I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 453

< False Words (5) >

The news that the Belgian royal family had sent Leopold II to an Austrian mental hospital eventually reached me.

Back then, Austria’s pride, Freud, was still a young boy, so even mental hospitals were nothing like the modern facilities we know today.

While the mid-to-late 19th century saw the beginnings of more humane treatment for patients, constant surveillance remained the norm.

What could Leopold do, even if he didn’t like it? The fact that a member of the royal family, no less, was committed to a mental hospital was practically a declaration that he had truly lost his mind.

He should be grateful they no longer used treatments like beatings, rat infestations, or indiscriminate head trauma for minor eccentricities, as they had in the past.

He should be thankful for that alone and spend the rest of his days in repentance.

“So, what did our Philip of Belgium say?”

“He stated that the outrageous remarks made by the late king were nonsense that had nothing to do with Belgium, and he hoped there would be no misunderstandings.”

“Is that why they sent him to a hospital in another country, not Belgium? The Belgian royal family is quite cold-blooded.”

“Leopold II wanted to make it clear that he had nothing to do with Belgium anymore. I would have done the same.”

I understand the sentiment, but that man was once the King of Belgium.

Cutting him off so completely doesn’t erase his connection to Belgium.

Currently, the British Empire was heavily promoting propaganda about Belgium opening the gates of hell in Africa, portraying the British Empire as saving the suffering black population.

This trend was especially noticeable in Canada, where black people who had settled and were thriving expressed tremendous anger upon hearing this news.

“I noticed that France is also very eager to demonize Belgium. Did you happen to see it?”

“Hehe, it was quite a sight. They’re subtly trying to bury their own past actions and make Belgium the scapegoat for everything.”

I wonder if such a cover-up will be effective, but surprisingly, it seems to be working to some extent.

Even during World War II in the original timeline, thanks to Hitler, arguably the greatest madman on earth, the past crimes of the victorious nations were relatively overshadowed.

Even if I made a mistake of 50, if someone else has committed a mistake of 100 or more, it’s possible to subtly cover it up.

Belgium must be stunned that those who exploited black people more ruthlessly than anyone in the past are now acting this way.

“Prime Minister, as has always been the case, the future will be an era of great change. Many things will change beyond imagination, and the industrial structure will begin to be reorganized.”

“I believe I’ve heard that from His Majesty three or four times… but it’s true that there have been significant changes every time I hear those words.”

“That’s right, isn’t it? I think I said these words when the telegraph or telephone came out, but didn’t everything turn out as I predicted? Prime Minister, you’re using the phone well now, right? Could you endure going back to a time without phones?”

“…No. In a world where real-time information transfer is possible, who could tolerate the inconvenience of regressing to the past?”

Ironically, I am the one who lived like that for decades.

I was a person from an era where I never let go of my smartphone, but suddenly I fell into an era without even a telegraph, let alone a phone, so how frustrated would I have been?

Still, I was able to adapt to life in the 19th-century British Empire because I spent my childhood in Joseon [historical Korean kingdom].

If it weren’t for those years of endurance, I would have been appalled by the harshness of the 19th-century British Empire.

Now, when I think that I can at least make a phone call, I am amazed at the adaptability of humans.

“The reason why we took over the rubber industry in Congo is also to prepare for the great changes in the future.”

“Indeed, the demand for rubber is constantly skyrocketing. I think it’s very encouraging that our British Empire has the lead in the electrical industry.”

“That’s not all. I haven’t gotten concrete information yet, so I can’t say for sure, but the demand for rubber will skyrocket beyond comparison in the future, so we need to prepare for it.”

It’s still a bit early for automobiles to be mass-produced, but I’m doing my best to invest money so that time will definitely be brought forward compared to the original timeline.

When the innovation of internal combustion engines progresses with full-fledged gasoline engines using oil, the demand for gasoline will also surge.

If things like cars and trucks are mass-produced here, a new market that has never existed before will be created.

If we lose the lead in this new market, the competitiveness of the national manufacturing industry will plummet.

In fact, I had already prepared everything.

The oil refining and steel industries, which will be the foundation of the new era, have already secured a unique position, and I received a report that gasoline engines could be produced within a few years.

We have secured Congo, which will account for half of the world’s supply of rubber, which will be called black gold in the future, so there is nothing to worry about.

However, there was still one obstacle that I had not overcome.

There is no guarantee that you will continue to maintain your advantage just because you invented something the fastest.

Even Edison, whom I recruited last time, was an expert optimized to improve existing products and produce more advanced results.

In fact, even in the original timeline, the British Empire soon lost its competitiveness despite having pioneers in the early automobile industry.

I heard that there were several reasons, but with my limited knowledge, I couldn’t judge the truth of those claims, so I had a bit of a headache.

Was it said that the main reasons were conservative government policies, a relatively small domestic market, and the failure to secure mass production technology quickly and efficiently because of this?

