Counterattack and Preparation
Just before Yeon So-hyeon carved up and sold off the Yi Family's Yeongwa Merchant Guild—
Cheong Ho-wi and Su-ran of the Spring of Luoyang, the problem-solvers of the slums, were taking their leave of him.
"Young Master, you have opened our eyes wide today."
Cheong Ho-wi spoke with the careful courtesy of a man born to a great house, every word weighted with genuine respect.
"The Spring of Luoyang needs your help—badly."
Su-ran clenched both fists tight in front of her.
"Tonight, when the assembly starts, I'll come fetch you myself!"
"Until then, please take care of yourself."
The maid Il-ryeong, who had opened the door for the departing pair, returned to Yeon So-hyeon's side and reported.
"Master. Hongdokjiju requests an audience."
"Admit her."
Hongdokjiju, one of the Fourth Young Master's closest aides, entered and offered her formal bow. She had been working through the nights with the Fourth Young Master on administrative matters; even now she looked as though she had just crawled out from under a mountain of documents.
"This humble one greets the First Young Master."
She had been confined, in all but name, to the Fourth Young Master's office—so buried in work that she had not even been able to visit the fire site.
"You have worked hard, shouldering the administrative load."
"It is nothing."
Despite her words, Yeon So-hyeon knew perfectly well the fatigue and crushing pressure she carried. The makeup that covered her face had grown thicker by the day; one would have had to try deliberately not to notice how heavy her burden had become.
"I bring a report on intelligence that has just arrived."
She cleared her throat, trying to free a voice that had grown chronically hoarse from exhaustion.
"The Support Division of the Sword Family's Business Support Corps has finally pushed the Valley of Sin project into full-scale re-examination."
The same Support Division that had only been discussing the need for review had now begun the review itself. The speed was unnatural—anyone could see it. The move was a blatant attempt to slam the brakes on the First Young Master's enterprise.
Yeon So-hyeon nodded.
"The step after full re-examination is the complete cancellation of all project support."
"…Yes. That is my assessment as well."
Without the vast material and human resources of the Business Support Corps, a project of the Valley of Sin's scale would inevitably suffer catastrophic delays. There had been countless bureaucratic obstruction campaigns, and Yeon So-hyeon had dismantled them with political maneuvering. Yet the work had continued only because the Support Corps had stood behind it.
Hongdokjiju kneaded the stiff nape of her neck and let out a long breath.
"Should we simply be grateful that we enjoyed their help for as long as we did?"
After all, the Support Corps had been the very thing propping up the meager funds and manpower of the First and Fourth Young Masters' faction. Now that the Corps had decided to throw in its lot with the Second Young Master, the project was as good as adrift.
"From this point on we will face exactly the kind of difficulties the Second Young Master's people intended."
Hongdokjiju smiled bitterly.
"The immediate collapse of administrative capacity is the real problem. We were already stretched thin, sharing personnel between the field headquarters and the offices."
With the Fourth Young Master stationed at the Valley of Sin site, she was the de-facto head of his office.
"In particular… our side is short of people who know how to negotiate with the government…"
The middle-aged woman was on the verge of tears.
"I could see no path forward the moment I heard the news, so I had no choice but to come to you at once…"
Seeing her teetering on the edge of panic, Yeon So-hyeon smiled and shook his head.
"You need not worry about that."
"…Pardon?"
He rose from his seat.
"Rest here for now. I am going to sell off the Yi Family's merchant guild."
Around the time the Second Young Master's faction was meeting with the heads of influential houses—
"Mmmh…"
Bathed in the slanting light of sunset through the carriage window, Hongdokjiju had dozed off. Yeon So-hyeon tapped her shoulder.
"We are almost there. Wake up."
"Just a little longer—"
The words slipped out in her sleep; then her eyes snapped open.
"F-forgive me, Young Master! I never meant to—!"
"It is fine."
He gave her a gentle smile and turned his gaze to the scenery outside.
