Chapter 117

Chapter 117: Unification of the Continent.

A lot of time had passed since the empire had supported many things at the national level, and they gradually settled down.

First of all, by continuously increasing the scale of vaccine production, most of the imperial citizens had developed immunity to various infectious diseases.

In the meantime, epidemics of diseases from the Eurasian continent and those that had existed or newly emerged in the Wakan Tanka continent had caused damage through various routes, but thanks to the vaccination, they avoided fatal situations.

The ones who suffered the most were the Andes people.

It was not even worth mentioning the mainland, and since vaccines had been distributed in the region after it was subjugated by the empire, that was why.

“Ah, our choice was right. If we hadn’t joined the empire back then, how many people would have died by now…”

“You can see it by looking at the people of the southern continent, right?”

The imperial citizens of the central continent sighed with relief that they had avoided some of the disasters.

Moreover, as time passed, their region was developed, a lot of money was invested, and the economy was revitalized, so the satisfaction of the residents soared to the sky.

“Long live the great emperor of the empire!”

“May Wakan Tanka last forever!”

Woo-hoo!

This kind of cheering that praised Kim Ki-woo and the empire was a common sight in the central continent at this time.

On the other hand, the atmosphere in the Andes region naturally worsened.

“Damn it. Why do we have to live like this?”

“They buy vaccines with expensive money for themselves, and they don’t blink an eye at us dying.”

“It’s always been like this since before. Look at the empire! Everyone lives equally under His Majesty and enjoys wealth and glory!”

“Now even the central continent, which used to be like us, is receiving that benefit.”

It doesn’t hurt as much as you might think when someone who has always lived well lives better.

The most painful thing is when those who were similar to you suddenly live well.

That’s how the Andes people saw the residents of the central continent.

Moreover, the factions of Andes had purchased vaccines with expensive money to survive from infectious diseases.

This greatly provoked Andes people who were already hostile.

Among them, some radical figures even tried to imitate what the residents of central continent had done before.

Eventually, most of the factions that still had solid power gathered in one place.

“…I think everyone’s situation is similar. If we stay like this, we’ll really end up like nobles of central continent.”

“I expected it a bit when they invaded us with that ridiculous military neutral zone, but it ended up like this.”

“Sigh. It seems impossible for us to go against this huge flow with our own hands. Some factions have already subjugated themselves to the empire faster than us.”

“I agree.”

“In a way, it’s good. If we just maintain our wealth that we’ve accumulated so far, we can live comfortably in empire’s mainland.”

The meeting continued after that, but there was no conversation that deviated from initial atmosphere.

The conclusion was to voluntarily subjugate themselves to empire unlike central continent.

They informed their intentions to empire’s foreign ministry.

But the reaction of foreign ministry envoy was lukewarm.

“I heard you want to become part of the empire.”

“Yes. We will give you all control over the region we have ruled so far and accept the empire’s law.”

“You know well that means you will become ordinary commoners, right?”

“Of course we know.”

The factions had already given up their status to escape the threat of death, so there was no disagreement.

But even so, envoy’s face did not relax.

It was because he did not like the proposal they wrote next.

“But… you want us to recognize your wealth that you’ve earned so far?”

Gulp!

As the most sensitive issue came out finally, tension appeared on the faces of factions.

“That’s right. Isn’t that our legitimate wealth? You’ve been recognizing the wealth of Andes people who were loyal to the empire long ago.”

“No. This is different from that. I’ll tell you clearly, but I can’t acknowledge all of your assets.”

“No, why not? We’re giving up all of our rights, aren’t we?”

“Haha. You seem to be a bit slow to grasp the situation. It’s not good for you to raise your voice at me like that.”

“…Ugh!”

As the envoy spoke coldly with a smile, their excitement gradually subsided.

“Twenty percent!”

The envoy spread two fingers and shouted loudly.

“The empire will only recognize twenty percent of your assets. The rest of your assets will be used for the development of the southern continent.”

“Hmm… Twenty percent, you say. How can we live if we can only take that much?”

“It’s not that little, is it? You can live comfortably on the mainland with that much. I’d like to collect more from you, but His Majesty doesn’t want that, so I’m stopping here. If you don’t like it, you can end this discussion now. Of course, I think you know what will happen if you do that.”

“…”

The warlords all became speechless.

They knew what would happen if they refused the empire’s offer in this situation where the people had already turned their backs on them.

“Please give us some more time to think.”

“Take your time. It doesn’t matter to us if something happens in the meantime.”

Of course, it was half a bluff.

It was better to peacefully annex the Andes region than to spill blood unnecessarily.

But it was clear that the warlords had more to lose.

Eventually, less than ten days after the meeting ended, the warlords accepted the empire’s offer.

Most of the Andes region fell into the empire’s hands.

In other words, it was the moment when all the forces except for the small tribes scattered around the continent were annexed.

In other words, it meant that the continent was unified by the Wakan Tanka Empire.

“Hehe…”

The day when a complete Wacantanga continent was born.

