We gathered in the conference room prepared at the Provincial Command Office and began discussing what we had accomplished this time and what came next.
Maybe it was because word had spread that the Emperor himself was taking an interest in this trade mission, but the merchant groups that had participated were overflowing with excitement.
Good. Very good.
But this was a gathering for merchant group representatives.
No officials had been invited.
The reason we were meeting without them was simple – the merchant groups needed to settle their position first.
Captain Yong, Deputy Merchant Lord Song, and the others who had taken part in the trade mission personally gave us all kinds of useful information.
And among it was exactly what I had been hoping to hear.
“In Great Yue, they wanted the Empire’s liquor.”
“The Maraeseo Kingdom asked for the same.”
“But isn’t the Prohibition Decree still in effect?”
“Then shouldn’t we submit a petition? We can ask for permission to brew liquor specifically for trade.”
I continued.
“The reason the Prohibition Decree was issued was to prevent grain from being wasted. But if brewing liquor lets us bring back even more grain than that, doesn’t that change the situation?”
“That’s right.”
“I agree.”
If our trade partners wanted liquor, then naturally the group that had prepared for that in advance – our the Eunhae Merchant Group – stood to gain the most.
Which was exactly why it would look better if we all submitted a joint memorial together.
That way no one could complain afterward.
.
.
.
The Emperor’s sleeping medicine was absurdly effective.
The people who took it really did sleep for three whole days.
When they finally woke up after a truly deep sleep, they all looked dazed. And waiting for them was…
“All right! Get ready!”
“We’re heading back to headquarters!”
Preparations to return to their respective headquarters.
At that same time, at the Murim Alliance’s Nanjing branch.
The Branch Chief recalled the secret order that had come down from above not long ago.
He was to extract trade information from the merchant groups that had just arrived in Nanjing.
He knew why the order had been given.
“Tch. Why did that bastard Namgoong Gang have to pull a stunt he couldn’t even handle…”
The Baekcheon Merchant Group had urgently reached out for help, hoping to recover the losses caused by that fiasco.
Of course, they had promised generous compensation, so there was nothing about the arrangement that displeased the Branch Chief.
So he sent out orders to the men he had planted in advance.
It had already been three days since the merchant ships returned from overseas trade. Information should have started trickling in by now.
“Branch Chief, it’s me, Gang Du.”
“Come in.”
The door opened, and Gang Du – one of his trusted men – stepped inside.
But his hands were empty.
“What is it? Didn’t you go because of the information from the merchant ships?”
“I did.”
“Then why are you empty-handed?”
“Well… there’s nothing to bring you.”
“What? What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“For some reason, every last sailor from those merchant ships has been holed up in a few inns, sleeping the whole time. Since none of them are going out, there’s no way to dig anything up.”
“…”
To pry information loose, the sailors needed to show up at brothels or taverns. But if they never came out at all, there was nothing anyone could do.
“And… they’re apparently preparing to set sail now.”
“Set sail?”
“Yes. They’re all heading back to their headquarters…”
At that, the Branch Chief frowned.
“Damn it! It’s over! We missed our chance!”
He rubbed at his brow and grumbled.
If they had slept for three straight days, then someone had obviously drugged them on purpose.
Someone sharp-minded had stepped in to keep the information from leaking. There was no doubt about it.
“Uh… according to what I’ve heard, it was done under the Emperor’s orders.”
“The Emperor?”
“Yes.”
The Branch Chief clicked his tongue.
If the Emperor had really given that order, then the intent behind it was painfully obvious.
‘Is he trying to keep our Murim Alliance in check? I kept saying not to provoke the Imperial Palace because the current Emperor is a smart lunatic, and if you touch him, you’re fucked.’
The ships of our the Eunhae Merchant Group made ready to sail again.
They had to return to headquarters in Hubei to undergo maintenance.
And along the way, there was one small incident.
“This is too much. How could you really make us sleep for three whole days straight? Do you know how long I’d been waiting to set foot on land?”
A few of the merchant group employees came to me and vented their resentment.
I had expected this too, so I put on the most sincerely apologetic expression I could manage.
“Of course I understand how you feel. I know there was a lot you wanted to do once you got off the ship.”
Naturally, I also had the perfect excuse ready.
“But what power do I have to go against His Majesty’s orders?”
I gave them a respectful salute and bowed my head.
