Chapter 99
Kim Mandeok, promoted from Junior Ninth Rank to Senior Eighth Rank in just a little over a year.
His eldest son, Kim Man-seok, was sailing to Uiju aboard Kim Mandeok's bokseon, the Manseokho.
"Brother-in-law, you rotten bastard. May you step in dog crap on the road."
Because of Kim Daebung, he had inherited all the foundations his father had left behind in Jinhae, and at a young age had become the leading merchant in Jinhae County.
Once his father had moved into Hanyang, he had gone from being a merchant with a place in the city market to advancing into government office as well, so the family's momentum had exploded in just four years.
So although the temple had once been one he rarely visited, from some time ago he had started going faithfully every week, and he gave generously in offerings while praying for Kim Daebung's peace and promotion, and for the family's business and his father's official career to all improve.
But now, he couldn't simply be grateful to his brother-in-law anymore.
He had promised the king that, without even informing his father, let alone asking permission, he would spend the family's entire fortune on a matter of state.
Of course, he knew it was because he was certain it would eventually come back as a huge sum of money...
Even so, the fact that he had promised in front of the king to use the entire family fortune without even telling his father, who was on Jeju Island, left him deeply displeased.
That bastard brother-in-law of mine is going to spend our entire fortune however he pleases.
"I get that it's a chance to make a lot of money, and that having lots of bokseons for sea transport is a good thing... but why are you spending our family's money like it's your own?"
While Kim Man-seok was cursing Kim Daebung, the captain came up beside him and, as if he had heard nothing, spoke in a carefree tone.
"Master Dobang, what's troubling you?"
"It's nothing."
The captain had heard every bit of Kim Man-seok's cursing.
But after hearing that it was nothing, he decided not to pry any further.
Because although the distant Kim Daebung was scary, the merchant house owner standing right in front of him was even scarier.
"Still, didn't you make a big profit by buying fans, brushes, inkstones, and silk in Hanyang and hauling them all at once on this big ship? You bought them for the equivalent of 1,500 seom of white rice, but by bringing them to Jinhae, weren't they worth 2,000 seom right away? One trade almost recouped the cost of the ship you're riding on now, so anyone can see it was an excellent deal."
"Who doesn't know that?"
"If we go to Uiju this time and buy tiger pelts, leopard skins, deer antlers, and deer hides, then pay with the white rice we're bringing, it'll leave another enormous profit. So please cool your anger and think about it positively."
"That's true. You're right about everything."
This was exactly why Kim Man-seok hadn't rushed to storm Hanyang, even though he found Kim Daebung detestable.
Even so, he still hadn't quite forgiven him for convincing his father to sink the family's entire fortune into it.
However, after experiencing the bokseon's enormous cargo capacity and speed, it seemed that if they used this ship to buy and sell goods, the family's invested wealth would be recovered quickly.
And he had also been told, through his father, why he needed to monopolize the bokseon.
It's good that he's growing the family fortune, but he should at least give me a heads-up first. That's only proper.
"And in fact, Father and your brother-in-law are looking at something even bigger."
Before King Sejong, Kim Daebung had said he would build the ships using his own 'private wealth.'
Thanks to that, Kim Daebung and Kim Mandeok became the only two bokseon owners in Joseon, excluding the court.
Of course, this advantage would disappear as soon as others gradually started acquiring bokseons too.
Still, by exploiting this brief 'advantage,' he could make money like crazy in the short term.
Because he had monopolized an extremely valuable market, even if only for a little while.
"According to the letter Father sent, if we rake in huge profits with the bokseon, others will line up wanting to buy bokseons like ours."
"...... Seeing someone else do well makes people jealous enough to copy them."
"If we go to Uiju and buy tiger pelts and all kinds of precious goods in bulk at bargain prices, then bring them to Hanyang and sell them, how much profit do you think we'd make? And how long do you think it would take for this news to spread through Hanyang?"
One of the kinds of stories in the world that grab people's attention is, "someone did something and made a killing."
Suppose someone happened to discover a ginseng patch on Samgaksan, make a fortune, and buy a grand tiled-roof house in Hanyang.
Then, as that story spread, the number of people going to mountains all across the country—including Samgaksan—to look for 'ginseng' would temporarily surge.
Most people would just find the story interesting and never actually climb the mountain to look for a ginseng patch, but a few gullible ones would rush there in droves.
Much less if you showed them something a million times more certain than finding a ginseng patch, and something that made a ton of money to boot?
Money-crazy merchants would have no choice but to set their sights on bokseons.
"Ha, indeed. People who want to make a lot of money will scramble to buy bokseons faster than anyone else, even if they have to pay a premium."
While the two of them were talking back and forth, the crew's movements suddenly quickened.
"We'll be in Uiju soon! Uiju!"
"Prepare to disembark! Get ready to unload all 2,000 seom of white rice!"
"Yes, Captain!"
Not long after, the bokseon moored at a harbor near Uiju.
Although it was an enormously large ship modeled after a Ming vessel, there was no issue with docking because everyone aboard was Joseon.
As soon as Kim Man-seok got off the ship, he took out documents proving that they were Joseon subjects and that this was clearly a Joseon ship built by Jeonhamsa.
"We came here on a ship newly built in Jemulpo not long ago, so please don't bother informing the magistrate of Uiju."
The harbor official, after checking the documents, nodded and granted them permission to come ashore.
Then the people around crowded toward the ship and stared in fascination.
"Wow, what kind of ship carries this much rice?"
"It didn't sink even after loading that much?"
