I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 390

Panama.

It was thought to be a goose that laid golden eggs, but the reality was a giant ant hell that endlessly sucked up money and manpower.

The Liberal Party lawmakers, stuck in a situation where they could neither advance nor retreat, were waiting for Prime Minister Wellesley to return from Canada.

In fact, they didn’t expect Wellesley to bring back any meaningful results.

This was because the Panama disaster was a golden opportunity for the Imperial Family to attack the parliament.

‘If I were His Majesty, I would actively condemn the parliament and discipline those impudent lawmakers.’

Nine out of ten lawmakers thought this way and were convinced that Wellesley would return empty-handed, as if being kicked out.

Or, he might present conditions that they could never accept and put on a plausible act, claiming he had done his best.

Whatever the case, it was a crisis for the Liberal Party after a long time.

Even if the Conservative Party was criticized along with the Liberal Party, they could argue that it was only because the Liberal Party had actively advocated for it first.

In the end, Russell, who led the matter, or Gladstone, the representative of the Liberal Party, would inevitably suffer damage.

However, Wellesley, as if mocking everyone’s expectations, brought a very plausible negotiation proposal and turned the parliament into a frenzy.

“Is that true? Is His Majesty really willing to take Panama under these conditions?”

“Yes. I suffered a bit.”

“Hmm… No, with this, His Majesty is actually taking on huge losses to save the parliament’s face…”

“No. Information that gold or diamonds are buried in the Trucial Coast [an area along the Persian Gulf, now part of the UAE] may have reached His Majesty’s ears.”

“I could understand Asia or the Americas, but how could His Majesty have connections in the Arabian Peninsula to know such top-secret information alone? Has anyone here heard rumors that gold is buried in the Trucial Coast?”

If there were such rumors, the capitalists of the greedy British Empire would have dug up the entire surface of the Trucial Coast.

However, the absence of such movements was evidence that not only members of parliament and government officials but also major capitalists had never heard of such rumors.

This was intelligence that only Killian knew, but how could he investigate the underground resources of the Arabian Peninsula?

From the beginning, it was impossible, so no one paid attention to the voice of doubt.

Still, people like Gladstone strengthened their reasoning in other directions.

‘Is he perhaps trying to do something in Panama?’

Having reasoned this far, Gladstone recalled Disraeli trying to induce a slip of the tongue from him.

The Imperial Family attempting to complete the canal construction was impossible, but Wellesley succeeded in passing Panama to the Imperial Family in Canada?

Combining these, there was only one conclusion.

‘Is His Majesty confident in completing the canal?’

If Disraeli or Wellesley knew this fact, it would be understandable why they handed over all rights to Panama, giving only a token reward.

Of course, this was just speculation, and he had no intention of voicing it.

It was just a delusion without any physical evidence, and there were clearly logical flaws.

“Is it really just about acquiring the Trucial Coast’s resource development and ownership rights?”

“Yes. He said he would only recognize permanent ownership of three items that the Imperial Family wants.”

“Only three? Haha… Is it really gold, diamonds, and silver? I don’t understand.”

“His Majesty also added that he doesn’t want the parliament to be greatly affected by this. Everyone knows that His Majesty doesn’t have much ill will towards the parliament in the first place. In the past, when the parliament tried to check the Imperial Family and tripped over its own feet, His Majesty didn’t particularly scold the parliament.”

“Well… that’s true.”

If Killian really wanted to intervene in domestic politics in every matter, there would have been many opportunities to do so.

However, it was Killian himself who drew the line, and wasn’t it the government and parliament that entrusted him with overseas affairs?

“Hearing you say that, it feels like we’re the bad guys for trying to take the canal, not wanting to give excessive power to the Imperial Family.”

“His Majesty said that he will create a company to develop resources and actively explore within the British Empire. Of course, unlike the Trucial Coast, he won’t acquire permanent ownership.”

“Then it’s just ordinary resource development.”

It’s called resource exploration, but the reason for creating such a thing is to use the resources of Canada or Alaska more effectively.

Other lawmakers knew that much.

“Well, wouldn’t that be okay? There’s no reason for us to oppose it.”

“Then there’s no need to waste time, so let’s go straight to the vote. As soon as the law is passed, the government will finish all related work.”

The passage of a new bill transferring all rights and responsibilities for the Panama region from the British Empire government to the Imperial Family, and the repeal of the existing special law for canal construction.

Not a single dissenting voice was raised, and as everyone expected, Panama’s new owner was born unanimously.

What value would there be in a position that is just the king of a pile of garbage?

“By the way, Prime Minister, how on earth did you persuade His Majesty to accept these conditions?”

“I wonder. Even if you’re close, it’s a well-known fact that His Majesty strictly distinguishes between public and private matters.”

It was a joke that Wellesley might have a weakness of the Imperial Family, so there was no need to consider how favorable these conditions were to the parliament.

Even if huge resources came out of the Trucial Coast, it was a resource that the British Empire was not aware of, so it could not be said that they suffered a loss as a result.

Even if the Imperial Family’s wealth increased, that Imperial Family is the British Empire’s Imperial Family, isn’t it?

No matter how things proceeded, the British Empire was bound to benefit.

* * *

Canada.

The Imperial Villa in Toronto.

