I inwardly clicked my tongue at Warrior Jin Yeong’s words.
The Emperor who ordered him to be transported hanging upside down was one thing, but Warrior Jin Yeong, who was actually going to carry that out to the letter, clearly wasn’t ordinary either.
Still, if it were me, I probably would’ve done the same.
And maybe given him a thorough beating on top of it.
“But did he really take bribes?”
“He denied it at first, but he confessed in the end. They even found about a hundred gold bars in his private safe.”
“…”
At that point, it was obviously bribe money.
It was an amount Ji-hyeon could never have saved up in a lifetime, even if he put away every coin from his official salary.
“Apparently, he planned to pocket that money, quietly resign, and then just live in comfort.”
So the one who knew the county’s affairs best, the so-called father of the county, Ji-hyeon, had tried to sell his own county’s residents to pirates so he alone could enjoy wealth and glory.
“Wow. What a truly rotten bastard.”
“I agree completely.”
Warrior Jin Yeong nodded and then asked me,
“We’re going to Beijing early tomorrow morning. Are you coming with us?”
“I appreciate the offer, but there’s something I need to do here.”
“Something you need to do?”
“Yes.”
I nodded.
“Since I’ve already interfered in this place’s affairs, there’s something I need to settle properly.”
“May I ask what that is?”
“Gambling.”
“…?”
Warrior Jin Yeong looked at me, clearly wondering what I meant.
“The people here racked up huge debts because of gambling. But once the pirates were wiped out, those debts basically vanished.”
“That’s right.”
“So what’s left for them? A sense of defeat? Emptiness?”
I gave a bitter smile.
“What really remains strongest is the exhilarating rush they felt while gambling. As long as they remember that, they’ll end up falling into it again sooner or later.”
“…”
“This is a small village. Once money starts getting tangled up in gambling again, this warm little place those two students protected is going to be ruined. I want to stop that.”
“So you have a way?”
“Honestly, the best thing would be to make them accept their own limits, but if that were easy, this world would be full of sages.”
I went on.
“I’m a merchant, so I’m going to use a merchant’s method.”
Warrior Jin Yeong looked at me and let out a hearty laugh.
“Ha ha ha! I’m curious what method you’ll use, but I won’t ask. I don’t want to spoil my fun later.”
I smiled.
“In that case, I’d appreciate it if you could take those two students to Apricot Blossom Academy on your way.”
“All right. You don’t need to worry about that.”
.
.
.
The next morning.
All the criminals were loaded into mobile prison carts and sent off toward Beijing.
The carts had been specially made this time, because by the Emperor’s order the prisoners had to be transported hanging upside down from the ceiling.
So quite a sight unfolded: a whole row of people dangling upside down as they were taken away.
“Father, why are those people like that?”
“Because they committed very serious crimes.”
And it was serving as a very clear warning for everyone watching.
Still, thinking about it, spending two days on bumpy roads in that state, swinging around and bumping into each other, they were going to suffer a lot.
Considering the crimes they committed, they deserved it though.
“Deputy Merchant Lord.”
I turned at the voice calling me.
It was Student Man Suk and Student Yun Byeok.
“Then we’ll be heading out first.”
“Travel safely. And I hope you both get good results on this round of the civil service exams.”
“Yes, I’ll definitely pass.”
“I’ll make sure I pass as well.”
“Oh, and Student Man Suk.”
“Yes?”
“The Academy Master ripped up your withdrawal letter.”
“Ah…”
Man Suk’s eyes turned red.
“So when you go back, make sure you thank him.”
“Yes, I will.”
After seeing them off, I handed Warrior Jin Yeong a scroll.
“What’s this?”
“A sort of report for His Majesty the Emperor.”
“All right. I’ll deliver it for you.”
With that, Warrior Jin Yeong and his group departed for Beijing.
“Palgap.”
“Yes, young master.”
“Did you look into what I asked you to check?”
“Of course I did.”
“Let’s go take a look.”
We headed to a tavern Palgap had found.
Business there wasn’t that great, but the location was perfect.
“Good. We’ll buy this place.”
“Understood. I’ll tell the owner.”
Escort Guard Lee Pil tilted his head and asked,
“But why are you buying this place, exactly?”
