I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 137

The Hidden Tycoon of the British Empire 137

The United States of China’s Strategy

“Now that you’ve taken on this new role, let me tell you what you’ll be doing from now on.”

A young, hardworking newbie has arrived, so I need to give him a solid education, right?

He’s already doing more than his fair share, but what I want is a skilled assistant like James who can do the work of two people or more.

Hurry up and become a boss who works as well as James and bring in a second and third Pinkerton [referring to skilled detectives or agents, after Allan Pinkerton, founder of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency].

“Yes! Just give me any task.”

“Your eagerness is admirable. Did James give you a rough idea of what you’ll be doing here?”

“Yes. He told me that slave hunters would be coming up from the United States and that I should catch and kill them all. He also said not to show any mercy.”

“Why do you think that is?”

“Well, if a survivor escapes, it could lead to unnecessary suspicion. If people hear that black people are professionally armed, have tactics, and are ambushing, wouldn’t they find that strange?”

That’s right. He’s definitely got a good sense, probably because he’s the kind of guy who would crack down on unions, gangs, and thugs in the original history.

Someday they’ll find out, but at this point, it’s better if they don’t know that there’s a hidden force systematically supporting the black people.

“For now, these kinds of incidents are bound to keep happening, so have you thought of a way to hunt the hunters?”

“Yes. The areas they’re invading are settlements mainly created by black people. Most of the black people living here actually came from the United States, so many are escaped slaves.”

“But still, aren’t there more people who came from the North seeking true freedom than those who escaped from the South?”

“That’s correct. So, there aren’t that many places established mainly by slaves who escaped from the South.”

“But even so, constantly defending all of those places would be a significant waste, wouldn’t it?”

How long is the border between Canada and the United States? It’s realistically impossible to manage all the settlements near it.

Pinkerton, of course, seemed to know that and immediately answered my question.

“That’s why we’re making the most of the intelligence capabilities of the National Detective Agency in the United States. We were able to set up that ambush this time because we knew in advance what route those Hound bastards were taking.”

“Ah, I see. Is the detective agency currently cooperating with slave hunters in the United States?”

“On the surface, yes. We also receive and sell information, so we haven’t lied. We actually told them the exact location of the escaped slaves, after all.”

They bought information through us, so of course we knew what route they would take.

It’s a very efficient and reliable method.

“In addition, to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances, make sure to teach the black people in the forward settlements how to defend themselves. The hunters might attack when you’re not there to protect them.”

“Ah, yes! That’s why I’m currently selecting a few talented people from each village and teaching them basic marksmanship. Then they can teach the other villagers how to handle guns.”

That’s why it’s so convenient to have capable people as subordinates.

Even if you only ask them to do one thing, they do two or three, so there’s less to worry about.

“Good. Then please pay a little more attention until we trigger the main event.”

“Yes. But are you sure it’s okay to proceed as planned? It’s an area that took a lot of effort…”

“We have to do that much to avoid suspicion. If we don’t suffer enough damage, they’ll naturally be suspicious, right?”

Thanks to the United States’ unexpected blunder, we were able to have a lot of fun this time, but that alone isn’t enough to grab them by the collar and shake them.

Unless the United States raises its head and stubbornly resists, it will bow down and say, ‘I won’t do it again! I promise!’

If one more decisive blow lands, we can really shut them up, but we still need to stoke the fire a little more to do that.

“Even so, to use an area that you’ve put so much effort into for over two years as bait… I can’t even imagine such a scheme… no, such a strategy.”

“The benefits we’ll gain from it will be hundreds of times greater, so there’s no reason to hesitate, right? Ah, and I should probably go meet my next appointment soon. Don’t forget to disguise yourself on the way back, just like when you came.”

“Yes!”

No one except my closest confidants should know that Allan Pinkerton, the owner of the National Detective Agency, is in contact with me.

I turned my gaze away from him as he put on a fake beard and wig, and left the room for my next schedule.

The person I’m having lunch with today is none other than the Mexican ambassador.

