Chapter 256
The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 256
Chapter 256. Crushed (3)
I was shocked by Master Jin's words.
The emperor who ordered him to be hung upside down and transported was the emperor, but Master Jin, who carried out the order to the letter, was no ordinary man.
But I would have done the same.
And beat him up some more.
“But did he really take the bribe?”
“He denied it at first, but eventually confessed. We even found about a hundred gold coins in his personal safe.”
“...”
That amount was definitely a bribe.
It was an amount that Ji-hyun could never have saved up in his entire career as an administrator.
“He was planning to take the money, quietly resign, and live a life of leisure.”
In other words, Ji-hyun, who knew Hyun best and was like a father to him, was trying to sell the residents of Hyun to pirates so that he could live a life of luxury.
“Wow! What a despicable person.”
“I agree.”
Master Jin-yeong nodded and asked me.
“We are planning to leave for Beijing early tomorrow morning. Would you like to come with us?”
“Thank you for the offer, but I have something I need to do here.”
“Something you need to do?”
“Yes.”
I nodded.
“Now that I've gotten involved in this place, there's something I have to do.”
“May I ask what that is?”
“Gambling.”
“...?”
Master Jin looked at me with a puzzled expression.
“The people here have incurred huge debts due to gambling. However, with the pirates wiped out, those debts are now gone.”
“That's right.”
“Then what is left for them? A sense of defeat? A sense of emptiness?”
I smiled bitterly.
“The biggest thing left for them now is the thrill they felt when they were gambling. As long as they remember that, they will definitely fall back into gambling.”
“...”
“This is a small village, and if money becomes entangled in gambling, this cozy village that the two officials have protected will be destroyed. I want to prevent that.”
“So you have a solution?”
“Actually, it would be best to make them admit their limitations, but if that were easy, the world would be full of saints.”
I continued.
“I am a merchant, so I will use a merchant's methods.”
Master Jin, who was watching me, laughed heartily.
“Hahaha! I'm curious to know what method you'll use, but I won't ask. I don't want you to spoil my fun.”
I smiled.
“By the way, I would appreciate it if you could take the two students to the Hyeonghak Academy on your way.”
“I understand. Don't worry about it.”
.
.
.
The next morning.
The criminals were all loaded onto a mobile prison carriage and departed for Beijing.
The carriage was specially made for this occasion because, by order of the emperor, they had to be transported upside down.
As a result, a unique scene unfolded with all of them hanging upside down.
“Father, why are those people like that?”
“It's because they committed a very serious crime.”
And that was becoming a lesson to others.
I thought it would be very difficult for them to travel on the bumpy road for two days in that state, swaying from side to side and bumping into each other.
But considering the crimes they committed, it was only fitting.
“Captain.”
I turned around at the voice calling me.
It was Mansook and Yoon-buk.
“We'll go first.”
“Be careful. And I hope you do well on the exam.”
“Yes, I will definitely pass.”
“I will pass too.”
“Oh, Mansook.”
“Yes?”
“The headmaster tore up your withdrawal letter.”
“Ah…”
Mansuk's eyes reddened.
“Go and thank him.”
“Yes, I will.”
After seeing them off, I handed Master Jin-yeong a scroll.
“What is this?”
“It's a kind of report for His Majesty the Emperor.”
“I see. I'll deliver it.”
With that, Master Jin-yeong and his party left for Beijing.
“Pal-gap.”
“Yes, young master.”
“Did you find out what I asked you to?”
“Of course.”
“Let's go.”
We headed for the tavern that Pal-gap had found.
It wasn't a very busy tavern, but the location was perfect.
“All right, let's buy this place.”
“Yes, sir. I'll tell the owner.”
Lee Pil-mu tilted his head and asked, “But why are you buying this place?”
“Ah, I'm going to use it as a gambling house.”
“What?”
“What?”
“You don't understand, do you? Why would I want to build a gambling house?”
Everyone nodded at my question.
“I may not have lived long, but I am certain about gambling.”
It wasn't a short time if you counted my previous life, but they didn't know that.
“It's fine as a form of entertainment in moderation, but it becomes a problem when it goes too far.”
“That's true.”
“That's why I'm building this place. It's difficult to eradicate gambling, so I want to minimize the damage.”
I continued.
“There are three things that you won't find in a gambling house. Do you know what they are?”
Everyone thought hard, but no one spoke.
Actually, this is something that most people don't know.
“Windows, chickens, and mirrors.”
“...?”
I explained it to them.
“The reason there are no windows in gambling dens is because light coming in through the windows gives people a sense of time. In other words, it is to make them forget the sense of time and concentrate on gambling.”
“Ah!”
“And they never keep chickens nearby. If they hear a rooster crowing at dawn, they might think, ‘I stayed up all night gambling! I shouldn't have done that! ’ and feel guilty.”
“Now that you mention it...”
“Finally, there are no mirrors. When people are absorbed in gambling, they forget to eat and sleep. Then, naturally, they become emaciated.”
I continued.
“In such a situation, when you look at your own face, you feel self-loathing, thinking, ‘What am I doing?’, and you end up leaving the gambling den. In other words, these three things are not allowed in gambling dens to prevent people from getting hooked on gambling.”
“That's scary!”
“Therefore, I will place all three of these things here.”
It was a kind of reverse thinking.
“And I will also limit the amount of money that can be bet.”
At that moment, Seo Woo asked, “But what if people gamble somewhere else instead of here?”
“That's why I asked Master Jin to write a letter.”
“What letter?”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“The letter is a message to His Majesty the Emperor. I asked him to make a law that anyone caught gambling at a gambling house other than the one approved by the country will be punished with hard labor.”
