I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 389

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The responsibility-dodging measures decided by the parliament can be summarized as follows:

—

1. The Panama Canal construction is temporarily suspended. And we will look for another entity to take over this project.

2. First, we request the Imperial Family to take over, and if the Imperial Family accepts, all rights to the canal will be transferred to the Imperial Family.

3. The government and parliament completely withdraw from the Panama Canal, and the Imperial Family will bear all responsibility for failure and rewards for success.

4. Since the Imperial Family would not take this for free, a reasonable price is offered.

—

The important thing now is number 4. The congressmen expected that Wellesley would be able to pass on this mess for a reasonable price.

Who is Wellesley? He is the longest-serving Prime Minister in British history and a genius of politics who still enjoys the highest approval ratings.

Besides, he is close to the Imperial Family, so if he plays his cards right with Killian, wouldn’t Killian save Wellesley’s face this time?

Acquiring Panama for the canal was a misstep, but when viewed as part of a larger strategy, the Imperial Family is making huge profits in Canada, so overall, the gains clearly outweigh the losses.

Wellesley crossed the Atlantic by ship to successfully lead this important negotiation.

Since Killian is in Canada now, he had to go himself.

In fact, this was fortunate for the congressmen.

The harder the Prime Minister works, the more sincere they appear.

“…For that reason, the situation has unfolded exactly as Your Majesty predicted.”

“What did I say? I told you there was nothing to worry about, Prime Minister.”

“It’s all thanks to Your Majesty for taking this on. Thanks to you, I was able to get the parliament off my back. Sometimes I think Your Majesty is like a perfectly calibrated machine. It feels like everything is set up and running, like a factory churning out products.”

Yes, so always be grateful, human.

“Then, shall we negotiate with machine-like efficiency? Since we are taking over this useless canal construction project and finishing it, we can ask for a lot, right?”

“But you should ask for a reasonable amount, so I can still look good, right? After all, Your Majesty claims to have the means to complete the canal.”

“It’s just that it might be possible, not certain. Who in the world can be sure of the future? The parliament didn’t foresee things turning out like this, so they snatched the canal I was trying to build.”

“What can we do? The members of the House of Commons believe that the power elected through elections should hold the greatest authority.”

“Me too? Anyone who hears that would think I disagree.”

This guy is making a loaded statement. People who don’t know might think I’m rejecting the election system and trying to establish an absolute monarchy?

Having spent half my life in the 21st century being taught that democracy is the most perfect system, and the other half living in a constitutional monarchy, there’s no way I would admire an absolute monarchy.

“I hate dictatorships and communists the most in this world. I emphasize it whenever I have a chance in the first draft of my autobiography.”

“Ah, of course, you would. But isn’t it true that you are trying to amass as much power as the parliament?”

“My power comes from the Prime Minister being on my side; otherwise, it’s impossible. That’s why I’m struggling so hard to save the Prime Minister’s face like this. Where else would you find such a collaborator? Show me another one.”

Of course, just as I benefit from Wellesley, he is also able to maintain his position smoothly thanks to me.

Perhaps if there was no Prime Minister, there would have been a 100% chance that I was wielding too much power, and if I wasn’t there, Wellesley would have faced the risk of losing an election or two.

“Of course, Your Majesty is my best partner. And I have to keep my position as Prime Minister secure so that I can continue to be Your Majesty’s strength. So please support me this time too. I trust you.”

“Yes, yes. I wasn’t planning to take too much from the beginning anyway.”

The parliament is willing to concede rights to me in return for compensating me for taking on some losses.

But in fact, I was planning to complete the canal anyway, so it was more like taking profits unilaterally.

The parliament was being robbed in broad daylight, so I had to refrain from taking too much to minimize complaints later.

So I had to find something that wouldn’t burden the parliament and would allow me to reap the greatest benefits.

After considering the possibilities, I found a negotiation item that was perfect for this.

“You know that our Imperial Family has a knack for resource development, right?”

“Of course. You have all kinds of gold mines from the Great Lakes to Alaska.”

“Of course, I didn’t know from the beginning that there were many resources there. You don’t know what will come out until you dig up the land, right?”

“That’s right.”

Even people who enjoy conspiracy theories don’t believe that Killian emptied his pockets to buy land in advance to acquire resource-rich areas.

That’s because, as I said, in this era, it is almost impossible to know what lies beneath the surface unless you excavate it.

You can roughly guess where something is, but to know for sure, you have to dig it up yourself.

Therefore, pre-empting such land did not raise suspicion that they knew what was buried there.

They just envied their incredible luck.

“The reason why our Imperial Family has been so fortunate with land is because we’ve taken on so many ventures. So I am going to operate a proper resource development company in partnership with James Group. We will explore and develop resources within the territory of our British Empire and retain the rights. This way, we will make money, and the British Empire will be able to discover resources, so wouldn’t everyone benefit?”

“That’s certainly true.”

Resource development focuses mainly on areas with high potential but still carries the risk of failure.

If nothing worthwhile is found, you always have to live with the possibility of losing money and not getting any results.

