I Became A Genius Of The French Royal Family [EN]: Chapter 265

Shadows of Destruction

Hebei Province, Great Qing Empire.

Chengde is home to the imperial garden known as the Mountain Resort, or Rehe Imperial Palace.

Originally the summer administrative center of the imperial family and the center of Qing Dynasty politics after Beijing, it was now undoubtedly the most important place.

This was because the Jiaqing Emperor, having abandoned Beijing and fled, was staying here and taking care of state affairs.

Crown Prince Minning had requested many times to return to Beijing, but the Jiaqing Emperor remained unmoved.

The reason was simple.

He did not want to set foot in Beijing, which had been occupied by the Westerners.

Of course, this was just an excuse, and everyone knew that the reality was that he was too embarrassed.

However, no matter how much his status had declined, no one dared to say such reckless words in front of the Emperor.

The Crown Prince constantly suppressed his bubbling anger and tried to persuade his father.

Hadn’t Christian repeatedly said that he was willing to vacate Beijing if the Emperor returned?

To keep the imperial capital empty because he couldn’t bear a moment’s embarrassment was not a decision an Emperor should make.

However, for some reason, he had a good feeling today.

Unlike all the previous times when he had visited the palace, today the Emperor had summoned him directly.

Perhaps his father had finally had a change of heart.

The Crown Prince, unable to hide his excitement, arrived before his father and inwardly rejoiced that his premonition was correct.

For the first time in a long time, the Emperor’s face, which had always been stained with alcohol, was full of life.

“Your Majesty! Seeing you in such good health fills my heart with joy.”

“Oh, yes. You, Crown Prince, have worked hard until now. While I was unable to control my heart, you admirably filled the void. You are indeed worthy to be called the Crown Prince who will succeed me.”

“You flatter me. I still have so much to learn from Your Majesty.”

“Of course, of course! I will not deny that I have been too negligent in state affairs because my heart was heavy. But now it will be different. A ray of light has begun to shine on us again. Indeed, the providence of the world turns and returns to its original order.”

He didn’t understand what he was saying, but he was overjoyed that the Emperor had regained his will.

His voice, nodding vigorously up and down, was full of excitement.

“That is so right! Then, Your Majesty, when will you return to the Forbidden City? I will immediately convey your wishes to the French side.”

“Haha, there is no need for that. Why would the opinions of those Westerners matter when I am returning to my own palace?”

“…Yes? Still, we should at least pretend to appease the barbarians for now…”

“I said there’s no need. After all, they will be driven out soon anyway.”

What kind of nonsense was this?

Was his father hallucinating because he had drunk too much?

The Crown Prince expressed his doubts as carefully as possible so as not to upset the Emperor.

“Your Majesty, what do you mean by that…”

“So, you haven’t heard yet. The envoy from England secretly visited me some time ago. They promised to form an anti-French alliance and declare war. Perhaps the war has already broken out by now.”

“England is at war with France?”

“Not only England, but Russia as well. And since war is said to be breaking out in their continent as well, it will only be a matter of time before the French are driven out of here.”

Uh… what should he say?

The Crown Prince was momentarily at a loss, overwhelmed by the flood of information that had suddenly poured in.

Still, when he thought about it calmly, this was an opportunity for them.

If they acted wisely here, they could somehow correct the declining national fortune.

It was literally a godsend, a blessing from heaven.

“Your Majesty, if that is really the case, we must gather as much information as possible and bide our time for the best moment to intervene. In my opinion, no matter how much England and Russia have allied, they cannot defeat France. So, if we take this opportunity to expel England and Russia altogether and allow only France to trade with us…”

“Ah, there is no need for that. I have already promised to cooperate with England.”

“…Yes?”

Who was it? What idiot thought he had a good feeling earlier?

“The English envoy assured me. If we give them Hong Kong, which the French are currently occupying, they will ask for nothing more. Russia wants the Primorsky Krai [a region in southeastern Russia], so it’s a bit of a pity, but we can give it to them. After all, it’s a drop in the bucket compared to what the French are taking from us.”

“Your Majesty! As has already been proven, France’s national power is beyond imagination. Confronting them would cause too much damage…”

“That’s why we’re cooperating with those English bastards. Using barbarians to control barbarians. Originally, the dynasties of the Central Plains [historical region in China] have used other barbarians to control the barbarians. This time is no different. No, we should have done this sooner.”

“Your Majesty, in that case, wouldn’t it be better to use France to expel England and Russia?”

His heart was racing, and his tone was getting faster and faster.

He didn’t know what had gotten into him, but this wouldn’t do.

This was truly the worst decision of all the decisions he could make.

“Aha! That’s why you still have much to learn. France is certainly the strongest of the Western barbarians. But if we give them strength and drive out all the other barbarians, what will happen? Their greedy teeth will naturally target us as their next prey.”

“That is the orthodox view. However, if you think about it differently, we need to be fully prepared to antagonize such a strong country. We do not have enough resources left at the moment.”

