Monopolizing Fortunes (145)
Monopolizing Fortunes (145)
It was Gwak Ji-cheol who answered Do Tong-dal's question.
"You saw how those people behave. How could I stand with the likes of them?"
"On my first day with the Hwangdae Merchant Company, the established warriors put me through a hazing because I was new. The squad leader who watched said it was a process every newcomer had to go through. If that's how it is inside the Hwangdae Merchant Company, would the Revenge Society be any different? To them, the Hwangdae Merchant Company is a stone that rolled in from nowhere. They're merchants who don't match their own standing, yet because they earn money they get treated fairly well, so there are bound to be people who can't stand it."
The three of them nodded without realizing it.
"I don't think we need to concern ourselves with the behavior of those who look down on the Hwangdae Merchant Company. What truly matters is how you feel. For what reason do you want to break away from the Revenge Society?"
Jang Bu-ok's answer did not take long.
"We want to remain pure merchants. Not servants who earn money for the Revenge Society."
"Company Head, you clearly understand that you yourself are a merchant. Then why are you trying to fight the Revenge Society with force?"
"Is there any way other than that?"
"The Revenge Society is currently being shaken badly. Even if it survives its fight with the imperial palace, it won't be what it once was."
Do Tong-dal lowered his voice.
"At this opportunity, what if the Hwangdae Merchant Company swallowed the Revenge Society, just as the Revenge Society did to you?"
All three of them startled like a widow robbed of her carrying-pole on the road.
"Wha—?"
"Warriors who have spent their whole lives practicing martial arts don't really understand the value of money. But you know all too well that money is what's most needed to run an organization. Some of the Revenge Society's warriors are too ignorant to know it, but their leader will be aware of it. That's why they even married you to an elder's daughter to draw you, Company Head, into the Revenge Society."
The three nodded as if telling him to go on.
"Even if the Revenge Society survives its fight with the imperial palace, it will be greatly weakened. It will also have to fight the orthodox sects, so what it needs most is force and money. Money will be desperately needed, especially then."
Jang Bu-ok asked.
"Then you're saying I would have to enter a key post in the Revenge Society?"
"It's still only a prediction, but the likelihood is very high. Even looking at the Hwangdae Merchant Company, is there anyone in the world with commercial talent like yours, Company Head?"
At those words, Gwak Ji-cheol and Ju Pyeong-seong nodded.
"They will certainly put you to important use. Company Head, you would have to expand your influence within it."
Gwak Ji-cheol spoke.
"But the Revenge Society is fundamentally a martial group. Wouldn't there be limits for a merchant?"
"You said it would be difficult to draw martial masters with money, but you didn't say it was impossible. They have to eat and live too."
"Do you know of masters we could bring in?"
"As you know, I'm a newcomer to the martial world, so how would I know such great figures? But if we search, there will certainly be some. If we find such people and place them around you, Company Head, the Revenge Society won't dare treat you lightly."
At first he had spoken as if recruiting masters were impossible, and now he was quietly hinting at the possibility. But the reason the three of them said nothing about it was that Do Tong-dal had been laying groundwork throughout the conversation.
"And among the Hwangdae Merchant Company people who came with you, there is probably someone exchanging messages with the Revenge Society."
"You're saying there's a traitor in the Hwangdae Merchant Company?"
"Calling them a traitor is a bit much. The Hwangdae Merchant Company is still part of the Revenge Society, after all."
"Why do you think there's someone in contact with the Revenge Society?"
"If there were no such person, would the Revenge Society have let the Hwangdae Merchant Company go so readily?"
Jang Bu-ok gave a gesture of assent.
"That does make sense. But they're all people I trust...."
"Betrayal is always suffered at the hands of someone you trust. That said, there's no need to go looking for them. Just don't display hostility toward the Revenge Society too openly. Nothing good will come of it reaching their ears."
Gwak Ji-cheol spoke.
"It would be better to pretend we want the Revenge Society to succeed."
"Not pretend—you should make it so. That way, if the Revenge Society survives, the Hwangdae Merchant Company's standing within it will broaden."
The discussion ended with a conclusion different from Jang Bu-ok's original intent.
Only because he had never considered it—Do Tong-dal's proposal, which reduced the risk while yielding great fruit, was far better.
