Chapter 66

Chapter 66: Budget.

The voices of the department heads gathered in the imperial conference hall were louder than usual.

It couldn’t be helped.

The decision made at this meeting would change the unit of the budget allocated to each department.

“Your Majesty, the cost of entering the central continent’s direct territories is increasing day by day. If we deploy troops to the Andes region in this situation, it will be hard to maintain with the current military budget.”

“We also need more budget for the education department. The money going into the schools and kindergartens that are increasing every day is too much.”

“The industrial department also…”

Kim Ki-woo listened to the complaints of the department heads with a sneer in his mind.

‘Geez… Anyone would think that the empire is about to collapse.’

Of course, most of what the department heads said was true.

As time passed, the budget invested in all fields increased explosively.

But it was also true that there was some exaggeration in their stories.

He knew very well why they were doing this.

The more budget was assigned to their department, the easier it was to do their work for a year.

This decision determined their fate for a year.

“I understand your words well. I will try to reflect your opinions as much as possible, so please wait.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Understood.”

After adjourning the meeting like that.

Kim Ki-woo headed to his office with the interior minister.

“Phew. Every time this happens, they all scream for money.”

“It can’t be helped. Budget is such a sensitive issue, isn’t it?”

Straight Tree answered Kim Ki-woo’s words calmly.

In the current empire, Straight Tree’s position was second only to Kim Ki-woo.

First of all, among the many departments, the interior department had the most power.

It was where the inner minister who assisted Kim Ki-woo belonged.

More importantly, the interior department was also the main body that arranged the budget.

Of course, Kim Ki-woo was deeply involved as he did now.

Moreover, while other department heads had retired long ago and some even became third-generation department heads, Straight Tree’s influence was even stronger in this situation.

Especially since Straight Tree had always been by his side since he arrived, his closest aide.

Thinking so, Straight Tree’s appearance was reflected in Kim Ki-woo’s eyes.

‘He’s gotten old too.’

His hair was white and his face was full of wrinkles.

Straight Tree had also reached his old age before he knew it.

It seemed that he would not be long before he stepped down from his position as interior minister.

‘He should rest a little in his old age…’

Kim Ki-woo brought up this topic again on a whim.

“Don’t you still have any thoughts of retirement?”

At that, Straight Tree smiled faintly.

“My answer is always the same. I will step down from my position as interior minister if you tell me to. But I want to stay by your side until I die. Please grant this old man’s wish.”

“Phew…”

He had seen his father die while working, but Straight Tree’s will did not change.

But Kim Ki-woo could not do to him what he did to other first-generation department heads.

That’s how much Straight Tree meant more to Kim Ki-woo than other department heads.

Kim Ki-woo opened his mouth to break the awkward air.

“Then I’ll make you work very hard until you fall into the arms of spirits. Be prepared.”

“That’s what I wanted.”

“Haha. By the way, is the crown prince behaving well these days?”

“He’s doing very well. He’s learning from me at the moment.”

The crown prince had been an optimistic child since he was young.

He was also very curious, and he acquired various kinds of knowledge.

His immature personality had improved a lot as he grew up. 

Of course, he still had some traces of it.

Recently, he had become a father of a child and his sense of responsibility had increased greatly.

Of course, as long as he was alive, the crown prince would not be able to sit on the throne.

But who knew what would happen in life?

‘No matter how long my lifespan is, I could die from an accident or a natural disaster.’

Kim Kiwoo had always prioritized his health and safety over anything else.

As long as he was alive, he could ensure the continuous development of civilization.

He even stayed in the capital for almost twenty years after returning from the black sky.

Thanks to that, he had not faced any serious threats until now.

But he could not guarantee that this situation would last forever.

‘I have to consider the worst-case scenario.’

If he died without any preparation, humanity would face a high probability of extinction by Narvas.

That’s why Kim Kiwoo had set up some safety measures.

He had written down several key pieces of knowledge that would enable continuous development even if he died by accident.

These pieces of knowledge would be delivered to the crown prince as soon as Kim Kiwoo died.

‘I have to pay attention to the successor’s education.’

No matter how brilliant the knowledge was, if the leader who ruled the country lacked ability, anything could happen.

There were many cases where the country was completely destroyed or the regime was changed after the death of a great founding emperor.

That’s why Kim Kiwoo paid quite a lot of attention to the crown prince’s education.

He made him learn various tasks from the chief of the interior ministry, who had a lot of experience, and he also taught him personally from time to time.

