< Episode 152 >
Near Cheongseongsan Mountain in Sacheon.
At this time when the cold was about to begin, this place was crowded with people. This is because untimely construction was in full swing. You can see people who simply carry materials, people who appear to be woodworkers or masons, and people who give instructions or control while shouting. Perhaps because of the heat emitted by busy people all the time, the surrounding air is not that cold.
It was a site where buildings that would become the headquarters of the Jeongcheon Alliance were being built.
Yeon Myeong was standing wearing the green military uniform symbolizing the Tang family and a long robe made of high quality cast iron, watching the place that would become the base of the Jeong Cheon Alliance. Since he founded the Jeongcheon League and recruited those who would join it in his name, he stayed here as soon as his residence was prepared.
‘It will be completed in spring!’
Although there were many workers, construction progressed much faster than expected. Is it because the people in charge of the construction were Zhuge Changsin and other figures from the Zhuge Dynasty of Muryang? They were all skilled in the art of fighting. It was said that he had considerable expertise in architecture and civil engineering as well as the layout of buildings. Of course, there may be a reason why the party general office paid generous wages. It is rare for this level of work to be done in the winter when farming is not possible. Even if only a reasonable wage was promised, there would be plenty of people willing to work, but with the promise of paying additional money if the completion date was brought forward, everyone was moving enthusiastically.
“Are you here, Sogaju?”
There was someone approaching, fiddling with the line, as was his habit. This is Jegal Changsin. He was the general manager of this construction. It was he who decided that the base of the Jeongcheonmae would be near Cheongseongsan Mountain. Cheongseongsan Mountain has long been said to be a place with good mountain scenery and good weather. Isn’t this the place where the Cheongseong faction, a member of the old Gu faction, and the Heuksaryeon, who were powerful throughout Sacheon, settled down? Moreover, it was close to the capital city where the Tang family was located, so if the Jeongcheonmaeng took root and prospered here, the strength of the Tang family would also increase.
Zhuge Changxin said while keeping eye contact with Yan Yanming.
“I think it was a good idea to build the palace as big as you said. They say that even now, the number of people coming from all over the world to join the alliance is enormous. “It’s all Sogaju’s insight.”
“What is insight?”
Yeon Myeong laughed and muttered. I just built it big because I had a lot of money.
Although I founded the Jeongcheon Alliance and publicized it widely, I had no idea it would receive such a great response. People who departed from Gansu, Shaanxi, Hubei, or Honam, which are adjacent to Sacheon, had already arrived and stayed near Chengdu. As a huge number of people came to Sacheon, there was a shortage of places to find food and lodging. The merchants of Sichuan, everyone, screamed happily every day. Sales increased tremendously. Those who could smell the smell of money were in a hurry to build a guesthouse, saying that this was just the beginning. Of course, for that to happen, permission from the party’s headquarters was required.
The Tang family now owned vast tracts of land throughout Sichuan. Not only the rice fields, but also land where a pavilion could be built was secured as much as possible, even if a slightly higher amount of money was paid through the decision of General Manager Dang Gyu-hyeon. He knew well where the prestige of the indigenous families called Sega came from.
Of course, the most important thing for the Murim royal family was military power, but financial power was also very important. Think about it. What does it mean for a person to be able to practice martial arts all day long without worrying about making a living? Force is useless until it reaches a certain level. Training people with a certain level of military power is literally consuming an enormous amount of money.
In other words, the families called Sega for several generations had a deep pocket of money that did not easily dry up. The money source is the land. This was also the reason why local nobles were called indigenous powers.
People live with their feet on the ground. They build houses on land, grow crops, and move around on foot. No matter what you do, you have no choice but to go through the land. So if you own land, you can continue to create value.
However, as the reign of Heuksaryeon continued for more than ten years, land prices in Sacheon had completely plummeted. If you think about it, it’s natural. Murim Bangpa usually consumes enormous amounts of wealth. This is true even if you just think about eating. Martial artists usually practice martial arts and move their bodies all day long. Even if you feel hungry, you will be several times more hungry than the average person. The consumption of grain is bound to be significant.
What about what to wear? Because of martial arts training, you move vigorously, and as you sweat, you wash your clothes frequently, so your clothes wear out quickly. However, dressing too tightly would hurt Bangpa’s face and prestige, so he always wears a fresh-looking military uniform.
In addition, as weapons were clashed against each other, a huge amount of iron was consumed for production and repair. In order to live a comfortable life, one had to have servants or wives.
However, there was not much conflict in Sacheon. This is because it was under the shadow of the apostolic world created by the giant tree named Heuksaryeonju Yu Gil-jun. Because the Apostle’s territory was so solid, other forces did not even flow in. Battles over territory, which are common in other provinces, were extremely rare. If there was an interest that both parties wanted, they would compete through the Sacheon branch.
Moreover, in order to receive the gift of Shingongjeolhak from Heuksaryeonju, the apostolic factions eagerly prepared offerings and presented them to him. All the wealth from all over Sacheon flowed into the Black Silent Alliance. However, Heuksaryeonju Yoo Gil-jun was a frugal person. He kept the incoming tributes in the warehouse and did not use them. Since there was no inflow from outside, and he did not come out of the place where it flowed, money was bound to become scarce in Sacheon. That is why land prices plummeted.
As soon as General Manager Dang Gyu-hyeon learned of the death of Heuksaryeonju Yoo Gil-jun, he purchased Seongdo’s land. And after he recovered the legacy of the Black Snake Lotus, he purchased lands throughout Sacheon. However, as people flocked and it was expected that they would flock again, land prices skyrocketed several times in just a few days. It was a huge profit.
