Chapter 124

Chapter 124: The Visit.

Many young scholars participated in this envoy mission.

They were especially curious about the Wakan Tanka Empire, and they hoped to learn more about the empire and use it to their advantage in their own country.

It also required a lot of stamina to travel long distances by sea.

Thanks to that, more than a hundred scholars boarded the ship, ranging from those who had passed the civil service exam in the past to those who were still preparing for it.

Among them was a young scholar who would later become one of the greatest scholars of Joseon, along with Yi Yulgok  I, Toegye Yi Hwang.

He was fascinated by the unfamiliar learning that came from the Wakan Tanka Empire.

What he paid attention to in particular was immunology.

‘The cause of infectious diseases is something so small that it cannot be seen by the eye?’

This was something that was hard to believe for Yi Hwang.

However, the empire’s immunology was very systematic, and they actually succeeded in preventing smallpox by using cowpox through inoculation.

‘I want to know more.’

Yi Hwang, who was preparing for the civil service exam, wanted to learn more about the empire’s learning.

How it differed from the Neo-Confucianism that he was studying.

That’s why he wanted to join this envoy mission, and luckily, he was included in it.

“It’s as huge as I heard.”

“I heard that ship is so fast.”

Yi Hwang nodded his head unconsciously as he heard the voices of the surrounding scholars.

‘Amazing.’

The huge ship that stretched out in front of them was impressive enough to make them admire it.

“Everyone, please board!”

Soon after.

The boarding began with the shout of the envoy official.

The ship that carried Yi Hwang and all the scholars started to head towards the sea after a while.

Splash! Whoosh! Swish!

Squeak!

And then, the coal started to burn and the steam engine began to work.

“Wow!”

As the power of steam started to push the seawater away, the scholars felt a sudden acceleration and exclaimed.

‘It’s so fast.’

Yi Hwang looked at the sea that was pushed back and opened his eyes wide.

It was impossible to achieve such a speed with just wind or oars.

Not to mention that this ship was not small in size.

He realized then why people were so surprised by the empire’s ship.

‘What is that thing…’

The empire’s technology was truly amazing enough to make him marvel at it.

Yi Hwang was really curious about what that noisy metal thing was that made such a fast speed possible.

This was also true for other young scholars.

So they went to see Nalleun Basseul, who was fluent in their language, and asked him about the steam engine.

“The steam engine, you say?”

“Yes. I’m curious how it can achieve such a fast speed.”

“Haha. The principle is not difficult. Have you ever seen a pot being heated?”

“When I cook rice or something, I have seen it a few times.”

“Then you must have seen the lid of the pot being lifted when it boils vigorously.”

Some of the scholars nodded their heads at this question.

Nalleun Basseul smiled and continued his explanation.

“It uses this phenomenon of the lid being lifted. When water is heated, it becomes steam, and this steam expands to a much larger volume than water. With just the heat from heating the pot, it only lifted the lid, but if you use it like this to make an engine, you can turn a machine with the tremendous power of steam.”

“The power of steam…”

The scholars listened to his explanation, but they still looked puzzled.

“You will understand better if you see it for yourself. Please follow me.”

After that, the Swift Rope led the scholars to see the working steam engine.

And every now and then, when the steam engine was resting, he also let them touch the cooled steam engine.

‘It’s scary.’

The more Yi Hwang learned about the steam engine, the more he felt fear beyond astonishment.

To withstand the power of the steam that burst out strongly, even the smallest parts were very precise.

Even if he gathered all the best craftsmen in Joseon, it was impossible to imitate it at all.

In Yi Hwang’s view, the technological level of the Wakan Tanka Empire surpassed not only Joseon, but also the huge Ming Empire.

‘…I was a frog in a well.’

He had only experienced a little bit of immunology and steam engines, and the empire’s industrial goods, but Yi Hwang felt this clearly.

And he felt a strong desire to experience the empire’s mainland as soon as possible.

***

It didn’t take long for the Swift Rope’s ship to reach the Wakan Tanka continent again.

They departed from the western port of the northern continent, but they returned to Yanghae.

Yanghae was also designated by Kim Ki-woo as a return permit area, and it was the center of trade that connected the East Sea and the West Sea.

Thanks to that, most of the giant trading companies had branches in Yanghae without fail.

So Swift Rope planned to sell many of the goods he brought on board to giant trading companies.

“This place is…”

“Hmm!”

And finally, when they arrived at Yanghae.

Everyone on board, regardless of nationality, was greatly shocked.

The common sight of tall buildings and countless people, and the sight of railways laid out all over, and steam locomotives running loudly on them.

It was their first time seeing such a highly developed city.

There, a huge crowd of people moved briskly and worked.

And their outfits were all sophisticated and cool.

‘Is this…the Wakan Tanka Empire?’

Yi Hwang shivered at the overwhelming sight.

The most impressive thing was of course the steam locomotive.

‘That must also use a steam engine, right? I’ve heard of it, but steam engines are really amazing.’

The shock of outsiders did not end there.

While Swift Rope sold many goods to giant trading companies and interpreters reported to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the rest of them toured Yanghae city with sailors who returned together.

A huge square and neatly paved roads, tall buildings and statues of Kim Ki-woo.

