I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 156

Became a Hidden Power in the British Empire 156

Again to Asia

Everything proceeded at lightning speed.

Now that going to Asia was confirmed, the most important thing was, without a doubt, ensuring my safety.

I had been there as a minister before, but a minister and a Prince Consort are vastly different in status.

Besides, back then, I mainly visited areas effectively occupied by the British Empire. This time, however, it was the first time the British Empire had received an official invitation to visit Japan, wasn’t it?

Naturally, my top priorities were all about ensuring my safety.

Since I had also requested to expedite the departure schedule as much as possible, trivial matters had to be glossed over.

“Have a safe trip, Your Royal Highness.”

“Prime Minister, you must do as I emphasized.”

“Ahem, I will try my best.”

That traitor. He’s just trying to save himself.

However, Wellesley’s cooperation was essential to minimize the fallout for me, so I didn’t complain for now.

When you think about it, it’s all my fault. Who else can I blame?

“If the Prime Minister takes a bold step here, I will do even better when I return. What goes around comes around, doesn’t it?”

“There’s only one person in this British Empire that I find difficult to deal with, and unfortunately, that person is Her Majesty…”

Why was I trying to finish all domestic matters as quickly as possible and leave as soon as my safety was secured?

It was, of course, to leave before this news reached Victoria’s ears.

She was still in Canada with the children, unable to cross the Atlantic due to potential risks.

The problem was that I had told her I would only take care of urgent matters in London and return as quickly as possible.

How could I have known that the Shogunate [the military dictatorship of Japan during the Edo period] would suddenly go crazy and invite me?

Anyone would have understood if I had refused, saying that I couldn’t go on a long-distance trip because my beloved wife was waiting for me, but frankly, considering the national interest, it was right to close my eyes and go.

It’s a golden opportunity to make not only Canada but also Northeast Asia into Killian Gore’s front yard instead of the British Empire. How could I miss this?

Absolutely not.

“Prime Minister, let me say once again that what I am doing will eventually come back around and benefit you, right?”

“…Didn’t you say that the benefits should go to everyone, regardless of party lines?”

“Ah, are you suggesting that I should say in Parliament that, as the Prince Consort, I will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that Prime Minister Wellesley holds power in this country for ten thousand years? We’re close enough that you should understand what I mean without me having to spell it out.”

This isn’t just empty talk; more than half of it is true.

Even for athletes, people talk about short-term impact in their prime, but eventually, what remains is their record, isn’t it?

The same goes for politicians. Over time, the achievements made during their time in power are all recorded.

If things continue like this, Wellesley’s time as Prime Minister will be remembered as the golden age when the British Empire firmly established the foundation for maintaining its position as the world’s strongest power.

“Didn’t I say that I would make it so that Wellesley is remembered as the best Prime Minister in British Empire history? But you can’t even grant me this simple request; I’m disappointed as a friend.”

“No… I don’t think this is a simple request. Isn’t this telling me to take all of Her Majesty’s anger instead of Your Royal Highness?”

“Who said you have to bear it alone? Let’s just share the responsibility together. If you don’t want to say that you persuaded me directly, you can appropriately use the names of Disraeli, Gladstone, or Palmerston. The Whig party also proposed me as the person in charge of Asian affairs, so it’s not difficult to make excuses, is it?”

Wellesley clicked his tongue at my suggestion with a disgruntled look.

“Are you saying that the reason you suggested shifting this proposal to the Whigs was to consider even that?”

“I didn’t know I would be flying all the way to Japan, so it was insurance in case things got out of hand. But we should use it now.”

I wanted to finish things as quickly as possible and return to my beloved wife, but unfortunately!

Unfortunately, Russia attacked Qing China [the last imperial dynasty of China], and Joseon [ancient Korean kingdom] and Japan fell into chaos, calling for an emergency SOS signal to the British Empire.

The Parliament, judging that no one could handle this matter better than me, begged me to take on this important role.

