I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 527

< Joseon Empire (2) >

When I first opened my eyes in the 21st century, which had changed far too much, I was truly bewildered.

No kidding, the country’s name was different, the city’s name was different, and all the supposedly successful companies were names I was hearing for the first time. How could I possibly remain calm?

My memory was a complete blank slate, and cold sweat poured down my face. Fortunately, the more I was exposed to various situations, the more memories of the past kept resurfacing.

I don’t know the exact principle, but it doesn’t seem like another soul suddenly slipped into my perfectly fine body.

To be precise, it’s more like memories of my past life suddenly flashed back due to some accident.

Come to think of it, I think I had a similar experience when I first recalled memories of my previous life in Joseon.

However, I suppose the shock was less severe then because the memories I recalled were only about 30 years’ worth.

This time, over 80 years’ worth of memories were injected into my head all at once, so naturally, the shock was immense.

As a reaction, the memories that were originally in my head were pushed into a corner, and only now, after becoming much more stable, are they slowly returning.

“···Seeing this place, it all comes back to me.”

In the past, Lee Hyun-seok frequented this palace quite often from a young age.

He was a distant yet close relative of the current Emperor of the Joseon Empire, Lee Cheol-woo, and because they were of similar age, he was often invited.

Moreover, from a public perspective, the Emperor needed to maintain a close relationship with the next successor of the AL Group, the largest sponsor of the Imperial Family.

The AL Group also had no reason to dislike the Emperor, the face of the nation, being friends with the group’s next leader.

The ultimate win-win situation where everyone could benefit both publicly and privately.

Thanks to this, I spent time with Crown Prince Lee Cheol-woo at least once a week from a young age.

I frequented Geunjeongjeon [the main hall of Gyeongbokgung Palace] so often that it felt as familiar as a villa.

At first, I thought it would be incredibly inconvenient to actually live here if it was restored in the traditional style, but it doesn’t seem to be the case.

It seems like they’ve done a lot of invisible repairs since people actually have to live here.

The insulation feels good, and the sofas disguised as floors or cushions are incredibly plush.

Even the current Emperor, Lee Cheol-woo, has preferred beds since he was the Crown Prince and insists on sleeping in a bed.

The Emperor dismissed the people around him as usual, leaving just the two of us alone. He casually took off his dragon robe and lay down on the blanket spread on the floor in comfortable clothes.

“Ugh. I finally feel alive. Hyun-seok, can’t you come twice a week from now on? If I use being with you as an excuse to dismiss everyone around me, no one will know if I laze around like this.”

“Your Majesty, I’m currently hospitalized.”

“Ah, right. But the doctor said your body is in surprisingly good condition right now, right? I’m only saying this because I heard that. When I first heard about your accident, I dropped my meal and was about to run out of the palace right away. But how can you have no external injuries when a plane crashes?”

“I know, right? In the first place, it’s an impossible probability that lightning would strike the plane continuously just as it was about to land, causing the electronic systems to go down, and then the backup system wouldn’t work at that exact moment.”

The Emperor shook his head, saying it was a ghostly matter.

“Still, isn’t it fortunate that nothing happened? I heard you’re a bit confused about your memories, but they’re slowly coming back, right?”

“Fortunately, that’s true. I’ve almost recovered all my memories of close acquaintances. But I’m a bit frustrated because I don’t remember anything about the news that’s being talked about in the media right now.”

“What the media is talking about? Ah, the articles about your womanizing? I told you to stop meeting so many women.”

“···Are those news stories true?”

“Of course. No, you met so many women and completely erased it from your memory? You’re really something.”

No way, was this body, the epitome of a devoted and loving husband, the kind of guy who used wealth and power to meet any woman in the 21st century?

Of course, dating various women isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but judging by how the Emperor is talking, it seems like it was quite serious.

“···Did I perhaps···cause a lot of trouble?”

“I don’t think it was that bad, as far as I remember. Your father said he would tie you up if you really caused trouble.”

“So, it’s true that I met a lot of women?”

“Yes. And your taste was always the same. They look gentle and kind, but they’re incredibly stubborn and even obstinate. That’s exactly your type. I don’t understand how all the women you meet have that kind of personality.”

“······.”

I have a woman in mind, and whether it’s my past life or this life, I’m definitely a person with clear preferences.

Sorry for doubting you for a moment. Hyun-seok, you’re definitely my reincarnation.

“Your Majesty, you didn’t call me just because you were worried and wanted to see my face, right?”

“That’s not it. You know, I was talking to the Prime Minister recently, and there’s been talk among the governments of various countries about creating a full-fledged Northeast Asian economic union. The Republic of China is slowly growing economically, so if just the three of us, us, Japan, and the Republic of China, unite, we can easily surpass the United States and get close to the British Empire, don’t you think?”

“···Is that the position of the Northeast Asian government right now?”

“I heard that serious discussions are underway? Of course, we’re just skipping Qing China and trying to unite just the three countries first, but it would be good if you, as the head of Asia’s top conglomerate, could exert some influence to massage the media and create public opinion, right?”

No, you damn bastards.

Who are you talking to about checking the British Empire so casually?

My ancestors sacrificed themselves to make a decent living, and now that you’ve gained some size, you’re going to get together and plot?

You call it the Northeast Asian Economic Union, but the British Empire clearly has territory in Northeast Asia, so isn’t it too obvious that you’re only uniting among yourselves?

“Your Majesty. If I may offer my personal opinion, I think it would be best if you distanced yourself from such claims.”

“···Really? Why?”

