Ch.141Origin Point (5)

Kim Bo-dang was greatly surprised by Woo Bang-jae’s words.

This was understandable since Woo Bang-jae had recently been criticizing the actions of Honorary Grand Preceptor Kim Bu-sik.

“His actions have clearly increased the discontent among the military officials.”

“I think so too. That’s why I tried to advise His Majesty, but…”

“His Majesty has long neglected state affairs, preferring to drink with monks.”

Kim Bo-dang nodded at Woo Bang-jae’s words.

In fact, Kim Bo-dang knew that Wang Chung, who had been the Chief State Councilor, had died after meeting with the king.

At that time, the King of Goryeo had been drinking with a monk, and the fact that Wang Chung deliberately sought him out was evidence that he had moved with determination to offer counsel.

However, it seemed the king had not heeded his loyal minister’s advice.

Because of this, Wang Chung had suffered a great shock, and Kim Bo-dang suspected this shock had led to the elderly minister’s unfortunate death.

Of course, this was purely Kim Bo-dang’s speculation.

But as a Senior State Councilor who had frequently met with Wang Chung, Kim Bo-dang couldn’t help but find the Chief State Councilor’s death suspicious.

“And though His Majesty appears to favor civil officials lately, a closer look reveals he’s actually favoring Kim Bu-sik, who flatters him well.”

“…So the Honorary Grand Preceptor is the problem after all.”

“Indeed. If he becomes Chief State Councilor, he will use his power to oppress the military officials. Then the enraged military officials will no longer hide their anger toward civil officials. In the end, the ones who suffer will be the powerless lower officials, the common people, and the country.”

“…But His Majesty favors both the Honorary Grand Preceptor and the eunuch Kim Don-jung. To remove them would require His Majesty’s approval.”

“Do you think His Majesty will heed our advice and remove those who are eating away at our country?”

“…”

After saying this, Woo Bang-jae looked around.

Then he lowered his voice and spoke to Kim Bo-dang.

“I’m thinking of contacting the Dragon Rider General first and proposing an alliance.”

“Do you think the Dragon Rider General would accept a proposal from us civil officials?”

“Of course, the chances of the Dragon Rider General accepting this proposal are very low. But if we don’t act now, we might be killed by their blades.”

Woo Bang-jae was accepting the Dragon Rider General’s rebellion as a foregone conclusion.

This was understandable since the civil officials had sent his daughter away to be the wife of a barbarian.

Yi Uibang, who held a high position among the military officials, would not forget such an insult.

Therefore, it was clear he would use any means to eliminate Kim Bu-sik who had insulted him.

Even without the king’s approval.

“But…”

“I was the one who made this proposal in the first place. So if Yi Uibang wants my head, I’ll give it to him.”

Woo Bang-jae wore a resolute expression.

Seeing this, Kim Bo-dang nodded.

“I understand. Then I will meet with the Dragon Rider General.”

Kim Bo-dang and Woo Bang-jae chose to join hands with Yi Uibang.

Even if it would lead to the imprisonment of the king, committing high treason.

* * *

“The wind is blowing strongly from the east.”

I said this as I got up.

By now, Belgutei should have arrived in Goryeo and be getting married.

“I wonder how my son is doing.”

Belgutei was a smart and wise child.

So I wasn’t too worried, but as a father, I couldn’t help but be concerned.

“Brother. What are you doing here? All preparations are complete.”

“I was just thinking for a moment.”

“Are you that worried about Belgutei?”

“Isn’t it natural for a father to worry?”

“Come on. He’s not Khasar, he’s Belgutei. You shouldn’t worry about him. He’s such a clever child.”

Munglig was right.

And there was nothing I could do by worrying here.

I could only trust my son and wait.

“You’re right.”

I said this and moved from my spot.

Following Munglig, I arrived at what looked like a huge warehouse—an armory.

Inside, dozens of anvils and furnaces were arranged.

It was the Ulus’s first armory, created through the combined efforts of craftsmen from the Central Plains and Hui technicians.

“You’ve arrived?”

When I arrived at the armory, Jadaran Elunka, who had arrived earlier, bowed.

I raised my hand to acknowledge his greeting and looked at the armory.

“What an impressive scale.”

It even gave the impression of a primitive factory.

One might ask why there would be a factory in the medieval era, but the current Song Dynasty could be said, without exaggeration, to have reached the beginning of the industrial age.

At this time, the Song Dynasty had achieved tremendous accomplishments in technology and culture.

Thanks to this, they had created primitive, labor-intensive factories.

Of course, whether these actually existed and operated is not clearly established.

However, seeing one right in front of my eyes, it seemed clear that early forms of factories did exist in the Song Dynasty.

