Chapter 63
Chapter 63
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: Jet Stream Attack (2)
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Hong Daeyong didn't even need to keep yapping beside me for the scenario to snap into place in my mind.
I'd been charging ahead with the sole plan of crushing Chae Je-gong in one overwhelming blow with my results, but Hong Daeyong had suggested a similar yet potentially superior path.
'Make Chae Je-gong my subordinate.'
Colleague? No. That wasn't it.
I was the one footing the bill here? Since when were employers and employees colleagues?
Besides, this guy was a Southern faction member. I didn't take on anyone weaker than me as a partner.
One annoying guy like Hong Daeyong was plenty. I'd reconsider once Jeong Yak-yong entered service later.
So, I humbly clasped Chae Je-gong's hand and once more imprinted the fact that I was his employer.
"Baekgyu, your reputation for integrity is so renowned that I feared you might face hardships on the road and offered this small token of sincerity. As for the money, why quibble over such things? Please don't even mention repaying it."
But that was a slip-up from me being too accustomed to ritual phrases. Chae Je-gong snapped it right up.
"Haha... If you insist so strongly, I have no choice but to accept without shame. My family isn't as prosperous as the Kim clan of Jang-dong..."
Oh right. This guy was a Practical Learning scholar too.
But from what I'd seen in Joseon, 'Practical Learning' was just an add-on option at best.
The scholars of this era were all fundamentally Confucian. The only difference was whether they specialized in Neo-Confucian ethics or branched into Practical Learning attributes (economics, science, math, engineering, and so on).
Fortunately, Chae Je-gong wasn't extremely Practical Learning-oriented either.
"Still, how could I shamelessly just take it? Now that I've received my orders, I'm heading back to Seoul, so if there's anything you need, I'll do my utmost to help."
"You've already finished all your inspections?"
"Indeed. Sam-su Gap-san truly lives up to its name. Compared to that ferocity, Hamheung here feels like a grand city..."
No way, but just in case, I asked.
"Did you inspect Gapsanbu as well?"
"Ah! It seems even you know of it, Chunsik. Gapsan Magistrate Kim Beom-ro and his brother Kim Mong-ro have been rampaging recklessly for ages, banking on their distant relative in the State Council."
I knew and still went ahead? Nothing more to say.
Yeah. That was the spirit of the sole remaining Southern bastion in this court.
Kim Beom-ro and Kim Mong-ro weren't great heroes. They were collateral kin to State Councillors Kim Jae-ro and Kim Yak-ro, but by Joseon standards, not close enough to call family.
The problem was the king's will.
The king couldn't afford to snub the Noron after failing to eradicate the Soron and Southerners. Who made the crab faction boss Yeoning-gun king? Do it again?
And the Kim clan of Cheongpung 'Ro branch' were the Noron's true leaders. Displacing them with the Andong Kim 'Haeng branch' was my long-term goal.
As Chae Je-gong said, Kim Beom-ro and Kim Mong-ro extorted wherever they went.
That's why countless Soron aces had used them as fuses to target big shots like Kim Jae-ro and Kim Yak-ro who recommended them.
But the king forbade all punishments, so they failed.
Even Yeongseong-gun Park Mun-su was on that list of failures.
Park Mun-su hadn't erred. True to 'Secret Royal Inspector Park Mun-su,' he even uncovered traces of Kim Mong-ro tampering with documents using a sword—Sherlock-level deduction.
But what good was that when the king rejected all penalties? Even if Holmes finds the culprit, it's useless if he's Inspector Lestrade's nephew.
Uncovering crime is detective work.
Confirming it is power.
Of course, I'm not saying Chae Je-gong is dumb or naive. He wouldn't have survived to King Jeongjo's reign otherwise.
Yet stepping forward meant claiming the hero spot against this filthy world.
Not a bad positioning strategy. Nothing gathers people as easily and numerously as righteous outrage. Though my take was, 'What counts as righteousness is decided by power.'
Our paths diverged, but that made him all the more useful to me.
People have affinities like rock-paper-scissors; a diverse deck widens strategic options.
I decided to generously induct Chae Je-gong into the Kim Unhaeng faction.
But like what he inwardly craved but couldn't voice—new official robes— that was on hold for now.
Joseon clothes were far rarer and pricier than modern ones. No proof of results yet, so no investment.
And he was a secret inspector. Beggar rags were standard issue.
Thus, one scholar, one slave, and one beggar joined my secret royal inspector party.
Running the Chunsik Ranch, I'd been shocked multiple times by the wild animals prowling around the capital.