If we want the British Empire to continue to seize the hegemony of the new era without handing over this high-tech industry to other countries, we inevitably need to stay ahead in the competition in the future.

Of course, this comparison is only with the United States.

As far as I know, before the British automobile industry completely declined, it still boasted the second-largest production volume in the world after the United States.

The problem was that the difference between 1st and 2nd place was tenfold.

“Prime Minister, if cars develop innovatively in the future and push out all the carriages, how big will the social impact be?”

“Cars? That car that’s not even as fast as a person running at full speed? Well, maybe… but isn’t it the general opinion that the value of a car is just a regular bus?”

“That’s right. But technology evolves. Someday, if this car becomes much faster, more stable, and more comfortable, there will be no reason to ride a carriage, right?”

Because the brand value of Benz or Ford is so high when it comes to cars, they are not getting much attention, but in fact, even in London right now, cars using steam engines are running around just fine.

It was also in 1865 that the infamous Red Flag Act [requiring a person to walk in front of self-propelled vehicles] was enacted, and I heard that a similar bill has been enacted even now.

In the past, I heard that this Red Flag Act was the main culprit that ruined the British automobile industry, but when I actually saw it, I had a feeling that it was only a secondary factor.

Anyway, the steam cars, which are full of flaws in this era, lose their basic stability if they accelerate quickly.

In addition, the road conditions are so poor that the complaints of private road operators are soaring.

This is because steam cars, especially buses, often broke the roads when they sped up.

In fact, the situation in other countries without such laws was not much different, so my conclusion was that the notoriety of the Red Flag Act was somewhat exaggerated.

However, if the era of full-fledged internal combustion engines arrives, that law must be abolished.

To do that, we have to replace all the roads and reduce the complaints of existing industry workers who have been laid off in large numbers due to the development of automobiles…

How to quickly push this forward in the subtly conservative society of the British Empire is currently the biggest challenge I am facing.

“If His Majesty’s insight is always one step ahead of mine, and if I believe that this is the case this time… shouldn’t we prepare in advance? In fact, that level of change is not an easy task because it requires repairing the structure of the entire city. Moreover, how big is the carriage industry now? If it collapses, it could be a direct hit to the economy.”

“If we mass-produce cars, a new market will be created that cannot be compared to the carriage industry, so that’s not a problem. Of course, we have to reduce people’s complaints, and we have to think about that from now on.”

No matter how strong the military power is and how good the technology is now, the most important thing in the future is economic power.

And isn’t the truth of the coming 20th century that economic power comes from the size of the manufacturing industry?

Before competitors start chasing us in earnest, we must expand the market as quickly as possible and create an environment that allows us to stay ahead of others.

The domestic market will be insufficient with just the British Empire mainland, but the United States is currently divided into North and South, and there are also Canada and Australia here, so it will be possible to stay slightly ahead.

When viewed coldly, this is the last hurdle.

If we can overcome this successfully, we will be able to pump out oil from the oil fields we have already secured and achieve growth that no other country can match.

Of course, the people around me, who don’t understand why I’m making such a fuss, are just giving me incomprehensible looks.

“If His Majesty wishes, I will think about countermeasures for now. If you happen to find out any new information, I would appreciate it if you could share it with me.”

“Okay. Then please take care of it.”

Since I cannot directly interfere in domestic politics, the Prime Minister’s cooperation is essential for this kind of work.

Welzley is not a person with low understanding, so if I just show him a proper gasoline engine when it is completed, he will understand it right away.

But recently, I’ve been so busy that I feel like I’m forgetting something… what was it?

Reorganizing the rubber industry in Congo, expanding the scale of business in America, and just watching the progress of new technologies that are currently being researched is not enough even if I have 24 hours a day.

So, one fact that I had forgotten for a while.

The situation in Asia, which was going wild and heading for a dead end among themselves, suddenly flew to me.

Ah, right, right. There was something like this too. I was thinking that Edward would take care of it, so I had completely forgotten about it.

“Let’s see. If no news is good news, and he hasn’t sent a letter for several months, it means he’s doing well on his own… um?”

Before Edward’s letter, I picked up the report sent by the embassy, took a sip of coffee, rubbed my eyes, and looked at the paper again.

– A terrible accident occurred in the port of Joseon where the British Empire’s royal flag was burned. The Joseon royal family and the Japanese royal family immediately expressed their apologies and promised to take appropriate measures. The embassy immediately expressed its apology to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the home country, and contacted them to say that they would like to visit the royal family to formally apologize…

So, the flag that was flying on the British Empire’s ship docked in the Han River, and even the royal flag, was burned by the hands of Joseon and Japanese people?

Rather than thinking, ‘These guys finally did an Otsu incident [attempted assassination of a Russian Tsesarevich by a Japanese policeman],’ questions spread in my head.

What? Why?

I put down the report as if throwing it away and unfolded Edward’s letter.