Chapter 67
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: Messenger of Peace
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I was silent the entire way back from Buckingham.
James, who had been watching me quietly, asked cautiously.
“Young Mas… No, my lord. Has something happened?”
“That depends on how you look at it.”
“It can’t be about the title. Is it the vice minister position?”
“Yes. Those bastards made a huge mess and are now asking me to clean it up for them.”
“That must have felt awful.”
It was more than awful.
I had always thought I would go to Asia eventually.
As long as the British Empire continued its expansionist policies, a clash with Asia was inevitable.
Especially when competing for interests with nations like France or Russia, my very existence could be a significant advantage.
The higher my station, the more it would change how Asian nations viewed the British Empire.
But the timing couldn't be worse.
The relationship between the Qing Dynasty and Britain had passed the point of diplomatic resolution long ago.
Perhaps five years ago, it might have been different, but with events unfolding just as they did in the original history up to 1838, war was now unavoidable.
Opium was merely the catalyst that led to war, not the root cause that made it inevitable.
In the end, Robert Peel didn't genuinely want me to improve relations with the Qing Dynasty.
He wanted to be able to say he tried everything, even taking the unconventional step of appointing someone of Asian descent, but the barbaric Qing Dynasty refused to talk, leaving him no choice.
He was setting up an excuse like that, and at the same time, it was likely a move to tame me, given my recent string of successes.
Because I appeared so confident at the end, he seemed uncertain, but he surely didn't trust me completely.
To be honest, I had no intention of resolving this issue amicably either.
No, I lacked the ability to do so in the first place, and I don't enjoy recklessness enough to throw myself into an impossible task.
“James, what do you think? You must have heard a lot from the information coming in from the detective agency and from running the businesses. Do you think this country will go to war with the Qing?”
“From the year before last until last year, I understand the prevailing sentiment was that war was unthinkable. But now, with the Qing moving to completely ban and confiscate all opium, voices are slowly emerging that we must force a path open, even if it means war.”
“Who are the ones making such claims?”
“The leaders of the East India Company are the most prominent. Although they've lost their monopoly on Asian trade, their share of the opium trade is still substantial. Most importantly, the price must have plummeted at the opium auctions in Calcutta, and all of that would have turned into losses. It would be strange if they weren't seeing red.”
From a third party's perspective, it looked like a drug dealer getting angry after being caught, but to the merchants, the only thing that mattered was the fact that they've incurred massive losses.
After the East India Company's trade monopoly with the Qing was abolished in 1834, numerous private merchants jumped into the opium trade.
Nevertheless, the opium they sold was produced by the East India Company in India, creating a kind of symbiotic relationship between the company and the drug merchants.
But now that the Qing has started cracking down on opium, what was going to happen?
They needed to auction off the opium to merchants in India, but since it wasn't selling at all, their dead stock just kept piling up.
“Among those lobbying Parliament for a quick solution, they must be the biggest players.”
“Yes. If the announcement is made that you've been appointed vice minister, my lord, they'll likely visit you immediately.”
“Not vice minister, minister. I told the Prime Minister that if I wasn't given a position of that stature, I wouldn't take the job.”
“A-A minister? Even vice minister would have been a jaw-droppingly unconventional appointment, but a minister… Has there ever been a minister in their teens in the history of the British Empire?”
Of course not. There had never even been a teenage vice minister, let alone a minister, in British history.
There hadn't been one until now, and there probably never will be again.
“I need a title like this so I won't be dismissed with a 'what does a young pup like him know?'”
“But a minister is ultimately the one in charge of foreign policy. The fact that you wanted such a position, my lord, suggests you have a brilliant plan to resolve the current situation…”
“I have a rough idea. For now, shortlist some people who can keep their mouths shut and look into whether there are any opium companies whose names we can acquire. In the current situation, there must be plenty of private merchants looking to close up shop, so we should be able to get a company name for a pittance.”
