I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 324

Secretary Seward pondered for a moment but concluded that there was no other choice.

They had tried to acquire new British firearms to mass-produce them, but to manufacture weapons, a production line capable of doing so had to be allocated.

However, the problem was that armories, including Springfield, were already struggling to handle their current production volume.

It wasn’t for nothing that many soldiers in the North were armed with British Enfields, let alone the Springfield 1861, which had just been introduced this year.

Developing a new improved firearm and replacing the existing firearm production would obviously take several years, even without detailed calculations.

If the difference were minor, they could simply endure it, but the change in loading method had a significant impact on combat.

No matter how hard they tried to reduce the aiming time and train the shooters, it was difficult to exceed four rounds per minute.

Even with whipping the soldiers and desperately pushing them, that was the limit. But the Killian Enfield could easily fire five rounds per minute with just a click.

With training, it was said that up to 10 rounds per minute could be loaded, so the basic combat power of the soldiers would inevitably differ significantly.

Moreover, considering that it was already a total war, it was obvious that it would become increasingly difficult to deploy skilled soldiers in the future.

They would immediately mobilize soldiers as they were, give them basic training, and then deploy them to the front lines. In such cases, wouldn’t the difference become even greater?

They only fire one or two rounds per minute, while the enemy fires five or six rounds without much training? The kill ratio would be terrifying to imagine.

However, the key was the current production capacity of Canada.

“Your Highness, is it possible to know the amount contracted with Spain?”

“I’m sorry, but that is a matter of contract with another country, so it is impossible to disclose. However, wouldn’t it be possible to make a rough estimate by calculating the amount confirmed so far?”

Indeed, it wouldn’t make sense to simply disclose such a sensitive matter.

He wasn’t disappointed since he had anticipated they wouldn’t tell him anyway.

And the Union had already calculated the amount of supplies flowing into the South through Spain.

Since Spain had to go through Canada to sell weapons to the South, it was not difficult to infer from the amount of confirmed transport ships.

“Then, please tell me this much. If we sign a new contract, how much can we bring in?”

“In a few years, we can produce enough to arm the majority of the Federal army with new rifles.”

“···Has the production capacity already increased to that extent?”

“How about buying warships together? I can give you a little discount.”

He had been so distracted by other things that he hadn’t paid attention, but they had already reached this level of capability.

Secretary Seward worried that this war might give wings to Canada, but he couldn’t refuse here.

Even if the North didn’t import, France, Spain, or the South would take all of that quantity anyway. What could he do?

No matter how strong Canada becomes, Canada is still Canada.

Without the backing of the British Empire, it would be difficult to do anything on its own, and the possibility of them antagonizing them was low.

Although it was a bit unsettling, it would be better to give strength to those who could communicate rather than France or Spain becoming stronger.

If Canada openly sided with the South, even the Federal army wouldn’t be able to withstand it. The fact that they were siding with the North meant they had at least a minimum of conscience.

“···I understand. Then I will accept Your Highness’s proposal.”

“It’s funny to say this from a neutral standpoint, but I hope that the North will win and that barbaric systems like slavery will disappear from this world. I will pray for your country’s victory in my heart.”

“Thank you.”

Although there was a painful expenditure, they had at least prevented the massive amount of Canadian supplies from flowing to the Confederate States.

It wasn’t perfectly satisfactory, but a structure in which they could fight sufficiently was established.

And so, as the warm breeze blew in spring, the North launched a large-scale offensive.

“Enemy attack! The Northern bastards have started to move!”

“They must be thinking of gaining some advantage before the support forces from France and Spain arrive. Anyway, we have no shortage of troops, and our weapons are superior. Just receive and push them back!”

“Upon confirmation, some units of the North seem to be bringing in weapons from Canada.”

“What? What are you talking about!”

The South, emboldened by the participation of France and Spain, increased its troop size to drive in a wedge.

Thanks to this, the total troop strength, which was only about 300,000 at the beginning of the war, increased to well over 400,000.

Even those who had shown a negative reaction to the war changed their minds, thinking that they could seriously aim for victory once France and Spain joined as allies.

Of course, this was only the total troop strength. It wasn’t that such a large army was moving around all at once, but as both sides began to exponentially increase their troop size, battles of tens of thousands of troops began to emerge.

This was all as everyone had predicted.

However, not only the commanders of the Union but also the European officers who were present to observe the battle realized how much the development of technology affected the battle.

As in previous wars, the soldiers of the North and South initially tried to use line infantry at close range to fire.

However.

“The casualties among the soldiers are too severe. In the last battle alone, there were 2,000 casualties!”

“The North? What is the scale of their damage?”

“Similar.”

“Damn it. If we fight like this, we’ll all die before we kill them.”

In just one large-scale battle, the commanders of both the North and South felt the need to fundamentally adjust their tactics.

They realized that if they started shooting at each other in an open field, with each side aware of the other, everyone would simply die equally.

The need to use natural terrain as cover and build fortifications to shield their bodies began to emerge in earnest.

The problem was that this was a very unfamiliar sight to the French and Spanish forces that subsequently landed in America.

“As expected, these country bumpkins wage war ignorantly.”

“No, sir? What do you mean by charging without even forming a proper line?”

“What? Dig into the ground and wait for the enemy to come? Do you think war in America is some kind of tunneling project?”

The French army, which landed in the South after the spring had passed, ridiculed the foolish American country bumpkins and confidently advanced north to fight.

“Clear the way to Washington, the capital of the North, within half a month. Let’s show these country bumpkins that our France is on a different level.”

So, half a month.

In just half a month, the French army, which had been running forward with excitement, was soundly beaten and fled back to Richmond, the capital of the South, with all its might.

