I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 398

Now that he had found some decent candidates for successors, James could finally relax and head south.

Having completely separated the steel and oil businesses, he could let the two compete fairly, knowing they would keep each other in check, reducing the risk of either going rogue later.

All that was left was to make his retirement as spectacular as possible.

When James expressed his intention to visit the South, they welcomed him with open arms.

It was a moment that proved the adage that no one, capitalist or communist, dislikes money.

In fact, strictly speaking, the South should have been keeping James far away. Shouldn’t they?

The South had consistently condemned capitalists and emphasized the superiority of communism.

And James was at the very top of the capitalists they criticized.

In reality, the council members and newspapers in the South would often criticize and insult the James Group to attract attention.

Since the James Group was a massive conglomerate known throughout the Americas, the South had no choice but to acknowledge it.

However, when James offered to purchase a large supply of raw materials from the South, the council quickly changed its stance and switched to ‘Welcome to the South’ mode.

-The Supreme Council welcomes the virtuous businessman Chairman James.

Because of their past rhetoric, they couldn’t officially change their tune, but the newspaper articles criticizing the James Group disappeared as if by magic.

Not only that, but no politician brought up James’s name.

Once things had settled down within the South, James, the chairman of the James Group, received an invitation from Richmond, the capital of the South, and arrived at the port of Richmond.

“Hahaha! Welcome!”

“I regret that we couldn’t officially welcome you as a state guest due to our domestic situation. However, we have prepared everything to ensure you have a comfortable stay, so please relax and enjoy your time here.”

“I didn’t expect you to be so considerate. Thank you.”

“No, we are the ones who are sorry for not being able to do better.”

It wasn’t a council member who came to greet him, but the fact that high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were present was clearly an exceptional measure.

Even if James had a lot of money, he was still a civilian, and considering that the South was a communist country, this was not an easy decision.

“Then, we’ll discuss the large-scale import of raw materials with the working-level staff. There will be no changes to the schedule for the meeting with the council members, correct?”

“Of course. Councilman Bakunin is also looking forward to talking with you.”

“I am also very much looking forward to meeting the renowned Councilman Bakunin. Haha.”

“By the way, is there a particular reason why you want to meet Councilman Bakunin?”

“Well, of course, it’s because I have urgent business matters to discuss. I am a businessman, after all.”

At the response that stated the obvious, an awkward smile appeared on the official’s face.

“Haha, of course, that’s right. I must have asked a foolish and unnecessary question.”

Even if it wasn’t explicitly stated, everyone knew that Bakunin was the second-in-command, or at least the third-in-command, of the council.

His position had become even more secure after he demonstrated his skill in acquiring Puerto Rico from the London Treaty without any compensation.

So, it wasn’t strange that the world’s richest man was meeting with Bakunin for business discussions.

It would be difficult to directly enter and do business here, but importing raw materials, as he was doing now, was entirely possible.

And since they were in a position to export, there was no reason to refuse the offer.

The South, which was currently in the process of building infrastructure, was in a situation where every penny counted.

James could roughly guess the current situation in the South just by observing the reactions of those who welcomed him.

At this rate, he would be able to achieve his goals more easily than expected.

As he always felt, in a society where money is used, capital is power.

This never changed, no matter where he went.

It was exhilarating.

* * *

“···James Group.”

“Yes, Councilman. They will be arriving here in 30 minutes.”

“Is the reason he wants to meet me really because of resource imports?”

“Yes. He also discussed raw material imports with the working-level staff yesterday.”

Bakunin stared at the paper in front of him with a suspicious look.

He had already done considerable research on James.

In fact, he was such a prominent figure that it was impossible not to know about him, even without doing research.

Would such a person risk coming all the way down to the South just to import some raw materials or resources?

Of course, when he heard the amount he wanted to import, it was enough to warrant a personal visit.

That’s why the council immediately reversed its position and decided to welcome him as a state guest.

However, he couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy.

‘The head of the NBA [National Bolshevik Association], the black rights group that incited Engels, was also named James. Was it King James?’