“You're planning to have our people pose as opium merchants, I see. I'll arrange it at once.”
Now that I had come of age, James had become completely independent and separated from the House of Aaron.
Still, it had been less than a year since our paths diverged, so to avoid gossip, he used a different company's name when handling matters related to me.
Especially when carrying out a plan like this, which could escalate into a diplomatic issue, he needed to be more cautious than usual.
“Ah, and pull up some files on the key figures in the East India Company. Everyone from the representatives of the board of directors in London now to the officials on site. And if there are any other major merchants deeply involved in the opium trade, even if they aren't with the East India Company, investigate them as well.”
“We already have all the data on the East India Company side. I will look into the local side a bit more and then submit a report.”
There were many reasons why there had been no real progress on this matter and why it had only worsened, but one of them was the incredibly complex web of vested interests.
The British Parliament, the East India Company, the private merchants, and the Qing Dynasty.
With only people unwilling to take a loss, how could a compromise ever be reached?
But in the way of the world, if someone profits, someone else must inevitably lose.
A world where everyone is happy does not exist.
And if someone had to take a loss, it should be the ones who were of no use to me.
***
The mega-corporation that once monopolized trade with India and still wielded immense influence over its governance.
John Locke, the chairman of the board of directors that ran the East India Company, couldn't hide his bewilderment.
“Foreign Minister? It was absurd enough when it was vice minister, but an 18-year-old brat is a minister of the British Empire? Has this country finally gone to the dogs?”
“He may be a minister, but it's said to be a temporary appointment.”
“Temporary or not, a minister is a minister. For such a young… no, a mere boy to sit at the very top of this country's Foreign Office—does that even make sense?”
In the British Empire, there were no more than twenty positions equivalent to a minister or a similar rank.
Even including positions like the Prime Minister, the Speaker of Parliament, and the Commissioner of Woods and Forests, the total number was still only that many.
As befitting the chairman of the East India Company, John Locke had an extensive information network within Parliament.
So when he first heard that an 18-year-old boy was to be appointed as the Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, he couldn't believe his ears.
Still, if it was a temporary vice minister, he thought perhaps they were just setting up some poor young noble as a scapegoat.
It wasn't as if the British Parliament hadn't resorted to such shallow tricks before, so he thought it was plausible. But the announcement he heard today went far beyond that.
-Killian Gore, the Earl of Aaron, will be appointed as Foreign Minister and will handle the diplomatic dispute with the Qing Dynasty as a top priority.
“...Why in the world am I finding out about such a crucial matter from the newspaper? I was told he would be appointed vice minister! How much money have we poured into those Westminster bastards for them to do their job this poorly?”
“They say the Prime Minister abruptly changed course at the last minute. The original plan was indeed for vice minister, but the member slated to be Foreign Minister was shifted to the vacant Minister of Justice position…”
“Just who is this Earl of Aaron that they would go to such lengths for him?”
“He is said to be from a rather prominent noble family in Ireland. And you remember, during the repeal of the Corn Laws, the paper that perfectly proved comparative advantage became quite a topic in academic circles. The Earl of Aaron is said to be the one who wrote that paper.”
The mention of the Corn Laws repeal jogged his memory.
He did recall a stir back then about a young student, not even in university yet, who had perfectly proven Ricardo's theory.
“Is this Earl of Aaron so remarkable that the Prime Minister would back him to this extent?”
“There wasn't much information as he's never been in the public eye before, but upon investigation, his background is quite formidable. First, as I mentioned, his family wields tremendous influence in Northern Ireland and central Ireland. He is also the adopted son of the Duchess of Inverness, who was recently acknowledged as the wife of the Duke of Sussex. Furthermore, Parliament unanimously recommended a new title for him to His Majesty, and His Majesty accepted, creating and bestowing upon him the title of Baron Sudley.”
“Does that mean that although he's an Irish peer, he also holds a seat in the House of Lords?”
