I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 27

Became a Hidden Power in the British Empire 27

The Godfather of Conservatism

The process of nominating Wellesley as a candidate for Southampton proceeded smoothly as expected.

“He’s just starting his military career, and he’s already retiring to enter politics? Isn’t that a bit sudden?”

“I heard he originally wanted to achieve more in the military, but our party has been struggling recently, so he decided to run in a difficult area to lend a hand.”

“Really? I didn’t know that, but he seems more decent than I thought.”

“Anyway, Southampton had no other strong candidates besides Fleming, so it’s not bad for our party either. I guess it’s time for our party to break away from its old image.”

Recently, the public perception of the Tory party in England could be summarized in one phrase:

– Old Conservative Geezers

This was entirely the Tory party’s own fault, and their popularity was at rock bottom.

If these elder statesmen were effective, it would be one thing, but they couldn’t even handle the riots properly, nor could they resolve the tensions with the Irish.

On top of that, they don’t even listen to the demands of the middle class, so it’s no wonder they’re unpopular.

The only thing the Tory party is currently praised for is:

Voting against reform bills that go against the interests of landowners and aristocrats.

Once this image of being an old and outdated party is established, it will be difficult to shake off for years to come.

In this situation, the emergence of young politicians like Wellesley was definitely a positive sign.

In addition to Wellesley, there’s also Gladstone, who attended the same school as him.

The party’s senior members thought that if they played their cards right, they could shed the Tory party’s outdated image.

Leaders of the party, such as Robert Peel and the Duke of Wellington, were desperate not to miss this opportunity.

Honestly, if they couldn’t even capitalize on this kind of momentum, they should just retire from politics and spend the rest of their lives as irrelevant figures in the background.

No matter how hard they try, they won’t be able to completely turn the election around, but even gaining one more seat would be a victory.

And I was also thinking of bringing one more person into parliament on this wave, so I hoped that this phenomenon of young politicians attracting attention would be highlighted as much as possible.

“James, did you find the person I asked you to look into?”

“Yes. He’s running for election and has written a few books that were quite popular, so it wasn’t difficult.”

“That’s a relief. I was worried it might take a long time.”

“But why did you choose him? After doing some research, he’s talented, but not exceptionally so. I admit that his audacity to jump into politics as an independent is commendable. Do you think he will win this election?”

No way. Absolutely not.

From what I remember of history, the person I asked you to investigate was someone who wouldn’t win an election anytime soon.

He didn’t graduate from a prestigious university that the British admire, nor did he come from the elite public schools like Eton, Harrow, or Winchester.

Moreover, he even had the disadvantage of being of Jewish descent, which still wasn’t viewed favorably in British society.

In every way, he was someone who didn’t fit in with the mainstream of British society, and in reality, he faced defeat in election after election.

It was a completely different path from Gladstone, who was elected immediately and made a brilliant debut in politics.

Nevertheless, he didn’t stop running even after losing six times, and eventually entered Parliament as a Conservative MP.

And in the future, he would become a great figure in the Conservative Party and form a lifelong rivalry with Gladstone, who would become the leader of the Liberal Party.

The man I asked James to investigate was Benjamin Disraeli.

I had assumed that the future leader of the Conservative Party had run as a Conservative from the start, but he initially ran as an independent.

Did he seriously think he would win?

He’s not much different in age from Charles or Gladstone, but he’s an incredibly audacious individual.

“I told you I wanted to meet him in person, right? What did he say?”

“He said he can make time. He’s struggling to find a proper sponsor, so wouldn’t he feel like he’s found an oasis in the desert?”

“It was a more total mess than I thought.”

I always knew that his financial situation would be poor because he kept losing elections, but I didn’t realize it would be this hopeless.

Did he really try to win the election based solely on the success of a few novels?

Perhaps Disraeli in his youth was full of confidence.

Everyone has that side of them when they’re young, but I had pictured him as a rather dignified figure because he was the leader of the Conservative Party. This is a bit unexpected.

Well, I’m not exactly a history major, so I can’t be sure, but he may have been known as someone with a flamboyant personality from the beginning.

It was definitely a contrast to the righteous and serious Gladstone, so the thought of them side by side was intriguing.

“Make an appointment as soon as possible. I want to meet him in person and talk to him.”

