I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 379

< The End of the Old Era (3) >

The drinking session, which stretched late into the night, finally ended with the first crow of the rooster, heralding the break of dawn.

“Shiiibal, that’s exactly why those military bastards are hopeless,” Kim Jwa-geun slurred.

“Precisely! Those sons of bitches only think about war. If we could just sweep them all away and dump them in the Pacific, both our countries would be much more peaceful. Is there any way to do that?”

“Wouldn’t that be impossible until the war ends? At least in our homeland, it is. They’re embarking on a massive project to reclaim the ancient territory of Manchuria and expand the country several times over. How can we stop them? Isn’t it the same in your country?”

Okubo responded to Kim Jwa-geun’s question with a wry smile.

Both men’s words were a little slurred, but they were too caught up in venting their pent-up frustrations to notice their fatigue.

“That damn Manchuria, Manchuria, Manchuria. You bunch of idiots. Let’s say you conquer Manchuria. Will your ancestors come back to handle the administration for you? We’re only just now establishing administrative districts in half of Sakhalin, which we acquired ages ago.”

“It’s the same for us. Considering our homeland’s current capacity, it’s difficult to even properly govern Taiwan, which we just occupied. Anyway, the British Empire has already moved into Taiwan, so I was originally planning to sell it to them. That way, we could offset a significant portion of the loans we took out from the British.”

“That’s a brilliant idea.”

“Right? We take the cost of fighting the war from the Qing Dynasty [the ruling dynasty of China at the time], seize territory and sell it to the British Empire to reduce our national debt, and the feeling of victory from winning the war further accelerates modernization. That was the picture I had in mind. It would have been best if the war hadn’t started at all, but since it had already broken out, I thought it would be good to finish it like that.”

In fact, Kim Jwa-geun’s plan wasn’t much different.

His original intention was to occupy only Gando [a disputed territory between Korea and China], negotiate with the Qing Dynasty, incorporate a portion of Gando into Joseon [ancient Korean kingdom], and return the rest to the Qing in exchange for money.

That way, they could extract a large sum from the Qing Dynasty, use it to repay some of the loans from Europe, create a sense of expansion into the continent, and use this as a justification to further accelerate modernization.

He also believed this was the best outcome since the war had begun, but unfortunately, even that was no longer feasible.

He racked his brain trying to figure out the cause, but only one answer emerged.

“It’s all because of the Qing Dynasty! What the hell have those morons been doing all this time?”

“Exactly! What kind of great power are they? They’re the most pathetic bunch in the world. That’s why they’re being ripped off by European countries and acting like losers.”

“Didn’t they say they were investing in things like ‘Chinese learning for fundamental principles, Western learning for practical application’ [a slogan during the Self-Strengthening Movement in China]? What happened to that?”

“It must have all gone into Empress Dowager Cixi’s stomach.”

“To have that much national power and be in this state is just pathetic.”

The two men, lamenting the Qing Dynasty’s failures so vehemently that one might mistake them for Qing Dynasty loyalists, grabbed another bottle of alcohol and poured it, overflowing their glasses.

“Speaking of which, didn’t the Prime Minister say he received a reply from London earlier? The conversation was cut short, so I didn’t hear the details. What did it say? Does he even know we’re suffering?”

“He probably knows. I sent him a detailed letter, so he must. But for now, the reply was to endure some hardship.”

“Was that really all it said?”

“Yes. He told me to destroy it as soon as I received it, so I burned it completely. I can’t show it to you, but that’s really all there was to it.”

“How heartless.”

The Killian that Kim Jwa-geun knew was someone who, even in this situation, could devise some miraculous plan to bring the military, which was running rampant without any sense of restraint, to heel.

Even if that wasn’t possible, wouldn’t the military have to back down if the British Empire officially told them to restrain themselves?

“Perhaps he judged that our Joseon military might even refuse mediation from the British Empire.”

“Surely not. If they really did that, they’d be crushed. Unless they’re crazy, would they do that?”

