I Became A Genius Of The French Royal Family [EN]: Chapter 212

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The awakening of the sleeping giant was faster than Britain had anticipated.

The Jiaqing Emperor, as if determined to prove his competence, immediately began working to eradicate opium.

Langbao, the Governor-General of Yunnan and Guizhou, who had suppressed the rebellion of the Buyi people [an ethnic minority in China] several years prior, was appointed Imperial Commissioner with a special mission from the Emperor and sent to Guangdong Province.

Even before his arrival, he dispatched official documents, issuing a strict order to arrest all drug dealers.

“If any English merchants are found selling opium, their assets will be confiscated, and they will be immediately deported. If they wish to continue doing business in this country, they must submit a written oath agreeing to these terms.”

The content of the imperial edict personally issued by the Emperor was absolute.

In fact, Langbao’s career, and possibly his life, depended on the successful completion of this task, so he was more dedicated than anyone else.

However, the British still did not take the situation seriously.

“Oh, those bastards are putting on a show to squeeze us for more money again.”

“The taste of money must be sweet, right? I’ve never seen anyone as greedy for money as these Qing officials in my life.”

As always, they assumed that filling the tea boxes with silver and handing them over would make the problem disappear.

Based on this assumption, the British merchants attempted to offer bribes but ended up having all their opium confiscated and being expelled.

By the time they realized that the Qing government was serious, all routes for smuggling opium had already been blocked.

In the end, Langbao, who had seized over 20,000 chests of opium, was troubled about how to dispose of it.

The Jiaqing Emperor ordered it all to be burned, but actually burning the opium turned out to be problematic because it couldn’t be completely destroyed.

A significant amount did not completely turn to ash in the fire and melted to a state where it could be recovered.

Moreover, it was obvious that if they really confiscated all the opium and expelled the British, there was a high possibility of war breaking out.

Langbao was not afraid of war with Britain, but he was afraid of the consequences that war would bring.

“No sooner had the Buyi rebellion been suppressed than the White Lotus Rebellion [a major peasant uprising in the late 18th century] began, and even the White Lotus has not yet been completely eradicated. With opium causing social chaos, large and small rebellions are breaking out everywhere, and if we go to war with Britain…”

Although they were barbarians who did not understand proper conduct, that was precisely why they were more threatening in some ways.

The history of the Central Plains [historical term for China] showed that the dynasties of the Central Plains had been unexpectedly attacked by nomadic groups from the north several times.

It’s not like barbarians can’t fight.

Besides, after investigating, it turned out that Britain was notorious even among Westerners.

When he asked Western missionaries and merchants, he received unbelievable reports.

“A merchant from Western Spain (Spain) said that the British are inherently unscrupulous and have no sense of decorum. It is common for them to fire cannons under the pretext of a ‘slip of the hand,’ and recently, they started a war with Turkey (Ottoman Empire) because the food was not to their liking.”

“They started a war because the food was not to their taste? That doesn’t make any sense. You must have misunderstood something.”

“No, it is said to be a well-known war in the West that everyone is aware of.”

For a moment, Langbao even suspected that the subordinate in front of him was hallucinating from opium.

How could there be such a country, logically speaking?

“Governor-General, isn’t it precisely because they are such people that they bring drugs disguised as trade goods to sell?”

“Ah, right. Thinking about it that way, it makes perfect sense.”

If you judge based on the standards of Chinese civilization, you are bound to experience cognitive dissonance.

Why else would barbarians be called barbarians?

They are called barbarians because they do such things.

“Hearing that, I know what we must do. Mix the confiscated opium with seawater so that it can never be recovered, then mix it with lime and dispose of it. And since we don’t want to give them any cause for complaint, compensate them with a reasonable amount of tea for each chest of opium.”

“Understood! I will implement it immediately!”

Objectively speaking, this was an absurdly generous compensation.

Not only did they allow the vicious drug dealers who came to sell drugs in their country to leave unharmed, but they also gave them a certain amount of compensation.

Originally, the British merchants should have bowed their heads and expressed their gratitude for such a generous measure.

However, the British merchants, judging that they had suffered a loss, exaggerated this outrageously and complained to their home country.

The opinions of the merchants, who were already heavily lobbying the British government, were spread without filtering through the media throughout Britain.

“Have you heard? The Qing Dynasty has rounded up all our merchants and beaten them to a pulp!”

“Those damned bastards burned all the goods and even tore our flag!”

“Are they crazy? Do they still think they’re something special?”

“The government must take immediate measures to protect the lives and interests of its citizens!”

“Repay the humiliation we have suffered in kind!”

The citizens were so eager for war, but the government could not make a decisive decision.

That was because they had anticipated armed conflict, but they did not expect to have to act so quickly.

“What happened? Weren’t we told that the current situation would last for at least five more years?”

“The Qing’s actions were faster than expected. It seems they have taken action without regard for the ongoing rebellions in various regions.”

“…I thought they would turn their attention here only after all the rebellions had been suppressed…”

It was not only the Qing officials who were deeply troubled, but Pitt was as well.

