Who threatened Cheonma Hara with a knife - Chapter 211



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Who threatened to call me Cheonmahara with a knife? Episode 211

Joint (2)

How long did Samgyeolgae wait, glancing at the hut of the open ark with a complicated expression?

Ohgyeolgae, who had gone into the hut carrying the bark of the Honggae tree, came out and motioned for Samgyeolgae to come closer.

As Samgyeolgae approached with a puzzled expression, Ohgyeolgae spoke.

“The ark is calling. Let us go in together.”

In the midst of all this, Samgyeolgae followed Ohgyeolgae into the ark’s hut.

This was Samgyeolgae’s first impression when he first encountered the open ark up close.

‘… What a beggar you are.’

At first glance, it might sound like an insult, but since the opponent was the leader of the beggars, Gaebang Ark, it wasn’t really an insult.

According to Samgyeolgae’s sentiments, the open ark was an old beggar with soup dripping from it.

Usually, when it comes to open-minded people, even if they are beggars, there is an atmosphere that is hard to explain, but Open Ark had a really helpless and empty atmosphere, like an old man with no power.

Samgyeolgae, who had been lost in the empty atmosphere for a moment, belatedly paid his respects.

“Nanju’s Samgyeolgae Jonggu meets the Lord Bangju.”

“Hahaha. What do you mean, beggars? You brought this tree bark?”

“Yes, my lord.”

“If so, you must have also looked into that place called the Maitreya Temple.”

The open ark that had spoken thus muttered the words written on the tree bark as if talking to itself.

“Which of the two is the true way for beggars? Giving them work and wages, or preventing them from doing so and making them beg? So, what do you think? Do you think what they say is right?”

When Samgyeolgae couldn’t readily answer that question, Gaebongbangju smiled gently and said.

“Hahaha. Don’t worry. What power does this old beggar have to eat you?”

Perhaps because of the soft atmosphere, Samgyeolgae took a deep breath and opened his mouth.

“Honestly, I think they’re right, my lord.”

The young beggar closed his eyes tightly, fearing that the Open Ark would rebuke him in the future, but the answer he received was unexpected.

“Good job. Hehe. Of course, helping someone out of poverty would be the real way to help them.”

“???”

“Why are you so surprised? Isn’t that why we are in the information business? We collect and organize information from beggars all over the Central Plains, sell it, and use the money we earn to feed the beggars. How is this any different from giving them a job and paying them a wage?”

“Ah… Now that I hear it, it is indeed so, Master!”

When Samgyeolgae was surprised, Bangju smiled faintly and added.

“But that’s all we can do to help them avoid starvation. If we want to help them properly, we should do as the Maitreya Buddha did. Then, do you know why we can’t do that?”

Perhaps because he had caught the thread of conversation, Samgyeolgae was able to come up with an answer after a moment of thought.

“Isn’t it because there isn’t enough money to feed all the countless beggars throughout the Central Plains?”

“Hahaha. You got it exactly right. In that sense, the Mireukmyungyo must have defeated that place called Nancheonhoe and confiscated its assets. Now, you could say they are using that money to give people jobs and wages.”

“If so, can we consider them good people?”

Samgyeolgae, who was somewhat influenced by the radical logic and actions of the Maitreya Buddhism as a young man, asked.

And like an old man, Open Ark gave a cautious answer through the experience and wisdom that comes with age.

“At first glance, it seems that way, but the problem is after the Nancheonhoe runs out of money. After that money runs out, there’s no way to know what they’ll do, and there’s no way to know if they’re really helping the poor without any ulterior motives. That’s why I called you.”

“???”

“I’m going to send one of my men to Nanju to determine if they are truly good people. Guide him to Nanju, and tell him about Nanju and the Maitreya Buddhism.”

As he said that, Bang-ju turned his head and gave an order to the five-legged man standing next to him.

“Call the little tiger sword.”

“… Are you going to leave this matter to the younger generation instead of the elders?”

Hoogae. An expression referring to the disciple of the Open Ark and the open beggar of the Seven Seals, second only to the Elder of the Eight Seals.

“If it’s Gansu Province, it’s in the west, so we should leave it to Elder Chu Kai, but isn’t Elder Chu Kai busy with affairs in Sichuan Province right now?”

Currently, there were four elders of the Open Eightfold Path, and they were each dividing the Central Plains into the east, west, south, and north to handle major tasks.

The affairs in the west were mainly handled by Elder Chukai, and the affairs in the north were mainly handled by Elder Bulchuigae.

