Chapter 87

Chapter 87: Mass Production

There were quite a few holidays in the empire.

However, most of them were to commemorate Kim Ki-woo’s achievements, such as the day he arrived, the founding day of the empire, his birthday, the day he first announced the Korean alphabet, the day he first produced iron, and so on.

This was partly because the history of the Wakan Tanka Empire was short, but also because it meant that Kim Ki-woo had accomplished many things in the empire.

Of course, there was no such thing as Christmas or any other Western holiday.

The most important event at the end of the year was only one: the medal ceremony.

This year, too, everything passed by, and the day of the medal ceremony finally came.

‘This year’s recipients are quite impressive.’

Not only the imperial college, but also several other colleges had settled down by now, and there were many scholars as well.

Moreover, since the development of the microscope, the level of research had been improving day by day.

Many scholars had worked hard to discover or invent new concepts and phenomena for the first time, like the discovery of microorganisms.

Among them, this year was especially remarkable for its academic progress.

“There are a lot of medal recipients this year.”

“Looking at those brilliant scholars, I think the future of the empire is very bright.”

“Haha! I think so too.”

The ministers who attended the medal ceremony also admired the many recipients.

Kim Ki-woo scanned with his eyes the few scholars who had achieved outstanding academic results among the numerous scholars.

After a while, the official medal ceremony began.

The first ones to receive medals were the elite researchers who belonged to the research complex in the palace.

They certainly had Kim Ki-woo’s help, but they were also the ones who had achieved excellent research results, so every year there were always medal recipients from them.

“You’ve done a great job. Keep up the good work.”

“Yes. I will do my best.”

Kim Ki-woo awarded medals to each of them and gave them compliments.

After all the researchers in the research complex received their medals, a scholar named Bright Moon came up to Kim Ki-woo.

“Are you Bright Moon?”

“Your Majesty, it is an honor that you call my name!”

“Haha. How can I not know a scholar who developed a wonderful device called a battery? You’ve worked very hard.”

“Thank you!”

Bright Moon received his medal with tears in his eyes.

Kim Ki-woo looked at him and thought briefly.

‘A battery.’

The concept of electricity had existed before the empire was established, and there were quite a few scholars who wanted to study electricity.

But no one had achieved as much as Bright Moon in this field.

Although it was an early type of battery that could only be used in a laboratory, making a battery was a very remarkable feat.

Kim Ki-woo knew how important electricity was as an energy source.

It was the energy that would form the basis of modern human society.

As time went by, Bright Moon’s research results would shine even more.

And he was still conducting various researches on electricity, so he might be able to achieve even greater results.

‘That’s something that can be done gradually.’

Electricity was not that urgent yet.

It would be ideal if it was developed naturally by scholars like this.

As Bright Moon stepped down, another great scholar came up next.

‘He’s very big.’

Kim Ki-woo admired the man in front of him, who had colorful feathers on him.

He was at least a head taller than himself.

Not only that, but his muscular physique was clearly visible through his clothes.

He looked like a warrior rather than a scholar, who would have succeeded even if he became one.

‘The world is really unfair.’

He was a man who had everything in the world. 

He had a handsome face, a superb physique, and an astounding academic achievement.

“How have you been?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Haha. I was sorry to let you leave the palace. You have worked very hard.”

“I am humbled.”

“I hope you will continue to contribute greatly to the advancement of chemistry.”

“Yes.”

Splendid Feather bowed gracefully.

He was a scholar who had been in the laboratory of the research complex for quite a long time, so Kim Kiwoo conversed with him comfortably.

Kim Kiwoo thought as he handed him the medal.

‘I hope that not only oxygen, but also the properties of other substances will be revealed soon.’

Splendid Feather captured oxygen from oxidized substances and conducted experiments.

He confirmed that the candle grew bigger as the concentration of oxygen increased, and discovered that oxygen played a decisive role in the combustion of fire.

He also confirmed that this oxygen caused oxidation reactions.

This was very meaningful chemically.

As Splendid Feather stepped down from the podium,

A man who looked like he would only do research in a shabby room, Bright Smile, approached Kim Kiwoo with a nervous smile.

Bright Smile kept his head down and twisted his body this way and that in front of Kim Kiwoo.

“Did you say your name was Bright Smile?”

“Y-yes.”

“Why are you so nervous?”

“Well… I can’t believe I’m getting this medal…”

Kim Kiwoo smiled faintly as he listened to his creeping voice.

“Your discovery is worth receiving this medal. Come here and take it.”

“R-really…?”

Even though Kim Kiwoo said so, Bright Smile still hesitated, but he accepted the medal that Kim Kiwoo handed him.

“I hope you will surprise me with your brilliant research in the future. Haha!”

Kim Kiwoo patted his shoulder as he said so.

“Y-yes…”

Bright Smile finally smiled faintly.

Kim Kiwoo enjoyed seeing his appearance.

He was such a timid and gloomy man, but he would later be called the father of genetics.

