episode_0157

While I was flinching at the sight of Jojo emitting a black, slimy force of darkness, Hee Ji-jae, who was standing next to Jojo and giving off a secretary-like vibe, cleared his throat loudly and softly, drawing attention.

“Then, since it looks like everyone is here, I will start explaining right away without further delay.”

The moment the eyes of the military officers, including me, turned towards him, Hee Ji-jae cleared his throat once more and began to explain.

“First of all… we will head to Jinan as is.”

“Um.”

“As expected…”

“I need to prepare.”

First of all, the first statement itself wasn’t that surprising.

As you can see from other people’s reactions, everyone expected that much.

Isn’t that why the Emperor has fallen?

Of course, just because the royal command has been given does not mean that you have to follow it unconditionally.

Basically, that’s true, but just as there are no absolutes in this world, there are quite a few ways to avoid it.

‘It’s okay to say you’re sick… You can make an excuse that you have to take care of your sick parents…’

No matter how solemn the Emperor’s command is, what can you say to someone who says that it will be difficult for him to perform his official duties because he is sick or because his parents are sick?

You can’t force someone who is sick to work, so all you can do is tell them to take care of themselves and retreat.

So, if you don’t feel like it, you can at least make the excuse of illness… but the problem is that in our case, it’s difficult to use that method.

First of all… Jojo is rather young.

Of course, just because you are young doesn’t mean you can avoid diseases, but isn’t there an image that you are at an age when you are in your prime?

‘But then you make the excuse that it’s difficult because you have to take care of your parents…’

That too was ambiguous.

That’s because Jojo’s family is so incredibly rich that they make our Yoonga Sangdan look like a hole-in-the-wall store.

In that sense, if Mr. Josung were to become ill and bedridden, there would be two rows of people to take care of him, enough to wrap around Luoyangseong Fortress, but he mentions it under the pretext of taking care of his parents…?

The moment you do that, wouldn’t there be a high probability that you would only end up laughing at it?

What was ambiguous was the timing as well.

Basically, if you’re going to fake an illness, you have to build it up to some extent before saying you’re sick.

For example, by showing the other person that you are coughing violently, or by pretending to measure the temperature by placing your hand on your forehead even though it is not very hot.

Like, what if you say it hurts in a situation where there is some build-up?

The other person will not suspect much and will just think, ‘Oh my… I guess I’m not feeling well since you kept coughing’, and move on.

If the build-up is over to a certain extent, that’s okay… but what if you just say you’re in pain without saying anything?

Rather than deceiving the other person, there was a high possibility that he would only cause embarrassment to the other person.

Anyway, from the emperor’s point of view, hearing from the eunuchs that Cao Cao had shown great performance against the Yellow Hoods, he was happy and gave up a government job worth 20 million won by saying, ‘Hey! You do this!’ It was given to him, but the person who actually received it said he was sick and asked to resign as soon as he took office? Is this someone who showed great performance on the battlefield just a few days ago?

At that moment, the emperor said, ‘Huh…? What is this guy? Do you really hate me? I couldn’t help but think, ‘Is that why they are protesting?’, and for Cao Cao, who was just beginning to increase his power as a military leader, there was no worse situation than that.

As I have said several times, the current emperor, Emperor Ling, is an asshole, but that does not mean that even the power that the emperor can wield has become an asshole.

It would be unreasonable for the emperor to twist the wrist of a self-employed person who had just opened a business.

Knowing that fact, both Jojo and Hee Ji-jae, after much deliberation, probably chose to bow down for now.

Well, the important thing is what comes next.

“And as soon as we arrive at Jinan… we will rule there ‘thoroughly’ and according to the ‘principle’.”

“Eng···? How can you say something so obvious…”

“···It seems you didn’t hear properly, but I told you that I would rule the land of Jinan according to the ‘principles.’”

“No, that is. Isn’t it natural to follow principles when carrying out public affairs?”

Xiahou Dun said that as if he genuinely didn’t understand, but that was just nonsense that people with no real-world experience say.

Because the world never works according to principles.

Just thinking back to my biological father, who had a famous name as Cheongbaekri when he was in Luoyang, wouldn’t he have greeted a new spirit when he came to Chohyeon as if it were only natural? It was natural that some ‘gifts’ would accompany the process.

Even Mr. Sopyeong, who is well-known for his integrity and upright character, does such things as naturally as breathing, so what about other officials?

This was the world in which one could never survive just by following the principles.

Wouldn’t Jo Jo or Hee Ji-jae not know that fact?

