I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 450

< The Words of Lies (2) >

Frankly, the Belgian people weren’t particularly concerned about this incident.

Their king caused problems in Africa? So what?

The majority of people initially reacted this way to the news, and even those articles were suppressed due to Leopold II’s control over information.

In an era before the internet and widespread radio access, the Belgian people were largely unaware of the true situation. Instead, they tended to believe their king was being unfairly maligned.

This was because Leopold II was using his influence and wealth to flood the media with articles favorable to himself.

However, such stringent information control is only sustainable for countries that are self-sufficient and isolated, like Russia or certain nations in the Southern Hemisphere.

Belgium, given its size and location, couldn’t withstand the pressure from other European countries, and more importantly, the Belgian government wouldn’t permit it.

“The Belgian government must issue an official statement immediately!”

“We were deceived by Leopold II! When I recognized the Belgian king as the King of Congo at the London Conference, it was because I believed he genuinely cared about Africa!”

“Leopold II promised the well-being and harmonious coexistence of the native populations! But look at this photo! Where is the well-being and coexistence in this catastrophe!”

From Prussia, which was the first to condemn Leopold II, to France, which joined in later, and even the United States across the Atlantic, the leaders of various countries, realizing they had been tricked by Leopold II into handing over that vast territory, openly began to pressure Belgium.

To avoid being seen as foolishly naive, they had to further demonize Leopold II.

It wasn’t that they were careless or unintelligent, but that Leopold II had deliberately misled them.

In addition to the simple massacre of African natives, it was revealed that he had tried to shift all the blame onto others when his misdeeds were about to be exposed.

Unsurprisingly, articles denouncing Leopold II began to dominate the European press.

[Leopold II’s Terrifying Tactics: How Did He Devour Congo?]

[Thorough Evidence Destruction? Leopold II’s Chilling Duplicity]

[Did Belgium Really Not Know? The Desperate Struggle of a Second-Rate Country to Become a Great Power]

There’s arguably nothing as attention-grabbing and cathartic as demonizing and criticizing someone else.

And with the governments of various countries not only failing to stop this but actively encouraging it, the outrage only intensified.

Leopold II, who had become a public laughingstock and was almost universally regarded as a reprehensible figure, could no longer exert influence domestically.

This was because the Belgian government and parliament, which had been previously unaware of the situation, immediately issued a statement.

– The Belgian government expresses its profound regret for the terrible atrocities that occurred in Congo and pledges to take all necessary measures to rectify them.

– These actions were unilateral acts by the royal family and are not representative of Belgium. However, the entire country feels a deep sense of responsibility for the royal family’s atrocities…

– We accept the decision of various countries to re-examine the agreements made at the London Conference from the beginning, and the Belgian government will do its utmost to correct this chaos.

If things went awry, they risked becoming known as the most unscrupulous nation, having defrauded the entire world.

Even the government and parliament, which had no idea what Leopold II was doing, expressed tremendous anger, even more so than other countries.

As the government adopted this stance, it was only natural that the citizens gradually learned the truth.

Their anger was immense when they discovered overnight that they were citizens following the most unscrupulous king in the world.

“Leopold II, explain yourself!”

“A disgrace to Belgium!”

“Apologize to the British Empire!”

“Step down and end the media control and information manipulation!”

“Boo! Trash!”

The King of Belgium is, strictly speaking, the king *of* the Belgians, not the Belgian king.

Rather than adhering to outdated ideas like the divine right of kings, he was a king chosen by the consensus of the citizens through revolution, so public opinion in Belgium carried significant weight.

In the end, the Belgian government decided to send a government ambassador, not Leopold II or a member of the royal family, to the new conference to be held in London.

“Who decided to send an ambassador! Congo is my private property! Of course, a representative of the royal family should attend. This is a plot by the British Empire to steal Congo from me!”

“Your Majesty, please come to your senses! If such words about a plot by the British Empire reach their ears, do you know how much diplomatic burden it will bring! Have you not seen what happened to the Russian imperial family, who spread conspiracy theories!”

“Conspiracy theory! Conspiracy theory! This is not a conspiracy theory, it’s the truth! Ministers, listen to me! This is Killian’s scheme to trap me, undermine our royal family, and monopolize Congo’s industry!”

“Your Majesty…”

The ministers, who had gathered to hear the royal family’s explanation, exchanged glances and couldn’t hide their bitter smiles.

How could the king, who had once been so astute, become so mentally unstable?

Even if he quietly apologized and showed remorse, it would be difficult to maintain his position as king, but he’s involving the British imperial family?

We can’t send this man back to London.

Here, he might just be regarded as someone who’s a little mentally unwell, but if he utters those words in a meeting of representatives from various countries, the consequences will be impossible to manage.

“Your Majesty, you must relinquish Congo now. Isn’t it excessively greedy to insist on holding onto Congo when things have reached this point?”

“I was the one who developed Congo and turned it into a goose that lays golden eggs! Are you suggesting that I should hand over everything to those hyenas who only want to devour the profitable parts now! Have you even considered how much benefit Congo can bring to our Belgium!”

