I Became The Crown Prince Of The Mexican Empire - Chapter 144



Only Noblemtl

Episode 144

Mexican-American War (17)

“That’s just what pirates are like. I didn’t expect it in the first place.”

Bill said that while holding a newspaper with the news that Britain had given up on mediation, but in reality he felt like he was going crazy.

“Here, give me another beer!”

After President James Polk announced that Britain would mediate, many Americans were counting on British mediation alone.

“When you’re stretching out your name as the British Empire, are you scared of those Mexican mongrel bastards?”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

Bill, who had been drinking alcohol one after another since then, complained to his friend.

“If only I didn’t have knees….”

“It won’t be of much help for middle-aged people like us to go. Well, if things continue this way, it looks like we’ll be drafted too.”

The situation was dire.

The Mexican Empire’s forces in the west had arrived at St. Louis, the gateway city to the upper reaches of the Mississippi River, and were preparing to attack.

The United States also knew that the Mexican Empire was advancing north and had to prepare for defense, but it was short of men and supplies.

The officers who had been ordered to stop the Mexican Empire in St. Louis at all costs sighed at the grim reality.

“I don’t think the aftermath of the Battle of Memphis will get any better.”

“Even those who are physically sound are mentally…not well.”

Even excluding the wounded, there were still 100,000 people who were physically fit or had only minor injuries, but many of them were mentally ill and refused to go into battle.

“Even if there are 100,000 new recruits, the actual fighting power would be around 150,000.”

There were also absurdly few supplies.

Of all the military supplies, the most important are, of course, weapons. However, since the Mexican Empire landed in the East, most of the production of the Springfield Arms Factory was taken from the East, and the Western Army, which had lost a great number of weapons in the Second Battle of Memphis, was in a state of shortage even of old-fashioned rifles.

“It’s not like we’re going to supply a large quantity of the barbed wire that the Mexicans use, so what exactly are we supposed to block…?”

As such talk was being openly discussed among the officers, the Mexican Imperial Army was closing in.

***

In the East, fierce battles continued, with blood flowing everywhere.

The militia commanded by Winfield Scott appeared to be successfully defending against Mexican forces south of Philadelphia, but in reality they were simply holding back a vast number of militiamen who were willing to risk their lives.

The militiamen risked their lives to defend their trenches, and continued to inflict casualties on the Mexican army.

bang!

A Mexican Imperial shell pierced Henry’s chest as he was about to fire one last shot.

“no!”

My younger brother, Alex, who had been lowering his head and loading early, witnessed the horrific sight.

Hic–hic–

“Tongue, tongue!”

Henry, with a large hole in his chest, passed away without saying a last word.

General Winfield Scott, who witnessed the tragedy of a brother while commanding troops on the battlefield today, closed his eyes tightly.

Although they did not give up on the failed trench tactic and tried it again with great success, the lack of cannons, the lack of officers, and the lack of training for the soldiers were not factors that could be overcome with half-baked trench tactics.

From a tactical standpoint, the casualties had already reached a level where we should have abandoned the defense, but that was not possible.

“Only Philadelphia.”

The city of Philadelphia itself is a city of considerable economic and political importance, but if it falls behind, the next largest and most important city in the United States is New York.

Neither the President nor the militiamen wanted to retreat.

The result was this bright red trench.

The soldiers’ blood had stained the soil throughout the trenches, and now it was becoming more difficult to find its original color.

“Oh, oh no!”

The soldier who had lost his brother was screaming and firing his gun, and the general had a terrible future in mind.

“Hey, hey! Tell that soldier over there to calm down!”

Winfield Scott sent his only two valuable adjutants, but the general was in the rear, and the tragedy was in the front. Officers were few in number, and orders were slow to be given.

And so the tragedies continued.

***

“Are you saying that we will meet the conditions of the previous war as best as possible, so please stop fighting?”

“Yes. I have been ordered to negotiate in the most cooperative manner possible. So please do so.”

Ambassador John Slidell, whom I met after a long time, seemed more intimidated than before. This must be because the British Ambassador Pakenham is no longer there.

“A cooperative attitude… then that’s fine. But instead, let’s also leave the defense lines of St. Louis and Philadelphia alone. I’m saying don’t reinforce them any more.”