Traditional Joseon daeseon ships had a displacement of around 140 tons, but the bokseon Kim Man-seok rode on was over 200 tons.
This ship was far larger than any big Joseon ship built up to now.
So it was only natural that the people of Uiju were shocked.
"We're buying tiger pelts at three seom of white rice apiece, so hurry and sell them. We also buy things like deer antlers and ginseng. Hurry and bring them here to sell them."
From the perspective of Jeolla or Hanyang, it was an absurdly low price.
But this was Joseon's far northern frontier, where rice was extremely scarce.
Since every Joseon person knew that, they had always tried every possible way to sell rice here.
The problem was that because they stuck to coastal voyages, travel took a long time, and because they used tiny boats, the trouble and cost of transport were enormous.
So the price of rice had no choice but to be high.
But that common sense had just been shattered.
By Kim Man-seok, who had come sailing on a new ship called a bokseon.
And before long, hunters near Uiju heard that tiger pelts were now being bought at far better prices than before, and they hurriedly brought the pelts they'd stockpiled and sold them to Kim Man-seok.
In a short time, Kim Man-seok was able to turn all his white rice into tiger pelts, leopard skins, and the like.
Then he headed straight for Incheon.
To sell the most important thing of all—the right to be first in line for a bokseon—at a premium.
**
Kim Man-seok headed to Incheon Dohobu to sell precious goods like tiger pelts.
As soon as he arrived at Incheon Dohobu, he made remarks that made the local merchants selling luxury goods like tiger pelts feel like their guts were twisting.
"Now, tiger pelts are going for nine seom of white rice apiece."
In Hanyang, you'd have to pay at least ten seom of white rice for a single tiger pelt.
At that price, it only just breaks even, and usually you'd need eleven seom of white rice for the deal to go through.
But now some crazy bastard shows up and sells them for nine seom—twenty percent cheaper—so that's basically screwing over all the competing merchants.
Therefore, the 'Incheon' merchants, who had very close ties to the Hanyang city-market merchants, even considered teaching that bastard a lesson by dragging him away at night and beating him.
But after realizing that if they messed with the first person to receive a newly built ship from Jeonhamsa, the odds of themselves ending up bobbing in the sea off Incheon were much higher, they gave up on that plan.
The existing tiger pelt merchants could only click their tongues as they watched him.
"That goddamn bastard."
Then they hurried over to Kim Man-seok.
Because if word got out that that bastard was selling at that price, tiger pelt prices across all of Hanyang would plummet, and...
In the end, the value of the stock they themselves were holding would also fall, and they would clearly take a huge loss.
"I'll take it all."
"What will you be paying with?"
"Silk. Ming silk has been coming in so much these days that it's become commonplace."
Kim Man-seok accepted the deal and instantly secured a massive amount of silk.
Having turned 2,000 seom of white rice into 6,000 seom in just three days, he couldn't help humming.
The merchants picked up on it from his demeanor.
They realized that this bastard must have pocketed just as much profit at that price as they would have.
After everyone put their heads together and desperately investigated what method he had used to sell tiger pelts so cheaply, they reached a conclusion.
It was because he had sailed that enormous ship and moved quickly, minimizing the costs and labor of transportation, that he had made such a huge profit.
They also realized, as merchants with a sharp nose for money, that if they made similar deals in places other than Uiju, they could make huge profits.
And strangely enough, the very thing they hadn't wanted to spread—the fact that he had sold tiger pelts cheaply and still made a huge profit—ended up spreading all over Hanyang.
That was Kim Daebung's doing.
If that fact became widely known, the tiger pelt sellers would lose money, but for him, it would lead to more people wanting to buy bokseons.
**
Right now, before me, Mr. Kim from the silk shop, the highest-ranking merchant in the city market, is kneeling and begging.
"Oh, Sir Kim Jegeom, please sell us that bokseon too."
I couldn't help snickering at his words.
"I'll sell it for 1,500 seom of white rice."
"...... Huh?"
Business is nothing to be ashamed of.
What is shameful is cheating in order to make too much profit.
For example, putting imported chicken in and labeling it 100% domestic chicken, or changing the production date and selling ingredients that couldn't be sold anymore.
"I'll sell you the bokseon that's due out in a week for 1,500 seom."
"...... Isn't the amount you'd have to pay if you had a bokseon built at Jeonhamsa 550 seom?"
"That's right. But then you'd have to wait at least half a year. In half a year, do you really think you'd be able to rake in huge profits as easily as our brother-in-law does now?"
By then, bokseons would be relatively common, and ocean-going voyages would also have become much more widespread.
In other words, the sweet deal only I get to enjoy would be gone.
And since we'd have to share the sweet deal, the profit I'd take would naturally shrink a lot.
"If you don't like it, fine. There are plenty of people who'll buy."
"...... So you'll really sell me the bokseon that's due out in a week for 1,500 seom?"
"Yes. Ah, and if you want to make money in trade, why not buy three at once? All three will be out within the month. If you buy them together, I'll give them to you for 3,900 seom of white rice."
"...I'll buy them."
"Good."
I'm serious.
This guy too will work hard at ocean-going voyages, and if he handles the ship well and devotes himself to trade, he'll be able to recoup his investment before long.
Once he gets his money back, the ships will still be there, so from that point on it's profit.
Of course, his profit will be smaller than mine, since I bought each one ahead of time at 550 seom of white rice apiece and just managed to sell three ships for 3,900 seom.
"This will be a choice you'll have no regrets about."