European Financial Emperor

119 Portugal (2)

Shortly after the Dutch army occupied Kyushu, troops from overseas occupied Kyushu and Ryukyu.

From now on, the western part of Japan and the Ryukyu Islands have become completely foreign lands.

The three ironclad ships sounded the trumpets of departure again.

This time, they were heading to Tamna and Daemado, and after occupying these islands, they would land on the mainland using the islands and islands as a base and take them one after the other from the southern part of Joseon.

Taken from readwn.com

Meanwhile, an envoy from the shogunate, who heard this news, visited Joseon.

It was unexpected for Korea-Japan relations, which had not exchanged delegations for the last time since 1811.

However, the envoy of the shogunate ran straight to Andong without visiting the palace.

Asaku and Iemon went to Kim Gyun-pyeong of the Andong Kim clan and delivered a letter from the Edo Shogunate.

“According to the will of the emperor, the shogun sent a letter. First of all, I hope that the palace will not misunderstand the fact that I first visited the Andong Kim clan prior to the audience.”

“Well done. There is a procedure for everything, and you dealt with it very appropriately in Edo.”

Kim Gyun-pyeong slowly read the contents of the letter sent by the Edo Shogunate.

The content of the letter was that a large army of Hollander wanted to occupy Ryukyu and Kyushu and occupy Tsushima and Jeju, so please join forces.

“A warlord of war?”

“No cannon can take them down, and they are magical and almost like ghosts. There is currently no way to stop this army.”

Currently, Joseon has adopted the Four Great Gyorin as its foreign policy, which was intended to serve as a logistics hub in Northeast Asia between Qing and Japan and to promote development as much as possible.

Joseon’s strategy was to partly liquidate the Eunwon relationship with the Edo Shogunate and reap the benefits through full-fledged kyorin.

However, it was necessary to think a little more about whether there was enough capacity to dispatch a fleet from Joseon.

Kim Gyun-pyeong bought time to ask Cheong’s opinion instead of avoiding a definitive answer.

“I’d like to think about sending an envoy to Qing Dynasty to ask for a fleet.”

“It’s not that we didn’t think about it either. But requesting a fleet from Qing is not as easy as you might think. Our shogunate will have to send an envoy and decide on the dispatch decision through the Qing Daejeon meeting.

“Hmm… … .”

“And they are targeting Korea rather than Japan. They say that we are just a base for the invasion of Joseon, and their real goal is Joseon.”

“… … what?”

“They will soon advance toward Jeju and Daemado. In fact, for our shogunate, their advance to the north itself would buy time, but in the case of Joseon, this is not the case.”

“Jeju’s defense system is stronger than I thought.”

Asaku and Iemon shook their heads.

“The wall we have now cannot be stopped with their artillery.”

“What do you mean? You have a cannon that can break through walls.”

“Literally. They fire their cannons over the far-off horizon, and as soon as they hit, there is an explosion so great that you can feel the vibrations all around you three li.”

“… … explosion?”

In this era, it was difficult to even watch the explosion itself.

In case the gunpowder store catches fire, it was only in very few cases that the cannon itself caused an explosion.

It was a natural thing because it was an era when explosives such as dynamite could not be developed.

Kim Gyun-pyeong did not believe Asaku and Iemon’s words.

“That is unbelievable.”

“It is up to Joseon to believe this or not. But the important thing is that great danger lies ahead of us.”

“Hmm… … .”

“Even if we ask Qing for a four-quarter relationship again, the fleet will be dispatched. However, if the Joseon royal family and the Edo shogunate do not hold hands in the meantime, there will be a greater tribulation.”

Gyun-Pyung Kim decided to end the conversation here.

“I will inform you of this in the middle of the door, and I will report it to the lord.”

“… … It’s a fight over fire. I hope you make the right decision.”

In the end, their meeting today ended without any results.

***

After Colombia’s independence, South America entered the dual system of the Brazilian Empire and the Commonwealth of Colombia.

Numerous countries in northern South America that joined the federation along with Simon Bolivar’s Colombian independence movement were experiencing rapid economic growth due to the construction of roads and railroads in East Stella.

In particular, the national treasury was getting richer by exporting military supplies to the territorial conquest in North America and selling raw materials to the East Stellar Company, earning huge profits.

In addition, since most of the construction costs for roads and railroads were paid with real estate, they made significant gains in establishing an economic foundation.

David Ronard, who had set sail to explore Venezuela in eastern Colombia, landed in Colombia with six colleagues.

The Ronald expedition to Maracaibo in the Gulf of Venezuela entrusted the ship to a developing port centered on Lake Maracaibo.

From now on, we will investigate the area and drive north to the Orinoco River before setting up our base camp.

“According to the baron, there is an oil field here, so let’s explore the Maracaibo area first.”

“I would like to start by asking questions around here.”

“okay. You can start by exploring the terrain according to the instructions the baron gave you, and then compare it to see if the place on the map is really authentic.”

