Monopolizing Fortunes (94)
Monopolizing Fortunes (94)
"I'm no longer a strategist, so I have no reason to stay with the Northern Unorthodox Alliance. And honestly, I don't want to see you right now, Uncle. Once I've sorted out my feelings, I'll come find you then."
"Is that the truth?"
"Yes."
"Because of Do Tong-dal?"
Ha Su-ran's eyebrows shot up.
"Are you saying I'm doing this over a man?"
"No, that's not what I— Fine. Give me time to think."
"Think about what?"
"Just put off leaving for three days."
* * *
"What a waste. A real waste."
Even Won Dae-yeon regretted that Do Tong-dal hadn't gotten the Makya Blade. Do Tong-dal said a sword like that wasn't worth regretting, but that was only because he didn't know the blade's value.
"Stop waving at a ship that's already sailed and go find something else to do."
Namgung Seol-rin, Jang Yu-seom, and Won Dae-yeon all stared blankly at Do Tong-dal.
"You're not telling me to look."
Won Dae-yeon spoke.
"What kind of work are we supposed to find?"
"You're Underworld thugs. Do I have to spoon-feed you and put it in your mouths?"
Won Dae-yeon asked Jang Yu-seom.
"What kind of work do thugs do?"
"Well...... they collect protection money, sell women to bars, chase off troublemakers...... something like that, right?"
Jang Yu-seom glanced at Namgung Seol-rin as if to ask whether that was right, but she was even more clueless.
"Couldn't we just wander the streets and rough up anyone suspicious?"
Do Tong-dal burst out.
"What are we, constables?! Why would we rough up suspicious people!"
"Then what are we supposed to do? Hangzhou doesn't even have any rival Underworld societies left, so there's nowhere to fight."
"That's exactly my point. We've pacified Hangzhou, so now we expand our power elsewhere."
"Aha! Right. So where do we invade?"
"Yuhang to the north, Shaoxing to the south, and if we go west, Fuyang."
"What about east?"
"You want to become pirates?"
"So which one?"
"I'll talk it over with Brother Wang Chil and let you know within three days."
Just then Wang Chil and Jo Jin-ho arrived, so Do Tong-dal asked. Since they had discussed it once before, Wang Chil's answer came right away.
"Let's go north to Yuhang."
"Reason?"
"Just because. If Yuhang doesn't suit us, we go to Shaoxing, and if your dick pulls toward Fuyang, that works too."
"That's a serious lack of sincerity."
"Wherever we go, is there any place we can't take by force?"
With force alone, they could take over most martial sects in the martial world. Do Tong-dal thought for a moment, then spoke.
"Then let's go with Fuyang."
"Why Fuyang?"
"Because I'm pulled that way."
That was the whole explanation. Do Tong-dal didn't really have a reason either. Of course, things like the local Underworld's relationship with the officials and local power brokers could be variables, but there was no problem they couldn't handle with their abilities.
"Since we're on the subject, should we leave right away?"
Jo Jin-ho asked.
"Just charge in without a plan?"
"We can't do that. First we go and see what the Underworld there is like. If they're close with the officials like we are, it'll take some work."
"We're not close with the officials—we've got them working as our subordinates."
It was extreme, but not entirely wrong. Wang Chil asked.
"Who's going with you?"
Namgung Seol-rin quietly shifted her seat next to Do Tong-dal. Then Won Dae-yeon also moved and stood behind Do Tong-dal. Left alone, Jang Yu-seom wore a troubled expression.
Won Dae-yeon asked.
"What's wrong?"
"If everyone leaves, who's going to protect Hangzhou?"
"So you're staying to protect it?"
"No, I......"
Namgung Seol-rin spoke.
"It's because of his wife."
"I feel bad leaving her alone."
"Then go home and ask her. We'll get ready to leave in the meantime."
"Should I?"
They had all been lazing around Hangzhou, so they must have been itching to move.
While Jang Yu-seom went to get permission, the others finished preparing to leave. Preparation only amounted to securing a carriage.
Food, clothing, and shelter could all be handled with money. Jang Yu-seom returned on time. The bundle on his back made it clear he'd gotten permission.
"What'd you pack so much for?"
