Chapter 243
The Youngest Son of the Silver Sea Trading Company Chapter 243
Chapter 243. Beijing Branch (3)
“Is there a problem?”
When I asked, my uncle explained.
“Yes, that land is part of the Imperial Palace grounds.”
The land I want is vacant land located a short distance from the Imperial Palace.
To be precise, it is about an hour's walk from the Imperial Palace.
There aren't many plots of land that are a reasonable distance from the Imperial Palace and not too far from the downtown area of Beijing.
But you're saying that it's part of the Imperial Palace grounds?
“I heard that the imperial family purchased it to build a secondary palace. But as you know, His Majesty the Emperor is not one to spend money on unnecessary things.”
I see...
I understand the situation.
The previous emperor was known for spending money like water.
As a result, the imperial finances were in dire straits.
One of the previous emperor's eccentricities was building multiple palaces.
He would spend about a month in each newly built palace, indulging in a luxurious lifestyle.
However, his debauchery took a toll on his health, and he died at a young age.
In other words, he was an incompetent emperor.
Still, if there was one thing he did right, it was appointing the current emperor as his successor before his death.
Anyway, there were some plots of land that had been prepared for the construction of a secondary palace, and it seems that the site I requested was one of them.
The newly enthroned emperor was far from extravagant, so naturally, the site remained vacant.
“As you know, it is quite difficult for an individual to purchase land belonging to the imperial palace.”
“That's true.”
Then how did Baek Cheon Trading Company get hold of that land in my past life?
After thinking about it carefully, a likely possibility came to mind.
In my past life, the empress was poisoned, and the person who was backed by the Martial Alliance became the empress.
If the empress had used her influence, the Ministry of Revenue would have been powerless to do anything.
“It will be quite difficult to purchase that land. As you know, the officials of the Ministry of Revenue are very difficult to deal with... Anyway, that's how it is.”
“Yes, you're right.”
But it was land that Baekcheon Trading Company owned in my past life. There's no reason why we can't have it.
Besides, there are many others besides Baekcheon Trading Company who covet that land, even if they don't show it.
It's that kind of prime location.
We have to get our hands on it before they do.
“Still, I don't want to give up.”
“Well, youth is a wonderful thing.”
In my uncle's eyes, my words must have sounded like the recklessness of youth.
“But even if you are favored by His Majesty the Emperor, you cannot report such a thing to His Majesty, can you?”
“That's right.”
I understood what my uncle was worried about.
“Don't worry. I will resolve this matter in the manner of a merchant.”
“I am relieved to hear that.”
.
.
.
I returned to my temporary residence and fell into deep thought.
Actually, even before I had any thoughts about the Beijing branch, I had visited the site.
That's why I knew.
There was nothing there.
It was literally a barren wasteland.
It was land that had been set aside for the construction of a royal palace, so who would dare to farm or open a shop there?
As a result, it had become a place where the vagrants of Beijing played, away from the eyes of the people.
My uncle said that it would be difficult to acquire the land due to the strictness of the Ho Bu officials, but if we gave up, we would end up with nothing.
We had to try something.
I got up from my seat and said to Pal-gap.
“Pal-gap, let's go.”
“Where are we going?”
“The Imperial Palace.”
“What?”
“I have to meet with the Ho Bu officials.”
We arrived at the Imperial Palace and requested an audience with the Ho Bu as the Young Master of the Eunhae Trading Company.
I did not have a permanent pass.
Only officials had permanent passes to the Imperial Palace.
I could have asked Hyung-nim Sun-il or other officials I knew to let me in, but I didn't.
If I brought someone unrelated to their work into the Imperial Palace, they might find fault with me.
That's why I formally requested an interview with the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
“Now that you've requested an interview, are you going back to your residence?”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“You have to wait here.”
Seo Woo asked with a doubtful look on his face.
“Do you mean... we have to wait until the Ho-bu official calls us?”
I answered with an awkward smile.
“Yes.”
“That's why you usually tell me to ask you, but today you came yourself.”
“That's right.”
"....
Usually, I would make a request, wait at my lodgings, and go to the imperial palace when I was summoned.
