I Became The Crown Prince Of The Mexican Empire - Chapter 108



Only Noblemtl

Core Cities and Capitalists (2)

News spread that the Comanche tribe was ultimately defeated and nearly exterminated.

It was the end of the Comanche Wars, much sooner than the original text.

‘Is this all the butterfly effect caused by that guy Carter Smith?’

I had expected the fight to last longer than this, but my expectations were completely off. A certain Carter Smith was spreading a lot of information about us Mexicans in the United States, which made the already sensitive Americans extremely nervous due to the consequences of the Mecca War.

When I heard that he was running loose, I was terrified and was about to order his capture, but Colonel Ricardo, the commander of the intelligence unit, recommended assassination.

The kidnapping side was actually more risky. I approved it, and the operation was carried out. However, the influence he left behind did not disappear, and eventually, it resulted in a large-scale military buildup in the United States and the subjugation of the Comanche.

Until then, I thought it was just the Comanche’s karma for living off of a predatory economy, but there was a report that bothered me.

“Ambassador Thompson, I hear that Article 2 of the Treaty of Removal of Native Peoples is not being observed at all.”

I spoke to the U.S. Ambassador, Waddy Thompson Jr.

“But, Your Majesty, these are not good Indians, they are savages who have killed thousands of our Americans. How can our soldiers treat them kindly?”

The ‘Trail of Tears’ that I had tried so hard to block happened in this world in a very similar way. Of course, there are a lot of natives who have settled in Mexico, so the number is smaller than in my previous life.

The problem was that the troops in charge of the transport had suffered heavy casualties in the battle and harbored resentment and hatred toward the natives.

Even if we leave aside the Comanche and other tribes that lived off of a predatory economy, many other tribes participated in this battle and were subdued.

The only reason they fought, living on hunting and gathering, was because they knew that if the Comanche tribe fell, they would be the next to come after them.

“We are not talking about morality. This is a formal treaty between nations. Remember, if the United States does not abide by Article 2, we in Mexico may also abide by Article 1.”

“That is… Ahem, I understand. We will be careful to transport the natives as safely as possible.”

“Yes. They said that more than 100,000 people will come in the future. If they are in a similar situation to the 20,000 people who came this time, we will not accept them.”

“···All right.”

This is a warning to prevent the path of tears.

Although many people are already suffering by now, there are still many indigenous people left in North America.

The attitude of the United States, which used to act as if it were arrogant, has changed a lot. After fighting the Comanche, they must have felt deep in their bones that our Mexican army is no pushover.

Ambassador Wadi Thompson, who had come to the palace at my call, left, and I gave instructions to Diego.

“Tell them to treat him well at the border and then transfer him. Feed him well and give him oranges.”

Still, many people will die. Some of those who died on the Trail of Tears died from hunger or overwork, but it is estimated that a significant proportion of those who died from disease are also high.

Since they have already come into close contact with Western people, many of them will find it impossible to avoid death.

“Yes, I understand.”

“If more medical personnel are needed, send them.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

I felt complicated even though I had done what I could. Diego seemed to notice my feelings and said,

“If there are at least 100,000 indigenous people, the population growth figure for this year will definitely increase.”

“···I guess so.”

It would not be an exaggeration to say that Mexico’s current population is exploding.

The birth rate is estimated to be higher than that of the United States and European countries, which were experiencing explosive population growth during this period, and the immigration system established over the past decade has been accepting several times as many immigrants as the United States.

Even so, 100,000 people was not a small number. Wasn’t it the equivalent of two medium-sized cities at the time?

Native Americans, including the Comanche tribe, would be distributed evenly across the northern frontier as well as the expanding Chihuahua City and southern territories.

All I can do is feed them well and live well.

***

“There may be some doubts about the water supply and sewerage system we are building in this city, but I am confident that this system will one day be applied to cities all over the world. If we successfully build it this time, we will be able to claim the honor of being the first to succeed.”

Water supply and sewerage system.

As a civil engineering professional studying infrastructure, this is one of the areas of expertise where I can demonstrate my capabilities.

In the modern sense of the word, the first water supply and sewerage systems were built in Britain in the late 1850s following a massive cholera epidemic.

This is because, with the advancement of science and technology, we have realized that many diseases, including cholera, are waterborne, that is, transmitted through water, thanks to the basic knowledge of chemistry and biology.

There is no need to wait around for more diseases to be prevented, even though they have not yet been discovered in this world. I am confident that I can create a sewage system that is better than the one already built in the UK.

“Your Majesty, I understand that this water supply and sewage system consists of a water supply system that supplies clean water and a sewage system that treats dirty water. Most of the design was done by Your Majesty, but we also learned by watching. However, from what I understand, in order to operate this facility, there must be a way to clean the dirty water. Is that possible?”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. We have already developed a disinfectant in cooperation with professors at Imperial University. Of course, we will also be carrying out chemical and physical treatments.”

“okay.”

Although it is far from the state of the art in modern water and sewage systems, basic disinfectants can be made with current technology.

These are chlorinated lime and aluminum sulfate. Chlorinated lime has been mass-produced since the late 18th century, and aluminum sulfate is something that I was able to mass-produce after a long wait by requesting a research project from a professor at Imperial University.

We plan to use these two disinfectants and filters using various materials such as gravel, sand, charcoal, cloth, and activated carbon.

