Liquor Tasting Conference (4)
In his previous life, he had once received help from the Cheongsu Merchant Group.
It happened while heading to visit a high-ranking official's residence in Guizhou Castle, only to be ambushed by a band of bandits.
Their forces were stronger than expected, plunging him into a desperate crisis.
Fortunately, a merchant caravan passing nearby came to his aid, allowing him to escape the danger.
That caravan was the Cheongsu Merchant Group.
Watching the group that had shown him such grace slowly crumble under the double blow of famine and the alcohol prohibition—only to be exploited by the Baekcheon Merchant Group in the end—had left him uneasy.
But in this life, he intended to repay that debt handsomely.
That afternoon.
While diligently handling affairs at the Beijing branch, Palgap burst into his office.
"What is it?"
"W-well, um, that is..."
"That is what?"
"His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived!"
"What?"
He sprang to his feet.
The Emperor had clearly said he would return and assign a minister to handle this matter if he was waiting.
So why had the Crown Prince come in person?
The Crown Prince wasn't a minister... ugh... come to think of it, the Crown Prince was indeed a subject.
Son of the Emperor or not, once granted a rank, a subject was a subject.
"Whew, let's go."
"Yes, sir."
He headed straight to the reception room, where the Crown Prince sat sipping tea, waiting for him.
"Greetings to Your Highness the Crown Prince."
He paid his respects, and the Crown Prince nodded, gesturing with his hand.
"Rise and sit comfortably."
"I am deeply honored."
"You're too formal. I want to be friends with you, you know."
Does that even make sense?
He grumbled inwardly but responded politely on the surface.
"Your words are far too gracious for this humble merchant."
"Nonsense. Father holds you in high regard as well."
Time to change the subject.
"So, is Your Highness overseeing this liquor tasting conference?"
"Indeed. Father has very high expectations for it."
The reason the Emperor pinned such hopes on the liquor tasting conference wasn't just the entry fees.
There was something far more important: public sentiment.
The alcohol prohibition was still in effect.
But holding a liquor tasting conference in the Emperor's name would give people hope that the ban was about to lift.
And lifting the ban meant more than just being able to drink again to soothe their weary bodies and souls.
It signaled that the famine was over—no more need for the prohibition.
To those scraping by day after day, lost in the despair of a dark cave, it would be a ray of light.
A light marking the exit from that suffocating darkness.
From the Emperor's perspective, public sentiment was worth several times the entry fees.
That was likely why he'd sent the Crown Prince.
Though it felt like there might be another motive as well.
"Oh, and I heard the head of the Cheongsu Merchant Group is in Beijing."
"Is that so?"
He already knew why.
They were seeking a shipping vessel to transport the liquor they distributed. Without a contract for loading liquor onto a ship, they couldn't get permission to brew.
In his past life, the Baekcheon Merchant Group had approached them at this very time.
But in this life, Baekcheon had no ships to offer.
Ah, sweet revenge.
"So I sent someone to summon him here."
"Pardon?"
The Crown Prince explained.
"The clause you proposed—granting priority trade rights to top-performing liquors—wasn't it meant for the Cheongsu Merchant Group?"
He caught on quick.
"Of course, it's also for your merchant group."
"......"
The Eunhae Merchant Group had invested heavily in advance to trade liquor this time.
But outsiders saw things differently.
No matter how much capital and effort they'd poured in to earn those results, complaints of unfairness were inevitable.
One goal of this conference was to dispel such notions.
From the outside, opportunities had to appear evenly distributed.
Of course, it wasn't rigged.
It was also about discovering breweries with excellent liquor that had gone unnoticed due to debts.
If any outperformed the breweries he'd acquired, they deserved to win.
And he had no doubt the Cheongsu-affiliated breweries would score highly.
Their liquor was the real deal.
As they talked, Palgap announced another guest.
"Please come in."
"Head of Cheongsu Merchant Group, Go Yun-bae. Greetings to Your Highness the Crown Prince. Long live Your Highness, long long live!"
"Rise and sit."
"I am overwhelmed with gratitude."
He watched Go Yun-bae take a seat before him.
Just as he remembered.
Mid-fifties, perhaps? A face full of benevolence.
His nose was slightly red from all the tasting, but he was said to hold his liquor well.
The prohibition had clearly taken a toll; he looked quite gaunt.
The Crown Prince addressed it first.
"I heard your group suffered great losses due to the national calamity and prohibition. I feel truly sorry for it."
Go Yun-bae bowed his head hastily.
"How can Your Highness say such a thing? Though we took losses, no business thrives forever. I harbor no resentment toward Your Highness or His Majesty."
Easy to say, but who wouldn't resent it?
Still, he couldn't voice that here.
"I'm grateful for your words. In any case, we've decided to hold this liquor tasting conference, so I called you. Who knows liquor better in the empire than Cheongsu?"
"Of course."
Pride rang in Go Yun-bae's voice.
"Thus, I'm entrusting this to Eunhae and Cheongsu Merchant Groups. I count on you."
"We shall give our all."
He added to Go Yun-bae,
"For reference, liquors deemed excellent will receive priority trade rights."
"......!"
Go Yun-bae's eyes lit up.
"Is that true?"
"Yes. It's His Majesty's grace to let Cheongsu spread its wings again. Never forget that."
