Chapter 129

Chapter 129: Foreign Policy.

“It’s very beautiful. Is this the silk that’s popular these days?”

“Haha. Yes, it is. It’s a precious product made in a place called Ming across the West Sea.”

“I can see why it’s so popular.”

The clerk agreed with the man’s words.

As their conversation suggested, silk was very fashionable in the Empire.

In the Empire, cotton fabrics were so common that most clothes were made of cotton.

There were also clothes made of deer leather and wool, but they were the main ones.

For the Empire’s people, silk was a new world with its very soft texture and luxurious appearance.

Swish!

“Ah… Ming tea is different from the Empire’s tea, I tell you.”

“I still prefer the Empire’s tea, but this is also quite good.”

Tea culture was quite old in the Empire.

Of course, cocoa was very popular and some people liked the unique taste of coffee that came in recently, but drinking brewed tea leaves was common in the Empire.

And Ming tea was very popular in the Empire.

Lastly, the old Chinese pottery had a great value.

The Empire also developed pottery, but the exotic and ancient pottery received a special treatment.

Where there is demand, there is supply.

To obtain these representative Ming products, as well as various relics and books that have been passed down from the long history of China, many merchants headed to Ming.

But it was not a normal trade.

Ming declared the maritime prohibition in 1371, when Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang was in power.

It was intended to wipe out the remnants of the military factions that were still in the Liaodong region and to defend against the invasion of the Japanese.

After that, Ming established the tribute trade system and continued the maritime prohibition policy.

But recently, this policy was becoming ineffective.

Of course, the reason was a bit different.

After the Grand Secretary Zhu Huzhao became the emperor, the central government became chaotic and the Mongols invaded from the north.

But the Japanese in the south did not do as well as they did in the original history.

“Those filthy pirates are roaming around here.”

The Empire’s merchants who were passing near the Ming coast captured or sank the Japanese whenever they saw them.

Thanks to that, the main coast of Ming enjoyed peace after the Empire appeared.

“Haha. Welcome. Look here. I have a lot of good quality products.”

“Oh! Really?”

That’s why the atmosphere of both sides who were doing the smuggling trade was very friendly.

They established a very friendly relationship and traded the products they brought.

“It was a very profitable trade this time. Well, see you next time.”

“Take care.”

After the Empire’s merchant left, the Empire’s products that were brought in by smuggling trade penetrated deep into the inland.

There were many products, but especially the Empire’s cotton fabrics, paper, and writing tools were of such high quality and low price that they could not be compared with the local ones.

Thanks to that, even if they sold them with a considerable margin, they sold like hot cakes.

This brought enormous wealth to the coastal merchants, and over time, they began to grow into a huge force.

***

“Your Majesty! We also want to be protected by the Empire. We will do anything you want from the Empire. Please protect us!”

“Uh-huh. Get up.”

“I will get up if you grant my request…”

Kim Ki-woo rubbed his head as he looked at the envoy of Champa who was lying flat on the floor.

‘This time it’s Champa.’

At this time, Champa was maintaining its power in the south of Vietnam.

Of course, it was in a similar situation to a vassal of Vietnam by now, but it still had some strength.

‘I can’t say I don’t understand their position, but…’

This was not the first or second time.

Cambodia, which boasted a brilliant history as the Khmer Empire in the past, but now fell and became a neighborhood bully of Thailand and Vietnam, also requested support from the Empire like the envoy of Champa recently.

Not to mention.

The small countries in India and the many islands in Southeast Asia showed the same behavior.

He understood enough.

The Empire’s policy was not to maintain colonies overseas, and because of the distance, they were not a big threat to the royal power.

And with the help of the Empire, they could avoid being annihilated by the surrounding powers.

‘And the influence of firearms is also great.’

As soon as the Empire started selling weapons, the war became a bit more intense.

It was human nature to want to expand their power by using the new and superior weapons.

‘But their situation is tough…’

Kim Ki-woo shook his head.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t grant your request. The Empire does not want to get involved in the local power struggles unless it’s a special case.”

Of course, he intended to stop the Europeans from building colonies overseas in the imperialist era, but it was unacceptable to get involved in the wrong way and get caught in a deep swamp.

“Please, Your Majesty…”

“Enough. You may leave now.”

Kim Ki-woo ordered the envoy to be dismissed, and he was dragged out.

After he left, the Minister of Defense asked Kim Ki-woo.

“Your Majesty. May I ask for your guidance on one thing?”

“Go ahead.”

“Why do you refuse all the requests from the many small countries overseas who want to voluntarily come under the Empire’s shadow? I would like to know your great intention.”

Kim Ki-woo looked at the Minister of Defense.

The Minister of Defense was a representative expansionist.

