Chapter 119

Chapter 119: The Age of Exploration.

And around this time, science, which had sprouted, bloomed fully and reached its golden age.

Scientists had already witnessed the world changing by science with their own eyes.

This sight of change made them more devoted to research.

Scientists delved deeply into numerous natural phenomena, and as a result, various theories emerged, and important discoveries were made.

Moreover, these theories and research results were quickly exchanged and accelerated the development.

The amount was so large that even Kim Kiwoo could not grasp it at a glance without spending a long time.

‘At least I know what kind of research is important.’

Kim Kiwoo leaned back on the soft chair and recited the major scientific achievements that had been discovered so far.

‘The most noticeable thing is electricity, I guess…’

Since Bright Moon made a battery that could be used in the laboratory, many scientists lit up their eyes and dug into electricity.

And it was revealed what electricity was and what properties it had.

Bright Moon proved that lightning was electricity by charging the battery with lightning, and devised a lightning rod through this.

Thanks to this, lightning rods were erected in the cities of the mainland soon, and the accidents caused by lightning gradually decreased.

‘Finally, a practical battery was invented.’

This battery was a battery that generated electricity by inserting a piece of cloth soaked in salt water between copper and zinc plates and making many layers.

This provided an opportunity to utilize flowing electricity.

Not only that, but it was also revealed that electricity flowed in the animal’s body, and the existence and properties of charge, and the concepts of current and voltage were established.

Of course, there was still a long way to go.

Many trials and errors were needed to make electricity practically by using electromagnetic induction and utilize it.

‘The next thing is chemistry.’

After Bright Feather found out that oxygen was related to the combustion of fire, many substances began to be identified.

Thanks to this, basic theories such as the law of conservation of mass were accepted as established theories.

By now, numerous theories about the concepts of atoms and molecules were rampant.

In addition, the phenomenon of electrolysis was revealed by the invention of the battery, and chemical upheaval was continuing at this moment.

There were also scientific achievements in many other fields.

‘It’s true that trees grow well when you prepare the soil well. The day to enjoy the fruits is not far away.’

Kim Kiwoo organized his thoughts on science around here.

There was something more important than that right now.

***

And finally that day came.

“From now on, I will carry out the reorganization of government departments!”

Kim Kiwoo declared in the conference room.

Then all the ministers bowed their heads and said yes.

“Please do as you wish!”

There was no resistance to this reorganization as it had been going on for a long time.

Rather, the ministers were very happy.

It couldn’t be helped.

If they had more areas to manage, no matter how much the staff increased, the workload intensity that the ministers had to bear inevitably increased.

As society became more advanced, the schedule of the ministers was literally murderous.

It was natural to collapse from overwork once in a while.

Therefore, Kim Kiwoo prepared to split the departments by field.

Of course, in order to minimize confusion, he divided the scope of work in advance,

so by now it was practically finished with reorganization.

That’s why it took so long.

“From the next meeting, all the newly added department heads will also participate, so I hope that the existing department heads will lead them well. I trust you will do well. But don’t forget that they are not your subordinates anymore.”

“Don’t worry. There won’t be any such thing as you think.”

At that remark, Kim Kiwoo nodded.

With the reorganization, many new department heads were created.

The Supreme Court changed its name to the Judiciary and the Chief Justice became the Chief of the Judiciary. The Ministry of Finance, which was in charge of the budget in the Ministry of Interior, was separated.

Similarly, the Ministry of Commerce split into the Ministry of Transportation, and the Ministry of Force became the Ministry of Defense, with the Army and Navy under its command.

Especially, the Ministry of Industry was divided into three: the original Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Science that mainly dealt with natural sciences, and the Ministry of Construction that handled civil engineering.

The rest of the departments were also split into two or three.

“No matter how much you prepared, there will be a lot of things to do for a while. If anything happens, don’t try to hide it and report it to me right away. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“We will follow your orders!”

And so, the official reorganization of the government departments began.

And as expected, the reorganization caused quite a lot of pain.

“I’m sorry, but that’s not our department. You have to go to the Ministry of Construction.”

“Oh, really?”

Especially, many imperial citizens confused the departments and went to the wrong places.

And as the number of departments increased, it became harder to find the desired department.

“Huh. I miss the old days. It’s only confusing because they suddenly reorganized everything.”

Thanks to that, such complaints were heard frequently.

But time heals all wounds.

As time passed, many imperial citizens adapted to the current reorganized government system, and each department was able to work more efficiently by dealing with only specialized fields.

***

“Your Majesty. Now even the infants in the mainland have been vaccinated, and we have long been producing vaccines in other regions that have been merged. So there is no need to be afraid of the outside world anymore, right?”

“I agree with the Minister of Commerce.”

