The Joseon Prince Went To America And Didn’t Return – 179



< US ARMY (3) >

“Please tell me the future my prince.”

My head was filled with question marks.

In return for consulting with the Marine School they asked me to tell them the future.

What the hell are you talking about washing your hands so seriously?

I looked at General Dewey with a cold expression and asked.

“The future? Are you talking about the future to come?”

“Yes that’s right.”

General Dewey quickly corrected his posture in response to my continued negative reactions.

He had been leaning back on the sofa with a slightly arrogant expression on his face but soon he was leaning towards me and adopting a more active conversational stance.

“Oh my. I guess I spoke too vaguely.”

ha ha ha-

General Dewey laughed so loudly that the office we were in shook.

But General Dewey continued to grumble as he still had a displeased expression on his face.

“Then I this dying old man would like to ask the prince a simpler and more intuitive question.”

“Keep going. I’m listening.”

“I am very curious about what the Prince imagines the future of the Navy to be like. To be exact I would like to hear about the future of the US Navy but if you cannot be specific please just say the future of the Navy.”

“….”

I kept my lips tightly shut.

Because I had to figure out General Dewey’s true intentions.

I studied his expression for a moment calculating something in my head.

“Why?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“I’m not a naval reservist. I’m just a civilian. I’m just a successful businessman these days. So why are you asking me this? What do I know?”

The Dewey Empire shrugged.

He answered my question as if it were nothing.

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“Your Majesty.”

“Tell me.”

“I am the Chairman of the General Board of the United States Navy.”

He asked me the name of his new organization.

“Do you know what the US Navy Board does?”

“Isn’t this a place where we can think together about the future of the US Navy?”

“you’re right.”

General Dewey nodded his head up and down repeatedly agreeing with my answer.

“Even before I took office as chairman of the board I had talked to many military figures about this topic.”

“Then your new job is truly a calling.”

“Yes that’s right.”

General Dewey resumed his story which had been interrupted by my answer.

“But Prince if we only discuss things within the military we will soon reach a limit.”

“margin?”

“Yes. Since everyone has similar views we only talk about similar things. These days the things we talk about have become surprisingly similar to the point where we’ve fallen into mannerism.”

General Dewey looked at me with a twinkle in his eye.

like.

He looked like a wolf who felt joy at seeing his prey.

“So I decided to change my perspective. To look at it from the outside rather than the inside.”

“Is that the first target me?”

“Yes that’s right.”

General Dewey nodded vigorously.

I even spit at him but he was so focused on the conversation that he didn’t even notice my rudeness.

“Why me?”

“Your Majesty you have become a millionaire in just five years since you came to America. You can say that you have a greater insight into the future than any other civilian.”

“….”

“Wouldn’t it be a truly fruitful time to talk about the future of our Navy with such a prince?”

I guess you’re thinking of putting my insight to use.

but.

I’m quite famous in America.

A person who prepares for a major earthquake.

Even during the Great Depression he was often featured in the newspapers as someone who made money.

‘But it’s still too sudden.’

Obviously.

I guess he must have picked up something somewhere and is making this suggestion to me.

To find out the reason I asked another question instead of giving a definitive answer right away.

“Is there a story going around in the military about me that I don’t know about? My company has been releasing some new weapons lately.”

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General Dewey seemed to hesitate for a moment in response to my question.

But soon Dewey opened his mouth.

“To be honest yes. That’s right. There have been quite a few rumors going around in the military lately about this prince.”

Good news too.

Bad rumors too.

Dewey being present does not list everything he knows.

He just told me what he wanted to hear.

“There were some ridiculous rumors and some that were interesting. I would like to hear some of them directly from the prince.”

“What? Tell me.”

“Didn’t you demonstrate Lee & Wright’s new bomber in Germany last year?”

“That’s right.”

“Did you know that our Navy officials also attended that event?”

then.

However unlike the military personnel of other European powers US Navy officials watched the bomber demonstration with a passive attitude.

