Chapter 158: The Crown’s Jewels (2)
Chapter 158: The Crown’s Jewels (2)
“An arrangement where we can make money while also putting a leash on the East India Company… I would very much like to hear the details, Minister Guillaume.”
Lord Wellesley leaned toward me with visible interest.
I leaned closer as well and began to speak.
Anyone looking at us from afar would probably think we were plotting some grand scheme.
“First, there is something you must clarify for me.”
“What is it?”
“How many people in the British administration believe, as you do, that the East India Company needs to be put on a leash?”
This had to be confirmed before moving forward. If the administration was satisfied with the company’s current conduct, we might end up doing all the work while reaping none of the benefits.
“At the very least, the Treasury shares my position. Those fellows at the East India Company have caused them no shortage of trouble. As for the Admiralty… well, I cannot guarantee their support.”
Lord Wellesley shook his head several times, as if the matter were not simple.
“Why is that?”
“Well… in my opinion the Admiralty will likely side with the East India Company. Thanks to them, the fleet has expanded rapidly and the number of admiral posts has increased as well. Considering that, one could say the Admiralty is rather pro–East India Company.”
The East India Company’s base was in Bengal, India. In order to protect it, the British Navy had expanded its power far beyond the North Sea it had previously dominated—extending its reach across the Atlantic and into the Indian Ocean, Oceania, and even the Pacific.
It made sense. They were hardly going to bite the hand that helped enlarge their own sphere of influence.
“What about the legislature?”
“Split in half. Those who hold shares in the East India Company and those who do not.”
“Then within the administration, whose influence is stronger—the Treasury or the Admiralty?”
“Evenly divided.”
“Still, half of them are on your side.”
“I suppose that’s fortunate… though it still leaves a bitter taste.”
“Well, a fifty-percent chance of victory is not so bad.”
Lord Wellesley gave a wry smile at my remark.
“But why are you asking all of this?”
“Lord Wellesley, have you ever heard of an ‘affiliate company’?”
“An affiliate company… I cannot say that I have.”
He tilted his head slightly.
“It is a system in which a company that owns more than twenty percent of another company’s shares gains meaningful influence—such as the right to participate in major decisions and to inspect financial statements.”
“I see… but I’m not sure why you bring it up.”
I lowered my voice.
“Because if used properly, it could place a very tight leash on the East India Company.”
“…Oh?”
The weary look of an overworked bureaucrat disappeared from Wellesley’s face. In its place slowly emerged the expression of a seasoned politician who had spent years navigating the Treasury, the administration, and the House of Commons at Westminster.
Ah… politicians are frightening creatures.
But who was I?
I was Guillaume de Toulon—the man who had confronted the king twice at Versailles and even persuaded Robespierre himself.
I stretched my neck and continued.
“Lord Wellesley, has the East India Company issued bonds or shares?”
“Of course. There are about one million pounds circulating in the market.”
“Excellent. Then we should buy all of them.”
I continued.
“And you should establish a tax accounting firm under your name. If you prefer not to appear publicly, simply hold the shares and appoint a professional accountant as the nominal head. In a country with such a developed financial sector as Britain, that should be easy enough.”
“And then we provide funding to the firm in the form of service contracts.”
Lord Wellesley raised the corner of his mouth and nodded with satisfaction, clearly understanding the plan.
Ah, sharp indeed. No wonder the Tory Party supports him.
“The accounting firm will gradually purchase East India Company bonds and shares without attracting attention. Once the holdings reach twenty percent, the firm becomes an affiliate company.”
“And then we could monitor the East India Company not as a government agency, but as a corporate stakeholder!”
“So? Does it not interest you?”
“Not interest me? Of course it does! Do you know what those East India Company scoundrels always say to my friends at the Treasury? They claim that because they are a company rather than a government department, they are under no obligation to follow administrative orders! This is the perfect opportunity to trap them!”
Lord Wellesley burst out laughing before suddenly catching himself.