"We are eternally grateful for His boundless mercy!"
That night.
After everyone left, he sat alone in his chambers, deep in thought.
It was about compiling the guest list for the liquor tasting conference.
The imperial family, Cheongsu, and his group could each invite thirty guests.
Ten more would be decided later, for a total of one hundred.
"Young master, I have a question."
"Hm? What is it?"
He turned to Palgap.
"You recommended Cheongsu, so why frame it as His Majesty's grace?"
"Even if I recommended them, if His Majesty said no, that'd be that."
"But if it were you, you could've gotten them in somehow."
He chuckled.
Palgap knew him too well.
"Probably. And they'd be grateful if I pushed for it. But..."
He turned fully.
"The key to any job is doing the least work for the maximum results."
"So..."
Palgap deflated with a sigh.
"You maximized their motivation to work hard, while you take it easy by comparison?"
"Exactly."
Palgap looked at him like he had plenty to say.
But he stood tall.
He'd given Cheongsu a chance to rise again through this conference.
And he knew they and Go Yun-bae could seize it.
That repaid the debt.
Sure, they'd have more work, but snatching tasks from the enthusiastic? Nah.
He had enough on his plate already.
Right after the conference came the poetry contest three days later.
Who the hell scheduled all this?
Oh, right—me.
"By the way."
"What else?"
"I heard we're charging entry fees for this conference."
"Yeah, we are."
"But aren't most breweries struggling right now?"
"Probably. No revenue under prohibition."
"So do they even have money for fees?"
"Where there's a will, there's a way."
"Pardon?"
"If they really want in, they'll scrape it together."
With real passion, the fees—set reasonably—weren't impossible.
"And if not, our group can lend it."
He began jotting down the list. Then Yeo Eung-am Warrior's voice came from outside.
"My lord, it's Yeo Eung-am. Time for the shift."
"Ah, come in."
The door opened, and Yeo Eung-am Warrior, Yi Pil Warrior, Seo-u Warrior, and Chang-un Warrior entered.
"We'll take over the guard duty."
Yeo Eung-am and Yi Pil had been on until now; Seo-u and Chang-un would relieve them.
"Already? You've worked hard. And thank you in advance, Seo-u Warrior, Chang-un Warrior."
"Of course."
"We'll do our utmost."
A thought struck him as he saw them.
"Oh, any recommendations for the conference? Ideally someone well-known."
Better to borrow multiple heads than rack his brain alone.
They pondered briefly.
Yi Pil spoke first.
"How about the Prefect of Guizhou Castle?"
"Pardon?"
"I heard during our visit there—he's quite the connoisseur."
"Good, thanks."
He added the Guizhou Prefect to the list at once.
As a Guizhou-based group, Cheongsu might list him too.
But better safe.
Perfect.
He'd wanted to arrange a meeting with Seo-hyang's father anyway.
She'd be thrilled.
The next day.
He met In-gye-seong, young master of the Sebin Merchant Group's Hubei branch.
Sebin was partnering with them on the poetry contest, and he was the responsible party again.
"It's been a while."
"I thought we'd meet at the Hundred Great Merchant Gathering, but Eun Jeong-ho came instead."
"Ah, I was tied up."
He'd been tumbling around Chunggyeong Castle in Yunnan then.
"'Instead'? No! I'd been the stand-in before; this time, my brother attends properly."
"So the succession is set?"
"From the start."
"I see."
In-gye-seong nodded.
"Oh, and Branch Head Bok-yun seemed a bit miffed."
"I'll apologize later."
"Wise. Shall we discuss business?"
"Yes."
Then—
"E-excuse me, someone from the palace is here."
Hm?
They hurried out, where the eunuch addressed them.
"His Majesty commands your immediate presence in the palace."
They headed to the palace at once.
In-gye-seong whispered,
"This is a bit scary."
"What is?"
"Summoning us together means he knows exactly where we stand, right?"
He smiled silently.
Would the Emperor stop at positions?
They were ushered straight to the Emperor's office.
They showed utmost courtesy; at permission to raise their heads, they thanked him profusely and looked up.
"I called you because, upon reflection, poetry lovers in this empire aren't just a few."
"......"
"Aren't they?"
"Indeed, Your Majesty."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
They agreed hastily. This vibe isn't good...
The Crown Prince entered.
"You summoned me?"
"Yes. Stand beside me."
The Crown Prince took position. Why bring him here?
The Emperor continued.
"Since the liquor tasting spans the whole empire, why not make the poetry contest nationwide too?"
"......"
"We already got petitions complaining the last one discriminated against the provinces."
The Emperor smiled at him.
"What do you think? You can handle it, right?"
The implication was clear.
Damn, busted dumping work on Cheongsu.
"I accept the command."
"And I'll appoint the Crown Prince as overseer."
"I shall give my all."
So that's why he came.
The Crown Prince followed up.
"Then, Father, with the expanded scale, expenses will rise accordingly. Please approve. Entry fees will cover it, easing the treasury's burden."
"Mm, fair enough."
"And..."
The Crown Prince fluently requested what he wanted; the Emperor looked pleased.
Like father, like son.
The empire's future looked bright. Why am I tearing up?
The Crown Prince's proactive wheedling felt familiar.
Where have I seen that?
He jolted.
He knew who.
...Me.