Do Tong-dal finally voiced his one concern.
"What worries me most is the Hwangdae Merchant Company getting caught up in the fight between the imperial palace and the Revenge Society and being swept away along with it. There's no choice but to manage that while watching how the situation develops."
* * *
During a short break in training, he told Jang Yeon-seon about the conversation he'd had with Jang Bu-ok and the others.
"Why are you doing it that way? Wouldn't it be simpler to blow away the Revenge Society and the Hwangdae Merchant Company all at once?"
"Simple? That would be far simpler. If I let the orthodox sects know at this point that the martial world's hidden power is the Revenge Society, it would be handled even more easily."
"Right. I don't get why you're taking the long way around."
"Because then there'd be nothing left in my hands."
"What are you trying to grab out of this chaos?"
"A thug, even when he falls, has to get up clutching at least a pebble. If this goes well, it might not be a pebble—I could end up with rice cakes in both hands."
"How?"
"If the Hwangdae Merchant Company takes over the disordered Revenge Society according to my plan, who becomes the leader?"
Jang Yeon-seon thought for a moment, then answered as if asking.
"Father?"
"You."
"Me?"
"Of course, even if you become the Society Leader, someone will have to watch your back until you're fully recognized."
"A sort of regent, then? But would I really become the Revenge Society's Society Leader?"
"You said you wanted to be."
"That was just a hope. Can anyone in the world achieve everything they hope for?"
"Me?"
"Ugh. Except for my oh-so-great Master."
"So, you don't want to be Society Leader?"
As the thought she'd had in a fit of temper approached reality, Jang Yeon-seon hesitated to answer. If anyone else had said such a thing, she would have laughed it off as absurd, but words spoken by Do Tong-dal inspired belief no matter how far-fetched they were.
"I need to think about it. Wouldn't it be a bit ridiculous for the leader of a place like the Revenge Society to be a kid like me?"
"That's true."
"Then what about Father?"
"He'll become the Company Head of the Hwangdae Merchant Company. Why? You don't want to kill your father, do you?"
He hated him. Hated him enough that if he appeared in a dream, it would be a nightmare. But he didn't wish for Jang Bu-ok to die.
No matter how much he hated him, a father was still a father.
"It's not that. Then are you planning to make Father your puppet too?"
"A puppet is something I'd have to control, and that's a hassle. Just a rich man who'll do whatever I say."
"That's the same thing. So when this is over, Master, you'll be holding a fairly large martial-world faction and a great merchant house in both hands?"
"So, rice cakes in both hands."
"You might be able to rule not just the night of the Central Plains, but the Central Plains itself."
Do Tong-dal shook his head.
"That sounds like it would pile up too much work. I don't want it. Too much trouble."
"So I have a magnificent Master who could rule the Central Plains but won't because it's too much trouble."
Do Tong-dal, who had been staring blankly at Jang Yeon-seon, tossed out.
"Break's over."
* * *
The man he met on the recommendation of the Minister of War, Hwangbo Gil, had a sinister look. He was said to have a record of killing five suspects while serving in the Embroidered Uniform Guard and ultimately being expelled for it.
That had been seven years ago, and the man who had been the Embroidered Uniform Guard's greatest master at the time was the sinister-looking man before him, So Cheol-eum.
No one knew what he'd done for seven years, but given that he was still connected to Hwangbo Gil, he might have been living by handling Hwangbo Gil's dirty work.
Considering Hwangbo Gil's character, there would be plenty of foul corners, so he must have lived fairly busily.
"Is he trustworthy?"
Hwangbo Gil answered Jo Tae-song's question.
"For this kind of work, there is no one more suitable than So Cheol-eum. The Embroidered Uniform Guard's greatest master, decisive, and tight-lipped."
"Still, it would be hard alone."
So Cheol-eum, having received Hwangbo Gil's gaze, spoke.
"I have subordinates who will help."
His voice was like a claw scraping iron, and it raised goosebumps on its own.
"What I'm curious about is the compensation that comes to me if this succeeds."
Jo Tae-song asked.
"What do you want? Return to the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"
"Give me the Embroidered Uniform Guard."
"Give you the Embroidered Uniform Guard? You mean you want to become the Pacification Commissioner who oversees the entire Embroidered Uniform Guard?"
