Chapter 26

Chapter 26 < A Substitute for Wood >

The summer of the third year of the empire.

The external expedition of the Wakan Tanka Empire finally came to an end.

Why?

‘They need to have some tribes nearby to decide whether to go on an expedition or not.’

There were no significant powers near the Wakan Tanka Empire anymore. They had either submitted or lost their lives resisting, or they had fled to places where the empire’s reach had not yet touched.

‘There are no real villains left.’

Kim Ki-woo sneered.

Of course, they could go far away and bring people back.

But that was more trouble than it was worth. It cost too much.

Besides, the North American Central Plains were very vast. It was hard to find people there.

The national budget was already being reinvested in various industries as it increased. They couldn’t afford to waste money on this.

So naturally, the expedition ended.

Now, the only source of external population influx was bringing natives from Panama to the mainland.

‘But this is still decent.’

The population had exceeded 2.4 million in no time. It was around 1.5 million when the empire was founded, but it had increased by almost a million in just two and a half years.

This was partly due to the external expedition, but that wasn’t all.

‘The natural population growth has caught fire.’

Lately, hunting bison with crossbows had become easier, and bison meat had also flowed in large quantities. This meant that the food supply, which was already abundant, had increased even more.

The meat that came in was quickly distributed throughout the empire by boat.

And now, the society was close to ancient times. The perception that they had to have many children was still strong.

The number of infants dying decreased as the food supply became abundant.

Most importantly, there were not many infectious diseases in North America right now.

‘It’s natural since there are not many livestock.’

Infectious diseases often arise and spread through livestock. But livestock were scarce in the American continent.

‘Of course, this also means that their immunity is less developed.’

This would be fatal when Europeans set foot on the new continent. But for now, it was helping the population growth.

In the old continent, many infants died due to infectious diseases like smallpox, but this was not the case for the American natives.

As a result, most of the children who received enough nutrition grew up healthy without getting sick and dying.

“Your Majesty, the budget spent on operating kindergartens is increasing endlessly. I think we should ask for some money when they use kindergartens.”

“Hmm. Is it that serious?”

“Yes.”

And so, at the imperial meeting, Straight Tree, who was in charge of finance, brought up this issue.

But his father, the head of education, immediately opposed him.

“Charge fees for kindergartens? That’s unacceptable. The imperial citizens have only followed the national policy diligently, haven’t they? But if you ask them to pay when the situation changes, what will they think?”

“Then do you want the state to bear this burden forever? Isn’t it natural for policies to change when situations change?”

“Then what about the families who have had many children trusting only the state until now? You should know that this could make many imperial citizens suffer if you do something wrong.”

“The state has to be strong for the citizens to be happy!”

The argument between father and son continued.

‘Even if they are related by blood, political conflicts are inevitable.’

It was not a dispute between father and son, but between the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which was responsible for finance, and the Ministry of Education, which was responsible for kindergartens.

‘Hmm. What should I do?’

Kindergartens had been free since before the Wakan Tanka Empire was established, since the Creek tribe era.

The administration paid for all the costs involved in kindergartens and encouraged them to have as many children as possible.

But under this policy, when the imperial citizens started having too many children, things changed.

There was a limit to how many children a family could raise, but this limit collapsed.

As a result, the number of kindergartens exploded and this trend continued.

‘The current kindergartens are quite different from their original purpose.’

The reason why they built nurseries, which were the predecessors of kindergartens, was to utilize female labor.

But now, rather than that, female laborers were sucked into kindergartens as they increased.

Now there was a shortage of available female laborers such as teachers, weavers and spinners, and kindergarten teachers. This was because they also took time off at home during pregnancy to have children.

‘Of course, if this goes on for twenty years…’

The fruit would be very sweet. The current population growth rate was almost insane.

Choose the future or the present.

He had to choose one of the two paths.

But this dilemma didn’t last long.

‘Of course, I have to choose the future.’

What was important to Kim Ki-woo was not the present.

Even if it was harder now, he had to choose the future if it promised a better one.

‘You have to expand your economy early on to make it easier later.’

Kim Ki-woo recalled a game that was popular when he was in the modern era.

A strategy simulation game that had maintained its popularity for decades after its release. It was even called a folk game.

In that game, if you could survive the early stage, you had to make and start with a lot of economy units quickly to overwhelm your opponent with a large number of units in the late stage.

The situation was not exactly the same, but it was similar.

“It will be hard, but let’s stick to the current policy regarding kindergartens. We can’t give up on population growth. Even if it causes problems for other work due to the financial situation.”

“…I understand.”

Straight Tree was the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. He was in charge of managing the nation’s finances.

