I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 359

< Killian Plan (4) >

1866.

The first New Year of the newly formed kingdom, under its new king.

Fortunately, Canada’s initial period was filled with hope.

This was because their long-held desire for integration with the homeland had been realized, and, ideally, their idol, me, had ascended to the throne.

Furthermore, the British Empire shifted its strategy to deliberately support Canada in order to counterbalance the South.

Since Canada had become part of the home country, its growth was the British Empire’s growth, so there was no reason to hesitate.

In particular, unlike the home country, which was already developed to a certain extent, Canada still had considerable room for development, making it a cost-effective area for job creation.

Of course, all of this was part of a plan to suppress communism, though no one explicitly stated it.

Beyond mere industrial development, the agricultural productivity of the California region, previously acquired by the British Empire, was also becoming increasingly significant.

As industrialization rapidly advanced, the agricultural sector was inevitably neglected in the British Empire, but the American continent presented a different situation.

It’s well known that the Midwest Great Plains region boasts overwhelming agricultural productivity in the Americas, but the California area alone is also quite substantial.

Considering that a significant portion of the food needed to feed the home country was currently imported from Russia and the North, the development of a region with such enormous productivity was a great advantage.

Thus, for various reasons, Canada’s development proceeded smoothly without obstacles, and the internal atmosphere naturally improved.

This wasn’t just due to the economic boom, but also because expectations of future improvements spread throughout all levels of society.

Ultimately, the communist revolution in the South became a distant issue, of little concern within Canada.

Of course, that was just Canada’s perspective; the North was constantly preoccupied with suppressing communist radicals and responding to the perceived threat from the South.

The South, too, was busy establishing the foundations of a proper nation and resolving internal factional disputes, leaving them little capacity to pay attention to external affairs.

This was precisely the moment to initiate a new strategy.

Wellesley carefully reviewed my previous proposal, elaborated on it with his staff, and announced the establishment of the .

Of course, unlike the OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development] in the original timeline, it wasn’t created solely for economic purposes.

Moreover, in this era of deeply rooted imperialism, the idea of fostering other countries was also absent.

The primary purpose of the current World Economic Cooperation Organization can be summarized as:

-Let’s unite, prosper together, and prevent the spread of communism.

Naturally, neither I, Wellesley, nor anyone else in the British Empire would openly express such sentiments.

However, anyone incapable of understanding this underlying message wouldn’t be qualified to participate in the international political arena.

As soon as the British Empire’s announcement was made, Europe responded.

France was the first to react, of course.

“Congratulations on your accession, Your Majesty!”

“Thank you. I’ve heard that socialist activity has noticeably decreased in France recently. How is the atmosphere in your country?”

“Thanks to you, it’s very good. I heard that the Prime Minister seems relieved, and he’s been looking much better recently. Of course, it’s probably just because a large number of socialists have moved to the South.”

“Then we must prevent them from regaining power in Europe. If France and the British Empire cooperate, it will be more than possible.”

It goes without saying that France, home to the International [the International Workingmen’s Association, a socialist organization], was the most sensitive to the establishment of a communist state.

They were likely enjoying their activities in Indochina [French Indochina, a colony in Southeast Asia], but suddenly, communists had established a base in their own backyard. How shocked would they be?

Moreover, those individuals crossed the continent and destroyed a perfectly good country there?

For that reason, France was the first to agree that all of Europe should strengthen cooperation.

“Like your country, France is also in the process of revising its laws to ensure that workers can take at least a minimum amount of rest. We cannot repeat the mistakes that the nobles committed during the Great Revolution [The French Revolution].”

“To arrive at such a conclusion independently, France is indeed a country that combines intelligence and compassion.”

“Hahaha, thank you.”

This wasn’t simply because they didn’t want to see communists running rampant, but a proactive decision learned from past history.

It was obvious to everyone that they were trying to avoid facing the real problem, but in general, such justifications were important for national policy.

“Although it’s a bit later than France, we have received word from Prussia that they will also participate.”

“What about Russia?”

“Russia doesn’t seem very interested.”

“Hmph, those hopeless people.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at the French ambassador’s blunt words, but I felt the same way.

After witnessing a huge country, larger than Mexico, collapse in an instant, they felt no sense of crisis?

I heard that Russia expects its competitiveness to decline if other European countries treat their workers well.

So, they are planning to exploit their workers even harder in order to catch up. I don’t know if they will become the next target of the communists if they continue down this path.

If the situation becomes truly serious, I might have to consider how to intervene, which is making my head ache.

To be honest, even after considering it again, I can’t logically understand their reasoning.

Do they really want to do that after seeing what happened in the South?

What thoughts must they harbor to believe that an opportunity has arisen to exploit people even more after witnessing such an event?

The suspicion that the saying “doomed countries act in doomed ways” is true is gradually becoming a certainty.

“In my opinion, if things continue like this, it wouldn’t be surprising if a second revolution broke out in Russia. What do you think?”

“It’s still manageable. Revolution isn’t just about communist revolutions.”

If I said any more, it could escalate into a diplomatic issue, so both the French ambassador and I remained silent.

However, I was worried, though not to the point of serious distress.

After all, even if a revolution breaks out in Russia, it will take at least 10 more years, and by then the seeds I have sown will have grown into a huge tree.

Even if Russia collapses due to a revolution, it’s acceptable as long as the Soviet Union doesn’t take its place, right?

“First of all, let’s discuss the Russian issue gradually when everyone is together. For now, confirming that your country and our country share the same intentions is a sufficient achievement.”

