The Boar's Molar of Manpo
Even so, a capable military officer like Song Yu-bin was not simply left to rot. In the aftermath of Yi Jing-ok's rebellion, a great purge of 'malcontents' had swept the northern frontier — and as the price of it, the ranks were flooded with grizzled veterans of the campaigns against the Jurchen.
Yi Seung-pyeong, the newly appointed Provincial Commander of Pyongan, was the son of Yi Jong-mu, the general who had led the expedition against Tsushima. With real military experience of his own, he understood the problem at once.
"Can anyone recommend a commander worth using?"
"There is a man called Song Yu-bin. An Armored Guard of the Two Borders by origin, and well versed in the ways of the Jurchen — he would serve Your Excellency well. However…"
"However?"
"He once served under the traitor Yi Jing-ok, rising as far as Prefectural Magistrate of Jongseong."
"Then why was he never implicated?"
"His wife fell mortally ill, and he withdrew to the countryside some years ago. That, we believe, is what spared him."
Yi Seung-pyeong deliberated at length before making up his mind.
"The Jurchens grow restless, and commanders worth the name are scarce. I cannot afford to discard such a man. Summon him."
After several refusals, Song Yu-bin finally presented himself, and Yi Seung-pyeong recognized his ability almost immediately. The commander had soldiered long enough to know a gifted officer when he saw one.
"I heard about your wife. They say you refuse to leave the village where she is buried."
Song Yu-bin said nothing.
"They tell me you know the Jurchens well. In your judgment, is the border secure as it stands?"
"No, it is not."
That was all Song Yu-bin would say. In truth, it was a remarkably restrained answer. Long years had passed since he left military service, yet his eyes still swept the defenses with unrelenting precision. To him, the discipline of the border garrisons since Suyang's usurpation of the throne was nothing short of abysmal.
Suyang's cronies, sent north under the pretext of seizing military authority after Yi Jing-ok's death, cared nothing for national defense. Frontier duty was, to them, nothing but an endless tedium. The only thing that ever caught their interest was profit — sable pelts and other marketable local goods.
And when the water at the top runs murky, there is no hope for the water below.
"I'm told you are a capable man. Would you take a native post in Ganggye? Think of it as guarding your wife's grave — take charge of the Jingangwi for me."
A togwan, or native official, was not a position formally conferred from the capital; it was drawn from among the local men to serve as aides to the regular administration. The Jingangwi, too, was an organization of locally appointed officers. In the end, Song Yu-bin accepted Yi Seung-pyeong's request and took up the post of Vice Commander of the Jingangwi under the Magistrate of Ganggye.
But Song Yu-bin was far too upright a man to carouse with the rotten. Before long, there was not a single soul in the Ganggye prefectural office who welcomed his presence.
One day, the Magistrate of Ganggye summoned him.
"Could you take charge of Manpoguja for a while?"
Manpoguja was a small, dilapidated forward post a hundred and thirty ri north of Ganggye — and by this point, it had long been officially decommissioned. To anyone's eye it was exile, but Song Yu-bin paid it no mind.
In those days, smugglers swarmed the area around Manpoguja. It was the natural consequence of a border army gone slack in the wake of Yi Jing-ok's rebellion.
When word spread that a new officer had arrived in Ganggye, the smugglers paid it little heed at first.
"Bah, slip him a bit of silver under the table and who wouldn't look the other way?"
They went to Song Yu-bin expecting exactly that — and walked straight into a thunderbolt. He threw every one of them into a cell, confiscated the bribes, and sent the whole lot to the Magistrate of Ganggye.
The magistrate gaped like a man handed a cake he never ordered, but the smugglers — who suddenly found their necks at stake — were in no mood for laughter. The soldiers and officers who had just lost their under-the-table take were in no mood for laughter either.
"What are we to do about that Song Yu-bin bastard?"
"If silver won't move him, then we cut him out."
Of course, the smugglers were not ones to sit idle and watch their livelihood be severed. More than once they hired assassins to ambush Song Yu-bin. It was a sound plan — except that their quarry happened to be one of the 'Boar's Molars.'
