The Mad Dog Inspector of the Martial Alliance

Chapter 89 : Pacifying the Western Great Mountain (2)

Martial artists do not know the ways of merchants. They know about the tax exemption privilege of the Daoist sects, and they know that secular disciples have to pay taxes if they do other things. But they have no perception that the current state is a problem. They just think that since the common people like it, it must be fine as it is.

The merchants of the Western Great Mountain are too used to and take for granted the tax exemption privilege. It has been maintained for too long and was too natural, so at some point, it had become a natural right no matter how it was used.

"Even though they have been abusing the privilege for decades, there are no officials who come out to investigate and watch. And there are no officials who participate in the opening ceremony to confirm whether they are actually opening a sect. They don't care whether they change their business or not. What their ancestors had done carefully and secretly, fearing when the emperor's sword would strike, has now come to be regarded as a natural right that doesn't even need to be done."

Until now, he had explained the reason why the inspector of the Martial Alliance was working. From now on, he would explain 'why' Jang So-gil was doing this.

"One-tenth of the collected amount, and again, one-tenth of that. Such a thing is small change to me, so it's not something I need to do. Then why am I here, bickering with a long-nosed Daoist?"

Jang So-gil had suddenly appeared in the peaceful Western Great Mountain and was throwing tax thunderclap bombs everywhere.

For the merchants of the Western Great Mountain, it must have been a bolt out of the blue. If they just continued as they had been doing until now, there would have been no problem in the future.

"Certainly, the common people of the Western Great Mountain were living peacefully and well. The prices were cheap, so it was a good place to live, and since the Huashan Sect even protected it, slash-and-burn farmers and displaced people flocked to Huashan. Huashan, where even the waiter of an inn worked with a smile."

What on earth did this person want to say? Song Baek's head tilted, unable to grasp the point of the jumping conversation.

At that moment, Jang So-gil, who had been speaking quietly, suddenly shouted loudly.

"Look here, Daoist! Do you think people in other regions are doing business without any tricks, paying their taxes diligently, because they don't like living comfortably like in the Western Great Mountain?"

Who wouldn't want to do business while making a profit without paying taxes? Who wouldn't want to live while enjoying low-priced, high-quality goods that were possible because they didn't pay taxes?

You bastards who treat others who abide by the law and live diligently as fools. You must have enjoyed living comfortably while taking only what was advantageous to you until now.

Do you think the missing tax revenue will just fall from the sky? Isn't it obvious that someone, somewhere other than the Western Great Mountain, is bearing that much more?

"Why don't you know that the problem is that there has been no problem until now? To the Daoists of Huashan, are only the common people of the Western Great Mountain, who are filling their own bellies with tricks, the common people!"

"Th-that's..."

"I ask you. The current situation where the merchants of the Western Great Mountain are avoiding taxation by abusing the tax exemption privilege of the Daoist sects. The fact that the people of the Western Great Mountain are living comfortably because of that corruption. Do you truly think this is the right thing to do?"

"..."

"That is why I have stepped up. I will change the Western Great Mountain on behalf of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. I will make the country run properly, establish the norms of the martial world, and make it a world where everyone is equal. I, why do I do this? My answer to that is this."

Jang So-gil, after drinking the full cup of White Dew Wine, put down the cup and continued.

"By correcting the corruption of the Western Great Mountain, I will benefit the common people of the world. This is my loyalty and righteousness."

Loyalty and righteousness!

What a heart-stirring word.

Song Baek, forgetting the wine cup he had brought to his lips, stiffened his body.

"Loyalty and righteousness..."

"Although I am a martial artist of the martial world, and an inspector of the Martial Alliance. I am also a citizen of the Ming. What's so great about a single citizen discussing loyalty and righteousness?"

It was a truly moving statement. In fact, the Daoist sects, led by the Huashan Sect, were very weak to the word 'loyalty and righteousness'.

A Daoist was a person who, based on Daoist thought, had made it their supreme task to leave the secular world and ascend to the world where immortals lived. So they saw the secular world as a trivial thing, a useless shell and slough that they had to shed and leave someday.

But even they knew. The country had laws and order. And because they followed them, they were human. As long as they lived with their feet on this land of the central plains, even Daoists could not help but be a single citizen.

So the higher the level of their training, the more a sense of debt to the country and the common people accumulated in a corner of their hearts, which were trying to leave the secular world.

Is it alright for us to live so loftily, turning away from the suffering of the other common people living in the land of the central plains, by distancing ourselves from the secular world for the reason of practicing the Dao?

The word that stimulated such a feeling at once was 'loyalty and righteousness'.

"Damn it..."

Loyalty and righteousness, loyalty and righteousness. Suppressing his cluttered mind, Song Baek let out a low groan.

To think that the word 'loyalty and righteousness' would come out of the mouth of a fellow with such a slouching face and complete scoundrel-like words and deeds. Moreover, he had been convinced in an instant of the reason why the inspector was stirring up the place.

His conduct was poor. But what he said was a sound argument.

He even felt ashamed of himself for not being able to refute his words.

Song Baek grumbled, looking at Jang So-gil.

"You're good at saying such glib words."

"If you still hear it as glib words even after knowing what I have done, then the problem must be with the long-nosed Daoist's ears."

"Tsk."

What an unlucky bastard. It was frustrating, but he had to admit it.

Compared to himself, who could only think of the common people of the Western Great Mountain. Jang So-gil's eyes saw more, and his hands reached farther.

The task of single-handedly sweeping away all the tax evaders of the Western Great Mountain would not be something anyone could do. Not only the ability to catch them, but also a steel-like mentality to overcome numerous temptations while carrying out the work, and a firm loyalty to the country were needed.

