Chapter 224
The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 224
Chapter 224. Would you like to do some work? (3)
The next day, early in the morning.
I woke up early because I had to go to work with the Royal Guards.
“Kui!”
Geum-ryung crawled in through the slightly open window.
“Ah! You're back already?”
I opened the window and held Geum-ryeong with both hands.
“Good job.”
I placed it on the table and handed her the silver coin, which she took and swallowed.
Meanwhile, I untied the letter tied to Geum-ryeong's tail.
Last night, I sent a letter to my father saying that I would be working with the Royal Guards and would not be able to return home for a while, and this was his reply.
Reading my father's reply, I couldn't help but smile.
He said he believed I would do well and to take care of myself as it was cold.
“Young master! Are you coughing?”
I heard Pal-gap's voice from outside the door.
“Yes, I'm up.”
.
.
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We ate breakfast and left Yeonjoon Trading Company, seeing our aunt's family off.
However, Eunpungdae Sa Jo, who had accompanied us this time, had to return to the headquarters first.
This was because the Trading Company had grown in size, and Eunpungdae had more work to do. I know that they plan to expand their workforce soon, but that hasn't happened yet.
I heard that they will start recruiting not only Eunpungdae members but also general employees this summer.
Then, will Hyungpung-guk also get more manpower?
“In my opinion.”
At that moment, Pal-gap spoke up.
“I think Seung-poong-gakju saw through your master's true nature.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“You said so before. You said that your master is like the wind and will be difficult to serve.”
Did Jeok-bong-cheol-gakju say that to Pal-gap?
“So what do you think? Is it difficult to serve me?”
“It's not so bad.”
“Really?”
I looked at Pal-gap and asked.
“But why are you suddenly saying that?”
“It's just that I feel like your journey, going to Hangzhou, then to Beijing, and then somewhere else, is like the wind.”
“I can't deny that. But don't misunderstand. It's not my decision this time.”
I turned my head and looked at the bodyguards behind me.
“So, I'm sorry, but I'm going to need your help again.”
Seo Woo replied firmly.
“Don't worry about it. We will always serve our Liege with all our hearts.”
“That's reassuring.”
Soon, we arrived in front of the imperial palace.
A large number of people were busy preparing for departure, and one of them approached us.
“Stop!”
As we stopped to talk to him, Master Jin waved at us from afar.
“Ah! You're here?”
The man who stopped us asked Captain Jin-yeong. Judging from their identical uniforms, he seemed to be a member of the Royal Guards as well.
“Do you know these people?”
“Yes, this is Captain Eun Seo-ho of the Purple Mist Pills.”
“Oh, I see.”
He quickly clasped his hands in a greeting.
“My apologies. I am So-woon of the Royal Guards.”
“I am Eun Seo-ho of the Eunhae Trading Company. Behind me are my attendants and bodyguards.”
After I introduced myself, my bodyguards and Pal-gap introduced themselves.
Master Jin-yeong smiled with satisfaction.
“You're here on time.”
“Punctuality is a necessary virtue for merchants.”
“Hahaha. I see.”
“I would like to hear about your schedule.”
In response to my question, Master Jin explained the schedule.
“We have decided to split our group into two. One group will go to the Yellow River, and the other will go to the Yangtze River. You will go with me to the Yangtze River.”
The Yangtze River...
“There, we will break the ice into pieces, load it onto carts, and transport it to the reservoirs in each town.”
“You plan to transport the ice to the reservoirs?”
“Yes. His Majesty is concerned that there will be a severe drought in the spring, so he said it would be a good idea to store water.”
“But it seems impossible for us to transport all that ice by ourselves...”
“Don't worry. I have asked the escort agencies of each castle for help.”
In other words, he had ordered the escort agencies to mobilize.
Come to think of it, escort agencies are perfect for this kind of work.
They are all skilled in martial arts, physically fit, and mainly engaged in transportation.
And it's not a loss for the escort agencies either.
They were also affected by the flood.
And the emperor will give them some compensation.
“Then let me introduce you to those who will be going with you.”
My companions who will be going with me to the Yangtze River are Master Jang and Master So-un, along with ten other Royal Guards.
Twelve people are going to the Yellow River, so a total of twenty-four people have been selected.
Considering the amount of work the Royal Guards have to do, I guess they selected as many people as possible.
In addition, a total of about 200 people, including workers, will go as a group.
Judging from the tools being loaded, it seemed that the ice harvesters would also be accompanying us.
Every winter, large families collected ice and stored it in ice cellars to use during the hot summer months.
Naturally, there were people in the imperial palace who were responsible for this task, and these professional ice handlers were called bingbu.
It was only natural that the bingbu would be mobilized to break the ice.
No matter how skilled the Royal Guards were in martial arts, they could not use their skills continuously.
However, handling ice in the cold is no easy task. It is very hard work.
We'd better prepare some warm sake or tea.
Once everything was ready, we set off immediately.
We had to take the land route to reach our destination, the Yangtze River, which flows along the border between Sichuan and Guizhou.
The river was already frozen.
.
.
.
On the second night after our departure, we had to sleep outdoors for the first time.
The men tried to build a fire, but the wood was wet from the light snowfall that day, and the fire would not catch properly.
“This is serious.”
Master Jin approached me and said, but I pretended not to know what was going on.
“What do you mean, trouble?”
“We need to build a fire, but we can't get it to catch. It's so cold that we might freeze to death if we don't.”
The way he looked at me, his eyes shining, made me think he believed I could solve the problem.
If you think I could solve the problem... You're right.
Lighting a fire with wet wood is difficult for people who don't usually travel long distances, but it's a daily task for escort agency employees and merchants.
Of course, I knew how to do it and had done it many times before.
But I was a little puzzled.
