I Became A Genius Of The French Royal Family [EN]: Chapter 137

I’ve learned something while being involved in politics for so long.

The famous saying, ‘Once you’re on a tiger’s back…’ rings true.

There’s no area where the saying ‘once you’re on a tiger’s back, you have no choice but to keep running’ fits better than this.

Whether the plan goes wrong or the direction changes, once you decide to do it, you have to push forward with shameless strength.

My cautious personality, always keeping plan B and C in mind, has been a great help this time.

“…Christian, are you really okay?”

Of course, Auguste, the king of timidity, who has nothing to do with words like ‘once you’re on a tiger’s back,’ is asking the exact same question for the thirteenth time.

“Brother, even if you’re my brother, if you ask the same question fifteen times, I’m really going to get angry.”

“Then I still have one more chance left, right…?”

“I’m telling you again, you don’t have to worry about anything. No, looking at the current situation, it’s actually good. What you need is shamelessness. From now on, try to be so assertive that you think it’s a bit much. That’s just right for your personality.”

“What was that thing you sometimes said… a mental victory? Is that what I should try doing?”

Since he’s going to be the king of a country, that would be beneficial.

When I nodded with all my might, Auguste’s face, which had been stiff with tension, relaxed a little.

“The nobles are already gathered in the Hall of Mirrors. Let’s go.”

“Okay. His Majesty must be waiting too.”

Auguste took a deep breath and took the lead.

As we got closer to the Hall of Mirrors, the murmuring sounds grew louder.

The meeting hasn’t even started yet, but the atmosphere is already charged.

It’s no wonder, considering the important decision to abolish the slave trade and gradually abolish slavery.

Originally, the king’s will plays a big role in deciding the laws and systems of the country, but this was such a significant issue that even a formal meeting was held.

Even now, countless nobles and clergymen are passionately expressing their opinions and arguing.

Since the British Prime Minister himself visited and requested cooperation, the rumors have already spread to the public.

The newspapers also actively covered this topic, and intellectuals naturally offered their opinions.

Of course, unlike the fiercely debated first and second estates [nobility and clergy], the third estate [commoners] overwhelmingly supported it.

There’s no need to advocate for slavery when there’s not much vested interest in it.

Of course, there were quite a few who thought there was nothing wrong with enslaving blacks.

But unless they were fools, very few people openly expressed these thoughts.

This was true not only for commoners but also for nobles.

So, most pro-slavery advocates came up with other reasons to rationalize their thoughts.

“There are quite a few people currently engaged in the slave trade. If it is abolished, economic chaos is expected, so I think it is absolutely impossible.”

Yes. Just like this.

Of course, this meeting was actually a predetermined affair with the conclusion of abolishing slavery, so it was a futile struggle.

“The demand for the slave trade has dropped a lot. The number of slaves who have already gone to the New World has increased tremendously.”

At my words, the atmosphere in the pro-slavery camp of nobles became heavy.

In fact, other nobles were well aware that I was in favor of abolishing slavery.

Rumors had already spread that I had met with Pitt [likely referring to William Pitt the Younger, British Prime Minister] separately, and I had said many meaningful things in advance.

Perhaps that’s why all the nobles who have been quite rebellious lately were advocating for the continuation of slavery.

People like Marquis de Bellile and Marquis de Launay are typical examples.

They probably thought of this as an opportunity to legally challenge me.

So far, Duke de Chartres is doing a very good job.

But…

“…”

When I turned around, Duke de Chartres was looking elsewhere with an indifferent face.

He doesn’t care at all how this meeting will conclude.

On the surface, he seems very obedient, but behind the scenes, he is in contact with reformist intellectuals.

I can roughly see what he’s up to, but let’s leave him alone for now.

Because the people who need to be dealt with right now are so obvious.

“Does His Royal Highness think that slavery should be abolished?”

The poor Marquis de Bellile was working his mouth diligently, seemingly unaware that he was a fawn about to be eaten by a lion.

“But if we want to develop New France [French colonies in North America], we need a lot of labor. I’m worried that if we abolish slavery, we’ll end up spending more money than we need to.”

“Marquis de Bellile, it’s actually the opposite. New France is not suitable for developing industries that use large-scale slaves. Surely you don’t think I’m such an idiot that I can’t even properly grasp the area I’m in charge of?”

“Ah, no! It wasn’t like that… I was talking about the Saint-Domingue [French colony, now Haiti] area. Isn’t sugar production mainly using slaves there? And the income is also huge.”

“Saint-Domingue will see a slight decrease in income if slavery is abolished. But don’t worry, we can earn a huge income that can’t even be compared to the income lost there. For your information, New France has not used slaves from the beginning. His Majesty has also permitted it. You seem to have some complaints, though.”

I had full authority over the New World from the beginning, and this was approved by the King.

