I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 501

< The Road to Peace (3) >

The saying that you see as much as you know is a timeless adage.

However, the saying that ignorance is bliss is also undeniably true.

Bismarck sometimes wondered if his younger days, when he knew nothing, weren’t more comfortable and less worrisome than now.

It’s an undeniable fact that as knowledge and experience accumulate, and as he gains the perspective to view the entire nation, he can encompass not only the present but also the future.

Politics is a living thing, akin to an ever-changing demon.

When you’re young, you don’t know this, so everyone is full of confidence.

You’re sure that if you do this, it will work out, but why don’t those stupid politicians make these decisions?

‘I feel like I could do so much better if I were in that position?’

That feeling of frustration was the most common reason young people jumped into politics.

It’s embarrassing, but Bismarck was no different.

The Junkers [Prussian nobles and landowners] in the central government that he saw when he was young were nothing more than seemingly incompetent parasites.

‘Politics, isn’t it just about pretending to listen to the complaints of dissatisfied people and distributing the nation’s resources most efficiently?’

From a third-party perspective, it was possible to make a more objective assessment than anyone else, but once he became the person in charge, it wasn’t as easy as he thought.

“Prime Minister, the military says they will agree with whatever you say.”

“They have no choice. What about the dignitaries from Great Britain?”

“Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm often has conversations with His Majesty.”

“Really? Are their Crown Prince and Princess always moving together?”

“Yes. Of course…”

Others may not know, but Edward and Gisela are Killian’s eyes and ears.

They were obviously watching this side with a hawk’s eye, monitoring how well the promises were being kept.

Of course, there were no complaints about that.

Prussia also had a lot to gain from this contract.

However, the fact that his work process was being broadcast almost live was a bit nerve-wracking.

The more you know, the more consolidated the Prime Minister’s power becomes within Prussia, the more he realizes how solid the power structure of the British Empire is.

The ruling party, the royal family, and the House of Lords are completely united, while maintaining a balance by keeping the opposition party alive to a certain extent.

In addition, when dealing with any matter, they often step back and minimize the burden on themselves.

Still, Bismarck thought that he could follow this far.

He had faithfully referred to Killian’s method and used it for this operation.

However, the ability to see how this world works…

He didn’t think that he could become like Killian just by honing this one thing.

The main reason why Bismarck is on a completely pro-British Empire line is actually because of Killian’s intuition.

Others may pay attention to his power, wealth, or political influence, but Bismarck was different.

At least while Killian is alive, it is right to hold on to the reliable lifeline of the British Empire no matter what.

Even if he only secures the position of the second most powerful person in the world, there will be no problem for Prussia to remain a leading country in Europe even 100 or 200 years from now.

“Prime Minister, but even if we continue as we are now, isn’t Great Britain the only place that can keep our country in check?”

“Do you think so?”

“Yes. Russia is becoming unable to do anything unless we provoke them first, and isn’t the dominant prediction that France will lag behind us in both population and economy?”

“France may be. Shall I be honest? I’m not even worried about France.”

It is clear that France is not a weak country to be underestimated.

This was an immutable truth that would never change no matter how strong Prussia became, and Bismarck never intended to underestimate France.

If you were to pick the country that will have the greatest influence in Europe in the future, it would undoubtedly be Prussia and France.

The British Empire knows this well, so they are trying to control the continent by being friendly with both countries.

“In the past, we confronted and created tension with France, but not anymore. France and we both know that there is nothing more to gain from fighting each other, so why would we be in conflict?”

Compromises are still being made in overseas colonial expansion, and this time, even a historic marriage has been established.

“From France’s point of view, they would have been proud to be the strongest country in Europe, excluding the island nation of Great Britain, but they wouldn’t like us becoming stronger.”

“What if they don’t like it? The time when we could go to war is long gone. And it’s too old-fashioned to think that national power increases simply because of population.”

If you only consider the population, Russia should be stronger than the British Empire, but no one is saying that now.

What is important is the development of technology and industry, and securing scientists who will continue to promote the development of that industry.

“The same goes for future wars. The era of fighting with numbers is slowly coming to an end. Of course, that doesn’t mean that the number of people can be small.”

“What does that have to do with this?”

“It has everything to do with it. In the first place, I’m from Junker, so why would I carry out such reforms if I had any ill feelings towards the Junkers?”

Prussia must become stronger in the future.

There will be no actual fighting with France now, but if we actually fight, we should be able to crush them in the early stages within 6 months… no.

This seems like too much of an unreasonable goal no matter how strong Prussia becomes, so it’s out of the question.

“The Junkers’ foundation is, after all, land and large farms. But the economic structure that relies on land and farms is losing its power and will eventually come to an end. Look at Great Britain.”

Killian said that a Junker-centered society would stiffen Prussia and lead to a desire for land expansion.

Bismarck didn’t want to deny this, but what he was trying to gain through this reform was not just such abstract ideological correction.