He discovered the laws of inheritance through plant experiments.

This revealed dominance and recessiveness, which would surely serve as the most basic foundation for the development of biology in the future.

After that, many scholars received medals regardless of their fields.

There were philosophers, and even those who left great marks in the arts, such as writers, musicians, sculptors, etc.

Mathematicians were no exception.

‘Of course, if I were to receive a medal, I should receive the most.’

The person who achieved the most outstanding results regardless of science, philosophy, art, mathematics, etc. was none other than Kim Kiwoo.

But Kim Kiwoo had no intention of receiving a medal.

It was not a good picture for him, the emperor of the empire, to receive such a medal.

Thus, all the medal awards came to an end.

Kim Kiwoo looked down at all the recipients who sat down with elated expressions and began his speech.

“You have all worked hard to devote yourself to research in your respective fields. The medals you received today are just a small reward for your efforts. Your names will remain in the history books of the empire and will be passed on to future generations for a long time.”

“Ah…!”

A small sigh escaped as Kim Kiwoo asserted this. 

It was a heartwarming word.

Most scholars wanted to leave a big mark in their fields.

“But I believe in your potential. I am sure that the scholars in front of me will achieve even more outstanding results and face me again in this place. Am I wrong in saying this?”

“No!”

“We will definitely stand here again!”

The faces of the elites, who could be called the best in the empire, were engraved with their determination once again.

***

The end of the year passed and finally the beginning of the year, the founding anniversary, came back.

And the list of last year’s medal recipients and their achievements spread throughout the empire through newspapers.

“Damn it.”

Hot Anvil crumpled the newspaper instinctively after checking all the names.

It was very hard for him to watch the glory of other scholars, artists, and craftsmen.

The reason he became a craftsman was to receive that brilliant medal directly from the great emperor himself.

But he had no talent for studying or artistic sense, so he naturally became a craftsman.

And he had been working hard until now, reducing his sleeping and eating time.

Thanks to that, he became a renowned craftsman in the Black Sky Research Institute.

‘But you didn’t achieve enough to get a medal, did you?’

Among the medal recipients, there was even a young scholar who was only twenty-seven years old.

Of course, he was an exceptional case, but as a forty-something Hot Anvil, he couldn’t help but feel relatively deprived.

‘But it’s not much left.’

He was really confident this time.

If he completed this research that he was overseeing now, he would surely be able to participate in the medal award ceremony at the end of this year, or at least by the end of next year.

He had already set up most of the processes by now.

Hot Anvil swallowed his anger and headed to the research institute located in Black Sky.

“You’re here.”

Inside the research institute, as he headed to his team, his subordinate craftsmen greeted him.

“Yeah. Finish what you were doing.”

“Yes.”

After finishing his words, Hot Anvil quickly checked each process again.

‘You can’t fail.’

He had already failed twice because of trivial mistakes.

And he had eaten up a considerable part of the allocated research budget.

If he failed again this time, his team might be ruined.

“Is there anything wrong here?”

“No. It’s exactly as we checked two days ago.”

“Check it again.”

“What?”

“Check it again. It might have been twisted two days ago.”

“…Okay.”

So Hot Anvil checked every little thing with his own eyes like an obsession.

That took another few days.

“It seems like there’s really nothing wrong now.”

“Hmm… Good. Then let’s start the test run.”

“Yes!”

As the start signal finally came after a long time of maintenance, the faces of the craftsmen brightened up sharply.

They ran quickly to the steam engine, which was the only one in the research institute.

This steam engine was what Hot Anvil’s research was all about.

It showed how much interest there was in his research even within the research institute.

“It’s working! Be careful everyone!”

While Hot Anvil was concentrating.

The steam engine heated up and started to spin.

Squeak!

Whoo!

Soon, a loud noise was heard, and the long conveyor belt started to move slowly by the power of the steam engine.

Hot Anvil watched the whole process with eagle eyes.

He had succeeded until this part last time, but the conveyor belt’s accessories couldn’t withstand the power of the steam engine and broke.

But this time was quite different from last time.

The conveyor belt kept moving steadily forward even as time passed.

‘Good!’

Hot Anvil clenched his fist tightly.

It was because the conveyor belt was moving at a constant speed even after more than an hour had passed.

He looked at the conveyor belt and was sure.

‘This will surely bring a huge improvement in productivity.’

Of course, he didn’t know when he could use the steam engine in the factory, but he was sure that it would completely change the appearance of the factory over time.

He believed that it was much faster for several people to do one thing continuously than for one person to do all the work by himself.

‘And this is just the beginning.’

The world that Hot Anvil dreamed of was where these machines replaced human labor and produced goods endlessly.

Of course, it would take more time for Hot Anvil’s thoughts to come true.

The concepts of division of labor and standardization were not firmly established yet, and not only was steel scarce, but metal processing technology also had to develop further for Hot Anvil’s imagination to become reality.

But what was certain was that the concept of mass production of small products had begun to emerge in the empire.