When stability came to Wakan Tanka continent after all these processes.

The Minister of Commerce and several other ministers proposed an agenda to Kim Ki-woo in the conference room as if they had planned it.

To sail beyond Wakan Tanka continent, to the vast world.

“Hmm.”

As Kim Ki-woo showed signs of hesitation while stroking his chin, the faces of the Minister of Commerce and those who shared his intentions became tense.

Kim Ki-woo looked not at them, but at other ministers and asked.

“Do you all agree with the Minister of Commerce’s opinion?”

Immediately, objections popped up.

“No. The Minister of Commerce’s words make sense, but I don’t think it’s a good decision to completely lift the ban. The empire doesn’t have much to hurry, does it?”

“That’s right. We have lived well without interacting with other continents. There are still many places on Wakan Tanka continent that have not been explored yet. There is no reason to look outside.”

“How can you be so sure? The empire has only been to Europe so far. You don’t know what new things are out there.”

“Isn’t it because of those precious relics from outside that you want to lift the ban? I’ve heard that merchants are crazy about them.”

“What? Are you saying that I’ve been bribed by merchants?”

“When did I say that? I’m just saying don’t mess with the current situation of the empire for that reason.”

“…I’m trying to lift the ban to eliminate that variable you’re talking about. Don’t distort my intentions.”

Kim Ki-woo listened to their sharp arguments and thought.

‘The opposing opinions do make sense…’

The later he lifted the ban, the safer he would be against the plague.

But Kim Ki-woo soon shook his head.

‘We can handle it at this level.’

It was too late to be afraid of worms and not fill his stomach.

Of course, he had to impose some restrictions.

‘It’s just right for us to enter the world stage at this level.’

Kim Ki-woo made up his mind.

And it soon came out of his mouth.

Both sides had valid opinions. However, Jim thought that there was no need to worry too much about external variables. Was the empire that he and his people had built so weak? 

The Wakan Tanka Empire was a great nation that had peacefully unified the Wakan Tanka continent under the protection of the spirits. 

There was no longer any need to hide.

As he said this, the faces of the directors who followed the commerce director brightened up, but the faces of the opposing directors darkened.

Kim Ki-woo tried to appease the opposing directors and continued his speech.

“However, as the hygiene director said, it is too early to lift the sailing ban completely.”

“Then what do you plan to do?”

“We will allow free sailing to anywhere outside, but we will restrict incoming ships to specific ports. We will mainly designate ports on the northern continent for now.”

It was a reasonable measure, since the northern continent had much better vaccine distribution than the central or southern continents.

“This way, we can deal with any new epidemics more easily, don’t you think?”

“I understand what you mean.”

“I think your majesty’s words are wise.”

Once Kim Ki-woo made his decision, everyone agreed, regardless of whether they were for or against it.

Thus, the imperial era of sailing began.

***

The news that the sailing ban had been relaxed made the hearts of many imperial citizens burn.

“Finally!”

“Hahaha! How long have I waited for this!”

This especially heated up the upper class.

The value of artifacts brought from other continents kept rising over time, but the merchants could only suck their fingers and watch the prices go up.

“This is not the time! Let’s go get the permits!”

It was free to sail anywhere on any continent, but first, they needed a permit.

Therefore, the merchants obtained permits from the foreign ministry, hired interpreters, and started preparing for sailing.

Not only merchants, but also many adventurers joined them.

There were many who wanted to make history by setting foot on another continent for the first time, and even if not, there were countless people who were curious about the new world.

Thanks to this, sailing was divided into two categories.

The fleets that went to Europe, where some routes had been secured, and the fleets that headed to places where there were no routes yet.

The former expected stable profits, and the latter expected achievements of being the first to visit new areas and unexpected huge profits.

“Heh. I wonder what kind of expressions people living on other continents will have when they see our ships and products.”

“They’ll probably be shocked and fall over! Look at this huge steamship!”

The sailors who were about to sail looked at their ships and chattered.

“Come to think of it, this is the first time we’re reaching another continent with a steamship, right? There won’t be any problems, right?”

“That’s why we have sails. In case we run out of coal.”

“True. It would be nice if we could get enough coal when we arrive…”

“There’s no way to know until we go. But coal is common, so chances are high, right?”

There was a big difference in speed between operating a steam engine and sailing with only wind.

They could also safely escape from any windless areas they might pass by.

Therefore, the sailors hoped that they could supply coal at their destination.

“Hey, you there! Stop slacking off and hurry up!”

“Tsk. Aye, aye.”

As time passed, all the ships completed their preparations for sailing,

Whoosh!

They cut through the waves and headed for the vast sea.

And this happened simultaneously in many places on the continent.

It was finally time for Wakan Tanka to cross over and start a tumultuous change in Eurasia.