“But I honestly want a guaranteed profit since I’m taking on considerable risks.”

“That’s a problem that can be solved by granting you the rights for decades. You can extract as much profit as you want and then return it to the country.”

“That’s right. However, this time, I need to benefit a little since I am greatly saving the face of the government and parliament. Still, I looked for a suitable area so that the parliament or government would not be too troubled, but how about here?”

Wellesley’s face was filled with doubt when he saw the area I pointed to.

“The Trucial Coast [present-day United Arab Emirates]? Is there a reason why you chose this place?”

“I chose the land after considering which land is being wasted in the home country. The British Empire is only using this place for strategic value, right? You’re not really doing any development or anything.”

“That’s right. That’s why we made it a protectorate in the first place.”

The most important colony for the British Empire is undoubtedly India.

The Trucial Coast has been a protectorate of the British Empire since the 1820s to protect India.

Thanks to its geopolitical location at the exit of the Persian Gulf, it was perfect for suppressing pirates and protecting trade routes to India.

But in the end, that’s all.

The British Empire did not yet know the value of this land and was wasting this gold mine, thinking they only needed to protect India.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that I’m going to sit on a pile of money right now if I develop this land.

This was, strictly speaking, a future investment for my sons, grandsons, and this Imperial Family.

“Our Imperial Family will develop the resources of this land for you, so please guarantee us the sales rights to a few items I want there permanently later.”

“In other words, you’re asking for ownership, like Alaska.”

“Yes. With this much, you can show off, and the parliament and government won’t lose much, right? Besides, if useful resources come out of there, it will ultimately benefit the British Empire.”

“That’s certainly not wrong. I want to send immigrants to the Trucial Coast, but it’s not a very desirable land, so no one wants to go. If some resources come out, we can use that as bait to send immigrants, and then the defense of India will be even stronger…”

According to a recent survey, the population there is only about 100,000.

If we drive stakes in advance and work on assimilation from now on, we can keep this place as a territory of the British Empire.

No, to be precise, now is the last line of defense.

If we delay any longer, the possibility of taking that place will diminish every day.

“Prime Minister, honestly, this is a very bad deal for me. I don’t even know what’s on that land, so I’m gambling in a way. And even if iron ore or coal comes out, honestly, how great would it be to have it permanently? I already have Alaska.”

“That’s certainly true. Unless gold or diamond mines come out in droves… I understand. The parliament will certainly think this is not a big deal and agree.”

“Our Prime Minister must be very proud? The congressmen will ask how you managed to get that Killian to agree to take over the Panama Canal with these conditions.”

“You never know. They might think I got a tip that there are gold or diamond mines on the Trucial Coast.”

“Then we have to acknowledge it as a victory of intelligence. I was the only one who knew the inside information that none of the British Empire’s leaders knew.”

What Wellesley knows is that I have the means to complete the Panama Canal.

He doesn’t know more than that, so he probably thinks that I didn’t want to be greedy because I would get unspeakable benefits if I made the canal my own anyway.

That’s half right.

Anyway, the Panama Canal will be mine, and I can show off to the parliament and government, so taking over the canal itself was a huge benefit for me.

Now that I have taken over the canal, John Snow and Nightingale will publish a paper that malaria is caused by mosquitoes.

Of course, before that, I have to approach Lesseps, who must have had his mentality shattered by the notice of suspension of canal construction by now, and sign a subcontract at a bargain price.

If the project is just overturned here, Lesseps is as good as bankrupt, so he has no choice but to accept my offer.

To be precise, he will not accept the conditions I presented reluctantly but with the feeling of welcoming the Messiah who descended to earth.

Then I can hire the world’s best canal engineer at almost cost…

If I release all the results I have researched so far and release funds generously, 90% of the plan will be completed.

No one will be able to say anything even if I eat the Panama Canal all at once, right?

The parliament and government have already agreed to transfer all responsibility and authority to me.

But my aim was not just Panama.

The underground resources of the Trucial Coast, which were taken over in return for cleaning up the parliament’s nonsense.

I said I wanted ownership of a few resources, but in fact, I don’t need a few. What I’m aiming for from the beginning was only one.

The Trucial Coast. The holy land of oil, known as the UAE [United Arab Emirates] in modern times.

I coughed to suppress the laughter that was about to burst out and poured coffee into Wellesley’s empty glass myself.

“Ahem, I’m really doing you a big favor, Prime Minister.”

“I fully understand, so I will definitely repay you later.”

“Well, I didn’t do it hoping for a reward.”

“As expected, Your Majesty is a loyal person.”

This is not a lie, so I don’t need a real reward, Prime Minister.

I’ve already received as much as I need.

After exchanging compliments and savoring the aroma of the coffee, it felt strangely sweet even though I didn’t add sugar.

Oh, come to think of it, coffee is black too? No wonder I feel good just looking at it.

I smiled brightly and put the cup down with a clatter, as if I was drunk on coffee.

Kuh, yeah, this is the taste.

Right now, just looking at anything black makes me feel so sweet that my teeth will rot.