After a bit of bickering with Jinpyeong and loosening up his body, Hyang mounted his horse and headed toward the royal palace in the New Frontier.

“They said it was quite substantial in size…”

Heading toward the palace about 5 li (2 km) away, Hyang couldn’t hide his curiosity.

***

After discovering the New Frontier and securing a bridgehead—now called Chosi—the empire (then called Joseon) began construction work to solidify this foothold.

At that time, soldiers involved in the construction had to engage in frenzied logging.

“The mere sight of an axe makes me sick now!”

Such statements circulated openly among the military engineers, as an enormous amount of logging had to be done in Chosi. This was because the surroundings were all forested areas. The issue was the scale of these forests.

The forests of the New Frontier were of a tremendous size that easily transcended the cognitive realm of imperial citizens.

“The forests north of Dongping Harbor were impressive, but those in the New Frontier seem several times larger.”

The forests were so vast that even seasoned veterans who had participated in the construction of Dongping Harbor and subsequent northern forest development could only shake their heads in amazement.

But despite the flood of complaints, the logging couldn’t stop.

They needed space to store supplies sent from the homeland.

“We have two options. One is to fill in the sea, and the other is to cut down all these damn trees. Which shall we choose?”

At these words from the officers in charge of administrative supplies, soldiers immediately closed their mouths and picked up saws and axes.

The trees felled to create living space were dried well and transformed into building materials.

From this point, the situation became interesting.

***

“It seems we might run short on cement? And steel rods too.”

“Right? But we can’t reduce food, medicine, or gunpowder either.”

In the homeland, cement and steel had replaced wood as the main building materials.

But in the New Frontier, which was too far to receive supplies from the homeland, using cement and steel presented many inconveniences.

And since there were more hostile tribes than friendly ones in the early development of the New Frontier, they couldn’t reduce ammunition supplies either.

Eventually, the commanders had to reach a conclusion.

“Let’s just build with wood! Trees are what we have in abundance!”

Fortunately, among the lower and middle-ranking officers of the engineering corps were many former carpenters and stonemasons. This was natural, as Hyang had actively recruited carpenters, stonemasons, and others from the very beginning of the engineering corps’ establishment.

And since wood and stone were abundant everywhere, these craftsmen began enthusiastically constructing buildings.

“Such excellent wood quality! Back in the homeland, only the considerably wealthy could dream of building houses with such timber! To be able to use such fine materials for free! Oh my, how wonderful!”

The decisions of senior officers and officials also played a role.

“It’s certain that more and more supplies and people will be coming in, so while we’re building, let’s build big!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Not enough space? Then cut down more trees!”

“Yes, sir!”

Following the decisions of these high-ranking individuals, the structures in Chosi boasted considerable size from the start.

Subsequently, as the eastward expansion began, fortresses and garrisons built along the way were also constructed on a large scale.

Through this process, the skills of carpenters and stonemasons in the engineering corps improved remarkably.

Thanks to this, the further east they went, the more magnificent and refined the buildings became.

It wasn’t just that they grew larger and more magnificent. Even defensive facilities were made large and solid using wood, earth, and stone.

These structures also brought unexpected effects—nearby tribes began to grow friendly after seeing the magnificent buildings.

“Have you seen where the Thunder Sound tribe stays? How can they create such large buildings?”

The living standards of the native people in the North American region at that time were, unlike those in Central and South America, practically stalled at the Neolithic level.

Most of them lived in tents made from bison and deer hide. A few tribes built houses using wood, earth, and stone, but without iron tools, let alone proper bronze ones, the buildings they could construct were hardly more advanced than pit houses.

In such a situation, the magnificent buildings and fortresses erected by the imperial army were intimidating just to look at.

Because of this, surrounding tribes began to bow their heads and come in.

And the culmination of these changes was the royal palace built in Mississippi.

***

The farther east they went, the more the forest trees became denser with harder wood varieties.

The sturdy hulls of American ships that gained notoriety during the American-British War in the history before Hyang’s intervention were made from timber harvested in this eastern region.

Thanks to this, they could easily obtain the finest building materials if properly processed.

The decisive moment came after the discovery of the Great Lakes region.

With various resource areas scattered around and the east coast just a little further east, Sejong decided to make this place the center of New Frontier development.

Of course, Hyang’s heavy “MSG seasoning” also played a part.

“We can’t miss out on the Rust Belt!”

With Sejong’s decision made, the New Frontier pioneering team carefully considered where to establish their base city.

“I’ve suddenly become Monk Muhak!”

“Then, is this Wangshipri?”

Half-jokingly and half-seriously, the pioneering team scoured the Great Lakes area with the mindset of Monk Muhak[1] searching for a new capital.

After much deliberation, they chose Mississippi. Mississippi, meaning “big water” or “many waters” in the native language, bordered four of the five Great Lakes.

“We’ll lay railways eventually, but until then, we can use water transport, so it’s the best location.”

“The lakes themselves serve as natural defenses, which is also good.”

Having established their location, the pioneering team began solidifying the connecting road with the bridgehead—later named Chosi—and started erecting buildings.

When Sejong received the report and sent a large-scale development team, the construction of Mississippi accelerated further.

