Then they say that Kouka does not have to bear the burden. If the line had at least been “the burden doesn’t have to be taken only by our country,” it could be understood as the costs being shared among the countries involved. But it does not say only.
I guess, they mean the people in this country with a good amount of cash, goods and connections. This people, rich merchants, would likely pay for a better connection. A better connection could mean them exchanging more goods, more safely. If the countries provided a sort of protection. Of course contracts are the key in this scenario.
The moment a route enters another country, Kouka no longer has authority there. It cannot hire workers, lay out roads, occupy land, or decide priorities in foreign territory without formal agreements. Even empires usually have to pretend to negotiate before planting a road.
And there is another question: why would the neighbouring countries accept the exact routes designed by Kouka? Xing might want to connect different markets, Sei might prioritise its ports, and Kai might have neither the money nor the interest to restore a corridor that mainly benefits Koukan merchants.
It does not have to be a pretense. Contracts to join certain parts of the economy could be beneficial for all countries.
Besides Kai Empire has big structural problems. The emperor is losing more and more power, since "old stories" do not sell so well, as they used to be. A "pure blood" isn´t likely worth as much as it used to be.
The legitimation for the Kai emperor´s rule is crumbling. The people inside are most likely quite disatisfied. And of course with nobles trying to attain power, this guy needs quickly a way to stabilize this little bomb.
Also, if the Kai Emperor resembles King Il, like Zeno suggested, he might be glad for a more peaceful solution to the present problems in Kai Empire.
Additionally, if Sei, Xing and Kouka connect their economies, then goods and people could flow more naturally between them. People could find more easily work ect.
If the connection of the three countries are a success, then Kai is likely to join. This has happened in the past ,too. Countries gave up "certain parts of their power" voluntarily if they could gain benefits - help and economic advantages.
The proposed solution is to mobilise the merchants and wealthy people interested in the routes, without clarifying whether they are from Kouka, foreign, or a mixture of both. And somehow, national and foreign money will simply flow.
The rich pay for it, and the poor build it. Perfect.
Those two - Soo Won and Hak- are right now exchanging ideas in order to attain a rough structure for a plan. This is not necessarily the end result. But it is very likely that more merchants from one country join this plan. Soo Won apparently has connections to the Kai Empire merchants, as he recommened them Yun ho´s tea during the Earth Tribe Arc.
The rich pay for it, and the poor build it. Perfect.
The text itself says that those who invest will receive priority use. If the investors are foreign, Kouka would be allowing foreign merchant capital to finance strategic infrastructure within its territory and receive preferential access to it.
The most charitable interpretation would be that merchants from all interested countries jointly finance the network, while each state regulates the sections within its own territory. But that would require treaties, cost-sharing arrangements, limits on privileges, and public oversight. The scene mentions none of that. It simply moves from “Kouka does not have to bear the burden” to “the merchants and the wealthy will pay,” and then to “they will have priority.”
I would say, this is not just the "most charitable interpretation", I think it is the most logical. Not merely the foreign merchants, but Kouka´s, too, would gain.
In order to gain something, you sometimes have to give up power. Kai Empire and Sei were trying to gain "workers" from Kouka by attaining slaves; so Sei and Kai need people. Kouren and Tao are the most likely pair to join Yona´s suggestion. Wouldn´t it be beneficial, if the right people with the right know-how were at the right place?
Additionally, this could even lead to an outcome, that the countries invest more in their citizens - building schools. People like Yoon and Keishuk, who are bloody commoners, but are geniuses or at least very capable, might be in more places.
The ingredients are already there.
If the investors are domestic, the system encourages internal oligopolies. If they are foreign, it adds external dependence over strategic infrastructure.
Indeed, due to this dependence - whic would apply to all countries involved- wars would be less likely to happen.
Either way, the proposal is a recipe for privatising the routes and granting preferential access to those who finance them. It creates an obvious incentive for the concentration of economic power: those with priority access can earn greater profits, invest in further routes, and strengthen their position even more.
Priority would however not suggest, that those people - merchants or nobles- would have an exclusive right to use it. The people with more power, money and benefits will still have the greater advantage, but they had this from the start.
It, however, also grants a saver route for all people to travel between countries.
This is neither a new nor an innocent mechanism. The history of chartered companies shows how far the combination of private capital, commercial monopoly, and state-granted power can go.
In the era, this work plays, this might be a rather new idea.
Whoever controls access to a route can influence transport costs, which goods circulate, which markets prosper, and which regions are left out. This is not some remote possibility. It is the logical incentive created by the model, unless the state imposes strict limits that the scene never mentions.
Yes, these are important details, they would need to consider. It would still be beneficial for more people. For the foreign countries, who wish for workers and for the people in Kouka without work. Of course, the states would need to make sure, that no human trafficking happens again and other related crimes.
With Hak, one can accept that political economy is not exactly his battlefield. But Soo-won is supposed to be a strategist who understands incentives, resources, and power. It is difficult to believe that he would fail to see that granting priority to investors amounts to creating a class with institutionalised commercial privileges.
Those people have already had the privileges from the start or they would not be needed. Those people are rich after all. Kings have always needed people with money and influence. This is how the world unfortunately works.
I once heard the joke, that if an ape, would hord all the bananas, people would call this behaviour sick, but it is unfortunately accepted as not only normal, but as a prefered behaviour in human beings.
The economy in Kouka is in shambles right now. They need money and goods, people are out of work, as far as I could see. So they need investors. And so the merchants need a reason to give them money in the first place.
If you take into account certain examples, this still could be a "win-win-situation" for so many people inside and outside of Kouka. Like the Panama Chanel, where there appears to be also a priority use. The chanel used to be in the hands of the US (actually, they are still the ones, who use the chanel mainly), but the chanel has proven to be quite useful also to the countries of Latin America.
The mere fact, that easier connections between the countries exist, could help all people - directly or indirectly.
In fact, Kusanagi is most likely refering to the past history of Japan. Her own country is the "proof".
The Second World War left Japan in ruins, grappling with the consequences of its engagement in the conflict, which culminated in the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. Following its ultimate surrender, the Prime Minister of Japan, Shigeru Yoshida, gradually disengaged the country from its former aggressive policies and embraced policies of peace and reconstruction—a strategy otherwise known as the Yoshida Doctrine. Prioritizing economic development over military endeavours, Japan forged strategic alliances with nations around the world, invested heavily in technological innovation and made its education system a cornerstone of its recovery. The result was nothing short of miraculous: the emergence of Japan as the world's third-largest economy. The remarkable economic success of Japan underscores how a commitment to peace can propel a nation from ashes to eminence.
Soo-won should see the trap. That, to me, is the real narrative failure. Not simply that the idea is simplistic, but that it is given to the one character who should be able to recognise exactly what is wrong with it.
Maybe I simply think too much.
Sometimes you must risk something, to gain. I think, Soo Won understands this now, too.
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