Pay‑to‑Win King of Martial Arts (Novel) - Chapter 70 - Cleanup (1)

Chapter 70 – Cleanup (1)

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Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Now that Jin Mu-byeok had been escorted to the Imperial Palace, there was nothing left that could block Radiant Crystal Merchant Company.

Radiant Crystal Merchant Company decided to restore its formation beginning from within. In any case, all the Green Forest Twelve Forms had already been sold, so there was no merchandise left to sell. Accordingly, we dismissed the people from East Lake Merchant Association whom we had hired as temporary workers. Of course, we gave them generous severance, so there were no complaints.

Next, in accordance with Jo Chung-heon’s plan, we began preparing to remodel the merchant company. Before expanding manpower, the first thing to resolve was the matter of space. We had been using empty rooms from East Lake Merchant Association as offices, but that couldn’t continue forever.

As for the merchant company’s new building, I decided to look into it gradually myself. Since there was no merchandise to sell right away and no people yet to work there, there was more than enough time to look around at leisure.

More important than that, however, was Wang Song’s farewell banquet that was to take place today. When the Censorate escorted Jin Mu-byeok away, Wang Song would be returning to Beijing along with them.

I entered the Provincial Administration Commission. There was that same constable from before, the one who had once acted friendly toward me, so I raised a hand in greeting.

“It’s been a while.”

“Ah, ah. Yes. Good to see you.”

“You spoke informally to me before.”

“Ha, haha, hahaha. I must have been out of my mind back then. If you go straight from here, you’ll reach the place where the Provincial Administration Commissioner is.”

The constable seemed, more than anything, to want to send me away quickly. He still looked utterly convinced that I was some goblin who commanded monstrous spirits and uncanny powers.

I gave a rough greeting and headed for the office of the Provincial Administration Commissioner. It was Gang Se-min who had arranged this farewell banquet. Considering that Wang Song’s report once he returned to Beijing would determine the standing of the Provincial Administration Commissioner, I understood perfectly well.

From what I had heard, Gang Se-min had originally intended to hold it with just Wang Song, but Wang Song had insisted on including Hyeong Tae-seong and me. I wasn’t sure it was really necessary to go that far. It only made things burdensome. Even so, there was no reason to refuse.

The office of the Provincial Administration Commissioner had been decorated very lavishly. Gang Se-min had said he would prepare it simply so as not to burden Wang Song, but apparently that had been a flat-out lie. For an ordinary person, it would’ve been enough to leave the mouth hanging open, but I had attended many banquets at this level before, so I felt no particular impression.

“Oh. You’ve come.”

The first to welcome me was Wang Song. I immediately handed him the gift I had prepared in advance. It was a small ceramic piece produced in Jingdezhen.

“And what is this?”

“A farewell gift.”

“Ho ho. You didn’t have to go to such lengths.”

“I’ve owed you a great deal.”

“It’s nothing of the sort. The Revenue Councillor is presently acting as interim Vice Minister of Revenue, so he’s busy. Since the Censorate turned everything upside down, he probably has much to sort out. He’ll be a little late.”

“Is that so?”

“He said we should just have a drink among ourselves until he comes. That should be fine.”

It seemed Wang Song had been waiting until I arrived. I exchanged greetings with Gang Se-min as well, who was standing behind him.

“Senior Provincial Administration Commissioner. How have you been?”

“Ah, ah. Yes. You’ve come.”

Like the constable, Gang Se-min also looked uncomfortable around me. The constable felt awkward because he believed a wild rumor, whereas Gang Se-min felt awkward because he knew the truth, so the nature of it was somewhat different.

Now that I too had arrived, the banquet might as well have begun. The banquet hall was wide, yet because there were no servants, it even looked empty. Since sensitive topics might be spoken of, all the servants had been dismissed.

So the food and wine had already been laid out, and behind an eight-panel folding screen there were only the musicians playing music and the rest of us. I was told the musicians had stuffed their ears with cotton while playing their instruments, so that they could not overhear our conversation.

“This is nice. Rather than having it crowded with servants and courtesans, this is much cleaner.”

“Is it?”

Since Wang Song had suggested it, Gang Se-min seemed simply to have gone along with it, but he still looked distinctly uncomfortable with the lack of attendants.

“For now, let us each raise a cup.”

