A strike must not appear as a rebellion.
If deemed a rebellion, government forces will inevitably intervene. The painstakingly planned strategy would turn to dust in an instant.
A strike is an act by workers to assert their demands, while a rebellion is when the people rise against their country. We must clearly differentiate the two to prevent the situation from escalating into government intervention.
To do that, I first needed to assess the circumstances.
“It’s too dangerous. Who knows what angry Joseon people might do!”
An older Ho Pil stood in my way and spoke.
“I am the overall responsible person for this incident. Who else would go if not me?”
“Do you think there are only a few Ho Pil who could be sacrificed in a rebellion? Just suppress them!”
“Isn’t it the duty of a Ho Pil to relieve the people’s grievances? They might be aggrieved to the point of wanting to see me. I’ll go have a talk with them.”
I looked around like a true Ho Pil who only thought of the people.
“Kang Ho Pil. You…!”
“Kang Ho Pil-nim!”
Don’t look at me with such a touched face. It’s all part of the act.
“Here comes the Ho Pil you’ve been wanting to see! Make way!”
In the end, I entered the paper mill with a few constables.
“Kang Ho Pil? It’s really Kang Ho Pil!”
Just as I heard, there were mostly black-haired people. I could spot a few Central Plains people, but their numbers were not many.
“The paper mill director isn’t dead.”
The face of the paper mill director, tied to a pillar, was a sight to behold. His swollen face looked like a steamed bun, drooling everywhere. If he weren’t breathing, I would’ve thought he was dead.
Thank goodness. That was my biggest worry.
Despite the director’s serious crimes, if someone died, the problem would escalate. Fortunately, none of the hostages looked dead.
“Even if the director didn’t treat us like human beings, we know right from wrong. We’re protesting, not venting our frustrations.”
A middle-aged Joseon man approached me with a pained body; I recognized him. It was someone whom Im Ha-yeon had taken care of after her late-birth delivery, and I’d occasionally looked out for him too. A moment of warmth passed between our gazes, but we hid our feelings to pretend not to know each other.
“Are you the representative of the paper mill workers?”
I had decided that beforehand, but I asked again.
This could be a risky situation. If things went south, I would bear the blame alone. Are you truly going to volunteer as the representative?
“Yes. I led this.”
Though the strike was my plan, it had only been carried out with the workers’ active consent. The face of the representative, who had volunteered first, was filled with unhidden determination.
“Go ahead. Explain the situation in front of the Ho Pil and the constables.”
——
“I’m wronged! I’m wronged! How could this be termed a rebellion? It was just a little squabble! When I protested, the whip came flying! I just retaliated a bit, and look at this situation!”
Assaults by the director and low wages. Poor working conditions. The representative of the paper mill workers explained the situation leading up to the strike very coherently.
“What?! You’re saying you’re holding the director and this isn’t a rebellion?!”
“Even I can see this is far from a rebellion.”
I calmly stated my conclusion, like a Ho Pil listening intently.
“Kang Ho Pil-nim?”
“The director and deputy director were regularly beating people with whips?”
Ignoring the startled look from the deputy director, I asked the workers’ representative.
“Yes! That’s right! Just look at the wounds from today and the scars from before!”
The representative took off his shirt and showed his wounds to Ho Pil and the constables.
“Tsk tsk tsk.”
“Was it that bad?”
The Ho Pil who listened tsked their tongues at the sight of the injuries.
“Those wounds were all caused by them! We merely protested! We didn’t kill anyone!”
I loved the passionate denunciation fueled by indignation. I could see everyone’s sentiments tipping towards the workers.
“… No, that was to educate them. Ugh!”
Don’t interrupt a good atmosphere! I didn’t hesitate and slapped the deputy director.
“This won’t do.”
“Kang Ho Pil-nim! Why are you hitting me?!”
The deputy director asked, seeming clueless as he rubbed his cheek.
“I was planning to educate too. Did I ask the deputy director a question? Or did I ask that guy?”
You said you wanted to educate him. I wanted to educate too. I was asking the workers’ representative. Did I give you the right to speak?
“…….”
“Ah.”
I slapped the deputy director again, this time on the other cheek, which was, of course, unguarded.
“Argh! Why are you hitting me?!”
“Didn’t I ask you this time? Why aren’t you answering?”
Doesn’t my question make sense?
“Ugh! I didn’t ask anything.”
“If you didn’t, then why reply!”
“Ahhh!”
“I’ll ask again. Are you angry?”
“I’m not angry! Argh! Why are you hitting me?!”
A full swing slap knocked the deputy director’s head sideways.
“Is it written all over your face, and yet you dare to lie in front of Ho Pil?”
How dare you! Hit again!
Cover your face with your arm? Then it’s time for my six-sided club to swing towards the deputy director’s shin.
“Argh!”
Does it hurt? The Joseon people who were beaten with the whip probably hurt even worse.
I must hit more.
This is for Mr. Choi! This is for Mr. Kim! This is for Mr. Lee! For the Tea Bookstore Kang family! I might not work at the paper mill, but out of anger, I’m adding interest for the hits.
“Ugh! I’m sorry! I’m really angry!”
The deputy director, unable to bear the agony on his shin, knelt down and admitted it.
”You dare to get mad at a Ho Pil?!”
“Argh! Please spare me! I’m sorry!”
In a situation where I swung the six-sided club merrily, no Ho Pil dared step forward, even amidst the exercise of government powers.
Of course.
“… Kang Ho Pil-nim. Is this a level of harassment equivalent to about 20 years of being a Ho Pil?”
“I know, right? This is just Ho Pil by nature. Ho Pil. Was I not born holding a six-sided club?”
