I wonder what His Majesty will create this ti. Sothing amazing, no doubt.
Heh. He always cos up with innovative inventions. Youre stating the obvious.
The peoples attention was drawn to the news that Kim Ki-woo was personally leading a research project at the imperial palace.
Every ti Kim Ki-woo was deeply involved in a research, the outco was always astounding.
The people had no doubt that it would be the sa this ti.
And after the demonstration of the telegraph was completed, the developnt of the telegraph was widely announced.
Telegraph? It can transmit information across long distances in an instant? Is that even possible?
I can hardly believe it myself, but why would the governnt lie about it? Besides, its made by His Majesty himself. Youre not doubting him, are you?
Hey, were living like this thanks to His Majesty. How could I doubt him? Dont misunderstand .
Right?
Of course! I just hope that the rumored telegraph will be installed all over the empire soon.
The people were swept by the anticipation of the telegraph.
The continent was so vast that they all understood the importance of fast information delivery.
And there were those who felt this more urgently than anyone else: the rchants.
Telegraph This is bound to be a huge hit. Its like the railroad. Once you install it, you can keep making money from it.
Thats not all, is it? The information delivery speed will be much faster in this vast continent. Thats what matters.
For rchants, information was money. There were many cases where they suffered huge losses because information was not delivered on ti.
They also knew very well how much money the railroad brought them, having experienced the railroad business.
Of course, they couldnt make more money because of the contract they made with the governnt, but even so, the money they earned from the railroad was very satisfying.
Therefore, the rchants eagerly waited for the official announcent from the governnt.
And as they expected, a related policy was announced soon after.
A Ministry of Communications This is a new field that just started, but theyre setting up a ministry for it?
Sigh. I guess we cant get a large-scale investnt this ti either.
Well, we have to get a business license with our own capital or whatever we can do.
The first announcent was the establishnt of a Ministry of Communications.
This was quite unusual.
Usually, a certain field had to grow enough to be independent as a ministry after it was established.
But this ti, they started with a ministry from the beginning.
The smart ones guessed that Kim Ki-woo had a great interest in the communication field.
The market related to communication will grow fast in the future. We should keep an eye on this area.
Im sure the governnt will push for policies to support it too. Well, it makes sense, considering that the information delivery speed is incomparable to before.
Then lets try to get involved in this too.
Needless to say, the establishnt of a Ministry of Communications was not the end.
Especially, the rchants paid more attention to the following announcent.
Hmm Is the telegraph business going to be similar to the railroad business?
Tsk. We wont be able to invest much this ti either.
We have to do it anyway. We cant just let the governnt and the giant rchants get all the benefits.
Kim Ki-woo offered a condition similar to when he created a railroad boom: he limited the usage fee above a certain amount and prohibited discrimination in using telegraphs.
However, there was no significant opposition from rchants as they expected this condition.
The problem was that he started to receive investnts for installing and operating telegraphs from governnt agencies.
I trust investing in governnt agencies.
Yeah. Once you invest, you get a steady amount of money coming in. How nice is that? Theres no risk of failure either. Heh.
How could it fail? Its impossible for railroad or telegraph businesses to fail.
Railroads were still being installed all over the continent.
And investnts for middle-class railroads continued as well.
Kim Ki-woo not only charged low prices for railroads, but also distributed most of the profits from railroads to investors.
Not only that.
He also carried out most of his railroad construction projects in barren lands with governnt funds.
It was natural that he made more money than other rchants.
On the other hand, rchants had to make profits.
So they distributed less money to investors than governnt agencies did.
Of course, those who invested up to their limit in governnt agencies invested in rchant groups as a second option, but their investnt amount was incomparable to that of governnt agencies.
As a result, rchant groups either obtained business licenses with their own capital and a small amount of investnt, or quickly invested in governnt telegraph projects.
Of course, since they prohibited investing more than a certain amount of capital, the rchants were not satisfied with the amount they invested.
Kim Ki-woo wanted to keep major fields like railroad and telegraph under his control.
Thats why he redistributed most of the profits to investors.
But he set a limit on investnt for individuals or groups.
Kim Ki-woos goal was to let as many people as possible enjoy the steady inco from these businesses.
The economy would run healthily only when wealth was distributed evenly among many people.
Kim Ki-woo was very wary of excessive concentration of wealth by a few rich people.
***
The people eagerly waited for the start of the governnt telegraph project investnt.
And soon enough, the investnt began.
Huh Will I be able to invest today?
Hmm. I think Ill have to co back next ti. I have no idea when this line will end. Tsk, I should have co earlier.
You sound like its past lunchti. Its still early in the morning
The people were stunned by the enormous crowd that lined up in front of the Imperial Bank.
After the establishnt of the Ministry of Finance, the existing Financial Agency changed its na to the Imperial Bank.
Since the restrictions on banking were not lifted yet, the Imperial Bank was the only bank in the empire.
And this ti, too, the Imperial Bank was in charge of investing in the governnts telegraph project.
So, even though the sun had not risen much, a huge crowd gathered in front of the Imperial Bank.
The scene was like a bank run.
Of course, the difference was that they were not shouting to take out money, but to put it in.
