I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 154

The Great Asian Mess

“Damn it, damn it, damn it! Those crazy bastards!”

Shogun Ieyoshi, returning from an audience with the Tenno [the Emperor of Japan], slammed his fist on the desk in fury, grinding his teeth.

“They’ve got shit for brains! What? Bring Guilian here? Are they out of their minds or what…”

He was spewing curses when he noticed his subordinates’ pale faces and quickly changed his tune.

“His Majesty the Emperor can be excused for lacking information, but how can his ministers say such things!”

Even if he was just a figurehead, openly criticizing the Tenno was too much to handle, but 욕하는 [cursing] his subordinates was a different story.

The Shogun’s close aide, Dojima, was the first to agree.

“I believe the term ‘ignorant’ could not be more fitting for them.”

“Hmph… Yes, you’re right. They’re just trash who do nothing but produce shit all day.”

The most absurd thing was that those who agreed weren’t trying to curry favor with the Tenno.

Anyone with a brain knew that the Shogun was the current power holder, and they knew it too well.

In other words, they voted in favor because they thought the Shogun would like it.

It was maddening, but surprisingly, many people still thought that way.

I’m going crazy.

“Do you know how the Daimyos [feudal lords] in the provinces are moving?”

“Surprisingly, most are in favor. Satsuma and Choshu also say that General Guilian should be welcomed as a great state guest…”

“These crazy lunatics! They’re usually so uncooperative, why are they spouting such nonsense this time!”

“It’s because the Emperor proposed it first, and there are rumors that even the Shogun agreed…”

“Damn it. Is there really no way out? No, no, no! Dojima, don’t you know? General Guilian is now the Duke of Iギリス [England], not just a general. And didn’t you see the news from 오란다 [Netherlands] recently? He’s become the Daimyo of a land called Canada, bigger than 청나라 [Qing Dynasty China]! He’s practically a king!”

“The land is vast, but the population is not yet up to par, but it seems he has more power than ever before.”

Originally, Ieyoshi’s plan wasn’t this.

It was true that Guilian had brought 청나라 to its knees and was triumphing in 구라파 [Europe].

Originally, he just wanted to ride on his rising momentum to strengthen the Shogun’s authority and ensure the safety of this country.

But he never dreamed that he would not only rise to prominence but also marry the Queen.

Moreover, a Daimyo who rules a land bigger than 청나라 or India.

As time goes by, Guilian’s reputation will only grow to the point where it will be difficult for us to handle.

“Damn it. If he were still just a foreign affairs officer, we could invite him under the guise of signing a treaty, but how can we summon the Duke of a country as we please?”

“It’s not about summoning him, but about inviting him politely… but it’s still difficult, isn’t it?”

“Of course it is! Even if their ships are fast and hardly affected by the wind, it takes almost half a year to travel back and forth from Iギリス to here!”

If I were Guilian, I would think they had finally gone crazy.

In fact, he wasn’t even a true Tokugawa, so he wouldn’t have any affection for the archipelago or the Emperor.

Rather, he might be angry that they summoned him, the 국서 [Prince Consort] of Iギリス.

If that happened, the non-aggression pact with 로시아 [Russia] would fall through, and the 막부 [Shogunate] might be isolated in Northeast Asia.

“No. That’s not the end of it… If Guilian rejects our offer, it will be seen as publicly rejecting the Emperor’s invitation. Then, of course, public opinion will turn sour.”

Guilian is nominally a Tokugawa, so this would splash mud on us too.

Especially places like Satsuma and Choshu would seize the opportunity to criticize the 막부, and it would be a justified criticism, so we couldn’t say anything.

From any point of view, inviting Guilian here would only bring disaster to the 막부.

“Damn it. Isn’t there a good way?”

“But if Guilian comes, wouldn’t it greatly enhance the Shogun’s authority?”

“No, why are you doing this too? I’m frustrated because he’s not coming.”

“Then we have to make him come. The worst case is that they reject the Emperor’s invitation outright. Then we have no choice but to take the second-best option. We just have to ask him to come, even if we have to set some conditions.”

“Are you talking about opening the country?”

Until now, the 막부 had adhered to the principle of national isolation, not engaging in trade with any country.

Even with 오란다, with whom they had a fairly close relationship, they only received what they needed on a limited basis.

Moreover, Ieyoshi wasn’t stupid.

Even just looking at the goods of the 오란다 merchants, it was easy to see how far ahead 구라파 was compared to Asia.

If we opened the country to such an advanced nation and traded indiscriminately, what would happen?

The country’s silver would all be drained out through trade, and the 30 million people of this country would be reduced to livestock who only consume 구라파 goods.

Of course, if we undertook special reforms together to prevent that from happening, this country could be on the path to 부국강병 [national wealth and military strength] within a few decades.

But that’s just a gamble with an uncertain outcome.

Moreover, just saying we’ll open the country and asking him to come won’t get us anywhere.

We have to offer something more in addition to opening the country, but if we give too much, the Daimyos in the provinces might use it as an excuse to revolt.

“…Whichever path we choose, we’re in a dilemma. Hmph…”

He said that, but Ieyoshi had already made up his mind.

As his aides said, if he had to choose, he should take the second-best path, not the worst.

“First, we have to grab Guilian’s pant leg and beg him to come here. And if the visit actually happens, we have to be extremely careful with the escort. They’ll be on high alert too, but we have to deploy soldiers on all routes and paths to prevent any accidents.”