As he was currently boosting his approval ratings through promoting patriotism, he could not afford to take this situation lightly.

However, he hesitated to put the question of whether to go to war to a vote.

The current government, regardless of party, largely followed Pitt’s opinions.

If Pitt said to go to war, war would break out.

But could the British Empire really defeat the Qing Dynasty?

Nelson explained that the only way was to annihilate the enemy in the initial battle and force them to sign a treaty of surrender.

The Qing has not yet suppressed all the rebellions in various regions, so their forces are dispersed.

The fact that they moved quickly meant that there were enough gaps to exploit.

But still, the Qing Dynasty was the Qing Dynasty.

The damage that they would have to endure if they clashed alone was unpredictable.

That’s right. ‘If they clashed alone,’ they would inevitably suffer enormous losses.

Then they would have to bring in allies.

“If we back out here, the public’s trust in the government will plummet. We have no choice.”

“So, are we really going to war with the Qing Dynasty?”

“Of course. But this is not simply a fight between the British Empire and the Qing Dynasty. It must be seen as a confrontation between the Qing Dynasty, full of arrogance and stubbornness, and Europe, which will dominate the world in the future.”

“You mean we should bring in allies.”

Even the cautious voices who had been shouting that the Qing should not be underestimated did not object to this opinion.

Hadn’t Turkey already proven with its whole body that no Eastern power could stand against the united power of Europe?

The important thing was which country to bring in, and the answer was already obvious.

A country that was not afraid to wage war against the Qing, had a comparable size, and actually possessed that level of military power.

And a country that possessed overwhelming land power that could supplement the British Empire’s army.

Finally, a country that had the transport capacity to send that force to the Qing without any problems.

There was only one country in Europe that met all these requirements.

※※※

Several days after the news broke that the Qing could no longer tolerate Britain’s opium trade and had taken action.

The French parliament also began to engage in heated debates about how to handle this situation.

I had no need to rush, so I was just lying down, watching the show, and waiting for the spoils.

“Prime Minister! This is an opportunity. If we secretly help the Qing here, we can gain a firm lead in trade with the Qing in the future!”

“Robespierre’s opinion is wrong! This is not a fight between the Qing and Britain, but a confrontation between Asia and Europe. Here, we should rather create a pan-European coalition and drive the Qing out!”

“Both Robespierre and Danton are talking about unrealistic things. We can just observe the situation and only worry about how to profit from both sides when they are exhausted!”

“Please, let’s be a little calm! The Qing Dynasty is a sleeping lion. What could be more foolish than pulling the whiskers of a sleeping lion? Britain is now jumping into the fire with straw on its back, why should we join them!”

Look at this mess. They still don’t know what it means to have a unified opinion.

“I would like to hear the Prime Minister’s wise opinion. What strategy should France adopt?”

“It won’t be too late to decide that after hearing the appeal of the guest who will be coming later.”

If my prediction is correct, they will definitely make a move soon.

40 years later, or rather, 20 years later since the flow is a little faster than in the original history, it is not easy for Britain to crush the Qing alone.

Moreover, the European countries of this era were overestimating the Qing Dynasty’s power more than it actually was.

Even if their power was superior, they would be very nervous and carefully consider their options before committing to action.

But what if they couldn’t overwhelm them even with their actual power?

They would be at a loss, not knowing what to do, and be anxious.

To be honest, I didn’t expect the Qing Dynasty to be so quick and bold in their response, so Pitt must have been quite embarrassed.

But thanks to that, we were able to have a very fun time watching.

Whether the Qing Dynasty won, Britain won, or they both perished together, France had nothing to lose.

My personal prediction was that there would probably be no clear winner if the two clashed.

Although the Qing Dynasty was on a downward path, it had not yet reached the level of being as miserable as in the original history.

Even an old tiger still has its claws and teeth.

For Britain, which had not yet reached its peak, they would have to endure enormous losses.

Of course, I didn’t expect Britain to be defeated helplessly.

Even if it hadn’t collapsed, the Qing Dynasty was undoubtedly in decline.

In addition, the rebellions in various regions had not yet been suppressed, so even if they drove out Britain, they would not be able to escape their fate of ruin.

“We still have time, so let’s watch the situation slowly. Time is on our side, so if we rush, we will only miss the opportunity to see greater gains.”

“Understood.”

“If the Prime Minister says so…”

When I said this much, the lawmakers who had been raising their voices, saying that a decision had to be made immediately, became quiet again.

Dealing with people who get so worked up and agitated whenever Britain is involved is always tiring.

And as expected.

As soon as the parliamentary meeting ended and I came outside, foreign ministry officials hurriedly approached me.

“Prime Minister! We have received a message from Britain. They want to schedule a meeting as soon as possible.”

“Then why don’t we just tell the ambassador to come here?”

“Prime Minister Pitt himself is coming. He has already departed, so he will come to Paris as soon as the schedule is set…”

“He left without waiting for our reply? He must be very urgent.”

I decided to schedule a meeting as soon as Pitt arrived.

The Prime Minister is coming to plead in person, so I should at least listen to what he has to say.