140 Alaska Development(2)
The Qing Dynasty was the most powerful country in Northeast Asia.
However, there was a naval battle that shook the position of the Qing Dynasty, and that is the ‘Jeju Naval Battle’.
The army of the Qing dynasty allied forces mobilized for the Jeju naval battle was 100 ships, and the army alone waiting for landing reached 500,000.
It can be said that the army mobilized in the Jeju Naval Battle was the most powerful among the armed forces that had arisen in Asia until recently.
In particular, the naval power of Joseon and the Japanese shogunate united around the Qing dynasty was said to have been a campaign that put the nation’s fortunes on its head.
However, this enormous army was defeated and buried in just one hour.
It was also buried on the spot without a single shot of a cannon at the enemy, and there was no trace of it.
Easterfield’s 9th Fleet captured Qing’s command ship and captured Admiral Peng Hoi-tong who was in it.
Paeng Hui-tong was dispatched as a representative of the Qing navy, and was a renowned soldier known as the greatest commander in history.
However, his strategy, tactics, and even seasoned experience were trampled on by overwhelming firepower.
Paenghoetong, who had been captured by the government officials in Jeju, which is now the base of the 9th Fleet, committed suicide after fighting a hunger strike for a full month.
ding ding!
The commander of the 9th Fleet, Gordon Marana, who carried the body of the Qing command ship Paenghoetong prepared off the coast of Jeju, asked the Qing remnants.
“Which waterway is the fastest?”
“… … It is fastest to go through the Yellow Sea.”
“good night. Let them go home via the Yellow Sea.”
“Are you saving us?”
“There is no need to hit the head of the defeated soldiers.”
“Ugh… … !”
Qing thought that if he had fought in close combat, he could have defeated the 9th Fleet.
However, they witnessed the majesty of the battleships of the 9th Fleet right before their eyes, and realized that while they were being detained here, the idea was foolish in the world.
Gordon Marana hurried the remnants.
“good. Look no further and you will see the spiciness of our Easterfield Navy.”
“… … I see.”
Paenghoetong’s men returned to their homeland with the body.
All that was left was the troops of the Joseon Dynasty and the Shogunate.
They were still held in custody with their hands and feet bound.
Gordon Marana asked Lee Gak about his future plans.
“Duke, what do you plan to do next?”
The 9th Fleet knew that Lee Gak was Yi Hwan’s uncle, so they called him Grand Duke.
Lee Gak explained the next plan to them.
“We will wait here for your next order.”
“The next order will arrive within a month. In the meantime, do you intend to continue to detain the troops of the Joseon Dynasty and the Shogunate?”
“I am thinking. I have to find out if there is any more information I can get.”
Lee Gak was planning to munition the entire western part of Japan and occupy Mokpo and Busan sooner or later.
Taken from noblemtl.com
Meanwhile, in order to improve the poverty situation in Japan and Korea, the plan was to find volunteers to build factories and pave roads and hire them as laborers.
In order to do that, it was necessary to understand the internal situation as much as possible.
Lee Gak’s thoughts were ultimately for Lee Hwan.
“Let’s do our best until the king’s name comes down again.”
“Yes, Grand Duke.”
He knew all too well that it would be easy to occupy Joseon by force, so he decided to slowly change from one to ten.
“Let’s secure grain first.”
“Grain?”
“Isn’t it necessary to have enough food to win the hearts of the people?”
“iced coffee… … !”
“Since Southeast Asia is rich in grain, let’s make a line there.”
First of all, winning public opinion was Lee Gak’s first plan.
***
In November 1831, a mineral market opened in Istanbul.
The purpose was to collect and export African minerals to Eastern Europe and Russia.
For this purpose, ‘Mineral Integration Co., Ltd.’ was established as a subsidiary of East Stellar, and funds from all directions were gathered.
Recently, Europe was once at the crossroads of overproduction, but as several wars swept through Europe, the bad inventory problem was resolved.
In Britain, the grain law was lifted earlier than expected, and France introduced a policy to bring grain into the country and lower grain prices.
Royal officials in London praised the British government for lifting the grain law for the sake of the people’s livelihood, but there was another calculation behind it.
It was an advance into Asia.
Lee Hwan received a report on the launch of a mineral market.
“With the establishment of the Istanbul Minerals Market, our Easterfield Treasury Banks have established a foothold in Istanbul. Commercial banks in the Suez market have also entered the market, and the market has grown considerably. As soon as Britain loses its dominance in the mineral market, it seems that the UK will change its stance and try to dominate the grain market.”
“A grain market?”
“If we want to advance into Asia in the future, we will need a huge amount of military power, and the UK seems to have that in mind as well.”
Procurement of military supplies locally is not as simple as one might think.
If they plunder with the intention of burning the occupied state, it would be unknown if the British had to rule the occupied state in the future, so paying money to buy grain was the best way.
However, unless gold or silver was imported in large quantities, there was no way to circulate money itself.
For this reason, it was the smartest way to transport goods from their home countries until complete state occupation allowed them to circulate British banknotes.
For him, Britain wants to take control of the European grain market and control it.
