Chapter 73
Chapter 73
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: Subjugating the Qiantang Twelve Strongholds!
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Jang Ung explained to me.
“The Yeongho Guild, based in Bosan County on the east coast not far from Lake Tai, is a fairly well-known mid-sized merchant guild.”
Unable to hold it in, as if his mouth was itching to speak, Janbu interjected.
“They changed the Yeongho Guild’s name a month ago.”
“What did they change it to?”
“The Fire Dragon Group.”
“Huh!”
I couldn’t believe my ears, and even Jang Ung looked as though he’d been struck.
Jang Ung asked for confirmation.
“You don’t mean the ‘Fire Dragon’ from Fire Dragon Sword?”
“That’s right. We came to admire the great hero of the Fire Dragon Sword so much that we presumptuously renamed our guild the Fire Dragon Group. Please forgive us.”
If he wasn’t lying, then Heuk-wol clearly respected me.
Jang Ung got straight to the point.
“What do you mean by asking for protection?”
The Fire Dragon Group, having its roots in the Taihu Stronghold of the Green Forest river bandits, would not be free from the threat of the Yangtze River Stronghold.
“As you might guess, the Yangtze River Stronghold, the Taihu Stronghold’s direct superior organization, attacks us frequently, and the damage has been immense.”
“How much damage have you suffered?”
“When the Yangtze River Stronghold attacks, they slaughter every last crew member before seizing the merchant ships and goods.”
They were villains more than capable of such acts.
“In that manner, three of our merchant ships have been seized, and over one hundred and eighty crew members have been killed.”
The damage was far greater than I had thought. The Yangtze River Stronghold wasn't just committing piracy; they were likely acting with far greater cruelty as a form of retaliation against the Fire Dragon Group, formerly the Taihu Stronghold.
“I can’t sleep at night thinking of the innocent crew members who were killed. Their only crime was working hard, believing in me.”
They were bastards who deserved to die. They were even more ruthless than the members of the Demonic Emperor's Grand Union and the Dong-ro Branch of the Ten Heavens of the Unorthodox Path, who used to exploit and bleed the people of Dong-ro County dry. The ignorant are always crueler.
I could guess why Heuk-wol respected me as a hero. It was because, without my knowledge, I had been serving the public good in Dong-ro County.
Jang Ung closed his mouth and fiddled with his cup. It was time for me to make a decision.
“State the terms of the deal.”
“Please make it so we can conduct our trade in peace.”
“How?”
“We’ll leave that to you.”
“I see.”
Heuk-wol spoke cautiously.
“Please tell us what you desire.”
“What can you offer?”
“We will give you twenty percent of our monthly profits.”
Heuk-wol added.
“Currently, our Fire Dragon Group averages a monthly profit of one hundred and twenty thousand silver taels.”
Twenty percent of one hundred and twenty thousand silver taels was twenty-four thousand. A tremendous sum.
But I was more interested in setting Heuk-wol’s Fire Dragon Group free than in the money.
I looked at Jang Ung.
“What do you think?”
Jang Ung asked Heuk-wol.
“For how long will you give us twenty percent of the profits?”
Jang Ung, however, seemed more interested in the potential gains from the deal.
“For as long as the Fire Dragon Group can trade without trouble.”
Jang Ung thought for a moment before speaking.
“Does the Fire Dragon Group’s base have to be in Bosan?”
“Not necessarily. Bosan is our original base, so there isn't a suitable place to move to, and relocating is not an easy task.”
“I imagine so.”
“Even if we were to move, it would be useless if the port we intend to move to doesn’t accept us.”
In any port, established merchant guilds held firm positions, so breaking in was by no means an easy feat.
Furthermore, one had to obtain permission from the notoriously difficult government officials, so a guild relocating its base was often compared to a camel passing through the eye of a needle.
“What about Hangzhou?”
Heuk-wol was startled.
“We have no connections in Hangzhou whatsoever. It’s impossible.”
“We will arrange a place for you in Hangzhou.”
Heuk-wol and Janbu were so surprised they were speechless for a while.
“Is that possible?”
