Chapter 25

Chapter 25 < Trade. >

Guano was the droppings of seabirds that piled up on the islands along the South American Pacific coast. They were sedimentary deposits.

‘I wonder if the natives are still using them diligently.’

In fact, guano had been a resource that had been used for a long time in the Andes civilization.

Guano was very valuable. It was an excellent natural fertilizer and also an ingredient for gunpowder.

It was not for nothing that the modern Western powers had fought to get guano.

‘If I get silver, I can start a full-fledged monetary economy.’

There was a huge amount of silver buried in the Andes Mountains. Among them, the Potosi silver mine was so rich in silver that the whole mountain was said to be made of silver ore.

‘But it’s still premature.’

Kim Ki-woo did not act rashly.

To activate trade with Panama as a midpoint, he had to develop this area sufficiently. He also had to improve the level of ships for stability.

Neither of them were easy to do right now.

The best option was to float a few ships on the Pacific and import llamas.

*

Gulp, gulp!

“The empire is all good, but it’s too hot. Ugh, it was cool where I lived.”

“Here, have a bowl of cold water.”

“Thanks.”

Brave Hawk did not hesitate and drank the water in one breath.

Gulp, gulp!

“Ah~ I feel like I’m alive now.”

“Haha. I guess I can’t feel much because I’ve been living here for a long time. Well, I don’t like the heat either.”

“Anyway, you’re insensitive. Have you finished reading the newspaper? Can you pass it to me? I want to see it too.”

“You’re so impatient. Here.”

Red Cloud handed the newspaper to Brave Hawk.

It had been about six months since the monthly newspaper started to be published.

But the price of the monthly newspaper was not very cheap. Therefore, it was very common to see scenes like this where close colleagues shared the newspaper.

Brave Hawk started reading from the first page as soon as he received the newspaper.

The composition of the monthly newspaper was always similar. As usual, this time too, various important information was included in the first and middle parts.

“Oh. They finally conquered Yanghae completely.”

“The warriors of the empire are strong indeed. What about you? Why don’t you apply for it?”

“Do you mean going to Yanghae to make ships?”

“It’s written there in big letters. ‘Recruiting shipbuilders’. They say they pay more.”

At that, Brave Hawk shuddered.

“Crazy. It’s already hot enough in the capital, and you want me to go to a hotter place and make ships? Don’t even say such horrible things.”

“Really? Hmm… I heard that if you go there, you can become a manager too.”

“Haha. I don’t want to do that while suffering from heatstroke. Besides, that means you have to make ships with novices who don’t speak your language, right? Ugh, it’s horrible just thinking about it.”

It was probably the same for other jobs, but there was always a shortage of shipbuilders.

Especially now that the water transport had started and the demand for ships had exploded.

Therefore, it was impossible to send a large number of shipbuilders to Panama.

In other words, shipbuilders who went to Panama had to train many natives one by one and make ships.

“I see. There is a reason why they pay more.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Brave Hawk replied casually and continued reading the newspaper.

The newspaper contained important events or crimes worthy of public service that happened in the past month, cases selected as anecdotes of the month, etc.

Brave Hawk read them lightly and quickly turned over the newspaper. Then he saw what he had been waiting for.

“Oh! The next chapter is out!”

“This one was so-so.”

“Yeah?”

The two men’s eyes were fixed on a novel serialized in the monthly newspaper.

Of course, the author was Kim Ki-woo.

This novel was the main character that made the monthly newspaper popular.

Brave Hawk read the novel in one breath with bated breath. He read the newspaper regularly so his reading speed was quite fast.

Before he knew it, Brave Hawk had read the last sentence of the novel and exclaimed.

“Wow. What do you mean so-so? I only find it interesting.”

“Yeah? Well, I think the spirit mythology that follows is a hundred times more interesting.”

“Hehe. The stories of the spirits are always fascinating. Ahh!”

Brave Hawk nodded his head and turned over the newspaper.

There was a content about the spirit mythology that Kim Ki-woo and the elders of various tribes had created together.

There was not one spirit. There were various kinds of spirits. Therefore, various kinds of spirits appeared in the spirit mythology.