“…You’re right, they wouldn’t do that unless they were crazy. But can we really say they’re not crazy right now?”

Ah… that’s right. They were crazy right now.

Kim Jwa-geun was speechless and simply nodded at Okubo’s astute observation.

“If a disaster occurs where the military doesn’t listen to the British Empire, everything we’ve worked so hard to build up until now will be for nothing. Of course, we could use that as an excuse to sweep away the military…”

“Wouldn’t the British Empire benefit the more the Qing Dynasty is pushed back by us? If they intervene later, they can use that as an excuse to extract even more concessions from the Qing. So, I think they’re telling us to endure a little longer.”

“That makes sense. Then it’s a bit strange that France and Prussia are staying quiet. Especially France; I heard they’re colluding with Jewish capital.”

“I’ve been wondering about that too. Are the Jews really supporting Joseon?”

Both Kim Jwa-geun and Okubo were well-versed in European affairs, so they were acutely aware of the prevailing perception of Jews.

They knew the extent of the Rothschilds’ wealth, but they had no idea why they were looking so favorably upon Joseon.

“I don’t know either. Even if other people are living there now, if it’s the place where our ancestors lived a thousand years ago, it’s not strange to claim legitimacy… They say things like that, but I can’t tell if they’re being sincere or just teasing us.”

“Surely they’re teasing us, right?”

“Honestly, I don’t think so. They were spouting incomprehensible stories, but…”

They wrote that Joseon acquiring Manchuria was a prelude to restoring the promised land, but Kim Jwa-geun couldn’t even begin to guess what they were talking about.

Even though he had lived in London for several years, it was impossible for him to understand the Jewish mindset.

If the promised land the Jews were talking about was Jerusalem?

He had no idea why they were suddenly bringing up Jerusalem.

If he thought about it a little more, something might come to mind, but he’d already drunk so much that his head wasn’t working properly.

But what did it matter? Even if he came up with a brilliant strategy here, it wouldn’t be applicable to Joseon right now.

“Come to think of it, is the discussion tomorrow? Will the Prime Minister be attending?”

“No. It’ll work fine even without me, so there’s no reason for me to go.”

“Hahaha, that’s true. Then let’s just drink that day too. Let those bastards take care of the blood alliance discussion.”

The united front of Joseon, striving to seize Manchuria and declare itself an empire, and the Japanese Empire, already calling itself an empire.

The final piece needed to forge a blood alliance that went beyond a mere alliance.

That was the union between the two imperial families.

Okubo had come to Joseon in person to discuss this, but he lacked the confidence to handle the matter sober.

So, he was just going to make an appearance at the welcoming ceremony and leave the rest to his staff.

It hadn’t been decided yet how to unite, or who would marry whom, but surprisingly, survey results showed a very high approval rating for this marriage alliance.

Those actively promoting this blood alliance had already come up with plausible justifications.

-His Majesty Killian Tokugawa Lee is a living symbol of the union between Joseon and Japan!

-Since His Majesty Killian, the result of the union between the Tokugawa and Joseon dynasties, is already here, why shouldn’t the imperial families of both countries unite!

To make matters worse, there was even talk of marrying their descendants to Killian’s descendants after the two countries’ imperial families were united. This was so mind-boggling that Okubo was doing his best to prevent it from reaching Killian’s ears, but it was only a matter of time.

He didn’t know when this news would reach London.

Honestly, at this point, he just wanted things to stay as they were.

“Do you really think the marriage will be successful, Prime Minister?”

“Well, what do you think, Prime Minister?”

“If you think about it rationally, it will pretend to proceed appropriately and then collapse. Honestly, does it even make sense?”

“Then that means it will be successful.”

It was such a perfect deduction that it was impossible to refute, so he could only laugh.

The world where reality becomes what you think is impossible. That was Joseon and Japan right now.

Kim Jwa-geun decided to just drink another glass.

* * *

“The home country will allow the sale of the Philippines and Guam. However, the condition is that you offer us a slightly better price than what’s currently on the table.”

“That’s not a problem. I’ll add ten percent more. Then there won’t be any issues, right?”