The only result was a few more severed heads hung from the palisade of Manpoguja as a warning to the lawless. Within the year, the rabble of smugglers had either shut down their trade or ended up displayed on a pole.
"And that was the very opening Merchant Hwang had been waiting for."
"How so? Did the officer Song Yu-bin ever turn a blind eye for him?"
"Song Yu-bin? Not a chance."
Jang Hui-sun snorted.
"Fall afoul of Song Yu-bin in Manpo, and not even the Provincial Commander himself could save you — let alone the Magistrate of Ganggye. Merchant Hwang managed to survive because he had connections in the Ganggye office and deep purse besides."
It made sense to Hong-wi. True players could turn even a sudden storm into opportunity — and Hwang Ga belonged squarely among those true players. He had hardly welcomed Song Yu-bin either, yet in the great turnover of old smugglers that Song Yu-bin's arrival had triggered, he never once missed the chance to swell his own influence enormously.
"Anyway, that's roughly how things stand in Manpo these days. Now then, Gyeong-yeon, little brother — pour me a drink."
Having finished his long tale, Jang Hui-sun went looking for liquor, his throat gone dry. Cha Gyeong-yeon poured for him with a chuckle, and Jang Hui-sun gulped it down in great swallows. With a long ahhh, he wiped his mouth and at last broke into an easy, sheepish grin.
Hong-wi spoke.
"This officer Song Yu-bin must be quite a formidable man."
"Formidable… aye, I'll grant you that, seeing as he did me over but good. As Gyeong-yeon here knows, I'm no slouch myself. I simply don't care for spilling blood over nothing."
"That's the truth of it. Things are too quiet these days, so all manner of swaggering trash take you for a nobody. They'd wet themselves if the Seongnime of the Amnok, Jang Hui-sun himself, ever took the field."
Cha Gyeong-yeon grinned.
"Still, I can't help wondering how a man of your standing, Seongnime, ended up paying bonyeok — tribute to a bully."
"It was late summer this year. I was about to cross the river when I ran into him. I'd heard the stories about that Song fellow, sure, but he had only three men with him, and I had over a dozen — I figured I could handle it. And besides, the rest of them, save Song Yu-bin, were visibly itching to slip away."
"By then, fighting was a fair gamble."
Cha Gyeong-yeon nodded. Boasting of one's strength in front of a boatman was the mark of a fool, and the smugglers of the Amnok were, in truth, bandits who plied their trade on the water. Even officers with real training in the martial arts could easily end up as fish food.
"That's what I thought. And yet — isn't it something? The two soldiers were barely worth counting, so all I needed to do was take on Song Yu-bin himself. Instead, that one man alone wiped out a dozen of us."
"Hoh."
"The sworn brothers with me were all killed or captured, and I took a blade and went into the river — barely dragged myself out by duck-diving under the surface. Never in my life, since the hair first grew on my balls, have I been so shamed."
"A hair's breadth from death, then. And after that?"
"I hid at a friend's house for about a month. But with my gang scattered to the four winds, what was there to do? A man's mouth belongs to whoever feeds it. Merchant Hwang took me in, so I went under him."
Jang Hui-sun let out a long sigh.
"So that's how it was. Had things gone otherwise, the great Jang Hui-sun would never have bent his knee to another man."
"That's right. But they say misfortune can turn to blessing — I scrape by well enough these days. Merchant Hwang, for a man of this trade, keeps his word and looks after the people beneath him. There's a real touch of honor about him."
Ho-in, listening nearby, barely managed to choke back a hollow laugh. A smuggler talking about keeping his word and honor — the absurdity of it.
But Cha Gyeong-yeon nodded with a grave face.
"Honor, you say… well, if Seongnime vouches for it."
"You'll see for yourself in time. Now — wait, didn't I promise to ferry these friends of yours across the river? I nearly forgot."
Jang Hui-sun looked back and forth between Hong-wi and Ho-in.
"What's their story, then? They don't look like men who've done hard, dirty work, yet they mean to cross into Jurchen country. Why?"
"There's a reason."
"A reason. Is there a single soul on an Amnok smuggling boat without one?"
