The Nephew's Artful Requests
Cheonhwa and Mu-yeong were having a private meeting.
Mu-yeong asked most of the questions while Cheonhwa provided the answers. The majority of those questions revolved around Cheonhwa’s parents.
“I’ve never heard of a place called Mungnyeong Island before.”
“It’s in the South Sea. A place full of black sand. It’s not very large, and before my parents settled there it was an uninhabited island. That’s why it stayed outside people’s attention and never became known.”
“Is that so? Then how would one go about finding it?”
“Why would you want to go there?”
Mu-yeong looked at him as though the answer were obvious.
“The two of them are living in their own little world. If you showed up, I doubt you’d hear anything pleasant.”
“Hmm…”
“With my father’s temperament, anyone who interrupts their private time… Even I, his own son, nearly died several times. If it were anyone else… well, you can imagine.”
Cheonhwa hunched his shoulders and gave an exaggerated shiver.
“I-is that so. Yes, if something displeases him, my brother’s personality is to send them straight down the express road to the afterlife. He would certainly do it.”
“Aigoo, why even bother saying it out loud.”
After listening to Cheonhwa, Mu-yeong quietly abandoned any thought of visiting and forced an awkward smile.
“Since you’ve come all this way, please help me with a few things.”
Cheonhwa stated his request plainly.
“Help?”
“Yes. I need several items. And I’d like you to find some people for me as well.”
“What exactly?”
“I need spiritual medicines that can increase inner energy. They’re for Cheon-sang, So-ryong, Jin-hwa, and Arin.”
“Spiritual medicines are expensive.”
“Come now, are we so distant that uncle and I would need to haggle over money?”
Mu-yeong could only blink at the words coming from his nephew on their very first meeting.
“It’s a gift to celebrate meeting your nephew. If we start putting prices on it… I’d be hurt, uncle.”
“That may be true, but spiritual medicines are rather…”
“Mother always said she worried terribly whenever she spoke of you.”
Cheonhwa watched Mu-yeong’s expression carefully before continuing.
“She told me how, when you were being chased by the Zhongnan Sect in Shaanxi Province, you were so frightened that you—”
“That never happened!”
“Then there was the time in Gansu Province when you knelt before the Demonic Cult’s Sword Demon and Blade Demon, begging for your life—”
“Fine! I’ll give them to you! Your mother really spares no detail, even to a child. Did you hear anything else?”
“Hahaha. She always told me about your colorful adventures roaming the Nine Provinces and Eight Desolations. Every time I listened, I resolved to become a great hero with the same majestic bearing as you, uncle.”
Mu-yeong’s face crumpled as if he had bitten into something foul.
“I’m starting to wonder why I even came here.”
Cheonhwa beamed at him with a radiant smile.
“So, about those spiritual medicines and the people?”
“Find me one truly skilled physician.”
“A physician?”
“Yes. There’s clearly something wrong with Cheon-sang’s body, but ordinary doctors seem unable to identify the cause.”
“Hmm…”
“Once you find a good one, I’ll visit him myself, explain Cheon-sang’s symptoms, and invite him here.”
“That shouldn’t be difficult.”
“And one more thing!”
“Again?”
“Aigoo, why is a grown man being so petty? Since you’re helping anyway, you might as well do it with a smile.”
Mu-yeong let out a long sigh and nodded in resignation.
“After leaving the island and living here for several months, I’ve noticed many things differ from what my parents taught me. Please teach me what I need to properly understand the world.”
“Now that is important. There are many ways, but if you want to grasp the world quickly, make use of it, and move it at will, nothing surpasses information.”
A faint smile curved Cheonhwa’s lips.
“Exactly. In that regard, I really did choose the perfect uncle.”
Mu-yeong had the distinct impression he had been thoroughly played.
“And finally…”
“There’s more?”
Mu-yeong’s face fell into open despair.
“This one actually benefits Haomun, so shall I keep it to myself?”
“Something good for us? Then let’s hear it.”
“Please select one hundred talented children and send them to the Taihu branch.”
“Why?”
“As a show of gratitude, I’ll teach them martial arts suited to each of them.”
