I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 330

Washington, D.C., the capital of the Federation.

The White House.

Compared to New York, which I visit frequently for business, it’s smaller in scale, but considering that the White House and the Capitol Building are located here, the center of the Union is undoubtedly here.

I’ve never been inside the White House, but I could tell that security had become much tighter recently without having to check.

With the war in full swing, it was only natural.

James never imagined he would meet the President of the United States in his lifetime.

Actually, he had met Lincoln before he became president, but that made this meeting feel even more significant.

Killian told him to provide support, so he gave some support, but who knew that person would actually rise to become president?

At least he hadn’t foreseen it.

“It’s been a while, Your Excellency.”

“It has been a while. It was a long time ago, so my memory was a bit hazy, but it was indeed you. I’m glad.”

“I assume you’re looking for me because of the unfortunate incident that occurred recently?”

“Yes. Still, finding you was much more difficult than I thought. The name King James is famous, but not many people know who he actually is.”

Until now, he had used doubles in most situations, so it was only natural.

In the first place, not many people knew that James of the James Group and King James, the leader of the Black civil rights movement, were the same person.

The reason is simple: Killian’s strict order not to show his face under any circumstances. This was a time when you could easily get shot for doing Black civil rights activism.

In fact, some of the doubles were involved in attempted murder cases, so Killian’s concerns were not unfounded.

But he couldn’t use a double to meet the President of the United States, so he had no choice but to come himself this time.

“First of all, to avoid wasting Your Excellency’s time, let me state that this has nothing to do with our organization. Those who committed the terrorist act in Canada were others disguised as members of our organization.”

“Do you have any evidence to prove that?”

“Of course.”

The original plan was that the operatives in the South were indeed members of the actual Black liberation organization, and this terrorist act would be concluded as the work of the North.

Of course, James wouldn’t have had to meet Lincoln in person under that scenario.

However, after receiving a call a few days ago to change the plan, he hurriedly fabricated the evidence and rushed to Washington by train.

“Hoo… Then, the immediate crisis is averted for now.”

“The NBA [National Brotherhood Association] I created has a motto of peaceful protests that discourage violent acts. Terrorism is out of the question.”

I can guess why the plan was changed so hastily.

The initial judgment was that this organization could be used as a disposable asset to attack the North, but the calculation must have changed for some reason.

An organization that is so well-organized is valuable in any way.

“Your Excellency, is there anything else I need to do?”

“I know that Chairman James is a citizen of the British Empire. If you have connections with the upper echelons of the British Empire, could you help mediate relations between the two countries?”

“I will try my best to the extent of my ability.”

“If you help, I will also help your business to prosper even more in the Federation.”

In fact, he does have connections with the upper echelons.

A very strong and tenacious direct connection.

However, that’s why James didn’t feel any attraction to Lincoln’s offer.

“I’ve built a large business here. I’ll do my best to resolve any misunderstandings, so you don’t have to worry too much. I have several congressmen I’m close to in Congress.”

*Maybe I can get some kickbacks from the Federation using this as an excuse,* he mused.

Hanging out with bad people must have rubbed off on me.

James, who did not take off the mask of a good businessman until the end, bowed politely and left the White House.

A few days later.

The British Empire’s official investigation results, which stated that the arson in Montreal was an incident involving both the North and the South, were announced, once again turning America upside down.

* * *

Richmond, the capital of the Confederate States of America.

“No, how could we be involved in the arson case, let alone the North? What happened?”

“Didn’t you say that everything had already been discussed with the British Empire? Your Excellency! What happened?”

The Southern leaders, who firmly believed that the British Empire would soon send out the Royal Navy to turn the Northern coast into ashes, were recently restless.

“That is… Hoo, how should I explain this?”

“It is said that there is too much evidence left by both us and the North, so no matter what, it cannot be concluded as the fault of either side.”

“…No, but we did it because they told us to…”

“That’s not true. To be precise, they said they would participate if we created a justification. They can just say that we didn’t do our job properly.”

“No, wait, then what’s going to happen?”

No one opened their mouths, but the thoughts that came to everyone’s minds, from President Jefferson to Secretary of State Benjamin, were mostly similar.

So, what exactly is the British Empire going to do?

No matter what, it doesn’t seem like they’re going to declare war on both sides.

“Now that the British Empire has made such an official announcement, there’s nothing we can do. If Europe abandons us, which is unlikely, we’ll have no choice but to surrender.”

“But anyway, the North is also an accomplice… No, I don’t know what to define this as, but anyway, the North has also been identified as the culprit. I don’t think they’ll abandon us now.”

“It’s hard to make a judgment because I don’t know what their intentions are. But anyway, since there has been an official announcement from the British Empire, we must also express our opinion in some way.”

That’s right. It’s right, but… what should we say?

Should we deny it? But the British Empire already has all the evidence that we were involved in this?

Should we expose that it was a rigged scam? That’s the worst way.

We don’t have any solid evidence to prove that, and if we did, we would really be at odds with the British Empire.

Then, we can’t guarantee how France or Prussia will react.

But.

If we apologize here, wouldn’t that be strange in its own way?

Admit that we sent operatives to Canadian ports to set fires in order to make the British Empire hostile to the North?

“Your Excellency, if we consider it coldly, if there are only two options, denial and admission, it seems right to admit it. In my opinion, wouldn’t the British Empire want us to do that?”

“Secretary Benjamin, is there a reason why you think so?”

“In fact, all we did was set fire to a merchant ship that had already been decommissioned and set fire to an empty warehouse. And the weapons we burned were originally the ones we were going to receive anyway. If only we were involved in this, it would be different, but considering the amount of damage caused to the British Empire, we are virtually non-existent.”

