I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 337

< To You, Who Doesn't Know the Coolness of Meters >

With the war over, the backlog of issues that had been piling up came crashing down all at once, keeping me busier than ever.

Still, we’ve roughly concluded the Panama Canal issue, and Spain, which crashed and burned spectacularly on its own, is behaving exactly as expected, so we don’t need to worry about that anymore.

Spain might think they suffered an unexpected accident, but I knew this would happen from the moment they started acting greedily when the war broke out.

That’s how things usually go in the world.

How many people lose their initial capital and go bankrupt because they keep wanting more and more when they’re already making a profit?

They should have been greedy only to the extent of their capabilities, but Spain tried to play with France and Prussia, so isn’t it natural that they get their legs torn apart?

Truly a move worthy of Spain, the emperor of self-destruction.

But I didn’t particularly feel like blaming them.

They’re constantly donating the capital they’ve built up to us, so why would I curse them?

I just have to gratefully open my mouth wide and eat the honey that falls.

“But Your Highness, is there really anything to get from Spain?”

“Of course there is, why wouldn’t there be?”

“It’s already a country that’s long gone bad, so there aren’t many areas that are tempting… The Philippines or Cuba are exceptions, but if we ask them to hand those over, they’ll definitely refuse, right?”

“I wasn’t even considering those in the first place. Actually, what I’m trying to extract from Spain isn’t tangible benefits.”

The corners of Wellesley’s lips lifted slightly, as his meeting with the Cordoba ambassador was scheduled for the very next day.

“You seem to be planning something interesting again.”

“It has to be interesting. I’m giving up a huge amount of interest, after all.”

After reviewing various options, there weren’t many valuable rights that Spain currently possessed that would be helpful to the British Empire.

The other side wouldn’t give up anything whose value was truly obvious to everyone, so we had to find a diamond in the rough, but that’s easier said than done.

Thinking about the distant future, it would be good to take the lithium mining rights in Mexico, but that’s too far into the future to be realistic.

Besides, is there really a need to buy the rights and territories that Spain currently holds in the Americas with money?

To enter a place with an owner, you have to pay and buy the house, but in a place without an owner, we can just go in and occupy it first.

The future won’t be much different.

“What do you think about the future of America, Prime Minister?”

“What’s with the sudden question?”

“I feel like I need to share my plans with you on this issue so that we can respond more flexibly.”

Wellesley knows very well that the future of America doesn’t mean discussing a rosy future.

After staring at the map for a moment, he tapped the desk and asked in a suspicious voice.

“Are you perhaps thinking of driving all the Europeans out of America?”

Wow, this guy has been with me for decades, and his intuition has become incredible.

When I nodded with a satisfied smile, Wellesley burst into hearty laughter as if he was dumbfounded.

“I asked just in case, but you really were thinking that? So, Your Highness had no intention of sharing the benefits with Spain at all. Or France or Prussia, for that matter.”

“As you’ve probably noticed, Prime Minister, they were just good chess pieces to weaken the Union. They’ve played their part, so it’s time to prepare to kick them out.”

“Considering that, didn’t you give Panama to them?”

“We took the most important land, didn’t we? And if they each take half, they won’t touch our territory when Panama truly becomes independent later on.”

If we divide Panama into two, one for Prussia, one for France, and assimilate the central part in the British style, would they try to unite into one country even if they become independent later?

The separatists have been almost wiped out in Colombia, so they have no influence now.

In the end, whatever they try to do will be almost several generations later, and by then, it will be difficult for the east, central, and west to form a single national identity.

Still, considering the colonial management methods of France or Prussia, there is a high possibility that they will become independent as separate countries, but the central part was an exception.

“The area with the canal will be overflowing with money, so we will never exploit it or treat it in a discriminatory way. There aren’t many people there now, so assimilation won’t be difficult either.”

“You mean to make it like Gibraltar. I understand.”

That’s right. Spain is making such a fuss because they want to get Gibraltar back, the gateway to the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, due to its geopolitical location, but it’s impossible.

The fact that this method will definitely work even in the 21st century is proven by Gibraltar.

Who in their right mind would want to be incorporated into a poorer country when they’re warm and well-fed?

If we limit Panama to the area with the canal and assimilate it with the home country, even if we hold a referendum, almost 90% or more will refuse to belong to Panama.

They’ll live as citizens of the world’s strongest empire, enjoying the enormous benefits of the canal, so if they were to share that with people whose income is 10 times lower, that would be the thinking of someone who’s not in their right mind.

“I understand. But Spain is also showing a lot of interest in Central and South America right now, and I don’t think they’ll leave quietly. What are you planning to do?”

“Isn’t there a country that’s grinding its teeth at Spain? We need to use them.”

“This time, you’re going to use the North instead of the South?”

“Right now, the North is also being cautious because the damage is so great, but they’ll recover quickly in a few years, so we just need to give them an opportunity. Spain will have to repay their debt to us, so how eager will they be?”

If we create the conditions for the two countries to clash, the North will probably attack Spain without hesitation.

Wellesley, who roughly understood the situation, nodded with shining eyes.

“I roughly understand. I’ll gladly lend a hand to this devilish scheme.”

“Devilish? Please correct that to patriotic.”

“I’m also patriotic, but I can’t come up with a scheme like Your Highness.”

“That’s because the depth of your patriotic heart is different. Is there anyone who has brought as much benefit to this country as I have? Tell them to come out.”

Come to think of it, there was one more issue that we had to address for the sake of this country’s patriotism.

I stopped Wellesley, who was about to get up, and brought up another important topic.

“This isn’t really related to the issue we were discussing just now, but do you, Prime Minister, have the will to make a national decision for the sake of the world?”

“A decision for the world, not even this country? It’s too grandiose, and I don’t even know what you’re talking about.”

