I Became A Genius Of The French Royal Family [EN]: Chapter 188

< Summit Conference >

The 19th century.

A new era, a new world, unfolded as the tiresome period stained with war came to an end.

Even though it was just a period arbitrarily divided by people, expectations naturally rise when a new century begins.

Major cities like Paris were already developing at an astonishing rate, and citizens were feeling the changes firsthand.

As society becomes busier, the leadership inevitably has more to be concerned about.

However, the Palace of Versailles, where the King resided, was an exception.

Thump!

“Your Majesty, please review and approve these documents.”

“…Do I really need to read all of these?”

“Brother, I told you that you could work less, but I didn’t mean you shouldn’t work at all.”

Even if they were trying to change to a constitutional monarchy, royal power wouldn’t disappear overnight.

It couldn’t be done for the sake of social stability, nor should it be.

In France now, the image of the royal family was completely different from the original history.

The people all liked Louis XVI, and many wanted the King to show his face in public.

Of course, Louis XVI’s popularity was gained because he had stepped back, but people’s psychology isn’t that simple.

Louis XVI still had to fulfill his role as king to some extent.

At least he should review the items passed by the parliament, shouldn’t he?

However, this lazy brother of mine was somehow becoming more and more reluctant to work.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Eventually, he was reviewing a document at an astonishing speed of one second, flipping through the papers.

“Even so, I think you should at least pretend to read them.”

“You’ve already reviewed everything thoroughly, so wouldn’t it be the same even if I read them?”

“Still, I might have made a mistake, or you might have a question about why something was done a certain way.”

“I hope you don’t underestimate my trust in you. My faith isn’t so flimsy that it would be shaken by something like that.”

Easy for you to say. But this isn’t right, brother.

“Because you keep doing this, recently even the Queen has been subtly entrusting all the palace affairs to my wife.”

“Well, it’s hard for me to say it myself, but isn’t it because Marie is much brighter and more efficient than the Queen? Of course, the same goes for me.”

“So, you’re going to keep doing this in the future? At least you must review the items I brought today.”

“Alright, alright. Let’s see… To meet the significantly increased demand for steel, improvement of the smelting method is essential… A substantial increase in research funding is needed for chemical engineers…”

Louis XVI looked at the report I had carefully written and scratched his head with a troubled expression.

“I don’t understand why this is the top priority. Wouldn’t that thing you told me about last time… what was it… the steam locomotive? Wouldn’t that be much more important?”

“Brother, it’s all connected. If we develop the smelting method and can obtain steel stably, literally everything will change. This is not an exaggeration.”

“Really? If it’s such an important matter, then I shouldn’t spare any support for it.”

Right. So, please put some relevant knowledge in your head and show your face at official events to offer some lip service.

As I was contemplating how to soften my inner thoughts, Louis XVI moved even faster.

He wore a triumphant smile and took out a splendid letter of appointment with the royal seal from the drawer and handed it to me.

“Here! I prepared this in advance in case there was such an important matter.”

“…What is this? A power of attorney?”

“As you can see, I don’t have the same level of understanding or awareness of this issue as you do. I’ve decided that if I exercise the final decision-making power in every detail, it will only delay the important work.”

“……”

This is all for the national interest of France, Louis XVI added, puffing out his chest as if he had no shame.

The content of the power of attorney was as follows:

[Regarding matters selected as top priority, all royal authority is delegated to Louis Christian.]

Well, there isn’t a serious flaw in the logic he’s currently spouting.

Right now, the smelting of steel, the construction of next-generation warships, and large-scale railway construction were far beyond Louis XVI’s knowledge.

It’s more efficient for me to handle these issues directly and only report to the King afterward.

Louis XVI had prepared this power of attorney under that pretext.

The problem is that the reports that go to Louis XVI currently don’t include these important issues.

“Brother, if even these issues don’t come up, aren’t you essentially not doing any work at all?”

“That’s not true. I’m doing my work in my own way.”

“Could you give me an example?”

“…Listening to the voices of the nobles who enter the palace, or occasionally meeting with ambassadors from various countries to discuss international affairs…”

He speaks well. But why does he keep avoiding my gaze?

‘Ah~ I can’t work anyway! My capable brother can do it all!’

I’ve been watching this excuse to see how far it would go, but only up until now.

Are you telling me to keep doing that in the future?

That’s absurd.

In fact, I had roughly anticipated that Louis XVI, who had recently reached the peak of his laziness, would act like this.

That’s why I came prepared with countermeasures.

“Oh, it’s fortunate that you’re talking to ambassadors about international affairs. At least you know how the world is turning without me having to explain it separately.”

“…Well, I know that much.”

“Then I can save some effort. I just happen to have a subordinate waiting to inform His Majesty of a very important matter. I’ll have him come in right away. By the way, this is something that requires His Majesty’s cooperation, so I can’t handle it on my own.”

I didn’t wait for Louis XVI’s answer and gestured to the guard standing at the door.

Soon, the newly appointed Foreign Minister Talleyrand entered and bowed politely.

“This is the newly appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs. His Majesty has seen him once before, hasn’t he?”

“Ah… yes, I think I remember.”

“Currently, Minister Talleyrand is greatly concerned about the rapidly changing world order. He will explain the details himself.”

As I gave the signal, Talleyrand took a deep breath and opened his mouth.

