I Became The Crown Prince Of The Mexican Empire - Chapter 154



Only Noblemtl

March 1847.

The eastern provinces of New Granada, more precisely the provinces of Cartagena, Mompox, Santa Marta, Riohacha and Pamplona, ​​formed a union.

After a fierce political battle between various elites within the state, the five eastern states came together to take collective action.

It was effectively an agreement for independence.

The new state they agreed upon was a federal state with little central authority. It was nominally a republic, but its president was internally appointed. The first president was to be from Cartagena, the most populous and important port city in the state.

“The moment we break the agreement, the other four states will unite and fight back. Would I do that? I’m not stupid.”

After the meeting, Joaquín Posada Gutiérrez smiled leisurely and said:

As president, his powers were limited to defense and foreign affairs, and he was only allowed to collect enough taxes to cover those two expenses, but he ended up becoming the first ruler of a country.

‘It doesn’t matter as long as I can gather an army.’

After all, power comes from the barrel of a gun.

The others in the conference were also aware of this and were anxious, but in order to counter the threat from the New Granada government or any other country, they had no choice but to join forces in defense and diplomacy. If that were not the case, they would not have united in the first place.

“Please keep in mind that the moment you use federal forces against a foreign power, you will automatically be impeached under the Constitution.”

As other bigwigs at the meeting said, Joaquin Gutierrez accepted it with a smile.

“Keep that in mind.”

Although a tentative agreement was reached on independence and the founding of a nation, that alone did not lead to the founding of the nation.

Establishing an independent nation was not something they could accomplish with the small number of private soldiers they could mobilize. They had to recruit troops and supporters without the eyes of the central government in New Granada.

The problem is that the ideas of independence and nation-building are what the elites want, not what the masses want.

“Who wants to create a country as they please?”

“I heard they even decided on a presidential candidate among themselves?”

“what?”

“What a crazy thing···.”

It was something that should have been done secretly. It was something that should not have reached the ears of the city residents, even if the inside of the farm did not know about it, but in just a week, rumors spread.

bang!

Joaquin Gutierrez slammed his desk.

“The rumor has already spread? How can this be happening unless there’s a rat in there!?”

He was preparing to become president. Things shouldn’t have turned out like this from the beginning.

‘I have to find out where he got the information.’

If they failed to properly discipline themselves internally, the position they had worked so hard to obtain could be in danger. Since it was decided by agreement between those in power and not by a legitimately elected president, it could be overturned at any time.

“Bring those guys who are talking nonsense to me.”

“yes!”

Joaquin Gutierrez’s ten men rode into the city on horseback, carrying American-made rifles, something that even the New Granada government forces had only a few of.

They walked the streets and bars with great enthusiasm, but could not find their target.

‘You stupid kids. How can you catch them when they’re acting so obvious?’

But he had to be caught. That was the plan.

He chose the busiest bar in Cartagena, the most prosperous port city in New Granada.

Looking at the crowded bar, Antonio Marquez gestured to Miguel Santander. It was the signal to begin the operation.

“Joaquin Gutierrez, he’s going to be president?”

As Marquez said this, Santander started to exaggerate.

“What? Is that true? Where did you hear that?”

“Shh, speak quietly.”

Marquez pretended to silence his friend, but there was no way that Gutierrez’s men, who were looking for him, would have missed his remark, which would have made the people around him turn around.

“Hey! What did you just say? I think Gutierrez said something.”

The man approached him pretending to be friendly, but Marquez, who knew the truth, found it funny.

‘You can’t even act dirty.’

Of course, they had no intention of giving in. Their goal was to crush the conspiracy of Gutierrez and the coastal landowners who wanted to make this city their fiefdom. To do that, they needed the power of the people.

“No! I think I misheard something! I guess I should go now.”

As Marquez abruptly rose from his seat and attempted to leave the bar, the panicked man grabbed him by the sleeve.

“What? Why are you holding me? Master! Look here!”

All eyes were on them. While the man was confused, Marquez shook off the big man’s hand and made a move to leave the store.

“Hey, shit! Get him!”

Several men rushed in, following the command of the panicked big man.

After seeing his teammate Santander escape unharmed, Marquez punched the big man in the jaw.

puck-!

Kutang tang!

“Come on, it’s a fight!”

The tables in the store fell over with the force of the blow, creating a loud noise, and some shouted that it was a fight, but the men could not turn down the precious spectacle.

But things didn’t turn out as people expected.

It was a one-on-many fight, and one guy fought pretty well but couldn’t defeat the majority.

“Huh? Isn’t that something I should stop?”

“Hey, hey! Where are you taking me! You should have just hit me!”

“Yeah! Just because I got in a fight at a bar!”

The people in the bar tried to stop the men from taking Marquez away,

Clank-

“Get out of the way. If you don’t want to get holes in your body.”

When the men pulled out the guns they had on their shoulders, I had no choice but to step aside.

