Chapter 353: The Feast Is Over (4)
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Peng Chae-hyang truly disappeared without a trace. In the first place, not many people even within the New Justice Association knew of Peng Chae-hyang’s existence.
Only those in the planning division, such as Namgung Hwi or Zhuge Yan, knew. Because if it spread that she was a person of the Hebei Peng Clan, it would become awkward for everyone. Thus, if Peng Chae-hyang deliberately disguised herself and left, who would notice?
“That is quite unexpected.”
Zhuge Yan widened her eyes slightly.
“To think Young Lady Peng was having such thoughts.”
“You didn’t fan the flames, did you?”
“I am not someone who attacks my own allies. And I am troubled as well. Without Young Lady Peng right now, the planning division won’t function properly.”
The planning division already had far too much work even now. Since Peng Chae-hyang and Namgung Hwi had also significantly increased their work processing speed, Zhuge Yan had no reason to deliberately drive Peng Chae-hyang away.
“However, it is understandable. If Young Lady Peng cares for the Association Master, it is a notion she could easily arrive at.”
“Did I sleep for a bit too long?”
“You slept for nearly a day and a half. It seems your sleep acupoint was pierced quite deeply.”
“Why didn’t you look for me?”
“I thought you were spending quality time with Young Lady Peng.”
“How could anyone spend quality time for a day and a half?”
“Why? They say martial artists can even do it for seven days and nights if they put their minds to it.”
I was at a loss for words at Zhuge Yan’s remark. Indeed, since martial artists could regulate the energy within their bodies, perhaps that was possible.
Unnecessarily, Peng Chae-hyang’s voluptuous figure from the other day came to mind, causing my face to grow hot. I had merely felt like she was a younger sister, but once I held her in my arms, from then on, she could not look more like a woman.
“……Doing that much would kill a person.”
“In fact, if someone has mastered sexual cultivation arts and bedchamber arts to the absolute peak, they say one could even do it for a month. Among those who boast, I have seen people claim up to half a month.”
Namgung Hwi chimed in. Being at a vigorous age full of vitality, he seemed unable to miss out on such a topic.
“You, do your work.”
“Yes.”
Since it seemed the nonsense would drag on, I shut it down immediately. Namgung Hwi returned to work looking crestfallen.
I turned my head back toward Zhuge Yan.
“Then even if I chase after her now, it would already be too late.”
“Why do you ask such a thing? That is obvious, of course, but chasing after her now would not only disregard Young Lady Peng’s feelings, but it would also not be right for the New Justice Association.”
Zhuge Yan said coldly. I knew her words were right as well. Yet my mind was completely tangled. Since this was an unprecedented occurrence, I too was flustered.
Even when I tried to think of other things, Peng Chae-hyang’s beautiful appearance suddenly came to mind, and when I forcefully erased it, the stimulating sensations from that storage room the other day seemed to reproduce themselves.
“You look as though you have already contracted lovesickness. Well, Young Lady Peng is indeed very beautiful, isn’t she?”
“That’s nonsense.”
I feigned indifference, but fooling Zhuge Yan was difficult, even if I could fool others. Zhuge Yan grinned and nodded as if understanding, which rather wounded my pride.
“You aren’t truly intending to chase after Young Lady Peng, are you?”
“I won’t do such a foolish thing.”
I merely thought about it. Merely thought. However, merely thinking and directly acting were two different things.
Of course, I had the disguise art learned from Dang Se-ui, and my lightness skills were not bad either, but from the imperial palace’s perspective, I was the enemy commander. There was no way an enemy commander would walk directly into the center of the enemy camp.
As I had told Peng Chae-hyang several times, as the New Justice Association Master, I had a duty to lead many people. I could not be swayed by personal sentiments.
“Perhaps the future conduct of the Hebei Peng Clan will depend on Young Lady Peng’s conduct. We can only hope that Young Lady Peng learned a great deal from the Association Master at the New Justice Association before leaving.”
