Chapter 65: Neutral Zone


    When the empire was constantly developing.


    The situation in the Andes region was reaching its worst.


    Kill them!


    Aaaah!


    ng, ng!


    Every day, there were local battles in the major conflict zones where many resources were buried.


    Get off ournd!


    Ugh! Youll pay for this!


    The factions that upied those areas changed frequently.


    But the tribes that worked there, mining resources and such, were always the same.


    Whenever the losers of the region changed, the tribes paid tribute to them with the resources they needed and maintained their existence.


    But as time went by, the situation continued to worsen.


    No, this is too much! How can we survive if you raise the tribute this much?


    Hey! Who do you think is protecting you? If we say raise it, then raise it without anyints!


    Damn it!


    As the war intensified, military spending inevitably increased, and the factions had no choice but to raise the tribute they received from the tribes under their protection.


    As time passed, the tribute increased to a level that was impossible for the tribes to handle.


    Damn it! Why do we have to suffer because they fight each other?


    Shh. If the manager hears you


    Let him hear!


    The dissatisfaction of the residents grew day by day.


    They couldnt even eat a decent meal no matter how hard they worked.


    The sense of deprivation from that was very severe.


    Naturally, the residents wanted to escape this miserable reality.


    The Pekcha bastards are too outrageous!


    Do you really intend to stay like this?


    Its much better to defect to the empire than this.


    Thats right. Its time to make a decision!


    The tribal chief closed his eyes and sank into deep thought.


    There was some truth in what his subordinates said.


    At that time, defecting to the empire was nothing new.


    It had been a long time since the Andes people traded with the merchants of the Wakan Tanka Empire.


    And gradually, rumors spread widely in the Andes region about the empires strength, wealth, rapid development, and peacefulness.


    These rumors sounded very attractive to many Andes people who groaned in war every day.


    Thanks to that, countless tribes moved to the empire or became naturalized in small groups.


    But what if we get caught? You havent forgotten what happened to the Hwatli tribe, have you?


    But there was a remark that poured cold water on this atmosphere.


    Everyone knew very well that they might be able to live a better life if they became naturalized in the empire.


    But there were a few problems with choosing this option.


    First of all, the tribe would be disbanded.


    The empire did not want naturalized people to form a power group.


    Of course, once they became citizens of the empire, this was something they could ept.


    The boat problem was also solvable.


    The top of the Wakan Tanka Empire took in naturalized people first and then made them pay back their boat fare after settling in the empire.


    They heard that they could pay off their boat fare easily if they worked for a while in the empire.


    The problem was


    The Pekcha bastards wont just sit back and watch us be naturalized.


    When the tribes that paid tribute became part of the empire, the damage was entirely borne by the ns that received the tribute.


    What good is a mine?


    The people who worked in that mine disappeared.


    Of course, they constantly monitored the tribes in their sphere of influence to prevent them from bing part of the empire.


    In this situation, it was a risky gamble to move to where the imperial court was, avoiding their eyes.


    Especially the Pekcha bastards wanted to nip this in the bud.


    They exterminated some of the tribes that tried to be part of the empire as an example.


    Are you saying we should just wait for death because were afraid of Pekchas retaliation?


    We cant gamble with the lives of our tribesmen either.


    Hmph! Youre all cowards!


    Are you done talking?


    Soon, the meeting hall turned into a mess, as the pro-imperial and anti-imperial factions shed.


    These things were happening in many ces in the Andes region.<ul><li><ul><li></li></ul></li></ul>


    A stranger entered the office.


    Wee.


    Kim Ki-woo greeted him warmly.


    The man, Red Moonlight, immediately bowed his head.


    I greet you, the living spirit and the great emperor of the Wakan Tanka Empire!


    Yes. Have a seat.


    Red Moonlight cautiously sat down on the opposite chair.


    Right. Ive read your story well.


    I hope my writing didnt bother your eyes.


    Ha ha. How could it?


    Kim Ki-woo looked into Red Moonlights big eyes and thought about him.


    Red Moonlight was a person simr to a human rights activist in modern times.


    He became part of the empire in the early stages of contact with the Andes.


    But Red Moonlight continued to be interested in the Andes region even after he became part of the empire.


    As time passed, countless people in the Andes region groaned in pain.


    Red Moonlight couldnt stand by and watch this.


    From then on, he did his best to inform the imperial citizens of the maind about the hardships of the Andean people.


    He traveled to numerous cities and towns and gave countless lectures, and wrote articles about the reality of the Andes region and submitted them continuously.


