I Became The Crown Prince Of The Mexican Empire - Chapter 149



Only Noblemtl

Episode 149

South and North (3)

January 1847.

Three ironclad ships entered the Prussian port of Kiel.

“This is···.”

“Yes, it now belongs to the Kingdom of Prussia, Your Majesty.”

It was a reward for the devotion shown by the Kingdom of Prussia to the alliance.

“In the end, we disbanded without even fighting, so I don’t know if I can accept something like this.”

Frederick IV said so, but he had no intention of declining. The cost of recruiting and training an army, even if it did not fight, was considerable.

The Mexican Empire was well aware of this fact.

“Without the devotion and efforts of the Kingdom of Prussia, this war could not have been successfully concluded. I would consider it a great honor if Your Majesty would accept this gift.”

“Hmm… If our blood ally, the Mexican Empire, says so, it would be impolite to decline any further. I will accept the gift.”

Although they were only three ironclad ships, their value should not be judged by the cost of building them.

Although the Mexican Empire built the first ironclads and Britain followed suit a year later, in the years that followed only a handful of countries, including France, Russia, and the United States, succeeded in building ironclads of any significant scale.

‘I think they only built one last year in the Netherlands.’

The United States had spent years squeezing its budget for this war and lost six ironclads to the Mexican Empire, leaving only four countries with stronger navies than Prussia: the Mexican Empire, the British Empire, the French Republic, and the Russian Empire.

A few days after Frederick IV smiled with satisfaction, the Austrian Empire also learned that the Kingdom of Prussia had received an ironclad from the Mexican Empire.

“It’s unpleasant.”

Prince Clemens von Metternich, Chancellor and Foreign Minister of the Austrian Empire, quickly discovered the cause of his feelings.

The balance and peace in Europe that he had established through the Vienna Conference was collapsing.

The Vienna System, also known as the Metternich System after its chairman, nominally advocated a ‘restoration of the pre-Napoleonic era’, that is, a restoration of the old system. However, it was all about maintaining balance through mutual checks and balances among European nations.

The intention worked well, and for the past thirty years there has been no war between the major European countries. Metternich, who designed the Vienna System, knew best that this precious peace could not last indefinitely, but he could not have imagined that an external power would intervene in Europe and upset the balance in this way.

“The Mexican Empire. No, Jeronimo Iturbide.”

Metternich named the culprit who had created this situation. Both the chaos in France and the advance of Prussia were somewhat inevitable. Louis Philippe of France was causing discontent among the citizens, while Prussia was successfully industrializing. But the pace of progress was far beyond Metternich’s expectations.

‘The one who moves the Mexican Empire is the crown prince.’

It was information that had already been cross-checked through several channels. Metternich, an experienced politician, had figured out the principles of the Mexican Crown Prince’s behavior.

“Is it possible for humans to act so selflessly and only for the development of their country?”

Metternich, now in the twilight of his life, had never seen anyone like this.

Even the great Napoleon made numerous mistakes due to his personal desires and emotions. However, this Mexican crown prince was moving only for the development of his country to a degree that felt inhumane.

If that were all, it would have been a great thing to do, since it was something that happened across the Atlantic anyway, and we could have just passed over it. But as the Mexican Empire grew and began to influence Europe, the story changed.

France, which was supposed to keep Prussia in check, lost the war with Mexico, the government was overthrown, and became a republic. From there, cracks began to appear in the Vienna system.

‘France must not fall.’

It should have been a picture of Prussia, the Austrian Empire, and the German Confederation joining forces to check the growth of France, so that Prussia would not have vain ambitions. But France lost to Mexico, and Prussia made a marriage alliance with Mexico.

With its powerful rivals temporarily halted, what will fast-growing Prussia aim for?

Metternich was afraid of that.

“We have no choice but to join forces with the country that wants the empty system to be maintained more than anyone else.”

While the European balance was maintained by the empty system, the British Empire, which was expanding its colonies around the world, was the key to resolving this situation.

Since they are benefiting from the empty system, they should make efforts to protect the empty system. Wasn’t it because Britain only pursued its own interests and did not check Mexico’s growth that things got to this point?

‘But Britain also suffered a huge blow to its pride this time.’

If Prussia intervened in the war, it would be a threat to strike the British mainland with the army it had amassed, so public opinion would be different from before.

It may not have changed the fact that the conflict with Mexico was more detrimental to Britain than beneficial, but people are not that rational.

Especially if you’re a British guy who values ​​your pride.

Public opinion within the Austrian Empire could be sufficiently adjusted, for many were antipathetic to the Mexican Empire simply because of its alliance with Prussia.

The presidency of the German Confederation (Deutscher Bund) represented the dominant position of the Austrian Empire, a position that Metternich had no intention of relinquishing during his lifetime.

‘If war is inevitable…’

Metternich raised his old body.

