Sprouts of Rebellion (2)
Anyway, that wasn't the important thing right now.
No, it was important.
Because that young man had led a massive peasant uprising in his previous life.
His name was Gyeong Injook.
Born the son of tenant farmers, he became a wanderer when his parents fell out of favor with the local overseer.
He ended up joining a band of rebels, executing brilliant tactics that repeatedly caught the government troops off guard, rising swiftly through the ranks.
But his reign didn't last three years.
Furious at the string of defeats, the Emperor dispatched elite generals and an army of ten thousand, crushing them utterly.
Gyeong Injook, as their leader, couldn't escape, and his corpse was hung on the walls of Beijing for the crows to devour.
He was a rebel leader, sure, but it was a shame to waste such talent. If only someone had spotted him early and given him a proper stage, he wouldn't have met such a miserable end.
Someone talented enough to lead a force that size could have thrived elsewhere.
And now... that someone was going to be me.
Anyway, with him around, we couldn't let our guard down during these negotiations.
"Welcome. I'm Soon Daeseok, the master of this mountain stronghold."
We had sent word ahead via arrow-letter, announcing our visit for talks.
So they'd come out to greet us like this.
Though they'd brought quite the crowd.
Probably to intimidate us by surrounding us.
But that was commoner thinking.
One peak expert could handle a hundred third- or second-rate warriors with ease.
"I'm Gwak Myeong-hyeon of the Changin Escort Agency."
"Eun Seo-ho of the Eunhae Merchant Group."
We introduced ourselves in turn.
"You're the ones who said you came to negotiate?"
"That's right."
"This way."
They'd set up the negotiation spot outside the stronghold—a makeshift table and chairs.
Not letting us inside meant they weren't about to reveal their internal affairs.
Smart move, whoever thought of it.
Probably Gyeong Injook.
The furniture was crudely hacked from logs, and as we eyed it, Chaeju Soon Daeseok spoke up.
"Have a seat. Ah, but it must look too shabby for esteemed guests like you?"
He glanced at my silk robes and added,
"Worried about ruining those fancy clothes?"
"Not at all. Why would I be?"
Childish intimidation tactics.
I plopped down on the wooden chair and said,
"I'm just touched by the effort you put into making a table and chairs. Must've been tough work."
"W-well, yeah, it was. Ahem."
"And don't worry about my clothes. I've got plenty more."
The chaeju was at a loss for words.
My master sat as well.
"Please, sit."
"Ahem, right."
Soon Daeseok sat alone, without calling over his men. Come to think of it, he'd been described as rather dictatorial.
That's why Gyeong Injook hadn't stood out until the chaeju died, at which point he took center stage and revealed his true potential.
I glanced at Gyeong Injook standing behind him.
He'd been fidgeting anxiously.
My master spoke first.
"The Changin Escort Agency offered a reward for the stolen cargo and tried to recover it. But we assume it's all been used up by now."
"Spot on. It's all in our bellies. Thanks to that, we ate well."
I picked up from there.
"If you ate well, time to pay up."
"Pay up?"
"You might not know since you're not real bandits, but if the cargo can't be returned, the escort agency and merchant group have only one recourse."
I met the chaeju's eyes.
"All-out war. Wiping this stronghold off the map."
Bam!
He slammed the table with his fist and bellowed,
"You wanna try it right now? Fine! Let's go!"
He was trying to cow us, but neither my master nor I flinched.
"Such a hot temper. Sit down. We're not done talking."
"Why should I listen to you? One word from me, and you..."
Sigh. No wonder he'd died young in his past life.
I sent a sound transmission to the Seo-u Warrior.
- Shut him up, please.
The Seo-u Warrior drew his sword and casually swung it at the nearby trees.
Swish.
With one light stroke, over a dozen trees toppled, cleanly severed.
"......"
"One word from you does what?"
"Ah, nothing."
The chaeju shrank back, falling silent.
Then Gyeong Injook shouted from behind.
"If you're here to negotiate, why'd you take so long? Were you waiting for us to use up all the rice and herbs?"
The chaeju quickly chimed in.
"Y-yeah, now that you mention it, that's suspicious! Just like he said—it's got to be deliberate."
"Not at all."
I kept my smile.
"Honestly, we didn't expect you'd devour the cargo right away. Normal bandits would quietly wait for our token of goodwill."
I looked up at the men behind them and continued.
"And we don't chase down fleeing escorts just to injure them. We know all too well that if someone dies, it stops being about money."
A few of them hung their heads in shame.
"Something felt off, so we looked into you. You're not real bandits—you're wanderers pretending to be."
"......"
"Truth be told, plenty wanted to muster warriors and wipe you out on the spot..."