"Hye-min packed all sorts of things for me. But is it really all right for all of us to empty out of Hangzhou?"
Wang Chil waved his hand dismissively.
"Don't worry. Only once you lot are gone will we finally look like an Underworld society."
As they climbed into the carriage, they wore excited expressions. Looking at the three of them, Do Tong-dal thought they looked like children going on an outing.
They were going to take over another Underworld society, yet they were surely the only thugs in the Central Plains this carefree.
"Nice weather for traveling."
Do Tong-dal muttered as he was about to board the carriage, when someone greeted him in a lively voice.
"Coordinator Do! I'll be honored to escort you!"
He turned his head and saw a man grinning brightly. He thought, ‘He looks familiar,’ then belatedly remembered.
It was Yang Cheon-su, who had served under Do Tong-dal at the Namgyeong Branch. He was one of the few thugs who had been favorably disposed toward him.
"Oh! You been well?"
"You remember me?"
"Of course I remember. Still at the Namgyeong Branch?"
"I transferred to headquarters this time! Thanks to that, I got to be the driver for Branch Chief Do's carriage!"
Even the driver was excited, so it was a lively carriage.
"Good start to the trip."
* * *
"Listen here, Society Leader Sang."
Sang Jung-ho, leader of the Sangmun Society, which ruled the nights of Fuyang County, bowed deeply.
"Yes, Hall Master."
"You seem to have lost a lot of your tension lately."
Jo Chung-mang, sitting arrogantly in his chair, was a Hall Master of the Seonui Sect, one of the two major orthodox sects of Zhejiang Province.
They were orthodox in name only; their conduct was so underhanded it would put the unorthodox sects to shame. The only reason the Seonui Sect was classified as orthodox was that its martial roots lay in the Hwangbo Clan.
"I am doing my best."
"If you're doing your best, why did the tribute drop compared to last month?"
"Last month, opium sold exceptionally well and the gambling hall enjoyed a special boom, so income was higher than usual. It was an exceptional month."
"Then you should make every month exceptional. Who do you think put you in the Society Leader's seat of the Sangmun Society?"
"It is all thanks to the Seonui Sect's benevolence."
After the Seonui Sect became one of the two major orthodox sects of Zhejiang Province, it had become established practice for the Seonui Sect to decide the Sangmun Society's leader.
"Even an ignorant thug knows the saying 'improve day by day,' don't you?"
"Yes. I have heard of it."
"If you've heard it, you should put it into practice. As a special favor, this month I'll let you match last month's tribute."
"But......"
"If you add this month's share for yourself to the tribute, is it still less than last month?"
"It's...... about the same."
"Then that settles it. Improve day by day. Don't forget."
* * *
Even though they traveled leisurely, as if sightseeing, Fuyang wasn't far from Hangzhou, so they were able to arrive that evening.
They asked passersby and made their way to the best inn in Fuyang.
The four of them took seats in the inn's attached dining room, and after stabling the carriage, Yang Cheon-su took a seat as well.
"Compared to Hangzhou, this is a shabby little town."
Having said that, Yang Cheon-su called over a waiter and placed an order. They had brought ample travel funds, so a lavish spread was soon laid out.
"Coordinator Do, how do you plan to take over Fuyang?"
At Yang Cheon-su's question, Do Tong-dal answered while working his chopsticks.
"What's the rush? We'll think it over slowly."
Subduing them by force was as simple as flipping over a palm, but ruling a region's nights wasn't such a simple matter.
"First we need to figure out who the most powerful local magnate is and what kind of person the county magistrate is."
"What about the Sangmun Society's fighting strength?"
"No need to worry about that at all."
"Right. With the four of you here."
After finishing their meal, they went out onto the street. Dongcheon Road, Fuyang's busiest street, had the same liveliness as Hangzhou's entertainment district.
Looking around at the pleasure houses, taverns, and inns lining both sides of the street, Do Tong-dal smiled with satisfaction.
"This street could make some money. There's a gambling hall over there too."
Namgung Seol-rin pointed at a two-story building.
"There's an opium den over there too."
Opium was originally something that thrived strictly in the shadows. No matter how much the officials turned a blind eye, opium dens were bound to be tucked deep in back alleys.