The youngest Foreign Minister in history, a member of the House of Lords, and the adopted son of royalty.
A magnate from Ireland, a region that could deliver dozens of seats to the Tory Party, even if it was Ireland.
Looking at it all together, he was by no means a nobleman with a background that could be ignored.
“That's not all. There's also talk that he studied literature with Her Majesty the Queen since childhood. He was recommended to Eton by the Duke of Wellington and is currently said to be part of the faction of the Duke's second son, MP Charles Wellesley.”
“He's certainly got his fingers in a lot of pies. To have been unaware of such a person of interest until now is a major blunder… But honestly, even with all this, I still don't understand the reason for such a drastic appointment as Foreign Minister. Aren't there plenty of others with even more impressive backgrounds?”
“Sir, Killian Gore is said to be of mixed Asian heritage. And since he reportedly spent his childhood there, wouldn't he be familiar with their culture? It seems the Prime Minister valued that aspect highly.”
“Mixed Asian heritage? A member of the British House of Lords?”
“What should we do?”
After a moment of organizing his thoughts, John Locke immediately stood up and gathered his things.
“What do you mean, 'what should we do?' The new Foreign Minister has announced he'll solve the opium problem, so of course, I must go see him myself. You've prepared a gift, I assume?”
“Yes. But this was prepared with the assumption that the Earl of Aaron would be appointed vice minister…”
“Then add some cash… no, stuff it with gold bars.”
He had never met a politician in this world who disliked the shimmering glow of gold.
John Locke and the other executives of the East India Company had always shown such material sincerity whenever a new high-ranking official took office.
It wasn't merely a gift in exchange for favorable treatment.
It was a way to gauge the other party's disposition based on how they reacted to it.
Considering the influence of a Foreign Minister, it was necessary to figure out what kind of person Killian Gore was on their first meeting.
‘Well, no matter how impressive he is, he's still just an 18-year-old kid. A little flattery and fawning, and he'll likely soften up quickly.’
This might be a golden opportunity.
If they could use Killian Gore to minimize their losses—no, go beyond that and win him over, control him as they wished.
It wouldn't be impossible for the East India Company, which had been shrinking ever since losing its trade monopolies with India and the Qing, to signal its resurgence.
He had become a member of the board more than a decade ago, and if you counted from when he first entered the industry, it had been several decades.
His gut, honed by decades of experience in this field, was telling him.
That any fool who missed this opportunity was not qualified to be chairman of the board.
***
Just as James had said, as soon as the announcement of my appointment as Foreign Minister was made, I was flooded with requests for meetings from numerous figures from all walks of life.
My residence was inundated with reservation requests from people asking if they could visit, like a Michelin 3-star restaurant.
Thanks to that, my first duty as minister became the task of screening and selecting the useful ones from the crowd.
The first person I met among them was the one who held the glorious number one spot in line.
John Locke, the chairman of the East India Company's board of directors.
Since the majority of the opium sold to the Qing Dynasty was produced through the East India Company, it was essential to coordinate with them, so I welcomed his visit.
“Minister. I am John Locke, representing the board of the East India Company. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I look forward to working with you.”
I had been curious how he would treat a minister so much younger than himself, but his decades of experience in the industry were evident; he was the very picture of courtesy.
“The pleasure is all mine. I was about to send someone to the East India Company, so I'm grateful that you've come to me first.”
“Grateful? We are the ones who are grateful. We've been having such a headache with the Qing Dynasty, so I cannot tell you how reassuring it is that the new minister will be dealing with this issue as a top priority.”
“I will do my utmost, so I ask for your full cooperation. The people are already suffering from the effects of the recession that began last year, and we cannot allow the Qing Dynasty to trouble us any further. I will deal with this decisively and firmly to create an environment where our merchants can trade with peace of mind.”
“Oh! Does that mean… that the government's policy is to move toward resuming the opium trade?”
