Chapter 66
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: To a Higher Place (4)
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The stormy year of 1837 passed, and a new year dawned.
It was a January morning, the winter chill still lingering in the air.
I arrived at Buckingham Palace to officially receive my title.
Kensington Palace, where Victoria was currently residing, was too small to host such an event.
For Victoria, it was the first day she would conduct official business at Buckingham Palace. For me, it was the day I would truly begin my life as a peer of the British Empire.
As I waited in the designated room, a herald announced that it was time.
I took a deep breath and stood before the door. The herald gave my formal attire one last check to ensure nothing was out of place.
“The Earl of Arran, Killian Gore, has arrived!”
With the booming announcement, the doors swung open, and a magnificent light from ornate chandeliers and gilded furniture pierced my eyes.
Receiving the gazes of the various members of Parliament and acquaintances attending as guests, I walked confidently toward the throne.
Today, the Queen, dressed in a splendid gown of deep blue velvet, waited with an elegant smile for me to arrive before her.
As I reached the throne and knelt, the locket around her neck became even more vivid.
Victoria looked down at me for a moment before slowly drawing a jewel-encrusted sword and rising from her seat.
“In the name of our great kingdom, and by the grace of God, I, Queen Victoria, do hereby recognize the noble achievements and unwavering devotion of this loyal servant. I now name you Baron of Sudley.”
Tapping the sword on each of my shoulders with a practiced motion, she met my gaze and spoke in a solemn tone.
“May your steadfast efforts and service to our kingdom be an example to many.”
And so, Killian Gore, the Earl of Arran, had now earned the right to enter Parliament, the very heart of Britain.
Clap, clap, clap.
As I rose to my feet, a wave of applause filled the hall.
The Royal Orchestra began to play, and the ceremony transitioned smoothly into a commemorative banquet.
After a brief conversation, Victoria moved on to chat with high-ranking officials, and a crowd of people swarmed me to offer their congratulations.
“Well, I knew this day would come. Congratulations.”
“Finally, Young Ma—no, my lord, you are entering Parliament. To be honest, this should have happened long ago. For a man like you not to be involved in the affairs of state is a national loss, a national loss indeed.”
“That is far too kind of you. In any case, thank you.”
“It’s no overstatement. Still, thinking back, it feels surreal. I remember saying that I would enter the Commons and you, the Lords, and we would rise together. To think that goal has already been achieved.”
“Lord Wellesley, it is not achieved. From this moment on, it truly begins.”
As Wellesley, who had comfortably won re-election, and Disraeli laughed and chatted beside me, the attention of those around us quickly shifted.
“Is the Earl of Arran close with Charles Wellesley?”
“Did you not know? It was the Duke of Wellington who sponsored the Earl of Arran to attend Eton.”
“Then should we consider the Earl of Arran a member of the Wellesley faction?”
“It would seem so… The Wellesley faction’s power will grow even stronger.”
“I also heard that the Earl of Arran was adopted by the Duchess of Inverness, the First Lady of the Bedchamber. Doesn’t that connect the Wellesley faction to the Royal Family?”
The murmurs grew louder.
As vast as the British Empire was, its political circle, where the uppermost echelons of society gathered, could hardly be called wide.
Nearly everyone knew each other through one connection or another, and even when new faces appeared, they were mostly of the same old cloth.
Therefore, when a relative newcomer like me, one with a known past, made a formal debut, it was inevitable that I would draw countless eyes and, naturally, arouse suspicion.
What to do in such a situation?
The answer was to align myself with the scion of a powerful and established noble family, like Wellesley.
The very reason I had approached and vigorously supported him was that I needed a bulwark to shield me from the ungentlemanly conduct of these British gentlemen when I entered politics.
Wellesley, of course, was not deaf to the whispers around us. He feigned a casual sip of his drink while gauging my reaction.
This should be enough.
Judging that we had drawn sufficient attention, I gave him a subtle nod. Wellesley let out a hearty laugh, loud enough for all to hear.
“Yes, yes! Don’t you worry. Even in the House of Lords, you have my father, who is quite fond of you. Just keep trusting me from now on. It is my duty to take responsibility for and look after a young politician like yourself.”
“Thank you. As I have always done, I will continue to trust and follow you, Lord Wellesley.”
“Hahahaha! Just follow along with a peaceful heart.”
The eyes that had been watching me shifted their focus back to Wellesley, their expressions now reflecting an understanding of ‘as expected.’
It was not at all strange for the son of Arthur Wellesley, now a third-term MP with considerable experience, to form his own faction.
Of course, it was true that he commanded a significant following, so we weren’t spreading false information.
I just needed them to believe this for about five more years.
After that, I would no longer need to be so mindful of their gazes.
