I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 230

< Age of War (2) >

‘Another’s misfortune is my happiness.’

It’s a saying that makes you question someone’s character, but sadly, this adage often holds true in international relations.

Especially when nations are fighting each other across continents, there’s no saying that fits more appropriately.

War is like a bottomless pit that endlessly devours money.

Especially in modern times, the operating costs of both navies and armies have skyrocketed, intensifying this trend.

Bullets, cannons, food, water, medical supplies, weapons, oil, and so on – the list of necessary supplies is endless.

If it’s just a small-scale war involving a few hundred or thousand people, it might be different, but what if tens of thousands of troops are mobilized?

In that case, it’s no exaggeration to say that you have to pour in the entire economic power of a country to wage war.

This means that even France or England cannot escape this problem.

Compared to France, Britain hadn’t even deployed half the personnel, but the British Empire had mobilized a massive naval force.

Even if it’s not as much as France, they were bound to feel some pressure from the supplies.

Still, Britain had vast colonies around the world, so they managed to cover it somehow by pulling in supplies from various places.

The problem was France, and they didn’t have any extraordinary solutions either.

They needed a mountain of supplies, but they weren’t prepared enough, so what could they do?

They just had to buy them with money.

And Canada, which was supplying these massive amounts of goods, was experiencing an unexpected boom and reaping the rewards.

This was because the United States, which was trying to capitalize on the sales, was preoccupied with the Mexican War and didn’t have the capacity to sell goods to Europe, so they restricted exports.

In fact, this is the superficial reason. The British Empire ceded most of its interests to Canada on the condition that the United States focus only on Europe and Asia.

Canada’s industrial level was still developing, so the United States was even providing the necessary supplies, which was quite a sight to see.

This shows just how serious the United States was about expanding its Pacific territory.

In any case, thanks to this, Canada was running its factories at full capacity 24/7, frantically churning out supplies.

Toronto and Montreal suddenly became cities that never slept, with lights on even at night.

“Alright, alright, alright! Let’s work hard today and churn out as many weapons as we can!”

“Hey! Area 5 isn’t running properly, what’s the reason? I’ll give you as much money as you want, so don’t slack off and work!”

“Foreman! How can we run the machines when we don’t have enough people!”

“We can’t extract more efficiency than this unless we develop unmanned machines!”

The order volume is piling up, but even if they run the factories 24 hours a day, they can’t handle it all.

In this shocking situation, factory owners were even operating the machines themselves with tears in their eyes.

It’s tough, but what can they do? Even if they offer more money, there’s no one else to hire, so they have no choice but to operate the machines themselves.

“Chairman James, please get us some more people! Even my son is out here working with me, but we can’t meet the quota!”

“We’re calling people from all over, so let’s hang in there a little longer. We’ve agreed to hire people from the frontier villages as a matter of urgency, so things will get a little easier next week.”

“Next week? Damn it… Then I guess we’ll just have to work like we’re dead until next week.”

The fact that selling weapons well could be painful is something I’ve never even thought about until now.

But even though it’s painful, I can’t help but be happy. Should I call it enjoyable pain?

Bullets, cannons! Sell more! Burp!

In fact, after the fighting started and the Ottomans suffered a crushing defeat against the new Russian weapons, they hurriedly sent an SOS to Britain [an urgent distress signal].

Britain sold off the weapons they had stockpiled in their homeland and used what they needed from Canada, and when that wasn’t enough, they planned to produce large quantities of supplies directly in Canada.

To be precise, it was Killian, the Duke of Canada, who made it happen.

Thanks to this, factories applying the latest technology of the British Empire were still being built, and this was sure to become a great asset for Canada even after the war ended.

The British Empire had only one condition for Canada.

-Do not sell weapons to Russia and its allies.

Does that mean there are no restrictions on what we do in the Americas?

Then can we sell weapons to Mexico instead of the United States?

The capitalists of Canada, who had tasted the sweetness of money, began to make contact with the Mexican side, which was at war with the United States, using a logic of miracles.

