I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 202

The Great Duo

Bismarck, stepping onto London soil for the first time with a pounding heart, couldn’t hide his awe.

“Look at this. While our Prussia has been wasting time, the British have been accumulating such immense wealth and making such progress.”

“Exactly as you say, sir. It’s far more bustling than Berlin.”

“I’m telling you. Yet, the foolish Junkers [Prussian nobles], unaware of this reality, are deluded into thinking Germany is the center of the world. They merely console themselves by saying Austria and Prussia aren’t that different.”

When was the Habsburg dynasty the center of the world? Yet they still use Austria as a point of comparison.

Isn’t that why the world criticizes Germany for being behind the times, a disorganized rabble unable to unite?

Of course, what angered him most was that this wasn’t wrong at the moment.

“If I could, I’d bring all those blockheads in Berlin who only come up with pathetic measures and show them this. Look, if we continue like this, the gap between Britain and Prussia will only widen. Are you truly satisfied with this? Of course, if I said that, they’d just spout nonsense and evade the issue.”

“Still, how fortunate that you, master, have such insight. If you return to Prussia and take on a significant role, won’t our country soon become as powerful as Britain?”

“Indeed, we must make it so. I will single-handedly transform Prussia into a powerhouse no less than the British Empire.”

Fueled by the vigor of his youth, Bismarck didn’t doubt for a moment that he could change Prussia.

Even seeing the streets of London, far more bustling than Berlin, stirred his fighting spirit rather than discouragement.

Accompanied by his servant, he diligently explored London, buying and analyzing newspapers sold on the streets every day.

Unsurprisingly, the two most frequently mentioned figures in the newspapers were Prime Minister Wellesley and Prince Consort Killian.

While it was natural for the Prime Minister to be mentioned often as the center of politics, it was unusual for the Prince Consort to be spoken of so frequently, with all articles being favorable.

Just skimming through the articles for the past few days, the Prince Consort, the Queen’s husband, was mentioned more often than the Queen herself.

“Damn it, I can’t stand it. I need to meet him and talk to him directly. No matter how much I analyze, it’s useless if I don’t understand what kind of person he is.”

“That’s absolutely right. But how can we meet the Prince Consort of the British Empire?”

“…Should we go to Buckingham Palace and ask the guard to pass on a message?”

“…Me, Otto von Bismarck, a nobleman from Prussia, wants to have a word with His Royal Highness? Wouldn’t we be dragged out immediately?”

Even if he was a nobleman, he wasn’t a famous one from Prussia. The Bismarck family was one of the declining families that had been prominent in the 15th century.

Frankly speaking, the Prince Consort probably wouldn’t even know who Bismarck was or where he came from.

However, Bismarck, still only in his early thirties, had the flaw of acting on impulse, regardless of his rational mind.

A prime example was when he took 40 servants to Berlin to beat up rioters.

Moreover, coming to London with only one servant because he was upset about being ignored by the Berlin nobles was also a very good example.

The servant tried desperately to stop him, fearing that Bismarck might actually do something rash, but unfortunately, once he was fired up, there was no stopping him.

“Wouldn’t he be interested that a nobleman from Prussia came to visit? If I were him, I’d want to see what kind of interesting fellow came to visit.”

“Sir, what if it escalates into a diplomatic issue? How will you take responsibility?”

“Then I’ll bow my head and apologize. From what I’ve seen in the newspapers, the Prince Consort of this country is benevolent and fair in everything he does. So, if I sincerely apologize, he’ll forgive me.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to just send a letter first? Or contact our Prussian ambassador here?”

“That would take too long. I want to meet him right away and satisfy my curiosity.”

And frankly, if he went to the embassy and said, ‘I want to meet the Prince Consort of this country, so please pass on the message,’ would the ambassador say yes and contact Buckingham Palace?

He’d probably be scolded for being a lowly Junker causing trouble in London and be told to stay put.