The desire to turn this fresh prey into an exclusive pushover for the British Empire was burning brightly.

* * *

“What, what is the meaning of this!”

The sound of fists pounding on the desk echoed loudly, but no one in the room showed any signs of displeasure.

Tyler swore he had never felt such embarrassment since becoming president.

Frankly speaking, it wasn’t even this bad when he was kicked out of the Whig Party [a former political party in the United States].

Almost simultaneously with the urgent report from the ambassador in Canada, the British ambassador visited the White House to protest, and there he heard an unbelievable story.

“What kind of crazy people would do something like this? Launching a shootout in Ontario when the Queen of the British Empire is visiting? And not just one or two people, but dozens?”

“Your Excellency, we investigated immediately, but it was an act of deviance by civilians with no connection to the government.”

“An act of deviance by civilians? Are you trying to brush off the incident with that kind of excuse?”

At his absurd words, Secretary of State Webster cleared his throat and quickly shook his head.

“That’s not it. However, we must make it clear that the public authorities here were not involved.”

“The situation isn’t as easy as you think. The British ambassador to Canada says he even knows this much.”

The president showed the letter of protest he had received from the ambassador today, and the eyes of the ministers widened as they looked at it.

“No… did they formally hire slave hunters from the South?”

“I know they don’t use them as regular troops like soldiers, but they do have some kind of contract. There have been so many slave escapes lately that it’s unavoidable for maintaining law and order.”

“Ah… well, the landowners’ complaints must have been considerable, so the governors had no choice.”

The South is a region where the influence of landowners with large numbers of slaves is immense.

And they have been, and still are, pressuring the governors and senators to respond more actively to the slave escape problem.

In fact, the president himself could not be free from responsibility.

To respond more strongly to the slave issue and gain popularity even in the South, he had contacted numerous Southern congressmen and created various countermeasures.

Wasn’t it a collaboration between him and South Carolina Senator John Calhoun [a prominent U.S. statesman known for his defense of slavery] that allowed state governments to give slave hunters a certain amount of reward?

But now that this has come back to bite him in the back, what could be more absurd?

No. When you think about it, it’s the fault of those stupid slave hunters, not ours.

The South clearly told them to bring back the slaves who had escaped to the North, but they couldn’t have told them to cross the border and start a shootout in Canada.

“First of all, we must promptly demand an explanation from the governor of Virginia. If we fall out with the British Empire over such an absurd matter, our political lives will be over.”

“Isn’t Virginia currently being run by the acting governor? I don’t think there would be a problem if we just put all the blame on him and got rid of him.”

“No, that could damage the solidarity of the South. Especially if the whole story of this incident becomes known, what will the North say?”

It’s obvious without even looking. People like Adams [likely referring to John Quincy Adams, a former U.S. President and vocal opponent of slavery] will all rise up and say that this is all because of the South’s barbaric system of maintaining slavery.

When you think about it, the diplomatic friction was caused by the South’s efforts to maintain slavery, so there’s no way to refute it.

“Haa… this is driving me crazy. But Your Excellency, what exactly was the British Empire’s reaction?”

“They are furious. Such a major accident happened at a time when the Queen was visiting. Moreover, the Queen is said to be pregnant.”

“God…”

“…How could things get so twisted…”

The ministers, who had not yet heard about Victoria’s pregnancy, which was only announced today, all sighed in unison as if they had made a promise.

Why on earth did that damn queen cross the Atlantic while pregnant and come to Canada at this time?

“In any case, the responsibility for this must never fall on our administration. I will try to work with the senators as much as possible, so please do your best in your respective positions to resolve the problem.”

“Yes.”

“Surely those guys won’t bring in the Royal Navy…”

Surely that won’t happen, but if a similar problem occurs again, then it might not be a joke anymore.

Even the biggest problem with this incident is that it’s hard to even say it’s unfair because the fault lies entirely with us.

If this escalates into war, although it’s still close to being a concern, those who provided the pretext for this incident will never be able to set foot in politics again.

The president, feeling a sense of crisis, desperately acted as if he had nothing to do with this incident. As expected, the parliament was torn between the pro-North and pro-South sides.