“You know you can’t beat the American army with your weapons, right? It’s a generation older, but this is a British Empire weapon, why don’t you give it a try?”

“Oh! Take my money! Take my money! Guns please! Cannons please!”

Of course, the United States protested fiercely against this absurd behavior, but this was the fault of the United States.

The agreement was clear that they would not send troops to the war between Mexico and the United States, but there was no specific clause prohibiting the sale of goods.

Still, it would be good to listen to the United States’ claims in terms of morality for the sake of future diplomatic relations.

But how can a free country forcibly stop the commerce of its citizens?

A law had to be made, but the reality was that there was no legal basis for restricting it.

In that situation, James, the chairman of the James Group, who was doing business back and forth between Canada and the United States, came up with a truly ingenious solution.

“The United States can buy the goods produced to be sold to Mexico.”

If you don’t want weapons to be sold to the enemy, buy them yourselves.

The United States was half out of its mind at this gangster-like proposal, but there was nothing they could do.

No matter how much they protested, the answer that came back like a parrot was the same.

“To create a law restricting the export of weapons to other countries, we must reach an agreement with the home country, the British Empire. Or His Excellency the Duke [referring to Killian], who has full authority, must create a bill. We have contacted the home country, so we will take action as quickly as possible as soon as we receive a reply.”

The words were good, but this was practically the same as saying that they couldn’t take action.

It takes ages to cross the Atlantic.

And a bill has to be created in the parliament, but the biggest concern right now was the Crimean War, so who would be interested in Mexico?

It’s also creating a regulation that throws away the opportunity to make money on its own. So this will also take ages.

All that’s left is for Killian to create a bill by his own authority, but that Killian has gone to the Balkans to participate in the war, so there’s no answer either.

In the end, the United States reluctantly concluded that they would buy the weapons that were supposed to go to Mexico for the time being.

If they beat Mexico quickly, they won’t need to buy additional weapons.

They make money either way.

While they were having a fun fight across the Atlantic, Canada was hit by a wave of money.

However, few people understood exactly how much impact this had.

In the first place, the main dish right now was the fight between the Russian alliance and the Anglo-French alliance, and Canada, which was only a colony of the British Empire, was just a garnish.

Not Europe, not the United States next door, and not even Canada itself, which was constantly building factories and churning out supplies.

Right now, they were just entrusting themselves to the whirlwind of this crazy era and chasing the immediate interests in front of them.

* * *

Since starting my second life in the 19th century, I haven’t lived a life completely detached from war.

Even though I look like this, I earned the title of war hero in the war with the Qing Dynasty [the last imperial dynasty of China], and I also fired empty shots in the American-Mexican War and took a lot of land.

But this was the first time I was participating in a real great war where hundreds of thousands of troops were clashing.

No matter how much it was me, I couldn’t help but feel a little nervous facing this situation.

Still, since I wasn’t directly commanding the army, I relatively comfortably showed my face at the meeting.

“Your Highness, you’ve arrived?”

“Yes, Admiral. Am I the last one?”

“No. Marshal Fitzroy hasn’t arrived yet.”

Admiral William Parker, the chief of naval operations, looked at the empty seat on the other side and added a word with a strange sense of victory.

“Originally, landlubbers [a derogatory term for someone not experienced at sea] don’t have a sense of time.”

“Or maybe the consultation with the French army is delayed.”

“That could be. The French are even more hopeless than the army.”

It was very rare for an army marshal and a naval admiral to hold a meeting in one place, but now the front lines had become so wide that it was necessary to agree on the initial direction to some extent.

Fortunately, the navy, the army, and even the French army were nearby, so I gladly became the link between them.

“By the way, I didn’t expect the Allied forces to set up an advance base here.”

“Is that so? But with the cooperation of the Ottomans [referring to the Ottoman Empire, a former Turkish empire], this is the best place to use as a base.”

“Ah, I see. I’m not really familiar with the military. Hahaha.”

