Chapter 09

Autumn 1860, Unsan County, North Pyongan Province

It was the eighth day after leaving Hanyang when Kang-soe, the servant of the residence, arrived in Unsan County. Accompanying him was Mak-soe, a household servant.

Unsan County was a mountainous region deep upstream along the Chongchon River. The roads were poor, the market was small, and there were few people.

Kang-soe first sought out the county’s property brokerage office.

It was a place where land transactions were brokered, and an elderly middle-class clerk sitting there looked Kang-soe up and down.

“Where are you from?”

“I came from Hanyang. I want to buy some of the hills around this area.”

“The hills?”

The old clerk looked puzzled.

“What do you intend to do with barren rocky mountains where you can’t even farm?”

“I need wood for firewood. I trade timber in the Hanyang area.”

The old clerk nodded. It was not particularly strange. Timber merchants from Hanyang occasionally came down this way.

“How much do you need?”

“A lot. Show me everything you have.”

Kang-soe spent three days traveling around. Along the mountain range north of Unsan County, he found twelve plots of hillside land. All of them were barren, rocky mountains where farming was impossible. They were far from the villages, with no roads leading to them.

They were lands nobody wanted.

Each plot could be bought for two or three nyang, and the middleman even urged Kang-soe to pay a proper price because the land was so cheap.

Kang-soe bought all twelve plots. After receiving the purchase documents, he registered them all under his own name.

On the night before leaving, Kang-soe said to Mak-soe,

“Don’t let a word of this leave your mouth.”

“Yes, Brother.”

“Outside the residence, don’t tell anyone. Understand?”

“I understand, Brother.”

Kang-soe tucked the documents deep inside his clothes.

Even though he did not understand why Prince Waneun had ordered him to buy this land, Kang-soe had no complaints.

If the Young Master told him to buy it, then he bought it.

Winter 1860, Heungseon-gun Yi Ha-eung’s Residence, Hanseong

Kang-soe returned and handed me the documents.

There were twelve plots.

I unfolded the documents one by one. They were for land stretching along the mountain range north of Unsan County.

“Well done.”

“It cost a total of forty-six nyang.”

“How much money remains?”

“About fifteen nyang.”

I organized the documents and tucked them inside my clothes.

Kang-soe remained standing instead of leaving.

“Why?”

“Prince Waneun, may I ask you something?”

“Go ahead.”

“Is there really gold in that land?”

I looked at Kang-soe.

“There are signs that there is a gold vein beneath that land. One of the geographical records of Qing says that the terrain in that area resembles the kind of terrain where gold is found. If the government changes and mining is permitted, we’ll be able to confirm it.”

“Have you personally seen that geographical record, Young Master?”

“I have.”

Kang-soe nodded. It was a reason he could understand.

“You’ve worked hard. Go rest.”

Kang-soe withdrew.

I touched the documents inside my clothes and muttered inwardly.

The Unsan Gold Mine. Joseon’s largest gold mine is in my hands right now. No one knows.

Once the government changed, mining would be permitted. Until then, all I had to do was hold onto these documents.

Before foreigners realized the value of this land, I had to establish myself on top of it first.

Winter 1860, Around Chilpae Market, Hanseong

It was well after sunset when Kang-soe entered the back alleys behind Chilpae Market.

The leader of the Chilpae Market gang, Pockmarked Choi, had broad shoulders and thick forearms. He extorted protection money from market merchants, controlled gambling houses, and wielded a club whenever trouble broke out. There was no one around Chilpae in Hanseong who did not know Pockmarked Choi.

Pockmarked Choi was drinking with three or four of his men when he looked up at Kang-soe.

“What the hell? Who’s this guy?”

Kang-soe said nothing.

“Where did you crawl out from? Do you even know where you are?”

Kang-soe took one step forward.

“Sit down.”

Pockmarked Choi narrowed his eyes.

“What?”

“I said sit down.”

Pockmarked Choi sprang to his feet.

“This bastard—!”

Thud!

A sound rang out.

Pockmarked Choi collapsed on the spot. Kang-soe had grabbed him by the collar with one hand, lifted him up, and slammed him into the ground.

The three or four men rushed forward simultaneously.

Thud! Bam! Thud!

Three of them were knocked down one after another, while Kang-soe did not even lose his breath.

Pockmarked Choi looked up at Kang-soe from the floor, his eyes filled with fear.

Kang-soe crouched down and met his gaze.

“Don’t harass the merchants in this market district.”

Pockmarked Choi kept his mouth shut.

“I don’t say things twice.”

Kang-soe stood up.

“From now on, I manage this area. Will you follow me?”

Pockmarked Choi stared at Kang-soe for a while before slowly lowering his head.

“Yes.”

Winter 1860, Around Ihyeon Market, Hanseong

The gang leader around Ihyeon was Hong-ga, a man with a scar across his face. His gang was larger than Chilpae’s, with more than ten men under him, and there was not a single merchant in Ihyeon Market who did not watch Hong-ga carefully.

Hong-ga heard the story about Pockmarked Choi.

Rumor had it that some strongman had appeared somewhere in Hanyang and overturned the entire Chilpae district in a single night.

Hong-ga snorted.

“Bring him here. I’ll deal with him myself.”

Kang-soe appeared that afternoon.

Hong-ga had already sent his men out to wait for him. He had chosen six men who were reputed to be particularly skilled fighters.

