After silencing the head of the Audit Office, no more voices of opposition emerged.

This was primarily because Wan’s arguments—especially regarding discrimination and filial piety—were difficult to counter, and secondarily because using the reconstruction to train skilled workers and support settlement was a reasonable approach.

The ministers gathered in the Prime Minister’s conference room showed positive reactions to the palace reconstruction.

“Even though both involve manual labor, railway construction offers few learning opportunities, but palace construction and renovation provide much to learn for those who apply themselves.”

“That’s right. It could be an excellent opportunity especially for the natives. They’ll feel the necessity of learning our phonetic script and numerals.”

While making such positive assessments, some also judged that the empire’s political structure itself might change.

The most representative of these was Kim Jong-seo.

“It seems the future empire won’t just be a federal government in name, but a truly federal system.”

At Kim Jong-seo’s words, Hwangbo In also nodded.

“That’s the most likely possibility. However, as long as the tradition of the Venerable Emperor governing the New Frontier continues, we needn’t worry about fragmentation.”

“That’s the most reassuring aspect.”

Kim Jong-seo strongly agreed with Hwangbo In’s observation.

***

As long as transportation and communication constraints existed, the New Frontier would inevitably be operated separately from the homeland.

The saying “out of sight, out of mind” didn’t apply only to romantic relationships.

Though there was the imperial constitution that applied to the entire empire, lower-level laws would inevitably show significant differences due to environment and customs.

And it was certain that in establishing these lower-level laws, the influence of local officials and people who best understood the local situation would be greatest.

If this process repeated, the New Frontier would eventually break away from the empire.

However, with the Emperor Emeritus governing the New Frontier, this possibility could be significantly reduced.

Having experienced running state affairs from the empire’s center of power, the Emperor Emeritus was someone who could appropriately mediate conflicts between the New Frontier and the homeland.

Moreover, his presence could prevent discrimination that might unconsciously arise between the homeland and the New Frontier.

***

Regardless of such movements in Seoul, Hyang was commanding the palace reconstruction in the New Frontier.

“Having already decided to do it, I have no choice but to proceed. I’ve already written and sent the reasons, and now I must follow through. Surely they wouldn’t behead a former emperor who is the father of the current emperor?”

With such confidence, Hyang had approved and pushed forward with the reconstruction.

“Besides, both the New Frontier and the homeland are severely short of people.”

Mentioning the manpower shortage, Hyang lifted his head, looked at the sky, and muttered softly.

“Come to think of it, that old man is quite skilled at balancing the game… He gave us a cheat key in the form of vast land but nerfed us with population shortage.”

***

A small population was a fatal weakness for both the homeland and the New Frontier.

For the empire to establish itself as a true power, it needed a much larger population than it currently had.

No, a large population, the foundation of labor and tax revenue, was absolutely necessary for the stable operation of the state.

Because of this, since the early Joseon period, those who had many children were rewarded with grain and cloth, and Sejong even went so far as to formally establish a parental leave system.

This was pursued even more actively as the Great Reformation progressed and the country transformed into an empire.

Those who had three or more children received tax benefits and childcare subsidies. Even officials received merit points in personnel evaluations for having many children.

As a result, many male and female officials had to suffer from overwork not only at the workplace but also at home.

Thanks to these measures, the homeland’s population continued on an upward curve, but it was still woefully inadequate compared to neighboring Ming.

The most representative example of the consequences brought by this population gap was military doctrine.

While Ming based its operations on traditional human wave tactics, the empire insisted on operations centered on material and firepower.

This was one reason why the empire had emphasized artillery since the Joseon period.

***

Hyang was acutely feeling the problem of population shortage as he examined the “New Frontier Development Plan” created by Sejong and complemented by himself.

“Though it’s the butterfly effect I triggered, Europe might push westward faster than expected. In such a situation, depending on the homeland has its limitations.”

The problems Hyang had in mind were as follows:

• The homeland’s population continues to increase. As a result, the average age in the homeland is getting younger.

This has both good and bad aspects.

• The good part is that productivity will continuously increase in the future. And with many young people with high sexual energy, the population will continue to grow.
• The bad part is that everything else is problematic.
• A young average age means conversely that there are few people with sufficient experience in various specialized fields.
• Additionally, a young average age means that the economic foundation is also vulnerable. The empire’s standard of living has already risen significantly. Considering this, there will be a tendency toward late marriage or marriage avoidance. This can be seen without going as far as 21st century Korea—just looking at Europe from the Industrial Revolution era to the early 20th century. Even then, birth avoidance had become a social problem.
• Considering all these situations, there will inevitably be limits to supplying the homeland with specialized personnel to send to the New Frontier.
• To establish a foundation in the New Frontier ahead of European expansion, there are various measures, but the first to implement is educating the local natives.

“The second would be that while we may block nations, we shouldn’t block people. Like America.”

Hyang was even considering an active immigration policy for the development of the New Frontier.

But the region Hyang had in mind was Europe.

