The Merchants' Siege
"I shall take my leave now."
"Then I shall await good news."
Jo Pilsung turned and left with a rigid expression. Unlike their first meeting, Hwangbo Jeong made no move to see him out. He remained seated and simply lifted his teacup—a gesture that made the gulf between their stations unmistakably clear.
Once Jo Pilsung was gone, an inner door opened and someone stepped into the room.
"Thank you, Uncle."
The one offering the greeting was Hwangbo Taeseong. At the appearance of the notorious third young master, Hwangbo Jeong's face stayed indifferent.
"Do you realize how far I had to go out on a limb just to preserve your face? This is not my usual way of doing things."
"I am well aware. But if this one affair succeeds, Uncle will finally obtain what he has long desired."
The unspoken thought—If that weren't true, would you have come all this way to listen to the nephew you always dismissed?—stayed hidden behind Taeseong's smile. He bowed deeply to Hwangbo Jeong, his father's youngest brother.
We're the same sort of people.
Hwangbo Jeong himself had once competed with the current clan head for succession. Having recognized his own limits, he had chosen instead to back the stronger man. The price had been distance from the main house of the Hwangbo Clan, yet he had gained considerable power as a merchant lord in return.
The only real difference between them was timing: Hwangbo Jeong had accepted reality quickly, while Hwangbo Taeseong had been late to the same realization.
"Do you even know what it is I want?"
"Shandong Province alone is far too small a vessel for Uncle's ambition. Shouldn't your name resound far beyond its borders as well?"
"And you claim Deungmyeong Manor alone will achieve that?"
"You've already seen it with your own eyes. Just today, countless ships sailed out laden with ice and medicinal pills. Those vessels are spreading to dozens of ports, and Deungmyeong Medicines are already earning renown across the sea. Imagine if all of that belonged to you, Uncle."
That was precisely the thorn in Hwangbo Jeong's side.
If martial might cannot conquer the Central Plains, then gold will.
He had intended to raise a fortress of pure wealth. Yet no matter how hard he labored, his influence could never reach past Shandong.
Gyounam, though… that place holds real possibility.
The reform of the black market had sent Gyounam's commerce exploding into explosive growth.
"Very well. But is the relationship between the Donghae Merchant Group and Deungmyeong Manor truly that solid?"
"Without question. Touch the Donghae Merchant Group and Deungmyeong Manor will certainly intervene. Moreover, that manor lord is young and reckless—the type who charges in without distinguishing fire from water."
"You mean he will cross the line."
"Exactly. If he dares draw a blade against the Hwangbo Clan first, everything that follows becomes simple, does it not? And even if he refuses to act, we can simply strangle the Donghae Merchant Group until they are forced to the negotiating table."
Hwangbo Jeong nodded. The Donghae Merchant Group might have amassed considerable wealth of late, but they were still pouring funds into numerous investments. That meant the ready capital in their hands was limited. Right now, crushing them was entirely possible.
Yet one rumor still nagged at him.
"I hear the Poisonous Loving Mother, Song Jain, is with them as well."
"What of it? Even if Song Jain is there, would she truly dare challenge the prestige of the Hwangbo Clan?"
Hwangbo Taeseong clenched his fist for a fleeting moment. The memory of facing Song Jain in person rose unbidden—but he saw no reason to mention it here.
"If the Poisonous Loving Mother herself steps forward, it might even work in our favor. Word is she has a sickly son with her. Use him, and we could even seize the sacred elixirs of Poison Valley."
Greed was breeding more greed. Listening carefully, Deungmyeong Manor seemed to possess far too much for its reputation.
"We will pressure the Donghae Merchant Group as planned. You make certain you carry out your part."
"Of course, Uncle. Leave it to me."
Hwangbo Taeseong bowed and left the detached pavilion.
Dawn at Deungmyeong Manor.
Every member of the household had gathered for calisthenics—what they called the Deungmyeong Health Exercises.
"All right, everyone! Full energy today as well!"
The instructor was Panseok.
As expected, Big Brother Panseok is the easiest one to follow.