“It is.”
Heuk-wol wore an expression of disbelief.
“Hangzhou is one of the five greatest ports in the world. To squeeze in there would require…”
“It is possible.”
“...”
Heuk-wol’s eyes widened as he stared at Jang Ung, then he let out a long sigh.
“Hah! That’s incredible!”
Jang Ung looked at me.
“What do you think?”
“It’s fine.”
Jang Ung proposed to Heuk-wol.
“Move the Fire Dragon Group’s base to Hangzhou.”
“The Yangtze River Stronghold operates not only in Hangzhou but throughout the entire Zhejiang Province. The Qiantang Twelve Strongholds are directly under them.”
Heuk-wol looked troubled.
“As long as they are there, moving to Hangzhou is impossible.”
Jang Ung explained to me.
“The Qiantang Twelve Strongholds are Green Forest river bandits who control twelve waterways, including the Qiantang River.”
When I nodded, Jang Ung spoke to Heuk-wol.
“Hangzhou and the entire Zhejiang Province are our jurisdiction.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Heuk-wol seemed to be bearing in mind the fact that no matter how much of a rising star I was, and no matter how much the name Fire Dragon Sword shook the martial world, I was still just the Grand Branch Master of the Martial Alliance’s Dong-ro Branch.
However, once the Martial Alliance's main headquarters was established in Dong-ro County, not just Hangzhou but the entire Zhejiang Province would fall under the direct jurisdiction of the Martial Alliance.
No, even without that, it was absurd to think there was something I couldn't do near Hangzhou.
“You can just take it as such.”
“Understood.”
I asked Heuk-wol.
“Who seized the Fire Dragon Group’s merchant ships?”
“The Qiantang Twelve Strongholds twice, and the Yangtze River Stronghold once.”
“Where are the Qiantang Twelve Strongholds?”
“They’re near a village called Impo.”
Jang Ung added.
“If you go about ten *li* up the Puyang River from the lower Qiantang River, you’ll find Impo.”
“Let’s go.”
As I stood up, a surprised Heuk-wol and Janbu awkwardly rose with me.
“What’s the matter?”
Heuk-wol misunderstood, thinking I was about to call off the deal.
“Did I do something wrong? Please tell me!”
Jang Ung said.
“My lord intends to go to the Qiantang Twelve Strongholds.”
“What? Why there?”
“You’ll see when we get there.”
***
*Whoosh!*
A medium-sized ship, its sails fully unfurled, raced across the river.
We were on our way to Impo, the main base of the Qiantang Twelve Strongholds.
I sat in a chair on the foredeck, surrounded by several people.
Having realized that my reason for going to Impo was to punish the Qiantang Twelve Strongholds, Heuk-wol couldn't hide the smile on his face.
The three crewmen steering the ship were Heuk-wol’s subordinates, and they drove the vessel as fast as possible, eager to witness the Qiantang Twelve Strongholds get their due.
Around me stood not only Jang Ung and Go Un-hyo but also Deng Bo, Yeon Cheong, Dam Geum-hu, and other members of the Dong-ro Branch.
Jang Ung had suggested that I shouldn't personally handle a trivial matter like punishing some river bandits and should instead assign it to the subordinates of the Peerless Sect.
That sounded like a good idea, so I agreed, but then the branch members insisted on coming along.
According to Jang Ung, the Dong-ro Branch members had been coming to the Peerless Sect for quite some time to train in martial arts alongside its members.
Sang Gang-jo had been teaching both the Peerless Sect members and the branch members together, but he had never mentioned it to me.
And so, a total of sixteen people, a mix of Peerless Sect members and branch members, set out to subjugate the Qiantang Twelve Strongholds.
Jang Ung had once told me that the Peerless Sect members were of an intermediate level when classifying masters as high, mid, or low. Having learned Jeomchang Sect martial arts from Sang Gang-jo, they were likely above intermediate now.
I was a little worried about the branch members, but they were in high spirits and chorused that I shouldn't worry.
Of course, Cho-seon and Aeng-a of the Mysterious Jade Palace had been left behind in Dong-ro County.
