I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 92

The Bombshell Declaration

[If the potato blight spreads, regions that rely on potatoes as a staple food will inevitably suffer devastating damage.]

Therefore, I will form a commission to investigate the actual conditions of the potato blight and establish countermeasures.”

The House of Lords did not object to the decision from the House of Commons, and the related laws were passed in an instant.

In fact, looking at the announcement alone, everyone knew which regions relied on potatoes as a staple food.

No matter where you looked in England, Wales, or Scotland, there was nowhere where the vast majority of people depended solely on potatoes for their livelihood.

Those who secretly thought there was no need to provide so much support for Ireland seemed bewildered by this unexpected result, unsure of what to do.

They had expected the House of Lords to send the bill back at least once or twice, but they never imagined it would pass as is.

The commission was largely divided into two groups.

One group would analyze the agricultural conditions and population structure of Ireland and establish countermeasures locally, while the other would go to the New World to investigate the actual conditions of the potato blight.

Of course, all members of both groups would be appointed with my strong influence.

But no matter how much I follow procedures like this, there will always be those who are dissatisfied.

‘Why should precious taxes go to those Irish beggars? Shouldn’t we just let them starve to death?’

Surprisingly, there were quite a few people who thought this way, enough to form a significant force.

So, I also passed a bait to divert their attention elsewhere.

It was the opium merchant crackdown.

-A terrifying drug that paralyzes human reason: The side effects of opium.

-Ten reasons why opium is more harmful to the body than whiskey.

-Shocking! Opium merchants caught plotting to monopolize war reparations.

As if by agreement, news articles attacking opium merchants began to appear in all newspapers, regardless of whether they were pro-Conservative or pro-Whig, and most people were more interested in these sensational topics than the Irish issue.

When life is tough and difficult, there is always a need for a unilaterally bad guy to whom you can direct your anger.

In particular, the part about using the reparations obtained from the war with Qing China [historical name for China under the Qing dynasty] to cover their own losses provoked the public’s anger.

“Why should the reparations our soldiers earned with their blood and sweat go into the hands of those drug dealers! This is absolutely unacceptable!”

“Did you think our son enlisted in the army to help you bastards?”

“The Times says those guys are trying to bring opium into the country now?”

“What? Are you crazy? The government should protect citizens from opium!!!”

In the original history, it happened a little later, but when they were unable to sell opium to Qing China, some of it flowed into Britain.

I needed to catch them from now on so that such a thing would not happen, and I could also use it as bait for public opinion, so it was a win-win situation.

But it wasn’t all good just because everything was going according to plan.

-Is the Whig Party okay as it is?

This was the title of today’s editorial in the Morning Chronicle, a pro-Whig newspaper.

I picked it up, drawn in by the eye-catching title that made me wonder if the writer was someone of note, but the content itself had quite a few noteworthy points.

-To keep the Conservative Party in check, the Whig Party needs to secure a threatening number of seats. However, the current Whig Party is only proving day after day that it does not have both the will and the ability to regain power. Their ability to select agendas in the House of Commons is also inferior to that of the Conservative Party. The author does not support either the Conservative Party or the Whig Party, but I have always felt that the values the Whig Party has pursued so far are meaningful.

However, the current Whig Party is far behind the Conservative Party. Even in the war with Qing China, the Conservative Party cabinet achieved a successful victory while completely excluding opium, which could be considered a moral weakness of the British Empire. In addition, they brought enormous benefits to the country based on their amazing diplomatic skills.

I never thought that the Morning Chronicle, which mainly publishes pro-Whig articles, would publish such a critical article about the Whig Party.

At this point, I should see that even the current Whig Party supporters are urging the party to awaken.

-The same goes for the subsequent political situation. While seeking ways to reform Ireland’s agricultural structure, the Conservative Party sensitively recognized the impact of the potato blight just by hearing rumors about it. However, the Whig Party only showed a 모습 of being dragged along without even unifying their opinions here.

Even the opium issue, which is currently causing anxiety among citizens, is being led by the Conservative Party. Some may say this: What can you do when you don’t have enough seats? But not having enough seats has nothing to do with having insight into social problems.

The next election is already a hopeless fight, and we have to aim for the next or the one after that, but will it be a fight then? There is too much difference not only in the leadership of the current leadership but also in the presence of young people who will be responsible for the future. The Conservative Party has Charles Wellesley, Disraeli, and Killian Gore. But does the Whig Party have young politicians comparable to them? We need to think deeply about this from now on.

