I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 259

< Propaganda (5) >

The Sevastopol Fortress, fallen!

This news, heralding the spring of 1851, reached the Baltic Sea front, shaking the fiercely maintained stalemate to its core.

The British Empire had already prepared the materials to amplify this news faster and more effectively.

-The war correspondents accompanying the military units and the information transmitted instantly via telegraph are our military’s most powerful assets.

-Various photographic materials are arriving from the Black Sea via the Adriatic Sea. With numerous propaganda materials written by His Highness the Prince Consort, we can spread them all.

-His Highness the Prince Consort’s mouth… no, his information warfare capabilities are no less than the strength of several divisions.

-Shouldn’t we formally create a position for him in the military? No one would object even if His Highness became the formal Marshal of the British Army’s Information and Propaganda Corps.

-Ahem, I don’t know why our dear Army comrades always stumble when they’re doing so well. His Highness is a Naval Admiral, a Naval Admiral! Of course, if he were to join, we should formally create a position for him in the Navy!

-Don’t you think the Navy is being too greedy? Rather, since His Highness holds the position of Naval Admiral, the Army should create something for him too!

Leaving aside the conference that devolved into a battle for Killian between the Army and Navy, it didn’t take long for the sensational scoop that the Black Sea front had concluded to spread throughout the world.

[The British Empire Captures Sevastopol Fortress and Seizes Control of the Crimean Peninsula!]

[Marshal Fitzroy: “As soon as our troops have rested, we will immediately occupy the entire Ukrainian region. We have already coordinated with the French forces.”]

[What Led to the Defeat of the Russian Army? An In-Depth Exploration of Gennady Nevelskoy, the Last Loyalist Who Criticized the Emperor and Took His Own Life]

“Mwahahaha!”

“Hehehehe.”

Prussia.

The Royal Palace in Berlin.

“Your Majesty, what did I say? I told you that Russia could never be a match for England.”

“Those who predicted England’s victory also said that England’s losses would be severe, but that turned out to be utter nonsense. They’re just useless freeloaders who only eat bread.”

“If Prussia had not participated in the war, Austria would have been caught in a triangular alliance with France and England.”

“Yes, yes. Bismarck, your judgment was correct as always.”

From the moment Prussia decided to join the battle until now, there have been Junkers [Prussian nobles] who criticized Prussia for making the wrong choice.

The argument was that Russia is a powerful nation, and even if England wins, both sides will suffer significant losses, so Prussia should remain neutral to prepare for the post-war world.

Of course, there was some merit to that argument.

Even though the British Empire is the strongest power in Europe, Russia is still considered the second strongest power.

Even with France added to the equation, England had not committed all of its forces to this war.

In fact, the countries that spent the most on this war were France and Russia, so it would be more accurate to say that England intervened in the war between France and Russia.

However, as if to prove that the arguments of those cautious factions were nonsense, England utterly crushed Russia.

In the Far East, the new port that Russia cherished so much was destroyed, and all the islands they had in the Pacific were taken away.

Moreover,

They lost control of the entire Black Sea, lost the Crimean Peninsula, and even lost the Sea of Azov.

Furthermore, because they concentrated their forces in the Baltic Sea region, they had to pull troops from all over, leading to a situation where they were even pushed back by the Ottomans in the only region where they had been dominant, the Caucasus.

Russia seemed to think that time was on their side, but considering the supplies that continued to pour in from Canada, that seemed like nothing more than a futile delusion.

If Prussia had remained neutral as the Junkers had argued, Prussia would have become an isolated island on the continent, just as Bismarck had said.

“Bismarck, how much longer do you think Russia can hold out?”

“No more than two months at most.”

“Then negotiations will begin based on Russia’s surrender. As a victorious nation, Prussia has the right to claim spoils of war, wouldn’t you agree? I’m thinking of sending you as our representative. What do you think?”

“There are already many who attack me as a parvenu [newly rich or influential person] Junker from the provinces. Are you sure that’s alright?”

“Weren’t you the one who argued most strongly that we should participate in this war? I’ll silence anyone who opposes it, so don’t worry.”