This water and sewage system, which the general public takes for granted, could become one of the city’s and Mexico’s key competitive advantages.

Water and sewer systems are expensive to build and operate, but they provide numerous benefits that make the costs well worth it.

The cost-effectiveness alone would be worth it, as it would prevent the spread of many waterborne diseases, including cholera, typhoid, and dysentery, all of which were life-threatening diseases in an age when medicine was not yet developed.

‘It doesn’t end there.’

This will provide a way to cleanly dispose of wastewater and sewage, improving sanitation and reducing the stench of the city.

There is also the advantage of sustainable water management by protecting and recycling water resources, which is important in arid regions like Chihuahua and can determine how far cities can expand.

The water and sewerage system with these enormous benefits will be the first of its kind in the world, built in Chihuahua City.

“Are the pipes processed as designed?”

“Yes, we made it exactly as you ordered and sent it to you.”

“Have you checked the joints carefully?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Okay, then let’s begin.”

The construction of roads and buildings is now something I don’t even need to supervise.

I began to direct the site, leading the architects and workers assigned to the water supply and sewerage construction.

***

August 1842.

One day, as the hot Chihuahua summer was coming to an end, a detailed report arrived.

“I thought there was something fishy, ​​but it’s more than I thought.”

“So it was Peon who was mobilized.”

ha-

As expected, the factory deaths were not simply a matter of working conditions. They were incidents that exposed a much deeper, darker side of Mexico.

Debt slavery, known as ‘peón’, is an evil practice that originated in Central and South America during the colonial era and continues to this day.

After the Battle of Valladolid, enslavement of natives was prohibited. However, the exploitation of natives could not be abandoned, and so the Peón system was created.

Although the Peons were nominally free, they were not permitted to move until they had paid off their debts.

In order to increase the number of peons, who were essentially slaves, the landlords often resorted to tricking the tenant farmers who worked on their farms into buying supplies, farm equipment, seeds, etc. from their stores at high prices. In order to buy these expensive items, they had no choice but to go into debt to the landlord, and the interest rates on these loans were murderous.

“It’s not like the landlord even started the factory. He bought bonds from the landlord, brought in the peons, and made them do harsh labor. If this isn’t slavery, then what is?”

When I got angry, Diego said,

“But the peón does not exist in our Mexican law. Shouldn’t we now make it illegal to enforce the peón system?”

“Even during the colonial period, the peón system was not written into law. It was something that was customarily practiced in a very wide area. It wouldn’t be easy to define it as illegal. Although our Mexican political structure is largely divided into the imperialists, landowners, and republicans, there is no one among them who is not a landowner.”

There are some non-landlords in the Imperial and Republican factions, but even they are less than one in ten.

“···The moment we legislate a law that makes peons illegal, it will be like stirring a hornet’s nest.”

“Yes. And the peon system is an evil practice that must be abolished, but it is not a fundamental solution. In order to fundamentally free debt slaves, the inheritance of debt must be cut off, and that will also bring about a huge backlash.”

“It’s not easy for either side.”

These two issues are not ones that can be simply abandoned for the sake of the voters. They and their countless supporters across the country are going to rise up.

I think most of the imperialists will continue to support them even if it means taking a loss, but not all of them will do so. Even among the imperialists, the size of the benefits they receive from the imperial family varies.

‘There’s no need to even mention the landlords.’

Most Republican lawmakers are strong-minded, but that’s just lawmakers, and not all powerful figures across the country who support the Republican Party. And even if they have strong convictions, you never know what will happen if their interests and beliefs come into direct conflict.

It may be a shame for many righteous priests who risked their lives fighting for the rights of indigenous people and won the Valladolid Controversy to lament in heaven, but the Mexican Catholic Church will also grit its teeth and oppose the ‘illegalization of the Peón system’ and the ‘inheritance renunciation system’.

Even though the imperial family’s status is so great, I can’t do everything as I please.

‘If you are prepared for a civil war, I am confident you will win, but···.’

If things go well, the workers may all side with the royal family and the civil war may end easily, but we must also consider the case where things do not go so easily.

With America’s appetite for expansion ever growing, a full-scale civil war would be suicidal.

‘Let’s hold out this time, but it won’t last long.’

I decided so and told Diego.

“Rather than trying to solve the Peon problem right now, let’s work towards improving the working conditions. And punish that factory owner.”

“Wouldn’t there be strong opposition to improving working conditions? I think there would be much less opposition than to ‘making the peon system illegal’ and ‘the inheritance renunciation system.’”

“So I plan to proceed in stages. As this incident spread through the media, workers’ dissatisfaction has increased. Landlords and capitalists will also feel the atmosphere, so if we conduct a ‘labor environment survey’, they won’t be able to openly oppose it.”

“And if we legislate laws to improve the working environment while informing people that the results of the work environment survey are serious, it will be difficult to oppose.”

“Yes. The level will have to be compromised appropriately.”

We, Mexico, also have an environment in which we can create proper labor laws. I have no intention of creating excessive labor laws that are not suitable for this era. But shouldn’t we prevent deaths from overwork?

Even Britain enacted the world’s first labour law in the early 19th century, passing the Health and Morals of Apprentices Act.

So, the ‘Labor Environment Survey’ was carried out according to my orders.

It was a nationwide survey that looked at all types of jobs, not just in factories but also on farms and in mines.