Chapter 470
The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 470
Chapter 470. There are many (1)
The emperor coughed.
“Hmm. Yes. Fine. I will do as you wish.”
“Thank you, Father.”
The emperor waved his hand at So-un.
“I have something to discuss with them, so you may go now.”
“Yes, sir.”
So, So-woon left the office, and the emperor smiled as he watched him leave.
“I never thought those words would come out of his mouth. I was planning to appoint him as the King of Seongbo, but I guess I'll have to postpone it until next year.”
Then, he looked at Jin-yeong and Kwon-jik and said, “By the way, did that Eunseoho do a good job this time?”
“By the way, it seems that Eun Seo-ho did a good job this time.”
“That's right. If it weren't for him, our lives would have been in danger.”
“Then I would have lost my two sons.”
Hearing this, the two Royal Guards quickly bowed their heads.
“We are truly sorry, Your Majesty! It was our fault for being incompetent…”
“No. It is my fault.”
At that moment, a court official announced from outside.
“Your Majesty, urgent news has arrived.”
“Let him come in.”
The door opened, and the court official entered and reported to the eunuch.
The eunuch nodded and reported to the emperor.
“Your Majesty, the ships that left for Sanghang have just arrived.”
* *
I am trapped in a sea of paperwork.
I have to look at documents all day long. It's a sea of paperwork. Ugh.
If it weren't for Miss Seo Hyang's help, I might have stayed up all night.
I think I need to hire more aides.
As my workload increases, I can see that even Miss Seo Hyang is struggling.
Besides, I can't keep Seo Hyang as my assistant forever.
As I was working with a sigh, the door to my office suddenly burst open and Pal-gap rushed in.
“Young Master! Young Master!”
“What is it? Why are you making such a fuss?”
“The ships that left for the capital have just arrived.”
“What?”
I jumped up from my seat.
“Hurry and get ready!”
“Yes, sir.”
Then I sat back down in my chair. I still had work to do.
Seo Hyang handed me some documents and said, “Hang in there. You only have ten more to go.”
“...”
Just as I picked up my brush to finish the documents, I heard Seo Woo's voice from outside.
“Liege, Master has arrived.”
Damn it.
.
.
.
The preparations were completed in a day, and we headed for Nanjing.
That meant we had to leave soon after finishing our work.
On top of that, the emperor had summoned me the day before, which took up even more time.
Still, thanks to Ju Gangma, we were able to arrive in Nanjing much faster than the others.
As we approached the port, we could see ships anchored a short distance away.
This was because they had not yet received permission to enter the port.
Since we were bringing a large amount of food, the emperor ordered us to enter the port after the imperial guards arrived.
Because we came by horseback, we had to wait quite a while for the imperial guards to arrive.
Nevertheless, I rushed here so that I could see the ships with my own eyes and welcome them first.
It may seem trivial, but it is the little things like this that impress people.
Besides, if my guess is correct, Captain Yong-eung-wan did not come alone.
The emperor has given me orders.
We reserved the best inns and taverns around the port of Nanking and waited for the imperial guards to arrive.
The person in charge of this matter is the left assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites.
Hoo, His Majesty the Emperor sent a fairly high-ranking official.
Didn't the Chief Secretary come last time?
Well, this matter is quite important from the empire's perspective.
He ordered the imperial guards to clear the area, and when they were done, he gave orders to the jockey.
“Send the signal to allow them to enter the port.”
“Yes!”
With five blasts of the horn, a large green flag fluttered.
It was the signal to allow the ships to enter the harbor.
A moment later, the ships anchored in the distance began to move.
Then the ships began to dock in the harbor one by one.
Let's see where our ships are.
“There they are!”
As expected, Pal-gap has keen eyesight.
“Let's go.”
“Yes!”
We rushed to the spot.
Two large ships with the name “Eunhae” written on them.
No ships were missing.
Soon, a temporary bridge was lowered, and people began to disembark.
They were darker than before, probably from being exposed to the sun on the ocean, but they all looked healthy.
