I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 498

< Uproot the Roots (8) >

The British Empire’s Crown Princess, Attacked.

To be precise, it should be called an attempted attack, but news spreads faster the more sensational it is.

Moreover, since the incident occurred at a royal wedding in another country, the level of sensationalism was even more intense.

[Outrageous acts by extreme nationalists! How much further should we tolerate this?]

[We urge the parliament to respond swiftly! Prussia must also provide an explanation immediately!]

I always lamented that information transmission was slow in the pre-internet era, but the ripple effect of this news, which broke twice in a row, was on a different level.

As if testing how fast things could go in this era if the speed was pushed to the limit, it took only a few days for this fact to be known worldwide.

And, quite naturally, members of parliament flocked to me while I was leisurely having tea with Victoria at Buckingham Palace.

“Rest assured, Your Majesty. The ruling and opposition parties are working together to thoroughly investigate this matter and ensure that those responsible pay the appropriate price.”

“More than that, are my children unharmed?”

“Yes. Thanks to swift action on the scene, both are safe.”

“There are many calls to overhaul the security protocols for key figures in light of this incident. We will take decisive action and report back to you, so please rest assured, Your Majesty.”

Even in a rigged game, there’s a certain image that needs to be shown to the public.

The royal family and parliament held an emergency meeting to appease the shocked royal family and calm their anger.

[What if the assailant had a gun in his hand?]

In fact, it’s undeniable that the security system for key figures has been somewhat lax until now.

People only learn when they experience something firsthand, and in this era, there had been no cases of prominent politicians being shot and dying a sudden death.

Even Lincoln, who is always mentioned in assassinations, was alive and well in America.

With confirmation that thorough precautions would be taken to prevent such unfortunate situations from happening again, both at home and abroad, the members of parliament left the room.

That should be enough of a formality.

I sank into the plush sofa and let out a heavy sigh.

“Ugh, I’m exhausted.”

“It’s not like you went all the way to Berlin. What’s so tiring?”

“I’m getting old, and I feel drained after handling such large-scale events.”

“Then maybe you shouldn’t cause trouble in the first place. Anyway, all I have to do is make an official statement about this, right?”

Victoria, who had heard a comprehensive summary of the facts I knew, surprisingly agreed to participate in the plan.

I expected nagging about how dangerous it was, but perhaps she realized that this was the best path for the future of our children.

Until now, Victoria, despite being the Emperor of the British Empire, had rarely made strong statements in public.

It’s safe to say she hadn’t done so at all since becoming Emperor.

The British Empire I am building is a tolerant nation that treats its allies well.

A nation that does not abuse its position as the world’s strongest power and, on the surface, pursues fair competition.

Compared to the British Empire in the original history, it’s now a true gentleman’s country.

However, things in the world don’t always work out well just by pursuing a policy of appeasement.

Most quick-witted and intelligent people know very well that the strong are holding back.

So they try to accommodate, treat well, and avoid upsetting them, but it’s always the mediocre people who try to take advantage when given leeway.

It was necessary to clearly demonstrate the power of the world’s strongest nation, the British Empire, at least once.

I’m not talking about going to war.

With the power the British Empire has built up so far, there’s no need to go to war.

As the saying goes, a person who never gets angry is scary when they do, and the power of Victoria’s declaration was beyond imagination.

“The home country is devastated by these repeated tragedies. If a thorough investigation is not conducted to uncover the truth and punishment that everyone can accept is not carried out, everyone will see with their own eyes what will happen.”

The Emperor’s anger, which had been suppressed until now, exploded.

A nuclear bomb was dropped on the Serbian military, and Prussia immediately issued a statement of support.

The real game starts now.

* * *

[A virtual ultimatum! Is there a way out?]

[A collaboration between an incompetent government and the military! Throwing away the hard-won independence!]

[Are you willing to lose everything for the sake of Greater Serbianism? Whose nationalism is this for?]

“Minister! You must come up with a solution!”

“If we don’t comply with their demands, war could break out this time!”

“A war with the British Empire immediately after independence from the Ottomans is impossible.”

“Wait, wait! I’m currently in a meeting with His Majesty and other ministers…”

Russia had already quickly abandoned Serbia.

Initially, they had hoped to rely on Russia to overcome this crisis, but Russia, whose motto was not to get involved with the British Empire, did not give them a chance.

-The Russian Empire emphasizes dialogue and compromise and clearly states that it does not support any violent acts.

What a bunch of cowards.

Look at them, the big brother of the Slavic people, lowering their tails as if the British Empire is really angry.

However, Russia was just the beginning. Starting with Russia, the Balkan countries simultaneously issued statements and practiced diplomatic distancing from Serbia.

-Bulgaria expresses its deepest condolences to the British Empire and hopes for the speedy recovery of the Crown Princess’s mind and body…

-Montenegro promises to conduct its own investigation to weed out those who sympathize with such subversive ideas and reiterates that it has no connection with Serbia…

“You cowardly bastards! How can comrades who risked their lives together against the Ottomans turn their backs on us like this in an instant!”