***

‘There was a reason why I got overworked. I knew my father worked a lot, but I didn’t know it was this much…’

My father was reviewing important issues in the executive, military, and congressional branches, as well as the appointments to key positions within the empire, including Supreme Court justices and governors.

While I was running my business and promoting national development, my father was handling the troublesome work behind the scenes.

“If I think about what I used to do, I’ll definitely be delegating more work.”

“That’s right. Even you, it’ll be hard to handle that many things. Since we have the connections we’ve built up so far, trust me and leave it to me.”

“Yes, father.”

I answered that way. There is a limit to what one man can do. As the empire grows, it will have to delegate more and more.

“However, you must keep a firm grip on the reins of the military. The reason the Republicans and the landlords are now lying low is not because they have lost seats, but because they do not have the military power to stand up to the central army.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

“Hahaha, of course you know that too.”

My father patted my shoulder as he said that, and then started talking about something else.

“So, what should we do with the Oregon Territory? The British won’t agree easily.”

It is obvious that the British have completely forgotten by now that they tried to force unreasonable mediation, and only remember what happened to them.

‘It will be difficult to reach an agreement by pushing forward like the United States did in the history of the original country.’

Although the United States pushed forward with seemingly radical slogans, the agreement was ultimately reached at the 49th degree, slightly above the midpoint of 48 degrees 50 minutes.

The fur industry, once the only lucrative industry in the largely undeveloped Oregon region, was becoming less profitable in the 1940s.

Beaver and animal populations have declined significantly due to over-hunting over the past 30 years, and demand has also decreased as fashion trends in the European market have shifted away from fur.

The 49th parallel was also the eastern border of the Rocky Mountains, so from a pragmatic standpoint, it was a point where Britain could compromise.

but,

“Britain will have no choice but to judge the Oregon question from a prestige standpoint. If that is the case… if we push too hard, there will really be a war.”

“War···.”

My father’s face became serious.

“Even if we win, it doesn’t seem wise to wage another war when the previous one has just ended, especially if the opponent is the British Empire.”

If we were to fight the British for Oregon, it might seem like now would be the time, with the Americans out, but that wasn’t necessarily the case.

First, as my father said, the war has just ended. Thanks to our preparations, we were able to win relatively quickly, but we also suffered no small amount of damage. We had over 100,000 casualties, and we spent a huge amount of money on war expenses because we used our supplies without sparing any effort. Considering the war reparations we would receive from the United States, our finances are not in a serious state, but we are not in a situation where we can fight another war.

The second is that even considering the United States, it is advantageous to fight later. The United States is in a situation where it cannot help but fight a civil war, and considering the aftereffects, it is hard to guess how long it will take to recover. During the long period that the United States is standing still, we are confident that we will grow more than the combined growth rates of the United States and the United Kingdom. In the coming years, there will be a huge influx of immigrants from Ireland and Germany, and internal reforms will also be carried out.

“I agree. We will try to negotiate about Oregon Country, but we will not push too hard and will take a long-term approach. We will not be able to digest the territory we have acquired this time anyway, so there is no need to rush, and as you said, there is no way England will readily agree to the talks.”

My father nodded at my words.

“I think that would be a good idea too.”

***

“There’s no need to meet! There’s no reason for us to give in to Mexico’s demands.”

“That’s right! We’ve found a way to solve the Prussian problem, so what kind of negotiations are you talking about now?”

A proposal was made to expand the border by dividing the Oregon Country from the Mexican Empire.

“An alliance with the Austrian Empire would mean the end of the Vienna System. Think about why we defended the Vienna System in the first place. Wasn’t it to avoid unnecessary bloodshed between ‘civilized nations’? Going to war to protect the Vienna System, which was created to avoid war? Could there be such a contradiction?”

Most of the members of parliament wanted to reject the Mexican Empire’s overtures outright and take a hard line, but even now that a solution to the Prussian question had been found, there were still quite a few who opposed direct conflict with Mexico.

It is not that they were not offended by the actions of the Mexican Empire, but fighting a war with the Mexican Empire was not as easy as defeating China with one punch.

Given the military power of the Mexican Empire, they would have to mobilize their entire fleet, as well as conscript a huge number of soldiers. Plus, the Mexican Empire is one of their largest trading partners.

Even the British Empire would suffer an economic blow that would be difficult to bear.

“That’s right! And Mexico didn’t say it would take all 54 degrees and 40 minutes like the United States. They are showing a cooperative attitude, so it can’t be seen as damaging their reputation by negotiating!”

“What are you talking about! The first thing we should consider is whether they have even a small stake in Oregon, and how can we possibly accept a deal to divide it?”

“That’s right! If the US were out, Oregon would be ours, but what about Mexico!”

Pragmatic lawmakers and several intellectuals argued for negotiations, but unfortunately their forces were in the minority.

The Mexican Empire’s proposal to negotiate in this way was flatly rejected.