Chapter 459
The Youngest Son of the Silver Sea Trading Company Chapter 459
Chapter 459. So that was the real reason (3)
I was confused by the contents of Miss Seo Hyang's letter.
“Look at his shoes.”
Look at his shoes?
What could this mean? But no matter how hard I looked, there was nothing else written.
Miss Seo Hyang's view of the future is fragmentary, so the contents of her letters are also fragmentary.
However, the contents were always important clues.
I memorized the contents and burned the letter with Samadhi True Fire.
I didn't want anyone else to see it.
I returned to the cave and sat down.
“Captain Eun.”
“Yes.”
Master Kwon called me over and greeted me with a clasped hands greeting.
“Thanks to you, we were able to confirm the death of our comrade and mourn him. I am grateful.”
“No, it's nothing! What did I do...”
“If you hadn't suggested that we entertain Master Mosan, we would have been unfaithful to our comrades.”
“...”
“Just like in Gansu, the name Xian Xie Mi is well deserved.”
I was taken aback by his sudden remark.
“Ahem!”
“Are you all right?”
“Yes, I'm fine.”
I never expected to hear that name here.
The next morning.
We tidied up and set off again.
We rode hard for several days.
Finally, we arrived in Wuhan.
Ah...
My home is so close, but I can't go there.
It's not far from here in Wuhan to Sungyang County, where the Eunhae Trading Company is located.
It's really close if you ride a horse.
I want to see my family and the Trading Company members...
Come to think of it, Seo Woo and Yeo Eung-am must also want to see their families.
But there is no time for that.
We can see our families anytime we want, but these hostages could die at any moment.
So we had to hurry and rescue them.
I'll have to postpone my trip to the capital.
Suddenly, I realized that the emperor must trust me to send me to rescue his son.
To be honest, I am not a father, nor was I a father in my previous life, so I don't know how a father feels.
However, I know that the emperor is a father.
I can imagine how sad he would be if he lost his son.
In his previous life, when King Seongbo captured the Magistrate of Chunkyungseong, he ordered a cruel and painful death, and every day he watched him die with his own eyes.
That must have been very painful for him.
How must the emperor feel now?
He must be spending every day on edge, feeling like he is sitting on a bed of thorns.
Is it only the emperor who feels this way?
All those who are currently being held captive in Chunkyungseong are someone's family.
Yes, we must rescue them all.
Of course, none of those who accompany us must be injured or killed.
As we sat in the inn for a while, the masters who had gone to find a boat returned.
“It is not easy to find a boat.”
“They say there are no boats going to Yunnan right now.”
“Do we have to go by land after all?”
What? By land?
That's impossible.
It's really difficult to get to Yunnan by land.
“Let me try to find one.”
I immediately got up from my seat. It was obvious why they said they couldn't find a boat to Yunnan.
With the Royal Guards' high-handed attitude, no one would dare to help them find a boat.
The sea route to Yunnan is quite dangerous due to the rapids.
In such a situation, if they don't follow the Royal Guards' orders and an accident happens, the boat owners will be held responsible.
Even if they plan to go, they won't say so.
I looked around at the boatmen and approached a group of them.
“Thank you for your hard work. I'd like to charter a boat to Yunnan.”
“Yunnan, you say?”
“Huh? You look familiar...”
“Ah! Captain!”
“It's Captain Eunseoho!”
“Seonhae-mi-rang? Are you that Seonhae-mi-rang?”
“...”
What, even the boatmen recognize me?
This is Hubei, but it's still quite far from Eunhae Trading Company.
I was confused, so I whispered to Pal-gap.
“Pal-gap, am I that famous?”
“Didn't you know? You are a hero in Hubei. Of course, the boatmen know you well.”
“...”
Anyway, I got a boat.
Rumors will spread that I am going to Yunnan, but it doesn't matter.
I have a plan.
When I got the boat, the Royal Guards asked me in surprise.
