Aftermath Processing

Summer had arrived.

The fierce spring had seen a great many things.

In Sichuan Province, sweet potato farming had begun in earnest across the trench fields. Reservoirs were built near the outposts; water was drawn from nearby sources, collected from rain, or hauled up by train from the Min River to secure irrigation. When the reservoir gates opened and the water rushed down the sloping trenches, soaking into the fields, the Noksan employees watching wore strange expressions.

Gazing at the tender green sweet potato shoots unfurling, one could not help but sink into a pastoral, peaceful mood—an appreciation they had never known in their days as Green Forest bandits.

"We didn't come here to farm, though…"

"Be grateful for the farming. It's better than risking your life in a fight."

"Well, that's true enough."

While the Noksan men traded words, a group of merchants appeared at the foot of the hill path leading to the outpost. The employees went down and rolled the wheeled barricades aside so the ox-carts could pass. The merchant greeted them with a broad smile.

"Aigoo, you fellows work hard~"

"Master Wang, it's been a while. Any trouble on the road?"

"Ah, as it happens, a tree had fallen across the path a ways back. Nothing too big—we cleared it ourselves."

"Eh?! Really? It wasn't there when we patrolled a few days ago…"

"Heh heh heh. Since I cleared the roadblock for you, how about shaving a bit off the toll this time?"

They had already reached the point of bantering with the merchants who regularly traveled the area. The Noksan employees found their present lives thoroughly agreeable.

"Come to think of it, our relatives are in complete chaos these days, aren't they?"

At one employee's remark, another tilted his head.

"Relatives?"

"The river pirates, man. On the Yangtze."

"Ah."

Understanding at last, the other man snorted a laugh.

"They're wiping them out root and branch."

"The newly appointed Provincial Military Commander is extremely aggressive—declared he'd eradicate every last pirate without a shred of compromise."

"He's an elder from the Chairman's wife's family. Watch your mouth."

"Hup…"

The man clamped a hand over his own lips. Another spoke up.

"Still, there's a weird rumor going around."

"What rumor?"

"That those snake bastards of the Yangtze Waterway Strongholds might join hands with the Chairman and try the same thing we did—all pull-together and hustle."

"What? Teaming up with rootless water-snake trash? Does that even make sense?"

"Oh, so we've got roots to spare, is that it?"

"Ah… fair point."

They could laugh even while poking fun at themselves, because they knew their circumstances had changed.

"Hmm… river pirates, huh."

"You lot! If you've got time to spout nonsense, go fix the road! Didn't you hear about the fallen tree? If you can't spot hazards while on patrol, you'll catch hell!"

"Aigoo, yes, Station Chief! We'll be right back!"

"I was about to head out for a smoke anyway."

The subordinates grinned sheepishly, offered playful salutes, and vanished up the mountain path. The Station Chief watched them go, grumbling yet smiling, then turned a more serious gaze toward the seat of the Sichuan Dang Family.

"The Yangtze Waterway Strongholds…"

Emperor Sungui was furious that river pirates thrived along the Yangtze—the twin lifeline of the Central Plains—and that the local Provincial Military Commanders had simply looked the other way. For the assault on Sichuan's merchant vessels and for dereliction of duty, he stripped the Hubei Provincial Military Commander of his post and sentenced him to exile.

Ordinarily such severity would have drawn complaints of excess, yet the pirates had dared lay hands on tribute bound for the imperial court. No one could object. Better to keep quiet than provoke an already enraged emperor who now possessed perfect justification; that was the consensus among the ministers.

That the man the angry emperor appointed was from the Sama Clan—and not one of the Eight Great Families—also soothed them. At least no rival house was profiting.

Thus newly installed as Hubei Provincial Military Commander, Sama Geol of the Sama Clan publicly declared he would utterly uproot the Eighteen Strongholds of the Yangtze Waterways and announced a grand military campaign.

At least, that was the story for public consumption.

Privately he was moving in a rather different direction—and the cause of that movement was the secret imperial letter Hwi-yeom was reading at that very moment.

Following Baek Beon's orders, Hwi-yeom had traveled to the office of the Hubei Provincial Military Commander. There, from the newly appointed Sama Geol, he had received the emperor's secret missive and was reading it now.

