Chapter 68

Chapter 68: Contact.

After the splendid ship left.

Kim Kiwoo stared blankly at the spot where it had been.

‘I hope they do well.’

He was not an expert in sailing.

He knew that the sailors who had lived on the sea all their lives were better than him in sailing.

That’s why Kim Kiwoo didn’t interfere much with anything related to sailing.

He just made sure to inform them of the purpose, risks, and precautions of this voyage.

He didn’t want them to get wiped out by a plague after contacting the mainland people for too long.

‘There are many other things to worry about.’

The experience and skill of the crew were important, but ocean sailing was not something that could be done with just that.

Kim Kiwoo had prepared a lot to increase the success rate of this plan, and now he could see the end of it.

***

When he issued the ban on ocean sailing in the past.

Kim Kiwoo did not hesitate to develop the basic technology for ocean sailing simultaneously.

Among them, the most important thing he focused on was the measurement of latitude and longitude.

It was quite difficult to find one’s exact location in the middle of the sea with the technology at that time.

“Damn. We’ve deviated from the course again.”

“Do you want to land there?”

“Where do we have time for that? Tell them to turn the ship to port right away!”

When they were going to the islands in the Caribbean Sea, they often ended up in different areas of the island if they went slightly off course.

Of course, in the northern hemisphere, they could use the position of Polaris to calculate latitude, but most of the sailing took place during the day, so it wasn’t very effective.

And even then, it became impossible to measure as they went down near the equator.

But this wasn’t a big problem until now.

Most of the sailing followed the coastline.

But in ocean sailing, measuring latitude and longitude was very important.

What good is having a fairly accurate nautical map?

If you don’t know where your ship is.

If you make a mistake, you could get stuck in a doldrum and be slaughtered.

It wasn’t for nothing that Kim Kiwoo cared about this first.

At least measuring latitude was easier than longitude.

“You can measure latitude using the sun?”

“Yes. Don’t you know that the position of the sun is different depending on latitude?”

“Oh…”

Astronomy was already quite advanced.

It was something that anyone who studied astronomy couldn’t possibly not know.

They just didn’t think of making a device to measure latitude through this.

After that, Kim Kiwoo explained roughly how to make a device to measure latitude.

“I’ll assign some experts to you, so try researching it.”

“Yes. I’ll do that.”

This is how latitude-related research began, but longitude remained.

‘Basically, longitude also uses the sun in the same way…’

To measure longitude, you need to know not only the current position of the sun, but also the exact time.

The problem was that it was hard to get accurate time on board.

‘It’s impossible with a pendulum clock.’

The principle of a pendulum clock was to use a pulley to slowly lower a weight.

But for this, you needed a huge clock tower.

You can’t take a clock tower on board.

Even if you could, there would be crazy errors due to the violent movement of the ship.

‘I need a chronometer.’

A chronometer was a kind of spring clock.

It was made to be less affected by vibration or temperature on board ships.

In order to make a chronometer, you had to develop a spring clock first.

Knowing this well, Kim Kiwoo had been through many trials and errors at the palace’s research complex since springs and gears were made.

The principle of a spring clock was simple.

You wind up a spring on a coil and use its force trying to unwind itself.

At this time, an escapement was needed.

The escapement made sure that the coil unwound at a constant rate.

It was the most important part of a clock without an escapement, the coil would unwind in an instant.

‘But the problem is the escapement…’

Making an escapement took up most of the time in developing a spring clock.

But Kim Kiwoo knew some principles and forms of escapements, so as time went by, he gradually shaped them up.

***

If there was anything as important as locating oneself in ocean sailing at this point in time, it would be the performance of ships.

But Kim Kiwoo wasn’t too worried about this.

Ships played a decisive role in the growth of the empire.

Most of logistics were transported by ships, and no one denied this.

“If we had faster and bigger ships, we could make more money.”

Many merchants who mainly did transportation business always wanted this.

Technology naturally developed according to needs.

Thanks to this, the performance of ships improved day by day.

And by now, some ships that were good enough to go on ocean sailing were appearing.

Of course, they had to change their shape a bit for possible battles, but…

“What do you think? Can you do it?”

“Yes. We can make it. We will report to you as soon as possible.”

“Haha. There’s no need to hurry. You have to sail for a long time, so focus on making it as sturdy as possible.”

“Yes, sir!”

Once the basic shipbuilding technology was established, such modifications were not very difficult.

‘The weapons are also ready.’

The level of firearms in the empire was also growing day by day.

Of course, most of them were still matchlock guns, but flintlock guns that used flint instead of match to ignite were also developed.

At least there seemed to be enough to arm this expedition.

Steel cannons were also much improved compared to the beginning.

‘The weapons are enough for this.’

The current level of firearms was hard to find a match in this era.

‘I don’t think I need to worry too much about scurvy either.’