“Oh, I’m going to use it as a gambling house.”
“What?”
“You don’t get it, do you? Why I’d open a gambling house?”
Everyone nodded at my question.
“I may not have lived that long, but there’s one thing I’m sure of when it comes to gambling.”
If you included my previous life, it really wasn’t a short time at all, but they didn’t know that.
“In moderation, it’s a nice bit of entertainment, but once it goes too far, it becomes a problem.”
“That’s true.”
“That’s why I’m creating this place. You can’t wipe out gambling completely, so I’ll at least try to minimize the damage.”
I continued,
“There are three things you never see in a gambling house. Do you know what they are?”
Everyone sank into thought, but no one spoke up.
To be fair, it’s not something most people know.
“Windows, roosters, and mirrors.”
“…?”
I explained it to them.
“Gambling houses don’t have windows because when light comes in, people can feel the passage of time. They want you to forget about time completely and lose yourself in gambling.”
“Huh!”
“And they never raise roosters nearby. If you hear a rooster crow at dawn, you end up thinking, ‘I gambled all night? I really shouldn’t be doing this,’ and you start blaming yourself.”
“N-now that you mention it…”
“Lastly, there are no mirrors. When people get absorbed in gambling, they forget to eat and sleep, and of course their appearance becomes haggard.”
I went on.
“If they saw their own faces in that state, they’d feel a wave of self-loathing—‘What on earth am I doing?’—and storm out of the gambling house. So those three things are missing precisely to keep people trapped in gambling.”
“T-that’s terrifying!”
“So I’m going to put all three of them in here.”
It was a kind of reverse approach.
“And I’m going to put a limit on how much money people can bet.”
At that point, Escort Guard Seo Wu asked,
“But what if people go gamble somewhere else instead of here?”
“That’s why I asked Warrior Jin Yeong to take a letter for me.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“That letter is a message for His Majesty. I’m asking him to create a law: if anyone is caught gambling in an unauthorized gambling house, one not approved by the state, they’ll be sentenced to hard labor.”
“…”
“In other words, this place isn’t my private gambling house. It’s a state-run gambling house.”
There was a reason I could make such a bold request.
In my previous life, I’d thought of doing this too, but it was far too big a task for a private individual, so it remained just an idea.
But the Emperor had actually carried it out.
Back then, watching him put it into practice, I’d thought he was truly extraordinary.
So this time, there was no way the Emperor would refuse my proposal.
A few days later.
In the imperial palace in Beijing, the Emperor’s laughter shook the ceiling.
“Hahahahahaha! Would you look at this brat?”
“Your Majesty, please maintain your dignity.”
“I would, but this kid is just too impressive. Do you know what he said? He actually told me the country should build gambling houses.”
“What?”
“And then…”
The Emperor explained Eun Seo-ho’s proposal to the Chief Eunuch.
“Oh? This is quite an ingenious plan.”
“Exactly as you say. You know how much harm gambling does to the people.”
“Indeed, I do.”
“Whenever I tell those stiff-headed officials to come up with a countermeasure, all they can say is something about governing through virtue and moral guidance… tch tch.”
“…”
“Honestly, I’d love to chop off all those stiff heads, but then I’d just end up exhausted… sigh.”
The Emperor shook his head.
“But this fellow’s scheme is just brilliant!”
Watching this, the Chief Eunuch could tell just how fond the Emperor was of Eun Seo-ho.
‘Well, if it were me, I’d practically carry him around on my back too.’
Just then, a thought flashed through the Chief Eunuch’s mind.
“Your Majesty. This humble servant has one request.”
“What is it?”
“Please carry out Young Master Eun’s proposal, but allow some of the people working there to be members of our Eastern Depot.”
“Ah, if that’s what you’re talking about, the boy already suggested it.”
“Pardon?”
“He said once the gambling houses are built, they’ll become another place to gauge the people’s mood, so it would help if I planted my eyes and ears there.”
“Ah…”
At that, the Chief Eunuch felt grateful to Eun Seo-ho.
‘Is this his way of repaying me for twisting the Ministry of Revenue’s arm a bit when he bought the Eunhae Merchant Group’s Beijing branch?’
But for simple payback, this was far too generous.