“My disciple, you should start to learn to see things through people. You foolishly think that the Open Ark is a place where you can do well only with martial arts skills.”

At the end of the ark, O-gyeol-gae left the hut to call So-ho-gae, the second dog.

* * *

A variety of events were happening simultaneously throughout Gansu Province.

The White Tiger and Red Tiger soldiers, who received instructions from Ilmok, escaped from Nanju with several gisaengs and headed to another county in Gansu Province.

“Do you know the way?”

And there, they started missionary work using beauties for two or three days.

After gathering a reasonable number of people, they held a rally and showed off their military force to those who attended the rally.

By eliminating the black bandits who were committing evil deeds in each county.

It was a repetition of what Ilmok and his party had done in Goranghyeon.

However, for the purpose of meetings and missionary work, work was first started in the districts where the branches of the Cheonmasingyo were located.

In the midst of this, the black bandits who had been committing evil deeds throughout Gansu Province were being swept away one by one.

Nanzhou, the capital of Gansu Province, also had a lively atmosphere.

To be exact, in the place where the head of the Nancheonhoe was located.

Before long, the signboard with the words [Nancheonhoe] on it had disappeared from the main gate, and a signboard with the words [Mireukmyeonggyo] was hung in its place.

In the center of the estate, construction continued with former beggars and laborers under the direction of Deok-gwang, a master carpenter.

Countless people were crowded into the two large halls located near the entrance.

One of the buildings had a sign that said [School], and education was being held there continuously for a long time.

“The characters we will learn today are Cheonji Hyeonhwang and Wooju Honghwang. First, let’s learn the character for Heaven.”

When Jeonggyobang Bubangju Wonsul recited the Thousand Character Classic from the table and drew large Chinese characters on a piece of paper stuck on the wall, those who had gathered to receive education each began to copy the characters.

However, it wasn’t writing on paper.

Since I don’t know how many students I’ll be teaching in the future, buying all the paper they’ll need for education would be a huge waste of money.

Instead, in front of the seats where those receiving education sat, there was a board filled with sand, and they were writing letters on the sand with a wooden stick.

And across from the school, at a place with a sign that said [Medical Clinic], Assemblyman Seo Jae-pil was treating patients.

In the past, it was considered a symbol of fear and everyone avoided the Nancheonhoe, saying it was dirty, but now it was overflowing with life.

That night.

“Master. I feel like I’m going to die like this.”

Yuan Shu, who returned to Bunta after teaching the Thousand Character Classic to people all day, had no choice but to beg Ilmok to spare his life with a blackened face.

And Assemblyman Seo Jae-pil was also with Won-sul.

“Is it the same for Representative Seo?”

“There are too many people coming to see me. There is no time to conduct interviews and research, Your Majesty, as the number of people waiting is never decreasing.”

When Rep. Seo answered gloomily, Won-sul added, “That’s right.”

“The same goes for us! It may be possible to teach the Thousand Character Classic, but we are so busy teaching the characters that we do not have enough time to prepare the doctrines and sermons of the Maitreya Buddhism.”

Ichimoku crossed his arms and sat in thought for a moment.

If it had been his teacher, Cheonma or his great disciple Wi Jin-hak, he would have used religious beliefs as bait to incite fanatics by shouting, “For the Cheonma religion!”

However, Ichimoku considered himself a rational person, so he did not believe that the problem could be solved by just replacing people.

To be exact, if it was something that would be over in a short period of time, it wouldn’t matter if I changed it, but this wasn’t something that would be over in a day or two.

As always, Ichimoku looked to his memories from the present for a solution, and soon came up with a usable solution.

“Hmm. First of all, for the medical office, I will select a gisaeng who can read and write from the red-light district and send her to you.”

The first thing that came to mind was a nurse. In local terms, she was a female doctor.

“Congressman Seo, please teach those gisaengs basic medical skills. It might take up some time at first, but after you teach them, won’t they be able to take care of minor patients?”

It could be said to be a solution that could solve two problems at the same time.

‘There are some who remain as gisaengs because they cannot bring themselves to start another job.’

You can’t force them to work as gisaengs, but there must be some who want to quit being gisaengs.

It might have given them a chance to quit being prostitutes.

Of course, I was planning on paying them a proper salary.

Meanwhile, Won-sul, who had been listening to the conversation from the side, thought this was his chance and shouted out hurriedly.

“If you do, please send us a gisaeng too, Your Majesty!”

It was a request that was very open to misunderstanding.

