Chapter 1114 - In the City
"Understood!"
Liu Fuqing hesitated, then added: "Also, have someone surveil Pak Deokhwan! Find out his activity patterns. And send word to Li Wan-hui—have her find an opportunity to meet with me!"
"Yes, sir!"
Li Wan-hui had been recruited as an informer two months earlier. Most of the intelligence about Pak Deokhwan's carousing and entertaining at the pleasure houses, and his close dealings with merchants, came from her. Unfortunately, Cho Myeong-gwi, Huang Yunyu, and the others were highly vigilant—when discussing serious matters, they didn't allow courtesans present. What exactly they discussed remained unknown.
Liu Fuqing was an old bureaucrat who'd spent decades navigating officialdom. So-called "serious matters" amounted to nothing more than secrets, corruption, and collusion between officials and merchants. Given "Clerk Pak's" current position, finding crooked money would be quite easy for him.
Investigating economic crimes and preventing corruption wasn't the Political Security Bureau's job—that was for the Cheka. Even if they found leads, they could only forward them to the Cheka for handling. However, once economic problems connected to "hostile forces," it fell within their jurisdiction.
Liu Fuqing knew that Clerk Pak's days were numbered. He lit his water pipe—the one old indulgence he'd retained—and began quietly pondering what to do next.
After Cho Myeong-gwi instructed his men to stage the stone figures' bleeding trick, he and Huang Yunyu sent people to spread rumors everywhere. Seeing the populace inside and outside the city growing anxious, they knew their tricks were working. He and Huang Yunyu had divided their tasks: Huang was specifically responsible for liaising with Pak Deokhwan and the Yi Court officials on the peninsula, while Cho served as Lord Kim's contact man.
Once the rumors had taken effect, early the next morning Cho Myeong-gwi set out with two clerks, leading several ponies, pretending to be going to the countryside to purchase bow materials.
Though Jeju City had checkpoints at the gates, there was no registration—coming and going was quite free. He led his men toward the mountains. After traveling about a dozen li to a village at the mountain's foot, he purchased some bow materials. Confirming no one was following, he then headed alone into a nearby ravine.
What he hadn't anticipated was that from the moment he left Jeju City, a specially-assigned Political Security Bureau Korean "consultant" had been tailing him. The consultant was disguised as a woodcutter from the mountains, following Cho Myeong-gwi at a distance.
He watched Cho Myeong-gwi turn toward the wild mountains. Using trees and brush for cover, he quietly followed him into the valley.
Mountain ridges loomed on both sides of the valley, casting dark shadows. The "consultant," thoroughly familiar with the terrain, tracked him like a hunter pursuing prey. The valley was long and kept narrowing; in some places only a sliver of sky showed. The terrain was rugged. Without the consultant's own mountain-dweller background, he never could have followed Cho Myeong-gwi, who knew the paths well.
He trailed Cho Myeong-gwi for nearly half an hour, passing through the valley to reach a small village.
The village had only seven or eight households. The "consultant" knew this area well—it was a herding village belonging to a certain landowner. The residents were all the landowner's serfs and tenants. At this hour, they'd all be out working; there should be nobody in the village except old folks and children.
After entering the village, Cho Myeong-gwi headed straight for a finer house on the west side. The "consultant" knew such houses were typically occupied by "estate managers" or similar figures. Unable to follow into the village, he positioned himself on a small hill to the west to monitor.
The north wind blew hard, shaking the bushes constantly. The consultant crouched down, waiting for Cho Myeong-gwi to emerge.
Cho Myeong-gwi entered the house. Though this village wasn't Lord Kim's property, the local landowner had always been on good terms with Lord Kim. So this had been chosen as the rendezvous point.
This place, though appearing to be deep wilderness, was actually not far from Jeju City. Because of the rugged terrain, ordinary people wouldn't come here—most locals didn't even know the village existed. It was naturally suited for concealment.
Waiting for him inside was not the local estate manager, but another bondservant—one of Lord Kim's trusted men—named Kim Dae-hae.
Kim Dae-hae was from Hamgyeong Province in the north, a baekjeong pariah. Barrel-chested and powerfully built, he'd been a mountain bandit. After capture, he'd been exiled to Jeju as a government slave. Because of his formidable fighting prowess, Lord Kim had taken a liking to him and made him a private bondservant.
