I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 374

The Marquis de la Valette, frankly, didn’t want to come to London.

The ambassadorship to London was considered the most important position, even in France, but it also demanded a great deal of attention.

The reason was the close proximity between France and the British Empire.

If something truly significant occurred, the Prime Minister would likely intervene directly, leaving the ambassador with little room to maneuver.

It was an important position, certainly, but the Prime Minister would handle the really crucial matters, leaving no opportunity for the ambassador to make a significant impact.

For these reasons, London wasn’t a particularly desirable posting for French ambassadors.

So, the Marquis de la Valette accepted the ambassadorship intending to enjoy it as much as possible.

After all, if something truly troublesome arose, Guizot, the expert at navigating Anglo-French relations, would step in.

Therefore, he certainly didn’t expect such a thorny issue to be thrust upon him.

“The German Confederation… I’m aware of the agreement. But this matter is…”

“I believe the British Empire is already aware of it. Isn’t that so?”

“Indeed.”

Killian nodded, his expression unchanging.

‘Damn it, why did the Prime Minister make such a promise?’

In truth, if France had engaged in the war with the North alone, it would have suffered enormous losses, and the war would likely have ended inconclusively.

In that regard, the Prime Minister’s decision to bring in Prussia by making vague promises wasn’t entirely wrong.

The problem was that the time to pay the price for those empty promises was fast approaching.

“Thinking about it, France will, of course, honor its agreements, but it seems a bit presumptuous for the home country to be so greedy. We are prepared to make concessions. This negotiation is merely a formality.”

“Haha… Hahaha.”

“You can take not only Luzon but also Cebu. We would be satisfied with securing a solid foothold in Asia.”

Gaining control of the German Confederation must have been Prussia’s long-held ambition, so they probably calculated that they wouldn’t mind giving up two-thirds of the Philippines.

However, France couldn’t simply stand by and watch Prussia become so powerful; they couldn’t predict what complications might arise.

Frankly, the British Empire wouldn’t be thrilled about it either, so were they simply going to observe?

He glanced at Killian, who was merely smiling and observing the situation.

‘What the hell? Is this situation amusing? Why?’

The British Empire should also be trying to prevent Prussia from becoming too dominant, so why were they just watching?

The Marquis de la Valette pursed his lips and internally cursed Guizot and Killian for creating this predicament.

He longed to return to Paris. His head was beginning to spin.

* * *

“Hehehehe.”

“Heeheehee.”

The wine in the glass shimmered, accompanied by a delicate clinking sound.

Ah, this is the life. The aroma rising like waves always puts me in a good mood.

“As expected of Your Majesty. You are the one I can always trust and rely on.”

“Who was that person who came to the palace earlier and raised their voice demanding a solution?”

“Was there such a person? I should go and advise them not to live so recklessly.”

“Is that so? There’s a mirror over there.”

“Hey, you! Consider how well His Majesty has treated you until now, and yet you’re living like that? Do you understand?”

Wellesley, after pointing at the mirror, returned and shrugged as if nothing had happened.

“He says he will be more careful in the future. He must have understood since I explained it clearly.”

“This is truly touching. A profoundly moving lecture.”

“Ahem, ahem. Anyway, let’s say we’ll handle the Panama issue as you suggested. In return, you want us to take care of the Philippines and the German Confederation?”

“Yes. The Philippines isn’t particularly well-suited to our colonial policy anyway. It’s better to sell it off while making a show of it and focus on China instead.”

“What about the German Confederation?”

“Didn’t I tell you that this would happen eventually?”

The division and reunification of the German Confederation was an inevitable process anyway.

With France already agreeing to help, Prussia taking the lead, as in the original historical timeline, is bound to occur.

However, we shouldn’t allow Prussia to completely devour Austria.

I can’t allow that to happen in the first place, but we need to prepare for such a situation, even if it’s unlikely.

“Will France side with Prussia?”

“They’ve already made an agreement, so it would be illogical to back out now. If I were them, I would try to extract more concessions regarding the Philippines.”

“I would too. Then the problem is Austria…”

The British Empire and Austria are allies who cooperated in the past war with Russia.

Although they have been closer to Prussia recently, Austria will still reach out if a difficult situation arises.

Wellesley looked at the border between Prussia and Austria and analyzed it in his own way.

“Even though Austria is said to be declining, it is still one of the major powers. Prussia won’t be able to defeat them easily…”

“That’s not necessarily true. The outcome may be decided unexpectedly quickly. The fight between a rising power and a declining one tends to end anticlimactically. It’s not just a matter of size or national power.”

“Like the North and South [American Civil War] and Spain.”

There happened to be a good example, so he seemed to understand easily.

The fight between Spain and the North and South was proceeding unilaterally beyond imagination.

Based on the forces they originally possessed, Spain should have been able to launch a counterattack.

However, a country heading towards decline cannot launch a sincere counterattack, even if it wants to.

It’s like a person whose arm muscles, leg muscles, and back muscles are all working independently.

From the first naval battle to the subsequent landing operation and ground war.

Spain was proving with its whole body that it was no match for the North and South.