“that···.”

“If we stop fighting, won’t we, the attackers, be the only ones suffering losses? Even if we don’t directly touch the defense line, they will prepare more behind the scenes, so this alone is a huge concession.”

In fact, that wasn’t the case. Our Mexico was not affected at all, and we were minimizing the aftermath of the war by pouring in Irish immigrants to places where manpower was urgently needed. In other words, the economy was doing well.

On the other hand, the United States has not. The US economy is in a state of ruin, and if we don’t push harder and this situation continues for another year, it will collapse.

Ambassador John Slidell hesitated for a moment before finally opening his mouth.

“···Okay. Let’s do that. While the negotiations are ongoing, stop fighting, but don’t touch the defense line.”

“great.”

Full-scale negotiations have begun.

There were two issues: slavery and territory.

“Whether or not to abolish slavery is a matter for each state to decide. If the federal government steps in and demands its abolition, we don’t know how the Southern states will react. There is no real benefit to Mexico from abolishing slavery, so please make concessions on slavery.”

‘If there is any practical benefit, then there is···.’

It is an undeniable fact that my contemporary human rights awareness and conscience intervened in my demand for the abolition of slavery. However, it is not true that there were no practical benefits.

First, the abolition of slavery is a medium to divert the attention of Americans. The conflict between the North and the South over the abolition of slavery is not something that can be easily resolved. This war, in particular, can be said to have been caused by slave escapes, so it is a perfect way to divert resentment.

Second, if slavery were abolished, it could be expected that a huge number of them would move to the Mexican Empire. It is true that it is a much better place for blacks to live than in the United States, and it has also succeeded in creating that image among black Americans.

Third, the image of a country that came out of the royal family and opposed slavery is also a real benefit. It may not be of much help now, but it will be helpful later.

For that reason, I declined.

“No. Territory can be negotiated, but the abolition of slavery cannot be compromised.”

“Ahem. Don’t speak so firmly… Then let’s start by talking about the territory.”

After that, Ambassador John Slidell tried very hard, but the United States had lost its negotiating power, and there was nothing he could do.

***

October 1846.

“Hey, look at this! It’ll let us protect half of the western territory?”

Bill met his friend and didn’t even say hello, but just handed him the newspaper article he had brought.

“Hmm, how does this newspaper know about the ongoing negotiations?”

My friend read the article, muttering doubtfully.

He pointed to one part of the article.

“Wait a minute, it says, ‘Abolition of slavery is non-negotiable.’ Did you see that?”

“Uh… No?”

“This is a dud. It’s obvious the Dixie guys are going to have a blast.”

For the northerners who had nightmares about losing everything west of the Mississippi River to the Mexican Empire, these were not bad terms. Now that Britain had given up on intervention, there was no answer for the United States if Mexico pushed through to the end.

The issue was the abolition of slavery.

“The security of the country is at stake, so if they have any thoughts···.”

“No. You’re still naive. Do you think the Dixie guys would care about that? They’re the ones who insist on fighting until the end, even if it means ruin.”

That was true. The Southerners were tough.

“What right do these Mexican mutts have to tell us to abolish slavery?”

“If the Federation accepts this···.”

“Nonsense. Do you know how many slaves there are out of the 8.5 million people in the South? 2.8 million. Not 28,000, not 280,000, but 2.8 million. Did we get these slaves for free from the Union? No. Didn’t each and every one of them pay a lot of money for their property? Are you just going to hand over that amount of private property?”

The southern man shouted loudly so that everyone could hear, and cheers erupted here and there.

“then!”

“Right!”

The number of black slaves, 2.8 million, was the result of a provisional census taken the previous year, 1845.

Freeing slaves was not just a loss of money that had been spent to buy them.

Almost all Southern plantations depended on slave labor, which was an economic death sentence for Southern plantations because without them the plantations could not function.

If the Southern farms were to fail, the countless white workers who worked there would also fail. In effect, the South was being asked to sacrifice for the United States, and since the United States only had the South and the North, the South was being asked to sacrifice for the North.

“Well, if St. Louis is breached, it’s the Great Lakes, and if Philadelphia is breached, it’s New York. Will the federal government still be able to hold out then?”

