Chapter 158 : Lee Seowon (2)

Lee Seowon quietly looked at Ha Ju-yeon’s face before opening his mouth.“There are two possible paths. The first is the upright and proper method as a merchant. It leaves no lingering troubles, but it is not easy to carry out and requires patience and dedication…”

“Forget that. What’s the second method?”

Lee Seowon looked at Ha Ju-yeon with a dumbfounded expression.

Ha Ju-yeon smirked as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“There isn’t much time, you see.”

“Well, then…”

Soon, Lee Seowon began explaining the second method.

Though the explanation was rather long, it could be summarized as follows:

Gather renowned scholars with outstanding reputations from various academies and invite them en masse to Yichang.

Since many high-ranking officials wished to entrust their children’s education to such scholars, their children would naturally flock to Yichang.

Then, bring in several administrative branches of the Jingzhou Prefecture government as sub-offices in Yichang.

“The academies are one thing, but is it even possible to establish government sub-offices there?”

“It will require a great deal of money. Taxes must be paid at a level that would prevent the central high officials from feeling displeased.”

If the taxes paid by the Golden Cloud Inn suddenly surged, and it was justified with the claim of needing separate sub-offices to handle them, the central government would have no reason to object.

In fact, they would welcome it with open arms. Taxes passed through many hands, and each one of those hands would be lined with silver.

If academies and sub-offices were brought in, Yichang would naturally become a city of high-ranking officials.

If the Yichang marketplace cherished Seong-un Inn too much to topple it, then all that needed to be done was to change the very nature of the marketplace itself.

After listening to the explanation, Ha Ju-yeon nodded with an immensely satisfied smile.

“As expected. This is why, no matter how insolent or lazy you may be, I still keep you by my side.”

“I cannot tell if that’s praise or an insult.”

“Of course, it’s praise.”

Lee Seowon shrugged his shoulders and continued.

“Of course, when enticing sub-offices, one must proceed cautiously. Should His Majesty the Emperor or the central officials take offense, it could cause great trouble.”

“What should we do, then?”

Ha Ju-yeon’s eyes sparkled as he looked at Lee Seowon. Seeing how he never lifted a finger himself, Lee Seowon let out a small sigh.

“The military offices are unnecessary. The Golden Cloud Inn already has a strong reputation in the martial world, so involving them would only have the opposite effect. We must choose organizations that draw high-ranking officials to Yichang without offending the central court.”

Tap. Tap.

After a brief moment of thought, tapping his finger on the desk, Lee Seowon spoke fluidly.

“It would be best to bring parts of the Jingzhou Prefecture’s Ministry of Revenue, Ministry of Works, and Ministry of Rites to Yichang.”

The Ministry of Works oversaw urban infrastructure, the Ministry of Revenue managed finances, and the Ministry of Rites handled education. By their very nature, even as temporary sub-offices, they would inevitably draw high-ranking civil officials.

Ha Ju-yeon, nodding with deep satisfaction, suddenly tilted his head.

“When the officials come, they’ll naturally use the Golden Cloud Inn. That’s a matter of dignity. But what about the fools who still cling to Seong-un Inn?”

“Not fools, but rather ordinary commoners. In any case…”

Lee Seowon looked at Ha Ju-yeon with thinly veiled contempt before continuing.

“They will gradually lose their place, just as it happened in Suzhou of Jiangsu Province.”

At the mention of Suzhou, Ha Ju-yeon slapped his knee as if enlightened.

Originally, Suzhou had been a simple, ordinary city.

But at some point, tourism around Lake Tai began to flourish, drawing the wealthy, merchants, scholars, and performers from across the land. Prices skyrocketed.

Ordinary citizens, unable to bear the burden, had no choice but to leave.

Lee Seowon’s scheme was to turn Yichang into another Suzhou.

“As the marketplace changes, the commoners will be pushed out, and the daily livelihood businesses will vanish. Since Seong-un Inn caters to such daily commerce, it will soon lose its strength. But there is one problem.”

“What is it?”

“Our goal is to surpass Seong-un Inn, not to strangle every small merchant in Yichang. We must provide them with proper compensation.”

