A Calculated Engagement
Sama Yun.
"You want to help our family advance into the Central Plains?"
"Yes."
"What an interesting thing to say."
Hui-yeom smiled at Sama Yun's bold declaration.
"Shall we continue this in my office? It hardly seems like a conversation for standing around."
"Gladly!"
Once he had brought Sama Yun into his study, Hui-yeom prepared tea, set a cup before her, and asked,
"First, tell me—why do you assume our family intends to expand into the Central Plains at all?"
"Looking at the Dang Family's current trajectory, wouldn't it be stranger if you weren't aiming for the Central Plains?"
"I'll grant you that. Then why would the Sama Clan want to help us? What's in it for you?"
Sama Yun gave a sly little smile.
"I'll be frank. In the sense that we've both run up against a 'wall,' our families are in much the same position."
"A wall?"
"Yes. You're familiar with the way people from the Central Plains discriminate against those from Sichuan, aren't you?"
"I've heard of it often enough. Though I've never experienced it firsthand myself."
"There are many reasons for that prejudice. Historical conflicts. The Sinocentric idea that Henan and Hebei are the true heart of the world. Envy toward prosperous Sichuan despite all that… and the martial world is no different."
Sama Yun sipped her steaming tea and continued.
"If a wealthy, powerful regional warlord is allowed to push into the center, the existing order fractures and their own rice bowls come under threat. That's the basic mindset of people from the Central Plains. So they double down on that 'Central Plains, Central Plains' rhetoric and cling even tighter to one another."
"They cling so tightly that they start wars among themselves at the drop of a hat—they've got a long history of killing each other."
"Well, when there's no external enemy, starting a civil war is practically a Central Plains folk tradition, isn't it?"
In her soft, demure voice, Sama Yun whispered something thoroughly cynical.
"There's no vacuum of power in the Central Plains. Someone already holds every piece of ground. So if a third force tries to enter from outside? Conflict is inevitable."
"Hmm. That follows."
For Hui-yeom, who had once run the sprawling multinational conglomerate Eclipse, stories of frenzied resistance every time you entered a new market were nothing new.
"What I'm saying is that if the Sichuan Dang Family tries to expand its influence into the Central Plains, resistance is unavoidable. The Namgung Family, more than anyone, will try to stop you. They're the greatest beneficiaries of the old order—and they've already taken one solid blow from the Dang Family."
"Haha. I suppose that's possible."
The Namgung Family's main source of income was the grain trade—selling rice from Anhui's vast paddies across the empire. After the floods, Anhui grain merchants had rushed into Yunnan and Sichuan hoping to gouge prices, only to be turned away at every gate in Sichuan with a flat "No thanks, not buying." Panicked, they had dashed to Yunnan thinking, "Yunnan's all that's left!" intending to make a killing there—only to be thoroughly thrashed by the provincial governor and surveillance commissioner of Yunnan.
All of that, if one looked carefully, was not entirely unrelated to the Sichuan Dang Family. So even if only indirectly, the Sichuan Dang Family and the Namgung Family had already crossed swords once.
"Originally the Sichuan Dang Family was a 'good customer' to the Namgung Family. You bought Anhui rice and sold them Sichuan silk. Not anymore. Sichuan has become a rival that exports rice to Yunnan, and you're still selling Sichuan silk into the Central Plains. On top of that, you've secured the monopoly on Yunnan tea, haven't you? The golden purse the Namgung Family spent decades trying to pry open with grain as their weapon—the Dang Family simply snatched it away."
"Funny how people who failed after decades of effort get so bitter about someone else's success."
Hui-yeom laughed and offered the occasional encouraging interjection. Sama Yun's analysis was nothing he hadn't already considered himself.
She went on.
"The Dang Family's—Young Master Dang's—brilliant business sense is truly admirable, but when it comes to entering the Central Plains, the Dang Family alone will still find the road very hard."
"I don't necessarily agree, but I won't deny that having an ally would make things smoother."
Trying to soften me up so you can drive a hard bargain, are you?
Hui-yeom smiled and threw up an iron wall. Sama Yun laughed.
"A confident man is attractive. Especially when it isn't just empty talk—when he actually has the skill to back it up."
"I'll take that as a compliment. That said, I've heard your view that the Dang Family will collide with the wall of the 'old order' led by the Namgung Family when we enter the Central Plains. What wall, then, has the Sama Clan run into?"
"Would you like to guess?"
Sama Yun smiled coyly.
"It's unfair if only I do all the talking. I want to see Young Master Dang's insight."
