Chapter 137
Chapter 137
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 137
Chapter Title: The Rolling Rice Chest (2)
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Kim Chiryang's thinking was right in that not everyone in the court was on Kim Unhaeng's side.
Lee Geum's enemy wasn't necessarily Kim Unhaeng's ally. In particular, the Noron Namdang faction, represented by the Roh clan, couldn't fundamentally be called part of the Crown Prince's faction—as evidenced later by Jeong Hu-gyeom and Kim Gwi-ju reforming into the Cheoksin Namdang and checking King Jeongjo.
After sending Kim Chiryang back, Hong Inhan met with a few more officials.
It played out just as Hong Inhan had anticipated.
Honestly, it was pathetic for the sex offender himself to step up and demand exoneration without any real justification, so everyone cut ties. But viewing it through the lens of Namdang faction power dynamics rather than Kim Chiryang personally, even the Roh clan found it awkward to simply abandon him.
It was like organized crime. Sure, the fault lay with my underling thug, but that was beside the point—if you didn't protect your members, the organization couldn't survive.
Hong Inhan drove that point home. By even hinting that the Noron Chundang had targeted Namdang for attack, it was no longer about right or wrong.
In the end, Kim Jaero, the elderly Vice Minister of the Royal House of Councilors holding only an honorary post, stepped forward.
The active Namdang high officials had no desire to get splashed with filth defending such a guy, so they stayed out. Kim Jaero, who would die naturally anyway, ended up taking the lead.
"This old and muddled subject cannot discern right from wrong, but punishing someone already once penalized seems contrary to reason. It's absurd for a mad fool from a good family (Kim Chiryang) to hold a county magistrate post, but he already served his exile then, and we must consider his father (Kim Chiro)'s merits. Please withdraw the order to send him to Jeoldo."
If Kim Unhaeng had been at court, he would've raged, "One punishment suffices—what barbaric Western savage system is this?" But Kim Unhaeng hadn't been reinstated yet.
Thus, the Crown Prince had no choice but to make a reasonable judgment.
"I'm sorry to reject Chun-sik's request, but turning the entire Namdang against us over one county magistrate is too much."
But simply ignoring the Censorate's petition was even harder.
The powerless real power broker Kim Unhaeng, in lobbying for Kim Chiryang's punishment reprieve, had framed it as the rape of an interpreter's wife crucial to trade.
And the Crown Prince, whose intelligence tripled in this area, was convinced that interpreter Park Sang-sun played a vital role in importing Northern Learning books.
That was the secret of the Great Qing "Kim Chun-sik route" the Crown Prince had long been curious about. Smuggling was smuggling, after all—not wrong.
So the Crown Prince canceled the exile but also revoked Kim Chiryang's county magistrate appointment (while writing Park Sang-sun a letter encouraging trade). Namdang saved face, and the Crown Prince preserved his dignity.
And Hong Inhan made a name for himself among the anti-Chun-sik faction lurking in the court.
Yangban don't dine with commoners.
But Dalmun, Joseon's top commoner—or MC Dalmun—was the exception. With Dalmun, it was worth eating at an inn... no, a rice house like a commoner.
Dalmun boasted an appetite rivaling Eoji's.
His frame was much smaller, but his mouth was just as big, apparently. A boiled chicken leg went in and came out clean—only the bone remained spotless.
He sucked on the bone regretfully, but not because I was stingy with money—I just didn't order another to avoid looking suspicious if commoners overconsumed.
Instead, I got my chicken's worth of business out of him.
"So, Hong Inhan, huh?"
"That's right. Whenever our girls go to his house, they come back half-dead, so it's no small trouble for us. Some of our young ones are even asking if they shouldn't just—"
With that, Dalmun clenched his hand around the leg bone. The thick bone snapped with a crack.
"—do this in some dark alley."
In this era without large-scale industry, the civilian sector's major economic consumption came almost solely from "feasts," where gisaeng and their "managers" wielded immense influence in various ways.
And Dalmun was the godfather of the capital's gisaeng business. He had every reason to be furious.
I was angry too. As a modern civilized man and a secret royal inspector devoted to stamping out corrupt officials, I couldn't forgive such premodern abuses—and Park Sang-sun was a talented asset worth keeping. Compensation was essential.
So I'd planned to exile Kim Chiryang to Jeoldo for him, then treat him like Tajo the Great honoring the previous dynasty on the boat to the island. But some unexpected punk interfered.
First, I sent Park Sang-sun a letter vowing to deal with that golden bastard next time, then reined Dalmun in.
"Still, he's the consort's uncle, so no rash moves. When the time comes, I'll handle it."
Dalmun grinned broadly.
Yeah, it was pointless nagging. Dalmun had hidden his identity in the shadows for decades. Of course he knew the virtues of patience and restraint.
Reassured, I got up to leave.
Unfortunately, no progress on the skills front.
I'd run some tests, but nothing clicked yet. After getting caught by Se-hwa swinging a lit stick at night like some orphan wizard (with a father tangled in school violence scandals), I shelved the experiments.
