Ledgers Don't Lie
After entering Ogun, Seowon reorganized the army. There had been no battles, but the march had left the troops exhausted. He summoned Taesa Ja and ordered him to let the soldiers stationed in Ogun rest, commanding them never to clash with the locals.
Afterward, Seowon headed to the taishou's office with his adjutant. Reviewing the army's status report, he was puzzled by the meager tax revenue and summoned the local magnates to question them. They claimed the harvest had halved due to drought. But the magnates were as plump as pigs, and even their attendants had chubby cheeks. Seowon sensed something off.
Whether 1,800 years ago or now, the tricks for skimming taxes never change.
Seowon set down his brush and rested his chin on his hand. Closing his eyes, memories from before he fell into this era surfaced.
He had been the team leader of Investigation Team 1 in Division 4 of the Seoul Regional Tax Office, known as the grim reaper of the National Tax Service. Closing a ledger, he ordered the officer by his side.
"Go to the Liu clan's third warehouse right now and conduct a physical inventory. It should be stocked with 3,000 seok of military grain."
"Understood, Marshal!"
An hour later, the returning officer's face was ashen. He saluted Seowon and began his report.
"Marshal, I checked the warehouse."
"And?"
"It's empty—not a single rat in sight."
"Empty?"
Seowon smiled chillingly. A classic inventory manipulation: grain that existed only on paper, ghost stocks. They built walls of numbers to siphon the people's lifeblood.
"Fetch the Liu clan's ledgers next."
Seowon opened the Liu clan's ledgers. Forgetting even to eat, he pored over every corner. Then he sent soldiers to comb their warehouses just as thoroughly. The results exceeded his expectations.
"Marshal, the Liu clan's warehouses match the ledgers perfectly—not a single grain off. They even recorded rat damage as separate shrinkage losses."
"In this lawless world of bandits, a man who keeps the books straight still remains."
Seowon extinguished the lamp and rose. To claim Ogun, he needed the one who had crafted these ledgers.
The next morning, Seowon visited the Go clan manor. Go Ong greeted him, offering a cup of clear tea without a word. Seowon broke the silence first.
"I've reviewed your clan's ledgers and warehouses. Yours is the only house in Ogun where the books match reality. I offer my respects to Lord Go's integrity."
Go Ong replied coldly. "It's only proper. Handing over the ledgers is the bare minimum courtesy to this land's governor. But my sincerity ends there. If those books become tools to fill thieves' vaults instead of guidelines for aiding the people, I'll snap my brush in two. Lord Yuan may be of noble stock, but I've heard he's indulgent, wasteful, and bleeds the folk dry. How is his army any different from starving bandits?"
Seowon sipped his tea leisurely, then met Go Ong's gaze squarely. "Lord Go, it seems in your eyes, only our lord is the thief? To me, there's not a single honest soul under heaven."
Go Ong's brow twitched. Ignoring it, Seowon continued. "Gongsun Zan built his power plundering the north; Yuan Shao squats on Hebei, fattening himself on his family's name. What of the taishous sent by the court? They steal the emperor's authority and wring the people like laundry. Be their pretext silk robes or rags, to hungry commoners, they're all thieves the same."
"That doesn't justify theft! A scholar must uphold the Way..."
"To the people!" Seowon cut in sharply. "To the people, a thief who slips them an extra coin is a hundred times better than a 'clean' scholar who chants the Way while watching the magnates plunder. Lord Go, our lord is just a clumsy thief—one who can't hide his greed, doesn't know how small and empty his bowl is. But at least he doesn't spout pious lies."
Go Ong's eyes wavered. Seowon leaned in, unrolling a map. "That's why we'll become righteous thieves—stealing back the lands the magnates hid with false ledgers, reopening the waterways they hogged, returning it all to the people. What say you, Lord Go? Will you join this grand heist with your brush by my side?"
Go Ong stared blankly as Seowon pointed out gaps between the ledger lines. Spotting those flaws wasn't mere scholarship. It was the vicious insight of one who pierced the greed lurking behind numbers.
How can a man who's never held office in Luoyang know the pulse of figures so well?
Go Ong felt his initial arrogance crumble before Seowon's administrative prowess, once dismissing him as mere warrior. He let out a hollow laugh and bowed his head.
