I Became A Genius Of The French Royal Family [EN]: Chapter 209

Becoming the Genius of the French Royal Family Chapter 209 End of an Era (209/355)

It’s common for new technologies to fail without proper marketing.

Especially something entirely novel often swings between complete failure and massive success.

The telegraph, being so innovative, couldn’t be suppressed even if someone tried.

However, leveraging an event with global attention as a promotional opportunity proved far more effective than anticipated.

[10-0]

[England Suffers Historic Defeat Against France]

This shocking score spread across France in under a day via telegraph.

Beyond just the England match, the French national team’s entire journey—thoroughly schooling other national teams and reaching the finals—was immediately reported.

My plan to accelerate national integration through this event progressed smoothly, like a sailboat with a tailwind.

[Main Player in Victory Against England: Thierry de Ngolo’s Golden Left Foot!]

[The Power of the Black Wave Sweeping Europe! Thierry de Ngolo is Top Scorer of the 1st Coupe du Monde (World Cup).]

[The First Ballon d’Or (Golden Ball award for best player) was Awarded to Raymond Pierre Papin, Captain of France and Native of Orléans.]

[The First Golden Glove (award for best goalkeeper) was Awarded to Charles de Acunta, a Native of Nouvelle France!]

A perfect balance was struck with the best player being white, the top scorer black, and the goalkeeper award going to a native of Nouvelle France (French colony in North America).

All of France was enthusiastic and obsessed with this perfect propaganda showcase.

I, of course, sincerely enjoyed the entire process.

Even nobles and bourgeois, usually uninterested in soccer, made an exception this time.

“Hahaha! I thought soccer was a sport for commoners and ignored it, but it’s more fun than I imagined.”

“Exactly! Now I understand the citizens’ enthusiasm.”

“Did you see the British ambassador’s face in the VIP seats? He looked like he’d eaten dirt.”

“I was worried because I didn’t even know the rules, but I was amazed I could enjoy it without understanding anything.”

It’s only natural that even casual interest intensifies when a national title is at stake.

Even a sport previously unknown can become a national obsession if successful in the Olympics.

And the World Cup needs no further explanation.

From the moment England was crushed 10-0, soccer became a sacred and inviolable sport in France.

“Prime Minister, when is the next Coupe du Monde?”

“It’s scheduled in four years. We’re considering holding a lottery at the closing ceremony due to numerous hosting requests.”

“Once every four years? Isn’t that too long?”

“No, it’s just right. It creates scarcity.”

“Well… it’s sad to think I have to wait four years for the next tournament. I had a lot of fun for the first time in a while.”

Indeed. Constant, easy victories would become boring.

“More exciting events are planned after the Coupe du Monde, so you won’t be bored.”

“Oh? Can you give us a hint?”

“It’s not a secret, as you roughly know anyway. The Suez Canal opens next year, right? A large-scale event is planned to commemorate it.”

“Oh, the canal I’ve only heard about? I heard it shortens the distance to the Indian Ocean by almost 9,000 km.”

Many wealthy nobles and bourgeois involved in shipping were very interested in the canal’s opening.

The topic shifted naturally to the Suez Canal, and questions poured out.

“Prime Minister, our company has replaced most ships with steamships, as you suggested.”

“We’re similar. Even if we couldn’t replace all of them, we’ve prepared clipper ships using both sails and steam. Are you sure there won’t be problems?”

“Of course. Replacing ships was costly, but you’ll recoup the principal instantly once the canal opens. And you’ll witness a very interesting sight.”

“An interesting sight…”

I instructed those in shipping to prepare steamships but didn’t specify why.

I simply stated that the age of steamships was coming, advising long-term investment.

Even this spurred executives to purchase steamships, almost causing a supply shortage.

In the original timeline, many would have predicted the sailing ship era’s end.

The Suez Canal would have opened 50 years later, when steamships were more common.

However, unlike history, the Suez Canal opened smoothly and quickly.

Political and financial obstacles to construction were minimal.

Surrounding countries focus solely on the canal’s economic benefits, ignoring other aspects.

This was one of my best-laid traps.

What will countries solely producing sailing ships, claiming steamship technology is immature, do?

Pitt seemed to sense something and invested heavily in securing steamships.

His approval rating is dropping, but he’s quick-witted.

Even with increased effort, existing sailing ships are a sunk cost, but what can you do?

To avoid being left behind, they must exploit and squeeze other countries more fiercely to catch up.

※※※

Palace of Westminster, London, Houses of Parliament of Great Britain.

Prime Minister William Pitt, facing fierce opposition criticism, desperately defended himself.

“I’ve said repeatedly, this isn’t a budget waste! Despite being late, we must replace all warships and cargo ships with steamships!”

