novelraw Chapter 101 : Winter (1)
Chapter 101 : Winter (1)
When the prestigious orthodox sects were arguing over Jang So-gil's rapidly rising martial arts level.
The prestigious noble families were paying attention to his assets.
The Great Cloud Guild, created with Jin Sangran as the general manager, was expanding its power at a frightening pace. At this time, Jang So-gil's assets were accumulating at an enormous speed.
He directly operated four inns. The number of horse ranches he had bought reached nine, and there was also one rice shop created to handle the grain needed for the inns and ranches. There was also one cloth shop that handled silk and hemp, and two blacksmith shops that handled the high-quality iron coming up from Yunnan. There was an escort agency created to transport all of this, and even a school created to educate the children of the employees.
If he collected the money that the Martial Alliance had not been able to recover, one-tenth of that money was Jang So-gil's. In addition to that, one-tenth of the tax revenue from the promise in the Western Great Mountain continued to come in, so the money only increased, it did not decrease.
It was a situation where cash was piling up like this. The general manager, Jin Sangran, continued her aggressive management by utilizing her outstanding ability and overflowing cash. So now, a force on a scale comparable to any noble family had been formed.
Even the prestigious noble families could not help but feel a sense of crisis at the behavior of the Great Cloud Guild, which was sweeping up the wealth of Luoyang City as if it were nothing. The reason why a prestigious noble family was a prestigious noble family was that the history and dignity they had accumulated could not be ignored, but the factor that had the greatest influence was, of course, wealth.
The amount of money circulating in the market was constant. Silver did not fall from the sky or spring from the ground. The fact that the Great Cloud Guild had earned a lot of money meant that other places had not been able to earn that much money.
If someone had eaten the noodle dish of the Western Great Mountain that the Great Cloud Guild had brought and sold, they would have been full and would not have bought food from another place. It meant that other restaurants had missed the money they should have originally earned.
"The money those guys are earning is money that should have originally come to me. When it came to the noodle dishes of Luoyang, our Uryun Pavilion was the pronoun, wasn't it? But since those guys came, our sales have been completely shattered."
"How much have the sales decreased? Have they been cut in half?"
"They've become one-tenth."
"O-one-tenth? And you can still continue to operate?"
"I can't. Two places have already closed down."
The man who was bursting with anger with a miserable expression was An Myeong, who had been entrusted with the food-related merchant guilds of Luoyang City from the Namgung Clan. If the profit had decreased that much, he wouldn't be able to see his face at the next quarterly meeting. The man, Ban Bong, who was watching with a pitiful eye while clicking his tongue, stroked his own neck.
It was not the time for him to be thinking about others' affairs. Something cool, it was as if a blade was being held to his neck. Clearing his throat and wetting his throat with hot tea, he felt much better.
Those who had been entrusted with the commerce of each field from the Namgung Clan gathered once a month at the Hongye Pavilion, a famous brothel in Luoyang, to report on the month's performance and talk about the future.
Normally, they were people who were busy boasting about themselves and checking each other, saying who had made more profit and who hadn't, but today's atmosphere was like a funeral home. Everyone was experiencing a crushing defeat in all fields.
The reasons were all different. Some had lost their influence by being caught up in the business that the Great Cloud Guild had directly entered, and some had had their shares taken away as the Martial Alliance came to manage a directly managed merchant guild. There were also those who had been influenced by the imperial family, and those who had been influenced by the rapidly changing situation in the Western Great Mountain or Yunnan.
They had failed in all sorts of ways. But in the end, if you followed the cause, everyone reached one conclusion.
The scoundrel inspector of the Martial Alliance.
"What on earth should I do?"
Ban Bong sighed. It was a sigh he had let out unconsciously, but there was someone who opened his eyes wide and caught the tail of his words. It was An Myeong, who was confirmed not to be able to participate in this meeting next time.
He asked, mixing in a sneer.
"The situation of the Cheoljung Pavilion's Ban Bong-nim should be better. How about you try to respond first?"