That’s why it didn’t leave a deep impression on me.

“Could you please tell me again here what you told me back then?”

“hmm.”

How could I refuse a favor from a legendary naval admiral?

It’s not like it costs money.

“Most of those who attended the event expected that the competition among shipbuilders would become even fiercer in the future.”

“That is true. As Your Majesty knows Germany has been investing a lot of money in its navy recently in an attempt to catch up with Britain.”

I continued speaking recalling what happened back then.

“Most of the military spending is being used to build battleships. I predicted this trend would last less than ten years.”

General Dewey narrowed his eyes.

“Why did you make such a prediction? These are the times when ocean-going battleships are the most important.”

“Yes. You are right.”

I slightly moved the corner of my mouth and added a condition afterwards.

“However killers are emerging one by one to catch that big battleship.”

“Huh? What is that?”

“Didn’t you see it at the last demonstration?”

I looked at General Dewey with wide eyes as if teasing him slightly.

“Oh you weren’t there at that time.”

“….”

“That little bomber our company made sank a huge ship even though it was just an early model that had just been invented.”

There were several conditions that were intertwined.

The striking ship was also loaded with highly flammable oil.

In a situation where there were no anti-aircraft weapons.

Didn’t they hit the target while flying at a low altitude that would be unthinkable in real combat?

‘Well anyway. It’s a done deal that the ship sank from the bomb fired by our pilot.’

I looked at General Dewey recalling that moment.

“You look like you don’t know what I’m talking about. I’ll plan a demonstration event for the US Navy. No for the US military. It’s better to see it once than hear about it a hundred times.”

“….”

Dewey just stared at me silently.

What am I saying?

It was an expression that said he wouldn’t let out even a single word.

“Anyway our company’s new bomber has taken on a pile of scrap metal that eats up money. Moreover since this weapon can fly in the sky it can also strike enemy bases on land.”

I also brought up the downsides of airplanes to give objectivity to my argument.

“We can’t travel that far yet because our range is not good enough. But wouldn’t it be different if carrier ships with runways could carry hundreds of aircraft and sail the seas?”

“Aircraft Carrier…”

A word familiar to modern people but unfamiliar to soldiers of this era.

General Dewey repeated the words carefully mulling them over.

He looked serious for a moment then looked at me with a playful expression.

“Hahaha. Your imagination is going too far. A transport ship carrying aircraft? Who would operate a ship that would run aground in less than a minute if even a small battleship appeared?”

I scratched my head.

He said the following with a half-joking half-serious expression on his face.

“I’m even looking into shipyards for my teeth. It’s disappointing to hear you say that.”

“Still you went too far.”

“Well I’m just making suggestions. Isn’t it soldiers like you who are supposed to operate them? Anyway it’s clear that the era of battleships is over and the era of aircraft carriers is coming…”

* * *

George Dewey returned to his office as soon as his meeting with Lee Kang was over.

“Mr. Chairman. How was your trip?”

His secretary took off George Dewey’s coat and asked him how he was doing.

“How was your conversation with the prince?”

“….”

“I heard that you have shown great interest in establishing a maritime school recently… Did you give me a word of advice and then come back?”

Although having a talkative secretary could be annoying George Dewey was a man who enjoyed listening to other people’s opinions.

He also told his secretary about the anecdote he had with Lee Kang today.

“Huh? Is that what that prince said?”

“That’s right.”

The secretary laughed so hard she was holding her belly.

He is also a reservist who served in the Navy and was discharged.

To him Lee Kang’s prediction seemed like a truly absurd fantasy.

“What the hell is he talking about when he says there will be a time when airplanes will catch battleships?”

“….”

“Battleships are the greatest combat weapons in history. How much money goes into building those huge battleships and how many planes can sink them?”

The secretary continued to criticize Lee Kang’s predictions.

“What about an aircraft carrier? What kind of ridiculous weapon is that? Even if we were to build something like that it would definitely be sunk by a single battleship as the Chairman said.”

