Monopolizing Fortunes (62)
Monopolizing Fortunes (62)
"Hey! You're the one who should stay behind and clean this up!"
"Don't give me that ridiculous excuse! What do I know about cleaning anything up!"
When it came to how the Red Tiger Society actually ran, Namgung Seol-rin knew less than the lowest errand boy.
"Just listen to me!"
"No! I'm a Protector of the Red Tiger Society! We live together and we die together!"
"Ugh—! You stubborn mule!"
The physician in black's voice was buried under Do Tong-dal and Namgung Seol-rin's shouting.
"No, I mean, I'm just a physician!"
None of the officials paid any attention to the physician in black's protests. Only after the physician was bound with an arrest rope and taken down to the first floor did Do Tong-dal say they were a physician, but all that came back was that they would be released if found innocent after being taken to the government office.
That day, the number of Red Tiger Society thugs hauled off to the government office reached two hundred. There was nowhere to hold them all, so three warehouses had to be used as temporary jails.
Do Tong-dal, Wang Chil, Jang Yu-seom, and Won Dae-yeon were locked in the same cell.
"You think the new magistrate is after money?"
At Wang Chil's question, Do Tong-dal shook his head.
"If money were the goal, the method's too rough."
"Then why round us up? What grudge could he have against us when he's never even seen our faces?"
It didn't take long to learn what that grudge was.
"So the great thugs of the Red Tiger Society have all been locked up. Heh heh heh......."
The person who showed up at the jail to rub salt in the wound was Gong So-yang.
"Why is Sir Gong here......?"
"You ran wild leaning on the magistrate's authority, so I borrowed a little of the magistrate's power myself. I told you, didn't I? No one who gets on my bad side in Hangzhou ever comes out unscathed."
"You poked the magistrate in the ribs and caused all this? Just how much money did you feed him?"
"Money? The magistrate and I aren't in some shallow relationship like you and the previous magistrate. Blood is a bond tougher than anything in this world."
"What?"
"The magistrate's surname is Gong. Doesn't that give you a hint?"
"Don't tell me he's your son?"
"To be precise, my younger brother's son."
To go this far just because he couldn't have a single courtesan—Gong So-yang clearly was not normal either.
"Sir Gong, let's think rationally. Is making an enemy of the Red Tiger Society over one courtesan really a wise decision?"
"The Red Tiger Society? All the important figures have been arrested. Do you think it'll survive?"
"Do you think we'll be in jail for a year or two?"
"No. For you lot, it's ten years minimum."
"What did you say?"
"The crimes committed by an Underworld outfit like yours aren't just one or two. Dig and dig, and they'll come out in strings like sweet potato vines. Ten years is a light sentence, if anything."
Do Tong-dal spoke with a long sigh.
"Sir Gong, a man in his twilight years ought to take special care of his health. When you're young, even if you fall, you've got the strength to spring right back up. But when you're old and you topple over, you can break a bone and never get up again. Don't make needless bad blood—let's end it here. Then I'll let it slide."
"This bastard's locked in a cell and still hasn't come to his senses! Let's see if that bravado survives rotting in prison!"
"So you want to take this all the way?"
"You will never see my end."
"No, I'll be the only one who sees your end. Not family, not relatives, not friends—only me, alone, will watch you die."
"Go on and thrash all you want, you thug bastard!"
Once Gong So-yang disappeared after shouting, Do Tong-dal leaned his back weakly against the wall.
"Fuck, that old man is really getting on my nerves."
Wang Chil asked.
"Won't Magistrate Yang come and save us?"
"How would that old fellow know what's going on here?"
"Someone has to go tell him. Won't Mistress Yeon step up?"
Jang Yu-seom spoke.
"Hye-min might go."
"Beijing is several times bigger and more complicated than Hangzhou. How is she supposed to find Magistrate Yang there? Even if she does find him, there's no guarantee that old fellow can resolve this. He hasn't even received his official post yet, supposedly. And there's the round trip to Beijing to consider. We have to be prepared to be locked up for four months at the shortest, seven or eight at the longest."
Wang Chil said it as if it were nothing.