And they tasted Yanghae’s most popular dish, seasoned chicken.

For a few days, they experienced a new world together.

This continued until Swift Rope finished all his work.

After that, Swift Rope took people from Korea, Japan, China and other three countries and headed to the capital.

‘I heard there are a lot of steamships.’

The five ships that came to Joseon looked very special, but that wasn’t it.

Steamships going back and forth between Yanghae and the East Sea were so common that they stepped on their feet.

And they were fast.

It didn’t take long after they left port to arrive at the southern port of the mainland.

This was also true for rivers.

He had heard that there were a lot of rivers in the empire, and this was true.

Yi Hwang rode a steamship speeding along the river and saw neatly maintained waterways with his eyes.

And finally he got off the boat and rode a steam locomotive for the first time in his life.

“Wow!”

The ride of the steam locomotive was different from that of a steamship.

Yi Hwang burst out with excitement without knowing it as he watched nature pass by quickly behind him.

He was afraid that the steam locomotive might break down and cause a big accident.

But nothing like that happened until he arrived in the capital.

“This is the capital…”

“Isn’t it amazing? This is where the great Emperor first descended to the earth and established the foundation of the Empire with the Creek tribe. Of course, it won’t be called the capital anymore once it moves to the north soon.”

Swift Rope proudly told various stories about the capital as he walked around with the guests who had visited the Empire for the first time.

Meanwhile, they finally arrived at the Imperial Palace, the heart of the Empire and where Kim Kiwoo resided.

***

“Haha.”

Kim Kiwoo skimmed through the report of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs official who had joined Swift Rope’s group and let out a hollow laugh.

‘Well, I guess it’s understandable that they’re curious.’

King Sejong had created Hangul around the same time that he had established the Imperial standard language.

It looked like there was some special connection between them to others.

Swift Rope had headed to Joseon to dig into this.

‘Joseon…’

Kim Kiwoo thought of the land where Joseon was, the Korean Peninsula.

The region where he was born and spent most of his life.

His roots were still in the Korean Peninsula, although they had faded a lot by now.

That’s why he felt more attached to it than anywhere else.

He hoped that this history would not suffer the same tragedy as before.

He was willing to give some small support for that.

He organized his thoughts and read the report again.

And at the end, there was a list of guests who had visited the Empire.

Among them, there were some unfamiliar names.

The most impressive ones were two people.

‘Hojo Ujitsuna and Yi Hwang…’

Two people who had left their marks in the history of each region visited at the same time.

‘Interesting.’

Among them, Yi Hwang’s visit was a bit more intriguing, who would later become the leader of Yeongnam School.

‘I’ll get to meet a great man who I’d only see on bills.’

Of course, he was young now, so his appearance would be completely different.

“Where are they?”

“Are you referring to the foreigners?”

“Yes.”

“They are staying at a separate palace.”

Kim Kiwoo gave an order immediately after hearing the answer from his inner official.

“I want to meet them personally, so make some time for me.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The meeting took place that night according to Kim Kiwoo’s will.

“We greet the great Emperor.”

Most of them were already deeply impressed by the huge and splendid civilization of the Empire.

So they showed Kim Kiwoo their utmost respect.

‘He doesn’t age! The rumors were true!’

‘Wow… Is he really a living spirit?’

Their surprise grew even more after seeing his young appearance that perfectly matched what they had seen on coins, statues, paintings, and artworks.

The absurd claim that he had escaped aging turned out to be true.

“Raise your heads and sit comfortably.”

Kim Kiwoo seated them and started a conversation.

“You must have been tired from traveling far. Well, how did you like our Empire?”

“…It was truly amazing. I couldn’t compare it to where I lived.”

Hojo Ujitsuna spoke first.

Then followed by abundant food, huge amounts of gold and silver coins in circulation, cities that surpassed imagination, sewers, public baths, paved roads, steamboats and steam engines.

They listed the advantages of the Empire for a long time.

Kim Kiwoo listened to their words attentively, then turned his gaze to Yi Hwang and asked.

“What is your name?”

“I am called Yi Hwang.”

“Yi Hwang… I want to hear your thoughts.”

Kim Kiwoo’s words made Yi Hwang’s eyes sparkle.

“I also have the same thoughts. The Wakan Tanka Empire is truly a great nation, and His Majesty who achieved this is truly a great person.”

“Ha ha. That is a very kind thing to say.”

Kim Kiwoo smiled brightly, and Yi Hwang continued.

“Your Majesty, may I ask you for one thing?”

“What is it? Go ahead and tell me.”

“After arriving in the empire, I realized how much of a frog in a well I was. If Your Majesty permits me, I would like to stay in the empire and learn from the empire’s scholarship.”

As soon as he finished speaking, most of the people, regardless of their origin, agreed with Yi Hwang’s opinion.

They wanted to know the reason why the empire was able to achieve such a brilliant civilization.

Kim Kiwoo nodded his head.

“That is not a difficult thing. I will specially allow you to study in any department of your choice at the university. So try hard to learn well.”

“We are deeply grateful, Your Majesty!”

And so, Yi Hwang and the other outsiders began to deeply study the empire’s scholarship.