"I don't want the Pacification Offices split between north and south as they are now. I want the post of Chief Pacification Commissioner."
The Embroidered Uniform Guard was broadly divided into two offices: the Southern Pacification Office, in charge of military equipment, and the Northern Pacification Office, in charge of prisons.
But asking for both was the same as demanding omnipotent power.
"That seems an excessive demand."
Hwangbo Gil spoke.
"If this matter succeeds, the Second Prince will be as good as having become emperor, will he not? It cannot be called a large price for ascending to the emperor's throne."
"If the Second Prince becomes emperor, wouldn't that be none too bad for you either, Minister Hwang?"
"For me, it is what I wish for even in my dreams. The post of Chief Pacification Commissioner is not what I want, but what the former Embroidered Uniform Guard desires."
The old fox's scheme was plainly visible. If So Cheol-eum seized control of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, then Hwangbo Gil, who could command that So Cheol-eum at will, would gain not only the Ministry of War but also the highest intelligence organ.
Hwangbo Gil would rise to a position truly second only to one and above all others.
"This isn't something I can decide alone."
"Naturally, we must ask His Highness the Second Prince."
So Cheol-eum spoke.
"If His Highness the Second Prince gives his word, I would like him to write a letter in his own hand. With the specific details."
"A personal letter with the specific details?"
"What meaning is there in words scattered into empty air?"
If the Second Prince gave So Cheol-eum what he wanted, it would be the same as putting on shackles.
If the Second Prince became emperor, countless rumors would follow. Word would certainly spread through the world that he was a bloody emperor who had murdered his brothers to take the throne.
But that didn't matter. Without evidence, such rumors could be suppressed by force.
However, if clear evidence emerged, the story changed. The current emperor might not hand over the throne, and even if he somehow became emperor, rebellions would break out everywhere.
The justification for rebellion would be clear, while the justification for mobilizing troops would be lacking. Evidence, not mere rumor, carried that kind of power.
Still, he couldn't refuse on the spot. First, he had to convey the matter to the Second Prince.
'So Chief Pacification Commissioner was nothing at all.'
Jo Tae-seong returned to the Forbidden City with a heavy heart. When he went to the Second Prince and reported what had been said, the answer came immediately.
"Give them what they want."
"This is a matter requiring careful deliberation."
"What is most important right now? It's that I become emperor. Once I become emperor, all problems are solved."
He clearly didn't grasp what influence such a personal letter would carry. Right now, the Second Prince was no different from a wild bull charging blindly toward the emperor's throne.
'A thoughtless wild bull.'
As Jo Tae-seong sighed inwardly, the Second Prince asked him.
"When did they say it could be carried out?"
"They said it can be carried out as soon as His Highness the Third Prince leaves the palace on an excursion."
"That one goes out on excursions every other day, I hear."
The Second Prince's spies were planted around Ju Hyeong-seon, so they could receive reports on his every move in real time.
"Tell them to handle it thoroughly. If they fail, I'll wipe out three generations of their families, including the Minister of War."
* * *
The reason the Third Prince Ju Hyeong-seon kept leaving the imperial palace was that it was enjoyable.
At first, he had thought of it as a duty. He considered it the proper way of the imperial family to see with his own eyes how the common people lived and to know their hardships.
But as he kept going out, he came to love laughing and chatting with the people, and sometimes even singing with them.
Before meeting Do Tong-dal, the most he could do was wander the streets and come back, but now he ate meals with people, drank with them, and sometimes even stopped by pleasure houses.
Ju Seo-in, who accompanied him for protection, shot him looks but did not actively stop him.
That day too, Ju Hyeong-seon prepared to go out. He was exhausted from receiving visits from high officials all day and needed rest.
After the First Prince's death, the number of visitors had increased sharply.
Watching the ministers who made every effort to meet Ju Hyeong-seon at least once, offering all sorts of excuses—that they had come to discuss affairs of state, that they were just paying their respects—he thought that being an official must be a truly tiring profession.
Of course, Ju Hyeong-seon, who had to meet them, was also dying. Sometimes he even thought, 'Should I just quit this whole becoming-emperor business?'
"Brother, are you going out?"
* * *