The Imperial Tutor
Sama Seung gave Huiyeom a far more detailed account of the political climate in Beijing and of the Emperor himself.
"His present Majesty is a man who might well be compared to Emperor Gaozu of Han. Born not as the legitimate eldest son, he overcame that weakness of bloodline to ascend the throne of the Absolute. For that reason he cannot yet strike down the Eight Great Families and their hangers-on, who are at the height of their power—but he is preparing for it, step by careful step."
"…Forgive me if this is impertinent, but there is one thing I would ask."
"Speak."
"How does Your Excellency know that His Majesty is preparing to cut down the Eight Great Families and their accomplices? If that is true, it must be a secret of the highest order—something known only to a bare handful of men…."
"Because I am one of those important men, my grandniece's husband. His Majesty intends to borrow the strength of the Nine Great Noble Families as the blade with which to carve out the Eight Great Families. The Sama Clan, the Zhuge Clan, and the Yang Clan of Beijing form the axis of that effort."
"Ah, of course. He co-opts those among the Nine Great Noble Families—already martial magnates—who already possess deep influence at court, and beneath them he gathers the non-mainstream factions that were shut out of the Eight Great Families' privileges, setting them in opposition…. So His Majesty has no intention of annihilating the Eight Great Families completely."
At Huiyeom's words, Sama Seung's eyes widened.
"What do you mean by that?"
"It's a simple enough story, isn't it? Once the Sama, Zhuge, and Yang clans finish off the Eight Great Families, they will simply step into the seats the Eight Great Families now occupy—that much goes without saying. If I were His Majesty, I would check the Eight Great Families while building up the anti–Eight Great Families faction so that the two sides hate each other and tear at each other, and in the middle of it all I would hold the casting vote… no, no—I would plant myself between them and become the counterweight that can swing both sides however I please."
Just as England constantly worked to divide the continental powers of Europe and maintain its role as mediator between them. If Europe ever united, the English homeland itself would be endangered; so they ceaselessly schemed to keep the continent fractured.
Sama Seung gave a crooked smile.
"I see your political insight is considerable. Have you any interest in the post of Grand Secretary of the Cabinet?"
"Pfft!"
Sama Yun suddenly burst out laughing, and Huiyeom himself managed only a wry smile. When Sama Seung turned to look at her, she struggled to rein in her amusement and said,
"Forgive me, Great-uncle. The truth is, the two of us have had conversations of this very sort among ourselves…."
"Ah, I see."
Sama Seung let it pass without further comment.
"So then—I should like to hear your own thoughts. How do you intend to conduct yourself? How can we best assist you?"
"Yes. I…."
Huiyeom fell silent a moment, choosing his words carefully before he spoke.
"I mean to place into His Majesty the Emperor's hands the one thing he most desperately needs at this moment."
"And that is?"
"Power. Not the power of the martial world—but a formidable power that only His Majesty the Emperor can hold and wield."
At Huiyeom's words Sama Seung's eyes went round, but Sama Yun found herself murmuring under her breath,
"Gunpowder…."
Though Sama Yun had never joined the Reformist Party herself, she had already learned of the existence of gunpowder through the Sama youths.
Huiyeom glanced sidelong at her and smiled.
An emperor is not some village headman, after all. Even though Huiyeom had arrived bearing an imperial summons, an immediate audience was never going to be granted. Ordinarily one waited in Beijing anywhere from a week to several months for the Emperor's call. In that light, the fact that a mere week's waiting order came down the moment the summons was submitted at the Forbidden City was a clear sign that Emperor Sungui placed considerable priority on meeting Huiyeom.
Huiyeom, of course, had no intention of wasting that week on mere sightseeing in Beijing. He spent the days touring the capital, meeting the high officials Sama Seung introduced to him and making his face known.
"What's next on the schedule?"
At Huiyeom's question, Ye-eun answered,
"A luncheon appointment has been arranged with Gu Hyeongsu, the Seal-Holding Grand Eunuch of the Dongchang."
"Wait a moment—Seal-Holding Grand Eunuch Gu Hyeongsu…. That name rings a bell somehow."
