I Became A Genius Of The French Royal Family [EN]: Chapter 146

Two months had passed since the whirlwind of the Nueva España War of Independence [Spanish colonies in North America], which had turned the continent upside down, swept through.

Meanwhile, the Spanish mainland was still in disarray, bickering over who was at fault and who had done well.

“Prime Minister! Do you still have more excuses to make?”

“This is more than just a disaster!”

“Are you planning to lose all of Nueva España? What are you even doing?”

Having recently tasted a series of successes, Spain had been indulging in the sweet dream of reviving the glory of its old empire until recently.

Thanks to a great victory in the American Revolutionary War, they had obtained Gibraltar, which they had long desired, and made up for the defeat in the previous war.

They even treated America’s whining for land sales as mere, cute nagging.

They were concerned about England slowly recovering, but since they were allied with France, defending Gibraltar wasn’t a major concern.

In any case, if they maintained the current state, Spain would only continue its upward trajectory.

José Monino was seriously predicting that becoming Prime Minister for life was not an impossible dream.

But how had the situation deteriorated so drastically?

Nueva España was the alpha and omega of the American colonies.

If they lost it, Spain would have no choice but to completely withdraw from the New World.

Of course, they could not and should not recognize its independence.

In normal times, they would have immediately formed and dispatched a suppression force.

The only reason they couldn’t do that was because those damn English bastards, for some reason, kept messing around in the distance with their ships.

“Look, Count of Aranda.”

José barely suppressed the anger that surged to the top of his head and calmly addressed his political rival.

“Didn’t you all agree that we should be cautious because England might be the culprit behind inciting Nueva España? It’s not reasonable to blame me for everything now.”

Manuel Godoy and the Count of Aranda were like hyenas who would bite him whenever they had the chance.

As always, they were demanding his resignation, repeating it like parrots.

If he could, he would have loved to smash their heads with a hammer, but what could he do?

To keep his position as Prime Minister, he had to treat them as gently as possible.

Of course, regardless of what José did, the opposition party thought this was a golden opportunity and was only shouting opposition for the sake of opposition.

“So, are you saying that you have no responsibility at all, Prime Minister!”

“Isn’t the reality that you don’t have any proper measures even though things have come to this point! This is clearly the Prime Minister’s fault!”

José was convinced.

If he had suggested sending a dispatch army to Nueva España, those guys would have found fault with that too.

“If you had to check England in the first place, you could have requested support from Nouvelle France [New France, French colonies in North America] or the United States!”

“If we had, France and the United States would have demanded half of Nueva España’s territory!”

“Isn’t half of it already gone over there anyway!”

“Half! You’re exaggerating too much!”

“No, in the first place, what are France and the United States doing, invading our territory and causing such a mess! We must protest strongly! This is clearly the Prime Minister’s diplomatic failure!”

“Since the rebels and our regular army fought inside the French border, there’s nothing we can do. So, what would you demand from France in this situation, Count? I’ll send you, so go to Paris and argue it out!”

“Are you passing the buck now!”

José felt like he was going crazy from this endless cycle that had been going on for days.

“Well, fighting among ourselves won’t solve anything. In fact, isn’t England the root of all evil right now? I’m scheduled to have a direct meeting with Prime Minister Pitt tomorrow, so I’ll demand a reasonable explanation there.”

“We must receive proper compensation from England. No, what the hell are those crazy bastards doing, firing shells towards our waters? Anyone can see that was a threat!”

As England became the topic of conversation, curses erupted from all directions.

Even the political rivals who had been fighting like they were going to kill each other had no disagreement when it came to cursing England.

“They’re a bunch of morons who can’t even grasp the situation. They probably still think they’re the strongest in Europe. That’s why they’re doing such ridiculous things.”

“Going to India is clearly an excuse. The Nueva España rebellion was definitely incited by the English bastards. This is clearly their plot to check our country, which has recovered Gibraltar.”

“That’s right! Let’s strongly protest to the English bastards!”

José, who had barely managed to shift the blame to England, let out a sigh of relief and returned to his seat.

In fact, although everyone was cursing England, José didn’t like France either.

They weren’t openly hostile, but what should he say?

He could subtly sense their intention to inflict disadvantages on them.

In fact, José had tried to pass the American problem on to France, so he wasn’t in a position to blame others.

Perhaps Christian, having read his intentions, was punishing them for being presumptuous.

Even if it was unsettling, it was so subtle that he couldn’t find fault with it.

‘Come to think of it, it’s strange that Nouvelle France has been pushing westward this time. Isn’t the timing too perfect?’

No matter how thoughtless the regular army and the rebels were, how could they invade the French border and fight?

And what were the French border guards doing during that time?

Of course, there was a possibility that they fought in a place where the French army’s eyes couldn’t reach.

All the evidence was there, so there was no room to argue further.

Above all, the biggest thing was that the American side took all the public anger by saying something about a clear destiny or some nonsense [Manifest Destiny, the belief that the United States was destined to expand across North America].

Villages with a population of about 100 people are in South Texas? What kind of ridiculous nonsense is that?

As expected, they’re the same at their core, even though they broke away from England.

Compared to these guys, France, and of course, even they themselves, were like angels.

José sincerely thought so.

※※※

“Nice to meet you. Prime Minister José Monino. I’m William Pitt.”

“Prime Minister, thank you for coming such a long way. Was there anything uncomfortable during your stay?”

“No, there wasn’t. Thank you for your warm welcome and consideration.”

Seeing Pitt’s smiling face, José felt his stomach twist.

The fact that the English side had sent their Prime Minister all the way here meant that they were aware of their mistake.

However, they hadn’t offered a proper apology even after coming all this way.

Clearly, their intention was to never mention it first unless he brought it up.

