The Old Man on the Yellow Ox
An old rustic, clad in worn hemp clothes, sat atop the back of an ox. At his bizarre appearance, bewildered whispers erupted across the tense, frozen courtyard.
"W-what is this? Who is that old man, barging into the magistrate's office like..."
"What kind of crazy old man rides an ox in the dead of night..."
While the soldiers hovered in confusion, unable to lower their spears, I narrowed my eyes and scrutinized the old man's appearance.
An old man who travels on an ox... I've definitely heard of this somewhere before.
As I was unraveling the threads of my memory, Han Myeong-hoe, who had shrunk back behind me, slunk closer and whispered in my ear.
"My Lord. A state councillor who rides an ox. I once heard rumors of such a man in the marketplaces of Hanyang."
At Han Myeong-hoe's words, a spark flashed in my mind.
A state councillor? No way.
Left State Councillor, **Maeng Sa-seong**. Along with Hwang Hui, he was one of the two pillars guiding the royal court, and the most celebrated cheongbaengni—incorruptible official—of the era. It finally struck me: Joseon's second-in-command, famous for leisurely riding an ox instead of a palanquin, was currently resting in his hometown of Asan with His Majesty's permission.
It was then.
"What are you all doing?! Drag this crazy old man out of here this instant!"
Losing his mind as his own men clashed with the Governor's officers, the Asan Magistrate shrieked, the veins in his neck bulging. Just as two soldiers approached the ox with menacing expressions, spears raised—
From beyond the dark main gate, a shadow that had been silently following the ox stepped into the courtyard.
He was a man clad in a dark navy cheollik, a long hwando sword strapped to his waist. A bodyguard. The man merely cast a single glance toward the armed soldiers, his eyes gleaming beneath his bamboo hat.
Yet, an extraordinary aura radiated from him—so intense that Jincheol instinctively stepped forward to shield me further.
"Haha."
As his guard stepped to the front, Maeng Sa-seong, perched on the ox's back, stroked his bushy beard and let out a good-natured chuckle.
"The hospitality of the Asan Magistrate's office has grown rather cold. An old man resting in the countryside couldn't sleep and came out for a stroll, only to receive such a grand welcome."
His voice was slow and gentle. The flickering red light of the torches illuminated the wrinkled face of the old man on the ox.
"How dare some crazy old man barge into the—!"
The Asan Magistrate's voice, which had been raised in a shouting rant while pointing his finger, cut off abruptly. His jaw dropped. His eyes bulged as if they were about to pop out of his skull.
The Chungcheong Governor was no different. The fury on the Governor's face vanished instantly, replaced by a deathly, bloodless pallor.
"L-Left..."
The Governor's lips trembled violently.
"Left State Councillor...?"
Clang!
A spear slipped from a soldier's grasp and clattered uselessly onto the stone floor. As if that sound were a signal, the Governor's officers and the local soldiers alike scrambled to throw their weapons to the ground. The courtyard echoed with the chaotic din of clashing iron.
"M-My Lord! We pay our respects to the Left State Councillor!"
"My Lord!"
Dozens of men who had been snarling at each other to the death just moments ago now prostrated themselves on the bare dirt in unison, bowing their heads repeatedly.
"Now, now. That is enough."
Maeng Sa-seong waved his hand dismissively. At the gesture, his guard stepped forward with practiced familiarity and knelt on one knee. Stepping onto the guard's sturdy knee, Maeng Sa-seong nimbly dismounted onto the ground.
"Now, why were you all fighting so viciously?"
Maeng Sa-seong clicked his tongue, clasping his hands behind his back. Then, he slowly turned his head and cast his gaze toward me, standing in the center of the courtyard.
Shortly after I woke up in this land of Joseon, Maeng Sa-seong had departed for his hometown of Asan under the pretext of recuperation. Since we had never crossed paths in the palace, this was our very first face-to-face encounter.
So this is Maeng Sa-seong.
He wore the face of a smiling, easygoing old man. Yet, the gaze sweeping across the courtyard was far from soft. In that brief look lay the absolute dignity of an elder statesman who had survived the treacherous waters of the royal court for decades.