"Eh? This is not inside the Sword Family compound."
"Correct."
Following his eyes to the rapidly changing streetscape, Hongdokjiju's own eyes went round.
"This road… it leads to Wongak Pavilion…"
At that moment the window beside the driver's seat slid open and the maid holding the reins reported:
"We shall arrive at the street before Wongak Pavilion momentarily."
"……!"
The instant the report ended, Hongdokjiju wiped away a trace of drool and, in a flash, produced a compact and repaired her makeup.
The maid—now thoroughly seasoned after successive battles of reinsmanship—modulated the horses' pace so skillfully that the Ironclad Fortress came to a smooth stop on the street before Wongak Pavilion without ever needing the brakes.
"…What is this place?"
Stepping down from the Ironclad Fortress after Yeon So-hyeon, Hongdokjiju could not hide her bewilderment at the scene that greeted her.
"Come on, come on! Move it inside!"
"Watch that corner over there!"
Countless servants were hauling furniture and fittings into buildings that had stood empty for a long time.
"Th-these are the buildings that have been vacant all this while, are they not?"
She was right. During the emergency construction order, structures that had seemed unnecessary had been expanded, renovated, or newly built along the street before Wongak Pavilion—and had remained empty ever since.
"What on earth is happening here?"
Yeon So-hyeon answered with a smile.
"You yourself reported that our administrative capacity was critically insufficient, did you not? That is why we are filling the administrative halls."
Hongdokjiju had known the empty buildings were earmarked for future administrative use, but she had never imagined the day would come so soon.
Because, after all…
"Even if you fill the halls with furniture, what good does it do without people who can actually handle the work—?"
"Young Master!"
Her words were cut short by shouts from figures hurrying out of the administrative building. Every one of them wore neat, formal attire, yet their sleeves were rolled up and they were streaming with sweat; they had clearly been helping the servants move furniture.
"We greet the First Young Master of the Sword Family!"
"We received word that you would come in person and have been rushing to finish the final preparations together."
"The person in charge will be out shortly!"
Before Hongdokjiju could even ask who they were or what was going on, an elderly man appeared, accompanied by a group dressed in silk.
"So you are the First Young Master himself!"
The old man—remarkably large for his age—brightened the moment he spotted Yeon So-hyeon. From his clothing and the deference of those around him, he was unmistakably a high-ranking elder of a great house.
Yeon So-hyeon offered a wry smile.
"You must be busy enough as Head of the Kong Great Academy, Elder Kong Yo. And yet you have come in person?"
Kong Yo—younger brother of Kong Ryang, head of the Kong family, and Master of Luoyang's Kong Great Academy—threw back his head and laughed heartily.
"When a First Young Master who has united our entire house in support of him is here, even an old man like me ought to meet him at least once, don't you think?"
Since morning he had been visiting various families at the request of his elder brother and family head, Kong Ryang.
"I came myself to escort those who answered your call."
The old man who had long wished to meet the Yeon So-hyeon so highly praised by his brother had finally used the request as an excuse to come all the way to Wongak Pavilion.
Yeon So-hyeon looked at the people still streaming out of the administrative halls and gathering around them, then bowed deeply to Kong Yo.
"There are far more of them than I was told. I am grateful for your generosity, Elder."
Kong Yo waved the thanks away.
"This old man did nothing special. It is simply that this empire has grown so rotten it refuses to value talent such as theirs."
He gestured to the assembled crowd.
"Every one of them is a graduate of the Kong Great Academy. Their abilities are outstanding, yet because their family names were not grand enough they either never entered official service or were stuck in petty posts."
Indeed, the eyes of those gathered—young and old alike—were keen and upright.
"And…"
Kong Yo edged closer and lowered his voice.
"There are also those who rose to high office on the strength of their birth, only to quit after clashing with corrupt superiors—just like that damned boy Kong Dam-ung."
"I see."
