I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 77

Became a Hidden Power in the British Empire 77 (77/537)

First Strike Always Loses (3)

London, British Empire.

Westminster.

Woo-woo-woo!

“Don’t forgive them! Fight back!”

“Get an apology from the Qing Dynasty!”

The angry shouts, piercing through the walls and reaching even here, rang in the ears of the parliamentarians.

Despite the voices of the enraged citizens echoing, the faces of the parliamentarians were surprisingly calm and composed.

That was because those voices were not directed at them.

“The minister in Guangzhou has sent an additional report. The Qing Dynasty promised a thorough investigation into this matter, but suddenly their response has changed. It seems to be the will of the Qing Emperor.”

“They won’t investigate? Isn’t that the same as admitting their guilt?”

“Rather than admitting, it seems their position is more like, ‘So what if we did or didn’t? What are you going to do about it?'”

“Hahahaha. Amazing. I never imagined they would go this far.”

The Qing Dynasty’s arson on Lintin Island.

Britain tried to negotiate peacefully, but the Qing Dynasty didn’t even pretend to listen, stubbornly insisting and continuing to pressure them. In the end, they set fire to all the merchants’ property, burned merchant ships, and some even went missing in the process.

This was the first time the British Empire had been treated like this, so the parliamentarians were feeling a sense of novelty.

The whole story of this incident had already spread to the public through newspapers, and public opinion demanding the punishment of the ruthless Qing Dynasty was pouring out daily.

Even Prime Minister Robert Peel and Queen Victoria’s statements were published in the newspapers, accelerating this trend.

-Queen Victoria asked the Prime Minister to focus on protecting the safety and property of the people above all else.

-The Royal Family will do its best to create an environment where citizens can engage in their livelihoods with peace of mind in any situation.

These articles continued to pour out, and the citizens cheered for the young Queen’s proactive approach, which scratched their itch perfectly.

Of course, there were parliamentarians who didn’t see this favorably.

“Leaving aside the Qing Dynasty, isn’t it a bit inappropriate for Her Majesty to publicly voice her opinion on political matters? The Prime Minister should pay attention to these aspects since Her Majesty is young.”

“That’s true, but right now, the citizens are anxious because of the economic recession and the conflict with the Qing Dynasty. Appeasing the citizens’ anxiety is also the role of the Royal Family, so it’s hard to distinguish whether this is a political matter or not. Besides, we’re not gathered here to talk about the Royal Family.”

In fact, Robert Peel didn’t expect the Queen’s statement to be so widely reported in the news.

The original purpose was to show that the parliament was taking proactive measures, but he didn’t bother to mention that things had gone awry.

The Queen did not miss this trend and showed her face at official events every day, narrowing the distance with the citizens, and thanks to this, her popularity was soaring day by day.

It was evident that she was trying to form a consensus by listening to detailed stories about how to cope with the aftermath of the recession that had been continuing since last year, not just the problem with the Qing Dynasty, and what difficulties the citizens were experiencing.

Citizens were enthusiastic about the actions of the young Queen, who had not been on the throne for long, unlike older kings, and the parliament also believed that the Queen was showing these actions with a pure heart.

In any case, with the Royal Family being so proactive, the parliament could not lag behind the demands of the citizens.

The majority of parliamentarians, regardless of whether they were from the ruling or opposition parties, the House of Lords, or the House of Commons, urged a firm resolution, and the Cabinet immediately began reviewing the feasibility of this war, and the conclusion was presented at today’s meeting.

“Returning to the original topic, first of all, the Cabinet meeting unanimously concluded that this Qing provocation cannot be overlooked. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of Finance have all expressed the opinion that there are no diplomatic or military problems with this war, and the First Sea Lord has also confirmed that our navy has no problems in carrying out this war.”

With the Cabinet’s conclusion reached, all that remained was the resolution of the parliament.

The moment the approval for the start of the war and the use of the budget was given, the British Empire would enter into war against the Qing Dynasty.

“We will now proceed to the vote. Are there any parliamentarians who would like to ask questions before that?”

As soon as the Prime Minister finished speaking, Charles Wellesley asked a question.

“Are we not issuing a separate declaration of war?”

“They have already thrown the declaration of war first. What we have to decide is whether to respond or not.”

“This is truly amazing. A few months ago, I asked Minister Killian to diplomatically induce the Qing’s provocation, but how could the result come back like this so quickly?”

At Wellesley’s words, muttered as if for everyone to hear, exclamations flowed from among the other parliamentarians.

“I know, right? It seems that the opinion of leaving Asian affairs to Earl Aaron was effective.”

“Even when the Prime Minister appointed Earl Aaron as minister, I was half-doubtful, but now I see that it was truly an amazing insight.”

In fact, it was easy to say, but the demand to diplomatically obtain a justification for this side to raise troops was, frankly speaking, close to the parliament making unreasonable demands.

Even the Whig Party, which had argued for strongly demanding this from the minister, would not have expected Killian to send such a result.

If that was so easy, why would Britain have been dragging the issue of opium sales for years, racking their brains?

According to the report that has come up now, the opium industry seemed to have suffered enormous damage, but since they would be able to extract more concessions than that, the parliamentarians had nothing to lose.

Even if it was just on the surface, the parliamentarians who were closely related to the opium merchants, not to mention the other parliamentarians, were thinking that this was a better situation.

This was because not a few people were inwardly pricked by hearing the words of Gladstone that they were going to war to sell opium.

But since all the opium, which was the root of the problem, had been burned, they couldn’t sell it even if they wanted to.

It was unfortunate that the merchants had suffered enormous damage, but from a grand perspective, this could also be used to their advantage.

Decisively, it wasn’t their property that had been burned, so what did it matter?

