Chapter 209 (1/2)
Chapter 209: Chapter 82
Chul Chung's order was swiftly and secretly conveyed to the provincial governors involved.
At his order, Joon Han, the governor of Hw.a.n.ghae Province, Chuk Lee, the governor of Anak, Choogan Park, the governor of Jaeryong, and Ungin Han, the governor of s.h.i.+nchon, immediately checked out the status of Yorip Chung and his gang's activities in their areas respectively.
Yorip Chung and his Taedonggye group were planning a revolt to launch an attack against Hanyang in Hw.a.n.ghae Province and Cholla Province simultaneously; kill Defense Minister Rip s.h.i.+n; and seize military power.
This was shocking enough to shake the central government of Joseon.
Moreover, when King Sonjo was briefed that Taedonggye had infiltrated into Hanyang, he immediately dispatched the chief commander of the military to Hw.a.n.ghae and Cholla provinces to catch Yorip and his followers.
Faced with the uneasy and chaotic situation, Kanghyok could retain his composure.
The reason was simple. He maintained a good relations.h.i.+p with Hangbok Lee.
“How have you been?” asked Hangbok, who stopped by Kanghyok's house almost daily.
Hangbok was a rising star of Soin that emerged as the power group after crus.h.i.+ng its rival political faction Tongin.
Sometimes, he came to Kanghyok to ask for his probing through torture, but he did so very rarely.
He just stopped by to greet him and keep him informed about what's going on regarding the Purge of Yorip Chung incident.
“I'm fine, sir.”
“Good to hear that.”
Hangbok sat on the main floor, and Kanghyok's subordinates didn't find him hard to deal with.
Whenever he visited like this, they would bring him fried chicken, which was his favorite.
“It really tastes good all the time,” said Hangbok, enjoying the fried chicken.
“It tastes much better because they mixed the flour you gave us.”
“Is this black stuff pepper?”
“Yes, my lord. Lord Sungryong gave it to me before the incident took place.”
When Kanghyok mentioned his name, Hangbok looked gloomy.
Though Sungryong was a leading figure of Tongin pitted against Soin, Hangbok had no personal grudges against him. While he served Sungryong at the Ministry of Education and Culture for a long time, Hangryong was deeply moved by Sungryong's character.
Hangbok opened his mouth after chewing chicken for a while, “Lord Sungryong had nothing to do with Yorip Chung, so he would be alright.”
“That's good for him!”
“Oh, I stopped by today to tell you….” Hangbok put down the chicken bone on the ground and said, “Yorip Chung died.”
“Really?”
“He was found dead in Jukdo Island.”
“It looks like he was chased by the government army and committed suicide himself.”
“Right. Sungbok Byon was also found there.”
“I see.”
Kanghyok met Sungbok in person. He felt it a shame that Sungbok also died.
“What about Uiyon?”
“Oh, that monk? He was killed.”
“Got it.”
Closing his eyes quietly, Hangbok recalled numerous figures who were killed in connection with the Purge of Yorip Chung incident.
The Soin faction initially moved to stop Yorip's rebellion against the king in the bud, but later cracked down on its rival Tongin faction mercilessly.
“You don't look good, my lord.”
“Really? Actually, I feel under the weather.”
“Sorry, I can't help you much.”
“Not at all, I feel sorry for you as I seem to frequently disturb you needlessly.”
Leaning against a wall, Hangbok was just chewing a fried chicken in silence.
Recently, he tended to visit Kagnhyok's house more often instead of heading straight back home.
It seemed as if he needed some sort of healing time, so Kanghyok let Hangbok do whatever he wanted to do.
“By the way, my lord.”
“Hmm?”
“Have you checked it out? I recently did ask you a favor on that…”
“Oh, you mean the matter of Changkwon Chung?”
Even a remote relative of Yorip Chung was punished. It was certain that his younger brother Changkwon would be the target of government persecution.
“I heard that Changkwon played a big role in quelling the j.a.panese raiders' invasion of the Otan village recently. According to the report filed by Yunkil Kim, the mayor of Suwon, Changkwon defended brilliantly in that battle.”
“Yes, he did.”
Yunkil Kim. He was one of the victims of the Purge of Yorip Chung incident. Originally, he was to be appointed as the Minister of Internal Affairs, but he had to be content with his current post as the mayor of Suwon when the Purge broke out.
Fortunately, he had a wide connection with both the Tongin and Soin factions. Though he was a member of Tongin, he didn't go through the Purge.
“What's the point of investigating Changkwon, who was already killed? I asked Chul Chung to close the case involving Changkown,” said Hangbok.
“As far as I know, he had a daughter. How would you deal with her?”
Kanghyok cast a glance at the backyard where Yoju was in hiding, disguised as a man.
“Well, they issued an order to search for her. But it's highly likely that they would close the case, too. Moreover, Changkwon's offspring is a girl, not a boy, right?”
“Got it.”
“I hear you had a close relations.h.i.+p with Changkwon since you were young, so I'm sorry to have you go through this.”
“I'm alright, my lord. As I'm in your good hands, I am feeling fine these days.”
“Sure. Everything will be wrapped up soon.”
Having said something significant like that, Hangbok left the place.
“See you next time.” Then he walked up to the gate, waving both hands.
But he suddenly turned back as if he recalled something. “By the way, do you happen to know Joon Huh?”
“Oh, yes, I do. I exchanged letters with him in the past.”
In fact, Kanghyok was so busy that he couldn't see him after he arrived in Hanyang. He wanted to meet Joon if he could.