If you don’t like it, you can become the King of France.

It was a very childish pressure, but there is no more effective attack than this in an absolute monarchy.

Because if you make a mistake, you can be seen as a subject challenging the royal authority.

Marquis de Bellile also immediately lowered his tail and hurriedly shook his head.

“How could that be! I was just… expressing my concern.”

When Marquis de Bellile couldn’t say a word and stepped back, it was Marquis de Launay’s turn.

Instead of economics, he used another aspect to strengthen his logic.

“As far as I know, there is currently no legal problem with slavery. Those blacks in Africa are not human. Since they are not human, it doesn’t matter whether they are treated as slaves or not, right? If we keep livestock in cages and only feed them feed, who would agree to liberate them?”

“Marquis de Launay, can you tell me what you think is the definition of a human? The people of Europe are definitely human, and the people of the New World have also been recognized as human. Then why aren’t blacks human?”

“That’s…”

Marquis de Launay paused for a moment and pondered.

In the first place, the reason why blacks were not recognized as human was largely due to economic logic.

Sugar and tobacco had to be produced in the New World, but Indians couldn’t be treated as slaves, so someone had to do it instead.

So, the blacks who were chosen were naturally crude in their logic.

Even if they somehow pieced it together back then, it was ultimately at a level where they could only say that blacks were not human anyway. Anyway, that’s it.

“First of all, blacks don’t have their own civilization. They don’t have the intelligence to do so.”

“In that case, even the natives of the New World, except for places like the Inca in the south, the Aztec and Maya in the center, have not formed proper countries. According to your logic, the natives of North America are not human, but that’s not the reality.”

“They still had the minimum potential. Should I say it’s the minimum line that can be accepted as human?”

“In that case, even those whom you don’t treat as humans because they are black were once pharaohs of Egypt in the distant past. Then that means that Egypt had people who were not even human acting as pharaohs. What a change…”

While Marquis de Launay was trying to come up with a rationale for why blacks tasted best as slaves, I took out a letter I had received from the Vatican in advance and unfolded it in front of me.

“For your information, His Holiness the Pope has also said that he will actively support this decision. He says that it is the duty of us Christians to repent of the past wrongdoings and practice the love of Christ, even now.”

When the Pope’s official opinion came out, the bishops who were on the pro-slavery side quietly moved over to this side.

If England and France agree, and the Pope adds justification to it, who would dare to oppose it further?

Even if the Pope’s power has fallen a lot, he can still exert tremendous influence on these human rights issues.

The reason why I didn’t worry about the justification was because I had established a close relationship with the Pope in advance.

“Of course, whether blacks are human or not is something that should be formally discussed now. I have no intention of unconditionally crushing the opinions of people like Marquis de Launay. So, I would like to take this opportunity to formally declare it. Like the Valladolid debate [historical debate on the rights of indigenous peoples] 200 years ago, we have decided to hold the same meeting here in Paris, so Marquis de Launay and Marquis de Bellile must attend and grace the occasion.”

I revealed for the first time at this meeting an official document with the signatures of King George III of England, King Louis XV of France, and Pope Clement XIV side by side.

The quick-witted pro-slavery nobles seemed to feel that they had fallen into some kind of trap.

And they were slowly trying to read the room and stick to this side, but Marquis de Bellile and Marquis de Launay couldn’t because they had already spoken out.

“We will also have prominent scholars and nobles from England, and we plan to formally request participation from Spain and Austria. We have directly confirmed that our opinions are divided like this, so it will be a beneficial discussion.”

“No, Your Highness, that…”

“First of all, I will put all the nobles here on the attendance list.”

The nobles’ faces were crumpled worse than a piece of toilet paper.

How absurd would it be, since less than half of those who are actively expressing their opposition are truly trying to defend slavery?

They thought that this was also a kind of performance by me and the Crown Prince to strengthen the next royal authority, and they were trying to tackle it.

They probably never imagined that they would be forcibly dragged onto such a huge stage.

Their fate is only to be permanently preserved in history as unscrupulous nobles who defended slavery to the end.

And of course, once they are branded as such human trash, it becomes much easier to sweep them away by attaching appropriate reasons.

If we can create a solid public opinion, no one will question it.

We shake them until the dust comes out, and if it really doesn’t come out, we throw them on the floor to get dust on them and then punish them.

That was the legitimate law enforcement and realization of justice in this era.

Of course, a cornered rat bites a cat, so we have to show the appearance of embracing the rest after cutting out only a few as representatives.

It was also an opportunity to show the dignity of a true nobleman by embracing even political enemies.

But now it’s time to make them very scared.

“Thinking about it again, what Your Highness said is right…”

“Now, let’s see where the list of people who are definitely against it is… Marquis de Bellile, Marquis de Launay… and…”

“Your Highness! Thinking about it again…”