After naturally drawing praise from other parliamentarians, Wellesley asked the Prime Minister again.

“So, Prime Minister, who has been chosen as the commander of this war?”

“We have decided to entrust the command to Charles Elliot, the Superintendent of Trade currently dispatched to Guangzhou, and Admiral George Elliot.”

Charles Elliot had not only been involved in the navy for a long time but also had extensive experience in the field, and his cousin George Elliot was a veteran who had experienced the Napoleonic Wars under Admiral Nelson.

“When the war enters the final stage, we will have to enter negotiations, will Minister Killian still be in charge of that?”

“Isn’t that obvious? This incident alone has proven that it is right to entrust him with matters related to Asia. Do you have any objections?”

“No. I also think it’s an excellent appointment.”

If Killian perfectly decorates the beginning and end of the war, he can perfectly solidify his position as Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Not only that.

As the story continues to be told, Killian’s opinion will have a tremendous influence whenever problems related to Asia arise.

Since Britain will inevitably continue to expand its power in Asia in the future, this was a golden opportunity to expand their position.

Since France and Russia are also drooling over Asia, the people will unconditionally support this side.

“If there are no more questions, we will proceed to the vote. Mr. Speaker, please.”

At Robert Peel’s request, the Speaker of the House of Commons, who took the stand, conducted a verbal vote in a solemn voice.

“Please state your opinion on the motion to dispatch the navy to the Qing Dynasty with Superintendent Charles Elliot and Admiral George Elliot as commanders and to appoint Minister of Foreign Affairs Killian Gore as the chief negotiator.”

“Aye!”

As soon as the Speaker finished speaking, the majority of the parliamentarians expressed their approval in unison, and the word ‘nay’ was hardly heard.

The Speaker, judging that there was no need to listen carefully to which opinion was more numerous, decided to pass the Cabinet’s resolution.

Finally, the inevitable war between the strongest power in Europe and the strongest power in the East began.

* * *

The rumor that the Qing Dynasty was at war with the English quickly spread through the north to the distant land of Joseon [historical Korean kingdom].

From the Qing’s point of view, which did not know what kind of relationship Joseon and the English had, it was necessary to block Joseon’s intervention in advance.

Some of the troops located in Liaodong [a province in Northeastern China] moved to the border with Joseon as if to warn them, and the Joseon court was completely turned upside down by the unexpected commotion.

The officials of the Six Ministries [the six main administrative divisions of Joseon] were busy finding out where the English were located and how much national power they possessed, and they were focusing all their attention on the movements of the Qing Dynasty.

“The Qing Dynasty is at war with the Westerners, but why are they sending troops to the border?”

“Surely they don’t think we’re going to side with the Westerners and attack the Qing, do they?”

“I don’t know what they think of us to show this kind of behavior.”

“Even if it’s the Qing, shouldn’t we protest this? It seems that they still believe that a Westerner named Killian Gore, who is a minister, has a close relationship with us.”

As fierce discussions continued day after day, these news naturally reached the ears of the Jongchin [relatives of the royal family] in the outposts.

Heungseon-gun, Yi Haeung, who was organizing the list of royal Jongchin, was no exception.

“The Qing Dynasty is at war with the Westerners?”

“Yes. And the Qing Dynasty is moving troops because they are afraid that we will join forces with the Westerners to attack them. So, the court is completely turned upside down, they say?”

“I’ve heard similar stories, but was that not just a rumor and was it real?”

“That’s right. Isn’t that really absurd? Moreover, this is not the first time, but last time they even demanded that we provide information because they suspected that a person named Killian Gore, one of the leaders of the Westerners, was born in Joseon. The court seems to suspect that the Qing has other ulterior motives in wanting from this side.”

One of the leaders of the Westerners was born in Joseon, this was not some bad joke.

Even to Yi Haeung, that word seemed close to the Qing’s insistence on somehow finding fault with this side and extorting something.

“There are several forces of Westerners, but who are the Qing at war with?”

“They say it’s the English, and they are said to be the best among the many Westerners.”

The official of the Military Affairs Command who delivered the news told him how the Qing came to wage war with a country called the English as it was known.

“Huh… If that’s really true, then those English people seem to have a point. If their own merchants were harmed, it’s natural to take action. But coming to war in a land that takes months to reach by ship doesn’t seem like a very smart idea?”

“That’s right. If they come such a long way, they’ll be exhausted and won’t be able to fight. Why wouldn’t they be called barbarians? They’re just reacting emotionally, saying they’re angry so they have to fight.”

“Well, even if I hear that the Qing is not like it used to be, the dynasty of the Middle Kingdom will not fall to the Westerners who came by ship for half a year.”

Come to think of it, someone’s memory of how technically advanced the Westerners were in the past flashed through his mind.

He doesn’t even remember what he looked like or what his name was, but he remembers that he was definitely of Western descent.

What did he say?

He doesn’t remember the exact details, but it seems that he said that if the technology of the Westerners is despised, the Qing or Joseon could suffer great harm, just like when the Middle Kingdom was captured by the northern nomadic peoples in the past.

Yi Haeung, who recalled his memories from when he was young, lightly clicked his tongue and smiled.

No matter what, there’s no way the Qing will lose.

He had no doubt that within a year, news would come that the English soldiers had been crushed by the Qing and driven out.

‘Come to think of it, I wonder if that guy is still alive.’

No matter how much he thinks about it, he can’t remember his face or name at all, but he suddenly wondered if that slave was doing well.

He heard that he had left somewhere when he was young, so even if he was alive, he probably wouldn’t be able to see him in Joseon.

The bizarre experience he had when he was young.

For Yi Haeung, that day’s meeting had only this level of meaning.