“Is that… so?”

It was a change of perspective that I had never imagined, but it wasn’t necessarily wrong.

Anyway, we only burned the places that Canada designated as okay to burn, so we didn’t actually cause much damage.

On the other hand, the North really intended to commit terrorism, so it must have caused considerable damage to Canada.

“So, you’re saying that we should push forward as if we’re just petty criminals.”

“Yes. And if we do this, the North will never be able to deny their fault.”

If we admit the crime in the same way, the North’s responsibility is greater anyway, and if we deny the crime, the North will be subject to the British Empire’s anger since we have admitted it.

Something is strange, but when I open it, is it like a miraculous move?

President Jefferson and Commander-in-Chief Robert Lee.

I couldn’t really refute Secretary of State Benjamin’s audacious proposal.

Everything in the world is relative, so if the enemy suffers more damage than us, isn’t that ultimately our gain?

After this complicated and dizzying derivation process, the South took an unexpected hard line of complete admission.

* * *

“The Confederate States of America has issued an official statement of apology. They said that they wanted to borrow the power of the British Empire because the war situation was difficult, and they carried out the operation for this purpose.”

“…Smart, aren’t they?”

“However, they also added that in order to minimize the damage to the British Empire, they only burned decommissioned ships that had been confirmed to be no longer in use and materials that they were scheduled to receive. Nevertheless, since it is true that they committed arson, they will severely punish those responsible and provide compensation.”

I thought there was a 5% chance that this would happen, but I didn’t expect them to bow down and do the grand prostration so quickly.

The original plan was that both of them would not be able to affirm or deny it, so we would gradually pressure them and bring them to the negotiating table in the meantime.

“What are you going to do? The reaction in Congress is that they didn’t expect the South to apologize so sharply. They thought there was a possibility that they would feel wronged, but it seems like there’s someone with a good head on their shoulders.”

“Is this a beneficial decision for the South?”

“To be precise, it was the only way to minimize the damage. But they can’t avoid the damage altogether. They’ve already nailed it down that they’ll provide compensation with their own mouths, right?”

Since they have the conscience to immediately bow their heads without making shabby excuses, I will take a little less than originally planned.

Anyway, since the South made the first move, the North has no choice.

The North also confessed that it was the work of soldiers who had gone on a rampage due to dissatisfaction as the war situation became difficult, and promised severe punishment and compensation.

It’s absurd that the two of them committed terrorism at the same time, but it’s a bonus that the political world was stunned by the unprecedented situation of willingly admitting it.

Still, the congressmen realized that this was an opportunity, and the ruling and opposition parties immediately became We Are the World and sang a happy song of compensation, compensation.

“First of all, we have to get compensation. The North and the South have both admitted it, so we can just rip it off.”

“Councilor Disraeli is right!”

“We need a thorough investigation of the circumstances, not just compensation. If we use that as an excuse to keep our investigators in the North and South, we can use them for a long time.”

“Councilor Russell, are you a genius?”

“Ah, and not only our British Empire but also Canada must receive separate compensation. Isn’t it a betrayal of the trust of the Canadian people who believed in the United States and maintained neutrality, selling weapons to both sides? Of course, we have to get compensation for this part too!”

“Of course! Of course! Of course, we have to!”

It’s nice to see them fighting every day, but if they can rob another country, they share their opinions while smiling happily.

At this point, their identity seems closer to pirates than politicians.

The ever-normal operating Congress, which is always smiling, naturally asked me to speak, and I gladly raised my voice in Congress once again.

“It is natural to receive compensation, but before that, I think the home country’s navy needs to be dispatched.”

“Are you saying we should intervene in the war? But now that they have quickly admitted their mistakes and bowed their heads, there is not enough justification to start a war.”

“It’s not the start of a war. It’s the end of the war. What is the cause of this ridiculous situation? It’s an accident that happened because they were trying to bring our British Empire into their camp in this crazy war to win.”

Wellesley, senior members of the Conservative Party, and Gladstone, who had been told in advance, nodded enthusiastically and agreed with me.

“There is a saying in the East, ‘Jeoncho Jegun’ [剷草除根]. It means cutting the grass and digging up the roots, and it means that if you want to eliminate the evils, you need to remove the source. The same is true of this situation. Our British Empire has maintained neutrality in this war. It was the best way to avoid taking sides, but as a result, it seems inevitable that the war has grown uncontrollably.”

Over the past few years, it has sucked up a huge amount of money, and France, Prussia, the South, and the North have all been equally exhausted.

The only ones who are fine are the British Empire and Canada, who have been diligently watching the show and eating rice cakes.

“So, I think it is necessary to properly mediate this war so that such accidents do not happen again.”

Considering that I’m still sweeping money away at this moment, it may sound disappointing to stop here myself.

However, if you are too greedy, you will get indigestion.

If you don’t take a break once in a while, it’s time for complaints or accusations against us to pour out from here and there.

Besides, if we, who have benefited the most as a result, just fold the game here, wouldn’t we feel some sincerity?

“Then, are you saying that the Royal Navy needs to be dispatched?”

“After fighting and fighting for years, wouldn’t there be little chance that those who are full of poison will listen obediently if we tell them not to fight from now on?”

If there is anyone who still wants to fight even after doing this, then we can just label him as a warmonger who opposes a peaceful world and beat him.

Anyway, since the justification is on our side, the only two options allowed for the North and South.

Get hit by the Royal Navy’s Buster Call [overwhelming naval bombardment] and die, or swallow your tears and come to the negotiating table.

I don’t care which one you choose.

I’ll welcome you with a sincere smile.”