“You’re serious?”
“You and I aren’t in a relationship where we’d deceive each other. The martial arts I learned from my father and mother are too many to count on my fingers. Send them to me, and I’ll train them strong enough to shoulder Haomun’s future.”
Mu-yeong stared at Cheonhwa with a gaze full of suspicion, feeling as though he were the one on the losing end of the deal.
“Very well. I understand. I’ll send the spiritual medicines through Ga-wol.”
“Thank you. And please don’t try to cheat with the medicines. They must provide at least one full cycle of cultivation energy.”
“Medicines like that…”
“My parents said Haomun is practically overflowing with them.”
Realizing he could never win a battle of words against Cheonhwa, Mu-yeong decided that speaking as little as possible would be his best course of action.
“I will do so.”
“I’ll train those hundred Haomun members so well that you’ll never regret it. So please don’t feel too aggrieved.”
“Understood.”
Cheonhwa was so busy that even two bodies would not have been enough.
“So we’re going to seize the underground operations the Jiangsu Merchant Group is running?”
“That is correct.”
Cheonhwa listened as Nam Sa-ik, who had come to deliver his report, outlined several business proposals.
“We’ll begin with the gambling dens and the lending business.”
“If word gets out that we’re involved in such things, we won’t exactly earn praise.”
“True. But we’ll still earn better opinions than the Jiangsu Merchant Group does with their current operations.”
“Explain it in detail.”
“Gambling dens usually employ professional gamblers who play against the customers and ensure the house wins.”
“Right. I know that well enough from personal experience.”
“But we will exclude the professionals and allow only friends or guests to gamble among themselves.”
Cheonhwa thought for a moment, then nodded.
“Then at least one person will win and go home happy.”
“Exactly.”
“And because someone wins, others will think they might win too and come. But then how do we make any money?”
“We only need to charge an entrance fee for the gambling den.”
“Will that actually generate profit?”
“Our goal isn’t profit. We’re opening these dens to ruin the Jiangsu Merchant Group’s gambling operations. Even if we don’t earn much, we won’t lose anything either.”
Cheonhwa seemed to realize something and asked again.
“But what if the person who wins money in our den simply takes it to one of their dens and loses it there? Wouldn’t we be doing them a favor?”
“That is possible. However, over time, people’s perceptions will slowly begin to change.”
“How so?”
“That gambling den is a place where you can never win. This gambling den is a place where at least someone wins and can bring home a pound of meat. That sort of thinking.”
Cheonhwa nodded vigorously, clearly impressed by the idea.
“Yes. It may take time, but I can see people starting to think that way.”
“As for the lending business, the Jiangsu Merchant Group currently charges twenty percent monthly interest with compound interest.”
“Don’t all lending businesses charge around that much?”
With twenty percent compound interest, borrowing a hundred taels meant repaying a hundred and twenty after the first month. If payment was missed and it rolled over, the next month required a hundred and forty-four taels. The principal and interest compounded so rapidly that a hundred-tael loan could easily balloon to five or six hundred taels.
That was why Nam Sang-deok, the manager of Yiwonjang, deliberately avoided debtors, allowing the interest to compound until he could seize their homes, land, and even sell people into slavery. Through these vicious acts he had accumulated enormous wealth and become the financial backbone of the Jiangsu Merchant Group.
“Correct. We intend to improve upon that model.”
“In what way?”
“We will lend and collect using a fixed simple interest rate rather than compound interest.”
“How much?”
“Twenty percent interest. But because it is not compounded, borrowers only repay interest on the original sum. The burden on them will be much lighter.”
If someone borrowed a hundred taels, they would still repay a hundred and twenty, but if they missed the deadline they would only need to pay the additional twenty taels of interest.
“Then we collect twenty taels of interest every month?”
“No. We plan to collect it only once.”
“Then we won’t make any profit. If they borrow our money and fail to repay, we’ll suffer heavy losses, won’t we?”
“That is true. But afterward, we simply never lend to them again.”
“Still, we’ll get cheated at least once.”
“Martial power has its uses.”
Nam Sa-ik spoke with absolute confidence that such a thing would never be allowed to happen.