"I don't know the Sama Clan's internal affairs well enough, so this can only be speculation… but I suspect it's a wall of growth. And given how carefully you drew parallels with the Dang Family, external interference as well. …Most likely the Jegal Family, with the Namgung Family mixed in."
Hui-yeom half-closed his eyes, calling the Sama Clan and the broader Central Plains situation to mind as he continued.
"If we rank the Nine Great Noble Families by how much power they can project into the Central Plains itself: Namgung first, Hebei Peng second, Beijing Yang third, Jegal fourth, and the Sama Clan roughly fifth. The Sichuan Dang Family would be fighting for eighth or ninth with the Murong Family of Liaoning. The Jegal Family has maintained close ties with the Namgung Family all along. It must gall the Sama Clan, but the seat of 'strategist of the Martial Alliance' still rotates between the Sama and Jegal Families—and the Jegal have occupied that chair longer."
"I won't deny it."
"Moreover, both the Jegal and Sama Families… yes, they have regional businesses, but ultimately the invisible assets of social influence gained through politics, finance, and the Martial Alliance matter more. The shadow war with the Jegal Family must be extraordinarily fierce."
"Exactly that."
Sama Yun smiled, but fire smoldered in her eyes.
"They are desperately blocking every attempt by the Sama Clan to expand its influence. Recently they even cemented the relationship with a marriage alliance with the Namgung Family."
"So you came looking for me? Dusting off a connection from the previous generation?"
"Honestly, I expect that might offend you, but since it isn't my fault I won't apologize. In the past, even if the Sama Clan had offered a helping hand, the Dang Family would have refused, wouldn't they? You might have been swallowed by us."
"Before we secured the Elder Council, the collateral branches would have raised hell—claiming the main line was bringing in outside forces to seize power. Fair point."
"I've never met a man my age who actually understands conversation. My heart is racing."
"Let's not say things we don't mean."
"But it's true…"
Sama Yun dropped her gaze like a rain-soaked puppy, then immediately smiled again.
"In the family there were even voices saying that, for my marriage, we should approach the Hebei Peng Family instead. Ranked second, bitter enemies of the Namgung, and holding Hebei—the very heart of the Central Plains."
"That's stupid."
Hui-yeom snorted.
"Even if the Hebei Peng Family are the overlords of Hebei, if you look closely they still haven't fully subdued the Zhenzhou Yan Family or the Huangfu Family, both of whom challenge their supremacy. In terms of balance of power, Peng is maybe five, Yan three, Huangfu two? The Peng Family has no spare capacity to project influence outside Hebei. A marriage alliance with them would accomplish little and would almost certainly only provoke the Namgung."
"Exactly right!"
Sama Yun clapped her hands once, sharp and bright.
"That's why I came to the Dang Family. A family that has completely secured its base in Sichuan and is now ready to expand outward. A family positioned just far enough away to be useful under the principle of 'befriend the distant and attack the near.' And, on top of that, the young master who is said to have set the Dang Family's management on solid bedrock in less than ten years. In my judgment, there was no better choice."
There. All the cards were on the table.
…Or so this woman thinks.
From Hui-yeom's perspective he still possessed rubber—a product the Central Plains had never seen—and other business knowledge that would let him force his way into the market no matter how fiercely they resisted. Yet it was also true that Sama Clan assistance would make the process far smoother.
In that case…
"May I call you Yun-mae?"
"Of course. I've already been calling you Dang Gaga, after all."
"We can't hold the wedding immediately. If Yun-mae is going to serve as my collaborator in the Central Plains, it's better that you work from there rather than stay here in Sichuan with me."
"My goodness. Already planning to work your wife to the bone?"
"Work her? I'm entrusting family business to the partner with whom I will build a household—and to the most trustworthy collaborator I could have."
"Will you open every secret of the Dang Family to me?"
"If you open every secret of the Sama Clan to me?"
"Oh come now, those are different things. A daughter who marries out becomes an outsider."
"They can't be different. Husband and wife are one body. Whatever Yun-mae knows, I should know as well."
"…People tell you you're a little annoying quite often, don't they?"
"So you dislike it?"
"No? I like it."
Sama Yun smiled sweetly.
"Let us exchange half our lives. I will devote myself for a lifetime so that Dang Gaga can trust me with everything of the Dang Family. In return, give me the same devotion—so that I can trust Dang Gaga with everything of the Sama Clan."
"Done. Looking forward to it, Yun-mae."
"The pleasure is mine, Gaga."
"……"
Standing in the corner watching the entire exchange unfold, Lee Jin-myeong quietly jabbed Ye-eun in the ribs. When she turned her head, he whispered,
"Uh… is this what an engagement between proper families normally feels like? I thought romance was supposed to be a bit sweeter and floatier… something fresh and tingly?"
