I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 216

< The New Era (3) >

The Marquess of Salisbury, convinced I’d swayed his son, rushed to the palace the very next day, looking ashen.

“Your Majesty! What on earth did you say to my son?!”

“What did Robert say?”

“I don’t know what’s gotten into him, but he’s running around declaring he’s going to join the army! I asked him why, and he said he received advice from Your Majesty and had a profound realization. What on earth did you say to make a kid who was planning to run in the next election suddenly decide to enlist?”

So, it wasn’t just a fleeting thought, but a genuine change of heart.

Honestly, I feel a little guilty, but when I think about it, it’s not entirely my fault.

I gave him the best advice I could, indirectly suggesting he give up on Nightingale.

Isn’t it his fault for taking it so hard and flooring the gas pedal?

“Marquess, I understand your bewilderment. Frankly, so do I. But Robert hasn’t abandoned his desire to marry Miss Nightingale, has he?”

“That’s… true.”

“I told him that if you truly love someone, you should support their dreams and goals. Honestly, I don’t think I gave any wrong advice, do you?”

“…Yes.”

“But when Miss Nightingale said she was considering working as a military nurse later on, he said he would enlist. He’s not enlisting right away, so don’t worry too much.”

And frankly, even if he does enlist, there’s no way they’d send the second son of a marquess family, who is already slated to be the next marquess because the eldest son died young, to the front lines.

Unlike the navy, in this era, army officer positions in the British Empire can be easily obtained by nobles or wealthy capitalists.

“But Your Majesty… even so, enlisting is a bit…”

“If you change your perspective, appropriate military experience can actually have a positive impact on a political career. Prime Minister Charles Wellesley himself was in the military when he was young. I remember he retired as a major or lieutenant colonel.”

“Indeed… if it’s just a stepping stone, the military might not be so bad.”

“And military experience will become increasingly important in the future. As citizens’ rights grow, they will want even the privileged to fulfill the same obligations as them. For a young man like Robert, investing in the military can be a good foundation for the future.”

In fact, in the original history, the British royal family voluntarily enlisted in the military when World War I broke out to encourage the citizens.

He may be obsessed with Nightingale now, but realistically, Robert will come to his senses by the time he’s in his thirties at the latest.

And in the long run, military experience will greatly help him grow into a leading figure in the Conservative Party.

The Marquess of Salisbury, who had been lost in thought for a moment, nodded, and his tearful face returned to normal.

“Well, he won’t be obsessed with a woman and follow her around forever. Frankly, her appearance will change a lot in ten years…”

“Yes, yes, so you don’t have to worry too much.”

“Well, even if he enlists, he’ll just go to Africa or Southeast Asia to put down rebels, so it won’t be very dangerous. Rather, if he builds up such moderate military achievements and runs in the next election, he’ll be easily elected.”

“Um… I suppose so?”

“When I think deeply about it, this might be a good thing. I think I overreacted. Even if there’s a war, it’s unlikely that the opponent will be a country like Russia, so I made too much fuss. Haha!”

The Marquess of Salisbury, who had completely shaken off his anxiety, laughed gleefully, but I quietly drank my milk tea and replaced my answer with an awkward smile.

Uh… um, I wonder if I’ll hear words of resentment from the marquess later.

Still, surely he knows his own life is precious, so he won’t volunteer for the front lines, right?

No. Considering Robert’s current state as a love-crazed warrior, he might actually ask to be sent to the front lines to be with Nightingale.

I don’t want to lose a promising young man in vain, so I should probably do some work in advance.

In fact, strictly speaking, this isn’t the time to be leisurely talking about other people’s business.

I needed to start organizing my thoughts on how the royal family should behave in the upcoming war.

So that the royal family of this country, and my children, would not be treated as mere rich people, but would remain an object of respect forever, for 100 or 200 years.

The weighty task of properly setting the first button [establishing a precedent] was slowly taking shape and coming towards me.

