Chapter 144: The Fathers-in-Law (3)
Chapter 144: The Fathers-in-Law (3)
Naturally, after a great battle ends, a long period of cleanup follows.
Even for the war that saw the destruction of the Jinju Eon family, a long tug-of-war between the Dragon Slaying Alliance and the local authorities was expected.
During that time, Peng Gyeon-ho, an Inner Hall elder who had been delegated as the acting leader of the Dragon Slaying Alliance, had to sniffle sorrowfully while mediating between the government and the alliance's subordinate organizations.
In any case, now that the Dragon Slaying Alliance had expanded its influence to Jinju, they had to fill the area with subordinate sects to manage the region.
As such, while the fight belongs to the martial artist, the aftermath of the war belongs to the administrator and the diplomat.
This was even more true in Chongqing, where a bloody incident of a scale incomparable to the Jinju situation had occurred.
"But why do I have to go...?"
"Because you're the only one who can actually talk to the officials."
"Don't you think I'm a bit too young for that?"
Shouldn't a more heavyweight figure go...?
I was barely eighteen. To personally visit the Chongqing Provincial Administration to settle the situation—it felt absurd. Why was a high schooler negotiating with the government when tens of thousands of people in a major city had just been caught in a zombie apocalypse?
"Then who from the Dragon Slaying Alliance should step forward? Your brother? The Pavilion Master of the Assassination Pavilion has already left."
"Ah."
Hyeon-shin was out of the question. Setting aside the small age gap, he simply wasn't the right personality for it.
The old master of the Assassination Pavilion had, surprisingly, already headed back to Tianjin.
Apparently, he had slipped away during the brief banquet held yesterday while I was unconscious.
In truth, he was the one who had brought all the assassins from across Hebei following the Black Concubine.
In fact, the Assassination Pavilion had suffered the greatest losses when they first entered Chongqing as scouts.
From his perspective, he needed to return to the pavilion immediately to manage the damage. The reputation of the "World's Greatest Assassination Sect" was at risk of ending with his generation.
Duanseongbu's Great Hero Hwang, who participated as the acting leader of the Heavenly Thunder Alliance, had died in battle against the Ghost Gate Meridian Lord. That left only the representatives of the Three Great Martial Gates of the Dragon Slaying Alliance...
It's just me.
Grandfather Peng Ik-cheon was currently a patient with injuries so severe he could barely move, so excluding him, it really was just me.
If we sent someone who didn't even belong to the Three Great Martial Gates to such a meeting, the government would surely throw a fit.
I looked at Brother Murong Jeon and let out a sigh.
"I find it burdensome as well. I didn't expect the Alliance Leader to wash his hands of it so quickly."
"If the Alliance Leader hadn't stepped back then, a bloodbath would have ensued."
I heard that the Martial Alliance Leader, who ended the war with an incredible kill-steal, fled the moment he met my (future) father-in-law in the outer city.
Usually, when one reaches the Harmony Realm, their survival instincts become extraordinary. You have to survive in this harsh medieval Martial World to reach such a level in the first place.
In that sense, the Alliance Leader would likely live a long life. That man's brain worked faster than most.
"So, once this matter is settled, will the Martial Alliance rule Chongqing?"
"Shaolin, Wudang, and the Sima family will likely each establish secular branch sects here. Our family plans to have a foot in the door as well. Chongqing is vast, and the other counties besides Paxian still have large populations. We can't just hand it all over to the Martial Alliance."
"True. If it goes to them, the Zhuge Family Head will take control."
"Most likely. Including sweeping up the remnants of the Ten Thousand Ghosts Alliance in this area, it will require a lot of effort. So, be prepared."
"Prepared?"
What do I need to be prepared for regarding the Blue Team's situation...?
"This incident, after all, was a bloody affair triggered by a civil war within the Sima Alliance. Think of how many commoners were killed or injured. Do you think the government will look kindly upon you, the representative of the Sima Alliance?"
"Ah, right."
I sighed as I entered the Chongqing Provincial Administration with Murong Jeon.
Yeah, I really couldn't leave this to the elders of our family. Who knows what disaster would strike if I delegated it to them?
I'd have to bow just enough, take what I could, dodge what I needed to, and then head back.
*
"Come, come, please sit! Haha!"
"...?"
The Chongqing Provincial Administration looked like it had been hit by a bomb.
Broken furniture and piles of documents were scattered everywhere, catching underfoot.
As soon as our arrival was announced, a middle-aged man who looked like a military general in every way appeared with a bright smile.
After dismissing the troops heavily guarding the perimeter, he met with us alone.
"I am Jeong Yeong, the Sichuan Commander of the Right Rear Guard. I have heard much about you, and it seems luck is on my side that I get to meet you in person. It is a pleasure."
"Pardon...? Me?"
A Sichuan Commander was a Grand General who ranked in the top three of the Right Rear Guard. Indeed, the military camp escorting this place was exceptional in both number and elite status.
