I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 261

The capital of France.

Paris.

“Haa…”

François Guizot, the Prime Minister of Victory, heavily promoted for bringing the war to a victorious conclusion, shook his head while puffing on a cigarette.

The damage is too great.

Rough estimates put the casualties at nearly 100,000, with tens of thousands dead.

Excluding the Napoleonic Wars, it was a blow of such magnitude that one wondered if France had ever suffered such damage before.

The Napoleonic Wars were understandable, as France fought against all of Europe for over a decade.

But the war with Russia hadn’t even lasted three years.

Yet, in that short time, they had suffered this much loss.

Right now, they were busy promoting how they had crushed Russia and demonstrated France’s might, so it seemed okay, but the time to face reality would come someday.

Sooner or later, they would have to pay the price for exhausting the nation’s strength in this war, and how to make up for this was the government’s top priority.

“Minister, how are the preparations for the conference going?”

“The British side has already expressed strong support for holding the treaty in Paris. The Ottomans have also agreed, and Russia will have no choice but to come.”

“With Britain’s approval, it’s safe to say that it will be held in France.”

“France is the only city where representatives from each country can be invited to coordinate their opinions in the first place.”

As Foreign Minister Édouard Drouyn de Lhuys said, Paris is a city of tradition where numerous historical conferences have been held.

Moreover, in terms of accessibility, there were not many places where dignitaries from various European countries could travel so easily.

“There must be no loopholes in safety and security, so please do your best until the very end.”

“Yes.”

“Have the representatives from each country been decided?”

“Britain has announced that His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Killian, will come in person. Russia will be represented by Foreign Minister Gorchakov, and Austria by Foreign Minister Count Karl Ferdinand von Buol. And the Ottoman Empire will likely be represented by Ali Pasha, who has served as Grand Vizier.”

“What about Prussia?”

He had expected Manteuffel, who had recently become Prime Minister with the favor of Wilhelm IV, to come, but Minister Louis’s words were different from what he had expected.

“A young ambassador named Otto von Bismarck will be coming.”

“Bismarck? That’s the first time I’ve heard that name.”

“I’ve also investigated, and he’s actually someone you’d expect to hear about for the first time. He’s a young man in his thirties with no particular public service experience.”

“They’re sending a thirty-year-old kid to such an important treaty?”

“Prime Minister, if you put it that way, His Royal Highness Killian is just over thirty himself.”

Ah, that’s right. He was so cunning, like someone who had been in politics for thirty years, that he had forgotten that he was only thirty years old.

Guizot quickly added a word.

“He is also the youngest minister in British history. The weight of experience is different. On the other hand, this young man named Bismarck seems to be a Junker [Prussian nobleman] who has risen to prominence suddenly…”

“Yes. Even after investigating, there is no particularly unusual career, and it is still a mystery how he caught the king’s eye.”

“Well, we’ll be able to see this time whether he’s just a Junker who got lucky or a real talent… Minister, please observe him closely.”

“…Yes.”

As the armistice agreement to be held in Paris approached, Guizot felt more and more like a hole was being drilled in his stomach.

How should I express this?

It’s like a predetermined catastrophe is far away, but you have no choice but to walk forward.

“No matter what happens, we must extract as much as possible from Russia.”

The only way to make up for the losses this time is to empty Russia’s pockets and fill the depleted national treasury.

The problem is that France is not the only country thinking that way.

France suffered the most damage, but the British Empire inflicted the most severe damage on Russia.

So, the British Empire will assert their rights and try to take something more, right?

Next, there is the Ottoman Empire, which suffered similar damage to France and fought the war within their territory.

And then there’s Prussia, which France is most concerned about.

“Now that Russia has collapsed, I believe you are well aware that our greatest enemy is likely to be Prussia.”

“Of course. I will try to create a situation in which Prussia is suppressed by siding with Austria.”

“That’s a good idea. I’m counting on you, Minister, so please do your best.”

“Yes. Still, for now, we will make every preparation to ensure that there is no shortage of hospitality for the distinguished guests. His Royal Highness Killian and the Russian Minister are scheduled to arrive next week.”

“They’re coming quickly.”

So, the real winner and loser of this war are arriving first?

“First of all, His Majesty also wants to meet His Royal Highness Killian, so please coordinate the schedule. And I… no, it would be better if I went to the welcoming ceremony myself, so there’s no need to leave it to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”

“Understood. Then what should we do about Russia?”