“Honestly, even if I were to go to the Hebei Peng Clan in that situation, nothing particular comes to mind regarding what I could do.”
“Young Lady Peng might be seeing what we cannot see.”
Could Peng Chae-hyang have truly grown that much? I did not hold the arrogant thought that Peng Chae-hyang could never see what I failed to see.
There would be weapons that could be utilized within the Hebei Peng Clan as well, and Peng Chae-hyang would know about those far better than I would.
“There is nothing we can do. We can only believe in Young Lady Peng. That is also the way to respect Young Lady Peng.”
“Indeed.”
I only needed to do my own work, just as Peng Chae-hyang had written in her letter. The New Justice Association was also in a critical period right now. Under the current circumstances, it made no sense for the Association Master to roam outside even for a few days.
“By the way, it is raining terribly hard.”
Zhuge Yan lifted the blind on the window. Rain was pouring down furiously, as if a hole had been punctured in the heavens.
“Just as the Association Master said, the rivers will truly overflow completely. The imperial palace considered water control an important achievement, so they will take quite a hit.”
“It would be good if the hit is large. Even if there is none, it doesn’t matter.”
In any case, what we would gain from the flooding of the Yellow River was the demand for small boats and the economic profit gained through those small boats. Inflicting a political blow was a secondary matter.
“Since it has been raining continuously for nearly five days, the imperial palace must be growing anxious. Even so, what could they do right now?”
“Indeed. Water control projects are not something that can be accomplished in a day or two.”
“I heard they were throwing feasts day after day lately while advertising their achievements. They must be having a miserable time.”
I scoffed. In any case, the fact that they had grown wealthy was actually because of us. Because the Heaven’s Gift Merchant Company made a great deal of money, tax revenues increased by that much.
Was that all? The small villages that the Heaven’s Gift Merchant Company designated as bases along the trade routes were all revitalized, leading even to regional development.
In that regard, the Heaven’s Gift Merchant Company even enjoyed high public sentiment. Since the region developed with the Heaven’s Gift Merchant Company as the main agent, public sentiment could not possibly be bad. Because all the people in those regions held jobs derived from the Heaven’s Gift Merchant Company.
“Then do we just need to wait like this?”
Zhuge Yan asked. I suddenly became curious about Zhuge Yan’s thoughts.
“What do you think?”
“As long as we have secured a large number of small boats, the methods available to us are limitless.”
“I am asking for your thoughts. What would Zhuge Yan, the External Hall Master of the Zhuge Clan, have done?”
“We would have to wait until Shandong and Henan flood and the damage accumulates to the maximum. While keeping the small boats hidden as much as possible so they are not forcibly mobilized by the imperial family. When a national disaster strikes like this, public support for imperial authority is bound to fall, so the more we stall for time, the more advantageous it will be for us. Fortunately, our trade routes cut across Hainan and Gansu, so the flooding of the Yellow River will not have a significant impact.”
Zhuge Yan poured out words smoothly, as if she had been waiting for the question.
Not a single thing she said was wrong. Although the Yellow River passed through Gansu as well, it was close to the upper reaches, so it rarely flooded, and because I had told Prince Xian to pay attention to the embankments, they would not suffer damage.
“Furthermore, Shandong and Henan are close to Beijing, so they are highly likely to be pro-imperial. As can be seen from the fact that the Hwangbo Clan of Shandong, which opposed the imperial palace, disappeared immediately. Even Shaolin Temple, which attached itself to the imperial palace, is in Henan right now. If their public sentiment turns hostile toward the imperial palace, it will be a good thing for us. Furthermore, if Shandong and Henan are devastated by the floods, it will take Beijing several years just to clean up the aftermath. That much time will be granted to us.”
“Endure the damage to the common people for our own profit?”
“I am not proposing that we do that right this moment. But I spoke because it seemed the Association Master was curious about my old way of handling matters.”