Maeng Sa-seong's gaze drifted past me, landing on the table in the banquet hall. A royal decree lay in the center of a table cluttered with overturned liquor bottles. The moment he registered those two things, his eyes narrowed slightly.
The soldiers and carts scattered across the courtyard, and the pale, prostrate Governor and Magistrate. Even without a lengthy explanation, he seemed to grasp exactly what had transpired here in an instant.
Maeng Sa-seong locked his eyes back onto me and asked in a low, calm voice,
"Did His Majesty send you?"
At his question, I adjusted my robes and bowed politely.
"I am Kim Jinseong, Director of the **Chujing Dogam**. By His Majesty's royal command, I have come down to inspect the tax grain of the southern provinces."
"Ho. The Chujing Dogam. I have heard rumors from Hanyang, but..."
"Yes. However, the Asan Magistrate and the Chungcheong Governor have been squeezing the lifeblood out of the people under the pretext of a drought, embezzling tax grain for their personal gain. Those carts in the courtyard are the proof."
I pointed alternately to the prostrate Governor and Magistrate, and then to the carts lined up on one side of the courtyard.
"Once their ledgers were exposed and the stolen goods uncovered, they began pointing fingers at each other, nearly resorting to a bloodbath."
Maeng Sa-seong quietly stroked his beard at my brief report. The good-natured curve of his eyes gradually flattened. He looked down at the Governor and the Magistrate groveling at his feet and clicked his tongue.
"This is truly a disgraceful and shameful affair."
Instead of a thundering roar or fiery wrath, it was a lament filled with a deep sigh. Yet, at that soft, self-deprecating tone, the Magistrate and the Governor flinched, pressing their faces even harder against the dirt.
"I came down to my hometown to rest my old, ailing body in peace. To think the very men governing my native soil would commit acts worse than beasts."
"M-My Lord! That is not it! That man from Hanyang is making false accusations—!"
Cornered, the Magistrate raised his head, desperately trying to squeeze out an excuse. But as the guard silently took a step forward, hand resting on the hilt of his sword, the Magistrate shrieked in terror and slammed his nose back into the dirt.
Maeng Sa-seong nodded as he looked back at me. Fortunately, he had no intention of shielding these scoundrels.
Maeng Sa-seong slowly turned his head toward the trembling soldiers prostrated on the ground.
"What are you all waiting for? The evidence is this clear, yet you do not bind these two and throw them into the dungeon?"
With those words, the frozen air of the courtyard shifted instantly. Just moments ago, these men had been wavering under the Magistrate's threats, pointing their weapons in confusion. But the one commanding them now was none other than the second-most powerful man in Joseon, the active Left State Councillor.
"Y-Yes, My Lord!"
"Bind them at once!"
The soldiers scrambled forward. Bringing thick binding ropes, they roughly wrenched the arms of the groveling Magistrate and Governor behind their backs and began tying them up.
"Argh! You bastards, how dare you lay hands on me! My Lord! This is a misunderstanding!"
The Magistrate thrashed, screaming his innocence. At that, the Governor, who was being tightly bound beside him, shrieked at the Magistrate, veins bulging in his neck.
"You wicked wretch! How dare you spew such deceit before the Left State Councillor! My Lord! I was merely deceived by this lowly Magistrate, completely unaware that he was embezzling the tax grain!"
"Governor! Are you planning to pin all the blame on me just to save your own skin now?!"
The ruler of Chungcheong Province and the chief of Asan, rolling on the dirt, tearing into each other in desperation. It was a pathetic, muddy spectacle, almost too painful to watch.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk."
Maeng Sa-seong clicked his tongue loudly as he looked down at the petty, hideous sight.
"They wore official robes and acted like tigers before the people, yet when their own lives are on the line, they bark worse than dogs in a fighting pit."
At Maeng Sa-seong's scolding, the chaotic courtyard fell as silent as if cold water had been poured over it. Bound tightly, the Magistrate and the Governor knelt on the ground, unable to utter another word.
I adjusted my robes and bowed politely to Maeng Sa-seong.