It was like Olympus that appeared in Greek and Roman mythology.

In this way, through the medium of the newspaper, the work of establishing a unified religion was quietly proceeding.

*

Kim Ki-woo sent the recruited shipbuilders to Panama right away.

Although they were not many, they were still very valuable beings who had a hard time making the transport ships that were being made.

As expected, they did not betray Kim Ki-woo’s expectations.

They made a ship in the shipyard of the Pacific port before the year was over.

He didn’t need many ships.

For now, going to the Andes was a priority.

And now, Kim Ki-woo was having a meeting with the person in charge of this expedition.

“You don’t have to go yourself.”

“No. I really want to go.”

Kim Ki-woo didn’t like sending the foreign minister to the rough sea. But Foreign Minister Wise Moonlight was adamant.

“If you insist, then take care of yourself. This expedition is not for fighting, so keep that in mind.”

“I will engrave it deeply in my heart.”

Foreign Minister Wise Moonlight bowed his head with a determined expression.

Kim Ki-woo guessed why he was acting like that.

‘It’s his first job as a foreign minister.’

In fact, the foreign ministry was the smallest and had the least work among various departments. Therefore, they were currently supporting the work of other departments.

In a way, they were a patchwork specialist department.

That was because the Wakan Tanka Empire had hardly any contact with the outside world yet.

In other words, this could be said to be the first job of the foreign ministry. So he must be burning with willpower like that.

That’s how the preparations for the expedition began.

Of course, it was only one ship in scale, so it took only a few days to prepare.

After that, Wise Moonlight boarded a ship to the sea with his staff from the foreign ministry.

“Ugh…!”

“Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.”

The first voyage was quite hard for him who had passed fifty years old. But Wise Moonlight’s will did not break.

After sailing for a few days, they finally arrived in Panama.

“You’ve worked hard, Foreign Minister.”

“Hehe. What do I have to work hard for? Your efforts are much bigger. Is the ship ready?”

“Yes. It’s perfect enough to leave right away.”

“Really? Then leave right away.”

“Yes? Don’t you want to rest for a few days…”

“His Majesty is waiting. Don’t I have to come back as soon as possible as his servant?”

At that, Strong Steel Sword agreed.

“I understand. Then have a good trip.”

“Okay. Please take good care of this place while I’m gone.”

With that said, he boarded a ship bound for the Pacific with warriors who had been waiting in Yanghae.

The ship he boarded went south all along. It was not a difficult voyage because they just had to follow the coastline.

How long did they go down?

“I see a village!”

“Really?”

“Yes. I’m sure!”

They finally found the coastal village they had been hoping for. Wise Moonlight ran to the railing of the ship as if he had forgotten his seasickness.

“Oh!”

Wise Moonlight uttered a faint exclamation.

He saw small boats that looked like fishing boats and native villages.

“Shall we approach?”

“Of course. Be careful when you land on land and don’t make any mistakes.”

“Yes.”

This time, there should be no use of force as much as possible. It was what Kim Ki-woo had emphasized several times before Wise Moonlight left.

It was premature to project power into South America. Kim Ki-woo knew this very well.

‘Besides, His Majesty said that this place is very big. Let’s not do anything unnecessary and just do our assigned tasks well.’

While Wise Moonlight was thinking about this and that, the ship slowly approached the land.

Then the villagers on the coast began to gather in groups. By the time they almost reached the land, there were already many villagers gathered.

“Hmm! They seem quite hostile.”

“Think of it the other way around. We are strangers from outside. I’ll just get off the boat with a few warriors.”

“…Are you sure? It will be dangerous.”

“Hehehe! Don’t worry. What can I do wrong? Die?”

“Don’t even joke about such horrible things.”

“Anyway, wait here. Don’t provoke them until something happens to us.”

“Yes.”

Soon after, Wise Moonlight got off the boat with two warriors and the goods they brought for trade.

The villagers also did not threaten them when they saw only a few people getting off the boat.

‘I can’t understand a word they’re saying.’

Of course, the two groups did not understand each other. The languages were completely different.

But gestures were definitely a universal language. Wise Moonlight pushed the luggage forward.

Fortunately, the villagers understood what Wise Moonlight wanted to convey.

