Tales Of The Nine Dragons [EN]: Chapter 166

Gu Long Chronicles (166)

A Trip to Sichuan

“Did you really have to rub salt in their wounds like that?”

Seo Daeyeong scolded Hwa-rin on the way back from the Hwa Myung Merchant Group’s funeral, for upsetting Hwa Jung-soo.

“They’re already filled with sorrow over their brother’s death.”

“Don’t give me that. If it weren’t for those guys, would we have fought the Blood Oath Alliance or the Demonic Sect?”

Baek Gunseong flinched at Hwa-rin’s voice.

“Aren’t Demonic Sect guys always like that? They always want what others have, want to have the biggest thing, and if they can’t have it, they’ll stab it so others can’t have it either.”

“Ahem!”

Baek Gunseong cleared his throat, trying to mitigate his embarrassment, but Hwa-rin and Seo Daeyeong didn’t even pay him any attention.

“And isn’t Hwa Myung Merchant Group unrelated to the Demonic Sect? Didn’t they just bribe Seokcheon Clan to send them after us?”

Hwa-rin was about to snap back at Seo Daeyeong’s words, but thinking about it, it was Yeongcheon Merchant Group, not Hwa Myung Merchant Group, that was involved with the Demonic Sect.

“Still, they tried to take what was mine. If those bastards hadn’t bothered me in the first place, I would have come out into society, mingled with people, and become civilized.”

“What kind of forced argument is that?”

“Forced argument? Since we’re on the subject, how can someone who knows nothing about the world be in a place where fights break out every day and people are killed all the time for five years and be in their right mind?”

“That’s….”

“They’ll think that’s how the world is. They’ll be aware that if they don’t kill others, they’ll be killed. Isn’t that right?”

Seo Daeyeong couldn’t refute Hwa-rin’s rhetoric, which was strangely persuasive with its bizarre logic.

Baek Gunseong realized that the ‘bastard’ Hwa-rin was talking about in their conversation was Hwa-rin themselves, and he became interested.

“What I saw when I opened my eyes to the world was killing and being killed. Do you think a proper personality can be formed in such a place?”

“But didn’t you see it in books and hear it from people?”

“That’s why I’m living this kind of life. Otherwise, do you think Hwa Myung Merchant Group would still be around? Do you think Yeongcheon Merchant Group would still be around?”

Seo Daeyeong didn’t argue, fearing that he would fall for Hwa-rin’s strange logic if he talked to them any longer.

“People call me a thug, uneducated, more of a ruffian than a ruffian, but if that person had grown up in the same situation as me, they would have been worse, not less.”

Hwa-rin said as if they were wronged, and Baek Gunseong, who didn’t know Hwa-rin’s background, thought Hwa-rin was being stubborn.

“I understand. I was wrong. So please stop complaining about your fate.”

“I don’t know. You go and do what I told you to do. I’m going somewhere to have a drink.”

Baek Gunseong was taken aback when Hwa-rin suddenly disappeared.

“Just leave them be. It seems like they have a lot of grievances.”

Baek Gunseong looked at Seo Daeyeong.

“There’s nothing I can tell you about Clan Lord. And don’t think too deeply about what Clan Lord said today, just remember it roughly and forget it when you’re about to forget it.”

“Then let me ask you just one thing.”

“Please speak.”

“What kind of friend do you think Hwa-rin is, Chief Seo?”

Seo Daeyeong thought for a moment at Baek Gunseong’s question, then asked back.

“Who is the first person that comes to mind when you think of a thug, Inspector Baek?”

As soon as Baek Gunseong heard those words, Hwa-rin came to mind, and he looked at Seo Daeyeong with wide eyes.

“My answer is the same. People judge by what they see, hear, and do. They don’t think about the pain inside.”

“Ah….”

* * *

Hwa-rin was sitting alone at Gu Long Inn, drinking and looking out the window with a thoughtful expression.

“Hwa Myung Merchant Group is finished.”

Hwa-rin could tell that Hwa Myung Merchant Group, which had made its name among the Ten Great Merchant Groups, was not what it used to be, seeing the people who came to Hwa Jung-guk’s funeral.

“It must be because of the problem of supplying grain to Palo-soo Army, which used to bring in huge profits, and the distrust that arose when grain payments to other customers were delayed because I was taking their grain.”

Some people say that credit is like life to a merchant. This means that even though it is difficult right now, if you don’t lose trust with people, you can recover by building one layer at a time, like a tower, and regain your former glory.

But a merchant who has lost credit is nothing more than a con artist.

“Hwa Myung Merchant Group’s suppliers, who produce grain in Sichuan, Yunnan, and Guizhou, must also be aware of Hwa Myung Merchant Group’s difficulties now.”

Hwa-rin tried to take over the position before other merchant groups intervened in the grain distribution business in the Central Plains, which Hwa Myung Merchant Group had been holding.

“If I go and ask them to sell me grain, they’ll treat me like a con artist.”

If there was a connection, I could use my friendship with them to meet them and try to persuade them, but if I went there out of the blue and told them that Hwa Myung Merchant Group was finished, so sell me grain, I would be treated like a madman.

Hwa-rin took out the Gu Long Token from their pocket, which proved that they were the ninth son of the Emperor, and fiddled with it.

“Do I have no choice but to meet my second uncle and talk to him?”

Other large merchant groups must have also seen the fate of Hwa Myung Merchant Group at this Hwa Jung-guk’s funeral. Then they will aim for the distribution of grain in the Central Plains and intervene, and I have to compete with them to secure the distribution of grain in the Central Plains, but dealing with the merchant world, unlike the martial world, was also a tiring task.