I looked over the members of our trading company and greeted the officials who had accompanied us.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“Thank you for coming to greet us in person.”
“Not at all. I am the one who should thank you for taking good care of our Trading Company. And the Deputy Minister of the Right is here as the person in charge of this matter.”
“The Deputy Minister?”
“Yes. Let's go quickly.”
“I suppose so.”
They hurried toward the Minister of Rites. I followed them and approached the people who were disembarking from the ship.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“Captain!”
“The captain has come to greet us in person! We didn't do anything that great…”
“Just returning safely is a great achievement.”
They looked touched by my words.
Among those who came with them were some who looked slightly exotic. Sensing my gaze, the staff member explained.
“They are Captain Yong's family.”
“I see. But where is Captain Yong?”
He replied to my question.
“The captain said that the captain of a ship must always be the first to board and the last to disembark.”
As he said, Captain Yong Eung-wan disembarked last after everyone else had left the ship.
“Captain, I am glad you returned safely.”
In response to my greeting, he clasped his hands together and reported, “Captain Yong Eung-wan of the Eunhae Shipping Company has returned after completing his voyage.”
“Captain Yong-eung-wan of the Eunhae Trading Company's fleet Eunhae has returned from its voyage.”
I patted him on the shoulder and said,
“You should report that to my father, not to me.”
“But you are my master.”
Knowing his feelings, I just smiled.
“It seems you have some guests with you. Won't you introduce them?”
“Yes, I will.”
Yong-eungwan called out to the people dressed in exotic clothes.
“This is my mother, my sister, and my Hyung-nim.”
I nodded and greeted them with a bright smile.
“I am Eun Seo-ho, the captain of the Eunhae Trading Company. Welcome.”
Yong-eungwan translated my words for them. Then they said to me.
“Hello. Nice to meet you.”
They were a little tongue-tied, but they knew how to speak the imperial language.
Yong-eungwan added an explanation.
“They will be staying in the empire, so they learned a little of the imperial language before coming here.”
“I see.”
As their Imperial language was still poor, Yong Eung-wan interpreted what they said in the language of Daewook.
“They are grateful to you for granting them freedom.”
“Tell them it is thanks to their son.”
He replied shyly and said to his family.
It wasn't wrong.
Looking at them, I felt glad. In his previous life, when Yong-eung-wan arranged for them to be sold and returned to their hometown, all of his family members had already passed away.
“Was the ransom enough?”
Yong-eung-wan nodded in response to my question.
“It was more than enough. Thanks to the officials who accompanied us, the negotiations went well. Thanks to you, even my surviving relatives were able to gain their freedom.”
He continued.
“They said they would stay there, but my family wanted to come with me, so we all came together.”
“I see. For now, focus on learning the imperial language. I will look for a suitable job for you.”
“Thank you.”
Now for the real question.
“So, did you achieve anything?”
“Of course.”
He smiled.
“The people of Daewook were crazy about the tea and pottery I brought with me this time.”
Then he pointed to the ship and said,
“Everything in there is food.”
The things covered with large cloths appeared to be food.
With that much food, it was a complete success.
This trade mission was a great success, just as I had expected.
Not only our ship, but all the other ships were loaded with food.
It will take several days just to unload all the food.
“And the plum fruits you gave us were very useful. Thanks to them, we were able to avoid suffering from blood poisoning.”
I'm glad the plum fruits were helpful.
“The sailors on the other ships also benefited greatly from the plums. I distributed them for free, as you requested.”
So that's why they've been looking at me with such gratitude.
Actually, I did that for a reason...
“Thank you for your hard work. I've prepared an inn for you, so please go and rest.”
Captain Yong and the sailors who had endured the long voyage headed for the inn I had prepared.
Meanwhile, the sailors from the other merchant ships were heading for the Dao Commandant's Office in Nanking.
I approached them.
“Please don't do that. Stay at the lodgings I have prepared for you.”
“What?”
“It's a room for two people.”
Their eyes lit up at my words.
