I Became A Genius Of The French Royal Family [EN]: Chapter 291

The era calls for war, and war gives birth to heroes.

Although talented individuals exist everywhere, most disappear without even getting a chance.

In that respect, Nelson clearly had an opportunity.

A moment of destiny where he could receive praise for saving England.

The chance to ascend to a height no one could reach came to him.

Indeed, Nelson led battles that seemed impossible to win through bold and innovative tactics.

Both France and Great Britain were confident in their victory, yet they anxiously awaited the outcome of the battle.

As everyone fidgeted and their patience slowly reached its limit,

news of victory crossed the English Channel and reached them.

[Admiral Nelson’s fleet wins against the French fleet.]

Detailed information has not yet been received, but the result of the battle has been reported as breaking news.

“Ooooooh!”

“As expected, Admiral Nelson! I believed in you!”

“Those French bastards were making a fuss, but in the end, they’re just landlubbers!”

“Long live Admiral Nelson!”

Newspapers, including The Times, which had been eagerly awaiting this news, printed articles at a tremendous speed.

-Emergency Breaking News! Admiral Nelson’s fleet completely destroys the enemy fleet led by French Admiral Villeneuve. The French are hastily retreating, salvaging their remaining warships.

-Victory of Tactics! The French fleet, caught in Admiral Nelson’s ingenious maneuvers, falls into disarray and flees before the battle!

-Admiral Nelson: The naval hero born of England proves that he is the greatest strategist in history!

The whole of England was thrilled by the long-awaited refreshing news of victory.

England is the god of the sea, the sovereign.

Nelson brilliantly averted the crisis that almost shook this firm belief.

The atmosphere in Parliament was not much different.

“Hahaha! Very good! Very good!”

“Let’s award a medal to Admiral Nelson as soon as he returns!”

“Good! But what kind of medal should we give him? Frankly, giving him an existing medal would be a disservice to the Admiral’s achievements. How about creating a new medal?”

“We should! He’s the hero who saved England!”

The result of the battle itself was certain, so everyone indulged in Nelson-mania.

However, there was one person—Pitt—and the Secretary of War, who had just received a detailed report that day, who could not.

“Members of Parliament, please be quiet for a moment. I have an important story to tell you.”

Pitt, who came to the center of the assembly hall, raised a report detailing the results of this battle.

“I have printed out the data for all of you to see. Take a look.”

“Oh, is this the report containing Admiral Nelson’s heroic achievements?”

“Yes. Admiral Nelson undoubtedly played a heroic role. But in return, he suffered severe injuries and is now returning to London under strict guard. With God’s help, his life is not in danger, but he may have to prepare for retirement.”

The festive atmosphere in the hall instantly became somber.

“…Admiral Nelson…”

“It’s unfortunate, but it’s a relief that his life is not in danger.”

“It’s the glorious wound of saving the country. Parliament should give him special treatment…”

“Let’s talk about that later. Now is the time to discuss more important matters.”

Pitt rarely interrupted the parliamentarians and continued speaking with a serious expression.

“Read the report on the battle results.”

“…Let’s see… Two allied ships sunk, and dozens of ships damaged beyond repair. This is quite a bit of damage.”

“But the enemy’s damage is not insignificant either. Just the enemy warships we captured are nearly 20, and it is stated that far more enemy ships were sunk…”

“That’s true if you only look at the numbers. But none of the enemy’s steamships were among the ships we captured. Of course, we couldn’t sink them either.”

As he continued to explain, Pitt’s voice grew lower and lower.

He was not so foolish as to not know what the words written on this paper in his hand meant.

If he hadn’t known, he could have been as comfortable as those parliamentarians.

“The only enemy forces that were damaged were the old-fashioned ships of the previous generation. In fact, all of the enemy’s newly built warships recently evaded our attacks and fled. Admiral Nelson did his best to capture even one, but unfortunately, he was shot at that moment and failed to achieve his goal.”

“……”

“But we still won, didn’t we?”

“The reason we were able to win this time was because their low level of skill held them back. It is said that most of the captains panicked and left the front lines when faced with unexpected situations. So, we should see it as a victory that we were able to achieve because of that.”

The War Department was analyzing the current situation calmly.

Admiral Collingwood, who took over command from Nelson, played a major role in this.

“But we also got information about them, so Admiral Nelson will be able to win next time…”

Percival, who was trying to argue urgently, realized that Nelson was currently lying in bed and closed his mouth.

“Not only that, but we have received additional news that a tremendous number of warships are being built in New France. If we add up what has been produced so far, at least 15 more will join in the near future.”

“15 ships?”

“Yes. And all of them are the enemy’s new warships that use steam engines and are covered in iron armor, not wooden battleships.”

According to the report written by Admiral Collingwood, it was impossible for the existing wooden battleships to cope with the enemy’s ironclad ships.

