Chapter 48

< 48. Calamity. >

“Hmm.”

Kim Kiwoo was constantly informed of the news from the Lightning Guild.

It was inevitable, since he had used a foreign affairs official as an interpreter.

“Thanks to this, the already expensive sugar price will be a bit cheaper.”

The Lightning Guild had grown significantly from this incident.

Kim Kiwoo looked at it positively.

He wanted the private capital to grow.

People were sensitive to their own interests.

If they could earn more wealth, they would do their best.

“Of course, I have to intervene so that they don’t go too far.”

Everything had its limits.

There would be people who would not hesitate to do anything to accumulate wealth.

But Kim Kiwoo was confident that he could stop them.

As long as Kim Kiwoo, who had absolute power, was holding on, the private capital would not surpass the political power.

It was rather encouraging to solve the shortcomings of the empire and expand its power like this.

Kim Kiwoo took the opportunity to check how the empire’s economy was doing.

The situation of the numerous guilds. And the average wealth status of the imperial citizens.

“Very good.”

Kim Kiwoo smiled. 

The more he looked into it, the more he liked the results.

The Wakan Tanka Empire had grown by absorbing many tribes. 

Now there were many second-generation imperial citizens, but most of the adults were first and 1.5 generations.

Moreover, before the Wakan Tanka Empire, there was no decent private capital.

In other words, almost all imperial citizens started from a similar capital situation.

“The most important thing is that the average wage of the empire is high.”

Thanks to that, the imperial citizens were able to accumulate a considerable amount of wealth over time.

Was that why?

The polarization of the empire was very low.

It was not a situation where some privileged classes monopolized most of the wealth, like in other continental countries.

There were hardly any extremely poor or rich people in the empire, but instead, the middle class was very solid.

“They are all capable of consuming.”

How could people like farmers or tenant farmers who were extremely poor buy anything?

They were just concerned about their daily survival.

But the Wakan Tanka Empire citizens were different.

They were relatively free from their subsistence problems.

Basically, they had plenty of food because they had various modern seeds, guano, iron farming tools, and fertile land. And thanks to that, the prices were also low.

“A typical example is sugar.”

Sugar was not something that had to be eaten.

It was a kind of luxury item.

But the demand for sugar did not decrease, but continued to increase.

Wasn’t it because of this phenomenon that the price of sugar soared?

The imperial citizens enjoyed a moderate luxury with their money left after solving their food problems.

“There is a reason why the market grows so much even before the currency reform.”

The domestic market needed demand to support it.

But since the middle class who could consume was holding on so firmly, it was natural that the domestic market grew.

“And when the currency starts to flow into the market…”

Kim Kiwoo picked up the gold and silver coins that were on one corner of his desk.

These were the two types of currency that he was busy producing right now.

Both gold and silver coins had Kim Kiwoo’s face on them.

Of course, the back sides were different.

The back side of the gold coin had a picture of wheat and corn, and the back side of the silver coin had a picture of a steel sword.

They were symbols that made Wakan Tanka what it was today.

Of course, that wasn’t all.

Kim Kiwoo stroked the edge of the currency.

“It’s rough.”

There was a sawtooth shape engraved on the edge at regular intervals.

Of course, it wasn’t a fine and perfect sawtooth shape like modern currency.

But it was the best they could do at this point in time.

They engraved this sawtooth shape to prevent financial crimes that could happen in the future.

“If they don’t engrave it, they’ll shave off the edge.”

The value of all currency had to be constant.

But without this safety device, it would be hard to maintain it.

People would surely shave off the edge of the currency.

But now that they had engraved a sawtooth shape on the edge, no matter which part they shaved off, it would be obvious.

“It’s not much left now.”

The mass production of currency was nearing its end.

Finally, it was time to implement the currency reform that he had been preparing for a long time.

The empire’s economy grew rapidly even without currency.

What if currency took its place in this situation?

“The economic growth of the empire will be boosted.”

The economy of a nation was always important regardless of time.

Kim Kiwoo’s brain started to spin with happiness.

***

The Wakan Tanka Empire quickly recovered from the fatigue of war.

After the conscription order was lifted, most of the imperial citizens returned to their workplaces.

The central continent was still chaotic, but at least the direct control area was stable.

There was no force that dared to provoke the imperial army stationed in the direct control area.

The ships that had been gathered during the war also found their own places.

The construction that had been stopped for a while due to the war with the Aztecs resumed.

But nothing in the world was always good.

The Wakan Tanka Empire also faced a series of major disasters.

“…How is the situation?”

“Yes. We have evacuated as many imperial citizens as possible from the area, but… Unfortunately, many imperial citizens could not escape from the disaster.”

“Hmm…”

Kim Kiwoo let out a sigh.

