I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 224

< Declaration of War (4) >

July 1849.

The Russian army, advancing rapidly across the border, subjugated the principalities in the Danube River region.

And two months later, in September.

Judging that the offensive would be delayed with the arrival of winter, Russia took advantage of France’s hesitation and began its southward advance, officially starting the war.

Before this, many people doubted whether those causing a ruckus over Jerusalem were in their right minds.

However, now that things had reached this point, no one doubted that Russia was serious.

It was France’s misjudgment that they overlooked the possibility that being sane and being serious could coexist.

Russia was genuinely out of its mind.

However, the Ottomans couldn’t just keep getting beaten, so they formally organized their army and issued an ultimatum.

-If you do not immediately withdraw your troops, it is war.

Emperor Nicholas responded with the absurd demand that he would withdraw if Jerusalem were ceded, and now war between the two sides became inevitable.

With the situation as it was, it was only natural that France, the European country most deeply involved in this matter, was feeling anxious.

Guizot had been trying to resolve this matter without war, but unless he could shoot a brainwashing beam, it was an impossible mission from the start.

In the end, I happily welcomed him, who had crossed the strait like Noh Jin-gu [a Korean expression referring to someone who swims across a river or sea for help], shouting, ‘Help me, Kiliemon~’.

“Your Highness, it’s been a while. Thank you for taking the time to see me.”

“Prime Minister, you seem to be in good health… no, it would be rude to say that. The dark circles under your eyes are quite noticeable. Are you alright?”

“Wouldn’t I have come all the way here because I want to be alright?”

“Count Beaufeuille is here, so you could have asked for his opinion through the embassy.”

“…He has been dismissed this time. Rather than entrusting such an important matter to the new ambassador, I thought it would be better to come myself.”

Oh dear.

To think that the ambassador, who acted with such loyalty to France, would lose his job. How unfortunate.

“The Count did his best, but it’s a shame he was dismissed. It’s not the ambassador’s fault that Russia has gone mad, is it?”

“His judgment that Russia would never start a war was the problem.”

They agreed and rushed the process, but now they’re blaming the ambassador. If I were the Count, I would have clutched my neck in frustration.

“Actually, we were also surprised. In some ways, Congressman Gladstone is very lucky. If he had made a mistake, the Liberal Party might have ended up like Count Beaufeuille.”

“…But was the British Empire really unaware of this?”

“Pardon? What are you referring to?”

“The fact that Russia would start a war. It’s a bit strange that a country with the intelligence to predict the drought and revolution that will happen in a few years couldn’t predict Russia’s war…”

Is this person’s sense of victimhood so extreme that their reasoning ability has improved?

Of course, I knew. But unfortunately, there’s no evidence, so saying that would only be framing an innocent person.

“Prime Minister, it’s easy to analyze logical phenomena and trends. If you discover the laws that apply to them, they can be interpreted naturally. But unfortunately, it’s impossible to predict the actions of people with mental problems or fools who don’t know anything. A person eats when they are hungry. But if there is a madman who wields a knife when hungry, how can you know when that person will eat?”

“That’s… I suppose so. I’m sorry. I’ve been so stressed by various people lately that I’ve become more sensitive than necessary.”

“No, I fully understand your feelings, Prime Minister. Then, since you must be busy, let’s get straight to the point. What is the reason you came to see me?”

“Officially, I visited London to negotiate with Prime Minister Wellesley and devise a plan to jointly respond to the Russian issue. But frankly, both Prime Minister Wellesley and I, and Your Highness, know that there is only one option left, don’t we?”

War.

Guizot couldn’t bring himself to say the word and bit his lip.

If we wage a full-scale war with Russia, how many troops will we have to pour in?

100,000? That’s not enough. We’ll have to pour in at least 200,000 to 300,000, maybe even more, but where will we get the money to spend on this?

Of course, this would be an enormous burden on the country, and even if we win, we won’t be able to recover all of it.

It’s no wonder that even within the victorious British Empire after the Crimean War in the original history, public opinion wasn’t very favorable.

It was because the war ended in an ambiguous victory without thoroughly crushing Russia.

To put it simply, wars between European countries since the modern era are a loss even if you win. If you lose, it’s a complete disaster.

So what is the answer?

Just don’t wage war and happily join hands to plunder Africa and Asia.

In reality, France wants to do this, but the crazy Russian keeps grabbing their ankles and dragging them into the swamp, which is driving them crazy.

“If the answer is really fixed as one, there’s no reason to hesitate. The later we choose the answer, the more losses will accumulate.”

I’m sure you can feel that the image of France, which has been built up with difficulty, is being tarnished in real time, right?

If Russia is the gendarme [police force] of Europe, France has recently been acting as the police of Europe, intervening in various issues in a much gentler way.

However, when faced with a confrontation with Russia, they can’t do this or that and keep postponing the decision, so naturally, their reputation is bound to suffer.

There are constant rumors that this is a typical case of being tough on the weak and weak on the strong, and in fact, the Italian states that were trying to side with France have turned to observing the situation.

“Your Highness. I know that Your Highness is deeply involved in the foreign policy of the British Empire. So, could you create public opinion so that the British Empire declares war on Russia along with France? After all, the British Empire also wants to crush Russia, doesn’t it?”

“Crush? Our British Empire is a peace-loving nation. Of course, if we need to guide Russia, which is disrupting that peace, we will.”

“In that case…”

“But it seems a bit difficult for us to declare war first. It would be fine if France declared war first and then we supported France.”