“Don’t be lenient just because he’s the crown prince. Point out his mistakes harshly when you need to. He’ll have to rule over the central continent’s direct territory soon enough!”

“Don’t worry. I won’t let anything slide.”

The Straight Tree was very strict with the crown prince.

Of course, he didn’t expect him to have the incomparable ability of Kim Kiwoo.

But as long as he was chosen as the next emperor, he had to have some ability. 

That was the Straight Tree’s opinion.

If his ability was too inferior compared to Kim Kiwoo, he would surely have trouble governing.

‘I hope he can rule well without any trouble in the direct territory…’

Kim Kiwoo planned to entrust the direct territory to the crown prince.

It was completely different to learn something and to do it in practice.

Of course, it was still a few years later, but as a father, he couldn’t help but feel hopeful and worried about his eldest son.

After exchanging some stories with the Straight Tree,

Kim Kiwoo started to discuss the budget in earnest.

“Hmm. The financial situation seems solid.”

“Yes. Even if we accept most of the requests from the ministers, the empire’s finances will not be in danger.”

Kim Kiwoo nodded his head as he looked at the documents.

The money that went out of the empire’s interior ministry was increasing rapidly as time went by.

This was inevitable as society became more advanced.

But the money that came into the interior ministry rose even faster.

‘This is all thanks to the state-led industrialization.’

Britain had its industry revolutionized by private capital.

They developed their industry from household production to factory production through textile industry, ironmaking, steam engine development, etc.

As private capital grew, bourgeoisie emerged.

Also, due to movements like enclosure, cheap workers flocked to cities.

Through this, gradual changes that were later called industrial revolution occurred.

But the empire was quite different from Britain.

It was none other than the empire’s government that initiated industrialization.

This meant that the concentration of wealth due to the promotion of industry did not happen to individual bourgeois, but to the imperial government.

It was a completely different case.

This was possible because they could distribute the concentrated capital efficiently at the imperial level.

And this tendency would not change easily over time.

‘Of course, this can’t last forever.’

There are many problems when public enterprises become too large.

Since it was not their own company, various corruptions were frequent, and lax management was easy.

So in the distant future, they would need to adjust this situation to some extent.

But that was not now.

It was better to control it firmly by themselves when such explosive social changes occurred like now.

“No matter how strong the finances are, we can’t waste them recklessly.”

Kim Ki-woo said in a strong tone.

There would be no end if he listened to all the demands of the directors.

He thought it was better to invest those money in development rather than that.

Kim Ki-woo wrote a number on the paper.

“Let’s set this amount as the standard. Let’s set the budget of all departments within this amount.”

“Hmm…”

The Straight Tree let out a faint moan.

The budget was much less than he thought.

But as always, the Straight Tree did not make any objections and accepted Kim Ki-woo’s opinion.

“I understand. I will set it as much as possible within this budget and submit a report.”

“Okay. It will be hard, but please do your best. There is no such thing, but if there is a department that complains about the budget, report it immediately. I’ll show them a bitter taste.”

“Haha. I will.”

After the Straight Tree finished the meeting and left.

Kim Ki-woo looked at the remaining budget blankly.

There was an astronomical amount by current standards written there.

A large part of this would be used for purposes such as bridge or road construction, expansion of factories, etc.

But he intended to execute the rest strictly according to his taste.

‘It’s not easy to get funds for research.’

He did not mean only the research he directly ordered or deeply involved in.

Most of this would be invested in numerous researches at universities and Black Sky.

As time passed, the funds needed for one research increased geometrically.

It was natural, as more and more technology, resources, and labor were required for various researches.

One of the representative examples was steam engine.

‘I didn’t even order it.’

With just a hint that heat could be used as power, they came up with the concept of a steam engine.

He was quite surprised when he first heard that story.

But it would surely take a lot of money to develop a steam engine.

Since the technology was not enough yet, they would go through a lot of trial and error.

Of course, he thought it was necessary trial and error, so Kim Ki-woo had been continuously investing generous funds in them since he heard about the development of steam engine.

He also modified a considerable part of their design drawings.

It would take more time for steam engine to be fully developed, but he had no intention of cutting off support until then.

Apart from this, various mechanical and chemical researches were being started.

If he did not have this much spare money, he could never support so many researches simultaneously.

But Kim Ki-woo did not mind spending money like this at all.

‘When these researches start to show results, development will naturally occur.’

Of course, he also liked the fact that he could firmly hold the lead of imperial industry through this.

And…

‘It’s not long left.’

He felt like he could finally execute the plan that he had been preparing for quite a long time.

<The end.>