Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 027
Chapter Title: War and Finance (3)
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In 1721, Britain established the world's first responsible cabinet system, in which the prime minister is accountable to the cabinet.
Robert Walpole, who effectively became the first prime minister, had been overseeing Britain's politics ever since, and it was no exaggeration to call him the core of British power.
This was largely because King George I identified more strongly as the Elector of Hanover, his homeland, than as King of Britain.
The king spent a considerable amount of time in Hanover, allowing Walpole and the Whig Party to build immense power without much interference.
They had managed state affairs smoothly up to now, but recently, his leadership was being put to the test.
In the Westminster Palace, where the House of Commons—led by the prime minister—convened, Secretary at War Henry Pelham summarized a detailed report on the current situation and presented it before the members of Parliament.
"Spain is definitely planning to go to war with us. It wouldn't be surprising if they launched an assault on Gibraltar as soon as the year turns."
By this point, everyone present knew war was inevitable.
Still, the opposition Tory MPs let out loud sighs as if to make a show of it, intent on tripping up the ruling Whig Party.
In the midst of this, Tory heavyweight William Wyndham asked sharply,
"Have you considered how much taxes will rise if we go to war? How much damage will merchants suffer? Isn't this the prime minister's diplomatic failure?"
"Come now! When the Spaniards insist Gibraltar is theirs, what diplomatic miracle are you expecting? If anything, Prime Minister Walpole preventing Austrian intervention in advance is a tremendous diplomatic achievement!"
"Exactly! What's important is discussing how to respond to this crisis, not assigning blame. That serves no purpose."
Faced with immediate rebuttals, the minority Tory MPs fell silent for the time being.
They never truly believed they could hold the prime minister accountable anyway.
"Now, now, everyone calm down. Let's discuss our response first."
As if shaking off the tense atmosphere, Walpole flashed a deliberately relaxed smile and rustled his papers before continuing.
"As the Secretary at War said, Spain is openly concentrating its forces toward Gibraltar. We've made every diplomatic effort to resolve this peacefully, but we've concluded they have no intention of negotiating with us."
No one thought it amiss that those diplomatic efforts included a naval show of force near Spain's South American colonies.
"Won't it be dangerous if they actually attack Gibraltar?"
"I'll explain that."
Henry Pelham distributed documents with simple maps to the MPs, allowing everyone to get a rough sense of how the war might unfold.
"As you all know, Gibraltar is a natural fortress blocked by a massive rock. It's nearly impossible to assault by land, so they'd have to land from the sea—but Spain lacks the guts to engage our navy in battle. That means the front lines will likely stalemate naturally."
"Then there's nothing more to see. Prime Minister, we should reinforce supplies to Gibraltar while having our forces smash every Spanish port in South America."
"That would turn it into a full-scale war. Better to stick to our previous plan: tie down the Spanish fleet. Blockading Porto Bello in Panama will keep their main fleet from crossing to Europe."
The majority of Whig MPs, including Walpole, had no desire for the war to escalate.
However, for every moderate faction, there are always hardliners.
William Pulteney, Walpole's rival within the party and leader of the patriotic hardline faction, had been loudly calling for punishing Spain day after day.
"I understand the prime minister's wish to avoid war, but they might interpret that as a weak response. Isn't that why they're boldly provoking us?"
"Lord Pulteney, that's going too far..."
"It's not. When has Spain ever been the Spain of old? This isn't the 16th century—we have no reason to tolerate their arrogance."
The chamber fell silent for a moment.
No matter how loudly they called for a hardline stance, few MPs truly believed in fighting a full-scale war with Spain.
Even so, many sympathized with the idea of showing Spain the power gap, short of all-out war.
"For now, it seems best to proceed with the Porto Bello blockade we discussed last time, as the prime minister suggests. If Spain still doesn't come to its senses, why not follow Lord Pulteney's advice then?"
"And didn't we just secure a large supply of cinchona bark? From the Elector of Bavaria, was it?"
"Yes. A substantial quantity is coming in via Bavaria and the Netherlands. Our experts are thoroughly inspecting it, so the quality is guaranteed."
They couldn't stop Austria from selling arms to Spain, but securing fever medicine in exchange was far from a loss.
"Ambassador Robinson must have done splendidly. I wondered what would become of him when they demanded we dismantle our intelligence network entirely..."
"He's just cleaning up his predecessor's mess. Ambassador Robinson is doing his utmost."
Having listened to the discussion, Walpole judged that a rough consensus had formed and called for a vote.
"We are a nation of gentlemen. But if they cling to the fanciful notion of reclaiming Gibraltar, we'll have no choice but to show them reality."
Reinforce Gibraltar's defenses and expand supplies.
> Completely blockade Porto Bello using Admiral Francis Hosier's fleet dispatched to South America.
The British House of Commons passed these two measures with overwhelming approval.
At this moment, war had begun.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ For the past few days, the atmosphere in the imperial palace had been utter chaos.
Though it wasn't between neighboring countries or even close ones, a war was still a war.
January 1727. Spain had assembled a large force and artillery units near Gibraltar.
Britain frantically shipped supplies to Gibraltar to bolster its defenses and launched operations across the Atlantic to blockade Spain's galleons—the treasure fleet.
War materiel sold like hotcakes, and merchants, insured against risks, cautiously launched their trade ships with relief at their foresight.
No other nations showed signs of joining yet, but wars between European powers had a way of spreading like wildfire from the slightest spark.
It was only natural, then, that everyone in the Hofburg Palace perked up their ears to international developments, focusing intently on news from the west.
I, too, had been devoting nearly all our lessons with Theresia to this topic lately.
