The Joseon Prince Went To America And Didn’t Return – 137



< The country where the sun never sets (3) >

Churchill was British but I knew him very well.

World history class time.

Because he is one of the most mentioned politicians in the World War section.

‘He was one of the leading figures in discussions on the post-war world order in Yalta Ukraine.’

Roosevelt Stalin Churchill.

I remember these three getting together and drawing up a big picture.

‘That guy is coming to see me. What a jackpot.’

Of course the current British Prime Minister Herbert Asquith is also important.

Churchill is a man who will become a giant in the future.

I was inwardly cheering and admiring the Baron’s talent for getting things done as it was clear that he would be a great help to me.

‘but….’

You shouldn’t be too happy.

If I show my cards the cunning baron might play some strange moves again.

“well.”

First I decided to answer the Baron’s question.

“I really don’t know. I thought I knew most politicians but it seems his political experience is shorter than I thought.”

“Yes. As I said earlier he is a person who has recently entered politics so the prince who was active in the United States may not be familiar with him.”

“I see.”

I nodded my head slightly with a pleased expression.

“Anyway… thank you for going through all this trouble for me.”

“no.”

The Baron instead praised my actions and made me feel embarrassed.

“It would have been more convenient to go to Berlin after arriving in The Hague… But considering our relationship why didn’t you stop by England first rather than Germany?”

“Yeah that’s true.”

“Considering the prince’s consideration I should do this much. I’m not pushing myself too hard so don’t worry.”

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The Baron quickly got up from his seat and briefly checked my condition.

“You must be very tired from the aftereffects. Please go in and rest. I will discuss the talk show that will be held in two days with my son.”

Should I talk to Walter?

I guess you’re saying you’d like to hear what we talked about on our way from The Hague to London.

I nodded again in agreement and stood up from my seat.

Before going to the accommodations prepared by the Baron I glanced back and looked at the two rich men.

It seemed like they were already talking before I even left.

Watching the cautious but also impatient Baron’s actions I quietly began to think about my next plan.

* * *

“Good morning Your Royal Highness. I am Winston Churchill Secretary of Commerce of the British Empire.”

In my memory Churchill was a politician with a bulldog-like appearance.

There the body was plump and fat like a fat pig.

But the young Churchill before me was much more handsome than I had imagined.

Churchill still neither old nor fat smiled brightly and extended his hand to me.

“I’m Kang Lee. Nice to meet you.”

I also smiled brightly and started shaking hands with him.

‘what?’

Churchill shook my hand up and down very firmly as if he wanted to make a strong first impression on me.

In my lifetime.

There was another guy who acted like this and that was Trump a businessman who became president.

It’s been a while since I’ve met an opponent who’s focused on taking the initiative so I sat down slightly flustered.

“It must have been difficult coming this far… Fortunately I think you’re feeling a little better.”

“A long way?”

Maybe because I’ve been living in the US for a while my ‘concept of distance’ seems to have changed a little.

I made a face that said “That could be so” and tried to interpret Churchill’s words in my own way.

“Well it’s about 200 miles (320km) from The Hague to London so you could say it’s a long way.”

I looked at Baron Rothschild and praised him.

“I feel like I’m flying because Baron Rothschild next door treated me so well yesterday.”

“Ah… I see.”

Churchill looked back and forth between the Baron and me with a slightly odd expression.

“What’s wrong?”

“I misunderstood something… I guess my expression hardened for a moment as I thought about it.”

“Did I get it wrong?”

“I didn’t know you had visited The Hague before London.”

“Oh really?”

“I am sorry Your Highness. I thought it was natural that Your Highness would be the first to visit us in England.”

“….”

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“I should have found out about this information in advance. I apologize again.”

The British are a bunch of spiteful bastards.

That too very strongly.

During his tour of Europe.

I expected someone to point out my choice of the Netherlands as my first destination.

I never thought that would come out of Churchill’s mouth.

