He Became Napoleon’S Genius Son [EN]: Chapter 271

(271) The Old King of England Wants Peace

In the year 1800, England is a constitutional monarchy.

“Even if His Majesty has lost confidence, Parliament hasn’t made a resolution yet!”

Near Westminster Palace, at 10 Downing Street.

At the Prime Minister’s residence, Pitt’s cousin and Foreign Secretary, Granville, exclaimed.

The other cabinet ministers were similarly agitated.

“That’s right! Let’s decide in the House of Commons instead!”

“Let’s show who the real master of the nation is. Not the King, but our cabinet is responsible for the affairs of state!”

“No, that’s too far. Let’s try to speak to His Majesty again so he can make a good decision.”

While the Prime Minister’s Secretary Wyndham, War Secretary Dundas, and Home Secretary the Duke of Portland were clamoring, Pitt opened his mouth.

“His Majesty’s will is firm, everyone.”

The cabinet ministers’ faces turned somber.

The very reason Pitt became Prime Minister in his twenties was due to the King’s confidence.

Even when the opposition in the House of Commons was rampant, George III stood firm, allowing Pitt to wield full power.

He was a capable Prime Minister, but conversely, it was difficult to say that he had strong support from Parliament.

Pitt looked around at all the ministers in the Downing Street Prime Minister’s residence and said,

“I will preside over the last meeting of our cabinet. What is the current state of the war? Secretary of the Navy?”

“…We are still dominant in the Caribbean. However, France’s new, confident admiral, Treville, is strongly resisting.”

“Was Cuthbert Collingwood the friend dispatched to the West Indies now?”

The Secretary of the Navy, Earl George Spencer, pondered and nodded.

“That’s right. He was originally Admiral Nelson’s adjutant. He is quite outstanding, though not as much as Nelson.”

“I wish I had sent Sidney Smith. That friend is good at breaking through difficult battlefields.”

“Will you use that as your last order?”

Originally, in the original history, Collingwood becomes the captain who was with Nelson at his end.

But now Nelson died in the Battle of Alexandria.

Thus, instead of Nelson or Bowles, who is currently attacking Spain, he was deployed to the Caribbean.

Although he is an excellent admiral, he has a habit of sticking to orthodox tactics.

Pitt, who was regretting not sending Sidney, shook his head.

“No, His Majesty does not want any more war. We cannot send a capable admiral to a battlefield we are ending.”

At that moment, a person sitting at the end of the table kicked his chair and stood up.

“This is not right. If we stop the war here, we cannot stop the momentum of France. Haven’t we already seen Austria being dismantled?”

Henry Addington, the Speaker of the House.

He was even closer to Pitt than Pitt’s cousin Granville.

Because Addington’s father was the Pitt family’s physician.

Pitt looked at Addington, his friend since childhood, with warm eyes and said,

“I know, Addington. I want you to take over and handle my affairs.”

“Yes?”

“The peace negotiations cannot be stopped. Therefore, it is right for someone who accurately knows the danger of France to handle it. Of course, all of our cabinet members know it, but…”

Pitt looked at each one and shook his head.

“The next cabinet will have to run Parliament with a minority government. Therefore, Addington, the Speaker of the House, who is gathering public sentiment from the members, is the most suitable person.”

For a moment, the tense ministers frowned and nodded.

To any politician, the Prime Minister is a sweet temptation.

The highest position is coveted by politicians, no matter how difficult it is.

However, the current Pitt regime has one major problem.

The Pitt faction does not hold a majority in Parliament.

Therefore, Addington, the Speaker of the House, who is gathering public sentiment from the members, was the right choice.

Naturally, Addington was flustered and asked back.

“M-Me, the Prime Minister?”

“Yes. It’s my recommendation.”

“B-But, other people too. There’s the Foreign Secretary and the Navy Secretary. Also, His Majesty’s intentions.”

Pitt approached Addington and held his shoulder.

“The next Prime Minister will never be in a good position. It will be a very difficult time. I’m asking you to endure it until I return.”

In short, he is asking him to act as a stepping stone.

Usually, it is a proposal that could be insulting.

However, Addington, a friend who is two years older than Pitt, blankly nodded.

“I understand, Prime Minister Pitt. Until you return, I will protect it.”

With this, Pitt’s successor was decided.

***

Buckingham Palace, in the King’s private space, an old man coughs.

“Cough, cough! Hooo, this damn cold. It won’t go away.”

George III, 62 years old, has been reigning as King for 40 years.

He won the Seven Years’ War, America became independent, and he faced the French Revolution.

Later, in the original history, he also signed a bill banning the infamous slave trade.

But despite all these historical achievements, King George is remembered in history by an unexpected name.

The Mad King.

He shows symptoms of porphyria, an enzyme deficiency mental disorder.

In this era, even the name of the disease is unknown, so it is simply called madness.

Currently, the symptoms have temporarily improved, and he is able to communicate.

“You must be careful, Your Majesty. I worry about when you will collapse again.”

“Huhu, isn’t it fortunate that I am mentally sound? If I lose my mind even a little, the Crown Prince and Fox will make a fuss about regency.”

“Is it okay to let Pitt step down like this? He is the one who has taken care of Your Majesty’s well-being until now.”

When Queen Charlotte asked, King George smiled bitterly.

“I know that too. There are very few people in Parliament who are loyal to the royal family. His father, old William [Pitt the Elder], was like that, and so is young William [Pitt the Younger] now.”

The name of the British royal family at the time is the so-called Hanover Dynasty.

Going back to its origins, Heinrich the Lion, who competed with Frederick Barbarossa, is an ancestor, a thousand-year-old prestigious family of the Holy Roman Empire.

However, until the 16th century, they were just lords in the northern part of the empire.