“General, the North’s strength is much stronger than expected!”

“If we fight head-on, our damage will be too great!”

“Damn it, how did the Union’s strength become so strong? This is too different from what I heard!”

Something is wrong.

According to the information they had heard so far, the North had a second-rate army that had struggled even against Mexico.

They had heard that they were mobilizing a huge number of troops, but they were clearly just a bunch of numerous fools.

Why couldn’t France, which had the world’s strongest army that had even defeated Russia, gain the upper hand?

It couldn’t be said that the level of the Union soldiers was high. No matter how they looked at it, the training status of the soldiers, whether in the South or the North, didn’t seem very good.

Then the conclusion was only one. All of this was due to weapons with excessively good lethality.

“General! Upon closer investigation, both the North and South are currently importing newly made rifles from Canada.”

“I knew it.”

They finally caught the culprit.

The French army, which could never blame themselves, reported that all the causes of the initial defeat were due to Canada selling weapons to the North.

The French mainland, which had been waiting only for victory news, was completely turned upside down.

* * *

At this point, the official position of the British Empire was extremely clear.

‘The British Empire is perfectly neutral in this war.’

What is neutrality?

It means standing in the middle without leaning to either side.

Selling to France, selling to Spain, selling to the South, and enthusiastically selling to the North is not at all contrary to the meaning of this neutrality.

What do you mean we’re leaning to one side?

Everyone can fairly grab the weapons of the British Empire and fight, as long as they want to.

Of course, not everyone will simply say, ‘Ah, yes, you are very fair.’

Especially if France is the closest ally to the British Empire, dissatisfaction will inevitably rise to the top of their heads.

“Your Highness! Isn’t this too much!”

“What do you mean?”

By the way, why is Prime Minister Guizot crossing the English Channel again instead of having the ambassador protest?

Of course, I know the reason.

It must be that the local public sentiment in France has hit rock bottom.

That’s why the Prime Minister is taking this performance-like action of visiting the British Empire to protest this situation seriously.

“What are you talking about? You are selling a huge amount of firearms to the North!”

“Ah, that’s what you mean. So, instead of protesting through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, you came to protest directly to me.”

“Isn’t Canada under Your Highness’s jurisdiction?”

“Prime Minister, I think there’s a misunderstanding. Originally, Canada was neutral, so it had contracts with both Spain and the North. The North just increased its order volume on a large scale.”

“But isn’t this a clear violation of the promise? If France had participated first, Britain would have sent the navy later.”

That’s right. I definitely remember saying something in that nuance.

Of course, it was just a verbal promise, so I could deny that I ever said that, but I’m not that cruel.

“Have you ever seen me say one thing and do another? I will do it. However, we need to coordinate the appropriate timing and justification. The South also knows that, so you don’t have to be too impatient.”

“But our allies are suffering tremendous damage in America right now.”

So why are you complaining to me?

I heard that you charged at the American country bumpkins to show them what’s what and got torn apart.

This is like dying after pushing the lane [a term from online gaming referring to advancing without support] without warding [placing protective markers] and blaming the jungler [a player role] on the other side.

“The Union’s strength is not to be underestimated. The level of individual soldiers is far behind us, but at least their technology and industrial level have almost caught up with Europe. They can quickly transport soldiers by mobilizing large-scale railway facilities, so in some ways, they may be better than Russia.”

“···No, then······.”

Perhaps because he was faced with a situation that was too different from what he had expected, Prime Minister Guizot’s face turned white.

Comparing it to Russia, is he now regaining his sense of reality?

“Still, the damage France suffered this time was a kind of accident caused by underestimating the enemy. If France properly engages in combat, would it suffer great damage from the North? Rather, think of it as getting a vaccination like smallpox.”

“···Haa. But the problem is that there are rumors in the mainland that the reason why this war is becoming difficult is that the British Empire is selling weapons to both sides while pretending to be neutral. If the citizens of the mainland do not look favorably on the British Empire, I, who am fostering friendly relations with your country, will also be directly affected.”

“That’s troublesome. I can’t just stand by and watch you being unfairly criticized, Prime Minister.”

France still has value, so it must end at a level where it fails appropriately.

To be precise, it would be difficult if only France failed.

Those friends in the neighborhood next door, who are frighteningly increasing their national power, are watching the situation with their eyes wide open.

From the beginning to the end, I didn’t think that I could sell weapons to both sides without being caught by anyone.

How could I not get caught when I was operating the factories beyond their limits and selling supplies as they were produced?

I had expected this situation from the beginning, and of course, I had prepared a countermeasure.

“Prime Minister, I will build a bridge so that you can secure one more reliable ally.”

“An ally means bringing in one more ally?”

“Of course.”

As the saying goes, controversy should be covered up with bigger controversy.

After calculating the abacus a bit [making calculations], considering the large-scale expedition, it seemed inevitable that the North would be slightly more advantageous even if Spain joined France.

If we hadn’t sold weapons, we wouldn’t have sold weapons and even warships on a large scale, so shouldn’t we add a little more support to the South?

“There is no country that has a reason to participate now······.”

“You can create a reason. By the way, there is someone next to France, isn’t there? A friend with a powerful military force who would be willing to get on board if they could be guaranteed German unification.”

“···Prussia? Is it possible?”

“It would be absolutely impossible for anyone else, but I have a very strong connection in Prussia. If I connect you with this person, the misunderstanding that the British Empire stabbed France in the back can be completely resolved, right?”

Guizot nodded without a second’s hesitation.

With Russia pushed back, if France is consumed, the British Empire will be the only country left in Europe to check Prussia.

We can’t waste our precious national power on such things, so if we’re going to fall into the mud, we should all hold hands and fall together.

That’s the loyalty of an alliance.