This war is, after all, a war between France and Russia, and the British Empire is in a position to aid its ally, France.

This structure gives us the justification not to pour in more manpower than necessary.

If we become a party to the war, we will inevitably have to invest resources comparable to those of France.

“For the future of the British Empire, we must restrain Russia anyway. So, let’s take this opportunity to devote all our efforts to thoroughly crushing Russia. If we show them that they can never look outside again…”

“Unfortunately, we are preparing for the World Expo to be held next year, and Her Majesty the Queen is personally preparing for the world’s first World Expo with more enthusiasm than ever before.”

“Then shouldn’t we suppress Russia to ensure that the event is held successfully?”

No.

I’m not going to listen to anything you say, so don’t even dream about it and give up.

“Prime Minister. I’ve cooperated with you on various matters, so I want to help you in any way I can. But we don’t have the justification to declare war first, and we’re not in a position to do so. Besides, all of Europe is already waiting for France’s answer, so what would happen to France’s reputation if we stepped forward?”

“That is…”

“People will think that France has been acting high and mighty because the British Empire has been tacitly approving it. That France has ultimately been reduced to the role of a subordinate to the British Empire.”

“……”

“Of course, Russia is a burdensome enemy, but that doesn’t mean we won’t support France at all. If France takes the lead, the British Empire will participate. I can promise you that for sure. And even if we suffer some damage, the war itself will definitely end in victory.”

At least there are no lies here.

The British Empire, equipped with the two wings of Asia and Canada, is already in a much stronger state than in the original history.

In addition, we have already finished talking with Austria and Prussia.

If France is willing to bear some sacrifices and take the lead, this war will inevitably end in victory.

Of course, France, which has become the one to shed blood, may not be happy, but instead, they can be the first to take the glory of victory, so it’s not a losing game, is it?

“…Is there really that much of a gap that you can be sure of victory?”

“Yes. As soon as our British Empire participates, we will turn all of Russia’s coastal cities into scorched earth. Primorye [a region in the Russian Far East], which they recently acquired and cherish, will be reset to its original state before they acquired it. Meanwhile, on land, the ‘world’s strongest’ land force, France, will push back Russia.”

“…Of course, our French army is stronger than Russia’s, but…”

“In addition, Austria and Prussia will join the war after some time. We will diplomatically help with this part, so you don’t have to worry about anything. Of course, I also think we should avoid war. But if there’s a madman in front of you, you’ll have to fight him eventually, won’t you? If I may say so, there will never be another time when France can fight Russia with such strong support.”

Guizot, who came to persuade me, began to lose focus as he was injected with 101 reasons why France had no choice but to defeat Russia.

“…Therefore, this is an opportunity for the Prime Minister. Napoleon was defeated by Russia, but the Prime Minister will win. Napoleon waged war to become the ruler of Europe, but the Prime Minister is waging war to become the guardian of Europe.”

“…But…”

“To put it coldly, the only options left for the Prime Minister are to go to war with Russia or to succumb to Russia’s demands. If you choose the latter, your political life is definitely over. But in the former case, depending on the course of the war and the subsequent situation, you may be ousted or ascend to a higher position.”

If you’re going to die either way, you have no choice but to enter the hole that has the slightest chance of survival.

In fact, the choices Guizot could make were determined from the beginning.

What he wanted was to borrow the power of the British Empire to drill a bigger hole so that he could increase the chances of survival even a little bit.

I smiled and began to spout all sorts of sweet words to fill Guizot’s confidence.

I was reminded of the time in my previous life when I was 1200% sure that this investment would succeed and I was roasting the victims, but this time it’s not a lie.

Anyway, we’ll win the war, and Guizot will gain the reputation of being the victorious prime minister.

However, there is no guarantee that France will be the country that reaps the greatest fruits of victory, even though the bear performs the trick and the human earns the money.

* * *

The commotion in Europe was not only consumed in Europe but also affected the opposite continent across the ocean.

-There are signs that a great war is about to break out in Europe.

Zachary Taylor, the 12th President of the United States from the Whig Party, who was elected president after many twists and turns.

Unusually, Zachary Taylor, a soldier by birth rather than a politician, saw this news as an opportunity.

Currently, the conflict in the United States over slavery was reaching its limit, and there was no way to resolve it.

However, if Europe is busy fighting each other and has no time to pay attention to this side, there is one way to temporarily cover up this conflict.

“Russia is at war with the Ottoman Turks, and it is widely predicted that France or England will join in sooner or later.”

The ministers were startled and tried to dissuade him, mistaking that the president was willing to intervene in the war in Europe, but Taylor raised his hand to cut them off.

“Of course, we will not get involved in the turmoil in Europe. But this is an opportunity given to us by God.”

“If you say opportunity…?”

“The fact that a war is breaking out means that Europe, which is always nagging about everything we try to do, can no longer pay attention to America.”

“Yes. I guess so.”

“So in this gap.”

Zachary Taylor pointed to a corner of the vast American continent.

He pressed down with his quill on the Republic of Texas and the northern territories of Mexico, which were blocking the United States’ path to the Pacific Ocean.

“Let’s invade Mexico.”

“……”

“……?”

The ministers widened their eyes for a moment and closed their mouths at the miraculous tactic that skipped two or three stages of the logic circuit.

Soon, everyone chanted in unison.

“That’s a great idea!”

“I strongly agree!”

Last time, England intervened and we didn’t see any fun, but if Europe, which was supposed to be their breakwater, is now in trouble, the story will be different.

Tacos, hand over the Pacific.

The world was falling into chaos in real time.