Gang Se-min picked up the wine flask first and poured wine for Wang Song and me. Wang Song filled Gang Se-min’s cup in turn.

“Well then. You have all worked hard.”

With Gang Se-min’s words, we all drank. At first, of course, the conversation was purely ceremonial. Wishes for a safe return to Beijing, remarks about coming to Wuhan again, words about prospering further in the future.

As expected of high officials, both Gang Se-min and Wang Song drank strong liquor. I myself was not especially weak with alcohol either.

“Ah. Even if your martial arts are profound, you’re not allowed to expel the drunkenness with internal energy.”

Wang Song, whose face had grown slightly flushed, spoke in a louder voice.

“You mean me? Then why drink at all?”

“Ha ha. That’s exactly why I like your boldness.”

Wang Song patted my shoulder. From Wang Song’s point of view, it was only natural that he would be in a good mood. He had brought matters to a neat conclusion. He had uncovered corruption, so his record had improved, and in practical terms he had also checked the Eastern Depot’s expansion of power.

It was said that the Hubei branch of the Eastern Depot, having lost its leader, the Chief Director, was now unable to carry out any activity whatsoever. Since the Chief Director’s death hadn’t even been officially confirmed and he was only treated as missing, they would not be able to replace him immediately either. For the moment, they were nothing but a vegetable.

“The Eastern Depot won’t try to retaliate against me later, will it?”

Gang Se-min asked Wang Song cautiously. This was where it began. The real value of a drinking party held under the name of an after-party.

“I have already reported everything to the higher-ups. I told them that the Revenue Councillor and the Provincial Administration Commissioner revealed the corruption and helped greatly from within.”

“You have my thanks. Though I wonder whether that isn’t unjustly taking away some of the Revenue Councillor’s credit.”

“On the contrary, you should be grateful. If it were said that the Revenue Councillor alone brought down both the Vice Minister of Revenue and the Chief Director of the Eastern Depot, there would be many who looked on that with ill will. Later, when you move into the center, I mean.”

At Wang Song’s breezy laugh, Gang Se-min recoiled and waved both hands.

“I have no intention whatsoever of going to the center. Nor any intention of seeking promotion. I’ve had enough of officialdom as it is.”

“Ho ho. You’ve already risen to second rank. Why shouldn’t you be able to reach first?”

“No, no. I don’t want to throw myself back into that struggle of monsters at my age.”

Gang Se-min wasn’t being modest. He genuinely disliked the central political world. Wang Song seemed to notice and nodded.

“My dream is simply to step down quietly from this post without incident. I have no lingering attachment to rank.”

“I understand completely.”

“You, on the other hand, hold an important post, so it makes sense that you would look toward higher places.”

“Ha ha. If fortune and timing align, one rises. If not, one is swept away.”

Certainly, the Provincial Administration Commissioner of Hubei was second rank, while the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate was regular third rank, making for a difference of one grade. And yet the one more likely to become Chancellor was probably Wang Song. What mattered more than official grade was what office one held and what one had done in it. In the end, to rise upward one had to catch the Emperor’s eye, and that meant remaining in central politics.

“So even after you rise higher, do not try to elevate me any further. Put the Revenue Councillor forward instead.”

“Understood. Please don’t worry too much.”

“The Revenue Councillor will go to the center, won’t he? Since he exposed corruption from within, surely they won’t leave him serving in the same place.”

“That will be for the Minister of Personnel to decide.”

Wang Song retreated a step there. It felt as though I had glimpsed how Hyeong Tae-seong would eventually become Chancellor.

It might be that my involvement had brought things somewhat forward, but in any case Hyeong Tae-seong likely would’ve reported the corruption of officials at some point, and that spirit of upright honesty would have caught the eyes of the center. Just as Gang Se-min had said, Hyeong Tae-seong would probably go to the center.

“The Revenue Councillor has arrived.”

They say that when you speak of a tiger, it appears, and so a voice sounded from outside. Soon Hyeong Tae-seong came in at a quick pace, drenched in sweat.

“My apologies for being late. Work has piled up to such an extent.”

“Not at all. Public duty comes first. This is merely a private drinking gathering, isn’t it?”

“I’m grateful for your understanding.”

“As a matter of fact, we were just speaking about you.”

The instant Wang Song said that, Hyeong Tae-seong flinched even as he received a cup of wine.

