I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 333

< Peacemaker (4) >

General Grant wanted to throw the pen in his hand at General Lee’s face and leave, but he couldn’t.

He knew better than anyone that not enduring here would immediately lead to war.

But even so, this map didn’t make sense.

How could anyone draw a map like this?

He tried to appear as calm as possible, striving to hide his rising anger as he asked,

“Am I misreading the map of the African colonies? What is this crude line drawing?”

“As I mentioned, it is a requirement strongly demanded by France and Prussia.”

“Ahem, well, this is a bit different from what I heard… I don’t think I can make this decision.”

If he signed here and returned, General Grant’s career would be over for good.

He urgently begged for time to discuss, and managed to get a few days’ reprieve, but no matter how much they put their heads together, they couldn’t come up with a good solution.

In Washington D.C., the ministers who saw the map sent by Grant slammed the table and raised their voices.

“We must never lose the Sea of Cortez! Giving the only exit to the Pacific to the South is an attempt to trap us.”

“Those Southern bastards must be blinded by greed. They always said their goal was independence, but this is just robbery.”

“According to General Grant, it’s a demand from France and Prussia, not the South.”

Everyone’s expression distorted at Lincoln’s words.

“These crazy… so they’re going to cut off our arms and legs. Is the South just going to accept this?”

“The South isn’t just getting territory, they’re getting an entrance to the Pacific, so of course they’ll bow and accept it.”

“Do we have to accept it? If this is the case, we should just fight…”

“Secretary Stanton, can we fight and defend that place?”

At Lincoln’s question, the Secretary of War stared intently at the map before shaking his head slightly.

“It’s impossible.”

“You mean even if we strengthen our defenses, it won’t work?”

“Yes.”

When the Secretary of War stated definitively that it was impossible, a deep concern filled everyone’s eyes.

But looking at the map coldly, it was understandable why Stanton said there was no possibility.

“Southern New Mexico is too far from our main force in the Northeast. There aren’t even railroads to get there, so it would take forever just to move the army. Then, can the navy go easily? That’s not possible either. They have to go all the way around the South American continent, and our main warships are not suitable for ocean voyages.”

The USS Monitor, currently operated by the U.S. military, is focused on combat in coastal and river areas.

The ship’s center of gravity itself is not suitable for ocean voyages, and there is a risk of running aground if it encounters a storm.

Moreover, while going around the South American continent, the enemy’s fleet would not just stand by and watch.

Even without going as far as the British Empire, France’s La Gloire alone could turn all of the North’s warships into scrap metal in a battle at sea.

The moment our warships go out to sea to get to the Sea of Cortez, they will be ambushed, so sending warships is also impossible.

On the other hand, they can use the port in Canada as a forward base to pour troops in endlessly, so defending is impossible from the start.

“They must know all this, so they’re including such conditions. No matter how hard we struggle, we can’t defend it, so they’re telling us to hand it over quietly.”

“Those trash-like bastards.”

The North’s main strongholds can be defended somehow by fighting with all our might in an all-out war.

However, it is physically impossible to defend areas where even railroads are not laid, so they intend to take this opportunity to seize it, but in the end, there is no way out.

No matter how much they put their heads together, there is only one answer.

We cannot shake off the ambition of the barbaric invaders who have pushed in to the point where we can barely accept it.

From the beginning, that land was forcibly taken from Mexico by the Republic anyway.

No one in the Republic pointed out that fact.

* * *

A modest three-story building in Richmond, Virginia.

Built in the Neoclassical style, this mansion was a little small to be called a grand mansion, and a little too big to be called just a mansion.

Except for being pure white, it didn’t seem like a very impressive building, but what made this place meaningful was that it was the president’s residence, called the White House of the South.

The Southern President, Jefferson Davis, lived here with his family, worked, and held meetings with generals.

And today.

Here, in the heart of the South, the treaty to truly end the war was being signed.

The Southern President, Jefferson Davis.

The Northern President, Abraham Lincoln.

