Hyeonjilmusin - Chapter 98



Only Krnovel

98. The nobles of Huizhou (3)

The usually peaceful Huaiyin Salt Transport Company was in an uproar after a long time. It was because there was a place they had never seen before among the merchants who had come to exchange salt seals.

“Whiyoungsangdan? Where is this place?”

“They say it’s the top of the infinite. It’s a member of the Dongho Trading Company.”

“It’s Hubei. But didn’t Donghosanghoe go bankrupt a long time ago?”

“When was that? In Muhan, Dongho Sanghoe completely crushed Muhan Sanghoe. That’s why there was a time when people ridiculed Muhan Sanghoe for being pushed out in Muhan.”

“What would I know about Hubei?”

The head of the Hoeum Salt Fortress, Salt Fortress Ho Jinyang, scratched his head as if he had a headache.

The reason why Hoeum Salt Farm is more peaceful than other salt farms is because Hoeum is not a place where mud fights take place like other salt farms, but it is the land of the Huizhou merchants.

That is why the merchants who came to exchange salt for salt were all decided. No merchants dared to touch the land of the Huizhou merchants, let alone other places.

So at first, I thought that Hogeumyang was a new merchant group called Hwiyeongsangdan created by Hwijusangin. But then I found out that it was a small merchant group in Hubei.

“Is the owner crazy?”

“Well, they say the top stock is young. It’s just a term.”

“At that age, you’re going to pay the bills? You might as well donate the money to me.”

Ho Geum-yang smiled mockingly. I have seen many people who set up shop at a young age because they wanted to succeed early. Without exception, they all failed and ended up in debt.

Thinking about it that way, it made sense that the Hwiyoungsangdan came to the Hwein salt farm to exchange salt. He was really a ignorant fool who came. He must have just found the nearest salt farm in Hubei.

“But doesn’t the fact that you’ve received the seal itself mean that you’re a talented person?”

“You must be a wealthy family. If you even receive a salt seal, you must have a line in Beijing.”

“I wonder if that’s so.”

“And since the system of giving out seals has been changed to a color-cutting system, the criteria for giving out seals have become more relaxed. They even say they’re going to abolish the seal system altogether and allow people to change it to a silver one.”

“Then the power of the Huizhou merchants will grow even more. Isn’t it generally accepted that the Huizhou merchants have more money than the Shanxi merchants?”

“That’s just speculation. Since each of them has so much money stashed away, it’s impossible to know until it happens.”

“This is truly a paradise.”

“Aren’t there two groups of people who have reached the realm of the gods through money? Our officials just clean up after the gods and eat the few drops of beans that fall.”

The low-ranking official, who was a career officer at Yeomunsa Temple, looked at Ho Geum-yang with respect.

Usually, the managers are arrogant and try to fight with the merchants. It is understandable, since they are the two extremes of the scholar-farmer-artisan-merchant class.

In particular, the Yeomunsa was a high-ranking official of the third rank. At that level, he would be so arrogant that he would not even eat with the merchants. That is why many officials who were appointed to the Hoeum Yeomunsa initially tried to suppress the Huiju merchants. And those officials were either dismissed from their posts or demoted to other places in less than half a year.

However, Ho Geum-yang was different. From the beginning, he knew the Huizhou merchants well and tried to provide them with the best possible convenience. As a result, Ho Geum-yang was able to work at the Hoeum Yeomunsa for a full three years.

If it was just a simple long-term job, the career of the Yeomunsa would not have been so respectable. Ho Geum-yang gently coaxed the merchants of Huiju into giving the Yeomunsa officials pocket money, and thus the officials of the Hoeum Yeomunsa were living an unprecedentedly affluent life.

“The salt merchant has come to see you.”

Then someone announced that a visitor had arrived.

The visitor opened the door and came in without asking permission. He was a middle-aged man with droopy eyes, a prominent mouth, and a goatee.

The temple officials all ignored him, and Ho Geum-yang jumped up and greeted the visitors.

“Your Majesty, Son. Are you here?”

“What a great man. My heart races every time Master Yeomunsa says that.”

“Haha. He is someone who has contributed greatly to the economy of the empire. How could I not call him a great man?”

Sun Yong-ui, the chief of the salt mines in Huizhou, smiled happily as he spoke.

Son Yeong-ui spoke humbly, but it was clear that the salt merchants of Huizhou were not people that even the salt merchants of Huizhou could treat lightly. He was the head of a group of salt merchants in Huizhou. He was the one who controlled the salt prices in the Huizhou area, so even though he was a commoner, he had enormous power.