Especially with the arrival of large numbers of artisans for the construction and operation of Area 52, modeled after Area 51, the administrators of Mississippi drew up grand plans.

“Let’s create a city that won’t pale in comparison to Hanseong—today’s Seoul!”

“That sounds great! It’s going to be recorded in history anyway! I should make sure my name is properly remembered!”

True to being a “nation of records,” the empire recorded the names of all involved parties in every administrative task without fail.

Additionally, there was a widespread rumor that Sejong would move to the New Frontier after his abdication and take personal command.

And it was certain that this situation of an emperor residing in and managing the New Frontier wouldn’t end with Sejong.

—In that case, let’s make it solid from the start!

The issue was funding.

However, trees were abundant everywhere, and the necessary iron materials could be somewhat solved by the artisans who had come for the construction of Area 52.

The problem of supplying minerals to the artisans could be adequately addressed by coaxing the surrounding tribes.

After careful consideration and analysis, the administrators and soldiers, convinced that it was entirely feasible, united in purpose.

“Alright, let’s do it!”

“Let’s go!”

***

Given this development background, Hyang showed curiosity about the royal palace built in Mississippi.

And upon arriving at the main gate of the palace, Hyang’s jaw dropped.

“This is a royal palace?”

To Hyang’s question, the official replied with a face full of pride.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“It’s quite spacious.”

“Yes, it’s a bit spacious, Your Majesty!”

At the official’s response, Hyang muttered inwardly.

It makes the Forbidden City look shabby.

“What’s the scale?”

“East to west, it’s 5 li (about 2 km), and north to south, it’s 6 li (about 2.4 km).”

At the official’s answer, Hyang shook his head back and forth.

So the “heavenly empire” scale came not from the people but from the land! If they had made it a bit bigger, it would have matched the size of the entire Seoul!

Shaking his head at the scale that exceeded imagination, Hyang asked the official.

“Isn’t the size too large?”

“Well, as we enhanced operational efficiency, the size expanded.”

“Operational efficiency?”

“Yes. By keeping the administrative buildings and imperial army garrison close together, the size grew.”

“So you’re saying that the buildings of the Six Ministries, the palace, and the military garrison defending Mississippi are all inside there?”

“That’s correct, Your Majesty. And we also included spaces where the people living outside could take refuge in emergencies, which further increased its size.”

At the official’s explanation, Hyang nodded.

“Reasonably justifiable… I understand. Let’s go in.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Guided by the official, Hyang’s entourage headed toward the main gate of the palace.

“Attention!”

Receiving military salutes from the soldiers guarding the main gate, Hyang passed through and shook his head again at the sight of the straight, broad avenue stretching ahead.

“It seems I’ll need to ride a horse even inside the palace.”

“We plan to operate circulating carriages for cleanliness and efficiency.”

“Circulating carriages?”

“Yes.”

At the official’s answer, Hyang once again shook his head and cried out inwardly.

Imperial Father! What on earth have you created!

***

Upon arriving at the inner palace, which was also the main palace, Hyang immediately ordered the official after unpacking.

“Bring me a map of Mississippi.”

“Perhaps you should rest from your journey first…”

“Rest is rest, and work is work. Bring it to me.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

After examining the large map brought by the official, Hyang murmured with an awkward smile.

“Well, this is something…”

Hearing Hyang’s murmur, the official hesitated briefly before handing him a letter.

“What is this?”

“The Venerable Emperor left this letter to be delivered to Your Majesty if you asked for the map first.”

At the official’s words, Hyang took the letter, opened the envelope, and removed the contents.

The message, unmistakably in Sejong’s handwriting, was brief and concise:

—I didn’t start this. I just fanned the flames.

“Hahaha…”

With a defeated expression, Hyang laughed hollowly, then examined the map and ordered the official.

“Tell Duke Jinpyeong to come.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

After dismissing the official, Hyang stared at the map and sighed.

“Sigh~ I’ll have to lay city circulation railways before transcontinental ones. Who would have thought I’d encounter a situation that perfectly fits the saying, ‘They don’t know how high the sky is, only how wide the land is.'”

***

“You called for me, Your Majesty?”

As soon as Jinpyeong arrived, Hyang pointed to the map and got straight to the point.

“First, we need to build a railway that circles within Mississippi.”

“Pardon?”

When Jinpyeong expressed doubt, Hyang pointed at the map with his finger.

“This damn…”

Barely suppressing a curse that was about to escape upon seeing the map, Jinpyeong turned to look at Hyang.

“I didn’t see this map on the way here. Why did you show it to me only now?”

“It wasn’t my doing.”

“What?”

After expressing doubt, Jinpyeong soon heaved a long sigh.

“It seems the Venerable Emperor really didn’t want to return to Seoul.”

“I agree.”

It was a small revenge from Sejong, who had wanted to stay in the New Frontier but had to return to Seoul.

The brothers, who had been sighing while looking at the map, soon reached a conclusion.

“It seems we need to abandon our familiar concepts of distance and weight from Seoul.”

“That’s right. We’ve underestimated the size of the New Frontier too much. Liaodong was impressive, but here, even Liaodong seems trivial.”