Jang Hui-sun studied Hong-wi with narrowed, thoughtful eyes. To a man weathered by years in the smuggling trade, Hong-wi plainly looked like a young lord raised in silk and comfort. Nothing about him suited the Jurchen lands.
"Nobody who means to cross into Jurchen country is ever a proper sort, you know. However grave the crime you've committed, a dung field back home beats that place — it's no land for living men. It's the dregs of the dregs, the ones with nothing left to lose, who talk about crossing over. You're really telling me young lords like you mean to go there?"
Cha Gyeong-yeon stepped in.
"What's gotten into you? A man of your standing — since when do smugglers interrogate the goods or the passengers they carry?"
"Fair enough, but having shared a drink with them today, I find myself wanting to know a little of their story."
"Honestly… well, it's not something one should speak of, but — tell him. Seongnime, you've heard the rumors, haven't you? That rivers of blood have run more than once among the high nobles of Hanyang? Even that old man Yi Jing-ok lost his head."
"Of course I've heard… hm."
Something like recognition dawned on Jang Hui-sun's face.
"Come to think of it — I did hear a rumor about you."
What rumor could he have heard?
Ho-in grew uneasy. Surely this man hadn't caught on to His Highness's true identity. Even if he hadn't, letting suspicion drift that way was dangerous…
Cha Gyeong-yeon must have reached a similar thought, for a shadow fell across his face.
"They say that when Yi Jing-ok's eldest and second sons were put to the sword, his youngest son alone escaped the calamity. Could this man be—"
"Shh."
Cha Gyeong-yeon pressed a finger hastily to his own lips. He knew Jang Hui-sun had leapt to the wrong conclusion, but he chose not to correct him.
"Say no more, Seongnime. Go on this way, and even a sworn little brother like me would have no choice but to silence you. You understand."
Jang Hui-sun glared at Cha Gyeong-yeon. Then, at last, he shrugged.
"My lips are sealed. Don't fret."
Given the state of him, pickled in drink as he was, the assurance sat a little uneasily — but Cha Gyeong-yeon nodded all the same.
"I owe that old man Yi Jing-ok a debt myself, come to think of it."
"You, Seongnime?"
"Aye. Did I never tell you? Back in my hot-blooded youth, the Jurchens took me — and it was old Yi Jing-ok who saved me then. Consider it a debt repaid."
"I trust you alone, Seongnime. But surely something can be done? If at all possible, I'd like to cross the river tonight."
"Tonight's a bit difficult."
Jang Hui-sun lurched to his feet, then swayed and thought better of it. He certainly looked the part.
"There's preparing to do, but above all, I need Merchant Hwang's blessing."
"Hah! How has our Seongnime fallen so far!"
As Cha Gyeong-yeon wailed in mock despair, Jang Hui-sun sighed.
"It can't be helped. I'm not the Jang Hui-sun of old anymore. As you can see…"
He shrugged his shoulders.
"I made a promise to Merchant Hwang — that I'd entrust everything I am to him. Circumstances forced my hand, yes, but when a man has given his word, he must keep it. You know that as well as anyone."
Hong-wi was quietly taken aback. He found himself looking at Jang Hui-sun anew. He had thought of him as nothing more than a faithless smuggler — and yet here was this unexpected depth of principle.
Cha Gyeong-yeon shrugged as if there were nothing to be done.
"That's always been Seongnime's way. All the same, every day we delay is another day of danger. Truth be told, I even considered Kkeok-chi's gang."
"Kkeok-chi's gang? Forget it."
Jang Hui-sun snorted.
"Rely on those dogs and you won't cross the river — you'll end up in a Ganggye cell instead. And that's if they don't simply run off with your money."
"Which is why I came to you, Seongnime."
"In any case, Merchant Hwang will be back soon."
"I heard it wasn't certain whether he'd return today…"
"Mm, word came that he'd arrive later today. And as it happens, good timing — he'll be in fine spirits. This latest job of his went smoothly."
"So he never did give up the trade after all."
"However formidable Song Yu-bin may be, he can't seal every waterway into Manpo. A power of Hwang's scale can always find a way through — one path or another. It's only the profits that have thinned."