But for Lee Hwan, it was not even worth half a penny.
“Are you currently counting France and Poland as the largest producers?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Then it will be easier to talk about.”
Traditionally, France and Poland have been large exporters of grain to Europe, and have been rich in agricultural production.
Even after industrialization, France exerted enormous influence by supplying grains and processed meat products throughout Europe.
Poland also possessed extensive agricultural land as if backing up the glory of the past when it reigned as a loser in Eastern Europe.
The powers that could encompass these two regions were the Netherlands and Austria.
France was under strong Dutch influence, and Poland was annexed by the Austrian Empire.
After the Napoleonic Wars in the past, Poland was divided into three parts and ruled by Austria, Russia, and Prussia.
France borrowed a huge loan while Lee Hwan was a member of the Netherlands, and owed a lease and a loan to Easterfield, making it a financial vassal of the Netherlands in many ways.
If Lee Hwan puts his mind to it, he could coordinate these two markets and dry England to death.
However, Lee Hwan did not want the people to be hungry.
“Take control of the market in moderation and let it shake.”
“Are you planning to build a grain market?”
“Let’s create an integrated grain market in Rotterdam.”
The Netherlands is currently a stronger ally for Easterfield than any other power.
So if you were to create an integrated grain market, you wouldn’t be in a more perfect position than this.
That night, Lee Hwan visited the Royal Palace in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Elizabeth, who had just eaten dinner and was executing the government, was ill.
The two shared a hot kiss as soon as they saw each other.
At this moment, rather than the king’s face, they were communicating as a pair of men and women.
At this moment, even the ministers did not interfere with their communication or emphasize their dignity.
“I missed you.”
“Hey, then you should come see me right away. Why are you coming now?”
“Haha, I have a lot of work to do.”
“Anyway, shall we walk?”
After holding Elizabeth’s hand, Lee Hwan said to his servants.
“I want the police to go out together.”
“The beliefs are not so ignorant as to interrupt the two sire’s private time.”
“It’s okay. I have something to tell you guys.”
Elizabeth’s aides were those who supported Lee Hwan’s accession when he installed his wife on the throne.
Of course, there were some who opposed the Queen’s accession, but after she reigned, she stopped against it.
After she took office, the Netherlands began to lead European maritime trade with a stronger military force, and the trade with Easterfield continued to grow at a tremendous rate.
In the Netherlands, where she ate and prospered much better than during the reign of Willem I, virtually no one would reject her.
The servants followed the couple to the palace garden.
Lee Hwan urged Elizabeth and her servants to develop Rotterdam.
“We want to create an integrated grain market in Rotterdam, what do you think?”
“A grain consolidation market?”
“The UK is collecting huge amounts of grain ahead of its Asian expansion. They are trying to abolish the grain law and dominate the grain market on their own. We at Easterfield are opposed to the British occupation of the grain market. Grain is the basis of human life, and if Britain takes control of it, there will be a grain crisis.”
“Um, that’s it.”
Elizabeth believed that her Austrian granary was fueling Europe, but recently, Europe has been seeing a sharp decline in hunger.
Now, the hunger caused by the war is disappearing, and if the British snort in the finished rice, there is no worse situation than that.
She decided to accept Lee Hwan’s offer.
“I like it. What do you guys think?”
“Hmm, we should discuss this a little more first.”
“If the UK repeals the grain law and shakes the market, won’t we be in trouble?”
“Yes, but we have to think about our relationship with Britain, don’t we?”
“Relationships with England.”
“Honestly, military power could crush Britain. We have a lot of modern weapons that Britain doesn’t have, right? But the problem is that the British currency is still the most circulating in Europe.”
In fact, the currency that dominates Europe is Easterfield’s Central, and no one can argue that they are the reserve currency.
The problem was that Britain had dominated European financial markets for quite some time.
“Considering the size of the pound released in Europe so far, it is far ahead of Central, which is being talked about as a key currency.”
“Hmm… … . Well, I’ve been doing all my transactions in pounds so far.”
“That’s right. Even the loan was paid in pounds, so I must repay the loan in pounds.”
There are many reasons why Britain always used pound sterling when lending money to other countries or making other financial transactions.
Sometimes the value of money does not function properly in the market, but it is still the most commonly used means in the market.
The British dominated the huge currency market, so there was still a lot of sterling hidden behind the cash flow.
That was what the Dutch government was worried about.
“We, the Netherlands, also traditionally used guilders, but pound sterling was used a lot in international trade. Moreover, until recently, loans were received or given out in pounds. When you think about it that way, if our relationship with them goes wrong, wouldn’t it be inevitable that we would be in a lot of trouble?”
“If all those currencies become obsolete at once… … .”
“The economy could be paralyzed.”
The most currency on the market is Central, but the potential is more in pounds.
If Britain cut off diplomatic ties and took care of debt relations, the financial sector supporting the Netherlands could collapse.
Because the money you’ve been rolling in will disappear in an instant.
Hwan Lee had a different opinion on the Dutch government’s position that it would be difficult to bear the risk from the UK.
“We have left the Bank of England to blame. Will it still be a problem?”