His sheer bulk made him an excellent model for the rest to copy.
"So Cheon, bend those knees a little more. Uncle Jang Geon, straighten your back."
Ja Gangcheon moved among them, correcting postures one by one.
"Brother Pilseng, raise your arms higher. No more treating you like a patient. At the very least your upper body is fine now. Once you can walk again, we'll start on the lower body as well."
"Yeah… got it."
Seated in his wheeled chair, Pilseng followed the movements while pouring with sweat. Song Jain had once watched with aching pity, yet she now looked on with quiet gratitude, knowing full well this was something her son needed.
"Auntie?"
"Yes? Surely you don't mean me as well…"
"No exceptions for manor folk, you know."
"Ah!"
"Is only Brother Pilseng family, while Auntie is not?"
"N-not at all, my lord."
In the end Song Jain joined the Deungmyeong exercises as well.
How on earth did he create this?
It looked like simple calisthenics, yet in truth it was a systematic method of stimulating the acupuncture points.
"All right! Meditation time!"
After two full ke of exercise, everyone settled into place and crossed their legs in the lotus position.
"Cheongu, if you would."
As they closed their eyes and began to feel the wind, Cheongu recited the formula.
"In stillness there is movement, and within movement stillness dwells. Qi flows like a gentle breeze and fades away, yet when it rises again it becomes a storm. Cast off form and lose all sound, and only then will your own heart appear. Feel it and advance. Stand at the end and look back."
Cheongu continued the chant for half a ke; afterward, silence settled over the entire manor.
"Ahem—!"
The one who could not hold back a cough was So Cheon, the boy who dreamed of becoming the greatest cook under heaven. His father the cook was about to scold him, but Ja Gangcheon spoke first.
"Heh!"
"Puhaha!"
Ja Gangcheon laughed, and the sound spread through the whole gathering.
"I-I'm sorry!"
"It's fine. This is something we do with joyful hearts. Mistakes are allowed. Playing around is allowed."
A burst of laughter served as their pause; then they returned to meditation and filled another full ke before rising from their seats.
"All right! So once more today—!"
At Ja Gangcheon's lead, everyone shouted together:
"Good morning!"
With that spirited cry, the first day of March began. Yet Yang Mosu, who would normally have headed straight for the pharmacy, approached Ja Gangcheon instead.
"My lord."
"Yes, Uncle?"
"I believe the time has come when I must speak of this."
Yang Mosu's expression was grave.
"Of late the supply of medicinal herbs has been delayed. Worse, inferior stock has begun to mix in."
"Has it?"
"And a greater problem still: the increase in production has completely stalled. Looking at sales figures, the volume ought to keep rising, yet for some reason the Donghae Merchant Group is requesting only the same quantities as before."
Cheongu, who had been listening, added his own observation.
"Ice sales aren't growing either. From the end of February they should have started climbing, but they're stuck flat. Compared to last year we're only at half the volume."
Only then did Ja Gangcheon realize something was wrong.
"I'll go see the merchant lord."
He headed straight for the Donghae Merchant Group.
The Donghae Merchant Group.
The atmosphere that had always been so lively had changed. People were still busy, yet the faces of the members were drawn tight and their speech had turned sharp. When Ja Gangcheon entered they hastily corrected their postures and greeted him, but even that felt stiff.
Something has happened.
He went directly to find the merchant lord.
"He is in a meeting at the moment. Please wait just a short while."
Word reached Jo Pilsung at once, and he came running.
"Welcome, my lord. Forgive the slight delay—I was in the middle of a conference."
"Not at all. I came without any appointment. But it looks as though something is wrong at the guild."
"Mm…"
Jo Pilsung's face was clouded with worry.
"Uncle. Once you start hiding one thing, you'll end up having to hide far more."
"Huu… Forgive me. To be honest, I was concealing it because I hated the thought of burdening you, my lord."
"What is going on?"
"The Shandong Merchant Group is openly obstructing us."
"Shandong Merchant Group—that would be the Hwangbo merchants, yes?"
"Correct."
