I Became A Genius Of The French Royal Family [EN]: Chapter 101

Unfathomable

“To hand over all the colonies in the New World to France….”

Lord North’s face was now almost deathly pale.

Even so, it’s a bit much.

He shouldn’t have been unable to guess that things would turn out this way, logically speaking.

“To be precise, it’s just taking back what was temporarily entrusted to England. Wasn’t the east side of the Mississippi River originally our land?”

“But that was only in the very early stages, and countless English resources have gone into developing the Canadian region currently….”

“We also brought up similar stories when wrapping up the Seven Years’ War. If England had considered our position back then, things might have been different.”

“······.”

Lord North simply shut his mouth.

In the end, this situation is just reaping what they have sown so far.

What can you do?

If you feel wronged, you should have behaved better in the first place.

Or win the war.

“And this time, there has been a movement of a large number of royalists within the United States trying to immigrate to Canada. We cannot allow these people to settle in Canada, so it seems they will all have to be repatriated to England.”

“Haa······.”

As far as I know, the number of royalists immigrating from America to Canada is over 70,000.

This mass migration contributed quite a bit to Canada becoming a pro-British country after American independence in the original history.

This is because quite a few of them were in positions of power.

We couldn’t leave such a ticking time bomb in Nouvelle-France [New France, the area of North America colonized by France].

Conversely, Lord North looked genuinely flustered, unlike before.

The Pitts, who had been quiet until now, also twitched their eyes.

It seems that many of the reactions they showed before were intentional exaggerations.

In fact, they are not fools, so they couldn’t have failed to anticipate that a situation would come where they would have to give up North America entirely.

They were probably thinking of holding out as much as possible and then accepting it as if they had no choice, while trying to get concessions elsewhere.

And their aim was to plant plenty of pro-British factions in Canada to make it difficult for us to manage the colony.

“If there’s nothing else to say, I’ll take it that you have no objections.”

“…I understand. But if we give up any more territory than this, neither the parliament nor His Majesty will ever accept it. Of course, if we continue the war, our losses will be even greater, but there is a limit to how rationally people can judge, isn’t there?”

“Of course. We are not so heartless either. But there is just one thing, shouldn’t you return the territory you stole from the Netherlands?”

“So that’s….”

Just as Lord North was about to argue, the elder Pitt raised his hand to stop him and stepped forward instead.

“I understand. Instead, could we use that to compensate for the losses we suffered in India this time?”

“I was about to make such a proposal anyway. Lord North said that there could be no more concessions, but if it’s in the form of an exchange, it’s possible, right?”

“Yes. Well, that’s….”

“Then, specifically, we will return half of the East India region that our France has obtained this time. We will be satisfied if we can only restore our influence in India to what it was before the Seven Years’ War.”

From the beginning, I was trying to give them a minimum lifeline because it would be difficult if England were to completely collapse like this.

Even if they only maintain power in India, England, which has already entered the Industrial Revolution, will be at least stronger than Spain.

“In that case, can the soldiers captured in India be repatriated?”

“We will, of course, return the soldiers we are holding. However, I will try to talk to Mysore or Maratha, but if they are adamant, there is nothing we can do. But if your country shows sincerity, we will also earnestly ask Maratha and Mysore.”

In other words, it means to behave well if you want to get the prisoners back.

Lord North, who knew this, sighed and nodded heavily.

“I understand. If we can protect our influence in India, it’s not a losing condition. I accept.”

“You made a good decision.”

“However, as I said, please do your best to ensure that our soldiers can return safely. Frankly, the soldiers have done nothing wrong but dedicate themselves to their country, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Is that what you mean? Don’t worry, I’ll do my best.”

North, having received my confirmation, breathed a sigh of relief.

It is certainly painful to have to give up most of the colonies, but if they can get back some of the territory they lost in India, they have avoided the worst.

In fact, the Maratha Alliance and the Kingdom of Mysore fought the most fiercely on the Indian front, but the two did not occupy as much territory as they thought.

Even though they joined hands in the face of a common enemy called England, the two countries were fundamentally not on good terms.

As England began to clearly fall behind, the two countries immediately began to check each other, and we did not miss the opportunity.

Of course, from the beginning, I was going to return that land to England, so I didn’t feel bad about it.

“Well, now that we seem to have reached a rough agreement, let’s adjust the details.”

“···I understand.”

“Fortunately, there is almost nothing different from what we have prepared in advance, so there seems to be no problem even if we draw up an agreement as it is. Please take a look and let me know if there is anything you do not agree with.”

Lord North, who received the treaty I had prepared in advance, carefully examined the contents with the elder Pitt.

And the more he read, the more his expression distorted as if he had eaten a turd.

Even though it was an agreed-upon content, how much more unpleasant would it be to confirm it in writing?

To briefly summarize the losses England suffered this time:

If there was no content about returning the territory lost in India, Lord North might have been beaten to death as soon as he returned to England.

In addition, the condition that a significant portion of the war reparations would be paid in installments was also a way of considering England.

Of course, France received the cost of this war in a lump sum, and changed the debtor by having England repay a significant portion of the royal family’s debt.

“How is it? Are there any errors?”

“···I don’t think so.”

“I understand. Then I will have the working-level staff organize the detailed items based on this treaty. The official signing will be done after that.”

Lord North nodded weakly and got up from his seat.

In contrast, José Monino, the next Prime Minister of Spain, was desperately trying to hide the smile that was leaking out.

