I Became the Crown Prince of a Ruined Country

61 – In Qi

After being promised a conditional joining by Mosu, I left the plains shortly after.

It was about 450 to 500 li in a straight line from the plains to the forest. Because the unification of weights and measures had not yet been achieved, 1 ri used to vary by about 370 to 386 m, so when converted to km familiar to me, it was about 170 to 180 km.

One thing is that the distance in a straight line is the same, and if you look at the route that the top team can go, you have to take at least 200km to get it right.

Like most other travelers, this was the reason why the upper ranks preferred to go via all the nearby cities if possible, rather than rushing to the settlement.

In addition to contacting as many consumers as possible, in terms of public safety, it was good for fuel efficiency to stop by castle towns and ride the roads that are connected as if connecting dots.

At this time, because land development was still incomplete, even lands within the borders of each country were not managed at all if they were far from the city. Of course, security is a mess and there is no way.

Cities that serve as bases and the roads that connect them. That was the internal structure of the state in the Warring States period. So, when there was a war in this period, it was recorded as saying that some castles were captured, not as in the case of the Three Kingdoms, where a region was obtained like a county or state.

Anyway, since it was a one-way trip over 200km, the various upper ranks meticulously checked supplies and their respective routes.

Right before leaving the plains, the person who set the route as the supervisor of the ascending trip once again guided them about the schedule.

“I’ll go down to Pingyuan Town again, pass Gaudang, and go to Yehe. As everyone knows, Yehe is the land of Qi, so prepare for inspections. If something goes wrong, I won’t take responsibility. After entering the precincts of Qi, I will pass through Pingling, Wuling, and Changguk and arrive at the destination, Linchi. If you have any questions or want to deviate from the route, please let me know in advance. !”

Pingwonjin is the ferry at the bottom of the plain, where we stopped by to cross the Yellow River.

Since I was planning to go to Imchi, where Jihakgung is located, I didn’t have anything else to say, so I stayed quiet. A few people talked to the supervisor, and soon the procession began to depart.

We arrived at Godang in one day. Pyeongwonjin was located in the middle of Pyeongwon and Godang, and the distance between the two towns was less than 10 li.

Departing from Godang, the merchant group crossed the rivers Taeksoo and Jesu one after another. Compared to the Yellow River, it was not such a great river, so it did not take too long to cross it.

Once you crossed the river, you were now in the realm of the realm of Qi. There was a gradual tension between them.

The general manager and some merchants who had extensive experience in crossing the border were relaxed without any change, but the first-time merchants, who had traveled long distances across the border for the first time this time, were busy looking around.

However, that quickly calmed down after I finished the checkpoint at Yeokha and safely entered the castle.

Merchants are those who are successful when they are aware of their surroundings and blend in well with people.

Merchants who ventured out of the country of Cho to the state of Qi were among them those who had established a certain level of foundation and accumulated experience of success.

They were actively touting and selling goods, as if they were nervous and trembling. However, sales were not very good. It wasn’t just them. The general manager and senior merchants, who were said to be skilled in their own way, were only a little better, but their performance was poor.

The reason was none other than the internal circumstances of Qi.

“I heard that the prince passed away.”

From noble mtl dot com

Queen Gun was the wife of King Jeyang, the previous king of Qi, and the mother of the current King of Qian, Zhen Jian.

She was famous for being kind and wise. She helped King Qiyang and contributed greatly to reviving Qi, which had been driven to the brink of destruction by Yan.

Following the principle of Wong Qiao Geun-gong (遠交近攻), the relationship with Qin was strengthened, and Cao, Wei, and Chu were tied up, and a group of soldiers attacked Yan to recover the lost territory. Get it back

Even after that, the county queen took care of her political affairs and managed foreign affairs and domestic affairs, so even after the death of the current king, Qi Yang, the state of Qi was able to maintain stability.

A famous anecdote related to the prince is the incident with King Jinsoyang. King Jin Soyang presented Queen Kun with her bracelet made of jade and asked, ‘There are many wise people in Qi. Is there anyone who can untie this bracelet?’

The problem is that the bracelet is attached to the inside and has a structure that makes it impossible to loosen. Of course, not only the officials, but even the bachelors of the palace directly under him are unable to remove the bracelet, but the queen brings her club and breaks her bracelet.