Kim Kiwoo looked down from the highest point of the palace and smiled.

Of course, he still had to gather the remaining tribes under the empire’s flag, but that was not a difficult task with the current power of the empire.

‘So this day finally comes.’

Kim Kiwoo was satisfied with this situation itself.

There have been empires in history that have occupied a huge territory.

One of them was the Mongol Empire.

But what the Wakan Tanka Empire achieved was very different from them.

They just occupied a large land by spilling a lot of blood.

On the other hand, the Wakan Tanka Empire did not spill much blood until they unified the continent.

The most blood they saw was when the Aztec was destroyed.

‘They deserved to die.’

Kim Kiwoo did not feel any pity for the horrible fate of the Aztecs.

The atrocities of Aztec were so inhuman.

Anyway, it was a fact that there was almost no sacrifice of the imperial people during the continental unification process.

***

In the end, the Andes warlords were taxed an enormous amount of 80% of their assets by the empire.

This region was also mostly money going to the warlords, so that amount was very large.

Kim Kiwoo gave an order when he heard this.

“I will use the assets of the warlords and the government’s budget to develop the southern continent as I did in the Central Continent.”

As soon as this order came down, many people’s eyes turned to the South Continent.

It couldn’t be helped.

The South Continent was a treasure trove of resources.

Guano and saltpeter, and huge silver and gold mines.

Many eyes were focused on it.

This region was especially known for the famous Potosi silver mine.

Of course, it had not been discovered yet, but Kim Ki-woo had no intention of delaying the discovery and development of the silver mine any longer, now that the Andes region had been annexed to the empire.

“There must be more resources buried in the Andes region. So send some experts and have them explore.”

Kim Ki-woo secretly called some experts and told them about Potosi and other areas where major resources were found.

And soon enough, the Potosi silver mine revealed itself.

‘It won’t be long before a large amount of silver flows in.’

The Potosi silver mine was said to be a mountain made of silver.

‘I need a lot of silver to complete the industrial revolution.’

As the continent was unified and the imperial economy expanded day by day, a large amount of currency was needed.

The Potosi silver mine would play a big role here.

***

Meanwhile, there were naturally more things that happened over a long period of time.

The railways built by the empire’s railway bureau and the giant merchants had taken their place in the main areas before long.

And steamboats operated on all the rivers of the empire.

Not only that, but beyond the rivers, steamboats also cut through the waves of the ocean on the Wacantanga continent at a fast speed.

With this, the transportation revolution finally took place in the empire.

The prices of raw materials, including coal, plummeted, and transportation costs dropped significantly.

And the volume of goods that spread throughout the empire increased greatly.

“Is it okay to ride this thing? What if something goes wrong?”

“Ha ha! Have you ever seen such a bumpkin? You won’t die, so don’t worry and get on.”

The steam engine train went beyond being used for cargo and also took its place as a passenger train.

Thanks to this, many people were able to ride the steam engine train and quickly go to other regions.

Chiiik!

Kugung, kugung.

“Aaaah!”

“Huuk!”

Most of the people who rode the steamboat for the first time were greatly surprised by the unfamiliar speed.

But soon they marveled at the scenery that quickly passed by behind them.

“Now I understand why His Majesty personally invested in railways!”

The imperial citizens once again expressed their respect for Kim Ki-woo’s foresight.

And at this time, due to the continental unification, immigrants from Central and South continents flocked to North continent endlessly.

Here too, steamboats played a big role.

Because they could operate at a very fast speed, they were able to meet this huge demand for mobility.

The people who gathered in the North continent took trains built inland and steamboats on rivers and dispersed to various regions.

“It’s much more amazing than I heard… I can’t even compare it to where I lived.”

“I never thought I could cross a road that would take a long time to walk in an instant.”

The immigrants experienced the empire’s advanced transportation means and became more proud as imperial citizens.

“…I want to be a proud imperial citizen more than anyone else. What should I do to achieve that?”

“There’s a good way, right? Anyway, North will become the capital in the future, and if you get residency rights in or near major cities in the North, you’ll naturally get what you want.”

There were many people who thought like this among the immigrants.

Thanks to this, they volunteered for North development.

In the end, the transportation revolution had a huge impact on North development.

With much more people and goods moving than before, the North could no longer be called a backwater.

The North became a region full of vitality more than anywhere else.

Numerous cities sprang up around the North’s industrial complex and capital site.

Especially, the development of the capital site was especially dazzling.

“The capital of the empire must be beautiful and magnificent enough to make anyone who visits it raise their thumbs.”

“The capital will grow enormously in the future, so we have to consider this from now on.”

“We also have to make room for railways to pass through.”

The experts dispatched to capital site kept these numerous factors in mind and worked hard on city planning for a long time.

And when planning was completed, they mobilized a large number of workers and carried out capital construction.

They actively used modern reinforced concrete methods and poured all their efforts into creating a beautiful and awe-inspiring capital city.

This created synergy with numerous builders and laborers, as well as an enormous increase in volume of goods, and buildings were built day by day.