The story would proceed only if he admitted the fact that the talent who had all of that was the unlucky bastard in front of him.

While Song Baek was organizing his thoughts.

Ye-er, who had cleanly finished a plate of food, blinked her eyes.

"Loyalty and righteousness? Jang So-gil? It doesn't suit you."

"Why do you think so?"

"Because it doesn't suit you."

"Hahaha. Eat more."

Jang So-gil, who was ordering more food with a smiling eye.

Inwardly, he was sweating.

'She's damn quick-witted. Is it a child's intuition?'

Because Ye-er's words were the right answer.

That's right. Jang So-gil had no such thing as loyalty and righteousness.

The real reason Jang So-gil was doing this was not something else. It was because of money.

The country receives the taxes it should have originally received. The Martial Alliance receives one-tenth of that tax. Jang So-gil receives one-tenth of the money that the Martial Alliance receives.

If you look at it this way, the amount Jang So-gil would receive seems ridiculously small compared to the effort he puts in.

But in reality, it was different.

'The amount I receive from this incident itself is small. But this is not something I receive once and it's over.'

Over the long years, the tax revenue of the Western Great Mountain had been decreasing day by day. The reason was, of course, the absurd special case of the Daoist sect tax exemption.

In the past, they had at least done it secretly, fearing the Imperial Sword Unit. But now, it was a tax evasion method that they committed as if it were natural because it was easy.

But what would happen if Jang So-gil found it, turned it all upside down, and changed it into a sound business that paid taxes? The tax revenue would explode.

Taxes are not paid only once. As long as you run a business, you have to keep paying taxes, and as long as you live, you have to keep paying taxes.

'I've already made a promise with the Embroidered Uniform Guard. One-tenth of the taxes that the guys I catch this time pay in the future will come to me for the rest of my life.'

Jang So-gil was now just twenty years old. Since this was a special case due to merit, it would not be passed down to his children. But it was hard to even imagine how much money he would get for free in his lifetime.

Jang So-gil was now making a 'river water basin'. It was money that would not decrease even if he used it until it was worn out.

So no matter how troublesome it was, he could endure it, and no matter how annoying it was, he could do it.

'If I catch all the guys in the Western Great Mountain, how much will that be? Hehe.'

It was a huge sum of money that made him laugh just by calculating it roughly.

This was not a bad thing for the Embroised Uniform Guard either. Jang So-gil had volunteered to jump into the mud pit that had been ignored for a long time and clean it up. And in return, he was asking for a cleaning fee.

And since he had already made a secret agreement with the Embroidered Uniform Guard to do so.

He beautifully packaged his actions in the name of loyalty and righteousness so that the Huashan Sect could not put a spoke in his wheel.

'It would be troublesome if the Huashan Sect were to interfere and say this and that.'

In the Western Great Mountain, it was a right that had been established like a custom. No one had managed it for a long time.

So instead of slapping them with a large fine right away, they should be given a chance to correct their mistakes on their own.

If Jang So-gil's method was used now, the common people of Huashan would suffer too much. So wasn't this also an injustice that tormented the common people!

If the Huashan Sect were to come out like this, the matter would become troublesome.

The emperor's desire for a northern expedition. The ever-growing financial burden. The Embroidered Uniform Guard wanted a large fine that would fill the national treasury right away. So they had readily promised Jang So-gil one-tenth of the future.

And Jang So-gil also, it would be troublesome if the guys who were supposed to be his river water basin confessed and found the light.

'So I'll seize the initiative now and make it so that they can't interfere with what I'm doing. Those guys are very weak to the words 'loyal subject', so I'll package it with loyalty like this beforehand.'

But in Jang So-gil's heart, there was no such thing as loyalty and righteousness, and only greed was full.

In short. Jang So-gil was deceiving Song Baek by selling loyalty and righteousness.

"So. Smiling face. Sinister."

"You've already finished eating? Order more. Eat a lot."

Did that deception work well?

Song Baek, who had been organizing his thoughts for a long time, spat out a curse.

"Shiiibal. I can't do this."

As if drinking from a cup was not enough, he put down the cup and took a swig from the bottle.

Song Baek said.

"Hey, is there anything I can help you with?"

It seemed he had been completely taken in.

* * *

Hwayin County's Ssangcheon Village was a small farming village. Since the mountain terrain was steep, the topography was rough, and the terrain was high, making it advantageous for defense, it had been used as a military granary in the past.

Song, Yuan, Ming. After the three wars ended and the world entered a stable phase, it had served its purpose as a military granary. And now, it had become an ordinary farming village with no special features.

In the village hall of such a Ssangcheon Village, a rare number of people had gathered.

Ruffians with burly physiques, fierce faces, and scarred bodies, armed with axes, spears, and greatswords. And the local powerful people of Ssangcheon Village and the sect leaders of several ghost sects who employed them.

Their eyes were quite grim, as if they were going to a battlefield. One of them opened his mouth.

"So what happened to that inspector?"

"I tried to incite the Sword Dragon, but there's no news."

"Heo..."

The one who had spoken first was the sect leader of the Yeosang Mun. The one who answered was the sect leader of the Gonggeun Mun.

Both of them had bodies that were clearly not trained at all, and in fact, they had never practiced martial arts. And yet, the two were the sect leaders of a sect.

How was this possible? It was actually simple. It was enough to adopt a former secular disciple of Huashan as an adopted son and have him open a sect.

It wasn't just the two of them; many others had used this method. So a sect where the sect leader was at least a secular disciple could be said to be a gentleman.

"Using the Sword Dragon to check the inspector is a matter of 'good if it works out, can't be helped if it doesn't'. Does everyone really have no other countermeasures?"

The sect leader of the Gonggeun Mun urged the others as if to press them.

(End of Chapter)