American: Native Empire

Solid Pillar trusted his intuition fully this time. 

As soon as he came out of the Earth Research Institute, he returned to the mainland without delay and gave orders.

“Call all the officers right now. I’m going to make a crucial decision about the future of the Earth’s surface.”

“I’ll relay that message.”

Thanks to this command, most of the officers had already arrived when Solid Pillar reached the headquarters.

Solid Pillar attended the meeting and shared his experiences and thoughts from the Earth Research Institute.

And he declared.

“From now on, we will gather as much funds as possible from our surplus, loans, and investments, and build factories for cars and motorbikes. This is a matter of life and death for the Earth’s surface, and we must succeed at all costs. Do you all understand?”

“Yes!”

As soon as the decision was made by the surface leader, things progressed rapidly. 

They built factories in major industrial areas and recruited experts.

This process required a tremendous amount of money. 

Even for the Earth’s surface, it was a burden.

Therefore, they launched a large-scale campaign to attract investors. 

And it was successful.

If they had promoted the Earth’s surface, the result would have been different. 

No matter how big the surface was, the Earth’s surface was a surface that specialized in food distribution.

In this situation, they would mass-produce advanced machines like cars or motorbikes? 

What investor would willingly invest their money in that?

That’s why they put the Earth Research Institute, especially Golden Lake, at the forefront. 

They claimed that they were going to mass-produce his inventions.

“Hmm. Cars…”

“It certainly seems like they would make a lot of money if they succeed. Wouldn’t it be trustworthy if Golden Lake made them?”

“Well, yeah. The Earth’s surface wouldn’t do this without any thought. It must mean that they are amazing inventions.”

Thanks to this, more investment money came in than expected. 

But the jackpot came later.

“What? Is that true?”

“Yes, surface leader. The government contacted us and said they would support us with as much money as we want. When I asked the officials…”

He paused for a moment and then spoke to Solid Pillar.

“It seems like His Majesty himself gave the order.”

“His Majesty?”

Solid Pillar’s pupils widened.

Of course, the government had invested a lot in various private surfaces. 

They needed to circulate their overflowing finances.

But it was rare for them to offer unlimited investment, and it was also very unusual for Kim Ki-woo to be involved in investing.

“Yes. It seems like His Majesty highly evaluates the potential of cars and motorbikes.”

“Hmm. It’s not good to go against His Majesty’s will. And it’s not a bad offer for us either.”

“Then…”

“Finish up the private investments and get the rest of the money from the government. No, let’s increase the scale even more.”

Solid Pillar had no intention of going against Kim Ki-woo’s will. 

Regardless of respect or not, it was important to have a good relationship with the government if he wanted to do business in the mainland.

And there were many benefits to receiving such full-scale investment from the government.

‘The money worries will obviously disappear.’

The government’s funds were like an inexhaustible spring. 

Even if the Earth’s surface used it as much as they wanted, it wouldn’t make a dent.

‘And there will be less unnecessary power struggles.’

The car industry was in its infancy. 

On the other hand, there was an industry that had already established its position in land transportation, and that was none other than carriages.

Even though they hadn’t even built cars yet, there was already a subtle resistance from the coachmen. 

This would only get stronger over time.

The coachmen had roots in each local community. 

It was very hard to remove a stone that had rolled into place.

But the fact that Kim Ki-woo himself ordered unlimited investment was a huge advantage. 

It meant that Kim Ki-woo thought positively about the car industry.

With this justification alone, he could gain an upper hand in the conflict with the coachmen.

And lastly, the most important thing.

‘The related laws and road development will also be easier.’

In order for cars to be easily distributed throughout the empire, laws related to car operation had to be made as soon as possible, and roads that could accommodate cars also had to be improved. 

This was something that had to be done by the government.

In the end, the Earth’s surface agreed to the government’s request. 

They said they would accept all the amount of money that the government wanted to invest.

Kim Ki-woo received this news and smiled.

‘As expected, he is a wise scholar.’

It wasn’t for nothing that he made a surface of power despite being an immigrant.

‘Then I should reward him.’

Kim Ki-woo immediately called the construction and legal chiefs and gave orders. 

They were to make laws related to cars as quickly as possible, and to build standardized roads.

And so, the car industry was born in the Wakan Tanka Empire.

***

“Haha. I didn’t expect it to take this long for us all to gather in one place.”

“I know, right. Well, thanks to that, we stabilized our territory in the homeland somewhat.”

“Ugh…”

“Come on, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about among ourselves.”

At the king’s remark, the others who had been subtly mocking him shrugged their shoulders and agreed.

‘Tsk tsk. What a pointless quarrel.’

The Swift Rope looked at the smugglers. 

No, they were now the kings of each region, and clicked his tongue inwardly.

‘Well, I’m also nervous about those three incompetents…’

In fact, the Ming Dynasty had been virtually destroyed for quite some time. 

They had captured Beijing by surprise at the beginning of the war, and executed Zhu Houcong, who had not yet regained his senses.

The Ming Dynasty without a leader collapsed like a sandcastle.

But it was only now that the war was over. 