“No, isn’t it wasteful to abandon perfectly good ships and build new ones! Have you seen the recent newspapers? Many suspect collusion between the Prime Minister and related companies!”

He’d seen the absurd article.

He ignored it, but the opposition seemed to believe it.

“I’ve said repeatedly, this decision was made after thorough investigation…”

“Isn’t that investigation based on French trends? Producing steamships because France does is simplistic, right?”

“Honorable members, consider this deeply. Why is France suddenly obsessed with steamships and massive technology investments?”

“Because they can’t compete with our naval power! We’re different. We have an overwhelming naval advantage, and sailing ships with new technologies are being built. I’ll explain with accurate data because the Prime Minister denies it.”

The opposition, losing recent elections, half-heartedly tried to undermine Pitt’s popularity.

He’d normally ignore it, but the situation was bad.

Recent bad news made the opposition’s claims surprisingly popular.

Pitt couldn’t understand.

Why be criticized for losing 10-0 in soccer?

The opposition claimed this humiliation was due to the government’s lack of soccer investment, but that’s absurd!

However, the angry citizens were irrational.

Only the 10-0 score and French laughter mattered.

With the added incitement that the Prime Minister was misusing the budget….

“Look! The newly developed clipper reaches an average speed of 16 knots and a maximum of 22 knots. What’s the speed of the Prime Minister’s beloved steamship? It often doesn’t even reach half, let alone two-thirds, of the clipper’s speed.”

“Sailing ships have been developed for centuries. Technology maturity can’t be compared. Early guns were worse than bows. But what about now?”

“We’d agree if you said we should prepare for the future. But that’s decades away, and we can prepare slowly.”

“No, France’s actions are strange. When I visited France, Prime Minister Christian showcased the Téméraire-class battleship [a type of sailing warship] as their masterpiece. But France built fewer sailing ships than expected, greatly increasing steamship production. What does this mean?”

“They gave up competing with Great Britain in naval power.”

Debate is impossible because they don’t understand.

Even the ruling party watched the public’s reaction, offering no support.

[Our Great Britain is the ruler of the sea! We can’t be behind the French!]

The opposition stimulated British pride.

Anything Pitt says makes him a pro-French, anti-national Prime Minister.

But he couldn’t back down.

Scholarly investigations warned of dire consequences if he erred.

“There’s another reason I argue against building sailing ships. The Suez Canal is about to open. France readily accepted our request to have our fleet pass through first. Why?”

“Because we bought many special bonds.”

“I don’t think so. I asked scholars to investigate… and they concluded that sailing ships might not properly pass through the canal.”

Pitt initially threw the report away, shouting, ‘This is a lie!’

The content was shocking.

So much effort building warships, and they can’t pass through the canal? What disaster!

“Originally, scholars only predict the worst. They only foresee destruction.”

“No, it’s a prediction with a basis. You must read the report first!”

A sailing ship moves by receiving wind.

Even with a headwind, it can navigate in a zigzag pattern if there’s enough space.

That’s right. ‘If there’s enough space’ is crucial.

However, the canal’s width doesn’t allow sailing ships to maneuver in a zigzag pattern.

It’s impossible for warships or large cargo ships, let alone small ones.

Also, the canal is on land, not the sea where wind blows.

Sailing ships struggle to receive a tailwind for quick movement.

“Until now, we overlooked the possibility that ships may not be able to pass through the canal, so we have not realized this simple principle! Even now, we must accelerate the construction of steamships through thorough verification!”

“So, the Prime Minister’s words are assumptions, unproven. We must examine the scholars’ report’s reliability first.”

Pitt’s appeals didn’t change the opposition’s and citizens’ patriotic fervor.

Acknowledging Pitt’s words would label them as hindering him.

Politically, they had to attack Pitt to the end.

Recognizing the seriousness, Pitt forcibly passed the budget bill and invested heavily in steamships.

His approval rating plummeted, and newspapers criticized him, but he didn’t care.

Finally, as the 1st World Cup’s excitement cooled, the Suez Canal opened with a grand ceremony.

However, the historic completion ceremony brought tremendous shock to the world with the spectacle of British sailing ships, which were the first to pass through the canal, being hit by headwinds and becoming entangled and stranded.

“My heart, along with the sinking ships, was buried to the bottom of the canal. The era of sailing ships is over.”

The British ambassador’s mournful words, participating in the ceremony, filled front pages worldwide.

No matter how fast a sailing ship is compared to a steamship, it cannot compete with the Suez Canal route, which shortens the route by 9000km compared to the route around the Cape of Good Hope.

The reality that they had no choice but to admit, even if they didn’t want to, weighed heavily on the shoulders of many countries that had bet everything on sailing ships.

The era of sailing ships is now completely over.

End