It was said that there was an influx of requests from people who wanted to build all kinds of buildings on the land purchased by the party. Land taxes (taxes paid or received when renting or using land) from such businesses will continue to be generated in the future, so the basis for solidifying the business as a business has been secured.
Of course, it is also possible for the party to create and run its own business, but Director General Dang Gyu-hyun decided not to go that far. It was meant to encourage coexistence by leaving open a way for other merchants to make a living, but unlike owning land, running a business was fraught with risk. Nowadays, there are not enough places for lodging and lodging, such as guesthouses, compared to the number of people, so merchants are raking in the money, but as time passes and various businesses enter the market, the situation may change.
Instead, the party decided to operate the top exclusively.
Soryeo Sangdan (笑商) – Dang Mi-so and Dang Jeok-sin, Dang Mi-ryeo’s father, were the owners of the sangdan. It was an important policy that would contribute to the family’s finances in its own way, and it was a publicly known fact that the influence of Yeon Myeong, the head of the small family, had a role in the appointment. However, there was no suitable candidate for the party. He was originally from Anhui and was a self-made man who successfully raised a merchant. If he hadn’t married a woman from the Tang family and become Daryl’s son-in-law, he might still be running the business.
Businesses using Tangga’s land had to deal only with goods supplied by Soryeo Merchants. Of course, Soryeo Sangdan promised to supply goods at a reasonable price, and Tang Jeoksin knew that there was no need to leave a big mark on a single transaction. Often, merchants adopt a strategy of selling a lot with a little left over, which is called a bargaining. If we can operate a merchant exclusively in Sacheon, it will ultimately leave a big mark on the overall picture.
There were several small and medium-sized merchants in Sacheon, and Tang Jeoksin bought them all and placed them under his control. They were allowed to do what they were doing, but were to use the name of Soryeo Sangdan and be managed by a Tang family figure. It was nothing bad for either side. In any case, if the Soryeo merchant group begins to operate in earnest, the remaining small and medium merchant merchants in Sacheon are bound to fail. In that case, it would be better to carry on the legacy of the Soryeo Sangdan with the Tang family on its back. From Soryeo Merchant’s perspective, it was not a losing business as they could just use the sales channels they had pioneered. There was also the meaning of coexistence for the public sentiment,
‘Of course people are important!’
Yeon Myeong felt a lot while watching a series of events unfold. In a short period of time, he gained more profits than the money he gained by sending military support to the battle between Maqiao and Kunlun. This is thanks to the appropriate judgment of General Manager Dang Gyu-hyeon. If the Soryeo Sangdan is run well by party leaders, it will be able to leave quite a mark.
The boy, who remembered his past life as a swordsman and longed for a normal life, ended up creating an alliance of political forces called Jeongcheonmaeng. How did this happen? Although the thought that he was just trying to live quietly with his mother crossed his mind for a moment, Dangga Sogaju thought about the future rather than the past. Considering the number of people gathered, the Jeongcheon Alliance would become a very large force in Sacheon in the future. An organization of this size cannot be run by force alone. We need to deploy talented people in the right places.
I glance at the side face of Zhuge Changxin right next to me. He is also a Jeong Cheonmaeng talent. It started off as a bad relationship, but now the relationship has built up some level of trust. The Zhuge family members left the minimum number of people to manage the Tang family’s formation, and everyone wanted to join the Jeongcheon League following their natural orders. Their family disappeared due to King Yeon-hyeok of Makwangcheonju. The resentment towards Ma Gwang-cheon is bound to be deep.
In addition to having experienced the inaction of Yan Tang Ming up close, the Zheng Tian Alliance was a group whose motto was to fight against the demonic power including Ma Guang Tian, so it was only natural that the Zhuge family members, who no longer had a family to return to, decided to join the Zheng Tian Alliance. .
“however.”
Zhuge Changxin opened his mouth.
“Shouldn’t you soon ascend to the throne of the lord? “Anyway, it was the So Family Lord who founded the Jeongcheon League, and the Party Family is also paying for the construction of the headquarters, so no one would dare raise an objection.”
“You don’t know that. And there is something waiting for you.”
Through Cheongyun of the shaman faction, Yeon Myeong conveyed his intention to establish the Jeongcheon Alliance to the Yuk faction, Nangung family, and Hebei Paeng family, excluding Kunlun and Gong. By now, they must have been aware of the crowds flocking to Sacheon from all over the central plains. It was a self-evident fact that the Jeongcheon Alliance would become a huge force. Moreover, unlike the old Murim League of Hubei, the Jeongcheon Alliance was not a union that would join forces only in times of crisis, but was planned to become an independent organization that would continue to exert influence on the martial arts.
‘Your mouth will water.’
It is said that it has not been decided who will sit as the first leader of the Jeongcheon Alliance, and Tang Ji-hye, the head of the Tang family, even added that she has no intention of sitting in the position of leader, so the Yuk faction and the Nangung family will have no choice but to send people competitively from the Hebei Paeng family. It was a natural thought.
There were many people who gathered against the banner put forward by the Jeongcheonmaeng, but it was unknown how many of them were experts with useful weapons. As it was an organization created with a decisive battle against the magic power in mind, the Jeongcheonmaeng needed to recruit as many martial arts experts as possible.
Once you belong to the Jeongcheon Alliance, you cannot leave it at will.
So, because he expected that the six factions and the two families would be reluctant to send personnel, Yeon Myeong used the position of Jeongcheon Lord as bait and waited for a bite.
‘I hope I catch several big fish.’
It was during Ipdong (立冬), one of the twenty-four solar terms.
< Episode 152
martial arts,