"What do you mean the situation is better? This side is also not easy."
"Are you trying to boast about your misfortune in front of me now?"
"It's not as much as you, but I'm also at a loss. They are crazy guys who bring the iron of Yunnan and sell it at less than half the price of others."
"Half? Then what's left to sell it at half price?"
"How would I know? Anyway, I can't win in a price competition, and since it's high-quality Yunnan iron, there's no answer even if I compete with quality. I don't know what you want me to do."
An Myeong felt a little better at Ban Bong's whining. It was a comfort that he wasn't the only one dying. He stealthily released his anger and asked back.
"But how is that possible? I'm a food seller, so I don't know well, but is there anyone who knows well?"
"I will answer that for you."
"Yang Song-nim of the Bima Pavilion? Please give me your valuable opinion."
Yang Song, with his shoulders slumped, continued calmly.
"Do you know what our Bima Pavilion does?"
"It's the feet of the Namgung Clan."
"That's right. The Bima Pavilion is the feet of the Namgung Clan, which transports goods and operates the necessary escorts and messengers for transportation. Our escorts are very brave and competent, and have successfully completed countless escorts until now, playing the role of feet without any trouble."
"That's a grateful thing. But what's the problem?"
"The word 'competent' has the same meaning as 'expensive'."
"Ah... that's right. This side also gives five times the pay to a skilled cook."
People don't work for free. You have to give them pay. It's only natural that a person engaged in a professional job receives a lot of pay the better and more skilled they are at their job.
"That's right. Since a skilled person has to be treated as a skilled person, our labor costs are enormous. But that side is not."
"What's different about that side?"
"From the beginning, the labor cost of a person from Yunnan is only one-fourth compared to a person from Luoyang."
"O-one-fourth!"
Everyone who participated in the meeting shot up from their seats. Just as So had been surprised when he had heard it from Jin Sangran before, they couldn't help but be surprised. Ban Bong, shocked, shouted.
"How can a person work for that money?!"
"Don't be surprised. They even say that's giving them a good deal."
"What? Th-then?"
"They say they usually don't even give one-fifth."
"Crazy, crazy. Do the guys from Yunnan live by eating the ground and mud..."
If the employment cost was one-fourth of others, the story was completely different. The Namgung Clan, which did business while giving everything they had to give, could never win. Yang Song had a miserable expression.
"Since they bring and sell the high-quality iron of Yunnan with low labor costs, they can sell it cheaply. The same goes for other things. They can bring in a large quantity and sell it all cheaply. Isn't selling a lot at a small profit the basis of business?"
"How about we also use people from Yunnan?"
"How can we trust and use people from Yunnan? If they go crazy and run off with even one treasure, there's no answer."
"Those guys do it. There's no reason we can't."
"They say that that side's general manager is from Yunnan from the beginning. I heard she's a girl who's skilled at handling people. On top of that, they say the Beggars' Sect also actively helps."
"The Beggars' Sect?"
Since he had heard about that through the beggar children, An Myeong replied.
"I heard that the beggars of the Beggars' Sect and the scoundrel inspector are quite close. They say that over there, he's no different from a famous martial arts master."
"So that was their relationship... Then to summarize, it's like this."
Ban Bong, stroking his beard, counted on his fingers.
"They use people from Yunnan, so the labor cost is low. If there's a problem, they get the cooperation of the Beggars' Sect to supplement it. By doing so, they can bring in goods cheaply, so they can sell a lot cheaply."
"Damn it. It's a business strategy that would be stranger if it failed."
"Is there any way for us to deal with this?"
"How about we get them for embezzlement or tax evasion?"
"The one who investigates that embezzlement and tax evasion is the sect leader of the Great Cloud Guild."
"No matter how much he's the one investigating, there's no way he doesn't evade taxes while running a business. If we stick to it, won't there be a loophole?"
Yang Song let out a groan. It was because he had already investigated.
"There are no loopholes."
"How do you know that?"
"Those guys are paying their taxes in advance by voluntary payment."
"They're paying their taxes in advance? Are they crazy?"
