I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 421

< Communist Civil War (4) >

The affairs of the world are truly complex and bizarre.

Each piece is so intricately interlocked that even a slight nudge can send it veering off in a completely different direction from where it should have been.

Originally, Lincoln was meant to unify the North and South, tragically be assassinated, and be remembered as an unparalleled hero in American history.

He, who could have become a symbol of unity, has now transformed into a ruthless leader who crushes the communists better than anyone else.

Of course, his inherent nature of emphasizing unity and not wanting to cause unnecessary sacrifices hasn’t changed.

However, when your position changes, the scenery you see changes, and the things you must do also change.

In order for the North to absorb the South and create a unified republic once again, it is ultimately necessary to crush the communism in the South.

And the key figure in that South is, no matter what anyone says, Engels.

As long as there is a solid opportunity to bring him down, Lincoln can never give up everything and step down from the presidency.

It’s not just simple lust for power, but a sense of duty and guilt.

As the President of the North, he failed to win the Civil War, and the United States was divided into two countries.

There’s no need to think deeply about how much of a burden this incident left on Lincoln, who was already a unionist.

For Lincoln, suppressing the communists was ultimately a kind of atonement, a way of cleaning up the mess he had made himself.

So, even when Andrew Johnson created the Federal Bureau of Investigation and went on a rampage, Lincoln only pretended to stop him.

Of course, he was still pretending, so he didn’t cross the final line.

I looked at the prominently displayed article in today’s newspaper with satisfaction.

-Abraham Lincoln! Declares the first-ever attempt at a third term in history!

-Innovation or destruction of tradition? What is the President’s true intention?

-President Lincoln: ‘The third-term challenge is not to destroy tradition but to protect this country. I will dedicate the next four years to winning the system competition.’

A kind of taboo that no one had dared to violate since George Washington.

Since he publicly declared that he would break it, it was natural that such attention would be drawn.

By nature, if you make such an ambitious declaration, there must be a good reason.

Lincoln declared the victory of the system conflict to justify his third term.

He wasn’t just throwing out empty promises.

[We are at a critical crossroads! The South is currently twisted by extreme contradictions that have been hidden until now, and we must not miss this opportunity. Of course, all the other candidates in our party, as well as the other candidates in the Democratic Party, are politicians with excellent qualities. However, this is not a matter of individual ability but a matter of continuity.

At a time when close cooperation with other European countries is more urgent than ever! If the head of the administration changes, efficiency will inevitably decrease. I, Abraham Lincoln, have fought for the unification of this country for the first four years. I devoted all my energy to reconstruction for the next four years and am proud to have achieved some results. And now, I want to dedicate the last four years to the unification of the United States!]

As Lincoln’s heart-stirring speeches continued day after day, criticism of daring to invade George Washington’s sanctuary noticeably subsided.

Considering the difference in approval ratings between the Republican and Democratic parties, it is almost a foregone conclusion that the Republican presidential candidate will win the election.

At the point when Lincoln quelled people’s backlash, his third term was almost a predetermined future.

“Isn’t it amazing? The third-term president of the United States, who seemed like he would never appear, is suddenly about to appear out of nowhere.”

“Isn’t this also Your Majesty’s work?”

“What are you talking about?”

“These articles suddenly started appearing not long after Your Majesty met with President Lincoln. Originally, Lincoln had been saying that he would return to his hometown after completing this term. He actually bought a house in his hometown, but suddenly he’s reversing this? There’s only one reason.”

As expected, James immediately realized how things were going, probably because he’s known me for a while.

But other than someone like James, no one would think that Lincoln suddenly decided to run for a third term just because I put in a good word.

“How is Marx doing? Is he coming along well?”

“I couldn’t directly tell him to come, so I assigned someone else to him. He should be here in about ten days.”

“Good, good. That’s enough time to set the stage. Any contact from Bakunin?”

“A report came in through the McPhaellan Office [likely a fictional intelligence agency]. Contact was successful, and they said they would follow our instructions. However, they asked for the next General Secretary position for themselves.”

“Tell them to take it. As a bonus, promise them that everything they’ve done in the past will be wiped clean. We have to give them that kind of title for them to become our puppets, right?”

With not only Europe but also Lincoln starting to make such a fuss, Engels’ attention will be entirely focused on the outside.

If Bakunin, who has gained freedom of action here, shakes up the inside of the South, even Engels won’t be able to continue to cover his eyes and ears and use the ‘I can’t see, I can’t hear’ tactic.

That may be the best choice for Engels, but it wasn’t for the other members of the South.

Unless he had established a perfect dictatorship like Stalin in the original history, the current South was only in the beginning stages of transitioning to such a system.

It’s not that Engels was greedy for power or stupid, but that he didn’t need to in the first place.

Who would dare to challenge the founder of Engelsism and the great revolutionary who led the revolution himself?

In other words, the fact that he is trying to create something like the NKVD [People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs, the Soviet secret police] of the original history is proof that he is feeling that much anxiety right now.

“So, the meat is all grilled, so all that’s left is to let it rest? All I have to do is cut it with a knife when the juices have spread evenly.”

“Your Majesty. While you’re resting, would you like to meet the people you’ve been eyeing before?”

“The people I’ve been eyeing? Ah, you must be talking about Carnegie and Rockefeller.”

“Yes. Now that Your Majesty has come all the way to the North, I thought it would be good for you to see them with your own eyes and make a judgment. What do you think?”

When it comes to the representative figures who symbolized the wealth of modern America, their names always appear as regulars.

