I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 191

The Tinderbox of Revolution (3)

Paris, France.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“What? A revolution?”

“Yes. Count Beaufoix in England sent an urgent message. The British Empire believes so…”

Foreign Minister Guizot felt like all his hair was falling out at the news that had just crossed the English Channel.

The Vice Minister who delivered the report also looked flustered, but Guizot knew he had to stop this disturbing rumor from spreading.

“Who else knows about this?”

“Only I do. It was sealed so thoroughly that no one could open it secretly. Count Beaufoix also said he hasn’t told any other staff at the embassy.”

“Haa, that’s a relief. Beaufoix isn’t one to blabber carelessly. Was there a detailed report attached?”

“He said it came up during a conversation with His Royal Highness, the Prince Consort of the British Empire, over tea. The details of their conversation are written behind.”

Guizot quickly flipped through the paper and soon let out a deep sigh.

“…So, the British Empire wants to maintain a close relationship with France. Therefore, they don’t want France to falter and are telling us this. Is that how I should understand it?”

“That seems to be the case on the surface.”

“Giving us this information in advance means they definitely want something. This is difficult.”

He had spoken with Killian before the wedding, so he had a rough idea of his tendencies.

A typical moderate who values external relations and wants to avoid conflict.

It wasn’t strange that such a person would want to improve relations with France.

In the first place, relations between the British Empire and France hadn’t been that bad since the end of the Napoleonic Wars.

France’s stance was that Napoleon was the bad guy and they were not at fault, so there was no reason to antagonize Britain.

Moreover, considering the future world situation, wouldn’t it be better to improve relations with Britain and exploit the world together rather than clash with them?

The era of fighting each other in the narrow lands of Europe was over.

There were so many places to exploit around the world, so there was no need to waste our strength fighting each other.

Besides, with Russia in the east acting like a bully and meddling everywhere, Britain and France had even less reason to be at odds.

If France felt this way, Britain probably felt the same.

“No matter how I think about it, there’s no reason for the Prince Consort of the British Empire to leak fake information to us. They wouldn’t gain anything from confusing us.”

“Yes. Maybe 200 years ago, but if France becomes chaotic, it would affect the British Empire’s economy. There’s no reason for them to leak fake information to trouble us since they’re not hostile to us.”

“So it’s true… But I still don’t understand. How did they know something we didn’t even detect?”

“I’m not sure about that…”

Of course, France, like other countries, was operating secret police and cracking down on liberals.

King Louis-Philippe’s goal was political stability, and social unrest that could lead to revolution had to be nipped in the bud.

That’s why he stopped broad political reforms and ignored the bourgeoisie’s [middle class] demands for suffrage [the right to vote].

He knew the bourgeoisie were dissatisfied, but the idea of them starting a revolution on their own was unrealistic.

In fact, some high-ranking government officials secretly hoped the bourgeoisie would become dissatisfied and run wild.

If they plotted something, it could be used as an excuse to suppress the bourgeoisie more thoroughly and further consolidate the power of the ruling landowners.

“Does the Prime Minister know about this? Has there been any information from the police?”

“No. They haven’t said anything so far.”

“I wonder if they know and are pretending not to, or if they really don’t know anything…”

The former was possible, but Guizot didn’t think so.

Although Soult was effectively acting as Prime Minister, Guizot was the politician who best shared the King’s political views.

He was also the leading candidate for the next Prime Minister, so it was unlikely that he alone wouldn’t know what the police and Prime Minister knew.

If they knew and were hiding it, the Prime Minister’s political career would be over.

“Then what is it? Are the British running a large-scale intelligence organization in our country?”

“We’ve planted spies there, so they must have sent spies here too. But if they were really operating on such a large scale, I doubt they would have told us this time.”

“Ah, that’s right. You’re right. If they obtained the information illegally, they wouldn’t have said it so openly.”

In this era, there wasn’t a country that didn’t fill many of its diplomatic staff with spies.

They were doing it, and Britain was probably doing it too, so he didn’t mind.

Besides, it was rare for spies to actually steal significant state secrets.

No country was so careless as to have state secrets leaked by diplomatic staff.

If there was such a country, its secrets wouldn’t be worth the effort to steal.

“Minister, what are you going to do? His Royal Highness said he would be happy to discuss this issue if you came.”

“…There’s no choice. But we need a public reason for the visit. We can’t advertise that our intelligence is worse than Britain’s.”

The most important thing in discussing this matter was to ensure that the word “revolution” was not mentioned anywhere.

No, beyond that, we couldn’t let anyone know there were signs of it, except for a very few people.

To do that, we had to find a suitable excuse to visit the British Empire… If the Minister himself was going, it had to be a big issue to look natural, so he had a lot to think about.

“I’ll get permission from His Majesty and schedule it right away. Please prepare as well.”

“Yes, sir!”

“I thought the country was finally stabilizing, but now a revolution?”

Guizot grumbled and got up from his seat, telling Louis-Philippe that he had something urgent to discuss.

It was rare for the Minister to make such a fuss, so Louis-Philippe immediately agreed to Guizot’s request and let him in.