“This happened because I wasn’t capable enough. I’m truly sorry.”
The moment I lowered my head, they panicked and started waving their hands.
“N–no, it’s not like you need to bow and apologize like this…”
“W–we were just…”
I spoke as if I were choking back sobs, even letting my eyes glisten.
“I’ve done something truly awful to all of you.”
“Oh no, Deputy Merchant Lord! We were the ones in the wrong.”
“We’re the bastards here.”
Watching from the side, Palgap shook his head, and the Escort Guards subtly looked away.
Ahem.
Still wearing an apologetic expression, I handed them a pouch filled with money.
“This is just a small gesture from me. I couldn’t make it up to you here, but once you reach Hubei, at least have a good meal and enjoy yourselves.”
“You really don’t have to give us this…”
“Come on, take it already. My arm’s starting to hurt. Ah, my poor arm.”
At my joking complaint, the sailors all burst into noise.
“Captain, hurry and take it.”
“Didn’t our Deputy Merchant Lord say his arm hurts?”
At that, Captain Yong Eung-wan laughed and accepted the money.
“We’ll make good use of it. Thank you.”
And just like that, the Eunhae One and the Eunhae Two set sail once more.
I watched them go, then turned back around.
Part of me wanted to board one of those ships and head to headquarters too, but I still had business to take care of in Beijing.
We decided to travel with the grain convoy heading there.
With that many Imperial Guards glaring at everything around them, what kind of lunatic would dare target the grain?
There was no need to stay overly tense, which made this trip as comfortable as it could be.
We moved slowly behind the grain carts under Imperial Guard escort.
Looking at it like this, it really is a ridiculous amount.
Most of this grain would probably be sent to the regions in the worst shape.
As more grain came in through continued trade, that would likely be distributed to other areas that were doing a little better.
Since this was state-level trade, everything had been unloaded in Nanjing first, then sent on to Beijing for redistribution.
They could have followed the coast farther north and unloaded the grain somewhere closer to Beijing, but there were maintenance issues with the ships, along with all sorts of other complications.
Still, this first trade mission had gone off without pirate attacks or anything like that, but I was worried about the future.
Once people learned that grain was being traded on this scale, pirates were bound to swarm in.
And as the operation grew larger and the distances got longer, we’d eventually have to deal with even nastier pirates.
The ones who wore the mask of merchants while preying on others would be a problem too.
But that sea route was a brand-new market we absolutely had to break into if we wanted the enormous profits waiting there.
To do that, we needed the kind of force that could crush pirates.
Cannons were the easiest answer, but cannons and gunpowder were both tightly controlled by the Empire.
I could probably get them by asking the Emperor directly, but that would inevitably raise questions of fairness.
I was still mulling it over when a shout came from up ahead.
“We camp here tonight.”
“Yes, sir!”
Our group also began making camp.
Just then, a deer came bounding toward the area where we were resting.
“Oh? A deer!”
Right then, an arrow flew at it and sank into its body.
Deer were fast animals.
Hitting one with an arrow was no easy feat, but that shot had been clean.
Soon, someone walked toward the deer and said,
“Well now, looks like we’ve unexpectedly got dinner. Give me a hand, will you?”
At those words, a few Imperial Guards came running over, hoisted up the deer with him, and headed off somewhere with broad grins on their faces.
Seeing that, Escort Guard Seo Wu said,
“We’ll go catch something too.”
“Go ahead.”
The moment I gave permission, Escort Guard Seo Wu and Escort Guard Myeong Jong headed into the forest.
With those two going, we should be in for something good to eat… Ah!
The arrow that had struck the deer so perfectly flashed through my mind, and it stirred an old memory.
A man who had once been known as the Archer God.
He had been given that name because of one special archery art.
The Heaven-Shattering Bow.
It was a wildly arrogant name – arrows that shattered the heavens – but its power had never fallen short of it.
That bow art had been passed down through his family for generations, but it had ended with him.
The Heaven-Shattering Bow wasn’t just powerful. Because it carried internal energy into the arrow itself, its range was also exceptional.
That would be a tremendous help once our the Eunhae Merchant Group expanded into the open sea.
Good. Then that settles my next move.
Morning came.
When I woke up and sat up, Escort Guard Seo Wu, who had been standing watch through the night, looked at me and said,
“Did you sleep well?”
“Yes. But Palgap’s… already up, I guess.”
