Chapter 616
Chapter 616
Chapter 616. The Missing Letter (3)
I quietly slipped into the drinking party of the Baekpa Merchant Guild group.
And I naturally continued the conversation.
"Congratulations. I heard the Baekpa Merchant Guild also made an enormous profit this time." (Eun Seoho)
"Haha, thank you." (Baekpa Merchant)
"It is not as much as that Eunhae Merchant Guild over there, but we still earned quite a bit." (Baekpa Merchant)
At that moment, one person cut in with a grumble.
"What good is that? It all belongs to the country, and only a little compensation for our trouble will be given into our hands." (Baekpa Merchant)
"That is the problem." (Baekpa Merchant)
"Damn it! We perform the tricks, and the Empire takes the profit." (Baekpa Merchant)
As if those words were a signal, complaints began bursting from the mouths of several merchants.
I listened to them and tried hard to manage my expression.
Hoo, excuse me.
It seems you do not remember at all what the Empire did for this trade journey.
When it comes to profit, I, too, am no different in not backing down.
Even so, the reason I did not say anything about this state-led trade journey was because that was how it had to be.
First, the Empire decided to pay us for the goods we sold to foreign countries.
And it also decided to give us compensation for the work of selling them and obtaining food.
Because it was a trade journey supervised by the Empire, foreign countries such as the Daewol Kingdom and the Maraeseo Kingdom readily granted official permission for large-scale transactions.
On top of that, we even received the special privilege of being able to trade liquor during the prohibition, so we were able to make considerable profit.
The Baekpa Merchant Guild also loaded liquor onto their ships, after all.
If a few years pass like this, we will be able to establish a firm position in future maritime trade.
In other words, even looking only at the present, it is not a loss, and if the future is considered, it is absolutely a profit.
Tsk. And yet, without thinking about even that, they are blinded only by the profit before their eyes....
But I did not show these thoughts.
"That must have been quite unpleasant." (Eun Seoho)
"Hehehe, it is fine. A capable merchant knows how to gain profit even in such a situation." (Baekpa Merchant)
"Are you saying there is some other method?" (Eun Seoho)
At my question, the manager of the Baekpa Merchant Guild nodded.
"Please, I ask for your guidance." (Eun Seoho)
When I bowed my head deeply, perhaps because he felt pleased, he readily answered.
"You only need to give a small gift to a merchant of the Daewol Kingdom. And... you should research the rest on your own. One should not try to easily discover another person’s secret method. Hehehe." (Baekpa Merchant Guild Manager)
"..."
I held back the sigh that was about to come out.
I already know what method they used. I merely needed something certain.
But seeing everyone snickering as they looked at me makes it certain.
It was not only in my previous life; it is also a commonly used method among those who conduct maritime trade.
The current trade journey is one where goods sold in the Empire for ten nyang of silver are taken abroad, sold for more than that, and the resulting profit is used to buy that much grain and bring it back.
But here, the Empire’s merchants use a trick.
If they sell some item to a merchant of the Daewol Kingdom or Maraeseo Kingdom for twenty nyang of silver, there is no problem.
But if the official documents record it as eighteen nyang, that becomes a problem.
The reason that is possible is because the merchants of the Daewol Kingdom are not under state control.
But there is no reason they would agree to that for free, so they pacify them by giving them a small gift.
If that happens, even after giving the gift, a certain amount of money remains.
Since the quantity of goods being taken is considerable, that money is by no means a small sum.
With that officially undisclosed money, they load tax-exempt food and the like onto the ship and return to the Empire.
Tax exemption does not apply to goods traded by an individual merchant guild.
The problem is that if they bring goods identical to the goods the country needs, it is difficult to distinguish which ones are not tax-exempt.
They exploit that loophole and bring in the merchant guild’s private goods without paying taxes.
Since it is a large-scale trade journey, there must be people among them planted by the Emperor, so he must have noticed something suspicious.
Hoo....
Since it has become certain that they committed illegal acts, I should give them a warning according to the Emperor’s command.
If they still fail to understand, then they twisted their own fate with their own hands.
But why did the Emperor deliberately entrust this matter to me?
And so secretly at that.
For a moment, the question arose, but I soon erased it.
.
.
.
Day broke.
I immediately went to find Lord Ak and requested a private meeting.
"Due to the letter you gave me before, I would like to request support." (Eun Seoho)
"Understood. What should I help you with?" (Ak Yeonggyeong)
After hearing my explanation, Lord Ak smiled and readily nodded.
"If it is such a thing, I naturally must help." (Ak Yeonggyeong)
Lord Ak readily granted my request.
I moved elsewhere, changed my clothes, and wore a mask that covered the area below my nose.
And with the Divine Transformation Technique, I changed the shape of my eyes as well.
It was to prevent my face from being revealed.
If I accused them while my identity was exposed, there was a high chance I would be resented later.
Seeing my disguise, Lord Ak exclaimed in admiration.
