Monopolizing Fortunes (203)
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Monopolizing Fortunes (203)
"So...... uh...... I can't read a single character. Byeong-sik, do you know what it says?"
"This third one here looks like 'gentleman,' doesn't it? No, wait. There's something in front of it."
The place the country bumpkins had been dragged to was the army, so no one could blame them for being illiterate.
"It's my identity plaque, and it says I hold a very high rank. Who's the commander here?"
"That would be Thousand-Man Commander No Song-guk, sir."
"Huh? That old fellow's still here? He was here four years ago too."
"From what I heard, he went somewhere and then came back."
"If he got out of here, he should have kept his head down. What did he do wrong to end up back here?"
Do Tong-dal had liked No Song-guk, who had seemed like a man who had seen through everything. Though he had no idea how the man might have changed by now.
And when they met again, No Song-guk drove home the truth of the saying that people don't easily change.
"Is that real...... sir?"
"Would I have any need to make a fake one?"
"Well, no...... sir. You could just pass through anyway. But what brings a man who rose all the way to Provincial Commander here?"
Do Tong-dal looked at the jungle and let out a long sigh.
"I have business in there."
"Business, you say......."
No Song-guk's eyes narrowed.
"The same business as last time, sir?"
"You know about that?"
"Well, I heard a bit about it......."
The corners of his mouth twitched. He was clearly struggling to hold back a laugh.
"If you laugh, I'll demote you to Hundred-Man Commander...... no, Ten-Man Commander."
"Puhahaha—!"
No Song-guk burst out laughing in the end.
"I'm sorry. Puhahaha—! As you know, there's far too little to laugh about here. So when something's funny, you have to laugh! Puhahaha—!"
"Staking your Thousand-Man Commander post just for one laugh. You're something else."
No Song-guk got his laughter under control and spoke.
"In this godforsaken army post, what difference does it make whether I'm a Ten-Man Commander or a Thousand-Man Commander?"
"What kind of trouble did you cause that you left and then came back?"
No Song-guk scratched his head. Dandruff fluttered down like snow, making him look like a Beggars' Sect beggar.
"I butted heads with someone because he ran the operation like shit. When hundreds or thousands of lives hang on your orders, if those orders change with your mood, you're not qualified to command. Well, I'm a shitty commander too, since I can't control my temper."
Some people could see ten things from knowing one. To Do Tong-dal, No Song-guk looked like a military man who had ability but had not been blessed with luck.
"Hand command here over to someone else, pack your bags right now, and go to Beijing."
"Huh? Why Beijing?"
"There'll be a war in the north before long. Better to go die fighting there than die of boredom here."
Do Tong-dal clearly remembered one of the things that had happened in his past life.
Not long after a massive swarm of locusts swept through Yunnan Province, devouring food and vegetation, the northern barbarians invaded.
Do Tong-dal had changed the emperor, but he had not touched anything concerning the north, so war was certain to break out.
"Huh? The barbarians are invading?"
"Go find Yang Su-pan of the imperial palace...... no, the Minister of Personnel. I'll have a word with him beforehand."
No Song-guk looked baffled.
"How is the Provincial Commander here supposed to have a word with anyone beforehand?"
"Even if you leave now, I'll be the one who arrives in Beijing first."
"I'll be riding a fucking fast relay horse, you know? I can leave here faster than an arrow shot from a bow."
"I'll still be faster."
"Want to bet?"
Far too many people didn't realize how reckless it was to propose a bet to Do Tong-dal.
"What would a former Thousand-Man Commander demoted to Ten-Man Commander have to wager?"
"A man always has something to wager. Even if it's just his two balls."
"Men overvalue their two balls. They're completely useless."
"Buying drinks at the best pleasure house in Beijing. How about it?"
"Your monthly pay won't cover that, you know."
"I've saved up a lot of money. There's nowhere to spend it here even if I wanted to."
"Do you have any idea how expensive drinks are in Beijing......."
"I'm going!"
Before Do Tong-dal had even finished speaking, No Song-guk vanished in a flash. Do Tong-dal smirked, then turned toward the jungle. And then he looked down at his own lower half.
