Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 346

346. The Invisible War (5)

Near Hyogyeong Bridge in Cheonggyecheon (present-day Sewoon Shopping Center area).

Around the bridge, also known as Maenggyo (Blind Bridge) because many blind people lived nearby, were clusters of small thatched-roof houses. It was one of the few remaining lower-class residential areas that had survived the great fire of the past and avoided reconstruction.

However, many soldiers were now gathering here. They were officers and soldiers from the Uigeumbu (State Tribunal, a high-level law enforcement agency) and the Hansung Pocheong (Capital Police Agency).

“The perimeter must be completely sealed off.”

The officers from the Pocheong bowed their heads in response to the command of a Dosa (chief officer) from the Uigeumbu.

“Yes.”

“Do not forget that His Majesty and all the ministers are watching. If even one escapes, you will have to bear His Majesty’s wrath.”

The officers from the Pocheong sweated as they replied to the Dosa’s warning.

“We will prevent even a rat from escaping!”

After thoroughly surrounding the outskirts of the neighborhood, the officers of the Uigeumbu raided the houses and began their search.

The officers, armed with hexagonal clubs and iron rods, formed groups of four or five and began to ransack the thatched-roof houses.

Thud!

Crash!

“Oh, my!”

“Goodness!”

The sounds of doors breaking and women’s screams erupted from all directions, and soon after, men’s shouts began to echo from here and there.

“Hey, run!”

“Catch him!”

“Stop right there!”

“Stop! Stop!”

“Would you stop if you were me!”

“Damn it! Catch that bastard no matter what!”

After a commotion, men beaten by the officers and soldiers were dragged out one after another with disfigured faces.

The men, tied up like dried corvina [dried and salted yellow croaker, a common Korean side dish], were closely guarded by the officers and soldiers as they trudged along.

As they walked, one of the men looked around and tilted his head.

“This… isn’t the way to the Pocheong? Hey, officer. Where are we going?”

“Uigeumbu.”

“Oh, my!”

The men being dragged along turned pale at the officer’s indifferent reply.

“Officer! The Uigeumbu for just playing Ssangryuk (a dice game from the Joseon Dynasty) and Golpae (Korean dominoes)! This is too much!”

“That’s right! That’s right!”

As the voices of those being dragged away grew louder, the officer shouted.

“What are you talking about when you’re running a gambling den that the country has banned! Shut up and walk!”

* * *

Those who were dragged away were all imprisoned in the Uigeumbu’s jail.

The moment they entered the Uigeumbu’s jail, most of them were intimidated and only rolled their eyes from side to side, but there were a few who seemed bold.

Whether they were truly bold or just putting on a show to hide their fear, some of them spoke to the jailer half in jest.

“Even the Uigeumbu’s jail, where high-ranking officials are imprisoned, isn’t anything special?”

The jailer smirked and replied.

“What did you expect? Silk blankets instead of straw, and Gisaengs (female entertainers) attending you instead of hairy jailers?”

“It’s the same jail, but why does it feel so eerie?”

“More people leave here crippled than leave here in good condition, and those who leave even as cripples are said to be blessed by the heavens. Isn’t that obvious? Do you think this place would be normal when dozens or hundreds of people come in and die because of various jail affairs (獄事, serious crimes such as treason or murder)? When I’m on night duty (番, alternating shifts), there are more than a few times when my spine chills.”

The prisoners in the jail looked around with frightened faces at the jailer’s words.

The stains on the floor and walls of the jail also looked suspicious.

While the prisoners were frightened, a Geumbudosa (officer of the State Tribunal) entered the jail.

The Geumbudosa, looking at the imprisoned men through the bars, opened his mouth in a low voice.

“Who is Im Dae-soo?”

At the Geumbudosa’s question, the prisoners looked at each other, expressing their doubts.

“Im Dae-soo? Who’s that?”

“I don’t know. Who is it?”

While most of those who heard the name ‘Im Dae-soo’ were tilting their heads, a commotion broke out on one side.

“You idiot! I wondered why you’ve been spending so strangely lately!”

“This idiot has brought misfortune upon us!”

“Ugh! Ack!”

In the place where the commotion broke out, a group of men were collectively beating a man.

Seeing this, the Geumbudosa ordered the jailers.

“Drag those men out!”

“Yes, sir!”

* * *

Thus, Im Dae-soo and those who were beating him were dragged out of the jail and moved to the front yard of the Uigeumbu.

“You damn idiot!”

“I knew there was something fishy about what you were doing, and you finally caused trouble!”

“Damn idiot!”

