Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 698

Episode 698: Sixtieth Birthday (5)

At this time, Milwi was also in a difficult situation.

The vice-chairman, who supervises the Mill Committee on behalf of Naegeum, placed his hand on his forehead while looking at the report.

“Those guys who went to the North… Did they go to work or to do business? “I’m dying because I don’t have any people to work with, but they’re asking for support again…”

He was a vice-chairman who was troubled by the request for support sent by the agents of the Militia Commission dispatched to Liaodong Province in the North.

* * *

Starting with Liaodong Province, guild leaders pretending to be branches of the Milwi began to settle down one by one in various cities in the North.

The ridges that were established in this way soon turned into nests for the local wealthy.

Although there were already Chinese-style flagpoles in the well-known capital city, it had the strong character of a place where prostitution and gambling were mainly carried out.

However, the performances by gisaeng who were good at singing and dancing and the imperial soju, which had a different flavor from white liquor, made the wealthy people regulars at Giru. Not only did the unique flavor of soju play a part, but the fact that soju was the alcohol of the empire also played a big part.

“Are you saying that the most powerful people in the empire drink this soju?”

“We have nothing to bow down to, so let’s drink!”

“Why are we lacking something?”

“Can cancer! “We have the ability to watch and enjoy singing and dancing while drinking soju at Giru!”

The wealthy in the northern region had to become Giru’s regulars just to protect their pride.

Thanks to this, the mill was busy. No, on the surface, it was Seoul Heung-eop (興業) that started Giru in the northern region.

It was the imperial capital that opened the Northern Territory, and the person responsible for the action was the Secret Service, but this was a top secret matter. Therefore, among the executives of the Mill Commission, those who had clean records and whose financial power would not be suspected in an investigation by the National Tax Service were selected as founders to start the company. To further avoid suspicion, he even received investment from an investment safe.

Of course, since most of the funds came from the imperial family, Hyang even drew up a meticulously written secret contract for Milwi.

“Although it is true that I gave the money, it is definitely the property of the imperial family.”

Hyang signed the contract with this excuse, but his intentions were a little different.

‘If you do it right, the entertainment industry can reap huge profits. Why do we just release the goose that lays these golden eggs? I have to grab it! Oh yea! ‘I’ve got an emergency fund!’

A problem arose when Seoul Heungup, which was created in this way, began to increase sales faster than expected.

The immediate problem was supplying courtesans to work in the newly created giru.

Although the gisaengs who had signed a contract at Heungup were training a significant number of their contemporaries (young gisaengs), it still took a lot of time for them to go to the front line.

And the attention of wealthy people in the northern region was growing faster than expected. Therefore, it was certain that running Giru with a focus on gisaeng as originally planned would be problematic. This was because it became difficult for Hyang and Milwi to understand the movements of the wealthy and powerful people in the northern region, which was the purpose of establishing the Giru in the northern region.

Because of this, Heungup’s secret agents had to be busy. In order to recruit the gisaengs of this group, who are not enough to be called a group, but are outstanding in talent and beauty, they came and went in and out of the Giru where they were until the threshold was worn out. He worked hard to persuade the gisaengs and Jeonju (錢主), while chasing after the top gisaengs who were not close to retirement.

“oh! Are you telling me to go to the north? Is this guy crazy? “What are you looking at me for?”

The gisaengs who heard the offer strongly rejected it at first, saying this, but the people in charge of public relations persisted.

“ah! Think about it! It won’t be long before you have to retire! But I heard that if you go to the North and work hard for 2-3 years, you can make a lot of money! You should also think about retirement! And if I retire there, I’m guaranteed a position to educate my classmates!”

After much persuasion, a few gisaengs boarded an iron horse heading to Bukji.

Recruiters didn’t stop there.

He visited a family that had Gagi (家妓) who were good at singing and dancing, negotiated diligently, signed a contract, and sent the Gagi to Bukji.

The efforts of these public relations managers brought about an unexpected butterfly effect.

“You mean Bukji makes money?”

-They say Seoul Heungup is raking in money from the North!

These rumors began to spread all over the newspaper, and the Jeonju people with prosthetics, the gisaengs of Haengsu, and the noble families with good fortune soon began to seriously consider entering a new market.

What fueled this was the ‘comprehensive entertainment center’.

There were several cities in the North that passed the standards for establishing a ‘comprehensive entertainment center’, and a comprehensive entertainment center was built soon after. The general entertainment center that opened in the northern area soon became extremely popular and attracted a lot of money. If the secretaries collected the money of the wealthy, the general entertainment center became a place to collect the money of not only the wealthy but also the common people.

As a result, the families who owned gogi began to think more seriously.

-If you do something wrong, you will tarnish the name of your family by carelessly erecting a flagpole or giving away the people on the flagpole.

-However, if you raise your name in the general entertainment field, you will raise your family’s name.

-The problem is that there is a lot of competition for this paper. On the other hand, the competition in the North is not yet severe.

-In that case, it might be better to actively raise your name in the northern region and then try to advance into the main region.

The families who came to this conclusion began to actively seek out and educate girls who seemed fair-haired and talented.

The difference from the past was that slaves almost disappeared and gisaengs also gained the status of noblemen. Therefore, band members had to sign a contract with the parents of the girls they wanted to recruit. Of course, battlefield employees always had to be present when signing such contracts due to tax and legal issues.

In any case, the entertainment industry, which Hyang had laughed and dismissed as a delusion, was establishing itself at an even faster pace.

