I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 243

Sitting here like this reminds me of the old days.

The first time I came to Qing, I had a pleasant conversation with Lin Zexu, who was the Governor-General of Liangguang [Guangdong and Guangxi provinces].

Or was it? I guess memories are always beautified. Maybe I was the only one who felt it was pleasant.

Anyway, he was like a model of unwavering loyalty, but he was framed by the treacherous officials in the central government and exiled.

I don’t know if he’s doing well or if he’s already passed away.

But if Qing was a country with its head screwed on right, they would have pardoned such talents and given them important positions, even if late.

However, looking at this guy who’s out here as the governor-general, I feel like Qing’s days are numbered.

I guess a doomed country always shows signs from such trivial things.

Frankly speaking, this is something I should have expected since I have the status of a Joseon [Korean] royal.

At least, if I were them, I would have definitely considered the possibility that the other party could intervene by talking like that.

But look at that dumbfounded expression.

Seeing his eyes shaking like he really didn’t expect it, I’m getting more and more confident.

Confident that I can bleed him dry even more in the future.

“Governor-General, is there something strange?”

“Ah, no… Prince Consort. Even so, I think it’s a bit of a stretch to say that Your Highness is a Joseon royal.”

“Is that so? Why is that?”

“Well, Your Highness is the Prince Consort of England…”

“Does that have anything to do with this?”

The Governor-General rolled his eyes again and couldn’t open his mouth.

“In the first place, the reason why our Great British Empire was able to conclude an agreement with Joseon is because Joseon recognized me as one of their royals. In that sense, Joseon can be seen as a younger sibling of the Great British Empire.”

“Uh, uh… Wait a minute!”

He must be flustered. If the atmosphere hardens like this, Qing’s claim that Joseon is their colony won’t make any sense.

How dare you claim that a country like the younger sibling of the Great British Empire is a colony? Are you trying to fight us?

This creates a justification for intervening at any time, picking a fight.

Even if he’s a naive governor-general, he should be able to guess this much.

“Is there something contradictory in our claim right now?”

“That’s… Well, Your Highness may say so. But after all, Joseon’s intention is the most important, isn’t it? I think it would be better to continue the discussion after Joseon’s envoy clearly states Joseon’s position.”

Until just now, he said he had to return quickly because of the Taiping Rebellion [a large-scale revolt against the Qing dynasty], but now he’s trying to buy time somehow.

But will Joseon really give an answer that suits Qing’s taste at this point?

Qing probably doesn’t expect that either when they say that.

It’s just that getting beaten is as good as confirmed, so isn’t it a desperate act to want to get beaten even a little later?

“Let’s do that. Anyway, Joseon’s representative is also coming to Shanghai, so they will change ships and come here.”

The problem is that this isn’t just about getting beaten later, but it could also mean getting beaten even harder, but if that’s what you want, I should grant it, right?

I nodded leisurely and allowed Governor-General of Liangguang, Xu Guangjin, a moment of respite.

And a few days later.

In a short time, Xu Guangjin, who was even more haggard than before, me, and a familiar face as Joseon’s representative sat facing each other.

I was secretly wondering who would come from Joseon, but I didn’t expect to see his face again here.

“Greetings, Grand Internal Prince Heungseon [also known as Heungseon Daewongun]. I didn’t expect Joseon to send you.”

“It seems that the ministers thought it would be best for me to go since I’m the only one who has a personal connection with Your Highness, except for Ambassador Kim Jwa-geun.”

If Kim Jwa-geun was here, he would have come, but how could the Joseon ambassador in London come all the way to Hong Kong?

In a way, Joseon made the best choice.

And the fact that Heungseon Daewongun Yi Haeung came itself indirectly revealed what Joseon would claim here.

Qing also felt an ominous premonition, and Xu Guangjin opened his mouth hesitantly.

“Heungseon-gun… Are you perhaps a Joseon royal?”

“Yes. Coincidentally, there are two Joseon royals in this place. Isn’t that right?”

When I asked the question with a friendly smile, Heungseon-gun nodded with an awkward smile.

“Ha… Hahahaha, that’s right. Your Highness is also a Joseon royal. That’s really true.”

“Look at this, Governor-General. Even Joseon recognizes me as a Joseon royal like this. It’s not like I’m the only one being stubborn, right?”

“No… That doesn’t make sense. Look here, Heungseon-gun? It’s true that Prince Consort Kilian here is a Joseon royal, but that doesn’t mean he can speak on behalf of Joseon or represent Joseon!”

Xu Guangjin, who had become impatient, raised his voice, but Yi Haeung was a person who rose to the position of Daewongun [Grand Internal Prince] in history with his brains and quick wit.

He immediately grasped how the situation was turning and shook his head nonchalantly.

“It’s not necessarily so. Of course, just because you’re a royal doesn’t mean you can freely intervene in national affairs. However, as I am in this position, the state may entrust you with important responsibilities.”

“Then does that mean Joseon will entrust Prince Consort Kilian with such important responsibilities?”

“There’s no reason not to. Our Lord also told Prince Consort Kilian to come and cooperate generously this time.”

“If you’re talking about generous cooperation…”

In the first place, if you really thought they would side with the guys who crossed the border and invaded, that would be insane.

If Qing was the Ming Dynasty, there might have been a theory of loyalty, but Joseon is not a country that owes Qing anything or has an obligation to keep loyalty.

Moreover, emotionally, wouldn’t the Great British Empire feel no further away than Qing as long as there is a stepping stone?

“Grand Internal Prince Heungseon, let’s get this straight first. Is Joseon a colony of Qing?”

Now that I know all of Joseon’s inner thoughts, there’s no need to beat around the bush.