The name James was common in the British Empire and America, so it wasn’t a particularly strange name.

Why else would the river connecting Richmond and the Atlantic be named the James River?

He hadn’t initially suspected that the two were the same person.

However, according to McFallen’s investigation, a large amount of investment had flowed into the NBA, and there was no guarantee that it wasn’t related to the James Group, so he was just slightly uneasy.

That’s because James was from the British Empire, and the majority of British citizens enthusiastically supported the royal family.

There might be some kind of connection in some way.

But when he thought about it calmly, the possibility was almost non-existent.

‘Still···is it possible that a capitalist who only cares about money would be involved with a human rights activist? Maybe I’m just overreacting because of the timing.’

It wouldn’t be bad to get to know a major capitalist like James for when he becomes the General Secretary later.

Even if he’s a money-grubbing leech, if you look closely, there are many things he can be useful for.

Besides, as he governs the country, he feels deeply that money is not an option but a necessity.

It means that even if he can’t be outwardly friendly or let him run rampant in this country, he can still have a close relationship behind the scenes.

James must be thinking the same thing, so he came all the way here.

Bakunin decided that he should meet and make a decision.

And James, whom he met in person, was not as simple as he thought.

At first, they exchanged conventional greetings and pleasantries.

But the moment they moved to a more private place to have a more personal conversation, the man, who had been smiling kindly, suddenly spat out a word with a dry face.

“Councilman, I heard you’re doing something very interesting recently.”

“···Hmm? What are you talking about?”

“The royal family, the NBA, the General Secretary, and communism.”

It was a list of fragmented words, but there was no way he wouldn’t know what he was talking about.

Bakunin felt as if all the blood in his body had turned cold.

“I, I don’t know what you’re talking about······.”

“Should I tell you more? McFallen’s office, diary, Marx. And······..”

“Stop!”

There was no one listening, but he reflexively raised his voice and looked around.

“W, what nonsense are you talking about!”

“What does it matter? There’s no one here to eavesdrop. And even if other people hear those words, they won’t know what we’re talking about. The fact that you’re reacting like this means that you’re exactly the person I thought you were.”

His mind went blank for a moment.

Where did the information leak from?

Did Kevin betray him, or did McFallen betray him?

Or···no, more than that, what should he do now?

If this information gets out, Bakunin is doomed.

The British royal family will try to destroy him immediately, but since he planned to bring down Engels, there’s no way Engels will protect him.

Rather, Engels might attack him first.

Then, should he just kill everyone here···?

‘That man only brought a few attendants here, so if I disguise it as an accident and send them all away···no. Am I crazy? Killing that man here will only make things worse.’

He was suspicious, but he didn’t expect him to stab him in the face like this, so he couldn’t figure out how to deal with it.

James looked at Bakunin and calmly continued.

“Councilman, don’t be so nervous. If I was going to do something to you, would I have come all the way here? I would have just written a letter to General Secretary Engels.”

“···That’s true.”

“Yes. I have no intention of harming you at all. Rather, I am very eager to find out more details. After all, the young man you entrusted with the task doesn’t seem to know much, so I don’t think I’ll be able to get any useful information even if I interrogate him.”

Seeing him mention Kevin so casually, this man really knows everything.

Bakunin regained his composure and answered very calmly on the outside.

“Did you buy information from McFallen? I thought he had some credibility with his clients, but I guess I was wrong about him. He didn’t dig into the person he was supposed to investigate, but he dug into the client’s information.”

“I didn’t buy it. McFallen Detective Agency is originally mine. And when you do this kind of work, you have to know who the client is to avoid any problems later. Frankly, what if a war breaks out because of a mistake? We have to secure at least a minimum safety line, even if it’s a request, don’t you think?”

“McFallen’s office···was owned by the James Group?”

Bakunin let out a hollow laugh as if he was dumbfounded.

He’s a respected businessman, a true chairman who cares about the workers, but behind the scenes, he’s running a company that does anything for money except contract killing?

As expected, capitalists are untrustworthy people.

