Matchlocks and Northern Expedition (6)

The richest merchant in Joseon at present was Kim Man-deok.

Every one of those previously known as the greatest merchant magnates had been caught by Kim Dae-bung using abnormal methods such as hoarding or monopolization, and had half of their entire fortunes confiscated.

Kim Man-deok, on the other hand, had operated his trading house exceptionally soundly from his days as a merchant in Jinju until after settling in Hanyang. Thanks to his son-in-law, he had also firmly established his influence in the newly developed commercial areas around Hanyang, allowing him to rise above all others as the greatest merchant magnate.

He had also earned enormous profits by using the several dozen cargo ships he owned to transport large quantities of goods such as rice.

On top of that, he enjoyed tremendous popularity among the licensed-market merchants.

"You must have had a hard time coming all the way to my house at this late hour. Is business treating everyone well?"

"Recently, the ships available for commercial use have improved, and markets have sprung up in every county throughout the eight provinces, making business exceptionally good. As a result, I was able to earn more than twice as much as I did last year."

To the merchant magnates, Kim Dae-bung was a disaster incarnate.

He had pinpointed the evils of monopolization, which no one had ever taken issue with, and when he singled someone out with a curt, 'You—Goryeo,' that fellow's head would come flying off for profiting from rice through the same monopolistic methods everyone else used.

He had declared the practice of colluding to raise prices and reap excessive profits a crime, then stripped away half of their entire fortunes...