As expected, Zhuge Yan had neither blood nor tears. That did not mean I had come to despise Zhuge Yan. I had known from the start that she was that kind of person, and such a perspective was certainly necessary within an organization. Because if one only listened to one side’s opinion, a group was bound to become stagnant.
“I heard you well.”
“Yes. Then what thoughts do you possess, Association Master?”
“Tell the Heaven’s Gift Merchant Company to send small boats and relief supplies to Shandong and Henan.”
“I knew you would say that, Association Master.”
Zhuge Yan smiled. However, she soon stopped smiling and returned to a serious expression.
“What I can tell you with certainty is that resentment is stronger than gratitude. Rather than the people of Shandong and Henan feeling grateful toward us, it would be more advantageous for us if they resent the imperial palace.”
“I know too. And I am not giving such instructions because I am kind.”
I told Zhuge Yan. Zhuge Yan slightly raised the corners of her mouth once more. She seemed to think I was making excuses out of embarrassment.
Well, it was no surprise that she would misunderstand like that. Because my current actions could clearly be seen as those of a gentleman.
However, as I told Zhuge Yan, it was not because that choice was more virtuous. It was because rescuing the people of Shandong and Henan actually yielded more to gain.
I knew something that Zhuge Yan did not know. That was none other than the Legitimacy of my Martial Talent Shop, which rose the more I gained the hearts of the people.
Initially, I had not connected the Great Desert and Luzon with the intention of gaining Legitimacy. It was because doing so was necessary to seize the commercial power of the Central Plains.
However, as the hearts of the people turned toward the Heaven’s Gift Merchant Company, surprisingly, Legitimacy began to rise.
Even without revealing my identity and actively campaigning to win the hearts of the people, I was able to obtain Legitimacy.
After all, Legitimacy signified the qualifications of an emperor. Qualifications stemmed from the actions one took and the results thereof.
Even if my goal was not to make the common people prosperous, because I actually produced such results, the Martial Talent Shop granted me Legitimacy.
“Then I will convey it to the Heaven’s Gift Merchant Company as such.”
Zhuge Yan bowed her head.
Thinking about it, I could not distinguish whether Zhuge Yan was originally a cold-hearted person, or if the position of External Hall Master of the Zhuge Clan and the pressure from the clan head had made her cold.
“Understood. Then I am returning to the Association Master’s room. Since I have things to do, handle things on your own as much as possible without looking for me.”
At my words, Zhuge Yan’s eyebrows drew a subtle curve.
“Yes, understood.”
If she had been under me from the beginning, would she have developed a slightly different personality? While indulging in unnecessarily sentimental thoughts, I left the strategists’ room and returned to the Association Master’s room.
The place where the New Justice Association was currently staying was a three-story building, but the Association Master’s room was on the first floor. People including Namgung Hwi and Peng Chae-hyang had recommended the third floor with its fine scenery, considering the authority of the Association Master, but I had refused.
The reason was that rather than someone who led from above, I wanted to be someone who shared alongside them from below. Although it was an excuse blurted out on the spot, I remembered Namgung Hwi looking deeply moved.
The reason I chose the first floor was simple. Because there was an underground space.
With the New Justice Association building changing this time, I had secretly created a new space.
After locking the door of the New Justice Association Master’s room from the inside, I moved the chair in the room aside.
Pressing down firmly with my foot on the cleared spot, the floor slid inward. Then, with a clanking sound, the floor sank completely, revealing a staircase. It was a mechanism created by requesting Zhuge Yan and Dang Se-ui.
Since both the Zhuge Clan and the Sichuan Tang Clan were second to none when it came to mechanisms and formations, the design was very easy.
Even for me, this was the first time entering after it had been built. The completeness of the space was outstanding, such that the sound of the rain pouring as if the heavens had opened up could not be heard at all. As expected of masters of mechanisms, they did not neglect even the slightest finish.
As for why I went out of my way to create such a space, it was because I felt the need for a space of my own.
[ Heavenly Eye — 2nd Grade ]
[ Price : 1,000 Legitimacy ]
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