“Are you going to show your face and meet him in person?”

“Because he’s someone I want to make a good political partner in the future. I’m going to build a good relationship with him from now on.”

I’m sending Charles Wellesley to Parliament, but he’s strictly on an equal footing with me.

If I influence him well, he can act as I want, but he’s a collaborator who needs to be handled with extra care.

So, I needed to find someone who could act more according to my will, and who had abilities no less than Gladstone.

In that respect, Disraeli was the best card I could play.

Looking at his future actions, his potential has already been proven, and his political and economic background isn’t yet solid.

If I invest wisely here, it will become a 효자 종목 [hyoja jongmok, lit. filial piety item, i.e., a blue-chip stock] that will bring dozens of times the profit in the future.

I made an appointment to meet Disraeli in person as soon as possible to discuss sponsorship.

* * *

They say that a person’s actions are like the footprints of their life.

Looking at the records, it’s not difficult to roughly infer what kind of person they are.

And Disraeli was as lively and witty as I expected.

“Hello! I’m Benjamin Disraeli!”

A person who wants to enter politics comes to meet a potential sponsor wearing a flashy, bright green suit.

Just from this, it’s clear that he’s someone who has far surpassed the mindset of an ordinary person.

“I’m Killian Gore, heir to Earl Aaron Backer Arthur Gore. I apologize for asking you to come all the way here when you’re so busy.”

“It’s quite alright. It’s my first time seeing the area near Eton College in person.”

Taking off his eye-catching fashionable fedora, he took the coffee cup that James handed him and sat down lightly in front of me.

“But as you said, I’m not a particularly leisurely person, so would it be alright if we got straight to the point?”

“Of course. You’ll have to go back quickly and prepare for the election again. By the way, have you given any thought to how you’re going to campaign?”

“Well… I’ll give some speeches to the citizens and put up posters outlining my platform here and there.”

“You’re not planning on adopting the same methods that other candidates are using? It might sound harsh, but it doesn’t seem like there’s any hope with that approach.”

The High Wycombe constituency where Disraeli was running was by no means an easy place.

Moreover, as an independent, Disraeli couldn’t receive help from the party, so he had to conduct the entire election with his own resources and organization.

This meant that giving speeches and distributing printed materials would inevitably be significantly less effective than what the opposing candidates could do.

Disraeli must have known that fact, but it was a problem that he couldn’t solve with his individual abilities, so he just smiled awkwardly and didn’t offer any other solutions.

“My assessment is that I have no choice but to focus on making my name known for now. Fortunately, I’m not completely unknown, so if I push hard enough, maybe there will be an opening?”

“I think Disraeli himself knows best that that’s not realistic. That kind of method is just continuing to beat your head against a wall. I heard from James that I called you here because I wanted to sponsor you. Please give me an honest analysis and assessment. That way, I can trust you and provide support, right?”

“Before that, I want to ask you something. What do you see in me that makes you want to sponsor me? Perhaps you’re a big fan of my books…”

“Something like that. I have high expectations for Disraeli.”

“I’ve also done some research, and Earl Aaron Backer is in the Tory party. Do you want to bring me into the Tory party?”

After making the appointment and doing some research, Disraeli was not only an independent, but also made claims that were quite aligned with radical progressivism.

Looking at his current actions, there was an unbelievable discrepancy with his historical path of becoming the leader of the Conservative Party.

“Don’t you agree with the Tory party’s ideology?”

“It’s not necessarily that. I don’t reject the idea of maintaining tradition and social order. But I feel a bit frustrated with their overly rigid attitude.”

“Then that makes things even easier. In fact, we are aiming for a more flexible system that maintains the core ideology of the Tory party while allowing for more open-mindedness. There are some young candidates who share our views.”

“It sounds plausible, but Killian seems too young. I heard you’re a freshman at Eton, so aren’t you twelve years old this year? I don’t think you can directly intervene in the party’s affairs.”

Since Disraeli is about 16 years older than me, I haven’t even lived half his life yet.

It’s only natural that he wouldn’t take me seriously if I claimed to know the Tory party inside and out, or that our ideology was superior.

In fact, if I didn’t have the title of heir to the Earl, he wouldn’t have even bothered to come and meet me like this.