I trailed off deliberately, then turned to the chaeju.
"But our merchant group's leader is merciful and compassionate. Knowing your plight, he made a proposal."
"What proposal?"
"The Eunhae Merchant Group recently acquired new farmland. We'll let you tenant it."
"......!"
Their eyes widened.
It was a shocking offer even to me, so their stunned expressions were no surprise.
"Of course, for stealing our goods and injuring our people, you'll serve five years gratis."
Gyeong Injook yelled,
"What are we supposed to eat during those five years?"
"Fair question. We'll lend you what you need to live."
"Lend it?"
The chaeju bristled.
"Damn it! You think we ended up like this for nothing? That rotten landlord with his usury..."
"I understand. But we're not like those scoundrels. No interest on living expenses for five years."
No interest alone was a godsend to them.
"Then, after five years, pay it back gradually."
The chaeju asked,
"And if we refuse?"
"What other choice is there? To keep other bandits from seeing our merchant group and escort agency as easy marks..."
I smiled thinly.
"You know without me saying."
"......"
I stopped there and glanced at my master.
He subtly shook his head.
No more to say.
We stood.
I held up three fingers.
"You have three days. Think it over. If you accept, raise a white flag on the stronghold. If not after three days, we'll take it as refusal."
A few steps away, I turned back for one last word.
"Think carefully. Life as bandits isn't easy."
And with that, we left.
"I wonder what they'll do."
To my master's question, I replied with certainty.
"They'll have no choice but to accept. They're not real bandits yet."
Driven to banditry by famine, but not by choice.
Give them the right nudge, and returning to ordinary folk or farmers wouldn't be hard.
Good thing Gyeong Injook hadn't taken the lead.
If he had, we'd have had to sweeten the pot more.
After Gwak Myeong-hyeon and Eun Seo-ho's group departed, silence blanketed the stronghold.
But soon, opinions flew in all directions.
"What do we do?"
"I dunno."
"They're offering land, though."
"Yeah, to work us for free five years."
"Still, we won't starve."
"Can we trust them? What if they just enslave us after all the talk?"
"......"
As the debate raged, Gyeong Injook stepped forward.
"We have three days. Why not look into the Eunhae Merchant Group?"
His prior unease about Eun Seo-ho's tactics had boosted his standing.
His suggestion was accepted on the spot—it made sense.
They quickly picked ten men and sent them to investigate in Sungyang County, where the Eunhae Merchant Group was based.
.
.
.
The investigators arrived in Sungyang County and got straight to work.
"What's the Eunhae Merchant Group like?"
"Eunhae? Why do you ask?"
"We're thinking of tenanting their land, but heard they exploit farmers."
The man's face darkened.
"Who the hell spread that crap? Some bastard I oughta gut right now—who?!"
His fury startled the investigators.
"E-easy now. I'll handle whoever it was. Calm down."
They asked slyly,
"So, it's not true?"
"I can say with certainty no landlord's better than Eunhae. Normal ones take half the harvest, then make tenants pay taxes too."
Taxes were supposed to be the landlord's burden, but not all were so noble.
Good ones were rare.
"Some even charge extra for seeds and water."
"Yeah."
Their teeth ground at the memory—the reason they'd become wanderers.
"Not Eunhae. They take just four-tenths, and cover taxes."
"Seeds?"
"Eunhae covers that too, naturally."
"......"
"That's not all. For weddings or funerals, they send help. If you're short on cash, they lend interest-free."
"......"
"If a tenant's wronged, a top brass goes straight to the magistrate. Plenty have had injustices righted that way."
"......"
The praise kept flowing.
"Even if Eunhae's great, what if the overseers abuse us?"
"Higher-ups inspect unannounced. No overseer dares cheat the boss—they'd be lucky to keep their bones intact."
"......"
If true, no landlord under heaven was better.
They asked around skeptically, but everyone sang Eunhae's praises.
"Eunhae? Oh, yeah—Eun Seo-ho, their third branch head, handed out food to the whole county for his birthday."
"Food?"
"Saved my kid's life. Still prays for their prosperity every day."
"Frankly, in this brutal famine, no one's starved to death in Sungyang thanks to Eunhae."
"Damn right."
The more they learned, the more resentment toward their old village landlord bubbled up.
And they glimpsed hope: under Eunhae, they could live like humans again.
They soon returned to the stronghold and reported everything.
The three days granted by the Eunhae Merchant Group and Changin Escort Agency to the rebel band had passed.
My master and I headed to their stronghold ourselves.
To confirm their decision with our own eyes.
Logically, they'd accept. But nothing in the world was absolute.
If they refused—a tragic outcome with no recourse.
As we approached, hoping against that, my master said,
"Look at that."