Chapter 93

Chapter 93: The Influence of Europe.

For a while, everything that came from the unfamiliar land of Europe was a hot topic in the imperial mainland.

As the number of European livestock was secured to some extent, Kim Ki-woo built zoos in major cities and showed the livestock to the imperial citizens.

The imperial citizens who visited the zoo were amazed by the animals they had never seen before, and the one that elicited the most intense reaction was none other than the horse.

“Do they really ride these big animals in the New World?”

“Haha. They are more gentle than they look. Why don’t you try riding one?”

“Um…”

The man hesitated at the breeder’s words.

He was afraid of falling off the animal’s back.

But since he had come this far, he wanted to try it, so he closed his eyes and nodded his head.

“Good choice. Now, step on this saddle and…”

The man followed the breeder’s instructions and jumped onto the horse’s back.

“Wow!”

He exclaimed involuntarily as his view widened in an instant.

However, horses were still limited, so they could not be used for transportation purposes yet.

On the other hand, there was an animal that quickly multiplied and blended into the mainland at this very moment, and that was none other than the pig.

A sow gave birth to 8 to 12 piglets at a time, and could get pregnant 2 to 3 times a year.

Moreover, they became fertile after about 8 months of birth, and their gestation period was less than 4 months.

Thanks to these characteristics, pigs had an astonishing reproductive rate compared to other mammals.

In fact, most of the reason why the island became crowded with livestock was because of pigs.

Of course, pigs were not as versatile as other livestock such as cows, sheep, or horses.

They were mostly for meat production.

As the number of pigs increased, naturally, the imperial citizens also started to eat pigs.

And they all marveled at them.

“Huh! It’s very greasy and delicious!”

“It’s totally different from cows or chickens, isn’t it?”

The imperial citizens were captivated by the rich fat and texture of pigs.

Of course, they were not only interested in pigs, but also in other livestock.

“Is this a new outfit?”

“Haha. Have you heard of sheep?”

“Oh! The livestock that came from the New World?”

“You know everything, ma’am.”

“Hoho. As an imperial citizen, I have to know at least this much. So, is this made from sheep’s wool?”

“That’s right. Would you like to try it on?”

“Sure.”

The woman gladly accepted the offer from the clothing store clerk.

After trying on a woolen coat, she exclaimed in admiration.

“Wow! It’s so soft and warm.”

“Isn’t it? It’s a different dimension from the cotton clothes that are everywhere in the market. That’s why many ladies are ordering clothes made from wool.”

“This too?”

“Haha. That’s what I saved for you. Are you not going to buy it?”

“Hohoho! You know my mind well, don’t you? Then I’ll take this.”

She said cheerfully, and the expensive woolen coat found its owner.

The clerk’s words were not a lie.

Sheep were not as prolific as pigs.

As a result, sheep were scarce, and so was wool.

Moreover, many of the wealthy were captivated by the luxury of wool and competed to buy clothes made of wool, which drove the prices sky-high.

Of course, as time passed and sheep became more common, the prices would naturally go down.

Unlike pigs and sheep, cows did not receive much attention.

They were only curious about the gentle cows, since they did not have enough of them to use for farming yet.

But among the cows, there was one that was particularly popular, and that was the dairy cow.

“My goodness. So much milk comes out…”

“It doesn’t taste bad either. I think we can make delicious food with this milk if we process it well.”

In the continent of Wakan Tanka, where there were only fierce wild cows, the existence of dairy cows with abnormally developed udders was a novelty.

The concept of dairy products was scarce for the imperial citizens, but with the import of dairy cows, the consumption of dairy products finally began in the empire.

***

If these amazing livestock left a big impression on the general imperial citizens, then Europe was different for each specific class.

Among them, the artists were shocked by seeing various artworks such as paintings, sculptures, European clothes, and objects that came from Europe.

“How can they be so beautiful!”

“Ah, I see. They can express themselves in this way!”

It was around the late 14th century when the Renaissance era began, and it was now reaching its maturity. 

Its beauty gave the imperial artists countless inspirations.

In addition, they learned various architectural techniques by looking at the landscapes and architectural styles of Europe in the paintings.

Of course, in the case of clothing, they were only curious, since the empire’s clothing had been developing so much. 

The same was true for various household items such as dishes and cutlery.

“I want to go to this new continent called Europe once. How beautiful it would be to see it in person.”

“This is not the time for that. How can we be inferior to them in terms of art when we have the great blessings of the spirits?”

“You’re right. We have to work harder.”

The European Renaissance was a great motivation for the artists and architects, and it became an opportunity for Wakan Tanka’s art to leap forward.

This was not only their story.

Numerous books came from Europe, and many of them were translated by diplomats who learned European languages, except for some subversive books.