And even the Crown Prince of the British Empire, Edward.

Once the heads of each country sign this armistice agreement, which has been drafted by the working-level staff and finally agreed upon by the commanders of each country, it will truly become irreversible.

In fact, the reason Lincoln came here in person was because he was worried that the Confederate side would add some strange conditions again.

However, contrary to Lincoln’s expectations, the British Empire, France, and Prussia did not insist on anything other than the conditions they had initially presented.

He wondered what was going on, but he figured they must have judged that if they went any further, the North might really refuse to cooperate.

At first, he thought those guys had managed to suppress their greed, but that was Lincoln’s delusion.

“Your Excellency, you have objections? This is what both sides agreed to two days ago.”

“No, that’s what they say, but this is the first time I’m hearing about it today.”

“There must have been a problem with the reporting system. But if you check, you’ll see. This has already been discussed with the Southern Department of State.”

“But this is…”

He wondered what it was about, but when he heard it, he couldn’t help but laugh at the farce.

“Hasn’t it been proven that the South’s railway network is far behind the North’s due to this war? Even the gauge system is not standardized, making it impossible to share. If we don’t overhaul it this time, we will continue to lag behind the North.”

“I agree with that.”

“So, leave that part to our British Empire. There is no country in the world that lays railways better than our British Empire. Unlike other countries, we even have companies and technicians here in America. The railway companies and locomotive companies under the James Group will innovate the South’s transportation network.”

They would end the war and grant independence, so they wanted the railway construction rights.

In fact, considering the South’s poor railway level, it wasn’t unnecessary.

The North had laid as much as 2,500 miles of new railways during this war.

On the other hand, the South had only laid less than 400 miles of new railways.

In addition, as Crown Prince Edward said, standard gauge and broad gauge were mixed, so the absurd situation of having to transfer in the middle even to get to the front line continued to occur.

Moreover, the British Empire was the best at laying railways in the world right now, so this was a proposal that the South could consider.

The real problem was what came next.

“And sponsoring Panama to gain independence from Colombia, what is this…”

“France and Prussia strongly agree with that part as well.”

Lincoln glanced at the map and immediately understood the intentions of the European countries.

Panama is like a fortress connecting South and North America.

It currently belongs to Colombia, but the middle is blocked by a huge jungle, making it impossible to travel back and forth, and it is being exploited almost like a colony, so there is a lot of dissatisfaction.

If they just give it a little push, they can greatly reduce Colombia’s influence, and France or Prussia will step into that gap.

However, they have no justification to take the lead, so they are trying to use the South.

“The South is a monumental country that has achieved independence through a fierce war of independence. Countries that want independence now must have been deeply impressed by the South’s actions. So the Prime Ministers of France and Prussia also want the South to step forward as a symbol of freedom.”

This was a special instruction directly ordered by the prime ministers in their home countries, not the local generals.

Jefferson tapped the map with his finger, seemingly unable to grasp the meaning of this sudden request.

“But…”

“There is no ‘but,’ Your Excellency. The reason the South was able to gain control of the Sea of Cortez this time was thanks to the strong demands of France and Prussia. Then, shouldn’t they get something in return to maintain at least a minimum balance?”

Considering the blood that France and Prussia shed this time, it was only natural for the South to step up and help them.

Moreover, thanks to them, they had secured an exit to the Pacific, so looking at it, there was nothing wrong with Edward’s words.

“…Hoo, I understand. Then, I will set up a dedicated organization as soon as the war ends.”

“Thank you. Ah, then let me tell you one more additional request from my home country.”

“Yes? Earlier, you clearly said railways…”

“I was just telling you what was already agreed upon with your country’s Department of State regarding railways, and this is a request from my home country to Your Excellency. Please give us priority in supplying cotton produced in the South to us at the price and quantity we specify. No more, no less, just for two years.”

They joined the game at the end, didn’t even fire a cannon, and wanted so much.