Of course, Kim Ki-woo’s answer was not what he wanted to hear.

But Straight Tree backed down obediently.

He didn’t want to clash with his lord.

It was decided at this meeting that they would continue to support kindergartens. In other words, they had to reduce the budget for other places.

‘Phew… It’s a good thing that waterwheels and ships are widely spread.’

The industrial power had been steadily rising until now. But they needed a lot of labor to make these consumer goods.

But since waterwheels were being continuously made, they would bring a lot of innovation, especially in the industrial sector.

This would increase production and lower the prices of industrial materials such as cement, bricks, and concrete.

‘But it’s all because of the construction.’

At least when they built buildings, they received a usage fee for a certain period of time.

Of course, the price was very cheap, but it was important that they received it.

But building paved roads…

‘There’s no money-eating hippo like this.’

It was like burying the nation’s finances in the ground.

Private capital was barely showing signs of existence now. Most of the factories were state-owned.

They made huge profits by selling the products produced there.

But most of the budget was spent on this large-scale construction. Kindergartens also contributed a lot to this.

If Kim Ki-woo didn’t stop paving roads and expanding waterwheel industries, and making kindergartens free, this would continue.

‘But all these things are stones for the future.’

Everything was for a better future.

Kim Ki-woo strengthened his wavering mind.

*

The spring of the fifth year of the empire.

It had been five years since waterwheels were introduced.

What was the reason why Skilled Craftsman invented waterwheels?

It was for milling. So in the beginning, waterwheels were made for milling.

But Kim Ki-woo didn’t leave it at that.

Waterwheels were machines with infinite potential. And there were many rivers flowing within the territory of the Wakan Tanka Empire.

The geographical conditions were very good for spreading waterwheels quickly.

So Kim Ki-woo suggested waterwheels for various purposes.

Of course, thanks to the skilled craftsmen who had become proficient enough, Kim Ki-woo didn’t have to make them himself with great care.

“It works well.”

Kim Ki-woo went out for an industrial inspection after a long time.

Now waterwheels were used in many places.

From crushing limestone or rock salt to making bricks or cement, and even providing wind power, they were widely used.

“The industrial district has changed a lot too. The size of the kilns seems to have increased.”

“Of course. They can blow wind more steadily and powerfully with those waterwheels.”

Waterwheels increased the size of kilns.

They could blow wind more strongly and evenly, and naturally get stronger fire power.

This allowed them to bake more quickly and easily in large quantities. This was the main reason why the production of bricks and cement had risen sharply compared to before.

‘But…’

This also caused wood consumption to happen too quickly.

Wood was a precious resource that had many uses.

There were still plenty of wood around, but if they continued to abuse it like this, the nearby wood would soon be depleted.

Ironmaking was also a major factor in depleting wood.

Wood was used first to make charcoal, and then this charcoal was consumed too quickly.

‘The charcoal is running out much faster as the fire power gets stronger.’

In the past, they used low-quality iron with carbon added by carburizing method to make crude steel with insufficient fire power. But now, the situation had changed.

As the technology advanced, the fire power became stronger and stronger. And now, they could even blow strong wind with waterwheels.

This increase in temperature led to the mass production of pig iron. That is, iron.

As the wind power increased, the reduced iron contacted and absorbed carbon for a long time in the furnace, resulting in pig iron.

‘This pig iron has to be refined into steel by using a crucible…’

But that was a difficult task.

Of course, there were also advantages to this.

It was the mass production of iron.

Until now, they had to make wrought iron and then add carbon to make steel. Even with all that effort, the production of steel was very low.

But the production of iron using waterwheels was incomparable to the previous production.

‘Maybe iron is better in this situation.’

Making steel was important, but it was more important to make a lot of iron that could be used for the lives of the imperial citizens.

Iron was good enough to use.

And iron was very easy to use by pouring it into molds and hardening it, so it would be easier to mass-produce many iron products.

Anyway, what he was worried about now was not iron itself, but the wood used to make iron.

‘It’s hard to sustain growth at this rate.’

The lack of wood was proven by history. Wood was a limited resource as fuel as the industry grew bigger and bigger.

In other words, he had to introduce a new alternative to replace wood.

And coincidentally, the Appalachian Mountains were a global source of that alternative, coal.

And it was anthracite, which was good for ironmaking and various industries. And it was even in the form of open-pit mines!

It was the op

timal location for developing the coal industry.

‘This place is truly a blessed continent.’

There was a reason why modern America became the strongest country in the world.

Now, that role would be taken by the Wakan Tanka Empire.

< A Substitute for Wood > The End