As for Russia’s representative, it will probably be Foreign Minister Alexander Gorchakov, and it’s obvious who England’s representative will be.

Without hesitation, Bismarck bowed his head and exclaimed in a determined tone.

“If you entrust it to me, I will dedicate all my abilities to the glory of Prussia!”

“Good. I only want one thing. Bring back even a speck more than Austria, and do your best.”

It is certain that the British Empire will be victorious against Russia, but this is not the end, but the beginning.

The world will be newly reorganized after the war.

France, one of the main pillars of victory in this war, will surely try to restore its former glory, and Austria will be no different.

Whether Prussia can rise from this point depends on how it deals with the power vacuum created by Russia’s defeat.

But Bismarck was confident.

Among those who will gather in the future, who will have as much insight as he does, having gone to London to see, hear, and feel the British Empire firsthand?

Even if there were, he had even more invaluable experiences, sticking by Killian’s side and learning things that money couldn’t buy.

In the meantime, he had also recorded in his diary the story of his narrowly losing… no, winning against two young communists who didn’t know the reality.

If his biography is ever written, this could be used as valuable historical material.

And now it’s time to add another shining achievement to that.

‘Last time, I was just a nobody Junker from the countryside, but this time, I’ll be meeting him as the head of a delegation representing various countries.’

I wonder what his reaction will be when he sees me, representing Prussia.

Bismarck forcibly suppressed the anticipation that kept bubbling up and respectfully accepted Friedrich Wilhelm IV’s command.

Your Highness Killian. I’m coming to see you now.

* * *

The world’s powerhouse that the British Empire courts, France frets over, and the Ottomans tremble before.

The lofty and rugged iron wall that even the European tyrant Napoleon could not overcome and was overthrown by.

The great emperor and leader, the leader of all Russian people, Emperor Nicholas, suffered from chronic enteritis and insomnia due to constant stress.

For months, he had been waking up to find a pile of his own hair on his pillow and pounding the bed with his fist.

Just as he discovered that there wasn’t even a single strand of hair left to fall out when he woke up, the devastating news arrived that the entire Crimean Peninsula had fallen into the hands of the Allied forces.

“Even if the Crimean Peninsula has fallen, we must have wiped out the enemy forces near the Baltic Sea, right? We can annihilate the enemy forces we are facing now before their main forces arrive here, can’t we?”

“…Your Majesty.”

“Didn’t you say that the British navy, which only dabbles in the sea, would not be able to inflict a decisive blow on our army? Didn’t you also say that we could easily defeat the Prussian and Austrian forces who participated without knowing their place? That’s why we even delayed supplies to Sevastopol.”

“Everyone has been fighting to the best of their ability according to Your Majesty’s orders, but from the beginning, the Prussian and Austrian forces did not properly engage our forces in battle.”

So, are you saying that we have done nothing and only ceded the Crimean Peninsula?

The Emperor tapped the markers symbolizing his own forces scattered across the map of Russia and asked.

“So, if things continue like this, we will end up ceding even Ukraine without doing anything? What forces are there to defend that area?”

“Almost all the forces deployed to the Black Sea front were in Sevastopol. Once that area is breached…”

“What about conscripting troops locally and deploying them?”

“The bizarre rumor that Your Majesty sees soldiers as expendable has spread, and local sentiment is reaching extreme levels. If we conscript again here, riots will break out in various places.”

Something is wrong. Clearly, the war started to deal with the Ottomans first, and then France, but how did it end up like this?

Even after regaining his senses, the Emperor found the absurd claim that he was using soldiers as cannon fodder spreading throughout the country.

And who is this Gennady guy?

Why is that bastard who ruined the Asian front suddenly being portrayed as a loyal subject who left words of advice for the Emperor and took his own life?

Nothing makes sense. Nothing at all.

“I clearly ordered the reporters to be thoroughly managed, so why are these ridiculous distorted articles being scattered even in Moscow and the capital, St. Petersburg? What the hell are you doing!”

“Th, the reporters are saying that they will risk their lives to establish justice like Gennady, who took his own life… We are arresting them all, so it will be quiet soon.”