The audit was swift and merciless. Seowon assigned Go Ong to administrative details, Taesa Ja to field searches. Together, they scoured Ogun, unearthing hidden assets. They meshed perfectly: Go Ong silently marked the map, Taesa Ja raced off wordlessly to dig. When Taesa Ja unearthed buried grain jars with his spear, Go Ong duly recorded. But the escorting soldiers were suffocating.
These perfectionists exchanged not a single word throughout. For half a day climbing hills and crossing fields, only hoofbeats and scratching brushes broke the silence. A rookie at the rear finally tugged his senior's hem and whispered.
"Did those generals fight or something? How can people ride together for six hours without a word? I'd feel better if they just yelled."
The veteran grumbled back. "Shut it. They're not fighting—they're talking with their eyes. To them, you're the grim reaper. No time for chit-chat when they can snag another magnate's noose. Quit yapping and dig!"
The rookie gripped his shovel tighter, silent.
In three days, 8,000 ryang of hidden farmland stood exposed. Seowon summoned all Ogun's magnates to the office. Oblivious, they bantered as they entered, their strides dripping centuries of dominance.
"No matter how clever Seowon is, what can he do? He'll grovel for our help. Ogun's admin grinds to a halt without us."
They winked and chuckled, expecting a feast to butter them up. But stepping inside, their laughter ebbed like a tide.
Seowon sat stone-faced at the head. To his left stood Go Ong, Ogun's pride, clutching ledgers. To his right, Taesa Ja loomed like the grim reaper, spear thudded aggressively into the floor.
"Welcome. Ogun's true masters are all here."
Seowon's voice was low. "What insolence, Marshal? We're this land's noble houses! Think you can rule Ogun without us?"
The Liu clan elder bellowed. Instead of words, Seowon hurled a thick stack of documents at his feet.
Thud. They scattered indifferently.
"You've gorged plenty. Lord Go, read it out?"
Liu clan: 4,000 ryang hidden farmland. 3,000 seok military grain listed in warehouse—nonexistent.
Zhu clan: Illegally diverted irrigation, stole neighboring farms' water, evaded taxes.
Zhang clan...
Go Ong stepped forward, voice lower and firmer than usual. As numbers poured from his lips, the magnates paled to dirt. No mere guesses—these were irrefutable, verified by Taesa Ja digging up the jars himself over three days.
"This... this is slander! You must've taken faulty ledgers!"
Seowon rose with a smirk. "Faulty ledgers? Didn't you hand them over claiming drought halved the harvest? Keep lying, and I'll dig up your backyards myself."
Taesa Ja slammed his spear. The heavy thud shook their knees.
"I'd love to ship these to Luoyang and have you all dismissed, but everyone errs—so I'll let it slide once."
Seowon's tone sharpened to a blade. "Our lord hates most those who skim their share. Follow me? Or watch him descend on Ogun and wipe your clans out? Choose. My patience is thin."
The magnates eyed each other. The Liu elder knelt weakly. "We... obey the Marshal."
"No second chances."
Seowon sat as they knelt one by one.
That evening, after all was settled, I summoned Taesa Ja and praised him. "General Taesa, well done."
Taesa Ja cupped his fists politely. "No, Marshal. Your wisdom is unfathomable. Even Guan Zhong reborn couldn't match it."
I chuckled, setting down my teacup. Outwardly calm, a nagging curiosity from the audit lingered. "One question?"
"Speak."
"Did you really not exchange a word with Lord Go during the whole thing?"
"Yes."
"Not one?"
"Indeed. He pointed on the map, I dug. I pulled a jar, he wrote. What more words needed?"
I fiddled with my cup, lowering my voice. "One more—answer honestly."
"Yes."
"Ever find my chatter annoying?"
Taesa Ja said nothing, just gazed with clear eyes. The silence stretched, chilling a corner of my heart.
"..."
"..."
Silence is golden, but sometimes that gold guts you. I learned it bone-deep in the taishou's garden. Hiding behind my cup, I mumbled. "Got it. Rest up."
Even after Taesa Ja left, the garden stayed hushed. Moonlight over the walls shone unusually bright. A vague loneliness gripped me; I downed the cold tea. Tonight, I craved the honey brew our lord favored.