The translated books were printed in a flash at the printing houses that had grown enormously and spread throughout the empire.

Even the native aristocrats of the Central and South continents tried to get these books somehow.

Especially among them, books on philosophy and thought were very popular.

Thanks to Kim Ki-woo, the current level of civilization was better than Europe in many aspects, but Eurasia’s civilization had been much longer than Wakan Tanka’s continent.

The philosophies that had accumulated over this period were very profound to the imperial citizens.

“It makes perfect sense even though it’s from a faraway country.”

“Indeed, the world is wide and there are many great people.”

“They had such thoughts from a long time ago. I admire them.”

The scholars were deeply immersed in the arguments of numerous thinkers regardless of East or West.

Of course, there were many absurd stories for the scholars as well.

“Haha. Geocentrism? There was someone who claimed that a long time ago.”

“What geocentrism? Hasn’t it been proven that the earth orbits around the sun?”

“That’s not all. The books from the new continent have too many nonsense stories. They are very different from reality.”

It was understandable that scholars reacted this way when Europe still believed things that had already been verified as false on the mainland.

But they also read stories that gave them lessons or inspiration, excellent proverbs and philosophies, and increased their level of culture.

***

Of course, not all books that came from Europe played a good role.

To know Europe’s history, one had to know their religion.

Religion had caused so many wars until now.

Even relatively recently in 1453, Constantinople fell to the Islamic Ottoman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire was destroyed.

Even before that, there were eight Crusades that spanned two centuries from the end of the 11th century. 

They were also wars between Islam and Christianity.

In order to know Europe, one inevitably had to know their religion as well.

And their religion was not well received by the empire’s fervent believers of the spirit faith.

“Ha, they think there is no other god than theirs? Then what about the spirits?”

“That makes sense.”

The spirit faith had many great spirits, and it also acknowledged the possibility of other gods besides spirits.

If not, they would have persecuted the natives who believed in other gods long ago.

The imperial citizens only believed that the spirits they worshiped were more glorious than other gods.

But the Westerners did not seem to accept other religions.

They had a history of oppression and struggle against other religions, such as the Inquisition.

So the imperial citizens could not be happy with the European religion.

They could foresee that in the future, when intercontinental exchanges began, the empire’s spirits and many other gods in the Wakan Tanka continent would be branded as heretics by Europe.

But that was only a prediction for the future. 

It might not have been a big deal if it ended with some people’s worries.

Unfortunately, at some point, public opinion on this matter began to flare up.

The person who ignited the fire was none other than a reporter from a newspaper company.

“Hmm. The European religion… This could make a good story if I spin it well.”

Almost all of the imperial citizens believed in spirits.

The reporter judged that any religious story would sell well, and published a very provocative article in the newspaper.

Of course, if he published false facts, the newspaper could be shut down, so the content was based on facts.

The reporter candidly reported on the atrocities that the European Inquisitors had done to believers of other gods.

But when he wrote down what they had done to the heretics, it became very explicit.

In short, the imperial citizens who only read this newspaper frowned.

“How can they do such horrible things just because they believe in a different god?”

“Are those bastards who kidnapped, tortured, and killed missionaries any different from those Inquisitors?”

Especially since they had recently sent imperial troops to the central continent because of the kidnapping, torture, and murder of missionaries, the imperial citizens recalled this.

As a result, their perception of Europeans deteriorated rapidly.

As the European religion became a hot topic, other newspapers also rushed to publish articles, and for a while, the European religion became a hot potato.

As the situation went like this, Kim Ki-woo appealed through the Imperial Newspaper.

“I hope you refrain from making unnecessary assumptions about the religion of the New World. They have not yet denied the great spirits directly. You can discuss this after they insult the great spirits.”

Thanks to Kim Ki-woo’s timely intervention, public opinion on religion did not spread further.

It was true that as Kim Ki-woo said, the European religious authorities had not designated the spirit faith as heresy yet.

Of course, it was only natural since they did not know about spirits yet.

‘Hmm. I’m worried about the future.’

He managed to get over this somehow, but the problem was after he actually interacted with Europe.

‘Will Europeans accept the spirit faith as it is?’

Thanks to the spirit faith, it was much easier to rule and develop the empire so far.

But as the world gradually connected in the future, the spirit faith would also spread quietly in Europe.

At that time, it was uncertain whether the religious authorities would accept the spirit faith.

No, it seemed likely that they would clash.

‘I don’t want to make war over religious issues.’

He did not want to experience something like the conflict between Christianity and Islam.

But Kim Ki-woo was an incarnation of a spirit in the spirit faith.

It meant that he was in a difficult position to let go when great spirits were insulted.

‘I’ll have to think more about it.’

It was a problem that he would have to think about later since it had not happened yet.