“He went into the forest. Said he was going to prepare something special to eat today.”
“What? Something special?”
“Isn’t today a special day?”
Hm? A special day? What day was it?
As I thought it over, Escort Guard Seo Wu let out a faint chuckle and continued.
“You must’ve forgotten because you’ve been so busy. Today is your birthday, Deputy Merchant Lord.”
“Oh? You’re right.”
Come to think of it, it really was my birthday.
Escort Guard Seo Wu’s eyes softened.
“Happy birthday, Deputy Merchant Lord.”
“Thank you.”
Palgap cooked for me with ingredients he had gathered from the mountain.
“Still, maybe because we’re farther south, there’s more left to find than you’d expect for the start of the Eleventh Month.”
The meal was roasted bird stuffed with fruit, along with a hot soup made with mushrooms and other things he had dug up in the mountains.
“Wow, this is a real feast for a place like this. Thanks. I’ll enjoy it.”
“Hehe.”
At my words, Palgap rubbed his nose with a shy expression.
The food Palgap made was genuinely delicious.
And because I could feel how much care he had put into it for me, my chest warmed.
No matter how I thought about it, meeting Palgap had been the greatest stroke of luck in my life.
Because he always looked after me so carefully, I could focus on what mattered without wasting my attention on every little thing.
Maybe word had gotten around that it was my birthday, because the merchant group representatives traveling with me offered their congratulations too.
“Still, your birthday is usually a valuable chance to meet powerful people, and this year you let it pass by like this.”
That was why people talked about shared hardship.
He was right. My birthday was normally a chance to forge ties with people I wanted connections with.
But sometimes things just couldn’t be helped.
What I was doing now, traveling back and forth between Nanjing and Beijing, was far more important than any of that.
“Even so, I’m happy enough getting birthday wishes from Merchant Lord.”
“Hahaha, hearing you say that makes me feel embarrassed. I couldn’t even give you a proper birthday present.”
“You can give it to me later.”
“Fine. Once we reach Beijing, I’ll make sure to give you one.”
We exchanged lighthearted congratulations as we made ready to depart, and then our convoy set out again.
“At this rate, we should arrive in about three days.”
“I see.”
At Escort Guard Seo Wu’s words, I nodded. Maybe it was because he had so much experience in escort work as a former Escort Chief, but he was incredibly good at calculating travel time.
Still, I was already twenty-three now.
It had been eight years since I returned from death at fifteen and started living this life again.
Thinking about it like that made everything feel strangely new.
As I looked back on everything I had accomplished and changed in that time, a smile rose to my lips.
I really have done a lot.
But it still wasn’t enough.
I still had a long way to go before building the greatest merchant group under heaven, and I still wasn’t strong enough to truly take revenge on the Baekcheon Merchant Group and the Murim Alliance.
So I just needed to work harder.
Before long, evening fell.
By then, we had reached a village with an inn nearby.
The man commanding the Imperial Guards approached us and asked,
“The Left Vice Minister of Rites and the other officials are heading to the inn. What about you?”
At that, we looked at one another.
Our answer had already been decided.
“No merchant leaves the goods while transporting them.”
“…?”
“We still haven’t been paid by His Majesty yet, have we?”
More precisely, it was payment for the work we had done on this journey, but close enough.
At my answer, the Imperial Guard commander’s eyes briefly changed.
“I see. Very well.”
Then he nodded to himself.
Hm? What was that? He looked strangely pleased.
Well, it looked like we’d be camping again tonight.
As everyone made preparations, Geumryeong suddenly sprang out from inside my sleeve.
“Kui!”
“Hm? What is it? Something wrong?”
Unless I specifically called for it, Geumryeong usually stayed tucked inside my sleeve.
“Kui! Kui!”
“Hm? You want me to wait a second?”
Geumryeong shot off like an arrow.
Hm? What was that about?
Well, it was Geumryeong. There was probably no need to worry.
Though I was curious.
A little later, Geumryeong came back, its body caked in dirt in a way I’d never seen before.
Then it set something down on my lap – something it had been carrying in its mouth.
“Kui! Ku!”
“Hm? A present for me? You ran off because of this?”
At my question, Geumryeong nodded.
Tilting my head, I picked it up – and the moment I saw it clearly, I couldn’t help but stare in shock.
“Huh? How did you get this?”
–TL Notes–
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