“I’m home!”

As the child’s energetic voice echoed through the house, their mother, who had been cooking in the kitchen, stepped out while drying her wet hands on an apron.

“Welcome back. Did you enjoy your lessons at school?”

“Yes!”

The child worked the manual pump in one corner of the yard to fill a basin with water, then vigorously scrubbed their hands with soap placed nearby.

While this scene appeared to be the daily routine of an ordinary imperial commoner family, there was something different about it.

This was the New Frontier, and the mother and child who just conversed were natives of this land.

They wore clothing that blended traditional native dress with imperial fashions from across the sea. Instead of living in traditional wigwams, they resided in brick houses equipped with separate kitchens and flush toilets. They were modern natives who utilized sanitation facilities with running water and sent their children to formal schools.

“Phew…”

Having finished the evening dishes, ‘Woodpecker’ let out a soft sigh as she sat down in the living room chair. Cupping a steaming mug of black bean tea in both hands, she watched her son ‘Clever Fox’ wrestling with his homework at one end of the table.

As she observed her son studying by the yellow light of the carbide lamp (nicknamed the Blue Stone Lamp[1] due to the color of the carbide), Woodpecker was suddenly struck by an unfamiliar feeling.

When I was young, I never imagined living like this…

***

When Woodpecker—named for her tendency to chatter loudly—first began forming proper memories, her tribe made contact with a group of foreigners.

These people had come from far beyond the territories of not just her own tribe within the Iroquois, but beyond even the lands of the united tribes known as the Kanonsionni.

She still vividly remembered how all the warriors of the confederation tensed when these strangers first appeared, mounted on beasts they had never seen before.

However, the newcomers showed no hostility and sought dialogue. After much communication through gestures, the confederation’s chiefs and warriors learned that these people needed a place to stay. After consulting with the Clan Mothers, they decided to offer them territory. They couldn’t risk fighting without knowing the strangers’ true capabilities.

These newcomers who made their home there soon became members of the confederation. This was largely because they shared hostile relations with the Algonquin and Huron tribes, who were also enemies of the confederation.

Not long after the strangers’ arrival, warriors from the Algonquin[2] and Huron tribes launched a combined assault.

Faced with this unprecedented large-scale attack—a joint operation between traditional enemies—the confederation’s chiefs and warriors prepared for potential annihilation.

But when the foreigners appeared mounted on their strange beasts, the Algonquin and Huron warriors suddenly hesitated.

When the strangers aimed their long sticks, the warriors of both tribes began to retreat.

Then came a thunderous sound unlike anything they’d ever heard before, as if lightning had struck nearby. Smoke rose from the strangers’ sticks, and the retreating warriors fell with screams.

What followed was a one-sided massacre. Though the hesitating warriors charged forward with battle cries, they fell screaming each time smoke erupted from the sticks. When the warriors could no longer endure and turned to flee, the strangers pursued them on their unfamiliar mounts.

During this battle, the confederation’s warriors witnessed the true extent of the foreigners’ power. While the confederation’s warriors were equipped only with weapons crafted from hardwood and stone, the strangers wielded gleaming implements that were incredibly hard and sharp.

After witnessing the foreigners’ military might, the confederation’s chiefs and Clan Mothers accepted them as members.

“Better to welcome them as brothers than keep them as enemies!”

Through subsequent interactions with these new confederation members, they learned that their weapons weren’t made from simple stone, but from a material called iron—stone that had been melted and forged.

***

Following King Sejong’s orders, the Joseon forces who had established a bridgehead in northwestern New Frontier began their eastward advance.

• Reach the eastern extremity of New Frontier as quickly as possible.
• Secure reliable and safe transportation routes between the bridgehead and eastern outposts.
• Prioritize diplomatic relations with encountered natives, but respond decisively to any conflicts. The response intensity should match that used against the Jurchen.

The commanders at the bridgehead fixed their attention on the final point of Sejong’s written orders.

“If we’re to respond as we did to the Jurchen, that includes authorization for tribal extermination.”

The nodding commanders began analyzing Sejong’s orders in detail for more efficient execution.

“Why prioritize reaching the eastern edge?”

The commanders pondered the reasoning. By their conventional wisdom, the standard approach would be to expand gradually outward from the bridgehead, solidifying control as they progressed.

While they contemplated Sejong’s reasoning, one commander offered a plausible theory.

“I’ve heard rumors from the Crown Prince’s research institute that the world is spherical like a ball. If that’s true, wouldn’t the Western nations eventually reach the New Frontier if they keep moving west?”

“That’s it!”

The other commanders nodded in sudden understanding.

Following standard procedure might cost them time, potentially leading to sovereignty disputes with Western powers arriving from the opposite direction. However, if they established an east-west connection first and expanded north and south from that line, they would be less likely to lose dominance even if Western powers arrived.