The moment Kang-soe entered the alley, all six rushed him at once.

Crash!

The sound filled the alley.

It took less than a minute.

All six men were lying on the ground, while Kang-soe adjusted his clothes and walked toward Hong-ga.

The smile disappeared from Hong-ga’s face.

Kang-soe stopped in front of him.

“Did you hear about Pockmarked Choi of Chilpae?”

“I heard.”

“He’s under me now. You can make the same choice.”

Hong-ga gritted his teeth.

But he looked at the six men lying on the ground, then looked back at Kang-soe.

There was nothing in Kang-soe’s eyes.

No anger. No excitement.

They were simply the eyes of a man doing his job.

And that was even more frightening.

Hong-ga slowly dropped to his knees.

“I’ll follow you.”

Winter 1860, Servants’ Quarters of Heungseon-gun Yi Ha-eung’s Residence, Hanseong

Kang-soe entered and delivered his report.

“Prince Waneun, Chilpae, Ihyeon, and even Baeogae have been brought under control.”

I raised my head.

“Baeogae too?”

“When word spread about Chilpae and Ihyeon, the people from Baeogae came to us first. They submitted without a fight.”

In just fifteen days, he had taken control of the three major markets of Hanseong.

“Did you tell them not to bother the market merchants?”

“I made it very clear. All extortion has been prohibited.”

“Good. But gather information instead. Rumors circulating through the markets, movements of merchants from outside the capital, activity at the government offices. Report all of it to Gwi-dong.”

Kang-soe nodded.

“What about the hunters?”

Kang-soe’s expression changed slightly.

“There are men who used to be hunters living around Inwangsan, north of Hanseong. Six or seven of them. They’ve all been through a lot in the mountains. I approached them under the pretext of trading tiger skins, but they’re very wary.”

“Take it slowly. There’s no rush.”

“Yes, Prince Waneun.”

Kang-soe was about to leave when he stopped.

“Prince Waneun, may I report something about the opium trade route?”

I nodded.

“There is a middle-class man in Uiju who used to be an interpreter and has traded with Qing merchants for many years. Apparently, he has experience handling goods outside official trade. Gwi-dong found out about him.”

“Have you contacted him directly?”

“No. We’ve only been sounding things out.”

“Good. Don’t make a move yet. Just find out his name and where he lives.”

Kang-soe nodded.

I thought for a moment before continuing.

“One more thing.”

Kang-soe stopped again.

“Ask that former interpreter where the Japanese port closest to Joseon is. Whether it’s around Tsushima or Busan. And find out what the trade route looks like.”

“Yes, Prince Waneun.”

Kang-soe withdrew.

I called Gak-sim, my personal servant, immediately after Kang-soe left.

“Gak-sim.”

“Yes, Prince Waneun.”

“Find out whether there are any vacant buildings or empty lots outside the Four Great Gates of Hanyang where people won’t easily notice them. It’s enough if the place can house ten to twenty children.”

Gak-sim narrowed her eyes.

“Children?”

“Orphans. Children sleeping on the streets without parents.”

“What do you intend to do with those children?”

“I’m going to raise them.”

Gak-sim fell silent for a moment.

“The place has to be outside the Four Great Gates. Somewhere people won’t notice, and somewhere the government offices don’t know about. Understand?”

“Yes, Prince Waneun. Which direction would be best?”

“Outside Sungnyemun to the south, or outside Heunginjimun to the east. Somewhere with sparse habitation and plenty of empty space.”

“When should I find it by?”

“Within ten days.”

Gak-sim nodded and was about to leave when she stopped.

“Young Master, may I ask you one thing?”

“Go ahead.”

“When you say you’re going to raise orphans, do you really mean you’re simply going to raise them?”

I looked at Gak-sim.

She had been with me for a long time, so she was quick to pick up on things.

“Find the place first. The rest comes afterward.”

Gak-sim did not ask any more questions and withdrew.

I needed children who would grow up from the beginning as my people.

I needed blades whose master only I knew.

Chief Kim Ja-geun of the Haedong Kim clan must have spent decades surviving and cultivating his own network of hands and feet. I still had no way of knowing how deeply those hands and feet had burrowed into society.

If Kang-soe was my strength, and Gwi-dong was my eyes and ears, then the children I raised from now on had to be different.

They would be blades without names, without affiliations, able to move unseen.

The time when I would need such blades would inevitably come.

I still had three years.

Gwi-dong entered a short while later.

“Prince Waneun, there’s movement from the Haedong Kim clan.”

“Tell me.”

“A close aide of Chief Kim Ja-geun of the Haedong Kim clan has been loitering around the residence more frequently. Their numbers have increased too. There used to be one. Now there are two.”

As expected.

“Where do those two gather their information?”

“One of them lives at a tavern outside the residence wall. It’s a place where the servants of the residence frequently come and go. Apparently, he buys them drinks and asks them various questions.”

“Tell the servants of the residence to keep their mouths shut. Tell Gak-sim.”

Gwi-dong nodded and narrowed his eyes.

“And distinguish between what we should let those spies see and what we should hide. If we hide everything, they’ll become suspicious. Let some things slip deliberately.”

Gwi-dong’s eyes lit up.

“What should we let slip?”

“Let them hear that Prince Waneun likes reading.”

Gwi-dong grinned and withdrew.