Then, as the successors of the Stuart family were cut off, they became Kings of England through marriage for the third generation.

His grandfather and father could not speak English and were busy acting as rulers in Hanover, so they left England to the Prime Minister.

But George III was born in England and was interested in governing.

Nevertheless, the foundation of royal power was very weakened due to madness and American independence.

The person who solved this situation was William Pitt, who was in his 20s, 20 years ago.

He suppressed all the impudent members of Parliament who were trying to overthrow George III, including Fox, handled the aftermath of the defeat in the American Revolutionary War, and achieved more than the New World in India.

But he was eventually forced to demand his resignation due to the Irish problem.

“But why did you let him step down? What if a French sympathizer like Fox comes forward as Prime Minister again?”

“Pitt is thorough. He will take care of that. The problem lies elsewhere.”

“Are you talking about Ireland?”

Suddenly, King George shook his head.

“No, Hanover is the problem. If we continue the war this time, the Hanover territory will never be recovered. The territory of the family that I inherited from my ancestors and must pass on to my descendants.”

In the end, Ireland and the East India Company’s lobbying are all excuses.

The real problem facing the so-called British Empire, the Great Britain Kingdom, is ultimately France.

The biggest reason is that France has almost reached the hegemony of the European continent.

So why is the hegemony of the European continent a problem in the island nation of England?

Because the royal family has a direct territory on the continent, the Electorate of Hanover.

“It’s a small land compared to our England. The territory across the sea alone…”

“It’s also a strategic problem. Without the Hanover territory, there is no base to intervene in Europe. Then, we will inevitably be pushed back by France.”

“Even so, Pitt is too precious.”

King George shook his head as he looked at Queen Charlotte, who was regretting it again.

“Pitt will not stop the war. Then, we will virtually be fighting alone. Austria has been dismantled, and Prussia has stopped advancing. Russia is watching, so in the end, it’s just us.”

If we keep fighting, can England win?

Pitt thinks it’s possible.

So he challenged Napoleon until he died.

But King George is old, sick, and tired.

He remembers the nightmare of the New World War of Independence, which he stubbornly fought and eventually failed.

Even then, the King, who was perfectly fine without madness, tasted failure for the first time.

At that moment when England seized hegemony over the world’s seas by winning the seven-year struggle.

Shaking his head and clenching his trembling hands tightly, George III muttered.

“We must stop while we still have naval superiority.”

“Then, give Pitt a title.”

“Well, wouldn’t his brother, the Earl of Chatham, be upset? They both have a bad relationship with each other.”

Suddenly, George III smiled bitterly and said.

“I’ll think about it. Anyway, it’s good for Pitt to rest. So is our Great Britain Kingdom.”

Queen Charlotte sighed and stood up slightly.

“Hoo, I have to prepare for tea time today. Would you like tea? Or coffee?”

Strangely, there is no answer.

Charlotte stopped moving.

A very ominous feeling overwhelms her.

“George?”

When she turned her head, George was already wearing a blank expression.

“Charlotte? Why are you so old? You were definitely a bride, even until yesterday.”

“Good heavens, George! Come to your senses!”

“No, why am I so old? Servant! Bring me a mirror, a mirror! Ugh.”

At that moment, George III screamed, clutching his head.

“Huk, huk, huk. I have to come to my senses! I must!”

So, the old King of England, George III, is fighting.

To overcome France and his madness.

***

At the Palace of Westminster, Speaker of the House Addington loudly proclaimed.

“In accordance with the will of His Majesty the King, Prime Minister Pitt has resigned, and a new cabinet will be appointed.”

Currently, England is in the so-called era of bipartisan rivalry between the Whigs and Tories [two major political factions].

However, it is not a solid party politics era like the Liberal Party and Conservative Party of later original history.

For example, Pitt belongs to the Tories, but he has broken away from the stubborn Tories and led a coalition government with Whig members.

However, it is also true that he was a thorn in the side of the Whig Party members who had dominated the British political world since Prime Minister Walpole.

The hard-line Whig members stood up all at once and shouted.

“If His Majesty is ill, shouldn’t the Crown Prince take over as regent?”

“The cabinet’s resignation is natural, and a new cabinet is needed. A regency cabinet!”

“I oppose the succession of the Prime Minister! Let’s elect him in the House of Commons!”

It was the moment when Fox was about to shout in the most enthusiastic voice.

-Step, step, step.

An unexpected person entered the parliament.

The members who were chattering stopped talking.

Even Fox.

“Y-Your Majesty?”

“N-No, to attend the House of Commons.”

“It’s unprecedented in decades.”

King George III looked around at the members and said loudly.

“If the House of Commons of the people wants a vote, I am willing to accept it. Will you do that, Fox?”

Originally a sympathizer of the French Revolution and the most hard-line member of Parliament, even Fox closed his mouth.

The whole nation knows that King George III’s health is bad.

But that mad king came to Parliament in perfect condition.

Here, if you disgrace the king, that member’s political life is over.

Not missing the opportunity, Pitt’s closest aide, Foreign Secretary Granville, stepped forward.

“According to the will of His Majesty the King, Mr. Addington is elected as the new Prime Minister. All members are requested to approve unanimously.”

In the end, all the members had no choice but to applaud.

-Clap, clap, clap.

The former Speaker of the House, Addington, who stood on the platform, bowed to everyone.

“Thank you. As the new Prime Minister, I would like to make a proposal to the Parliament in accordance with the will of His Majesty the King.”

Addington looked at the members, the former Prime Minister Pitt, and the King.

Addington himself knows better than anyone that he does not have the political weight to become Prime Minister.

In this case, the [agent] must fully reflect the intentions of the [principal] who delegated the power.

“We will begin peace negotiations with France.”

April 1800.

It was the moment when the last work of the old King George III, the peace negotiations, was decided.