“It’s about changing all the disorganized weights and measures. The Imperial system is rotten.”

Anyone who has experienced the horror of yards and pounds in the 21st century would agree with me with both hands.

Especially the engineering students across the country.

How much time have countless elite talents wasted converting meaningless units because of this system, which is no exaggeration to call a relic in the engineering world?

Even in my past life, when I pretended to be an expert on the United States, just thinking about being tormented by those feet, cables, miles, and yards makes me grind my teeth.

“The Imperial system is the most perfect system of measurement that exists. You’re going to change that?”

“No, what’s perfect about it? I know it’s hard to change now because it’s so deeply ingrained as a custom. But we need to change it a bit for the future, you know? I don’t want to be cursed by people all over the world in the future.”

If countless people in the future curse Killian for not getting rid of the Imperial system because he made the British Empire the strongest country in the world, will you take responsibility for that?

In fact, it was almost impossible for Britain to abandon the Imperial system politically and culturally.

Even from a practical point of view, the losses are greater right now.

Already, a lot of formats, including educational materials, manufacturing processes, logistics systems, and worker training, were based on the Imperial system.

Besides, it was a traditional method that the British Empire had maintained from the past, so there was bound to be social resistance if we tried to change it.

I would have understood if you had said it was impossible from a realistic point of view.

But Wellesley’s words that it was the most perfect system in existence scratched me mercilessly.

“And what’s so perfect about it! Prime Minister, how many inches are in 1 foot?”

“12 inches.”

“Then how many yards [in a foot]?”

“One-third of a yard.”

“How many chains are in a yard?”

“One twenty-second of a chain.”

See! What kind of units are these? There’s no uniformity at all, even just in length.

What’s even more ridiculous is that the units of the British Empire and the United States, which use the same names, have different values.

Even if it’s the same gallon, the British gallon and the American gallon are different.

The reason why the unit system is such a mess is because there was no absolute standard for the units, that is, an unchanging, accurate original.

Since there is no clear definition of a standard like meters, kilograms, or seconds, a chaotic situation occurs in which physical quantities change.

In addition, as was mentioned in the conversation with Wellesley just now, the units within the same unit system are not unified in decimal form.

It would be fortunate if they were unified, whether it was duodecimal or octal, but some are duodecimal, some are 22-based, and some are 16-based, so there’s no answer.

“Prime Minister, you need to distinguish this well. Frankly, isn’t it objectively true that the metric system is a much more advanced unit? No matter how much we become the strongest country in the world, most other countries will use the metric system in the distant future. Sticking to yards and pounds is a loss, you know? Especially future precision science won’t allow even the slightest error, so scientists will inevitably use other unit systems besides the Imperial system. And yet you say this is the most perfect unit system in the world?”

“…No, I don’t understand why you’re suddenly fixated on this issue…”

“I suddenly came to my senses when I saw you calculating how many miles the Panama Canal is. We need to fix what’s wrong before it’s too late.”

“That’s because it’s not wrong. Wouldn’t most people think it’s a pity that Your Highness doesn’t know the coolness of yards and pounds?”

I also feel sorry for myself that I have to use yards and pounds.

I’m not kidding, this is a fight I can’t win, you know?

If I’m really singing the praises of yards and pounds, I’ll be ridiculed by the scientific community later for using such stupid units.

“Prime Minister, I guarantee that if you can change the Imperial system, you’ll be praised as the greatest sage of the British Empire in 100 years just for this achievement. Trust me.”

“I don’t know if I’ll be praised as a sage in 100 years, but I might get hit by a flying rock and break my forehead right now, you know?”

“If such a crazy person comes out, we should just send them to prison. Since when has the longest-serving Prime Minister of the British Empire cared about such things? Push it through.”

“No…then shouldn’t you talk to Gladstone or Disraeli about it? If they propose a bill, I’ll support it.”

If you keep trying to get out of it like this, I have no choice.

I have no choice but to remind you of what you owe me.

“Prime Minister, you know how much effort I put into digging the Panama Canal this time, right?”

“Yes? Why are you suddenly bringing that up…”

“I put so much effort into planning and even created a situation where the British Empire could permanently own the Panama Canal area, but the parliament stabbed me in the back. How great was my heartbreak? Edward seems to be furious that you didn’t take my side. Adelaide says she felt betrayed by you, whom she thought of as an uncle, and will no longer have dinner with you.”

“No, Your Highness! Didn’t you say that showing a generous attitude to the parliament was good for harmony?”

That was just something I said to manage my image.

Of course, the parliament will eventually come to me crying and begging for help, but that’s a secret that only Victoria, Edward, and I know, so the royal family members are really angry.

“Then should I confront the parliament there? Of course, I could then enforce my will, but I just bent my will once to acknowledge the authority of the parliament, which is the representative of the citizens of this country.”

“Ummm…”

“If I had really tried to fight with the parliament, you would have been in a difficult position, right? In the end, you would have had no choice but to take my side, but then you, the head of the cabinet, might have had to carry the bad image of suppressing the parliament. You owe me one.”

“I have nothing to say when you put it that way.”

Wellesley hesitated for a moment, then sighed deeply and ruffled his hair.

“Ah, damn it! I understand. I’ll take the lead and try it. But if criticism pours in that I’m a Prime Minister who destroys tradition, you have to stop it, Your Highness?”

“Of course. Trust me.”

I was trying to lay the groundwork for you to be called a hero of the British scientific community in the distant future, but you don’t know how grateful you should be.

Shouldn’t I be the one receiving gratitude?

I changed my plans when I saw Wellesley, who was grumbling to the end like someone who had made a big decision.

Good. I must write today’s events in my autobiography.

I’ll never make any corrections, so don’t beg me to delete the contents later.