“Your Majesty… that land is now a curse, not a gift, to our Belgium. Please look at reality dispassionately. The citizens are demanding your abdication.”

“Abdication? Are you telling me to step down because I killed a few black natives in Congo!”

“Isn’t it because it’s not just the massacre of the natives, but the fact that you lied to all of Europe with near-fraudulent statements, violated all the contracts with the British imperial family, and even attempted to manipulate and distort information and shift all responsibility to the Congo Association [a private company established by King Leopold II to administer the Congo Free State] has all been revealed to be true?”

Putting it all together like this, it’s truly remarkable.

The reason why the Belgian citizens are currently burning with anger is not solely because of the oppression of the Congo natives.

If that was the only issue, honestly, it could have been resolved by acknowledging that things had gone too far and that the Belgian government would operate Congo from now on.

There would have been no demand for abdication.

The real problem is that the image of the Belgian royal family has been irreparably damaged.

Ironically, none of the Belgian citizens are suggesting that Leopold II should apologize to the Congo natives.

Not only the citizens but also the government was apologizing to the British imperial family, not the Congo natives, and, coldly, this was the reality of the era.

However, Leopold II would rather apologize to the black people than apologize to Killian, even if he were to be beaten to death.

This whole situation was that man’s plan, and he was the victim, so why should he apologize?

“Ministers, please listen to me now. If you hear the story of how vicious the British imperial family is, you’ll understand. So, what happened was…”

“Yes, yes. I understand, Your Majesty. We have clearly communicated the schedule for the future, so please be aware of that. Then, goodbye.”

“Ah, no! Wait! Listen to my story!”

Leopold II desperately raised his voice, but the ministers bowed their heads curtly, sighed, and left the room.

“Haa… I never thought it would be this serious. What measures should we take?”

“I agree. If he makes such absurd remarks in public, it will be a major incident that cannot be explained away as a mere ‘diplomatic disaster.’ What should we do? We can’t gag him…”

“Can’t we just force him to abdicate quickly? He’s a walking time bomb right now.”

“Damn it. How long has it been since Russia was criticized harshly for spreading nonsense? We must prevent the royal family from contacting the British Embassy at all costs, even if we can’t do anything else. Everyone agrees, right?”

They thought they were speaking quietly, but Leopold II could hear them clearly.

If they just listened to him calmly, they would definitely understand, but why are everyone’s ears so closed?

Thinking about it, wasn’t the conspiracy theory claimed by the Russian imperial family actually true?

Leopold II thought that there might be a way out if he revealed all this truth, but the government, as well as the citizens, and even his family, only showed a cold reaction.

The Belgian government, which was close to being fed up with the royal family, had reached the point where it was annoyed just by looking at the name Congo, which was the cause of the problem.

* * *

“The Belgian government has no objection to a full review of the contents of the London Conference.”

“Then the discussion will proceed quickly. First of all, if you have any plans on how to resolve the situation, please tell us.”

“Our government will take over the Congo Free State from the royal family. And we will completely abolish all the harsh punishments that have been carried out so far and operate Congo in the same way that the royal family initially declared.”

As soon as the Belgian plenipotentiary [a diplomat authorized to represent their government] finished speaking, the Prussian ambassador sneered.

“Ah, so you want to present it as a *fait accompli* [something that has already happened and is difficult to change] that you acquired that vast land through near-fraudulent behavior?”

“There is no room for excuses in that regard. However, if our government takes over Congo from the royal family and operates Congo as initially declared, wouldn’t the original purpose be achieved anyway…?”

“Do you know how much chaos the world has been plunged into by the deceitful actions of His Majesty Leopold II? You’re suggesting you’ll pretend not to know about that, but isn’t that an unfair way to resolve the problem?”

“Then please tell us the specific measures we should take. We are willing to listen to the opinions of each country as much as possible.”

I understand why so many modern game users can’t resist the appeal of auto-hunting.

Even if I don’t say a word, things progress smoothly on their own, so it couldn’t be more convenient.

“First of all, the Belgian side must acknowledge that all of this was part of a grand scam and return all profits. The income from ivory, copper, and rubber exports should not be appropriated by Belgium but should be distributed fairly to the African tribes and the European countries that invested in them.”

“Prussia’s claim is correct.”

“Didn’t Belgium originally promise not to monopolize the profits from Congo?”

When France and even the United States supported Prussia, the Belgian side had no choice but to nod.

From the beginning, they probably didn’t expect to be able to keep all the money coming out of Congo.

“I understand. We will do so.”

Everything is going according to plan.

Then it’s time to play my most powerful card.

“I don’t know if the Belgian government is aware, but your royal family has a contract with our imperial family.”

I am a person who honors transactions and contracts meticulously, both now and in the past, and I despise those who break them more than anyone else.

I thought they would already know, but it seems that Leopold II still hasn’t revealed all of his shameful secrets.

The eyes of the Belgian plenipotentiary widened as he examined the copy of the contract.

“If your royal family does not settle its debts, the rubber industry in Congo will automatically belong to us.”