‘There’s no way they didn’t do some preliminary research…’

There’s no way I didn’t do it.

He is the world’s Churchill.

If you really didn’t do it it would mean you’re completely ignoring me.

“I have some connection with the Dutch royal family… so somehow I ended up visiting the Netherlands before England.”

“okay.”

As the atmosphere became slightly tense Baron Rothschild made a puzzled expression.

To be exact he shows a face that pretends to be embarrassed.

The Baron would have known Churchill’s personality better than anyone else.

That’s probably how you should act.

“Haha Your Highness. How was your trip to the Netherlands? Compared to here in England?”

I expected him to pretend not to know and act for my benefit.

As expected.

As I thought the Baron tried to change the subject and lighten the mood.

I crossed my arms and agreed with their words and actions.

“The tour of the Netherlands was also very good. Prince Hendrik and I were very close… so I was able to spend my time very comfortably.”

Hendrick is from Germany.

Maybe because of the current relationship between Britain and Germany.

Churchill frowned slightly when Hendrick’s name oddly enough was mentioned.

“hmm.”

I pretended not to notice Churchill’s expression and continued with my story.

“Everything else was similar to England but the weather was different. The sunny but mild summer weather was impressive.”

Unlike in England that is.

Since my observations were based on facts both Churchill and Rothschild simply nodded and continued listening to me.

“Strangely enough there were a lot of big and small things going on here and there. I think I was busy helping out with the disposal of Hendrick’s Lee & Wright stock and also participating in Royal Dutch Shell’s paid capital increase project… Oh right. That’s it. The food was really delicious. It’s enough to make me want to visit again.”

“I see.”

Because Churchill was the first to ruin the mood.

In between.

He metaphorically revealed that the Netherlands was actually better citing Britain’s shortcomings as ‘climate’ and ‘food’.

It was really just a metaphorical way of expressing my opinion so Churchill couldn’t refute it and just stared at me.

“Your Majesty I see you are very interested in the oil industry.”

I quickly answered Rothschild’s question and then asked Churchill’s opinion.

“Yes that’s right. It’s the fuel of the future. Isn’t that right Secretary Churchill?”

I’m going to try it again to see if it suits my opinion.

Churchill nodded and agreed with my opinion as if he didn’t want to fight with me any longer.

“As the prince claims oil will one day push out coal.”

“Ten years? No… In about five years it will become a trend.”

I started listing the benefits of oil one by one.

“If you consider fuel efficiency and the air pollutants emitted by coal… eventually the lead will inevitably shift to oil.”

on the sly.

We take a look at how Churchill came across while lightly dissing Britain’s severe air pollution.

However continuing to get on his nerves could do the worst to his relationship with Churchill in the long run.

I asked him using metaphorical language whether he would continue to fight with me because if he lost to a negotiator like Churchill who was trying to fight me hard at the beginning that kind of relationship could continue for a while.

If first impressions were to be believed Churchill would react angrily to my provocation but he agreed with my opinion again as if he really did not want to confront me.

“I think so too. I was recently reminded of that after attending an exhibition in London.”

“Exhibitions? Does your Majesty often attend exhibitions?”

“Yes. As the Secretary of State for Commerce I have to check the trade between Britain and other countries. I also need to know the latest trends.”

Churchill snapped his fingers and continued.

“Oh this prince’s person also attended the exhibition I visited. What was his name…?”

Churchill squinted his eyes for a moment recalling memories from the past.

“What was it… Ah! I remembered. It was Diesel Diesel.”

Diesel accompanied our group on the ship to Europe.

While Ethel and I were in The Hague we first visited England and attended the exhibition in London.

Churchill happened to be there at the time and seemed to have seen Diesel’s new product.

“He was a German with a very strong accent. I remember him now.”

I smiled and slyly mentioned the British Navy.

“Oil will bring about a great change. Just imagine Mr. Churchill what will happen if the great steam turbines on British warships are powered by oil instead of coal?”