"He is the gentleman who, during the Yunnan Provincial Administration Commissioner denunciation affair, received Lord Bang Un's letter and rendered us assistance."
"Ah, so it's him. Then I must be sure to include a proper expression of gratitude when I pay my respects."
"Gratitude is one thing, but he ranks third within the Dongchang and is a strong candidate for the next Director-General Eunuch after the next. It would be wise to cultivate good relations with him in advance."
"You said he once received kindness from Lord Bang Un, didn't you? It would have been good if Lord Bang had come along, but if he had, every political schemer in the capital would have hung every possible political motive on this Beijing trip until our heads exploded. A pity, but it can't be helped."
If a retired high official wishes to live long, he should keep far from Beijing. That was an old maxim of imperial politics.
Huiyeom carefully selected a gift for the Seal-Holding Grand Eunuch and set out for the man's residence so as not to be late for the appointment.
In stark contrast to the Dongchang's reputation for being able to make even birds fall from the sky, Seal-Holding Grand Eunuch Gu Hyeongsu did not even keep a private residence; he lived in official quarters provided by the state.
Sama Seung, the Vice Minister of Revenue, was the same…. Is living frugally the basic rule around here? In that case a gift that looks like a bribe might backfire.
Looking at the austere official residence, Huiyeom tried to take the measure of the Grand Eunuch's character.
And at last—
"I am Gu Hyeongsu, Seal-Holding Grand Eunuch of the Dongchang. Are you the New Dragon of Sichuan whom Lord Bang Un has praised so highly?"
"To call me a New Dragon is praise far beyond what a dullard like me can bear. I am Huiyeom of the Dang Clan; it is a great honor to meet the Seal-Holding Grand Eunuch of the Dongchang."
Huiyeom prostrated himself deeply before the Grand Eunuch.
"You may raise your head. Sit comfortably."
"Yes, Grand Eunuch."
Huiyeom rose from his prostration and seated himself with proper posture.
In the Grand Eunuch's chamber were the Seal-Holding Grand Eunuch himself, Huiyeom, and a handsome man who looked just past the age of thirty. Huiyeom's gaze turned naturally toward him.
"But Grand Eunuch—who is this gentleman?"
The Seal-Holding Grand Eunuch replied,
"Ah, that is Master Saengmok, Imperial Tutor to His Majesty the Emperor."
"Ah, I see. Most impressive at such a young age. It is an honor to meet the Imperial Tutor."
"I am no one of consequence. Pay me no mind."
The Imperial Tutor accepted Huiyeom's greeting lightly.
As Huiyeom looked at him, one eyebrow twitched ever so slightly. Instincts honed by long years of business and political maneuvering were sending him a signal.
Strange. The Seal-Holding Grand Eunuch may hold an important post in the Dongchang, but in the end he is a desk-bound official. The one who comes and goes from the palace and serves as the Emperor's confidant is the Director-General Eunuch, not the Seal-Holding Grand Eunuch. What common ground could there be between this man and the Imperial Tutor? And why seat him at a meeting like this? And can someone so young become Imperial Tutor in the first place?
Perhaps—just perhaps—
This man may not be some mere Imperial Tutor at all. He may be the Emperor himself.
Having reached that conclusion, Huiyeom resolved to weigh every word with care.
Good thing I read the atmosphere outside and left the gift in the corridor. If this Imperial Tutor really is the Emperor, I nearly made a fool of myself by openly offering a bribe right in front of him.
I can just leave it as if I forgot it. If he has no intention of accepting it and returns it, I can always claim I simply left it behind by accident.
While Huiyeom was privately congratulating himself on his quick thinking, the Seal-Holding Grand Eunuch spoke.
"Well then—the reason I asked to see you is that there is something I wish to ask you."
"Yes. Please ask whatever you will."
"Hrm. In fact it is also connected to the reason I have invited the Imperial Tutor to this gathering. I have received reports that your clan and the Sichuan Provincial Administration Commissioner have launched works of extraordinary scale throughout Sichuan and Yunnan. I am told… hard as it is to believe… that you bored a mountain tunnel straight through a mountain. What method did you use?"
"…That is…."
