Chapter 68
The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 68
Chapter 68. Fishing for Talent (3)
It was no exaggeration to say that the battle ended in victory for the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult thanks to that administrator.
This was because he supplied provisions at just the right time.
In recognition of his efforts, the Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult personally bestowed upon him the title of “Man-Tong-Ma-Gung,” meaning that everything in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult would be under his command.
At that moment, he revealed the origin of his name, which spread throughout the world and even reached my ears.
Just in case, I asked him, “Did you name yourself after the pine tree growing on the ruins of the castle?”
“Did you name yourself Seok Il-song because you saw pine trees growing on the ruins of the foundation stones and wanted to become a strong person like them?”
“Huh? That's right. How did you know?”
I was speechless for a moment.
A constitution that prevents him from learning martial arts.
And the meaning of the name he had just told me he had given himself.
He really was Seok Il-song.
I looked at him, who was staring at me with wide eyes, and said to Seok Il-song.
“I just thought so.”
What happened in my previous life?
What happened to make this boy join the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult and terrorize the Central Plains?
I'm glad I found him before he joined the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
His talent should be used for a constructive and hopeful future, not for such slaughter.
“We are from Hubei Province. You have to follow us to Hubei Province. Is that possible?”
“Of course.”
“We are a trading company. Hiring you means that you have to help us with our work.”
“Anything is fine as long as it's not illegal.”
I didn't have to worry about where to put Seok Il-song.
With the selection of a salt retailer, there would be even more work to do.
On top of that, I had just become a captain.
As a captain, I could no longer work as Chief Administrator Yu's assistant.
Therefore, I needed a capable assistant who could work exclusively for Chief Administrator Yu.
Chief Administrator Yu was very distrustful of people, so he had never had an assistant.
However, Seok Il-song would be able to ease Chief Administrator Yu's distrust.
He was young, had a strong will to live, and was intelligent.
I thought it would be a good idea to take him to Chief Administrator Yu and ask him to train him well.
“Stay here and wait for us to return to Hubei Province.”
“Does that mean you will hire me?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you! I will work hard!”
The problem was that he was only thirteen years old. It would be difficult to let him stay at the inn by himself.
As if he knew my thoughts, Pal-gap quickly said to me.
“Young master, I will stay at the inn with this boy.”
“Is that okay?”
“Of course.”
“Thank you. Use this money to buy something delicious to eat.”
I gave Pal-gap a generous amount of money.
Now I really had to return to the residence of the head of the trading company.
It was already quite late, and I was starting to feel tired.
.
.
.
Two days passed.
Finally, the heads of the 23 trading companies gathered at the residence of the head of the Jinwoo Trading Company.
The representatives of each Trading Company held a meeting, and I was able to guess the contents of the meeting from the documents my father had brought with him.
The salt retailers agreed to form an association called Yeombang and hold regular meetings twice a year.
In addition, they decided on other details, such as the price of salt and the maximum amount of salt that could be sold at one time.
Looking at the contents, I smiled wryly.
I thought that the emperor must have really made up his mind.
After all, it was the common people who had been suffering from the high price of salt, so in order to gain their support, he had no choice but to push this through.
As a bonus, he would be able to fill the imperial coffers.
The next day.
We finally headed to the imperial palace to meet the emperor.
Clackety-clack.
The sound of the carriage running on the stone-paved road could be heard regularly.
I looked at my father.
I could tell that he was nervous.
After all, we were about to meet the emperor.
As the person at the pinnacle of Fist power, even a single gesture or glance from him could blow away a trading company like ours, which was at the bottom of the Hundred Trading Companies.
However, I wasn't very nervous.
I knew that the emperor had summoned us simply to show us off.
We would just meet him, hear him say, “Do well in the future. I will be watching you,” respond with, “We will do well,” and then leave the audience chamber.
Oh, come to think of it, we have one more thing to do. We brought the fan we are presenting to the emperor.
Only my father and I were in the carriage on our way to the emperor. My brother couldn't come.
He wasn't on the list of those who were to be granted an audience.
According to the list brought by the court official, only the representatives of each trading company could be granted an audience, and I was the only exception.
This was because the emperor specifically requested me to come. That is why I came all the way to Beijing.
I guess he wants to thank me for saving Jin Woo-rim, the captain of the trading company.
My brother Jung-ho seemed disappointed.
But there was no reason to feel disappointed.
The five major trading companies had the privilege of being invited by the emperor.
As the head of a trading company at the time, Jung-ho had visited the imperial palace many times.
Then the carriage stopped.
“Everyone must walk from here. Please get out of the carriage.”
We got out of the carriages at the orders of the court official who had come to escort us.
In the distance, we could see a magnificent palace with golden roofs.
And in front of us was a long road paved with stone. That meant there was no shade.
I glanced at the blazing sun and let out a slight sigh.
I am not affected by the heat because I have mastered the art of ice magic.
However, the others already looked exhausted from the heat. In particular, Captain In-joon was over 70 years old.
We have to walk all the way there in this heat?
What would my brother Jeong-ho, who hates the heat, say if he saw this?
Thinking of Jung-ho, I suddenly remembered what he had told me when he visited the imperial palace in my past life.
“I was worried because the road to Taehwajeon was long and hot. But the court officials held curved parasols to shade me, so I had a cool and comfortable trip.”