***
The peerage ceremony concluded with great success.
“Hahaha. Congratulations, Lord Arran. It seems we’ll be seeing each other often in Westminster starting this year.”
“I can’t formally speak or vote just yet, though.”
“That is true. Which is why I’ve created an opportunity for you to gain more experience. I hear Her Majesty has already spoken to you.”
The only blemish on the day was Robert Peel approaching me with a wide grin as soon as the event ended, clearly intending to get under my skin.
Surely he didn't actually think he had done me some great favor, did he?
“I did hear, but frankly, I was rather dumbfounded. I became the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs without even knowing it. It must be a rare experience that no one else has ever had.”
“My apologies if you were taken aback. Things were moving so quickly that I must have forgotten to tell you.”
Forgetting to ask the person involved… He lied with such audacity that I didn't even have the heart to call him out on it.
I knew exactly why he was doing this.
This wasn't a few years ago; it was 1838. Who could confidently step forward to untangle the hopelessly snarled diplomatic mess between Britain and the Qing Dynasty?
Anyone who claimed they could was likely completely ignorant of Asia.
Robert Peel must have figured I would likely refuse if he asked, so he just went ahead with it.
“Prime Minister, if I were to say I lack the confidence, could this decision be reversed?”
“Of course, it could. Though it has the approval of the opposition, the House of Lords, and Her Majesty herself, we cannot force an unwanted position upon someone. Ah, but Her Majesty did seem to have great faith in you…”
Listen to the way he talks. Why doesn't he just threaten me with a sword?
“No, I know I have no choice but to accept, even without such measures. What can I do? It already has Her Majesty’s consent. However, I would like to hear in more detail why you recommended me.”
“The Duke of Wellington once mentioned it. He said you are not only fluent in the Qing language but also well-versed in their culture. I also heard you yourself expressed a desire to be active in diplomacy one day?”
I did say that, yes. But I was talking about normal diplomacy and negotiations, not wading in to clean up a mess that had already gone to ruin.
“So, Prime Minister, do you believe the Foreign Office can improve the current situation through effort? I need your honest opinion on this.”
“Well… it is certainly difficult. But some have pointed out that the situation has deteriorated because the representatives we’ve sent so far have been too ignorant of Qing culture and etiquette. So, there is considerable hope that someone like you, who is well-versed in the local culture, might bring about a different result.”
“Considerable hope?”
“Of course. The fact that not only the ruling party but also the opposition actively supported this should tell you I am not lying.”
From my own investigation, I had a good idea why both parties were engaging in this foolishness.
Was it a patriotic concern for the trade deficit with the Qing?
Sympathy for the locals and merchants suffering in the Qing Dynasty?
Of course not. It was all wrong.
The main reason was that the merchants who were raking in enormous profits from the drug trade in the Qing Dynasty were currently funding the Parliament and the Cabinet with vast sums of money.
As absurd as it sounds, this was the state of the British Parliament and its politics on the eve of the Opium War.
No matter how accustomed I had become to this era, I still found it hard to comprehend their outrage at being banned from selling drugs in another country.
To British politicians, as long as the drug didn't enter and circulate within their own country, what did it matter? But I knew very well how this event would be recorded in the future.
Even people in the modern era who are critical of China unanimously condemn Britain for the Opium War.
No matter the potential gains, I had no desire to be recorded in the history books as a symbol of infamy, cursed for centuries to come.
“Prime Minister, before I can do anything, I need to know exactly what the government and Parliament are thinking. Is the British Empire prepared to go to war with the Qing Dynasty?”
“War is the last resort. But if it is the only way, we will have to put it to a vote in Parliament.”
“So you are, in fact, willing to try for a diplomatic solution first. However, what they want is an immediate halt to our opium sales. Are you prepared to do that?”
“Of course, it is not unreasonable for the Qing to implement such a policy. But if we were to meekly comply, our merchants would suffer astronomical losses. How could we possibly allow that? If the Qing Dynasty were to repeal its prohibition on opium, we could return to our previous relationship. Why not focus your efforts in that direction?”
In truth, Britain had not initially intended to profit by selling opium to the Qing.
The original plan was to export cotton goods, whose production costs were falling due to mechanization, and rake in a tidy sum of silver.
However, Britain had overlooked one thing.
The machine tools of the era, not yet advanced to 20th-century levels, were no match for the cottage industries of the Qing, which could throw an endless supply of labor at production.
Coupled with a surge in British demand for tea from the Qing, the trade deficit only worsened with each passing year.
The solution to this problem was the East India Company’s policy of exporting opium, as they held the monopoly on Britain’s Asian trade at the time.
But what sane country would stand by while another nation flooded its shores with drugs?
