Chapter 473
The Youngest Son of the Silver Sea Trading Company Chapter 473
Chapter 473. There are a lot of them (4)
Gal Hyun blinked his eyes as if he didn't understand what I said.
I calmly explained my intention.
“I place great importance on character and ability. Judging from the way you did your best even under such a petty Liege, your character is acceptable. And since you piqued my interest with this operation, your ability is also acceptable.”
“...”
“So, this is my proposal. These food supplies are from His Majesty the Emperor for those who are starving to death in the empire. If you dare touch them, you will die without a second chance.”
At my words, he bowed his head deeply.
“However, if you agree to work under me, I can spare your life. I will have to ask for mercy from His Majesty, but.”
Then I glanced at the commander of the imperial guards.
He looked very favorably upon me.
That is why he is tolerating my actions.
“So make your choice. What will you do?”
“...”
At that moment, Boss shouted from beside me.
“You bastard! You want to live by being a coward? You're the one who got us into this mess, so you should be the one to die!”
He always knows when to interrupt.
I smiled wryly and said,
“You don't want to continue serving a bastard like him as your liege, do you?”
At that moment, Gal-hyun spoke up.
“To be honest, I have no loyalty to my liege. I believe I have repaid him for saving my life.”
He continued.
“I just feel sorry for the others who are in trouble because of me. Most of them are people who have become refugees due to the famine. They just want to eat a full meal, but because of me, they are in this situation. How can I betray them and live alone?”
That look in his eyes... I had seen it before in my previous life.
Back then, he had rejected my offer not for the sake of the Boss, but for the sake of the other people in the mountain keep.
I like this better.
That means he is not a person who is bound by duty and condones injustice.
He is just a man of compassion.
“All right. If you agree to work for me, I will spare the lives of the refugees in the mountain keep.”
“What? Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
“Then I accept your offer.”
“Understood.”
I approached the commander.
“Sir, I believe this incident was caused by the refugees' hunger. Although they attempted to steal food, they did not take anything.”
“That is true.”
“In this situation, I think Senior Brother's punishment is too harsh. Those refugees are people who can cultivate the land and farm if they have fields. If they farm, won't we have more food for the army?”
“You have a point. We don't have much food for the army due to the continuous crop failures.”
The commander of the royal army is a soldier.
For him, the issue of supplies must be important, so using military provisions as an example was effective.
“Then how about making those refugees tenant farmers on the imperial palace's land and putting them to work?”
“That's a good idea. I was feeling a little uneasy about executing all these people.”
“Furthermore, I don't think we should ignore their abilities. So, I will take the soldier with me.”
“You?”
“Yes. My work is also what His Majesty the Emperor has ordered me to do for the people of this empire. Therefore, I think it is a fitting punishment to make them work under me as slaves.”
“That makes sense. But... Are you going to put that leader to work as well?”
“No. If we spare him, who will these people listen to when it's time to work?”
“I see.”
The commander understood what I meant and nodded, then gave an order to the imperial guards.
“Kill him.”
“Yes!”
Hearing this, the Boss, who was in a state of shock, struggled and begged.
“Please spare my life! Please... please...”
Slashed!
His neck was cut in one blow and rolled on the floor. Seeing this, the faces of those watching turned pale.
Then they looked at me with grateful eyes.
Soon, those who remained in the mountain keep were dragged out by the imperial guards. Those who resisted were killed on the spot.
I couldn't ask them to watch that.
Most of the people in the mountain keep were old men, women, and children.
They looked terrified, but they seemed relieved to hear that they would not be killed.
Our group and the food convoy set off again, and those who had been bound followed behind the imperial guards.
There was a reason why I had them put to work on the imperial estate.
Those whom I had previously put to work on the Eunhae Trading Company's land were people who had crossed the Eunhae Trading Company.
However, this time, they had tampered with food destined for Beijing and clashed with the imperial guards in the process.
Therefore, it was only natural that they should perform forced labor for the imperial palace.
Furthermore, working on imperial palace-owned land was not such a bad environment.
Although they could not earn money, they would not starve to death as long as they worked.
And when the period of forced labor ended, they could sign a contract and receive wages.
This reflected the emperor's idea of increasing the number of self-supporting farmers who could save money to buy their own land and farm.
Self-supporting farmers pay taxes.
And taxes are the financial resources for running the empire.
Even if you want to do something for the country, you need money, and if you can't work because you don't have money, the people will become discontented.
In fact, the emperor's power comes from the people.
The emperor was very clever.
However, this plan could only work if the laborers were able to save money and buy land after completing their labor service.
That is why I was slowly buying up land throughout the empire.
In order for them to become self-supporting farmers, there had to be people willing to sell their land, but who would sell their land after a famine and a bumper crop?
So, I am buying land now and plan to sell it to them later to make a profit on the difference in market value.
That doesn't mean I'm planning to make an unreasonable profit.
It's just a kind of provision for the future.
.
.
.
.
We were a day later than Seo Woo-mu had expected, but that was probably because the number of people in our party had increased and we had to travel with the refugees.
Anyway, when we arrived in Beijing and headed for the imperial palace, we witnessed an unexpected scene.
In front of the imperial palace, there were people hanging from the trees, their bodies torn to pieces.
They were the traitors who had plundered Chunkyungseong and, fearing that their crimes would be exposed, had imprisoned the Magistrate of Chunkyungseong and tortured the Crown Prince.
The fact that they were punished so publicly meant that the interrogation was over.
However, neither the Royal Guards nor Dongchang were among them.
They must not be revealed even in life, and they must not be revealed even in death.
And Gongho was not there either.
Is there still more to find out? Or are they in a tug-of-war with the Martial Alliance over him?