When did the spirit of Russia, which had withstood even Napoleon’s invasion, albeit with enormous losses, become so weak?

Was it a mistake to accept the culture of weak Western European countries, such as newspapers and the press?

Nicholas gnashed his teeth as he looked at the photos of and , which had already reached the Imperial Palace in St. Petersburg.

“Does this guy have no dignity as a member of the royal family? Running around and taking such vulgar pictures.”

“Your Majesty. Even now, the local sentiment is being swayed by the sweet talk that the British royal consort is spewing. The longer we delay, the more that man will use his devil’s tongue to make Your Majesty the most immoral emperor in the history of the empire. You must take action.”

“Action? Are you suggesting that we assassinate him in the middle of the British army? If not, the only way to end this fight is to surrender.”

“……”

This time, no one answered.

Nicholas was not a fool.

Since they failed to conclude the Baltic Sea front while the Crimean Peninsula was being captured, the only thing left is the worst-case scenario of being attacked from both sides.

Adding in the already ruined Asian front, he didn’t even want to imagine how much more the territory of the Russian Empire would shrink.

The longer they delayed, the more unfavorable conditions they would have to endure when negotiating later.

Finally, the Emperor delivered his own verdict.

“Tell the British side that the Foreign Minister… is willing to… have a truce…”

“…Yes, Your Majesty.”

Although defeat was approaching, the lofty pride of the Emperor would never allow him to utter the word surrender.

And frankly, if they really went crazy and ordered a full-scale offensive, the Allied forces would have to endure considerable damage as well.

At least a minimal negotiating card remained.

The Emperor had no intention of giving up until the curtain was completely lowered.

* * *

“Oh, you want a truce?”

“Yes, they say so. Foreign Minister Gorchakov is proposing a peace treaty instead of surrender. How should we respond?”

“Do they still think they have a chance left?”

The news that the Russian Emperor had made a proposal to end the war, of course, reached my ears as a super-special scoop.

What greeted me, who had returned triumphantly from the Black Sea victory like a general returning to his hometown, was a handwritten letter from Russian Foreign Minister Gorchakov.

In summary, it was a truly novel piece of nonsense, saying that it would only be a loss for everyone if the fighting continued any longer, so wouldn’t it be better for each other to end it here.

Still, I won’t curse the Minister.

He probably felt a sense of self-disgust while writing this, wondering what kind of nonsense he was spouting, so wouldn’t it be too unfair if I said anything?

“But Your Highness, if the Russian army really prepares for an all-out war, our forces will have to be prepared for enormous damage as well. We must appease them here…”

“Are we crazy to appease those bastards? Those are the kind of guys who get even more arrogant and spout nonsense.”

As expected, the soldiers, who are disciplined to the bone, still don’t get it even though I’ve already told them the answer.

I’ll show you how I handle those Russians until the very end, so watch and learn carefully.

“Alright, reporters. Here’s another voice of truth to be revealed in support of the Russian journalists who are risking their lives to convey the true truth in Russia today.”

Accompanied by Admiral Parker, who had followed me all the way across the Adriatic Sea, I fluttered the ceasefire proposal sent by the Russian side in the middle of the reporters.

“This long and arduous war. Now that we are finally on the verge of finishing it, they are sending us a proposal asking us to at least protect their pride. Not long ago, the Russian patriot Commander Gennady gave his advice, asking us not to use soldiers as expendable resources for the sake of pride, and then took his own life, but it seems that his voice has not been heard at all. They are threatening us again with the lives of their own soldiers as hostages because they don’t want to say the word surrender. How long do we have to watch this ridiculous behavior?”

The eyes of the reporters, who had once again received a scoop, changed, and their hands moved faster.

If I write this down and hand it over as is, the Russian journalists who are burning with a sense of justice will somehow convey it to the military.

They don’t know how easy it is to turn someone whose reputation is already heading for the trash into complete garbage.

As expected, people who have only received flattery their whole lives have no sense at all? Foolishly.

Truce? Don’t talk nonsense and repeat after me.

Surrender. Anything else is unacceptable.