I Became A Genius Of The French Royal Family [EN]: Chapter 292

The Demise of the Monster

The Battle of Trafalgar just wouldn’t feel complete unless France suffered a crushing defeat!

My hunch to return to Asia immediately after occupying Hong Kong proved effective.

Perhaps Nelson used a similar tactic, but to avoid having my movements read by the enemy, I disguised myself as a Dutch merchant and crossed the canal. [Likely referring to a canal in Europe, used for transportation and trade.]

It was a risky move, but if things went south, I could just close my eyes and regress [referring to his ability to return to a previous state or time].

I took the fastest route back, but by the time I arrived in Marseille, the naval battle was already over.

When I first heard the news of the devastating defeat, I nearly clutched the back of my neck [a gesture of shock or frustration].

The thought that those damned fools had really screwed up sent shivers down my spine.

I even considered going to Paris and dissolving the parliament out of sheer anger.

However, as I slowly scanned the newspaper on the train, it seemed the catastrophe wasn’t as bad as I had feared.

This much is still fortunate.

Admiral Villeneuve may be a coward, but this time, his cowardice helped.

The news of the defeat had already spread far and wide, and even on the train, citizens were passionately discussing it.

“Those stupid bastards! Why did they even bother going out to sea just to get their asses kicked by the British?”

“I heard the British charged recklessly, and they panicked and ran without even putting up a fight.”

“Those who ran should all be executed! Executed!”

“The parliament isn’t doing anything right either. We need the Prime Minister now more than ever…”

“You’re right. What is the Prime Minister even doing?”

Sorry, I’m sitting right behind you.

I was worried they might start cursing me out, but thankfully, the blame hasn’t reached me yet.

Still, if I’m being honest, I can’t completely absolve myself of responsibility.

Because I went to Asia, contact with the mainland was cut off, and we were slow to respond to the British’s swift movements.

Of course, if I hadn’t gone to Asia, I don’t know how Napoleon would have run wild, and we wouldn’t have been able to completely divide Qing [referring to the Qing Dynasty in China] like we did, but what you gain, you lose.

Even though it was unavoidable, the Prime Minister being away from the country for so long is not something to be praised.

The parliamentarians must have been quite flustered without me.

If I go to Paris, I should apologize to them.

That’s the responsible attitude of a leader… but seeing them bickering and passing the buck, all those thoughts vanished.

“First, you must be wondering how I got here, but I’ll tell you that later. Let’s start with the most important issue. I heard that our forces suffered a shameful defeat in the recent naval battle.”

“Prime Minister! That’s because Admiral Villeneuve didn’t command properly…”

“No, I won’t hold the field commanders responsible. Rather, retreating to preserve the ships when they realized there was no chance of winning was the right decision. The very idea of fighting with only weapons without proper training was flawed from the start.”

The French navy was riding high on their victory against the Ottomans, but that was just a lucky win thanks to superior weaponry.

Thanks to that, we learned this time that having overwhelming specs isn’t always a good thing.

In game terms, it’s like mindlessly selecting units and just hitting ‘attack-move’ to wipe everything out, so what kind of feedback can you get?

Then, when you get caught off guard like this time, your mind goes blank, and you take your hands off the keyboard.

“How should we deploy existing line-of-battle ships [a type of warship] and steamships together? There must be battleships using high-explosive shells, so why didn’t they properly respond to the enemy’s charge? This is all a disaster caused by our military’s pathetic experience and skill. But it would be unfair to blame the field commanders. Some people pushed them onto the battlefield without giving them time for proper training.”

“Prime Minister, that’s the Chairman’s fault…”

“Are these people still blaming me!”

“It’s true that there are several people responsible for this situation. Those people should be held accountable. In that regard, I, who bear the greatest responsibility for this, will resign after this war is over.”

I bowed slightly to the parliamentarians and gave them a moment to react, and as expected, an enormous uproar erupted.

“Prime Minister! What are you saying!”

“Resign!”

“Well, this series of incidents happened because I was away from the country, didn’t it? It’s clear that the parliament didn’t function properly, and if everyone says it’s not their fault, then I’m the only one left, aren’t I? The parliament didn’t run properly because I wasn’t here, so I have to take responsibility. I will apologize through a national press conference after the war and step down.”

It was close to a bluff, but it was also somewhat sincere.

If we win this war, France will become an unassailable superpower.

Then, even if I step down, things will run smoothly on their own… or rather, I’m starting to feel a sense of burnout, so I want to rest.

But as expected, the guys who were desperately passing the buck until just now started clinging to me, begging me to stay.

“Prime Minister, you can’t!”

“We’re all dead if you step down!”

“Please, just save us once! We were wrong!”

“We’ll apologize to the nation in the town square tomorrow, saying it’s our fault! Please withdraw your resignation, please!”

I stroked my chin, pretending to be deep in thought.

The reason those guys are making such a fuss is obvious.

If I lead the war to victory and then say that I’m stepping down because the parliament didn’t do its job properly, what will the public think?

The media, which is incredibly good at writing news stories, will surely say that the Prime Minister took the cross [meaning to bear the burden or blame] because no one in the parliament took responsibility.

Then, it’s no exaggeration to say that most of the parliamentarians won’t make it home in one piece.

I wanted to take a big gulp of cider, but they were already bowing their heads, so should I let it go this time?

“If you really think so, then fine. For now, finishing the war is the top priority, so I hope you’ll put other issues out of your minds.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Then, let’s entrust Admiral Villeneuve with the reorganization of the fleet.”