“What were you saying about me?”

“Do you have any interest in central politics?”

At Wang Song’s question, Hyeong Tae-seong sank into serious thought. Before he could answer, Wang Song added more words.

“You are a man with righteous spirit, and you cannot endure injustice. You also understand well that affairs of state must be conducted for the sake of the people. Such a person is exactly what the center desires.”

“…That may be true, but.”

“Of course, that’s only speaking in principle. Your concern for the people can at times become an obstacle in central politics. Even so, the people who rise to the very top are those who have walked the proper path.”

I deeply agreed with Wang Song’s words. Among merchants too, there are many who earn money through all manner of swindling and fraud, but they never become true great merchants in the end.

A true great merchant is one who values principles, someone who personally sweats to procure goods, walks the markets to conduct research, and then sells them at a reasonable price.

“Central politics is more complex, filthier, and full of uglier crowds than you imagine. You might grow sick of politics and easily retire to the countryside. No, retiring would almost be fortunate. You might instead be marked out, have your property confiscated despite having done no wrong, and be sent into exile. Especially with a temperament as straight as yours, the odds are even higher.”

“To tell the truth, that is exactly what worries me as well.”

“Even so, if you truly wish to change this country, then you must never remain only an official of some provincial office. One life is all you get. Only by charging ahead with all your might and colliding with the wall before you can you hope to break it.”

“And if I can’t break the wall, then I’ll be the one who dies.”

“You’ve already made up your mind, haven’t you?”

Wang Song raised the corner of his mouth as he looked at Hyeong Tae-seong. Hyeong Tae-seong, who had been answering tensely, also smiled.

“You are the kind of man who imagines what lies beyond the wall. And because of that, you’re also someone who knows how to despair before the wall. There are many who never wonder what lies beyond it, and instead think of the wall as a fence that protects them. A man who can imagine what lies beyond the wall is bound, in the end, to crash into it.”

“If only I am given the opportunity, I do wish to rise to the center.”

“I am not a man of the Ministry of Personnel, but I will put in a good word. It would be nice to see you in Beijing.”

“Thank you.”

Hyeong Tae-seong’s future course was decided just like that.

Now Wang Song looked toward me. But Wang Song couldn’t decide my future for me. That was because I wasn’t someone serving on the road of officialdom. Nor was the Censorate the sort of place that could be of much help to a merchant.

Because of that, I assumed that at most he would simply offer me a few perfunctory farewell words.

“And you?”

“Pardon?”

“Do you have no desire to change this country?”

What sort of nonsense was this now? There was a strange heat in Wang Song’s eyes.

“You are an exceptional man. I think the Imperial Realm would become a better place if a man like you handled politics. It is too great a waste to leave such talent as a merchant.”

“Ha ha.”

A laugh escaped me before I knew it. Politics. To be honest, for a brief moment I did think it might suit me rather well. But I shook my head.

“No. I am satisfied being a merchant.”

“I hesitate to say this in front of a Company Lord, but merchants are treated as the lowest of the low. Do you really think it’s acceptable for a man as exceptional as you to endure that treatment?”

“Isn’t the lotus symbolic precisely because it blooms without losing its nobility in the mud?”

Wang Song smacked his lips. He really had wanted to draw me into politics.

“What a pity. I had a feeling a man like you would stir up a storm even in central politics.”

“Wouldn’t the Censorate just grow tired if a storm came?”

“And yet after a storm, the sky is perfectly clear.”

Wang Song gave a hearty laugh, then took a small box from his sleeve and handed it to me. It was nothing more than an unremarkable wooden case.

“What is this?”

“A farewell gift. Didn’t you give me one earlier as well?”

“You didn’t need to give me anything. Still, I gratefully accept it.”

“You may open it right now.”

There was a strange smile on Wang Song’s face. Feeling a bit uneasy, I opened the wooden case. Inside it was a badge made of agate.

The fact that such a precious agate object was sitting inside such a shabby box was surprising enough, but something even more surprising was written on the badge itself.

On the badge was written, in plain characters, Investigating Censor.

…What exactly was this supposed to mean? I stared blankly at the censor’s badge, then looked back at Wang Song. The corners of Wang Song’s mouth were practically tearing upward, as though my flustered reaction was simply too amusing to him.