He believed that instead of the soft trade, the Empire should actively project its power overseas and expand its territory.

And at this point, there were many people who thought like the Minister of Defense.

‘It’s natural.’

The Empire’s power was overwhelming.

There was no country that could compete with it.

If you have power, you want to use it. That’s human nature.

No matter how much they emphasized peace through the spirit faith from the past, it was not easy to practice it from the perspective of ruling the country.

‘But it’s not a big benefit in the long run.’

He didn’t even need to look far.

So far, the Empire has refrained from military movements as much as possible, except for special cases.

But if they start to project the Empire’s power to protect these small countries, it is inevitable to dispatch the Imperial Army.

In addition, the military expenses spent to maintain the army in the distant expedition area, and the various damages that would occur to the Imperial Army in the local area, were not profitable at all.

It would be different if they ruthlessly plundered the local people they protected, but they had no such intention.

“I know you are not satisfied.”

“Di, dissatisfied? We never had such a disgraceful thought.”

“Haha. Don’t worry too much, I’m not blaming the Minister of Defense. But, remember this. If we, the people who run the state affairs, pursue short-sighted policies, the ones who suffer are the Empire’s people.”

“Hmm…”

He said it indirectly, but it was no different from criticizing the Minister of Defense’s argument as short-sighted.

“Your army’s blood is precious. You are their leader. You need to feel the weight more. Keep in mind. It may be easy to occupy overseas regions, but it is very hard to maintain them.”

“…I will keep your words in my heart.”

After the conversation with the Minister of Defense ended.

The atmosphere of the conference room was very cold.

It was rare for Kim Ki-woo to speak in such a strong tone.

But fortunately, this atmosphere did not last long.

The question of the Minister of Foreign Affairs followed immediately.

“Your Majesty, if I may ask, how do you plan to deal with the naturalization of overseas people?”

This was also a very sensitive topic.

But he couldn’t avoid it either.

Lately, the number of people who wanted to become the Empire’s people from overseas increased rapidly.

The situation of the Empire spread widely by word of mouth.

It was thanks to the people who came to the Empire from various places and went back to their countries and talked about the reality of the Empire.

And rumors tend to get exaggerated as they pass from mouth to mouth.

‘Of course, some of it is true.’

At least, they could live a prosperous life without starving, and they could go to faraway places quickly by train and ship.

“Do we have to accept the naturalization from overseas? There is no clause in the Empire’s constitution that accepts naturalization from overseas in the first place.”

“I agree with that.”

Kim Ki-woo nodded at the opinions of the ministers who opposed naturalization.

‘We don’t need to accept naturalization from overseas because of the population.’

He unified the continent, distributed vaccines widely, and improved the nutritional status with abundant food.

There, he continued to implement the child care encouragement policy and the prosperity was endless.

Thanks to that, the population of the continent grew like crazy, like an amoeba.

Of course, he planned to increase the population more, but this was enough to be satisfied naturally over time.

There, in the past, when the Empire was declared, there was this clause in the constitution.

-Anyone who belongs to the same continent can become an equal Empire’s person as soon as they submit to the Empire.

The important thing here was that it only targeted the same continent, that is, the Wakantanka continent.

It meant that there was no legal basis to accept naturalization from overseas.

Of course, this was an excuse, and it could be changed at any time if Kim Ki-woo wanted.

And Kim Ki-woo was not very displeased with naturalization.

Kim Ki-woo organized his thoughts and opened his mouth.

“The Wakantanka continent is the land of our Wakantanka people. This will be an unchanging truth as long as the Empire exists.”

“Your words are truly reasonable. Who can be the owner of this land if not the people who have lived on this land for a long time?”

Kim Ki-woo smiled bitterly at that.

In the original history, this continent became the land of the Europeans.

Of course, it was a history that would never come again.

“That’s right. But, that doesn’t mean we have to reject naturalization from overseas. Even if they are not from the continent, even if their skin color is different and their appearance is different, all the people in this world are equal humans. Aren’t they?”

“Yes, they are.”

“People are all equal.”

The ministers answered that, but Kim Ki-woo knew well.

At this time, the pride in the Empire was so great that it gradually turned into continental supremacy, which meant that the Wakantanka people were superior to the overseas people.

Kim Ki-woo reminded them of this through his words.

“In this situation, there is no need to block naturalization from overseas. If those who want to naturalize accept the Empire as their homeland, live using the Empire’s standard language, and believe in the spirit faith, they can be qualified enough to be the Empire’s people. Do you disagree with me?”

“Of course not. As you wish, Your Majesty.”

“We will follow you, Your Majesty.”

That’s how the approval of naturalization from overseas was decided.

After that, many people headed to the Wakantanka continent to become the Empire’s people, and this increased as the wars in various places intensified.