“It’s impossible.”

It’s not that I misunderstood it in a strange way and rejected it.

“There probably aren’t many gisaengs who can read and write. There won’t be enough to send them to school. And aren’t there many people who need something to do besides gisaengs? Hire the elderly who can’t do physical work, or the physically challenged who can read and write.”

This time too, it was decided to subcontract the work to a subcontractor.

Anyway, while Won-sul was looking delighted at being able to pass on the task of teaching the Thousand Character Classic, Ilmok, who had remembered something, added his words.

“By the way, I heard that there are still a few beggars who are unable to work as porters due to poor health. It would be a good idea to hire those beggars as instructors at the school.”

This time, I decided to clean up the remaining few beggars.

At Ichimoku’s instructions, Yuan Shu asked back with a worried expression.

“No matter how sick they are, if they remain as beggars, isn’t it more likely that they are illiterate?”

“That’s no problem.”

As expected, Yuan Shu looked impressed for a moment as he thought of a solution, as expected of a famous Confucius within the Cheonmasin Church.

“Wouldn’t it be enough if the people of Bubangju and Gyomagak taught them?”

“… … .”

Yuan Shu froze with a look of admiration on his face.

“Hmm. Now that I think about it, it’s not just their problem. Once the other counties are sorted out, we’ll have to provide educational services in the future. Please prepare a plan to train instructors.”

It was a scary moment when, just as I was cutting down on one task, a new task arose.

“If you do that, you two can go out now.”

After quickly dealing with the two’s inconveniences, Ilmok issued an order to evacuate them.

And right after Congressman Seo and Won-sul left the palace, Ilmok yawned and stretched.

“Whoaaah.”

The sun has already completely set.

Ilmok, who had been practicing the Talhonmujeonggeom since the afternoon, felt a little drowsy and wanted to lie down on the bed right away, but an uninvited guest came.

“Your Majesty. This is Kang Yul, the third commander of the Baekryongdan. I have completed my mission and returned.”

“If there is nothing special, you can go back and rest.”

“There is one unusual matter, I will report it and then return.”

At the sound of Kang Yul’s voice coming from beyond the door, Ilmok let out a faint sigh inside.

“Come in.”

At Ichimoku’s direction, Kang Yul entered the hall and bowed.

“Did there happen any problems in Jeongseo County?”

“There was no particular problem in dealing with the Iron Hearts that were harassing the people there. However, the day after dealing with them, some people who called themselves the Taoists of the Gongdongpa came to visit.”

“… Are you talking about the Taoist priest of the Gongmunpa?”

Ichimoku asked back with a look of absurdity.

I never thought that the name of the Gongmunpa clan, which had been wiped out hundreds of years ago, would come up.

“Are you saying that the communist faction has been revived again?”

“I don’t know for sure, but they claimed to be Taoist priests from the Gongdongpa sect and tried to help the people of Jeongseo-hyeon.”

At Kang Yul’s answer, Ichimoku was lost in thought for a moment.

‘Why did the communist faction come out now of all times?’

The Gongdongsan Mountain where the Gongdongpa is located is geographically quite close to Nanju. Even though it is close by the standards of the Central Plains, which are so large that it is almost ignorant.

Because the distance is close, they are currently active around Jeong Seo-hyeon, but as time goes by, the number of cases where they become entangled is bound to increase.

Well, it didn’t really matter that much that they got entangled, but the problem was that they were a political party. A prestigious party at that.

Even after the destruction of the clan, its descendants spread throughout the Central Plains and created new sects, some of which even became branches of the Gupa Ilbang.

And the biggest problem was that the ones who destroyed that sect were the same Cheonmasingyo that Ilmok belonged to.

‘If I make one mistake, the entire Gansu Province’s Bunta could be swept away.’

In the worst case scenario, a situation could have occurred where even the sects created by the descendants of the Gongdongpa would join forces and attack.

Of course, this is only the worst case scenario. In the best case scenario, there are cases where the guys weren’t part of the communist faction in the first place.

After all, it was a sect that was destroyed hundreds of years ago.

‘…there are too many cases because there is no accurate information.’

Ichimoku sighed lightly, realizing that he couldn’t come up with a special solution right away just by thinking about it in his head.

‘It’s been peaceful these past few days.’

If you ask others to do the work, they are already subcontracting it out to subcontractors.

Besides, since the matter was important, I didn’t feel uneasy about leaving it to someone else.

“I guess I’ll have to go and find Jeong Seo-hyeon and Gongdongsan in person.”