People or Money First?
The next day, we too cleared out of the mansion Lord Pingyuan had provided. Though we had lived there only a few months, the servants sighed heavily, whether from the affection they had already formed or from dread at the thought of returning to their former lives as warriors. Their eyes lingered on the house with obvious reluctance. I understood how they felt. That was why I decided to give them a choice.
"Anyone who wishes to leave may go."
"Pardon?"
"My lord?"
"Leave? What do you mean, my lord?"
They stared at me in shock, their faces showing more bewilderment than joy. Even in this situation, they had been prepared to accept their fate without resenting me. This was the only thing I could offer them in return.
"Go to Lord Pingyuan's territory and live as ordinary commoners. You will have to keep a low profile for a while, but once time passes, you may go wherever you please. Lord Pingyuan has already given his permission."
They had never imagined a life outside of serving royalty. They looked at one another in confusion, no one daring to step forward. Their eyes darted toward Han Jing, who stood beside me.
"You need not worry about what others think. It is my fault that I could not protect you properly. Han Jing and I will not hold it against you. Think only of yourselves."
When I pressed them for their own decisions, Seok, who often served as my guard, raised his hand.
"Seok, do you still have a question?"
"If we all leave, my lord, what will you do?"
I had spent a long time being cared for. Even now, I knew little of how to manage daily life in this era. Cooking, cleaning, laundry—everything was unfamiliar.
"I will have to manage alone."
"Then I will stay. I am not particularly skilled at cooking, but I can at least lend a hand."
The crowd always followed the first to move. Once Seok broke the silence, others quickly stepped forward to declare they would remain. Not everyone stayed, however. A few still wished to leave despite the atmosphere, and I stopped the others from glaring at them. I explained carefully what they needed to do. Before departing, one of them turned back.
"My lord, are you not angry with us?"
"Of course not. This is the result of my own failure to fulfill my responsibilities. Why would I hate anyone? If you go, do not concern yourself with me any longer. Simply live well."
After seeing the few who left on their way, I turned to those who remained. More than half had chosen to stay. Though we had only been together for half a year as hostages, I had earned their trust to this extent.
From now on, there will be more. I will not lose them again.
Though we had lost some, others had given me their hearts. I approached Jeong, who stood apart looking hesitant, and took his hand.
"Let us depart."
Until we crossed into the eastern lodgings, I pondered endlessly. Accumulating money as our immediate goal was fine, but anyone could set a goal. The real problem was how to earn it. The most obvious method was commerce—becoming a merchant. In truth, nearly all wealthy commoners who were neither royalty nor nobility had built their fortunes through trade.
Should I pursue commerce, then? That required further thought. To engage in trade, three things were essential. First, goods. Without something to sell, one could hardly call oneself a merchant. Second, a market. Goods without buyers were nothing but burdensome clutter. Third, manpower. This might well be the most important of all. In the twenty-first century, the internet allowed one person to source goods and reach markets alone, but here in antiquity, every step—from production to transport to sale—required human hands.
And before any of these could be secured, there was a prerequisite: capital. The cost of producing or purchasing goods, the logistics and promotion fees to move them to market, and the wages for those who would handle the entire process. All of it came down to money.
Money.
"So you came to me for that? To borrow money?"
After hearing my brief explanation, Nogucheon asked directly.
"Similar, but not quite."
It was true that I needed Nogucheon, but not merely to borrow funds. Had I wanted only money, I would have sought out a professional moneylender instead. Usury was a thriving business in this era. High-ranking officials with surplus wealth preferred the stable profits of high-interest lending over the risks of running a trading company. Even Lord Mengchang of the Four Lords had funded his retainers through moneylending.
But I had sought Nogucheon not for money, but for people. I needed money to hire people, yet I needed people to obtain money—an ironic cycle with no clear beginning, like asking whether the chicken or the egg came first. Still, there was no helping it. What I lacked most urgently was not money, but people. Money alone would be useless while I remained confined as a hostage, unable to act freely. Without an agent to act in my stead, I could not even begin.
"I did not come to borrow money. I came to propose a partnership."
Nogucheon's expression shifted at my words. My credibility in Handan was currently zero. Though I had laid groundwork to avoid causing Lord Pingyuan too much trouble, the result was that I had betrayed his goodwill. I had parted on poor terms with Lord Pingyuan, the most beloved figure in Zhao, and my next connection, Lord Xinling, was already entangled in enmity. Who would trust me now? At least Nogucheon and I had prior acquaintance, which was why he had agreed to meet me in secret.
Conversely, I trust Nogucheon more than most.
During our previous game of liubo, he had played me fairly without resorting to tricks, even though I was a novice. My own skill might have been slightly superior, but without knowledge of cheating methods, I would have been defenseless had he chosen to deceive me.
Yet Nogucheon did not.
It might have been a miscalculation based on my liubo ability, but at least the Nogucheon I had seen was a man who understood propriety.
"Hmm… I understand that you are skilled at games of chance, my lord, but commerce is not so simple."
I knew that. Commerce was war. That was why the feudal lords preferred usury over trade, despite the greater profits the latter could yield. The market was a battlefield where even those with immense power and wealth could fail and fall.
Though his tone was negative, the fact that Nogucheon had responded at all was a positive sign. It meant he was at least willing to hear me out. What followed would be a matter of persuasion.
"Commerce is still premature. I know that as well. What I intend may be closer to moneylending than trade."
"You have piqued my interest. May I hear more?"
Nogucheon had agreed to listen, but I held my tongue for a moment. The pause would heighten his focus, but more than that, I hesitated to reveal the idea that was my only real asset. Sensing this, Nogucheon spoke again to draw me out.
"Whatever is said today will remain buried here. You need not worry."
"Mm…"
My only capital was the idea itself. Even if Nogucheon heard it and later pursued it alone without me, I had no real means to stop him. Yet he would likely hesitate to betray me. If I held a grudge and became a vengeful spirit, it would only bring him trouble. If I faltered here, everything else I hoped to accomplish would remain impossible. To earn trust, I had to offer it first.
"I will speak."
"I am listening with anticipation."
"I will conduct commerce using money itself."
When I stopped there, Nogucheon gave a disbelieving laugh.
"Yes, commerce is done with money. Even I know that much, my lord."
Perhaps it sounded like a jest. But I was entirely serious.
"I will say it again. I will trade in money as the commodity. In other words, money will not be the medium of our transactions, but the very goods we deal in."
Even after this, Nogucheon showed no sign of understanding. Frowning in confusion, he watched as I smiled. Yes, this was right. I had arrived at this notion thanks to my early experiences after crossing into Zhao. While exchanging Yan currency for Zhao currency, I had realized the blind spot in the exchange market.
In this era, currency was regarded solely as a medium for commodity transactions and a tool for the government to manage the national economy. Exchange rates existed but adjusted slowly, and currency exchange itself was treated almost like barter, with no fees. In later times, however, currency itself became a commodity. Each nation's money held different values. A country's currency fluctuated, and one could profit by acquiring it when its value was low and exchanging it when its value rose. In crude terms—
Currency arbitrage.