“...”
“In other words, this place is not run by me, but by the country.”
There is a reason why I am so confident.
In fact, I had thought about this in my previous life, but it was something so enormous that an individual could not do, so I had only thought about it.
However, the emperor had done it.
When I saw the emperor carry this out, I knew he was no ordinary man.
Therefore, the emperor would never refuse my proposal.
* * *
A few days later.
In the imperial palace in Beijing, the emperor's laughter echoed throughout the hall.
“Hahahaha! Look at this guy!”
“Your Majesty, please maintain your dignity.”
“But he's too clever for that. Do you know what this guy is saying? He wants the country to establish a gambling house.”
“What?”
“And...”
The emperor explained Eun Seo-ho's proposal to the eunuch.
“Huh? That's a very ingenious plan.”
“You're right. To be honest, you know how harmful gambling is to the people, don't you?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“If you ask them to come up with a countermeasure, those stubborn fools will just say to educate the people with moral guidance... Tsk, tsk.”
“...”
“I'd like to cut off all their stubborn heads, but that would only tire me out... Ugh!”
The emperor shook his head.
“But how ingenious this boy's plan is!”
Seeing this, the eunuch realized how much the emperor liked Eun Seo-ho.
“Well, even I would carry him around on my back.”
Then, a brilliant idea suddenly popped into the eunuch's head.
“Your Majesty, I have a request.”
“What is it?”
“Please do as Mister Eun requested, but fill some of the positions with members of our school.”
“Ah, this boy already suggested that.”
“What?”
“If you build a gambling house, it will be another place to gauge public opinion, so it will be helpful to have my eyes and ears there.”
“Ah...”
The Grand Secretary felt grateful to Eun Seo-ho.
“Is this in return for helping him a little when he bought the Beijing branch of Eunhae Trading Company the other day?”
However, it was an excessive reward.
“Now I have no choice but to help him again next time... Hehehe.”
As Taegam was thinking this, the emperor looked at Eun Seo-ho's report and proposal with a pleased expression.
[It will take a long time to go through all the discussions necessary to implement this. Therefore, I propose that it be operated as imperial property.
The gambling business was like a goose that laid golden eggs, so this sounded very appealing.
“It's a shame to keep this kid in Sanggye... Should I bring him here?”
Thinking so, the emperor shook his head.
He was still just a baby shark.
And the imperial palace was still dangerous for a baby shark.
Even if he brought him here, he would have to wait until he was fully grown to be able to protect himself.
“But why do I feel like even if I bring him here now, he's just a baby shark who will eat the slimy ministers alive?”
* * *
The emperor's sacred text was posted on the wall of the provincial office.
It was about the “law on gambling houses” that I had proposed.
It stated that this area would be a pilot zone, and within five years, the law would be expanded to the entire empire.
There would be five years of severe famine.
Then, in five years, the existing taverns and brothels could be bought at very low prices, which would reduce the burden on the emperor's pocket.
When the new county magistrate arrived, he was accompanied by several people.
They were people sent by the emperor to manage the gambling dens in this village.
And among them was a familiar face.
He was a court official I had seen at the imperial palace, but now he was dressed in ordinary clothes, so he seemed to be a member of the Dongchang.
Seeing him looking at me with a friendly expression, I could tell that he was grateful for the offer to use the gambling dens as the emperor's eyes and ears.
I had received something from them, so I had to repay them.
“I am Captain Eunseo-ho.”
“I heard from His Majesty the Emperor. Then please show me to the newly built place.”
“Yes, this way please.”
I led them to the newly built gambling hall.
“Oh!”
“Ooh...”
Their eyes widened.
That was because it was a very luxurious building.
“But isn't it too luxurious?”
“It has to be this luxurious for people to come, doesn't it? Even if it's for educational purposes, it's still a business. You don't want to be scolded by His Majesty the Emperor for operating at a loss, do you?”
“That's true.”
“Please come inside.”
The interior had windows on all sides, so everything was clearly visible even without lighting during the day.
The pillars were square and had mirrors attached to them.
This allowed people to see themselves no matter where they sat.
There were also mirrors on the ceiling.
“The mirrors on the ceiling are to observe and punish those who cheat.”
“That's a good idea.”
I explained the facilities and operating policies of the gambling house.
“...It should work this way.”
“Mister's advice was very helpful.”
The person entrusted with the operation of this gambling house was one of those in charge of the imperial family's property, and he was a talented individual whom the emperor had recruited from a private trading company on my recommendation.
In fact, in my previous life, he was someone whom the emperor had brought in through a classmate while he was considering the gambling business.
He ended up being in charge of the same business in both my previous life and this life.
Then he can be trusted.
In his previous life, he ran the gambling house business successfully and brought enormous wealth to the imperial family.
And the imperial family used that wealth for the welfare of the people, which earned them the support of the people.
Now it's a virtuous cycle.
“This is a reward from His Majesty for your hard work. It includes compensation for purchasing and renovating this gambling house.”
“Thank you.”
I respectfully accepted the pouch he handed me and opened it.
Inside was a bill for a considerable amount of money.
I bowed my head, desperately suppressing the smile that was spreading across my face.
.
.
.
On the way back to Beijing.
“Are you going to hand this matter over to the imperial palace after all?”
I nodded in response to Pal-gap's question.
“I couldn't just leave things as they were after getting involved in the village's affairs, but gambling is something I can't deal with on my own. It's something the country must do.”
“So, you mean you didn't do anything this time either?”
“Well, I guess you could say that.”
I scratched my ear, and my companions chuckled.
By now, the three rounds of meetings must be over. I wonder what the results are.