“What? Admiral Villeneuve is a defeated commander, are you saying we should reappoint him?”

“It’s to boost the morale of our forces. We need to make the navy realize that they weren’t primarily at fault, so they can relax a bit. Of course, I won’t entrust future battles to Admiral Villeneuve. However, have him thoroughly analyze the trial and error we experienced this time and share it with everyone.”

Of course, the navy fought like crap, but if you ask who caused it, the issue becomes complicated.

And since we already have the upper hand, I don’t want to give the enemy any time.

“As soon as the fleet is reorganized, it will join the warships departing from the New World and fight the British again. This time, with a fleet consisting entirely of steamships, excluding all sailing ships.”

“What? Right after losing the battle?”

“The difference in power between us and them has become even clearer with this battle. If you ask the naval admirals, nine out of ten will say the same thing.”

Right now, they’re keeping their mouths shut because if they admit they lost and ask for another chance, they’ll be bombarded by public opinion.

“If we show up with a much stronger fleet even after clearly winning, the British will lose morale. If they don’t yield, let’s just keep pouring resources until they break.”

I’ve already told Napoleon in detail what to do after the war in Asia ends, so there’s nothing to worry about.

All that’s left is to clearly show the difference in gear between us and them, which has become obvious this time.

It’s normal to not be able to beat someone who’s showing off their money.

※※※

A parliamentary system differs significantly from a typical presidential system in terms of the democratic legitimacy of the head of the executive branch.

The president, whether directly or indirectly elected, is chosen by the people, so the parliament cannot arbitrarily control the executive branch.

Of course, the opposite is also true.

However, a parliamentary system is different.

The parliament can impeach the executive branch, that is, execute a vote of no confidence, and the executive branch can also dissolve the parliament and hold new general elections.

Of course, even though the system exists, votes of no confidence have not been frequently executed in the UK, which is a parliamentary system.

A complete vote of no confidence was only carried out during the time of Frederick North, who suffered a major defeat in the War of Independence and lost the American colonies.

An executive branch that diligently fulfills its duties will not be subject to a vote of no confidence in the first place.

In the first place, for a vote of no confidence to succeed, the prime minister, who is the head of the executive branch, must completely lose the trust of his own ruling party.

But that unbelievable thing actually happened before Pitt’s eyes.

“What? You’re telling me to step down from the Prime Minister’s office?”

“…Ahem! That’s what happened.”

“This is not the time for jokes. Stop with the nonsense and put my proposal to a vote.”

“That has already been rejected. And it’s not a joke, the vote of no confidence in the Prime Minister has already passed. Prime Minister, you must take responsibility for this situation and step down. I hope you understand?”

Is he hearing some kind of bad joke right now?

Vote of no confidence? Passed?

Pitt, who momentarily failed to grasp the situation, stuttered and asked again, uncharacteristically.

“Ah, no, what… what are you doing right now?”

“It’s as I said. The parliament has rejected your proposal and decided to dissolve the cabinet.”

Percival, who had been aiming for the next Prime Minister’s position for a long time, continued his words of apology with an expression that clearly showed he wasn’t sorry.

“I’m sorry. But we couldn’t possibly accept your proposal. The moment this hits the media and spreads outside, our party is finished. Even now, the outside world thinks we’ve won, but to propose a ceasefire with such a crazy proposal…”

“So, you’re going to ruin the future of the country because of the party’s survival?”

“This is not the way to go for the future of the country either. If we give up India, what will be left for us!”

That’s why I’m saying this is the only way! You idiots!

Pitt, who barely swallowed the curse that rose to his uvula, shook his head in admiration of his superhuman patience.

“Now, think about it. If we continue to insist on war here, we will eventually be pushed back. Of course, we’ll inflict quite a bit of damage on the French. We can sink a few warships. But that will all become reparations that we have to pay when the war is over. We’re in a situation where we have no choice but to go for a long-term war, and we can’t win that way!”

“There’s still a way. We can achieve a complete victory in the next battle and propose a ceasefire using that as an excuse!”

“No, I’m saying there’s an infinitely low chance of winning the next fight! If we had Admiral Nelson, maybe, but he’s not here…”

“Still, the condition of giving up India is unacceptable!”

The ruling party members standing behind Percival nodded in unison to his opinion.

If they propose a ceasefire on the condition of giving up India, France will surely agree.

That’s how much of an absurd loss it would be for Britain.

But if they go all the way here, they will not only lose India, but also all the bases they have in Qing, as well as colonies scattered throughout the region, and in the worst case, they may have to give up Ireland as well.

Pitt judged that they had to cut off unavoidable limbs to avoid this situation.

However, Percival could not accept it.

He hasn’t even become Prime Minister yet, what will he become if he retires like this?

He secretly summoned the ruling party members and whispered to them to put all the blame on Pitt.

Since Pitt has proposed a compromise to give up India, if they spread this through the media, public opinion will turn against him.

If they put all the blame on Pitt, they may not become the majority party in the next election, but they can avoid complete ruin.

In the end, for the parliamentarians, whose seats are the most important thing in the world, this is only natural.

Pitt, who now roughly understood the situation, let out a hollow laugh and looked around at the faces of the parliamentarians he had led until now.

“…Heh… is this what I’ve been running towards so desperately, just to see this kind of end.”

He has done many terrible things to foreign countries so far, but it was all for the future of his country.

He believed that his comrades also had the same intentions deep in their hearts, but it seems he was mistaken.

It is a truly sad thing.