But the fact that an opium den had hung its sign out in the open like that meant the Underworld and the officials were thoroughly in bed together.
"Dealing with the officials too is going to be tiresome."
"You've got Governor Yang Su-pan. What's there to worry about?"
"If I'm going to owe that man a favor, it should be for something big. This is too trivial."
Just then, a loud voice came from inside the gate of the pleasure house on the left.
"So you're saying you won't pay!"
"Think about it, Deputy Branch Chief Yeo! How does it make sense to double the protection money? Are you telling us to hand over everything we earn to the Sangmun Society? The protection money we pay now is already too much!"
"Oh-ho, so that means you don't want to do business in Fuyang anymore?"
"That's not it—you have to be reasonable. Reasonable!"
"Fuck, now that's reasonable! A pleasure house is where customers come to drink, so starting tomorrow—no, starting right now—our boys can come swarming in here as customers!"
Protection money wasn't simply payment for chasing off rowdy drunks. People naturally avoid bars where thugs come and go.
So it was also money paid to keep thugs from coming.
"Deputy Branch Chief Yeo, even so, double is too much, isn't it?"
The pleasure house owner had now switched to pleading.
"Do you think I want to do this? It's an order from above, so there's nothing I can do. It's double starting this month, so take note."
Four thugs came out through the gate and slipped into the next pleasure house. The same argument would probably break out there too, and the winner could only be the Underworld.
"Bastards with no business ethics."
When the people paying lose heart, an Underworld society gradually becomes isolated from the community. They could make money for now, but in the end it was like holding a knife to their own throats.
Do Tong-dal spoke with a smiling face.
"If the Sangmun Society is that kind of Underworld, it's good for us. Heh heh heh......"
Dongcheon Road had three gambling halls and two opium dens. If they were brazen enough to set up opium dens like that, they'd be into human trafficking too.
"Cheon-su."
"Yes, Coordinator."
"You'll need to make a trip to Hangzhou tomorrow."
"We just arrived today."
"Go ask the county magistrate to lend us his Chief Clerk."
"Lend them? You mean bring them here?"
"That's right. Let's wrap this up quickly. The stench here is so thick I've lost any desire to stay long."
"Um...... so we're not stopping by a pleasure house today?"
"We'll drink at a pleasure house as a celebration once we've taken over Fuyang."
"Understood."
The next morning, during breakfast, Yang Cheon-su went to fetch the carriage they had stabled. He had said he'd just bring the horse, but a long while passed and he didn't return.
"Is that guy raising a foal or something?"
They finished eating and were about to pay when someone collapsed at the inn's entrance.
"Cheon-su!"
Do Tong-dal hurried over and supported the blood-soaked Yang Cheon-su.
"Coordinator......"
"What happened?"
"I went to get the horse...... got into a fight with some thugs...... I'm sorry. There were too many of them...... I couldn't win. I've disgraced the honor of the invincible Red Tiger Society...... I'm truly sorry."
"The invincible Red Tiger Society?"
"Yes. The invincible Red Tiger Society."
"You all call the Red Tiger Society that?"
"It's the truth, isn't it?"
Still, it was an embarrassing name. Do Tong-dal asked the innkeeper to take Yang Cheon-su to a physician, then went to the back courtyard where the carriage was.
A stable for managing guests' horses stood there. The four who went to the back courtyard could see two men unhitching the horse from the carriage.
"I've never seen such a fine horse in my life."
"Right? The horse is so good it's a little unsettling. You think we messed with someone too important?"
"Is this the time to worry about that? Didn't you hear the Society Leader? Grab anything that's worth money, no questions asked."
Do Tong-dal approached the two thugs and asked.
"Why are you putting your hands on my horse?"
The thugs flinched and tensed at the sight of them. Do Tong-dal and Won Dae-yeon were empty-handed, but Namgung Seol-rin and Jang Yu-seom carried weapons on their backs.
One thug stepped forward boldly.
"If you want your horse back, you've got to pay the storage fee."
"Isn't this a place where the inn keeps horses for guests for free?"
"No, we took over this stable starting yesterday. So if you want your horse, pay up."
* * *