However, what the writer of this editorial saw in today’s newspaper was only an article about the internal strife between Lord Palmerston and John Russell of the Whig Party over the regulation of opium merchants. I will replace all explanations with this.

Wow, this guy really knows how to roast a person, no, a party.

Still, it seems like an editorial that you can’t write unless you have some affection, and I could easily imagine how heated the writer must have been while writing this.

But such trivial impressions were completely washed away from my mind the moment I saw the name of the person who wrote this article.

“Hoping that the two parties will engage in good-faith competition to make this country even more beautiful. Charles Dickens······.“

I never thought I would accidentally see an article by the most popular writer of the Victorian era and one of the best writers in the entire history of British literature.

Dickens is already receiving rave reviews as a genius who has captured both artistry and fun by making Oliver Twist a huge hit a few years ago.

Seeing my name plastered in an editorial written by such a person makes me feel both pleased and embarrassed.

I should get a signed hardcover copy when I actually meet him later.

Anyway, is it because he is a great writer who is interested in social issues? He is still young, but he certainly has insight.

As Dickens’ editorial said, the Whig Party is now virtually uncompetitive compared to the Conservative Party.

Perhaps when the next election is held, most of the seats they are barely holding on to now will be lost?

Considering that the House of Lords is also dominated by the Conservative Party, it means that even if the Conservative Party’s opinions are somewhat divided, there will be no difficulty in passing the laws they want.

This was not a good situation for me.

“I shouldn’t be seeing a picture where they can secure a majority even without excluding Ireland······.”

The most ideal situation is that no one secures a majority of seats, and the Whig Party has slightly more seats than the Conservative Party.

But looking at the current situation, I can’t even dream of such a thing, and I have to worry about the Conservative Party taking almost all the seats.

It’s good to do a good job, but they did too well.

Above all, it was a big problem that the competitors were not exerting enough power.

I grabbed the weaknesses of Lord Melbourne or Russell to use them later, but instead of opening them up, I had to cheer them on to put in more effort.

In 10 years at the latest, I will have firm control over Ireland and Canada, and Wellesley will be able to dominate the House of Commons.

Until then, the Whig Party needs to play the role of a threatening opposition party, but it’s not working out, so I have a headache.

“I think I need to balance things out a bit, but what would be good?”

Should I send some of the prominent members of this side along when I wipe out the opium cartel [a group of businesses or nations that collude to manipulate the price of a particular product]?

No, even if I do that, given the current situation, there will be praise for Robert Peel’s leadership, who coldly cuts off even his own party.

What’s a clever way to weaken the Conservative Party’s prestige and give strength to the Whig Party without harming me?

As I was lost in thought for a moment, the person I was supposed to meet today opened the door and came in.

“Killian. Are you inside?”

“Yes. Come in. It’s been a while since we’ve had a conversation alone, senior.”

“Hahaha, are you still calling me senior?”

“Once an alumnus, always an alumnus.”

Gladstone, a grateful senior who gave me useful information when I was at Eton College [a prestigious boarding school in England], though he doesn’t know it, sat down in front of me with a weak smile.

He pointed to the newspaper with Charles Dickens’ editorial on the desk and asked.

“Did you see that too?”

“The most famous writer in the current British Empire is harshly criticizing the Whig Party, so I can’t help but see it.”

“Yes. You were mentioned there as a promising young politician of the Conservative Party.”

Come to think of it, Gladstone’s name didn’t come up.

In some ways, he might be a little 존심 [Korean term for pride or self-esteem].

No. He must have been.

“They probably just wrote down a few names that came to mind due to space issues. My name has been frequently mentioned in the newspapers these days, so it would have been easy to remember.”

“Whatever it is, doesn’t it come to the conclusion that I don’t have as much presence in the current Conservative Party as you, Wellesley, or even Disraeli? The elders in the party don’t seem to like me very much either.”

“What? Why don’t they like you, senior?”

“Well, it’s probably because I often say the right things and oppose their actions at every turn.”

“Then just ignore the old farts’ nonsense.”

“You can say that because you are the core of the Wellesley faction. But for me, I am in a situation where I am just accumulating 고민 [Korean term for worries or troubles] and unable to find a direction.”

What? As he gets older, Gladstone, who has come to have beliefs that are contrary to the values of the Conservative Party, will never be able to get along with the party’s old farts.

