As expected, Moyong Seo accepted my proposal.
From Moyong Seo’s perspective, my suggestion was likely like a refreshing rain after a drought.
Moyong Seo probably had no sharp methods to deal with the Shengsu Branch either.
Would the Moyong Clan, which is one of the Five Great Clans, really be so powerless as to be unable to suppress the Shengsu Branch?
If they had intended to suppress it by force, they would have done so long ago.
However, repressing a disturbance caused by a branch clan with brute force would be too beneath the name of one of the Five Great Clans.
It was a method that would only be attempted as a last resort when all else failed.
Therefore, I too had to find a way to dismantle the Shengsu Faction without using force.
“I say, pick one! Pick! And keep picking! If you match the cup with the dice, it’s triple the odds! This isn’t an everyday opportunity!”
To do so, I, Ho Cheon-an.
“Unbelievable! Another outrageous event! If you hit the dice, the double payout today becomes a whopping triple! A chance for a life-changing turnaround!”
I was running a gambling game in the mining village.
“Oh, look who it is, another gambler.”
“Looks like a new guy.”
The miners, covered in grime and sweat, started showing interest in me as they came out of the office.
“Come on! This isn’t an everyday chance! Triple the payout! For today only! Riches await!”
My enticing calls began to attract miners who had received their pay.
After all, a limited-time offer for triple odds was the absolute truth.
“Hey, if you get caught cheating here, you’ll lose your wrist to a pickaxe.”
“Oh come on, of course! Just look at this, it’s completely transparent. Feel free to check the cup.”
Currently, I had rolled up my sleeves, and the gambling table was simply a board supported by legs with no cover at all.
When I handed the cup to a suspicious miner, he sniffed and returned it after checking.
And thus, the gambling began.
Needless to say, I skillfully extracted the miners’ money. I showed some gaps discreetly, and while pretending to be polite and courteous, I shot glances that could only annoy the miners standing at the table.
The miners, drawn by my provocation, kept betting their money.
“Left! There are five coins to the left!”
“Oh no, it was in the center!”
“Damn it! This is ridiculous!”
As a result, I successfully cleaned out many miners’ pockets. Well, even if I say cleaned out, it was just a day’s pay, nothing to brag about.
Once I had managed to empty quite a few miners’ pockets, I decided to call it a day.
“Alright, we’ll stop here for today.”
Just as I had hoped, the miners I had cheated started to clamor.
“Are you backing down? What’s this?!”
“I was just about to start again!”
“Set up the table right now!”
The miners crying out that their pockets were empty was something I already knew, and they knew it too. But when they acted like this, it was customary for me to return some small change in a showy way on the gambling table.
“Come on, brothers, please have some sympathy for me. My wrist is killing me from rolling the cup all day!”
“That’s your problem!”
When I showed weakness, the angry miners seemed to think they could get some small change back.
This was exactly the reaction I wanted.
“Huh, since I can’t roll the cup any longer today, I’ll return some of the money, even if it’s just part of it.”
The miners’ faces lit up, but it was still a bit too early to feel secure.
“However! I’ll only return half to those who want to drink with me!”
After a moment of confusion, the miners’ expressions soon brightened up. After all, it was routine for them to drink after finishing a day’s work. Getting back half of their money and inviting one of them to join was like a windfall from their viewpoint.
“Great! Awesome!”
“Oh, younger brother! You really know how to do business! You understand the ways of the mines!”
“Hahaha! Brothers, let’s go!”
We quickly became close with the miners and invaded the tavern, starting to drink cheap liquor. After returning half of their money and laying out a few cheap side dishes, the miners looked at me with glowing favor.
Technically, all that money had come from their own pockets, but there was no need to mention that.
“I’m telling you! I dug up iron ore the size of my thigh in one go today!”
“Oh wow! You’re really amazing, brother!”
“Hahaha! You? You’re the one who always whines in the mine! I’m the one who is sore from overworking the cart!”
Spitting and spilling drinks, the miners launched into tall tales about their adventures in the mines, effectively turning the gathering into a classic boisterous comrades’ drinking party. I began to carefully scatter my bait.
“Hmm, but brothers, it seems like miners’ wages are good around here.”
“What?”
“Isn’t it? From what I see, the spending of you brothers looks pretty hefty. I’m envious.”
“Wow, I can’t believe this.”
“If there are other miners who earn like us, let them come out!”
“I’m telling you, our salaries are just pitiful!”
As expected, they began to spit and get worked up. I feigned a shocked expression.
“Really? Even though it seems to me that you’re receiving quite a decent wage, is it low?”
Looking at my face that screamed ‘I know nothing about the mining industry,’ the miners started to drink and raise their voices in frustration.
“Us and skilled workers like this punk should be getting 1.5 times the wages we make!”
“What? Then why…”
“Because of those damn subcontractors!”
I again played dumb, feigning confusion.
“Isn’t there always some subcontracting happening everywhere?”
Seeing my frustrating act, one miner was spewing with conviction.
“Subcontracting is everywhere, but here the rates are different!”
“Ugh, it’s infuriating!”
I looked at the miners downing their drinks and thought.
Suddenly, the branch clans of the Shengsu Faction, having struck it rich from a mining boom.
Would those branch families really be managing their business thoroughly?
Of course, they probably think they are managing it diligently.
But could hardened merchants be cornered by mere martial artists who are sharpened to a razor’s edge?
That’s tough.
Given the nature of the mining industry, which requires numerous personnel, techniques, and distribution channels, even if the branch clans exert their utmost diligence, it’s uncertain they could control the merchants.
I thought there must be answers to this, so I infiltrated the mines.
How could those who had trained martial arts in the main family all their lives suddenly become merchants overnight?
They learned slowly and through failure how to become merchants.
Yet, suddenly becoming overnight millionaires, how could the Shengsu Faction properly manage this mine?
As a mine owner, they could certainly generate enough profit, but they must still be far from being termed a true mine owner, at least in my estimation.
And my estimation turned out to be correct.
“The mine owner might be from the Martial Clan, but he truly doesn’t know how to do business!”
“Right! He needs to listen to the voices on the ground! If he only associates with the managers, he’ll have no idea what’s happening on site!”
Typical of a deskbound bureaucrat who thinks all the managers need to do is mind their business!
I imagined the managers were blindly trusting the reports from the merchants.
They must think it’s easier and more intuitive to understand the situation through reports summarized by someone else rather than making the effort to grasp it firsthand.
Perhaps the descendants of the faction think of themselves more as martial artists than merchants and may have entirely delegated the mine to the merchants.
Be it ignorance or disinterest, the branch of the Shengsu Faction, as a mine owner, is currently unable to manage the mine properly.
Naturally, the merchants seized the opportunity and filled their own pockets, while the laborers bore the brunt of the resulting damage.
“Hmmm…”
This is worth investigating.
I couldn’t rely on just a few miners’ words; I needed to conduct in-depth research.
I looked at the miners condemning the managers with raised voices and said.
“Brothers, is there any chance I could also become a miner?”
Indeed, investigations must be done firsthand for the best flavor.
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