Lady Seohyang spoke to me.
“Is there any way we can take a detour?”
A way to take a detour… why is she asking that?
I looked at her with a serious expression and asked,
“Young lady, I’m going to need you to explain a bit more.”
“There are countless people lying in ambush along the path we’re about to pass through. And their surprise attack will cause serious damage.”
Seeing Lady Seohyang’s eyes tremble like that told me she really meant it – the damage would be severe.
“How many of them are lying in ambush?”
“More than five hundred.”
That’s a lot. Still, if they’re waiting specifically for us, that means someone got this information ahead of time and tipped them off.
When I thought it over, the whole situation roughly came into focus.
Even if we haven’t stopped at any inns, there’s no way unloading grain at the ferry went unnoticed.
Word must have reached some mountain stronghold.
And the boss of that stronghold would have made a plan – to form an alliance with the nearby Forest bandits.
The Forest bands in Shandong aren’t very large.
The authorities’ grip is strong here, so if a band grows too big, it inevitably gets wiped out.
Because they operate in small groups like that, they can’t normally target a caravan as big as ours.
But the fact that we’re hauling food this time must have stirred up their greed.
Food was enough to unite people who usually never band together.
“Do you happen to know where that place is?”
“I’m not really sure. I just saw a huge cornelian cherry tree.”
Ah… if it’s there, I think I know the spot.
There’s only one place along our route with a big cornelian cherry tree.
Right before you cross from Shandong into Hebei.
Rugged terrain and five hundred enemies would definitely be a headache.
Of course, it’s not like we’d lose, but we wouldn’t be able to avoid taking heavy losses.
If it were just a hundred or two hundred, it’d be good experience for Brother Jin-ho.
Just from the reports I read earlier, Brother Jin-ho seems to have firmly gotten a feel for things.
I rose to my feet.
Rather than sit around worrying, moving to fix the problem suits my temperament better.
If I need to cut down their numbers, then I’ll just cut them down.
“Escort Guard Jin Yu, come with me for a bit.”
“Yes, I’ll follow you.”
“And Escort Guard Seo Wu, I’m leaving this place in your hands while I’m gone.”
“You don’t need to worry.”
“Also, please tell Brother Jin-ho and Escort Chief Ha that we’ll be departing around midday tomorrow.”
“Understood.”
I had to handle this alone. If I told Brother Jin-ho, he’d insist on coming along.
But when you deal with Forest bandits, you have to be cold as ice.
Even though he’d changed his way of fighting a lot, Brother Jin-ho still had a hot temper.
And that could easily ruin everything.
“Then, I’ll be back in a bit.”
With that, Escort Guard Jin Yu and I slipped away without a sound.
A little while later.
I was standing in front of a mountain stronghold. To gather more than five hundred people in such a short time, every stronghold in the area would have to join forces.
As I approached the stronghold, one of the Forest bandits guarding the fence came up holding a torch.
“Who the hell are you?”
Overbearing attitude.
I didn’t particularly mind.
Bandits types are all like that.
Besides, he was just putting on a tough act.
“Ah, my apologies for greeting you so late, hero of the mountains. I’m from the Eunhae Merchant Group. I’ve come to see your Chieftain.”
He thought for a moment, then said,
“I’ll go report inside. Wait here.”
He went in, and a moment later he came back out and said,
“Go on in.”
“Oh my, thank you kindly.”
I went in with Escort Guard Jin Yu to where the Chieftain lived.
The so–called Chieftain was sitting in a chair covered with animal hide.
“What business do you have here?”
Seeing him acting so high and mighty, I laughed inwardly.
He really looked ridiculous.
“Ah, I’m from the Eunhae Merchant Group.”
“The Eunhae Merchant Group?”
“I can’t imagine you haven’t heard of us. We’re still counted among the top thirty merchant groups, at least in name. And… the cargo you all decided to rob this time also happens to belong to the Eunhae Merchant Group.”
“…!”
He flinched.
“H–how did you…?”
“There are ways to find these things out. Anyway, who’s the one who talked you into joining the raid?”
“T–talked us into it?”
“The Eunhae Merchant Group has many highly skilled Escort Guards. The strongholds that take the vanguard will almost certainly suffer something close to annihilation…”
I let out a small laugh.
