American: Native Empire

Chapter 169: Iceland.

It was none other than Iceland. 

It sounded like a region covered with ice.

And indeed, Iceland was located at a high latitude of 64 degrees north. 

It was the northernmost country in the world, based on the average latitude of its territory.

But contrary to this, Iceland was a rather warm region, and the temperature difference between summer and winter was very small.

Especially Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, was very warm. 

The average temperature in January, the coldest month, was above zero.

It was thanks to the North Atlantic Current that kept Iceland warm.

‘Iceland doesn’t match its name.’

It was strange to think about it.

Why was Iceland warm and Greenland cold?

It all started from a trick by the Vikings long ago.

They discovered Iceland and Greenland, but Greenland was a cold land that people didn’t want to migrate to.

So they named it Greenland. 

And they advertised that this island was very good to live in.

On the contrary, Iceland was warm despite its high latitude, and it was good to live in. 

But when many people crowded into the small island, the Vikings who lived there named this island Iceland. 

As a result, the number of immigrants decreased.

Of course, if this was the only feature, Kim Ki-woo didn’t need to pay attention to it. 

But Iceland had a lot of potential to produce cheap electricity in large quantities.

‘It’s the most suitable island for geothermal power generation.’

This island was a volcanic island located on top of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. 

It had a characteristic of active volcanic activity.

The geothermal activity was on a huge scale, and it was suitable for power generation using this heat. 

In fact, Iceland in the original history was the country that used geothermal energy the best.

‘It takes a lot of investment to build a geothermal power plant…’

Geothermal power generation, which was the only one that used the energy of the earth itself among various power generation methods, had many problems despite its many advantages.

The most important thing was that the facility investment cost was too high and the profitability was low. 

It was very difficult to achieve unless it was a volcanic island like Iceland.

‘That’s not a big problem.’

He had been pouring money into the world continuously, so his finances were not as abundant as before. 

But he had more than enough to invest in Iceland.

It wasn’t time to deal with environmental issues yet, but geothermal power generation was a very environmentally friendly power generation method.

‘The problem is that it’s a very dangerous island.’

There were as many as 130 volcanoes in Iceland. 

Of course, only about 30 of them were active volcanoes, but this was also a very large number.

As a result, there were many volcanic eruptions on this island throughout history. And there would be more in the future.

Moreover, he couldn’t investigate Iceland in detail, so he didn’t know when that would happen.

‘Even in modern times, it caused a lot of damage worldwide, so I can’t be careless.’

He remembered the volcanic eruption of Iceland in the original history.

It was vivid how it caused panic in European aviation due to the volcanic eruption that occurred around 2010.

If he built a geothermal power plant in this area, he would have to face the threat of volcanic eruption, but he couldn’t give up because of this problem. 

The geothermal power generation of Iceland was too attractive.

‘You can’t avoid eating because you’re afraid of worms.’

Kim Ki-woo decided.

He decided to build a geothermal power plant in Iceland.

***

“Is that really what the Wakan Tanka Empire wants?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Frederick II, the king of Denmark and Norway, stared at Transparent Glass, an imperial diplomat.

‘He doesn’t like it.’

To be honest, Frederick II didn’t like the empire very much.

There were several reasons for this, but first of all, it was because it was where Spiritism, a religion that spread widely throughout the world, originated from.

Recently, more and more followers of Spiritism were increasing in various parts of Europe and even in the Ottoman region.

The empire was so excellent, but more than anything else, it was because of Kim Ki-woo’s existence as an immortal spirit.

Unlike other religions, there was tangible evidence.

Of course, that was not the only reason.

‘I can’t stand leaving Sweden alone, even if they are not worth chewing on.’

He had joined the World Union with Denmark and Norway, which he ruled. 

So did Sweden.

He had no intention of deviating from the global trend, even if he did not like the Empire.

Thanks to that, the fierce war in the north was suspended. 

As an ambitious Frederick II, he could not help but regret it.

However, he only suppressed such feelings inside, and showed no change in his expression. 

Instead, he racked his brain to figure out the Empire’s intentions.

‘Iceland…’

Iceland was under Denmark’s control.

In the 13th century, when Iceland became uncontrollable due to a civil war, the parliament decided to accept Norway’s rule to find stability.

And at the end of the 14th century, Norway and Denmark were united, and the sovereignty was transferred to Denmark.

Of course, the reality was that the sovereignty was weakening due to the recent war and urgent situation, but the clear thing was that it was a country under Denmark’s control.

But the Wakan Tanka Empire wanted Iceland to be independent.

“Iceland is a land that is legally under Denmark’s control. But you want me to make Iceland independent? That’s very unpleasant. I can’t help but doubt your proposal.”

“You misunderstand. As Your Majesty knows well, the Empire does not want other countries’ lands. There are still plenty of undeveloped lands on the Wakan Tanka continent, why would we covet Iceland?”

“Hmm.”

He did not want to admit it, but Frederick II somewhat agreed with this statement.

‘I don’t understand.’

If he had as much power as the Wakan Tanka Empire, he would have conquered many countries by force, not just that filthy Sweden.

But the Wakan Tanka Empire was different. 

After unifying the huge Wakan Tanka continent, they did not show much territorial ambition.

