I Became A Genius Of The French Royal Family [EN]: Chapter 318

Even bitter enemies will join hands when faced with a common foe.

Even nations with a history of animosity would naturally fight together if aliens appeared.

Of course, to make that happen, the opposing force would have to be so strong that victory couldn’t be guaranteed unless they combined their strength.

So, naturally, Napoleon and Bernadotte didn’t have even a speck of desire to cooperate with each other.

“Wow~ I’m taking an unexpected business trip to Arabia because of someone. I feel so refreshed!”

“Anyone listening would think I’m in a good mood.”

Unable to bear the suffocating atmosphere inside the ship, all the officials except Napoleon and Bernadotte went outside for some fresh air.

“You should be happy. You managed to drag me down with you when you got demoted to Arabia. You have no reason to be upset, do you?”

“Oh, come on. His Majesty repeatedly emphasized how important Arabia is. Demoted? Are you daring to question His Majesty’s opinion? That’s blatant insubordination.”

“Speaking to a Marshal like that is also technically insubordination.”

“I would be if I were still part of the military, but now I’m the head of the Arabian territory. It’s a different system from the military. So, it’s not insubordination.”

“Even though it’s questionable if that territory is even a tenth of the Arabian Peninsula…”

The territory in the Arabian Peninsula that France decided to claim was a small part of the eastern peninsula bordering the Persian Gulf at the southernmost tip.

In fact, Napoleon didn’t quite understand this decision either.

He understood the importance of it being a key point for maritime trade, but he still doubted whether it was worth sending both himself and Bernadotte.

“Just in case, do you know exactly why His Majesty values this land so much?”

“What? You don’t know either? I thought he would have told you, but I guess not.”

Bernadotte smiled brightly for the first time since the voyage began, revealing his teeth.

It was because he realized that Napoleon was no different from him.

“Are you that happy about it?”

“No, well… it seems like I wasn’t really demoted. But it’s strange. His Majesty doesn’t usually reveal his true intentions, but it’s rare for him to keep things this secret.”

“That’s true. Even with Panama, he told us that it would become a key transportation hub in the future. Someone was just complaining without even knowing that.”

“If you were in my shoes, you wouldn’t be any different, would you? How would you feel if you were stuck in Panama while I was crushing the Qing Dynasty [the last imperial dynasty of China (1644–1912)]?”

“If it were me, I would have conquered all the nearby countries in a month and returned to Europe. Unlike someone who took so long.”

Yeah, sure, your shit’s thicker.

Even though he wanted to argue, Bernadotte acknowledged Napoleon’s military capabilities.

The children of Orléans that Christian had gathered were all military geniuses.

Some didn’t have the skills to command legions, but they all showed exceptional abilities in their respective fields.

However, even when you gather all the stars, only one shines exceptionally bright.

Napoleon was that person.

Among the children of Orléans, who were military geniuses, he was a genius among geniuses.

So much so that even foreign generals admired Napoleon as a god of war.

But that’s separate from human charm.

Bernadotte still couldn’t bring himself to like Napoleon.

It wasn’t just jealousy that he had stolen the favor of the beloved king.

He simply didn’t like the arrogant attitude that only he was the best in the world.

“Then our great Marshal Napoleon, with his outstanding abilities, will be able to stabilize the Middle East in no time. I’m really looking forward to it.”

“What’s so difficult about it? Anyway, we’ve agreed to take over the exit of the Red Sea… Aden, was it? So there won’t be any problems. All that’s left are the pirates in the Persian Gulf, but I have plans for them too, so it’s only a matter of time.”

“Still, don’t forget what His Majesty emphasized. First, second, and third, the most important thing is to create a link that will keep the region subordinate to France.”

He didn’t know why Christian valued some parts of the Middle East so much, but that allowed him to make one inference.

If the reason were to be known to the outside world at this stage, it would hinder the subjugation of the region.

That’s why they used the plausible excuse of it being a key point for trade.

“Anyway, our questions will be answered in time. Shall we start by taking back our land from the British?”

“That’s your area, Bernadotte, so I won’t interfere. Good luck.”

It didn’t make sense to keep letting the British control the exit from the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.

The story had already been discussed at the top, so they wouldn’t say anything different now.

In fact, it didn’t really matter.

If they didn’t listen, he would just beat them up and take it back.

※※※

The center of British colonial ventures was always India.

Their winning strategy was to steadily increase wealth by using India’s vast market and spread its influence in all directions.

In that respect, the key locations in the Arabian Peninsula were extremely important to the British.

Just blocking the exit of the Red Sea would put pressure on France, which operated the canal.

Having key locations in the Persian Gulf would allow them to effectively control trade between the Middle East and India.

To catch up with France’s overwhelming size, they had to scrape together profits from as many places as possible.

But the moment they lost India in the Great War.

The overseas colonial project that Britain had been envisioning was fundamentally disrupted.

The East India Company had long been dismantled, and all the influence the British government had over India had disappeared.

Furthermore, with France’s naval power surpassing Britain’s, there was no longer any reason to maintain troops in the Arabian Peninsula.

