Korean TV series: King of Peninsula 1997

Chapter 345: Busan Past

Zhao Taixie smiled and said, "Is there anyone in the Korean Peninsula who can give Chairman Li advice on this matter?"

Han Zhixian's hand that was adding tea paused slightly, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she continued to add tea and remained silent.

Li You smiled and shook his head, "Councilman Zhao, please stop keeping us in suspense."

Zhao Taixie smiled meaningfully, "Chairman Li must have heard of the war against crime?"

Li You nodded, "Of course I know."

Zhao Taixie smiled and said, "Han Jiangzhi used to take advantage of this operation to wipe out Mokpo and support this force. Chairman Li knows this very well."

At that time, it was Li You who revealed this matter to Han Jiangzhi, and the wild dogs supported by Han Jiangzhi were also wiped out by Li You himself.

"And in that 'war on crime', the anti-crime campaign initiated by President Roh, the underground forces in Busan were the most severely eliminated."

Zhao Taixie sighed, "But Busan is also the place where the resistance is the most intense, and those people are also the real criminal concentration point on the Korean Peninsula."

"Fortunately, that operation dealt a heavy blow to them."

He looked at Li You, "Song Dong Hyuk was supported in the second year."

Li You understood. He would definitely not believe that there was no one behind Song Donghe.

"When I was a prosecutor, I was transferred from Seoul to Busan to take charge of some trivial matters because I offended someone."

Zhao Taixie felt inexplicably melancholy when he thought about himself who stood up for justice at that time. He shook the teacup in his hand and said, "It was also at that time that I met some friends who taught me how to be tactful."

"I want to tell Chairman Lee about a friend's story," Cho Tae-seop checked his watch, "Does Chairman Lee have enough time?"

Li You gently waved his hand, "Councilman Zhao, just start directly. Today we can also learn about Councilman Zhao's past."

"That's a long story," Zhao Tae-seop laughed.

“At the time, I was working as a prosecutor in the most remote prosecutor’s office in Busan, and because I was from Seoul, I was discriminated against by many of my colleagues.”

Li You raised his eyebrows. This statement reflected a lot of facts. Many people in Seoul looked down on people from other parts of the Korean Peninsula. Similarly, slowly, many places also began to discriminate against people from Seoul who worked there.

"My friend was originally a minor customs official at Busan Port. It was probably a few years before the 'War on Crime' operation."

"On a daily basis, he would also embezzle some of the smuggled goods seized by the customs, and sometimes some bribes."

Zhao Taixie drank his tea and said slowly, "Everyone was taking it at that time, so it would be inappropriate for him not to take it. What's more, he is not a clean person to begin with."

"Later, because of the corruption investigation, his section chief decided to let him take the blame for those who stole things from the customs. They were also afraid that he would implicate the section chief and his team, so they tried to minimize the impact and fired him."

Zhao Taixie felt a little regretful, "Who made him the lowest official?"

"Although my friend is greedy, he is always very loyal to his relatives and friends, giving them money and things."

"On the day before he was fired, he discovered that someone had secretly put drugs into the transport warehouse."

Zhao Taixie said calmly, "He thought that he would be fired no matter what, so he just made up his mind."

"Took drugs and sold them?" Li You asked with raised eyebrows.

"Chairman Li's guess is correct," Cho Tae-seop nodded, "At that time, it was still a few years away from 'Action Against Crime', and the underground forces in Busan were still very powerful."

"He sold it to a big boss of the younger generation at that time. As a result, when they were talking, they found that the flood had washed away the Dragon King Temple. The young boss had the same surname as him and was his distant nephew."

"Chairman Lee must also know," Cho Tae-seop laughed, "how much we on the Korean Peninsula value the relationship between elders and the young, especially when they are of the same ethnic group or blood-related ethnic group."

"So he acted like an elder during the conversation, and the young boss didn't give him face," Zhao Taixie smiled continuously, "He was chased away directly. Guess what, President Li?"

"He went to the man's house the next day and met the big shot's father."

Li You smiled and shook his head, "Do they know each other?"

"Of course I know him. I was also very curious when I heard him say that," Zhao Taixie said, "He knows the boss's father, but he hasn't seen this young boss in all these years. It's really a bad fate."

"Later, there was nothing we could do. My friend even moved his father out," Zhao Taixie continued, "The boss had no choice but to treat him to a meal that day."

"As a result." Zhao Taixie was a little skeptical when he said, "My friend is too slippery. I don't know if he made it up or it was just a coincidence." "When the boss was having dinner and drinking with him to get closer to him, he met the former section chief of the customs." Zhao Taixie took a sip of tea. "The section chief also drank a lot of wine. He made fun of his former subordinate, my friend, under the influence of alcohol, but forgot that he was no longer my friend's boss."