I did the same when I met the emperor.
However, some officials would refuse to meet me on the pretext that I wasn't waiting.
This was especially true of the Ho Bu.
But did they call me early?
No way...
Usually, it was two hours at a minimum, but when it was severe, we had to stay up all night.
It was a way of taming the merchants.
Small merchants were fine, but merchants who were called “merchant kings” had to meet with the Ho Bu officials to negotiate quite a lot.
The officials thought they were superior, and they used this method to tame the merchants and take the initiative in negotiations.
Therefore, the merchants had no choice but to give in, and they often ended up signing contracts with unfavorable terms.
They had no one to complain to about the tyranny of the Ho-bu officials, but they couldn't refuse to negotiate with them, so they had no choice but to swallow their anger and submit to their taming.
This reminds me of my previous life.
When our Eunhae Trading Company was close to becoming one of the ten largest trading companies in the country, we had to meet with an official from the Ministry of Revenue for a project related to sericulture, which was one of the imperial projects.
We requested a meeting with the Ministry of Revenue, but... It was three days after we met him.
Of course, we had to wait in front of the imperial palace during that time.
Ha...
Thinking about that time makes my blood pressure rise.
This is why my uncle dislikes the officials of the Ministry of Revenue.
“Are you Mister Eun Seo-ho?”
The new gatekeeper asked me as if he recognized me.
I put my thoughts aside and nodded.
“Yes, that's right.”
“Why aren't you going straight to the imperial palace today?”
“Well... I requested a meeting with the Ministry of Justice.”
“Ah...”
The gatekeeper also seemed to know about the notorious Ministry of Justice's tactics for taming merchants, and he looked disappointed.
“What are they thinking? Even those who are going to meet His Majesty the Emperor have to wait in their quarters.”
I smiled bitterly and sighed.
I couldn't show any sign of agreeing with him, as an official from the Ministry of Internal Affairs might be watching us.
About an hour passed, but there was no sign of the guards.
Pal-gap and the bodyguards were gradually turning red, but I remained calm.
- This is really too much.
I laughed hollowly at Seo-woo's telepathy and sent him a telepathic message.
- Just let it be. The world is an unreasonable place.
But do they know that I am a man who holds a grudge?
*
At that moment.
The officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs were busy working.
Even so, they were not as busy as Eun Seo-ho.
They were able to leave work on time.
Then, a new official of the Ministry of Internal Affairs asked his senior colleague.
“Senior, what should I do with this?”
“What is it?”
“It's a request for an audience from someone named Eun Seo-ho, the captain of the Eunhae Trading Company.”
“Eunhae Trading Company... Ah, that's the company that delivers silk to the royal family.”
“Yes, that's right.”
“So what? Do we have to rush out to greet them?”
Hearing his curt reply, the official next to him covered for the newcomer.
“He's a new recruit. He wouldn't know.”
“Ah! That makes sense.”
He looked serious as he instructed the new recruit.
“Listen carefully. Our Ho-bu has a long history and tradition. This is something you must do when negotiating with merchants.”
“I will listen carefully.”
“When we receive a request like this, we always give an answer two hours later. That is, if they are obedient to our clan, but if they seem arrogant like this, we should give them an answer in a day or two.”
“Is that okay?”
The new official looked worried, but his senior colleague seemed accustomed to this and remained calm.
“They're just acting like that because they're disappointed.”
“But...”
“They're just lowly merchants, yet they're so arrogant. If we don't crush them early on, they'll eat us alive. So just leave them alone and get back to work.”
“Yes.”
The senior official nodded and tilted his head.
“Eunseoho... I feel like I've heard that somewhere before.”
However, his thoughts were interrupted by a new document placed on his desk.
* *
Imperial Palace.
A third of the people bustling about were eunuchs.
There were many eunuchs, and they had a lot of work to do.
Among them, the eunuchs in charge of cleaning the private chambers and various parts of the palace hurriedly headed somewhere.
Soon, he arrived in front of a building.
“I have something to report.”
“Come in.”
