I Became A Genius Of The French Royal Family [EN]: Chapter 227

Rapid development always has side effects.

This is a universal truth, regardless of time or place.

As times change, some people inevitably struggle to adapt.

Moreover, with lawlessness still prevalent in many areas, the socially vulnerable often lack adequate legal protection.

Certainly, with industrialization progressing at a terrifying pace, society’s overall wealth has increased dramatically.

The number of people starving has significantly decreased, and fewer people are struggling to find jobs.

However, the number of people suffering under the current system, which relentlessly exploits them, is still considerable.

The working hours are, of course, seven days a week.

People spend almost all their time working, except for sleeping and eating.

Since the International Labour Organization [a UN agency dealing with labour issues] didn’t exist yet, child labour was still tolerated, as it had been in pre-modern times.

Nothing else mattered.

Only the production volume and productivity figures mattered.

And William Pitt was a typical politician of this era.

It wasn’t because he was inherently cruel or lacked empathy.

Most politicians simply didn’t consider these issues important.

Not in a malicious way, but they genuinely didn’t feel it was worth contemplating them.

“Prime Minister, as you ordered, I have investigated the recent seditious demonstrations.”

“Good work. Let’s see… Tsk, is this some kind of joke? What is the Home Office doing, allowing these ridiculous rioters to run rampant?”

“I apologize. We saw it as just another common demonstration. Aren’t workers always discontented?”

“That’s true, but their recent behaviour is increasingly crossing the line. I’ve even heard complaints that some factories are experiencing operational disruptions. Minister, you need to pay attention to this.”

The Home Secretary, caught off guard, quickly bowed his head.

“I am sorry. I will take immediate action. Whether by mobilizing the police or seeking cooperation from the military…”

“Please pay attention. The factory owners have been complaining a lot lately. Security and law enforcement are the Home Office’s responsibility, so please handle it strictly.”

“Yes. But their voices are getting louder, so I’m concerned that simply suppressing them might lead to a stronger backlash. Would that be alright?”

“Let’s hear what they have to say. What are they usually saying? Last time I heard, they were just repeating the same thing about awakening.”

Awakening, what kind of awakening?

In the end, doesn’t it all boil down to wanting more money and shorter working hours?

The Home Secretary’s opinion was no different from Pitt’s.

“It’s all over the place, but the main framework is similar. Although there are prominent figures like Robert Owen [a Welsh social reformer], it’s not a completely unified system, so their actions aren’t all the same. That’s what makes it even more of a headache.”

“How are they different?”

“Well, there are some very radical ones. Some say all capitalists should be killed, but those are easier to deal with. If they cause trouble, we just throw them in jail. On the other hand, there are those who protest more moderately. But ‘moderate’ is a relative term here.”

“…Looking at what’s written here, I can see that they’re spouting nonsense from beginning to end. Some say the current system will soon collapse, and others advocate for the nationalization of all means of production…”

Just skimming through the summaries makes my head spin.

Above all, these people making a fuss aren’t putting forward any plausible theories.

To Pitt, it just seemed like a collective incitement by those alienated from the current system.

“Let’s look at it from a different perspective. Minister of Finance, what do you think about the reduction of working hours and the provision of holidays that many workers are demanding? Some are even asking for the right to strike.”

“Do you want to ruin all the entrepreneurs?”

The Minister of Finance gave an immediate answer without a second’s hesitation.

“We need to increase production even further right now, so what’s with all this talk about strikes? Who will take responsibility if the company goes bankrupt? If the state is going to take responsibility for all of that, it will go bankrupt in an instant.”

“Hmm… That makes sense.”

As the Minister of Finance said, Britain was in a period where it had to tighten its belt and work hard.

Clearly, Britain was one of the countries in Europe with favourable conditions for industrialization.

A system that had rapidly succeeded in modernization and a stable supply of resources.

On top of that, India, a vast market where goods could be sold.

It was no exaggeration to say that almost no other country in Europe met these conditions.

Except for France.

“If we loosen our grip here, the gap with France could widen to an unmanageable extent. The ministers of each department should keep that in mind and not let their guard down.”

France was sucking up resources as it pleased, not only from Alsace-Lorraine [a region in eastern France] but also from the mining areas of Prussia.

Looking at the development speed of Nouvelle France [New France, referring to French colonies in North America], it’s enough to make one’s head throb.

With these guys successfully pioneering the Asian market, there was not a single factor hindering France’s growth.

If we fall behind here, we really won’t be able to catch up.

This is no time to be indulging in the petty complaints of workers.

When all the ministers agreed, Pitt firmly laid down the future policy.

“From now on, those who advocate communism or red struggles will be regarded as subversive elements who disrupt social order and will be cracked down on. If they demonstrate, mobilize the mounted police and arrest them all.”

“What if that incurs the resentment of the citizens?”

“That’s easy. We just say that those guys are spies funded by France, and the government has only suppressed potential rioters who were trying to undermine social stability. Of course, the government can’t officially express such an opinion, so let’s use the newspapers to create public opinion.”

If we crack down on the protesters, the capitalists will be happy and open their wallets, so there’s no need to spend the budget.

We can also instill the value that labour is patriotism for the future, so it’s like killing two birds with one stone.