"My friend is not good at anything else, but he is really good at talking. At that time, he directly responded to the section chief's sarcastic remarks."

"The section chief got drunk and had a conflict with him, and they ended up fighting."

Zhao Taixie said with some mockery, "Don't you think about who was there at the time? The boss didn't do it himself, and it was just me who helped him teach the section chief a lesson."

"Hey!" Zhao Taixie laughed with an ambiguous meaning, "He only realized at this moment that he had lived in vain for so many years. One should be a superior person."

"It just so happened that the young boss invited him because he also realized that these young people really need a slippery person to build connections."

Zhao Taixie never said the name, but used "boss" and "my friend" instead.

"So he started working for his distant nephew, who was also the boss. The boss offered him a high salary and asked him to help manage the casino under his control," said Zhao Taixie.

"The young boss doesn't have any connections in the officialdom. He has earned his position through fists and knives," Zhao Taixie glanced at Li You secretly. "Many things that need to be approved by the Busan City Government are sent by him to bribe the relatives of officials. Even bribe the officials themselves to open up various relationships."

"He lived like this for two years, and gradually became somewhat famous. One day he met a friend who ran a local dance hall," Zhao Taixie lowered his eyes, "at first, they just exchanged a few small talk."

"As a result, I bowed to him when he passed by, and this fair-weather friend noticed me."

"His friend grabbed him and started talking about his own difficulties, saying that although his dance hall made money, he couldn't make any money now."

"His friends told him that his dance hall is currently controlled by another big boss and a female president. He needs to hand over a large amount of money to them, and he can't make any money at all."

"So." Zhao Taixie slowed down, "President Li, are you still interested in listening?"

"Of course," Li You laughed, "If I guess correctly, Councillor Zhao will be on stage soon?"

"Almost," Zhao Taixie nodded, "He asked about the profits, and when he learned the amount, he was very excited, so he asked the young boss if he could help make some money."

"Back then, Busan was still very righteous," Zhao Taixie suddenly said, not knowing whether it was nostalgia or something else, "The young boss told him that he could definitely win the fight, but the key point was not this, but that there was no reason not to just do it. There were rules in the underworld."

"He was thinking, and he was full of bad intentions," Cho Tae-seop said. "He said if he was beaten, then there would be a reason, after all, they are relatives."

"So he deliberately went to negotiate with another big boss, and even deliberately pretended to be stupid," Zhao Taixie said, and couldn't help laughing again, "Of course he was beaten out."

"Using this as an excuse, the young boss brought his younger brothers to deal with the other boss. From then on, they moved into the dance hall and took the profits.

"But the key is not this other boss, but the female president," Zhao Taixie shook his head, "This female president has someone behind her."

"This woman suffered such a big loss at their hands, and she has always wanted to get back at them," Zhao Taixie smiled sarcastically, "She contacted the police and found a reason to arrest many of the young bosses. Even the young boss was taken away."

"Everyone knows that bandits don't fight officials," Li You laughed, "He's also starting to try to find connections?"

"That's right," Zhao Taixie nodded, "Because he was the one who was beaten, he was released early and was only detained for a few days."

"After being released, he started spending a lot of money, asking people to find connections, and then using connections to gain influence," Zhao Tae-seop narrowed his eyes.

"Found it on Councillor Zhao, or someone Councillor Zhao knows?"

"That's right," Zhao Taixie nodded. "He first found the uncle of the local prosecutor through his connections at the city hall. The uncle took a large sum of money from him and took him to dinner with the prosecutor."

Zhao Taixie finally said at this time, "At that time, I was the deputy chief prosecutor there, and my relationship with the chief prosecutor was not close. It was just a coincidence that day that we sat at the same table for dinner."

"It was at the dinner table that I finally understood how smooth people speak."

Zhao Taixie laughed at himself and said, "Before I went to Busan, I offended someone because I was too upright, so I was sent there."

"I have always been doubting myself," Zhao Taixie thought for a moment, "maybe you could say I was confused?"

"Anyway, that day was really an eye-opener," Zhao Taixie exclaimed twice. "He persuaded our chief prosecutor on the spot with his mouth, and he immediately called the police chief and said that the dance hall should be run as a business, and if a fight occurred, it should be mediated, and there was no need to keep the people locked up."

“Although it was not stated explicitly, those people were detained in the police station at that time, and the chief immediately released them.”

"This incident had a profound impact on me," Zhao Taixie sighed. "Now that I think about it, maybe that was when I learned what officialdom is all about."

(End of this chapter)