Enforcing Discipline - 3
Before embarking on this endless nationwide tour like now, even right after becoming the Left Deputy Censor-in-Chief, I wasn't exactly glued to the capital either. The Deputy Censor-in-Chief is the advisor to the Censor-in-Chief, the head of the Dochalwon. That also means handling all the work the Censor-in-Chief is too lazy to do.
"Go take care of things in Hefei for me."
"Pardon?"
I was impressed by Left Censor-in-Chief Jwa Do-eosa's boldness in shipping off a newbie just getting the hang of paperwork straight to the provinces, but of course, I couldn't refuse. When it came to murim-related issues, bureaucrats had an unspoken rule: move immediately.
"Hefei... you mean the Namgung family?"
"Yeah. I thought exile would be enough, but they're still stirring up trouble even there."
The Namgung family, banished from Zhili to Anhui after pissing off the officials. But reports had come in that they were leveraging their proximity to Jiangnan to grow their wealth. Sure, building wealth with your own money and connections is perfectly normal, but the problem was that the Namgung family—who'd been properly convicted of lese-majeste—was doing it. For all we knew, they might be harboring grudges against the officials who exiled them and messing around with money out of spite. Whether that probability was low didn't matter to us bureaucrats.
The Namgung family was already seen as cowards who'd stayed silent during the Mongol expulsion and contributed nothing to Daesong's founding—utter trash.
"You're heading to Hefei?"
"Yes, Grandfather."
On my way home, dragging my feet to prepare for the trip, Grandfather gave me some advice.
"The Namgung lot don't fear heaven itself. Swollen with pride from calling themselves the world's greatest sword family, they look down on everyone else. Give them a light scolding, and they'll think you're scared of them and keep crawling all over you."
"Ah, yes."
To be precise, it was advice disguised as a barrage of profanity. But thanks to Grandfather's—ahem—fervent advice, I got a clear picture of the Namgung family's reputation. If even Grandfather, who weighed merits and faults meticulously, was ripping into them like that, their image among the founding merits holders was rock bottom. Which meant this was our chance to crush them thoroughly.
And so I nitpicked everything under the sun to grind them down. Making money thanks to the court's grace, but no donations? Are you traitors? Why does your martial art name include "Imperial King"? Traitors? Why's a lowly local landowner babbling about the blue sky? Traitors? I hit them with "Are you traitors?" for every little thing in sight, and it worked like a charm.
"Hahaha! That's more like it! How dare a mere sword hack invoke the Imperial King!"
When Grandfather heard that the Namgung family's signature Imperial King Sword Form had been demoted to Prostrate Minister Sword Form, he spat out his tea laughing. Even letters of praise poured in from the kings scattered across the Central Plains. Everyone was happy except the Namgung family—a perfect ending.
"It's been a while. I hope you've been well."
And now I was back at the Namgung estate.
"With His Majesty's virtue shining so brightly and the realm at peace, how could there be any discomfort?"
Namgung Jeong, the family head, twitched at the corners of his eyes upon seeing my face, but his voice stayed calm. No matter how much they'd been beaten like dogs by the court, this was once the world's top sword family, a pillar of murim. As its head, he was skilled at controlling his emotions. Good. If he'd shown outright displeasure, I'd have to crush the whole family twice—that would've been too cruel.
"This humble place isn't fit to host a noble guest like yourself, but we've prepared a modest banquet for the Left Deputy Censor-in-Chief."
"Humble? Compared to any other families I've seen so far, it's more than sufficient."
Of course, being good at emotional control didn't mean having no emotions. The family head threw a jab disguised as humility toward the man who'd already stomped his house once. It's all because of you that we had to cough up donations and end up so humbled. I countered his jab with, If this is humble after all that, how much did you rake in before? If the Namgung estate was humble, 99% of the families in the Central Plains were paupers.
"Haha, is that so? I'm at a loss for words."
Namgung Jeong gave a perfunctory smile and then turned his gaze behind me.
"But, my lord... what are those...?"
Following his trailing gaze, I turned too—and there were two deer in the stables, swinging horns at the Namgung retainers and kicking wildly, refusing to go in.
- Kki-iiing!
- Kki-oooong!
"Spirit beasts I was fortunate enough to meet. They're wise and gentle, but they shy away from anyone but their friend—me—so it's better to leave them be rather than locking them up somewhere."
