Chapter 33 < The Prelude to War. >
“Hmm…”
He was in a very bad mood.
Until yesterday, he had been enjoying a sweet rest with his family and was extremely happy.
But after hearing about the horrible things that were happening in the neighboring country, he felt nauseous.
‘What should I do?’
But these emotions were Kim Kiwoo’s own personal feelings.
It was time to think from the perspective of the Wakan Tanka Empire.
Kim Kiwoo had vaguely known about the inhuman reality of the Aztec Empire before.
But he didn’t pay attention to them until now.
This was different from selling weapons to the Andes region.
If a war broke out with the Aztec Empire, he didn’t know how much blood of the Wakan Tanka Empire’s warriors would flow.
The population of the people living in the Aztec region was enormous compared to the Panama region, at least four times more than the Wakan Tanka Empire.
Considering that the population of the Wakan Tanka Empire had exploded and that the proportion of infants and adolescents was high, there would be even more difference in the number of warriors.
‘Of course, most of them are not part of the Triple Alliance, but the surrounding tribes.’
They must have hated their oppressors, the Mexica people, like the Golden Parrot’s tribe.
‘That’s why they perished so easily.’
Kim Kiwoo knew at least how the Aztecs perished.
They were wiped out by the surrounding tribes who had deep hatred for the Mexica people.
The Spanish conquistadors were just a catalyst. The relationship between the Aztecs and the surrounding tribes was already at its worst at that time.
It was actually the Anti-Aztec Alliance that destroyed the Aztec Empire.
But Spain’s conquistadors and the current Wakan Tanka Empire were different cases.
‘It’s at least 50 years earlier than that.’
Of course, judging by what the Golden Parrot said, the relationship between the Mexica people and the surrounding tribes didn’t look good even now, but it was an unpredictable situation.
He couldn’t be sure if the surrounding tribes would move according to his will, if they would unite firmly around the Wakan Tanka Empire, or if there would be any traitors among them.
War could change completely because of one small incident.
Just because Spain destroyed Aztec with a small army, it didn’t guarantee that Wakan Tanka Empire could do the same.
‘But…’
He had a reason to attack them even at this risk, and it came up yesterday.
Kim Kiwoo recalled what the Golden Parrot said.
He said that the Mexica people had started to make iron following Wakan Tanka Empire.
‘What I feared has happened.’
He had thought that this might happen someday.
He didn’t know how they got information and succeeded in making iron. But it was possible that they got at least some concept of it.
Kim Kiwoo tried to spread various knowledge to the public through newspapers. Things like mathematics, astronomy, technology, basic science, philosophy, common sense, etc.
He believed that knowledge would develop faster when it spread widely.
Among them, there were several contents related to metal.
Many of the people knew at least that iron ore melted when heated at high temperatures.
Presumably, such a concept had leaked into Aztec.
It could have been done by one of the Aztec spies who were exposed in the past.
‘But it’s faster than I thought.’
It had been almost 20 years since iron appeared in North America, considering that.
The spread of iron was quite fast.
It turned out that not everything in the world went as he wanted.
What had already happened, how to respond to it was important now.
‘Of course they can’t get good quality iron in one go.’
The production volume wouldn’t be very high either.
According to what the Golden Parrot said, their iron was still lacking a lot.
He didn’t know how long it would take for Aztec Empire to fully enter into iron age.
But once they could make iron on their own, giving them time was a bad choice.
‘I can’t just watch until Aztec fully enters into iron age.’
Kim Kiwoo had sold iron to Andes region. And someday they would be able to make iron on their own too.
But that place was South America.
Even if worst case scenario happened, it would be difficult for Andes region to directly attack Wakan Tanka Empire’s mainland.
But Aztec was different.
There were some difficult parts geographically, but they could reach Wakan Tanka Empire’s mainland if they wanted to.
The military power of Aztec Empire should not be underestimated. Aztec was a military powerhouse that conquered many surrounding tribes by force.
In a situation where he had to clash with Aztec sooner or later, if they armed themselves with good quality iron…
Wakan Tanka Empire would also suffer a lot of damage.
‘I need to revise the plan.’
Kim Kiwoo had originally planned to attack Aztec after Wakan Tanka Empire had grown enough and he was sure that he could minimize the damage.
But now that he heard the news that they started to produce iron, it was not a good choice.
Now, when their iron quality was bad and production was not on track, was the time to destroy Aztec Empire.
‘Is it war after all?’
Kim Kiwoo decided on war.
Of course, he had to prepare for war first.
He had a reason. Their evil deeds were a reason in themselves.
For a long time, Kim Ki-woo had been publishing a series of articles on the spirit mythology, which claimed that spirits never desired human blood.
He was slowly eradicating the barbaric customs that had existed in the North American region.
Since Kim Ki-woo himself was a spirit, the imperial citizens accepted his words relatively easily.
Their actions, however, were intolerable to the Wakan Tanka Empire, whose people believed in such spirits.
*
The next day.
The golden parrot had to repeat what he had told Kim Ki-woo, but this time in the imperial conference, not in his office.
“Sigh…”
“How could they!”
“Have you seen these crazy writers?”
As the golden parrot mentioned one by one the atrocities of the Aztec Empire, the faces of the directors rose with displeasure.
The stories that came out of the golden parrot’s mouth were so shocking that they easily surpassed their imaginations.
Finally, the golden parrot’s testimony ended.
Then, a multitude of voices erupted.
“We cannot let those wicked people go unpunished!”
“We must root out their evil deeds!”