Jo Pilsung candidly recounted his meeting with Hwangbo Jeong a month earlier.
"Since then we have been unable to purchase medicinal herbs. Every major herb dealer in Shandong Province has cut ties with us. Even the ship owners are refusing our business. That is why ice sales are falling as well. The Shandong Merchant Group is lording it over the merchants of Gyounam and shutting us out."
"The reason?"
"They clearly want a monopoly on both the pills and the ice."
Jo Pilsung then related the exclusive distribution contract Hwangbo Jeong had proposed.
"An unpleasant offer. Is there no way to secure herbs?"
"Large-scale purchases are impossible for now. We have scattered our people, concealing their affiliation, and are buying in small lots. But the Hwangbo merchants are even blocking the major dealers outside Shandong, so it is not easy. We are bringing in as much as we can by ship, yet the purchase price has soared far too high."
Small orders hauled over long distances naturally became expensive.
"I had heard the merchant world was cutthroat, but I never imagined they would go this far."
When Ja Gangcheon's brow furrowed, Jo Pilsung spoke hurriedly.
"This is the guild's problem. If we try to solve it with force, a far greater disaster will follow."
"The power of money is still power, is it not? And they threw the first punch."
"My lord…"
"Don't worry. I have no intention of marching over there right this moment. I've learned a great deal by now."
"Yes. I place my trust in you, my lord."
"Then let us worry over it together from now on. Is that all right?"
"Of course."
They reconvened shortly afterward at Deungmyeong Manor, where they could speak more discreetly than at the guild itself.
"Come. Let us talk somewhere comfortable."
Rather than a stuffy room, Ja Gangcheon deliberately gathered everyone at the rear-garden pavilion. Seven officers of the Donghae Merchant Group and seven from the manor. Because medicine production was involved, Yang Mosu attended; Jang Geon, a former shopkeeper with long experience, was present as well.
"This is the first time we've all sat together like this. Looking at all of you makes me feel reassured."
"I am sorry for creating such a difficult problem."
"This is not the merchant lord's fault. No one in the Donghae Merchant Group is at fault. So in this place we will not be assigning blame."
At Ja Gangcheon's sincere words the guild members let out long, heavy breaths. After a month of pure hell, those simple words were a profound comfort.
"All right. From this moment we speak only of solutions. What is most urgent?"
"Securing medicinal herbs. If we can obtain the ingredients for Deungmyeong Medicines at proper prices, the losses on ice and Donghae wine can be fully offset."
"How stands the herb situation now?"
Yang Mosu, who actually compounded the medicines, answered.
"Quality is hanging by a thread. Roughly two-tenths has to be discarded, and if this continues we may soon face a shortage of materials and be unable to produce at all."
"Is it only quality and quantity?"
"No."
This time the man who oversaw herb sales spoke up. He was the cripple Jo Pilsung himself had once pulled out of a prison cell. The man named Jeong Insu offered a stark illustration of how dire things had become.
"Excluding labor costs, pure production cost of the pills has climbed to seventy percent of the selling price. Factor in wages, transport, and shop maintenance, and we are running at a loss."
Quality, quantity, and price—all three were the problem.
"The Shandong Merchant Group must have known it would come to this."
"They did. As things stand, accepting their monopoly proposal is the guild's only path to survival. Of course, I myself oppose that proposal."
"So what we need is good-quality herbs at the old prices."
Ja Gangcheon summarized, and a variety of opinions followed. Yet none satisfied everyone.
"We need both northern and southern herbs in equal measure, so it is not simple."
As the frustrating discussion dragged on, the lively atmosphere of the beginning slowly withered. At last the exchange of ideas dried up and silence stretched—until someone spoke.
"If truly no other path remains, there is a last resort."
The speaker was Song Jain. Poison arts and medicinal herbs were inseparable. When every gaze turned to her, she opened her mouth slowly.
"Word has it that the Grass Hunting Society is gathering once more."
The Grass Hunting Society.
Once a colossal organization that had rivaled even the Green Forest bandits, it was a collective of herb gatherers, hunters, and woodcutters—people who made the mountains their home.