• Ming is already too accustomed to the concept of the state and “Chinese supremacy.” Accepting them would only create problems.
• Japan does not yet have “Japanese supremacy” but is also accustomed to the concept of the state.
• In contrast, most people in Europe are more familiar with the concepts of their fiefs and cities than those of state and ethnicity.
• Additionally, we must consider the effects of religious conflict, which has ignited faster than expected. Because it was faster than expected, the influence of Catholicism is overwhelmingly strong. This will force Protestants to migrate.
• The interesting thing is that while Catholicism has strong conservative, traditional agricultural tendencies, Protestantism emphasizes commerce and industry.
• If we regulate the speed of immigration and prevent them from forming power blocs, these Protestants will become excellent human resources.

Just like America.

• The issue of white supremacy cannot possibly arise at this point in time.

“And what we must prevent is slavery. It’s perhaps the easiest solution, but it brings the worst results.”

Hyang muttered as he crossed out “slavery” written on a blank paper.

***

As Hyang said, slavery was the easiest solution. Using overwhelming military force to enslave the natives, and if insufficient, importing slaves from Africa or other Southeast Asian regions, would make pioneering the New Frontier easier and faster.

However, this was a choice where losses outweighed gains.

In a traditional agricultural society, slavery might sustain itself. But in an industrialized society, slavery was a shackle.

This was because slaves had no value as a market.

Additionally, to train skilled technicians, specialized education was essential, and it was certain that educated slaves would rebel to escape their slave status.

No, regardless of the situation, slaves would rebel or throw society into chaos to escape their slave status.

In history before Hyang’s intervention, there were Spartacus’s rebellion, the Haitian Revolution, and armed resistances like Manjeok’s rebellion in the Goryeo period.

Even in history after Hyang’s intervention, one of the first orders received after the establishment of the Secret Police was the tracking and extermination of the “Master-Killing Pact.”

***

After checking the plan for a long time, Hyang gradually began to organize his thoughts.

“First, let’s start by making the most of the support from the homeland to firmly establish the foundation. As for expansion, unexpectedly, the natives and government stores are handling it well, so it’s not a major concern.”

As Hyang said, the natives who had submitted to the empire were taking the lead in persuading nearby tribes and bringing them into the empire’s fold.

The reason these people were so enthusiastic about persuading other tribes was primarily a matter of survival.

Even until the empire first set foot in the New Frontier, most natives of the New Frontier were primitive tribal communities.

Of course, some had built sophisticated political communities like the Iroquois Confederacy, but most other tribes repeatedly gathered and dispersed in clan units.

The economy was also dominated by primitive agriculture and hunting-gathering.

Because the natural environment of the New Frontier was so favorable, survival wasn’t a major issue under these conditions, but if they happened to encounter a bad harvest or if an epidemic spread, entire clans could be wiped out—and this was not uncommon.

In this situation, the empire was a grateful entity that guaranteed their survival. The empire’s officials traveled among the tribes, solving food problems, and when short on food, they brought it from the homeland to help the natives survive.

Moreover, the empire’s overwhelming military force ensured the safety of their tribes from hostile ones.

As a result, at some point, the number of tribes submitting to the empire began to increase one by one.

The problem arose when there were mutually hostile tribes among those that had submitted.

The empire’s officials worked hard to mediate, but instances of armed conflict between tribes still occurred frequently.

This was resolved when Sejong arrived in the New Frontier.

After assessing the situation in the New Frontier, Sejong skillfully used carrots and sticks.

Using his title and position as “the greatest chief of the Thunder Tribe,” Sejong intervened in conflicts. When the problem tribes followed his words well, he provided ample support. When they didn’t, he dispatched imperial forces to mediate forcefully.

—If you don’t follow this mediation plan, I’ll annihilate your tribe!

Knowing the empire’s powerful military, the tribes had no choice but to follow the mediation plan, albeit reluctantly. But before long, most tribes accepted the mediation. Their resistance had mostly been a matter of pride.

Next, Sejong employed martial arts competitions, education, and official appointments.

Recognizing that a significant portion of conflicts among submitted tribes stemmed from clashes of pride, Sejong promoted his improved martial arts and held public competitions between tribes. Many tribal warriors competed in these matches with their tribe’s pride at stake, and tribal members enthusiastically supported them.

Next, through education, Sejong appointed natives as officials in the New Frontier and frequently admonished them.

“Think about it. How futile and useless is it to cover blood with blood? How good would it be if, under the empire’s embrace and according to the empire’s laws, we could judge right and wrong and reduce meaningless bloodshed?

And as more tribes seek safety under the empire’s embrace, how peaceful will this land become? Isn’t it wonderful that your tribes no longer have to suffer the terror of slaughter?”

“Indeed, that is true.”

Somehow brainwashed by Sejong, the native officials worked hard to persuade their tribes’ chiefs and elders, and those chiefs and elders actively persuaded tribes that had not yet submitted.

Interestingly, the most effectively used tool by chiefs and elders was the government store.