I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 329

< Turning Point (2) >

As news spread that a sudden terrorist attack had caused enormous damage to Old Port in Montreal, public opinion in the British Empire predictably began to boil.

Although the incident occurred far away in Canada, not on British soil, British citizens regarded Canada differently from other colonies.

Most of the upper class residing in Canada were British Loyalists [those who remained loyal to the British Crown during the American Revolution], and many workers had immigrated not only from Ireland but also from Britain to find jobs.

In particular, in recent years, Canadian industry had developed rapidly, and supply could not keep up with demand, so a considerable number of mainland citizens headed to Canada in search of opportunities.

Many of the merchant ships burned in Montreal were owned by British capitalists, so it was inevitable that this would be seen as a direct attack on Britain.

Moreover, if you asked British citizens what kind of place Canada was, eight out of ten would say something like this:

“Canada? Isn’t that royal land?”

“I know it as His Royal Highness’s territory.”

Kilian is the plenipotentiary ambassador to Canada and the Duke of Canada, but he does not own Canada outright like a medieval lord.

Of course, it could not accurately be called royal territory.

However, for many matters that influence public opinion, the facts are not as important as perceptions.

What matters is how people perceive it, because citizens are not always interested in complex truths.

How many citizens accurately know how big Canada is right now?

If you opened a world map and asked them to point out where Canada is, the number of people who could do so correctly might not even be half.

Montreal? It doesn’t matter where that land is located.

Because not many people know exactly where London is in the first place.

The problem is simply that some ignorant Americans carried out terrorist acts on land associated with the British Empire’s great Prince Consort [Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria].

With such a sensational story, there was no way the newspaper companies would miss it.

All the newspapers in the UK published articles in a rush, fueling the anger of the citizens reading them.

“Find the ringleaders and punish them severely!”

“This is an attack on the royal family!”

Where would you find citizens who would stand still for terrorism against the royal family, which easily exceeds 95% in approval ratings even with a rough survey?

Moreover, this is a situation where they were hit in the back of the head while remaining neutral and not getting involved in the war.

Requests poured in to make those responsible for this situation, whether in the South or the North, pay the price.

The cabinet naturally demanded that the South and the North each explain in detail the circumstances of the situation that had occurred.

However, just as this was an accident that the British Empire could not have imagined, the South and the North were also embarrassed by an unexpected coincidence.

“···Are you saying that people with a Northern accent were witnessed on a large scale at the scene? Why?”

The North, which had been preparing for a long time to blame the South for this, could not hide its embarrassment at this absurd situation.

Lincoln put aside the official letter of protest sent by the British Empire and rubbed his temples.

“General Grant, you need to explain.”

“I have only received reports, and it is not something I directly supervised, so I am currently doing my best to understand the situation.”

“Are you saying that our troops made a mistake by not keeping even these basic matters in order?”

“That’s not it. This is impossible in the first place. We deployed soldiers who defected from the South as agents to use the most natural Southern accent possible. They are people who cannot use a Northern accent at all.”

They originally spoke in a Southern dialect, so how could people who spoke in a Northern accent be witnessed?

However, saying ‘I only sent the ones who can’t do it! What can I do!’ is tantamount to self-destruction, so a reasonable explanation is virtually impossible.

“Then are you saying that the British are lying? Trying to blame us?”

“At first, I thought there was some trickery involved. But after listening to the unit members, I don’t think that’s the case either. Flames also soared in areas clearly different from the area we were going to burn.”

“···So someone else committed arson, not just us? And coincidentally on the same day?”

“Actually, the planned date was two days after the incident. However, something happened that day, and the guards almost vacated their positions, so they made an arbitrary decision on-site and moved the planned date forward.”

It is right to seize an opportunity when it comes, so I have no intention of blaming them for not keeping to the schedule.

And after hearing the explanation, I understood why things overlapped so unfortunately.

The organization that was trying to blame this on this side must have thought that an opportunity had come when the security at the port weakened, and they set fire to it.

“Why were the guards absent at that time?”

“I heard that there was a mistake in the shift change, so there was a temporary gap.”

“···First, let’s explain that this has nothing to do with us. Is there any other evidence besides the accent?”

“An NBA membership card was found.”

“A Black Liberation Alliance [likely a fictional organization] membership card? Did they really plan to make a big deal out of it···.”

Setting fire to a perfectly good port to involve the British Empire, and leaving evidence to blame the other party.

It is amazing how there could be people who think and do the same things.

And that’s why it was so obvious who the culprit was.

“Can we know how the South is reacting?”

“It won’t be much different over there. I’m afraid they’re dizzy from the British Empire’s pressure to explain quickly.”

The simultaneous terrorist attacks by both countries, which no one expected.

It seems like they were sharpening their knives and preparing to blame this on this side, but this side didn’t just prepare roughly either.

All the agents sent to Montreal were defectors from the South, and they deliberately dropped several items that were only used in their hometowns.

Above all, they had been infiltrating Montreal for quite some time, so many Montreal citizens must have witnessed people speaking in Southern dialects.

The South can never get out of this situation.

“All that’s left is for us to make excuses and get out of it···wait, wasn’t King James, the founder of the NBA, British?”