"Oh! You look like a completely different person." (Ak Yeonggyeong)
"It is a small trick." (Eun Seoho)
"You truly are resourceful. It seems all preparations are complete, so let us go." (Ak Yeonggyeong)
Lord Ak personally led soldiers toward the harbor, and I, too, followed him as if I were an aide.
"Everyone, stop!" (Ak Yeonggyeong)
"What is the matter?" (Merchant Guild Manager)
Perhaps because he had drunk heavily the previous night and his stomach was still churning, a manager approached with a rather poor expression.
"We have come to search for goods to which tax exemption has not been applied. The goods written in the account book you reported. It means that everything other than those will be taxed. Is there anything you do not understand?" (Ak Yeonggyeong)
"N-no, there is not. But a search? There has never been such a thing until now, has there?" (Merchant Guild Manager)
"What are you talking about? Is it not the law that all overseas trade goods are originally taxed?" (Ak Yeonggyeong)
"T-that is true, but this is so sudden..." (Merchant Guild Manager)
"Previously, we did not search because there was a situation requiring distribution to the people as quickly as possible, but since the harvest has just ended, there is a little leeway, so we are simply following procedure." (Ak Yeonggyeong)
Lord Ak spoke firmly.
"Search for goods that differ from the reports!" (Ak Yeonggyeong)
"Yes!" (Soldiers)
At Lord Ak’s command, the investigation immediately began.
I examined the goods unloaded from the Baekpa Merchant Guild’s ship, but soon I could not help being flustered.
Huh? Why is there nothing?
Because the goods unloaded from the ship were exactly the same as the goods written in the report.
This cannot be.
At that moment, I saw the manager of the Baekpa Merchant Guild nod toward someone.
Toward whom...?
I quickly looked in that direction.
The person nodding back from that side was a fairly high-ranking soldier of the Nanjing Regional Military Commission.
Ah....
So that is why the Emperor secretly delivered the letter to me through Lord Ak.
Even though we quickly completed preparations and raided the harbor, they had heard this information through an informant and prepared.
If they had had just a little more time, they would have destroyed the evidence perfectly.
But there would not yet have been enough time to destroy the evidence perfectly.
I examined the area around the ship, discovered a rope hanging from the side of the ship, and laughed softly.
So they hid the evidence this way.
"What is this rope?" (Eun Seoho)
"That is the rope with the anchor attached." (Baekpa Merchant)
"For a rope with an anchor attached, it is thin." (Eun Seoho)
I pulled the rope, and at that, the complexions of the Baekpa Merchant Guild people began to change.
Soon, what was hanging from the end of the pulled rope was... a sack of grain.
There is a method called saltwater selection.
Before sowing rice, it is a method of sorting out dead seeds by soaking them in saltwater so dense that only part of an egg floats.
Of course, soaking them for a long time is not good, but that is because of the germination rate.
If it is rice to be consumed as food, it does not matter, so they hid the evidence by soaking it in the sea like this.
"Recover all the rice at once!" (Ak Yeonggyeong)
"Yes!" (Soldiers)
While the soldiers who received Lord Ak’s order moved, I began looking around the ship.
Rice is bulky, so they brought it hidden like trees in a forest, but there must definitely be things hidden on the ship.
Specialties of the Daewol Kingdom include things like water buffalo horns and pepper.
They are goods that sell for high prices in the Empire as well.
They would abandon their greed for those and simply come back?
They should say something that makes sense.
Since those are small in quantity, they must have hidden them somewhere on the ship.
And the place where those things are likely hidden is....
Tap, tap.
I approached one side of the ship and knocked on the wall.
As expected, there is a hollow sound inside.
When I drew my sword and lifted away one of the wooden boards making up that wall, a space appeared inside.
Correct.
Inside, it was filled with water buffalo horns.
I said to the soldier who had followed me.
"Clear all of these out." (Eun Seoho)
"Yes!" (Soldier)
After that, goods popped out wherever I touched.
There were water buffalo horns in the wall on the other side as well, and on the floor of the ship were sacks filled with pepper.
The things taken out from the ship like that were also a full heap.
When I took them out and went outside, the complexions of the Baekpa Merchant Guild people, which had already not been good, turned utterly black.
Seeing this, Lord Ak fiercely questioned them.
"What are all these now?" (Ak Yeonggyeong)
"T-that, well, that is..." (Baekpa Merchant)
"The rice hidden in the seawater and these things are not in the report." (Ak Yeonggyeong)
"..."
"As I said earlier, personal goods not recorded in the report are taxed. Rice may be one thing, but water buffalo horns and pepper... How much is the tax on these?" (Ak Yeonggyeong)
At this, I immediately answered.
"For such luxury goods, it is twenty percent of the current market price. And when they are caught during inspection, a surcharge is added, making it ten times the original tax." (Eun Seoho)
"I see." (Ak Yeonggyeong)
Lord Ak spoke to the merchants gathered around.
"If there is anything you brought in illegally, confess voluntarily at once, even now. Then, just this once, under my authority, I will reduce the surcharge from ten times to five times." (Ak Yeonggyeong)
Lord Ak turned his head to look at the Baekpa Merchant Guild and said,
"But that does not apply to you." (Ak Yeonggyeong)
"..."
