Hyeonjilmusin - Chapter 17



Only Krnovel

17. Light and Salt (3)

Fortunately, the lay disciples in the outer circle were resting. The lay disciples’ schedules were not as tight as those of the main temple disciples. Even if I were to teach the lay disciples, they would be strangers anyway, so I would just teach them roughly.

“What is it all of a sudden?”

There were a lot of people around Jeon O-su. As expected of a smart guy, it seemed like he had already cooked a lot of people.

“Ah. I have something to say.”

“Personally? Then go in and… … .”

“No. Everyone here.”

There can’t be any useless people around Jeon Oh-soo. He was a man who judged people and rejected the incompetent.

In fact, there was a face that looked weak next to Jeon Oh-su. It was Yeo Hong-yang, the son of the King. Jeon Oh-su didn’t know how he found out, but it was a great talent.

“What’s going on?”

“Isn’t there a family here related to the Shanxi merchants?”

That was the part that needed to be checked first. Jeon Oh-su nodded with a puzzled look.

“That’s right. Why would a Shanxi merchant family send a lay disciple to a shamanist sect? They would send him to the nearby Shaanxi Hwasan sect, the Zhongnan sect, or the Shaolin Temple in Henan.”

“That’s true.”

But I said it just in case. No one knows what will happen in the world.

Fortunately, there was no family related to the Shanxi merchants. If so, the story would be easier. After all, if there were Shanxi merchants, they would not be in the same group as the son of the King of Shang. The Shanxi merchants and the Huizhou merchants were competitors.

“What on earth are you doing? Are you looking for a Shanxi merchant?”

“This time, a Shanxi merchant came to the Yichang market to sell salt.”

I saw Yeo Hongyang’s expression change in an instant. Other people didn’t notice, but it was possible because I kept my awareness on Yeo Hongyang.

“But? It’s always the case that Shanxi merchants come to Jiangnan to sell salt.”

“That’s because they’re coming to dump the people of Gangnam.”

The eyes of the other children, including Jeon Oh-su, widened at my bombshell announcement. Of course, it wasn’t a big deal. It was more common than you might think for merchants to rip each other off. In a way, that was the merchant’s skill.

“What does that mean?”

But that doesn’t mean it’s not something to be angry about. Merchants are united by their local cultures according to their region. That’s why there are terms like Shanxi merchants and Huizhou merchants.

If people from other regions were determined to exploit our region, we had to take off our shoes and step forward.

“Wait a minute. Talk to me.”

The one who brought up the subject was unexpectedly not Jeon Oh-soo but Yeo Hong-yang.

Since everyone here already knew that Yeo Hong-yang was the son of the King, they were not surprised when he came forward.

Even if there were any merchants here, none would have the wealth and scale to surpass Yeo-ga, who was one of the 15 clans of the Huiju clan. He was someone I could have a personal conversation with about this matter.

Yeo Hongyang took me into the building where the lay disciples used to live.

“How did you know?”

Yeo Hong-yang closed the door and spoke bluntly.

“As expected, you knew that.”

“Then. I am also the head of a party at the top. There is no way I wouldn’t know about this.”

“Are you saying that the dog meat law will be abolished?”

When I struck first, Yeo Hongyang’s eyes lit up. When I saw him at Samcheonggwan earlier, he looked very timid, but it was all an act. If he was the son of the former king, he couldn’t have been raised with such bad courage. Yeo Hongyang was puzzled.

“That’s strange. As far as I know, you’re the son of a farmer. How did you know that information? Even the officials in Beijing don’t know much about it.”

“The merchant’s weapon is neither the sword nor the tongue. It is the secret.”

Yeo Hong-yang burst into laughter. It was something that her father Yeo Bul-jin had said, so it was laughable. He must have heard that story more than anyone else, but when he heard it from me, it was unbelievable.

I just quoted Yeo Bul-jin’s words, which emphasized the importance of asymmetric information, because they had a great influence on me.

“Anyway, if you’re a merchant, don’t you have a duty to defend yourself against someone who comes to attack Gangnam?”

“That’s difficult.”

“why?”

“The elders have already made an agreement. The Huizhou merchants are saying that they will tolerate the Shanxi merchants profiting from this.”

“Oh? I see.”

“You find it pretty easy to understand?”

“What would they have received in return? Like tolerating private trade.”

Currently, there is a maritime ban in the Central Plains, prohibiting commercial activities at sea. Nevertheless, merchants along the southeastern coast secretly go out to sea to do business. This is because it brings in huge profits. The Huizhou merchants are also located in the coastal area of ​​Zhejiang, so they are making a lot of profit from the trade with the mainland.

Yeo Hongyang’s expression changed in an instant. Until just now, she had been looking at me with interest, but now her expression was like she was looking at something mysterious.

“… … You know that? That’s an agreement only made between the four families of Shanxi and the fifteen clans of Huizhou?”

I remember that the scale of the injection trade was growing around this time, so I just blurted it out, but it seems like such transactions really did take place.

But I don’t intend to say that it’s luck. Because using luck is skill.

“I’m a bit of a secretive man.”

“Is this information received from the 15 families of Huizhou or from the 4 families of Shanxi?”

“What are you going to do with that?”

“If this information was leaked from the 15th clan of Huiju, it will continue to leak in the future. If his true identity is related to the 15th clan of Huiju, and if you tell me, I will give you enough money to live off of for at least 10 years.”

Yeo Hongyang’s expression was serious. In the end, she was telling me to gossip. I understand. As a merchant, it was natural to block the holes through which information was leaking out.

I could only shrug my shoulders. There was no way that someone like me could be connected to the 15th generation of the Whiju clan.