Then they realized the purpose of the visit of these people who came on a big boat. They came to trade.

The villagers soon became interested in the goods they brought.

Wise Moonlight noticed this and quickly spread out the goods.

Then some of the villagers cautiously came forward and checked what these strangers had brought.

Soon exclamations burst from their mouths.

“Oh!”

“Wow!”

‘They like it.’

He was relieved. He wondered what would happen if they didn’t like the goods he brought, but that seemed to be a worry.

After all, looking at their living standards, they would like it enough.

First of all, the porcelain bowls made of bone ash were incomparable to the pottery that could be seen far away.

And the clothes made of cotton were very soft and sturdy. The shoes were the same.

The villagers also realized this, and their eyes changed when they looked at Wise Moonlight.

At that moment, Wise Moonlight was sure.

He had buttoned up the first button of this trade very well.

That’s how a historic meeting between the Wakan Tanka Empire and the Andes natives took place.

*

“Haha! You did an amazing job! Hahaha!”

Kim Ki-woo grabbed Wise Moonlight’s hand and shook it hard. He was so happy.

“No. Anyone could have done it, not me.”

Wise Moonlight sincerely thought so.

“Anyway, you worked really hard. You’ve come a long way and I can’t keep you for long. Go in and rest.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

As soon as he left, Kim Ki-woo slowly read down the report on his desk.

‘The Inca Empire has not been established yet…’

The Inca Empire.

More precisely, there was no Tawantinsuyu yet.

Kim Ki-woo knew that the Inca Empire was established before the mid-15th century. That is, the current point in time was before that.

But the existence of Tenochtitlan of Aztec had already been captured by Kim Ki-woo.

That is, it was roughly between the mid-14th century and the early 15th century.

There was about a hundred years left before Europe came in.

As Kim Ki-woo was thinking about that.

Straight Tree opened the door and came in.

“Your Majesty. The livestock have arrived.”

“Really?”

At Straight Tree’s words, Kim Ki-woo quickly got up from his seat and went outside.

And he saw them.

‘Llamas…’

Thirteen llamas from across the Andes Mountains.

Of course, it would take a long time for llamas to become popular. And they were weaker than other livestock.

But it was much better than people pulling carts, and if they kept bringing them in through trade, the problem of llama numbers would be solved someday.

< Trade. > The end

Note:

Andes natives are the indigenous people who live in the Andes Mountains, a long mountain range in South America. They have different cultures, languages and histories, but some of them were part of the Inca Empire, a powerful civilization that ruled much of the Andes region until the Spanish conquest in the 16th century.

Llamas are domesticated animals that belong to the camel family. They are native to South America and were used by the Andes natives as pack animals, meat sources, wool producers and companions. Llamas are social, intelligent and gentle animals that can carry up to 30% of their body weight. They have soft wool that contains little lanolin, which makes it hypoallergenic.

The Inca Empire was a large and powerful civilization that ruled over much of the Andes region in South America from the 15th to the 16th century. The Inca Empire was also known as Tawantinsuyu, which means “the realm of the four parts” in Quechua, the official language of the empire. The four parts were the four regions or provinces that made up the empire: Chinchaysuyu (northwest), Antisuyu (northeast), Kuntisuyu (southwest), and Qullasuyu (southeast). The capital of the empire was Cusco, located in modern-day Peru. The Inca Empire was famous for its monumental architecture, extensive road network, sophisticated administration, and rich culture. The empire collapsed after the Spanish conquest led by Francisco Pizarro in the 1530s.

Tenochtitlan was the capital city of the Aztec Empire, another powerful civilization that ruled over central Mexico from the 14th to the 16th century. Tenochtitlan was founded in 1325 on an island in Lake Texcoco, and grew to become one of the largest and most impressive cities in the world at that time. It had a compl

ex urban plan, a system of canals and causeways, magnificent temples and palaces, and a population of about 200,000 people. Tenochtitlan was also the center of religion, politics, trade, and culture for the Aztecs. The city was destroyed by the Spanish conquistadors led by Hernán Cortés in 1521, and its ruins are now part of modern-day Mexico City. ⁴.