"Nothing wrong with you, right? I'm counting on you again. Little brother."
Do Tong-dal entered the jungle. The jungle was one of the most dangerous places in the world. He believed it was a place that could swallow up and kill even the greatest master, turning them into dirt.
He believed the jungle was a place even the natives who knew it well had to fear.
But strangely, he felt no fear. It wasn't because Do Tong-dal knew the jungle well. He simply found himself believing that nothing in the world could endanger him.
After dealing with the locust swarm, that belief had shifted from groundless confidence to natural confidence.
So his steps toward the Yeosan Tribe village were quick. The swamps were clearly visible, and even venomous insects and snakes camouflaged to match the color of the trees could not evade his eyes and ears.
In fact, it was common for the jungle's longtime residents not to even sense Do Tong-dal passing by.
His keenly opened senses were absurdly sharp, allowing him to detect the presence of Yeosan tribesmen from fifty jang away. In the jungle, they were masters of stealth superior to martial artists, yet they could not evade Do Tong-dal's eyes and ears.
Do Tong-dal deliberately revealed himself so they would notice him. The tribesmen who had been tailing him threw their nets at the most suitable spot for an ambush.
But the nets they threw only scraped up old fallen leaves. Do Tong-dal appeared above the heads of the six startled tribesmen.
"It's our first reunion in four years. Treating me like a fish is a bit much, don't you think?"
Two of the six recognized Do Tong-dal.
"Oh! Eight times!"
"Damn! I knew they'd remember me for that."
Another tribesman asked the one who had said "eight times."
"Eight times? You don't mean......!"
The tribesman grinned and pushed his index finger through the circle made by his other hand.
"Oho, so it's that legendary man."
"He is a legend. After him, no man has ever done it more than twice in one night with the chieftain. Strangely, they say just once with the chieftain leaves you completely drained. Huh? Now that I think about it, Ppail-ru, you and the chieftain......."
The tribesman called Ppail-ru shouted angrily.
"Don't talk about that!"
"Didn't you get kicked out of the chieftain's room because you finished faster than a stone I throw hits the ground?"
Do Tong-dal cut off their chatter.
"I'd like to meet the chieftain."
"Hm! Same business as before?"
"You don't need to know."
Not denying it was as good as admitting it. So the tribesmen exchanged sly grins.
"Of course we'll escort you. The chieftain will be in a good mood for a while. Heh heh heh......."
The tribesmen accepted Do Tong-dal as a guest. For the Yeosan Tribe, that was a very special thing.
Do Tong-dal barely managed to hold back the urge to ask the tribesmen walking ahead, "Does the chieftain happen to have a child?"
He kept imagining himself entering that strangely shaped cave and a child who resembled him running up and shouting, "Father!"
'That won't happen.'
"Father!"
As soon as he entered the underground plaza, a child who looked about four years old came running toward Do Tong-dal.
"Huh? This is way too fast!"
Even if, by some one-in-ten-thousand chance, Do Tong-dal did have a child, he had only just arrived, and the child was already calling him father!
But the child didn't run to Do Tong-dal. Instead, it eagerly threw itself into the arms of the man called Ppail-ru.
'That took ten years off my life. Phew—!'
Do Tong-dal was stroking his chest in relief when an old woman who still looked hale and hearty appeared.
"Oho....... The King of Stamina has paid us another visit. Did you miss the chieftain that much?"
"Yes, yes. Call me whatever you like, as long as my business with the chieftain goes smoothly."
"Heh heh heh...... Is it the same business as last time?"
"Are the terms the same as last time?"
"That's something you'll have to ask the chieftain."
Just then, the chieftain appeared, flanked by two men. Since Do Tong-dal had already seen it, he wasn't curious about the face behind the thick veil.
"Mother!"
A child who looked about three or four years old ran toward the chieftain. Do Tong-dal's heart pounded in time with the child's footsteps. His mouth went dry from tension, and his Adam's apple bobbed up and down like a ball.
From the looks of it, the child was a girl, but just from her face, Do Tong-dal couldn't tell whether she was his child.
'She looks exactly like a Yeosan tribesperson. It's not her.'
But if one of those eight shots that night had succeeded(?), the child would be exactly that age.