“Let me clarify one thing. I’m not trying to recruit Disraeli on behalf of the Tory party. Killian Gore is trying to sponsor Disraeli as an individual.”

“······Pardon?”

“You don’t have to run as a Tory in this election either. In fact, if you are elected as an independent, you will be valued even more when you join the party later.”

Disraeli’s hand holding the coffee cup froze in mid-air.

“So, the Earl Aaron Backer family is going to sponsor me…?”

“No. Didn’t I tell you? Killian Gore is going to invest in Disraeli as an individual.”

“I don’t understand. Either way, when Killian becomes the Earl, won’t the Earl family sponsor me? No, before that, even if you proceed with this without the Earl’s consent, it won’t be effective…”

A hint of annoyance crossed his face, as he thought that all of this might be a child’s game.

He was already unlikely to win this election, but he needed to promote himself, so he must be angry that he had taken unnecessary steps.

In this case, the easiest way to inspire confidence is to simply show proof.

“To put it bluntly, I don’t need my father’s permission to get one Disraeli elected. James, show him.”

“Yes.”

Disraeli’s eyes widened as he saw the account containing the income from the casino, which had been successfully established and was still thriving.

More than half of the money was invested in Chicago, but the remaining balance in the account was still over 100,000 pounds.

The income from the casino, which has grown several times in size, amounted to tens of thousands of pounds per year.

In other words, with just one casino, the money I was already earning was on par with a wealthy British aristocrat.

Considering the 150,000 pounds taken from Turner and the assets that are growing in Chicago, there may not be anyone in England except the royal family who has more money than me, a 12-year-old boy.

“T, this, how many zeros… 10,000, no, more than 100,000 pounds?”

“It’s purely my personal money, which has nothing to do with the Earl Aaron Backer family. Do you think it’s worth coming here with this much?”

“S, so… wait a minute. Let’s organize my thoughts first. Hmm…”

The amount of money that candidates running in elections at this time spent until they were elected was generally known to be between several hundred pounds and, at most, around a thousand pounds.

Even if Disraeli’s financial situation is poor, if he spends more than twice as much money as his competitor, it will be difficult to lose the election.

Because elections at this time were often a case of 돈찍누 [donjjiknu, lit. stamping with money, i.e., winning by outspending opponents], which was a surefire method.

And a politician with a weak financial foundation can never ignore the words of the sponsor who became his biggest source of money in the early days.

I slowly held out a 2,000-pound bill that could be received immediately to Disraeli and began to speak.

“I will spare no support so that Disraeli can advance to the House of Commons. So, how about we become comrades who will reform this frustrating British politics together? Even if others with limited vision don’t recognize it, I have no doubt that Disraeli will become a great politician who will share our views.”

“I don’t think I’ve done anything to deserve such high praise…”

“······It is said that a book is a mirror of the heart. By reading the books you have written, I can indirectly understand your thoughts and how you view the world. And I am convinced that someone like you can definitely become a major figure in British politics in the future.”

Perhaps it was because the 짬밥 [jjambap, lit. leftover rice from the military, i.e., experience] from my previous life hadn’t disappeared, but Disraeli’s expression brightened noticeably at the impromptu praise.

He jumped into the political arena with the 패기 [paegi, lit. spirit, i.e., ambition] of youth, but he couldn’t find a proper sponsor, and he was bound to fail in the election, so there was no way he wouldn’t be anxious.

He must have been worried about what would happen if this continued next year and the year after.

In the meantime, he met a sponsor who recognized his potential by looking at his book, which he was 은근히 [eun-geun-hi, lit. subtly, i.e., secretly] proud of, so it would be strange if he didn’t smile.

“Thank you for seeing me in such a positive light. Then… can we have a detailed discussion about sponsorship?”

“Of course. Then, since the discussion could be lengthy, shall we continue our conversation over a meal?”

“That’s a good idea. I was getting hungry anyway. Hahaha!”

Disraeli, who was now completely free from the fear of defeat, laughed heartily again.

I also gave him a faint smile.

With this, I succeeded in gaining another reliable helper who would work in Parliament on my behalf in addition to Charles Wellesley.

And with someone who has more potential and is more promising than anyone else.

In fact, the person who wants to laugh out loud the most right now is not Disraeli, but me.