My rough thoughts and Xu Guangjin’s uneasy expression. And Heungseon-gun, who was watching it, shook his head firmly.

“No. We would like to clearly state here that our Joseon is a sovereign independent state.”

“What are you talking about! Joseon is clearly a tributary state of our Qing! This is clearly recorded in the diplomatic documents previously concluded!”

“Of course. But I don’t think a tributary state means a colony. We can conclude diplomatic treaties independently if we want, and it is our Joseon royal family, not the Qing-dispatched royalty, who rules the country as king. Prince Kilian, do the colonies of the Great British Empire have the same authority as our Joseon?”

“There’s no way. How can a colony conduct diplomacy independently without the permission of the home country? Of course, there are cases, but that’s only possible in cases where I, a royal, am a plenipotentiary with all authority, like our Great British Canadian territory.”

If the Qing royal family reigned as the king of Joseon, it could be said to be a similar case, but the Joseon royal family has no special relationship with the Qing imperial family.

Not only Joseon, but most of Qing’s tributary states were like that.

Originally, a tributary state was a concept fundamentally different from the colonies operated by Western powers.

If you forcibly insist that it is a colony, of course, these rebuttals will pour out.

“So Joseon is a sovereign independent state, and Qing is trying to unfairly degrade it into a colony.”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“No! So it’s not a perfect colony, but a relationship similar to a colony…”

“Anyway, if Joseon has independent diplomatic rights, Qing’s claim is not valid from the beginning. Moreover, according to Qing’s claim, Qing’s attack on Joseon is not a civil war. In other words, this is a case where Qing, a foreign country, has invaded Joseon, an ally of the Great British Empire, without permission.”

The logic that Qing has been trying to exclude the intervention of the Great British Empire.

The statement that Joseon is a colony of Qing, so Qing’s attack on Joseon is not a war but a kind of enlightenment, an internal struggle, has completely lost its power.

And this can only be concluded that Qing attacked Joseon, an ally of the Great British Empire, as I said just now.

“No, so…”

“Governor-General. Do you know what’s being said in the home country right now? There are even rumors that Qing has formed an alliance with Russia in order to solidify its control over Joseon.”

“Yes? What kind of nonsense is that? In the first place, Arasa [a historical term for Russia] is a country that has taken away our territory. Moreover, strictly speaking, we were attacked by Joseon in the process of attacking Primorsky Krai [a region in Russia]…”

“So, after that, isn’t it said that it was judged that it would be more profitable to solidify control over Joseon than Primorsky Krai, which we wouldn’t be able to secure properly anyway, and that we joined hands with Russia?”

“No, what the hell is that… Are those words really being exchanged?”

Of course, it’s a lie. The Crimean War is in full swing right now, so would the members of the home country’s parliament care much about the relationship between Qing and Joseon?

This was entirely a virtual scenario I created, but it wasn’t to the level of making up words out of thin air since I was directly spreading this to the Asian Fleet.

Clearly, these rumors were spreading little by little in the fleet headquarters.

“In fact, doesn’t it make sense logically? The enemy of an enemy is a friend, so Russia would welcome Qing’s help with both hands, and Qing can just give the already taken Primorsky Krai to Russia and secure Joseon, so there would be no more profitable business than that.”

“No, absolutely not! Our Qing Dynasty has no intention of making enemies with your country! In the first place, there is a civil war in the south right now, so there is no way we would have the intention of siding with Arasa and waging war with your country at this time!”

“Well. The Taiping Rebellion is just a civil war anyway, so Qing will suppress it soon, right? No country expects Qing, which has the best military power in Asia, to be pushed back by civilian rioters. We are the same. In the first place, Qing sent troops to attack Joseon even though there was clearly a disturbance in the south, didn’t they?”

No matter how much you cling to the tail, there is no way for Qing to escape from here since they have already caused too big of an accident.

I kindly drove in the wedge to completely crush their vain hope.

“So, in order to ensure the safety of Joseon, an allied country, the home country is arguing that we should declare war on Qing. If that happens, the cities on Qing’s coast will probably suffer even greater damage than in the previous war.”

Xu Guangjin’s face turned pale, perhaps recalling the nightmare of the Buster Call [likely a reference to a devastating military attack, needs clarification if culturally specific] he had suffered once before.

I know what will happen if the coast is devastated because of the Taiping Rebellion, right?

It means that the imperial family may really be overturned and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom may come.

“Your Highness! Didn’t I tell you? Our Qing has absolutely no relationship with Arasa! We hate Arasa so much that the Emperor gets angry as soon as you mention Arasa…”

“Then you can prove it.”

“…Yes? Proof?”

“Why, can’t you do it?”

“No! I will prove anything, so please tell me the method!”

Okay. He’s completely hooked.

I pointed to the map showing the border area between Manchuria and Primorsky Krai with a seemingly cold expression.

“I hear that all the troops stationed in northeastern Siberia under the command of Emperor Nicholas are gathering here in Primorsky Krai right now. Do you know that?”

“Yes. We also know that.”

“The home country is concerned that Qing will unite with Russia to attack the Joseon and Japanese troops in Primorsky Krai. If you combine the troops on both sides, it will be more than tens of thousands, so no matter how much it is us, we can’t help but see it as quite threatening. That’s why there is talk of actively using the fleet to attack Qing’s coast. So, do you know what Qing has to do to eliminate the concerns of the home country now?”

“Don’t tell me…”

Most of the ominous premonitions come true, so that don’t tell me will be right.

“Attack the Russian troops gathering in Primorsky Krai right now. As quickly as possible.”

How is it? Isn’t it easy to clear your name?