American: Native Empire - Chapter 137

Chapter 137: The West.

The war was fought on both sides at the same time.

“It’s dangerous to leave them alone.”

The Hojo clan had achieved a great victory in the last blitzkrieg, expanding their territory significantly. 

This posed a huge threat to the neighboring Sengoku Daimyo, such as the Echigo and Kai provinces.

Therefore, they put aside their own chaotic situations and formed a military alliance with each other.

And as soon as Hojo Ujitsuna led his troops away, they seized the opportunity.

“As expected. They won’t let it go easily.”

Hojo Ujitsuna knew well how things would turn out. 

He would not miss such a golden opportunity either.

“Time is on our side.”

He had no intention of being reckless. 

He boldly withdrew from the areas that were hard to defend, and concentrated his troops on the places that were easy to defend.

And this choice gave the enemies despair.

When he used his firearms only for defense, the places guarded by Hojo Ujitsuna’s troops became walls of wailing.

While a perfect defense was being carried out in the base, on the other side of Iwami, Hojo Ujitsuna was winning one battle after another.

He pushed back the Iwami silver mine and its surrounding areas in no time, based on his unfamiliar firepower.

“…How can he do that?”

Ouchi Yoshitaka was more than surprised, he felt a sense of awe for the new weapon.

Of course, it also helped that he caught them off guard and pushed them back quickly, but even so, he was pushed back too easily.

Ouchi Yoshitaka realized the power of the firearms and the Wakan Tangga Empire through this battle.

“As promised, I have subdued Iwami and its surroundings with my own clan’s power. Honey, now it’s your turn to keep your promise.”

“Haha. Don’t worry. I will keep my word.”

***

“Nice to meet you. I’m called the Swift Rope of the Wakan Tangga Empire.”

“Haha. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

After the war ended rather anticlimactically,

The Swift Rope met with Ouchi Yoshitaka.

‘I have to get along well with the empire.’

Having felt the power of the firearms firsthand, Ouchi Yoshitaka welcomed the Swift Rope and his entourage very warmly.

“Thank you for welcoming us so kindly.”

“You came all this way from afar, it’s only natural. I want to know more about your empire.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. I will provide you with every convenience while you stay here.”

Ouchi Yoshitaka kept his promise.

After their first meeting, he agreed to most of the requests made by the Swift Rope without much hesitation.

He first checked the situation of the Iwami silver mine.

‘Wow… It’s not inferior to the South Continent.’

The Swift Rope was amazed by the amount of silver mined from Iwami.

In the South Continent, Potosi silver mine had started to produce a tremendous amount of silver.

But this small island nation’s Iwami silver mine was comparable to that level.

“As expected. If we provide technical support, we can mine much more silver than now. The scale of silver deposits is enormous.”

“Well done.”

With the confirmation from the mining expert who came with him, the Swift Rope was sure.

‘This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me.’

To have exclusive trade with a clan that owns a silver mine comparable to Potosi?

He saw a huge fortune in front of his eyes.

After confirming the potential of Iwami, the Swift Rope went straight to Ouchi Yoshitaka.

“How was the Iwami silver mine?”

“It was amazing. It was comparable to our empire’s best silver mine.”

“Oh. Your empire also has a great silver mine.”

The Swift Rope briefly mentioned the silver mine to Fotothi.

And he added, with a hint of regret in his voice.

“It’s a pity. If you had the imperial technology support, you would have produced much more silver than now.”

“…Can you tell me more about it?”

Ouchi Yoshitaka showed great interest in the prospect of getting more silver.

“You may not believe it, but the imperial technology is amazing.”

“I know that from seeing it with my own eyes.”

Ouchi Yoshitaka had experienced the excellence of the imperial technology firsthand, when he saw the huge airship and the steam engine and the latest firearms that the Swift Rope had brought with him a while ago.

“Then this will be quick. It’s as simple as that. If we help you, you can mine much more silver. Of course, this kind of support requires a national approval, so…”

“Ha ha. I get what you mean. There’s no gain without pain.”

“You are very wise.”

“If I get more silver than now, I’ll give you some of it as a price.”

This was beneficial for both sides.

The Swift Rope was happy to get a huge profit with little effort, and Ouchi Yoshitaka needed more funds in this chaotic era.

The challenge from the surrounding daimyos was not over yet, but rather just beginning.

For now, he had to secure more money quickly and bring in the imperial firearms.

It was also a great boon for the Hojo clan, who had agreed to receive 20% of the total output.

After all the negotiations on mining technology support and trade were concluded, both sides and Hojo Ujitsuna finally signed a treaty.

“Then I look forward to working with you.”

“So do we.”

The expressions of those who exchanged greetings were very bright.

After the treaty, the situation quickly stabilized.

Hojo Ujitsuna and the troops who would protect the Iwami silver mine stayed in Ouchi’s territory for post-mining management, but the rest of the troops returned to Kanto.

“Damn it…”

They were already having trouble with the siege, and the news that the Hojo clan’s troops had returned from their expedition pushed them into a pit of despair.

They realized it.

The fact that this expedition had ended in failure.

Thanks to that, the war in Kanto came to an end.

***

The Swift Rope kept his promise.

He applied the mainland’s mining technology to the Iwami silver mine in the shortest possible time.

It was not difficult to get approval, as there were already cases where they had helped other countries develop their mines.

And soon after, a huge amount of silver was mined from the Iwami silver mine.

