After concluding negotiations with the military police chief, the branch chief moved quickly.
Returning to the entertainment house serving as branch headquarters, he hastily wrote a letter and called one of his subordinates.
“You’re our best horseman, correct?”
“Yes, sir.”
At the subordinate’s response, the branch chief pulled a round token from his breast pocket and held it out with the letter.
“This is a transit pass from the Liaoyang military police chief. Leave the city immediately and deliver this letter to Sinuiju.”
“Yes, sir!”
As the empire secured the Northern Territory, Sinuiju was established across the Yalu River.
Sinuiju was founded as a planned city to serve as a transportation and military hub north of the Yalu River.
-If things go wrong and forces must retreat, they can make their first stand at Sinuiju north of the Yalu River, then another at Uiju.
Sinuiju was built as a planned city with these objectives.
Incidentally, Sinuiju was the Yalu River starting point for the Northern Railway that Jinpyeong was currently pushing forward.
Thanks to these conditions, people flooded into Sinuiju as soon as it was established. As people gathered, the markets grew, and all sorts of goods, rumors, and information circulated.
Consequently, the Secret Guard’s support headquarters for Northern Territory deployments was established in Sinuiju.
The Secret Guard chose a brewery as their front for the support headquarters.
It was the perfect cover, as it required many people to carry grain sacks for brewing and transport barrels of alcohol.
After sending off the subordinate with the letter, the branch chief reviewed the situation with his other subordinates.
“What are our losses?”
“Six wounded, three dead. Plus twenty in jail if we count them.”
“So fifteen remain?”
After stroking his chin in thought briefly, the branch chief issued orders.
“We have three entertainment houses to protect now, meaning only five per house. Tell them to focus solely on defense until we get a response from Sinuiju.”
“Yes, sir.”
Seeing his subordinates’ gloomy expressions, the branch chief continued:
“Even if we want revenge for today, we lack the numbers. We should properly gather our strength before paying them back properly. Though we’re Secret Guard now, we came from the capital police. Shouldn’t we deal with those unorthodox faction bastards the capital police way?”
The subordinates’ faces brightened at the branch chief’s words as their voices grew louder.
“Yes, sir!”
As the branch chief said, even as Secret Guard agents, they were originally capital police. Though they had become more restrained, much of their ferocity remained.
Seeing his subordinates’ morale restored, the branch chief continued:
“How are the injured?”
“Two are too severely wounded for frontline duty, the rest can return after some rest.”
“When people arrive from Sinuiju, complete preparations to send the severely wounded and dead back to Seoul immediately.”
“Yes, sir.”
Ten days later, about forty people arrived from Sinuiju. Secret Guard agents disguised as peddlers and various other identities entered Liaoyang and immediately slipped into the branch.
“It’s been a while. You must be tired from leading the strike team here.”
“The branch chief has worked hard as well.”
The strike team leader who had deployed to take control of Liaoyang’s nights and the branch chief soon began discussing the current situation.
“How is the judgment proceeding for those captured by the military police?”
“The verdict should come in two or three days. It seems they’ll all receive forced labor sentences.”
The strike team leader nodded at the branch chief’s report.
“The military police chief said he’d cooperate, and he’s showing appropriate results.”
The branch chief nodded at the strike team leader’s words.
Given that people had died and been injured, there was a high possibility of receiving even harsher punishment. However, if both the Black Wolf Gang and their side received the same forced labor sentence, it would counter claims of discrimination between mainlanders and northerners, and no unnecessary additional operations would be needed.
The branch chief continued:
“Fortunately, there’s been no major deviation from the initial plan to reveal our identity up to the military police chief and court judge level.”
“You met the court judge?”
“No, I only met the military police chief directly. But judging from the rumors circulating, the military police chief must have spoken to the judge.”
“Whew~ That’s fortunate.”
The strike team leader breathed a sigh of relief at the branch chief’s words.
As time passed, people began gradually noticing the Secret Guard’s existence.
One reason was that Sejong or Hyang would frequently notice and order investigations into matters that were just beginning to circulate as rumors among officials.
Another reason was the battles between Secret Guard members and spies from other countries, especially Ming, who approached to extract imperial secrets.
When people reported hearing sounds of fighting, blade clashes, and screams, investigators would find only bloodstains and no other traces, or capital police investigations would mysteriously fizzle out partway through.
Eventually, sharp individuals—Han Myeonghoe being a prime example—began vaguely sensing the Secret Guard’s existence.
Hyang also worried about this issue. However, the answer was already set.
“When the time comes, we’ll have to reveal what can be revealed, but until then, we must keep everything hidden as much as possible. Ah! Damn Chinese! They’re no help now or in the future!”
Hyang ground his teeth, thinking of Ming spies who tried to slip in and steal secrets at every opportunity.
Two days later, the Liaoyang court issued its verdict.
“All criminals are sentenced to ten years of forced labor!”
Following the judge’s verdict, Black Wolf Gang members and Secret Guard agents were loaded into prison carts with handcuffs and leg shackles.
The prison carts that departed Liaoyang headed for the nearest railway station.