“Is it true?”
“So soon?”
“How?”
I replied with a smile.
“It's a trade secret.”
I couldn't say, “I'm quite famous as a merchant. They said they would rent me a boat without me even asking.”
The next day.
We boarded a ship bound for Yunnan.
I pulled Joo-gang-ma onto the ship and said to him.
“It'll be cramped on the ship, but stay quiet. If you make a fuss, you'll get in trouble!”
“Hee-hee!”
Joo-gang-ma cried in dissatisfaction.
There's nothing I can do.
“Do you want Jin-ryung to scold you?”
“Pfff...”
At my whisper, Joo-gang quickly lowered his head. It seems that he is very afraid of Jin-ryung.
To me, he is just a cute and admirable creature.
It costs a bit to raise him, though.
With that, our entire party boarded the ship.
With six Royal Guards and six of my bodyguards, there were fourteen of us in total.
On top of that, we each had a horse, so the ship was completely full.
That is why we chartered an entire ship.
“We are departing!”
“Depart!”
“We're leaving!”
The sailors bustled about preparing to set sail, and soon the ship began to move.
“It will take at least five days to reach Yunnan, even if we go as fast as we can.”
Master Kwon nodded at Seo Woo's words.
“Still, it's much faster than going by land.”
“That's right. And we don't know what will happen in Yunnan, so you need to get plenty of rest.”
“I understand.”
“And I've been thinking about it. The two people who lost their lives were killed by our allies.”
To be precise, they were allies we had no choice but to trust.
“Therefore, I think you should thoroughly conceal your identities from the moment you disembark.”
“That makes sense.”
“Then would it be enough to pretend to be wanderers?”
I shook my head at Master Cheong-ak's words.
“That is one option, but in my opinion, it is not feasible.”
“We are quite good at pretending to be wanderers.”
“Then let's try it.”
At my request, Master Cheongak acted like a wanderer.
He slung his sword over his shoulder and spoke in a rough voice.
“Huh...”
He blushed at my sigh.
“Is it that bad?”
“Yes.”
“Then I'll try!”
With the exception of Master Kwon, the five Royal Guards each tried to act like wanderers.
However, in my opinion, it was not convincing.
“Ugh.”
My sigh prompted Master So-woon to ask, “What is the problem?”
“What exactly is the problem?”
“You still have the restrained atmosphere and tone of the military. How can anyone believe you? No one will believe you. You could be reported as deserters.”
Was my answer too harsh?
They blushed and coughed.
“Hm, hm...”
Then one of the masters said in a dissatisfied voice.
“Then show us how you would do it.”
Hearing that, I turned my head and called Yeong-eung-am.
“Yeong-eung-am.”
“Yes.”
“Show us how you would act as a wanderer.”
“Yes, sir.”
At that moment, Yeong-eung-am's demeanor changed completely. Until just a moment ago, he was a stern bodyguard, but now...
“So how much are you going to pay me? I'm risking my life here, so you should pay me well, right?”
He crossed his arms and spoke arrogantly, but his eyes had changed.
Should I say that his eyes looked like he would do anything for money?
At the same time, he seemed to have experienced many hardships in life.
The Royal Guards were speechless at his sudden change.
“...Is this enough, Liege?”
“Yes. Thank you for your hard work.”
Actually, the Yeong-eung warrior said what I wanted to say for me.
That was exactly what I was thinking.
How did he know?
I feel relieved.
I said to the Royal Guards.
“Among the wanderers, there are some who do righteous deeds, but basically, both the white and black wanderers are people who sell their martial arts skills for money.”
I continued.
“Therefore, their eyes should be filled with greed and desire for money, but that is not what I saw in you.”
That's only natural, as the Royal Guards are one of the most prestigious organizations in the empire.
Would they, who are bound together by honor and pride, know anything about greed and desire for money?