“Yes. Why did His Majesty, who is so busy, come all the way to Yeomunsa Temple?”

“Haha. You kind of know it, don’t you?”

“Heh heh.”

Ho Geum-yang smiled awkwardly. After all, Ho Geum-yang and Son Yeong-ui had to see each other often due to their respective positions. Since they had known each other for a long time, they were close friends.

“That’s right. A place called Hwiyoungsangdan contacted me to exchange salt for the salt.”

“Haha. This is truly a place I have never heard of or seen before. I thought it was a swindler for the Shanxi merchants.”

“I found out that it is called the Infinite New Heaven and Earth.”

“Infinite? The nearest salt farm is here. But if you go a little further, there is a large salt farm in Sugwang, Shandong.”

“Don’t misunderstand. We were also taken aback when we received it.”

“How could I dare doubt Yeomunsa? I know everything.”

Son Yeong-ui smiled while stroking his goatee. Ho Geum-yang flinched slightly. That was because the fact that the chief of the salt field was stroking his beard was a sign of discomfort.

However, if you think about it carefully, it is more reasonable to interpret that he is expressing his discomfort to the Hwiyoungsangdan, not the Yeomunsa Temple. When Ho Geum-yang thought that far, he sighed inwardly, and began to feel sorry for the immature Hwiyoungsangdan leader.

Who is Son Yeong-ui? Isn’t he the one who defended against all attacks from enemy merchants, to the point that he was called the Songsa-gyeon (松狮犬) of Huizhou?

Son Yeong-ui was sensitive to the territory of the Huiju merchants, and was famous for baring his teeth when other merchants tried to enter his territory. Of course, the reason he was called Song Sa-gyeon was largely because of his similar appearance.

“I found out that the person named Hwiyoungsangdanju is very young. Maybe he made a mistake because he didn’t know that it was the area of ​​the Hwiju merchants… … .”

“It would be a virtue of a senior merchant to tell you what happens if you make a mistake. Hehe.”

Ho Geum-yang suddenly felt sorry for Hwi Yeong-sang and tried to talk to him, but it seemed that Son Yeong-ui had already made up his mind to punish him.

In that case, there was nothing for Yeomunsa to do. It was a fight between merchants. All they could do was pray for the soul of Hwiyoungsangdanju to rest in peace.

“Hey, Mr. Ho. We have another visitor.”

While Ho Geum-yang and Son Yeong-ui were talking, the person who had informed them of the visitor earlier came back.

Ho Geum-yang frowned as if he was watching Son Yeong-ui.

“Can’t you see that I am meeting the nobleman who came to see me first?”

“Ah, that’s the person that Mr. Ho showed interest in last time… … .”

“who?”

“This is the top stock of the Whiyoung Group.”

Son Yeong-ui and Ho Geum-yang’s eyes met. Son Yeong-ui, who had been blinking, smiled.

“I was curious too, so that’s good.”

Hogeumyang closed his eyes. It seemed as if he could clearly see the scene of a young child who had just stepped foot into the world of the living being dismembered.

***

I looked back. There were ten people, including the servants and attendants of the Hwiyoungsangdan. Four members of the shaman faction. There were fifteen people, including me.

Of course, except for Myeongyeop, the other shamans were Myeonggyeong, Myeongseong, and Myeongjin. Since they were my direct disciples, I had some trouble deciding whether to consider them as shamans.

Still, when I saw the executioners excitedly looking outside, I thought, “What the heck?” Unlike my delighted expression, Myeong-yeop, who was riding next to me, didn’t look particularly happy.

“Death penalty. Is there anything inconvenient?”

When I asked, Myeongyeop opened and closed his mouth repeatedly. It seemed like he was hesitating to speak.

“Why? Tell me.”

“Well, we’re just escorts, and since you’re the one in charge of this trip, we don’t really want to interfere.”

When I urged him, Myeongyeop barely opened his mouth.

“But?”

“No matter how much I don’t know about the merchant world, I know that the salt field of the perineum is a place that the merchants of Huizhou have a firm hold on.”

“iced coffee.”

I laughed. I felt the eyes of the upper members behind me. It seemed like they too had the same questions as Myeongyeop.

Even the martial artists tend to be cautious when it’s not their territory. If they make a fuss for no reason, they’ll get into trouble with the martial artists guarding their territory. That’s how sensitive the martial artists are to their territory.