Haha. This is amazing.
Kim Ki-woo laughed as he looked at the investnt funds that had co in just a week.
Even after a week, the enthusiasm hasnt subsided, has it?
Thats right. The branches of the Imperial Bank all over the country have no ti to rest from opening to closing. Because of that, other banking operations are not going smoothly either.
Hmm. We cant have any problems with banking. We cant repeat the sa situation every ti sothing like this happens. So, increase the number of Imperial Bank branches nationwide.
Yes, sir.
The Minister of Finance accepted Kim Ki-woos words without hesitation.
He also didnt want a negative image of the Imperial Bank to spread.
What a huge amount of investnt. Well, I expected this to happen.
There was nothing wrong with having a lot of investnt funds.
It ant that they could expand the telegraph project explosively.
And as expected, they were already ready to lay down telegraphs.
Minister of Communications.
Yes, Your Majesty.
Im sorry for setting up the Ministry of Communications so abruptly, but do your best to organize it for the ti being. The Ministry of Communications will not only manage telegraphs in the future. Im sure that communication thods will continue to develop.
I will live up to Your Majestys expectations.
Telegraphs were just the beginning.
From telephones to wireless communications, the role of the Ministry of Communications was very important.
And Minister of Construction.
Please give your orders.
Dont worry about money and lay down telegraphs as if youre covering Wakan Tanka continent. Can you do it?
Just leave it to !
Minister of Industry, build power plants in appropriate places so that telegraphs can be fully supplied with electricity. Electricity will not only be needed for telegraphs, but also for many other fields in the future. So keep in mind that you have to increase power plants steadily.
Yes, Your Majesty!
Good. I trust you all to do well as always.
Thats how the imperial eting ended and the telegraph project finally began in earnest.
The governnt hired a lot of manpower.
As a result, especially in North Continent, there was a severe shortage of manpower.
It was less so in mainland and south regions.
The important thing was that once again, a huge boom swept over the empire.
***
Its been a while.
I greet Your Majesty, the great emperor.
Haha. Sit down. Do you want so tea?
If possible, I would like so coffee.
Possible or not.
Kim Ki-woo gladly accepted Yi Hwangs request and asked his attendant to bring coffee and cocoa.
Gulp.
Mmm I really like this sweet cocoa. Coffee is too bitter for .
Is that so? I love coffee that wakes up when Im sleepy.
Kim Ki-woo didnt bring coffee seeds from modern tis in the first place.
He wasnt particularly fond of coffee.
But sohow coffee beca popular.
It seed that peoples tastes didnt change even if history changed.
I heard about it. A lot of blood was shed.
It was a necessary asure for the reform of our country. Your Majesty is always grateful to Your Majesty for your generous grace and great support.
Kim Ki-woo nodded at his words.
Well, Im giving him a lot of support.
Of course, it was money that had to be paid back in the distant future, but it was practically free since there was no interest.
The economy was booming so inflation would steadily lower the value of money.
Not only that, he also supported him with six-shot revolvers, rifles, and even machine guns.
Even at this mont, there was a lot of resistance to Joseons reform, but the power of the opposition was so weak that it couldnt even compare with the reformists.
I see. Now tell why you really ca to see .
Why do I need a reason to see Your Majesty, the great emperor?
Haha. Okay then tell . Youre not going to keep going like this, are you?
At that, Yi Hwang said with a serious expression.
Its nothing else but I need a large amount of food again. Is it possible to get it on the sa terms as before?
Hahaha. How much more do you want to weaken the power of the landlords?
At Kim Ki-woos teasing, Yi Hwang smiled awkwardly.
I see. Well, you saw it on your way here. The agricultural productivity of the empire is growing fast.
Thats right. I didnt know the power of agricultural machinery was so great.
Yi Hwang shivered slightly as he thought of the agricultural machines that were constantly being developed.
The performance of these machines was truly shocking.
They could cultivate a vast land with a few people.
If these machines are distributed in this vast continent of Wakan Tanka How much food will be produced? I cant even imagine.
Not only that, but now there were also things called telegraphs that were installed everywhere.
Yi Hwang felt overwheld by the expanding montum of the empire.
This turned into a desire for reform in his holand, and it beca a driving force for Yi Hwang to work harder.
You have to save a lot of food anyway, so do your best for the reform.
We will never forget your grace in Joseon.
After Yi Hwang left, Kim Ki-woo smiled as he looked at the situation in Joseon.
Killing off the landlords
Kim Ki-woo had transferred a large amount of food to Joseon at almost nothing.
And the reformists led by Yi Hwang dumped this food into their dostic market at a very low price.
As a result, the food prices plumted.
The ones who suffered the most from this were obviously the landlords.
They had no profit from producing food, so their power shrunk in no ti.
The landlords in Honam region, which was a grain-producing area, were the most opposed to the reform, so the power of the opposition was greatly weakened.
At the sa ti, the farrs in each region also lost the need to farm in an instant.
The empires enormous food made this possible.
Because of this, many farrs lost their jobs.
If it had just been like this, there would have been a lot of social chaos, but Yi Hwang was not soone who did things without thinking.
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