In my previous life, I once received help from the Cheongsu Merchant Group.
I had been on my way to visit the estate of a high-ranking official in Guizhou when a band of mountain bandits attacked.
Their forces turned out to be stronger than expected, and I found myself facing a life-or-death crisis.
Fortunately, a merchant caravan happened to be passing nearby, and with their help, I was able to escape danger.
That caravan belonged to none other than the Cheongsu Merchant Group.
It had never sat well with me, watching a group that had once done me a favor collapse under the combined weight of famine and the Prohibition Decree, only to be used by the Baekcheon Merchant Group in the end.
But in this life, I intended to repay that debt in full, with plenty of interest.
That afternoon.
I was hard at work in the Beijing Branch when Palgap suddenly burst through my office door.
“What’s going on?”
“W-Well, um, th-that is…”
“That is what?”
“His Highness the Crown Prince is here!”
“What?”
I sprang up from my seat.
The Emperor had clearly told me to return and wait, and that he would send an official to handle this matter.
So why had the Crown Prince come in person?
The Crown Prince wasn’t an official… Ugh… Come to think of it, the Crown Prince was technically an official too.
He was the Emperor’s son, but as long as he held rank, he was still a subject of the throne.
“Whew. Let’s go.”
“Yes, sir.”
I immediately headed to the Reception Room, where the Crown Prince was waiting for me while drinking tea.
“I greet Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
I paid him the proper respects, and he nodded before gesturing with his hand.
“That’s enough. Get up and sit comfortably.”
“I am deeply honored.”
“You’re being far too formal. I’d rather treat you like a friend.”
Does that make any sense at all?
That was what I grumbled inwardly, but outwardly, I answered with courtesy.
“Those words are far more than this humble merchant deserves.”
“Nonsense. Even Father thinks very highly of you.”
I need to change the subject quickly.
“By the way, will Your Highness be overseeing this Liquor Tasting Competition?”
“That’s right. Father has very high expectations for this event.”
The reason the Emperor held such expectations for the Liquor Tasting Competition.
It was not only because of the entry fees.
There was something far more important than that. Public sentiment.
The Prohibition Decree was still in effect.
But if a Liquor Tasting Competition were held in the Emperor’s name, the people who saw it would begin to hope that the decree would soon be lifted.
And the lifting of the Prohibition Decree did not simply mean they could finally drink liquor again to soothe their exhausted bodies and minds.
The fact that there was no longer any need to maintain the Prohibition Decree meant the famine was coming to an end.
To those who had been barely surviving each day as if wandering through a dark cave because of the famine, it would be a single ray of light.
A light that meant there was an exit from that dark cave.
From the Emperor’s point of view, public sentiment was several times more important than the entry fees.
That must have been why he had sent the Crown Prince.
Though, for some reason, I had the feeling there was something else behind it too.
“Ah, I happened to hear that the Merchant Lord of the Cheongsu Merchant Group is currently in Beijing.”
“Is that so?”
I already knew why he had come to Beijing.
He was searching for a merchant ship willing to load the liquor they distributed. They needed a contract showing that their liquor would be loaded onto a merchant ship before they could receive permission to produce it.
In my previous life, that was when the Baekcheon Merchant Group approached them.
But in this life, the Baekcheon Merchant Group had no ships.
Ah, how satisfying.
“So I sent someone there and told him to come here.”
“Pardon?”
The Crown Prince said,
“Wasn’t that clause you proposed, the one granting priority trade rights to liquors that achieve outstanding results, meant for the Cheongsu Merchant Group?”
He noticed.
“Of course, that clause is also meant for your merchant group.”
“…”
The Eunhae Merchant Group had prepared in advance and invested heavily to trade liquor this time.
But the view from the outside was another matter.
No matter how much capital and effort we had put in to achieve those results, there would surely be people calling it unfair.
One of the purposes of this Liquor Tasting Competition was to dispel that criticism.
From an outsider’s perspective, the opportunity needed to look fair.
Of course, that did not mean it was some rigged gamble.
Through this competition, we could also discover people who brewed excellent liquor but had never had the chance to shine.
If there was a brewery that made better liquor than the ones I had gathered and acquired, then naturally, that place should win.
And I had no doubt that the breweries under the Cheongsu Merchant Group would receive excellent rankings.
The Cheongsu Merchant Group’s liquor was the real thing.
As we were speaking, Palgap announced that a guest had arrived.
“Please come in.”
“This humble merchant, Go Yun-bae of the Cheongsu Merchant Group, greets Your Highness the Crown Prince. May you live a thousand years, a thousand years, and ten thousand more!”
“Rise and sit.”
“I am deeply honored.”
I looked at Merchant Lord Go as he sat down across from me.
He was just as I remembered.
