I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 445

< The Liar, the Great Swindler (7) >

Even though I had the evidence, I couldn’t just release it and expect everything to explode immediately.

Unlike the modern era with its developed media, radio hadn’t even been invented yet in this time period.

Spreading rumors relied entirely on newspapers, and even those weren’t widely read.

Ultimately, it meant that even if issues were raised, they could easily be swept under the rug with flimsy excuses.

Especially in the case of Leopold II, he was the king of a nation.

Even though it was much smaller than the British Empire, the fact that he was a king recognized by all of Europe meant he wasn’t an easy opponent.

The reason even the king of a small country couldn’t be ignored was that all monarchs formed a kind of unspoken agreement.

Disregarding the authority of one king, even of another country, was seen as diminishing the dignity of the entire concept of ‘king’.

Especially now that royal power was gradually shrinking, countries with monarchies were very sensitive to such matters.

So, to directly confront Leopold II, thorough preparation was essential.

In fact, even after Leopold II’s atrocities were revealed to the public in the original history, it took quite a while for him to lose control of the Congo.

I didn’t know the exact timeline, but I knew it took at least three years.

The reason things dragged on was because Leopold II denied any knowledge of the atrocities and bribed various media outlets.

A significant number of media outlets were bought off with his money, constantly producing fake news portraying Leopold II as a benevolent figure, and he even bribed parliaments in various countries.

This time, I had to thoroughly prevent such a thing from happening.

We had to attack on all fronts simultaneously so they couldn’t even dare to make excuses.

I summoned Welsley in strict secrecy and showed him all the data.

Welsley, who arrived at the palace completely unaware, was utterly stunned when I handed him the information.

“…No… What is this?”

“What do you think? It’s exactly what the Prime Minister heard about.”

“Ah, no, no. Just a moment.”

Welsley, visibly bewildered, quickly scanned the data from the Pinkerton Agency [a private detective agency].

As he looked at the attached photos, a wave of undisguised disgust washed over his face.

“Is this… true? No, if it weren’t true, His Majesty wouldn’t have called me. But for Leopold II of all people to commit such atrocities…”

“You can’t believe it, can you? Everyone will feel the same way.”

“Isn’t he insane? Then all those things he said until now were lies? Really?”

The thought that all his actions to appeal to the world and advocate for Black people were lies was staggering.

It sent chills down your spine to wonder what kind of person he truly was.

To be honest, I felt the same way.

Even in modern times, I’d seen so many scammers, but I’d never encountered someone so truly vicious.

“He lied to the whole world and succeeded perfectly. In that sense, he’s almost admirable.”

“Hoo… I really couldn’t have imagined it. I thought he was being overly generous, but… I expected him to pocket some money on the side, but I never imagined he would put 100% of all the money into his own pocket. How could I have been so completely fooled after doing politics for so long…”

“It’s not the Prime Minister’s fault. Even the Iron Chancellor of Prussia [Otto von Bismarck, a prominent 19th-century statesman] was completely fooled.”

“No, wait. Leopold II clearly stated that he would return a significant portion of the income from the Congo to the local natives. And no matter how much of a colony they are, treating them like slaves is a clear violation of the agreement. Shouldn’t we just hold onto this and push on?”

“Look at the next page. Our Leopold II has perfectly prepared for that as well.”

A treaty renouncing human rights, obtained by deceiving natives who couldn’t read English or French.

Welsley, after reading the letter to the end, which transcribed the contents exactly, shook his head with a hollow laugh.

“This is just… insane. The fact that he can even conceive of such a thing makes me think he’s fundamentally different from other people.”

“Seeing that this content exists, we can’t argue that he’s embezzling all the money that should go to the natives. However, we can question whether he’s providing proper profit distribution after receiving investments from various countries. Right now, it’s obvious to everyone that he’s hiding the profits coming from the Congo.”

The amount of rubber produced in the Congo was far greater than what was currently being disclosed.

However, if they disclosed the true amount, they would inevitably be suspected of how they were producing so much rubber.

In addition, there was the problem of having to distribute profits to the various countries that had invested in the Congo.

But by simply committing accounting fraud and manipulating the books, they could completely circumvent these problems. How convenient was that?

“That certainly has the potential for illegality. But even so, if Leopold II says he’ll do better in the future and simply return the money he’s been hoarding, it’ll be enough for him to get away with it. Holding a king accountable isn’t an easy task.”

“That’s right. So I laid a little trap.”

Welsley’s eyes widened as I told him about the contract terms I had with Leopold II.

“…So, Your Majesty set clear conditions while depositing the investment?”

“Yes. I genuinely sympathized with Leopold II’s stated good intentions and sponsored him, so I simply wanted it to be used for that purpose.”

The conditions I presented were all so reasonable when you looked at them individually.

-Buy protective equipment so that the natives can be a little safer when collecting rubber.

-And I hope this investment will be used to improve the lives of the natives.

-We promise to maintain mutual trust in the name of the King of Belgium and the British Emperor.

These were extremely common-sense requests, but Leopold II had violated all of them without exception.