Showing the broken bracelet to the envoy of Qin, the queen said,

‘I took care of it.’

Against King Soyang of Jin, who was quietly ignoring the fall of Qi, the Eastern Emperor, who was once standing shoulder to shoulder with the Western Emperor Qin, Queen Gun showed her country’s prestige with bold actions.

She was a heroine who reminded me of Impression Yeo, who defended her country’s pride against King Jin So-yang, and also of Alexander the Great, who solved an unsolvable puzzle in an unconventional way.

Therefore, among the people of Qi, the support and popularity of the king and queen were considerable. However, since such a person died, the people of Qi would be reluctant to buy and enjoy something. She can’t afford the luxury in a time when she should be paying tribute and mourning.

Recognizing that it was a pan-national bandwagon that a single merchant could not do anything about, all the merchants were discouraged and complained.

“It’s been a long time since I went up this time.”

“Tsk. How did you come to Qi at a time like this…I should have gone to Wei instead.”

“I don’t even have to go all the way to Imchi. If I did, I’d probably visit the funeral or come back. I’m going back before the damage gets any bigger. Is there anyone who can come with me?”

There are still three towns left to pass through until Imchi, but half of the people have already escaped.

Maybe they are wise. If you are sure that business will not work, the correct answer is to close the business early to minimize losses.

Although the sunk costs such as the participation fee prepared for this trip and various transportation charges are bitter, they are negligible compared to what it costs to go to the bail. Rather, the opportunity cost of going up to Qi, where income is low, is more painful.

However, those who still had no regrets about going up Qi continued to move and entered Pyeongneung, the next city.

And those who used to say long here were also convinced. That this trip was a failure.

When sales in Pyeongneung, a larger town than Yeokha, far fell short of expectations, merchants turned back with regretful faces.

In fact, the upswing was at a level of disintegration. At least, there were only a few flat or gentle hills from Yeokha to Pyeongneung, so I was able to continue my journey somewhat lightly, but I had to pass through a mountain to get to the next castle, Ureung.

There are good roads that people often go on, and the mountain itself is not very high, but even that required a great decision for the merchants pulling carts.

While staying at Pyeongneung for a day, the merchants calculated the profit and loss that this trip would bring. And the answer they gave was that going further would only increase the loss.

In the end, even the general manager announced that he would give up, and the ascendant announced the end of the journey.

But even in the midst of this, there were people who were preparing to go to Ureung.

“Are you really going to jail?”

“If not this time, when are you going to go to jail again? The damage will be great, but considering this is an experience, I think it’s worth it.”

“…I don’t think he’s very good as a merchant, but as a boss he’s a good guy. Good luck.”

The manager was changed to the leader of the Handan-haeng instead of Imchi-haeng, leaving Pyeongneung behind.

All that was left was me and our upper ranks. The person in charge of our corps, who did not know my identity, tried to convince me once again with a very disapproving expression.

“Keuheum… The chieftain told me to do as you wish, so I’m going to go to the jail, but do I really have to go? If I follow him now, I’ll be able to join them…”

“We’ll go too.”

The person in charge sighed openly, but could not go against my words and ordered us to depart for Ureung.

Since it’s only a matter of time before we get here, security is secured to some extent. So the person in charge must have followed my insistence. If this was a place frequented by bandits, no matter how much I asked to go, they would have refused.

How many hours had passed since we departed from Pyeongneung?

One of the escorts who sent out to scout the area has returned. Upon a report that there was a suspicious person in front of me, the person in charge told me that he was right.

“Did you hear? They say this front is very suspicious. There are bandits set up at the foot of Mt. Tae, aren’t they the gangsters sent by them? First, go back to Pyeongneung and look at the situation again.”

“Let’s meet once.”

But the decision maker at the top of us is me, not him.

Remembering Nogucheon’s new request, he was frustrated but couldn’t go against my words.

We followed the escort’s guidance to the place where the suspicious person was. And after confirming the suspicious person with the naked eye, the person in charge coughed and averted his eyes shyly.

After all, the person we were looking at didn’t look like a bandit’s helper.

Rather, this…….

“…I’m hungry…”

Growling.

It was close to being a castaway.