"For an Underworld thug, that much prison time doesn't even count as prison time."
"You might be fine with it, Brother, but I'm not. Doing prison time because of a filthy old lecher and a wet-behind-the-ears magistrate who can't tell heaven from earth wounds my pride too much."
"Then you want to break out? No matter who we are, if we break out, we become fugitives......."
"Break out, my ass. Even if We're part of the Underworld, they can only punish us if we have committed a crime."
"Don't our crimes overflow?"
Do Tong-dal grinned.
"A crime only becomes a crime once it's brought to light."
Do Tong-dal called over a constable outside and asked him to fetch Head Constable Yang Cheol-jung. Among the head constables and constables at the government office, there wasn't a single one who hadn't taken Do Tong-dal's money.
He never caused incidents that troubled the office, never stirred up headaches, so they all liked Do Tong-dal.
So the constable readily brought Head Constable Yang Cheol-jung. Yang Cheol-jung was the most senior of the Hangzhou office's head constables, and also the one who had taken the most money from Do Tong-dal.
If Do Tong-dal were transferred to some distant prison as things stood, Yang Cheol-jung's pockets would immediately run dry.
"Coordinator Do, I'm sorry. The new magistrate went and did this without my knowledge."
Yang Cheol-jung's face was full of genuine apology.
"It's only natural for officials to follow the magistrate's orders. But arresting innocent people isn't, is it? Right?"
"Of course not."
"Is there any official among the head constables or constables who thinks our Red Tiger Society has committed crimes?"
Of course he assumed they had committed crimes. Saying the Underworld had no crimes was as absurd as saying a tiger eats grass.
"A few might think that way, wouldn't you say?"
"You know who those few are, don't you, Head Constable Yang?"
"Well, that's......."
"Hey, I'm not trying to pull some scheme. I'm asking you to persuade them properly. Honestly, do you think our Red Tiger Society is going to collapse just like this?"
Most Underworld outfits could be brought down if the government office set its mind to it. But the Red Tiger Society didn't seem to be one of them.
The Red Tiger Society he had seen so far was completely different from any ordinary Underworld group. The officials' deference to Do Tong-dal wasn't solely because they'd taken bribes.
The Red Tiger Society—and Do Tong-dal in particular—had an indescribable quality. Even the previous magistrate had been unable to treat him carelessly.
"How may I help you?"
* * *
There were twelve head constables in total at the Hangzhou government office. Each head constable commanded fourteen constables, making it a fairly large organization.
For all twelve to gather in one place was quite rare.
"Jin-tae."
At Yang Cheol-jung's call, Seong Jin-tae answered, "Yes, Brother." In private, they all treated one another as brothers.
Some officials had transferred in from elsewhere, but many had served together as constables before becoming head constables, so they were as close as true brothers.
"I hear you're the one who brought in the Red Tiger Society leader and his executives?"
Seong Jin-tae scratched his head.
"It was the magistrate's order, so what choice did I have?"
"You punk, a man needs loyalty. How much money have we taken from the Red Tiger Society all this time? Any of you who's been taking less than his monthly salary, step forward."
Their pay was so meager that everyone had taken at least three or four times their salary. Seong Jin-tae spoke.
"Brother, no matter how much money We've taken, we can't just refuse to arrest criminals."
"Let's be blunt. What crimes did the Red Tiger Society executives you arrested actually commit?"
"They're an Underworld outfit."
"Right, so what crimes did that Underworld outfit commit?"
"Well...... that'll come to light later."
"You little shit, you arrest first and figure out the crime later? Is that how You've been catching criminals all this time? Did you?"
"But it was the magistrate's order......."
"Fuck that! What does a magistrate who's barely twenty-six know? He's a greenhorn who only got the post thanks to Sir Gong! Is there anyone here who doesn't know this whole mess happened to please Sir Gong?"
Head Constable Jo Pyeong-sang spoke.
"That's exactly what's killing me. My father and even my wife are giving me an earful. The Red Tiger Society just had to go and win over the residents."
Another head constable chimed in.
