I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 461

The war between the Joseon-Japan Alliance and Qing, which plunged Northeast Asia into chaos, had also come to an end.

The great scheme of the demon lord Leopold II, which shocked Europe, was also over.

Newspapers, which had been steadily increasing their sales with sensational reports, began to cover everyday topics again, such as the economy and scandals of the nobility.

Of course, conflicts did not disappear from the world.

In the Americas, the confrontation between the South and the North, which was becoming a full-blown dictatorship, continued, and in Europe, Russia and Turkey were still on the verge of war at any moment.

To be blunt, only the citizens of the British Empire seemed to feel secure.

Even France, which considered itself the second most powerful country in the world after the British Empire, was no exception.

“…Prussia’s movements are unsettling?”

“Yes. It’s not overt, but there’s an underlying unease.”

“Hmm, troublesome, troublesome.”

France wanted Europe to remain as it was, maintaining the status quo.

They wanted to avoid the troublesome family feuds of the past and, if they had to fight, do so abroad.

This was because even those fights ended with skirmishes involving thousands, or at most ten thousand, people.

There hadn’t been a large-scale war in mainland Europe since Napoleon, but looking back at the Crimean War [fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the British Empire, France, the Ottoman Empire, and Sardinia] or the American Civil War, they could grasp the potential scale of conflict.

If a fight broke out in the middle of the European continent, there was a high possibility of uncontrollable chaos, given current European technology and military capabilities.

Unlike in the past, it had become commonplace to deploy 100,000 or 200,000 troops to the battlefield.

“Prussian Chancellor Bismarck is a capable and pragmatic person. He won’t move easily, but the War Department concluded that he will eventually have to move someday.”

“The reason?”

“Because the Prussian citizens, as well as the Junkers [Prussian landed nobility], want it.”

If the citizens and nobles wanted the same thing, it would be strange if it didn’t happen.

Objectively, wouldn’t it be more accurate to say that Bismarck had been skillfully controlling the pace to avoid causing any trouble so far?

Even if Prussia’s situation was like that, the real problem was different.

That is, France owed Prussia a great debt.

“What should we do if Prussia demands our cooperation? Can we ignore it?”

“…Wouldn’t it be difficult? We are allies, and more than anything, there is an agreement we made in the past.”

“Hoo, did throwing out such a blank check back then come back as such a headache?”

“The Prime Minister at the time made the best choice. Thanks to that, we secured the colony of Panama, and furthermore, we secured the Asian stronghold of the Philippines, didn’t we?”

Broadly speaking, that’s true, but the problem is that Prussia also gained similar benefits.

Panama was divided in half with Prussia, and Prussia took about a third of the Philippines, didn’t they?

Of course, France occupied the most lucrative land, and it should be acknowledged that France, which occupies Indochina, has achieved much more significant results in Asia.

“But that level of achievement is just a trivial crumb compared to Prussia swallowing all of Germany.”

“That’s true, but…”

In the past, during the civil war that took place on the American continent, France offered all sorts of conditions to bring in Prussia.

Among them, the problem was the promise to actively side with Prussia if a conflict arose over the leadership of the German Confederation in the future.

If Prussia seized an appropriate opportunity to cause a dispute and asked France to keep its promise, France had no justification to openly refuse.

“Prime Minister Freycinet, what are the opinions of the Foreign Ministry or the members of the committee?”

“Since there is no good solution, they say it is best to mediate so that there is no conflict as much as possible.”

“Easy to say.”

King Louis of France openly let out a burst of laughter.

If a fight doesn’t break out, there would be no reason to have such a headache.

But if it were that easy, why would there be wars in the world?

“As the Prime Minister knows, we must never, ever, let Prussia take over all of Germany.”

“Yes. The British Empire probably wouldn’t want that either, so I think we can stop it if we coordinate well with the British Empire.”

Prussia, which is already considered to have risen to a level similar to that of France, gaining even more power on the European continent than this?

If Germany, which is now divided into several states, is united under the leadership of Prussia, then France alone may not be able to handle Prussia.

What if it’s an alliance, so it doesn’t matter anyway?

A person who believes that there is an eternal alliance in the world is synonymous with a person who should never be involved in politics.

“Then try to strengthen cooperation with the British Empire right away. I’m worried that the connection with the British Empire has weakened since Prime Minister Guizot stepped down…”

“Anyway, I expressed my intention to personally greet Empress Victoria this time to celebrate her birthday. But… Prussian Chancellor Bismarck is also scheduled to attend in person.”

“Bismarck is going all the way to London?”

It is not strange for high-ranking officials to go to celebrate the Empress’s birthday, but it is inevitable to see that the Prime Minister’s direct involvement has a clearly different intention.

There is no reason for the British Empire to elevate Prussia like that, but Bismarck is one of the figures known to have a good relationship with the British royal family, isn’t he?

It is a moment when the absence of Prime Minister Guizot is keenly felt.

The void created by the retirement of a prime minister who rarely held long-term power in France, where prime ministers are replaced frequently, was greater than expected.

Louis was feeling the need to strengthen the connection with the British Empire a little more.

* * *

May 1870.

The entire British Empire was in a festive mood, and all other European attention was focused on the British Empire.

[All members of the British Empire are voluntarily lighting up the streets of London to wholeheartedly celebrate the birthday of Her Majesty Empress Victoria.]