Everyone seemed to be giggling from amusement.
“Those bratty ruffians should learn something from this.”
“I thought you were only a clever Ho Pil, but you’re also quite the adept with your hands!”
In this era, Ho Pil is violence incarnate, accompanied by government power. Moreover, if a rebellion is instigated, not only will the instigators be punished, but so will the ones who incited them.
Now that it was revealed that the deputy director and director had responsibility for this incident, there was no one to stop the beatdown.
“Ugh…”
Finally, the deputy director was reduced to a sorry state, akin to the director inside, kneeling down.
“Right. You’re saying it’s a rebellion because of their petty squabble. Why were you giving people orders?”
Everyone was looking at me with amusement, except for one person.
But my act of venting my anger wasn’t just for show.
‘We need to shift public sentiment towards the Joseon people.’
The wrongdoers are the paper mill director and the deputy director. The Joséon people are in a position where they exploded after enduring for too long.
“Just a squabble, you say? This is indeed a rebellion.”
The deputy director protested, appearing aggrieved, but I didn’t care.
I’m going to turn this incident into a strike instead of a rebellion today.
“The senior worker at the paper mill got hit. Everyone works hard for a meager salary, so when they asked for a wage increase, they got whipped! They got angry and protested, so of course, they’d retaliate. Isn’t it understandable?”
“If they rise as a group, that’s a rebellion…”
“Hey. Did an official get hurt? Did someone die? They’re just arguing with each other! If they talked things over, it would’ve ended well. Why would that be called a rebellion?”
“That’s…”
There wasn’t much they could say.
In a world where even inter-village wars can happen and no one cares, even if a few tenant farmers die protesting against a landlord, they’d still order dissolution.
The important thing is whether the administrator appointed by the ruler dies or not. If an official dies, it’s a rebellion, but in today’s incident, no one died.
This wasn’t even something that should be treated as a rebellion from the start.
Right now, the reason they’re trying to classify this incident as a rebellion is solely one.
“Kang Ho Pil-nim. This is the paper mill owned by the Head of Guards.”
Because they were looking to the Head of Guards.
A Ho Pil looked at me, as if pleading for a gentler approach. Right. When the Head of Guards’ name comes into play, a Ho Pil should lie low.
But here’s the thing.
I’m Kang Yoon-ho, the Ho Pil. I have no intention of backing down.
“Hey. So what? Is this the government office? This isn’t even a rebellion. It’s not worthy of being called a revolt. Why the hell do we have to make such a commotion for a mere fistfight among the paper mill workers in broad daylight?”
I asked the surrounding Ho Pil and constables, incredulously.
“Huh?!”
“That’s true?”
“…… It’s not just a few, is it?”
The Ho Pil who had stopped me sighed softly.
“Of course. There are hundreds of people working at the paper mill. If a hundred people just fistfight once, someone would have died, but the paper mill director is still unharmed.”
Though they’re just breathing.
“Kang Ho Pil-nim. This is the Head of Guards’ paper mill, you know.”
Why are they acting like this? The Ho Pil’s gazes were turned towards me.
“If the Head of Guards runs an inn, will you charge the martial artists fighting at the inn with rebellion too? Sounds good, right? If there’s a fight between sects in my inn, I’ll throw rebellion charges at them. You going first? Got it?”
From the beginning, this wasn’t a rebellion.
“No! Don’t say it that way…”
Did the atmosphere begin to shift? The deputy director shouted, pointing towards the paper mill.
“Look at that guy! Isn’t that a spear he’s holding?!”
Turning my head, I spotted a Joseon person wielding a spear.
“Hey! You! Is that a spear?! Are you going to stab someone with that?!”
No, say it isn’t so. I sent desperate looks.
“It’s a walking stick!”
“He says he’s using it as a cane because he’s having trouble moving! This guy! Reporting a mere nothing as a rebellion! You’re evil!”
I immediately slapped the deputy director again.
“No, it’s clearly a weapon.”
“Want to see what real weapons are?”
I brandished my six-sided club.
“Eek! No, it’s not!”
“What do the paper mill workers want? Speak up.”
The representative of the workers, who had been enjoying watching the deputy director get his due, fixed his expression and spoke earnestly.
“We want meals provided, two days off every fortnight, quadrupled wages, and guaranteed a fortnight holiday due to severe illness.”
“You barbarian bastards! How can you talk such nonsense!!!”
“What? Are you saying you didn’t hear what I just said?!”
This deputy director, living with the word barbarian clinging to his mouth.
“No! That’s absolutely not true.”
The situation started to tidy up as the deputy director knelt, bowing his head.
‘Now that the situation has settled, it’s time to move to the next step.’
How to draw out the heavy-bottomed Head of Guards now?
“Alright. From here on, you’ll resolve this among yourselves.”
First, I’ll stir the pot.
“What?”
“From now on, the constables will just keep watch so that their conflict doesn’t escalate into a rebellion. Once negotiations are done amicably, you’ll disperse afterwards. Got it?”
Set the second boundary.
I’ll turn this into a simple conflict, a worker’s strike out of anger. You guys just fight. I won’t object even if you go all out.
“I understand!”
“Wha-what in the world…?”
Isn’t the best view to watch a fire? It doesn’t spread. But I’ll set conditions so they can burn fiercely within the designated area.
“Within the paper mill, you can do as you please. Just don’t hurt anyone else. Understand?!”
“Of course!”
The Head of Guards and the inspector will definitely take note of the fire.
“If anything happens, come to me first! Don’t listen to anyone’s orders! I’m responsible for this incident!”
Only I can extinguish that fire.
Only making it Kang Yoon-ho’s responsibility.
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