Kong Dam-ung was one of the Four Heroes of Yellow Lake and the designated heir of the Kong family. Yeon So-hyeon smiled faintly, picturing the bear-like young man who must even now be sweating over security in the Valley of Sin.
"Then these people are…"
Having more or less grasped the situation, Hongdokjiju ventured carefully into the conversation. Yeon So-hyeon nodded.
"They are the talent who will now take charge of this First Young Master's administrative halls."
Kong Yo added his own word.
"Not only former officials, but men who made their names in great merchant houses, and others who have served our Kong family with complete loyalty. In short, you may throw them into any practical duty without hesitation."
Hongdokjiju clicked her tongue inwardly.
Empty administrative halls filled the moment the Support Division made its move… The First Young Master foresaw this from the very beginning and laid his groundwork in advance…!
Yeon So-hyeon raised his voice to the fully assembled company.
"This First Young Master welcomes you all!"
Without the slightest hesitation he projected the presence of a sovereign. His voice, thick with profound internal energy, rang clear in every ear and dominated the gathering.
"I would like nothing better than to prepare a grand reception so that we might first cultivate friendship…"
A mischievous smile touched his lips.
"But looking at your faces, it seems your bodies are already itching to get to work."
"Exactly!"
"Well said!"
Smiles and answering shouts spread through the crowd.
"The time has come for you to show the abilities the world has chosen to ignore."
These were people who craved recognition more than anyone.
"The time has come to change Luoyang—and, beyond that, to reform the Central Plains."
These were people who hungered to change the world more than anyone.
With every passing year the empire of the Central Plains had sunk deeper into corruption and decay. Yet how could so vast a continent be wholly without men of will and ability? Precisely because it had rotted so thoroughly, there existed those who had refined themselves in the face of indifference from a power structure built on blood and connections.
The moment they heard that Kong Yo—one of the great pillars of the reformist faction—was gathering people, they had come without a second's hesitation.
"Those who are destroying this Luoyang and this empire are closing in around our throats."
The Yi Family and the other houses aligned with the Second Young Master were the very embodiment of the corrupt establishment. With the great reformist houses of Kong and Cheong fully at his back, Yeon So-hyeon, standing at their head, was a supernova that had flared into sudden brilliance.
"Therefore we…"
Yeon So-hyeon raised a clenched fist high.
"…will forgo any half-hearted welcoming banquet now, and instead share our first cups of wine only when we raise the victory toast later!"
Thunderous cheers and applause erupted at his words.
Amid the roaring ovation Yeon So-hyeon met each person's eyes in turn and raised a hand in greeting. At last he turned to Hongdokjiju.
"Hongdokjiju. You are the overall director of these administrative halls."
"……!"
"Given the ability you have already displayed, you will more than manage the post."
To appoint the Fourth Young Master's closest aide as director of the administrative halls—it was an extraordinary promotion.
"I have already settled the matter with Bi. For the time being, fold in the administrative staff of that office as well and focus on integration, so that there is as little disruption of work as possible."
"Young Master…!"
Shock and deep emotion warred across Hongdokjiju's face. She sank to one knee.
"I swear I will never give you cause for disappointment."
"Do not take it as a burden."
Yeon So-hyeon rested a hand on her shoulder.
"If you simply continue as you have until now, it will be more than enough."
At that, Hongdokjiju's flushed face broke into a playful smile.
"…If I keep going exactly as I have until now, I shall collapse from overwork."
Yeon So-hyeon burst out laughing.
A short while later, inside the director's office of the administrative halls.
"Thanks to you, Elder, we have filled the administrative vacuum left by the departure of the Business Support Corps."
Kong Yo, sipping tea, waved a dismissive hand.
"It was nothing. More importantly, First Young Master…"
The old man's eyes narrowed.
"The Second Young Master's counterattack has only just begun."
Beneath the words of warning, Yeon So-hyeon saw the gleam of anticipation deep in those eyes. He answered with a meaningful smile of his own.
"I, too, have only just begun."