Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1455. I look forward to your kind cooperation (5)
Editor: Hoamzz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
“Hmm.”
The flashing eyes wildly scanned the ledger repeatedly. After checking the ledgers submitted by each sect over and over, Chung Myung's eyes narrowed to slits.
"Hmmmm."
When he finally lifted his gaze from the ledger and looked at the sect leaders, all their faces twisted strangely with a mix of discomfort and resignation.
'What’s he trying to find fault now?'
‘Who the hell suggested making that guy the general?’
'It wasn't me?'
It was strange.
In fact, it was not particularly remarkable that Chung Myung was given the position of general. In a way, he had already been treated with that level of authority implicitly.
But now that it was made official with that mere title, even his gaze had begun to feel unsettling.
“Is this all?”
“....”
"Really?"
“Ahem.”
Tang Gun-ak cleared his throat slightly and opened his mouth.
"Tang Family has given everything..."
"Ah, Tang Family is fine. I know all was burned down."
...Tang Gun-ak gazed out at the far sky with a subtly wounded look.
“Hey, Nokrim King.”
"Yeah?"
“Is this all?”
“Haha… How much money do you think a bunch of mountain bandits could possibly have? Even if we scraped together everything hidden in the mountains…"
"What about Plum Blossom Island?"
“Aigoo, Sir General! The money we earned in Plum Blossom Island was managed thoroughly by Sir General, wasn’t it? We might deceive ghosts, but we wouldn't deceive Mount Hua's ledgers..."
“That’s just the earnings from there. That’s not Nokrim’s assets.”
"Huh?"
Im Sobyeong tilted his head as if wondering what he was talking about. Then Chung Myung pointed his chin at him.
"You paid your underlings wages on Plum Blossom Island, right?"
"Isn't that obvious? If we exploit people without paying them, we would be dragged to the magistrate's office. You know perfectly well how much we fear the magistrate's office."
"And then you took a cut of that as tribute and pocketed it behind the scenes, right?"
“...Yes?”
"Where’d that go?"
Im Sobyeong's mouth slowly opened. Horror filled his eyes as if he were staring at a ghost. How on earth could he....
"Anyway, you bastards from Evil Sects pull tricks like this every day. Spit the money or your lives out, pick one."
"Hehe. Actually, I wasn't going to eat that myself, but was specially setting it aside to offer to you, General..."
“Cut the crap and write it all down.”
“...Yes.”
Im Sobyeong grumbled and stepped back. Chung Myung meticulously scanned the ledger one last time before confirming.
"So now there's nothing missing?"
"I've written everything down for certain."
“Hmm.”
Finally folding the ledger and tapping it against his palm, Chung Myung spoke.
“You sure had a nice little feast.”
The sect leaders' faces distorted miserably. That dog-like Taoist bastard...
“Well, in any case, with this much we can make it work somehow.”
Then, Seol So-baek raised his hand slightly.
“But....”
"What?"
“D- Dojang. I was just curious, how much of this do you plan to take....”
Everyone's ears perked up. They couldn't say anything because they were aware of the situation, but this was what they were all dying to know.
'Thirty percent?'
‘Surely not forty? Even that bastard has blood in his veins, right?’
'Even a devil spawn wouldn't go over fifty percent! That would just be telling us to go bankrupt.'
Everyone waited for Chung Myung to open his mouth, each with their own expectations. But the answer that came from those lips was a little, just a little, distant from their expectations.
“I don’t know.”
"What?"
"Don’t know. Won’t know until we do it. How the hell should I know?"
Seol So-baek's eyes widened like ice crystals in the North Sea.
"Wh- What does that..."
"When I don't know how long the war will last or what will happen in the future, how can I predict how much money we’ll need from now on? That’s something only the attackers can estimate. Even Zhuge Liang wouldn’t know how much it’ll cost to defend."
"I think Zhuge Liang would know though..."
“Kuack!”
Seol So-baek flinched and shrank his neck when Chung Myung let out a growling sound.
“Ahem, anyway… now that I’ve got a good idea of your assets, I’ll handle things based on the situation.”
“...Understood.”
"Ah, and it seems like the things that can't be readily used should be converted into money or grain."