“Let the Ministry of Foreign Affairs handle that. But we shouldn’t give the impression that they are being treated too poorly.”

He wanted to cut them off at the vice-minister level, let alone the minister, but if the Russian bastards were treated like trash just because they were unpleasant, it would damage their prestige.

They had to give them the minimum treatment to avoid any backlash.

Politics is about smiling on the outside and stabbing in the back, and even if they are enemies, treating them poorly openly is only proof of being third-rate.

“But Prime Minister, the Russian Minister is showing signs of trying to contact the British side.”

“…?”

“It seems they are trying to reduce their losses even a little bit before the agreement.”

“That’s possible. They wouldn’t want to have everything taken away from them either. Come to think of it, has Minister Gorchakov ever been to England?”

I think the previous minister, Nesselrode, had met Killian several times, but I don’t know about the current one.

“I don’t think so. Gorchakov was appointed after Nesselrode was dismissed after the war broke out.”

“Is that so? Then it’s okay.”

“Are you saying we can just leave it alone?”

He’s probably trying to get something for himself, but who is Guizot?

He is the Prime Minister of France who has crossed the English Channel more than anyone else, and the purpose was to talk to Killian.

That’s why he knew very well.

If you try to get something out of that man, you will end up being played by his sweet talk.

“Yes. Let’s just let him enjoy it.”

Everything is not perfect, but I have done as much as I can.

The war with guns and cannons is now over.

From now on, it’s time to fight with tongues and ink.

* * *

In the original history, Russia lost the war but spared no effort to get the best possible results.

Still, defeat was defeat, so they had to make considerable concessions, but there were many claims that even the victorious countries did not take away as much spoils as they had sacrificed.

The interests of several countries were intricately intertwined, and although Russia had lost, the war ended in a state where it was difficult to say that it had been completely neutralized.

But now, Russia was in a worse situation, even though the Emperor was still alive.

The damage they suffered was even greater, and the perception of the Emperor and the nobles was plummeting to the point where it was about to touch the Earth’s core.

In addition, the key figures in the military were not killed in action, but were still alive with resentment towards the top, so they were carrying a potential bomb.

Moreover, journalists who opposed censorship were posting broadsides [single-sided sheets of paper printed with news or announcements] and printing newspapers every day, and citizens were fully aware of how messed up Russia was.

In that situation, just before entering Paris, Foreign Minister Gorchakov of Russia visited this camp at the earnest request of the Russian side.

I was honestly curious about how Russia thought about the current situation and how they judged me, so I gladly accepted him.

However, I attached the condition that this was an official meeting, and Russia, which had no time to argue about the conditions, unconditionally agreed, saying they would do anything to meet.

Anyway, after going through such a process, Minister Gorchakov, Russia’s plenipotentiary ambassador and chief of diplomacy, was now sitting in front of me with an almost living corpse-like face.

“Our Russia has never wanted to have a bad relationship with the British Empire from the beginning.”

“…….”

“All of this is because the Ottomans and France pressured our country and tried to alienate our country from the British Empire.”

“Ah. So, when your former minister came to London, he was desperately trying to find out how prepared our British Empire was for war.”

“……?”

“You didn’t think we wouldn’t know? Ah, this is very disappointing.”

I wondered if they still didn’t know who was playing them.

Or maybe they just thought that Minister Nesselrode was the worst idiot in the world and made a hasty guess and ruined everything.

Well, if you’re going to shift the blame, it’s right to take that attitude.

“What kind of alienation are you talking about when those who rushed into action as soon as they got the conviction that the British Empire was not at all prepared for war and would not fight with Russia no matter what?”

“Wait, wait… that’s a misunderstanding.”

“Our country has suffered nearly 10,000 casualties from this war.”

To be exact, 6,000 people. Even that was almost a third less than in the original history, but there is a calculation method called rounding in this world.

So, anyway, we had a whopping 10,000 casualties, you bad guys.

“As for the scale of damage, we also…”

“Russia’s damage was self-inflicted, and we are victims who were caught up in your country’s tyranny, aren’t we? Don’t try to lump us together slyly.”

“We will compensate for all the damage that our country has caused to the British Empire. If necessary, we will pay with interest.”

“Hmm?”

I haven’t said anything yet, but you’re already trying to settle it yourself? This is not the Russia I know. There must be some ulterior motive.

As expected, when I nodded for him to continue, Gorchakov began to spit out his real intentions.