Anyway, that wasn’t what was important right now.

With the construction of this armory, the Mongols now had a labor-intensive production system.

With a labor-intensive production line established, efficiency would naturally increase.

“Let’s check the interior.”

At my words, Jadaran Elunka took the lead.

Upon arriving inside, Zhang Yong and Hassan came out to greet me, Jadaran Elunka, and Munglig.

“We greet the great Gurkhan.”

“It is an honor to meet the Gurkhan.”

I raised my hand in response to their greetings.

Then I asked them a question.

“This is an armory of impressive scale.”

“Yes, Khagan. In terms of the size of a single building, this armory would overwhelm those of the Song Dynasty.”

I nodded at Zhang Yong’s words.

As I keep mentioning, at this time, no country could match the production capacity of the Song Dynasty.

So saying that we could overwhelm the Song Dynasty’s armories in scale was absurd.

However, if we were simply comparing the size of the armory, we could beat the Song Dynasty.

Of course, beating the Song Dynasty wasn’t what was important.

Rather, building such a large armory for the first time would be advantageous for future expansion.

“To the extent of overwhelming the Song Dynasty. It must have cost a lot.”

“That’s right, Khagan. Additionally, there was the issue of continuously supplying the water needed for the armory, which required extra attention. This led to additional expenses beyond what was originally planned, but it was well resolved.”

Building something always caused financial problems.

Such problems could lead to major issues, like abandoning construction midway.

The Ulus almost faced such a problem…

But thanks to our gracious patron… I mean, our suzerain state, the Jin Dynasty, we were able to complete the armory safely.

“We should express our gratitude to our suzerain, the Jin Dynasty.”

At my words, Munglig, who was right beside me, snickered.

If we hadn’t brought tribute to the Jin Dynasty this time, the Ulus would have certainly faced great difficulties in building such a large armory.

So expressing gratitude was only natural.

Saying this, I examined the interior of the armory.

With this size, it seemed like we could make at least 100 swords a day.

Of course, that would require grinding through a lot of manpower.

Fortunately, labor laws didn’t exist in this era.

So naturally, there were no age restrictions for labor.

Therefore, though it’s not a pleasant expression, it didn’t matter if we ground people down.

However, grinding people down like this could lower the quality of the products.

This was because making weapons wasn’t simple labor but required skilled craftsmanship.

Therefore, it was necessary to thoroughly manage the labor in the armory.

“Have you found all the workers for the armory?”

“Yes. We have gathered all those who participated in the competition by the Khagan’s order.”

I nodded at Zhang Yong’s words.

The technical competition wasn’t simply a place for people to show off their skills.

In fact, the ultimate goal of this competition was more about gathering skilled workers scattered throughout the Ulus in one place.

As I mentioned before, winning the technical competition could bring tremendous honor and rewards.

It would be foolish to send back these craftsmen who had worked hard for such rewards.

So I ordered them to work at the armory by the Khagan’s command.

The craftsmen who suddenly found themselves working at the armory couldn’t help but be dumbfounded.

But to prevent them from having second thoughts, I had houses built nearby and allowed them to bring their families.

In this way, I had created a kind of craftsmen’s village by making the technicians stay in one area.

When people with skills lived together, they inevitably influenced each other.

This created a synergy effect where they developed each other by living together.

Of course, since it was forced, they could have complaints.

“Were there any among them who had complaints?”

“None at all. Rather, they express gratitude for the Gurkhan’s grace.”

The craftsmen who were forced to work at the armory had no complaints at all.

This was because I had bestowed an enormous amount of wealth upon them.

As in modern times, it was natural for people to have complaints.

The easiest way to eliminate such complaints was money.

Of course, suppressing complaints with money meant large expenditures, so it couldn’t be done easily.

But the Ulus could do it.

This was also thanks to the Jin Dynasty.

“That’s good. If they have any requests, report them to me.”

Treating those with skills well was necessary for technological advancement.

This was an unchanging truth that transcended time.

Anyway, I examined the entire interior of the armory.

At this rate, it could be operational starting tomorrow.

Thinking this, I reached the end, where Cheolreuk and Michael, who had won the weapons section of the technical competition, were standing.

The two bowed as if by agreement.

I raised my hand to acknowledge their greeting and looked at the sword between them.

“Is that it?”

“Yes, Khagan.”

“It’s a sword made by combining Cheolreuk’s techniques and my techniques.”

I nodded at their words.

Then I picked up the beautiful sword with a curved tip like a crescent moon and a blade with flowing galaxy-like wave patterns.

“What a beautiful sword.”

And I raised it high into the sky.

The Damascus steel scimitar gleamed in the sunlight.