“Using martial force to compel repayment. It’s not a bad idea, but then how are we any different from Yiwonjang?”
“We intend to collect only the exact sum owed. We will not touch their houses or land, so you need not worry about that.”
Cheonhwa considered it for a moment, then nodded.
“We’ll implement it first and correct any shortcomings later. In that case, what parts will require my assistance?”
“The Jiangsu Merchant Group has already won over the provincial governor and various officials with bribes. We will need to do the same, which means we require funds.”
Since the work was illegal, Cheonhwa had already anticipated this.
“I see. So we simply need to bring the governor and the officials to our side?”
“Yes.”
With the ledger of corruption he had recently acquired from the Jiangsu Merchant Group, the records of bribes paid, and Haomun’s own documentation of the public funds they had embezzled, it seemed entirely possible to seize control of the governor and officials.
“I will handle that matter myself.”
“Thank you.”
“No thanks are necessary. You all came here to help me. By the way, are you experiencing any difficulties learning the martial arts?”
“Not at all. Everyone possesses outstanding talent. A few words of guidance on the blocked points is all they need to progress smoothly.”
“That’s a relief. Work hard. The Black Wind Squad is training with frightening diligence right now.”
“Haha, do not worry. Our New Wind Squad is matching them step for step.”
“Good. I trust that you are. If you need anything else, just tell me. I’ll obtain it if it’s possible.”
“There is no need. The funds you provided initially are more than sufficient.”
“I see. Leader of the New Wind Squad.”
“Please speak.”
“To establish a merchant group, many conditions must align. Among them, is there one you consider especially important?”
Nam Sa-ik thought for a moment before answering.
“For a merchant, nothing is more important than credibility. A wide network of connections is also essential.”
These were things Cheonhwa already understood well.
“Having good credibility and broad connections does not guarantee a merchant group will grow.”
“Correct. It depends on how one utilizes those things. Above all, who one meets is crucial.”
“Who one meets?”
“People say the seed of an empress or a prime minister is not predetermined, yet from birth that seed is already decided.”
“True enough.”
“In the same way, people are divided into different classes, and they usually form connections with those of the same class.”
“Hmm…”
“If the Haedong Merchant Group still enjoyed its former prestige and power, Leader Yi Ja-saeng would not need to go on business trips himself. Instead of wasting time on that, he would meet with high officials, the Wulin Alliance, or prominent figures from the Nine Great Schools and Ten Great Clans. He would build friendships and use those relationships to secure work or create even more connections.”
“That makes sense.”
“Now that the Haedong Merchant Group has declined so sharply, the people Supreme Leader Yi Sang-woo once associated with have decided the group can no longer benefit their families. They have distanced themselves, and naturally the Haedong Merchant Group’s status has fallen.”
Where they once met with provincial governors, they now found it difficult to even meet with a lowly county official.
“So what you’re saying is that to rise higher, we must meet people above our current level, secure work from them, and build upward from there?”
“That is my thinking.”
Cheonhwa nodded, expression showing he understood perfectly.
“And destroying the Jiangsu Merchant Group will also require the involvement of high-ranking officials.”
Cheonhwa looked at him with a questioning gaze.
“As long as those officials back the Jiangsu Merchant Group, any problems arising from their activities are overlooked without consequence. The same incident involving another merchant group, however, would result in severe punishment.”
“I see.”
“Therefore, even if we attack their underground operations and prevent them from doing business, they will simply open new venues, gather customers, and resume operations. At that point, our ability to intervene will likely disappear.”
“Why?”
“Unless they are fools, they will not fall for the same trick twice. Once they learn about us, they will prepare appropriate countermeasures.”
“Can’t we simply crush them with force?”
“Force must be used where force is required, but not every problem in the world can be solved that way.”
“I understand. So to topple the Jiangsu Merchant Group, we must first sever their ties with the governor and other high officials. Is that what you’re saying?”
“Correct. If we succeed, the Haedong Merchant Group will be able to take over the projects currently running in Jiangsu Province. And once we bring those officials to our side, we should be able to grow within Jiangsu without interference from other merchant groups.”