Most of all, what was most infuriating was this sad situation where he couldn’t refute a single word from the young man.

Moreover, the Crown Prince of the British Empire seemed full of spirit, but he treated them with a polite attitude, so it was difficult to express any complaints.

‘Whose son is he, so good at suffocating people? He’s like an anaconda.’

The Crown Prince of the British Empire was rumored to be a mediocre person, not as good as his father, but looking at it this way, there was nothing true about the rumors.

Of course, the achievements of the British Empire’s monarch were so great that his son might seem relatively inferior, but in Lincoln’s view, that son was definitely not ordinary either.

He came here and didn’t even blink an eye, taking away the railway construction rights and cotton supply.

Looking at the fact that the British Empire took the lead in Panama, it was clear that they were aiming for something there as well.

‘So, the idea of fighting a war with someone else’s money was wrong from the start. You guys have to pay the price now.’

Jefferson, who looked troubled, signed the agreement while sweating profusely, but Lincoln didn’t feel sorry for him at all.

It is a well-known truth that internal traitors are more hateful than the enemy, so there is no need to quote it.

For the North, the South, which broke the framework of the Union to protect slavery, was several times more annoying than Europe, which greedily coveted them.

‘Good for you.’

Lincoln smiled, feeling that it was worth coming down to Richmond just to watch Jefferson squirm like that.

* * *

The details of the agreement passed in Richmond were delivered to London at the fastest speed.

I was the first to receive the report, and I couldn’t help but smile, not bothering to suppress the rising corners of my mouth.

Um, um, we have steadily gained the benefits we can get, and we have flawlessly laid out a grand plan for future positioning.

At this point, it seems like there would be no problem giving him a passing grade or higher.

As expected of my son.

The cost of dragging all those warships, which was quite an overstatement, would be more than made up for with this, and there would still be plenty of change left over.

“Are you that happy?”

Victoria shook her head, looking at me smiling brightly.

“Someone was worried that things might go wrong and couldn’t sleep a wink, but someone else is so happy, it’s amazing.”

“No, of course I was worried too. I was so anxious that Edward might get bitten by a giant marine creature and lose an arm.”

“I shouldn’t have said anything. Anyway, I’m glad everything worked out well. Doesn’t this mean you can start the work you wanted so much?”

“Well, the truth is, this is just the beginning.”

The Civil War was not the end, but the beginning, considering the magnificent groundwork that followed.

The really important thing is how to reassemble the fragmented land of opportunity called America.

In this regard, Edward’s contribution in perfectly carrying out everything I instructed can be seen as quite significant.

But…

“Ah, still, this map makes me angry every time I see it.”

To think that I would draw such an unaesthetic map myself.

Even 20th century Africa in the original history didn’t draw lines so crudely.

When I first completed this map, I reflexively screamed ‘Aaaagh!’ and almost tore it up, so you can imagine how I felt.

Even Disraeli and Wellesley showed a reaction that this was a bit much, so I honestly couldn’t make any excuses.

“I really don’t understand why men are so obsessed with these trivial things sometimes.”

Victoria clicked her tongue, looking at me with a pathetic look, but in my opinion, she is clearly abnormal for not being bothered by this map.

It’s not just unaesthetic, it’s a border that makes me angry just by looking at it, but there’s nothing I can do.

I have no choice but to comfort myself that it’s temporary, as it’s not a permanent map.

“But if we try to build a canal so blatantly, won’t there be an outpouring of criticism against us?”

“That won’t happen, so our Queen doesn’t need to worry about anything.”

I showed her the map that was almost torn and pointed to the Panama part with my finger.

Clearly, unlike the proposal to make Panama independent from Colombia, the world map drawn by France and Prussia already showed Panama as their territory.

There is a country that makes them independent and then turns them into a colony?

Surprisingly, it’s a normal 19th century diplomatic strategy.

As long as they take the lead in attracting attention, who would care what the British Empire does in Panama?

The fact that bad neighbors live next door is truly reassuring today.