American: Native Empire

“As the new year begins, many kings and regents of various countries will visit the mainland. They are very important guests. We must not let any mishap happen. So pay close attention.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Kim Ki-woo had mentioned this several times as the International Conference approached.

“It’s finally time for the International Conference to be held in the capital. I knew this day would come.”

“I heard that there are hardly any countries that are not attending.”

“Hahaha. Of course, why wouldn’t they? Not attending means they are against the World Union that will be formed soon, and no sane country would do that.”

The news about the International Conference and the World Union had been known to the public for over a year.

Kim Ki-woo did not intend to hide this information from the people.

No, he rather announced it widely.

It was not something that could be hidden anyway, since he had informed the whole world about it, and there was no reason to do so.

The reaction of the imperial citizens was also positive.

They knew very well how powerful their country was, and they were very proud of it. They thought that the empire was the center of the world.

These thoughts became reality through this International Conference.

***

A few months before the International Conference.

A large-scale land reform was held in Joseon.

After the long land reform was completed, the ministers gathered in one place.

“We greet you!”

“We greet you, Your Majesty!”

Lee Ho’s lips curled into a bright smile at the shouts of the ministers.

‘It was worth reforming the army steadily.’

Thanks to that, he had achieved such great results despite preparing for war so hastily.

Joseon had conquered most of Manchuria through this war.

The Jurchens resisted against Joseon’s strong army, but the difference in power was too obvious.

Many Jurchens realized this and knelt before Joseon.

It took just over half a year for all these events to happen, which showed how rapid the war was.

The Joseon army did not stop there.

‘We don’t know what will happen, so we need to secure as much land as possible.’

The reason why he started the northern expedition in the first place was to secure a wide territory.

Therefore, the Joseon army rode horses and planted Joseon’s flags in a large part of Siberia.

At that time, Siberia was almost uninhabited except for some natives. Thanks to that, the Joseon army simply wandered around and easily secured territory.

“As you all know, we have greatly expanded Joseon’s sphere of influence through this war. However, there are hardly any Joseon people living in Manchuria, and beyond that there is no one. Therefore, we must devote our utmost efforts to make this vast land fully belong to Joseon for the time being.”

“We will keep that in mind, Your Majesty.”

“Good. I hope you all do your best in your positions while I am away.”

A few days later.

Finally, the participants of the International Conference departed.

This included Lee Ho, the king of Joseon.

In fact, when Lee Ho expressed his intention to participate in the International Conference himself, there was a lot of opposition.

It was understandable, since it was about the sovereign of a country going abroad for a long time.

But Lee Ho did not give in to the numerous objections.

He thought that the issues discussed at this International Conference would have a huge impact on Joseon’s future.

“It’s been a long time, Your Majesty.”

“Haha. I’m grateful that you came out here yourself, Eagle Lord.”

“Your Majesty is participating in the International Conference personally, how can I stay still? Come on, get on board.”

“Thank you. By the way, the empire’s ships are getting bigger and bigger. I’m really envious.”

“This is all thanks to your hard work.”

The Imperial Shipyard was constantly striving to make bigger ships.

That way, transportation efficiency would improve, and more importantly, it would help improve the image of the empire as seen by other countries like now.

“I wish we could make iron wires ourselves soon.”

“It won’t be long before that happens. Except for your homeland, there are few countries that are modernizing as well as Joseon.”

“I know that very well too. I am always grateful for your kindness. I hope we can continue our good relationship with the empire forever.”

“Unless something special happens, it will surely be so.”

‘Unless there is a special case, that is.’

The Swift Rope swallowed his words.

The relations between nations were unpredictable and could change at any time.

Their conversation came to a pause, and the ship finally departed.

The first destination of the giant passenger ship was none other than China.

“Haha. I’m finally meeting you. I haven’t forgotten the favor you showed me before.”

“What favor are you talking about? I just stayed still.”

“If that’s not a favor, then what is?”

Wang Zhi smiled deeply as he looked at Lee Ho.

In fact, when they raised their rebellion, it would have been quite difficult if Joseon had sided with Ming.

‘The probability of that was very low, though.’

The collapse and division of Ming was what the Wakan Tanka Empire wanted.

Considering Joseon’s position that could not go against the empire, this was a natural choice.

Lee Ho greeted not only Wang Zhi but also the kings of the other two Chinese states.

‘Out of ten states, only three kings are attending the World Congress in person.’

The remaining seven states sent their plenipotentiaries.

The reason was simple.

Their domestic situation was not stable yet.

On the contrary, this meant that these three states had stabilized their situation to some extent.

‘I’ll have to keep an eye on these three states.’

Of course, as much as Lee Ho thought this way, Wang Zhi also looked at Lee Ho with various thoughts.

‘It’s a pity, it’s a pity. If it weren’t for the treaty, we could have gotten more land.’

Wang Zhi was confident that he could expand his territory more than now.

But he couldn’t execute it before the World Congress was held.

He had already agreed with the empire in secret that he would not expand his territory beyond China.

Thanks to that, he had to watch Joseon advance beyond Manchuria to Siberia with his eyes open.

‘I don’t like it that the empire favors Joseon too much… Tsk! It’s not to my liking.’

Wang Zhi had a lot of complaints about this, but he never showed it.

There was nothing good about it anyway.