Cuba gains independence, Puerto Rico is transferred to the South, and the silver mine excavation rights in Mexico are transferred to the North.

The Philippines and Guam become part of the British Empire.

In the Treaty of London, Spain peacefully relinquished almost all of its colonies.

This was because they had no choice but to sell all the archipelagos in Oceania, following the Philippines and Guam, to the British Empire.

All that remained were Morocco and Sahara in North Africa, and Guinea in Central Africa, which was practically embarrassing to even call colonial holdings.

In the end, the Treaty of London was concluded very peacefully, and the Spanish and American delegations returned to their home countries with mixed feelings of joy and sorrow.

A rigged game of Go-Stop [Korean card game similar to poker] where the outcome was predetermined from the start.

It was a kind of black comedy, where only the intended victim was unaware of the outcome, getting beaten from beginning to end before returning home.

Since acquiring the Philippines was a given from the start, I wasn’t particularly impressed, but the gains were more significant than expected.

“You acquired all of Guam, Palau, and the Caroline Islands?”

“Yes. We determined that Guam is the best island for building a military base. If we’re handing over the Philippines to France and Prussia, it’s even more crucial to make this place our territory. Considering its size and population, assimilating it into the home country shouldn’t be a problem.”

All Edward was instructed to do in this negotiation was to secure the Philippines.

Anyone could have done that, so if he only accomplished that much, he would have simply been following orders.

If he managed to get something more, I had secretly set a standard that he would barely pass.

But I never imagined he would acquire all of Spain’s colonies in the Pacific following Guam.

Moreover, I really appreciated how he encouraged the North and South to apply pressure together, rather than forcibly seizing them.

It was worth giving him experience and taking him around.

I was honestly impressed when I received the interim report, but after seeing the final results, it was truly flawless work.

It’s amazing to see how a child who was weak when he was young could come up with such a great plan. Isn’t human growth truly amazing to witness?

“Okay, okay, with this much, there’s no problem widely announcing your achievements and holding a commemorative event. Did you have any questions or things you didn’t understand while conducting the meeting?”

“I completely understood the stated reason for selling the Philippines. But is selling the Philippines to France and Prussia intended to gain an advantage in future diplomatic negotiations with Prussia or France?”

“What makes you think that?”

“The islands of Mindanao and Sulu are not part of the Spanish Philippines. But France and Prussia are trying to divide these islands among themselves, including those. Eventually, they will forcibly merge the islands of Mindanao and Sulu, but France, as well as Prussia, will have difficulty guaranteeing the defense of this place in the long term, right?”

This was a very accurate analysis that I hadn’t shared with anyone.

That’s right. As he said, it’s difficult for France to manage Indochina, and it’s difficult to spread its naval power to the Philippines.

Not to mention Prussia.

If it’s a small island, it’s manageable, but a large colony like the Philippines, with many islands and people, requires a lot of attention.

It’s undeniable that it’s attractive and coveted, but in the long run, it means that the place itself can act as an unbreakable shackle.

At first, it won’t feel real, but when the power of Asian countries rises, Prussia will start to feel a little pressured, even if France doesn’t.

However, the two countries, competing for the second spot in the world, won’t feel truly threatened, but it’s enough if they feel even a little bit uncomfortable.

There were plenty of opportunities for the British Empire, which would have a huge influence in Asia and the Pacific, to exploit and benefit from.

This insight deserves a score of 95 out of 100.

Edward, seeing my satisfied smile, was silent for a moment, then hesitated and opened his mouth as if he had made up his mind.

“Father.”

“Hmm?”

“So, it’s right that I faithfully understood and implemented your intentions, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Then, is it okay for me to be more confident than I am now?”

“Of course. People with ability should have a position that suits them.”

I opened a bottle of my favorite wine and poured it directly into Edward’s glass.

The beautiful red liquid flowed out, and a fragrant aroma filled the room.

“If there’s any work you’d like to handle next time, feel free to tell me, and I’ll consider it as much as possible.”