It may seem like nothing, but leaving this precedent is really important.

It’s not for nothing that the greatest fortune of American democracy was that George Washington was the first president.

When the United States became independent, all American citizens and politicians believed that Washington would hold the presidency for life.

Of course, it was actually possible, and everyone wanted him to do so, but he only served two terms as president and stepped down on his own.

Thanks to this, it became customary for presidents to serve only two terms and step down, and anyone who tried to break this custom was met with criticism: ‘George Washington only served two terms, do you think you’re better than Washington?’

Even FDR [Franklin Delano Roosevelt], who broke this custom, would not have been able to serve three or more terms if World War II had not been raging at the time.

So I need to set a firm precedent like Washington.

The true spirit of noblesse oblige [the responsibility of privileged people to act with generosity and nobility], where the royal family takes the lead in dealing with a national crisis.

In an era where the will of the people is the will of God, the only way for the royal family to continue to exert influence is to continue to receive public support.

And if the opponent is a great power like Russia, there is no better stage than this.

The only problem is how to tell Victoria this…

The Marquess of Salisbury’s reaction, so stained with shock upon hearing that his son was enlisting in the military, feels strangely like it’s not someone else’s problem.

But I can’t put it off any longer, so I really need to start moving, right?

I saw the Marquess of Salisbury off appropriately and sent a request to Prime Minister Wellesley and Gladstone to come to the palace.

It is said that the storm is calmest before it hits.

The scenery of London, still in the midst of a festival atmosphere, did not look entirely happy.

* * *

The countries that are subtly and sensitively feeling the tension between the British Empire and Russia are not only in Europe.

In Asia, in the far East, there were also places feeling an unusual atmosphere.

Korea and Japan, which recently established diplomatic relations with the British Empire, were representative countries.

Among them, the sense of crisis felt by Korea was even greater than that of Japan.

Unlike Japan, which had Korea as a breakwater, Korea was directly bordering Russia.

In addition, the reports from the British side coming from Shanghai were all emphasizing the danger of Russia, so it was not easy to feel at ease even if they tried.

In particular, the current situation in Korea was even more complicated because the young king had ended his regency and started his own rule.

King Yi Hwan of Korea, as he grew older, openly began to check the Andong Kim clan and Pungyang Jo clan, who had wielded power until now, and this has actually been quite effective so far.

Yi Hwan witnessed Qing [the Qing Dynasty of China] being brutally crushed by the British Empire during his childhood when he had no choice but to have a regency.

And he grew up watching the ministers of the Bibyeonsa [a Korean government agency] debate with veins in their necks to avoid being eaten up by the influence of Western powers.

It was a great fortune for Yi Hwan that this experience unknowingly allowed him to escape from a self-centered way of thinking and gain a broad perspective.

In fact, the young king was actively using the British Empire as a very good excuse to check the powerful families.

“Listen, gentlemen. Analyses that the atmosphere flowing between Russia and England is unusual have been continuously coming up recently. However, since all of this is coming from Shanghai, I couldn’t shake the feeling that both the speed and accuracy were slightly delayed.”

“Your Majesty, we are deeply grateful.”

“As you know, England and our country are too far apart…”

“No. I am not just discussing the distance problem now. We are only receiving information that has been processed once over there, so isn’t it difficult to tell whether it is true or false? Since we have these problems doubly, how can we make a quick decision? Therefore, we are not even keeping the clause that we should try to establish consulates in each country and dispatch ambassadors as soon as possible.”

“We are sorry, Your Majesty. It is true that there was such a treaty, but at the time, the distance from England was too far, and the form was too different from the way we had been doing things, so there were many opinions that more review was needed.”

It seemed like a valid point, but in fact, that wasn’t the only reason.

If an ambassador is to be dispatched to England, not just any other country, to represent the country, at least a Chamui [a high-ranking official] or Panseo-level [Minister-level] person would have to be sent, but who in the world would want to go to that distant foreign land?

