Chapter 79
The Youngest Son of Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 79
Chapter 79. Shaanxi Scorpion (2)
Eom Sam-taek responded with a question to the unexpected remark.
“What?”
“Honestly, I am already busy with my duties in Hyungpung-guk, so why would I interfere with your business?”
Eun Seo-ho said with a smile, but Eom Sam-taek understood what he meant.
“Are you saying it's too much trouble?”
Eun Seo-ho continued.
“Since we will be traveling together, I came to greet you and tell you this.”
“I see. I understand what you mean.”
“Then, once again, I ask for your cooperation. I will see you on the day of departure.”
“Yes.”
And Eun Seo-ho really didn't say anything else.
He only asked for cooperation regarding matters related to himself.
The day of departure for Shaanxi Province arrived.
A carriage was prepared at the station.
It was a narrow carriage, narrower than the ones usually used, because it had to be loaded onto a ship.
Inside, the goods to be sold in Shaanxi were neatly packed.
At that moment, the head escort and escorts of the escort agency who would accompany them on today's trip approached.
They were from the Changin Escort Agency, which had signed a contract with Eunhae Trading Company.
“Welcome. I am Eom Sam-taek, the head escort in charge of this trip.”
“I am Kwak Myeong-hyun, the head escort of Changin Escort Agency.”
“I am Yoon Ji-sim, the leader of the Eunpungdae group that will be accompanying you on today's trip.”
At that moment, a group of people appeared.
It was Eunseoho's group.
“Ah, I'm a little late.”
Those who saw him quickly bowed in respect.
“Greetings, Hyungpung-gukju.”
Eun Seo-ho was a captain, but now that he was the ruler of Hyungpung-guk, his title was Hyungpung-gukju.
Eom Sam-taek replied after him.
“Not at all. You are not late.”
“I am glad to hear that.”
At that moment, Eun Seo-ho and Kwak Myeong-hyun's eyes met, and Eun Seo-ho smiled faintly and clasped his hands in greeting.
“I will be accompanying you today. I look forward to working with you.”
“The pleasure is mine.”
* *
I looked ahead.
The waters of the Yangtze River were rippling.
I was on a boat.
As we were going against the current of the Han River, one of the tributaries of the Yangtze River, the oarsmen had a hard time.
However, on the way back, we would be going with the current, so we only had to control the speed so that we wouldn't go too fast.
There were many other boats on the river besides those of the Eunhae Trading Company.
Like the Yellow River upstream, the Yangtze River is also a very important river.
Countless goods are transported via the Yangtze River, and grain from Jiangnan is transported to Jiangbei.
In addition, government messengers also come and go via water transportation.
Stabilizing water transportation on the Yangtze River was essential for the stability of the Central Plains.
In other words, the Yangtze River was a place that the imperial family kept a close eye on.
Then, at the beginning of the year before last, the soldiers of the Yangtze River made a terrible mistake.
They stole a large amount of salt that was being transported to Guizhou Province.
As a result, salt could not be delivered to Guizhou Province on time, causing a salt shortage.
This was very unpleasant for the emperor.
It interfered with his ambitious plans and caused negative public opinion regarding the salt distribution law.
In other words, it meant that the imperial court could lose a huge source of income.
Naturally, the emperor did not just stand by and watch.
With a justifiable reason, he immediately ordered the army to march.
Of course, the bandits, who were skilled in water warfare, were very difficult to deal with.
However, the imperial army that ruled the Central Plains was by no means weak.
The imperial navy launched a large-scale fleet from Sichuan and Anhui and launched an all-out attack on the bandits in between.
Furthermore, the emperor even sent in his elite soldiers, so the resistance of the water warriors, who were skilled in martial arts, was meaningless.
In the end, the Yangtze River was completely cleared in half a year.
Fearing that the water warriors might rise up again, the emperor appointed water officials throughout the Yangtze River to maintain law and order.
The Yangtze River was now completely under the emperor's control.
Thanks to this, merchants like us can now travel up and down the river with ease. Long live the emperor!