“Are you worried that you’ll go there and get trampled by the merchants?”

“It’s a bit weird when you say it so bluntly.”

Myeongyeop moistened his lips with his tongue as if he felt embarrassed.

“It’s okay. I thought about it all.”

“Right? You should know better, but I said it for nothing. That’s why I wasn’t going to say it.”

“No. It’s a very valid question.”

“Can I hear what you’re thinking?”

“Well, even if Hoeum is the home of the Hwiju merchants, isn’t Hoeum Yeomunsa not a place that exists only for the Hwiju merchants? It’s a government office, so it should be open to everyone.”

“But… … .”

The story was more theoretical than Myeongyeop had thought, so the response was lukewarm. I changed the story to fit his style of the Central Plains martial arts world.

“Death penalty. What should I do if I become the best in the world?”

“You have to hone your martial arts skills well.”

“Have you finished honing your martial arts skills?”

“I have to beat the best in the world.”

“That’s it. To become the best in the world, you have to beat the best in the world.”

“ah.”

Myeongyeop let out a sigh as if he had realized something. And his face became even more shadowy.

“I forgot. You were crazy.”

“What a sad thing to say.”

As we continued our conversation, we soon entered the perineum. In my opinion, the moment I entered the perineum, the air felt different.

“Silk for sale, silk! Very high quality silk from the Western Regions!”

“Kids, kids, kids, go away! If you take this medicine once, your wife won’t be able to sleep at night!”

“He’s a thief!”

The streets were filled with merchants, from medicine vendors to merchants, and were enough to confuse the executioners. People would stumble over their feet, so there were many fights and thefts were frequent in this bustling place.

“Oh, I feel dizzy.”

“I’d like to try that. It’s said to be a skewer made of chicken.”

“That’s not a chicken. It’s a pigeon.”

“What? Then it’s not a scam?”

“The one who eats is stupid.”

It seems that my words were heard by the merchant selling pigeon skewers. The merchant glared at me as if he was going to kill me. Not wanting to get into trouble in front of the executioners, I pretended not to know and whistled.

Anyway, I don’t hate this busy atmosphere. Rather, I had to like this atmosphere to be able to be a merchant.

“Your Majesty!”

As I was walking down the street, a group of people who had left ahead of me came running towards me. The reason they had sent me ahead of time was to let me find a place to stay and look for a restaurant.

“Ah. Haengsu. Where is the accommodation?”

“Haha. I chose a place that is wide and close to the salt farm.”

“Good.”

It must be a lie that it’s spacious. The budget I gave you wasn’t that big. What I said was good was a place close to the salt farm. If it’s a place close to the salt farm, a lot of salt merchants will gather there. If we’re going to run into each other anyway, it’s better to run into each other quickly.

“I have to go to the salt farm to take care of some procedures, so the executioners should go to the quarters with the people above first.”

“Not going together?”

“Yes. I prefer to go to places like that alone.”

Without saying a word, Myeong-yeop took the elder brothers and the people above him to the dormitory. The younger brothers, including Myeong-gyeong, seemed to want to go with me, but because of Myeong-yeop, they had no choice but to follow.

After sending the people away, I headed straight for Yeomunsa Temple. Since I had been to Hoeum Yeomunsa Temple frequently in my previous life, I could visit it with my eyes closed.

“Who are you?”

I told the guard guarding Yeomunsa Temple my name and my title. He was sure to let me in.

Because as a salt merchant, I couldn’t help but be curious about the person who came directly into the tiger’s mouth called Huiju Merchant. As I expected, I was sent inside.

As I entered, I saw a middle-aged man who seemed to be the head of Yeomunsa Temple and a middle-aged man who looked somewhat familiar.

“Are you the head of the Whiyoung Group?”

The middle-aged man who was the head of Yeomunsa Temple asked. I answered with a smile.

“Yes, that’s right. Nice to meet you, Elder Yeomunsa.”

“They call it Hogeumyang.”

“You are a great person. I understand.”

“It looks so fresh, it’s a shame.”

“yes?”

As I asked back, a middle-aged man who looked familiar smiled. His identity was immediately revealed by Ho Geum-yang.

“This is the great man, Son Yeong, the general of the Hwiju salt mines.”

“ah.”

Only then did I recall that face. And I couldn’t help but smile. It was a natural reaction to meet a cute puppy.