“…But what benefit is there for you, Minister? I gain the chance to leash the East India Company, but you gain nothing.”
“If you allow me to contribute part of the firm’s capital and hold a share in it.”
“Ah, so that is what you want.”
He nodded in understanding.
If my money were invested in the company overseeing the East India Company, I would naturally acquire shares as well. That would allow me to see whether they were selling materials at fair prices or attempting to overcharge me.
If they tried to overcharge? The firm could simply launch an audit for unfair trade practices.
They would not dare pull the same tricks they once did in Boston against me and the Ears of the Nation.
Of course, I would not gain access to military secrets like saltpeter or gunpowder. I would only see ordinary commercial activities. From the British government’s perspective, there would be nothing to fear.
In short, I would ensure that raw materials reached me at fair prices and could file complaints if necessary, while the British government would finally gain a leash to control the troublesome East India Company.
As for the company’s shareholders sitting in the legislature… that would be Lord Wellesley and the Tory Party’s problem.
Everyone benefits.
“Very well. Then we will establish it as a joint-stock company.”
“You truly are brilliant.”
“Haha, it is thanks to your explanation, Minister.”
We shook hands firmly.
“Let’s make this work, Lord Wellesley.”
“The pleasure is mine, Minister Guillaume.”
“Hohoho!”
“Hahaha!”
Unlike the Teletubby world where everyone laughs happily and declares we are all friends, the real world we live in always contains something called a rival.
Shu and Wei.
Pokémon and Digimon.
Messi and Ronaldo.
Soccer and baseball.
And finally, Britain and France.
Even if I had been invited to Britain as a state guest and now lived comfortably in gloomy London, Britain was still France’s primary hypothetical enemy—and France was Britain’s as well.
If war broke out, Britain would be the nation France prepared to fight, and France would be the nation Britain prepared to confront. After nearly a century of repeated military clashes, this was hardly surprising.
Even now, at this very moment, the counterintelligence headquarters of the National Guard in Versailles and the intelligence division of the British Admiralty in London were probably selecting spies to plant into each other’s vulnerable underbellies.
Of course, financiers might actually enjoy such an atmosphere—people who would sell stocks promising profits from war or bonds tied to national victory.
But as an honest businessman, Guillaume de Toulon, I hated such an environment.
I simply wanted to sip sweet honey safely. I had no desire to crawl into a bloody battlefield.
War drags consumers into the army and ruins the economy. Aside from arms manufacturers, what businessman would welcome that?
And even those arms manufacturers would struggle.
During the last war with Prussia, many of the muskets issued to the National Guard had simply been repaired and hammered together by village blacksmiths.
The industrial capacity required for a full war economy did not yet exist. Proper war industries would not truly emerge until the era of world wars, when transportation, communication, and public consciousness advanced far beyond their current state.
Therefore, the best course was to suppress war as much as possible.
The most reliable deterrent was a shared economic sphere.
Not necessarily a shared currency—but a network of mutual economic interests between France and Britain.
An Edward living in Portsmouth who traded cloth in Calais.
A Pierre in Toulouse who sold his harvested wheat in Britain.
If such relationships multiplied, those very people would become a powerful barrier against war.
When a crisis approached, they would pressure their governments themselves.
Consider the modern world: when extremists shout endless threats of destruction, few people take them seriously—because everyone knows war would destroy the tangled web of mutual interests.
I wanted Britain and France to become like that.
If some anti-French politician in Britain suddenly declared war, he would be pelted with stones by the very citizens whose livelihoods depended on peace.
Economically speaking, when a wealthy nation trades with a poorer one, wealth ultimately flows toward the weaker economy.
That would benefit France.
And it would benefit me.
The British Treasury would probably like it as well, since to them it would simply look like economic prosperity.
“Send a message to Mr. Rothschild and ask him to cross the Dover Strait by ship immediately.”
“Yes, sir.”
If I wished to maneuver against the East India Company while avoiding the watchful eyes of the powerful Baring family, I would need someone truly skilled with money.
A Jew would be perfect.