“Then shall we recruit some scholars from this area as well?”

David Ronard shook his head immediately at the comments of his teammates.

He explained the significance of this expedition.

“No oil fields have yet been found in Lake Maracaibo. Rather, oil is still being discovered in the inland areas. However, since the technology to develop the oil fields in the area has not been developed, proper development will not be possible yet. In short, we’re here to find an oil field that doesn’t exist yet.”

“Um, so you’re saying we came here to follow an illusion?”

“I don’t mean that. We are here to shape the future, and the existing oil fields will be negotiated later.”

“No, I don’t know if there is any genetics yet, so how do you plan for the future?”

“Because the Baron already knows where the oil is.”

“Huh… … !”

If someone else had insisted that they knew the location of the heredity, they could have snorted, telling them not to talk bullshit.

However, if the person who mentioned heredity is Yi Hwan, the story is different.

“The baron said that if the map he gave and the topographical features of the place match exactly, then there will be oil fields. So, before the Colombian government finds out there is an oil field, we need to finish the investigation and prepare to buy the real estate in Maracaibo.”

“… … okay. In the end, there is nothing you can do other than refer to what local scholars are saying.”

“That is why the Baron has passed on to us the geological features of South America and our knowledge of it. If it wasn’t for that, we would have selected intellectuals from the indigenous Venezuelan forces and brought them to East Stella. But he didn’t do that because he was conscious of the rumors.”

Now, oil was slowly being mentioned as a key resource that moves the world.

This is because it has a smaller volume than coal, is relatively light, and is much more efficient as a fuel.

Above all, since oil is essential to the means of transportation and generators developed by East Stellar, the demand for oil in all parts of Europe is now increasing significantly.

That trend was now shifting to America and Africa as well.

“Now here in South America, cars are rolling and railroads are being laid. A train will arrive here soon. If that happens, the demand for oil will explode, so will Colombia just stand still?”

“Well, that’s it.”

“We just need to check the topography and report it to the Baron. Other than that, there is no need for anything else.”

Only then did the expedition team seem to be able to understand the deep meaning of Lee Hwan.

Now that all members of the expedition seem to understand the story, all we have to do is set off on the expedition.

“It will be a difficult journey. You have to endure it though. Only then can we become super-rich.”

“good. I will endure.”

The expedition team took the first step towards accumulating absolute wealth beyond one hundred thousand dollars.

***

After leaving Europe and reaching Oceania, the Golden Expedition arrived in Melbourne.

Now, the gold exploration will begin from here, and a quite difficult journey would begin.

The expedition team would explore the gold mine only relying on a map provided by Lee Hwan without any other information, and had to endure the hassle of moving away from the gaze of the Sydney government.

If it was for a one-time payment, he could endure such troubles and hardships.

The expedition’s external goal was to establish a trade association to sell East Stellar’s daily necessities in Australia and to secure a trade route linking Melbourne and Sydney.

To this end, the British government purchased several settlements, including Melbourne, along with the future Victorian area.

In England, Lee Hwan’s actions were considered a huge shovel, and he did not care much about what he was doing in the settlement.

However, it only put forward a condition that only Sydney, where the colonial government was located, should not be touched.

“In England, you would think of us as travel traders, peddling with our trade goods. So, you need to act like a merchant as much as possible. Exploring the mines will be the cause after that.”

“Then how do we explain our immediate exploration of the northern lands?”

“We also have a cause to drill roads. Trading with only ships here has some limitations. Besides, the UK would like it if we had to drill a road for ourselves to secure it. Isn’t it just a penny or two to expand the road?”

“Um, that’s why you bought it for the northern part of Melbourne!”

“It’s like that. The baron is drawing a very big picture. More than we can imagine.”

The key to this operation is to develop a gold mine in the UK when it is unaware of its existence.

The present-day Melbourne was merely a settlement established in the late 18th century, and its entire territory remained unexplored.

Lee Hwan had the justification of using roads and railroads in the area and developing Melbourne Harbor to secure trade routes between Europe and Australia.

Of course, the British only knew that one day Lee Hwan would develop a mine in this area, but they thought it was stupid.

In the meantime, the expedition will have to find out that there is an open-air gold mine here, and land the Eaststellar mercenaries.

“First of all, we will say that we are sending an expedition team to secure a road site. And it would be nice to be on the top and distract the Sydney colonial government.”

“What if a gold mine is found?”

“You put a sign in the area that says the road is planned, and then you explode dynamite once a day. Then there will be no danger of not only indigenous people but also passers-by coming from outside.”

“Oh, that’s a good way.”

“At the same time, we build fences around the gold mines and set up guards. So that when the expeditionary force arrives, the full-scale installation of barbed wire and the extension of the monitoring post can begin.”

From now on, it’s a blind fight.

Although the land had already been occupied, it was a time when a plan was needed to take advantage of the fact that war did not occur in this land.