***

“I intend to hand over the throne to the crown prince.”

The Emperor, who had summoned the Prime Minister, the ministers of the executive branch, and the heads of the parliamentary factions to his office at the beginning of the year, suddenly declared:

“your majesty!”

“You’re still in your right mind, so how can you abdicate?”

Those gathered initially opposed it and watched. Everyone knew that there was nothing wrong with expressing regret over the abdication, whether it was sincere or not.

There, as one of the courtiers said, the emperor was still in good health. Although he was approaching his mid-60s, his body had neither gained weight nor lost weight, and he was not sick.

Only the leader of the Emperor’s faction, who had heard of the plan in advance, remained calm.

“What do you mean, correct me? Don’t you remember when I fell down before? It’s time for me to rest now.”

It was said that it was simply overwork, but no one could dispute the Emperor’s seemingly sincere words.

“I’m not saying I’ll abdicate right away. The Crown Prince’s abilities are undoubtedly outstanding, but he’ll need time to prepare.”

Although it was a constitutional monarchy, the emperor was involved in many affairs of the empire. There were many things to hand over and each department had to prepare for the new ruler.

And above all, the coronation must be prepared. Even the royal wedding itself was a large-scale event that took months to prepare. The coronation would require even more thorough preparation.

“Then, Your Majesty, may I ask when you plan to hold your coronation?”

“January 1, 1848. That’s almost a year away, so there’s plenty of time to prepare, right?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The news of the decision to abdicate soon spread throughout the empire and the world. It was announced publicly because the people of the empire had to prepare themselves mentally anyway.

“Your Majesty is stepping down···.”

“Hmm? Are you crying?”

His friend seemed to be quite shocked, unlike him who had been mentally prepared for the Emperor’s age.

‘Even so, it’s so bad that it makes a man shed tears…’

It was understandable that my friend revered the royal family. As a Mexican, their achievements were too great not to revere the royal family. No matter what anyone says, the royal family was the main character who wrote the history of independence, founding, development, progress, victory, and expansion. However, the emperor was not immortal. As he was a human being, it was natural for him to grow old and give up his position.

“Your Majesty, you should also rest for a while now.”

“Yes. Rather, it is something to celebrate. Since His Majesty has a trustworthy successor, the Crown Prince, His Majesty can rest.”

There were many in Europe who thought that even the rich could not share power, and most kings died holding onto power. It is very rare for a succession to proceed peacefully like this.

The common people, who made up the majority of the population, were shocked but viewed it positively, but the upper class was different.

“What will happen when the crown prince ascends to the throne···.”

I thought that the crown prince, who had brought about tremendous changes in society even during his time as crown prince, might bring about even more changes when he became the emperor of the empire.

“···I don’t know exactly what they’ll do, but I don’t think it’ll be good for us.”

The landlords and the Catholic Church thought so, but there was nothing they could do, and a great change was coming.

***

“That’s an encouraging result.”

“Yes, we knew that the overall population would increase, but even the adult male population has increased compared to before the war.”

Diego said.

“Population growth is good, but it is also important to integrate well into society. Are the liberated people adapting well?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. He is said to be very loyal to the Mexican Empire, very motivated, and eager to learn Spanish.”

Diego looked at the report and reported to me.

“That’s very good news.”

It was the story of black people liberated from occupied territories during the war with the United States. The number reached 300,000, and 99% of them agreed to cross over to the Mexican Empire.

Having chosen ‘urban immigration’ and being sent to industrial sites at the recommendation of immigration officials, they were living a life that was no different from heaven compared to the days of slavery.

We were happy to have the manpower, and black people were happy to see their lives dramatically improved.

‘It’s a bit of a shame.’

I also thought that we should have occupied more of the South and liberated more black people. However, in order to win the war quickly, we had to move mainly to strategic strongholds.

“If you include Irish immigrants, it would not be an exaggeration to say that this year’s population growth rate will be explosive.”

“I guess you could say this is a perfect fit for the timing of the hiring.”

With the construction of Chihuahua City completed, construction of a new capital city had to begin, and railroads had to be built in the newly acquired northern and Panamanian territories.

“The economy will boom again.”

Although extensive preparations were made for the war and conscription was kept to the minimum necessary to achieve strategic objectives, it was inevitable that the war would have a negative impact on the economy.

In 1846, wages and prices rose sharply, and as a result, many businesses that had been created in the pre-war investment boom went bankrupt. These were businesses that had grown in size without substance, but had been inflated by investment funds.

“The military draft has been lifted, and the population influx due to immigration is huge, so we’ll have to wait and see.”

I went there and gathered up the papers spread out on my desk, put them in a file, and closed it. They were all economic and business-related documents.

Normally, I would have spent most of my working hours there, but things have changed. There is more work to do.

“father.”

“Are you here?”

You must prepare to become emperor.