The chieftain, who had been stroking the child's head, turned the child around to face Do Tong-dal.
"Say hello. This is the man who......."
He wanted to shout, 'Stop!' but his voice wouldn't come out of his throat.
"......gave your mother the most pleasure."
His heart, which had dropped, returned to its proper place. It wasn't the words, "He is your father." Still, he had to ask.
"Who is the child's father......?"
At Do Tong-dal's drawn-out question, the old woman answered instead of the chieftain.
"Who knows? What does it matter?"
Unlike the other women of the tribe, the chieftain did not keep a particular husband, and could spend the night with any man in the tribe—even a married one.
So unless there was some incredibly distinctive feature, it was only natural not to know who the father of the chieftain's child was.
And in that little girl, Do Tong-dal could find no feature that was incredibly similar to himself.
'She's not my child. Right, she's not.'
Do Tong-dal was trying hard to calm his heart when the old woman asked the chieftain.
"When shall we prepare?"
The chieftain's eyes, looking at Do Tong-dal, curved into thin crescents.
"This man looks busy."
"Then shall we begin right away?"
It seemed Do Tong-dal wasn't the only one who wanted it to happen as soon as possible. The old woman asked Do Tong-dal.
"Is now all right?"
"I think...... so?"
* * *
The two meritorious officials who had played decisive roles in Ju Hyeong-seon becoming emperor, Yang Su-pan and Jeon Su-bang, became the Ministers of Personnel and War respectively.
Yang Su-pan, who had once been far below him, had risen to the same rank, but Jeon Su-bang had no reason to feel displeased.
If Yang Su-pan had not brought Jeon Su-bang in, Jeon Su-bang would have backed the wrong faction and, at best, been sent into exile.
Some said Ju Hyeong-seon had become emperor because of Jeon Su-bang, and Jeon Su-bang outwardly acted as though that were true, but in all likelihood, Ju Hyeong-seon would have become emperor even without Jeon Su-bang.
Because of the existence called Do Tong-dal. So he could not help but be grateful to Yang Su-pan, who had brought Do Tong-dal over to Ju Hyeong-seon's side.
"The northern barbarians' movements have been unusual lately. It seems they're holding a grudge over that business from before."
At Jeon Su-bang's words, Yang Su-pan let out a long sigh.
"I don't know about a grudge, but they have every right to be offended. The Khan proposed marriage and was rejected outright."
Being born an imperial princess meant possessing a noble status while simultaneously becoming the most expensive being that could be traded.
To draw a powerful family to one's side, to prevent a vassal state's betrayal, or to soothe an enemy's heart, an imperial princess was fated to be married off to such places.
Since the founding of the dynasty, not a single imperial princess had ever escaped this fate. But then one did.
—I'd rather bite my tongue and die than marry that barbarian.
With those words, Ju Seo-in had kicked the incoming marriage proposal far away. She had defied the emperor's command, which an imperial princess was absolutely bound to obey, but no one could say a word about it because Ju Seo-in was a meritorious official.
Meritorious officials had the privilege of receiving a pardon unless they committed high treason.
Even setting that aside, Ju Hyeong-seon, who cherished Ju Seo-in greatly, did not try to break her will.
—She says she doesn't want to.
With those words, he had sent the envoy from Mongolia back. Of course, he had bestowed many gifts, but it was no different from slighting the Mongol Khan.
"That Mongol fellow is strange too. Why is he lusting after an imperial princess who's long past marriageable age?"
"She may be past marriageable age, but he must have heard the rumors that she's the greatest beauty in Beijing. Or maybe he's trying to create a pretext for war."
"Surely he wouldn't start a war over something like this? They'll do what they always do—rattle their sabers, extort something, and then quiet down."
"Let's hope so. Anyway, it's about time for Tong-dal to return......."
Jeon Su-bang looked at Yang Su-pan with a dumbfounded expression.
"Do you really believe what Young Master Do said?"
"Huh?"
"Do you know how far it is from here to the Southern Barbarians? Go there and back in ten days? A person isn't the wind. And on top of that, he says he has to obtain the go poison? Absolutely impossible."
* * *