The ministers, who had been somewhat worried, now had bright smiles on their faces.

“That’s a brilliant idea. As expected of the Prime Minister!”

“I didn’t like those guys from the start. They stand out by waving those tacky red flags.”

“Exactly. They’re like vulgar commies.”

“Commies? That sounds good. Then let’s go with cracking down on commies without mercy from now on.”

“I’m all for it. Hahaha!”

With such clear instructions, the London police were truly unstoppable.

How dare they try to pour cold water on the growing growth of their country.

Wherever protesters appeared, riot police followed, and even uttering the ‘gong’ of communism would result in a cracked head from a baton and being dragged away.

“Awaken, greedy capitalists! Awaken…”

“Shut your mouths, you commie bastards!”

“Arrest them all! These guys are traitors trying to disrupt the national economy with foreign funding!”

“These evil capitalist stooges…”

Pow! Crack! Thwack!

This isn’t about beating innocent citizens, but about exterminating traitors who are undermining the country.

The police, burning with a sense of duty, wielded the batons of justice without hesitation.

After all, making a fuss is just a storm in a teacup.

It’s just a clamour that will soon subside if suppressed a little strongly.

At least, Pitt was convinced of that at this point.

※※※

Just as Pitt regularly received reports on France’s movements, I was also closely monitoring the political situation in Britain.

Since history had already been completely altered, there was no guarantee that the future situation would unfold exactly as I had imagined.

The contents of today’s weekly newspaper, which proved that my caution was correct, gave me a headache for the first time in a while.

[Large-scale demonstrations occur one after another in Britain. The police’s active suppression has quelled them for now.]

[The emergence of a new ideology calling for communism. A reality beyond fantasy. Will it be a passing fad or grow into a new mainstream theory?]

Commun-what?

Having initially thought it was a simple human rights movement by workers, I immediately ordered a detailed report to be submitted.

I honestly didn’t expect this to happen so soon, even though that person was still a long way from being born.

Of course, communism was a concept that existed even before that person was born, but it mostly remained a utopian dream, and a formalized theory like this had never emerged.

But soon, things naturally fell into place in my head.

It was the same principle as when I saw Joseon’s Dongdo Seogi theory [a Korean ideology advocating for maintaining Eastern values while adopting Western technology] some time ago and said it was bound to fail.

Ideology is ultimately inseparable from technology.

As modernization is happening much faster than in the original history, the early emergence of communism may be an inevitable trend.

The conflict between capitalists and workers is a destiny that must inevitably arise in the process of society maturing.

In that respect, focusing intensively on Prussia was definitely my misjudgment.

It’s okay because I’m in France, but I should have monitored Britain more.

Well, anyway, it’s okay since Britain is the one who got hit first, not us.

From now on, I can calmly prepare measures to prevent that red wave from crossing the sea and taking root here.

I roughly skipped my usual morning coffee and immediately issued a summons to the ministers of each department.

I can never allow a red flag to fly in my France.

By the way, what will happen to the father of socialism, who was supposed to be born in Prussia, if this happens?

Well, as history flows like this, even if he is born somewhere in Germany later, he will not be able to live the same life as in the original history.

※※※

Nouvelle France, Toronto.

Heinrich, who came from Prussia, was full of enthusiasm today.

Born Jewish, he had almost been driven out of Prussia, where xenophobia had recently become rampant, and crossed over to the New World.

It wasn’t originally like that, but when did it start?

After being defeated by France and the country became difficult, the Prussian people became extremely aggressive.

The best prey among them was, of course, the Jews.

In particular, Heinrich, a middle-class man who owned several vineyards, found it difficult to endure the criticism of the people.

Even though he had converted from Judaism to the Prussian United Evangelical Church a long time ago, the label attached to him did not fall off.

Eventually, he liquidated his assets and boarded a ship to the land of opportunity with his beloved wife, Henriette.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime choice and he had many worries, but Heinrich was able to confirm that his choice was right just one week after arriving here.

“Honey, I didn’t even think about it, but we got our permanent residency right away. We’re investment immigrants who brought quite a bit of wealth, so we can get citizenship in a few years?”

“Really? That’s a relief.”

“I know. Besides, they don’t seem to care about Jewish ancestry here. Well, even natives and blacks are living without problems, so there’s no way anyone would criticize me for being of Jewish descent.”

There were literally tons of jobs in Nouvelle France right now.

And it wasn’t a harsh job where you had to work all day in a factory.

As society as a whole continued to get richer, a prosperous life was guaranteed just by setting up a decent store or running a farm.

If I had stayed stuck in Prussia, I would have regretted it.

Now I will throw away the Prussian label and live as a good Frenchman.

“If you get citizenship in the future and change your name to French, you will be called Henrietta.”

“That’s right. And we should give the child who will be born in the future a French name. Haven’t you already thought of a name for the child?”

“Of course.”

Heinrich smiled, thinking of his future son who had not yet been born.

He didn’t know how many would be born, but he had decided that the name of the eldest son would be Moritz and the name of the second son would be Karl.

But now that he has become a Frenchman, he will have to change his name to French.

So son, if you are born safely, the whole family will whisper your name as a blessing.

Charles, Charles Marx of France, not Karl Marx of Prussia.

End