I Became A Genius Of The French Royal Family [EN]: Chapter 89

The Turning Point of the Century

The situation in 18th-century India can be summarized in one word: chaos.

No other word could better describe the current state of affairs in India.

After the Mughal Empire, which had once dominated India, lost its power, Western powers were scrambling to seize control of the region.

The two leading contenders were, of course, Britain and France.

However, with Britain’s victory over France in the Seven Years’ War, they virtually monopolized the Bengal region.

Subsequently, the French, pushed back by the British East India Company, were only able to maintain a precarious hold on their territories.

However, this did not mean that Britain immediately swallowed up the whole of India.

Although the Mughal Empire was gone, India was still divided into numerous princely states, some of which wielded considerable power.

Notable among these were the Maratha Confederacy in the north and the Kingdom of Mysore in the south.

The Kingdom of Mysore had already defeated a British force of 50,000 in a war that lasted three years, starting in 1766.

The problem was that this victory had a detrimental effect on the Indian states.

The Maratha Confederacy made the mistake of underestimating the British, who had been defeated by the Kingdom of Mysore and its allies.

Although they kept Britain in check, they did not see them as a major adversary that all Indian states had to unite against.

Instead, the Maratha Confederacy engaged in intermittent battles with the Kingdom of Mysore for dominance in India.

And Britain was a nation that knew how to exploit and encourage these conflicts in India.

If India had united and confronted Britain, it might have been able to hold out for much longer.

Christian aimed to consolidate the fragmented power of India as much as possible.

The man entrusted with this weighty responsibility was the Duke of Choiseul, who had become one of Christian’s closest confidants.

As a French duke and former prime minister, he had no difficulty meeting with key figures from the Maratha Confederacy and the Kingdom of Mysore.

“Hmm… so the Kingdom of Mysore has already signed an agreement to align with France?”

“That’s right. Here is the seal of the Sultan of Mysore.”

“Well, Mysore has recently fought a major war against Britain, so it’s not surprising.”

Nana Phadnavis, the chief strategist of the Maratha Confederacy and administrator of the capital, Pune, rested his chin on his hand and pondered for a moment.

Normally, he would have dismissed the Duke of Choiseul’s words, but the current situation did not allow for that.

This was because the Maratha Confederacy had recently received significant assistance from the Duke of Choiseul and France.

“In fact, many in our confederacy are not fond of the Kingdom of Mysore. That’s why we deliberately avoided responding when Mysore proposed an anti-British alliance and have been monitoring the situation.”

“I understand, given the difference in religion.”

The Maratha Confederacy, the leading power in northern India, largely consisted of followers of traditional Hinduism, while Mysore in the south was a Sultanate with Islamic roots.

It was inevitable that there would be a subtle distance between the two.

“Still, it is also true that we could have suffered considerable damage from Britain if it hadn’t been for France this time. I am personally very grateful.”

“Haha, I simply conveyed the information that His Highness the Prince gave me.”

“It’s amazing. How could His Highness the Prince, who is so far away, know information that even we, the parties involved, didn’t know?”

“That’s why I follow His Highness. Frankly, even if I just explain it like this, you won’t get a sense of it until you meet him in person.”

“If I have the opportunity, I would like to meet him in person and see what kind of person he is.”

Phadnavis wasn’t just being polite; he genuinely couldn’t understand the information network of this Prince Christian.

Until last year, the Maratha Confederacy had a Peshwa [Prime Minister] named Raghunathrao on the throne.

However, Raghunathrao had ascended to the position of Peshwa through illegitimate means and was ousted from his position after only a year.

Currently, the Maratha Confederacy was being governed in a form close to a federation by various regional powers, with Madhavrao II installed as a puppet Peshwa.

Then, the Duke of Choiseul, who came from France, suddenly leaked some strange information.

The content was as follows:

Namely, the forces of the deposed Raghunathrao were showing signs of contacting the British.

Phadnavis was skeptical but ordered an investigation anyway.

And the result was surprisingly true.

Raghunathrao’s faction was plotting to incite a war by bringing in British forces from Bombay.

Having learned of this in advance, Phadnavis completely purged Raghunathrao’s faction and preempted the British scheme.

