192 Moving Trend (2)
After the establishment of the Soviet Union in Joseon, trade with Southeast Asia was smoothly expanding the scale of the economy.
This rapid growth of the Soviet Union began to affect neighboring countries as well.
In particular, rumors spread to Southeast Asia as foreign peoples who had been in conflict with the Qing Dynasty to join a federation that recognizes the autonomy of minorities have come into contact with each other.
Among them, Vietnam was the country that showed the most rapid change.
As the country of Vietnam came out of Qing rule, the people began to lean on commerce one by one.
In recent years, as gold outflows from Vietnam began to occur frequently, rapid inflation occurred and the value of the currency almost reached a bottom.
The currency of Vietnam, made of copper, began to be used right after Easterfield started trading to procure grain five years ago.
The value of the currency rose sharply during the export of grain, but recently declined sharply as Qing was absorbed into the Soviet Union.
The country of Vietnam, which now depended on trade goods from the Soviet Union in Joseon, had no choice but to fall into great trouble.
“Procurement of daily necessities for the Soviet Union seems to be getting out of hand now. Seeing them send envoys over and over again saying they can’t stand it any longer.”
“Don’t even do that. I don’t know if I haven’t tried it, but since I’ve been living a convenient life for the past 5 years, wouldn’t it be normal to rob even if I didn’t have any gold?”
In the case of a monarchy, the most problematic thing is to make the country’s growth engine smooth.
In the centralized system, the power of the people is quite weak and there is no specific way to participate in politics, so the rich get poorer is stark.
In addition, it was clear that the environment was not very good for ordinary people to make a living, such as leakage of power and monopoly of the wealth of the ruling class.
At the very least, it would be nice to have a parliament, but classical Eastern countries never had parliaments in a monarchy.
Just like the current Vietnam.
“So, what did they say as they kept sending envoys?”
“If the Soviet Union of Joseon can build factories in Vietnam, produce goods in their own country, and sell them cheaply, they will give us permission to build a through-east railroad or road that we want.”
Now, the Federal Territory of Easterfield reached the northern part of India, and relations with Thailand and the Indonesian peninsula were also good, so if only the South Vietnamese state was abandoned, everything was easy.
Lee Gak immediately decided to give according to their will.
“good night. Then we decide to invest capital in Vietnam.”
“Then are you going to build a factory right now?”
“Of course, there are some conditions.”
“You name it.”
“First, maintaining as a monarchy is good, but introduce parliamentary and cabinet politics for smooth economic activity.”
“Yes, my lord!”
“Secondly, a financial protection agreement to protect the capital of the Soviet Union can protect both depositors and investors.”
“You are a smart choice!”
“Third and last, we have to sign a mutual non-aggression pact and establish a consulate. This is our condition.”
In fact, it was almost as if they were trying to completely open ports in Vietnam.
But now, because of industrial products, it seems that if you make a mistake, there will be a riot, so there was no particular sharp point just because you were in Vietnam.
Lee Gak’s terms were delivered directly to Vietnam.
and four days later.
Vietnam sent an envoy saying that he would unconditionally obey Lee Gak’s will.
And that along with a huge amount of rice.
An envoy from Vietnam, who visited Joseon with an amount that a wooden boat could not fill, said this rice was a sign of goodwill.
“majesty! This is our heart from Vietnam! I hope you will be happy to accept it!”
“Heart. Your hearts are truly amazing. With this amount, the city of Hanyang can eat for a year.”
“I would like to open a festival with this rice to publicize the friendship between the two countries.”
***
In 1838, the Panama Corporation opened the canal.
From now on, America and Europe will be connected through the Panama Canal.
The Kingdom of Easterfield, which had a monopoly on this operation, installed batteries densely around the canal and even had banks stationed for financial protection.
In the summer of 38, the Central American Bank was launched, led by Panama Corporation.
Central American banks are fully rooted in America by managing complex finance as an investment and commercial bank.
This Central American bank entered the Venezuelan oil field at Lee Hwan’s order.
mid-August.
Heavy equipment from the Kingdom of Easterfield gathered near an oil field in Venezuela.
Still, land oil fields had been active for several years, but offshore oil fields had just begun.
This is because the drilling technology that can develop the coast has been developed.
The head of the project, Maiun Asata, lived as a slave in Africa and worked as a construction engineer from the time Easterfield was founded.
He made a remarkable contribution to the development of oil fields, and eventually came to Venezuela, a land of new opportunities.
Based on the points Lee Hwan said, the exploration was completed, and now all we had to do was drill.
Of course, it was still unclear how much the amount would be.
On the morning of the 4th, Maiun Asata received a report from his subordinates.
that the drilling was successful.
