I Became The Crown Prince Of The Mexican Empire - Chapter 113



Only Noblemtl

Rebellion and Revolution (2)

“Your Majesty! You are early. The party will take some time to start.”

Although headquartered in California, Solis has recently been focusing on the hotel business in Mexico City.

“That’s okay. I came early to greet those who are coming to my party in person. And you will be the first guest.”

“Oh, I see. It is an honor, Your Majesty.”

“I heard that the hotel is incredibly popular. It’s fully booked for the whole year?”

I’ve only attended the opening ceremony of the hotel because I’m so busy, but I’ve never actually used it, but I heard from Diego that many influential and wealthy people in the Mexican Empire wait for months to stay at this hotel.

“It couldn’t be otherwise. You built such a magnificent building. Seeing the completed building made me want to stay here myself.”

The building was nice. Unlike the university, which emphasized grandeur, this hotel had the magnificence of a European palace.

In our country of Mexico, there are few buildings that emphasize such full-scale grandeur, and the ‘National Palace’, the imperial palace, has its own charm, but it is less extravagant.

“But I think a lot of people come here because the management and service are good. In the hotel business, service is more important than the appearance of the building.”

“Hahaha, Your Majesty gave me many ideas for operations and services. I just put them into practice.”

“Ahem···. Was that so?”

Since this was my first time in Mexico, I didn’t know much about the ‘hotel industry’, but I came up with ideas based on the services I had experienced or heard about in my past life.

‘This is like bowing down and receiving a compliment.’

“Coming up with an idea and executing it are two different things. Even if I gave you the idea, you executed it well, so it was a success. Especially recently, I have been entrusting you with a lot of work. I saw a report that not only this hotel, but also the canned goods business and the cola business are doing very well. You are doing well without me having to give you any advice.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty. I am satisfied that I have now achieved results worthy of Your Majesty’s trust.”

“You’ve been doing well, so don’t worry about that.”

Before Solis ventured into the canning and cola businesses in addition to the hotel business, he had been running a restaurant and lodging franchise, mainly in California, so his business was considerably smaller than that of other managers who were his peers.

It was more of an inevitable thing because of the nature of the business I had entrusted to him rather than because of his incompetence. In fact, it was a profitable business that had been steadily increasing the number of stores and improving profitability, and was generating a lot of cash.

When I said that, Solis seemed to feel secretly happy that I acknowledged him, and the tense atmosphere eased up a bit and we started talking more cheerfully.

As I was talking to Solis, the first guest finally arrived.

“Come in, Ramon.”

“I didn’t know that His Majesty would welcome me in person. It is an honor.”

As I was talking to Ramon, who runs a clothing company, Solis asked me sheepishly.

“···What are those clothes you have?”

“This is the latest style.”

Ramon Alvarado was confident.

“···that is?”

“Is this a popular style in England?”

Solis continued to react in a shaky manner, but I had a guess, so I asked.

The clothes he was wearing were closer to a modern suit than the attire of an upper-class Mexican man of the day.

“Yes, Your Majesty. That’s right. I saw one of our company’s designers wearing it, so I made it myself. Isn’t it neat and stylish?”

“Well, that’s true. It looks comfortable.”

“It’s a style of clothing that is gradually spreading in Europe.”

Among the upper classes of modern Mexico, a dress derived from the riding costume is still popular, but it is quite complicated and, by my standards, not very stylish.

‘Riding boots, especially those that reach up to the knees, are the worst.’

I was wondering when the suit would come out, but fortunately, it seems that the clothing of the European upper class was gradually changing.

In modern times, suits have been gradually declining as they are considered uncomfortable attire for formal occasions or strict corporate settings, but this period is the result of an evolution in a relatively comfortable direction from existing clothing styles.

“Are you preparing to release those clothes in ‘Ramon’ too?”

“I’m thinking about it. Like Solis’s reaction here, it might still be received unfamiliarly by Mexicans.”

“I think it would be a good idea to start there. We in Mexico also tend to follow European trends.”

There is no need to hesitate, because I already know that in the distant future, it will gradually decline, but before that, it will be a very common clothing style. And I also want to take off these damn long boots and wear pants and shoes.

“If Your Majesty says so, there is no need to hesitate. I will prepare immediately.”

“Do that. Make something for me to wear and send it to me too.”

While I was talking to Ramon, guests started arriving one after another.

The real party has begun.

***

Beitou Gaitan felt a mixture of pride and humiliation at being invited to this party.

‘Shouldn’t you have made an excuse that you were sick and not come?’

The chemical company he was in charge of was still in the process of building a factory and had not yet made a single penny in sales. In such a situation, it was impossible not to feel discouraged when looking at the faces of the big shots here.

Although he was the CEO of His Highness the Crown Prince’s company, it seemed like even a small place would have sales of hundreds of thousands of pesos.