But compared to Hamgyong Province, that was a real urban area.
Even on a deliberate Serengeti safari, you rarely encounter animals unless the guide stages it.
Animals avoid humans, and parks are too vast relative to numbers.
For the disappointed, I recommend 18th-century Hamgyong. Noryangjin has it if you look hard enough.
Hamgyong's predator density felt less like a 'natural national park' and more like an 'artificial zoo.'
Of course, they showed zero fear of humans. Here, the law was reversed.
When the pony froze in terror, I spotted tiger urine that 'still hadn't cooled'—a spine-chilling experience I'll never forget.
In such a place, even commoners trained in martial arts, every human a survival expert.
Those who weren't died. Natural selection. That's why court debates often pushed recruiting soldiers from Hamgyong.
But our group were all southerners. Secret inspector duties meant no random hires.
So I armed everyone lightly, gripped my bow tight, and advanced slowly.
If needed, activate Affinity to freeze them, then shoot.
Sorry, humans. But you're too scary.
Tense as I was, when a fur-covered shape emerged from the brush, I instantly drew my bowstring full.
Chae Je-gong yelped uselessly in shock.
"What in the world is that thing?"
Me too. Even Affinity yielded no empathy. What? Animal sociopath? Shoot first!
"Don't shoot!"
For the first time since gaining skills, my arrow missed.
Barely twisting its arm, the arrow grazed it and embedded half-deep in the tree behind. My desperation fueled it.
The shape crumpled weakly. Utterly terrified, it seemed.
I, equally spooked, calmed my pounding heart.
My lingering fear was somewhat Joseon-esque. Jangbok whispered beside me.
"A thing wearing fur and mimicking a woman's voice—definitely a gumiho. Don't fall for that bewitching speech; shoot again!"
If I weren't modern, I might have. But gumihos? Status windows exist, but not fantasy critters.
Thankfully, the 'gumiho' quickly shed the fur coat—which rational eyes saw as common local dogskin garb.
Beneath was a young woman utterly unexpected on a mountain path, let alone outdoors.
She looked mid-twenties, sturdy like a Hamgyong woman. She bowed four ways on the path.
"I am Yi Jo-i of the Office of Rites clerks. Hearing of the secret inspector's arrival, I came out as a woman to appeal my desperate grievance."
I inwardly cheered.
Yi Jae-hae, you hid it well, but your corrupt nature as a lowly scribe is now exposed by the secret inspector's wisdom.
"As expected! I already knew everything. Speak freely. Seeing a lone woman, you're either a widow or orphan daughter, and the magistrate must have coerced you into service. The scum of the earth!"
"N-no. I am the wife of Chae I-seong from Deokwonbu."
I smacked Jangbok's head to enforce silence mode before he muttered something about 'seeing what he wants to see.'
Jangbok, innocent-faced despite saying nothing, was obvious. You deep-learn me, I know your algorithms.
Chae Je-gong, intrigued by the rare shared surname, stepped in.
"What's your lineage? Descended from yangban?"
"I don't know far back, but for three generations now, we've scraped by as seonhan—boatmen of sorts. But..."
The boatmen's tale went like this.
Unless coastal, fresh fish was rare this era; even palace treated steamed fish as medicine, not food.
I'd heard this in the capital. Yeongjo ate well himself but forbade boiling fish for Crown Prince Sado as 'medicine.'
Thus, palaces got monthly trout, croakers, etc.
Great Equal Tax didn't replace all tribute with rice or cash. While cutting military cloth, it centralized such tributes via the Equal Service Agency for efficiency.
But transitions weren't instant. Even modern Korea takes months for new laws to stick; Joseon, a decade easy.
So crooks exploited the chaos.
Tribute form—cash or real fish—wasn't 'finalized.' Scribes decided via double-slit between king and subjects.
No matter the prime croaker, they'd reject: spoiled, no bounce, not true Wonsan origin—like sushi snobs.
Usually, after two rejections, sigh and pay cash.
But stubborn or pigheaded ones sailed again with 'heavenly croaker' to make them ascend.
That legendary sushi chef was Yi Jo-i's husband, Chae I-seong.
"...From last winter to this spring, storms ravaged Hamgyong; even relief grain ships sank aplenty. If my husband falls to these clerks' schemes and dies at sea a masterless ghost, what shall I do..."
Yi Jo-i dabbed tears with her sash.
I got the gist.
But this was standard tribute graft. Expose it, best case dismissal.
No time for this. As thought earlier, to exile the magistrate surely needed top crimes: highway robbery or worse—lese-majeste beyond lawbooks.
