I Became A Genius Of The French Royal Family [EN]: Chapter 294

< Express Train to Hell >

I never knew my dear brother harbored such rage.

To think that someone who always let things slide for the sake of harmony could be this angry.

Well, if Marie had died and the Holy Roman Empire was making a mockery of her death, I probably would have lost my mind too.

I might have torn the Holy Roman Empire to shreds, leaving it a third-rate nation forever.

Thinking about it that way, I don’t want to say anything to Louis XVI. He’s handling this with remarkable restraint.

Rather, he was being too much of a gentleman by not using this for propaganda sooner.

The war will be won anyway.

What’s more important than winning is how we conclude things… but Britain and Russia keep providing ridiculous excuses, so there won’t be any problems.

“Prime Minister, the British Parliament responded that they will not accept our recommendation to surrender. Instead, they added that if we don’t want to see what they’re capable of in the next naval battle, we should surrender to them.”

“As expected. I’m starting to feel genuinely sorry for Pitt.”

I wondered what motivated them to act this way, but after seeing how things are progressing, I’ve finally completed my analysis.

I also received a detailed report describing the atmosphere in London recently.

Pitt suggested giving up India and surrendering, but he was ousted by a vote of no confidence from his own party members. The citizens of London responded to Pitt’s resignation by pelting him with eggs and stones.

It’s said that if he didn’t have guards, he would have been seriously injured and taken to the hospital instead of his home. That gives you an idea of how volatile the atmosphere was.

It was such a pathetic end for a great politician who had led Britain for over a decade that I even felt sorry for him.

“Has there been any contact from Theodore? How ready is the fleet?”

“He says the construction is now complete. He also said that he hasn’t neglected the soldiers’ training, so we can consider the battle preparations finished.”

“That guy is doing a better job than I expected. Not just because he’s my son, but I might as well remove the ‘temporary’ title from his position as temporary governor.”

“According to Lavoisier, he’s a spitting image of you, Prime Minister. Thanks to that, the factory is running 24 hours a day without rest.”

I somehow sense a great deal of resentment in that jab.

As they say, children are a reflection of their parents, so I feel a little guilty.

But it can’t be helped since we’re in a state of war, right?

Anyway, I told them to make sure to give me overtime pay for the amount I work.

“I wonder if the British know that the amount they have to pay in reparations is increasing in real-time.”

“I don’t think they do. But New France seems to be completely excited.”

“Because they’re happily churning out goods with other people’s money again.”

They’re essentially leveling up their tech tree for free, so what could be more fun than this?

“By the way, I’m curious… what is Pitt thinking right now?”

Pitt’s public persona wasn’t great, but there was no doubt about his patriotism.

Would such a person want the country that ousted him to win, or would he want them to be taught a harsh lesson?

No matter how much he hates the country, he would shed tears of blood if he saw the country he had built up his whole life being destroyed, right?

But in one corner of his heart, he would also want it to be revealed that he was right and that the ruling party members who voted for the vote of no confidence were wrong.

So, should I write him a letter of consolation?

I’ll make sure to prove that fact from now on, so keep an eye on the newspapers.

※※※

Amidst the ongoing war, a vote of no confidence and the resignation of Prime Minister Pitt occurred.

Along with this shocking news, the directive to somehow recapture Guangzhou [Canton] arrived to Wellesley.

A simple plan to gather all the forces of the East India Company to retake Hong Kong and push into Guangzhou accordingly.

Wellesley was shocked by this plan, which was so simple that it felt like it was clearing his brain.

“So, is Nelson coming back to East India again?”

“No. Admiral Nelson has decided to retire due to his severe injuries.”

“…I heard we won the battle, but that’s unfortunate.”

“Yes. But what is certain is that we won the battle. So, if we retake Hong Kong and Guangzhou here, the French forces in Asia will wither.”

There is definitely some truth to that.

Wellesley had not received a report with specific figures, so he tried to perceive the situation positively.

It is burdensome to engage in a full-scale war with the French army, but their forces are not intact because they have not received proper supplies for a long time.

There was also intelligence that many units had no choice but to use outdated weapons because it was not easy to maintain their state-of-the-art weapons.

In that respect, maybe we can push through somehow?

“The enemy’s French forces consist of two corps. About 50,000 to 55,000. If we gather everything we have, we can probably reach about 80,000…”

About 1.5 times the number of troops, but considering the difference in weapon quality, there is no particular advantage.

Even if they can only use half of their original new weapons, the 1.5 times difference in power should be considered non-existent.

Frankly speaking, I was reluctant to fight.

If we really won the naval battle, shouldn’t we tighten the noose on the enemy based on that?

I couldn’t understand why they were telling me to strike the enemy in the current situation.

Could it be that the naval battle was a lie and Prime Minister Pitt was dismissed for this reason? Is Nelson actually dead?

I was even filled with such absurd suspicions.

“Anyway, since the order has been issued in the name of His Majesty the King and Parliament, I have to fight.”

I had been on the same battlefield as Napoleon before, but at that time it was practically a picnic disguised as a battle.

This is the first time the two commanders will clash in a true sense.