“We barely won the battle, but our forces are being replenished immediately…”

“But it hasn’t been long since they started mass-producing battleships, so how could they already have that many…”

“We are also building new warships recently. What is the schedule for their introduction?”

“I know that we are planning to build about 20 ships over 10 years and equip 40 old-fashioned battleships with steam engines.”

There is a famous saying that has been passed down since ancient times:

There is no match for numbers.

When I heard the difference in productivity that had already widened as a direct numerical value, it suddenly weighed heavily on my shoulders.

“…What…should we do?”

The assembly hall, which had turned from a festival to a funeral home in less than 30 minutes, suddenly fell into a long silence.

As no one opened their mouth, Pitt, who quietly put down the report, sighed heavily.

“…Everyone. I think you all know how serious the current situation is. So, I would like to make a suggestion.”

“Oh…as expected, Prime Minister!”

“You had a plan!”

William Pitt, who had overcome the situation with various ingenious strategies whenever England was in danger.

The parliamentarians, who believed that his ingenious plan would work this time as well, waited with expectant eyes for the Prime Minister to continue speaking.

※※※

Meanwhile, while the London Parliament was in chaos, the Paris Parliament was also filled with all sorts of shouts, as if it could not be outdone.

“How are you going to take responsibility for this situation!”

“Why should I take responsibility!”

“Hey! Wasn’t it Congressman Danton who argued that we should carry out the invasion of England!”

“No, I said that, but it was approved almost unanimously! It’s difficult for me to take responsibility for that!”

Danton, the Speaker of the House, shouted, his face turning red as if he was genuinely wronged.

“The claim to invade England itself was not wrong! Look at the reports that have come up! This is not a fight that we can’t win! We just lost because we fought so badly on the spot, so why should I take responsibility! If anyone should take responsibility, it’s the admirals!”

“Wasn’t it the Speaker who told us to hurry the game!”

“No, frankly, was I the only one who said that! Everyone agreed at the time, but why are you trying to pass the buck to me now!”

“We should have waited for the Prime Minister’s approval…”

“You said the Prime Minister would also agree, so don’t try to get out of it now!”

The parliamentarians desperately pointed at each other, engaging in a fierce slugfest, lest they be blamed.

If you are blamed as the culprit for pouring cold water on this atmosphere, which had been on the rise until now, you will be unconditionally defeated in the next election.

Members of Congress will do anything to avoid being defeated.

First, let’s hold those who were field commanders accountable, and let’s sacrifice a few in Parliament to save ourselves.

This was the mindset of most of the people sitting in this seat right now.

“Then let’s just decide this by vote! We can decide who’s at fault by vote.”

“No, are you crazy? What kind of vote are you going to put on this?”

“Are you denying the function of voting now?”

“No! This is just a witch hunt!”

If we vote here, whose name will be chosen?

Of course, Speaker of the House Danton will take all the blame.

I’ll never let you vote.

“Everyone. That’s not the important thing. First, we need to discuss how to deal with this defeat…”

“What are we going to discuss? Rumors have already spread that we’ve been completely destroyed, and the morale of the military has hit rock bottom.”

“We’ll have to stay quiet for at least a few months. In the meantime, we’ll have to endure the anger of the citizens.”

It’s an unfortunate reality, but France has been too far away from defeat until now.

Perhaps because they have always taken victory for granted, the atmosphere is unsettling with just this level of defeat.

While Danton was frantically racking his brains to somehow maintain his position as Speaker,

A cynical and absurd voice echoed from the entrance.

“After coming here myself, I see that it’s a real mess.”

“What! Who dares to intrude on the sacred parliamentary proceedings!”

“What are the guards doing!”

A young congressman sitting in the back stood up and approached a man wearing a hood.

“What are the guards doing? Where is this…Heok!”

The congressman, who checked the face of the person who opened the door and came in, was startled and fell on his butt.

“What’s all the commotion…Heok!”

Marquis de Lafayette, a senator who was attending the meeting, screamed as he helped the fallen congressman up.

“P, P, Prime Minister! Why are you here…!”

As soon as the word ‘Prime Minister’ echoed, all the congressmen in the assembly hall turned their heads back at the same time as if they had made a promise.

“P, Prime Minister!”

“Weren’t you in Asia?”

“Why…no, how…”

Prime Minister Christian did not answer the congressmen’s questions and slowly walked towards the Speaker’s seat.

Sensing the serious atmosphere, all the congressmen closed their mouths and quietly stepped aside.

Danton, who was ranting from the Speaker’s seat, rolled his eyes around, trembling, unable to do anything.

“Prime Minister! So, this is…”

“Danton.”

The Prime Minister, who cut off Danton’s words in a low voice, pointed to the bottom of the Speaker’s seat with his eyes.

“Shut up and go down.”

“Yes, sir! I understand!”

Danton hurriedly got out of his seat, took a seat in any empty seat, and lowered his gaze.