This was because they would have had to stay in a room with more than ten people at the Dao Command Headquarters.
“And the people I hired will do your laundry for you. You can leave it to them.”
“What?”
“Are you serious?”
“I have a lot of laundry, and it's dirty...”
“It's okay.”
I took that into consideration and hired them for a generous wage.
“In return, you must not leave the inn for the next three days and must stay inside the inn.”
I continued.
“I have prepared a delicious dinner, so please come and enjoy it, everyone.”
“Thank you!”
When evening came, the tavern I had rented was filled with sailors.
It would be quite expensive, but that was fine.
It wasn't my money.
In fact, it was an order from His Majesty the Emperor.
I smiled as I watched them eat and drink the food that had been prepared for them.
An hour or two passed, and one by one, they began to fall asleep.
They must be very sleepy.
I told them not to leave the inn for three days and to get plenty of sleep, but there are always those who don't listen.
So, after they had eaten their fill, I put sleeping pills in the tea they were about to drink.
This was also His Majesty's order.
To be honest, even without the order, I was planning to put them to sleep.
I know because I slept well this time.
Sleeping is the best cure for fatigue from a long journey.
Why do they say that sleep is the best medicine?
Besides, these people are full of energy. With the joy of finally returning and their tired bodies, if they go out now with their senses not yet back, they will surely cause trouble.
Then who will have to clean up the mess?
It would be a headache to determine who was responsible.
Those who realized that they had taken sleeping pills muttered with resentful looks.
“You're too much.”
“Oh, I was going to stay up all night...”
“Chun-wol... I'm sorry, Orabeoni...”
Listening to them, I realized once again that my decision was right.
I gave them sleeping pills not only to prevent them from causing trouble, but also for another reason.
I feel sorry for them, but I cannot satisfy their desires right now.
I smiled bitterly and recalled my conversation with the emperor.
“I learned this while interrogating the man named Gongho who was captured this time. There is no place that the Martial Alliance cannot reach.”
“...”
“When the merchant ships that left for overseas trade return to port, they will try to obtain information about this. They couldn't participate in the trade because they didn't have ships, but they want to get a piece of the pie.”
“I think so too.”
“Then how will they obtain the information? Tell me.”
“Isn't it obvious? The information will leak out through the waiters at restaurants and the courtesans at brothels.”
“So, is there a good way to deal with this?”
“Just put them to sleep.”
“Huh?”
“Just gather them in one place, feed them, and put them to sleep, right?”
“Hahahaha! What a brilliant idea!”
At that moment, the emperor laughed heartily.
In any case, we don't know where the Martial Alliance's agents are, so we can't let them pass on important information while they're in the arms of women.
So please be patient a little longer.
Three more days.
After that, the Martial Alliance can have the information.
Those who need it already have it.
In the meantime, all the sailors fell asleep, and the Royal Guards and the Royal Army came in and laid them down in the inn.
Staying at the military headquarters was better for security, but the beds at the inn were more comfortable.
Since they were going to sleep anyway, they might as well sleep in a comfortable place.
.
.
.
After about two days, the heads of each Trading Company arrived. They looked at the crew sleeping soundly and breathed a sigh of relief.
“Thank goodness!”
“I was worried that they might cause trouble.”
“It would have been very unfair if information about this incident had been leaked to others.”
Of course.
This is their first time engaging in large-scale trade with a foreign country, so they must have a lot of valuable information.
However, most of the sailors don't know that it's important information.
Or even if they do, it may be more important to them to brag about their heroic deeds.
As people who have been operating merchant ships for a long time, they had quite a lot of experience, so they were worried.
“We are greatly indebted to you.”
“It was not my doing, but the order of His Majesty the Emperor.”
“Is that so?”
“That is why His Majesty the Emperor is paying close attention to this matter. Let us do our best to make the next trade voyage a profitable one.”
I am using the emperor's name for the sake of myself and our Silver Sea Trading Company.
If they are motivated, our trading company will also benefit.
Your Majesty, aren't I one of your trusted confidants?
So please forgive me for using your name.