Even during the move, the men hurled abuse at Im Dae-soo. Not only abuse, but they also kicked Im Dae-soo whenever they had a chance.

“Ugh! Ack!”

“Can’t you walk properly!”

As they were being beaten here and there, what greeted them when they arrived at the front yard of the Uigeumbu were all sorts of torture devices.

“Hmm… what should we start with?”

Seeing Im Dae-soo’s terrified expression, the Geumbudosa shouted loudly with exaggerated gestures and intonation.

“Should we start with the Juri (leg twisting torture)? Or should we start with the Apsul (ankle crushing torture)? Or should we start with branding with a hot iron?”

“Hic! Hic!”

Every time the Geumbudosa talked about the types of torture, Im Dae-soo turned pale and hiccuped.

“It seems we should start with the Apsul after all. Tie up the sinner Im Dae-soo to the torture rack!”

“Yes, sir!”

As the soldiers grabbed Im Dae-soo from the left and right upon hearing the order, Im Dae-soo wet himself and shouted.

“I’ll talk! I’ll talk about anything!”

* * *

Im Dae-soo, who was terrified, spilled everything he knew. The Dosa, who recorded all of Im Dae-soo’s confessions, reported to the Paneuigumbu (Vice Minister of the State Tribunal).

“We have learned the identity of the person who instigated Im Dae-soo.”

“Who is it?”

“It is Jo Han-tae, the head of the Seohae Merchant Group.”

“Where is the Seohae Merchant Group located?”

“They have a warehouse in Jemulpo and their main branch in Mapo Port.”

“Send people to Mapo Port and Jemulpo immediately! Bring back not only Jo Han-tae but also everyone who works there and all the documents! If it’s Mapo Port, the news might have already spread! Acting first and reporting later (先行後告) is the best course of action!”

“Yes! Your Excellency!”

“And throw those guys back in jail!”

“Yes, Your Excellency!”

Soon, a large number of cavalrymen departed from the Uigeumbu. Their destination was Mapo Port and Jemulpo.

* * *

The Dosa and officers of the Uigeumbu, who arrived at Mapo Port, rode their horses in all directions to find the Seohae Merchant Group.

“Dosa! That’s the Seohae Merchant Group!”

The Dosa grabbed the reins of his horse at the officer’s shout, who had found the main branch of the Seohae Merchant Group a little away from the port.

“We’re going in right away!”

“Yes!”

Neigh!

Amid the loud neighing of horses, the Dosa and officers rode their horses over the main gate of the Seohae Merchant Group.

Crash! Clang!

“Ugh!”

“What’s going on!”

Amid the commotion from all directions as people dodged the cavalrymen suddenly crossing the gate’s threshold, Dosa Oh Ji-ho, who had led the officers, shouted.

“Arrest the traitors!”

“Yes!”

“It’s okay to kill (斬) them if they resist!”

“Yes!”

At Oh Ji-ho’s command, the officers drew their heavy iron clubs and swords and drove those working at the main branch to one place.

The people of the Seohae Merchant Group, overwhelmed by the imposing presence of the officers riding huge horses brought from the West and discouraged by the word ‘traitor,’ moved around as if being chased and gathered in one place.

Meanwhile, Jo Han-tae, who heard the commotion from the inner quarters, sighed deeply.

“Hoo~. So it ends like this after all.”

“Haengsu (Head).”

At Jo Han-tae’s words, the scribe next to him called Jo Han-tae with a gloomy face. He was the one who knew about this matter along with Jo Han-tae.

Jo Han-tae, looking at the scribe calling him, wore a sad expression.

“I’m sorry. I should have listened to the scribe.”

“It’s my fault. Even though it was to grow the merchant group, it was too dangerous.”

* * *

Jo Han-tae and the Seohae Merchant Group were one of the newly emerged merchant groups that benefited from Gyeongjang (economic reform).

Jo Han-tae, who had learned the trade from Gangsang (river merchants), thought that now was the right time to grow his merchant group, so he left Gangsang and opened a merchant group by selling all his assets.

Since he had not parted ways with Gangsang on bad terms, the Seohae Merchant Group grew slowly but steadily with the help of Gangsang.

“This is not enough! We can’t grow quickly in the current state!”

Jo Han-tae, judging that rapid growth was impossible with the profits earned by transporting and selling goods by boat throughout Gyeonggi-do and Chungcheong-do, sold the existing transport ships and pooled all the surplus funds to purchase one large cargo ship that could travel to the West Sea and jumped into trade with Ming [China during that period].

However, trade between Jemulpo and Shandong basically required a lot of capital.

It was a difficult task for the Seohae Merchant Group, which had been founded just over two years ago and had only one large cargo ship.

