I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 260

The end of the Black Sea campaign.

News that the naval forces deployed to the Black Sea front would be moved to the Baltic Sea front quickly reached London.

With the feeling that this war, which had dragged on for years, would soon be over, the entire British Empire was swept up in nationalistic fervor.

Thanks to this, parliamentarians had to endure the hardship of entering Parliament, avoiding the crowds of people shouting for the glory of the British Empire and singing the national anthem.

Still, the parliamentarians’ faces brightened at the conviction that those tiresome Russians would finally be crushed.

“They really won’t be able to hold out any longer now.”

“Do you think we can wrap up the war before summer passes?”

“Ideally, we should finish it before the Expo [The Great Exhibition, a global trade fair]. Holding the Expo while wrapping up the war will double the propaganda effect.”

I had secretly concluded that the war wouldn’t end this year, but suddenly things are progressing suspiciously fast.

As things turned out this way, Prime Minister Wellesley and the Conservative Party began to boast that this was all a triumph achieved by the Conservative Party, united around the Prime Minister.

Of course, Liberal Party figures like Gladstone and Palmerston dismissed it as nonsense, but it was just an empty rebuttal since the war was indeed coming to an end.

However, as Gladstone saw it, Prime Minister Wellesley hadn’t really done much this time.

It was Killian who fueled France and Austria.

It was Killian who brought in Prussia.

Wasn’t it the Prince Consort, Killian, who took care of all the most important groundwork for the war?

Even more absurdly, according to the reports coming in now, Killian was also involved in the reason why the Sevastopol Fortress fell so quickly.

At this point, it’s like they just brought the Prince Consort to the war and he automatically copied the achievements. What credit does the Prime Minister deserve here?

The more I analyzed it, the more I could only conclude that it was just luck.

But when I said that, Wellesley retorted with only one word, without any change in expression.

“I was the one who actively supported His Royal Highness going to war.”

I know Disraeli was the one who got chewed out by Victoria for being furious when the Prince Consort went to war. Where did he get such a ridiculous lie?

Still, whether the truth is this or that, Wellesley’s popularity is currently at a transcendental level, soaring through the roof of St. Paul’s Cathedral.

The country that suffered the most damage in this Russian war was, of course, Russia, followed by France and the Ottoman Empire, and the British Empire was only fourth.

Still, war is war, and since we operated a huge naval force, the amount of resources consumed was by no means small.

If we failed to properly crush Russia and concluded a half-hearted armistice, there would be room for criticism about what the war was for.

In fact, the Liberal Party was preparing a strategy to launch such an offensive ahead of next year’s election.

But suddenly, in just a few months, the situation was completely reversed.

If the war is concluded like this, the cost the British Empire invested can be sufficiently offset by what we extract from Russia.

Even the number of deaths is incomparably smaller than those of France, the Ottoman Empire, and Russia.

In the world, Wellesley, the greatest prime minister in history who widely spread the power of the British Empire with his outstanding leadership, is being praised.

The Liberal Party, which was trying to argue the futility of the war ahead of the election, changed its strategy.

“But frankly speaking, isn’t the greatest contributor to this war His Royal Highness Killian?”

“That’s right. In fact, the parliament didn’t do much. As a member of parliament, I’m ashamed to say this, but this war is entirely due to the royal family.”

“Ahem! As I said before, it was the ruling party’s policy to fully support the royal family.”

“Anyway, we were just supporting actors. Our Liberal Party will push for the highest-level medal for Marshal Fitzroy, Admiral Parker, and His Royal Highness Killian, the heroes of this war. No, why don’t we just create a new highest-level medal named after Her Majesty the Queen on this occasion? It would be great if we recommended the Prince Consort as the first recipient.”

After all, it is not easy for the Liberal Party to enjoy the merits of this war.

In that case, it was best to highlight the royal family so that at least the ruling party would not get the most benefit.

After all, it is true that Killian has objectively made tremendous contributions.

Arguing that the parliament’s contribution is just an act of trying to parasitize on the Prince Consort’s achievements would sway public opinion.

Then, at least a situation where only one side benefits will not occur.

To that end, we have to promote Killian as much as possible, and if the Liberal Party takes the lead here, it will be quite appealing to citizens who are soaked in national pride.

“There are already medals for those who have made achievements.”

“There are many people who have made special contributions this time, so we should take this opportunity to reorganize. Isn’t it the responsibility of our parliament to offer such honors to those who have devoted themselves to the country?”

“The Prince Consort has already been awarded the Order of the Garter [a British order of chivalry]······.”