When the market became more upscale, the existing shops would be left adrift. Their goods were tied to the lives of commoners and held no allure for high officials.

In the end, they would be forced out.

Lee Seowon insisted they should be compensated enough to resettle elsewhere.

Ha Ju-yeon tilted his head.

“Why bother? It’s simply the logic of the market. Why should Myriad Gold Manor go out of its way to look after each and every one of them?”

“Because that was the philosophy of the first Manor Master of Myriad Gold. A merchant who loses people will ultimately lose everything.”

Commerce was about winning people’s trust.

That was the philosophy of the first Manor Master, the man once known as the Merchant King.

Ha Ju-yeon widened his eyes at Lee Seowon’s response.

“He was indeed a great man. But his philosophy is outdated. Myriad Gold Manor now belongs to the Ha Clan. Old philosophies are always bound to be defeated by newer, more efficient, and more advanced ones. You sound so pedantic, like the scholar you are.”

Ha Ju-yeon chuckled to himself as he spoke.

The first Manor Master was a figure of the distant past. It had been a long time since the Ha Clan’s philosophy had replaced his.

“It isn’t a clash of philosophies…”

Lee Seowon started to protest but fell silent.

The change of ownership at Myriad Gold Manor was not because the Merchant King’s philosophy had failed.

It was simply because he had no heirs, and the Ha Clan, who had long held the post of Chief Steward, had taken over.

But to voice that would be tantamount to outrightly disrespecting the current Myriad Gold Manor.

So Lee Seowon held his tongue.

“…In any case, compensation for the small merchants is a matter I cannot compromise on. If you refuse, then I have no further plans to offer.”

“Very well. After all, it isn’t a large sum for Myriad Gold Manor.”

Ha Ju-yeon reluctantly nodded. Now that he had secured a plan to ruin Seong-un Inn, he felt magnanimous.

.

.

.

And so, prominent sub-offices and renowned academies were established in Yichang. As Lee Seowon had intended, it did not take long for the marketplace to change.

Commoners rarely appeared in the streets.

To be entangled with a high-ranking official or their wayward children meant a life of misery.

With the commoners gone, most shops catering to them stood desolate.

Meanwhile, people from all over the Central Plains, smelling the scent of money, began gathering in Yichang.

The name and wealth of Myriad Gold Manor were enough to change the very character of the city.

But those who had done business here for generations felt utterly lost.

Ha Ju-yeon’s subordinates approached them with offers. The amounts presented were the complete opposite of what Lee Seowon had insisted upon.

“…T-to think you would drive us out for this paltry sum?”

The sums offered were outrageously small—barely enough to scrape by for a month or two, let alone resettle elsewhere.

One of Myriad Gold Manor’s, no, the Golden Cloud Inn’s subordinates, spoke coldly.

“If you don’t take it now, you’ll soon be thrown out with nothing. If you have eyes and ears, you should already know how Yichang is changing.”

“But our family has run this shop for three generations. How could you possibly…”

“If they held out, their livelihoods would be cut off completely. If I were them, I would take the money and try to secure a new place faster than the others.”

The merchant who ran the tailor’s shop trembled all over. Naturally, the highborn of Yichang had no need to mend their clothes, so sales had recently plummeted.

A retainer of the Golden Cloud Inn spoke calmly.

“This is the great current of the state. You would not dare be displeased that a sub-office moved into Yichang, would you?”

The merchant flinched and shook his head.

How could one possibly voice displeasure with state affairs? Even if one were displeased, it could never be spoken aloud.

“Besides, the Golden Cloud Inn’s lord was merciful enough to hand this to you. There was never any obligation for us to give you even this much, was there?”

All negotiations went like that.

They coaxed, consoled, and sometimes coerced. Thus Ha Ju-yeon bought many of Yichang’s shops at rock-bottom prices.

On the seized plots and buildings, businesses catering to the demands of the highborn were to be established.

Luxury taverns and private chambers, spice shops selling exotic fragrances, stationery shops selling brushes and inkstones, and high-end silk houses selling silken garments.

Ha Ju-yeon intended to privatize Yichang’s entire commercial district in this opportunity.