Of course you know

Nevertheless, the word ‘principle principle’ was repeated twice from the mouth of Hee Ji-jae, who can be said to be Jojo’s spokesperson…

It probably means that you’re going to commit it.

“···Are you okay? There will definitely be a huge backlash.”

No matter how many times I explained things to him, I was dealing with only Xiahu Dun who couldn’t understand, and then finally someone who understood what I was saying was so happy that it was indescribable.

Hee Ji-jae turned her head towards me with a noticeably brightened face.

As a man who lives by the saying that a tactician must always be cool and cool-headed, he quickly adjusted his expression.

“Of course it is.”

“It could be dangerous. A mouse that is cornered will bite its opponent even if it is a cat.”

“It’s not bad. No, I should say that it is actually good.”

“Rather good?”

“If someone commits such a thing, it means that the other person has become more willing to use any means or methods.”

What on earth are you aiming for?

Such questions rose up in my throat, but unfortunately I was not given a chance to resolve them.

Looking at Hee Ji-jae, who had a very sinister expression on her face, wondering what she was imagining, and said, ‘Kk… kuk kuk…’ and laughing, it didn’t look like she would give me an answer even if I asked her, and even so, I decided to ask her first and opened my mouth. As soon as it got hot, Jojo’s voice suddenly came between us.

“Stop.”

“···Ah.”

“More specific details will be explained as soon as we arrive in Jinan, so I hope everyone will hurry up and prepare so that they can leave here as soon as possible.”

After saying that, Jojo added briefly.

“···It seems like there are many people who don’t like us being stuck on the battlefield.”

In short, let’s try to avoid situations where we can get caught as much as possible.

Although the place was created in a grand way, I felt like there was something lacking in the explanation, but what can you do? Jojo, who can be said to be our leader, declared, ‘That’s it for today,’ so for now, we have no choice but to follow that.

So it must have been the moment when everyone got up from their seats one by one and left the barracks.

“Ah, Suhyeon, you stay for a while.”

“Huh? Me?”

“···I have something to ask you.”

If so then what…

I nodded once to show that I understood, and sat down again with my butt on the chair.

And while I was waiting for Jojo to open his mouth, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

So, I thought, why on earth did he ask me to stay alone to ask him something?

‘Are you planning to ask about the State of Jinan?’

The possibilities were overflowing.

Thanks to the unprecedented success of K-paper and Hanji, which I made using a manufacturing method that I procured from reality, the size of our Yoonga Sangdan has grown enormously.

So much so that there is a branch in every city.

Moreover, in the case of Jinan Province, it is not far from Chuxian, which can be said to be the headquarters of our Cao Cao army, and at the same time, it is a quite prosperous city, so I remember that a branch of our merchants went there and did business. (Of course, the fact that it is not that far from here is based on Chinese territory, and based on Korean standards, it can be roughly considered to be about the distance from Seoul to Gyeongju.)

And I was the only successor to the Yoonga Sangdan.

So, it is quite possible for Jojo to ask me what the situation is like in that neighborhood…

‘I don’t know either…?’

In the first place, I had always heard of the name Jinanguo only in documents, but this was the first time I heard it in person.

But how would you know anything about things like the situation in that neighborhood?

‘Should I send a letter to the top right now and ask them to find out…?’

So, I was thinking that in my heart…

“So?”

A somewhat unexpected remark flowed into my ears.

“Huh?”

“You know what I wanted to say earlier.”

What I was trying to say earlier…?

Oh, you mean to ask what your intention was?

“Nothing special, I was just going to ask you what you were thinking.”

“···Not that.”

Isn’t this it?

So what is it?

It must have been a moment where I was just scratching my cheek because I couldn’t think of anything else.

“You know what I wanted to say to that little boy named Jangbi earlier.”

For some reason, JoJo’s voice flowed into my ears at a much lower volume than what I usually hear.

No, even if that’s the case, you’re asking that now…?

To be honest, I was a bit embarrassed because the content was very different from what I had expected, but since I was asked a question, I guess I should answer it.

“Oh, that? I told you not to dream about it because the rest of your life belongs to you.”

So, as I said that, Jojo’s hands, which were busy moving and organizing the disarray, suddenly stopped.

“···It’s enough now. It’s okay to go out.”

Then, with an expression that was no different from his usual expression, he gave me a congratulatory command.

He said he was going to leave, but he nodded once and turned to leave the barracks…

“···Hi.”

A strange sound flowed into my ears.

Hee…?

Unknowingly, I stopped walking for a moment and turned to look in the direction where the sound came from. What caught my eye was Jojo, who looked no different from before.

‘What… did I hear wrong?’