As a result, public opinion within the Maratha Confederacy was now strongly opposed to Britain.

“The British always use this kind of tactic. They will constantly try to create divisions within the Maratha Confederacy. They will also incite discord with the Kingdom of Mysore and try to start a war. In this way, they plan to gradually divide India and turn it into their colony.”

“…Many within the Confederacy believe that we are capable of dealing with Britain, but we have overlooked this aspect.”

“Yes. India needs to be more vigilant. This is information that I also gave to the Kingdom of Mysore, but please take a look at the suffering of those who have become British colonies.”

Phadnavis calmly received the documents that Choiseul handed over and quickly scanned through them.

As he turned each page, his face grew heavy.

“I knew roughly what Britain was doing in the New World, but I didn’t expect this…”

“If Britain takes over India, the people of India will eventually be treated similarly to the natives of the New World.”

The material that Choiseul handed over was a kind of promotional material that Christian had created to expose the atrocities of the British.

Of course, it was also a kind of propaganda material that excluded all cases of France or other European countries exploiting colonies just as much, and only highlighted Britain.

However, because it was all written and organized with plausible pictures and figures, people who didn’t know the truth couldn’t help but be shocked.

“I will formally submit this material to the Regency Council. The Kingdom of Mysore may not be the most likable people, but it seems that the first order of business is to drive the British out of India.”

“You have made a wise decision. France will also gladly lend its strength to expel the British. Of course, we have no intention of ruling India, so even after the war, we will not exert more influence than we do now. We will also leave this in writing.”

In fact, Christian had said that even if they won a major victory in India this time, India would not be able to withstand Britain in the long run.

However, he also added that it would be possible to push that time back significantly.

In any case, France would just take the maximum profit it could get this time and leave.

Choiseul inwardly clicked his tongue at Christian’s cold-blooded plan, but he successfully concluded the agreement with Phadnavis.

Frankly, what did he care what happened to India in the distant future?

The most important thing was that a golden opportunity to strike a blow against Britain had returned.

It had been ten years since he had tasted the humiliation of defeat in the Seven Years’ War.

Choiseul could hardly contain the laughter that was about to burst out at the fact that the time for revenge had finally come.

※※※

Around the time France was sharpening its sword against Britain,

Britain did not have the capacity to grasp what was happening in the New World or India.

They were unaware that France had the ulterior motive of hitting Britain hard in the back of the head, but they were also focusing too much attention on France in another sense.

Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford, who was serving as the Prime Minister of Britain, was receiving reports on France’s movements almost every day.

“So… you’re saying that Russia and France are likely to form an alliance successfully?”

“Yes. Diplomats and informants in Paris and Versailles have all come to the same conclusion. It should be considered a certainty that a marriage alliance will be formed.”

“I can’t understand it. What are the French thinking? Aren’t they taking on too much of a loss to check us?”

Lord North frowned and tapped the desk with his fingers.

The informant who gave the report also could not give a satisfactory answer.

“Wouldn’t it be safe to assume that some kind of secret agreement has been made?”

“That’s true… but I can’t grasp what the content of that agreement might be.”

It was not difficult to guess what Russia wanted from France.

Clearly, they wanted France to prevent Britain from intervening in the war with Turkey.

However, it was not particularly good for France if Russia expanded its power in that way.

Austria, France’s ally, would not be very comfortable either.

Of course, Prussia and Britain were the most concerned, but could France have taken Russia’s side for these reasons alone?

“This must also be a decision led by Prince Christian, right? Is there any more information about him?”

“Yes. He is currently creating something like a football association and planning a tournament.”

“Football? He’s living a carefree life, enjoying his hobbies. So he doesn’t have any intention of causing trouble right now…”

“France has been consciously avoiding conflicts with us all along. I understand that Prince Christian’s opinion has been reflected in that as well.”

Lord North had already heard that report.

The Duke of Grafton, who had been dispatched to the Vatican, had also said something similar.

“Tsk, if I hadn’t completely overhauled the intelligence agency, I could have obtained more information.”

“There’s nothing we can do about that. Most of the data analyzed by our side turned out to be wrong. Having wrong information can be a more fatal poison than having no information at all.”