Hwa-rin, recalling the owner of Heungchin Prince’s Residence, the second younger brother of the current emperor and the head of Heungchin Royal Guards, who was in charge of the national defense of the southwest of the Central Plains, pondered with a troubled face.

Hwa-rin pondered for a long time and then seemed to make a decision, relaxing their expression and picking up the glass of alcohol in front of them and drinking it down.

“Yeah. I have to use everything I can use.”

Hwa-rin decided to meet Joo Young-guk, the Prince Heungchin, the owner of Heungchin Prince’s Residence, and get help.

They thought that fair and square was what people in bad conditions said, and that going the hard way when there was an easy way to go was what stupid people did.

“When is my second uncle’s birthday?”

On Prince Heungchin’s birthday, many people will come, so it would be good to attend the event, get acquainted with people, and then get help from Prince Heungchin to talk to the large landowners who produce grain and get good results.

“I wonder if Chief Seo knows what my second uncle likes.”

* * *

“I attended the funeral of Hwa Jung-guk, the second son of Hwa Myung Merchant Group, and I felt that their power was not as good as it used to be.”

“I had the same thought. I’ve been hearing bad news about Hwa Myung Merchant Group recently, and it seems to be true.”

Cheon Yang-san of Samcheon Merchant Group, who had established a base in Sichuan and prided himself on being the best in the Central Plains in terms of roads and construction, from starting numerous civil engineering projects to interior construction that decorated the inside of buildings, nodded as he listened to his two younger brothers.

“There is a rumor that Hwa Myung Merchant Group has been involved in smuggling due to poor financial conditions. Hwa Jung-guk’s death is also said to be related to that smuggling.”

“I’ve heard that rumor too.”

“Brother, assuming that Hwa Myung Merchant Group collapses, how about we also enter the grain distribution business?”

“Grain distribution?”

“We also maintain some level of friendship with the influential figures in each province, so wouldn’t it be possible to distribute grain to each province through them?”

“Hmm.”

“I also agree with the words of the second brother. If we buy all the grain produced in Sichuan alone, it will be quite a large amount of grain. If we distribute it to the landowners in each province that we know, we will be able to make quite a bit of money. Then people will hear the rumors and come to us, and in preparation for this, if we can also buy the grain produced in Yunnan and Guizhou, we will be able to increase the number of sales outlets even more, wouldn’t we?”

“Grain distribution….”

Cheon Yang-san, the owner of Samcheon Merchant Group, thought positively about his two younger brothers’ words.

Everyone in the world knew that the distribution business was less tiring than the construction business, where people were rough and accidents happened a lot.

However, in the case of the construction business, there was the advantage of large profits due to long-term construction and huge construction costs, and the distribution business was safe, but the profits were not that great, so there were clearly advantages and disadvantages.

“If we’re thinking about grain distribution, wouldn’t other merchant groups have thought about it too?”

“They would have. So it would be a great help if we move quickly and preemptively secure only the grain produced in Sichuan.”

“If grain is managed well, it can be stored for a year or two. And if there is no place to sell it, we can send the grain we have secured to the construction sites and feed it to the construction workers there, so if we can buy and secure the grain, it will be beneficial to us.”

“Which merchant groups besides us will jump into the grain distribution business?”

“I think Dooyang Merchant Group and Gukseong Merchant Group will compete. Geumyang Merchant Group will also show interest, but they manufacture weapons and supply them to the military, so they will not be very interested in distribution.”

“Yeongcheon Merchant Group has also been interested in grain distribution for a long time. They have a distribution network that can send minerals produced in each province to all over the Central Plains, so they will have no difficulty in distributing grain.”

“What about Daeryuk Merchant Group and Hwanggeum Merchant Group?”

“Even if they are the same Ten Great Merchant Groups, Daeryuk Merchant Group and Hwanggeum Merchant Group are merchant groups that are far above us, so they will not even be interested in grain distribution. In particular, Daeryuk Merchant Group is accumulating huge wealth through the financial business, so they will not bother to get involved in the distribution business.”

“Then, when we jump into the grain distribution business, the biggest competitors will be Dooyang Merchant Group, Gukseong Merchant Group, and Yeongcheon Merchant Group.”

“That’s right. And the current Hwa Myung Merchant Group will also be a competitor. But if the rumors are true, Hwa Myung Merchant Group has problems with its financial power, so if we fight with money, Hwa Myung Merchant Group will eventually fall behind.”

“Fight with money….”

“If we can accurately know Hwa Myung Merchant Group’s financial resources, we can easily shake them off, but now there are only rumors, so it seems that we can be sure by first tempting the grain merchants by saying that we will buy at a price that adds a reasonable amount to the existing price, and then seeing Hwa Myung Merchant Group’s response.”

“If we only get rid of Hwa Myung Merchant Group, which can be said to be the local boss in grain distribution, it will be a great benefit to us.”

“Then, if we start grain distribution? What should we do first?”

“I think it would be good to meet the large landowners in Sichuan first.”

“Large landowners….”

“Fortunately, next month is His Highness Prince Heungchin’s birthday. They will come at that time, so it would be good to take advantage of that opportunity.”

“It was His Highness’s birthday.”

“And it would be good to contact Hwa Myung Merchant Group and buy the fields they have.”

“Fields? Will they try to sell them?”

“First, try playing with money, and if they can’t easily jump in, it would be okay to approach them and buy the fields through cash.”

“Then we should gather all the cash we can use.”

“If it’s not enough, we can get money through Daeryuk Merchant Group, so we don’t have to worry too much about that problem.”

“Let’s proceed with it. I’m going to meet Man-geum Merchant of Daeryuk Merchant Group and find out a little about Hwa Myung Merchant Group’s financial power.”

“I understand.”