Why are you asking me that, you idiot.
Ye-eun's expression said she could not believe what she was hearing.
A few days later the Sama Clan prepared to leave Sichuan. As he stepped out to see them off, Dang Un-sang looked at Hui-yeom and let out a deep sigh.
"I'm still not sure this is the right decision."
From his perspective the whole affair felt strange. Two complete strangers meeting because of a promise made by the previous generation, and the purpose of the meeting itself was political calculation rather than love. He had tried not to pressure Hui-yeom and had made it clear to the other side that this was not a serious courtship…
And these two decide on marriage in a matter of days like they're roasting beans over a flash of lightning!
Worse still, Hui-yeom himself seemed perfectly delighted by a marriage based on strategy rather than affection.
"Father, this marriage is an excellent decision for our Dang Family. Our standing in Sichuan already surpasses that of any other sect—Qingcheng and the other great Sichuan schools are not even worth discussing. Even if we simply continue as we are, our influence will naturally expand into the neighboring regions, so the nearby sects are of limited use. The Sama Clan is different. They hold a solid position among the Nine Great Noble Families, and they constantly jockey with the Jegal for the strategist seat in the Martial Alliance. If we help place the Sama Clan in that seat, we will gain powerful influence over the Martial Alliance itself."
"But have the two of you even… courted once…?"
"Father, courtship? The road ahead stretches a thousand li and work is piled to the heavens—what need is there for romance? I'm actually gladder that they're openly seeking a political match. We can focus purely on business without any of that unproductive dating nonsense. In any case, with this single marriage we have secured a bridgehead for entering the Central Plains. It is a decision that advances the brilliant future of the Sichuan Dang Family by a full decade."
Hui-yeom's eyes sparkled as he spoke—the same sparkle he got when he thought of an excellent business opportunity.
Is this really all right…?
Dang Un-sang sighed deeply again, but the moment the Sama party came into view he wiped his expression clean. He and Sama Do once more confirmed the positions they had discussed over the past several days.
"The wedding will be held in four years, and we will not publicly announce the engagement to the martial world just yet?"
"Correct. Instead, if other marriage proposals arrive, we will simply say that we are already discussing an engagement with another party and decline. Heh heh."
Watching Sama Do laugh so heartily, Dang Un-sang voiced a worried concern.
"Yes… but are you truly all right with waiting four years?"
In this world, fifteen was the usual age for marriage. Martial artists tended to marry a little later, yet twenty was by no means young. At Un-sang's worried tone, Sama Do only chuckled.
"What wouldn't be all right? If a girl waits for one man until she is twenty and then the engagement is broken, what else can come of it between families but war?"
"Ah… haha…"
Don't declare war with a smiling face, old man.
Dang Un-sang laughed awkwardly.
"We will count the days until the great enterprise of the Dang Family's advance into the Central Plains begins, and offer every possible form of cooperation."
"On the day the Dang Family enters the Central Plains, the Sama Clan will gain the sharpest hidden weapon and the deadliest poison of all—the Dang Family itself."
The two houses exchanged warm farewells and parted.
"Dang Gaga."
"Hm?"
In that brief interval Sama Yun darted over, rose on her toes, and pressed a quick kiss to Dang Hui-yeom's cheek. Then she fixed Ye-eun with a long, deliberate look.
"No looking at any woman but me, all right?"
"Yes, yes."
"If you so much as glance at your pretty secretary… you know what will happen, don't you?"
Standing like a screen as they saw the Sama party off, Ye-eun watched Sama Yun's little warning shot and could not help exhaling a sigh deep enough to collapse the earth.
"Haaaaah…"
"What was that for? Why the sigh?"
"The sound of my insides crumbling."
Lee Jin-myeong shot her a look that asked why she was sighing so dramatically when the atmosphere had been perfectly pleasant. Seeing him only made Ye-eun more unsettled.
The household is running just fine, just fine.
She suddenly looked up at the sky.
Is this the kind of spectacle I stayed in the Dang Family to witness…? Honestly…
Ye-eun could only manage a hollow laugh. She poured that laugh into another long sigh, let it go, and shook her head.
Aigoo, just get back to work…
Then she flinched.
Without her noticing, her way of thinking had already been infected by Hui-yeom.
This terrifying brat…
She shook her head for an entirely different reason and watched Hui-yeom and Sama Yun's farewell.
Ever since Hui-yeom had begun to show his brilliance, this household had spun in dizzying, bewildering circles, leaving everyone breathless—yet
Still, it's better than the old days when everything was so boring.
She found she rather liked this atmosphere.