American: Native Empire

The destruction of Britain was regrettable, but also strange in a way.

‘They have avenged the original history without knowing it.’

In the original history, the Native Americans of North America were decimated by the diseases brought by the Europeans.

They were also pushed westward by the Americans, who were created by the British, and eventually collapsed completely during the Westward Expansion.

At that time, the Native Americans were forced to live in small areas called Indian Reservations, which were mostly wastelands.

Some tribes resisted, but they were no match for the overwhelming power of the United States.

As a result, their total population dropped to about 350,000 by 1920.

Kim Kiwoo, who knew this original history, felt a strange irony in the current situation.

‘But this is something that never happened. This kind of massacre is too excessive for revenge.’

Kim Kiwoo was also angry that he almost died. 

If the bullet had hit his heart, his eventful life would have ended.

But it was only because George Taylor, the British plenipotentiary ambassador, was a madman. 

Nothing more, nothing less. 

It was obvious that the British government and people had no intention of harming him.

This war was nothing but a scapegoating driven by emotion.

‘It will only tarnish the image of the Wakan Tanka Empire, which claims to be the center of the world.’

In fact, this was more important than his sympathy for Britain. 

Most countries would not look favorably on such a one-sided slaughter.

The Empire had maintained world peace with its overwhelming strength until now.

It was because there was a trust that the Empire would not abuse its power. 

The Empire had created the World Federation, suppressed conflicts, and restrained from wars unless it was a special case. 

That’s how it gained this trust.

But this trust was broken by this incident.

-What if George Taylor was one of our people? Then now, we would be the target of the Empire’s guns.

Of course, he understood the reason and knew why the imperial citizens were so obsessed with revenge, but he thought that many people around the world would feel fear in their hearts when they imagined this scenario.

This was not a good thing for the Empire.

‘We need to calm down the imperial citizens and end this war as soon as possible.’

After finishing his thoughts, Kim Kiwoo got out of bed.

“Ugh…”

He felt like his body was not his own, probably because he had been unconscious for a long time. 

The pain in his chest was also quite severe.

“Your Majesty. You need to rest.”

“Don’t worry about me.”

Kim Kiwoo ignored White Sugar’s concern and immediately gave orders to his aide.

“Summon an imperial meeting right away. And until a conclusion is reached at the imperial meeting, stop all military actions on British soil.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

The news that Kim Kiwoo had regained consciousness and his decisive order spread quickly. 

Thanks to that, all war activities stopped as if by magic in Britain, where enormous damage had been accumulating.

“Your Majesty!”

“Oh! I’m so glad…”

Sob!

As Kim Kiwoo entered the imperial meeting room, it was stained with relief and joy. 

The ministers thanked him with tears of happiness.

Kim Kiwoo sat down in his splendid seat and comforted them.

“I know you’ve been through a lot because of me. But you don’t have to worry anymore.”

“Your Majesty, your complexion is still not good. How about you take some rest for a while?”

“That’s right. Nothing is more important than your health, Your Majesty. Please grant us your request.”

Most of the ministers agreed. Kim Kiwoo’s face was very pale after just getting up from his sickbed. 

The ministers wished him to rest until he recovered.

Kim Kiwoo nodded slightly.

“Who said I wouldn’t rest? I’ll take a good break for a while after this is over, even if you try to stop me. If you’re worried about my condition, help me end this situation as soon as possible. There must have been a lot of things happening while I was down.”

“…”

Kim Kiwoo’s voice at the end was cold as ice. 

The ministers who had been serving him for a long time knew that he was not in a good mood.

As a result, they became silent.

Kim Kiwoo looked around them and continued.

“What’s the current situation?”

“New Minister of Internal Affairs, I’ll report to you.”

“Go ahead.”

As Kim Kiwoo agreed, the Minister of Internal Affairs stepped forward and began his report.

“Hmm…”

And as the report went on, Kim Kiwoo swallowed his saliva as he learned of Britain’s huge damage scale.

‘It’s worse than I thought.’

With just one battle, Britain’s naval power was annihilated, and their capital was destroyed in just two hours.

What followed was nothing but slaughter and destruction. 

The Empire’s bombers kept dropping bombs on Britain’s major areas, turning them into infernos, and the ground forces with tanks pushed inland.

The war was over in just a day, and Britain was already half-ruined. 

Elizabeth I’s hard-built factories and facilities were almost gone, and even the palace was destroyed.

The number of British people who died in the process was also too many.

It was only thanks to Kim Kiwoo’s quick stop of the war that it was this much.

‘If I had woken up a day later. No, even half a day later…’

Britain’s damage would have been incomparable to now. 

It was obvious from the huge amount of bombs still left in Britain.

“…That’s all.”

After the Minister of Internal Affairs finished his report, the meeting room was silent.

Kim Kiwoo asked them.

