Laying the Foundations of the Seo Clan

After spending an entire day visiting the homes of every guest who had attended the wedding and completing all his return courtesies, Seo Jun returned home with the lighthearted relief of a man who had finished his homework.

Yet the moment he stepped into the room with a carefree heart, he found Wang Yi waiting for him, seated with a grave expression on her face.

“My wife, has something happened?”

“Husband! Husband!”

“Wife, what in the world is going on?”

“Husband! Our family is short on money!”

Money? Haven’t I earned quite a bit?

Wang Yi’s explanation was straightforward. With children now born to both Seol Ryeon and Yi Hyeon, it was time to steadily and properly lay the foundations of their clan. However, the funds available for that purpose were insufficient.

The first method Wang Yi considered best for building the clan’s foundation was to purchase farmland, lease it to commoners as tenant fields, and establish a proper estate. Yet acquiring land on a large scale and constructing the family’s base required far more capital than they currently possessed.

“Husband, the price of food seems to be rising little by little these days. Grain that used to cost one hundred coins not long ago now requires at least one hundred and ten to obtain.”

“Hmm. Then how much more money do we need?”

“At least fifty million coins.”

“Pffft!”

Wang Yi’s scale had grown remarkably bold. She had always thought on a larger scale than most while managing her merchant caravan, but after Seo Jun handed over the wealth from his subspace, the units she considered had changed dramatically.

The money Seo Jun had accumulated while traveling through Bing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Province and Ji Province totaled fifty million coins. After spending on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠various matters and handing some over to Na-Pa for her trade routes, roughly twenty million coins now remained in Wang Yi’s hands.

Even twenty million ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠coins was an enormous fortune that ordinary people could scarcely imagine. Yet ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠here was Wang Yi, saying they needed at least as much again as their previous maximum.

“That’s quite a lot.”

“Husband, since you’ve plundered the noble clans so far without ever getting caught, how about taking this opportunity to rob one of the Ten Attendants’ households?”

For a brief moment, the thought crossed Seo Jun’s mind that if Wang Yi had been born a man, she would have become either a great merchant or a legendary thief.

After finishing their discussion about the family’s required funds, Seo Jun genuinely decided to rob one of the Ten Attendants’ homes.

Because he had faced almost no real battles against people lately, his Karma had not increased much. However, he had continued using Three-Dimensional Space whenever he had recovery time, so that skill had risen by two stages. He could now visualize a three-dimensional view of a five-hundred-meter radius centered on himself.

“Hmm. From the last match, it seems I only need to raise my martial prowess once more and can take some time after that. But here in the capital, there are many moments that require instant judgment. I should raise my intelligence a bit.”

His martial prowess had finally reached 110. He wondered if there was anyone left in the world who could defeat him in pure physical combat.

If I raise my blade technique just a little more, I should be able to handle any situation that arises in Luoyang.

Since he mostly carried only a sword and blade while operating inside Luoyang, Seo Jun felt the need to improve his blade technique. His intelligence had risen to 73. He felt his mind had grown clearer, though he couldn’t yet tell exactly how much sharper it had become. Still, the numerical change alone was quite significant.

Now Seo Jun fell into deep thought about whose house among the Ten Attendants he should rob. After much deliberation, he decided on the home of Go Mang. The reason was simple: when he wrote down all their names, Go Mang’s was the ugliest, and he simply didn’t like it.

A few days later, on a moonless night, Seo Jun headed for Go Mang’s mansion, located in the district adjacent to the southern palace walls. Because the area overlapped with the outer palace walls, security was far stricter than in ordinary cities he had raided before, and there were many more people moving about. He had to move with extreme caution.

By the early hours of dawn, Seo Jun was lying flat on the roof of Go Mang’s residence.

“Three-Dimensional Space.”

A translucent light spread out from Seo Jun as the center, rendering the surrounding objects in three dimensions before his eyes.

“There it is.”

He didn’t know whose bed it was, but behind the bed, a secret space connected by stairs was drawn in thin lines, clearly visible to him. Using both Three-Dimensional Space and stealth, Seo Jun moved in a way that none of the mansion’s residents noticed.

Having infiltrated the secret space so easily, Seo Jun couldn’t help but gape at the vast wealth gathered there. The noble clans he had robbed before were truly nothing but a drop in the bucket.

He swiftly transferred every piece of treasure before his eyes into his subspace. The profit Seo Jun earned that night was one hundred million coins.

That day, as he stored Go Mang’s hidden wealth in his subspace, Seo Jun seriously considered robbing the remaining Ten Attendants as well.

Should I take them all?

He was somewhat curious what would happen if he plundered every one of them.

A few days later, during a quiet night with few people about, Seo Jun and Wang Yi took out the acquired wealth and began sorting it. Even though he had seen it when storing it in his subspace, the sheer volume that kept pouring out was enough to leave his mouth hanging open no matter how many times he saw it.

“Husband, the amount is far larger than I expected. We’ll need to control the use of this wealth carefully and spend it gradually. If too much money floods the market at once, someone might come after us.”

“I suppose that’s true.”

Go Mang, now aware that his fortune had been stolen, would surely have people monitoring the flow of wealth. In such a situation, releasing a large amount of money in Luoyang would invite suspicion.

“First, I’ll purchase some land in the counties near Luoyang. Judging by the atmosphere, food prices will continue to rise. It would be good if we could cultivate our own farmland and secure our own food supply.”

Seo Jun fell into thought for a moment at Wang Yi’s words. Even if he gradually gained power and intervened in the flow of history, he still lacked the strength to change the great currents of the era.

Until I can exert real influence, wars will only increase, and the production of resources will become even more insufficient.

“Joyeon, if wars break out on a much larger scale than the current provincial rebellions, which goods do you think will rise most in price?”

He had a rough idea himself, but he wanted to hear the opinion of Wang Yi, who operated a merchant caravan and possessed deep knowledge in this area.

“Obviously food to replenish military rations, metals to forge weapons, warhorses to organize cavalry units and hay to feed them, and leather to make armor.”

“I thought the same. So I’d like you to find ways for us to secure as much of those goods as possible, Joyeon, and proceed with it. If anything comes up that you need while doing so, tell me anytime.”

“Husband… you want me to handle all of it?”

“Yes. If you need people, just say the word and I’ll support you.”

After Seo Jun and Wang Yi finished discussing the clan’s future, Wang Yi moved step by step according to his request and slowly began preparations.

The first thing she did was purchase about ten gyeong of land in Guji County, roughly seventy li southeast of Luoyang. Although they had plenty of money, buying too much land at once might attract unwanted attention, so she made the first purchase at a reasonable level. She planned to continue observing the situation and buy even more surrounding land.

One gyeong typically yielded about one hundred bushels of miscellaneous grain, so their current farmland could be expected to produce around one thousand bushels. Their goal was to purchase even more land in the future and establish a large-scale estate.

Second, Wang Yi searched for iron mines that were up for sale, but those who owned mines were also aware that the price of iron ore was rising steadily, so none were currently on the market. Therefore, she changed direction entirely and decided to explore the mountains around Guji County to find a mine herself.

In this way, the future of the new Seo Clan was being prepared, step by careful step.