[The Parliament tried to allocate a special budget to celebrate Her Majesty the Emperor’s birthday, but the Imperial Family stopped it and decided to hold a birthday celebration with the Imperial Family’s budget. It showcases the Emperor’s economic sense, who values the precious taxes of the citizens more than anything else.]

[In Canada, a movement to build a special statue to celebrate Her Majesty the Emperor’s birthday is in full swing. The amount of donations has already exceeded 400% in three days, and it has been decided to create a statue of not only Her Majesty but also Her Majesty’s kind husband, Shin Killian…]

[Each country is also in full swing to celebrate Her Majesty’s birthday. The British Empire’s strongest allies, Prussia and France, have once again demonstrated their strong solidarity to the world by having their prime ministers attend the celebration. It is unusual for prime ministers from other countries to attend the birthday celebration, and this is also the dignity of the British Imperial Family…]

Ugh, so embarrassing, what is all this?

What’s with all this? Build a statue?

No, but if you’re going to commemorate my birthday, why are you building a statue of me when it’s Victoria’s?

Seeing the articles that are nothing more or less than a laughingstock from the sensibility of modern people, my face is burning.

Since the popularity of the imperial family has soared, my and Victoria’s birthday celebrations have been quite splendid, but recently, the scale has been increasing more and more.

Citizens have no reason to dislike it since it’s not done with taxes anyway, and it’s also true that Nana and Victoria are so popular that no one would say anything even if it was done with taxes.

It is said that the newspapers that published such special articles are so popular that they can’t print enough to meet demand, so I don’t understand people’s minds.

I wonder if it will come out later that I use Shukuchi [a fictional technique to instantly travel somewhere] and make bombs with pine cones.

Such a tragedy will not happen while I am alive and vigilant, but what if it happens after I die?

Just thinking about it is terrible. I should tell Edward or Adelaide for sure from now on.

If I write in my will that I will not give a single penny of my property to a disloyal child who engages in deification, will they understand and behave?

“Your Majesty, you don’t look very well? Is there anything that’s bothering you with such an auspicious day just around the corner?”

“It’s nothing. Hahaha.”

As I awkwardly smiled, putting the newspaper aside, Bismarck couldn’t hide his curious look.

“I’ve seen those newspapers too. It is noticeable that every newspaper is full of affection and goodwill towards the imperial family.”

“How many newspapers in the world openly criticize their own imperial family?”

“That’s true, but the tone is bound to be different between writing out of necessity according to the guidelines and praising from the heart. In my opinion, most of those newspapers were clearly the latter.”

“It’s good, but on the one hand, I’m worried. There is always a side effect when things are excessively promoted like this.”

“If His Majesty hears that, he will clutch the back of his neck. Other royal families are studying how to receive as much love from the citizens as the British Imperial Family.”

Well, what’s so difficult about it? If you work hard to increase national power, give back to society, and inject patriotism from time to time, the love of the citizens will follow.

How is it, easy?

“Did you come all the way to London because you wanted to know the secret, Prime Minister? Of course, that’s not it, is it?”

“Of course not. I have a pure purpose to congratulate His Majesty the Emperor on his birthday and wish him good health…”

“Prime Minister, we’re not strangers, so there’s no point in listing diplomatic rhetoric; it’s just tiring for both of us. Let’s just talk openly.”

“Shall we? Hehehe.”

“In the first place, the fact that I came to London to celebrate His Majesty the Emperor’s birthday and the first person I came to meet was me, it doesn’t seem like you’re trying to hide your intentions, so I’m not overthinking things, am I?”

It would be bustling enough for just one prime minister from another country to come as a guest, but now the prime ministers of Prussia and France are visiting together.

Of course, both on the surface and through the spies that each country has planted, everyone is watching this situation.

Bismarck came to me boldly, as if he had decided to draw everyone’s attention in such a situation.

I could see what he was thinking, but it was easier for me to talk to him when he was so upfront.

“As you said, France must be burning right now. Not only was it outmaneuvered, but the intention here is being revealed in broad daylight. In the first place, if Prime Minister Guizot was still there, it would be fine, but Prime Minister Freycinet has no established relationship with His Majesty, does he? They must be aware of that, so they will react even more sensitively to this stimulus.”

“I hope that the allies will get along well.”

“Of course, I want that too, but… isn’t that up to France?”

“No, no, that’s not it. The will of both sides is important. You have to clap your hands together to make a sound, so does it make sense for the relationship between the two countries to depend only on the will of one country?”

No matter how close you are privately, you have to draw a line between public and private affairs. Where are you trying to subtly shift all the burden onto France?

“What I mean is that if France keeps its agreement with us, there will be no reason for conflict to arise at all. In fact, if you made a promise, you should keep it, shouldn’t you?”

“That’s right.”

“I don’t have the crazy idea of restoring all the territories of the Holy Roman Empire like the radicals inside. But the times are forcing a choice, and I, as the captain of the giant ship called Prussia, will eventually have to make a decision.”

The Iron-Blooded Chancellor looked straight into my eyes and spoke about the real reason he came to London.

“I will not occupy Austria. So, can you maintain neutrality?”

Reorganize the German Confederation, excluding Austria, into a unified state under Prussian leadership.

His words that he doesn’t even contemplate Pan-Germanism are clearly sincere, but when a German says that, people like me can’t help but think of a certain mustachioed man.

Austria… Anschluss [the annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938]… Ugh, my head.

“Condition.”

I suppressed the mental images and words that were swelling up in my head and continued calmly.

“I’ll listen to what you can offer in return for neutrality and give you an answer.”