‘With this, how could I not help him again next time… heh heh heh.’
While the Chief Eunuch was thinking that, the Emperor read over Eun Seo-ho’s proposal, which doubled as a report, with a contented expression.
[Discussing this and that while trying to implement this will take a very long time. So I propose that it be run using the imperial family’s own assets.]
Since the gambling house business was basically a hen that laid golden eggs, the suggestion felt incredibly sweet.
‘This brat is really too good to leave in the merchant world… should I just drag him here?’
While he was thinking that, the Emperor shook his head.
He was still just a baby shark.
And for a baby shark, this imperial palace was still dangerous.
Even if he brought him in, he had to wait until the shark was fully grown so it could protect itself.
‘But why do I have this feeling that even if I brought him in now, that so-called baby shark would chew up those sly old ministers?’
The Emperor’s edict was posted on the county office’s outer wall.
It was an edict about the ‘law on gambling houses’ that I had proposed.
It designated this place as a pilot area first, with the system to be expanded across the entire empire within five years.
Now a severe famine would drag on for the next five years.
By then, the existing taverns and pleasure houses would be so cheap that the Emperor’s purse wouldn’t suffer much when he bought them up.
And when the new county magistrate arrived, some people came with him.
They were the people the Emperor had sent to manage the gambling house in this village.
Among them was a familiar face.
It was a eunuch I’d seen going in and out of the palace, but now that he was dressed in plain clothes instead of a eunuch’s robes, he had to be from the Eastern Depot.
Judging from the friendly look he gave me, he seemed grateful for my suggestion to use the gambling house as the Emperor’s eyes and ears.
Well, if you take something, you have to pay it back.
“This one is Deputy Merchant Lord Eun Seo-ho.”
“We’ve heard about you from His Majesty. Please guide us to the new establishment.”
“Of course. This way.”
I led them to the newly built gambling house.
“Oh!”
“Ohh…”
Their eyes went wide.
It made sense; the building was extremely luxurious.
“Isn’t it a bit too flashy, though?”
“Don’t we need at least this much to draw people in? Even if the goal is moral reform, it’s still a business. You don’t want His Majesty scolding you for running it at a loss, do you?”
“Well, that’s true.”
“Please, come inside.”
Inside, windows lined every side, so bright daylight flooded in and you didn’t need lamps at all.
The pillars had been cut into square faces, and mirrors were mounted on them.
That way, wherever you sat, you could see your own reflection.
There were mirrors on the ceiling as well.
“The mirrors on the ceiling are to observe and crack down on anyone trying to cheat.”
“That’s a good idea.”
I walked them through the facilities and operating policies of the gambling house.
“…If you run it like this, it should work.”
“Your advice has been a great help, Young Master.”
The man entrusted with running this gambling house was one of those in charge of the imperial family’s assets, a talent the Emperor had recruited from a private merchant group on my recommendation.
In fact, in my previous life, when the Emperor had been struggling over what to do about the gambling house business, this was also the man he brought in through the Eastern Depot.
In both my past life and this one, he’d ended up in charge of the same venture.
With him, I could trust the business.
He had run the gambling house business superbly in my previous life and brought enormous wealth to the imperial family.
And the imperial family had used that wealth for the people’s welfare, winning their support.
That was what you called a virtuous cycle.
“This is a reward His Majesty is bestowing on you, Deputy Merchant Lord. It also includes payment for purchasing and renovating this gambling house.”
“Thank you.”
I respectfully accepted the pouch he held out and opened it.
Inside was a promissory note with a very impressive sum written on it.
I bowed my head, desperately holding back the corners of my mouth that were trying to climb to the heavens.
.
.
.
On the road back to Beijing.
“So in the end, you handed this whole thing over to the imperial palace?”
I nodded at Palgap’s question.
“Once I got involved in that village’s affairs, I couldn’t just leave things as they were, but gambling isn’t something I can handle with my own power alone. It’s something the country has to take on.”
“So basically, you wiped your nose without using your hands again this time?”
“Mm, is that how it looks?”
I scratched my cheek, and my companions quietly laughed.
Anyway, by now the three rounds of the palace exams should be over. I’m really curious about the results.
–TL Notes–
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