Not severity, but offending royal sensibilities was key.
Fish tribute fleecing peasants? Beneath Yeongjo's notice. Punished lightly, sure.
As I racked my brain to brush off Yi Jo-i's plea, foul-mouthed Changdae—characteristically blunt—fired off.
"No, couldn't you just bribe them and be done? Why stubbornly sail again?"
Yi Jo-i could tell Changdae was a slave, at best commoner hand. But as inspector's servant, no outright rudeness.
"Not foolishness. If they'd taken cash from start, no grudge—but they demand both fish and money. How not resent?"
Rejections sound like fee-shakedowns till compliant.
But Joseon wasn't soft.
Once delivered, they stored it, then sent back for more.
"I begged him not to, but he shoved me off, roaring he'd rather haunt the magistrate and clerks as a vengeful ghost than live like this. If he dies, I'll feel the same—throw myself to sea."
Common Joseon idiom.
But 'ghost' and 'grudge' sparked an idea.
Perfect. No villages left to fleece anyway. Over Wonsan to Gangwon.
Time to go all-in.
I asked Yi Jo-i.
"Is your resolve truly firm?"
"How could it not be? If you command, though a mere woman, I'll grab a stick with convict laborers and storm the office."
"Even if your name circulates dirtily on others' lips?"
From my earlier words, Yi Jo-i hastily shielded herself. Jangbok had his recorder on for Se-hwa later.
I smacked Jangbok's head again, then calmly said.
"Not that. I mean to make the magistrate and clerks suffer your injustice in turn. But rumors will spread ill— are you prepared to leave your home?"
Yi Jo-i caught on roughly. Probably couldn't imagine the real plan.
"Why refuse that? Having appealed to you here, we couldn't stay in Deokwonbu or Wonsan anyway."
"Good. Go home for now. If husband returns, say one clerk lusts after you, scheming to separate you by rejecting croakers. Leave the rest to me."
"I trust only you, Inspector."
As Yi Jo-i bowed and left, hesitant Chae Je-gong spoke.
"Clerks and soldiers tampering with tribute is outrageous, but framing innocents isn't righteous."
I hadn't planned crude framing like forced service—easily exposed.
But my true scheme? Couldn't tell even Chae Je-gong or Hong Daeyong.
So I gave a meaningful smile.
"Don't worry, Baekgyu. The rumor is just to rattle them. Would I report with such shallow tricks? I have it all planned."
I naturally gathered the group and briefed the operation.
Chae Je-gong and Hong Daeyong played key diversion roles.
Yi Jae-hae could smash vanguard Hong Daeyong and follow-up Chae Je-gong. Chae couldn't reveal status here—my jurisdiction.
But that's what I wanted.
While distracted, Yi Jae-hae's true, horrific crime would emerge in broad daylight.
Chae Je-gong, still dubious after the rundown, asked.
"I get it, but if upon arrival nothing turns up on innocent Magistrate Yi Jae-hae? I've heard of him—young, talented, even granted audience by His Majesty."
I said confidently.
"One who lets underlings tamper with royal tribute can't lack other sins. Even Dao Zhi didn't kill when robbing. Villains don't sin singly. Trust me."
Yeah, trust me, pals.
Yi Jae-hae has sins for sure.
I'll make them.
Not low-rent forced service—quickly debunked framing.
Don't frame what investigation halves. Basics.
Frame or not, the eruption itself must force major crime. A checkmate.
I invested heavily in concealment for once. Horses to two convicts, we split into groups of two-three and quietly dispersed to the port.
Author's Note
1. Kim Beom-ro and Kim Mong-ro were actually impeached multiple times. Park Mun-su's anecdote in the story is factual too. Of course, the real targets were their recommenders Kim Jae-ro and Kim Yak-ro; Yeongjo knew and mostly rejected punishments.
2. In Yeongjo 28, messing with Wonsan croaker tributes got Gyeongwonbu's magistrate and military commander arrested—per Office of Royal Decrees logs. Not Deokwonbu, and other circumstances likely. Yi Jae-hae's records are intriguing; next chapter maybe. Similarly, Yeongjo arbitrarily cut live bream for Crown Prince Sado—also in logs.
3. Chae I-seong and Yi Jo-i were real Deokwonbu couple then (hanja 'So-sa,' but idu notation; pronounced 'Jo-i'). Why in records? Four months later, Yi Jo-i mauled by tiger seeking relief.
Hamgyong records show beast attacks rampant. Tiger urine, bear tracks in story from휴휴자 구강 (1757~1832)'s ≪휴휴자 자주행로편일기≫ etc.