Bismarck, with a surge of youthful energy that he wouldn’t even imagine a few years later, immediately put his fantasies into action.

He went to the front of Buckingham Palace with great fanfare, grabbed one of the guards standing at the entrance, and spoke.

“Excuse me, I am Otto von Bismarck, who came all the way from Prussia, admiring His Royal Highness’s reputation. I would like to meet His Royal Highness and greet him. Could you please pass on a message inside?”

“……”

The soldier, looking at him as if he were seeing a crazy person, glanced at his colleague with a bewildered expression and opened his mouth heavily.

“Are you personally acquainted with His Royal Highness?”

“Not yet. But you could say I’m someone who earnestly hopes to be.”

“A nobleman from Prussia…?”

The servant, as if he couldn’t believe he would actually do something like this, squeezed his eyes shut and lowered his head.

But perhaps thinking that he might actually be a great nobleman from Prussia, almost on par with royalty, he decided to report it anyway.

The guard told him to wait a moment and went inside to report.

Of course, the Prince Consort, who had probably never heard of the name Bismarck, would issue an expulsion order, and the two would be kicked out in dismay.

And the embassy, upon hearing this, would surely reprimand his master greatly.

Perhaps the servant, who had failed to properly assist his master, would take the blame.

As he desperately tried to hold back a sigh, he saw a soldier running towards them from afar.

“Sir, how about apologizing now and going back…?”

“Wait a bit. Seeing them come out to answer right away, there might be good news.”

How could that be possible, logically speaking?

Why does such an intelligent person sometimes do such impulsive and absurd things?

But the guard, who had come right up to them, straightened his uniform and asked Bismarck politely.

“Are you Otto von Bismarck?”

“That’s correct.”

“His Royal Highness will see you. He was already talking with guests, but he said to see you together. Please come in.”

“…Huh? Right now?”

“Yes. You can come right now.”

The guard politely stepped aside and opened the door, and Bismarck looked back at his servant with a dumbfounded expression.

The servant also blinked at him with an absurd look.

“Haha… You see? I told you he’d meet me out of curiosity.”

“……”

Even as he followed the guiding guard, Bismarck, as well as his servant, couldn’t hide the question that was about to rise up their throats.

Why is this actually working?

Could it be that our family… was more famous than we thought?

* * *

I heard about the unexpected guest when I was about to discuss the failure of the ongoing revolution in Europe with Marx and Engels.

At first, I doubted my ears.

What? Otto von Bismarck?

Is it the same Iron Chancellor? Judging by the fact that he looks a little older than me, it seems to be the same person. But why is that man suddenly in London?

And what’s he thinking, coming to Buckingham and asking to meet me?

Anyway, there’s no reason to refuse when a future big shot with two or three extra lives is begging to meet me.

Besides, aren’t I in the middle of calling Marx and Engels to discuss things?

A meeting between Marx and Bismarck?

I absolutely can’t miss this super-sized event.

Bismarck, guided by the guard, bowed politely as soon as he saw me.

“Your Royal Highness! Thank you so much for granting such an impolite and sudden request. I am Otto von Bismarck, who came all the way from Prussia, admiring Your Royal Highness’s reputation.”

“Welcome. I never imagined that there would be a nobleman who would come all the way from Prussia to London to see me. I was originally going to send you back and tell you to come again next time, but considering the effort you took to come all the way from a foreign country, I thought it would be good to have a conversation. I also happen to be talking with young people from Prussia right now.”

“Young people from Prussia? Are those two people sitting there from Prussia?”

“Yes. They are Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Have you heard of them?”

Marx looked blankly back and forth between me and Marx, as if he couldn’t keep up with the current situation.

“I’ve never heard of them. If they were nobles from Prussia, I would know them to some extent.”

“Ah, they are not nobles. I consider them promising scholars, so I meet them occasionally to talk. Marx, this is Bismarck. Have you heard of the name?”