“Even so, the morale of the soldiers is different just because Your Highness is here. I’ve been through many fronts, but I’ve never seen the morale of officers and soldiers this high.”

Well, that’s probably true. The most popular person in the British Empire and a noble royal family member is going to be with them through thick and thin and be with them on the battlefield, so wouldn’t it be abnormal if they didn’t like it?

Rather, it was more surprising to me that this area was good as an advance base.

To be honest, the feeling that the name gives is so strong, but after listening to the admiral, I can understand.

There’s no better place to enter the Black Sea with the support of the Ottomans.

Regardless of my sense of unease, Admiral Parker pointed to the peninsula we were currently on and slowly continued his explanation.

“Starting from this Gallipoli, our army will first advance north and defeat all of the Greek navy. And while we destroy and blockade all of the Greek ports, the army will cooperate with the French and fight the Russian army. As far as I know, this is the current plan, but seeing as Marshal Fitzroy hasn’t arrived yet, there may be some changes as Your Highness said.”

Could something have gone wrong because they set up camp in Gallipoli?

The British Empire and Gallipoli. I think they would have built a base here even in the original history, but the British Empire and Gallipoli don’t match from the name.

“Admiral, is there any possibility that Russia will launch a landing operation here while our navy is away? They could set up a strategy to land in Gallipoli and push straight into the Ottoman mainland…”

“A landing operation in Gallipoli? Hahahaha, that’s a funny joke. Even if our navy is away, the Ottomans aren’t fools and Russia wouldn’t do that. No, no one, not even Russia, would do such a foolish thing.”

“I see. That was a really good lesson.”

Unless they’re fools, they won’t launch a landing operation in Gallipoli… Good. I have to write it down in my memoirs.

If I do that, maybe that fool who might come out in the distant future will change his mind.

As I was talking to Admiral Parker for a while, the door opened and a middle-aged man with a dignified impression came in.

“I’m sorry. There was an incident in the unit, so I was late getting the report.”

The man, Marshal Fitzroy, bowed sharply and strode over to sit across from Admiral Parker.

Admiral Parker nodded as if it wasn’t a big deal and averted his gaze from his one sleeve that was flapping loosely.

Marshal Fitzroy James Henry Somerset.

He was a general who served as the chief of staff of the Duke of Wellington during the Napoleonic Wars and fought bravely at the Battle of Waterloo.

In particular, he gained considerable fame for the anecdote of losing an arm at Waterloo and demanding that his arm be returned so that he could find the wedding ring he had received from his wife.

“Marshal, if it’s a report, is there a problem communicating with the French army?”

“That’s not it. In fact, cholera [an infectious and often fatal bacterial disease of the small intestine] broke out at the base built here, and some soldiers were infected. Fortunately, thanks to the quick action, the spread was prevented and there were no deaths.”

“Cholera again?”

See? I knew this name Gallipoli was incompatible with the British Empire.

This can only be explained by saying that this name is unlucky.

“Still, it’s a relief that the response was quick.”

“Yes. The medical staff that Your Highness brought were very active. They say that even patients with cholera are not in danger of their lives as long as they continue to take fluids. To be honest, I feel very reassured.”

As expected, John Snow, the king of northern medicine, and Nightingale, the saint of the hammer.

To gain the full trust of the army marshal right away like this, I believed in you!

But if everything went well, why is he wearing such a troubled smile?

I was able to easily understand the reason by reading the report that Marshal Fitzroy brought.

-Cholera outbreak inside the base. 17 infected. 0 deaths due to timely response and blocking of the source of infection.

-Damage: The locks and doors of the material warehouse were destroyed. No other damage.

“······.”

When my gaze was briefly fixed on the part where the locks and doors were destroyed, Marshal Fitzroy smiled bitterly as if he knew what I was looking at.

I pretended not to see anything and put the report back in its original place.

Umm, good. There’s no problem.

Everything is going so smoothly from the beginning, I feel so relieved.

This must be the goddess of victory smiling at us. Yes, that’s right.