I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 391

< Royal Territory >

The sudden announcement of the malaria mosquito transmission theory caused quite a stir.

People were taken aback, but when it was revealed that the presenter was none other than John Snow, the hero of the cholera eradication, the impact was enormous.

Furthermore, with Florence Nightingale, who had made significant contributions to integrating medicine and statistics, also participating in the research, numerous medical professionals and scholars around the world began to verify it.

Naturally, the result was, ‘Highly credible.’

There had been many claims about identifying the cause of malaria, but never before had it been argued with such systematic information.

The problem was that the timing of this research was too coincidental, but this had also been prepared in advance.

-Following cholera, now malaria? Unwavering medical support from His Majesty Killian.

-Professor John Snow: “I have been immersed in research since malaria patients surged in Panama. The reason I settled in Canada was to get the fastest updates on the situation in Panama.”

-Florence Nightingale: “So many people have suffered from false superstitions. I only hope that this research will leave a meaningful mark in saving many lives.”

The majority of people lavished praise on the achievements of the two giants in the medical field.

And, of course, praise also poured in for me, who had consistently supported these medical professionals from the past.

However, those with direct vested interests cast suspicious glances.

As soon as Panama was handed over, the transmission route of malaria, which was the biggest obstacle to canal construction, was revealed.

Could this really be a coincidence?

There’s no way any sensible person would think it’s a coincidence.

Naturally, voices in Parliament questioned whether I had known all along and eagerly accepted Panama.

And I, who had briefly returned to London to see my family, also visited Parliament to discuss this matter.

“Your Majesty! Did you have all the measures for canal construction in place before you took over the authority?”

“What is the basis for thinking that way?”

“Well, of course, as soon as all authority over Panama was transferred to Your Majesty, this announcement was made…”

“So, if it had happened a month later, you wouldn’t have suspected it? Or a year later? What if the announcement had come out in three years?”

“Your Majesty, that’s a bit of a stretch.”

“In the end, it’s true that it was bound to come out no matter what. To tell you the truth, I did prepare for malaria eradication, and I thought it would be okay to dig the canal again if malaria eradication was possible while taking over Panama. But is there any problem with that?”

The parliamentarians were the ones who were flustered by my confident response.

From the beginning, the parliamentarians who had suffered a lot from me were silent, not readily joining in this controversy.

Russell and Palmerston had both been outsmarted by me, so they naturally had to be cautious now.

Only the third-term lawmakers, who were now seriously considering tasting power, were questioning me with the thought that this was their chance.

“I will ask the wise members here. Congressman Russell, if I prove that mosquitoes spread malaria, can I immediately resume canal construction?”

“Yes? Well… it might be possible… Ah! It wouldn’t be possible.”

Some lawmakers nodded as if they already knew, and others who hadn’t noticed until now scratched their heads belatedly.

“Do you understand? Just because malaria is transmitted through mosquitoes doesn’t mean you can eradicate malaria. Just don’t get bitten by mosquitoes. It’s very easy. But is it possible not to get bitten by mosquitoes while working on construction in Panama? Do mosquitoes now kindly tell you that they’re going to bite you and ask for permission before sucking blood?”

“That’s… not true. But still, there are folk remedies to defend against it.”

“This mess happened because we believed in those folk remedies, and you’re still talking about that? It seems I haven’t given you enough faith, so let’s just do this. I’ll hand over the authority over Panama back to the government. Now that you know mosquitoes are dangerous, you can do the construction yourself. Right?”

Even if we knew that mosquitoes transmitted malaria, humanity at this time had no reliable way to deal with those mosquitoes.

It’s similar to saying that now that we know people die when shot, we won’t die on the battlefield if we don’t get shot.

Of course, if people die when shot, you won’t get shot if you go to a place without guns.

Similarly, the best way to avoid mosquitoes now was to go to an area without mosquitoes.

There are various folk remedies or medical means, but most of them are limited in effectiveness and not cost-effective.

“Since I’m back in London, let’s have a vote on it right here.”

“Ah, no, Your Majesty! You know very well that we didn’t mean it that way.”

“No, I don’t know? Right now, Parliament suspects that I dug a trap, took over Panama, and then cunningly took additional interests. I don’t want to handle this while being treated like this. Just let’s make everything as if it never happened, and let the government build the canal or not as they please.”

It’s true that I dug a trap and waited, but if Parliament hadn’t been greedy in the first place, this wouldn’t have happened, right?

From the beginning, this was a controversy that was bound to erupt, and the only way to resolve it was to confront it head-on.

But since I haven’t revealed my trump card yet, Parliament’s suspicion is just an empty echo.

It’s even better if they rush in like that.

I need to step on them firmly at least once, so it might be good to make them realize the difference in power.

As I feigned anger, the stenographers recording Hansard [the official report of Parliamentary debates] began to swing their pens excitedly.

This will immediately lead to an urgent breaking news story today.

I’ll use my newspaper to explode the most sensational articles to the fullest.

I’ll make them realize how it feels to be utterly humiliated after making ridiculous suspicions.

“Yo, Your Majesty! Just a moment…”

“That’s enough, I’m leaving. Cancel all the bills that were passed before and let me know the results by tomorrow.”

As I really turned my back and left the conference hall, the voices of the embarrassed lawmakers could be heard from outside.

“What kind of morons are spouting such nonsense!”

“You idiots! As a matter of common sense, can we immediately resume canal construction just because we know that mosquitoes are the cause of the disease!”

“Oh! Morons! Lord Palmerston, please refrain from using such language!”