It started with Shin Suk-ju's chastity, but they seemed to sense my intent to grasp and exploit the system, so they deliberately obscured names in this "unrevealed until the time comes" way.
Flip that around, and it meant they could predict what might happen to me the moment I decoded the skill.
The status window didn't seem to control the future, so it was probably some historical event I couldn't fully recall. Should've studied harder.
But no worries. Hints for normal skills usually popped up when I worked hard for the country.
So I set skills aside and focused on reality.
The man I was meeting was Training Commandant Hong Bonghan.
From the Crown Prince's words, Hong Bonghan seemed to have swung to the Crown Prince's side, but as head of the Training Command's Yangja Legion, it was ambiguous whether he was seen as the "Crown Prince's father-in-law" or the "King's in-law."
Time to collapse that wave function. Especially with half-brother Hong Inhan showing suspicious moves.
Conveniently, to achieve my core goal, I needed to start with the Training Command and turn the central army into a true "people's (my) army."
Citizen militia—wasn't that the first step to modernization? A duty for a future man.
The seasoned ministers openly sidelining the King didn't stop at merely funneling duties to the Crown Prince.
As with Hong Inhan, not everyone in court lacked ties to Lee Geum. Simply relegating him to a backroom old man would leave them vulnerable to impeachment by opposing forces eyeing the gap.
So Chief State Councillor Park Mun-su and the ministers instead piled even more duties on Lee Geum.
But to Lee Geum, it was worthless busywork: dealing with the Hyungchaamdang remnants.
It irked him more that it superficially looked like executing rebels to respect royal authority.
He'd faked illness to lie low and gauge the situation longer, but all he got was some Kim Chun-sik red ginseng that Park Mun-su had tried and found "quite good."
Even without knowing that those like Dalmun—who'd been punished in real history for Hyungchaamdang ties—were subtly excluded, Lee Geum was plenty furious.
While venting by chopping heads one by one, Lee Geum spotted a chance to bestow favor on the "army," which had lately preoccupied him.
Free farmland.
As rebels, the Hyungchaamdang's lands were naturally confiscated by the state. Lee Geum seized the windfall and decreed:
"The Training Command's Bokma Army (a sort of transport unit) has existed for two jia cycles, yet even covering basic pay is tight, forcing them to procure horse feed beans themselves. From the confiscated rebel lands, allocate 300 geol to the Training Command's Supply Office. Use it to cover costs. This reflects my intent to care even for the lowliest."
It was certainly good for the Bokma Army, who'd been footing fuel bills from their own pockets like company truck drivers. King Yeongjo's able judgment hadn't died yet.
But it was merely the judgment of a skilled nation-management sim player.
Yeongjo, touting it as fixing 120 years of abuse, got a cold reception from the Training Command soldiers.
Lee Geum's blunder from never holding a job.
Even with the same expenditure, it should've padded Training Command soldiers' personal pockets, not the organization itself.
Handing out affiliate cafeteria coupons while bragging about generous meal allowances—hard to win praise that way.
But that's why ministers exist: to handle the details the King overlooks.
Even "loyal subject Kim Unhaeng" was no exception.
The thought of a powerless man meddling in state affairs never crossed Kim Unhaeng's mind. This was devotion to country without pay—true self-sacrifice.
Kim Unhaeng went to Training Commandant Hong Bonghan and shed tears.
"What's wrong?"
Hong Bonghan hurriedly grasped Kim Unhaeng's hand. Kim Unhaeng wiped his tears and spoke.
"Lately, clinging to loyalty brought harsh reprimands and dismissal. It's hard to support my aged parents and feed my wife and kids. The world's glory is but fleeting clouds—so empty it brings tears."
Hong Bonghan didn't ask when he'd ever lived off his salary.
He knew Kim Unhaeng ran various businesses.
But as a traditional Joseon man, Hong Bonghan attributed it to Kim Unhaeng's political power. Thus, with Kim Unhaeng appearing fallen, business might suffer.
Yet as a high court minister, Hong Bonghan also knew Kim Unhaeng would never truly fall.
So he spoke magnanimously.
"I didn't realize. If you're in need, I'll help."
"I'm deeply grateful."
Kim Unhaeng praised Hong Bonghan's virtue at length, chatted about current events, lamented moral decay in recent times—building rapport.
Only much later did he reveal his true intent.
"Recently, His Majesty bestowed 300 geol of land on the Training Command, right?"
"Yes."
Hong Bonghan unwittingly let slip faint irritation.
300 geol sounded ample at first glance, but the land was scattered nationwide.
Honestly, management and transport costs more. Even in the 21st century, a landlord with dozens of buildings nationwide hires a service company for ease.
And Kim Unhaeng proposed exactly that "service company" contract.
"If you let us help collect the rice and fulfill the Training Command's horse feed beans, I'd be thankful. The Bokma Army doesn't need to fight anyway—just have horses and carts, right? Luckily, our family has long made a living transporting goods, so we have plenty of skilled hands."
In exchange for effectively handing Kim Unhaeng the 300 geol land rights, he took responsibility not just for beans but the Bokma Army's entire operations.
The latter appealed more to Hong Bonghan than the former.