Aside from this butterfly effect, more and more stomata began to settle in the northern region.

And this brought the problem back to the mill.

* * *

The vice president, who had been studying the report with his hand on his forehead for a while, soon looked at the ceiling and let out a long sigh.

“Ha~. “There are too many people to work!”

Although the problem of parasitic supply and demand was serious, it was a small problem in the grand scheme of things. Even if the Giru was not a member of the Milwi, the Giru needed people to protect it, and most of those people were members of the Milwi.

However, this part became the biggest problem for the mill.

From its inception, those who made up the Milwi came from the sword world. And most of the members of the Geomgye were Seo-eols who were blocked from entering the civil service due to the Seo-eolgeumgo (庶孼禁錮). Thanks to this, the ‘secret organization directly under the king’ became the most powerful tool to satisfy their suppressed pride and increase loyalty.

Of course, there were some who had problems due to living on Parakho for a long time, but most of them were able to become excellent agents through ‘character education accompanied by appropriate physical means.’ Those who did not pass the process were immediately expelled and became the subject of surveillance.

If there were people who tried to reveal the existence of Milwi, they were immediately dealt with by former colleagues.

However, the passage of time and the circumstances were holding Milwi back.

As time passed, many of the early members of the organization retired or took on administrative positions due to their age. In addition, there was a steady stream of people who lost their lives during the armed struggle against those targeting the research institute and Area 51.

In order to fill the vacant positions, it was necessary to continuously recruit talented people, but as senior officials were allowed to enter the public service through the police chief, problems with supply and demand arose.

It became difficult to find talent as most of the elites who were the best in terms of knowledge and military power left to become bureaucrats or soldiers.

Of course, there were still Parakhos roaming the streets. However, the vast majority of them were people for whom there was no possibility of improvement through ‘character education.’

Thanks to this, the agents of the milwi had to keep their eyes peeled to find ‘those with even the slightest potential’ even while they were busy.

“If you look at it that way… the guys from the northern region are nice, even though they are hateful.”

What I was complaining about while looking at the ceiling was true. Park Gyu-seop and his comrades who spent time in the North, where they were already struggling to make ends meet, were very talented people.

-We endured the chaos of the battlefield.

-I learned basic martial arts in the military, so I just need to refine it a little more.

-Familiar with handling firearms and explosives.

-The most important thing. Murder is also familiar.

Milwi, who thought he had found a new breakthrough through Park Gyu-seop and his comrades, was delighted, but soon his expression became perplexed.

-Most military veterans of the appropriate age group, especially veterans of the last war, have mental or physical problems.

-Most of the veterans with excellent levels of education and martial arts are from the Ban family. They cannot enter the mill, even if it is because of their family’s honor.

The second condition was the problem. No family would be happy that their child, who would enter the military and bring honor to the family, would one day become a bastard who played and ate at the base. No, it was a problem even if it was made under Seoul Heungup.

“A guy who should work hard to become a general gets a job? “Get out and die!”

It was a revelation that the elders of the family would react this way.

* * *

“Fuck… you’re swearing…”

While the vice-president, irritated by the knot that could not be undone, was spitting out curses, one of his subordinates carefully handed out a report.

“what!”

“Well… the Ming Dynasty kids are a bit suspicious these days.”

“Ah shit!!!! “Give it to me!”

The vice-president, who was handed the document as if it were being snatched away with an expletive, examined it with nervous eyes. However, as the contents of the document were read, the vice president’s face became increasingly serious.

The vice president, who had been examining the documents several times, gave orders to his subordinates.

“Put a pipe in your stomach. “I need to see you right away.”

“yes.”

* * *

Soon after, the report in question was delivered to Hyang through Naegeumwijang.

“Hmm… this looks a bit serious.”

“That’s right.”

“At the Mill Commission… ah… the problem is lack of manpower.”

“That’s right. Therefore, the Mill Committee earnestly hopes that Your Majesty will come up with a solution.”

“Hmm…”

After thinking for a while, Hyang gave an order to Naegeumwiwi.

“Tell them to classify the severity of the issues that need to be dealt with first. “The most urgent matters that need to be dealt with immediately and those that require basic surveillance due to suspicion should be handled by the Secret Service. For cases that are dangerous but appear to have time to spare and matters that require continuous surveillance, report them to the provincial government using appropriate means.”

“Are you planning on using Pocheong?”

Hyang nodded to Naegeumwijang’s question.

“yes. If something like this is made public a few times, we will be able to establish a proper counterintelligence department within the Pocheong. It should have been installed a long time ago, but Jim put Milwi through a lot of trouble. And the problem of supply and demand of talent….”

Hyang paused for a moment and thought about it, but soon found an answer.

“We use the military.”

“Do you mean the military?”

“Yes, people usually say ‘soldiers and generals like Meng Hao’, but I think wolves are more suitable. A single wolf is scary, but isn’t it most scary when they run in a pack?”

Naegeumwijang nodded at Hyang’s words and Hyang continued speaking.

“But there are always those who are not wolves but tigers. These are people who have outstanding abilities but cannot fit in. Let’s use them.”

“But many of them come from powerful families. It won’t be easy to prepare to be kicked out of your family. No, even if you are not from a powerful family, it will be difficult to comply easily.”

Hyang added to Naegeumwijang’s point.

“Say it like this. Even if your family forgets you, the emperor will remember you.”