In the end, unable to refuse the Parliament’s proposal due to my burning patriotism, I decided to take on this weighty task, and with the Japanese issue overlapping, I ended up going back to Asia before I knew it.

This is the ideal scenario for minimizing the scolding I’ll get from Victoria.

“Your Royal Highness, then I will be waiting for good news from Asia. Her Majesty’s anger… well, we will try to smooth it over, so don’t worry too much.”

“Then I’ll trust you and be on my way? Oh, right. And there might be some commotion from the East India Company, but it shouldn’t significantly affect the home country, so don’t be too alarmed.”

“The East India Company?”

“It’s practically a half-corpse with no future anyway, so it’s time to start cleaning it up. We need to ensure a soft landing with minimal impact and entrust India to someone else who can operate it more normally, rather than the East India Company.”

I plan to gradually dismantle the East India Company using Rothschild, but it is still a massive corporation with considerable influence in Britain.

If it goes sour, there will naturally be significant repercussions within the British Empire, and people’s morale will inevitably shrink.

In fact, even easily manageable problems can spiral out of control if people are psychologically shaken, especially in the field of economics.

Giving them advance notice like this to instill the perception that it’s not a big deal will make the dissolution of the East India Company easier.

“Qing China, Joseon, Japan, and even India and France meddling in Vietnam. Even if you had two bodies, Your Highness, you wouldn’t be able to handle it all.”

“Tell me about it. Well, Qing China and Russia have just started a war, so there might be some leeway for a while… no, if I say that, I’ll jinx it. I should prepare myself mentally as much as possible before I go.”

“There’s no need to worry too much. You’re not just anyone; you’re the Prince Consort of this country. There won’t be any crazy people in the world who would dare to mess with you.”

Hey, man, stop saying things like that; you’re planting a flag.

I barely managed to change direction, and now you’re trying to pour ashes on it again.

“No. You should always prepare for the worst-case scenario in everything. That way, you can easily cope with unexpected situations.”

With the mindset that I will never set a death flag, I renewed my mental preparation and finally boarded the ship to Asia.

I vowed to always cross the Pacific Ocean via the shortest route when going to Northeast Asia, but who would have thought I would be going around the Cape of Good Hope again from London.

Still, what should I say?

My mindset is different from when I was appointed as a minister and headed to Qing China with a heavy heart, so the feeling is different.

First of all, the escorts accompanying me are on a completely different level than before.

Moreover, I heard that additional escort troops will be attached locally in Asia, so with this level of protection, I think the navy alone could overwhelm most Asian countries.

However, the excessive deployment of the navy was largely intended to show the Asian countries the majesty of the British Empire.

Doesn’t it feel that way just by attaching the latest steam warships, which would be used in war, as escort ships?

This is to subtly show that this side is a country that can do this kind of thing without any difficulty.

After a long time, I stopped in Hong Kong for supplies and took a short break, and Elliot, who was still serving as the Governor of Hong Kong, came to see me.

“I never thought I would see you again in Asia like this. It’s been a long time! I should call you Your Royal Highness now, not Minister.”

“Sir Elliot is now the Governor, not the Ambassador.”

“Being a Governor is just managing this tiny piece of land. Does Your Highness plan to stay here for a long time?”

“No. I plan to go to Japan as soon as the supplies are finished.”

“Ah, I see. I thought you might stay a little longer because of that noisy incident, but I guess not.”

What is he talking about?

Why is Hong Kong, on the opposite side, concerned about the war between Qing China and Russia?

Or has something else happened in the meantime?

“Is there anything else besides the war between Qing China and Russia?”

“Ah! It seems the report was delayed because you were coming by ship. There’s a big commotion in southern Qing China right now. They say there are some heavenly kingdom rebels. Isn’t it said that when a country is in turmoil, pseudo-religions flourish? It’s exactly like that.”

“Are you perhaps talking about the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom?”

“That’s right. It seems the report did get through.”

That’s strange. As far as I know, the Taiping Rebellion should have overlapped with the Second Opium War.