It wasn't just the East India Company; merchants in the opium trade were, at this very moment, showering Westminster and Downing Street with enormous sums of money.
But despite that, it wasn't easy to stir up public opinion in favor of war.
Even the British Empire, which feared nothing in the world, could not see the massive Eastern empire of the Qing as an easy opponent.
The Qing Dynasty of now was nothing more than an empty shell, a toothless tiger, but Britain would only become certain of that fact a year later, after the Battle of Chuenpi.
Until then, while they knew the Qing had fallen behind the times and their weaponry was inferior, the prevailing opinion was that as a great power, it still had underlying strength and should not be underestimated.
Even after seeing the Qing's pathetic naval power at the Battle of Chuenpi, the calls for caution did not disappear entirely.
So, at this point in time, no matter how much the opium merchants cried that they must be prepared for war as a worst-case scenario, public opinion was not easily swayed.
And the argument for starting a war because they were upset about their drugs being banned was unlikely to gain much support.
But contrary to that reality, an endless stream of sweet words flowed from my lips.
“We have yet to fully emerge from last year's economic downturn, and the accumulating trade deficit with the Qing is a huge burden on the government. That is why they took the drastic measure of appointing someone as young as me to be minister. Though, of course, I pride myself on being second to none in my knowledge of Asian culture.”
“I see. I, too, heard that you spent your childhood in Asia, Minister.”
“Yes. Thanks to that, I have a firm grasp of how Asians think and operate.”
“Excellent! If you know the enemy and know yourself, you cannot lose a battle, can you? Hahaha, my confidence in you has grown even stronger. So, how can we assist you, Minister, to make your duties even a little easier?”
“First, we need to objectively assess the extent of the damage our merchants are currently suffering. I have a general idea, but we need precise figures to have something to say when we negotiate with the Qing. Please determine how much opium the East India Company produces, how much of it has been exported so far, and the extent of the losses the merchants are facing.”
There are many things in this world that people would not have started so easily if they knew how they would be judged in the future.
The Opium War was not the only example.
If Cao Cao, who boldly declared he didn't care for posterity's judgment, had known he would be cursed for two thousand years for an act of 'great filial piety' on a scale that defied human comprehension.
If Hitler had seen how his name is perceived by people in the 21st century.
Would they still have been able to make the same choices so easily?
Of course, they might have, but it would have at least given them pause, a reason to reconsider.
Even if war was inevitable, the 'drug' aspect must be stripped away from this war as much as possible.
I didn't want to be cursed as a symbol of irredeemable depravity not just 100 years from now, but 200, 300 years into the future.
“Understood. I will gather as much information as possible before you depart, Minister. I will also send letters to India and Guangzhou immediately, so you should be able to receive the data you want as soon as you arrive.”
“Thank you. People like you, Chairman, who strive for this country's economy, are the true patriots.”
“Thank you for your understanding. Ah. It is but a humble gift, but I've brought something for you…”
“Hahaha, you shouldn't have. I would love to accept it, but let's save that for after this matter is concluded. At that time, you can even be a little more generous.”
I might be the one giving bribes, but I had no intention of accepting them and putting shackles on myself.
Besides, unless it was something like a million pounds, this pittance was an insult.
However, Locke, interpreting my words differently, grinned and bowed his head even lower.
“Understood! Then I will at least multiply it several times over and await your return, Minister. I would feel too guilty if I gave you nothing.”
“Then I'll be counting on you.”
He needn't feel guilty; I planned on taking much more from the drug merchants, and not in the form of bribes.
To be honest, if I demanded their gratitude, they would probably bow their heads in submission.
Because once I get to Guangzhou, I intended to take care of everything cleanly—the war as war, and the drugs as drugs.
Then fame and fortune would come rolling in for me from both sides.
And for the British Empire, what could be better than avoiding the accusation of having started a dishonorable war that would be remembered throughout history?
So, East India Company… what can you do? It's come to this.
It’s time for you to make a nice, clean sacrifice.