American: Native Empire Chapter 6: Obstacles and Solutions

Chapter 6 < Obstacles and Solutions >

Kim Ki-woo could tell why he was running.

He couldnt help but know when he saw the iron ore in his hand.

I found it! I found the place you were talking about!!

Big Rocks voice was filled with joy.

He found it faster than I thought

He was happy, but not enough to show it much. It was planned, after all.

He just thought it would take more than a month to find the mine, so he was impressed that the mine was found quickly.

Kim Ki-woo looked over the iron ore that Big Rock handed him.

Its high-quality iron ore.

He had a rough feeling. He had trained enough to see and distinguish various ores of minerals, not just iron ore, in modern tis.

Good. Its a very good iron ore. Where did you find it?

It took a long walk from the village until my legs hurt. Do you want to show you?

Yeah. Lets go right away.

There was no sense of ti here. Of course, there was no clock either.

He had to educate the tribesn when civilization was ripe enough.

There was only primitive writing here. There was a fairly sophisticated number system in Central and South Arica, but not in the Creek tribe.

So Kim Ki-woo had been thinking for a while. Numbers were obviously taught in Arabic nurals, but letters were different.

Should he teach them the alphabet or Hangul?

Other languages, such as Chinese characters, were out of the question. They were too hard to learn.

There were pros and cons to each, but Kim Ki-woo eventually made a decision.

It has to be Hangul!

The reason was nothing special.

It was familiar to him.

Wouldnt his mother tongue be more familiar? Hangul was not inferior to the alphabet either.

Of course, there were parts that did not match modern Korean. Because the pronunciation was different.

That part needed correction.

Here we are.

Chief Spirit, youre here.

Youre here!

Yeah. Youve all worked hard. You found iron ore here?

I found it.

Oh, really?

He was a familiar face. He always ca forward whenever he tried to do sothing.

His na was Big Rock.

He was a respected warrior in the tribe and one of the 16 n who saw Kim Ki-woo co down from the sky.

Big Rock always boasted about that fact. His body might be solid, but his tongue was light and soft.

Kim Ki-woo checked where the iron ore was mined.

It was hard to dig deep iron mines with their current technology. It was just starting, so it was natural.

So they had to find a place that was easy to mine near the surface as much as possible. In that respect, this place was perfect.

I can finally build my first iron mine.

Maybe when the era went beyond modernity to modernity, this place would be designated as a cultural heritage by a place like modern UNESCO.

As an iron mine that led humanitys leap.

Kim Ki-woo wanted to see that scene with his own eyes.

*

This place, where Alabama is now, does not have temperatures below freezing most of the ti. It didnt feel like winter for Kim Ki-woo who lived in modern Korea.

Of course, sumr is very hot and long. Thats why cotton grows so well here.

So they could continue developing the iron mine smoothly even in winter.

Kim Ki-woo managed and supervised the iron mine with special attention to safety accidents.

He tried his best to adapt to the reality of this era by using his mories from the future as milestones.

So far, there were no warriors who were seriously injured.

The village was lively.

Food team that went hunting and gathering, miner team that mined iron ore, logging team that brought wood, etc.

They were divided into three categories and worked until sunset every day.

A day off?

There was no such thing in this era. Every day was a succession of work.

No wonder there are no evil bosses here.

He felt that way, but he didnt have a day off either. Kim Ki-woo consoled himself with that thought.

Ready to go.

Yeah?

Straight Tree ca into Kim Ki-woos room and reported. Only then did Kim Ki-woo get up from his seat.

He was right. When he went outside, he saw 60 warriors carrying loads on their backs waiting for him.

I desperately need a cart.

But for now, a load was a hundred tis better than a cart. There was no road to pull a cart on.

No choice. I have to carry it on my back to the village.

There was no furnace in this village yet. It would take ti to make one, and not only the furnace, but also the conditions for making charcoal and listone were not ready. The biggest problem was the lack of manpower.

That ant they had no choice but to carry the iron ore on their backs and walk to the tribe for the ti being.

At least it was easier to move things with loads.

The first thought was hard, but the principle of making a load was not very difficult. One of the reasons why the logging team kept bringing wood was that.

Lets go!

As Kim Ki-woos words ended, the warriors march began.

Ill have to say goodbye to this place for a while.

Kim Ki-woo thought as he walked, looking back at the village that was getting farther away.

He had made sure that the mining team knew how to operate and be careful about the iron ore. Over ti, professional miners would be ford around them.

With their efforts, the Creek tribe would enter a full-fledged iron age.

He didnt have ti to linger in this village. He had to teach the Creek tribesn how to use iron step by step.

He heard that many of the ongoing works were squeaking after Kim Ki-woo left.

The village could not sustain growth without Kim Ki-woo yet.