“That’s right. He does a lot of business here too, but I know his nationality is definitely British.”

“Then I might be able to get through this somehow. I need to meet him right away. Where is he now?”

“He’s a person who travels around so much···he’s probably in Canada right now.”

I was feeling a little dark, but it was a relief that James was British.

We have to create a situation where their anger turns to the South as much as possible.

It was no longer a question of ‘can we do it or not’ for the North.

If we don’t, I’m not sure how much longer we can last.

We are currently enduring by inspiring patriotism, but at some point, we will reach a point where it is physically impossible.

At that time, even the possibility of re-election will not be very high.

I feel frustrated. Lincoln suddenly looked at himself in the mirror and let out a hollow laugh.

How could my face have aged so much in just a few years?

When this war is over, I’ll just give up on re-election and go back to my hometown and sleep comfortably with my legs stretched out.

Lincoln shook his head, feeling a deep sense of futility for the first time since becoming president.

* * *

Looking back, the fact that a large part of Old Port burned down was not a big loss.

The fact that the intact ships were destroyed was definitely a loss, but it was nothing compared to the huge amount of money earned.

The shipowners who lost their ships and the sailors who suffered damage received more money than the property they lost, so no one complained.

If people had died, a bigger deal would have happened, but fortunately, there were no casualties.

But there was one problem.

“We have to hold someone accountable, but who should we hold accountable?”

“Wasn’t the original plan to side with the South?”

“His Highness said he would do that, but hmm···I wonder if the plan suddenly changed.”

“His Highness definitely planned all of this, right?”

“Of course. I know it, even if no one else does. That unique, feigned embarrassment···no, realistic acting. I’m sure he’s inwardly cheering that everything is going according to plan. The Minister has seen him for more than a day or two, so he knows.”

Wellesley chuckled and tapped the desk, and Disraeli, who was sitting across from him, silently nodded.

“So, His Highness is deliberately dragging this out. What is he aiming for?”

“I’m a little frustrated because I don’t know. He tends to hide the knowledge that only he knows and release it little by little later.”

“Ah, that’s right. I definitely have that feeling.”

“Or it could mean that he has set the stage and wants us to take care of it. Anyway, public opinion is boiling right now, so it’s time to make a decision. We’ve gained as much as we can from the war, so it’s time to bring down the curtain on this farce.”

In order to move the British Empire’s army, the Prime Minister and Parliament must be in complete agreement, so this is not Kilian’s direct responsibility.

However, the reality is that we cannot help but ask for his opinion because this is directly related to Canada.

We need to know what Kilian is planning in North America to decide which side to grab and beat.

In the end, that night, Wellesley and Disraeli went to Buckingham to find out Kilian’s exact intentions.

“What brings you two here when you’re so busy?”

“We came at this late hour precisely because we’re so busy. Your Highness, please tell us the truth about this matter. We must decide on our position by the next meeting at the latest.”

“What would the Prime Minister like to do?”

Again, he has already made a decision but pretends to ask for our opinion.

“We did talk to the South in advance, but there is no concrete evidence anyway. We can side with either side right now if we want to, but the important thing is that both sides are denying the charges. Moreover, there is no evidence to prove that this is a conspiracy by either side.”

“That’s right. I looked into it, and it seems that both sides have prepared very thoroughly.”

Kilian slowly poured water into Wellesley’s teacup and continued.

“But you know what? Do we really need to find out who did it? Isn’t it obvious that both sides are the culprits anyway?”

As he said, it was a natural assumption that this incident was carried out as a result of the North and South’s schemes targeting each other simultaneously.

There probably aren’t many people who don’t know that. The problem is that neither side admits it.

“So, Your Highness is saying······.”

“It doesn’t matter whether the South made a plot or the North made a plot. Whether it’s a fabrication or a conspiracy, the important thing is that two different organizations carried out plots, and there are only two major forces in the United States right now.”

“Are you saying we should just announce that they are both criminals?”

“Isn’t that the truth?”

“Our allies, France and Prussia, are siding with the South. It is realistically difficult for us to oppose the South openly here.”

“We won’t be hostile. We’ll just hold them accountable during the post-war agreement. Rather, since there are two criminals, there is a perfect justification: a justification to mediate between the two to end this crazy war.”

Does that mean we should point guns at both sides and tell them to stop making things worse because you are both idiots?

Certainly, this way, we can extract the maximum benefit at the minimum cost without directly engaging in combat.

But if this happens, the North and South will inevitably be further divided.

“Since the South will want independence anyway, at least the South will be happy to comply with the mediation. In the end, Your Highness is indirectly siding with the South.”

“Of course.”

Well, that was the first promise we made.

It was an unimaginable method to take advantage of this opportunity to extract something more from the South during the post-war agreement, but it was a good method, so there is no particular objection.

However, Kilian’s next words once again far exceeded Wellesley’s expectations.

“Since it’s a country that’s going to fail even if we leave it alone, there’s no problem even if we push it.”

Wellesley was silent for a moment, then twisted the corners of his mouth and smiled.

It was difficult to understand at first glance, but Kilian’s words were always like this.