“Your eyes are so sincere. That must mean you are full of loyalty to His Majesty the Emperor. Don't they say that the eyes are the window to the soul?”
They nodded in agreement with my words.
I ended with a compliment for the sake of the future.
The Royal Guards I saw were basically very proud.
If I tried to crush their pride, I would only lose.
And I was told to avoid mad dogs. So I decided to appease them.
That way, they will be favorable toward me and help me later, right?
We are currently on our way to rescue the emperor's son. The emperor would not have sent just anyone on such a mission.
This means that these men are trusted by the emperor, even among the Royal Guards.
If we build a good relationship with them, it will be beneficial to me and the Eunhae Trading Company in the future, right?
“Then what should we do?”
“How are we supposed to hide our identities?”
I said with confidence.
“I believe the emperor sent me with you for this very purpose.”
“Huh?”
“Have you forgotten? What is my identity?”
“Ah! That's right, you're the captain of the Eunhae Trading Company!”
“That's right.”
I nodded.
“Just say that they are my bodyguards. Then, even if they look like soldiers, it will be fine as long as they have a sincere look in their eyes.”
“I see.”
“But won't they be suspicious if you have so many bodyguards with you?”
“Is twelve too many?”
“Isn't that a lot?”
“No. Small trading companies may only have a few bodyguards, but large trading companies may have dozens of bodyguards.”
“That many?”
Soon, suspicion began to creep into their eyes.
“Even for a large trading company, isn't that too many?”
“I'm suspicious of their intentions.”
Ugh, these Masters are for real!
“I understand that the country recognizes a certain amount of troops for self-defense.”
“That's true. But do you really need that many guards?”
“That's right. There are soldiers stationed in each county.”
As expected, you live in a bubble and don't know what's going on in the real world.
My guards were trying hard to hide their disappointment.
I smiled and said,
“Master. Do you know what a posthumous remedy is?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“You have to take precautions before you lose your property or die. What good is it to report it to the county office after you lose your property or die? You can't get back what you've lost, and the dead won't come back to life.”
“....”
"And I don't know if you know this, but... Most officials refuse to deal with us merchants, saying that we have abandoned the principles of Confucianism and are a lowly bunch who only care about money. They just tell us to do as we please."
They flinched at my words.
They knew it too. They knew that what I said was true.
It was only because the emperor favored me and the Royal Guards, including Master Jin, were kind to me that I was able to be here.
If that weren't the case, would I be able to stand here and talk to you?
I feel sad for some reason. Damn it.
“Why do our merchants have so many bodyguards? It's because the empire doesn't protect merchants. So what can we do? We have to protect ourselves, don't we?”
I smiled and continued.
“So please don't misunderstand. What can you do with just a few dozen soldiers?”
“Well, you're right.”
“That's true.”
They nodded in agreement.
Damn it.
I'm going to tell the emperor everything! Really!
“In any case, even if you return with twelve bodyguards, no one will think it excessive. Besides, didn't you say that the situation in Yunnan is not very good? That makes it even more important to conceal your identities as my bodyguards.”
Master Kwon nodded at my suggestion.
“I think that's a good idea.”
Then Master So-un said,
“Then what should we call you? We only have one liege.”
That's right. The Royal Guards are the emperor's personal guard, so they only have one liege, the emperor.
“You can just call me Captain.”
“Ah...”
“I see...”
Tsk, tsk. I guess I took something unnecessary too seriously.
While heading to Yunnan, we made our own preparations. First, Seo Woo taught the bodyguards how to behave.
We also made a rough plan for after arriving in Yunnan.
Detailed plans are useless as the situation can change at any moment.
The time on the ship passed quickly, unlike usual, and before we knew it, we arrived in Yunnan.
“We're here!”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“Not at all.”
The humid air of Yunnan hit us like a wall.
Now, it's time to begin the operation in earnest.
“Where shall we go, Liege?”
“Let's go to our branch office first.”
Our branch office is located in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province.