Martial artists below the Peak Realm can never hide their presence. The level at which one can at least conceal their aura is the Super Peak Realm, after one becomes able to move the microcosm within the human body at will.
I had already noticed that there seemed to be an excessive number of experts who had reached the Peak Realm within this heavily guarded camp. I had heard the Ming Imperial Court's military was constantly at war with the Northern Yuan, and it showed.
"Yes, so many people in Shuntian Prefecture spoke of you. Are you not the talent who will lead the next generation of the Dragon Slaying Alliance?"
"I don't believe I'm that well-known externally."
"Hmm? At the very least, your standing within the Beijing government is not small. You are too humble! Where would the talent of a top scholar from the local exams go?"
"Uh..."
I didn't think a record of winning a Confucian Olympiad for elementary students would still carry weight five years later.
As I wore a highly skeptical expression, Jeong Yeong laughed heartily and spoke.
"My distant nephew is in the Hanlin Academy. Cheon U-rin—do you know him?"
"Ah...!!"
I should have known. This guy was part of the conspiracy crew.
From that moment, I realized I needed to watch my step. If the rebellion failed, the court would try to uproot everyone related to the Sichuan Commander; if it succeeded, he was a general guaranteed the position of Grand Commander in the future.
I immediately adopted the posture of a stiff scholar, rubbing my hands together and bowing low.
"My, my, to meet a relative of my old friend in a place like this. It is the honor of a lifetime, Grand General!"
"Haha... Hahaha!! Grand General? I am but a lowly official who eats wild greens!"
"Oh dear...! To have been so negligent of my friend's family affairs, I am truly ashamed. I wish to show a small token of sincerity from the Dragon Slaying Alliance, but I fear the many treacherous officials in Shuntian Prefecture might slander us... Perhaps, if I were to share a bit of my personal wealth to provide just a few pounds of meat for the men, would it be seen as an impertinence?"
"Ho... personal wealth?"
"Yes, it may not be much, but I have a few acquaintances who are fast on their feet and refined in their conduct. If you would not turn them away for their low status..."
"I see. I understand your intent."
Jeong Yeong smiled with satisfaction, stroked his beard a few times, and said, "I was worried that the commoners who traveled all the way from Shuntian to sightsee might be further harmed by the bloody calamity that occurred in Chongqing yesterday."
"You don't say? Fortunately, they are good people from my hometown, so I shall lead them well."
"Were there not many injured in the chaos?"
"How could we trouble the state with such matters? Fortunately, they are wealthy enough to go sightseeing in this winter weather, so if you would grant permission on our way back, it would not be difficult for them to offer alms to the commoners of Chongqing."
"Will you do that for me?"
"Is not relief and love for the people the very essence of a learned scholar? Do not worry."
"That would be excellent. It is also not good to see soldiers intimidating innocent commoners. I wish you a peaceful journey. It must have been difficult for you to visit this land during such a turbulent time in Chongqing."
"Your grace is immeasurable, Grand General."
Murong Jeon watched our "government talk" with a look of utter confusion.
[What on earth are you two talking about?]
[I'll explain in a moment.]
I quickly replied via Sound Transmission and bowed deeply to Jeong Yeong with the integrity of a scholar to express my gratitude.
Sichuan Commander Jeong Yeong and I continued our small talk for a while longer before parting ways before sunset.
"Then, this humble Peng shall take his leave. I have committed an impertinence against a man busy with state affairs."
"If we had met on a better day, I would have certainly shared a meal with you, but it would be indiscreet to hold back someone with a busy journey ahead. I shall discuss the remaining matters with the Alliance, so go in peace."
"Thank you, Grand General!"
It was a rapport-building session that happened as fast as parching beans in a lightning strike.
As is typical for officials belonging to the conspiracy crew, the high-level bureaucratic talk worked perfectly.
As we headed back to the Dragon Slaying Alliance camp in Paxian, Murong Jeon, who played the role of the clueless backwater barbarian, asked cautiously.
"So, what exactly just happened...?"
"The massacre in Chongqing will be concluded as a mad act committed by the Ten Thousand Ghosts Alliance, and the martial artists of Hebei will be recorded as victims who were unlucky enough to get caught in it while on a leisurely winter sightseeing trip."
"...What...?"
Murong Jeon looked around at the villages near Paxian with a look of profound confusion.
Half the villages near the main road were burned, and in the other half, the corpses of commoners who had frozen or starved to death were huddled together.
"You're just going to act like that didn't happen?"
"We can't act like it didn't happen at all. If the remnants of the Ten Thousand Ghosts Alliance cause trouble in the future, the Dragon Slaying Alliance will have to show its sincerity. We'll have to pay gold in the name of relief grain on our way back."
But if it was settled with money, it was a very clean conclusion.
In fact, if we had been poorly entangled in this, we might have had to hand over several prominent martial artists from the Dragon Slaying Alliance to the government.