“What do you mean, what am I supposed to do when I call a moron a moron! How are you going to take responsibility for this situation! Her Majesty Victoria will know about today’s events right away, and what are we going to do if she joins in!”

I might be open to compromise, but in Victoria’s case, she was such a fearsome emperor that it was rumored that no one except Killian could stop her once she got angry.

Moreover, if Parliament suspected me for ridiculous reasons and I got angry, you can’t even imagine how great the emperor’s anger would be.

This is no exaggeration to say that Parliament insulted the consort of the Imperial Family.

Even if you think about it coldly again, you can calculate how good my intentions were to give grace, but isn’t this a situation where they suspected it in reverse and got an earful?

This is bound to be a fatal blow to Parliament.

As expected, that very evening, the head of my cabinet, Wellesley, the leader of the Conservative Party, Disraeli, and the leader of the Liberal Party, Gladstone, brought the lawmakers who had voiced their suspicions into Buckingham Palace in droves.

“Your Majesty, this is by no means the official opinion of Parliament, but rather due to misunderstandings by young lawmakers who are still inexperienced.”

“I don’t think they’re that young?”

From the beginning, most of the truly young first-term or second-term lawmakers were my ardent supporters, so they didn’t voice much opinion in this situation.

Isn’t that how things are in the world? The more awkwardly you accumulate experience and acquire abilities, the more you act up and cause accidents.

Of course, it wasn’t like they were openly criticizing me.

Currently, no one in the British Empire could directly speak ill of me.

If I had to pick someone, it would be my wife Victoria or Wellesley, who is known as a longtime friend.

That’s why Wellesley, who took on the role of mediator again, bowed politely with a sorry expression and asked for a favor.

“I am truly sorry. Your Majesty, please forgive the rudeness of Parliament with your great generosity.”

“Prime Minister, why are you apologizing when you haven’t done anything wrong?”

“First of all, I am also an elected person, and it is true that unsavory voices came out of our party. I sincerely apologize for the unpleasantness Your Majesty has experienced due to my fault!”

“We also apologize!”

As Gladstone and Disraeli bowed after Wellesley, the faces of the lawmakers lined up behind them turned pale, or rather, completely lost color.

They caused the Prime Minister and the leaders of the ruling and opposition parties to hold a collective apology show because of them, and if they were normal, would they be human?

I feigned anger, sighed heavily, shook my head, and tapped my forehead with my finger.

“Hoo… I understand. If this matter reaches Victoria’s ears, Parliament will be completely turned upside down, and that’s not what I want, so let’s stop here. But I can’t just let this go without getting something in return.”

“Yes. We will help with anything that requires the cooperation of Parliament.”

“If I ask for something excessive again, you’ll say I dug a trap or something like that, right? I’m too scared to ask for anything.”

“No. We know Your Majesty’s nature, and if anyone says that, we will take the lead in shutting them up this time.”

“Is that so? Then just hmm…”

I thought about it as if it wasn’t a big deal and nodded slightly.

In fact, I had been thinking about what to take from here for a long time.

I was able to take the UAE as a whole, but once that happened, there were so many honey-like lands that could bring equally great benefits.

I don’t even think about occupying places that are too big, like future Saudi Arabia.

The places I’m aiming for are cost-effective lands where oil gushes out compared to the population.

If I send immigrants and assimilate them, it’s a lucrative area that can be easily made into a direct territory.

In fact, if the British Empire knew what value future oil would have, it might have carried out ethnic cleansing in the protectorates in Arabia.

No. Considering the actions of 19th-century imperialist countries, I would have to say they would have done it unconditionally.

Still, I didn’t want to go that far, so I was only trying to send immigrants and show them the taste of money so that they would naturally be incorporated into this system.

“Where was the place we made a protectorate recently? Bahrain?”

“Ah, yes. It’s Bahrain. It’s almost attached to the Trucial Coast [now the United Arab Emirates] that Your Majesty acquired this time. Do you want to take ownership of resources in Bahrain like the Trucial Coast?”

“No. I’m not greedy enough to directly target areas where a lot of pearls are produced like Bahrain.”

Bahrain is also an oil field, but people’s attention is focused on this place because pearls are currently being discovered.

I’m greedy for oil, but I didn’t need to get it while tarnishing the image I’ve built up so far.

“Isn’t there the Qatar Peninsula that Bahrain is virtually dominating? Since that side is almost attached to the Trucial Coast, let’s take the resource development rights there.”

“The Qatar Peninsula is not yet a perfect protectorate. Of course, it’s a place with a population of only about 10,000, so including it in Bahrain is no problem at all.”

“Then let’s do that. If pearls happen to come out a lot in the Qatar Peninsula, I’ll take them. Or if other valuable resources come out, let’s take them. Is this okay?”

“Thank you for your generous decision.”

It’s true that I dug a trap and waited, but it feels so good to squeeze more money from the side that got caught in the trap.

In fact, if it weren’t for me, the British Empire would never be able to hold the UAE or Qatar until the 21st century.

So, I’m going to make those precious lands into imperial territories before I lose them all, so don’t be too sad.

This is all for the benefit of me… our British Empire.

But I haven’t said it yet, but I don’t know if you know.

The fact that mosquitoes can be killed with insecticides that are being researched through James.

And this insecticide was scheduled to be released for the first time in northern America, not in the British Empire or Canada, by stealing the results through James.

In times like these, an insecticide that is effective in eradicating mosquitoes will appear for the first time in the United States. I’m so lucky, aren’t I?