At Yu Eung-bu’s point, Shin Sukju interjected as if he knew something.

“Still, didn’t the Mexica Conquest that we waged about a decade ago produce many military officers with real combat experience?”

“That is true. However…”

Yu Eung-bu, looking frustrated, lifted his teacup to wet his throat and then continued.

“That decade of time is the problem. The men who were at the very front, running wild with the soldiers back then, have now stepped back and risen to positions where they just wag their fingers. The new recruits are still in a situation where they have to taste it to know if it’s shit or soybean paste.”

Both Seong Sam-mun and Shin Sukju nodded at Yu Eung-bu’s words. Although they were civil officials, they could sympathize with the ‘problem of inexperienced newcomers.’

***

The new officials who had just entered government service could be broadly divided into two types.

• The kind that doesn’t move unless ordered.
• The kind that runs wild on their own even without being ordered.

In the first case, those who could at least properly execute the tasks they were given showed potential. The problem was that there were far more who couldn’t do what they were told properly, or only managed to do so by the skin of their teeth. This was a case that was becoming increasingly common as the empire entered a period of relative stability.

• If you want to make money, you get a job at a merchant guild or use your family’s money as seed capital to get into the investment business. Why become an official? The biggest advantage of being an official is just that you can have a stable life as long as you don’t make mistakes.

‘A long, thin career, and a job that will give you some name recognition after retirement.’

Since these were the people coming in with this goal in mind, the number of men who were ‘frustrating just to look at’ was steadily increasing.

Of course, the second type of official was just as much of a headache. They knew next to nothing about their duties yet ran around causing all sorts of trouble out of nowhere, creating incidents that turned things that could have been blocked with a hand hoe into situations requiring a large spade.

Most of those who fell into the second category were ambitious individuals.

• Now that I’ve entered public service, shouldn’t I aim to go all the way to ‘below one, above ten thousand,’ like Lord Han Myeonghoe?

Their idol was Han Myeonghoe. This was because Han Myeonghoe was someone who had risen to the highest position on his own strength, despite not being from a famous, distinguished family of long standing, but rather from a fallen one.

The problem was what happened after they caused trouble. There were some who sufficiently reflected on the trouble they caused and did not repeat such actions, but there were also those who endlessly repeated their mistakes. And their superiors used this as an excellent filtering mechanism.

• The ones who can reliably do what they’re told are the best for stable state administration.
• The ones who reflect on their mistakes and never repeat them can ensure the empire does not fall behind the times.

***

“Still, the navy is alright, is it not?”

Yu Eung-bu sighed at Shin Sukju’s point.

“Huuuh~. These days, that’s not really the case either. The pirates have been wiped out. The ones we see now are just small fry, at a level where a reasonably well-armed merchant ship can suppress them. It’s not like we can go around stirring up trouble first… And the coming war in Italy will mostly be a land war. It’s not as if we can drag our warships onto the shore to fight, can we?”

At Yu Eung-bu’s words, Seong Sam-mun and Shin Sukju also looked troubled.

“It is truly a difficult situation. Thanks to the empire’s efforts, we have achieved peace, but in return, the Imperial Army could become all show and no substance…”

At Seong Sam-mun’s words, Yu Eung-bu concluded with a look of resignation.

“The only answer is to prepare through training that is as realistic as possible. And we can only hope that incidents like the war currently happening between Hungary and the Habsburgs do not occur again. The more enemies we have who are accustomed to guns and cannons, the more of a headache it becomes.”

Shin Sukju raised a counterargument to Yu Eung-bu’s words.

“Hm? Isn’t that actually a good thing?”

“Good? What do you mean by that? The number of opponents experienced in real combat is increasing, and you say this is good?”

Yu Eung-bu’s expression soured, but Shin Sukju smiled slightly and explained in more detail.

“Gunpowder is an expensive commodity. Thanks to that, war, which was already a monster that devours money, has come to devour even more. If another war breaks out before the one in Italy and they expend their war funds, won’t they need time to replenish those funds? We will gain that much time. And while they may gain soldiers and commanders with real combat experience, won’t they also lose many of the soldiers and commanders they spent so much money to train? Won’t it also take time to replace those lost commanders and soldiers?”

“One could see it that way.”

Seong Sam-mun nodded, showing his understanding, and Yu Eung-bu also began to seriously mull over Shin Sukju’s opinion.

Watching them, Shin Sukju continued.

“And, looking at it from a diplomatic perspective, there is an easy method their backers can take to replenish those expended war funds. That is to turn to the Italian cities that rely on them. It would be fine if they were moderate about it, but…”

As Shin Sukju trailed off, Seong Sam-mun immediately picked up the thread.

“They will never be moderate. The same things we experienced when the Ming acted as if they were the suzerain state will happen here again.”

“That’s right. In the worst-case scenario, the Italian cities will move to find other backers. And that will become the spark.”

At Shin Sukju’s words, Yu Eung-bu stroked his chin and muttered.

“So no matter how the intermediate process changes, a war will break out in Italy regardless.”

“Still, it is good for us that we buy time, is it not? In particular, we have a good pretext to soothe that fiery, energetic Lorenzo de’ Medici.”

At Shin Sukju’s words, Seong Sam-mun looked pained.

