Episode 784
‘Of course it may seem that way.’
Didn’t he feel a little flattered, thinking that he might be beyond human to this extent? But now I know.
How scared I was when I decided to die in the mine.
Like Gwon Je-nim, he may have seemed like something aloof in the face of death.
Maybe he believed that himself.
But when I actually faced it, my head went blank and I couldn’t think of anything.
‘I ended up struggling ugly in the end.’
Jin Cheon-hee nods, realizing her own depth like that.
“He’s just an ordinary person. “If I tell a lie, I keep getting scolded for it, and when I see someone dying, I can’t forget it, so I don’t have any appetite for a while, and when I put my head on the pillow, I regret it, thinking that it would have been better if I had done this or that.”
A person who really has nothing special.
Ilgwang Jin Cheon-hee defined herself that way.
“I am not as sure about the path I am taking as you are, Master or Yuho. I can’t even guarantee that I’m right. “I just follow the path that I think is right with my head at the time.”
Knock knock.
Jin Cheon-hee tapped her head with her finger.
“But, if possible, I want to do it in a way that leaves me with fewer regrets. “So that I can sleep well.”
No matter how much gold and silver treasures we surround ourselves with, the moment we hit the back of our heads against the pillow, how honest do humans become?
When I close my eyes at night, the memories inside me open my eyes.
Even if you fool me, you can’t fool my memory.
That has absolutely nothing to do with my wealth, my honor, or my military service.
“So you’re dead?”
It seems that not only Master but also Yuho knows.
When I thought about it, it occurred to me that it might be inevitable that Yuho would be there when Master was planning various strategies or gathering information.
‘Besides, Yuho sometimes finds out about my condition before Master.’
So Jin Cheon-hee wasn’t that surprised.
“I also avoided it if I could. Since my companions were alive, I could have just run away. But something didn’t work out.”
“Even though it didn’t go well, the job was completed perfectly.”
“Is this a compliment?”
“It’s an insult.”
“Ha ha ha ha ha.”
Jin Cheonhee laughed. I just laughed.
“Anyway, Yuho.”
Jin Cheon-hee rested her chin and looked at Yu Hao.
“What is it?”
“Master, did you start this civil war?”
“That’s not it.”
Immediate answer.
“okay?”
“yes. But I didn’t stop it either. “As you know, the master hates humans and is not necessarily obsessed with the lives of each and every strongman like you.”
“That’s it… well… when I think about the time in my childhood when Master was abused by Kang Ho-in. “Because it was very difficult.”
Jin Cheon-hee put the pickled chestnuts in her mouth and chewed them.
so sweet.
The slightly bitter aftertaste seemed to have been made with chestnut honey.
“Anyway, it looks like you didn’t do anything during the Jeongsajeon War.”
“That’s not it…”
“What?”
Yuho raises his hand to block Jin Cheonhee’s question.
“You should ask the owner directly about that.”
After saying that, I went out.
This time, the sound of the door seemed to have left a mark on purpose.
Jin Cheon-hee said while looking at Yu-ho’s back.
“okay. “I guess I have no choice but to ask directly.”
* * *
“I brought you the pickled chestnut honey.”
“Tsk, I’m going to stay up all night as soon as I get home, so I have to eat like that.”
Zhugelin clicked his tongue, lifted his sleeve, and began quickly writing down something with a brush.
Even though his silver hair was so long, it was amazing that there was never a trace of ink on it.
For a moment, Yu Ho wonders if Jegalin is the same ‘type’ as himself.
Among them, there are many who move their body hair freely as if they were alive.
However, I also knew that it was a futile idea.
“We, Hee, work too hard in everything we do. You already have excellent intelligence, but since you put in the effort, there are a lot of people targeting you. Isn’t that so? Yuho?”
“It’s a plague. master.”
Yu Ho spoke honestly and Jegalin burst into laughter.
If someone else had said that, I would have slit their throat.
However, if the opponent is Yuho, Jegalin also takes it as a joke and laughs.
“I think you may be too harsh on our Hee.”
“so. What do you plan to do next?”
A story without the subject.
Jegalin thought as he watched Yuho suddenly move on to the next story.
‘Yuho’s reaction is really funny when you tease him with Heero.’