As soon as I heard the news that I had ascended as the new owner of Panama, I called Lesseps [Ferdinand de Lesseps, the French diplomat and engineer behind the Suez Canal], who had been despondent after receiving the notice of suspension of canal construction.

“Your Majesty Killian, the great King of Canada, I am…”

“Ah, let’s skip the introductions since we both know who we are. Didn’t your side also participate when Suez was sold?”

“Yes. I am honored that you remember.”

“There can’t be another engineer like you in the world, but I heard things didn’t go well this time? It’s a pity.”

“Yo, Your Majesty. That… that’s not our problem…”

“I know. It wasn’t a technical problem, was it? Anyway, as you may have heard while coming here, all rights to Panama are now in my hands, not the British Empire government. The government concluded that the canal was no longer viable and passed all authority to me.”

Lesseps’ face turned ashen.

The fact that the British Empire government, the entity that hired him, had sold off all rights and cut ties meant that he had no place to rely on anymore.

What construction could he do without a source of money?

Considering the projects already underway, his future was 1000% certain to be bankruptcy.

Still, he didn’t seem completely hopeless, perhaps holding at least some expectations that I had newly acquired Panama.

Of course, he shouldn’t. If he has vague expectations, I can’t blackmail him, can I?

“…Your Majesty! Then, the reason why Your Majesty acquired Panama is…?”

“To put the parliament in debt. Recently, the Imperial Family’s power has become too strong, so the parliament wants to check us. If I save their face like this, they will save my face next time.”

“For that reason, this much money…?”

“Of course, that’s not the only reason. Even if Panama can’t dig a canal, isn’t it a transportation hub connecting North and South America? Just occupying the center here will greatly broaden Canada’s range of activities. I think it would be very useful to build naval bases or something.”

As I only talked about things that had nothing to do with the canal, I could feel the last bit of expectation fading from Lesseps’ face.

He must be feeling anxious that the reason I called him here was to confirm the suspension of canal construction, right?

I continued to speak nonchalantly, pretending not to know anything.

“So, about the canal construction that you guys have been doing until now…”

“Yo, Your Majesty! Just a moment! Please listen to me for a moment. Please forgive the rudeness of interrupting Your Majesty, and please just listen to me once and make a decision, please!”

“Are you perhaps going to tell me not to stop the canal construction or something?”

“Yes. It is true that we cannot continue construction now because of malaria, but malaria is not a disease that will last for thousands of years! Smallpox! The Black Death! They no longer boast the same notoriety as before. Science is making remarkable progress, and malaria will one day be conquered by mankind…”

“Okay. So, do you have a way to conquer malaria?”

“…No.”

Seeing Lesseps’ reaction, who would want to eradicate malaria more than anyone else in this world right now, it seems that I am the only one who knows about John Snow’s research results right now.

It was effective to set up a research institute in Canada instead of London to maintain complete secrecy.

“Then there’s nothing more to hear. When that time comes, whenever it may be, we can dig the canal again then.”

“Wa, wait, please! So… as Your Majesty also acknowledged, our technology is the best in the world. There are areas in Canada that need canals, aren’t there? We can construct them for you!”

“Well, there isn’t really an area to do such a large-scale construction right now. But are things that difficult? Tell me honestly.”

“…Yes. Without Your Majesty’s mercy, I have no choice but to go bankrupt.”

“I see. I wouldn’t want you, who worked hard during Suez, to collapse so miserably. Then let’s do this. You were receiving support not only from the British Empire government but also from the French government, right?”

If you have more than half of the shares, the canal is virtually owned by the British Empire government, so the government naturally raised funds from various sources.

Lesseps was French, and the French government was very interested in this, so I heard that they invested a considerable amount.

However, with enough money already, I didn’t want to take on such an unstable factor.

The reason why I took all the shares of the Egyptian government in Suez was to completely block the possibility of them talking nonsense later.

“Yes, but France’s stake is insignificant…”

“I don’t need that much either, so let’s get it all sorted out. Of course, I’ll give you the money, so there won’t be any problems. And I’ll pay off all the debts you’ll be burdened with, so if there’s any construction I need in the future, you’ll do it for free. Wouldn’t this be a very generous contract? What do you think?”

“Thank you! Thank you! Your Majesty!”

“No need to thank me. There will be times when I’ll need your help later, so just take a break for a while.”

“Then, should I withdraw all the construction sites and materials that have been set up in Panama for now?”

“No. It’s better to leave them as they are, as they may be useful later.”

All rights to Panama, construction companies, and engineers have been scouted.

And all preparations were completed with the successful advance into the Arabian Peninsula, which will become the Imperial Family’s greatest asset in the future.

All this waiting was condensed at once, and the first news to herald the start of a huge storm soared from Canada.

“John Snow [a British physician and a leader in the adoption of anesthesia and medical hygiene] and Nightingale’s [Florence Nightingale, an English social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing] historic discovery! Malaria has been confirmed to be transmitted by mosquitoes, not by bad air or ants.

This is a definite fact obtained by comparing the malaria incidence rates of workers bitten by mosquitoes and those who were not, and cross-verifying numerous conditions.

We will widely share the results of this study and introduce effective methods to drive away mosquitoes that transmit malaria.”

The party has begun.