Namgung Jeong looked at the deer with complicated eyes. A Left Deputy Censor-in-Chief shows up unannounced with "spirit beasts," and those beasts are going berserk. He'd probably suspect it was sabotage to trash the estate. And it is sabotage. Unfortunately for him, it was exactly that. To really rattle the Namgung family, I'd released their seals.
"Play as wild as you want while I'm gone. Like back at Hengshan."
- Kki-ing!
- Kki-ong!
Remembering how they'd nodded like they understood made my lips twitch upward. Enemies when foes, but as allies, sturdier than anyone. Go get 'em, my deer squad. Ruin the Namgung estate with your own hooves.
The venue Namgung Jeong led me to had a feast proportional to the family's wealth. He probably wanted to serve saltwater soup instead. The only issue was that it'd force the Namgung family to rebrand as the Nam Clan and Gong Clan and flee.
"It's an honor to meet the Left Deputy Censor-in-Chief, who toils day and night for the realm's peace. I'm Namgung Seon, young master of the Namgung family."
"Pleased to meet you, young master."
The head's guidance and the young master's close mark. Their determination not to give me any openings made my lips twitch again. At least the Namgung family was watching the court's eyes. They might be blocking my view to hide exploitable flaws, but if they were pulling tricks, the court would've noticed. In that case, I wouldn't have come to enforce discipline—I'd have come with cannons.
No need to flip them over like last time. Honestly, forcing donations and renaming their arts was overkill even by my standards. The higher-ups despised the Namgung family, and letting them off might encourage other families to act up—one to warn a hundred. The head grumbled a bit, but otherwise, they were thoroughly prostrated. Forcibly kicking a bowed foe would just breed resentment, so this time, a light squeeze and retreat.
- Kki-iiiiiing!
"Hey, what the hell are these things?!"
"Don't draw your sword! They're spirit beasts brought by the Left Deputy Censor-in-Chief!"
- Kki-ooong?
"Aigoo, that's not food, you fool!"
Sipping my cup contentedly amid the commotion beyond the door. As expected from veterans who'd weathered the Hengshan debacle, they were meeting my expectations.
No need to worry about outside. Handling the people in here would suffice.
***
A chuckle escaped me. I tried to hold it back from the noises outside, but I couldn't.
Where'd he even get those from?
Still hearing crashes and snaps, I gripped my cup. When the Left Deputy Censor-in-Chief called the deer "spirit beasts," I'd thought it was a zhi luo wei ma ploy, but up close, they really pulsed with no small aura. Beasts tended by a court official—and spirit beasts at that. Untouchable existences. Cold sweat dripped at their arrival, and sure enough, those dignified creatures trashed the estate like they knew their role.
Now they're using spirit beasts. It was reaching awe-inspiring levels. Not content with crushing the family's roots and limbs, now this outlandish tactic to pressure us.
Are we such a massive family that they need to deploy spirit beasts? For a fleeting moment, my mind wandered to that thought. Having reached the stage of enjoying this unavoidable disaster, I spoke up.
"It's a bit noisy."
The Left Deputy Censor-in-Chief, calmly sipping his drink amid it all, spoke flatly.
"They're usually docile, but they must be curious in a new place."
"Receiving a spirit beast's attention is an honor."
I forced a smile in reply. If he knew it was noisy, please send them away. Or at least tether them in the stables.
"Haha, well said. Spirit beasts are born by heaven's choice. For them to grace the Namgung estate must be fate decreed by the heavens."
Heaven's decree, my ass. It was the court's twisted murim hatred at work.
"They say spirit beasts favor those who follow the natural order and despise those who defy it... With them rampaging like that, it must mean the Namgung family are loyal subjects in tune with the realm's flow."
The Left Deputy Censor-in-Chief smiled faintly as he said it, glancing at me—and chills ran down my spine. That familiar gaze. The same one when he'd visited "courteously" and pressured us for daring to speak of heaven and king.
"...In this realm, who wouldn't bow to His Majesty?"
His lips curved up slightly. Now he called us order-following subjects whom the beasts frolicked for in joy—but if things soured, he'd interpret it as beasts raging at order-defying traitors. My conduct would flip his reading. So I bowed my head. We declared we'd never defy the emperor or court.
- Kki-iiiiiing!
To prove it, I had to stand by, no matter what horrors those beasts wrought.