***

Afterwards, the passenger ship stopped by Japan and picked up both sides of the forces.

“Nice to see you.”

“It’s been a long time, Lord Hojo.”

Inside the cabin.

Hojo Ujitsuna and Ouchi Yoshitaka greeted each other warmly.

Ouchi Yoshitaka was the son of the current lord Ouchi Yoshitaka.

Their names were the same but their kanji were different.

“Yes. How is your father’s health?”

“…He is doing his best.”

“Hmm…”

Hojo Ujitsuna felt uneasy at his words.

‘He doesn’t have much time left, does he?’

To Hojo Ujitsuna, Ouchi Yoshitaka was a good ally and a stumbling block for unification.

If Ouchi Yoshitaka hadn’t been there, Hojo Ujitsuna would have taken longer to gain dominance in Kanto, or maybe he wouldn’t have been able to do it at all.

It was thanks to the huge amount of silver from Iwami that he could grow his power so much.

But paradoxically, because of Iwami’s silver, Japan was divided into two.

That’s why Hojo Ujitsuna advanced to the land of the northern Ainu.

Of course, until recently, he hadn’t given up on his ambition for unification.

He was just waiting for the right time.

The moment Ouchi Yoshitaka died.

But unfortunately, Hojo Ujitsuna had to give up on his ambition for unification.

When he heard that the empire was creating a world union.

‘It can’t be helped.’

He couldn’t refuse to join the world union either.

Thinking more about it would only make him bitter, so Hojo Ujitsuna erased his thoughts.

“I wanted to see Lord Ouchi once before it was too late, but it’s a shame.”

“My father also regretted not being able to attend this World Congress.”

“I see. By the way, don’t we have something to talk about between us?”

“…Yes, we do.”

They were talking about the area around Kyoto and its surroundings.

This region had a great significance for both factions.

Even setting aside the fact that it was a border area, Kyoto had been the center of the Japanese archipelago for a long time.

That’s why a fairly large area around Kyoto was a neutral zone between the two factions.

It belonged to no one.

It was very ambiguous to divide Kyoto into two.

However, now that they had to establish a clear border line, it was a problem that they had to address.

As a result, both sides had a lot of arguments until they arrived at the imperial land, and they were able to reach some agreement.

Except for this, the passenger ship that carried various countries of East Asia arrived at its destination without any major incidents.

***

“Let’s coordinate on the passenger ship, so we don’t have to blush at each other at the international conference.”

“I agree with that.”

However, not all passenger ships were like this.

No, the East Asian passenger ship was a very special case.

Kim Ki-woo had sent passenger ships by region from the beginning.

He wanted them to have conversations with neighboring countries before the international conference began.

“No, how can this land be yours! This is where our people have lived from generation to generation!”

“What nonsense are you talking about? Our excellent army has already occupied this place!”

“Occupied? The conflict is still ongoing!”

“Huh, are you relying on those rats who are hiding and resisting?”

“What, rats? You’ve said enough!”

Before the World Union was created, wars were ongoing to gain more land.

There were many areas of conflict where one side advanced and the other retreated, and there were countless places where they were occupied but carried out guerrilla warfare underground.

Not only that.

There were quite a lot of mountains in the places where they bordered each other.

They didn’t know what resources would come out of the mountains in the future, so these things were also the subject of territorial disputes.

As a result, most of the passenger ships except for the East Asian one were like war zones.

If they hadn’t collected all the weapons when they boarded the ship, casualties would have occurred sooner or later.

Especially in places where they bordered many countries.

The Indian subcontinent and Indochina peninsula, as well as Europe.

“Come on, there’s nothing to be solved by fighting like this. Since we’re all gathered here, why don’t you calm down…”

“How can you calm down in front of these vile and rude bastards!”

“Hmph! Who are you to talk?”

The diplomat who boarded the Indian subcontinent passenger ship, Soft Silk, had his face stained with deep blood.

‘Sigh… They just won’t listen.’

Yesterday, the day before yesterday, and the day before that, Soft Silk mediated and mediated with the countries in the Indian region.

But no matter how hard he tried to mediate, they only stuck to their own positions.

They didn’t want to give up even a small piece of land or rights.

It had gone beyond their national interests, and it was already a matter of pride.

Especially India had been through many wars for a long time.

As a result, their relations with neighboring countries were very bad.

‘I have to come up with some compromise before I arrive on the mainland…’

It didn’t look easy at all in this state.

Finally, after a few days, Soft Silk gathered them together and gave them an ultimatum.

“There’s not much time left until the passenger ship reaches the mainland. If no agreement is reached before then, penalties will be imposed on those countries.”

As soon as he said that, the people who had been raising their voices and getting angry became quiet for a moment.

“Penalties?”

“If you fail to negotiate, the scale of support that will be given to the member states after the World Union is established will decrease accordingly. Go ahead and continue your disputes as you are now. I’m also very curious about what will happen.”

“…”

Soft Silk looked around with cold eyes.

As soon as his words ended, silence lingered.

‘So this is what happens when you say that support will be reduced.’

The support that would take place after the World Union was established was very important to them.

They needed financial and technical support to achieve modernization of their country.

‘You should have done this from the start.’

Soft Silk finally smiled.

And after that, negotiations between each country began to make some progress.