Whenever someone suggested that we should start setting up consulates, they would invariably say, ‘Then will you go as an ambassador?’ and then shut their mouths as if nothing had happened.

But we can’t just keep putting it off like this forever.

Fortunately, a perfect excuse has recently arisen, so Yi Hwan was planning to use this as an excuse to greatly reduce the power of the tiresome powerful families.

“Judging that your opinions are valid, I have not said anything until now. However, the report that came in yesterday stated that the Japanese have finally finished preparing to build a consulate in England and to have the English ambassador reside in their capital. Since the Japanese are doing so much, how can our superior country, Joseon [former name of Korea], fall behind? If there is no news by the end of this year, what will England think?”

Ah~ Joseon was a country that lagged behind Japan.

Leaving aside other things, instilling such thoughts in other countries was a tremendous shame for Joseon’s officials and something that should not happen.

“Your Majesty, but…”

“There is no ‘but’. Why are the Japanese sending an ambassador so hastily at this time? In my opinion, it must be related to Russia in nine out of ten cases.”

When the story of the ferocious enemy who had recently taken away the territory of Qing, which bordered the country, came out, the faces of the ministers changed completely.

“Your Majesty. Still, Russia has signed a non-aggression treaty with us, hasn’t it?”

“Isn’t the problem that the non-aggression treaty was mediated by England? If the relationship between England and Russia goes wrong, that non-aggression will become less valuable than a piece of paper. In that case, I think it’s only a matter of time before that Russia, which is crazy about expanding its territory to the south, crosses the border.”

“Your Majesty is right. Then we will consider dispatching an ambassador to the capital of England so as not to fall behind Japan.”

“No, is there really a need to consider it? In my opinion, I think there is only one person in these eight provinces of Joseon who is capable of taking on that important role. Isn’t that right? Minister of War.”

Kim Jwa-geun, who had never imagined that he would be singled out, blinked and looked around.

Soon realizing that he had not been called out by mistake, he immediately saw through the fact that the king was trying to bury him using this case as an excuse.

Hadn’t he already sent Kim Heung-geun, a prominent figure in the Andong Kim clan, into exile not long ago for being greedy?

Targeting even Kim Jwa-geun here was the same as openly revealing his intention to suppress the Andong Kim clan for sure.

“Your Majesty. I am sorry to say this, but I have been in the Ministry of War for a long time…”

“That’s true, but isn’t the Minister of War the only minister in these eight provinces of Joseon who has a personal friendship with the English envoy? I believe that the Minister of War can sufficiently appease and coax the leader of England to guide them in a direction that is beneficial to Joseon.”

“But…”

“If the Minister of War makes such a great contribution, how can I continue to leave his cousin, Kim Heung-geun, in exile? So I hope that the Minister of War will use his strength again this time for the sake of our Joseon.”

Kim Jwa-geun realized that no matter what he said, there was no way to escape as long as the justification was so clear.

Since he had even offered the condition of releasing Kim Heung-geun from exile, it was obvious that even the Andong Kim clan would tell him to close his eyes and go for the sake of the country’s overall interests.

Even after ending the regency, he had not shown any particular movements, so he thought he was a weak king, but that thought was completely wrong.

Since he turned twenty last year, he has been showing a reckless move as if he had been sharpening his sword.

In the first place, he was the only one among the Panseo-level ministers who had met and talked directly with Gillian Quai, so there was nothing wrong with the King’s words.

But suddenly going all the way to England to find out their information.

Isn’t this just a legal exile disguised as diplomacy?

‘Hoo… damn it. Is this really right, no matter what?’

Still, if he could go all the way to England and raise their power with his own strength, it might be helpful in the long run.

It was a thought that was not comforting at all, but that was all the mental victory that Kim Jwa-geun could achieve.

The faces of his Bibyeonsa colleagues, who did not refute the King’s words and subtly avoided his gaze, looked more hateful than ever today.