“Welcome, Minister. What’s this about having something urgent to report? Has something happened somewhere?”

“It’s a problem. First, I want to ask if Your Majesty is aware of this.”

Guizot handed the report he received from the Vice Minister to the King, as it was something even the servants outside shouldn’t hear.

He wondered if the King might have received a report first, but he too widened his eyes and trembled.

“Revol… No, is this real?”

“The source of the information is His Royal Highness, Prince Consort Killian Gore of the British Empire. He summoned our ambassador and asked if we knew, so they must have some basis for their judgment.”

“Hmm… If it’s true, this is something we must not overlook.”

“Yes. They said they want me to come to London if I want to discuss the details… So I think I should go myself…”

“Of course. Hurry and go. If they ask for something in return for the information, use your judgment and agree.”

If it was fake information, he wouldn’t pay, but if it was real, France would owe the British Empire a huge debt.

He found it hard to relax, worrying that the appropriate price might be higher than he thought, but he nodded.

“Your Majesty, if the Minister goes to London without any specific issue, it may raise unnecessary suspicion. It would be good to have a suitable excuse.”

“Hmm… That’s right. If there are really subversive forces trying to start a revolution in the country, they will be watching the government’s movements. What would be good… Ah, wasn’t there something suitable? Admiral Cécille will soon be finishing his expedition to Vietnam and heading to Joseon [historical Korean kingdom], so let’s use that as an excuse to discuss it.”

“That’s right. That’s a wise decision.”

By now, Admiral Jean-Baptiste Cécille would have already set sail from Vietnam to Joseon.

The reason was that three missionaries from the Paris Foreign Missions Society had been executed in Joseon.

His mission was to strongly protest this and, if possible, secure a treaty.

However, Joseon had relations with the British Empire, so it wasn’t easy for France to interfere recklessly.

Of course, the fact that three of their missionaries had been executed was a fact, so France had something to say about this incident.

“As Your Majesty said, I will ask the British Empire to mediate so that we can establish diplomatic relations with Joseon. And while pretending to discuss it, I will buy the information they have.”

“Yes, yes. I’m counting on you, so please handle it as quickly as possible.”

Perhaps because he had experience fleeing to Switzerland during the French Revolution.

The King’s expression was not good, perhaps remembering the time he lived in poverty as a teacher in a foreign land.

Once a revolution breaks out, even nobles and royals who are sympathetic to the revolution cannot guarantee their safety.

Louis-Philippe knew this better than anyone, having seen his father beheaded for joining the revolution.

The important thing was to prevent the revolution from happening in the first place.

Guizot, who had been granted full authority by the King, crossed the English Channel the very next day under the plausible excuse of discussing Asian issues with Britain.

If it was true, he would owe the British a huge debt.

He hoped that Killian had mistakenly conveyed the wrong information.

* * *

“Your Highness, Foreign Minister Guizot of France is visiting London this time and insists on having a meeting with you.”

“A meeting with me? Why?”

“He says he has something to discuss regarding Asia, specifically Joseon. Your Highness is in charge of Asian affairs, so the parliament readily agreed as it doesn’t exceed your legal authority.”

A discussion about Joseon.

They’ve planted a stake in Vietnam, so now they want to poke around in Northeast Asia.

Of course, that’s just a superficial excuse. The real reason is to confirm the truth of the information I leaked to the embassy.

Still, they’ve come up with a great excuse.

It would have seemed unnatural to discuss domestic issues of the British Empire with me, but no one would suspect anything if it was about Joseon.

“I understand. Then I’ll meet him when he arrives. Oh, and Prime Minister, what was the atmosphere like when the Factory Act passed this time?”

“As expected, there were many concerns and worries. We gave a three-year grace period, so they can prepare to some extent, but some voices said that corporate profits would decrease too much.”

“That’s enough. In any case, in three years, the people who can openly say such things will disappear. Oh, and there’s something I need to get your approval on before I finish discussing with Minister Guizot.”

“Approval?”

“If there’s a negotiation with France this time, I’m thinking of taking something I’ve always wanted and handling it as royal property. Then, of course, the ownership will belong to the royal family, not the government, right? I just wanted to confirm.”

It was almost certain that he would get something from the French side, but the most important thing was who would be the subject.

The details would be revealed in a few years, but once this was revealed, the government would want to execute it with government money.

But I have no intention of doing that.

I’m going to extract it with my knowledge and pay for it myself, so there’s no reason to give the rights to the government, is there?

“If it’s a project executed with royal property, the royal family can naturally claim ownership. That shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Then please get the parliament’s approval for sure. This could be a very big deal. I’ll tell you the details after I sign the agreement.”

“I will.”

Currently, the people of the British Empire don’t even think that they can extract something huge from France.

The Prime Minister nodded casually and assured him that he would get the parliament’s approval.

I wonder how the members of parliament will react when they find out what the royal family has taken.

At that time, I’ll have to attend the parliament and give a speech.

They’ll beg me to sell the ownership to the British government, right?