I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 481

< The Powder Keg of Europe >

As if destiny dictated an inescapable fate, the war to end all wars unleashed hell on Earth.

Austria invaded Serbia, sparking a quarrel between Russia and Prussia, soon followed by the entry of France and the Ottomans.

I was in my office at Buckingham Palace, deep in discussion with my ministers, trying to figure out how to navigate this escalating chaos.

But as luck would have it, unbelievable news arrived from across the Atlantic.

“One for all! All for one!”

What the hell? That familiar slogan… could it be?

“Your Majesty! Engels in the South is shouting incomprehensible nonsense and has invaded Mexico!”

“What kind of crazy talk is that?”

Looking at recent photos of Engels, he’s gained weight and slicked his hair back, resembling some northern figure [likely a reference to a stereotypical communist leader] I saw in my previous life.

Is it an unavoidable human instinct that communist dictators end up with similar styles?

“Connect me with that madman Engels immediately!”

“Europe has become a sea of fire, now it’s the Americas’ turn! If we can’t have it, we’ll destroy it!”

Unlike the world war I knew, Europe fought among themselves, and the Americas did the same, plunging the world into even greater chaos.

With the white Europeans gleefully killing each other, other races couldn’t be left out.

“Europe has promised us autonomy in Africa! Rise up and crush your neighbors!”

“We must kill them to gain our autonomy! All charge!”

As the European front lines became entrenched, proxy wars broke out in African colonies.

“Europe is too busy fighting among themselves, you say? We can’t miss this opportunity. This is the perfect chance to conquer the continent!”

Whether their brains were truly fried from the idea of continental conquest, Joseon [ancient Korean kingdom] and Japan once again declared war on Qing [the last imperial dynasty of China], effectively derailing their own progress.

“Hey, hey, how about we form an alliance one more time, Joseon-jins [a somewhat derogatory term combining Joseon and ‘jin,’ likely referring to a perceived backwardness]?”

“That’s what we should be saying, you Japs [a derogatory term for Japanese people]. Just don’t hold us back!”

Are these guys collectively insane?

No.

Even if they’ve gone mad, there’s no way they’d say such things, right?

Like last time, it seems I’ve been having nightmares again because I’ve been too busy lately.

I’m too busy to be having such ridiculous nightmares that don’t even qualify as third-rate precognitive dreams.

As I became aware that it was a dream, my consciousness slowly returned, but the scenery before my eyes became even more bizarre, presenting a sight that made me doubt my eyes.

Decades after a great war ended.

“His Greatness, Emperor Killian, has declared: The hegemony of the British Empire must endure forever! In accordance with his will, we shall never forgive those who threaten the hegemony of our Great British Empire!”

“Shower the enemy with hellfire!”

You crazy bastards, when did I ever say that!

As countless nuclear missiles fired from the British Empire soared towards the distant sea, I awoke from the nightmare of major cities being swallowed by giant mushroom clouds.

Well, this Earth is doomed.

* * *

“Ugh… stiff.”

I had some crazy dream since dawn, and my head feels heavy, and my mind is hazy as if I were pinned down by a ghost.

As I sat blankly in my chair, trying to figure out what kind of crazy dream it was, Victoria approached with a worried expression and handed me coffee.

“Are you alright? You looked like you were having a nightmare.”

A nightmare… it was a nightmare. It was a crazy dream, but the content itself was a nightmare nonetheless.

“Did I say anything strange in my sleep?”

“You were muttering incomprehensible words. Atomic bomb? Ballistic missile? You were groaning while saying words I’ve never heard before. Is it some important project? Is James Group developing something new?”

No, no, it would be a disaster if a private company developed such things. I should never have said that.

“It seems I was just rambling in my sleep, so don’t worry too much about it. It’s just meaningless words, so you don’t need to pay any attention to them.”

“…It didn’t seem like just a simple nightmare, but if you say so, it must not be a big deal. Alright.”