Around the time the train carrying them was departing for Sinuiju, a Royal Guard officer from the Emergency Response Division secretly visited the Sinuiju military police.
“Why is the Royal Guard here?”
The Sinuiju military police chief greeted the unexpectedly visiting Royal Guard officer with a tense expression.
“Welcome!”
Responding to the Royal Guard officer’s precise military salute, the military police chief looked at him with a thoroughly nervous expression.
“What brings the Royal Guard all the way here?”
At the military police chief’s question, the Royal Guard officer pulled a letter from his breast pocket.
“A personal letter from His Majesty.”
“Gasp! Then I shall prepare the proper setting immediately!”
Seeing the startled military police chief trying to arrange proper ceremony, the Royal Guard officer hurriedly stopped him.
“This is a secret letter. Others must not know.”
“Ah, ah? Ah! Understood!”
The military police chief knelt, broke the letter’s seal, and examined its contents.
After thoroughly checking the contents, the military police chief responded and held out the letter to the Royal Guard officer.
“I would like to hear the plan.”
Taking back the letter, the Royal Guard officer held it to the nearby lamp. After completely burning the letter, he explained the plan to the military police chief.
The prisoners who departed from Liaoyang disembarked at Sinuiju.
This was to change trains for crossing the Yalu River.
Following their chief’s orders, Sinuiju military police soldiers separately confined the Secret Guard agents and Black Wolf Gang members in two prisoner transport cars.
“It seems they could all fit in one car?”
The field officer in charge asked, but the senior commander responded indifferently.
“It’s the chief’s order. If you have complaints, go tell him directly.”
“…Hey! What are you doing! Quickly separate and load them!”
As soon as the train carrying the Secret Guard agents and Black Wolf Gang members crossed the Yalu River and arrived at Uiju Station, the prisoner transport cars were separated.
Of the separated transport cars, the one carrying Black Wolf Gang members was connected to a train bound for Aoji, while the car carrying Secret Guard agents was moved to a secluded location.
The door of the car moved to an inconspicuous location opened, and the Secret Guard agents inside received keys to unlock their handcuffs and shackles before disembarking.
The agents who got off and were lightly stretching immediately snapped to attention upon seeing the Royal Guard officer before them.
“Good work. Rest well for three days, then return to Sinuiju.”
While the situation was being resolved this way in Uiju, the military police in Liaoyang were dismantling the Black Wolf Gang.
The crime for which the military police brought down the Black Wolf Gang was “opium trafficking.”
As the Reformation proceeded and Hyang secured his position, he had proposed various policies to Sejong for implementation.
Among these was the “opium prohibition.”
“You say we should prohibit opium? Isn’t opium medicine?”
Not only Sejong but all the ministers tilted their heads at Hyang’s proposal.
Opium was the supreme painkiller.
When suffering from stomach or tooth pain, taking a small amount of opium brought immediate relief. It was also common practice to administer opium to put patients to sleep when treating external injuries like fractures.
“Of course, opium is good medicine. However, in Western medical texts I saw…”
Hyang explained opium’s dangers to Sejong and the ministers.
After hearing Hyang’s explanation, Sejong and the ministers soon nodded.
“Indeed… This truly embodies the saying ‘excess is as bad as deficiency.'”
“Indeed, Your Majesty. While it is an excellent medicine when used in appropriate amounts at appropriate times by knowledgeable physicians, otherwise it becomes a poison that corrodes the nation and people. Strict regulation is certainly needed.”
Thus, “opium prohibition” was implemented.
Opium was classified as a medicine that could only be cultivated by licensed individuals in approved locations. When it was time to extract sap from the poppies, officials and police would deploy to measure the extracted sap and collect it all without remainder. Then they would burn everything except the shells used for medicine and seeds needed for next year’s cultivation.
It was even legislated that growing poppies without a license or collecting opium from wild poppies would be treated as murder.
Though it was prohibited with emphasis on severe punishment, for a while there were people whose lives were ruined after being caught secretly cultivating poppies in various places.
However, as time passed, illegal poppy cultivation almost disappeared, and opium was rarely seen except for medical use by physicians.
To overthrow the Black Wolf Gang and take over Liaoyang’s nights, Secret Guard agents quietly and persistently investigated everything about the Black Wolf Gang.
They could have simply used force to bring them down, but owing more favors to the military police would be burdensome even for the Secret Guard.
During this investigation process, they discovered that the Black Wolf Gang was supplying opium to opium dens.
Thanks to Hyang’s butterfly effect, Ming had also legally prohibited non-medical opium use. Consequently, opium dens were poorly regarded even at this time.
The only difference was that the empire cracked down on every one they found, while Ming overlooked them up to a certain level—about forty regular visitors. Of course, both Ming and Joseon equally cracked down on those supplying opium to these dens.
As a result, the method of supplying opium to Liaoyang’s opium dens was very secretive, but the Secret Guard uncovered it.
The Secret Guard immediately passed this information to the Liaoyang military police, who promptly arrested the Black Wolf Gang.
Consequently, the Liaoyang military police chief accumulated tremendous accomplishments and was overjoyed.