A curved umbrella is used to create shade when there is none, and is usually attached to a carriage.
However, when there was no carriage, they would carry the curved umbrella themselves to create shade.
Being given a curved umbrella at the imperial palace meant that you were being treated with great respect.
When a curved umbrella was used, a court official belonging to the private office always accompanied the emperor.
The private office was responsible for managing the emperor's tents and umbrellas, and the curved umbrellas used for special occasions were also kept there.
Just in case, I asked the court official who had come to escort us.
“I wonder if the head of the private office is here.”
“Why do you want to know?”
“Actually, our trading company is interested in umbrellas.”
“You merchants are curious about everything. That's why I don't like you. The court official over there is from the Private Office.”
The court official replied loudly.
“Thank you for letting me know.”
There are private guards here.
Of course there are.
From the emperor's perspective, salt merchants are more valuable guests than the five major trading companies.
However, the guards don't seem to like us very much. Their attitude toward us since earlier and the way they look at us seem condescending.
I know what those looks mean.
They are looking at us as if to say, “You are just merchants who only care about money. You should be grateful just to be allowed into the imperial palace. Why should we treat you with such respect?”
I have seen those looks many times in my previous life.
In any case, I understood the situation.
Originally, they were supposed to provide us with hoods. However, they deliberately did not prepare any hoods.
In other words, they did not follow the emperor's orders properly.
You may ask how they could dare to do such a thing, but when you think about it, it seems that they did not want to protest about not being given hoods.
The captains of the trading companies here are not even among the five greatest trading companies in the world, so they probably don't know about the sickles and are acting this way.
It would be difficult for the emperor to know everything.
This made me think that they had formed a secret organization within the eunuchs.
It would be better to bow down even now.
As I recall, a few months later, there was a bloodbath among the eunuchs.
This was because the eunuchs collectively deceived the emperor, and a typical example was when they sold information related to the new salt distribution law to other trading companies in exchange for money.
And it was one of these eunuchs who leaked the travel route of the head of the Dong Trading Company to the Captain.
That was revealed.
Could it be that they are being so rude to us because the trading company that supported them suffered losses, and now they are afraid that their share of the spoils will be reduced?
How petty and despicable.
They had been favored by the emperor and believed that they were safe, so they acted arrogantly, but in the end, they will pay the price.
At that time, I felt a little sorry for them, but now that I've experienced this dirty work firsthand, I think they got what they deserved.
“Hurry up!”
“Are you going to keep His Majesty waiting?”
The eunuchs urged us. There was no point in arguing about why we hadn't prepared a basket in this situation.
Arguing here would only delay us and cause us to be questioned by the emperor.
So, I decided to let it go for now.
I said to Captain In-joon.
“Let me carry you.”
“No, I'm fine.”
“It looks like quite a long way. What if you collapse from exhaustion in front of His Majesty the Emperor? And if you walk slowly, the eunuchs here will be scolded.”
The eunuchs did not stop me when I said this.
It was the right thing to say.
“....
”Just think of it as riding on your grandson's back and relax."
“Then I would be imposing on you.”
I carried Captain In-joon on my back, and the eunuch said.
“Let's go.”
After walking for a while, Captain In-joon said in a low voice.
“I am truly grateful. To be honest, I was wondering how I would get to Taehwajeon.”
“Don't mention it.”
“But you seem very cold.”
“It must be because I have a cold constitution.”
“I see.”
Then Captain In-joon said,
“It seems like they didn't prepare any rice cakes on purpose...”
This man also understood the situation.
There was a reason why they said old ginger is spicy.
“You seem to have noticed too. How sad.”
I replied in a low voice.
“Actually, I have a bit of a grudge.”
“What are you going to do?”
“You'll see. I'll make them pay more than they did this time.”
After walking for a long time, we arrived in front of Taehwajeon.
This is where the private chambers are located.
After adjusting our clothes, we waited for a moment, and then a court official came out and said politely,
“Please come in.”
“Yes.”
We entered one by one and knelt down in front of him.
“Long live the emperor! Long live the emperor!”
“Raise your heads.”
“We are deeply honored.”
I raised my head and looked at the emperor.
The current emperor is in his forties. However, I sensed that he was not an ordinary person.
It felt as if I was being gazed at by a white tiger, the king of the mountains, with its calm eyes.
Next to him stood Jin Woo-rim, the head of the trading company.
I heard that he had left an hour before we departed, as he had something to discuss with the emperor.
“I have selected your trading company to be the salt retailer for the new salt distribution law…”
As I had expected, the emperor said, “I will be watching you, so do your best.”
“We accept the emperor's blessing.”
The captain, who was our representative, spoke, and we all bowed our heads.
“By the way, I heard that Eunhae Trading Company brought a gift?”
My father had told the court official in advance, so the emperor already knew.
My father replied.
“Yes, it is a small gift, but we prepared it with all our hearts.”
“Bring it here.”
Upon hearing this, the court official took the item from my father and presented it to the emperor.
Seeing this, the emperor tilted his head.
That was understandable. It was an item he had never seen before.
“What is this?”
“It is a device called a ‘wind instrument’ that our trading company has recently created.”
My father explained the operation of the zafungki in detail, and the court official demonstrated it accordingly.