But now is the time to talk about work. Jegalin answered as is.
“Nothing special. I’m thinking of getting the blood sample that was stored away. “Although this body is not as good as the Four Heavenly Danga, isn’t it quite skilled in poison?”
“Are you running away before the bastard asks? “I feel a little sick.”
“I guess so. By now, I’m sure you’re anxious to ask me exactly what I did in the Battle of Jeongsajeon. “Hmm, do you really need me to answer that?”
Yuho thought.
What a bad-tempered teacher.
It seems that he will be satisfied if he returns at least half of the hard work he has put in.
“It’s time for him to feel what I felt while waiting for him. Don’t you say it’s a lie? “Humans are such a foolish species that you have to experience it to understand.”
Right. It is good to be shackled for life. It’s good, but the guy holding the key jumps out?
Even the evil spirits would cry and go.
Yuho had a lot of things he wanted to say. But I didn’t.
“And the schedule changed in a hurry. “I have to go to the imperial palace.”
“If it’s the imperial palace, do you plan to have an audience with the emperor?”
“You should do that.”
Zhugelin said that and kept his mouth shut.
Why is Zhugelin heading to the imperial palace? Normally, one would have thought that Zhuge Lin had received some kind of command and entered the palace secretly.
But Yuho knew that wasn’t the case.
“All right. “Then how do you plan to use the poison you prepared in advance?”
“If you look at the Sacrificial Realm, which is the realm of victory in the Three Minds and Six Realms, there is a strategy called ‘Iildaero (以逸待勞).’ “It means that while the enemy is rampaging, I rest and store up my strength and then fight against the tired enemy.”
Jegalin does not talk about important things in detail.
There were some changes in his speaking style after meeting his disciples, but his essence never changed.
Yuho said.
“That’s mean.”
“That’s what war plans are all about. “Isn’t it possible to use any number of dirty tricks to win?”
“That’s what the weak usually do when dealing with the strong.”
I’m saying that if you were you, you could easily cut his head and come back without having to use such troublesome techniques.
Jegalin smiles silently at those words.
‘You never let your guard down. This man.’
Although he possesses great strength, he enjoys using tools rather than his fists.
“ruler. Then we’ll go out. “If I have an audience with His Majesty and receive Kang Hao’s blood test…”
Jegalin’s blue eyes glance at the ceiling.
It is the sound of a calculation passing by.
Perhaps the calculation is not simply one.
two three.
He continued.
“…Hee is probably forgetting about the political war because he is working. “It would be especially so since the entire Gangho martial forest isn’t split in half and fighting.”
“Is that irony?”
“haha. okay. Even so, he must be extremely concerned. But you can’t do anything until I come back. “I continue to work and wait for this teacher… Doesn’t this seem like something someone has experienced somewhere?”
Yuho said in shock at those words.
“…Did King Gwon tell you to do that?”
“It’s true that they are growing like weeds. “I’m just moving it home for a while and raising it.”
Don’t we usually call them flowers?
Before that, if your goal is to make the disciple reflect at home, you can completely trust the disciple, remove the shackles, and go.
“I guess there’s nothing we can do because we have blood left. “If you push Kang-ho a little prettier, there will be less chance of him dying.”
Even if this effort is futile.
I just want to get rid of even one stone in front of my child.
Will things get better after I clean up and clean up all the glass pieces and sharp thorns?
‘There may be no meaning to this act.’
Even so, as a teacher, shouldn’t you do something?
Zegalin put down his brush.
The piece of paper said that I would be away for a while and that I should take good care of the royal palace and the strings.
It was like that.
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
As well as a little(?) revenge.
Hyeolrin Gwangsal never moves with only one purpose.
And since he and Yoo Ho are not there, without Jin Cheon-hee, the mission will not work at all.
It was also the best move to block the student’s movements.
“Rather than that, the thought of seeing that snake-like bastard is annoying.”
It might be much easier to receive Kangho’s blood test.
But a teacher could do anything for his student.
Do anything.
* * *
The next morning.
‘I did everything that was urgent. Now all that’s left is to ask the teacher a question.’
Jin Cheon-hee took a deep breath.
What should I ask first?
What if Master doesn’t speak?
Should I try to find it myself this time?