In any case, the emperor's anger was evident in the fact that the bodies of the executed envoys were not buried, but hung upside down, still alive.
However, even seeing such a cruel sight, no one felt sorry for them.
This was because their crimes had been widely publicized.
Seeing this, I was reminded of my previous life.
At that time, the Magistrate of Chunkyungseong was hung like that. Now, justice has been served.
The refugees we brought with us, who did not yet know why they were in such a state, were terrified.
There's no need to be so afraid...
To be honest, the emperor is a frightening man in many ways, but he is not one to abuse his Fist power recklessly.
Still, thanks to him, they have been prevented from attempting to escape, so I guess we should be grateful.
Before we knew it, we had arrived in front of the imperial palace.
“Then we will be on our way.”
I nodded to the heads of the Trading Company who had accompanied me.
“Yes, I will contact you again.”
I wanted to part ways here and go to the Beijing branch, but I had to go see the emperor.
I had to report that I had properly carried out the emperor's orders.
And I also had to explain what to do with the refugees we had brought with us.
Only then would I be allowed to take the talented people I had found with me.
I had a pass from the emperor that allowed me to enter the palace at any time, so I could enter without permission.
I'll use this. Huh.
I think the emperor gave me this so he could make better use of me.
A moment later.
I was able to meet with the emperor together with the commander.
We paid our respects, and the emperor praised us for our achievements.
“You have worked hard.”
“No, we have only obeyed the emperor's orders.”
“But I hear you brought some people with you?”
As expected of the emperor.
The Royal Guards must have reported this to him.
The Royal Guards were with us, but at my request, they focused on protecting the food.
I thought things might get out of hand if they got involved.
“Yes, there was an unfortunate incident while we were bringing the food.”
He explained what happened in detail.
“...If it weren't for Young Master Eun Seo-ho, we wouldn't have been able to complete our mission.”
He's praising me too much...
I quickly bowed and said.
“I only did what I could with my limited abilities. It is all thanks to your command that we were able to lead the huge procession safely and resolve the incident.”
“You are correct.”
The emperor nodded.
“It was certainly a big deal. That is why I entrusted this task to you.”
“I am at a loss for words.”
“Your achievement in bringing the food back safely is great. Therefore, I will reward you with fifty bolts of silk.”
“I am deeply honored.”
“You may leave now.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Then he turned to me and said,
“You stay.”
I was planning to stay anyway, Your Majesty.
After the commander left, the emperor said to me,
“I will punish those refugees as you requested.”
“Your Majesty, thank you very much.”
“I see you covet the abilities of that Gal-hyun.”
“I just thought it was a waste of talent.”
“What, you want to keep him under you? That's the perfect punishment for someone who came up with that plan.”
Why do his words sound so harsh?
No, I've worked so hard for the welfare of my employees, and now they're being punished...
My subordinates won't have it so hard... Hmm.
I couldn't think any further when I thought of Miss Seo and the employees of Hyungpung-guk.
“By the way, they really slept well, just as I instructed.”
“The sleeping pills you gave me for this job worked well.”
“Bang Hyo-yu said so too.”
Huh...
So that was the sleeping pill that Bang Dae-in liked to use. No wonder he said it was effective.
“By the way, we'll be able to breathe a sigh of relief with the food we earned from this trade. In that sense, I am grateful to you.”
The emperor's gaze toward me was filled with gratitude.
After all, I was the one who proposed this trade and brought it to a successful conclusion.
“I am embarrassed to hear such words. I only spoke for my own benefit.”
“However, the empire has benefited from it, so I am grateful.”
“If you truly feel that way, may I make a request?”
The emperor looked interested at my words.
“What is it?”
“Our merchants are planning to submit a joint petition. Please make sure that the petition is approved.”
“What is it about?”
“It is about the prohibition of alcohol.”
“Prohibition on alcohol?”
“Yes. We have a way to bring in more food than what we brought this time.”
There was one reason why I reported on the petition in advance.
Time.
Even the time spent by the ministers debating the petition was precious.
It wasn't that there wasn't enough time before the next departure, but it took quite a long time to make alcohol.
* * *
“Gal-hyun! Come out.”
Gal-hyun came out of the prison at the words of the royal guard. He glanced at the people still in the prison.
In the prison, he begged for forgiveness from the people.
He was in this situation because his plan had been seen through, and also because he had failed to come up with a countermeasure.
The people told him that it was not his fault. He was so grateful to them.
While in prison, he reflected on Eun Seo-ho's words over and over again.
Come to think of it, he seemed to have been a little self-indulgent.
He couldn't betray the refugees, so he worked under a petty boss, but everyone around him praised him as a military man.
In that situation, he seemed to have become arrogant without realizing it.
However, this incident shattered his pride and self-indulgence.
“Take care of yourself.”
“Yes, Father. Mother. And Hyung-nim.”
“I hope everything goes well for you, wherever you go.”
“Please stay healthy.”
Gal-hyun said goodbye and spoke to the imperial guards.
“You may go now.”
When Gal-hyun came out of the prison, someone was waiting for him.
“I am Yeo Eung-am, the bodyguard of Captain Eun Seo-ho. I look forward to working with you.”
“I look forward to working with you as well.”
With that, he followed Yeo Eung-am to the Beijing branch.
“I brought the Captain.”
“Come in.”
Eunseoho greeted him with a big smile.
“I should tell you that you are currently a slave, so you have nowhere to run.”
He didn't understand why he was being told that he had nowhere to run and being threatened with his identity.
But when he thought about how he had taken a step back without realizing it, he realized that it was his instinctive reaction.
He was afraid for his future.