He'd been waiting here for Cho Myeong-gwi for two days. Being a restless man, staying cooped up like this had made him thoroughly irritable. If Lord Kim hadn't given him strict orders to wait for Cho Myeong-gwi's confirmed message, he'd have left long ago.
Seeing Cho Myeong-gwi enter, he said impatiently: "What took you so long?"
"The master's orders aren't easy to carry out—I had to wait until no one was paying attention before I could slip out..."
"Bullshit!" Kim Dae-hae snorted coldly. "You spineless thing—I bet you've been enjoying good food, good drink, and women in the city and let everything slide! These few hundred Japanese raiders aren't worth a fart."
Kim Dae-hae had always been jealous of Cho Myeong-gwi. Living like a lord in the glittering world of Jeju City: servants waiting on him, eating and drinking as he pleased, and courtesans to play with. Back at Lord Kim's stockade, though he was a man of some standing, his pleasures amounted to nothing more than a decent room, meat and wine at every meal, and access to any of the lower servant girls. Sure, those girls had to lie down when told to and strip when told to strip—but they lay there like dead fish, not even moaning. Nothing like the courtesans in the city's pleasure houses who knew the arts of pleasure.
Cho Myeong-gwi heard his arrogant opening remarks and inwardly sneered at this oaf. Without showing his feelings, he sat down by the fire pit: "Easy for you to say! Even a few hundred Japanese raiders are enough to give us trouble."
"Just say what you came to say," Kim Dae-hae waved dismissively. "The master's waiting for me to report back."
"Anything to eat? I'm hungry." Cho Myeong-gwi had been walking for half a day; his stomach was empty. He wanted to put on airs in front of this brute.
Kim Dae-hae had no choice but to call for food and drink. In this wilderness, there wasn't much to offer—just country wine and wild game from hunting.
The two ate and drank while discussing business.
Cho Myeong-gwi gave a full accounting of the situation in the city, emphasizing that his "bleeding stone figures" trick and the spread rumors had achieved excellent results. Everyone in the city was now on edge, including members of the White Horse Unit who showed signs of wavering.
"...And then?" Kim Dae-hae pressed.
"Then? Then it's up to you." Cho Myeong-gwi said.
"We don't know when the Court's army will arrive. Raising militia now—isn't that asking to die?"
"You don't know shit!" Cho Myeong-gwi spat out a pheasant bone. "That's not what I mean! Now that the city's in a panic, we need to apply more pressure to make them even more chaotic. Otherwise, if everyone waits a few days and nothing happens, won't all my earlier work have been for nothing?"
Kim Dae-hae thought this over and nodded. "What do you have in mind?"
"You go report to the master. Tell him we need to hit them a few times in and around Jeju City soon. Burn some buildings, kill a few Japanese raiders, and make examples of a few Koreans helping the raiders—like Kim Yongjoo's people..."
"Is that all? This small stuff—just handle it yourselves in the city. No need to bother the master!" Kim Dae-hae was dismissive; in his view, these were trivial matters that didn't require his involvement.
"Fart off." Cho Myeong-gwi sneered. "Easy for you to say! You think the Japanese raiders are pushovers? They're cunning as hell, and their security is tight. With just us few in the city, we'd never get it done in a hundred years! The master's been feeding and caring for you lot—now that it's time for real action, you're going soft?"
Kim Dae-hae was a crude fellow. Provoked by these words, his temper flared. He said grandly: "Don't worry—once the master gives the word, whatever he wants done gets done. No second-guessing! Killing a few Japanese raiders? Easy as pie! My archery alone—any raiders that come will die where they stand..."
As he bragged, Cho Myeong-gwi cut him off: "Stop boasting. Hurry back and report to the master! This is urgent—send word to the city tomorrow!"
"Done!" Kim Dae-hae nodded. "Still send it to the pleasure house?"
"No, too many eyes at the pleasure house. The raiders have probably noticed already. Just send someone to my shop with some dried beef tendon or something." He paused, then added: "A verbal message!"
(End of Chapter)