As a Househusband, Fiscal Responsibility Is Imperative (2.2)

As a Househusband, Fiscal Responsibility Is Imperative (2.2)

…

I half-expected to go searching for a blacksmith on my own, but the Namgoong clan recognized the worth of what I offered and prepared accordingly.

Meaning that I got the matriarch’s escort for the duration.

It was an incredible move on their part.

Not only did they showcase to me that they knew what I offered was incredible, but they also sent the clear message that I was under their control. Nearly two dozen first-rate warriors leading nearly a dozen more escorts each, their finest carriage, and nearly a whole supply train? On the surface, it was them being protective and honoring my position, but it was also a clear sign of their own power.

Don’t fuck with us, or all this ‘protection’ we give you will turn their swords at you.

The Namgoong clan operated within the boundaries of the Orthodox Sects, but they were by no means fools.

Thankfully, their actions only made me feel better for going this far. Considering the state of this world, I couldn’t afford to sign up with a sect that didn’t conduct itself like the Namgoong. This was a world of conflict, and I was introducing systems that improved revenue, as well as material processes that improved weaponry. My efforts to make myself valuable were making the world more dangerous and terrifying.

Within my lifetime, I was sure that there was going to be another all-out war between the Orthodox and Unorthodox factions.

I needed to make sure that I was on the side that came out on top, along with any children that I had with Seol.

If Seol fell in battle, we were guaranteed to die too, so any plan that I had relied on her survival and on our relationship doing well.

Though she usually had a stoic, composed mask whenever we met, I hoped that my efforts were at least reaching her.

Sure, I could point to the fact that she was fine with having kids with me as a sign that she did.

But, unless she said it herself and swore it, I was going to err on the side of caution and do my best to support her and win her favor.

It would be nice if I did know how she felt, though.

…

Interlude: Seol, the 7th Sword Saint of the Namgoong Clan

…

Grandmother promised to squash any rumors and ill words regarding Rui by the time I returned, but I still considered my options if such things persisted upon our return.

Their intentions were to bring him low, while elevating themselves above him, which made my blood boil.

I understood their actions. They saw him as an outsider. A person from the Demonic Sect who took the place that their son could have taken. Were the Namgoong clan more prosperous and its branches more bountiful, then I may have very well married someone talented of a faraway bloodline in order to have a child with more talent.

I could forgive them if they voiced discontent and stated their thoughts.

What they did, however, was shameful.

Rumors were being spread of him being a cheat and a snake. A man who frequented brothels and used potions to sway my heart. They whispered that it would take an honest man of the Namgoong clan to overthrow him. His efforts to elevate the clan from impoverishment, which benefitted them, were being downplayed, while his status as a ‘mere’ first-class warrior painted him as a shame wrought by the Heavenly Demon upon our household.

Offering a spar to the houses that were trying to bring Rui’s reputation down came to mind first, but I knew that Rui would dislike it.

He told me himself, ‘A fight avoided is a fight won.’

Such wisdom was profound, and most wouldn’t believe it came from the son of the Heavenly Demon, but I heard it myself.

Therefore, I would need other methods to punish the branch families who sought to bring him low.

I pondered various methods for quite some time before I decided to ask him myself.

He sat across from me in the carriage. On his lap was a scroll regarding the region we were heading to. With the passage of time, some of the tan on his skin faded, and he allowed his hair to grow out. He retained his musculature and many scars. Time will tell if his continued cultivation would make those fade, but I found myself wishing that they would not.

They were part of him, and I would not dispense of any part of him when given the choice.

“Rui.”

He raised his head immediately at my singular word. It was swift and attentive. He made me immediately aware that I was on his mind.

I wondered if I had been sitting straight this entire time, while I suppressed the blush threatening to form on my face.

“Yes, my dear?” I allowed myself a single nod to accept his fervent address. ‘My dear’ seemed so plain in tales of romance, yet when I heard it, my heart almost always fluttered. He meant the word, and so the word meant almost everything to me. “What may I assist you with?”

Assist.

He trusted me with my role and responsibility but was sure of his own strength and ability to aid me.

A perfectly chosen word.

“There are some in the Namgoong clan who are starting to act against you. They desire your place by my side. What would you have me do to them?” If he were the man I feared, then he would tell me to kill them. However, he proved me wrong when we first met and has since proven himself to be an incredible partner. I shared with him my thoughts as he put his all towards giving me the best answer that he could offer. “I have asked my grandmother to see the rumors silenced and for their efforts to be thwarted. However, if they persist, I would know what you would wish to be done to them.”

Rui’s brow furrowed slightly as he considered my words.

Very charming.

“The Namgoong Clan needs every branch it currently has wed and with children on the way. The strength of the clan comes from its people. Compromising that due to rumor alone is something that I would not advise.” He gave me his sound reasoning while offering his own thoughts. In his presence and with the way he spoke, it was easy to act in accordance with my station as head of the Namgoong. I did not need to be reminded; I simply assumed my role without effort. “Should they plot, plan, and assemble a faction of their own, there should be an effort to bring them low. Father would see the existence of such a faction as a challenge to our marriage.”

I almost nodded without thinking at his words.

Father-in-law would act if such a faction arose and persisted, though I would not allow such a situation to come to pass.

Rui continued, knowing he had yet to provide me with an answer to my question but having explained enough.