I explained to Churchill in detail why oil was a better fuel for steam turbines than coal.

“Sea supply will also become possible and loading time will be greatly reduced by using pipes.”

“We may be able to reassign some of the boiler crew to other duties.”

“yes.”

I continued listing the benefits of oil.

“Not only is the fuel tank size reduced but there are also no restrictions on its installation location. The cruising range is also increased and since there is no need to clear away the ash it is possible to sail at a constant speed.”

“But for this to happen one prerequisite must be met.”

“Are you talking about stabilizing fuel supply?”

“yes.”

right.

What if I change to better fuel?

If you don’t have any fuel to use you won’t be able to move at all.

“Coal. You can mine it in abundance on the British Isles but oil is different.”

“Yes but don’t worry too much Mr. Churchill. Royal Dutch Shell in which I have invested will be diligent in transporting oil to the British Empire.”

I have everything planned out.

That is why I invested in Royal Dutch Shell which is a leader along with Standard Oil in Europe.

“Oh is that why you invested ten million dollars in Royal Dutch Shell?”

“That’s true.”

“It is reassuring that His Majesty is investing so much in the British Empire.”

Churchill gave a knowing look and heaped soulless praise.

At this I chuckled to myself and continued to watch Churchill’s reaction.

* * *

“Minister.”

“Go ahead Baron Rothschild.”

After the conversation with Lee Kang.

The Baron and Churchill met separately and talked.

“How do you feel? What are your first impressions of seeing this prince?”

“He is clever. He knows how to give strength to his words.”

Churchill recalled Lee Kang’s face with a slightly wary expression.

“Plus… it seems like you have quite a bit of foresight to see into the future.”

“Yes.”

The Baron agreed and introduced Lee Kang’s past history to Churchill.

“He has become one of the top five richest men in America in just five short years. Above all he is someone who uses his strengths very skillfully.”

“This prince’s strong point would be his royal status right?”

“Yes you saw it very accurately.”

Churchill closed his eyes for a moment.

After thinking about something he opened his eyes again and asked the Baron one thing.

“Today’s conversation was a bit unpleasant but it was also enjoyable because there was a lot of helpful content.”

“Oh! Are you talking about that naval warship?”

“yes.”

Churchill nodded and said:

“I was a little hesitant before we started talking but after hearing this prince’s story… I feel more confident.”

“aha.”

The Baron asked Churchill with sparkling eyes.

“I never thought about it but I guess the Minister was thinking the same thing.”

Churchill took his remarks into account.

“Yes but it will take some time. Old people are afraid of new adventures.”

Although the Baron was also an old man he acted in strong agreement with Churchill’s words.

“Yes. We will move only after sufficiently verifying the relevant facts.”

“I think I’ll gather some relevant information for a while. I think documents would be more effective than words in persuading them.”

“Yes.”

“ah….”

Churchill looked at Rothschild and asked him one thing he had forgotten.

“Don’t you own an oil company Baron?”

“Yes there is one but it is small. Well Minister Churchill why do you mention my oil company?”

Churchill smiled and dropped a hint to the Baron.

“Do you know how much coal is used in the British Empire’s warships? If all of this were converted into oil how much oil would be needed?”

“well.”

Churchill narrowed his eyes again as he mentioned Lee Kang.

“This prince would like to supply oil to our British Navy through Royal Dutch or Standard Oil… but British ships must have British oil.”

Churchill showed his sincerity.

Royal Dutch Shell is a joint venture between Royal Dutch a Dutch company and Shell a British company.

The Baron sensing Churchill’s hidden meaning blurted out:

“That’s right. A purely British company should supply fuel to the Royal Navy.”

“Yes a company like yours Baron’s Caspian-Black Sea Oil Company would be perfect.”

The Baron smiled sinisterly then his expression turned worried and his words trailed off.

< The Land Where the Sun Never Sets (3) > End