‘Yes. If we handle the Russian army well, we can definitely seize the victory.’

I would never fight against the French army in full condition, but haven’t they been unable to receive supplies in other countries for too long?

If the war situation is not favorable, I can use the Russian army as bait and run away this time.

I had almost all the information I needed to know in advance.

But there is one thing.

Wellesley had not considered how much Napoleon was looking forward to a battle with him.

No, he couldn’t even imagine it in his dreams.

※※※

After Pitt was dismissed, the British Parliament began to run wild like a train with broken brakes.

The justification for ousting Pitt was that he was trying to surrender in a war that they could win sufficiently.

So, they must win the war unconditionally.

If they did as Pitt said, they would never be able to meddle in politics again, and that would be the same even if they lost the war.

In other words, most of the members of Parliament thought they had nothing to lose.

In particular, the British military is closely related to the political scene, so everyone is intertwined as if they were one body.

In this chaotic situation, Britain eventually made the worst choice.

Before more of the French forces gather, they will quickly strike the enemy and conclude a truce agreement under favorable conditions.

Fortunately, the morale of the navy was high thanks to the victory at the Battle of Trafalgar.

Britain immediately seized the momentum, led the fleet, struck the main ports of France, and declared that they would turn all the battleships into fish food.

Nelson screamed, “Don’t be ridiculous!” when he heard this news, but his remarks were kept strictly confidential.

It was known to the world that the great hero Nelson was still unconscious after being hit by a French bullet.

The warships that Britain gathered set sail bravely, saying that they would recreate the glory of Trafalgar.

But France showed an indifferent reaction as if they had forgotten the fact that they had lost the battle.

Even Admiral Villeneuve, who was defeated at Trafalgar, was not ousted.

He had only stepped down one step from the supreme commander, and was instead giving interviews to the media saying that he would avenge himself in the next battle.

And before long, Britain had to face the reason for France’s confidence with their whole body.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Aaaagh!”

“No! Approach them! Just approach them!”

“We can’t approach them!”

Admiral Collingwood, who was trying to use Nelson’s tactics again, couldn’t come to his senses at the sight of the French fleet, which was completely different from last time.

There was not a single shabby wooden ship of the line in sight.

The French fleet consisted of a total of 25 ironclad steamships or steam-powered sailing ships.

The number was much smaller than at Trafalgar, but its power was incomparable.

The British navy could have overwhelmed them in terms of numbers, but the French, who had gained experience from the previous defeat, did not give in easily.

In fact, it was strange that they had been attacked by an unstoppable charge, and it was natural that British warships could not properly attach to the French fleet with minimal response.

As if proving that obvious fact late, the war situation began to tilt to one side in an instant.

Wooden warships exploded from the barrage of high-explosive shells, and the soldiers’ screams spread through the sea breeze.

“Tsk… we should have done this sooner.”

“What can we do? We had to use this to have a proper real battle to know what to do, and at that time, we didn’t have enough experience.”

“That’s what I’m saying. By the way, I’ve been thoroughly preparing for a boarding battle again…”

쾅! 쾅! 쾅!

Villeneuve shook his head as he watched the enemy’s ship of the line, which had been turned into rags by concentrated fire, come to a halt.

“It doesn’t seem like we need to.”

He realized once again how much of a moron he had been.

If he could, he wanted to dig a hole and hide, but it was a relief that he could restore his honor like this.

Of course, the other side also had a small number of steamships, so the damage on this side was not zero.

Strangely enough, those guys had similar or less experience driving steamships than they did, but they operated them so well that it was annoying.

But there’s no match for quantity anyway.

Since the formation is not completely messed up like last time, it is possible to respond calmly and hit them when they hit us.

“Enemy ship of the line suppressed!”

“Frigate sunk!”

The sight of the coolly exploding pieces of wood floating on the Atlantic Ocean is truly spectacular.

“If it weren’t for the idiots in Parliament… we could have made this result.”

“That’s true, but the change in the enemy’s commander seems to be a big factor. If that guy was there, I don’t know what kind of extraordinary tactics he would have brought.”

“Well, we wouldn’t have lost even then… but the damage might have been greater.”

I don’t want to run into Nelson again on the street.

Anyway, it’s a great relief that he’s seriously injured and will only be living in his London home from now on.

‘Yes. The sea is so calm and docile without that guy.’

The sea, which had been filled with humiliation and despair just a while ago, felt as warm as a mother’s arms in Villeneuve’s eyes.

Of course, the Royal Navy’s power was still great.

It’s amazing that they’re desperately trying to create variables by digging into this side and firing.

I have to admit what I have to admit.

They’re still great guys.

They don’t stop their desperate resistance even if they’re smashed and their ships are half-destroyed.

But it’s all over.

Even if we don’t settle it completely here, this second and third wave are waiting, so there’s no way to escape now.

Just in time, a ship of the line with the Royal Navy flag flying high was seen sinking in the middle of the sea with a tremendous burst of noise.

The sight of the Royal Navy flag, symbolizing the high pride of the British Empire, gradually sinking below the sea, symbolized the sinking of Britain.

< Express Train to Hell > End