“It was true!”

After confirming that it started pouring out in an astonishing amount after applying the imperial technology, Ouchi Yoshitaka was very happy.

‘It’s amazing.’

He was more and more amazed by the Wakantanka Empire as he learned more about it.

‘I want to know more.’

Ouchi Yoshitaka had suffered a great defeat last year, when he attacked Gassantoda Castle and was stabbed in the back by Ogawasara.

As a result, he lost not only the silver mine to Amago, but also his political interest withered after losing Ouchi Harumochi, whom he had invested heavily in.

But this time, Ouchi Yoshitaka regained his vitality and devoted it to understanding the Wakantanka Empire.

He was especially fascinated by the spirit faith.

“Oh, why did I only realize the existence of the great spirits now…”

He was particularly impressed by Kim Kiwoo, the living spirit, and his infinite life and achievements.

So Ouchi Yoshitaka sent many people from his country to the empire, just like Hojo Ujitsuna did.

And he accepted many aspects of the imperial culture, including the spirit faith.

Of course, that didn’t mean he neglected his main business.

“Just like the Hojo clan, I also want to import the empire’s firearms as a priority. Wouldn’t you feel more at ease if we were stable and could continue our trade, Mr. Rope?”

“Of course. Don’t worry. I will teach you everything about the empire’s firearms, not only how to use them, but also how to operate them.”

The amount of silver mined from the Iwami silver mine was more than enough to pay for it.

Not only firearms and gunpowder, but also countless imperial goods and luxury items were imported, and there was still plenty of silver left.

“Phew… I can finally breathe.”

The benefits of the Iwami silver mine also brought great benefits to the Hojo clan.

Although the scale of the intermediary trade was shrinking day by day as more and more imperial merchants arrived in this land, the 20% of silver that came from the Iwami silver mine was enough to offset it and still have a lot left.

Hojo Ujitsuna also focused on bringing in firearms and prepared to advance beyond the Kanto conquest, to Kyoto, which was chaotic beyond compare.

**

Kim Kiwoo was keeping an eye on the situation in Japan.

It was because he knew its history quite well, as he had some kind of bad karma with his homeland.

‘I had a hunch when I saw Hojo Ujitsuna, but Japan’s history will change a lot.’

Hojo Ujitsuna was one of the main figures who took charge of one of the three powers in the Kanto region during the Warring States period.

He was with Takeda Shingen, who was called the Tiger of Kai, and Uesugi Kenshin, who was called the Dragon of Echigo.

But the other two figures were too young to show their presence in history yet.

And judging by the current momentum, it seemed that they would not be able to withstand Hojo’s force.

‘In the original history, Oda Nobunaga couldn’t use his power to unify the world because of the three powers’ mutual restraint.’

The three figures were so outstanding that they eventually failed to become the winners of history.

But if Hojo conquered Kanto as Kim Kiwoo thought, the lineage of power in Japan that led to Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu would be shattered.

‘And if Ouchi continues to build up his power based on the Iwami silver mine…’

Mori Motonari, who was the final winner of the Iwami War, also seemed to fall.

“Have you arrived?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The one who interrupted Kim Kiwoo’s thoughts was the head of commerce.

“Yes. How are things going these days?”

After talking with the head of commerce for a while about this and that,

Kim Kiwoo brought up the main point when he felt that the atmosphere was ripe.

“It’s been quite a while since silver came in from the Iwami silver mine.”

“That’s right.”

“Has the empire’s economic situation stabilized?”

“…The silver that comes from Iwami is definitely playing a big role.”

The empire’s economy expanded at a frightening pace.

Thanks to this, it recorded an enormous economic growth rate every year that could not be experienced in pre-modern society.

‘The bigger the economy grows, the bigger the money grows naturally.’

This was too obvious a story.

But there was one stumbling block at this time.

‘The current currency is not credit currency.’

The empire currently used gold coins and silver coins as official currency.

If they switched to a credit currency system like dollars or pounds in the original history, they could print money whenever they wanted.

But it was hard to do that now.

For now, they had no choice but to mine more gold and silver.

And by using the empire’s technology to quickly develop the Iwami silver mine and bringing in the silver obtained from there, they were able to get out of the recent crisis to some extent.

“Head of commerce, try your best to bring in as much silver as possible from the Iwami silver mine.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I will do my best.”

“Good. You can go now.”

At Kim Kiwoo’s dismissal order, the head of commerce bowed and left his seat.

‘I have secured a lot of silver, so I should increase gold production too.’

Kim Kiwoo continued to adjust the circulation of gold and silver.

The reason was that if the relative value of gold and silver was not constant, it would cause chaos in the empire’s economy.

However, the output of silver was much higher than that of gold, and it was difficult to control it.

Therefore, Kim Ki-woo was regulating the circulation of gold.

But when Potosi and Iwami silver mines joined in, the value of gold showed signs of falling.

‘I need to start developing the gold mines in the west soon.’

This blessed North American continent had plenty of gold as well.

There was a huge amount of gold buried in the west.

Wasn’t this why the western frontier era opened?

‘The west will develop tremendously.’

The west was already developing like crazy.

It couldn’t be helped.

Unlike the original history, the main trade route of the American continent was not the Atlantic, but the Pacific.

As a result, the west, which was adjacent to the Pacific, was the fastest growing region after the sailing ban was relaxed.

And if they started to develop gold mines in earnest…

Their growth rate would be enormous, which was obvious.