-Shame on the state government for hiring slave hunters who disregard human rights! The Governor of Virginia should step down immediately and go to Canada as a representative to apologize directly to the Queen of the British Empire!

-Don’t be ridiculous. They didn’t directly hire them, they just gave them a reward. Why should the governor, who did his best to maintain the security of the state, bow his head to the leader of another country? Do the Northerners have no pride as politicians of the United States!

The conflict between the two sides grew increasingly fierce.

The emboldened North, led by Adams, eventually argued that the root of the problem was slavery, and that this uproar would not have occurred in the first place if there had been no slavery.

Conversely, the South, led by Calhoun, argued that this was a personal deviation committed by money-hungry hunters, not a problem for the South. They said that they should apologize for the shock and anxiety that the Queen of the British Empire must have experienced, but that it should be done in the name of the parliament and the administration, not the governor.

Neither side was willing to budge, so the bickering only increased, and the British ambassador pestered the government every day, asking why they weren’t apologizing.

“The fact that our demand to accurately reveal the whole story of this incident and apologize is not being accepted no matter how long we wait can only be interpreted as the United States ignoring the British Empire.”

“No. You are misunderstanding, Ambassador. Hasn’t the United States and the British Empire always been good friends?”

“You can’t possibly believe in the sincerity of a friend who pointed a gun at your back and hasn’t even apologized. His Excellency, the Duke, who is currently the Ambassador Plenipotentiary to Canada, is growing increasingly angry. If our demands continue to be rejected, we will have no choice but to record everything that happened here in detail and report it to Parliament. Her Majesty is said to be suffering from severe anxiety because she doesn’t know when something like this will happen again.”

As the British ambassador gave almost an ultimatum and left, Tyler was no longer in a situation where he could afford to choose his means.

Unlike the previous war, there was no justification for the United States in this case, no matter how you looked at it.

If a war breaks out, not only will he not be re-elected, but Tyler’s name will be forever immortalized as the worst president in the history of the United States.

That can’t happen.

How could he be dragged down by such an absurd thing when he had finally obtained this position?

In the end, as a last resort, he secretly summoned the leading figures from the South and the North and presented them with the only way out of this situation.

“Everyone. If the parliament is divided and fighting like this, no conclusion will be reached. Since they have given us an ultimatum, we have no choice but to come to a conclusion.”

“…But Your Excellency. The South’s fault is so clear, but their claim that we, who have nothing to do with it, should apologize together is far beyond the line.”

“Look, Your Excellency! Even in this situation, they are only showing hypocritical behavior, wondering how they can abolish slavery. How can we trust them and move forward together?”

“Now, now, everyone calm down. Haven’t we talked about that a lot so far? I didn’t call you here to say those things. As the president of this country, I fully understand the opinions of both the South and the North. So, my conclusion is that neither side is held responsible.”
The incident has already happened and someone has to lose their head, but what nonsense is he talking about not holding either side responsible?

Tyler, looking alternately at Adams and Calhoun, who were puzzled, continued in a subtle voice.

“Now, everyone. Listen carefully from now on. We will apologize. But we are apologizing for our failure to notice the schemes of those who are secretly operating in the country.”

“…Yes?”

“Who is operating in secret?”

“Who else could it be? Those who benefit from the relationship between the British Empire and the United States of America growing distant. Those despicable people who want us to be hit harder than anyone else when we are hostile to the British Empire.”

Tyler’s hand pointed to the southwest of the United States, and even Adams and Calhoun opened their mouths with an expression that said, “This is a bit much.”

“Y-Your Excellency… so you mean?”

“Yes. This is all a scheme by the Mexican bastards.”

First, they lower their pride and lie flat, and then they recover the wounded domestic public opinion by beating up the tacos [a derogatory term for Mexicans], who are the culprits of all this.

It is a brilliant plan to seal the conflict with the British Empire and perfectly acquire Texas, which is in a territorial dispute.

Tyler even felt fear at his own strategy, which even God would admire and give up on.