“And if something happens to me, all the data I’ve investigated will be sent to the British royal family and General Secretary Engels, so please keep that in mind. This is not a threat, but just to let you know in advance in case you have any strange thoughts.”

“I’m not that stupid.”

“People sometimes do things impulsively when they’re flustered. Of course, a cool-headed and rational person like you wouldn’t do that. First of all, let’s get to the point of why I came here···.”

“No, before that, tell me how you identified me. I think I need to know that to make a judgment.”

“That wasn’t difficult at all. I just found out because I wanted to know, that’s all. After seeing us dig into the royal family and extract data, did you really think we wouldn’t know that you were behind this?”

···Thinking about it, he couldn’t argue because it was true.

They were the ones who uncovered Engels’ and Killian’s deeper past as soon as they were informed that Killian was a communist.

If they were determined to investigate, they could have easily found out who was behind it.

“Ahem, okay. I understand that you have excellent investigative skills. But it’s strange. Why didn’t you tell the British royal family right away when you found out? I heard that most people in the British Empire respect the royal family.”

“Of course, I also have deep respect for the royal family. But that’s only when they don’t put a knife to my throat. I’m a businessman, so I don’t forgive those who harm me, even if they’re family.”

“The British royal family is harming the James Group? There’s no reason for that, is there?”

Was he trying to test him by subtly flattering him?

Bakunin didn’t let his guard down, but James smiled as if it wasn’t a big deal and nodded slightly.

“Have you ever heard of the antitrust law?”

“No. What is that?”

“It’s not that complicated. It’s a law that prevents a specific company from monopolizing the market. It’s a terrible law that denies market freedom and oppresses companies. Unfortunately, His Majesty Killian has recently been advocating the necessity of this law, as if he has been injected with some strange ideology somewhere.”

When James showed him a newspaper article he had clipped, it clearly contained the words Killian had said.

‘If a company completely monopolizes the market, it will disrupt the market by using its monopolistic position, and the competitive structure will lose its power. Therefore, we must create a law to prevent a specific company from completely monopolizing the market, protect the rights and interests of consumers, and establish a sound market system···what, he’s only saying things that are too right?’

Bakunin couldn’t find even a speck of fault in it, but James openly clicked his tongue, annoyed just by looking at the article.

As expected, he’s just a vulgar capitalist with greed up to his head.

Anyway, he definitely understands why that man doesn’t like the royal family.

“So, what does Chairman James want?”

“In fact, our group’s influence is not small in our country either. We are pouring quite a lot of donations into the members of the House of Commons. So, if the royal family hesitates, there will be no way that evil laws like the antitrust law will be passed.”

“Ah, so you want to reduce the power of the royal family a little.”

“If the scandalous fact that His Majesty is obsessed with communist ideology is known, can’t we dismiss the antitrust law as something that only scholars who have studied red···communism would say? Our interests align.”

It was very unpleasant to have interests aligned with a corrupt capitalist, but Bakunin felt that he could relax his guard against James to some extent.

Because his actions, intentions, and position were perfectly consistent.

“So, you’re saying you came all the way here to join hands with me and properly snipe at the British royal family?”

“That’s right. Although I have a lot of money, there are things in the world that can only be done with public power. In that respect, you and your colleagues can be very good colleagues with me, can’t you?”

“That’s true. In fact, if we had people with the information power of the James Group on our side, we could proceed with our work more easily.”

“I knew we would be able to communicate.”

“However, there is a condition. In order to gain the trust of not only me but also other comrades, bring one more useful piece of information, whatever it may be. Then the others won’t suspect Chairman James.”

If he showed even a little hesitation here, he was going to cut him off without mercy, but James nodded without any delay.

“I understand. Then I’ll give you some very surprising information. Do you know about the Civil War?”

James’s tone lowered, and Bakunin’s body leaned forward.

“That is actually the work of the British royal family.”

Bakunin’s hands trembled at the information he couldn’t even imagine.

Even as he looked at James grinning as if to say, ‘I told you so,’ Bakunin couldn’t even react to the vulgar capitalist’s mockery that he would have been furious at in normal times.