It was thanks to them who could not easily push away the remnants of the Ming Dynasty and the local warlords, even though they had been supplied with materials and taught tactics by the empire.

But the Swift Rope composed himself. 

It was already a past event, and now was the time to think about the future.

“Thank you all for your hard work. And congratulations on becoming the kings of your countries.”

“Haha. This is all thanks to you, Swift Rope, and the help from the Wakan Tanka Empire. I will never forget the grace that the empire has bestowed upon me.”

“I feel the same way.”

“I’m very grateful that you think so. The empire also hopes to maintain a good relationship with all the countries in this land as it is now.”

“That’s good to hear.”

The new kings of China who gathered in one place showed a relieved expression. 

They knew very well the power of the empire, as they were former smugglers.

If they antagonized the empire, they would disappear like dew on a gallows, just like Zhu Houcong.

“There’s one last thing to do now that the war is completely over, isn’t there?”

After a brief pause, the Swift Rope nodded his head to his subordinate and gave him a signal.

Then documents were handed over to the kings.

“What is this…”

“It’s a territorial agreement. Don’t worry too much about it. It’s just a formalization of the secret agreement we made in our country before. Please check it out.”

“Hmm. That’s right.”

Only then did the kings relax their expressions. 

It was almost identical to the secret agreement they had made in Wakan Tanka continent before.

“If you agree to this agreement now, your territory will be confirmed from then on. If you have any complaints about this, please let me know.”

“…”

But no one expressed dissatisfaction. 

The Swift Rope nodded his head and said.

“Let’s sign the agreement if you have no objections.”

“Okay.”

After the territorial agreement was finalized, the Swift Rope warned briefly.

“This territorial settlement is certified by the empire. I hope you don’t forget this and make a mistake of invading other countries. The empire will not be so generous to countries that violate the agreement.”

He looked around at the kings.

‘They may be satisfied with being kings of one country for now… But someday someone might have ambitions to swallow up the continent.’

This land was a history of division and unification. 

The kings always tried to swallow up the continent.

He didn’t think they would be any different when he looked back at history. 

But the empire had no intention of letting this happen.

If they did, they wouldn’t have bothered to destroy the Ming Dynasty in the first place.

“We understand your intentions very well. So don’t worry too much.”

“I trust you.”

At the king’s words, the Swift Rope nodded his head lightly. 

It was not a good thing to put too much pressure on them who were kings of one country.

“And finally, I have one more news to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“On January 1st of two years later by imperial calendar, there will be an international conference in our capital city.”

“An international conference?”

“It’s where all countries in the world gather and have a meeting.”

“Ho ho. That’s interesting.”

The kings’ eyes sparkled at the word international conference. 

The empire had never planned such an event before.

That meant that there was a high probability that something would change from their current policy.

And this expectation was accurate.

“Many things will be decided at the international conference. His Majesty, the great emperor, wishes not only for our empire but also for other countries to achieve modernization. The support for this will also be decided at the international conference.”

“Aha…”

The kings showed deep interest in this. 

Modernizing their own country was their most important task.

No matter how much Wakan Tanka Empire guaranteed their territory, former smugglers like them knew very well.

That economic power gained through successful modernization would be more important than anything else in the future.

And for successful modernization, a lot of capital and technology were essential. 

For the future of their country, they had to achieve a lot at the international conference.

The Swift Rope enjoyed the bright eyes of the kings and continued.

“Of course, there are conditions in our country. To receive various support from our country, you have to join the World Union that will be established soon.”

“If it’s the World Union…”

“It’s an organization that works for the interests and peace of the countries that have joined the World Union.”

Wang Zhi raised his eyebrows at the word peace.

‘Peace? That’s a word that doesn’t suit the Empire at all.’

The Wakan Tanka Empire had gained a lot of benefits from the conflicts in various regions so far.

But he couldn’t say that out loud.

“As I said, if you join the World Union, you will receive many benefits as a member country. But of course, there will also be some restrictions.”

“What kind of restrictions…?”

“First of all, conflicts between member countries will be prohibited unless there are special circumstances. This includes economic and military sanctions.”

“What if two countries that were at war join the World Union at the same time?”

“Then they have to stop the war. There are no exceptions. If they refuse, well, they won’t be able to join the World Union. And the Empire will side with the World Union countries.”

“Hmm…”

It was the era of the Wakan Tanka Empire. 

No country could withstand the power of the Empire.

In this situation, only a madman would not join the World Union. 

And as soon as they joined, they had to stop the war by force.

‘The Empire wants to solidify the current situation.’

Wang Zhi had a rough idea of Kim Ki-woo’s intentions.

‘What a perfect timing.’

The huge China had been divided, and the island nation of Japan had also split into two.

Far away, the Ottoman had secured a large territory, but they were busy reforming and watching out for the Wakan Tanka Empire for a while. 

They refrained from conquest wars.

If they were given time, they would show their ambition for the surrounding lands again. 

They were the second best country after the Empire in terms of reform.

But if the countries around the Ottoman joined the World Union, then the Ottoman would no longer be able to expand its territory.

In other words, if the current territory was fixed, there would be no country that could oppose the Empire in the future.