The place he entered was one of the rooms used by the eunuchs, but it was actually one of the gathering places for eunuchs who belonged to the same class.
“Yes, what is it?”
“Well, Mister Eunseoho is currently in front of the imperial palace...”
He explained the situation.
“What? He's been waiting for two hours already?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Those guys! They've got some nerve! You have to choose your opponents carefully when dealing with merchants.”
“What should we do?”
“Issue a summons. This is our chance to win over Mister Eun Seo-ho.”
.
.
.
The office of the commander of the Royal Guards.
The commander frowned at the report he had just received.
“What? Master Eun Seo-ho is being harassed by officials from the Ministry of Revenue?”
“Yes, sir.”
“What do you think?”
At that question, the Royal Guards standing beside him replied in unison.
“It is thanks to Master Eun Seo-ho that we, the Royal Guards, have once again received the emperor's favor.”
“We cannot let those insolent men get away with this.”
“I agree.”
The commander said.
“Call the men.”
“Yes!”
.
.
.
Perhaps because the Royal Guards and the Dongchang did similar work, they had similar thoughts.
They immediately began to search the Ho-bu officials.
There is no such thing as a person who is completely clean.
Moreover, since the Ho-bu dealt with money, there was a lot of dirt to be found when they searched them.
In the process, they couldn't help but notice each other, and within an hour of searching the Ho-bu officials, their leaders met.
“Master Dong-chang, please give way. We, the Royal Guards, must repay the favor we owe Master Eun Seo-ho.”
“I understand. Don't misunderstand. We can't just stand by and watch the officials of the Ministry of Revenue behave like this.”
“Really?”
“And we want to gain some favor from Mister Eun Seo-ho.”
“I knew it!”
“Ah! Let's gain some favor from His Majesty the Emperor!”
“Aren't you already receiving all the favor you could want from His Majesty the Emperor?”
A soldier who had been quietly watching the scene interrupted.
“Master Eun Seo-ho has already been suffering for over three hours. According to reports, he is still standing and waiting without even sitting down...”
“What?”
“Oh no!”
They looked at each other and cleared their throats.
“There's nothing we can do. Hmm.”
“We will cooperate.”
“We will also cooperate.”
Thus, thanks to Eun Seo-ho, Dong-chang and the Royal Guards decided to join forces.
“Our classmate will provide us with information about them.”
“Then we, the Royal Guards, will take care of threatening them.”
And that night.
The Royal Guards visited the new Minister of the Interior and his two aides.
* *
I cursed the officials of the Ministry of the Interior as I watched the sun rise in the east.
I ended up staying up all night.
Honestly, I didn't mind suffering alone, but I felt bad that Pal-gap and the four guards were suffering because of me.
“Young master, would you like me to bring you something to eat?”
I shook my head at Pal-gap's question.
“I'm fine. We don't know when the officials will come, so it's better not to be caught eating.”
I continued.
“Go ahead and take turns eating.”
“We're fine.”
Seo Woo thought for a moment after hearing Lee Pil's words, then nodded.
“I think we should do as our liege said.”
They talked for a while, then Jin Yu and Lee Pil left to eat first.
Seeing them, I felt a little lighter.
By the way, when are those bastards from the Ho-bu going to call me?
Before I knew it, it was time for the officials to go to work, and when Hyung-nim Seon-il saw me, he looked at me with a pitiful expression.
Hyung-nim is also from a merchant family, so he understands my predicament.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes, I'm fine. Don't worry too much.”
“Well, if you say you're fine, then you must be fine, but I can't just let this go. I'll go to the Ministry of Revenue and ask them about it.”
“I'm really fine.”
I was talking to Hyung-nim Seon-il when suddenly...
“Huff! Huff! Is Young Master Eunseo-ho here?”
I quickly answered the voice calling me.
“Yes! I'm here.”
The official had rushed over and was panting heavily.
But... I think I heard something strange just now.
Didn't he say, “Are you there?” instead of “Are you here?”
I don't think I heard wrong. He bowed deeply, as if his head would touch the ground.
“I am Ja-soon from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Please follow me.”
Is that really the stiff-necked official from the Ministry of Revenue?