It's easiest to understand it as being similar to how, in modern times, when gangs get into a massive brawl, they throw a few low-level members into a detention center to settle things.
Generally, it's impossible to ignore the government by shouting about the non-aggression pact between the court and the martial world. It wasn't as if some barbarians from beyond the borders had invaded and caused a ruckus.
This doesn't mean we have to take responsibility out of some Confucian ethical duty because many people died. That's an idealism that doesn't happen in ancient, medieval, or modern times.
When people die, the government focuses only on the loss of tax revenue.
If the central government had a panic attack every time people died in this vast land of the Central Plains, their ethics and conscience would have gone on strike within ten years.
Therefore, we pay the price for the loss of tax revenue. We aren't even covering the entire tax deficit of Chongqing. If we spread gold evenly among the high-ranking officials directly involved in this matter, the issue will naturally be sealed.
Think of it as a large corporation spending more on bribes than on taxes.
No matter how much gold is thrown at a tiny few, it is far cheaper than filling a hollowed-out tax treasury.
Now, the officials who received the money will write in the historical records:
'There was a disturbance in Paxian caused by rampaging bandits, leading to significant damage including the collapse of the Paxian government office, but the Sichuan Commander led the Chongqing Provincial Administration to suppress the chaos.'
They won't bother recording how many commoners died in the process. Such things aren't important.
"Then what was all that talk about personal wealth and fast-footed acquaintances?"
"Ah, I should explain that first."
It seemed I had been a bit unkind in my explanation to a Xianbei tribesman who had no connection to the central bureaucracy.
"If the Dragon Slaying Alliance directly provides the gold, there's a risk of being attacked for it being an official act of the Sima Alliance. So, I meant I would compensate them privately, regardless of the alliance."
As a bonus, if the conspiracy crew's rebellion failed, it allowed the Hebei Dragon Slaying Alliance to maintain the position that they had nothing to do with it.
It's better to minimize connections with high-ranking officials on that team as much as possible.
Then shouldn't I not hand over my personal wealth?
Of course, the gold bars will be delivered through a "cushion," thoroughly laundered.
"By 'fast-footed acquaintances,' I meant the Hao Clan. Is my sect not the Hao Clan?"
In this era, the Hao Clan is a group of laborers who occupy the lowest rung of the Confucian caste. But at the same time, they can be seen as a merchant class through which significant amounts of gold flow, centered around brothels and gambling dens.
They're roughly similar to the bourgeoisie of the pre-capitalist era. Their behavior is quite similar too.
Through the Hao Clan members, gold is funneled into the military via a cushion. In the process, any trace of the Dragon Slaying Alliance can be washed away, and it will be a great benefit for the Hao Clan as well.
Just as the Beijing Hao Clan supported Ju Woo-rin, the Hao Clan and the July Society themselves are already all-in on the conspiracy crew.
But then, ta-da! What if an opportunity arose to form a new rapport with a high-ranking official like the Sichuan Commander of the Right Rear Guard?
If the rebellion succeeds, the status of the Hao Clan will never be the same again!
If a general who would later rise to the position of Grand Commander is friendly toward the Hao Clan, and even the central political circles, including the Pure Stream faction, do not forget the Hao Clan's support...
The Hao Clan's standing in the future will undoubtedly become incomparably stronger than it is now.
A great politician does not make enemies and must devise a scheme where everyone benefits from even a small matter.
And I'd like to say that Confucianism was, from its birth, a study of politics.
"Hmm..."
Brother Murong Jeon stroked his chin with a very troubled face and said, "If you enter our family... the land of Liaoning is going to be in a lot of trouble."
"Pardon? What do you mean by that...?"
"Ah. Did you not know? How I came to be here?"
"Yes?"
Only then did Murong Jeon's expression soften as he spoke.
"A formal proposal should have arrived at your house by now. A marriage alliance is being finalized. Cheong and I are essentially here for a sort of pre-wedding meeting, aren't we?"
"What?"
What are you talking about?
"What do you think was the reason the Dragon Slaying Alliance could dispatch so many martial artists to Chongqing without worrying about their rear? We were dispatched as proof that Liaoning would not take this opportunity to attack the Heavenly Thunder Alliance."
"Uh..."
"I look forward to working with you. Nephew-in-law."
I ignored Murong Jeon's words and looked toward our camp.
In the distance, Murong Cheong was cooking, even wearing a strange apron.
She was carrying a bowl of finely made porridge to my grandfather, Peng Ik-cheon.
Then, with a very demure posture, she covered her mouth and laughed before suddenly looking back at me.
[You're back?]
You're back...?
What is this?
A wise politician does not leave enemies behind.
But a brilliant politician always leads the situation from a position half a step superior to their enemies.
And the Murong family of Liaoning were the descendants of the former Murong royalty of Yan.
Politics was, after all, a study for rulers.
"Hehe."
Murong Cheong smiled contentedly as she looked at Im Hwa-yeong.
Im Hwa-yeong also watched the scene quietly before smiling like a blooming flower.