“According to the informant Pinkerton’s office planted in the Congo Association, the investment I sent was generously used by Leopold II to create a local army. So, these bastards are massacring the Congolese natives with my money.”

“…This is enough to become a diplomatic issue. This is clear evidence that he treated his promise with Your Majesty as less than a piece of paper.”

“Is that so? If I bring it up, the parliament and cabinet will all raise issues at once. And with this, we’ll disband the Congo army and stop the production and export of rubber.”

Since it was an army created by embezzling my money, they should naturally disappear if I told them to.

I didn’t know if Leopold II had checked it carefully, but of course, all contracts have a penalty clause.

He seemed to have been so focused on selling the rubber industry for 5 million pounds that he didn’t check the other side, but my investment also had several conditions attached.

-This investment must be used ethically and in a way that respects human rights in accordance with the investment purpose.

Anyone can see that organizing an army and oppressing the Congolese is quite far from respecting ethics and human rights, right?

If we stop rubber exports, receive the principal of the investment along with the penalty, and disband the army, how would Leopold II be able to repay the 5 million pounds he borrowed from me?

Welsley chuckled, perhaps sensing my inner thoughts.

“The Belgian liar has met the wrong opponent. There’s always someone who flies higher than the one who runs.”

‘Bastard’. I’m the Emperor of the British Empire and the King of Canada, so please use proper honorifics when referring to me.

* * *

“Your Majesty, this is the revenue earned by the Congo Association this month.”

“Oh, really? Keuh! That’s it, that’s it. This is revenue, and this is sales!”

It had only been a month since things got back on track, but the rubber business exported from the Congo was doing much better than Leopold II had expected.

In addition, selling things like elephant ivory and copper was also quite lucrative, so if you combined all of this, he was convinced that he would have a fixed income that no royal family in the world could ever touch.

“Hehehe, I heard that the Suez Canal owned by the British Imperial Family is very lucrative? I think if things continue like this, my Congo’s income will surpass Suez.”

The value of the Suez Canal wasn’t only about money, but also about controlling European logistics, but Leopold II didn’t care about that.

Even if Belgium had something like the Suez Canal, their national power wouldn’t allow them to speak loudly to other countries.

The reason the British Empire was able to control European logistics with the canal was thanks to their overwhelming naval power.

It was enough to just gather money like this, increase the royal family’s wealth, and build various facilities in Brussels.

The foolish people would praise and worship the royal family for spending money generously for them.

“Stanley, tighten the reins even more so that the current income doesn’t decrease. I heard that the nigger race quickly loses productivity if you loosen up even a little.”

“…Yes, Your Majesty.”

Stanley nodded, hesitated for a moment, and then carefully spoke again.

“But Your Majesty, if we continue to push at the same intensity, there will definitely come a time when the labor force of the natives decreases. People with severed hands permanently lose their ability to work. It’s good to inflict corporal punishment, but how about lowering the level a little more?”

It might be okay to think that there were still people left now, but if they continued to grind people like this, there might not be much labor force left in the future.

However, Leopold II scoffed and shook his head.

“According to your investigation, the population of the Congo isn’t that large, is it? We can squeeze it much more, so why should we loosen the reins now? We need to instill fear like this now so that they’ll work harder. Then the number of those who are punished will gradually decrease, and there will be no loss of labor force, so rest assured.”

“…Yes.”

Stanley reluctantly accepted the King’s opinion, but his heart wasn’t at ease.

To be honest, he knew that Leopold II would treat the Congolese like slaves, but this wasn’t even slavery.

Even in the South of the United States, where Black people weren’t even treated as human beings, they didn’t treat them this way.

He wasn’t sure if this was right, but Stanley was no longer in a position to back out.

He was the one who had brokered the agreement that pushed the Congolese into hell.

Suddenly, he looked at the flowers decorating the King’s desk and recalled the wreaths he had received from the young children of the Eun Gombi tribe.

‘Damn it. If I had known this would happen, I should have just passed on the information and gone back.’

There were some within the association who felt this was too much, but Leopold II was giving out so much money that the majority of people thought it was better to just stay here.

Okay. Let’s just close our eyes and gather money for a few years and then move to the British Empire or the North.

Just as Stanley was about to engage in mental self-justification.

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty! It’s a disaster!”

The Minister of Foreign Affairs rushed into the office, looking pale, without even asking for Leopold II’s permission.

“What on earth is going on! Ignoring procedure like this…”

“Your Majesty! T-this… look at this!”

Leopold II and Stanley’s eyes widened as they saw the newspaper that he threw onto the desk, panting as if he had run all the way there.

-Is this man a devil or a human? Hell on earth descended upon Congo

“This newspaper is being distributed simultaneously throughout the British Empire, France, Prussia, and the United States. The British Embassy… is requesting a stern explanation.”

“What on earth…”

Leopold II’s mask gradually began to crack as he read the article, initially scoffing that it was nothing more than a pathetic conspiracy theory.

“What bastard is printing this ridiculous article!”

The ship, which was thought to be sailing smoothly, collided with an unexpected reef and tilted sharply.

Leopold II’s face, distorted with anger, clearly showed how devastating this news was.