“Such a wicked nation deserves to be annihilated!”
“Give me the warriors. I will wipe out those wicked people from this land right away!”
The directors all vented their anger.
Of course, there was also a director who poured cold water on this atmosphere.
He was none other than the director of internal affairs.
“Your Majesty. You must think carefully about war. The war you are trying to wage now is different from the previous conquest wars.”
“No, how can you leave such a wicked nation alone?”
“I am also very displeased if what he said is true. They must pay for their sins. But we cannot make such a decision emotionally. We have to consider the current financial situation, military capacity, expected damage and everything else before we act.”
“No matter what…”
“It is unfortunate for those who are sacrificed by them, but we have to think of the empire first. It will not be too late to wage war after the financial situation of the Wakan Tanka Empire has improved.”
“Hmph!”
The Straight tree was right. But many directors were not easily convinced.
There was a moment of silence in the conference room, and Kim Ki-woo stepped forward.
“The director of internal affairs is right. But! We have to eliminate the Aztec Empire from this land as soon as possible.”
“Why is that?”
“According to the golden parrot, those wicked writers are imitating our weapons and producing and using iron. Giving them time is not wise. Someday, we will surely regret it.”
“Is that true?”
“Yes! I definitely saw iron in Aztec!”
“How can you be sure that it was iron produced in Aztec? It could have been iron that came from our side.”
“Their iron was not as hard as Wakan Tanka’s iron.”
“Not hard?”
“Yes.”
That meant that the quality was not good.
The director of industry nodded and muttered.
“Of course, our iron is not soft at all…”
“If what he says is true, then it is not from the empire at least.”
The fact that they used such low-quality iron itself was a strong evidence that it was not Wakan Tanka’s iron.
The directors’ expressions became serious at the golden parrot’s testimony.
Iron weapons were the driving force behind the growth of the Wakan Tanka Empire.
If they were produced in Aztec and became abundant…
“Director of internal affairs.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Do you still oppose war?”
“…No. Do as Your Majesty wishes.”
“Of course, we will not start war right away. This war will be the first continental war since the founding of Wakan Tanka Empire. Naturally, enough preparation must precede it. All departments should keep this in mind. From now on, Wakan Tanka Empire will enter a wartime system.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
That’s how war with Aztec Empire was decided.
This news was detailed in the newspaper.
Everything from Aztec Empire’s atrocities to why war had to be waged.
This newspaper spread quickly throughout the empire.
The curtain of the First Continental War had opened.
*
‘I’m uneasy with these weapons.’
The weapons currently produced were all iron swords. It was because of the explosive demand from the Andes region.
The crude steel swords of the past would have been better, but they were ultimately imperfect steel.
On top of that, they required a tremendous amount of manpower and were extremely inefficient.
‘I need to make real steel soon.’
He had planned to do this over time. But now it was urgently needed.
If it had been normal times, he would have thrown the research project to the university, and Kim Ki-woo would have received continuous reports and made corrections.
But that would take time.
So Kim Ki-woo decided to go to the unfinished industrial district himself.
He also wanted to check out various processes, including the blast furnace that had been built so far.
“Empress. I’m afraid I won’t be able to stay with you for a while.”
Kim Ki-woo said to Deep Lake, who was holding his son.
He felt sorry for his wife, who was still not fully recovered, and had to be away for quite a long time.
But Deep Lake smiled brightly and shook her head.
“Please don’t worry about me and this child. You must have a good reason to go. I hope you will take care of yourself and come back safely.”
“Thank you very much.”
After getting permission from his wife, Kim Ki-woo declared it right away in the conference.
“I will go to Black Sky City tomorrow.”
“…I apologize, but why do you suddenly want to go to Black Sky City?”
The faces of the directors were colored with confusion. It was natural, since the sovereign of the nation suddenly announced that he would leave his seat.
But Kim Ki-woo had no intention of changing his mind.
“It’s to make steel.”
“Steel… Don’t you think you can make it without going there?”
“No. I have to go. As you know, the previous steel was not very good in quality. But the steel I’m going to make this time is real steel.”
“Real steel…!”
The exclamation of the director of industry came out first.
It was the same for the other directors.
Most of them were people who had lived as warriors in the Creek tribe.
So they couldn’t help but be interested in more powerful weapons than before.
“I know how to make such steel. We have to make these good steel weapons as soon as possible. For that, I will go to Black Sky City myself.”
“But Black Sky City is not a very good place for you to stay yet. Why don’t you experiment in the capital and let the craftsmen apply the results in Black Sky City?”
Black Sky City was the name of the newly built industrial city.
Since many factories were still being built, it was not a well-established city.
The director of agriculture’s words seemed reasonable, but they were nothing but a waste of resources.
It was much less time and resource consuming to complete the process at once in the industrial district of Black Sky City.
“We have to make steel as soon as possible. Why waste time? Or are you worried that someone will harm me if I go there?”
“…That was not my intention.”
If he had agreed, it would have meant that there was a rebellious force within the empire. It also meant that he did not trust the empire’s best warriors who escorted Kim Ki-woo.
“Also, I need to take a look at how the industrial district is running. Black Sky City will be the center of the empire in the future.”
If Kim Ki-woo moved himself, it would also ease some of the craftsmen’s complaints. Kim Ki-woo considered this as well.
Kim Ki-woo nailed it down so that no more words could come out.
“I trust that you will rule the empire well while I’m gone.”
With that, there were no more directors who argued.
That’s how Kim Ki-woo left the capital after a long time.
< The Prelude to War. > The end