“It’s a pity that our first meeting is a place to discuss such an unpleasant matter. But I believe you understand that we have no choice but to demand an explanation for this incident.”

“I think I’ve already given enough explanations… It was a misunderstanding caused by a combination of timing and misfortune.”

José’s lips, which had been wearing a forced smile, trembled.

If the other party had been a politician from his own country, he would have definitely cursed.

“A misunderstanding. Does England also fire cannons by misunderstanding?”

“Yes, that part was clearly our mistake. But the area where the shells fell was not Spanish territorial waters.”

“If the shells had fallen into our territory, we wouldn’t have let it go this easily. But the fact that your country conducted a show of force will never change.”

“Yes. That point is our mistake. That’s why I, the Prime Minister, came here in person to apologize for our mistake. The careless mistake our military made. I apologize.”

How many times was he emphasizing the word ‘mistake’ in one breath?

It felt like he was subtly mocking them, making him feel even dirtier even after receiving an apology.

If he was doing it on purpose, the young Prime Minister in front of him was no ordinary person.

Somehow, it strangely overlapped with the time when he met Christian in the past.

“You keep insisting it was a mistake, but how can you accidentally fire a cannon? Does the British Navy manage its cannons so poorly?”

“That’s what I’m saying. I gave a stern warning to the person in charge before I came here. They said their hand slipped… I was also embarrassed.”

“Slipped and fired a cannon? No, does that even make sense…”

“Of course, it doesn’t make sense. That’s why I sternly ordered them to take action. We’re also receiving all sorts of criticism from the parliament because of this incident. It’s just troublesome.”

José wasn’t naive enough to believe these words as they were.

Carefully, sternly, seriously.

It was a typical politician’s way of saying that they wouldn’t do anything.

They would definitely let the captain who commanded the ship rest somewhere for about a month and then promote him again to finish the job.

He would have gladly bet money if he was asked to bet.

“Prime Minister Pitt… Let’s summarize it. The British army has nothing to do with this Nueva España rebellion, and the fact that warships set sail at that time was just a coincidence. Firing the cannon was a mistake caused by a soldier’s hand slipping. All the warships were on their way to India. Am I misunderstanding anything?”

“No, you’re not. Perfect.”

“Do you think there’s any politician in this world who would believe these words in good faith?”

“Probably not. But if we were trying to deceive you, we wouldn’t have made such ridiculous excuses. Rather, this is clear evidence that we have no other intentions.”

Listening to it like this, it seemed to make sense again.

If José hadn’t heard America’s absurd reasons, he might have believed it.

But the thought that came to his mind now was just admiration mixed with contempt, thinking that the original was indeed different.

“Then, could you tell us the reason why we can accept it? Why is England transporting a large number of troops to India at this time?”

“Because that’s what we have to do.”

“…Are you saying that occupying India with the East India Company is something you have to do?”

“No. We’re not just trying to occupy India. We’re trying to civilize it.”
Pitt continued, speaking in a solemn and serious voice, unlike before.

“India had a brilliant civilization in the past, but now they are just outdated people. Because of this, many people in India are not enjoying the benefits of proper civilization. We must liberate them. And we, England, are willing to take on that heavy burden first.”

Somehow, the story and logical structure he was hearing were very similar.

What was the difference between this and the clear destiny that the American bastards were claiming?

“I don’t think India would think so. India is different from those ignorant black people or colonial Indians. It’s a powerful country that boasted brilliant prosperity, so wouldn’t they resist, saying who is teaching whom?”

“Of course, they will. Not only India but most of the countries in Asia will. But even if we receive resentment and criticism, we must bear this burden. In fact, we’re just taking the lead, but this is a duty that all white people in Europe must bear. Don’t you think so, Prime Minister? The reason why Spain pioneered the New World colonies is not much different from us, if you look at it broadly.”

“…It’s true that India has become inferior to Europe now…”

Because of the path that Spain had taken so far, José couldn’t deny it outright.

In any case, India was in a situation where it was not ahead of England in any way, militarily or culturally.

If they felt wronged, they should defeat England and prove it.

In the current European expansionist logic, it was impossible to refute England’s logic.

And England subtly defined this as a burden for all white people.

They argued that it was not just that they were the chosen ones, but that Europe, which had achieved a superior civilization, should all take the same path together.

“Anyway, I understand what England is thinking. We don’t care whether England continues to do business in India with that sense of justice. We just want you to compensate us for the damage we suffered this time.”

“Ah… compensation. That’s right. Well, it’s true that we caused unnecessary misunderstandings, so it’s only right to provide a small amount of compensation.”

What? Unnecessary misunderstanding? Small amount of compensation?

While José, who felt the limit of his patience, was desperately suppressing his anger, Pitt told him the amount of compensation they had been considering.

A ridiculously low price that was less than one-tenth of the amount Spain had initially proposed.

José spent three more hours just to double this ridiculous compensation.

And he realized it again.

No matter how much France and the United States were rising stars, the original was still England.

No matter how much the branch family struggled, the subtle taste of the main family could not be followed.

The guys who were talking about the wave of freedom or clear destiny to take land at least showed some effort to package it.

No matter how hard Christian or Jefferson tried, effort could not beat talent.

‘…Indeed…’

Even though he had been increasingly suspicious recently, after turning his head and looking at England once, Christian seemed like a saint.

In any case, they had at least given him Gibraltar.

Spain was destined to continue walking hand in hand with France in the future.

Looking at Pitt, who was smiling slyly, José Monino had no choice but to come to the conclusion once again.

It’s still scary to be at odds with the crazy bastards who fire 함포 [cannon] artillery because their hands slipped and talk about the “white man’s burden” in a war of aggression.

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