jenkin.
“Haha! So quickly...”
Jenkin, who had assumed the document was the permit, flipped through it with a confused expression before looking back at Aiden.
“What is this?”
“You said you needed a trade permit, didn’t you? If you submit a business plan, the permit will be issued after a review. Please start by filling out that document.”
“...What did you say?”
Displeasure clouded Jenkin’s face.
He had just accepted a bribe a minute ago, so what was the meaning of this?
‘What? Is the money not enough?’
But he hadn’t even checked the contents of the pouch yet, had he?
“Administrative Officer. Since I am a dull merchant, I don’t seem to understand the intentions of someone working for the state, so could you please explain it to me slowly? I’ve never even heard of such a document before.”
“Exactly! I’m also at a complete loss as to how my predecessors did their jobs, oh my.”
“Pardon?”
“Isn’t that just how government work is? Procedures, administration. If you’re going to ignore all that, then, uh? Why does the government exist, and why do officials exist, don’t you think?”
“......?”
Jenkin’s expression was now clearly hardened, but the Administrative Officer, Aiden, just shrugged his shoulders and continued with his uniquely bureaucratic tone.
“For the business items there, you can’t just lump them together as furs or hides. You know? Don’t use abstract words; please write down exactly what kind of items you intend to trade. There can be unnecessary disputes because of the items, you see.”
“......?”
“Please also make sure to include a tax payment plan on the second page. Oh, right. The employment status is also a new requirement, and if you look at the bottom there, do you see the precautions? You must employ at least 20 percent of your workforce from our Northern people for the jobs created by the trade.”
“What on earth is that...!”
Jenkin felt like his head was spinning.
Trade business overview?
Detailed trade plan by item?
Tax payment plan and estimated profit report?
List of local hires and wage plan?
“Oh, my. I almost forgot the most important thing.”
Aiden playfully tapped his own head before pulling out one last document and handing it over.
“Bribery, collusion, exploitation, corruption.”
The two men’s eyes met in the air.
“You know that these are not allowed, right?”
It was a pledge for the implementation of an integrity contract.