“Considering his decisive role in defeating Russia and his achievements in saving the lives of countless soldiers by reorganizing the medical system, we must create a new medal for His Royal Highness!”

The debate continues to heat up.

It’s a tense battle of nerves between ‘Aren’t you guys just trying to cozy up to the Prince Consort? Let’s keep it moderate’ and ‘We can’t stand to see you guys turn this into your achievement’.

At this point, the Conservative Party cannot fail to grasp the Liberal Party’s strategy.

Wellesley and Disraeli exchanged glances a few times, then nodded and smiled.

“After listening, I think Member of Parliament Gladstone’s opinion makes sense.”

“Let’s gather the opinions of the parliament to suggest to Her Majesty the Queen to create a new medal named after Her Majesty. Hahaha!”

Since Killian is close to the Conservative Party anyway, the Conservative Party will receive trickle-down effects if his influence grows.

Wellesley and Disraeli had finished their calculations like that.

On the other hand, Gladstone believed that if the influence of the royal family became stronger than that of the Conservative Party, subtle cracks would inevitably occur.

Power is something that cannot be shared even with family, so how long can an equal and friendly relationship be maintained?

If the balance of power is intertwined to a level that cannot be conceded to each other, someone will eventually have to bow down.

The great war is coming to an end, but the British Parliament is becoming more and more busy with their own schemes.

* * *

Russia had lost in everyone’s eyes, but they still did not admit defeat.

The work of driving Emperor Nicholas into a corner was also progressing smoothly.

There are always those guys who are like that, whether playing chess, Go [a strategic board game], or video games.

Guys who are clearly losing but never end it, stubbornly dragging out time and accumulating meaningless fatigue.

People who, even though the game is over, sneak out a worker and build bases in every corner of the map, saying, ‘I will never surrender’.

Such people must be thoroughly re-educated and completely crushed so that they never dare to do so again.

This is not because I have no mercy, but because it is the realization of justice and the inevitable return of things to their proper place that everyone desires.

-According to the British Empire, Emperor Nicholas is stubbornly refusing to surrender and demanding that his pride be upheld in some way.

-It has been confirmed that if this is refused, the Emperor will issue a general mobilization order and send a threatening letter saying that he will create as many deaths as possible.

-The Russian army has currently suffered at least 140,000 deaths, and the number of casualties is estimated to be over 500,000. If the Emperor carries out unreasonable attacks here, at least hundreds of thousands more lives will be sacrificed, and this meaningless death is due to the Emperor’s pride in not wanting to surrender even though defeat has already been confirmed······.

Kya! Once the reins are released, it can’t be stopped.

I expected it, but the effect is beyond imagination.

There was no brake in the world that could control the Russian journalists who had been suppressed until now.

No matter how hard the Russian government tried to punish the spreaders of the rumors, claiming they were just simple rumors, it was already too late.

If you arrest one person, two more are born, and if you close one newspaper, two more are created the next day.

Information control is by no means a panacea.

It is only meaningful when at least the organization is functioning, but with the military organization and the administration half-gone, who is controlling whom?

“Are you telling us to die?”

“Shut your mouth!”

“Whether I die deserting or die to the enemy, dying is the same! I can’t stay here anymore! Get lost, all of you!”

Even in the military:

“Ughhhhh! The Emperor should step down!”

“Absolutely against additional conscription!”

“If you want to fight a war, go do it yourself!”

And in the capital:

No matter how hard they tried to crack down, Russia couldn’t handle the worsening public opinion. Gradually, even the nobles and the Emperor realized there was no solution.

If they pushed it any further, military units might revolt, or a revolution like in France might occur.

In the end, Russia chose the only way to resolve this situation.

“Dear citizens! This is all a misunderstanding! There was a slight miscommunication. We have no intention of continuing this pointless fight.”

They had intended to surrender from the beginning, but the message was conveyed incorrectly, causing people to misunderstand. The truth is this.

Finally, the Emperor himself announced Russia’s intention to surrender.

Russia’s defeat was confirmed as a definite fact.

The worst war of the 19th century, which dragged in the entire world, ended, leaving behind the shocking fact that the combined casualties on both sides could be close to one million.

* * *

The war is over.

It’s not just a matter of ceasefire agreements or meaningless words; having clearly stated the intention to surrender, it’s truly irreversible now.

“The Russian bastards surrendered, aaaaaah!”

“Can we go home now?”

“Waaaaaaah!”

“Oh God! Thank you! Thank you!”

The soldiers who heard the news of Russia’s surrender naturally erupted in celebration.

Winning the war, showing the Russians who’s boss—these things were not important to the soldiers.

