I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 435

While I was spending time with Victoria, addressing her concerns, an old, yet welcome guest suddenly appeared.

“Your Majesty! It’s been a while!”

“Well, who do we have here?”

When was the last time I went to Asia?

The reason I was somewhat relieved when I sent Edward to Asia was because Governor Parker was there.

I’d known him since my days as a young minister, and since then, he’d spent most of his time in Asia. He was one of the British Empire’s foremost experts on the region.

In a way, he spent countless years going back and forth between the narrow confines of Hong Kong and Shanghai. He must have sacrificed a lot.

“Seeing you in London like this, Governor, feels both strange and delightful. Come to think of it, your term ended this year, didn’t it?”

“Yes. Now, I intend to live the life of a proper urban aristocrat, pontificating in the House of Lords.”

“With your years of dedicated service, Governor, you should at least consider a ministerial position before retiring. Shall I speak to Prime Minister Wellesley?”

“No, thank you. Initially, I considered serving as a minister before retiring, but the thought of returning to administrative work after decades as governor makes me shudder. I simply want to relax in the House of Lords, being addressed as ‘Lord’ and exuding dignity until my days are done.”

Considering his decades of hard work in Asia, laying the groundwork for our influence, it’s only natural for him to deserve far more honor than that, but the man seems to lack greed.

Ah, maybe it’s not that he’s not greedy, but perhaps he received so much from China that there’s no need to be greedy anymore.

The *guanxi* [a system of reciprocal relationships and connections] of Chinese big shots is famous even in the 21st century, and its reputation was even more illustrious in the 20th and 19th centuries.

If someone who has been the governor of Hong Kong for decades, not just one or two years, hasn’t accumulated wealth, that’s beyond mere integrity.

If there were such a person, I would be suspicious and investigate further.

And unless Governor Parker took an excessive amount, I had no intention of sanctioning him.

Since I would have heard about it if he had taken a truly problematic amount, he must have taken what was appropriate, according to custom.

As he was someone who was with me during my first significant undertaking, I’ll just consider it China giving him a generous retirement bonus on my behalf.

“You’ve come home after a long time. Is there anything you’re finding difficult?”

“Ah… to be honest, I’m a bit disoriented. I did return to London briefly once before, but it’s become a different city since then. Even on my way here to the palace, I had to double-check my surroundings to make sure this was the city I used to live in. What is this train running under the ground…?”

“It’s understandable that you’re surprised. So many things have changed since the old days. And of course, it will continue to change even more in the future.”

“So, I’m a little worried. I’m joining the House of Lords, but I don’t really have many connections with the other nobles, so I’m concerned about whether I’ll be able to settle in well.”

“That won’t be a problem at all. I’ll accompany you to the next House of Lords meeting. Then, almost all the members will be surrounding you immediately after the meeting.”

And there will be a barrage of questions about my relationship with you, whether the relationship is close enough for the King’s father-in-law to come all the way here.

If you just mention that you’ve known Killian for decades, you can become one of the biggest stars in the House of Lords from that day forward.

“Your Majesty, for you to do that much for me…”

“I heard you treated Edward very well when he visited recently. Please consider this as a thank you for that as well.”

“His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would have managed everything on his own without my assistance. He’s a remarkable individual.”

“Is that so? What was your objective assessment?”

“To say he’s a spitting image of Your Majesty in your younger days… that would be a slight exaggeration. But I’d say he possesses at least more than half of your qualities.”

This sounds a bit understated because the words are subtle, but it was actually a huge compliment from Governor Parker’s perspective.

The me that Governor Parker witnessed was a man who suddenly appeared, stripped China bare, seized Hong Kong and Shanghai, and then seduced a princess into marriage.

If he says that Edward is more than half the man I was, wouldn’t that be the highest compliment he could give?

“I’m not too worried about Edward either, to be honest. But there are a few things I’m purely curious about, so I’m wondering if you’ve done extensive research on the Joseon [historical Korean kingdom] royal family, of course?”

“Of course. I’ll tell you anything you want to know. That’s why I came here in the first place.”

“That’s good. How much do you know about the second son of the current King of Joseon and his wife?”

“The second son of the King of Joseon… who was it again? Are you talking about Yi Seong-gun? His wife’s surname was Min… no, was it Min?”

“Yes, those are the people I’m talking about.”

I didn’t show it since there’s no one here who would know, but I couldn’t help but chuckle when I first received Edward’s letter.

I had, of course, anticipated that Gojong from the original history… or Yi Seong-gun, whatever he becomes here, would appear.

Whether Heungseon-gun [Gojong’s father, also known as the Daewongun] became king or not, the second son who already existed wouldn’t simply disappear.

But to think that even in this era, the woman by his side is a Min.

Edward didn’t write down her full name, so I couldn’t confirm it perfectly, but from the description, it was definitely that person.

Just seeing the assessment that she seems to have an even greater desire for power than her husband and that she is skilled in scheming, unlike typical Joseon women, gives you a sense of who she is, doesn’t it?

If there were two women in Joseon with the surname Min, around the same age as Gojong… I mean, Yi Seong-gun, and with those tendencies, that would be alarming in its own right.