“No matter how I think about it, I just can’t picture the people who egged you on actually taking the lead themselves.”
“…”
At my words, the Chieftain’s expression twisted sharply.
“With how restless the people are these days, do you really think we’d move that much grain without a proper escort? Do you take the Eunhae Merchant Group for fools? And there’s no way the stronghold that caught wind of that first wouldn’t know it either…”
I added, almost casually,
“Did they just not bother to mention that part to you?”
“…”
“Judging by that look on your face, did you perhaps agree to take the vanguard?”
“Ahem!”
“Let me guess, they tempted you by promising you a bigger share of the loot.”
“…”
“But that share… were you planning to take it with you to the afterlife? Come on, no matter how much you want to, you can’t. It’ll end up in the hands of the few strongholds that survive.”
Only then did the Chieftain finally explode in anger.
“Damn it! They tricked us!”
Now that he thought about it, he realized he’d fallen for an offer that made no sense.
The ones who get scammed are usually the people convinced they’re clever.
They trust their own abilities so much they never doubt their own decisions.
The Chieftain in front of me was exactly that type.
When people like that realize they’re wrong, their fury is immense.
And in that state, it’s easy to just steam them and eat them.
“They deceived you first. So do you really have any reason to keep that alliance going?”
“None at all!”
“But reality is the problem, isn’t it? Food is short, and it’s the lean spring season.”
“…”
I tossed him a pouch.
Thud.
“What’s this?”
“Go on, open it.”
He opened the pouch, and his eyes went wide.
“This is…?”
“Silver to cover your losses if you pull out of the alliance. So, what will you do? Take the money and withdraw, or stay in the alliance and keep letting them fool you?”
At that, he snorted.
“You phrase things strangely. This money is already in my hands, but it sounds like if I pick the latter, you can take it back from me whenever you like.”
“Ah, you heard me perfectly.”
“What is that supposed to… urk!”
He sucked in a breath.
At some point, a cold blade had come to rest against his neck.
This was why I’d brought Escort Guard Jin Yu with me.
Merchants have no choice but to learn how Forest bandits think.
They move purely for profit.
In some ways, they’re a bit like merchants.
But the crucial difference is that we merchants have a code of conduct.
I’m paying the Chieftain in front of me a fair price for that very reason.
Of course, greed blinds people.
Even after taking payment, once I quietly left, he’d probably still join the alliance and try to grab an even bigger payoff.
That’s why I was giving him this warning.
I grinned.
“So, what’s your choice?”
Shaking, he answered my question.
“I–I was only joking. Hahaha. Of course I’ll keep my word. Absolutely, absolutely.”
“So, what will you do?”
“I’ll pull out of the alliance!”
“A wise decision.”
I gave a small nod, and Escort Guard Jin Yu took the sword away from his neck.
“You’re probably wondering something like this right now: with this level of skill, I could just kill everyone who agreed to join the alliance, so why bother with all this trouble?”
His eyes widened, as if I’d hit the nail right on the head.
“From my standpoint, this is more profitable. Like I said, we’re merchants. If you keep this area clean and under control for us, why would we bother getting our own hands dirty?”
Paying tolls to Forest bandits leaves a bitter taste, but we do it because it’s more profitable that way.
If we maintain a friendly relationship like this, the Eunhae Merchant Group’s trade routes won’t suffer at their hands.
We can’t assign overwhelming escort forces to every single region.
And they’d rather collect steady tolls than take heavy losses by recklessly attacking our caravans.
“Hmm, that’s true enough.”
“Of course, if you do lay a hand on us, there will be blood.”
“Don’t worry. From now on, we’ll quietly stick to taking tolls.”
“Good, that’s exactly the right line.”
And with that, this little talk was over.
“So then, where’s the stronghold that talked everyone into this scheme?”
“You go over one mountain to the east from here. The stronghold there is run by Chieftain Man Gu.”
Chieftain Man Gu, who ran a Bandit stronghold in Shandong, scratched his belly and wore a satisfied grin.
He could already see the enormous amount of grain he’d soon have piled before him.
Not long ago, an informant he’d dispatched to Jinan had brought back a very valuable piece of information.
The Eunhae Merchant Group was transporting a massive quantity of grain.
The Eunhae Merchant Group.