‘I was wondering who it was since there are only two companies with the last name Rios, and here I am. Yeah, I guess it can’t not be here.’

His name was Alfonso Rios.

I heard that everyone who was invited attended.

The Crown Prince’s companies were overwhelmingly ranked first in each field, but they were all major industrial fields.

‘Logistics, finance, construction, steel, railways, textiles, machinery, resources, defense, shipbuilding, investment, electronics. Can chemistry fit in among these great businesses?’

I wondered if ‘Gaitan’, which was chosen by His Highness the Crown Prince but has only just begun producing disinfectants, could grow to that level.

The party was attended by people from various social classes, including businessmen, military personnel with ties to His Majesty, and politicians, but they were all big names.

Phew-

Taking a deep breath and mustering up his courage, he introduced himself and started talking to people.

“Hahaha, if Your Majesty has chosen it, it will definitely become a great company in the future, so there is no need to think too hard about it.”

“you’re right.”

Luckily, the big shots were kind.

It felt like the ‘pride’ of being the ‘Crown Prince’s closest confidant’ was what bound everyone in this space together.

As he gained confidence, he talked to various people and surprisingly, he met people in similar situations as him.

“An elevator company? What is an elevator?”

“So that’s···.”

The person who recently took over the elevator company explained at length what it was.

“Ah, you meant the machine that was in this hotel.”

“Yes, that’s something our company made.”

“I see. It was a little scary to ride, but it was a convenient device.”

Gaitan felt an inexplicable sense of kinship as he watched the elevator company president explain while sweating profusely.

To summarize his story, he was an engineer at Locke Precision Machinery who was tasked with developing something called an ‘elevator’ by order of His Highness the Crown Prince, and after several years of development based on the idea he received, he successfully commercialized it.

The elevator business was separated from Locke Precision Machinery. Locke Precision Machinery was already running too many businesses, including milling machines, various tools, agricultural machinery, locomotives, and steam engines, so His Highness the Crown Prince decided that it would be better to separate the elevator business into a separate company.

He suddenly went from being a mere technician to the president and was still using the factory and equipment of Locke Precision Machinery, but said that since demand was not yet great, he was planning to build a headquarters and factory in the future.

Hearing that story, Gaitan also had something to say.

“I guess you’re thinking of making the next city planned after Chihuahua your headquarters. Since you’re someone who pays close attention to employment issues in the city you’re building in, I think you’re saving the elevator company and planning to settle in the next city.”

“···So that means I have to stay with Locke Precision Machinery for a few more years?”

“Ahem, this is just my guess, and I’m not sure. But since the product is being manufactured, it’s generating sales, right? I…”

Gaitan had many conversations with him.

I had thought about talking to His Highness the Crown Prince, but I gave up on it long ago because there were so many big names hovering around him, trying to talk to His Highness, who was at the center of the party.

‘Still, it was good that you came.’

***

Discontent among the residents of the western part of Hispaniola Island was also growing.

The residents’ main complaint was that ‘it’s no different from the days of slavery.’

The pride of a successful slave revolution and the creation of a black nation was collapsing under heavy taxes, economic collapse, political instability, and power struggles between blacks and mulattoes.

“What good is the land if you take all the crops you harvest?”

Even with the massive debts in Mexico, the elites in power lived in luxury, owning vast tracts of land. It was the common peasants who had little land but paid heavy taxes who were dying.

“In this case, I might as well not farm.”

Most farmers felt that way, but what would they do if they didn’t farm? In the end, most farmers were unable to survive and lived off farming, and those who really gave up farming became criminals.

Industry outside of farms was virtually non-existent, and the Haitian government struggled to pay salaries to civil servants and the military.

‘The country is ruined.’

In that desperate situation where such words came to mind on their own, another piece of bad news was heard.

The control that had been barely maintained in the eastern region completely collapsed. When the eastern residents who had planned a rebellion began to rise up, the government officials dispatched by the government and the small garrison guarding them collapsed in an instant.

It was a natural thing.

The Haitian government could not even pay them salaries, let alone provide them with proper equipment.

“It’s a rebellion! The easterners have gone mad and are rebelling!”

“This time, let’s kill all those guys from the east!”

But it wasn’t that simple.

“What? You asked to join the Mexican Empire?”

“What is that···.”

“There’s no way I’d accept such a request.”

If a country were treated as a proper nation, there would have been room for intervention in the international community, but Haiti was completely isolated diplomatically, and above all, its opponent was the Mexican Empire, a powerful country that had defeated its former ruler, France, and taken over its debt.

“We need to come up with a plan!”

“What kind of solution is this?”

“···”

“We can only hope Mexico doesn’t accept it.”

Of course that couldn’t be the case.

In fact, the Mexican Empire’s actions occurred much more quickly than the Haitian government had anticipated.

A fleet of the Mexican Empire was dispatched east of the island of Hispaniola.