"They help struggling merchants and hand out food to poor residents, so people say the Underworld's better than the king. Anyway, I'm getting cussed out plenty too."
Yang Cheol-jung called Seong Jin-tae.
"Jin-tae."
"Yes, Brother."
"Let's be blunt. Whether the Red Tiger Society treats people well or not doesn't matter. Fuck, no matter how much people praise them, the Underworld is still the Underworld. But if that organization disappears, we die right away. If you don't take money from the Red Tiger Society, can you afford meat even once a month? How are you going to send your kids to school? Your wife's clothes? Her cosmetics?"
"Then what do we do? Let them go?"
"You punk, I'm telling you to pick the right side. Do you think the new magistrate can beat the Red Tiger Society in this fight?"
"Sir Gong's involved too, so who knows."
"You moron! That's exactly why we have to lend our strength to the Red Tiger Society! What do you think happens if the new magistrate wins? Hangzhou becomes a lawless wasteland! Fights break out in the taverns every night, and the new Underworld outfits will be brawling day in and day out! We're the ones who have to stop all that! We could get stabbed and killed in the process!"
Someone said, "Then I'll just quit being a head constable," and a chorus of "Me too" followed.
Seong Jin-tae looked around and asked.
"Are all the head constables on the Red Tiger Society's side?"
"So you choose too."
There was no room for choice. Seong Jin-tae didn't have the loyalty to stake his life on the magistrate, nor the will to uphold justice at all costs.
To him, being a head constable was just one of the world's many jobs.
"I'll follow the prevailing wind."
* * *
Chief Clerk Dong Bong-gil wore an awkward expression as he looked at Do Tong-dal through the iron bars.
"I'm sorry."
"I don't think this is something that ends with an apology."
"What do you mean......?"
"You knew the magistrate was going to throw me in here, didn't you?"
Dong Bong-gil couldn't answer.
"And knowing that, you didn't say a single word to me. I'm disappointed in you, Chief Clerk Dong."
"Look here, I'm an official of the state. How could I recklessly leak an order I received from the magistrate?"
"Oh-ho, so You've been happily taking my money all this time, and now You're shamelessly going to pretend none of it ever happened?"
"Hmph! When did I ever ask for it? You gave it, so I had no choice but to accept."
Do Tong-dal fixed Dong Bong-gil with a steady glare.
"So you'll side with the magistrate and fight me?"
"Fight? An Underworld boss locked in a cell has no fight left. Now that Magistrate Yang Su-pan has gone elsewhere, you're a kite with its string cut. Give up and beg for mercy unconditionally. Then you might receive leniency. This is advice I'm giving you out of regard for our past relationship."
With those words, Dong Bong-gil left the jail.
"That old fellow's asking for trouble."
As Do Tong-dal muttered, Jo Jin-ho spoke.
"The chief clerk doesn't seem likely to come over to our side. Wouldn't it be better to eliminate him?"
Do Tong-dal shook his head.
"Then we don't know who the magistrate will appoint as chief clerk. Better the devil we know."
"But Dong Bong-gil is on the magistrate's side."
"Yesterday's enemy can become today's comrade. Guard! Call Head Constable Yang for me!"
* * *
The Red Tiger Society was finished. Since ancient times, no Underworld outfit had ever prevailed over the government. Do Tong-dal might be a formidable man, but he wasn't the kind of figure who could overturn that law.
Dong Bong-gil believed that. That was why he had sided with the magistrate without much hesitation.
The bribes Do Tong-dal pressed into his hands weren't small, but that amount could be made up somehow. As long as he kept his position as chief clerk, that is.
Because of the Red Tiger Society affair, he had been getting off work late every day. As he walked home through the damp night air, someone leaped out from the alley on his left.
His collar was seized and he was dragged into the alley in an instant.
"Aack—! Wh-what is the meaning of this! D-do you know who I am, how dare you......!"
At the pain that bloomed in his stomach, Dong Bong-gil let out a groan instead of words. His breath caught, and terror flooded in.
When he was hit in the jaw, his vision went hazy; when he was struck on the cheek, it felt like his face was flying off.
"P-please...... s-spare me!"
* * *