“I guess so?”

“Yes. If there was something that good wouldn’t the British have made it first?”

Unfortunately the United States in this era was not the paradise that modern people looked up to.

Although its economy had grown to rival that of the British Empire it was still far behind in military terms.

Even George Dewey was angry but acknowledged that their naval power was inferior to that of Germany which was currently on the rise.

“Well… if it were that good the British would have made it first.”

Dewey wanted to quickly forget what had happened today.

but.

For some reason the words I had spoken to Lee Kang kept coming to mind.

he is.

He started his day’s work again continuing to recall the new word Lee Kang had coined “aircraft carrier.”

* * *

『Mexican strongholds near the border have grown into warlords. Some forces are inciting poor local residents by blaming the United States for Mexico’s poverty.』

『Yesterday a border intrusion occurred at dawn in the Texas border area. We strongly protest to the federal government and the Mexican government.』

The meeting with Pershing was postponed.

As the border situation rapidly deteriorated Pershing who was commanding nearby units could not leave his post.

“majesty.”

“Tell me.”

“Sometimes I feel like I understand Your Majesty’s true intentions but then I feel confused.”

“Why?”

Choi Hyun-woo asked me while wrapping his head.

“You immediately turned down Dean Barry’s offer to visit West Point. From what I have observed His Majesty has been more eager to visit West Point than any other Korean.”

Although his meeting with Pershing was postponed he was able to have dinner with Thomas Henry Barry the West Point provost.

Dean Berry invited me to that place three times but I declined them all.

Why?

Because now was not the time to be called the rider of the stars.

Just one year.

If I just waited another year that day would come so why did I miss the opportunity to visit West Point a year early and meet Eisenhower?

Ps …

I smiled at Choi Hyun-woo and continued to say the following.

“You have to be precise. This isn’t a rejection. This is a postponement of the visit.”

“Isn’t that it?”

Choi Hyun-woo thought that Dean Berry might change his mind at any time.

So I guess I felt I had to seize this opportunity.

‘You don’t have to act so hastily.’

Because in America I became a bigger person than I thought.

Seeing that Dewey has grown enough to ask for advice it’s better to be impatient and rush things rather than do them half-baked.

I figured it would be better to wait for the next clear opportunity.

“By the way what is that letter you are holding in your hand?”

“Oh you mean this letter? It was sent by General Pershing.”

“That guy too. He already sent five letters just because he postponed his schedule once…”

Unlike Leonard Wood who was very excited by the flattery of the dung flies Pershing was a very polite man.

Because of the schedule delay I had to send four letters of apology.

“hmm.”

I frowned as I read the contents.

So Choi Hyun-woo asked me.

“Your Majesty why are you frowning? Did General Pershing use any rude words?”

“No. I see that you are very sorry for delaying our last appointment. You even offered to write me a letter of recommendation.”

“Yes? Oh you mean the letter of recommendation I’ll use when I get into West Point?”

“okay.”

I looked at Choi Hyun-woo and gave him an order.

“Send someone to the Ikmunsa and Hapseong Association. Tell them to look into whether there are any useful people among our Korean youth. Select five candidates from each of the Army and Naval academies.”

George Dewey also assured me that he would write me a letter of recommendation.

This will be an opportunity to see just how much influence he has had at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis.

“Do you plan to meet in person and have an interview?”

“Then. What kind of position is this?”

I gave Choi Hyun-woo a firm warning.

“Tell them to finalize their candidates before Easter.”

“Yes Your Majesty.”

I need to focus on the upcoming meeting of the Seven.

Because discussions on the establishment of the Federal Reserve System which is considered the most important on the economic front will begin next week.

The gathering of even the most prominent senators from the US Congress will soon begin.

Members of the two Rothschild families as well as Morgan and Rockefeller were flocking to the East.

‘It’s just beginning.’

< US ARMY (3) > End