“I know. That’s why I didn’t actively oppose the opinions of the Whigs.”

The Whigs, led by the Duke of Grafton, had attacked them quite skillfully since returning from the Vatican.

Whether it was a coincidence or not, the irregularities committed by the people of this party suddenly surfaced, and the response was delayed.

Lord North was so busy worrying about the political strife taking place domestically and grasping the movements of Prince Christian, who was rising madly in France, that he had hardly been paying attention to other matters these days.

“The Whigs have raised objections again this time over budget-related issues. They’re nitpicking, saying that it’s being executed too wastefully.”

“They’re just opposing for the sake of opposition. It would be nice if a big incident would break out to shut these guys up…”

It was not an unintentional murmur, but as the saying goes, words have power.

“Lord North! It’s a disaster! A disaster has occurred!”

A servant who ran in panting, handed the paper in his hand forward.

“What’s the matter with all the fuss? Let’s see, it’s from the New World.”

The corners of Lord North’s eyes trembled for a moment as he received the letter without losing his aristocratic dignity.

“…Is this true?”

Was the God in heaven listening to his heart after all?

The opportunity he had been so eagerly hoping for had come at an unexpected time.

※※※

For the past few days, the atmosphere in Paris had been like a festival.

Louis XV coolly stamped the agreement that I and Osterman had drafted.

With this, the historic union of the Romanov and Bourbon dynasties was achieved.

And Alexander and Osterman, with my confidential letters, returned to Russia.

However, not everyone completely trusted me.

Even Count Charles Gravier, who had drafted the agreement with me, still seemed unable to shake off his doubts.

“Your Highness. But was it really okay to leave it like this?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m talking about the alliance with Russia. In fact, the conditions they presented were things that the Russian side would have welcomed with open arms. I thought we could have gotten more concessions… Weren’t we just doing them a favor?”

“So, Your Excellency also thinks so?”

Count Gravier immediately nodded.

“Yes. Ah, but I’m not trying to criticize Your Highness. This alliance will certainly benefit us as well. However, I just have a slight regret that we couldn’t extract more…”

He looked to see if I was upset, but I smiled contentedly instead.

“If the Count thought so, then they must have accepted it that way too. Good. That’s all that matters.”

“…Yes?”

He didn’t know what I meant, but I didn’t bother to tell him.

If he, who had a long career as a diplomat, didn’t notice, then that was fine.

In fact, it was a problem that he couldn’t know even if I explained it at this point, so it would only hurt my mouth to say it.

As I was leisurely drinking tea,

Bang!

Lavoisier rushed towards me with a very urgent look on his face.

He was holding two letters in his hand.

I, who had been expecting it to come around this time, leisurely reached out and received the two letters he handed me.

One was a report urgently sent to me from Versailles, and the other was a letter sent by Samuel Adams in the New World.

A strange smile came out at the words ‘Personal letter from Count Lamarche’ written in small letters.

“It’s a disaster, Your Highness! There’s a big commotion in the New World.”

“Hmm… I wonder what happened that’s causing such a fuss?”

I pretended not to know and opened the report sent from Versailles first.

As soon as I opened the paper, the sentence written in large letters on the top caught my eye.

[Large-scale riot in Boston. Rioters threw up to 300 tea chests into the sea. Similar incidents are currently occurring mainly in New England.]

I tilted the report slightly to the side so that Count Gravier could also see it, and his face was stained with astonishment.

“A riot has broken out in the New World?”

“That’s right. I think the colonists’ grievances that Your Highness spoke of have finally manifested in a concrete form.”

Count Gravier and Lavoisier, who were startled, exchanged words with serious faces.

Marie, who was leisurely drinking tea next to me, looked back at me with uneasy eyes.

Even in the midst of such a fuss.

I leisurely emptied the last drop of tea I was drinking and even took a dessert to my mouth.

“Good.”

After briefly expressing my feelings, I slowly got up from my seat.

Louis XV had already called an emergency meeting.

I will arrive considerably late compared to the nobles in Versailles, but it doesn’t matter since the more I do, the more attention will be focused on me.

It’s only right for the main character to arrive late.

Either get everything in your hands, or lose everything.

At this moment, right here is the turning point of the century.