“Director! Success!”
“Oh, is it?! German silver? How much do you think it is?”
“This is the best oilfield we have ever found! It looks almost the size of Texas!”
It really was a hit.
However, Asata Maiun kept this fact a complete secret.
“Tell me about this right now and request the dispatch of the intelligence service. Also, don’t say anywhere that we drilled successfully.”
“Why?”
“I will never sit still in Colombia and Brazil. Our fleet is on standby right now, but no one knows when the ground forces will arrive. So let’s wait until our artillery arrives.”
***
Good news has arrived from Venezuela.
Lee Hwan immediately dispatched ground troops and ordered them to be deployed in Venezuela.
“Among our troops, send out elite troops specialized in deserts and jungles.”
“Yes, my lord!”
After the dispatch of troops was decided, the military began to move in unison.
Then that afternoon, a very unexpected proposal arrived from Russia.
When Lee Hwan received the proposal, he couldn’t help but be surprised.
As Russia became destitute, he offered to sell the Far East.
“… … Selling the Russian Far East? How did these get together as a group?”
“It seems that their feet have been set on fire because of the recent active action of Tunisian bankers.”
Lee Hwan, who received the offer, thought there was no better opportunity than this.
But he was consistent and pretended not to know.
“Reject it.”
“Aren’t you going to converge on the purchase?”
“No, why are we? Is there no reason for that?”
“The land will become our future hub of communication and transportation… … .”
“Know. But no other country can develop the Far East there except us. Because it’s still technically impossible. If so, is there no reason to buy it with my own money?”
Upon hearing Lee Hwan’s words, the aides hit their knees.
Even if it’s a strategic military base, if it’s an area that Russia can’t do anything about, wouldn’t it be foolish for Lee Hwan to pay the price for it?
“Let them reject it.”
“Yes, my lord!”
Lee Hwan rejected the purchase with a single blow.
a week after that.
Russia sent a letter to Lee Hwan again.
His content was as follows.
“We want to give you more than half the price in the Far East of Russia, and to deepen your relationship with the Soviet Union through trade and investment exchanges.”
“… … Those who prepare for war must be so blatant.”
“Sir, what are you going to do?”
Lee Hwan is a person whose goal is to get as many benefits as possible.
If he grants their requests as they are, of course, he will not be able to get the most out of it.
“Let go of the rejection again this time.”
“But if you do that, you may lose your buying opportunity altogether.”
“If we say we’ve been rejected. who can buy it? Was there any country that could do that?”
“Aha!”
“We are the only ones who will buy it, but if we are too docile, their nose will rise.”
Lee Hwan knew the Russian people well.
They considered themselves to be a great power and to be the only country to seize European hegemony.
The alliance with Britain will also be broken someday.
Because I think that two suns cannot exist in this world.
Taken from noblemtl.com
Moreover, they were already on the verge of victory in the war against England.
It was not unreasonable to claim that he would defeat England and become a ruler himself.
Lee Hwan decided to break the arrogance of Russia.
“Reject.”
“Yes, my lord!”
Already the second rejection went to Russia.
a fortnight after that.
This time, a Russian messenger came to the Netherlands.
At the same time, Lee Hwan was in the Netherlands to meet the Archduke of Austria, so he hadtily packed his envoys accordingly.
“majesty! I’m here to help you compromise on the sale of Far Eastern territories from the Russian Empire!”
“It’s a compromise.”
“If you think the price we offered is too high, please tell us what level you want. Then, won’t we be able to set a reasonable price and please your Majesty?”
Because Lee Hwan was holding the hilt, even Russia under the world had no choice but to crawl around like this.
For Russia, who is consistent with this low attitude, Lee Hwan still insisted on his will.
“We think the Russian sincerity is important, but the price is not.”
“If you are sincere… … .”
“Even if we take control of the Far East, it is unclear to what extent we will be able to effectively control it. Besides, they said that Yeon-hae would be removed and sold.”
“that… … .”
“Think. Assuming we develop the Far East, how much money will it cost? And what about the manpower that comes with it?”
The weather in the Far East is the worst climate unsuitable for human living, so the population density is quite low.
Even if an ordinary country had it in their hands, it was unclear whether appropriate development activities could be achieved.
Of course, when Lee Hwan takes over, the story will be completely different.
Lee Hwan was struggling with the Russian envoy to stick to the best that would benefit the country.
A Russian messenger who quietly rolled his head in front of Lee Hwan.
He nodded his head and said to Lee Hwan.
“… … If that is the case, would you accept it if you sell the Far East, including the Primorsky Territory?”
“Including the Primorsky Sea… … ?”