Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 676
Episode 676 Yu Yu Sang-jong (6)
After finishing the discussion with the leader of the inspection team, the branch manager was busy moving about.
After returning to Giru, the branch manager, he quickly wrote a letter and called one of his subordinates.
“Are you the best at riding horses?”
“That’s right.”
In response to his subordinate’s answer, the branch manager took out a round plaque from his pocket and held it out along with a letter.
“This is a general defeat that I received from the commander of the Yoyangseong Gyuchaldae. Leave the castle right now and deliver this letter to Sinuiju.”
“yes!”
* * *
As the empire secured the northern territory, a new state, Sinuiju, was created across the Yalu River.
The purpose of establishing the new Sinuiju was to make it a transportation and military center north of the Yalu River.
-If something happens and we are pushed back, we will block it once in Sinuiju, north of the Yalu River, and again in Uiju.
Sinuiju was created as a planned city with this goal.
For reference, the starting point for the Yalu River side of the Bukji Railway that Jinpyeong is currently promoting was Sinuiju.
Thanks to these location conditions, people flocked to Sinuiju as soon as the site was established. As people flocked in, the market grew and all kinds of supplies and rumors circulated.
Thanks to this, the support headquarters of the Militia Committee dispatched to Milbukji was established in Sinuiju.
The industry that Millwi chose to disguise its support headquarters was a brewery.
It was the best means of camouflage because many people were needed to lift and carry many sacks of grain and barrels of alcohol to make alcohol.
* * *
The branch manager who dismissed the subordinate who received the letter checked the situation with other subordinates.
“What about the loss?”
“Six injuries, three deaths. “If you count the people who went to prison, it’s twenty.”
“So there are fifteen kids left?”
The branch manager stroked his chin and pondered for a moment before giving an order.
“There are three bases we have to protect now. To put it simply, there are only five bases per base. “I tell them to only focus on defense until an answer comes from Sinuiju.”
“yes.”
The branch manager, seeing his subordinates answering with sullen expressions, continued speaking.
“I want to get revenge for what happened today, but I don’t have enough. You have to fill in the numbers correctly and then pay them back properly. Even though we are secretly fighting, we are from the sword world. “I guess we should do it the way the sword world does to those Sapa bastards, right?”
At the words of the branch leader, the faces of his subordinates brightened and their voices grew louder.
“That’s right!”
As the branch manager said, even though they were agents of the Militia, they were from the sword world. Even though he had calmed down, much of that ferocity still remained.
The branch manager, seeing that his subordinates’ morale had risen again, continued.
“What is the situation of the injured ones?”
“There are two people who are injured so badly that they cannot go to the front line. The rest can return to the front line as soon as they get some rest.”
“When people come from Sinuiju, make preparations so that the seriously injured and dead can be sent back to Seoul right away.”
“yes.”
Ten days later, about 40 people arrived from Sinuiju. Agents of the Militia Committee who entered the nursing castle disguised as laborers or other various identities immediately hid in the branch.
“It’s been a while. “You had a hard time leading the strike force.”
“Thank you for your hard work, branch manager.”
The leader of the strike team and the branch leader who had been dispatched to take control of the night of Liangyang Castle soon began talking about the current situation.
“How is it going with the judgment of those who were caught by the police?”
“I think the verdict will come out within two or three days. “I think everyone will be sentenced to hard labor and taken away.”
The leader of the strike team nodded at the branch manager’s report.
“The leader of the inspection team said he was cooperating and showed appropriate results.”
The branch leader also nodded at the words of the strike team leader.
Since it was an incident that resulted in people being killed and injured, there was a high possibility that it would receive a greater punishment. However, if the punishment, including hard labor, was the same for both Heilangbang and this area, it would be possible to stop the idea of discriminating between the residents of the main region and the northern region, and there would be no need for unnecessary additional efforts.
The branch manager continued.
“It’s fortunate that there hasn’t been much change from the initial plan to expose our identities up to the level of the inspector general and the referee.”
“Did you even meet the judge of the tribunal?”
“No, the only time I met him in person was with the head of the inspection team. However, looking at the news I heard, the leader of the Gyuchaldae must have told the judge.”
“Whoa~. “Good luck.”
Hearing the branch manager’s words, the leader of the strike team breathed a sigh of relief.
* * *
As time passed, people began to vaguely notice Milwi’s existence one by one.
One of the reasons was that King Sejong or Hyang noticed things that were just starting to spread among officials and ordered investigations.
Another reason was the battle between foreign countries, especially Ming ganja and secretaries, who approached to steal the empire’s secrets.
Apparently, there were people gathering and fighting, stabbings, and screaming, but when they went to the scene, there were no traces other than blood stains, or the Pocheong came out to investigate, but things ended up going nowhere.
Eventually, those who were quick-witted – most notably Han Myeong-hoe – began to vaguely notice Milwi’s existence.
It was the same for incense to worry about this issue. But the answer was fixed.
“When the time comes, I will reveal the parts that can be revealed, but until then, I will hide them as much as possible. Ah-oh! Damn Chinese bastards! “They won’t help you now or in the future!”
It was the scent of teeth grinding, reminding me of the secrets of a famous country trying to sneak in and steal confidential information whenever they get the chance.
* * *
Two days later, the ruling was made by the Ministry of Health and Welfare Tribunal.
“All criminals will be sentenced to 10 years of hard labor!”
According to the judge’s ruling, the members of Heilangbang and the agents of the Militia were placed in a ship with their hands handcuffed and their feet in stocks.
After leaving Liaoyangseong, Hamgeo headed to the nearest railway station.