How refreshing it was when I first discovered their names, also known as the Oil King and the Steel King.

Certainly, they were among the candidates James had picked as talents to run the business after his retirement, so it wouldn’t be bad to meet them while waiting for Marx’s arrival.

“Do they know that I am their employer?”

“Of course not. I have packaged the audience with Your Majesty as a kind of favor to help them, the future executives of the affiliates, expand their network.”

“You’re thorough as always. So, how are the two of them doing since you gave them some work?”

“It hasn’t been a few months yet, so I think it’s too early to judge right away. Of course, judging from their performance so far, I think their business sense itself has been proven.”

“Then that’s good. Bring them in for now. I want to talk to them once.”

Their ability to make money has already been proven in history, but whether they are people who can be used as subordinates remains to be seen.

I decided to stay here for the time being and keep an eye on the situation.

* * *

A major incident occurred in which the president, who had said he would step down until recently, suddenly broke the taboo and challenged a third term.

The rapidly changing political situation in the North naturally reached the ears of the South.

“That Lincoln is crazy. What? Victory in the system competition, blah, blah?”

Engels gnashed his teeth and muttered.

Something is wrong with the flow.

Europe is suddenly eager to criticize him, and Lincoln, who said he would only serve two terms and retire, is acting up, saying he will be the first three-term president in history.

And he did not miss the fact that all of this happened after Killian arrived in the North as a state guest.

Damn it, Killian, is it you again?

But, considering it calmly, it was just a coincidence that the timing coincided, and it was unlikely that Lincoln really challenged the third term because of Killian.

No matter how capable a person is at persuading people, it is impossible for them to have such a great influence on the leader of another country.

This is just proof that Lincoln was just pretending until now, and that he, like other common powerful people, was just a petty person who was reluctant to let go of power.

“We can ignore the fuss in Europe, but the North can pose a direct threat to us. Mobilize all intelligence to keep a close eye on the North’s movements! Got it?”

“Yes! Comrade General Secretary.”

Logically speaking, the fact that Lincoln has come forward like this must mean that they have something big in their hands.

I don’t know what it is, but it wouldn’t hurt to be careful, would it?

Above all, Killian’s continued hovering around him grated on his nerves.

Even when he was in London, his shadow kept looming, which was annoying, but now that he has come directly to the American continent, he feels direct pressure.

And, of course, the council members were also in the middle of a countermeasures meeting to discuss the current situation.

“The North is coming out so strongly now, isn’t there a real chance that something big will happen?”

“I agree. No, I don’t know why they’re suddenly going crazy and rushing at us when they’ve been quiet until now. Some strange rumors are spreading in Europe, and the North is making statements that directly snipe at us and saying they’re going to be president again.”

“Isn’t that because they judge that we have become a threat to them?”

“No. If that were really the case, they should have been like that since our country was founded. It’s not like they’ve only just started seeing us as a thorn in their side, but it’s like… they’re really rushing at us as if they’ve caught something.”

Bakunin, who had been listening quietly, sensed that the flow he had been waiting for was slowly coming and carefully opened his mouth.

“Comrades, I actually learned something when I collected information last time.”

“Comrade Bakunin, you should be under house arrest…”

“That’s why I’ve been quiet until now. Listen to me first and judge whether this is a lie or not. First of all, I know why Europe and the North are going crazy like that now. And this is by no means unrelated to our national interest, so at least the standing committee members of the council here need to know.”

The Standing Committee, which can be said to be the de facto highest power body of the Supreme Council, consisted of a total of 13 members, including the current General Secretary Engels, the second-in-command Bakunin, and 11 Standing Committee members representing each state.

Bakunin slipped the materials he had received from James to them.

Evidence that Engelsism is just a copy of Marxism is densely packed.

“This is why Europe and the North are in an uproar.”

“Isn’t this… the rumor that’s going around in Europe now? Comrade Bakunin, you still haven’t come to your senses and are doing this…”

“Whether I’ve come to my senses or not, judge after looking at this first. Because what’s been revealed in Europe is just the tip of the iceberg.”

Before the other members could refute, he continued to speak like a machine gun.

“Among the many of you here, there may be those who think that the symbolism of our central General Secretary should not be shaken by the political machinations of the other side. Of course, if we are determined to just eat well and live well in the southern corner of this American continent, that thought is correct. But we must not forget that we must spread the spark of this revolution to the North and to Europe across the Atlantic!”

“That’s certainly true, but…”

“We need to make one thing clear. Is General Secretary Engels communism itself? That’s not true. The Engelsism that we admired is clearly an existing truth. However, the only thing is that the person who created it is not the General Secretary. If we continue to deny this fact, we may end up being branded as even our ideology is fake.”

Many of the Standing Committee members were key figures in the early International or those who made great contributions to the revolution.

They may have been intoxicated by the power that power brings, but the purity of the revolution remains in one corner of their hearts.

They were not people who would remain as Engels’ bodyguards and be satisfied with just eating the South and slowly rotting away here.

Of course, I don’t think that this alone can shake the prestige of the established General Secretary.

For now, I am satisfied with just planting the seeds and will continue to feed them with undeniable evidence.

Bakunin still had plenty of materials he had received from James.

However, even Bakunin, like the other members, believed that the content of Engelsism was close to the truth.

It’s just that it’s plagiarism and a problem because it’s someone else’s research.

Even Bakunin, who is leading the current flow, could not imagine that there would be something that could shake this ideology from its roots.