"This could have become rather troublesome, but thanks to you, I have been spared the effort."
At my greeting, Maeng Sa-seong chuckled and waved his hand dismissively.
"This happened in this old man's hometown. Of course I had to step in. There is no need for praise."
He walked slowly, stopping before the documents scattered on one side of the courtyard. Near the groveling men lay the bundle of papers Gaetdong-i had left behind when he dropped his brush.
Maeng Sa-seong bent down and picked up a sheet of paper. It featured a thick line crossing through the center like a cross (+), with unfamiliar Arabic numerals densely written on either side.
"Ho, how fascinating."
Maeng Sa-seong murmured with interest, holding the paper close to his eyes.
"It looks as though the incoming and outgoing amounts are balanced against each other, like a double-pan scale."
Though he did not recognize the symbols, he had instantly grasped the logic of writing down and comparing the calculations on both sides. He truly possessed the keen eye of a state councillor.
"The boy under my employ is exceptionally bright with numbers, so I taught him a few things," I replied briefly, then added,
"When compared using this method, the rice they claimed to have harvested during the drought was cut in half, yet the wages of the porters who transported it remained exactly the same as in a normal year. This is clear proof that these ledgers are fraudulent."
Leaving Maeng Sa-seong nodding in agreement, I slowly walked over and stood before the two bound men.
"Now, the Left State Councillor is watching with his own eyes. Abandon any thoughts of wriggling out of this with your silver tongues."
At my interrogation, the Magistrate's shoulders flinched. I pointed to the carts lined up on one side of the courtyard and continued.
"This massive amount of tax grain loaded onto these carts. You certainly didn't embezzle it just to eat it all yourself."
I bent down, locking eyes with the sweat-drenched Magistrate.
"There must be someone who exchanged this vast amount of rice for silver or valuable goods. Where were these carts headed tonight? Speak."
The Magistrate kept his mouth shut like a mute. His eyes darted anxiously, stealing glances at Maeng Sa-seong standing behind me as he hesitated.
Watching this, Maeng Sa-seong clicked his tongue softly.
"Tsk, tsk. The Director, acting on His Majesty's royal command, is asking you a question."
As Maeng Sa-seong gave a subtle nod, the guard standing like a shadow beside him moved soundlessly.
Shring!
With a sharp metallic ring, the unsheathed blade of the hwando was instantly pressed against the Magistrate's throat.
"Hieeeek!"
The Magistrate gasped, his shoulders shrinking back. As a thin line of red blood welled where the cold steel touched his neck, his jaw began to tremble violently.
Maeng Sa-seong still wore the gentle, rounded expression of a good-natured old man, but the weight of the words flowing from his mouth was as heavy and solemn as an execution ground.
"Those who squeeze the lifeblood of the people and plunder the state treasury deserve to have their heads severed and hung on display this very instant. Do not hasten your demise by wagging your tongue foolishly. Answer truthfully."
Faced with the very real threat of losing his head, the Magistrate finally babbled in a frantic panic.
"I-it is a merchant group from Jeolla Province! They set up base beyond the mountains of Asan a few years ago... and we began trading tax grain with them!"
"A merchant group from Jeolla. What is the name of this merchant group, and who is the mastermind behind them?"
At my interrogation, the Magistrate swallowed hard and answered hastily.
"I-I do not know the true name of that merchant group! However, in their cups, they let slip... that they are a supplier for the **Daedong Merchant Group**!"
The Daedong Merchant Group.
At the mention of that name, my shoulders stiffened. Behind me, Jincheol and Gaetdong-i also widened their eyes, unable to hide their shock.
A brief silence fell among the three of us who knew the truth.
Suppliers to the Daedong Merchant Group?
My mind raced. After we cleaned out Lord Hwang Hui's in-laws, the management of the Daedong Merchant Group had fallen entirely into the hands of my wife, Lady Lee. If so, this was something that had been happening since before she took over.
A local subcontractor using the massive name of the Daedong Merchant Group as a shield. It meant some low-level merchants tucked away in a southern backwater were deceiving the main headquarters, colluding with local officials to embezzle behind our backs.