“I believe that we should look into centralizing Namgoong’s power by taking in independent sects in nearby regions. Bring them into the fold through the Namgoong’s branches, see the lands they protect benefit from our efforts, and have them be burdened by responsibility and honor both.” I almost squealed in delight at the plan that he gave. It was only thanks to Grandmother’s efforts throughout my entire life that I was able to give a single nod at his words. We would expand our influence and increase the lands under our control while swaddling the would-be usurpers with responsibility. Responsibility that came with gifts if they performed correctly. “They will have heirs that will inherit the sects and the surrounding lands, which will bring wealth into our children’s generation and give them many allies to call upon.”

I almost flushed at his finishing statement that left me utterly unable to contest his thoughts.

Even though they were not yet born, he thought of our children and planned for their success and triumph.

His words about providing me with as many as I wished and supporting them all were clearly and utterly true.

How could he promise such a thing and speak of it so stoically!?

It was taking all that I had not to merely blush!

…

Three things were necessary for any village to exist in this world.

The first was to find a location that could sustain life. Sustaining life was an umbrella term that covered more than it did back in my previous life. A place with clean water, arable land, and easily accessed resources would have been good enough for people in my previous life. Here it was imperative that any settlement was defensible.

Wooden walls and palisades aren’t enough, even if manned by hunters and town militia.

There needs to be a clear advantage.

Large running rivers that are difficult to cross.

A mountain to act as an unassailable wall that also won’t crush the town in landslides.

A narrow entrance into a fertile valley that can be reinforced and defended by normal people with ease.

If you don’t have a natural advantage, you won’t be able to put the other two necessary things to work.

Which happen to be usefulness and potential.

A village will only be able to grow and continue if it’s useful to people from within and without. It has to exist to do something, even if that thing is just to mine ore or grow food, and that something must be needed by someone. People need to want to trade with the village and bring in money from the outside, and prosperity will lead to growth in population.

That’s when potential comes in.

The people you bring in to start the village? Some of them need to be capable people. Martial artists who’ve left their sect. Wandering warriors who have strength but no home. People who can give the next generation people with potential. Those people with potential will attract the attention of sects or even entire clans, and if the village keeps producing recruits capable of being third-tier warriors, they’ll become worth protecting.

If things go smoothly, then the village will grow. The sons and daughters they sent off will return. They’ll become part of the population. Bloodlines will establish themselves, the village will be more protected and produce more, and merchants will come. Nobility will arise from the ruling governing body as more taxes come. People, money, and time will combine until a city with a sect or even a minor clan will inhabit and dominate the region.

It’ll reach its peak ability to sustain people, or maybe it’ll have so many people but not enough high-paying positions or money to ensure they stay.

People leave, find a place that can sustain them and is defensible, and they establish a village.

The cycle continues.

Villages are lost to brigands, calamities, and demonic beasts, but cities aren’t so easily broken, and as long as there are cities, there will be more villages.

With time, perhaps in a few millennia, humanity will dominate this world.

If they don’t destroy themselves fighting one another.

So, what’s the takeaway from all that information?

Basically, it’s that if you’re going someplace new, even if the people there are nominally allies, it’s best to be ready with bribes and gifts to the ruling populace.

In this case, it was the Tang clan.

But there were some things that couldn’t be accounted for with money and bribes.

That being people being people.

…

We sent a messenger and asked for permission to enter the city a month ahead of time.

Two weeks away, we sent another messenger.

A day away, we sent another.

Each time our entry into Tang territory was guaranteed.

But at the front gate, I practically had to step in to ensure Seol didn’t cut through the gate.

“Excuse me, Gate Captain. May I have a moment of your time?” Our caravan was in front of a gate that was set between two mountains. It was a thick and heavily armed gate made of white stone slabs stacked atop one another. Given the size of each block was like that of a small house, I was sure martial artists were involved in creating it. It would take a mortal army days to besiege the place, but for the likes of Seol, it was a single sword swing away from being destroyed. “I would like to move past the fact that we have been delayed, and I wish to ask when we can resume.”

We had been barred from entry into Tang territory despite all our earlier efforts.

The fact that the Namgoong sent three messengers and received three messages confirming the matter was the biggest crux of the issue.

If we showed up unannounced and didn’t have the letters with seals on hand?

Seol would be calm and composed.

The gate captain wouldn’t look pale and sweating his ass off in armor, either.

“Y-yes, my lord. I mean, Lord Namgoong.” He bowed deeply upon addressing me. It was enough of a move to get some of Seol’s anger to fade. The man took the lifeline with gratitude and shame. Even if he addressed me incorrectly, I let the matter pass. “We received word this morning that a representative of the Tang clan is set to arrive to escort you both through our lands. My lord… wishes to ensure that the friendship of the Namgoong and Tang clans remains strong.”

Yet the Tang clan was making us wait on them, even though we were nominally stronger and better off economically.

Something about this situation stank.

Still, I kept a smile on my face and nodded.

“May we know who will be receiving us?” I hoped that it was the head of the clan. Maybe they had concerns about the marriage, and he wanted to measure himself. If such was the case, Seol could forgive the situation easily. She might even see it as a prudent move. So, I hoped such was the case. “Do we need to prepare to meet with them?”

The gate captain, wincing before he spoke, told me that I shouldn’t have asked that question.

“No, Lord Namgoong. The heir of House Tang stated that his dear and beloved friend Lady Namgoong need not prepare anything to meet with him. He assures her that everything shall be taken care of.”

Given the frantic look the guard was giving me and how he was looking back at the road behind us, I realized what was happening.

The Tang clan’s heir was moving for Seol against me. Probably thanks to misconceptions, lack of communication, and bias.

They moved to save their ally and create a more united front.

Meanwhile, Seol looked furious because another clan was moving against her own, since I’ve done nothing wrong.

This is going to be awful, isn’t it?