The speed of scientific development is definitely faster now than in the original history, perhaps because I’ve been diligently greasing the wheels.

Maybe in a few more years, commercial gasoline-powered cars will be available, and by the end of the 19th century, Zizol fertilizer [an early type of artificial fertilizer] might also be on the market.

But scientific development doesn’t only have positive effects.

Technologies that kill and destroy people more efficiently will naturally emerge more quickly, and nuclear bombs will be no exception.

There’s no guarantee that the nuclear bombs that come out in the future will be called by the same name as I remember, but it’s never a bad idea to be careful with my words.

I don’t want to arouse suspicion in the distant future by accidentally saying the wrong thing.

Even though it was just a crazy dream, seeing the British Empire giving the whole world a nuclear sauna made the scent of the coffee feel less fragrant than usual.

Why did I have such a ridiculous dream?

Could it be a real precognitive dream?

A person from this era would just ignore it, but as someone who knows the original history, I couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

Even if I told Victoria or Edward, they are ordinary people; they would dismiss it, saying there’s no such thing as precognitive dreams in the world, but well…

I died and returned to the past, so if I think about whether there’s a reason why I can’t have precognitive dreams, it gets confusing again.

Logically, it’s probably not, but even so, there are still some things to consider.

Even if it’s just a simple dream, there’s a high possibility that the anxiety that was deeply asleep in my mind came out in the form of such a crazy dream.

If I sort things out one by one, even though it’s more hopeful than the original history, things in the world don’t always flow so rationally.

Unlike World War II, which was caused by a madman who had gone completely insane, World War I didn’t have one side with unilateral blame.

Austria, which triggered the war, and Germany, which escalated the war to a global scale…

Serbia, which pulled the trigger, and Russia and France, which stirred up the atmosphere from the sidelines, etc., everyone in Europe should be seen as an accomplice.

France and Russia, feeling threatened by Germany’s expansion, united to suppress Germany, and the British Empire not only watched but even helped.

So, is the current era any different?

It’s encouraging that Prussia has good relations with the British Empire and France, but I can’t be sure that it will continue in the future.

The same goes for the Austrian issue.

Considering that the population structure there, where Austrians and Hungarians combined make up slightly less than half of the empire’s population, the Sarajevo incident [the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, which triggered World War I] could occur in another form at any time.

“…So, the only solution is to strike first.”

“Hmm? Strike who?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. I was just thinking that I should pay more attention to Crown Prince Rudolf at tonight’s dinner.”

“I’ve already told the children well, so don’t worry too much. They may not be nice, but they’re not bad kids. And I’ve explained well why they need to get along, so they won’t do anything that harms the national interest. They’re really thorough in that regard, aren’t they?”

“I guess so. And I’m planning to invite him to Buckingham Palace from time to time, not just the children, so I hope you’ll treat him kindly too.”

“I understand. I feel a little sorry for him after hearing in detail how he grew up. I may not have much time, but I’ll try to make some time since he’s Gisela’s younger brother.”

There’s still a little grace period left before the conflict in the powder kegs of Europe, Germany and Austria, explodes.

This is because Serbia, which caused the Sarajevo incident, was only a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire, which had not yet gained independence.

Even if the nationalist craze is added to this, the Greater Serbianists [advocates for a unified Serbian state] will start running wild in 15 to 20 years at the earliest.

Before that, if Crown Prince Rudolf grows up and firmly controls the minority groups in Austria, and the effects of Greater Germanism [a political ideology promoting the unification of all Germanic people] wear off in Germany, the Greater Serbianists will naturally become obsolete.

The only variable to mention is Russia’s Pan-Slavism [a movement to unite all Slavic people]?

However, if Austria can integrate its internal minority groups, it will be difficult for Serbian extremists to gain support even if they run wild.

From that point of view, Rudolf’s role can be said to be more important than imagined.