“Going home! We can go home!”

“Now I have to burn all these damn wills. Hooo, damn, I hope those Russian bastards don’t change their minds.”

“If they change their minds this time, I’ll kill them all.”

For the soldiers, the most important thing was not the fact that they had won, but the relief that they could now return home.

Liberated from all the anguish, anxiety, and fear they had endured, the soldiers hugged each other, shouted, danced, and used every means to express their joy.

The officers, too, did not directly join the frenzy like the soldiers, but they could not hide the smiles that filled their faces, and they shared this joy with everyone.

However, even in the midst of this, there were people who were silently doing their jobs.

“Nurse, shouldn’t you take a break, at least for today?”

“The wounded don’t suddenly get better just because the war is over. And it’s precisely at times like these that we need to pay even more attention to the patients, especially the soldiers who might be worried about dying in the ward now that the war is over.”

“······.”

As if nothing—neither the end of the war nor the return home—could shake her.

Nightingale was inspecting the ward and caring for the wounded with the same dedication as always.

In fact, she was doing twice as much work because she had sent the other nurses, who were reveling in the joy of victory, to rest.

She was always there beside the wounded soldiers who showed mournful tears at the sound of cheers and songs coming from outside.

“Nurse, will I be able to return alive?”

“Of course.”

“Nurse… I miss my mom.”

“I’ll make sure you get out of here alive, so you can tell her how heroically you fought and ended up in the hospital, and how you came back alive from there, one by one.”

Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, the second son of the Marquess of Salisbury, who stuck close to Nightingale and observed all her medical activities, was in a constant state of shock.

Unlike the typical scions [descendants] of the upper class, he constantly saw soldiers being carried into the ward with severe injuries.

After spending not just a day or two, but several years like that, he felt something changing without realizing it.

Perhaps that’s why.

Unlike the officers who were fully immersed in the victorious atmosphere, he silently guarded the inside of the ward and lent a hand with the necessary tasks.

When the busy work was roughly finished,

Nightingale, who sat down on a makeshift chair as if collapsing to catch her breath, spoke.

“What will you do when you return, Major?”

“…I will enter Parliament.”

“You’re going to go into politics.”

“Yes. That’s the conclusion I came to after seeing countless soldiers dying on the battlefield.”

She didn’t say anything more.

Her affection hadn’t disappeared. Rather, seeing her dedicate herself to the soldiers and save the lives of so many people throughout the war, that feeling deepened even more.

But at the same time, he was able to understand why she had said she had no intention of getting married.

Now, he just wanted to help her realize her dreams even more.

“What I’ve learned from this experience is that it doesn’t make sense for those who don’t know what war is to talk about war in the first place. Those who don’t know this sight shouldn’t even mention war.”

“Why?”

“Because you can’t see people above the reports filled with numbers.”

Nightingale, who had been listening quietly to the words filled with heavy reflection, slowly nodded.

“You will inherit your father’s title and become the Marquess of Salisbury, Major, right? I hope you become a politician who doesn’t forget that feeling you have now.”

“Thank you. I, too, will definitely… become a politician like His Grace…”

“Hmm? Isn’t His Grace not a politician?”

“Ah, that’s right. Hahahaha!”

At first, it was a war he had participated in simply because he wanted to be by the side of the woman he loved, and although he ultimately failed to win her heart, he had no regrets.

Nightingale and he made a promise to have a meal together at his mansion on her day off when they returned to London.

That was enough.

“Ah, by the way, Miss Nightingale. If it’s okay with you…”

Since the atmosphere was good, he was about to say that it would be nice to meet and have a meal together more often than just once, when…

He heard the sound of soldiers’ footsteps approaching rapidly from afar.

Based on his long experience, it was clear that this was the sound of someone running with someone on a stretcher.

Robert, who was about to speak, reflexively got up from his seat and immediately opened the door to let the patient in.

“Please wait a moment! I’ll go get Professor John Snow right away!”

Nightingale, watching his back as he ran faster than anyone else, chuckled and calmly examined the patient’s condition.

“I look forward to seeing you in Parliament.”

At first, she wondered why Killian was trying to raise that child so much, but now she seemed to understand.

The war had changed so much.

Some gained honor, some lost their lives, but all the surviving soldiers had one thing in common: deep, indelible scars etched in their hearts.

When they return to their hometowns, will they be able to adapt well, and will there be any social problems?

After finishing the emergency treatment and listening to the songs of victory coming through the walls, she felt like some inspiration might come to her.

Thus, Nightingale constantly pondered what she should do after the war ended, and did not leave the side of the injured soldiers until the day of victory arrived.