[British Canada Swallows North America!]
[The British Empire Expands Without End! Russia Chasing Fiercely Behind! Where Should We Head?]
[Russia–Qing Conflict Finally Rising to the Surface? The Balance of Northeast Asia Begins to Shake!]
If Russia was the country whose stomach burned at the British Empire's expansion, there was another nation whose insides twisted in fury at the sight of Russia.
That nation was France.
Just as France had barely managed to catch its breath while dealing with the endless domestic problems that erupted after Napoleon, this was what it saw.
It was already unpleasant enough to fall behind the British Empire.
But now Russia strutted around Europe as if it were the continent's number two power.
For France, which had long exerted enormous influence across Europe as Britain's eternal rival, the situation was intolerable.
And even though its national power had declined somewhat after the Napoleonic Wars, France was by no means weak.
The reason it often appeared passive was simply because domestic political issues held it back.
Even now, France was clearly a great power that did not fall far behind Russia.
At least King Louis-Philippe of France and the officials who supported him firmly believed so.
Had they not annexed Algeria more than ten years earlier?
Even now France continued expanding its colonial presence in Africa.
On top of that, France was pressuring Qing China and was on the verge of ratifying a commercial treaty.
France's confidence continued to rise.
Louis-Philippe himself was known for his generous and gentlemanly character.
But the political forces supporting him insisted that France must pursue a more expansionist course in order to maintain power.
After all, France at the time was a chaotic arena where supporters of constitutional monarchy, absolute monarchy, and democratic republicanism constantly clashed.
Debates erupted endlessly, and violence broke out everywhere.
In such an atmosphere, the only reliable way to stabilize the government was to project the grandeur of France across the world.
"Your Majesty, intelligence that Russia intends to go to war with Qing China has already been confirmed through Britain."
"If we remain idle, Russia will undoubtedly swallow Qing territory."
"Is there no possibility that Qing might defeat Russia?"
"Considering the disgrace Qing displayed in its recent war with Britain, that seems unlikely. If Russia wins here, it will become difficult to stop their expansion into Asia."
"So Russia will begin expanding just like Britain has. What does Parliament think?"
Although political factions in France were deeply entangled and divided, the rise of the British Empire had made everyone impatient.
As expected, Marshal Jean-de-Dieu Soult, Commander-in-Chief of the French army and the current Prime Minister, spoke quickly.
"Parliament agrees that France must respond swiftly. There was no division between parties on that point. I believe we should immediately dispatch a diplomatic envoy to Britain to coordinate our positions."
"But I heard that Britain has already accepted Russia's occupation of Primorye. Does that not mean Britain has no intention of intervening in this war between Russia and Qing? And we ourselves have no justification to intervene either—unless Qing requests assistance."
"That is correct. Sending a fleet to the distant Far East and fighting a bloody war with Russia over land of little value would not be wise. Therefore we should use this opportunity to seize other nations in Asia."
Since becoming Prime Minister, Soult had always been cautious in order to avoid creating political enemies.
But current French public opinion gave him no reason to hold back.
Everyone who disagreed with him was a fool.
Anyone with a different opinion deserved to have their head smashed in.
Such attitudes were common in France at the time.
But even people like that could not tolerate one thing—
France falling beneath the feet of Britain or Russia.
The public mood was simple.
—Look over there! Britain is devouring the entire world, and Russia is following right behind! Are we the only ones falling behind? Let's plant our flag in Africa and Asia first, and argue about politics afterward!
Ironically, the butterfly effect caused by Britain seizing control of the Pacific began appearing across the world much faster than expected.
Whether France became a republic or remained a constitutional monarchy could be decided later.
First France needed to expand its territory as much as Britain or Russia.
Driven by public enthusiasm for expansion, and with Parliament temporarily setting aside internal conflict, France searched eagerly for a country it could intervene in.
The result was clear.
"The Nguyễn dynasty of Vietnam once executed our missionaries in a brutal manner."
"Vietnam is filled with jungles and disease, but its long coastline makes it an ideal base for expansion into Asia."
"Vietnam is technically a tributary state of Qing China, but if Qing goes to war with Russia, it will not have the ability to intervene."
Establishing a base in Vietnam would make it easy to extend French influence across Asia.
And there was already a justification—the brutal execution of missionaries.
More importantly, Britain was currently focused on Canada.
It would not have the spare attention to interfere.
"Then let us immediately send a letter to the Nguyễn court demanding accountability for their past atrocities. We should also inform Britain that our intervention in Vietnam is justified and obtain a promise that they will not interfere. Minister Guizot, could you once again travel to London?"
"Of course. I will depart for London immediately and negotiate with Britain."
Only a week.
The moment news of the Russia–Qing dispute spread, France, which had been waiting for an opportunity, immediately bared its claws toward Asia.
Wow. Just look at how things are unfolding.
The flap of a butterfly's wings in America had turned into a massive typhoon in distant Asia.
To be honest, calling it a butterfly effect was a bit of an understatement.
The British Empire had already seized India.