Simply put, the cost of maintaining it had long exceeded the benefits.

However, returning the land they had already occupied would damage the prestige of the British Empire.

In this dilemma.

France demanded the territory of Arabia in exchange for turning a blind eye to African colonies.

The British Parliament accepted this as if they had been waiting for it, and they were waiting for the new French governor to come and take this burden away.

“Oh my, you must have had a long journey. I’m seeing Marshal Napoleon, whom I’ve only heard rumors about, in this remote place. I’m really living a long life. Hahaha, welcome! I’m William Amherst, Earl Amherst, in charge of Aden and Eyalet [an administrative division of the Ottoman Empire].”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Napoleon.”

After a brief greeting with Napoleon, Amherst looked at Bernadotte, who was standing blankly next to him, and made a ‘ah’ expression.

It was clear that he was full of dissatisfaction.

He must have been very unhappy that he greeted Napoleon first instead of him.

“So… you must be Governor Bernadotte. Nice to meet you!”

“Yes. Nice to meet you.”

Bernadotte, who was greeted in a way that was clearly not welcoming, pointed to the empty chair and nodded.

“We don’t have much time, so let’s proceed quickly.”

“Yes, yes. Please sit down. Everything is ready here.”

Originally, Earl Amherst was supposed to be the next Governor-General of India.

But after losing the war, he ended up playing governor in this remote place, so he was not happy at all.

He felt a surge of energy from deep within his body as he thought about handing over this burden as soon as possible and returning to his home country.

‘You bastard. It looks like you’ve been demoted to this place too? But if Napoleon is attached as a supervisor, you must have caused quite a big accident…’

Earl Amherst, empathizing with Bernadotte’s feelings, desperately hid his true feelings and sat down.

No matter how strategically important it is, the outskirts are the outskirts.

If you come as the person in charge of such a place, it means you have no connection with the center, so you can’t help but have such dissatisfaction on your face.

He could fully understand.

“Originally, we should have a grand welcoming ceremony, but since you two are busy, we have expedited the process as much as possible.”

“Thank you. Thanks to you, we can save a lot of time.”

“How much do you know about the situation here?”

“I’ve heard that the southwestern part of the Persian Gulf is infested with pirates.”

“That’s right.”

Earl Amherst pointed to one side of the map of the Arabian Peninsula spread out on the desk.

“First, the northernmost part of the Persian Gulf is a region called Eyalet. It is inhabited by nomadic peoples who are desperately poor. Until recently, they were suffering from the oppression of the Ottomans, but we saved them. However, with the trade route to India blocked again, the future doesn’t look bright.”

“Are the natives hostile to Europe?”

“It’s nothing compared to how much they hate the Ottomans [rulers of the Ottoman Empire]. Isn’t it said that the enemy of my enemy is my friend? But we must keep this in mind. The condition for Britain giving up India was that France would not occupy India, as you know.”

If France had driven out Britain and taken India for themselves, Britain would not have given up so easily.

France, of course, knew this well.

Therefore, they reassured Britain by signing a separate treaty stating that India would remain a definite independent state.

But why would those who have no intention of occupying India even take over Eyalet?

Aden is the exit of the Red Sea, so it is natural to take it.

In the first place, Britain, whose naval power had turned inferior to France, had no confidence in continuing to defend this area, so they had no major complaints about handing it over.

However, Eyalet is a slightly different story.

This is because its value shines only when trade between the Middle East and India is active.

“I trust that Great France will not abandon the treaty it once made like an old shoe and extend its reach to India.”

“Of course. France keeps its treaties. Have we ever stabbed our allies in the back? The British Commonwealth is now an ally of France, so we must naturally coexist.”

“If that’s the case, why Eyalet…”

“Even if we don’t directly rule India, we can still engage in intermediary trade, can’t we? And we are importing a considerable amount of goods from Asia. We are trying to revitalize trade between the Middle East and Asia with Eyalet as a base.”

Bernadotte recited the excuse he had already prepared.

“And that’s why we want Trucial Oman [historical region encompassing part of the present-day United Arab Emirates and Oman] in the south. We’re going to be trading a lot in the future, and if pirates are rampant, the damage will be enormous, right? So we’re going to use this area as a bridgehead to wipe out the pirates in the vicinity.”

“That makes sense, but the pirates are so cunning that it won’t be easy.”

“Ah, don’t worry about that. Our world’s greatest strategist, Marshal Napoleon, will eliminate the pirates with his amazing and elusive strategies.”

“Ah~ so that’s why the Marshal came here in person.”

Perhaps he was somewhat convinced, Earl Amherst scribbled something on the paper and slowly nodded.

“I wish the Great French Federal Empire the best of luck. We will hand over the necessary items and leave tomorrow.”

“Yes. Farewell.”

They got up from their seats with smiling faces, but the intentions of both sides were clearly different.

‘You idiots. Try running around for a hundred days. See if the natives living in this shithole will listen to you.’

‘To be fooled by such a simple excuse, the British are really lacking.’

The parties involved had no idea.

The plot to seize the black diamond was steadily progressing.