“I don’t want to tell you.”

“I see. I understand. I was thinking of giving you ten thousand nyang.”

“……okay?”

I think I can lie to that extent. It is seed money that will be of great help when I become a merchant in the future. However, I can’t do that. At least, if I am going to become a merchant, I must not be caught by either the Huizhou merchant or the Shanxi merchant.

“It’s the same thing as not being able to tell you.”

“He’s quite stubborn. Or he has that much money. He’s an interesting guy.”

Yeo Hongyang didn’t bother to ask me any more questions. The Huiju merchant’s demeanor was as neat as ever.

“Anyway, that’s also the reason why the Huizhou merchants are not participating in this Yi Chang market.”

“Are you saying that you condone other merchants from suffering losses?”

“It’s only natural that if someone gains, someone else will lose.”

As expected, merchants are cold-blooded. Yeo Hong-yang already had sufficient qualities as a merchant. It was only natural, since he was the son of the king.

“So, I want to ask you. What do you stand to gain from that, that you want to interfere with the Shanxi merchants?”

I spoke honestly, because there was no need to hide it.

The shaman chief had just given me an absurd order to buy salt cheaply without selling it in advance. Yeo Hong-yang twitched her lips after hearing the situation, and then burst into laughter.

“Haha. You really are a funny guy. How could you think of talking back to the shaman’s chief?”

“I didn’t know it would go this far.”

“Ku …

“I guess I should have done that too.”

“But since I see something being done here, I guess they found the passage.”

“I’ll give it a try. But if the merchant can’t help, is there any need to listen to him?”

“People are going to tell me anyway. Just tell me.”

When I thought about it, that was true. I briefly summarized my plan and told her. After listening to everything, Yeo Hong-yang stuck out her lower lip and nodded. She looked like a head of a household receiving approval.

“You’ll have to try to find out. It’s worth a try.”

It can’t be helped. I have been a merchant for decades. This level of trickery is not something I can do.

I came out of the building with Yeo Hong-yang. The children, including Jeon Oh-su, were standing there, apparently quite curious.

But I couldn’t tell you the strategy I told Yeo Hong-yang here, because for some reason, Sakong-hyeon’s gang was also mixed in.

“You’re participating in the Yi Chang Jang? If that’s the case, I’m curious too. I’ve also received a request to escort Seung Roe Moon.”

The Seungryeomun is also a sect of the Jeongpa clan in Hubei. Of course, it is not only the merchants of Shanxi who are there, so small and medium-sized merchants also ask the small and medium-sized clans for escort. I didn’t think of that.

“What does it matter if you’re not going?”

“But I guess I have to listen since it’s my sect’s business. What are you planning?”

I couldn’t tell Sakong-hyeon. Sakong-hyeon had ill feelings toward me, and if it was known that I had devised this strategy, I would be targeted by the Shanxi merchants.

At least the people in the Sanggye here would join in, so there was no need to worry about exposing them, but Seung-Roe-Moon was not a Sanggye person, so he could go around bragging about it.

“You don’t want to talk?”

“Then that’s difficult. I’ll have to tell everyone who’s attending the Yi Chang Jang to be careful of you. I’m telling them that you’re a guy with some kind of hidden agenda.”

“That’s childish.”

But it is effective, because people become wary just by hearing those words.

Of course, it doesn’t have much of an impact. I’m not going to be the one directly moving the Yichang Jang. I’m just the one who came up with this strategy. But it was still annoying.

“I wish you would just stop being so stubborn and leave. This is a matter of mutual benefit.”

That was exactly what I was going to say, but it wasn’t what came out of my mouth. It was what came out of Yeo Hongyang’s mouth. Sa Gong-hyeon’s expression hardened.

“You are so arrogant as the son of the former king. Why should I do as you say?”

“Because I told you to.”

Yeo Hongyang spoke in an arrogant tone as if it were natural. It goes without saying that her arrogance suited her well.

“Seungryemun. Shall I have the signboard taken down?”

Yeo Hongyang’s cold face approached Sa Gong-hyeon’s face. Even her thin and weak-looking face looked cold and intelligent. She certainly had a certain aura about her.

Sa Gong-hyeon couldn’t say anything to Yeo Hong-yang, who was sticking her face out. Of course, if they fought, Sa Gong-hyeon would win. However, Yeo Hong-yang’s weapon was not a sword.

Sa-gong-hyeon took a step back in a daze and then turned around and ran away. However, Sa-gong-hyeon’s group did not chase after him.

Now, Sa Gong-hyeon has proven that he cannot become an oligarchy by running away. Here, it has been proven that the real power among the secular disciples is not Sa Gong-hyeon, but Yeo Hong-yang.

Now, Sa-gong-hyeon was left with two choices: quietly resign, or grit his teeth and complete the training as a disciple while being ostracized. Neither of these would be easy choices. Of course, it wasn’t something I had to worry about.

“Whew. Whoa. I really thought I was going to die.”

Meanwhile, Yeo Hong-yang put her hand on her chest and gasped for breath. As someone who knew his true nature, it was definitely an act. He was continuing to act as a weak-hearted person. It was a good strategy. If the king’s son were to stand out here, it would not be good for the shaman faction, and it would be burdensome for Yeo Hong-yang.

I told the gathered disciples my strategy. The disciples’ eyes lit up.

I agreed to coordinate the details of the strategy and to continue sharing information with them. Jeon Oh-soo was their representative.

“It would be fun.”

Jeon O-su summarized it in one word.

“It’ll be fun.”

I answered.

A few days passed after the strategy was established. It was the day of the market in Uichang.

Oh. And it is said that Sagonghyeon Sa resigned shortly after losing face to Yeohongyang.