It is because he must become a gatekeeper who protects the powder keg of Europe from exploding in the distant future, going beyond simply maintaining the balance of the German Confederation with Prussia.

If the flames that explode there spread throughout Europe, there’s no guarantee that the nightmare I had won’t be reproduced.

If Europe becomes a battlefield, Africa is obvious, and America and Asia cannot be safe.

It’s too late to be optimistic that it couldn’t possibly happen and then act after things have already happened.

No matter how long it takes, I’ll see the outcome within 15 years.

To achieve that goal, I must make the Austrian Empire one, centered around Rudolf, no matter what.

Comforting young children who have had unhappy childhoods is not my forte, but what can I do?

For the sake of this world, I have no choice but to write a wonderful childcare healing story.

Okay, wait for me.

I’ll do my best to help you have the happiest study abroad life in the world.

* * *

While Killian was racking his brains to avoid the great war that would happen decades later,

The Russian Empire was not in a good mood due to the rapidly changing situation day by day.

Above all, the fact that this situation was different from what they wanted made them feel annoyed.

Prussia and Austria.

For Russia, the political situation in those two countries, which they always had to pay attention to, was changing too quickly, so the intelligence agency was always busy.

And while paying attention to these international affairs, Emperor Alexander II of Russia, who also had to deal with the power struggles with the nobles, was on the verge of having his hair turn completely white.

“Your Majesty, the peace agreement between Prussia and Denmark has been completed. The British Empire took Iceland and Greenland as compensation for mediation…”

“They took an entire continent as land for mediating once? They’re nothing but thugs. Aren’t they the ones who always criticized us for being greedy, but they’re the greediest of all?”

“Aren’t the British always like that? It’s not new that they pretend to be for justice on the outside and engage in all sorts of schemes and hypocrisy behind the scenes.”

“Damn it. Is it possible that we, Russia, didn’t get anything out of this major incident?”

If the foolish nobles hadn’t been bickering about everything, we could have helped Denmark or sided with Prussia and somehow squeezed out some concessions, but we missed this opportunity with our eyes open.

This time, as with the previous American Civil War, the war involving Spain, the Congo crisis, the Asian war, and the Danish conflict, Russia has once again become a bystander who has done nothing.

It was definitely a mistake to scheme against the British Empire’s royal family, but if they continue to erode the imperial power in this way, it will eventually harm the national interest. Do they really not know that?

“This won’t do. If we stay like this, we’ll be left behind by Prussia, let alone those British bastards. No, maybe we’ve already been left behind.”

“Certainly, Prussia’s growth rate is frightening. The working-level staff analyzed that it would probably surpass France for sure within a few years.”

“If we don’t want to waste any more time, we need to unite the divided public opinion. To do that, we need a suitable incident…”

I learned painfully that scheming against the British Empire does more harm than good, so plotting against them is out of the question.

Then, naturally, we have to fight where those guys aren’t involved…

At that moment, something flashed in Alexander II’s head.

‘Yes. That’s the only way to overcome this crisis.’

Historically, there’s nothing as effective as creating a common enemy to unite divided public opinion.

And Russia had an old enemy that they had fought several times over the years, even excluding the British Empire.

Unlike the British Empire, which has sharp claws that can cause fatal damage even with a slight scratch, the old enemy has already become senile and has fallen into the sick man of Europe [a term used to describe the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century].

“Serbia and Bulgaria have repeatedly requested support for independence, haven’t they?”

“Yes. They have repeatedly begged us not to abandon the European compatriots groaning under Ottoman rule.”

“Yes, good. Get in touch with them. There are quite a few of our Slavic people living there, so there’s no reason to hesitate.”

The Russian Empire, the representative of the Slavic people, sends support to save the Slavic people suffering from Ottoman oppression.

What better justification could there be to strengthen the tarnished imperial power and solidify Russia’s unity?

Alexander II had nothing to lose no matter how things turned out.