I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 315

Diplomatic War (2)

Killian, the Duke of Canada and son-in-law of the British Empire, must be in a rather delicate position.

At least, that was the conclusion Ambassador Francis had reached based on the information he had gathered so far.

As the Duke of Canada, he pursued an active immigration policy to revitalize Canada.

From Irish immigrants to blacks, and even German immigrants who had lost their way after failing in the revolution.

Recently, even Asian immigrants from across the Pacific have been flocking in, so it would not be an exaggeration to call it a melting pot of races.

What’s surprising is that the vast majority of them support the Duke and regard his words as gospel.

Among them, the support of the Canadian Tories [members of the Conservative party], the Irish, and the blacks was almost religious.

However, this war has made it impossible to avoid the division of Killian’s solid support base.

This is because the positions of the wealthy Tories who own large-scale factories and the Irish and black workers who are close to the common people are bound to diverge.

“There are divided opinions in Canada…”

“Yes, in fact, Canada is home to as many different people as our United States. Blacks despise the South, but others think Canada could benefit greatly from this opportunity. In fact, there have been signs that Southern rebels are trying to contact Canadian factory owners who produce military supplies.”

“I see.”

Many of Canada’s Tories held aristocratic ideals, and they were originally close to the South.

However, many of the workers and blacks who came from Ireland despised the aristocrats and hated slavery.

So, to be mindful of the majority of citizens, they have no choice but to reject the South, but considering the interests of the wealthy vested interests, they cannot simply ignore the South.

There is no way that someone like Killian would not know this dilemma.

“But, Your Excellency, as the Parliament has already stated, Canada has signed military supply export contracts with Mexico and Spain. Wouldn’t factory owners care who they sell weapons to?”

“That’s true, but the vested interests in Canada won’t like the scenario of us winning this war. It is highly likely that they will not be happy with Your Highness’s declaration of neutrality itself.”

As a rule, the more a person is revered and praised, the more people become jealous and envious.

Right now, no one can threaten Killian’s stronghold, but if there is a loophole to exploit, there will always be those who make noise.

There were always rebellious intellectuals who hated royalty no matter what.

Neutrality may seem like a balanced perspective at first glance, but in reality, it is just a stopgap measure that cannot satisfy both sides.

It is no coincidence that Washington’s political circles are becoming increasingly filled with people making extreme claims.

When you think about it, isn’t this war ultimately a product of that trend?

Ambassador Francis briefly explained the current situation and predictions they had grasped.

Killian listened to him silently, tilting his coffee cup, without raising a single objection.

“So, Your Excellency, you’re saying that maintaining neutrality could give extremists room to maneuver. That’s a valid point.”

“How can I keep up with Your Highness’s knowledge? However, I am concerned that Your Highness has been in London recently and may not know what the local atmosphere is like, so I am saying this out of concern.”

“I heard from my son that the atmosphere in Canada is turbulent. Still, I feel more organized when you tell me that, Ambassador. Thank you.”

Killian nodded with a sincere smile as if he understood, and Francis rejoiced inwardly.

“It’s not enough to simply declare neutrality, so we need to show our will more clearly. The South is sending an ambassador anyway… Come to think of it, the Federation does not recognize the South as a country, does it?”

“That’s right. This is not a war, but a rebellion. Therefore, as a representative of the Federation, I would like to say that these so-called ambassadors have no rights whatsoever.”

“Conversely, they will ask us to treat them as a country.”

His tone seems relaxed, but no matter what I say, he doesn’t show any signs of agitation or even the slightest movement.

Did he foresee all of this from the beginning? Or is he simply good at keeping a poker face?

Still, the ambassador of the Federation has a set of things to say here, so there is no choice.

“What they want is to somehow take advantage of the British Empire’s mighty power. I believe that Your wise Highness is fully aware of their shallow tricks.”

“I’m not that great of a person. But since you gave me good advice, I’ll give you some information in return.”

“Information…”

“These are the conditions that the South has presented to Canada. And I think they probably offered similar conditions to France and other European countries.”

The promise of various vested interests based on the permanent division of the North and South.

When they said that they would actively help European countries advance into South America, I had to risk being rude and check the truth.

And when I realized that all of this was true, I finally realized what my expression was like and hurriedly tried to fix it, but it was already too late.

“T, this is… a completely meaningless proposal. As I said before, the South is not a formal country, but a rebel group, and this has no legal effect…”

“So, they’re going to ask you to recognize them. Actually, I didn’t reveal this on purpose in the Parliament. If I reveal it, the Parliament may immediately lean towards supporting the South.”

“T, thank you. We owe Your Highness a great debt.”

Killian has shown as much goodwill as he can by maintaining neutrality even though the South has proposed such insane conditions.

And I dared to lecture such a person that neutrality is too weak and that he should take our side… What if he was offended?

“Y, Your Highness, please just ignore what I said earlier…”

“When the Southern ambassador comes, I might leak these conditions to other lawmakers. So, if you want to prevent the atmosphere from changing, I think I should use my power to help you.”