"...So, the outside world is in an uproar, but the war probably won't drag on long."
"That's right. People can't think objectively because of the recent hoarding frenzy and rumors that Austria might intervene."
Thud. Tap. Thud thud.
Theresia barely touched her favorite hot chocolate as she scribbled on paper, racking her brains.
"So, those predicting a bigger war are in for massive losses... right?"
She still wasn't used to using familiar terms in private and would glance at me cutely now and then to gauge my reaction.
"Oh, looks like you can predict that much on your own now."
In truth, the core of this plan went beyond simply raking in fortunes through Wertheimer's insurance company.
Britain's expeditionary fleet would suffer devastating losses to yellow fever anyway, and cinchona bark couldn't cure it.
Moreover, without committing to a fleet battle, Spain couldn't breach Gibraltar—so both blockades were doomed to fail.
Come winter, everyone would realize the war was hopeless, and negotiations would begin.
When that happened, merchants across Europe who had scraped together supplies would face an unavoidable dilemma.
—The war's over, so how do we offload all this excess inventory?
Of course, I'd already sold off my early stockpiles for a tidy profit.
The cinchona bark had been dumped generously via the Elector of Bavaria as cover, and I'd clear the remaining stock within a fortnight.
But those still buying up goods based on fake news of escalation were doomed.
"There'll be a ton of bankruptcies. I hope there aren't many in the Empire..."
"No need to worry. If such people arise, rescuing them is the imperial family's duty. If any merchants in Austria face that risk, I'll buy them out at fair prices—even if it means dipping into my own pockets. Sure, I'll haggle the price down a bit."
"Really? But then Franz takes the loss alone."
"No. By spending like this and spreading the word aggressively, my reputation will soar. As an outsider, I need to win people's favor this way."
We needed to stockpile massive quantities anyway for the coming War of the Polish Succession.
But flaunting it would naturally arouse suspicions that Austria was gearing up for war.
"I've already spoken to His Majesty. Bankrupt merchants would harm the economy and stir unrest, so he'll approve. Probably."
"Of course! Father is always grateful to you, Franz. And war supplies? We'll use them eventually if we stockpile enough. Better us than anyone."
Buying up goods to protect domestic merchants from bankruptcy was above reproach.
Overseas surpluses could be snapped up discreetly through Wertheimer for perfection.
In the end, countless merchants nationwide would have bought war materiel with their own money—on our behalf.
Without letting them go bankrupt, we'd gratefully accept it at minimal cost.
"And one more thing here..."
Knock knock.
"Your Highness Franz, His Majesty summons you."
"Ah, is that so? I'll go right away."
Even my father-in-law couldn't stay predictable.
I'd just thought it was about time—and here the summons came.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Your Majesty, I enter."
"Come in."
Just the two of us in the emperor's study.
No need to explain what a massive privilege a private audience excluding even the chamberlain was—but by now, it felt almost routine.
"I've reviewed the proposal you submitted last time. Mass purchasing surplus goods within the Empire?"
"Yes. Solely to prevent their bankruptcy."
"The reasoning is sound enough. But... do you anticipate another war soon?"
"...I'd prefer it doesn't happen."
"So you expect it will anyway."
The emperor pondered briefly, stroking his chin.
"Right or wrong, since you're using your own funds, I have no intention of interfering. As long as it's only Empire merchants' goods, foreign powers won't complain."
Yes, well... I'll sweep up foreign stocks too, but I won't mention that.
"The real reason I called you is news from Regensburg. I figured responses were due, and it seems they're up to some mischief."
Regensburg.
The city where the Imperial Diet convened—the gathering of the Holy Roman Emperor and the princes' representatives.
Regensburg enjoyed de facto imperial city status as a Free Imperial City, and even now, the emperor's and electors' envoys clashed fiercely there.
A letter from there could only mean one thing.
"Did the Imperial Diet discuss something regarding me?"
"Yes. Apparently, minor talk about your betrothal to Theresia. That's to be expected."
The Imperial Diet was a standing body in near-constant session, so countless topics came under scrutiny.
If the Habsburg-Lorraine union hadn't been raised—as the emperor said—that would be the real oddity.
"But... as you know, the princes don't want the emperor's authority expanding. We anticipated some statement, but they latched onto the Bohemian glass industry expansion."
"Because I've been actively involved in expanding Bohemian glass factories? They see a business led by the imperial betrothed as an extension of imperial influence and want to subtly check it. Correct?"
"...Sigh, yes. They can't openly nitpick the betrothal, so this is their way of pushing back. More Bohemian glass exports mean more passing through other princes' lands, right? So they argue for tariff adjustments—and it's not entirely baseless."
It was clearly a calculated angle of attack.
Bohemian glass exports inevitably crossed other nobles' territories within the Empire, after all.
With eyes fixed on the Anglo-Spanish war, the timing was impeccable too.
"Understood. Then I'll submit my views to the Diet."
"Yes. Write it out in detail, and I'll instruct my proxy to pay special attention."
"No, I'll go to Regensburg and speak in person."
"...You personally? No need for that..."
"On the contrary. Times like these call for humility. And please announce widely that I'm coming."
The Empire's hottest topic—the imperial son-in-law candidate—was heading there. Princes nearby Regensburg would likely attend in person.
A perfect chance to make a strong impression: that Franz Stefan was utterly harmless to the Empire.
The emperor couldn't hide his regret, but I felt elated.
This disunity was the true Holy Roman Empire I remembered.
To truly unite the Empire, I had to rein in not just external foes but this chaotic household first.
And here was the ideal opportunity to button that first step.
I felt genuine gratitude for it.