Jang Hui-sun let out a long, lazy yawn.
"I'll go relieve myself a moment."
The moment Jang Hui-sun left, the three of them drew close together.
Ho-in spoke first.
"Honestly, I don't trust that man. A famed boatman of the Manpo region, you say? A fellow who sleeps dead drunk hugging a piglet? The reason that officer Song Yu-bin thrashed him in the first place was the drink, wasn't it?"
"Judging by what we've seen, I can't exactly argue in his defense."
Cha Gyeong-yeon smiled awkwardly.
"Still, it's true there's no one who can match him for knowing the waterways of Manpo like the lines of his own palm. The rapids, the fords, the exact watch-change hours — he has them all memorized."
"Getting his whole gang wiped out and still holding the post of Chief Boatman — there must be something to him after all."
Hong-wi murmured, and Cha Gyeong-yeon answered with a smile.
"In my view, the right course is to follow whatever decision Your Highness makes."
"I will likewise follow Your Highness's decision."
Ho-in agreed as well — though he clearly hadn't shaken the unease of his first impression of Jang Hui-sun.
"Frankly, I doubt that old mother-in-law of a Jang can serve Your Highness as he ought. But once you decide, I will follow."
"So you leave the hard choice to me. Though I wonder whether any of my judgments so far have deserved such trust."
Hong-wi considered for a moment.
"…As Ho-in says, it's true his first impression was less than inspiring. But Cha Gong has vouched for his ability beyond question, and more than that — Jang Hui-sun strikes me as a man who can be trusted. That is the feeling I have."
"In what way, if I may ask? I see only a drunkard."
"In how seriously he takes the promise he made to that man Hwang Ga. It's a pact among men who treat the law as an enemy, yes — but a man who keeps his faith even in such bargains is a man to be trusted. Assuming I read people well, that is."
Cha Gyeong-yeon smiled without a word. On that point, Ho-in conceded as well.
"Very well. Then let us trust this man and entrust ourselves to him. Though we'd best pray he's sober when he takes the helm. But — someone seems to be coming, doesn't he?"
Ho-in gestured toward the entrance.
A swarthy man in his thirties was walking in, waving a fan lightly, wearing the expression of a man mildly displeased with something. The clean, sharp line of his jaw gave him a keen look, and the neatly trimmed goatee sharpened it further. His eyes were somehow cold, with the calculating air of a man sizing people up — and yet at the corner of his mouth hovered a peculiar smile, something like a sardonic sneer.
In a word, he looked like a man without a single opening. In that instant, Hong-wi knew who he was.
"So that is Hwang Ga."
Just as Hong-wi surmised, the man entering now was Hwang Ga himself. The men sprawled and lounging inside rose one after another and bowed at the waist. In the two years since he had thrown himself into the trade, Hwang Ga had come close to outright mastery of the Manpo waterways, and a great share of the smugglers gathered here were bound to him, directly or otherwise.
"Is Mak-gae here?"
Returning the bows with a light nod, Hwang Ga snapped open the fan in his hand and called out.
"Yes, Your Lordship, sir!"
The scruffy fellow who had first greeted Hong-wi's party at the gate scurried to bow.
Hwang Ga's voice turned crisp.
"I heard there was a sword fight here two days ago and hurried back. Just what happened?"
"It was… it was all this wretched servant's fault. Drifting rabble slipped their hidden blades past me, and I failed to catch them in time."
Mak-gae bowed his head again and again. Hwang Ga shook his head slowly, his expression one of displeasure.
"Tsk, tsk. Did I not warn you? Whenever business runs lean, as it has lately, hotheads who can't hold their temper are bound to show up."
"Yes… my deepest apologies."
"I've used my connections with the magistrate, so nothing more should come of that. But the waver in discipline itself is the problem. The moment discipline collapses, we become no different from common bandits."
Hwang Ga's voice was cold as a sheet of ice, with something deep resonating beneath it. Mak-gae, and indeed everyone else, wore the look of men floundering for footing.
Hong-wi was deeply impressed. So this is how he holds men like these — lawless cutthroats — in the palm of his hand.
In the next moment, Hwang Ga's tone changed entirely.