Come to think of it, there was another similar example right now.

“The fight between China and Joseon [Korea] and Japan is also a good example. Of course, Austria is not in as dire a situation as China right now.”

“Following China and Spain, Austria as well. The great empires of the past being devoured by emerging countries and becoming nourishment. It seems this is also an inevitable trend of the times.”

The wars that should have happened sequentially were all happening in the same era for some reason.

As Wellesley said.

Almost all the countries that could be colonized had already been colonized.

What remained was the confrontation between the countries with colonies and the emerging countries without them.

The weak are devoured, and those who consume their nourishment become stronger and more greedily seek out other prey.

“Austria, China, and Spain. It’s not a pleasant sight to see the old empires declining like that.”

“I can understand how you feel.”

Wellesley, who had been staring at the map, asked in a bitter tone.

“What is the probability that we will decline like that in the future?”

“Zero percent.”

I answered firmly and added briefly.

“Because I won’t let that happen.”

No matter how glorious an empire is, it will eventually decline. That was the truth that history had shown so far.

Then what will happen to the future of this country?

I know very well what kind of ending it will face if it continues as it is. Because I have seen it with my own eyes.

But now I have already changed a lot, and more will change in the future.

History has already changed, and the future was within me.

* * *

Those who have experienced the stock market all say the same thing.

You thought it was the bottom, but there’s a basement under that bottom.

The same goes for countries.

They have already fallen as much as they can, but surprisingly, they often exhibit even more disgraceful behavior.

The current Qing Dynasty [China] was exactly like that.

How long has the war been going on? Most of the Gando region [Disputed territory between China and Korea] has fallen into the hands of Joseon [Korea].

In fact, Joseon said it would take Manchuria, but it didn’t really think it could occupy the entire Manchuria.

Because Manchuria was too large, and the number of troops Joseon deployed was not large enough to occupy this vast area.

After the Qing Dynasty starts a proper counterattack, we will estimate their power and adjust the line appropriately.

This was the initial strategy agreed upon by the military, the court, and the government.

But strangely, there is no sign of the counterattack that should be starting soon.

Or maybe they already launched a counterattack, but we just didn’t notice?

In fact, battles had taken place several times.

Of course, most of the battles were embarrassing skirmishes, but the Joseon army won anyway.

As this situation repeated, greed in the name of confidence continued to grow in their minds.

“Maybe… are we strong?”

“Uwooooo! The energy of the Baekdu Mountain tiger [Mount Paektu, a sacred mountain in Korean culture] is rising!”

“Don’t ignore Joseon again, you 되놈s [derogatory term for Chinese people]!”

It may not even be called a fight, but anyway, they fought and won, and the damage to their own side was extremely minimal.

These amazing results were reported to the home country every day, and the media poured out this proud achievement as breaking news every day, inspiring national pride.

As the situation developed like this, not only the military but also government officials naturally began to be encouraged by these amazing results.

Kim Jwa-geun wanted to stop slowly here, but the situation did not allow it.

“General Eo Jae-yeon has once again 전.멸ed [annihilated] the Qing army and started advancing. We must take advantage of this momentum to make Joseon’s flag flutter throughout Manchuria!”

“…Even if they 전.멸ed them, it’s only a few hundred soldiers.”

“Paradoxically, it means that Qing can only mobilize that many soldiers. If we strike now, we can make the entire Manchuria our land. Our Joseon will achieve an even larger territory than the old Goguryeo or Balhae [Ancient Korean kingdoms]!”

“It’s useless to get land that we can’t manage…”

“The Japanese army has defeated the Qing navy and landed in Taiwan, taking most of Taiwan except for Tainan. They are even planning to move further inland without stopping here.”

“…Japan? Is that true?”

Clearly, it was initially to unite the divided opinions in the country, but when I opened my eyes, it had expanded into a war for a massive invasion of the continent.

“The European powers, who were the only concern, are just watching the situation with their arms crossed. And I heard that some people called Roth something from Europe sent us words of encouragement, is that true?”

“That’s true. Rothschild is said to be a family that owns a huge bank that is among the top three in Europe.”

“Even such people agree with our movement to restore the land of our ancestors! This is an opportunity. If we organize and send additional troops, the entire Manchuria will be in our hands!”

“That’s right. His Highness will also want that.”

“In fact, isn’t it strange to call him His Highness now? If we integrate Manchuria, our Joseon will also be a powerful country no less than any other country. We should call him His Majesty.”

“Oh! That’s a good idea. Let’s suggest that to His Highness together!”

A train whose brakes have been broken cannot stop until it collides with something and derails.

Kim Jwa-geun had no choice but to admit that he could not change this atmosphere alone, no matter how much he coaxed and persuaded.

I don’t know when or where this frenzy will continue, but no one can stop it now.

Whether it miraculously runs out of fuel somewhere and stops, or it collides with something and gets destroyed.

Kim Jwa-geun took a deep breath, closed his eyes for a moment, and then spat out each word as if chewing on it.

“I understand. Let’s go… and suggest it to His Highness.”