    Eventually, his articles were published in newspapers several times, and the pain of the Andean people became widely known among the imperial citizens.


    Of course, Kim Ki-woo could have easily stopped this if he wanted to


    Theres no need to do that anymore.


    If the situation changed, so should the policy.


    I sympathize with your thoughts to some extent. The empire is also somewhat responsible for the unreasonable things that are happening in the Andes region.


    Some would surely criticize this as hypocrisy.


    After all, it was Kim Ki-woo himself who instigated the chaos in the Andes.


    It was because of the countless wars that broke out in the Andes that resources such as gold, silver, guano, copper, etc. could be smoothly supplied, and this became the foundation for the development of the empire.


    Therefore, if Kim Ki-woo went back to the past, he would surely have implemented such a policy.


    He was the leader of the Wakan Tanka Empire after all.


    Of course, he meant it when he said he was responsible.


    Are you saying


    Yes. Im going to execute what you suggested after reviewing it thoroughly.


    Is that really true?


    Red Moonlights big eyes grew bigger.


    It was because it was an unexpected remark.


    Seeing his reaction, Kim Ki-woo smiled broadly.


    Ha ha. Why are you so surprised? Its what youve been arguing for all along.


    Thats true, but


    Red Moonlight couldnt continue his words.


    It was his argument that he had been making continuously through newspapers and speeches, but he didnt expect it to be epted so radically.


    It was understandable, because his argument was to change the policy direction that the current empire was taking.


    Red Moonlights argument was this:


    Create a neutral zone in the Andes region, and let the people who dont want to fight anymore live peacefully.


    Neutrality.


    It sounds good.


    But neutrality was something that required power.


    Neutrality without power was an empty cry.


    Kim Ki-woo knew this fact well through the tragic history of his homnd, Korea.


    Therefore, in order to create a neutral zone, a powerful force was needed to maintain it.


    And the current empire had enough capacity to do so.


    We are already in constant contact with the factions in the Andes region.


    Is that so?


    Yes. Quite a lot of forces think positively of our proposal.


    Too much blood had been shed for a long time.


    Therefore, many factions wanted to stop this fight.


    But it was not easy to stop the war because of the blood that had flowed until now.


    They had already umted hatred for each other.


    In the end, the only way to stop this situation was for one side to copse, or for another huge force to intervene.


    And the only such huge force in the continent was the Wakan Tanka Empire.


    Soon after, Kim Ki-woo revealed his true purpose for calling Red Moonlight.


    I think you are suitable for the person in charge of the neutral zone that will be established in the future. How about it, would you like to work for the Andes people?


    Gasp! How can I I dont have the ability to do that. Please reconsider.


    Not at all. You can do it.


    Kim Ki-woo had thoroughly investigated this man named Red Moonlight for quite a long time.


    He knew a lot about the Andes region, and he was a person who had made many efforts to protect the rights of the Andes people.


    He had a history of helping the Andes people who had naturalized into the empire in various ways, which was certain.


    Thanks to that, he had a great reputation among the Andes people.


    There was no one else who was more suitable as the manager of the neutral zone.


    You dont have to worry too much. The military and administrative matters will be handled by the empires staff, so you just have to take care of the lives of the Andes people as you do now.


    Hmm


    I know its too sudden. So take your time and think about it, ande back to me when you make up your mind.


    Okay.


    With this conversation over, Red Moonlight left the office.


    After he disappeared.


    Kim Ki-woo buried himself in a soft chair.


    Surely this decision will reduce my profits more than now.


    It might have been better in the short term to suck up only the sweet things from the Andes region as they did now.


    It was definitely a big help when they were minting money and consolidating the foundation of the empire.


    But that period was over.


    Even if the huge profits from the Andes region were reduced a little, it would not have a big impact on the empire.


    Rather, it was time to think about the long-term interests of the empire.


    Now in the Andes region, people were dying from numerous wars, and because they couldnt bear it, Andes people were naturalizing into the empire and reducing their poption.


    And when a gue spreads due to intercontinental exchanges in the future


    The poption will decrease by an iparable amount.


    Then it would take much longer to develop South Continent.


    The empire had to establish a solid force in South Continent before that.


    A huge variable intervened in the chaotic Andes region.


    It was like the direct rule of the central continent now.


    This way, they could deal with a massive disaster like a gue quickly and surely.


    The power to stabilize the Andes region is enough.


    The empires fire continued to develop.


    The current military power of the empire was iparably stronger than when they destroyed the Aztecs.


    Even if the forces that hated the empires influence joined forces and attacked, they had the power to easily suppress them.


    <The end.>