He already wanted to boot some Bokma Army members.
The King's flashy propaganda had turned some into instant royalists yelling, "His Majesty said we don't need to spend money!"—starving the warhorses. The commandant was in a bind, especially cash-strapped now.
Replacing all would draw too much notice, but purging "royalists" and hiring Chun-sik Delivery's reliable crew was perfect. Privatization was a Joseon army specialty anyway—no qualms.
Politically sound too. By granting this favor and cooperating with Kim Unhaeng, good word would reach the Crown Prince. How many more years would the senile King live?
Hong Bonghan found no reason to refuse.
"And since our people and Training Command soldiers will get close, one more thing. I once managed the Military Armory, but frankly, many Training Command soldiers lack the street smarts for market vending and live in poverty, right?"
They didn't look it in battle, but the Training Command's schedule was brutally tight. Following the manual left no time for side gigs.
And not every Training Command soldier mastered secondary dimension overlap existence technique.
"Let them make hauling goods during off-hours their side hustle. Better than haggling like merchants—preserves soldiers' dignity and builds at least some arm strength. We'll pay generously."
That could blunt a maddening scenario where the King demands, "I bestowed favor—why's Training Command morale dropping? Speak, Commandant."
The King still got his grumbling, but overall dissatisfaction eased.
Kim Unhaeng had turned the King's lousy coupon into pocket money a worker could feel.
"I knew you were a genius of our age! Remember making soldiers run carrying heavy loads in that coverage? That's the way!"
Hong Bonghan's wave function collapsed completely, now observed solely as the "Crown Prince's father-in-law."
The Training Command, increasingly passing through the "army" slit via real combat with rebels and new weapon drills, would soon follow.
"Your Armory management ensured the Training Command never lacks for gun-making materials—national merit! I'll pull strings for that; support your parents dutifully without worry."
"True loyalty shines in hardship, not glory. Meeting you taught me that. Amid slanders from all sides, it's like walking a knife's edge—I trust only you."
That final line was Kim Unhaeng's next target.
Hong Bonghan sensed the ominous undertone and asked,
"Slanders?"
"Well... no, it's hard to mention even to you. Just please handle the earlier matter."
One way to make someone anxious: trail off mid-sentence.
Hong Bonghan grabbed Kim Unhaeng's sleeve and withdrew his support? No—reaffirmed it.
"We're family now. Slanders against you are against me. Tell me."
Kim Unhaeng hesitated long, then cautiously spilled about Hong Inhan.
Somewhat surprised, Hong Bonghan wasn't the type to shift stances over a half-brother. He reassured Kim Unhaeng firmly and sent him off.
Days later, new "Bokma Army recruits" joined the Training Command, and as the budding Training Command Regulations Training Command Essentials Precedents formalized, this "precedent" was subtly enshrined. Around then, the newly arrogant Hong Inhan visited his half-brother.
No matter he's not the eldest son, it's no lie that Hong Inhan, son of the second wife, harbored inferiority toward Hong Bonghan, the first wife's heir.
In history, Hong Inhan's deliberate opposition to Jeongjo—walking a separate anti-Jeongjo line till death—might stem from this.
But current Hong Inhan was confident in his path.
So he'd come to advise his brother: "Drop the ambiguity, ditch the Crown Prince quick, and side with the King."
But Hong Bonghan sternly rebuked him.
"I know your cruel nature toward inferiors and lack of respect for superiors. His Majesty graciously employed you as kin—be cautious! At this time when the nation unites against rebel remnants, stirring factions? Are you sane?"
Seasoned politician Hong Bonghan avoided stupid lines like "Did you beat our Chun-sik?" He didn't say the "unity" was against the King, not Hyungchaamdang.
He just scolded him for splitting Namdang from Chundang and souring ties with Dongdang and Soron Wanron. Yi Wi-bo, who first denounced Kim Chiryang and got punished alongside, was from the Yeonan Yi clan—spanning Noron Dongdang and Soron Wanron.
"And debating some prisoner's loyalty? Scrambling to defend such a petty criminal! One more outburst, and I'll report you to His Majesty myself."
Flustered by his brother's rage, Hong Inhan reviewed whom he'd recently wronged.
Gisaeng weren't "people" by his standards, and it wasn't a one-off, narrowing suspects sharply.
"Kim Chun-sik! He's whispering nonsense in your ear again! Don't be fooled. Whom else but blood kin?"
But Hong Bonghan was already one with Kim Unhaeng. Closer than blood.
"I don't want to hear it! Get out!"
Hong Inhan was unceremoniously ejected.
Mulling the Kim Unhaeng-Crown Prince-Hong Bonghan links, Hong Inhan added resentment toward his half-brother.
"The Crown Prince definitely harbors other intentions!"
But no proof. Probably why even the King, with mere suspicion, held back.
Then plotting directly against the Crown Prince would shine brighter as merit.
He wanted Kim Unhaeng too, but impeaching a powerless man lacked means and impact.
Once the Crown Prince vanished, Kim Unhaeng was a well without rope. So Hong Inhan began pondering ways to topple the Crown Prince.