*

A large amount of iron ore began to flow into the village. But a lot of labor was essential for pre-modern ironmaking.

So many warriors and even won were mobilized for ironmaking and various works.

Fortunately, thanks to the orange crops and improved seeds, food production increased and they could mobilize many people for work.

But they were still people who were squeezed out of those who were not there. They were too scarce.

As a result, Kim Ki-woo had no ti to rest. He had to lead them himself and increase production efficiency as much as possible so that various industries could run more smoothly.

But that wasnt the end of it. The problem was that he started another work in the midst of being so busy that he had no ti to breathe.

I cant just use wrought iron.

He had to make steel.

Steel?

Isnt steel an industry that represents modernity? Wasnt it hard to make steel in ancient and dieval tis?

But surprisingly, this happened as early as the 4th century BC in India.

Start.

Yes.

Today, he will demonstrate the historic steel sword.

After Kim Ki-woos words ended, a warrior with a steel sword raised it high in the sky. For a mont, the sword reflected the sunlight and struck Kim Ki-woos eyes. It looked very brilliant.

Swoosh!

Crash!

Wow!

Can, can that be

Exclamations and sighs echoed in the open space.

He had a good reason to be surprised, as the iron rod that was fixed between the logs broke in one go.

Yet, the steel sword looked unscathed.

How can that be? They are both made of iron, arent they?

They may look the sa on the outside, but they are different on the inside.

What do you an?

It depends on how you process the sa material, and what else you add to it.

Hmm

The smart one realized that he couldnt understand the words of the spirit chief with his own experience.

I feel very ashad of my na.

Ha ha. You shouldnt think like that. The real sha is not knowing sothing, but not seeking knowledge about it even though you dont know. Why dont you gradually discover various truths from now on?

Oh, indeed!

Kim Ki-woo turned away from the admiring gaze of the smart one and looked at the ongoing performance test of the steel sword.

Good. Very good.

The test was very successful. Kim Ki-woo was very satisfied.

In modern Arica, steel weapons are unbeatable.

This was possible because he had the steelmaking thod of Uts steel in his head.

The rough outline of the steelmaking thod was as follows.

High-quality iron ore with a purity of over 50% mined from the mountains was turned into pig iron in a blast furnace.

Then, a certain ratio of pig iron lumps and charcoal pieces were put into a crucible.

Then, the entrance was sealed and the temperature was raised in the blast furnace. The lted pig iron absorbed carbon from the charcoal.

Although this process was very difficult and produced little, there was no choice but to do it because pig iron couldnt be used as it was.

More importantly, Kim Ki-woo had a reason to make such an effort and make steel.

As the Creek tribe began to live well, it was obvious that the surrounding major tribes noticed and had sinister thoughts.

Moreover, he didnt know when the famous Aztec Empire, located on the xican plateau, would extend its tentacles.

If a treasure is given to a weak person, it is bound to be taken away by a stronger person nearby. To overco this, he had to raise his level of military power to be equal or superior to them.

*

Ti passed quickly. It had been quite a while since Kim Ki-woo returned to the central village of the Creek tribe.

Now it was ti to sow seeds.

Steelmaking and ironmaking are also stabilizing.

There were countless things that could be done with solid steel. First of all, farming beca easier.

He made basic agricultural tools such as hoes, sickles, and weeders. Solid iron greatly improved the efficiency of farming.

The most important thing is still weapons.

The primary goal of steel production was steel weapons. Therefore, he prioritized increasing steel weapons.

He also made essential items for living such as needles and basic scissors. As a result, it beca easier to make cloth.

He also made nails that could easily connect wood.

In short, it started to be used in various places. Of course, it wasnt a lot because of the lack of iron.

During this period, Kim Ki-woo and all the tribesn continued their forced march. But as ti passed, they got used to it and got better than before.

It might get better if more ti passed, but at least other work was impossible for now. Besides, they had to farm now.

There are still many things to make

He had to make pottery to innovate dishes and other storage containers, develop listone mines, and produce cent.

There were also countless things that he was only planning for now.

Such as roads, boats for water transportation, water wheels, paper, pencils, and even soap and gunpowder

Sigh. They are all pie in the sky. There is not enough labor.

Even with the blessing of the yellow crops! He even made new farming tools! Even though he mobilized a lot of won!

It was truly lantable.

Since Kim Ki-woo ca to the Creek village, he had been emphasizing hygiene and gradually improving the sanitary conditions. The food supply had increased and the nutrition was balanced.

Therefore, as ti passed, the infant mortality rate would decrease and the population would naturally increase.

But not right now.

Rather, if more infants were born, many of the laborers who were mobilized now would have to leave to take care of them in the short term.

A population of just over 20,000 was not enough to raise an industry.

Is that the only way?

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