Eventually, Dongchang (Eastern Depot, a secret intelligence agency) approached Jo Han-tae and the Seohae Merchant Group, who were in crisis due to a financial crunch.

“If you can find artisans related to iron horses [cannons or advanced weaponry], we will give you the authority to supply goods to the imperial family.”

“How many people, what is the deadline, and how long can we supply goods?”

“The more people, the better, and the sooner, the better. We will give you 3 years of supply period per artisan.”

The Dongchang’s offer was dangerous but sweet.

The scribe of the Seohae Merchant Group strongly opposed it, but Jo Han-tae accepted the Dongchang’s offer.

“It’s all or nothing! If we continue like this, it’s only a matter of time before we go bankrupt due to financial problems! One person is enough! If we can supply goods to the Ming imperial family for just 3 years, we can rise greatly! 3 years is enough! Let’s do it!”

But the result was Do (failure) rather than Mo (success).

* * *

As the noise from outside the door grew closer, Jo Han-tae took out a small dagger from his chest.

Jo Han-tae, looking at the dagger in his hand for a moment, drew the dagger from its sheath and brought it to his neck.

Just then, the door was torn off roughly, and Oh Ji-ho and the officers rushed in.

Oh Ji-ho, knocking the dagger away by hitting Jo Han-tae’s hand with the back of the sword he was holding, kicked Jo Han-tae and knocked him down.

Oh Ji-ho, placing his foot on Jo Han-tae’s chest, pointed his sword and shouted.

“Stop there!”

* * *

On the night that Im Dae-soo and Jo Han-tae were arrested by the Uigeumbu, a group of people was walking urgently along the night road heading to Jemulpo.

Their steps were very cautious as they were walking on a road relying on moonlight.

In the middle of the group, Jang Seok-il was sweating and speaking to an old man in Chinese.

“Master, I’m sorry.”

“I’ve heard that one should do one’s best and leave the rest to fate. We must accept it as it was a gamble.”

Jang Seok-il’s expression became a little relieved at the old man’s words.

‘That’s a relief. How did we get this far!’

However, Jang Seok-il’s face hardened at the old man’s next words.

“Of course, I must be prepared to hear unpleasant words from the eunuch (太監). The costs involved are not insignificant.”

“I will create another opportunity.”

“You must.”

While Jang Seok-il and the old man were having such a conversation, the man who was looking ahead at the very front suddenly raised his hand and stopped the movement.

“What’s going on?”

“A man is blocking the road. Master.”

“Huh?”

The old man, hearing the answer, raised his head and looked ahead.

A man wearing a Satgat (Korean traditional hat made of woven bamboo) was blocking the road with a long cane in his arms.

“Who are you!”

In response to the question asking for his identity in clumsy Korean, the man blocking the road muttered to himself and took out a horn (號角) from his chest.

“I found them properly.”

Tweet!

As the loud noise echoed through the night sky, the men guarding the old man and Jang Seok-il looked around at once and took out their weapons.

Clang! Clatter!

The guards, preparing for battle as the Yeongeom (flexible sword) was drawn from their waists and the blade popped out from the end of their canes, guarded their surroundings.

After a while, dozens of men appeared from the surroundings. The men, dressed in all black from Satgat to boots, surrounded Jang Seok-il’s group.

“Who are you!”

When asked for his identity once again, the man blocking the road replied briefly.

“Grim Reaper.”

“What?”

“If they ask who sent you from the underworld, tell them Milwi sent you.”

“What?”

Clang!

At that moment, the Milwi’s men, who had drawn their Cheonsugeom (thousand hands sword), began to attack the guards.

* * *

The battle between the Dongchang’s guards and the Milwi was fierce, but soon the Milwi began to gain the upper hand.

This was because they were superior in number and combat ability. It was the moment when the training they had received from the Naegeumwijang (commander of the Royal Guard) shone.

“Cough!”

The battle ended with the last warrior, whose heart had been pierced, falling to the ground.

The only ones left in Jang Seok-il’s group were Jang Seok-il himself and the old man.

As the situation turned out like this, the old man stepped forward and opened his mouth in clumsy Korean.

“I am from Dongchang…”

Before he could even reveal his affiliation, the Milwi’s sword pierced the old man’s heart. Following that, the Milwi’s sword turned to Jang Seok-il.

“Sa, save…”

The Milwi agents, who had killed Jang Seok-il following the old man, soon brought wagons and loaded the wounded and the bodies of their comrades. Then, the Milwi’s agents, who loaded the bodies of Jang Seok-il’s group into another wagon, soon disappeared quietly.