If there was one problem
“Ugh!”
it was that the female singer's assistant was more seasick than expected.
“Are you all right?”
“Ugh...”
“You're not all right.”
In fact, if it weren't for the seasickness, the view from the boat would be truly spectacular.
Even medicine for seasickness did little to help.
At that moment, Master approached and pressed gently behind the ear of the female officer.
The moment he did, the female officer fell fast asleep.
“Sleeping is the best cure for seasickness.”
“Thank you very much.”
“I heard that His Majesty has something to discuss with you.”
“Yes.”
I nodded.
“When we arrive in Xian, Shaanxi, I plan to go to the Trading Company. I have some things to look into.”
“I see.”
My master said calmly.
“You have time until then. Since you are traveling by boat, it is a good opportunity to learn handicrafts.”
“What? Handicrafts...?”
“Of course, now that the bandits have been wiped out by the government army, handicrafts may not seem necessary. However, handicrafts are useful to learn. There are still some bandits who have not been wiped out.”
My master explained the necessity of handicrafts to me, but my question was not meant to ask why I should learn them.
It was because I never thought my master would teach me handicrafts.
In my previous life, I never learned any handicrafts.
There were many times when I regretted that.
If I had learned manual skills, I could have easily solved problems that were difficult to solve.
“I will learn! Please teach me.”
My Master smiled at my positive response.
“That was a useless explanation. Then I will teach you manual skills starting tonight.”
“But I have two questions.”
“Go ahead.”
“If we learn handicrafts, won't someone mistake us for something else?”
“You don't have to worry about that. No one else will see us learning handicrafts.”
“My second question is... Did you also know handicrafts, Master?”
“When snow melts, it becomes water, and when water freezes, it becomes ice.”
I understand what you mean.
“That was a silly question.”
“You must satisfy your curiosity. If you don't, you may fall prey to your inner demons.”
At that moment, an escort called out to Master from the boat across the river.
“Someone is calling me.”
“Hurry and go.”
“Then I will see you at the beginning of the hour of the pig (21:00-23:00) tonight.”
Master lightly stamped his feet, and in an instant, he leaped into the air.
Thud.
He landed lightly on the boat across the river.
Even so, the boat did not sway at all. Seeing this, the people were amazed.
“Wow! It's Head Escort Kwak!”
“I'm so lucky to be accompanying Head Escort Kwak on this mission!”
Not only the mercenaries but also the warriors of the Silver Wind Corps couldn't hide their admiration.
Seeing this, I smiled.
In fact, Master Kwak was not one to show off his martial arts skills to others.
Nevertheless, there are two reasons for showing off his martial arts skills like that.
One is to boost the morale of those participating in the escort mission.
The other is to warn any enemies who might be watching.
I kept an eye on two of the Eunpungdae warriors who were admiring him.
They were Bae Cheol and Go Ju-sang.
They were the bodyguards who betrayed me in my previous life.
They were low-ranking warriors in the Ren class, but now, two years later, they had risen to the Gyeong class.
That alone showed that they were quite skilled.
In addition, they had a good reputation among the warriors.
That must be why the Chief Administrator recommended them as my bodyguards in my previous life.
I deliberately brought the group they belong to with me.
The longer they stay with the Trading Company, the more they will hear about its affairs, and there is a risk that information will leak out.
And now it is time to stab the Trading Company that hired them in the back.
To be honest, even if they provide information that is difficult to obtain as low-ranking soldiers, the Trading Company that hired them will be suspicious.
So I waited until the two warriors were promoted and reached a suitable position.
I brought the two warriors with me this time to keep them close and gain their trust.
That way, they will firmly believe that the false information I give them is true.
You may say that this will cause unnecessary hardship for the four warriors, but this is their job.
And since we are traveling by ship, it is a very comfortable journey.
When I move separately, I plan to designate them to move with me.
.
.
.
That night.
My Master taught me the art of self-defense.
The most basic skill is to stay afloat in water for a long time.