The three-line summary of the letter that ended thus was roughly as follows:

1. So… you got cozy with the mountain bandits, did you?

2. I'll look the other way—for now. How long depends on how you perform.

3. While you're at it, go rein in the river pirates the same way. Big brother can trust you with that, right?

Wow. They actually figured it out.

The eyes of the Dongchang and the Military Affairs investigators were sharper than Hwi-yeom had expected. In a country that still could not properly count its population, keep household registers, collect the poll tax in the countryside, or track how many displaced people appeared and vanished—how had they so brilliantly discovered that the people of Noksan were former Green Forest bandits?

Ordinarily it would have been enough to send cold sweat down one's back. Fortunately the emperor had chosen to turn a blind eye.

Well, from Emperor Sungui's perspective it isn't a bad story. Just not one he can discuss openly.

As he had said time and again, the emperor had authorized non-interference by the authorities precisely because he admitted the court's inability to deal properly with local crime. Let the regional warlords—including the martial sects of the jianghu—crack down on those scum. Sending the imperial army to sweep them up once or twice was one thing; if you kept deploying troops forever against weeds that simply grew back after every cutting, who would guard the borders and the capital?

So rather than begin an endless game of hide-and-seek with the river pirates, the emperor preferred to co-opt them if co-option was possible. Officially, of course, he could never say so—hence the unofficial channel. Should the arrangement ever leak into the open, Emperor Sungui would immediately cut the tail and play dumb.

Hwi-yeom tucked the secret letter into his robes and smiled at Sama Geol, Provincial Military Commander of Hubei.

"Uncle-by-marriage, your shoulders must feel heavy—posted to your first command as Provincial Military Commander and already handed such a burden."

"Hahaha. Having received His Majesty's grace and been entrusted with so weighty a duty, how could I not feel honored? Moreover, that I am to undertake it together with the Sichuan Dang Family—now our in-laws—makes it truly a fine thing, does it not?"

Sama Geol laughed good-naturedly, then continued in a more suggestive tone.

"Still, this is a matter without precedent under heaven save for the Sichuan Dang Family. I fear I may only get in the way. I shall support you fully, so spread your wings as you please."

Translated into modern speech?

His Majesty told me to do something, but I have no idea how, so you do it.

Hwi-yeom almost twisted his face at being ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠handed the hot potato so abruptly, then reconsidered and nodded.

Better to take the dump than have someone who knows nothing jump in and start trolling.

"My ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thanks. However, I must first point out that the case of the Eighteen Strongholds of the Yangtze Waterways differs greatly from that of the Seventy-Two Strongholds of the Green Forest."

Sama Geol nodded heavily.

"I have roughly grasped the situation from the report Yun sent me. Noksan may be called a model case of reforming a criminal group… but the Yangtze Waterway Strongholds seem of a rather different character…?"

"Yes. For one thing, they have killed many innocent people, and they have already had bloody contact with our Dang Family."

Hwi-yeom had been willing to embrace the Green Forest and remake them into Noksan in part because, though hardly innocent, they were not the sort who casually harmed ordinary folk. The Eighteen Strongholds of the Yangtze Waterways, by contrast, had fed commoners who refused to pay tolls to the fish—and had sunk a vessel carrying iron from the State-run Ironworks, sending guiltless merchants to the same watery grave.

The Dang Family's loathing and hostility toward the river pirates were naturally high; from the pirates' side, after one of their strongholds had been thoroughly smashed, painting a picture of reconciliation and cheerful cooperation with the Dang Family would not be easy either.

Honestly, by my own lights I have no desire to embrace bastards like these… but it is the emperor's command, and inland transport in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Central Plains is unthinkable without waterways…

If the Eighteen Strongholds could be brought in as Noksan had been, their usefulness would need no explanation. And since it was the emperor's order—what choice was there? When told to dig, you dig.

"I will return home, study methods, and come back once I have the Family Head's approval. In the meantime, Uncle, please keep patrolling the Yangtze with your forces and make the pirates nervous."

"Understood."

After exchanging farewells with Sama Geol, Hwi-yeom returned to the Sichuan Dang Family.

For reference: since the battle that day, the river pirates had completely vanished from the Yangtze. Word that the new Provincial Military Commander, acting under imperial order, intended to scour the river must have reached them.

The moment he arrived home, Hwi-yeom discussed the matter at length with Dang Un-sang. The Family Head summoned the key figures of the Family Head's Office and the Elders' Council for a meeting.