He stopped talking there, but I wasn’t stupid enough not to understand what Killian was trying to say.

An indirect rebuke to re-examine the basic situation and present conditions.

If I make a wrong step here, the worst possible outcome that I could never have imagined may be derived.

The sense of victory that I had been trying to climb up with just a moment ago disappeared as if washed away, and I felt a cold sweat running down my spine.

* * *

I slipped the conditions presented by the South, but it doesn’t matter because everyone will know about it soon.

At first glance, it’s a tempting condition, but if you think about it calmly, there’s not much practical benefit to me if I accept it.

Unlike France or Spain, South America is not a land that the current British Empire or I want to enter, even if it means completely destroying my future reputation.

I am already faithfully raising Canada and steadily working on assimilating Australia.

I’ve also firmly planted a stake in Asia, so what the hell is South America?

I’m already struggling to manage the land I have.

However, from the perspective of the United States, this was almost as fatal as putting themselves on the guillotine.

The permanent division of the North and South is already absurd, but allowing European powers to re-enter South America?

Even if it’s alone, it’s no problem to establish a pro-European puppet regime in South America if the South is actively helping.

I didn’t have any intention of openly taking the South’s side from the beginning, but it’s a basic principle not to reveal my inner thoughts to the other party, whether it’s a card game or a scam.

If you don’t want to see that outcome, present a card that can guarantee the interests of this side as much as the South.

Whether he understood my words or not, Ambassador Francis left the palace with a troubled face.

Of course, even if I say this, no European country will openly recognize the South.

No matter how much they love money, is it possible for a country that has already abolished slavery to say that slavery needs to continue to exist somewhere in the world?

If they do that, they will be forever embalmed as one of the leading representatives of hypocrisy [내로남불 – Nae-ro-nam-bul, a Korean slang term meaning ‘double standards’ or ‘hypocrisy’] imperialists in future world history classes, so who would want to do that?

Like me, you have to pretend to be on the side of the North in a sophisticated way to balance the power and make them destroy each other.

At the same time, if you sell weapons to the South and superficially receive concessions from the North, then ta-da.

The completion of a perfect spine breaker that sucks the marrow out of both sides.

I’ll pick up the United States’ missing spine and use it as a support to support Canada, so don’t worry too much.

As for the South, I’ll give Ambassador Cordoba a few words of advice and sell them weapons, and they’ll manage on their own.

They keep demanding that we recognize them as a country, but unfortunately, that’s impossible.

Maybe we can consider it later when the Civil War is over and they maintain their form without being absorbed into the North?

I can’t stand seeing controversy or negative evaluations attached to the items that deal with me, even if dirt gets in my eyes. Of course, that’s right [암암, 그렇고 말고 – Am-am, geureohgo malgo, a Korean expression meaning ‘of course, that’s right’].

Some may ask why I care so much about evaluations, but I’m not doing this just for my own good.

The British royal family must remain the most respected and influential family among the royal families around the world, not just the British Empire, even 100 or 200 years from now.

But what would happen if the man who laid the foundation for that, Killian Gore, was evaluated as a bad guy who sucked the marrow out of other countries?

I would have to give back the foundation that I had worked so hard to prepare for my whole life, half voluntarily and half involuntarily, and that should never happen.

Controversy about me is enough with a few lines of conspiracy theories on places like Wiki.

After sending the guest away, I sauntered into the drawing room, picked up some snacks, and leaned back on the sofa.

I’m working out hard every day, so eating this won’t make my stomach stick out, right? I’m going to binge eat as much as I want.

Newspapers and reports from various countries were lined up on the table, but I wasn’t particularly curious because I had seen them so many times.

I’ve put leashes on both the South and the North, so I’m watching to see who does a better job of acting cute, and then I’ll give a snack to the one I like from time to time, and that’s it…

“Your Highness. Prime Minister Guizot of France has sent an urgent letter.”

I thought I could finally laze around for a long time, but the people around me won’t allow it.

“Does that human think I’m a member of the French royal family? I don’t know why he keeps trying to get counseling from me all the time.”

I understand why he relies on me since he’s still holding the prime minister’s seat when he should have been kicked out a long time ago thanks to me.

It was annoying, but if I could put a pro-Killian faction as prime minister in a powerful country like France, it would be great for me, so I was grumbling but still helping.

“Let’s see. If he sent it with a cipher, it seems like it’s a serious matter.”

[After discussing with the State Council members, we have gained confidence that France will be able to deeply intervene in the South American region, including Mexico, as a result of this war.

If the British Empire mobilizes its navy, we can mobilize our army to bring the entire American continent under our influence, and I wonder if Your Highness can sound out Prime Minister Wellesley’s intentions…]

Wow.

I take back what I said earlier.

There was one. A warrior who thinks it’s okay to be embalmed in history forever.

I thought I had completely become a person of this era, but I was still underestimating the 19th century.

As expected, no matter how hard you try, you can’t beat people who were born that way.

Scary, the romantic 19th century.

It seems that you are one step ahead of me after all.