At that, everyone turned to look at one person. Under the weight of everyone’s gaze, Namgung Dowi’s cheek twitched involuntarily.
"U- Us?"
“No, no. I'm not specifically talking about Namgung, but you know, things like taverns or land, or buildings that are difficult to use as immediate money. Those 'immovable assets'."
“R- Right now, aren’t we the only sect here that has immovable assets?!”
“Oh? Is that it?”
A vein bulged on Namgung Dowi's forehead.
“Do- Dojang. That won’t do!”
“Hmm? Why?”
“No, it’s not that I’m clinging to those buildings or taverns out of greed! Don’t you know the state of Jungwon right now? In a situation where we don't know which place might become a sea of fire at any moment, who will buy buildings or taverns? As ignorant as I might be about the business world, I know that much."
"Hooh. So?"
“If we sell now, there’s no way we’ll get their proper value! We’ll be lucky to get half!”
“Oh, really?”
Chung Myung nodded as if he understood. Just as Namgung Dowi's face brightened at the seemingly convinced demeanor, Chung Myung's indifferent voice was heard.
"Well, that's not my concern. Not even my money anyway."
...Namgung Dowi's shoulders drooped all the way to his knees.
“Look, money isn’t about value. It’s about timing. What matters is when you use it.”
"N- No, but even that has a limit..."
"But has this bastard gotten so full of himself because I'm treating him like a patriarch that he's even got fat in his belly? Is now the time to whine about money? No matter how crazy you all are about money, you should still know time and place!"
Namgung Dowi’s vision blurred with tears. Yes, that wasn’t wrong. But coming from that guy’s mouth?
Just then, Tang Gun-ak gently placed his hand on Namgung Dowi's shoulder.
"Stay strong..."
"...It was Gaju-nim who suggested giving that fellow the general position, wasn't it?"
“W- Weren’t you in favor too?”
“Namgung will not forget this.”
A cold sweat ran down Tang Gun-ak's spine at the look in Namgung Dowi’s resentment-filled eyes. Don't say that so seriously, you crazy bastard.
"Aren’t we all getting robbed blind anyway?"
“I see you didn't have much left anyway."
“What did you just say, punk?”
Five Swords' eyes filled with despair as they watched Namgung Dowi and Tang Gun-ak bicker from afar.
“...As expected.”
Baek Cheon muttered and shook his head with a tired expression. Yoon Jong chimed in.
"The sect leaders have no choice either."
“See, I told you we shouldn’t have put a position on that guy.”
"He’ll strip us bare. Down to our undergarments."
“...Hey, Sago. But at least Sahyung will leave us with some undergarments. How kind he has become. Lately, he's actually starting to resemble a proper Taoist priest."
"...Soso. Don't say such scary things."
"But it's true?”
“That’s why it’s scary.”
“Ah....”
Jo-Gol cackled alongside Tang Soso as they bantered. Yoon Jong, standing nearby, cautiously examined Jo-Gol's expression. He could read nothing but amusement on that face. As he turned away, his eyes briefly met Baek Cheon’s.
Seeing Baek Cheon shake his head slightly, Yoon Jong nodded silently.
Tak!
Just then, the sound of Chung Myung slamming the ledger down on the cart was heard.
"Well, in any case, thank you for cooperating well with the inquiry."
"Ugh."
“Well....”
A chorus of groans leaked out from here and there. Chung Myung quietly observed the crowd. These were the people who would become the backbone of Heavenly Comrade Alliance. And these were the people he would have to lead from now on.
“Honestly, it won’t be easy.”
“....”
“We made our mistakes, sure. But in the end, Evil Tyrant Alliance bastards gained way too much. And Ten Great Sects will definitely try to trample us using this opportunity.”
Tang Gun-ak nodded solemnly. It was none other than Tang Family who had given justification to Ten Great Sects. That's why he too had resolved to surrender everything and follow in plain clothes.
(H: Someone who relinquishes status or office and volunteers to serve as an ordinary soldier for the cause.)
“In any case… We’ll just have to do our best.”
Chung Myung's tone was utterly indifferent. The sect leaders’ faces gradually darkened with unease.
“Mount Hua Chivalrous Sword.”