"I fear the jianghu will denounce our house as a pack of unorthodox scoundrels. Yet it is an imperial command—we cannot simply refuse. What are we to do?"

"Mmm…"

After a moment's thought, Bak Chang-eon, Head of the Elders' Council, spoke.

"First, setting aside likes, dislikes, emotion, and justification, we should discuss whether it is even possible for us to embrace the Eighteen Strongholds of the Yangtze Waterways in the same form as the Noksan Road Traffic Management Corporation."

"Well… Noksan's calculations changed after they left the Green Forest. In their bandit days they blocked roads and extorted tolls, so of course they needed shows of force. Once they became Noksan, they could collect tolls under the legitimate pretext of maintaining a convenient, fast road and charging a maintenance fee. But can we build a road on the Yangtze? Will the same logic for collecting money hold?"

"Mmm… that is…"

"Difficult, yes…"

The elders and the executives of the Family Head's Office fretted until every gaze turned toward Hwi-yeom.

"…Young Family Head?"

"It is possible."

Hwi-yeom said.

"The state purchases the shipping companies that live by water transport centered on the Yangtze and converts them into public institutions. Nationalization of water transport."

"Nationalization… is that feasible?"

"It was His Majesty the Emperor who ordered us to co-opt the river pirates. If we explain the circumstances, it should be more than possible. Moreover, nationalization carries numerous advantages alongside its numerous side effects."

Nationalization was not necessarily a bad thing. Hwi-yeom began to lay out the benefits that could arise from nationalizing inland water transport.

"Water transport is a high-barrier industry because of the large initial capital required. As a result, a handful of shipping companies dominate the vast Yangtze. Yet even if a few companies run a few ships, they cannot handle the volume of cargo the great river generates. In fact, roughly twenty percent of the rice produced in Anhui is said to rot inside the cargo holds before it ever reaches Beijing."

Armed with figures he had prepared in advance, Hwi-yeom continued point by point.

"On top of that, the few shipping houses behave like thugs, so freight rates are extremely high. They can easily play the same dirty tricks we saw when we clashed with the Namgung Clan. In short, the private market is not mature enough; supply cannot meet demand. In such a situation, injecting public funds from the government—or rather, the local yamen—and nationalizing the sector can be a great help."

"Mmm, I see."

Sama Yun raised her hand.

"Dang-gaga, this sounds like a public project in which the state buys out the shipping companies as a national enterprise, purchases additional ships, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and operates them on the Yangtze to expand the inadequate water-transport network. What does that have to do with the river pirates' tolls?"

"Excellent question. We put the river pirates in charge of the maintenance necessary to keep that water transport running."

Hwi-yeom grinned.

"We cannot dredge the river itself, but the docks and ferry landings where the ships moor, the lodging facilities for travelers, and—once people stay—the inevitable demand for food and drink… exactly like the post stations and the tavern villages that grow up around them."

"Ah."

Sama Yun let out a soft sound of understanding, and everyone nodded.

"The detailed business plan is something the Young Family Head can clearly draft. That leaves the next problems… responding to the jianghu's condemnation, and negotiations with the Yangtze Waterway Strongholds…"

"I believe we can bury the jianghu's condemnation."

One of the Family Head's Office executives said.

"Isn't the Provincial Military Commander about to send a large naval force to suppress the river pirates? We pretend to carry out that suppression while conducting construction and negotiations, then announce that every last bandit has been punished. Since the yamen itself makes the announcement, even if the truth becomes known, who will dare criticize the Sichuan Dang Family?"

"Ohhh, that is a clever scheme!"

In short: the Dang Family would simply stay out of the process of suppressing the pirates and converting their status. Once the laundering was complete, the Family need only hire some mysterious strangers looking for work.

Dang Un-sang slapped his knee.

"Even if suspicions arise, the moment anyone voices them they are questioning an official act of the yamen—so criticism from the jianghu can be blocked at the source. That leaves… the final problem…"

Negotiations with the Eighteen Strongholds of the Yangtze Waterways.

On this point no one offered a clean answer. To the proud orthodox martial artists of the Sichuan Dang Family, the very idea of bargaining with base river pirates was distasteful. The Green Forest had been a different case; they had not recently shed large amounts of blood with them in life-or-death combat.

In the end Hwi-yeom sighed and took the lead.

"First we have to talk to them and then make a judgment. I'll go."