Lord Ak’s warning was tremendously effective.
Because the other merchant guilds all brought out everything they had hidden little by little.
A tenfold surcharge is frightening, after all.
Fortunately, the Eunhae Merchant Guild had none.
Because I had warned them repeatedly.
In that way, those who had deceived the Emperor, including the Baekpa Merchant Guild, received a fierce monetary warning.
This trade journey was a waste of effort for them.
Still, paying money now and learning the attitude of not deceiving the Emperor is far better.
Because the Emperor is truly a frightening person.
I hope they engrave this warning well into their bones.
.
.
.
The situation was settled like that, and the merchant ships were slowly preparing to depart.
But Lord Ak, who had returned to the Regional Military Commission, came back to the harbor again.
"What is the matter?" (Eun Seoho)
"Ah! The Baekbuik Merchant Guild made an urgent request. They said it seems a diplomatic problem is about to occur." (Ak Yeonggyeong)
If it is the Baekbuik Merchant Guild, they are the merchant guild that traded with the Maraeseo Kingdom and returned.
"May I accompany you as well?" (Eun Seoho)
"Of course." (Ak Yeonggyeong)
Like that, I headed to the Baekbuik Merchant Guild’s ship together with Lord Ak.
The Baekbuik Merchant Guild’s ship was extremely chaotic.
At that moment, perhaps because he had heard that Lord Ak had arrived, Vice Young Master Ji Seokmun hurried down from the ship.
"This humble merchant greets my lord." (Ji Seokmun)
"What is the matter? I came here because I heard that a diplomatic problem may occur." (Ak Yeonggyeong)
"The thing is, the box that the king of the Maraeseo Kingdom sent to Her Highness Princess Sinaa has disappeared." (Ji Seokmun)
"What?" (Ak Yeonggyeong)
Not only Lord Ak, but I was flustered as well.
Because I had thought the matter the Emperor ordered me to do had ended well, but an enormous incident had suddenly broken out in a completely unexpected place.
"Could it have been placed somewhere else? Or perhaps it was not loaded onto the ship at all?" (Ak Yeonggyeong)
Lord Ak, having realized the seriousness of the matter, asked seriously. At this, Vice Young Master Ji Seokmun shook his head.
"No. It was definitely in my office inside the merchant ship." (Ji Seokmun)
I stepped forward and said,
"Excuse me, I apologize for interrupting." (Eun Seoho)
"No. If you have something to say, say it." (Ak Yeonggyeong)
Lord Ak’s gaze as he looked at me was generous.
"We need to retrace this matter from the beginning. Vice Young Master Ji Seokmun. Please explain." (Eun Seoho)
At my words, he nodded and began explaining.
He said that before returning after finishing the trade journey, he visited again at the request of the king of the Maraeseo Kingdom, who asked him to stop by, and the king gave him a box, asking him to deliver it to his daughter.
"Inside that box were gold and silver treasures, along with one letter." (Ji Seokmun)
"In other words, it means a gift and a letter to Princess Sinaa?" (Ak Yeonggyeong)
"That is correct." (Ji Seokmun)
Vice Young Master Ji Seokmun continued speaking.
"So I brought it and placed it in my office, and had the guards ensure they did not leave their posts even for a moment. But... the box that was definitely there until yesterday disappeared this morning." (Ji Seokmun)
"It means someone stole the box." (Ak Yeonggyeong)
"I think so as well. That is why I requested your help like this, my lord." (Ji Seokmun)
He said with a pained expression.
"Honestly, I can prepare the gold and silver treasures inside the box with my own private funds. Since it happened due to my negligence in management, I must accept the loss. But the letter from His Majesty the King is something I cannot do anything about... Please, find at least the letter." (Ji Seokmun)
I asked him.
"Do you by any chance know the contents of the letter?" (Eun Seoho)
"I do not. I could not recklessly open a letter sent to Her Highness the Princess." (Ji Seokmun)
That is true.
"Then who knows about the contents of that box?" (Eun Seoho)
"That is..." (Ji Seokmun)
He let out a sigh.
"Most of the people who rode on the same ship know." (Ji Seokmun)
That is troublesome.
In effect, it means everyone who rode on that ship is on the suspect list.
If the box disappeared this morning, it means the time of the crime was from late last night to dawn.
At that time, everyone would have been attending the banquet Lord Ak hosted, though?
"We will have to interrogate them. Are there any among those who came on the merchant ship whose whereabouts are unclear?" (Ak Yeonggyeong)
"No. There are none." (Ji Seokmun)
The interrogation immediately began.
Meanwhile, I boarded the Baekbuik Merchant Guild’s ship and headed to Vice Young Master Ji Seokmun’s office.
Fortunately, perhaps because not much time had passed yet, I could faintly sense the aura of the black path.
Then it means it was the act of a black path martial artist?
Hm?
At that moment, something caught my eye.