Ch.264Knowledge (5)

I smoothly evaded the question.

Still, Munglig’s suspicious expression remained.

“Unconsciously mentioning our ancestors isn’t a good thing, brother.”

“You’re right, I was wrong. Now would you please stop looking at me like that?”

I waved my hands dismissively.

Munglig then set aside his suspicious gaze and approached me again.

“So what are you trying to make this time?”

Munglig said this while pointing at what was in front of me.

I responded as if it were nothing special.

“It’s nothing much.”

“Has anything you’ve made so far been ‘nothing much’? Please be honest. Is this some new exercise equipment?”

Long poles with round discs attached to the ends.

Looking at just that, one might think it was a new type of barbell.

Unfortunately, Munglig was wrong this time.

This was actually a hand truck, a type of handcart.

“It’s a handcart.”

“Why are you suddenly making a handcart?”

“Look over there.”

When I pointed toward the Great Capital, Munglig followed my finger and looked in that direction.

“Is workers building a new building something unusual?”

“New buildings being constructed as new people move in is only natural.”

“That’s true, but what does that have to do with a handcart?”

“Of course there’s a connection. With an improved handcart, materials can be moved more effectively.”

At my words, Munglig made an incredulous expression.

Then he calmly replied.

“Isn’t construction also a form of muscle training? Using tools isn’t good for muscle development.”

I was left speechless at Munglig’s response.

Perhaps due to his age, Munglig had somehow become a disagreeable adult.

“If you don’t use tools at a construction site, people get hurt, and if they get hurt, they might never be able to exercise again. Why do you only see one aspect and not the others?”

“Such things can be overcome with mental strength…”

“Besides, aren’t you using the dumbbells I made for your strength training?”

“Ugh…”

Munglig made a troubled expression, as if he had nothing to say.

“It’s okay for me but not for you”—anyone could see the problem with that.

“People become more productive and efficient when they use tools.”

“You’re right, brother. I was being too narrow-minded.”

I accepted Munglig’s apology.

Then I handed him the prototype of the handcart I had made.

“Take this to the House of Wisdom and get advice from the scholars.”

“Since you made it, it must be perfect. So there’s no need to—”

“Tsk.”

“I’ll do it.”

With that, Munglig took the prototype I gave him and headed to the House of Wisdom.

After he disappeared, I let out a deep sigh and muttered to myself.

“He hasn’t changed despite his age.”

Munglig now was no different from Munglig as a child.

The only changes were the numerous wrinkles and scars he had acquired from following me around.

Thinking about it that way, I felt proud of Munglig for following me without changing.

While I was thinking about this, Khasar approached me.

“Father.”

“You’re here.”

Khasar, who appeared before me, had a different aura than usual.

That was understandable, as he had recently married the daughter of the King of Goryeo.

Perhaps because of this, Khasar’s face seemed full of responsibility.

“As you instructed, I’ve prepared everything necessary.”

Khasar had become the Tenno of Japan.

For this reason, he needed to visit the archipelago to hold his enthronement ceremony.

Of course, becoming Tenno didn’t mean he had to stay there permanently.

The actual governance would be handled by the Shogun, his youngest brother Temuge, or rather, Yoshitsune.

However, even as the nominal ruler, the Tenno, he still needed to spend some time in the archipelago.

“Once you become Tenno in Japan, what will you do first?”

“First, I plan to repair the war damage while simultaneously spreading the farming method you proposed.”

“You mean the Geonangyeop method?”

Khasar nodded at my words.

“But will you be able to spread farming techniques when you’re already stretched thin with war recovery?”

“To recover from war damage, we need to feed the people well. Only then will they follow me and the Ulus.”

I nodded at Khasar’s logical explanation.

From the people’s perspective, hunger was the first priority. If this wasn’t resolved, their anger toward the Ulus for devastating the archipelago would inevitably continue.

“Additionally, as agricultural land increases in the archipelago, we can naturally provide support to the homeland.”

“You’re already thinking about helping me.”

“I want to be of help to both you and my brother.”

The image of Khasar who used to call Temujin “brother” and play pranks was gone.

Khasar had already grown into a mature adult working diligently for his family and clan.

“Your thoughts are truly admirable. But as a parent, I wish you would do things for yourself rather than for us.”

As a ruler, and as a ruler’s child, such words were essentially meaningless.

But if not expressed, no one would know these feelings existed. So although these words didn’t need to be said, it was better to say them.

“I know that’s impossible, Father.”