"Yes?"
"It's fine to say we'll do our best, but to speak frankly... we didn't agree to follow your orders just to hear such words. Do you not have any concrete plans?”
Chung Myung casually shrugged.
"I do have plans."
"And what might they be?"
“Well, I’ve got a few things prepared… but first, we need to defend our home.”
"Home?"
"Like I said before. We sell off unnecessary things and use the money to fortify our defenses. We need a place to house not just these many people, but also those migrating from Anhui and the ones coming from the Northern Sea."
Tang Gun-ak's eyes twitched slightly. This wasn't the answer he wanted to hear.
"That's obviously something we must do. But... it's somewhat unexpected. To hear words about solid defense coming from your mouth."
"Defend? Me?"
A question flashed across Tang Gun-ak's face. What was that supposed to mean?
“Come on, I’ve done enough defending. I’m sick of running here and there just because those bastards make a move.”
“...So then why?”
“Tsk, tsk. This is why yangban who don’t know war....”
Tang Gun-ak frowned at Chung Myung's words. Then Im Sobyeong opened his mouth.
“In any offensive, the most important thing is logistics.”
“...Logistics?”
“No matter how great martial artist someone is, they can’t fight without eating. That’s why the most important thing before launching an attack is securing your supply lines. And above all…”
Im Sobyeong snapped his fan shut and slapped it against his palm.
“It is important to properly secure the base from which the logistics begins. Is that what you are saying?”
“...Why are you acting like a bandit leader with that head?”
"When I was born, my father happened to be a bandit leader, so what do you expect me to do..."
Chung Myung nodded.
"Yes, that's right. The power of Heavenly Comrade Alliance is dispersed in all directions right now. We need to gather it all in one place.”
At that moment, Im Sobyeong raised his hand.
"What?"
"Just curious. I agree with what you’re trying to do, but isn’t it still lacking? You could gather people to build pavilions with help from Tang Family or the remaining people here, but… wouldn't we be absolutely short on personnel to properly handle logistics? Does Eunha Merchant Guild have that much capacity?”
“Of course not. Those yangban might be one of the ten major trading guilds in the world or whatever, but in the end, they're just merchants who did business in Shaanxi."
"Then what are your plans for that?"
Chung Myung shrugged.
“That’s actually our first task.”
"Yes?"
The corners of Chung Myung's mouth twisted strangely. Then, out of nowhere, he changed the subject.
“Right about now, Ten Great Sects and Evil Tyrant Alliance must be thrilled. They'll surely think that the righteous cause of Heavenly Comrade Alliance, which claims to be for the world, has been obscured by taking care of its own."
“Hmm.”
Tang Gun-ak let out a slight groan. Chung Myung continued in a calm voice.
“The reason Heavenly Comrade Alliance was able to grow until now was because it had a righteous cause. But now they no longer have that cause. Therefore, Heavenly Comrade Alliance will no longer be able to grow."
"…That’s not entirely wrong, is it?"
“No. That’s completely wrong.”
"Hm?"
Chung Myung grinned.
“So they’re saying that it is a problem because we’re taking care of our own. People will criticize us for that.”
"Right."
"Then we just go in the opposite direction."
Confusion clouded everyone's faces. Chung Myung cackled triumphantly.
"Let’s show them the opposite. Just how thoroughly and fiercely we take care of our own. So much so that they understand how secure it is to be under Heavenly Comrade Alliance’s banner."
“That....”
At first glance, it may seem like a difficult thing to understand, but they didn’t need to understand right now. They just had to ask.
"How?"
“I need to check again before I move on.”
Chung Myung turned his head to look in one direction. Five Swords stood where his gaze fell.
Chung Myung grinned and looked at the sect leaders with his eyes wide open.
“Since I am the general, you all are to follow my orders, right?”
“...Mount... Hua Chivalrous Sword?”
"Whatever those orders it is, yeah?"
“....”
"Ah, this is good, so good. Heheheheh! This is really convenient. I should have done this sooner! Uwahahahaha!"
Chung Myung's two eyes sparkled with madness. The sect leaders all looked at each other with rotten eyes.
Somehow... they felt like they had just committed an irreversible mistake.
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