“How do you feel after hearing the report? Is this really what you wanted?”

“…”

There was no one who could answer Kim Kiwoo’s sharp gaze. 

It was the first time they heard the specific damage scale of Britain, since the full-scale scorched-earth operation had started less than a day ago.

“Of course, I understand your feelings and the feelings of the imperial citizens, but this was too much. The Wakan Tanka Empire is the center of the world, isn’t it? As such, we should have been more careful, especially when using force.”

“…We apologize, Your Majesty.”

“We were short-sighted.”

The ministers bowed their heads at Kim Kiwoo’s rebuke. 

There was no excuse that they had no choice but to appease the great anger of the imperial citizens. 

After all, it was a fact that most of the ministers had agreed to start the war.

“I don’t want any more meaningless sacrifices. So I’m going to declare a ceasefire. Do you have any objections?”

Of course, there were no objections.

Kim Kiwoo continued.

“Then I declare a ceasefire from now on. All imperial troops on expedition should withdraw.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

**

The war ended with a huge scar on Britain.

“Hmm. Too many people died…”

As soon as the damage scale of Britain due to the war was revealed, many people had this thought.

However, most of the imperial citizens cheered loudly.

“I’m so glad that His Majesty woke up safely. Hahaha! I was really worried that he wouldn’t wake up for a long time.”

First of all, the imperial citizens were greatly relieved that Kim Kiwoo had gotten up unscathed.

And as for the damage scale of Britain,

“They deserved it. They did such a horrible thing to His Majesty, so this is a natural consequence.”

“I think it’s not enough… But well, His Majesty decided that way, so we have to follow.”

Most of the imperial citizens reacted as if it was obvious.

‘This is not good.’

Kim Kiwoo frowned as he received the report on the social atmosphere.

He felt that the pride that had accumulated from living as the citizens of the overwhelming strongest nation had gone beyond pride and become arrogance.

In fact, he had felt this sign for a long time.

The national power was so overwhelming that the imperial citizens had a sense of superiority over the people of other countries.

He had tried hard to eliminate racial and regional discrimination for a long time, but it did not subside easily.

‘I guess I have to start the television broadcast sooner.’

Actually, he had been preparing for the television broadcast for a long time, and he was adjusting the first broadcast date. 

The sale of cathode ray tubes, which were the receivers of television broadcasts, had started since last year.

Thanks to the news that Kim Kiwoo would give a speech in person on the first broadcast, cathode ray tubes were widely spread. 

The wealthy imperial citizens had enough money to buy cathode ray tubes.

“Wow, finally the television broadcast is starting? I’m really looking forward to it!”

“It’s amazing that we can see not only sound, but also images at home. Wow…”

“I want to hear His Majesty’s speech as soon as possible!”

The news that the television broadcast was officially starting made people who hadn’t bought cathode ray tubes buy them.

There was no shortage of cathode ray tube supply thanks to the long preparation period.

And on the day of the broadcast. 

The broadcast finally started.

“…Huh?”

“Hmm…”

The imperial citizens who turned on the television expecting Kim Kiwoo’s speech stared at the images that began to appear on the cathode ray tube.

The television showed scenes of the imperial army mercilessly slaughtering the British and British people who lost their families in the ruined cities.

It was a vivid portrayal of the horrors of war.

“Ugh…!”

The cruel scenes were censored as much as possible, but they were still so terrible that some imperial citizens with weak stomachs vomited.

They were too unfamiliar scenes for the imperial citizens who had lived in peace for a long time.

After a while.

The screen changed and Kim Kiwoo’s face appeared.

“Your, Your Majesty!”

The eyes of the imperial citizens widened at the sudden screen change. But because of the previous gloomy images, Kim Kiwoo’s face looked very grim.

Soon Kim Kiwoo’s speech began.

“Did you see it well? This is the result of the war we caused. The images are only a part of it. The reality is much more horrible than the images. Many innocent British people were killed because of our anger, and British land was devastated.”

Bang!

Kim Kiwoo slammed his desk and ranted.

“Is this what you wanted for revenge? Do you feel relieved now that you have completed your revenge? I don’t. I can’t see anything because of tears when I think of the countless lives that were killed innocently!”

Kim Kiwoo’s speech continued while the imperial citizens who watched it could not say anything.

“The one who shot me in the chest was George Taylor. He was responsible for Britain because he was their plenipotentiary ambassador. But he was just a lunatic. Because of his madness, innocent British people were killed and their land was ruined. Is this what the great Wakan Tanka Empire did! I still can’t believe it!”

Kim Kiwoo cleared his throat for a moment and resumed his speech.

“You are the citizens of the great Wakan Tanka Empire. But this was an act that I can’t believe was agreed by the citizens of a great nation. I hope this mistake will not be repeated in the future.”

That’s how Kim Kiwoo’s short but powerful speech ended.