Of course, the organization may be emerging at this time, but it should still be some time before it becomes a large-scale movement that even the Governor of Hong Kong hears about.

Could this also be a butterfly effect that has significantly advanced the timeline?

“What is the current situation? Has it already spread into a large-scale rebellion across Qing China?”

“Not yet. It’s particularly noisy around Guangxi right now, but the problem is that Qing China is at war with Russia and can’t pay attention to it. So, this organization is growing rapidly without anyone’s interference. If left like this for a few more years, those rebels might rise up all over Qing China, as Your Highness said.”

“It would be even more chaotic if Qing China loses to Russia.”

“Yes. The main members are said to be farmers who are dissatisfied with the Qing imperial family, and the more unsightly Qing shows itself, the more their claims will gain strength. What we find interesting is that their ideology is based on Christianity.”

Listening to the story, it’s definitely the Taiping Rebellion that I know.

A pseudo-religion rooted in Christianity.

And the fact that it is rapidly spreading from the south and gaining power.

Did Qing China suffer a more devastating defeat in the last war than in the original history, and is the conflict with Russia now overlapping, causing them to expand their power more quickly?

“If Qing China becomes chaotic, other countries besides Russia might also jump in. Is that why you were trying to report to me?”

“Well… if it were just that, I could have just waited for instructions from the home country, but after doing some investigation, we discovered an interesting fact.”

“An interesting fact?”

“The leader of these rebels is a man named Hong Xiuquan, and the reason he was able to rapidly gain power is that he successfully attracted those who were disappointed with the current Qing imperial family. And here, that man openly says that he had many conversations with the minister of the British Empire who defeated Qing China in the past war and gained great enlightenment, and that they are still sharing advice.”

“I see. The minister of the British Empire who defeated Qing China in the last war… um? Me?”

When I pointed at myself with my finger and let out a hollow laugh, Elliot also smiled awkwardly and shook his head.

“The funny thing is that such ridiculous rumors are working. So, I sent a report to get your opinion on whether we should intervene or not.”

“That makes sense.”

I don’t know why such absurd rumors are working so well, but I’ve definitely found out.

So, the reason why the Taiping Rebellion is so much earlier here is none other than me?

It’s absurd, but anyway, as far as the British Empire is concerned, it would be awkward not to respond since the name of the Prince Consort, of all people, is being used.

However, from the current point of view, I didn’t think it was necessary to postpone my trip to Japan or stay here separately to observe the situation because of this.

Elliot is worried about whether to intervene now because he doesn’t know how large the Taiping Rebellion will become, but I can see it clearly.

The future of Qing, which is being robbed of its Maritime Province by Russia and unable to stop the rebellions breaking out in various places.

“Governor. Let me be clear. The British Empire has never heard of the movement being carried out by those pseudo-religious people. The fact that their leader is using my name is also something we didn’t know at all.”

“…Yes? Are you saying to just pretend we don’t know?”

“Yes. It’s not the time yet, so just desperately pretend you can’t hear or see anything.”

Elliot didn’t seem to understand, but he nodded, saying he understood since I said so.

Perhaps Elliot was planning to use the excuse of my name being used to intervene militarily in the troubled southern Qing China, suppress the rebels, and extract a lot from Qing China.

It’s not a bad plan.

However, it is highly likely that the current Qing China does not consider the Taiping Rebellion to be beyond their ability to handle.

They are just leaving it alone for a while because they are preoccupied with Russia, but they probably think they can easily defeat the bandits by mobilizing the Eight Banners [Qing military units].

So, intervention should be done later when Qing China realizes that they cannot control them on their own.

I’m the type to raise delicious things and then eat them.

For now, I need to deal with the immediate problem of Japan and then move on.

By the way, I wonder if I’ll be called back to Asia again later because of this.

I hope they’ll give me a break.

No, why is it that Joseon, Japan, and Qing China are all so eager to use my name?

Perhaps this proves once again that even though they hate each other more than anyone else, their thoughts and actions are similar.

Reassuring. The three Northeast Asian countries.