They had gathered strength based on the logic that the enemy of an enemy is a friend, but they were never on good terms from the start. The Serbian military had already lost their minds.

In any case, if a satisfactory investigation is conducted here, the existence of the Black Hand [a secret Serbian nationalist society] will be revealed.

The fact that the military actively supported this cannot be hidden.

But if the existence of a secret society is revealed and they say, ‘Yes, we operated such an organization, but we didn’t instigate that incident,’ who would believe them?

The very fact that the military operated such an organization was the problem.

‘We achieved independence, and now some rogue soldiers are arbitrarily wielding power?’

‘Is the country your toy? Stop the nonsense and get out!’

It’s clear that not only other countries but also the citizens of Serbia will rise up like a swarm of bees and denounce the military.

So, they cannot accept the demands of the British Empire here.

“The British Empire is traditionally a country specialized in the navy. But we are a landlocked country! No matter how strongly the British Empire comes out, it will be difficult for them to actually send troops to our country!”

“That’s right. The Royal Navy, which the British Empire is so proud of, won’t even be able to approach our Serbia!”

“Are you crazy? If we actually go to war, do you think Austria or Prussia will stand still? Montenegro has already announced its support for the British Empire, so of course they will come through Austria and Montenegro!”

“Montenegro is a proud independent army. There’s no way they would open the way to attack us!”

If you’re going to die anyway, the right answer is to choose the side with even a slight chance of survival.

Confessing means 100% death, but even if war with the British Empire has a 99.99% chance of losing, there’s still a 0.01% chance of survival, isn’t there?

And maybe the British Empire is just talking tough and doesn’t really want to start a war.

The last time the British Empire directly waged war was decades ago against Russia.

After that, everything was closer to intrusion disguised as mediation rather than direct combat.

So, isn’t there a high possibility that this will be the case again?

“Minister! Surely you’re not really going to ignore the demands of the British Empire…”

“Ahem! Who said anything about ignoring them? We will investigate, but we will do it our way.”

“They won’t accept that!”

“Our Serbia is a sovereign and independent nation! What right does the British Empire have to accept or reject what we do in our own way! Are you Serbian or British?”

In any case, the opinions of the military’s upper echelons, led by the minister, can suppress the young king.

Serbia had a history of winning armed struggles for independence against the Ottomans, and for this reason, the military’s power was firmly established.

“Now, let’s convey our decision to His Majesty and get his approval…”

“Generals! That won’t do!”

Bang! The sound and the sudden opening of the conference room door.

The generals in the room immediately realized what the soldiers who rushed in with guns were about to do.

And seeing Petar, one of the middle managers of the Black Hand, at the forefront, the minister screamed with his eyes wide open.

“Petar, you bastard! Are you betraying us and staging a coup?”

“A coup? I understand your patriotism for the country, Minister, but don’t you think the method is severely wrong? Major General Todor has made a difficult decision, judging that the future of the country is at stake in this situation.”

“A difficult decision? Isn’t he just using this as an excuse to stage a coup because he couldn’t get a key position! And you…”

“I only briefly joined the Black Hand to obtain internal information because of concerns that the military was going down the wrong path. I never sympathized with your ideas, Minister.”

What nonsense is he talking about now, when he was one of the guys who urged us to create a secret society, saying that we should enforce our claims even by committing violent acts?

“You, you! You traitor to the nation! What you’re doing now is ruining Serbia! Do you know what you’re doing?”

“Of course, I know. If we succeed, it’s peace, if we fail, it’s war. Without further ado, let’s escort you now.”

It took only five hours for the futile cries of the generals, who had been willing to go to war with the British Empire, to end as a fleeting dream.

The minority factions in the military, who had approved the establishment of the Black Hand in a swift manner, blamed all the crimes on them.

No matter how much they protested, no one in the world would believe them, now that the existence of the Black Hand had been revealed.

Rather, people were shocked by the revelation of the existence of the secret society, which they had only suspected.

[The evils of extreme nationalism? Where is the world going?]

There have always been crazy organizations like that in the world, but it’s hard to find a case where the military of an entire country is the root.

Especially if its purpose is to harm other countries by slandering and belittling them.

Still, Serbia used the fact that the king was young as a shield and made every effort to avoid responsibility, saying that all of this was the fault of the military, which had run wild, placing the young king as a puppet.

“Our Serbia promises to do its best to improve relations with Austria and the British Empire, and we will achieve clear civilian control through a major reform of the military.”

The small number of pro-Austrian factions, who had been holding their breath, filled the power vacuum, and the direction of the country was reversed by 180 degrees.

The Black Hand, which aimed to remove Austria in order to achieve Greater Serbianism, achieved the remarkable feat of being caught and disbanded within months of its creation.

Later, leading scholars in the world simply defined this incident in one sentence.

-A truly foolish farce caused by the foolish rampage of a foolish organization.

The first button of the great event that completely changed the fate of the world was fastened in such a ridiculous way.