I didn’t do anything in particular, and many things in the world have changed, but it’s amazing how they became a couple again like that.

Does fate really exist in this world?

“It is said that the princes of Joseon do not seem to be as bright as the current king. And there isn’t that much information about the princes’ spouses. However, there was an analysis that both the crown prince, who is expected to inherit the throne, and his wife have unremarkable personalities.”

“That Yi Ha-eung [Heungseon Daewongun], when he first became king, he said that he would give the throne to the most outstanding member of the Joseon royal family, but now he’s trying to pass it on to his eldest son.”

“Isn’t that how power is? Power is something you can’t even share with your family, so why would you want to give it to someone other than your son?”

According to Edward’s report, what Yi Seong-gun and his wife are aiming for is to bring up what Yi Ha-eung said in the past and reset the crown prince appointment.

Then there are naturally many options that come to mind here.

First, to use this as an excuse to make a deal with Yi Ha-eung or the crown prince’s side to secure their firm loyalty.

It’s a very orthodox method, but as orthodox as it is, there are few variables, and the expected effect is certain.

However, since it’s siding with the originally designated side, it will be difficult to gain something beyond the expected effect.

Then, secondly, it’s worth considering siding with Yi Seong-gun and making them our puppets.

As the saying goes, gambling is most profitable when you bet on the underdog, so if that happens, we can virtually control Yi Seong-gun completely.

However, as someone who knows the majesty of Gojong and Empress Myeongseong [Gojong’s wife, also known as Queen Min] too well, I didn’t like putting them back in that position.

It’s not that I particularly care, but it feels like, why bother?

But those two methods are something that anyone with a little bit of brainpower can come up with, and I would prefer an option that can yield even higher profits.

If Edward was going to go down that path too obviously, I would have been a little disappointed, but fortunately, he seemed to have his own ideas.

So, it’s better to just collect information and provide it to him, and not interfere more than necessary, right?

After listening to the information about Yi Seong-gun and Min Ja-yeong, I nodded calmly.

Yes, yes, I’m glad they’re not too different from the people in the original history.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, I’ve come up with a way to help Edward in a small way without hindering his growth. Even now, our Emperor keeps nagging me, saying that I should help my son no matter what, so now I won’t have to listen to nagging for a while.”

“In a mother’s eyes, no matter how grown up her son is, he always seems insecure. My wife is the same. My son, who even has children attending school, is so worried that she nags me all the time…”

Right, right. I know that feeling very well.

“By the way, Your Highness, you’ve changed a lot since I saw you last.”

“Why, do you feel like I’ve aged?”

“You’ve aged, but you seem to have much more… what should I say… power than before? I think the experience Your Majesty has accumulated so far creates that feeling.”

“That’s probably because you’ve known me since I first entered politics. Sometimes the Prime Minister says similar things. It’s all evidence that we’re getting old.”

They say that the biggest evidence of getting old is meeting each other and constantly talking about the past.

Just like now. It’s a really sad thing, but what can I do when old stories just come out as soon as I open my mouth?

“Still, Your Majesty must be feeling at ease. Everything was resolved well even though significant events occurred in both Europe and the Americas recently. There won’t be anything happening for a while, so you can comfortably wait here for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to return with good news, right?”

Uh oh, is this guy suddenly trying to plant a flag here?

I was just about to relax a little, but what on earth is this clueless guy doing right now?

Stop that mouth right now? I’m going to sew it shut.

* * *

The European powers, led by the British Empire, were enjoying their peak golden age from the mid to late 19th century.

The British Empire, having swallowed not only Canada but also the entirety of Australia, was now entering a period of territorial consolidation.

And France, having acquired half of Panama and Indochina, and a significant portion of the Philippines from there.

Even Prussia, which had struggled to develop overseas colonies for a long time, occupied the Philippines along with France.

The powerful nations were excited and went around poking and prodding various places around the world, increasing their colonies and protectorates, but not all European countries could do that.

That’s because there was a kind of unspoken rule in securing colonies.

First of all, you should never covet large and appetizing countries like China or India.

This was a playground and dining table for the great powers, so if you were presumptuous and greedy, you could be punished.

So, the small and medium-sized countries of Europe turned their eyes to Africa.

However, even in Africa, Britain and France had already occupied so many desirable territories that it was difficult to enter easily.

It’s a truly unfortunate situation.

They also want to manage colonies, but only the great powers are enjoying these rights.

Leopold II, who became the King of Belgium four years ago, was deeply dissatisfied with this reality.

To be precise, he was envious of the British Empire and France, which managed vast overseas colonies.

“Ah… I want to have a colony. A colony.”

Until now, it was just such a desire, but after seeing France and Prussia occupy the Philippines, he could no longer suppress his ambition.

“This won’t do. If I remain idle, those powers will seize all the land in the world.”

Leopold II rose from his seat and strode towards a large map, carefully examining areas where the flags of the British Empire, France, and Prussia were not yet planted.

His eyes fell on a land of opportunity that no one had yet claimed.

“Oh, good. So this is where it is. If it’s here, the British Empire or the French won’t start a conflict.”

His gaze, filled with desire and malice, seemed to be fixed on the two words, Congo, in Africa.