As if to prove his words, Bismarck announced a special measure to end the situation after meeting with Wilhelm.

-The recent rumors circulating in the world have been found to be without any basis.

The nobles of Prussia are all offering heartfelt loyalty to His Majesty King Wilhelm.

Up to this point, it was nothing more than a cliché, but Wilhelm, who had received Bismarck’s advice, added one surprise announcement.

“It is also the will of the royal family to increase defense capabilities for the future of a stronger and more magnificent Prussia. However, I am also well aware that if the limited resources of the country are invested only in the military, other areas will inevitably weaken.

So the best way is to increase the budget going to the military while maintaining the overall ratio, and to do that, we need to further increase the size of the industry.”

Even a child knows that if the overall pie grows, the size of the slice will increase even if you cut 1/10 of it equally.

The Junkers of the military, who were already unfairly suspected, welcomed Wilhelm’s decision with both hands.

However, if the state takes the lead in promoting industrialization and treating emerging capitalists well, the Junkers’ position will inevitably decrease relatively.

The Junkers, who understood this schematic structure, voiced concerns, but the opinions were not easily integrated because the military and political circles were divided.

“It’s just a delusion that our Junkers’ dominance will weaken because capitalists are rampant. Prime Minister Bismarck is also a Junker, so would he promote policies without even thinking about such a simple thing?”

“It’s not a delusion. Just look at Great Britain, where the power of the nobles has weakened as the number of capitalists has increased.”

“But the power of the House of Lords is still strong. And the Prime Minister, who has the greatest power after the royal family, is from that nobility, so the claim that power has weakened is just a fuss.”

“…Is that really the case?”

“That’s right. No matter how many capitalists increase, what they can do is limited. If necessary, we can just create something like the House of Commons like in Great Britain and let the commoners play there. And unlike Great Britain, we completely control the military, so what are you worried about?”

Wilhelm himself said that he would increase defense capabilities, so the Junkers, who occupy the core of the military, have no reason to express negative opinions.

Rather, they had to unconditionally support the king’s opinion because they were being misunderstood as trying to seize power by using nationalism.

If they were to create a structure that opposes the royal family without noticing here, they would inevitably be branded as a coup force.

The Junkers, who still couldn’t shake off their anxiety, visited Bismarck, but the Iron-Blooded Chancellor completely extinguished their anxiety with his amazing tongue.

“Hahaha! You guys are worrying about something ridiculous.”

“No, Prime Minister. This is not a problem to be taken lightly…”

“Industrialization, scientific development. All good. But to put it bluntly, people die if they don’t eat bread. Do you think this problem will be solved by the development of technology?”

“Yes? Of course not.”

“Then what’s the problem? As you all know, the productivity from land is ultimately limited. No matter how hard you run the factories and how much the population increases, people can never escape the fear of food.”

In other words, the power of the Junkers, who hold the land and large farms where that food comes from, can never weaken, and the Junkers were immediately able to understand the Prime Minister’s words.

“I see. You are indeed the Prime Minister. You have already calculated everything.”

“We didn’t think that far. Haha!”

“The Prime Minister considers all those factors when formulating policies. As expected, Prime Minister Bismarck is the only leader who can lead this country.”

Everyone smiled with their thumbs up, but Bismarck was already well aware of the flaws in his argument.

His words just now were based on the theory of Thomas Malthus, which is already considered the established theory.

It was like a law of the world that no one had refuted, but Bismarck had already been tipped off by Killian.

-Malthus’s argument excludes the factor of technological innovation.

‘Isn’t that just based on optimistic thinking that everything can be solved if technology develops?’

The answer that came back when he asked that was more shocking than he had imagined.

-I’ll solve it before I die, so keep that in mind. This is information that I only give to people close to me, so never go out and tell anyone.

It was too shocking to dismiss as a joke, so he was still skeptical, but Killian’s words tended to be more accurate the more shocking they were.

No, to be precise, the more shocking the words, the faster they come true.

If Killian really solves this problem before he dies, it means that humanity will be liberated from the fear of food.

‘Perhaps he has gained enough power and wealth, so now he wants to be revered as a saint who will remain in history?’

It’s not a joke, but if you eliminate the concept of famine in Europe, it wouldn’t be strange if a religion that worships Killian came out.

However, the more production increases, the more resources can be invested in military power.

This also means that the national power of the great powers, which are already getting stronger, will inevitably expand beyond the limit.

Isn’t the reason why Killian tipped him off in advance to prepare in advance because the situation could flow like this?

“Yes. We need to prepare.”

Bismarck muttered quietly as he saw off the Junkers who were returning without worry.

As expected, it’s better to live without knowing anything like that.

“A world where everything is changing and being reorganized. We must suppress the newly emerging competitors for sure.”

The most powerful rival of Prussia that the Iron-Blooded Chancellor is secretly wary of.

It was not France or Russia, but the country with infinite potential across the Atlantic.

The emerging power in America that Killian is trying to suppress at all costs.

It was the United States of America.