“Yes, I will convey His Majesty’s intentions to the Prime Minister.”

The preparations are progressing smoothly, and the advance team, crucial for securing the Panama Canal, including the medical staff, has just boarded a ship from London.

However, the message that should have arrived long ago hasn’t yet arrived.

No matter how vast the Pacific Ocean is, news should have reached my ears by now. Are they really having second thoughts?

The possibility is infinitely low, but it was characteristic of them to make that low possibility a reality.

After the French ambassador departed, I immediately summoned the underachiever who still hadn’t submitted his homework.

“Send a telegram to the embassy in Japan through the home country. I need to know how things are progressing.”

* * *

The de facto number one figure in the Japanese Empire, the Prime Minister, who was also the third most powerful person in name and reality.

Okubo Toshimichi was naturally paying close attention to the news from the West.

When he heard the news that one of the great powers of the American continent had been overthrown by a communist revolution, he couldn’t believe his ears.

After learning more about communism, he realized it was nothing more than the nonsense of lunatics.

The idea of such an ideology spreading in Japan, which served the unbroken imperial family, was terrifying to even imagine.

It meant that not only the imperial family and the daimyo [feudal lords] families, but also himself, would be beheaded one after another.

Such subversive ideas must not even set foot on this land.

Even recently, strange claims like the Seikanron [Advocating the conquest of Korea] have been growing day by day, and he was racking his brains about what to do, but now this problem has been added to the mix.

[The pride of Asia! The pride of Japan! His Highness Killian Tokugawa has been crowned King of Canada! This can be said to be a historical achievement that once again proves the superiority of the Yamato people’s blood!]

“Hooray!”

“Long live His Majesty Killian! He is indeed the pride of Japan!”

“Long live His Majesty Killian! Long live Her Majesty Queen Victoria! Long live His Majesty the Emperor!”

First of all, in order to prevent strange ideologies such as communism from spreading, he thoroughly blocked news from the South and took measures to only allow news from Canada to come in.

Fortunately, many Japanese citizens who regarded Killian as a member of the Tokugawa family showed enthusiastic reactions to the news that Killian had become king.

As the modernization policy was promoted, Asia couldn’t help but feel the gap with Europe, and even Asians themselves had a subtle sense of inferiority, believing that Asians were inferior to whites.

In this situation, Japan naturally had tremendous emotional investment in Killian, who had Tokugawa blood flowing through him, and celebrated his success as if it were Japan’s own.

Killian’s presence was so significant that there were even intellectuals eagerly awaiting his arrival in Asia for a tour since he had been crowned king.

“Hey, Okubo. Now is the perfect opportunity. How long do you think this atmosphere of harmony will last? After a little time, public opinion will inevitably be divided.”

“Haa… Saigo, I’m telling you, your argument doesn’t make sense.”

Okubo wanted to silence Saigo every time he came to him daily and argued for the Seikanron.

“No, think about it. Do you think I’m a war maniac who is arguing for the conquest of the Qing Dynasty [China]? How much debt have we incurred for the modernization we are currently undertaking? Moreover, how deep is the dissatisfaction of those who have been marginalized? How much loss are we suffering in trade with European countries? The only way to offset all of this is war.”

“…Hoo.”

Thinking about it calmly, Saigo’s words weren’t wrong.

Japan was deeply in debt to achieve its current state.

It wasn’t just a financial debt, but also a debt in terms of political and diplomatic standing.

That being said, if you ask whether the future is optimistic, the only honest answer is that it’s impossible to know.

So, I understand why the idea of attacking other countries and seizing resources to repay the debt is emerging.

In addition, a large number of marginalized samurai, now filled with dissatisfaction, would participate in the war if it were declared.

They would believe that their position would improve if they achieved something in the war.

However, isn’t this idea of paying off debts by taking from others ultimately a self-defeating cycle?

So, Okubo’s trump card excuse was, ‘I will consider it if Joseon [Korea] shows a positive response’.

Even those advocating for the Seikanron weren’t completely irrational, so they didn’t intend to act alone.

They all agreed that there should be at least one allied country the size of Joseon to fight against the giant Qing.

So, if Joseon stated that they weren’t interested, the Seikanron would instantly lose its justification.

Okubo sent a diplomat, confident that Joseon, which had been serving the Qing Dynasty for a long time, wouldn’t agree to this crazy plan.

But….

“You must have heard the news from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today, right? The Joseon side is also saying that they will consider it positively! Now keep your word!”

“That’s strange… that can’t be…”

Kim Jwa-geun, who is leading the reform of Joseon, was said to be a rational and thorough person, so why did this answer come back?

Could it be that they deliberately sent a strange answer to remove him from his position?

All sorts of conspiracy theories came to mind, but he couldn’t back out because he had already made the promise.

To make matters worse, the students who returned from Canada confessed to the major blunder they had committed.

Okubo realized for the first time that he could feel cold even while sweating.

“You said… you talked about the Seikanron at a drinking party?”

“Th, that’s not what I meant, I was just mentioning it in passing. But His Highness Killian… no, His Majesty found out about it and came to visit us in person…”

“Baka-yarō! [Idiot!] Is what’s on your shoulders just for decoration!”

He hurriedly held a meeting to establish countermeasures, but before long, the British ambassador arrived and handed him a telegram.

-Explain in detail about the Seikanron through the ambassador

Tell the truth when you can.

Okubo’s mouth trembled as he understood Killian’s intentions.