Chapter 89

Chapter 89: Announcement.

“Hmm.”

Kim Kiwoo, who visited the industrial city after a long time, let out a faint sigh as he received the enthusiastic cheers of the citizens of the Black Sky City.

“The air quality is not very good.”

“Yes, it is. It seems to be because of the increase in factories and the use of more coal as a result.”

Kim Kiwoo nodded heavily at the words of the industrial director who accompanied him as usual.

Looking around, he saw black smoke from various factories staining the air with haze.

Of course, it didn’t seem to be at the level of causing smog yet…

‘But it will be soon if we don’t prepare.’

Even at this moment, factories were continuing to grow, and especially now that steel was starting to be mass-produced, this trend would surely accelerate.

Steam engines would be mass-produced, and their power source would be none other than coal.

‘We can’t let that happen.’

The Black Sky was already one of the largest cities in the empire.

It meant that it was a place where countless imperial citizens lived.

Moreover, there were many cities around it, and above all, it was quite close to the capital.

If the Black Sky became literally a city of black smoke, the damage would be unimaginable.

“Industrial director.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I think we can no longer overlook the concentration of industrial facilities. We need to speed up the work of dispersing factories.”

“I understand. I will do my best to do so as soon as I enter the industrial department.”

“I trust you.”

Of course, this was something he had anticipated since he created the industrial city.

But at that time, he had no choice but to concentrate the industrial zone because he lacked enough labor force and wanted to revive the industry faster.

But now the population had increased greatly.

There had always been a steady influx of immigrants to the empire, regardless of the location of the Wacantanga continent, and the birth rate of the empire had been very high since the Creek tribe era.

Wasn’t the motto of the empire to breed and raise as many as possible?

The empire also supported almost all of the accompanying costs, so they were able to maintain a high birth rate.

As a result, the population of the empire now exceeded 25 million.

This was a rapid population explosion that could not be compared with anywhere or any era in the world.

Now cities were being built in several northern regions.

‘Let’s build industrial zones in places with good locations among these places.’

Especially if he wanted to rule over the blessed North American land, he had to build large cities that could serve as centers for each region and develop them evenly.

And these central roles were mostly played by industrial zones.

***

“This is…”

Kim Kiwoo stroked the huge furnace with his right hand.

He felt the cold sensation of steel on his hand, but even that felt very warm.

There was a little difference between this and the Bessemer furnace he had seen in countless pictures before his arrival.

It was inevitable since his technology was behind when Bessemer made his furnace.

But he could tell from just looking at it that it had the same function.

He had implemented this much with just one blueprint.

He felt the hard work of the craftsmen deep in his heart.

“Amazing. You’ve done a great job.”

“We just followed exactly what Your Majesty gave us as a blueprint.”

“Haha. It’s amazing that you completed this with such a vague blueprint.”

“Your Majesty is too kind!”

The craftsmen enjoyed Kim Kiwoo’s praise as if they had gained everything in the world.

After that, Kim Kiwoo stepped back and watched intently as steel was made using the furnace.

‘As expected.’

In less than 30 minutes, about 7 tons of steel had been produced.

This was a production volume that was incomparable to the steel made with the traditional furnace.

And this furnace was just the first prototype.

If the steelmaking process through the furnace was stabilized, it would be possible to produce at least twice as much at once.

Kim Kiwoo witnessed this overwhelming steel production with his own eyes, and finally felt the reality of entering a new era.

Kim Kiwoo continued to visit various factories and research institutes in the industrial city.

After seeing many places in the black sky, Kim Kiwoo realized.

‘We still have a long way to go.’

The industry that used the weak power of water had its limits.

Especially in the metal forming part.

But he did not despair.

Even at this moment, a furnace was being built in the steel mill of the black sky, and when steel was mass-produced through it, steam engines would also be made a lot.

With the power of steam engines, the development of metal processing was a matter of time.

With this, Kim Kiwoo’s short schedule in the industrial city came to an end.

***

It had been quite a long time since Kim Kiwoo returned to the capital.

And during that time, the development of the vaccine had been very sluggish.

There were roughly three methods for cultivating vaccines.

Two of them were impossible with the current technology.

In the end, all they could do was egg yolk cultivation.

Fortunately, there were a lot of chickens in the empire. 

It was because Kim Kiwoo brought eggs before he arrived.

‘It wasn’t intentional.’

He just brought them because it would be advantageous to have improved breeds of chickens wherever he landed.

But as a result, this became a godsend for vaccine production.

The mechanism of egg yolk cultivation was simple.

If you put a weakened virus into an egg yolk, the virus multiplies along with the cell division of the egg yolk.

The virus that multiplied like this is separated by centrifugation or filtration, but now it is only possible to some extent, and complete separation is almost impossible.

Still, it was possible to do this much because they were experimenting with the power of steam engines.

But even though they knew this concept, they failed repeatedly in egg yolk cultivation.