A group that had grown rapidly of late and, as far as he knew, now ranked among the top thirty merchant groups.
On top of that, since they were moving grain in such chaotic times, their escort forces were bound to be formidable.
But it was far too tempting a prize to give up on for that reason alone.
If things went well, it was enough grain to eat his fill and pat his stomach for an entire year.
As he mulled it over, a good idea came to him.
He would draw in the neighboring strongholds.
His share would shrink, but that was better than walking away empty–handed.
If he promised them a generous cut, those hungry bastards would definitely bite.
He moved quickly, sending men to every stronghold nearby. They had to strike before the Eunhae Merchant Group’s party left Shandong.
As he’d expected, they all accepted his proposal, and they gathered in one place to hammer out a detailed plan.
Man Gu promised the strongholds that took the vanguard a larger share, and several Chieftains agreed to take the lead.
‘Idiots. They sure took the bait easily.’
He sneered inwardly.
Promising them a bigger cut was nothing but an empty promise.
Given the enemy’s strength, their annihilation was as plain as day.
His plan was to join the fight as late as possible and safely secure his own share.
Since it was such a big operation, the authorities or a sect might intervene, but they would scatter the moment that happened.
Being small in number did have its advantages in that sense.
The thought made him feel pleased all over again.
Just then, one of the Forest bandits came running over in a hurry.
“Chieftain! Chieftain!”
“What is it?”
“The prey is approaching. At this rate, they’ll be here in about half a day.”
“Then I suppose it’s about time we headed out.”
He ordered the stronghold’s men to prepare for battle, then picked up his favorite weapon – a pair of axes.
They headed straight for the ambush site.
A considerable number of Forest bandits had already gathered there.
But Man Gu felt something was off.
There were fewer men than he’d expected, and several Chieftains were nowhere to be seen.
“Wait, where are Chieftain Gong, Chieftain Yeon, Chieftain So… why aren’t they here yet?”
“I have no idea either.”
“This is a problem… weren’t their strongholds supposed to be in the vanguard?”
As it happened, every stronghold that hadn’t arrived yet was one that had agreed to take the lead.
“Chieftain! The prey is almost on top of us!”
The fact that they still hadn’t shown up clearly meant they’d decided to sit this one out.
“…”
“It can’t be helped. We’ll attack with just us!”
“Then who’s going to take the vanguard…”
They all glanced around at one another.
Everyone here had refused the vanguard precisely because they knew whoever took it would suffer the worst losses.
Chieftain Man Gu stepped forward as if he had no choice.
“Forget it! Let’s just all charge in at once!”
“That sounds best.”
And so, the Forest bandits decided to launch a simultaneous attack.
However, their numbers were barely a little over two hundred – less than half of what they’d planned for.
Riding in the carriage, I couldn’t help but grin.
The killing intent I felt up ahead was clearly from Forest bandits. But there weren’t even two hundred of them, let alone five hundred.
It was the perfect number for gaining real combat experience.
“Um, are you sure this is okay?”
In response to Lady Seohyang’s question, I nodded.
“Yes. The more than five hundred people you saw are gone now. Like I said, with a bit of persuasion and a little threat, I made more than half of them give up on the ambush.”
The Chieftain of the first stronghold I visited told me everything – which strongholds had agreed to take the vanguard, and who was leading this operation.
I visited each of the strongholds that had agreed to lead, one by one, and made them swear to drop out of the alliance.
As I chuckled to myself at the memory, Palgap spoke up.
“Young Master, when you smile like that, it’s scary.”
“What about me is so scary…”
Feeling wronged, I gently stroked Geumryeong, who was hiding in my sleeve.
Kui.
Geumryeong, why are you trembling?
I’m honestly hurt, you know.
Just then, the carriage came to a stop.
Time to start the fight.
I ordered Palgap to protect Lady Seohyang, then stepped down from the carriage.
The people packed tightly on both sides of the road ahead.
They were all there for Brother Jin-ho’s real combat experience.
Come to think of it, just how many battles have we fought so far? I’m definitely collecting a hefty fee from the North Sea Ice Palace’s Palace Lord for this.
I might be the Young Palace Lord of Snow Wind Palace, but the grain we’re taking to the North Sea Ice Palace – and the cost of transporting it – is certainly not free.
–TL Notes–
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