“As Your Majesty knows, our France has reaped tremendous benefits by achieving an overwhelming victory in the last war. And the Holy Roman Empire has gained an opportunity to restore the prestige of the empire, which had been declining day by day.”

“I know that. On the other hand, Prussia had to give up almost all the results they had accumulated over the past 100 years.”

“Yes. The problem is that this is not all. While France and the Empire were fighting Prussia, Russia also won a great victory in the war against Turkey. Britain is also increasingly expanding its power in India. Moreover, Spain is also accumulating power in an unusual way.”

“But aren’t Russia and Spain our allies?”

The alliance centered on France is currently strong.

It’s not about one country doing well alone, but about not hindering each other’s growth with the motto of ‘let’s all prosper together’.

Fortunately, until now, the areas they are targeting have not overlapped, so there has been no situation of conflict.

But can we guarantee that this balance will continue in the future?

No one knows.

“From what I’ve gathered, Spain seems to be subtly trying to erase Ottoman influence in North Africa. Now that they’ve recovered Gibraltar, they must be confident in expanding downwards. But if this goes as far as Egypt, there is room for conflict.”

“Hmm…”

“Moreover, even if they are allies, the Empire will not want Russia to completely take over the Black Sea region. They are currently preoccupied with beating up Prussia, but it is questionable whether they will continue to maintain their current position even after they finish cleaning up their own house.”

And although it wasn’t explicitly stated, the same goes for France.

Even though they are currently on a spending spree and running wild like a runaway horse, when this development ends, the time will eventually come when they have to release their power externally.

Of course, there was no intention of pouring this power into the European continent.

If they were to do so, they could go to the Middle East or Egypt, or even to Qing China [the last imperial dynasty of China] in the longer term, but there was a high possibility of conflict with other countries in this process.

In particular, in the case of Suez, it was necessary to build and occupy the canal before Britain set its sights on it.

In the end, if you look at it coldly, the current peace is just the calm before the storm.

Moreover, as each country is quietly stockpiling power, if a conflict really breaks out, there is a high possibility that it will escalate to the point where it cannot be handled.

Louis XVI didn’t seem to be a person with low intelligence, so he seemed to understand what Talleyrand was saying without difficulty.

“So, you’ve come to the conclusion that this needs to be resolved diplomatically. What do you want to do specifically?”

“Preemptive measures are needed. Russia and Turkey are currently in the process of negotiating the terms of the end of the war. The problem is that Britain is intervening in this and unconditionally siding with Turkey. Perhaps time is running out faster than we think.”

“…That damn Britain is always causing trouble.”

Britain, which is planning to completely take over India, can never accept Russia’s southward expansion.

Therefore, the British side was putting strong pressure on Russia, unlike before.

Because of this situation, Russia was subtly sending signals to France to do something about those guys.

However, France, which is currently developing rapidly, does not want the situation to escalate any further.

Because of these subtle mutual interests, the conflict did not show any signs of easily subsiding.

“The era of competing for leadership within the European continent is coming to an end. Most of the future conflicts will flow in this direction. Therefore, I think it is necessary to establish a new order in advance. And the country that leads this process should naturally be our France!”

“The intention itself seems excellent. So, what are you specifically trying to do?”

“Isn’t this the time when the 18th century, which was stained with conflict, has come to an end and a new century has begun? I hope that all the European powers will gather in one place to discuss ways to continue this peace without breaking it.”

In other words, he’s suggesting holding a 19th-century version of the G7 summit [an intergovernmental political forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States].

There are enough excuses and enough symbolism to do so.

Moreover, the host country that plans such a large-scale event can give the impression to the world that it has that much influence.

It meant that the national pride of the French citizens could be filled to the limit once again.

“But will Britain quietly attend an event led by us?”

“That is…”

“Don’t worry. I have a good idea.”

As Talleyrand trailed off, I decided to give the answer instead.

“We will promote to the whole world that this conference is only for the strongest countries leading the world. And if we don’t say anything to Britain, they will react first.”

“Ah… that sounds plausible?”

“Moreover, if we hold a conference for the harmony of the whole world as the Foreign Minister said, and they don’t attend, we can just criticize Britain for it. It will be easier to move international public opinion and put pressure on them, so either way is fine.”

Britain, led by Pitt [William Pitt the Younger, British Prime Minister], would not make such a self-defeating move.

More than anything, it’s Britain, not any other country.

If we put a sign that says ‘This is a seat for the strongest country in the world’, they will definitely come running faster than anyone else and take a seat.

Louis XVI, who had listened to the explanation until the end, nodded nonchalantly.

“It seems like a good plan, so proceed with it.”

“Understood, Your Majesty. Thank you for your generous decision.”

The King, who saw the corners of my mouth rising, stopped trying to stamp the seal, but it was already too late.

“Then, since world-class figures will be coming, we must give them the appropriate protocol, right? As the symbol of France, Your Majesty will have a lot to do.”

“…Huh?”

“Let’s start preparing right away from today. Talleyrand, help His Majesty lead the conference skillfully. If there is even the slightest lack of preparation, you will not be able to avoid being held accountable.”

“Leave it to me! You will never be disappointed!”

Louis XVI, who heard Talleyrand’s solemn cry, finally understood the situation and let out a hollow laugh.

If he had shown even a little bit of remorse, I would have led the conference, but the train had already left.

How dare you try to freeload alone?

No one can dare to do that in front of me. Yes, that’s right.

< Summit Conference > End