I can well imagine how he feels, having achieved Spain’s long-cherished desire to recover Gibraltar.

At the same time, the power structure of the great powers was quickly reorganized in my head.

Now that they have lost Gibraltar, there is no longer the superpower of the original history, the British Empire.

Without Gibraltar, there is no Suez or Mediterranean hegemony. The cornerstone of India also has to be brought in from a long way through South Africa.

The master of the five oceans? The largest colonial empire in human history that overwhelms Europe alone? There is no such thing anymore.

Well, if they conquer India again in a few years, they may eventually return to being the strongest in Europe.

No, it must be so.

They have to come back and keep the newly emerging power, the United States, in check.

Perhaps by then, the United States and Spain will be fiercely fighting and a rough winner will be decided.

And most likely, the winner will be the United States.

Then, naturally, we have to attach a new opponent to prevent them from turning their attention to Nouvelle-France, and England is the perfect target.

For this, I handed over a significant portion of the war reparations installment payments to the United States.

The anger of the British, who have to pay off debts that will be borne by the next generation to their former colonies.

Right now, we are the main enemy because we have old feelings.

But we are a short-term impact, and the Anglo-American debt relationship is a whopping ’20 years from now.’

That anger is directed at the United States, and in the end, the new Anglo-American hegemony struggle will buy time for Nouvelle-France.

That’s why I deliberately set the installment period long, pretending to be generous. To grow the anger while paying it off for a long, long time.

Of course, Franklin, who is completely unaware of that fact, seemed to have a hunch, but he couldn’t refuse the opportunity to stick a straw into England for 20 years.

Even if he has a natural sense, it is impossible to foresee the future decades later, so there is no choice.

England also seemed relieved that it was not a lump sum.

This makes me smile.

※※※

England, which failed to seize the initiative in the first negotiation, was eventually dragged around and signed the Treaty of Paris on the terms France wanted.

The younger Pitt watched from right next to him as Lord North signed and stamped the seal with trembling hands.

‘These guys are no good after all.’

From the perspective of an objective third party, Lord North was just played by Christian like a scarecrow and achieved no results.

The only thing he was aiming for was to have the pro-British faction in the United States immigrate to Nouvelle-France, but Christian simply saw through it.

Of course, Lord North was already mentally exhausted before the talks, so he couldn’t just blame him.

Anyway, England was in a corner right now, so even if he had been in Lord North’s position, nothing would have changed.

However, it was also true that he was confident that he could do better in minor areas.

But what is making Pitt’s heart flutter now is not Lord North’s defeat, which was already expected.

‘Why on earth did Prince Christian ask to see me?’

After the Treaty of Paris was formally concluded, Prince Christian surprisingly invited British figures to his palace.

The problem was that it was not Lord North, the head of this diplomatic mission, nor his father, the elder Pitt, but himself.

When I think about it, the prince had been looking at him strangely since the first time they met.

‘Does he know me after all?’

If not, there would be no reason for the Duke of Orléans, the center of French power, to specifically call him, not the Prime Minister Lord North or the former Prime Minister his father.

But even if he knows, the strangeness does not change.

The younger Pitt is a genius attending Cambridge University, but that’s all that is known to the outside world.

No matter how you look at it, he was not enough to be directly appointed and called by the Duke of Orléans, who is now at the center of French power.

‘I have to be careful for now. Even though he is a prince of an enemy country, there is no good in being disliked.’

Pitt, who was very nervous, went to the Tuileries Palace and was immediately guided to the dinner party.

I expected it to be crowded with people, but surprisingly, the seat was simple.

There were only four people: the prince and his wife, the Russian ambassador Alexander, and the younger Pitt.

In this situation, Pitt was even more bewildered.

Still, he maintained his composure as much as possible and greeted him politely.

“Hello. Your Highness Christian, it is a great honor to be invited to such a precious place.”

“There is no need to be too formal. As you can see, this is not a strict and heavy place like Versailles [the principal royal residence of France from 1682, under Louis XIV, until the start of the French Revolution in 1789].”

“···Yes.”

“You must be wondering why I called you? In fact, I have been watching you from the beginning. Because there was a student younger than me in the British diplomatic mission. So, when I looked into it, it turned out that you were a genius attending the best prestigious university in England, right?”

Now Pitt could understand Christian’s initial reaction.

Indeed, if a young person like himself was included in the delegation, anyone would have no choice but to think it was strange.

“I am ashamed, but I am not worthy of Your Highness’s attention.”

“No. The fact that the British side allowed you to accompany them means that they also acknowledge that you have that much ability, doesn’t it? I don’t think Earl Pitt is just a fool who cherishes his incompetent son.”

If he denies it any further, it would be like tarnishing his father’s face, so Pitt nodded obediently.

Christian continued to look at him with an expression that was still unreadable.

“Like Alexander here, I am very interested in young talents. The fact that we belong to different countries does not matter. In order for this world to move in a better direction, shouldn’t a foundation be laid where young people like us can play a more active role?”

“···I think so too.”

I never imagined that the prince would call him on such a topic.

I felt a little dazed, but at the same time, I also felt a sense of freshness.

However, you must not let your guard down.

Pitt gazed at Prince Christian’s eyes, which seemed only benevolent, unlike when he was pressuring Lord North, and fell into thought.

What on earth is he up to?

No matter how hard I try to see through it, I can’t even grasp it right now.