When Huiyeom made a show of hesitating, the Seal-Holding Grand Eunuch asked,
"I am not ordering you to spill everything under duress. But so that no mishap occurs before the throne, I wished to hear it once in advance. Is it difficult to speak of?"
"Ah, not at all. It is something I intended to report to His Majesty the Emperor with joy in any case, and if the Seal-Holding Grand Eunuch is curious, of course I must tell him. The truth is, our clan has developed a certain special substance. When fire is set to it, it explodes with a great noise, and its force is so mighty that it can split living rock. Our main house has named this substance gunpowder…."
"Hooo…."
Slowly, Huiyeom began to explain the cut-and-cover tunnel construction method that employed black powder. The Seal-Holding Grand Eunuch and the Imperial Tutor, who had been seated with full dignity, gradually lost every trace of power and majesty from their faces as the tale progressed; all that remained was the sparkling light of children listening to a fascinating old story.
"…And so, in that manner, we were able to complete a road that pierces straight through the mountain."
"A genius! Truly magnificent. How did you ever think to invent such a precious thing? If His Majesty learns of this, he will praise you highly!"
His spirits raised, the Imperial Tutor's speech had slipped naturally from semi-formal address into the casual speech of a superior—yet no one pointed it out.
The Imperial Tutor spoke in a suggestive tone.
"Hrm. But Young Hero Dang—about this thing called gunpowder. If one were to place it inside something like a jar and set it off, would not the flying shards of the jar make an effective weapon for wounding an enemy? And more than that—if one were to put gunpowder into an iron tube sealed at one end, set a heavy stone or lump of iron atop it, and then fire the powder, the force of the explosion would hurl that stone or iron to strike the enemy's ranks. What do you think of such a weapon?"
"Indeed—when people speak of 'hearing one thing and knowing ten,' they must surely mean a man such as Your Excellency the Imperial Tutor. And so I intend to offer this thing called gunpowder to the Imperial House."
From here on was the decisive moment.
When Huiyeom's eyes lit with seriousness, the gazes of the Seal-Holding Grand Eunuch and the Imperial Tutor both sank deep.
"Hoo… offer it to the Imperial House? Why?"
"To demonstrate that we of the Sichuan Dang Family harbor no disloyal ambitions whatsoever and are loyal subjects of the Imperial House—and so that it may become a mighty power possessed by the Imperial House alone."
"A mighty power possessed by the Imperial House alone?"
The Imperial Tutor leaned forward.
"Explain in detail."
"The greatest advantage of this thing called gunpowder is that even an ignorant commoner who knows nothing of martial arts can, by using it, produce a force capable of bringing down a mountain."
Huiyeom continued,
"It is presumptuous of this humble servant to say so, but since coming to Beijing I have come to understand just how great the influence of the Eight Great Families truly is, and how insolently large an obstacle they have become to His present Majesty."
The Imperial Tutor's brow twitched, yet Huiyeom did not stop.
The man before me is not even the Emperor (?), so surely I can say this much?
It was the Seal-Holding Grand Eunuch, who had been listening quietly, who intervened.
"How dare you! In the presence of the Imperial Tutor who alone instructs His Majesty in private audience, you utter words that cast doubt upon the authority of the Imperial House—has your belly grown so full of gall that nothing but liver remains beneath it?!"
"It is all right, Grand Eunuch. Leave him be. I wish to hear an unvarnished opinion free of prejudice."
"But…."
"Enough. So then, Young Hero. That said, you are not, I trust, entertaining some insolent fantasy of simply blowing the Eight Great Families to pieces with this gunpowder? What is it you are plotting?"
"How could a dullard like myself dare to fathom even a fraction of His Majesty the Emperor's profound intent? Yet if I may presume to guess—His Majesty the Emperor will seek to create a balanced structure by lending strength to those who currently stand outside the mainstream, so that they may check the Eight Great Families."
"Continue."
"But if that happens, the Eight Great Families will feel themselves in crisis. In the worst case, there is no guarantee they will not pool their strength and commit high treason."
"Blasphemy!"
"Grand Eunuch—close your mouth."
"……."
A strange light shone in the Imperial Tutor's eyes as he said,
"Continue."