In addition, Disraeli, whose political orientation is also the opposite, is too close to me and Wellesley, so it’s difficult to properly attach himself to this faction, so how much 고민 [Korean term for worries or troubles] must he have?

Gladstone’s powerless eyes turned to me.

“What do you think? If I leave the Conservative Party here······. You would consider me a traitor too, right?”

Gladstone’s 탈당 [Korean term for leaving a political party]?

Looking at the flow of the original history, it wasn’t that shocking, but I had to consider the pros and cons······no, wait.

Saying this directly means that no matter what I do here, the fact that Gladstone has left the Conservative Party will not change.

Besides, wasn’t he 계속 고민 [Korean term for continuously worrying or troubled] until just now?

A way to cut down the prestige of the Conservative Party’s old farts and attach an artificial respirator to the Whig Party.

A very good means has come in on its own. I have to use this.

* * *

Around the time Killian was having a conversation with Gladstone.

The audience room of Kensington Palace.

“Society is very noisy these days, Your Majesty.”

Victoria was listening to the advice of her advisors, which continued every day, with a blank expression.

“The more chaotic society is, the more solid the royal family must be. You have rejected all the marriage proposals that have come in from various places, haven’t you? Is there a reason for that?”

“I don’t see any reason to get married at this point.”

“Your Majesty. However······.”

Seeing the worried faces of the advisors and officials, she felt a surge of annoyance, but she barely suppressed her emotions.

Their claim that the royal family would find stability only when the Queen gave birth to a legitimate heir was not wrong.

“I know that a lot of candidates have been mentioned so far. Are there any of them that Your Majesty has been interested in?”

“If there were, wouldn’t I have refused?”

In fact, if you look at them one by one, most of them were not lacking in conditions.

Since they were the ones who were nominated as candidates to become the Queen’s partner, how great would their status be?

Even if I only pick out the ones I remember, they all had amazing backgrounds.

First, Prince Alexander of the Netherlands.

As the second son of the King of the Netherlands, it would have been possible to form a personal union if things went well, but I didn’t feel any romantic interest at all.

Then, Duke William of Brunswick was also proposed as a suitable husband, but he was immediately eliminated based on his appearance.

The same goes for Prince Ernest of Leiningen, Prince George of Cambridge, and the French royal family.

What kind of marriage are you talking about when there is no man who meets any of the criteria except that their status is noble?

If someone more handsome, more capable, and more caring than Killian appears, I might consider it, but if there is no such person, the answer will always be the same.

However, if I keep rejecting marriage proposals, it won’t look good, and the advisors will nag more, so it seemed necessary to block the marriage itself from the source so that it wouldn’t be mentioned at all.

Those who are urging marriage, saying that the country’s situation is like this, seem to be overlooking the fact that the ability to justify actions with the national situation is not their exclusive patent.

Above all, who did I learn from by watching from the side? How dare you try to attack me with 말빨 [Korean term for persuasive speaking skills or rhetoric].

“I understand your concerns. But unless I already have someone to marry, I would have to look for a husband from now on, and that would be quite a hassle, wouldn’t it?”

“That’s true, but if it’s someone who will become Your Majesty’s partner, they will naturally have to go through a rigorous investigation······.”

“Due to the economic recession that started in the New World several years ago, the country suffered great damage, and there are still many citizens who are suffering. Even in the meantime, the home country sent troops to Asia to fight a war, and now society is noisy, saying that there will be a great famine in Ireland and that a large amount of drugs may enter the country.”

“Yes, yes, so the royal family should stand firm······.”

“No, it’s the opposite. How can the Queen leisurely date and live a life completely detached from the suffering citizens when the country is in such chaos?”

Now is the time.

It’s time to throw a hidden card that can put a shackle on the mouths of the marriage nags and raise the popularity of the royal family at once.

Victoria continued to speak to the bewildered people in a firm voice that left no room for compromise.

“I declare. I, Victoria, will not turn a blind eye to the suffering of the citizens until all the domestic problems are stabilized!”

“······Yes? Th, that means······.”

“Yes. At least until all these problems are settled. I will share the suffering with the citizens with the mindset that I am married to this British Empire.”

So, anyone who brings up marriage here without being aware of the situation is a shameless person who doesn’t care about the safety of the people.

Now that I have blocked their mouths with such a perfect justification, everyone will be eagerly waiting for a prince on a white horse to change the Queen’s mind as time goes by.

Victoria’s eyes sparkled with a sense of victory as she looked down at the faces of the dumbfounded advisors.