In the past age of great voyages, many sailors died of scurvy.

Scurvy occurred when there was a lack of vitamin C.

But it was hard to get vitamin C on board during long voyages.

The people at that time didn’t even know the cause of scurvy.

They tried various ways to solve it, but scurvy was cured only after a long time had passed.

However, Kim Kiwoo was well aware of the cause of scurvy, and he had been spreading this knowledge to the imperial sailors for a long time.

Since they sailed along the coast, the sailors could easily consume vegetables and fruits rich in vitamin C on a regular basis.

Of course, ocean voyages would be different, but they could also be solved.

Vegetables could be preserved for a long time by pickling them in salt.

‘And we have kimchi too.’

Green tea was also an excellent source of vitamin C.

At least, there would be fewer sailors suffering from scurvy in the world after their arrival.

Thus, all preparations for ocean voyages were nearing completion.

***

At that moment.

A wind of change blew over the Andes.

“Damn it! Is there really no way out?”

“…The enemy is too strong. We can’t handle them with our power.”

“We can’t surrender now! Do you think they will leave us alone? At least we will all die!”

As the war continued and the factions grew larger, there were also factions that lost their power and faced extinction.

They usually lost their main mines and had difficulty in supply.

It was hard to continue the war with poor supply.

But surrendering to the enemy was not an easy decision either.

The hatred was too deep with blood.

They were in a dilemma.

“Facing them in battle is the worst decision. Wouldn’t it be better to seek asylum in the Wakan Tanka Empire instead?”

“Hmm…”

Cold Wind closed his eyes as he spat out a sigh.

It was not an easy matter to decide.

It was about leaving behind their homeland where they had lived until now.

But he could not think of any other way.

“Is that the only way…”

It would be better than dying in vain by the war, along with many residents.

The weight of the decision tilted slightly.

Then.

Bang!

“Ugh, ugh!”

A messenger kicked open the door of the meeting room.

“What’s going on? Did they attack us?”

“No! It’s, it’s…”

“Don’t beat around the bush and tell me quickly!”

“Th-the imperial envoy has arrived!”

“What?”

“The Wakan Tanka Empire’s envoy?”

“Yes!”

After the messenger finished his words.

The atmosphere of the meeting room became chaotic in an instant.

“Why did they come here?”

“I don’t know… They have no reason to look for us. I can’t think of anything.”

“They came here without any reason? That doesn’t make sense!”

As the warriors’ argument intensified, Cold Wind raised his hand to stop them.

“Enough. We’ll find out their reason when we meet them. Where is the envoy now?”

“They will arrive in the evening!”

“Then let’s meet them as soon as they arrive.”

The meeting took place as Cold Wind wished.

As soon as the envoy arrived at their base, the first negotiation was held.

Right after the negotiation started, both sides exchanged greetings and brief conversations.

But that time was not long.

They went straight to the point as if they were in a hurry.

“Why did you come here, imperial envoy?”

“Haha. Did I come to a place where I shouldn’t have?”

“It’s not that you shouldn’t have come, but it’s not a place you need to come either.”

“That’s true.”

After negotiating with Tawantinsuyu, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs never visited the Andes region directly.

Only merchants went back and forth between the Andes and the empire.

They came here without any reason?

Who would believe such a thing?

The envoy slowly drank cold water and continued his words.

“I heard that things are not going well here.”

Squirm!

At that remark, Cold Wind’s brow twitched.

It was not a pleasant topic of conversation.

But Cold Wind could not deny it.

It was a fact that his faction was in a great crisis right now.

“I see you know well why you came here. I won’t deny it. The situation is indeed unfavorable. It got worse when the empire’s goods decreased.”

As they lost their mines to the enemy, they lacked money to import trade goods, and as a result, their supply decreased.

This led to defeat in combat.

Even at this moment, this vicious cycle was happening.

The imperial merchants never did business at a loss.

The envoy nodded as if he understood.

“It’s a pity. It’s time for this region’s turmoil to subside.”

“…”

Cold Wind was speechless at the envoy’s words.

Of course, trade had been conducted according to their needs so far, but the one who benefited most from the long war was none other than Wakan Tanka Empire.

In other words, it was not something that the imperial envoy should say.

But the envoy did not care about that.

“His Majesty the Emperor does not want this situation either.”

“Is that so?”

Cold Wind’s face showed interest at Kim Kiwoo’s mention.

Kim Kiwoo’s fame was sky-high in the Andes region.

Moreover, since the mission had started for a long time, many Andean people believed in the empire’s spirit.

The empire’s religion was gradually permeating the Andes region.

“Yes. His Majesty is very sorry that the peaceful Andean people are being sacrificed by the continuous war.”

The envoy’s voice became more subtle.

Soon, he leaned forward and revealed his purpose of coming here.