“In fact, Russia’s economy is already on the verge of collapse. If you ask a beggar to give you money, where will the beggar get the money? But even so, we will somehow raise compensation and pay it to the British Empire.”

“Ah. I see what you mean. You’ll do everything we want, but in return, you want us to help you make only minimal compensation to the others?”

“Rather than helping, I am begging you to understand our situation. If you squeeze us more, there will be nothing left to come out, so how can we raise money?”

So, if you just refuse to pay, you won’t get any money either, so let’s compromise appropriately.

In return for taking our side, we will give the British Empire a definite compensation with interest, so wouldn’t that be good for each other? It seems like you’ve been thinking hard.

But I think you’re misunderstanding something. Why do you have to receive the compensation in money?

“Then let’s do that. If our British Empire pays the interest we want, I will take responsibility and help you make only minimal compensation to other countries.”

“Oh, really? As expected, Your Highness. I heard that you are incomparably intelligent and have an excellent insight into the overall picture, and indeed, your reputation precedes you…”

“Give us ten times the money that our British Empire spent in this war as compensation. Since you said you would definitely pay the interest, we applied a 900% interest rate.”

“Yes? You want ten times as much, what kind of…”

Your proposal is nonsense, so just get out of here. I see that this person has a bit of a lack of understanding.

“If you can’t meet this condition, I have no intention of negotiating with Russia alone.”

“Ten times is impossible! In the first place, with that money, you could pay all the compensation to other countries and still have money left over.”

“Is that so? Then let’s do that.”

“If you set too harsh conditions, the agreement may fall apart.”

“Then we can just start the war again. But then it won’t end like this. At the very least, we will take all of the Ukrainian black soil zone [fertile agricultural region]. In fact, if we only have that much, we don’t need to receive money from that side. We got a granary that will be responsible for the British Empire’s food production in the future, so let’s just think of the money as being used to buy land.”

I put on the best kind smile I could and got up from my seat and opened the tent that was blocking the side.

Then, the sight of people busily moving their pens while recording all of the current conversation came into view.

“If I show the conversation I just had with the Minister to France or the Ottoman Empire, wouldn’t they be so happy that they would dance with joy? I think they would just give up on the agreement and push their troops in and divide the territory as much as they could to extract profits.”

“Wait a minute! I didn’t hear anything about recording this conversation. This is a clear…”

“What are you talking about? I clearly set the condition that this was an official meeting. What country in the world doesn’t keep records when holding such an important meeting? You didn’t think I accepted the request to have a private joke with the Minister, did you?”

So, if you want to make a secret deal, you should have thrown it at the right time and situation.

You’re just trying to be clever with the sole purpose of reducing losses, so you keep tripping over yourself.

“Breach, I request a breach. As a party to this meeting…”

“Ah, yes. I understand. I’ll break it for you. If you promise me just one thing, I will gladly shred this paper and erase everything that just happened from my mind.”

“…Tell me.”

“Russia has been threatening to restrict exports of food from the black soil zone whenever we have had conflicts, hasn’t it? To prevent you from playing such tricks again, I want to agree on the price and quantity of food exports. If we discuss this at the main meeting, other countries may demand the same conditions, so let’s make a separate agreement with us in addition to the Paris Treaty. How about it? Is it reasonable?”

In the future, you’ll just have to shut up and be our food shuttle, which means that Russia is giving up one of its greatest strengths, which allowed it to make some noise to the British Empire.

In some ways, this may be much more painful in the long run than paying a few bucks in compensation.

“Wait a minute. This is not a matter that I can decide. The rights I have been granted are only…”

“Ah, yes. Then let’s just make public all the conversations that took place in Paris until now. Goodbye, Minister. It was a pleasant conversation.”

“Wait a minute! I will get His Majesty’s permission no matter what. So please give me some time.”

“The deadline is until we enter Paris. You’ll have to hurry so you won’t be late. Otherwise, the righteous personality within me might just convey Russia’s evil plot to undermine the harmony of our alliance to Prime Minister Guizot right away.”

As soon as I finished speaking, Minister Gorchakov got up from his seat and ran outside.

And exactly 1 hour and 15 minutes before entering Paris after receiving France’s invitation to prepare a grand welcoming event.

Gorchakov’s tearful declaration of surrender, saying that he would accept this side’s proposal, arrived before me.

So, who told you to do petty tricks in advance?

Negotiate fairly like me, fairly.

Then you might get a surprise gift before entering this main negotiation.

Indeed, people should live kindly.