"They say that since it becomes a large sum of money if it accumulates, it's less burdensome to pay in advance, and they bring in an official and pay diligently every month. So the Minister of Justice of Luoyang, Kwon Cheon-hui, even praised them, saying their financial status is very clean."
"Aren't they going easy on them? If so, that's proof of a collusive relationship with an official, so let's report it to the Eastern Depot."
"That Kwon Cheon-hui, a collusive relationship?"
This time, An Myeong let out a groan. The possibility that Kwon Cheon-hui, who was called the incarnation of integrity, had a collusive relationship with the Great Cloud Guild was certainly low. But if he reported it wrongly without any evidence, there was a high probability that he would be having an interview with a police officer or the Eastern Depot the next day. Avoiding Yang Song's sharp eyes, An Myeong changed the subject.
"I-is there no other way?"
Everyone counted on their fingers and thought. Since he was a person who received the favor of the Martial Alliance Leader, unless there was clear evidence, slander would not work at all. If he received the protection of both the Minister of Justice of Luoyang and the Martial Alliance Leader in Luoyang City, he was no different from a member of the imperial family.
Then what about mobilizing martial power? But he couldn't call the assassination den. He had already overcome the baptism of the assassination den.
"How about a surprise attack with ronin?"
"There's a rumor that his martial arts level has already reached the peak."
"It must be a lie."
"Even if that's the case, they say his Dharma protector is the Fire Dragon Yang Gwan and the young sect leader of the Nan Yue Beast Palace. Who are you going to hire? A ronin with the skill to break through them and kill the inspector, how much would you have to pay? In the first place, does such a person even exist? Besides, what skill do you have to assassinate a fellow who only goes between the Martial Alliance's main headquarters and his own residence?"
"No, don't just say negative things, then you suggest a method!"
"To be honest, there's no answer for us alone."
The crowd became gloomy. As a body that had been entrusted with and had operated the merchant world of the Namgung Clan, they had overcome numerous difficulties, but this was the first time they had faced such a difficulty. There was no way to stop it even if they used all the means they knew.
"As expected of the Golden Ear of Sichuan..."
"The skill that had raised the Great Cloud Guild to that point in three years was no lie."
"We also picked up beggars and orphans and raised them, but. I don't know why we didn't get a guy like that."
"It seems the former sect leader of the Great Cloud Guild was lucky."
"But he died."
"Then that must have been all the luck he had."
For some reason, the atmosphere of the meeting had improved a little. It was largely because everyone had given up.
Since he wouldn't be here from next month anyway, it didn't matter. An Myeong said nonchalantly.
"Won't the young lady do something about it?"
"Certainly, if it's the young lady, she'll have some sharp idea."
"Yes, isn't she the Golden Ear of the West, Jang So-gil. The Golden Ear of the East, Young Lady Namgung Yeohwa."
"If it's the young lady, she'll do something about it."
Just as Sima Hui and Gumen Long had passed the buck to Jang So-gil and were optimistic that things would work out somehow.
The people of the Namgung Clan also had the belief that if they passed the work to Namgung Yeohwa, it would work out somehow.
"But why isn't the young lady at the meeting today?"
"She said she had somewhere to go."
"Where could she have gone..."
* * *
Jang So-gil received a summons from the Alliance Leader. It was an urgent order to enter the palace at once.
Something must have happened. As expected, the 'Demon God Unit' he had seen in Luoyang before had been on his mind, had a Demonic Cult member appeared? Or had the Zhuge Clan or the Namgung Clan, unable to bear it any longer, made an unreasonable move?
With a complicated heart, he bowed his head before the Alliance Leader.
"Inspector, I have answered your summons."
"Welcome."
"What great matter has occurred?"
"Hmm, it's nothing special. A marriage proposal has come for you."
"What?"
A marriage proposal. A story about getting married had come?
Gumen Long laughed loudly, 'hahahat'.
"The Namgung Clan said they really want to connect you and Namgung Yeohwa."
(End of Chapter)