Upon hearing this, Lee Seowon heaved a deep sigh. He knew his lord’s nature, but he had not expected him to so blatantly break their prior agreement.

‘The more I know, the more astonished I become.’

Pressing his temples as if a dizziness had come over him, Lee Seowon compiled a list of those dispossessed by his lord.

He planned to raid his lord’s vault soon if necessary to secure appropriate compensation for them.

Once he finished the list, Lee Seowon rose and moved to the window.

Unsurprisingly, the change in the commercial district openly split the fortunes of the Golden Cloud Inn and Seong-un Inn.

Seong-un Inn stood empty.

Meanwhile, the Golden Cloud Inn bustled shoulder to shoulder with high officials who sought favor with Myriad Gold Manor’s third son and the sons of those officials.

Lately, a perception had arisen that the Golden Cloud Inn catered to the noble, while Seong-un Inn catered to the base.

Lee Seowon glanced down at Seong-un Inn for a moment, then suddenly caught Jin Seong-un’s eye outside and hurried back to his seat.

It was a perfect victory.

That small inn had neither merchants nor strategists capable of countering such a scheme.

There was, at best, the weathered Han Seong-chun, but a mere tavern-keeper alone could not respond to a play of this scale.

Still, despite his certainty of victory, Lee Seowon could not shake an uneasy feeling.

The reason was simple.

‘It was too quiet.’

What he had identified about Seong-un Inn was that it was not an ordinary inn.

Not only was the innkeeper, Guest Dragon, formidable, but there was also a proud, strong chef and an inn-waiter who came from the scoundrel branch of the Seomun Clan.

Amazingly, Seong-un Inn’s previous actions had been bolder and more lawless than those of many murim forces.

That was Lee Seowon’s greatest worry: that Seong-un Inn might lash out violently when the blade reached their throat.

Yet Seong-un Inn was utterly calm.

It was sinking in real time, and yet it showed no reaction.

That discordant stillness disturbed Lee Seowon.

The Martial Gods’ circle.

When Jin Seong-un relayed Yichang’s current state, the Martial Gods each voiced their opinions.

The first to speak was Sword Immortal.

“This is an outrageous crime! How dare they harass innocent commoners to satisfy their greed!”

Divine Thief agreed vehemently and added,

“This is exactly why the rich are no good. I’ve yet to meet a proper man from Myriad Gold Manor.”

Divine Thief simply wanted to curse the Merchant King.

While Merchant King and Divine Thief predictably grappled, Noble Enchantress wore a worried expression and said,

“It must have pained you to see the foundation you built shaken. What shall be done about this…”

Compassionate by nature, Noble Enchantress looked as if her own heart ached, though her life had been far removed from wealth, so she offered little practical help.

“Kill them all. Myriad Gold Manor, the academy, the offices—everything.”

“……”

Sword Immortal, Noble Enchantress, Divine Thief, and Merchant King broke off their scuffle and glanced, briefly, at Blood Demon.

A short hush followed.

Then everyone pretended not to have heard Blood Demon’s words and turned away.

After finishing their scuffle, Merchant King smoothed his clothes and said,

“So they have a rather audacious strategist. Seong-un has altered the board you built, Lee, and changed the entire game.”

“It was a man named Lee Seowon.”

Jin Seong-un had also conducted his own inquiry.

Merchant King nodded and let a peculiar smile creep across his face.

“High-level contests always unfold like this. Not by crude force of sword and spear, but by meticulous schemes that bury and outmaneuver one another.”

“Seems like you’re calling us crude now.”

Divine Thief protested, but Merchant King lightly ignored him and said,

“They changed the entire board. All the more reason for us to take command of that board ourselves.”

“Is there a way?”

Jin Seong-un asked without much hope.

In truth, there were few options.

Those newly gathering in Yichang lavished boundless favor on the Golden Cloud Inn.

Yet the Golden Cloud Inn had not drawn its sword, so force could not be used either.

Jin Seong-un felt acutely that a brush could be stronger than a blade.

Merchant King chuckled and said,

“First, tell the dispossessed shopkeepers not to leave but to wait a while. Soon Myriad Gold Manor will call them back even offering premiums to return.”