“Understood. If Guilian comes, we will prepare with the mindset that everyone will commit seppuku [ritual suicide] if he gets even a scratch.”

The aides in the room nodded vigorously, full of determination.

It was unlikely, but if anything happened to Guilian, who came as a guest of the 막부, the 막부 would be finished.

What kind of country is Iギリス? It’s the strongest country in 구라파 that has devastated the great 천조국 [Celestial Empire] 청나라, from 카이난 [Hainan] to 텐신 [Tianjin], as if it were their own home.

If they don’t like something, it’s nothing for them to devastate the entire coastline of this country.

“Remember. Now that it’s come to this, we must become the closest to Iギリス in Asia, no matter what it takes. 조선 [Joseon Dynasty Korea]? Those guys are idiots who didn’t recognize that outstanding person and kicked him out. Guilian will also realize that it’s more beneficial to work with us than with those fools.”

Now that we’ve climbed on the back of a running tiger, we have no choice but to go straight to the destination.

When you think about it, we have the commonality of being island nations.

Now that it’s come to this, we will aim to make this country the Iギリス of Asia and use every possible means.”

And at the same time, secret talks were taking place in other places in the archipelago.

“Do you really think General Guilian will visit this country?”

“There’s no way. Iギリス is not a neighboring country like 조선 or 청나라, so there’s no way he’d come all that way.”

“Then the day when the Shogun’s lies are exposed to the world is not far off.”

“Even if he really comes, it doesn’t matter. If we tell him that the Shogun is trying to use Iギリス to enhance his prestige, they will naturally break up.”

The powerful figures of Satsuma, Choshu, and Tosa domains, who were trying to weaken the Shogun’s power through this incident, were rapidly narrowing the gap between them, putting aside their ideological differences.

* * *

Japan wasn’t the only country stepping on the gas and going wild.

The small ball that Killian kicked off grew uncontrollably while crossing the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, becoming so large that it crushed 청나라 and 조선.

First, 조선, which had drawn in England and decided to sign a non-aggression pact with 로시아, dismissed 청나라’s request for dispatching troops.

Of course, 조선, which still followed the order of 중화 [Sinocentrism], didn’t completely ignore 청나라.

That’s because it perfectly violates the order of 성리학 [Neo-Confucianism].

-I would like to dispatch 지원군 [reinforcements], but it is difficult to send troops due to the circumstances of the home country. Also, there is a great drought in the eight provinces of 조선, so it is difficult to provide assistance because there is no room to spare. In addition, there have been disruptions in the recent production of 화약 [gunpowder], so it is difficult to export it abroad…

It wasn’t a direct “fuck off,” but it was essentially a 축객령 [order to leave] that meant they had no intention of helping even a grain of rice, so don’t talk nonsense and just go back.

Of course, the envoy of 청나라, who received this answer, was furious, but 조선 only politely repeated that they were sorry and did not reverse their decision.

The envoy even threatened that this was an act of ignoring the Emperor’s order, but 조선 wasn’t without something to believe in.

‘What can you do if we refuse support? Are you going to abandon the war with 아라사 [Russia] and attack us?’

Even if 청나라 went crazy and sent troops, it was already revealed in the war with 영길리 [England] that the current 청나라 couldn’t do anything to 조선.

Still, they would treat it as a country with an Emperor, but that was it.

조선’s perception of 청나라 was unknowingly going further and further down.

And this wasn’t just an external view.

“Sons of 중원 [Central Plains]! Why do you think the current 대청 [Great Qing] is in this state! Because of greedy officials? Of course, that’s also true! But the fundamental reason is that the false truth that this country has been upholding has expired. We can no longer overcome the current era with a feudal ideology that determines people’s class according to their status and oppresses the rich over the poor!

Do you remember the war with 영길리 that took place recently? This war, which ended in defeat, was not a defeat to the white people. It was because the leader of 영길리, who led the enemy, was a mixed-blood with the same blood as us. This is 상제 [God] in the sky sending a warning to us through their hands to give us a sense of 경각심 [awareness]!”

Hong Su-jeon, who had repeatedly failed the civil service examination in the past and was working as a teacher in Yeonhwa-dang Village near Guangzhou.

One day, he accidentally created a new pseudo-religion based on 권세양언 [his own interpretation of Christianity], inserting his claim that he was the second son of Yahweh and the younger brother of Jesus into Western Christian thought.

At first, the number of people who responded didn’t increase rapidly, but when he added the bluff that he knew Guilian 과이 [foreigner] of 영길리, who had brought 청나라 to its knees in the past, it surprisingly worked well.

It was surprisingly effective for the local people in despair to portray the vested interests of 청 as evil and to define Guilian 과이, a fellow Asian who defeated them, as good.

At first, he had no intention of shouting anti-government slogans, but as his power began to grow beyond expectations, Hong Su-jeon naturally had no choice but to set 청나라 itself as 적폐 [deep-rooted evil] to be broken.

“Wake up! If we break the old and false order with our own hands, the world of 태평천국 [Taiping Heavenly Kingdom] will come to this land!”

The 태평천국’s forces grew like snow in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions, where the government’s control was weakened, but the central government had no capacity to care about them.

Almost at the same time as the Emperor, who received 조선’s answer that they would not send reinforcements, was raging in anger, 로시아 crossed the border and advanced troops at the same time as declaring war.

A large spark finally fell on the accumulating powder keg.

Without anyone realizing it, Asia was becoming a huge melting pot where the interests of European powers were melting together.