“The British Empire will definitely react in some way. The British Empire never wants a strong second-in-command to emerge. That’s how the country works.”

It can’t be helped, because I told Edward in my unofficial will.

Suppress any second-in-command with the potential to threaten the British Empire by any means necessary, as secretly as possible.

Even though the 21st century is a more civilized society than the 19th or early 20th century, a superpower can still cause chaos if it sets its mind to it.

Moreover, looking at the current global economic situation, the British Empire’s dominance was even more solidified than in the original history’s United States.

If we unnecessarily provoke the superpower’s displeasure here, will the country take responsibility if my AL Group is subject to export restrictions?

“Let the Republic of China or Japan take the lead first, and let’s stay out of it. And Your Majesty, you need to give a cautious impression at this time so that you can gain even deeper support from the citizens later when things go wrong.”

“···Is that so? To be honest, I was a bit scared. I’m glad I listened to you. I’ll have to play it safe from a neutral position.”

Judging by his reaction, the Emperor didn’t seem to like the proposal very much either.

Well, if you look at the family tree, the current Emperor of the Joseon Empire is probably related to the British Imperial Family.

Let’s get along, you guys. Don’t let your descendants fight each other. Okay?

* * *

British Empire: Constitutional Monarchy

-Composition: Seven Kingdoms (England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Canada, Oceania, Singapore) + Royal Three (Caribbean, The Gulf, Alaska)

-Population: 350 million, 4th in the world (Canada 150 million, British Isles 80 million, Oceania 40 million, Royal Territories 20 million, Singapore 60 million)

-Ideology: Capitalism, Democracy, Liberalism, Anti-Racism, British Uniculturalism, English Unilingualism

-GDP: 28 trillion pounds, 1st in the world

-GDP per capita: 80,000 pounds, 4th in the world

While returning to the hospital, I did some internet surfing and roughly organized how the current world economy is working in my head.

I don’t know when the five kingdoms I knew became seven, but I’m sure my children have been running things very well.

The population is incomparable to that of the British Empire in the original history, and the economic scale goes without saying.

After that, I scanned through the rankings.

United States: Presidential System

-Composition: 47 states

-Population: 270 million, 5th in the world

-GDP: 14 trillion pounds, 2nd in the world

-GDP per capita: 52,000 pounds

The situation in the United States, which has shrunk much more compared to the original history, caught my eye.

The population has plummeted due to the immigration rush to Canada and the World War-scale war in the United States.

-The United States grew frighteningly in the mid-20th century and was once considered the only competitor that could catch up with the British Empire and threaten its hegemony.

However, President Kennedy, who adhered to moderation, was assassinated by extremists who advocated national self-interest, and Lyndon, who became president after that, adhered to a nationalistic line, pushed by domestic public opinion, and deepened the confrontation with the British Empire.

After suffering enormous losses in the ensuing economic conflict, they lost the momentum to continue competing with the British Empire with the Hollywood Agreement in California.

Scholars are evaluating that if they had endured and bided their time for a few more decades, the United States could have sufficiently challenged the British Empire’s throne···.

German Empire: Constitutional Monarchy

-Population: 130 million

-GDP: 8 trillion pounds, 3rd in the world

-GDP per capita: 62,000 pounds, 7th in the world

Joseon Empire: Constitutional Monarchy

-Population: 132 million

-GDP: 6.6 trillion pounds, 4th in the world

-GDP per capita: 51,000 pounds

Japanese Empire: Constitutional Monarchy

-Population: 135 million

-GDP: 6.5 trillion pounds, 5th in the world

-GDP per capita: 48,500 pounds

Kingdom of France: Constitutional Monarchy

-Population: 87 million

-GDP: 5.2 trillion pounds, 6th in the world

-GDP per capita: 60,000 pounds

Republic of China: Presidential System

-Population: 500 million, 3rd in the world

-GDP: 5.1 trillion pounds, 7th in the world

-GDP per capita: 10,200 pounds

Okay. So the world has been reorganized into this structure.

It’s ironic that there are so many constitutional monarchies, perhaps because of my influence, and that the Republic of China is classified as a presidential system.

Seeing that they thoroughly crushed the United States as soon as they thought it was crawling up, I could see that the unofficial will I entrusted to Edward was being followed very well.

According to what I heard from Lee Cheol-woo earlier, Germany, France, Joseon, and Japan actively agreed when the United States was crushed.

I was honestly a little touched that the directive to isolate the second-place country and beat it up with the 3rd, 4th, and 5th place countries was being followed so faithfully.

Well, this is all thanks to me repeatedly telling them that the United States is a country with the potential to catch up with Great Britain, so if it looks like it’s going to rise, beat it down unconditionally.

If that weren’t the case, they might have been paying attention to Prussia or dead Russia and gradually had their hegemony taken away by the United States.

As expected, the advice to the Emperor to stay neutral and eat the rice cakes [profit] from the 3rd and 4th place positions was excellent.

As long as the British Empire’s keynote is being followed so consistently, it will be beneficial to my status to never step out of line and share the rice cakes from the 3rd and 4th place positions.

After roughly finishing reading the internet in the car, I returned to the hospital room, purified my body and mind, carefully adjusted the angle of the bed, and lay down.

As soon as I came to my senses, it was the content I wanted to search for on the internet the most, but I had been suppressing the urge until now, wanting to savor each and every word.

I told them not to disturb me, so I should enjoy this pleasure all night long today.

With a trembling heart, I went to Wiki and typed my name into the search bar.

Not my current name, Lee Hyun-seok, but my name from my past life.

The three letters, Killian.