‘It’s hard to keep the egg yolk from spoiling for a long time.’

It took six months to produce a vaccine using egg yolks even before he arrived.

That meant that they had to keep the infected egg yolks stable for a long time.

The biggest problem was how to keep the temperature constant.

‘I really miss air conditioning.’

Since there was no electricity yet, they had no choice but to research how to maintain the temperature by traditional methods.

This naturally took quite some time.

‘Let’s do what we can do right now.’

Kim Kiwoo organized his thoughts and called his aide.

“Did you call me?”

“Is the expedition doing well on the island?”

“Yes. They are all silently following your will.”

“Then let’s bring all the expedition and the livestock that we have raised so far to the mainland.”

“That will reveal the existence of another continent…”

“It doesn’t matter. The time to hide it has passed.”

“I understand. I will deliver it.”

Kim Kiwoo gave orders and reviewed this matter once again.

‘Even though they had contact with many imperial soldiers, there was no significant infection.’

That meant that there was a very slim chance that the plague would spread through them.

Also, the number of livestock, especially pigs, was breeding at an incredible speed, so the island where they stayed was very cramped.

Now was the time to raise them on the mainland and spread them widely.

The last thing he did was to reveal the expedition and the new livestock, in order to announce the discovery of another continent.

‘I already experienced the damage in Europe, and I know what caused the plague. Then there is no need to hide it.’

Of course, some adaptation was necessary, but he needed a justification to spread the vaccination quickly.

***

“Everyone, you have done a great job so far. Now you can leave the island and go back to the mainland. The imperial decree has arrived.”

“Is that true?”

“Yes. If you wish, you can leave the island right now.”

Kim Kiwoo’s order was delivered to the expedition that had been trapped on the island for a long time.

The colorful buffalo and the sailors who heard this cheered with joy.

“Hahaha! Finally, we can go back to the mainland!”

“Long live the emperor!”

The sailors’ actions were very fast.

They left the island without looking back and headed for the imperial mainland.

Meanwhile, as the expedition returned to the empire.

Kim Kiwoo published in the imperial newspaper about the existence and achievements of the European expedition, their sacrifices, the livestock they brought, and a brief situation of the European continent.

“Is this really true? The news of discovering another continent.”

“Come to think of it, quite a long time ago, there was an incident where many excellent sailors disappeared. I guess most of them were part of the expedition.”

“They are truly heroes!”

The content published in the imperial newspaper overturned all public opinion in an instant.

The imperial citizens gathered in groups and talked about the European expedition.

“Haha! I knew there was another continent!”

“Ahh. So that’s why His Majesty banned exploration of the far sea… He is truly a great spirit. He saw through this situation!”

The most talked-about part was the tragedy that occurred after the expedition made contact with Europeans.

The concept of plague and immunity was already widely spread in the empire.

Therefore, they could infer what caused the death of the expedition.

Above all, Kim Kiwoo explained this in detail in the imperial newspaper, so the imperial citizens understood the situation more clearly.

They had no immunity to their plague because there was no exchange between continents for a long time, and through this, many of them died.

“What if he didn’t ban exploration…”

“Maybe we would have all died like them.”

“Ugh… It’s horrible just to think about it!”

The imperial citizens shuddered at the thought of this possibility.

At the same time, they naturally admired Kim Kiwoo’s brilliant insight.

This was when public opinion was focused on the discovery of another continent.

Finally, the European expedition arrived at the capital.

Wow!

Whistle! Whiiii!

“Uh…”

“What is this…!”

As soon as they crossed the road with colorful buffalo and sailors, various livestock and European goods led by imperial soldiers, they were greeted by imperial citizens who filled their surroundings with cheers like wildfire.

Flowers petals fluttered on their path, and respect filled their faces as they looked at them.

“Haha. Why are you all so nervous? Don’t be so scared. We are the first people to visit that faraway continent! So let’s walk proudly with our shoulders straight!”

At Colorful Buffalo’s shout, sailors who had lost their spirits finally smiled and began marching.

The march lasted for a long time.

But as there is a beginning, there is an end.

Before long, they arrived at their destination, the palace.

Creak!

The palace gate opened with a loud noise.

“Enter.”

“…Yes!”

The European expedition passed through the gate proudly.

But surprise happened after that.

“Your Majesty!”

“Gasp! How did you come here…!”

It was because Kim Kiwoo came out to greet them at the gate himself.

This was enough to surprise even Colorful Buffalo who had not been flustered by anything so far.

There was never a case where Kim Kiwoo came out to greet someone like this before.

Was it because of that?

Even the imperial citizens who watched from behind did not cheer anymore.

Kim Kiwoo ignored this atmosphere and approached Colorful Buffalo and hugged him tightly.

“You will be recorded as heroes who saved tens of millions of imperial citizens.”

“Huh? What do you mean…”

Kim Kiwoo then hugged every sailor once and whispered similar words in their ears.

This is how the European expedition’s triumphant return finally took place.