“There’s nothing to worry about. The English bastards have told me a good way. Those guys are very clever.”

The Jiaqing Emperor, greatly excited, leaned forward and continued.

“The voices opposing France are high in the south and east, aren’t they?”

“Yes. The Boxers [a Chinese secret society] are causing a riot.”

“Rioters? They are true patriots of this era who are shouting ‘Support the Qing, destroy the foreigners’ [a slogan of the Boxer Rebellion].”

“Your Majesty, you can’t possibly be thinking of using them…”

“Yes. Now you’re making some sense.”

As the Emperor’s body leaned forward little by little, the Crown Prince could see his father’s eyes in detail.

And he understood.

He had thought that his vitality had returned, but that was because he had not properly read the madness that filled those eyes.

He was never like this before, had the humiliation of abandoning the palace and fleeing changed him this much?

He intuitively felt that no matter what he said, a conversation would not be possible.

“…Your Majesty, how do you plan to use them?”

“We will secretly have our people contact the Boxers. The imperial family will express its full support for them, and we will gather our strength to defeat France first. After all, they know that France is the biggest obstacle among the Westerners.”

“It’s a good plan, but to unite the Boxers scattered throughout the country, the imperial family will eventually have to step forward officially at some point. Then, we will never be able to work with France again.”

The Boxers were the group that tried to assassinate the French Prime Minister, of all people.

If the imperial family takes the side of such people, there will be no room for excuses.

No, they would have nothing to say even if they heard that the imperial family was behind the assassination.

In other words, this was a gamble.

It would be good if they pushed France out, but if they failed, it was a real gamble that could tear the imperial family apart.

“There’s no need to be afraid. No matter how strong France is, their home country is far away. They will be facing the combined forces of the three countries here, so they will not be able to withstand it.”

“……”

Was that really the case?

The Crown Prince knew well because he had actually faced the French army.

He could be sure because he had thoroughly reviewed the records of the Qing Dynasty’s wars against England, Russia, and France.

Currently, those who are considered the strongest among the Westerners are all stronger than the Qing Dynasty.

That was an undeniable fact.

It was a painful reality that the Qing’s national power, which had already passed its prime, could not handle even one of them.

But even among them, France was on a different level.

The quality of the weapons they used, the commanders who led the army, and the top echelons who controlled those commanders were all beyond the norm.

“Your Majesty, I dare to say one thing. I have seen with my own eyes how our great army was devastated by France! That is why I know. They are no different from machines created to kill people. And they are incredibly sophisticated machines. Even if England and Russia are strong, they cannot match them. In fact, Russia has even been defeated by our Eight Banners army’s [Qing Dynasty army] counterattack.”

“We can make up for that deficiency with a coalition. No matter how outstanding a force is, one hand cannot help ten. Of course, I know that you are afraid because you have seen such a terrible sight. But don’t worry. In a few months, those hateful French bastards will disappear from this land.”

The Jiaqing Emperor’s tone was soft at first glance.

The Crown Prince knew for sure at this moment.

His father’s judgment was not simply clouded.

The fundamental reason for that was hatred and anger towards the opposing country.

His eyes were blinded and his ears were closed by the hatred that had driven him out of Beijing and into this palace.

Now, even as the Crown Prince, there was nothing he could do.

“Why are you silent? If you can’t do it, I will have one of the Grand Councilors do it, so feel free to speak up.”

“…I will follow Your Majesty’s will.”

“Good. I will wait with satisfaction. In a little while, we will wipe out those Westerners and re-enter the Forbidden City. Hehehe.”

After that, the Jiaqing Emperor said something, but the Crown Prince did not hear it.

The Crown Prince, staggering out of the palace, simply stared blankly at the sky for a long time.

“Has heaven truly abandoned us…”

For heaven to abandon the Son of Heaven, could such a thing be possible?

He had tried so hard to re-establish relations with France, but all his efforts were about to be blown away in an instant.

He was so dumbfounded and empty that tears welled up in his eyes without him even realizing it.

‘If we continue like this, the Qing will surely perish.’

But what could the Crown Prince do?

As long as the Emperor’s will was so firm, the will of others was no longer important.

Moreover, after looking into it a bit, it seemed that the other officials who had taken refuge in the palace also agreed with the Emperor’s will.

Their anger towards France was also enormous.

But those who had not seen it for themselves did not know.

Those who had holed up in the Forbidden City and did nothing, and who had been driven to the palace and still refused to face reality.

If they had returned to Beijing even belatedly and seen the situation, they could have at least grasped the situation, but now it had become a meaningless incantation.

‘If we continue like this, we will not only be dismantled, but our safety will not be guaranteed.’

No matter how hard the Crown Prince racked his brains, he could not picture them surviving here.

As long as the Emperor was running wild like that, the Qing’s demise was an inevitable fact.

If it was an irreversible fate, he should look for a different way out rather than making meaningless efforts to avoid it.

Yes. For example… abdication.

Shadows of Destruction End