“I can’t tell if he’s full of youthful vigor, or if he doesn’t know how the world works, or if he’s just overconfident…”

Looking at the current situation between Florence and the empire, Florence’s hardline faction, symbolized by Lorenzo de’ Medici, was advocating for an immediate start to the war, while the empire was holding them back.

“We still don’t have enough time. Please wait just a little longer.”

“How long must we wait! Our forces are already the strongest!”

After a tug-of-war debate with Florence’s radical faction, the empire was able to secure a two-year delay. It was the result of Shin Sukju’s painstaking efforts to carry out the order that had come from Seoul.

• Secure a minimum of two years, unconditionally.

“Why on earth two years? Why?”

“And I don’t understand the order that followed either. They want us to double the size of the secret coal depot built in Livorno?”

The ambassadors, who had received the orders transmitted only in brief due to issues of distance and communication methods, could not hide their confusion.

“We’ve gone through all sorts of trouble to keep the existence of the coal depot in Livorno a secret, and now they want us to double its size? Do they think it’s possible to maintain secrecy?”

“We need to check with Seoul about this again.”

The ambassadors immediately questioned Seoul. And the reply that came back after a long time only made them more curious.

• That is why you must hold out for two years.

“Why on earth!”

***

The reason the empire needed two years of time was because of the New Frontier.

It was because a saltpeter mine of enormous scale had been discovered in the New Frontier. No, to be more precise, they had discovered a place where the raw material for saltpeter was piled up in massive quantities. An imperial naval coastal exploration vessel had discovered a guano mine.

To firmly make New Frontier the empire’s own, Sejong and Hyang had pushed for the construction of a ‘maritime barrier’ on New Frontier’s eastern coast and sea. To complete this plan, most of the navy raised in the New Frontier was being deployed to the eastern sea.

However, it wasn’t as if the empire was just leaving New Frontier’s western coast and sea alone. Every year, it organized a small number of exploration fleets and sent them down the western coast of New Frontier to survey the environment and map the area. But, compared to the nature of the work, which could be called obsessive, there was a shortage of manpower, and the work progress was slow.

Thanks to this, the problematic saltpeter deposit was only discovered after Wan had come to the New Frontier.

The exploration vessel that discovered the guano mine immediately turned its bow and returned at full speed. As soon as it arrived in Chosi, the ship’s captain delivered an urgent report to Wan.

Wan, who received the urgent report, leaped up from his seat and cheered.

“This is heaven’s blessing for the well-being of the empire! Relay this to Seoul at once! As fast as possible!”

“Yes, Your Highness the Regent!”

Seoul, upon receiving the report sent from New Frontier, went on high alert.

“Now that things have come to this, it seems we must change our strategy regarding Italy.”

“That is so.”

None of the ministers opposed Hyeon’s decision. To be honest, considering the well-being and interests of the entire empire, the newly discovered saltpeter mine was overwhelmingly more important than Italy. This was especially true at a time when the Europeans, who had established bases on the southern continent, were beginning to launch exploration vessels one by one towards the east.

And saltpeter was a strategic material of the utmost importance for both the empire and Europe. This was particularly true for the empire, which imported its entire supply of saltpeter from the Bengal Sultanate. If the Bengal Sultanate were to cut off trade or if the supply of saltpeter were blocked for various reasons, a serious threat to the empire’s security would arise. For this reason, Hyeon placed the highest priority on this saltpeter mine.

“The biggest problem is naval power. Right now, most of the New Frontier garrison fleet is stationed on the east coast of New Frontier. We can build warships at the shipyard in Chosi, but we cannot create men. We must pull men from the New Frontier navy stationed on the east coast. As for the Italy problem, please command the ambassadors to buy as much time as possible.”

Hyeon pointed out a problem with Jang Hangseon’s words.

“The problem is that time. At a minimum, how many years do you need?”

“We need five years…”

“That’s too long. Let’s make it two years.”

“As you command.”

And so, the ‘minimum of two years’ was decided.

Meanwhile, Hyang, who received the report after Hyeon, scratched the back of his head and muttered.

“It’s certainly exposed here that geography is not my area of nerdy expertise…”

If it wasn’t a field he was fond of, Hyang was almost a blank slate. Because the matter was so urgent and the watchful eyes on the empire were increasing, the empire had sent only a simple order, leaving the ambassadors to suffer.

***

Meanwhile, in the New Frontier, many things changed as well.

The first to move was Jinpyeong.

“My Lord Duke, we must change the construction priorities.”

At Wan’s command, Jinpyeong smiled broadly and replied at once.

“That is only natural! I will change them immediately!”

Watching Jinpyeong move as soon as he received the order, Wan muttered to himself.

He said he staked everything on the railway, yet he’s happy that his workload is increasing? Truly incomprehensible.

And so, a new railway heading south from Chosi began to be constructed. Due to the importance of the matter, construction on all other sections was halted, except for those in the final stages of completion. And all the manpower in charge of the construction was moved to the western part of New Frontier. Furthermore, laborers from the empire boarded ships and headed for New Frontier to participate in the construction.

A war unlike any other had broken out, one in which all the empire’s capabilities were concentrated. And its opponent was time.