‘This damn hurricane.’

Natural disasters like hurricanes were annual events that happened every year.

The Wakan Tanka Empire was located in the southeast of the North American continent.

This area was prone to hurricanes.

That’s why the empire suffered more damage from natural disasters as it expanded to the surrounding areas.

But this hurricane was the biggest one since Kim Kiwoo arrived.

As a result, the damage was very serious.

Floods occurred in many places and many areas were submerged. The people who couldn’t escape from there had uncertain fates.

‘Most of them…’

He hoped they survived, but realistically, their chances of survival were slim.

There was no way they could breathe underwater. They were not fish.

But the imperial citizens were quite familiar with hurricanes, so they evacuated as quickly as possible as soon as the evacuation order was issued.

Thanks to that, they avoided the worst situation.

But the disaster that hit the empire didn’t end there.

The proverb that bad things come in threes fit perfectly this time.

‘Of all times, a plague now.’

No, to be precise, a huge hurricane landed on the imperial mainland while a plague was spreading.

‘I can’t ignore the plague any longer.’

Not only plagues from other continents, but also plagues that occurred spontaneously.

This was an inevitable phenomenon as civilization progressed.

The current Wakan Tanka Empire had developed incomparably to the past when they lived by hunting and gathering.

Many people were densely living in various cities and towns, including the capital.

And chickens and llamas, which were livestock, became common.

When population density and living with livestock increased, more plagues occurred and spread. 

It was the law of nature.

And now they were traveling to and from the central continent and the south continent by ship.

As a result, Kim Kiwoo also encountered unfamiliar plagues that were prevalent now.

“Sanitation Director.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Did you get the results?”

As soon as the plague broke out, Kim Kiwoo ordered the sanitation director to do one thing.

That was to find the transmission route of the plague.

Kim Kiwoo knew well that plagues spread in different ways.

There was no technology to make vaccines right now.

In other words, in the current situation, the best thing to do was to block the transmission route so that the plague would not spread.

The sanitation director continued.

“Yes. You were right, Your Majesty. There was a problem with the well water that the patients drank. Most of them drank from the same well.”

“Hoo… I see.”

Kim Kiwoo sighed with relief.

It wasn’t a plague that spread by contact with a long incubation period like smallpox.

They avoided the worst situation at least.

Waterborne plagues did not spread unless they drank water contaminated with bacteria or viruses.

The famous cholera and typhoid fever were such waterborne plagues.

There was no sewerage system in the current empire.

That meant that they either dug wells to drink water or drank from flowing rivers.

Among them, this plague spread through wells.

‘It’s good that we found out the cause.’

If Kim Kiwoo hadn’t ordered to investigate the transmission route of the plague, they would have drunk contaminated water without knowing it and the plague would have spread more.

But now that they had identified it, they could prevent the plague to some extent.

“It seems that well water made people sick. What do you think?”

“I agree with you.”

The sanitation director agreed with Kim Kiwoo’s words.

At first, he was puzzled when he received an order to investigate wells while people were dying from diseases.

But as he investigated more and more, his doubts were quickly resolved.

It was clear that those who got sick drank from the same well.

‘Your Majesty knows everything.’

The sanitation director admired Kim Kiwoo’s insight and unfathomable knowledge. At the same time, his reverence for Kim Kiwoo deepened.

“Then close those wells right away so that people can’t drink water from them.”

“I already took measures to prevent people from drinking water from those wells. Don’t worry, Your Majesty.”

Kim Kiwoo nodded at his words.

Thanks to the quick action of the sanitation department, it seemed that the damage from the plague would be reduced further.

“Also, write about this plague in the newspaper and let everyone know.”

“I will do that.”

With this, Kim Kiwoo did everything he could do for now.

But his worries didn’t go away.

‘I’m worried about the future.’

As time passed, population density would progress more and more. 

And as they interacted with distant regions, there would be plenty of opportunities for various plagues to appear.

And when that range expanded to other continents…

‘It will face the greatest crisis.’

Of course, he had no intention of ignoring this obvious crisis. 

He planned to deal with plagues step by step in the future.

But now was the time to think about the current plague.

Once they decided to close the contaminated wells, they could curb the momentum of the plague.

‘But to overcome this completely, I have to install water pipes as soon as possible.’

Since waterborne plagues had already appeared, they could break out again at any time.

Not only because of plagues, but also water problems had to be solved and moved on as soon as possible.

The population was dense in large cities like the capital.

As a result, drinking water was always scarce.

In the end, the construction of water pipes was essential.

‘Sigh. I thought I could rest a bit after the war.’

Rest my ass.

He had to recover from the damage caused by the strongest hurricane since his arrival and deal with the plague.

And now he had to start building water pipes that he had postponed.

< Calamity. > The end