I spoke to Heuk-wol, who was standing beside me.
“Does the Fire Dragon Group have warriors?”
Heuk-wol said respectfully.
“Please speak comfortably.”
Heuk-wol wasn’t very old, so it seemed appropriate.
“I will.”
“Thank you.”
Heuk-wol’s face brightened, and then he said.
“The Fire Dragon Group’s merchant ships have crew members who have learned martial arts, but they are helplessly weak against the attacks of the river strongholds.”
“Have you thought about teaching the crew members martial arts?”
“Of course. But there are two martial arts schools in Bosan County where we are based, and because of threats from the Yangtze River Stronghold, no one is willing to teach us.”
“How many crew members are there in total?”
“Around three hundred.”
“More than I thought.”
“We are on the smaller side. The fleet of a large merchant guild typically numbers in the thousands.”
“In any case, if the three hundred crew members of the Fire Dragon Group learn proper martial arts, they won't be plundered by river bandits anymore.”
Heuk-wol’s interest was piqued.
“Please guide us.”
I asked Jang Ung.
“Do you know any decent martial arts schools in Hangzhou?”
“I know a few places.”
“Introduce a suitable place to this man.”
“I will.”
“Once the Fire Dragon Group’s base is moved to the port of Hangzhou, have the crew members train intensively in martial arts.”
Heuk-wol bowed his head respectfully.
“I will do so. Thank you.”
I asked Heuk-wol.
“Is your real name Heuk-wol?”
“Yes. I was an orphan, and the previous stronghold master took me in as his adopted son and named me Heuk-wol.”
***
The boat left the Qiantang River and entered the Puyang River, reaching Impo not long after.
A short distance past the small village of Impo, where a few fishing boats floated, sheer cliffs appeared on both sides of the Puyang River, and from there, the current grew fierce.
Jang Ung looked at the cliffs and explained.
“This is the beginning of Kuaiji Mountain, so the terrain is rugged.”
Moreover, the current grew progressively stronger, and it seemed that an ordinary boat would have great difficulty traveling upstream.
The boat I was on had two extra, smaller sails than most, and the crew was skilled, so it cut through the current without hesitation, but its speed had slowed considerably.
Jang Ung looked around.
“It should be somewhere around here, but I don’t know the exact location.”
Go Un-hyo pointed to a spot.
“Brother, look over there.”
He was pointing to the top of a high cliff on the front-left side, where a small hut had been built.
When I activated the Divine Eye of Skynet's Ultimate Reach, two men came out of the hut and looked our way. A moment later, one of them waved a red flag toward somewhere below.
They were alerting the Qiantang Twelve Strongholds of our approach.
Looking below the hut, I saw a narrow crevice in the cliff, which seemed to be the waterway leading to the Qiantang Twelve Strongholds.
Jang Ung said.
“They’ve spotted us.”
“What do you see?”
Heuk-wol, who couldn't see the hut on the cliff, asked.
“It seems they spotted us from the hut on the cliff and sent a signal to the Qiantang Twelve Strongholds.”
“Then they’ll be out soon!”
Our boat was barely making any headway against the rapids, almost hovering in place.
Suddenly, from between the cliffs about twenty *zhang* ahead on the left, three small boats shot out like arrows. It was the narrow crevice in the cliff I had seen earlier.
The boats were Willow Leaf Boats, shaped like willow leaves. With large sails and four men, two on each side, rowing, they were as fast as flight.
Heuk-wol exclaimed in alarm.
“It’s the Qiantang Twelve Strongholds!”
Each of the three Willow Leaf Boats carried five armed river bandits, and they reached our boat before one could count to ten.
I remained seated in my chair, while Jang Ung and Go Un-hyo watched with their arms crossed.
Near me, Deng Bo, Yeon Cheong, Dam Geum-hu, and the other branch members looked excited, waiting only for the order to attack.
The men standing on the three Willow Leaf Boats swung ropes with grappling hooks and instantly latched onto our boat.
*Clang! Clang!*
Caught by three ropes on three sides, our ship couldn’t move an inch.