Now it had swallowed the key regions of North America ahead of the United States.
From the perspective of other great powers, how could they not feel envy and resentment?
I had expected both France and Russia to make moves.
But even I had to admit they were acting a little faster than expected.
Naturally, Parliament in Britain was watching the movements of France and Russia closely, calculating carefully what impact their actions might have.
Even if Russia was allowed to take Primorye, predicting where Russia might move next was extremely difficult.
Especially now that France was trying to dip its fingers into Asia as well.
The heads of British politicians must have been spinning.
Of course, the capable minds of the British Empire would eventually arrive at the best possible answer.
But people always prefer the easier and faster path when one exists.
And when it came to Asia, there happened to be a certain individual in the British Empire whose name came to mind immediately.
So whenever trouble erupted in Asia, people naturally thought of that person.
Sure enough, Wellesley sent a letter almost immediately.
The summary was simple.
Messages were pouring in from Asia, so could I please attend Parliament and share my views?
And since France also wanted discussions regarding the issue, could I handle that as well?
I was already busy enough managing affairs in Canada.
But when the homeland requested my help like this, what could I do?
As a man overflowing with patriotism, I had no choice but to answer the call.
The moment I received the letter, I boarded a ship for London.
By the time I arrived, Parliament was already engaged in fierce debate, and François Guizot, the French Foreign Minister, had already arrived in London.
"So what does France say?"
"What else would they say? They're jealous that we swallowed so much land. They want Vietnam for themselves and want us not to interfere. That's basically the message."
Wellesley looked noticeably more exhausted than before.
It was the first time he had faced a major international crisis since becoming Prime Minister.
How he handled this situation would determine whether his legacy became glory or failure.
"Even if I speak in Parliament, what difference will it make?"
"…Your Royal Highness is extremely popular in Britain right now. China, Canada—every place you have touched has produced tremendous results in a short time. And since it is known that you have royal blood from Asia, people are naturally curious about your opinion."
"I suspect that's not the only reason."
"…No. There is something else."
"Recently the Governor of Shanghai contacted us. Joseon sent a message saying Qing had asked them to dispatch reinforcements, but they lack the capacity. So they asked whether we could mediate with Russia."
When I leaked the information that Russia was aiming for Primorye, I had expected a reaction like this.
But this was almost too predictable.
When I met Kim Jwa-geun before, he seemed quite sharp.
Had I misjudged him?
Or perhaps he was not yet the real power behind the Joseon government.
"What does Parliament intend to do?"
"There is no reason to refuse. We promised not to interfere if Russia had the ability to seize Primorye—but that promise was limited to Primorye. We must prevent Joseon from falling into Russian hands. And most importantly, we have an excellent justification for intervention—Your Royal Highness is said to have royal blood from the Joseon dynasty."
Ah… yes.
That was technically fabricated.
But the best approach here was to maintain a perfectly shameless expression.
After all, I had never explicitly asked anyone to fabricate anything.
"Indeed. Asian societies place great importance on bloodlines. Unlike Europe, where royal families are constantly intermarrying, Asian royal houses represent the identity of their entire nation. If we exaggerate a little, Britain could even be considered a brother nation to Joseon."
"It is only proper that we do not ignore a brother in distress. In that case, let us arrange a non-aggression treaty between Joseon and Russia."
"Yes. Once Russia realizes where Your Royal Highness comes from, they will not wish to point their guns at Joseon. They are not foolish enough to give Britain such a perfect excuse to intervene."
In truth, Russia had no intention of fighting Joseon unless Joseon provoked them first.
So arranging a non-aggression pact would not be difficult.
We would not even need to send troops.
In other words, we could take all the credit without spending a single penny.
"Then we shall inform Joseon that they can rely on us. I will seek Parliament's approval immediately."
"Yes. Tell them that Killian Lee Gore Hanover personally guarantees peace between the two nations."
Saying that name out loud made my skin crawl.
But what could I do?
When it came to matters involving Joseon, that name was an incredibly effective cheat code.
"Wait… come to think of it, perhaps we could involve Japan as well and gain some credit there?"
"No. Since the request came only from Joseon, we will arrange the non-aggression treaty only for them. Naturally Japan will become anxious and ask us to arrange one for them as well."
Before Japan became a great power, its strategy for countering Russia had been to use Joseon as a shield.
If Joseon escaped that role alone, Japan—still weak—would naturally panic.
Rather than offering first, it was better to wait until they came begging.
That way we could extract better concessions.
"Now that you mention it, that makes sense. Then we will wait for Japan to make the first request."
"At that time…"
"Killian Tokugawa Gore Hanover will guarantee peace between Japan and Russia."
"Ah—Tokugawa this time? Hahaha. Understood. I'll make sure they don't get confused."
Wellesley burst out laughing and left the room.
What?
Is it funny that my name changes depending on the country?
What a disrespectful Prime Minister.
Still, I'll forgive him this once.
To be honest, if I saw that name written in an official document, I probably wouldn't be able to stop laughing either.