Looking back at history, it was clear that they would not go too far to covet Iceland.

“Not only Iceland. Your Majesty does not want a country to be under another country’s control. This is similar to other cases of countries we are negotiating with.”

“…I see what you mean. However, Iceland is a very valuable land. I can’t just give it up because the Empire wants it.”

As he said, Iceland’s Hafnarfjörður was one of the main activity areas of the Hanseatic League. 

In the past, German merchants expelled British merchants and monopolized the commerce in this area.

Because of this, in 1602 in original history, Denmark prohibited Iceland from trading with countries other than Denmark. 

It was that valuable.

“That’s why the Empire offers this much compensation. It should be enough.”

“Well. I have a slightly different opinion on that.”

Frederick II leaned back on his backrest and shook his head sideways.

‘Damn. You want to get more out of this opportunity?’

He expected it to some extent, but as soon as he saw signs of stagnation in the negotiation, josei

Transparent Glass bit his tongue inside.

***

It took a long time to finalize the negotiation as Transparent Glass thought.

“Haha. My country expresses great respect for the Empire’s cause. Please be sure to tell your Emperor.”

“Yes. I will definitely deliver it.”

Frederick II’s face was very bright. 

He got a lot from this negotiation.

Conversely, it meant that Transparent Glass gave more concessions than the original terms.

‘I’ll be able to develop my country more easily than that damn Sweden with this opportunity.’

Frederick II smiled with satisfaction as he thought so.

Looking at him, Transparent Glass also thought.

‘Enjoy it while you can. You’ll regret it later.’

He was one of the few diplomats who knew Kim Ki-woo’s intention to develop Iceland. 

That’s why he didn’t care about the worse terms than before.

There was an order from His Majesty the Emperor to accept any reasonable terms.

“Then I wish you all the best. I’ll take my leave now.”

“Let’s take a look.”

With that, the transparent glass left Denmark and headed straight for Iceland.

And after convening the Icelandic parliament, he declared.

“From now on, Iceland is free from Denmark’s rule and has become an independent nation.”

As soon as the transparent glass finished speaking, silence swept over the audience. 

The members of parliament had complex expressions on their faces.

Although Denmark was in turmoil and the parliament’s influence had grown considerably recently, they did not expect to achieve independence in such a sudden way.

“I know what you are worried about. But don’t worry. If necessary, the empire will not spare any support until Iceland’s political and economic situation stabilizes.”

“Hmm… Why are you doing so much for us?”

It was a natural question. 

A tiny island compared to the empire. 

Moreover, it was far north and far away from the empire.

Not to mention the population was not that large. 

Only tens of thousands of people lived on the island of Iceland.

Especially some of the Icelandic members of parliament had witnessed the negotiations between Denmark and the empire. 

They clearly saw that the empire paid a considerable price, which made them more curious.

At this, the transparent glass smiled slyly.

“First of all, I’ll ask you. Do you intend to join the World Union?”

“That’s obvious.”

In this era, and having gained independence thanks to the empire, they had no choice but to join the World Union.

They had already made a decision related to the World Union.

“Then let’s talk about the rest after joining the World Union is approved.”

It was a mysterious remark. 

They were really curious about what the rest was.

But the transparent glass only gave a meaningful look and refrained from saying more. 

It was safer to cross the bridge after checking it.

The Wakan Tanka Empire was undoubtedly a founding member of the World Union. 

It had a dominant power within the World Union, and it was very difficult to propose an agenda that went against the empire’s will.

This was partly because of the empire’s power, but also because most of the member states had a huge debt relationship with the empire.

The debtor had no choice but to follow the creditor’s lead.

But even so, they could not ignore the procedure. 

It took a lot of time to get Iceland into the World Union.

But it was only a matter of time. Eventually,

“With this, we will finally approve Iceland’s entry into the World Union.”

Iceland became a proud member of the World Union.

As if he had been waiting for this moment, the transparent glass visited Iceland again as soon as possible.

“Congratulations. You are now an equal member of the World Union. Then we should discuss the support that will take place in the future.”

“But can we modernize like the empire…”

“Don’t worry about that. Iceland will achieve modernization faster than any other country.”

“What do you mean?”

“Look at this.”

The transparent glass handed over documents to the members of parliament. They could not contain their curiosity and flipped through them.

And…

“Gasp!”

“That’s impossible…”

They could not close their mouths at the astronomical amount written there.

“Did you bring it wrong?”

“No. It’s accurate. If you sign these documents, all these supports will be implemented immediately.”

“Why on earth…”

“Iceland is a very blessed land and will become a very important land for the empire. The Wakan Tanka Empire hopes to maintain a long and good relationship with your country.”

After that, the transparent glass explained geothermal power generation and passionately argued about Iceland’s outstanding value.

‘The volcano has that much value?’

For Icelanders, volcanic eruptions were disasters. 

Many people lost their lives because of this throughout history.

But now it turned out to be a blessing. 

It was truly ironic.

“So what do you say? Will you accept the empire’s offer?”

“Of course! How can we refuse these terms?”

“There’s no need to think more…”

“We don’t need to think at all. Let’s sign it right away!”

This is how a treaty that led to Iceland’s revival was signed.