“I think I’ve heard it somewhere, but I don’t know it well.”

Judging by the fact that Marx doesn’t know him, was he close to being an obscure family at this time?

Or maybe Marx just wasn’t interested enough to memorize the names of the peripheral nobles.

Intrigued, I sat in the seat of honor and arranged for Bismarck, Marx, and Engels to sit facing each other on both sides, and continued to encourage conversation between them.

“We were just talking about the revolution taking place in the German region. Did you come to London because of that?”

“It’s not entirely unrelated. In fact, I thought that Prussia should adopt the same policies as the British Empire to quell the unrest in the country. But after searching for data, it seems that Your Highness was the first to implement such policies, so I wanted to learn more about Your Highness.”

“So you came all the way to London. That’s quite an action.”

“I’m still young. When else would I be able to act as I please if not now?”

The image of the Iron Chancellor that I know was a terribly cold realist, but the person in front of me seemed a bit different.

Should political aspects and personal aspects be separated to some extent?

“So, Bismarck, you think Prussia should also embark on moderate reforms. But is that not the direction things are going in Berlin?”

“Yes. Of course, it may end up that way, but there are too many people with rigid minds. They’re out of their minds. In my opinion, they are on the same level as those crazy people who preach the absurd ideology of communism.”

“…What’s wrong with them?”

Marx, who had been listening quietly, frowned and interjected.

He’s been scratched. He seems upset at being called a crazy person.

But Bismarck calmly nodded and sipped the coffee in front of him.

“They are crazy people. Is communism something that people with sound minds would say? It’s just a futile slogan created by losers who have been left behind by reality to overturn society. Of course, the state is also responsible for producing such lunatics. We must be wary of that. That’s why we need to keep our minds straight and do politics.”

“It’s not a slogan for losers! Communist ideology is a theoretically valuable theory that criticizes and complements the contradictions of capitalism. Not recognizing this only proves that you have low insight.”

“…What. Were you guys communists? Are you those crazy red (Roten) [Reds, a derogatory term for communists] who wave those red flags and cause trouble? Why are such people in Buckingham?”

“It’s not a red, it’s a communist! And a crazy person! The people who really have mental problems are the Junkers who are behind the times and still think they are the masters of the country. Like someone sitting in front of me.”

“…A Junker causing trouble? Are you saying that for me to hear?”

Even in the face of his sharp question, Marx was not at all intimidated and rather scoffed.

It seems that he calculated that a Junker can only flex his muscles in Prussia, but what can he do to him, who is a guest of the Prince Consort in the British Empire?

“Didn’t you insult me first? If you really want to have a discussion, come and talk with logic and theory. Then I’ll thoroughly crush you.”

“Ha, I’m speechless. Because you guys are causing trouble outside, our Germans are being ignored so much. Do you have any awareness of that?”

“Unfortunately, I think Germans are being pointed at because of authoritarian and conservative nobles like you, sir.”

“There’s no way to reason with you guys. Good!”

Bismarck slammed his hand on the table in front of Marx with a thud! and stood up from his seat.

From his mouth, high-pitched voices in German, not English, burst out.

“A man from Germany wouldn’t avoid a duel. Come out! I’ll inject some manners into your presumptuous bodies today!”

“Ha! Are you going to use violence because you think you’ll lose in logic? Who do you think will be intimidated? Good!”

I called them to have a discussion, but what is this sudden outburst?

Is this youth?

Suddenly shouting in front of me, not in English, but in German, and talking about duels is originally a very rude act, and he has no excuse even if he is kicked out of the palace right away.

But of course, I didn’t stop them.

Why would I stop this?

The Communist Devil Marx and the Iron Chancellor Bismarck are having a duel at Buckingham Palace.

It’s not human to miss such an interesting sight.

“Uh… go out to the garden there and fight. I’ll go with you.”

It’s a pity that there are no portable cameras in this era yet.

I could have taken a masterpiece that would remain in history forever.