Though their interpretation somewhat missed Sejong’s true intent—it was actually closer to Hyang’s thinking—they had grasped the basic concept.

With this understanding of their orders, the commanders devoted themselves to successful execution.

They cultivated goodwill with contacted natives using trade as bait. Joseon’s advanced iron farming tools proved to be the ultimate weapon for winning native favor.

However, they responded firmly with military force against hostile natives.

This forceful response resulted in the Algonquin and Huron tribes becoming enemies of Joseon. Yet the disparity in military capability was so vast that these tribes had no choice but to withdraw whenever Joseon forces appeared.

Given this background, the alliance between the Iroquois Confederation and Joseon proved mutually beneficial.

For the Iroquois Confederation, they gained powerful allies capable of subduing their archenemies, the Algonquin and Huron tribes. For Joseon, they secured partnership with the largest native coalition in the region.

By joining hands with the Iroquois Confederation controlling eastern New Frontier, they created the canvas upon which Sejong’s grand vision could be painted.

***

The integration of this strange tribe called ‘Joseon’ into the confederation brought significant changes to the lives of native women like Woodpecker.

The most significant change was women learning Hunminjeongeum, the Joseon writing system.

A major responsibility of confederation women had been memorizing tribal traditions. It was their duty to memorize orally transmitted knowledge, teach it to children, and pass it down to future generations.

However, their burden decreased significantly once they could record traditions using Hunminjeongeum. Moreover, by comparing written records, they could correct inconsistencies in oral traditions.

Not long after, the women’s society was stirred up again when trading posts appeared in Joseon settlements.

The “gwangmok” cloth was remarkable, far superior to the animal furs and coarsely woven fabrics they had used for clothing, and the iron needles were equally revolutionary.

The trading posts were filled with many other fascinating and useful items.

“If you want goods, you must provide something in exchange.”

“Exchange?”

“Gold, silver, or even animal pelts will do.”

“We understand pelts, but what are gold and silver?”

Hearing the women’s questions, the trading post manager opened a drawer and showed them pieces of gold and silver.

“The yellow one is gold, and the white one is silver.”

“Ah… Where can we find these?”

“Someone who brought these said they found them in the river down south.”

Subsequently, the confederation’s men had to endure their women’s persistent demands.

“Go hunt some deer, or at least find some gold in the river!”

Though driven by the women’s demands, the men were also motivated by their own desires and threw themselves into hunting and gold panning.

What they desired were Joseon weapons, especially bows and horses.

With Joseon’s integration into the Iroquois Confederation, interaction between Joseon soldiers and confederation warriors became frequent.

“Besides those jangchong and masangchong[3] weapons, you don’t seem very fearsome.”

The Joseon soldiers smiled at the confederation warriors’ comments while internally thinking, ‘They’d faint if they saw our hwapo artillery.’

The confederation warriors demonstrated their stone tomahawks and war clubs, proudly showing off their martial arts. The Joseon soldiers nodded along appreciatively.

However, when the natives showed their bows, the Joseon soldiers quickly raised their hands.

“Wait! Just a moment, please!”

After asking the warriors’ indulgence, the Joseon soldiers returned to their quarters and brought out rolled composite bows and quivers of arrows.

Bracing the bow against their shins to string it, the Joseon soldiers nocked arrows while explaining to the warriors.

“Now, about bows…”

The warriors’ eyes widened at the subsequent demonstration.

These smaller bows shot arrows farther and more powerfully than their own.

After witnessing the power of Joseon composite bows, all the warriors muttered the same thing:

“I want one…”

The desire for horses was even more intense. The utility of horses, witnessed in both recent battles and various other situations, was remarkable.

Shin Sukju, having perceived these natives’ desires, dangled the bait.

“Horses might be impossible right now, but you can buy bows and arrows at the trading post.”

“Really? Thank you!”

Having found a path through Shin Sukju, the natives, both men and women, began working diligently. Men went hunting or panned for gold, while women processed hides or joined the men in gold panning.

However, this proved inefficient. With native weapons, it was difficult to hunt large game alone or even in pairs. They had to hunt in groups, which meant smaller shares of the spoils when divided.

Gold panning was similarly challenging. A full day of sifting through river sand rarely yielded significant gold nuggets.

Of course, even these small shares could purchase basic necessities like needles.

But as the saying goes, “seeing is wanting,” and the natives began desiring more expensive and precious items, especially goods like gwangmok cloth.

That’s when a passing Joseon soldier casually offered advice.

“Bears and deer are your best bet. Just one of those will fetch a good price.”

“Oh? Thank you!”

And not long after, an interesting transformation occurred.

The situation of bears chasing natives somehow changed to natives hunting bears in groups.