“To stay in the water for a long time, we use the Great Art of Turtle Breathing, but the disadvantage is that you cannot use the Great Art once you start moving. That is why you need a mental technique that allows you to breathe underwater.”
“I see.”
“There are other techniques that allow you to breathe underwater, but I can say with confidence that our family's mental technique is the best.”
I could sense his pride in his family's mental technique from his words.
“This mental technique is called ‘Binghaidong Mental Technique.’”
So, it means to become one with the frozen sea?
“I am telling you this because you are learning the seventh technique of the Jinsulshik Sword Technique.”
I am learning the seventh technique of the Jinseolshik Sword Technique.
It's not that I'm slow.
It's just that I have a lot of inner arts, so it takes me longer to master the sword technique.
According to my Master, it takes at least ten years to fully master the Jinseolshik Sword Technique, so I'm actually quite fast.
“If you have learned six of the twelve techniques, you can learn the Binghaidong Mental Technique without harming your body.”
“So, that means it is harmful to the body before that?”
“That's right. The Binghaidong Mental Technique means to harmonize your body temperature with ice water. Before mastering the six techniques of the Jinseolshik Sword Technique, it stimulates the extreme cold energy within the body, endangering the life of the user.”
My master continued.
“In the worst case, you could freeze to death.”
“...”
I understood why only my Master's family had learned this technique.
“The more you practice the Jinseolshik Sword Technique, the longer you will be able to perform this technique, but in your case, it will only be about a moment at most.”
“That's not very long.”
“Once you have mastered all the sword techniques, you will be able to do it for up to two hours.”
“I understand.”
“Once you become familiar with the Binghaedong Mental Technique, we will begin hand-to-hand combat training in earnest. This training usually takes about half a month to master. Can you do it?”
“Yes, I can.”
What the heck, let's do it!
I traveled by boat, practicing the Jinseolshik Sword Technique in the morning and hand-to-hand combat in the evening.
My master's family's hand-to-hand combat technique was called “Binghaesu Jeokgong.”
I understood why he said that no one else would be able to see me when I practiced hand-to-hand combat.
It was based on the technique of walking without leaving any traces.
Therefore, even when I walked on water, there was no movement or sound.
It was as if the bottom of a giant iceberg was invisible.
All the martial arts I learned from my master contained characters meaning “eye” or “ice,” and the more I practiced, the more I understood why.
However, my master was still reluctant to officially reveal that he was my master.
What could be the reason?
.
.
.
Before I knew it, the boat was approaching its destination.
“It's comfortable on the ship, but I'm bored to death.”
I chuckled at Pal-gap's words.
“Before long, you will say that you are happy now.”
My personal bodyguards, Yeo-eung-am and Lee Pil, nodded in agreement.
“As you say, my Liege.”
“This is happiness, isn't it? Ha ha ha. In addition, I used to be nervous several times a day because of the bandits, but thanks to His Majesty the Emperor's benevolence, the bandits are gone, and I can't tell you how comfortable I feel.”
“You are right.”
I nodded.
It was an extremely peaceful and comfortable journey.
.
.
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The next day.
Finally, we got off the ship.
After going through the troublesome process of unloading our luggage and carriages from the ship, we rode off in the carriages.
Then we arrived in Seo-an and unloaded our luggage.
This was because we had agreed to do business with a merchant who traded with Eunhae Trading Company.
I planned to rest here for a day and go to Ui Trading Company the next day.
.
.
.
Morning came.
As usual, I practiced sword fighting under my master's guidance.
“Well done.”
“Thank you for your guidance.”
“You have already mastered the Binghaesu technique. You are a quick learner.”
“It is all thanks to your guidance, Master.”
“You are very talented and have worked hard, so you have mastered it in less than ten days.”
“I'm pretty good, aren't I?”
My master smiled at my question.
“Yes.”
Um...
I was joking, but my master took it seriously, which made me a little embarrassed.
“It's time to part ways. Take care of yourself.”
“Yes.”
At that moment, the outside suddenly became chaotic.