The voices of those who had been responding disappeared. They also knew well the importance of the Great Lakes industrial area and New York City. Everyone seemed to be looking at him.

The man was inwardly embarrassed, but he spoke forcefully without letting it show.

“If you accept this, you will have to leave the Federation.”

***

October 22nd.

As the U.S. government’s deliberations dragged on, the Crown Prince of Mexico notified the United States that if they did not respond within two weeks, they would resume fighting.

“Those little bastards.”

“That’s crazy.”

Everyone reading the newspaper was hurling insults. Surprisingly, none of them were directed at the Mexican Empire.

The newspaper headline read:

[South Carolina Governor Says State Will Secession If Abolition of Slavery Is Forced]

This sentence, which is quite long for a headline, caught the attention of northern readers.

Some men were shaking with anger.

“You, you, you guys are so out of touch with reality. Don’t you know that if you lose New York and the Great Lakes, it’s all over for you anyway?”

It was quite a sight to see those who saw the newspaper headlines cursing along with him, wondering what on earth was making them so angry.

“Who says such traitorous things?”

As most discerning people would have expected, Northerners who saw Southern public opinion firsthand were outraged.

The country is on the verge of ruin. And yet they can’t give up those slaves, so why are they doing this? That’s what the Northerners thought.

“You Dixie bastards, you’re fighting in the North, so this isn’t your problem, right?”

In the North, there are those who have lost their homeland or are in danger of losing it.

“Who would secede from the Federation at will?”

Federalists, who support a strong federal government;

“This war started because the Federation was trying to protect the slaves of those disgusting slave plantation owners. They should take responsibility for what has happened.”

There were also those who were simply looking for someone to blame.

Even during the war, or rather because of the war, the press was more active. Articles representing the position of angry northerners poured out, and the public opinion contained in those articles flowed into the South as well.

Naturally, the Southerners’ reaction was not good.

“Didn’t the Yankees also agree to the war?”

“That’s obvious. Just look at President James Polk’s approval rating.”

In terms of white population alone, the number of free states in the North is more than twice that of slave states in the South. This means that it is structurally impossible for the South to elect a president by force alone.

The fact that James Polk, who was clearly an expansionist, was elected with an overwhelming majority means that he had the support of the entire country. So how can you say that this war was caused by the greed of some immoral Southern slave owners?

“This is ridiculous.”

“That’s why they call us traitors. Who is it that brought us to this point by not properly participating in the war in the first place? Didn’t we do all sorts of things to avoid being drafted, let alone volunteering?”

“That’s right! Weren’t all the people who fought in the Battle of New Orleans and the First Battle of Memphis southerners? They just watched it happen, thinking it wasn’t their business, and then when Mexico landed in the Northeast, they called themselves ‘patriots’ and joined the militia. It’s disgusting.”

This is a story from the early days of the war. When the Mexican Empire attacked at a tremendous rate, 90% of those who volunteered for defense were Southerners.

“Now that I think about it, if we had supported this much earlier, wouldn’t we have protected New Orleans? I don’t know who is calling whom selfish and traitorous. Disgusting hypocrites.”

To Southerners, blaming the South for the war and calling it treason to refuse to give up slavery were nothing more than Yankee hypocrisy.

“Now is not the time for us to fight among ourselves! We are at war, and the Mexicans will attack again soon! Let’s stop fighting and talk!”

Some argued so, but neither the North nor the South would give in. Neither side could give in. To the Southerners, slavery was as important as their heart; to the Northerners, New York and the Great Lakes were as important as their heart.

Even without such logical reasons, the emotion of hatred was so contagious that it was seriously infectious.

The conflict between the North and the South, and between Federalists and Anti-Federalists, which had been growing in size under the surface of American society for a long time, rose to the surface through the war.

[If Virginia and Georgia also accept slavery… (continued)]

Public opinion rose quickly and strongly, as if someone was fanning the flames.

One after another, the Southern states declared that they would secede from the Union if slavery was abolished.

Faced with the unprecedented divisiveness of a nation at war, President James Polk was unable to make a decision, and time made the decision for him.

During the armistice, the Mexican Empire’s forces, which had been supplemented with troops and supplies, resumed their attacks.