“That's surprising.”
“What do you mean?”
“As Royal Guards, you must often sleep outdoors due to the nature of your work, right? But...”
“Why don't you know how to start a fire in a situation like this?”
“Yes. You must travel around a lot...”
“The reason is simple. Due to the nature of our work, we are not allowed to start fires in most cases.”
“I see...”
I understand what he means.
When gathering information from outside or tracking someone, there's almost no need to light a fire. You could be discovered by the other party.
“I see. Thank you for answering my stupid question.”
“You're quick to catch on, even with such a simple answer. You're clever, as expected. No wonder His Majesty the Emperor favors you.”
Hahaha.
That favor isn't a bad thing, but it is a little burdensome.
“Anyway, we need to light a fire quickly so that they won't suffer.”
Most of the people accompanying us are not skilled in martial arts.
But there's no need for me to move. Because...
“Young master, you'd better sit here by the fire and warm yourself.”
Pal-gap has already lit the fire.
Pal-gap is also my loyal servant who has been with Eunhae Trading Company for a long time. There is no way Pal-gap would not know what I know.
Contrary to his appearance, he is quick-witted and quick to act.
Look, he's already boiling water for tea.
“Thank you.”
I sat down in front of the bonfire and said to Master Jin, who was staring blankly.
“My servant is quite capable.”
Thanks to the bonfire Pal-gap lit, the others were able to quickly light their own bonfires.
In fact, until then, those who didn't know the details looked at us with questioning expressions, wondering why we were there.
Some even looked at us as if we were pieces of luggage.
But today, their perception completely changed.
.
.
.
After a journey of about half a month, we arrived at our destination.
“This is the place.”
I nodded at Master Jin-yeong's words. In front of us was a huge ice mountain.
Actually, I knew why the flood happened, but I didn't know there would be so much ice.
No wonder there was such a huge flood.
“If we hadn't dealt with this beforehand, we would have been in big trouble.”
I replied with a bitter smile to Master Jin-yeong's words.
“You're right.”
He ordered his men to set up tents.
This was not a task that could be completed in a day or two, so they needed to establish a base where they could rest.
In the meantime, my companions and I built a bonfire.
We gathered snow in a large kettle and boiled it.
It was for those who were suffering in the cold weather.
However, it would only warm them up for a short while.
“Master, it's so cold, how about a cup of warm alcohol?”
“Alcohol...”
Master Jin-yeong nodded.
“That's right. There's nothing better than warm alcohol in this cold weather. Actually, when I was stationed in the far north, I used to sneak a sip here and there. Hahaha. When it's bitterly cold, a sip of alcohol is what you crave.”
The Royal Guards were mostly former soldiers, so they seemed to understand this well.
“Let's do that. If we buy alcohol with public funds, we may be reprimanded by the lord, but how can we endure this cold sober?”
By lord, he must mean the commander of the Royal Guards.
Of course, the Royal Guards also have ranks, but because their duties are special, they are simply called “Masters.”
I will also call you Master.
“Don't worry about that. I'll pay for it myself.”
“You'll pay for it yourself?”
“Yes.”
“That can't be cheap.”
As he said, the price of alcohol is considerable.
But it's because of me that they are suffering, so I should at least do this much.
And it's not like I'm losing anything.
I have a plan.
The next day, the work began.
The Royal Guards were the first to start. They wielded swords imbued with their inner arts.
“Ha!”
Kwa-kwa-kwa!
“Ha!”
Kwa-kwa-kwa!
The energy emanating from their swords struck the ice mercilessly.
Broken ice rained down.
Among the twelve Royal Guards, the most skilled was Master Jin.
With just a few strokes of his sword, he created square pieces of ice.
I focused my eyes on his sword.
I could feel the heat coming from his sword, as if he was using the technique of cutting with heat.
No wonder His Majesty the Emperor values him so highly.
He breaks ice well.
At that moment, Master So-un of the Royal Guards approached and said,
“The escort agency has arrived.”
“Is that so? Have two representatives come here.”
“Yes.”
Soon, Master So-un approached with people wearing outer garments that signified they were members of escort agencies.
And among them, I saw a familiar face.
“Huh?”
“Long time no see.”
It was my Master.
Master Jin explained the situation to the members of the escort agencies.
After the explanation, I approached my master.
“I didn't expect to see you here.”
“So you were here after all.”
“You don't seem very surprised.”
My master nodded at my words.
“I could sense the king's energy. But I was quite surprised when I felt the king's energy.”
My master continued.
“I heard from Captain Eun Jin-ho that you would be staying abroad for a long time... Why are you here with the Royal Guards?”
I scratched my cheek.
“Well, you see...”
I told my master the whole story, and he smiled at my story.
Huh?
But that smile disappeared in an instant.
“I am impressed by the prince's insight. As you said, if that ice melts all at once, there will be a terrible flood.”
“Anyway, I will leave it to you. And...”
“Please give my regards to your family as well.”
As expected, Master knows me well.
* *
Winter is a difficult season for the Green Forest Bandits, who call themselves the kings of the mountains.
The situation was somewhat better in areas where transport was frequent.
Thanks to their connections with the escort agency, they were able to “manage the area” and collect a considerable amount of tolls.
However, the Green Forest Bandits who were not so fortunate had more days when they could only sit around twiddling their thumbs.
The mountain keep was located at a crossroads between Sichuan and Shaanxi.
The situation here was also not good.
Then, news that made their hearts pound came.
“Hyung-nim! A caravan carrying a huge load is coming!”
Upon hearing the news, everyone in the mountain keep jumped to their feet.
Perhaps it was the anticipation of being able to fill their stomachs for the first time in a long time that gave them such energy.
“Let's go rob them!”
“Yes!”