As the iron horse carrying them was leaving for Sinuiju, a military officer from the Naegumwi, a member of the Emergency Committee, secretly visited the Shinuiju Gyukchaldae.
“Why is Naegeumwi here?”
Upon the unexpected visit of the Naegumwi military officer, the commander of the Sinuiju Gyukchaldae greeted the Naegumwi military officer with a very nervous face.
“Welcome!”
The commander of the Gyuchaldae, who responded to the military officer’s polite manners, looked at the officer with a very nervous expression.
“What brings Naegeumwi here?”
In response to the question from the commander of the Gyuchaldae, the military officer of Naegumwi took out a letter from his pocket.
“This is a personal letter from His Majesty.”
“omg! “Then I will prepare the table right away!”
The Naegumwi military officer, who saw the frightened leader of the Gyuchaldae trying to show courtesy, hurriedly stopped him.
“It’s a secret letter. “Others shouldn’t know.”
“iced coffee? ah! Okay!”
The leader of the inspection team knelt down, broke the seal on the document, and examined its contents.
After carefully checking the contents, the commander of the Gyuchaldae responded to the military officer of the Naegumwi and presented the letter.
“I want to hear the plan.”
The military officer of Naegumwi, who received the letter back, held it against the lantern next to him. After completely burning the letters, the military officer of Naegumwi explained the plan to the commander of the Gyuchaldae.
* * *
The prisoners who departed from Yangyang Fortress disembarked at Sinuiju.
It was to change iron horses to cross the Yalu River.
The soldiers of the Sinuiju Disciplinary Unit, following the order of the commanding officer, separated the Milwi agents and Heilangbang members and housed them separately in two convoy carriages.
“I think we can all ride in one car?”
The senior commander answered the field worker’s question with a sour expression.
“This is an order from the commander. If you have any complaints, go and tell them in person.”
“… Guys! What are you doing! “Hurry up and burn it!”
The iron horse carrying secret agents and Heilangbang members crossed the Yalu River and separated from the convoy as soon as it arrived at Uiju Station.
Among the separate convoy trains, the carriage carrying Heilangbang members was connected to the iron horse heading to Aoji, and the carriage carrying secret agents was moved to a dark place.
The door of the carriage, which had been moved to a place less visible to people, was opened, and the secret service agents inside took the keys, removed the handcuffs and stocks, and got out of the carriage.
The agents who were lightly warming up after getting off the carriage saw the military officer of the Naegumwi standing in front of them and immediately took a motionless posture.
“Good work. Rest well for three days and return to Sinuiju.”
While the situation was being resolved in Uiju, Heukrangbang was being demolished by the Gyuchaldae in Yoyangseong Fortress.
The crime for which the Gyugaldae destroyed Heukrangbang was ‘selling cherry blossoms.’
* * *
As the war progressed, Hyang, who had established his position on the rock, drew up various policies and insisted that King Sejong implement them.
Among them was the ban on cherry blossoms.
“Should we ban cherry blossoms? “Isn’t cherry blossom medicinal?”
Not only King Sejong but also the ministers tilted their heads at Hyang’s claim.
Cherry blossoms were the best painkillers.
When I was suffering from stomachache or toothache, if I fed a small amount of cherry blossoms, I got better right away. Additionally, when treating trauma such as fractures, it was common to feed cherry blossoms and put them to sleep before treating them.
“Of course, cherry blossoms are good medicine. But I saw it in Seo-yi’s medical books…”
Hyang explained the dangers of cherry blossoms to King Sejong and the ministers.
After hearing the explanation of the scent, King Sejong and the ministers immediately nodded.
“Definitely… it’s the product that best fits the saying ‘too much is too little.’”
“That’s right. If a doctor who knows medicine well uses the right amount at the right time, it is a great medicine, but if not, it becomes a poison that eats away at the country and the people. “Sanctions are definitely needed.”
This is how the ‘cherry blossom ban’ was implemented.
Cherry blossoms were treated as medicinal products, and those with permits could only cultivate them in permitted locations. When it was time to collect the juice from the poppy, officials and police officers came out, measured the juice, and collected everything. And they burned it all, leaving only the bark, which was used as medicine, and the seeds needed for cultivation the following year.
It has even been legislated to treat it as a murder if caught growing poppies without permission or collecting prickly pear seeds from poppies growing in the wild.
Although it was banned with strong punishment emphasized, for a while there were people here and there who were caught secretly cultivating poppies and their lives were in ruins.
But over time, illegal poppy cultivation almost disappeared and was rarely seen except for use by doctors as medicine.
* * *
In order to destroy Heilangbang and take over the Night of Liaoyangseong, Milwi’s agents quietly and persistently investigated everything about Heilangbang.
You could just destroy it with force, but it would also be a burden on Milwi to be under the control of the Gyuchaldae again.
During the course of the investigation, it was discovered that the people who supplied cherry seeds to Cherry Cave were Heilangbang.
Thanks to the butterfly effect of scent, the use of cherry blossoms except for medical purposes was prohibited by law in the Ming Dynasty. Thanks to this, even at that time, the perception of Anesok Cave was not very good.
The only difference was that the Empire struck down everything in sight, while the Ming tolerated it up to a point – it was illegal if more than 40 people came and went. Of course, it was the same for both the Ming and Joseon dynasties to catch those who supplied cherry blossoms to this cherry cave.
Thanks to this, the method of supplying cherry to the cherry caves in Liaoyangseong was very secret, and Milwi caught it.
The Milwi immediately handed over this information to the Ministry of Health’s inspection team, and the inspection team that received the information immediately arrested Heilangbang.
Thanks to this, the captain of the Yoyangseong Gyuchaldae was delighted to have achieved tremendous results.