Perhaps in his mid-fifties? His face was full of kindness.
Maybe because he had done so much tasting, his nose was slightly red, but I had heard that he could also hold his liquor remarkably well.
Still, perhaps because the Prohibition Decree had caused him so much distress, he looked noticeably thinner.
The Crown Prince mentioned that first.
“I heard your merchant group suffered severe losses because the nation’s hardship forced us to issue the Prohibition Decree. I truly feel sorry about that.”
Merchant Lord Go hurriedly bowed his head and answered.
“How could Your Highness say such a thing? Though our merchant group has indeed suffered losses, business cannot always go smoothly. I hold no resentment whatsoever toward Your Highness the Crown Prince or His Majesty the Emperor.”
That was what he said, but there was no way he truly felt no resentment.
Still, it was not as if he could say he resented them here and now.
“I’m grateful that you would say so. In any case, I called you here because we have decided to hold a Liquor Tasting Competition. Is there any place in this empire that understands liquor better than the Cheongsu Merchant Group?”
“Of course not.”
I could hear the pride in Merchant Lord Go’s answer.
“Therefore, I have decided to entrust this matter to the Eunhae Merchant Group and the Cheongsu Merchant Group. I will be counting on you.”
“We will devote ourselves fully to the task.”
I said to him,
“For your reference, any liquor recognized as outstanding in this competition will receive priority trade rights.”
“…!”
Merchant Lord Go’s eyes flew open at my words.
“Is that true?”
“Yes. This is a favor His Majesty the Emperor has bestowed so that the Cheongsu Merchant Group may spread its wings once more. You would do well not to forget that.”
“His Majesty’s grace is boundless!”
That night.
After everyone had left, I was alone in my sleeping quarters, deep in thought.
It was because I had to draw up the guest list for this Liquor Tasting Competition.
The Imperial Family, the Cheongsu Merchant Group, and our merchant group could each select thirty invited guests.
The remaining ten would be discussed later, making one hundred in total.
“Young Master. There’s something I’m curious about.”
“Hm? What is it?”
At Palgap’s question, I turned my head and asked.
“You were the one who recommended the Cheongsu Merchant Group, so why did you go out of your way to make it sound like His Majesty’s grace?”
“Even if I recommended them, there would’ve been nothing I could do if His Majesty had said no.”
“Still, if it were you, Young Master, I’m sure you would’ve found some way to include the Cheongsu Merchant Group.”
I chuckled.
As expected of Palgap. He knew me too well.
“I probably would have. And if I told him it happened because I recommended them, he would certainly be grateful. But.”
I turned my body and continued speaking.
“As a rule, work is best when you do as little of it as possible while getting the greatest result.”
“So…”
Palgap looked at me and let out a deflating sound.
“You did that so you could raise the other party’s motivation as much as possible and make them work hard, while you work comparatively comfortably, Young Master?”
“Correct.”
Palgap looked at me with an expression that said he had plenty to say.
But I felt perfectly justified.
I had given the Cheongsu Merchant Group an opportunity to make a comeback through the Liquor Tasting Competition, hadn’t I?
And the Cheongsu Merchant Group and Merchant Lord Go I knew would surely be able to rise again.
That should count as repaying their kindness.
They might end up doing a little more work in the process, but isn’t it wrong to take work away from someone so full of enthusiasm?
It wasn’t as if I had nothing to do.
As soon as the Liquor Tasting Competition ended, the Poetry and Prose Competition would be held just three days later.
Who in the world started all this?
Ah, right. Me.
“But, Young Master.”
“What else are you curious about?”
“I heard they’re going to collect entry fees for this Liquor Tasting Competition.”
“Yes, they probably will.”
“But honestly, aren’t most breweries in a difficult position right now?”
“They probably are. The Prohibition Decree must have cut off their means of earning profit all this time.”
“Then will they really have the money to pay the entry fee?”
“Where there’s desperation, there’s a way.”
“Pardon?”
“I’m saying that if they truly want to participate, they’ll find some way to prepare the entry fee.”
Honestly, if they had passion and determination, they could afford the entry fee.
We had not set it excessively high.
“And if it comes down to it, our merchant group can lend it to them.”
After saying that, I began writing up the list. Just then, Escort Guard Yeo Eung-am’s voice came from outside the door.
“My lord, this is Yeo Eung-am. It is time to change shifts.”
“Ah, please come in.”
At my words, the door opened, and Escort Guard Yeo Eung-am, Escort Guard Lee Pil, Escort Guard Seo Wu, and Escort Guard Chang Un entered.
“We will change the guard.”
Escort Guard Yeo Eung-am and Escort Guard Lee Pil had been guarding me until now. Now, Escort Guard Seo Wu and Escort Guard Chang Un were taking over.