I nodded at Khasar’s mature demeanor.

“Very well. If that’s what you say, I won’t argue further.”

“Thank you, Father.”

Khasar said this with a bow.

After discussing various other matters with him, I sent him on his way.

“I think I can understand a little why parents feel lonely after all their children become independent.”

With Khasar’s independence, all my children had now become independent.

Temujin was the emperor of the Ulus and leading the Eastern Crusade.

Bekhter was living as the king of Western Xia.

Belgutei was serving as a feudal lord of Liaodong, acting as a bridge between the Ulus and Goryeo.

With Khasar now becoming independent as the Tenno of Japan, I felt strange.

Of course, this only referred to the children born between Ho’elun and Sochigel.

Since I had children with Abdul, not all my children were independent if I considered them too.

“But it’s too early to act like an old person relegated to the back room.”

I said this as I got up.

I still had much to do.

So there was no time to feel melancholy.

* * *

“Hmm… hmm! Considering the balance of power, this seems appropriate.”

“Hah! I think so too!”

The mathematicians from Iran and Arabia were assuming postures.

They were expressing their opinions while looking at the handcart placed in front of them.

“With such strong upper body muscles, your academic achievements must also be high. Indeed, there was a reason why my brother told me to seek help from the scholars of the House of Wisdom.”

Munglig said this with a satisfied smile.

This was because the House of Wisdom was currently quite influenced by muscle philosophy.

Because of this, most scholars had developed some degree of muscle.

Of course, their muscles were infinitely smaller compared to Munglig’s large, robust muscles.

But for muscles developed in such a short period, they were quite well-formed.

So Munglig, as an authority(?) on muscles, respected the scholars’ muscles… no, their authority.

“It’s an honor to receive such praise from Lord Munglig.”

“To receive praise from a pioneer of upper body muscles…!”

The scholars wore expressions of deep emotion.

Seeing this, Munglig smiled broadly and humbly waved his hands.

“You’ll catch up soon. All truth… no, the end of all muscle is one.”

The Iranian and Arabian mathematicians nodded.

“Anyway, can this handcart be mass-produced?”

“If we entrust it to the Mongol armory, it should be possible.”

“Or you could implement division of labor here.”

“Division of labor?”

“Yes. I’ve heard that the Mongol armory operates in this manner.”

The Mongol armory had simplified all tasks.

Each person would perform just one task, and the final worker would combine everything.

Thanks to this efficient division of labor, Mongolia could quickly supply weapons and armor.

The scholars were now suggesting using the Mongol armory’s techniques to mass-produce handcarts.

“However, for division of labor, we need skilled craftsmen and space…”

“Don’t worry about that. Aren’t there many craftsmen in the Great Capital?”

“That’s true.”

The Great Capital was a central hub where people gathered.

People gathering meant they would consume.

Therefore, many producers, or craftsmen, had established their workshops in the Great Capital to capture the hearts of these consumers and engage in commerce.

“Subcontract to them.”

“Subcontract… then how will the final assembly be done?”

“Bring people from the Mongol armory to do just the final assembly. This will greatly reduce the manpower needed for handcart production, allowing for quick distribution.”

Munglig nodded at the Arabian scholar’s words.

If they proceeded as the scholar suggested, it felt like they could complete the handcart distribution immediately.

“Good. We’ll proceed that way.”

After saying this, Munglig gestured to summon a Kheshig.

The Kheshig, responding to Munglig’s call, bowed and awaited his instructions.

“Go to the Mongol armory and bring back craftsmen for handcart assembly. Ten should be sufficient.”

The Kheshig nodded at the command.

Then he mounted his horse to carry out the order.

After leaving the Great Capital, the Kheshig soon arrived at the Mongol armory.

He brought craftsmen back to the Great Capital. Munglig welcomed them and provided lodging and a place for handcart production.

A few days after providing the space, handcart parts that had been subcontracted to workshops began to arrive.

The craftsmen quickly assembled these and deployed them to construction sites.

With the introduction of more efficient handcarts than the existing ones, construction progressed rapidly.

It was so fast that construction sites were completed before all the planned handcarts could be produced.

Of course, with so many places simultaneously constructing buildings, the handcarts wouldn’t be idle.

However, there was a limit to parts assembly, so some subcontracted workshops ended up with surplus handcart parts.

The subcontracted craftsmen began to worry about how to dispose of these.

The space was too limited to store them.

When they faced this awkward situation, some people approached them.

They were none other than merchants.