With complicated thoughts, Jin Cheon-hee headed to Master’s study early in the morning.
I pretended to be welcome, but no one told me to come in. There was no sign of anything inside.
‘Hmm…. Are you away for a moment?’
Still, I had to drop off the documents that had been paid for, so I opened the door.
There was a letter on the desk.
-You seem to have a lot of questions, but I’ll go on a short trip outside.
It seemed that Master already knew what Jin Cheonhee was thinking.
And to go out.
‘Are you avoiding my question? ‘To make people curious.’
When the Master moves, he never moves with only one purpose.
‘As you leave, you may cause some trouble in the midfield.’
In the end, there is only one thing for a disciple to do.
‘Master and Yuho disappeared at the same time, so now I’m the only one left.’
Muwol is already reaching his limit.
Giving this guy more work is like telling him to die.
Jin Cheon-hee returned to the office.
Surprisingly, my head is clear. Because what needs to be done is determined.
‘Let me see. If I’m going to take over while Master and Yuho are away, I’ll have to make a plan first.’
Jin Cheon-hee took out the bamboo stick and opened it.
It can be done on paper, but a well-made bamboo stick sometimes feels like a modern-day lined notebook.
Of course, the weight is incomparable, but there is still a sense of stability given by the smell of bamboo.
I took out a bamboo writing pad and started writing down.
‘When I became governor, Baekrin-hyeon became Baekrin-gun, and thanks to that, Baekrin-seo-gu became Baekrin-seo-hyeon and Baekrin-dong-gu became Baekrin-dong-hyeon…’ Thanks to this,
one county was created on each side.
Two prefectures below the governor.
In the past, since he was the head of the county, there were no such unconventional greetings.
There are usually three things that promote someone like this.
Either he beheaded an enemy general in battle, or he did an incredibly good job throughout the empire, or he had golden connections.
‘I have all three.’
Suddenly, Jin Cheon-hee realized how he had become governor. In the end, it was Jaiseungjabak.
Anyway.
‘While I was there, the two county governors did a good job and opened up the entire district office. More police officers were hired to secure security forces. Preparations for retirement pensions for lower-ranking officials have also been completed.’
Pensions are important.
If old age cannot be guaranteed, the police become corrupt.
No matter how clean the government officials are, if the lower-level people who are supposed to be the eyes and ears of the government are corrupt, their hands and feet will be tied.
And in the past, during the time of the Emperor, there was a time when he ordered low-ranking people to cut off their bonds and act only with loyalty.
The governor just ate the money he received, the prefect ate it, and the governor continued to eat it, and then the money stopped, but that was the ‘custom’ at the time.
So, what the police officers can do is use their power to earn monthly salaries.
It is exploitation of the people.
It was as if the country had turned its back on them so that they could exploit them.
Now that he has been replaced by the current emperor, fortunately, he has been given a monthly salary to the governor.
Jin Cheon-hee went a little further and planned to provide pension after retirement.
What makes that possible is finance.
‘The current financial situation of Baeklin County is comparable to that of any commercial city. Since the population exceeds 100,000 households, by the standards of this era, there are about a million people living in Baekrin-gun.’
Additionally, the economy is booming, so money is flowing around quickly.
It is no exaggeration to say that Baeklin County’s current finances alone account for half of the entire Jiangsu Province.
Wouldn’t it be on par with Nanjing, the second largest economic city in Jiangsu Province and one of the largest cities in the entire empire?
‘Of course, in terms of document reporting? That’s it. I don’t know if Nanjing Seongju took it and manipulated it, but wouldn’t this be quite comparable?’
Since corruption is a common practice, you have to use this kind of guesswork when calculating something.
It is not some kind of blind investment, but the figures change little by little depending on the conscience of each prefecture and governor.
Then, once an audit is conducted, the statistics become more trustworthy for about half a year from then.
‘This floor is so fun.’
I wonder why the world is like this, but didn’t construction companies end up in billions of dollars in lawsuits when suppliers changed materials?
Garbage is sometimes buried in concrete, and as a result, even apartments with a view of the Han River can leak rain.
It was like that.
The congressman likes humans but doesn’t trust them, so he adapted quickly.
“Let’s see~ How much money has our Nanjing Seongju endured?”
With a faint smile.