“Ah, is it already time? Thank you for your hard work. And Escort Guard Seo Wu, Escort Guard Chang Un, I’ll be counting on you.”
“Of course.”
“We will put our hearts into it.”
The moment I saw them, a thought flashed through my mind.
“Ah, by any chance, is there anyone you would recommend for the Liquor Tasting Competition? Preferably someone well-known.”
Borrowing several people’s minds would be faster than agonizing over it alone.
At my question, they sank into thought for a moment.
Escort Guard Lee Pil was the first to speak.
“How about the Provincial Administration Commissioner of Guizhou?”
“Pardon?”
“When we went to Guizhou before, I heard that he knew quite a lot about liquor.”
“I see. Thank you.”
I immediately wrote the Provincial Administration Commissioner of Guizhou on the list.
Since the Cheongsu Merchant Group was a merchant group from Guizhou, there was a high chance they would write down his name too.
But there was always the possibility they might not.
This worked out well.
I had already been wanting to let Young Lady Seohyang meet her father, and now the opportunity had come.
Young Lady Seohyang would be pleased.
The next day.
I met Young Lord In Gye-seong of the Sebin Merchant Group.
That was because the Sebin Merchant Group would be handling the Poetry and Prose Competition together with us.
Just like last time, he seemed to have come as the person in charge.
“It has been a long time.”
“I thought I would see you at the Hundred Great Merchant Groups Under the Heaven, but Deputy Merchant Lord Eun Jeong-ho came in your place.”
“Ah, I was rather busy.”
Back then, I had been rolling around in Springview Fortress in Yunnan.
“And what do you mean, in my place? That isn’t right. I was the one who had been attending in his place all this time, and this time, my brother finally attended properly.”
“So it has been decided that he will be the next Merchant Lord?”
“It was that way from the beginning.”
“I see.”
Young Lord In Gye-seong nodded.
“Ah, and Deputy Merchant Lord Bok Yun seemed a little disappointed.”
“I’ll have to apologize to him separately later.”
“That would be wise. Shall we discuss business, then?”
“Yes.”
That was when it happened.
“Um, someone has come from the Imperial Palace.”
Hm?
At those words, we immediately went outside, and a eunuch looked at us and said,
“His Majesty the Emperor commands that the two of you enter the palace at once.”
We headed straight to the Imperial Palace.
Young Lord In Gye-seong quietly said to me,
“This is a little frightening.”
“What is?”
“The fact that an order to enter the palace came while the two of us were together means His Majesty knows where we are, doesn’t it?”
At those words, I silently smiled.
Do you think that the only thing His Majesty knows is our location?
And so we were escorted directly to the Emperor’s office.
We performed the highest courtesy, and once we were permitted to raise our heads, we quickly offered our thanks and looked up.
“The reason I called you here is that, after thinking about it, I realized there are far more than one or two people in this empire who love poetry and prose.”
“…”
“Am I wrong?”
“You are correct, Your Majesty.”
“That is so, Your Majesty.”
We quickly agreed. Somehow, I had a bad feeling about this…
At that moment, the Crown Prince entered.
“Did you call for me, Father?”
“Yes. Stand beside me.”
The Crown Prince took his place at the side. But why had the Crown Prince been called here too?
The Emperor continued speaking.
“As the Liquor Tasting Competition will be held on an empire-wide scale, I thought it would be good for the Poetry and Prose Competition to likewise be open to the entire empire.”
“…”
“Besides, there were already a flood of memorials protesting the previous Poetry and Prose Competition, claiming that it discriminated against the provinces.”
The Emperor looked at me with a smile.
“What do you think? You can do it, can’t you?”
The meaning behind that gaze was clear.
Damn it. He found out I pushed work onto the Cheongsu Merchant Group.
“I obey Your Majesty’s command.”
“And I will appoint the Crown Prince as the person in charge of this Poetry and Prose Competition.”
“I will devote myself to the task.”
So there had been a reason the Crown Prince came here.
After our answers, the Crown Prince made a request to the Emperor.
“In that case, Father, as the scale has grown, the expenses must inevitably increase as well, so please grant permission for that. Since the entry fees will increase accordingly, I believe there will be no burden on the treasury.”
“Mm. That is true.”
“And…”
The Crown Prince smoothly began demanding what he wanted from the Emperor, and the Emperor wore a satisfied expression.
As expected, a fine dog is born under the Ministry of Revenue.
The empire’s future is bright. So why are there tears in my eyes?
Come to think of it, the Crown Prince’s behavior felt strangely familiar.
That sight of him actively racking his brain and demanding what he wanted… I had seen it somewhere before.
After thinking for a moment, I flinched.
Because I realized who it was.
Uh… it’s me, isn’t it?
–TL Notes–
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