From 1837, the year of Victoria’s accession, the Daoguang Emperor of the Qing began to aggressively crack down on opium, and the British merchants’ trade balance once again plummeted.
Given this situation, his suggestion to “try and work things out diplomatically” by getting them to lift the opium ban made it hard to tell if he genuinely thought it was possible or was just trying to screw me over.
It wasn't like I could use mind control or hypnosis.
Or perhaps… that was it. A scenario naturally formed in my mind.
By appointing the Earl of Arran—a man of Asian descent and an expert in Qing culture—as the head of diplomacy, a dramatic change in the current situation would be expected.
If they spread such rumors, perhaps the nosediving stock prices of the drug companies would stop falling.
If they rebounded somewhat, the investors could cut their losses and minimize the damage. It would also serve as a gesture to the cartels funding them that they were doing their best.
And if things went south, they could just say they tried every possible method and it couldn't be helped, right?
Or maybe this whole thing was a prelude to war.
Whatever the case, the unchangeable fact was that they were trying to use my heritage for their own convenience.
In that case, wouldn't I be justified in acting solely for my own benefit?
“Prime Minister, as you know, I was born in Joseon, not the Qing Dynasty. If they find that out, they are more likely to look down on me than respect me. At best, their reaction would be something like, ‘Oh, how curious.’”
“Perhaps, but wouldn't they feel more of a kinship with you than with us?”
“And to make the Son of Heaven—the Qing Emperor—reverse an order he has already given, I would absolutely need to meet and negotiate with him directly. But to meet the Emperor, one must perform the three kneelings and nine kowtows, which our representatives have refused to do until now, citing that it would damage the dignity of the British Royal Family.”
“I recall hearing about that. What was it? A barbaric greeting of kneeling three times and kowtowing nine times?”
While it was standard etiquette for the Son of Heaven, the center of the celestial order in Asia, Britain saw forcing such a greeting on another nation as an outrageous act of tyranny.
But if they couldn't even agree on etiquette, what kind of diplomatic solution could they possibly achieve?
“I have agreed to take on this task, but that was assuming these basic policies were already decided. Whether following the etiquette demanded by the Qing damages the dignity of the British Royal Family, what our maximum concessions can be—if there is no consensus on even these fundamental issues, then I will not accept the position of Under-Secretary, even with Her Majesty’s consent.”
I wasn’t just stubbornly refusing. I was framing it as the Parliament and Cabinet being so hopelessly incompetent that failure was a foregone conclusion, making it impossible for me to accept even if I wanted to. This way, I would take no damage.
If anything, the Prime Minister and the MPs of both parties would be the ones covered in filth.
“Hahaha, surely you don't think I would saddle you with such a heavy burden without providing even that basic level of cooperation? This is perfect. Take this opportunity to tell me what you want. I will grant you anything.”
“Thank you. In that case, trusting in your sincere desire to resolve this issue, I will speak plainly. First, as I just mentioned, please grant me full authority to review all matters of diplomacy and etiquette before my departure for the Qing.”
“That is not difficult. I will arrange a meeting this very week.”
“And while Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs is certainly an unconventional appointment for someone my age, it is not enough. For the trip to the Qing, at least, please elevate my position to that of the highest authority in the Foreign Office. Only then can I instill in them the perception that I am negotiating as a representative of this nation.”
For a young man like me to make a show of authority, I needed a corresponding title to back it up.
Under-Secretary was a high rank, but it was still number two in the department, not number one.
There was a high probability the Qing would see me as a powerless upstart.
“Then I would have to give you the post of Secretary… But even Under-Secretary makes you the youngest in history. Secretary is a bit much.”
“Then simply leave the Secretary position vacant and give me a suitable title like Acting Head or Acting Authority.”
“If we’re going to do that, it would be better to just give you the post of Foreign Secretary, even if temporarily. But you do realize that if the results are meager after all this extensive support, it will be a blow to you, don’t you? And not just you—I, who supported you, will also face criticism.”
“Do not worry. I can assure you, there is no one in the British Empire who knows the Qing better than I do.”
At my confident declaration, the Prime Minister’s face brightened.
“Then I will revise the cabinet appointments as soon as I return. The youngest Secretary in history… Parliament and the government are in for a shock.”
Good, good.
I was going to clean up the mess they made anyway; I might as well get a decent title out of it.
And while I said I would solve the problem, Prime Minister, I never once said I would solve it in the way our cartel friends desire.
I will act to secure the greatest benefit for the British Empire, but that doesn't necessarily mean it will benefit the current establishment.
You're the ones who made the mess in the first place, so why should I be the one to strain?
You all keep straining. I’ll just flush and collect the cash.