I Became The Crown Prince Of The Mexican Empire - Chapter 156



Only Noblemtl

Marquez, standing on the podium, opened his dry lips.

“Dear neighbors of Cartagena,

The reason I am here today is to tell you that the evil rumors that have been spreading are true.

Yes, that’s right. The big landowners, including Joaquin Posada Gutierrez, are plotting to establish their own kingdom without even asking our opinion.

Their plan appears to be a republic, but in reality it envisions a landowning state in which only the landowners with large land holdings would have the right to vote.

Even the first president has already been appointed, and could you imagine that the person who tried to kidnap me was none other than Joaquin Posada Gutierrez?”

It was a shocking revelation.

It was the news that the citizens of Cartagena were secretly worried about was becoming a reality.

If this revelation were true, it would mean that the country was not just like New Granada, but worse than New Granada.

“Are you sure? Is there any basis for it?”

Even though the young man named Marquez was a neighbor who had lived in the city all his life, I couldn’t believe everything he said just because he looked like he had been kidnapped.

“Of course, it’s hard to believe. When I first heard about this, I was skeptical. But when I heard them kidnap me to cover up the truth behind the rumors, put me in a cart, and talk to me, I couldn’t help but believe it.”

With that being said, Marquez brought up the question that people were most curious about before anyone asked.

“You all must be wondering how I escaped being kidnapped. Actually, I belong to the ‘Free Citizens’ Association’, which is trying to uncover and stop this plot of the landlords. That’s why I learned about these facts relatively quickly. A comrade who witnessed me being beaten and dragged away by Gutierrez’s men immediately reported this to his comrades, who set up an ambush and barely managed to save my life. This was possible because we had been preparing since the end of the war with Mexico.”

“···There was such a group?”

What was scary about Gutierrez was not only the manpower he could mobilize, but also the weapons he had. As the governor of Cartagena, he had great influence in this port city, and he had a strict control and monopoly on firearms. However, listening to Marquez, it seemed that the group called the “Free Citizens’ Union” had a way to obtain weapons.

In reality, the total number of members of the ‘Free Citizens’ Union’ was only 50. This was inevitable because the organization had to grow secretly. The weapons were smuggled by a comrade in the trade, but Marquez did not tell the citizens in detail about the organization’s true nature.

Marquez continued speaking.

“Gentlemen, they are trying to create a pseudo-feudal state in which only the big landowners have rights. In this process, the will of our free citizens has not been reflected at all. If this conspiracy is carried out, the big landowners will monopolize all rights. They will truly become aristocrats. What will become of us free citizens then?”

“Disgusting children···.”

“What era is this that you want to play noble?”

Marquez’s speech was inflammatory, but it was perfect for stirring up the anger in Cartagena’s citizens, who were already building up in their hearts.

“Therefore, I appeal to all of you: Take courage and stand up against this conspiracy. Let us fight for the freedom and future of all of us!”

“Let’s fight!”

When the members of the Free Citizens’ Union shouted to fight, some sympathized while others watched, but that day, the number of members of the Free Citizens’ Union increased several times over.

***

“Wow! Is this what they call a ‘public school’?”

“Yeah, son. How is it? Isn’t it cool?”

“yes!”

Carlos looked at the model and admired it.

‘It was worth making the model, even though I didn’t make it myself.’

I patted Carlos on the head and showed him around the construction site.

“You have to be careful here. Stay close to your father.”

“yes!”

Carlos was only 11 years old, but the sooner he began training his successor, the better.

When I receive the handover from my father and become emperor through the coronation, Carlos will naturally become crown prince, but when that time comes, it will be difficult to find time for this.

“Father, why is there that empty lot?”

“That’s a playground. It’s a space where you can learn various sports during physical education class and play soccer during break time.”

“Wow…. Playing soccer with friends. I’m jealous.”

As was the case in many historical instances, they agreed not to educate the children too strictly for fear that they would go astray, but Carlos, as a member of the royal family, received private tutoring from several Mexican intellectuals.

The soccer I first started playing at the military academy was easy to settle into Mexican society because of its unique fun and the fact that I, the crown prince, introduced it. Carlos also had friends to play with, but of course he was not good enough to play soccer, and he only watched soccer.

Since he is still at an age where he wants to play a lot, he must have been envious of the space where he could play soccer with his friends.

“Do you want to go to school?”

Carlos hesitated for a moment before answering my question.

“I know I can’t do it on my own, but I think it would be nice if I could go!”

Hmm.

In modern times, children of European royal families often attend regular schools, but this was not the case at the time. They were all educated by private tutors, just as we do today.

‘Still… I don’t think there’s anything wrong with just being careful about safety.’

We have been careful to educate students so that they do not develop an unnecessary sense of authority, so it would not be a bad idea if they could go to school, interact with various people, and develop a broader perspective.

‘Hmm. This public school in Mexico City will probably be completed in the year after next, so if I enroll the year after that…’

“I guess I can go for two years.”

“Really?”

Carlos looked surprised.

“Well, really.”

I took Carlos, who was excited, on a tour of the construction site and explained in detail the various parts of the public school that will be built in the future. Carlos also seemed to enjoy listening to the story of construction, as if his bloodline (?) had not gone anywhere.

“If there were more schools like this, I think our empire would develop further.”

At those words, I nodded and said.

“Protecting the country is the top priority, but developing the country and improving the lives of the people is also important.”

“yes!”

After spending some quality time with his eldest son, he returned to the palace and spent time with his family.

***

“···Is it malaria again? The number of deaths keeps increasing.”

“It has been reduced a lot by applying the things Your Majesty has mentioned, but···.”

Diego trailed off at my slightly unpleasant tone as I read the report.

“No, it’s not your fault. It’s not Ortega’s fault. But we need to come up with a solution.”

Since immediately after the war, we have been building railroads in the newly acquired territories, and there are no problems in the North. More than 95% of the territory is owned by the government, and construction is also without problems.

The problem arose during construction to extend the railway to the southernmost tip of Panama.

‘It was good to appease the Hacienda owners into selling their land along the railroad route, but malaria…’

“If this continues, there will be more deaths from malaria than there have been deaths during the construction of the railroad so far.”

Ortega Construction and the Mexican Imperial Railway Company had been paying considerable attention to the safety of their workers, but they were helpless against malaria.

Malaria, which still holds the title of number one cause of death from infectious diseases even in modern times, is a truly terrifying disease. This disease is surprisingly highly contagious and fatal.

This is a phenomenon that is different from the general common sense that infectious diseases with high mortality rates become less contagious when the host dies quickly. This is because the host of malaria is mosquitoes, not humans. Since humans are only intermediate hosts, there is no reason for the contagiousness to decrease even if they die quickly.

Although we had been warned in advance, mosquitoes were not easy to stop.

“I don’t mind if the construction is delayed, but I want you to tell them to proceed while filling in all the holes where mosquitoes can breed.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

In fact, it was an order that had already been given. However, there was nothing that could be done until the cure was completed.

“How far has Gaitan’s research progressed?”

“Although we have succeeded in extracting quinine from the bark of the cinchona tree, as in the previous report, there is a severe shortage of the cinchona tree itself.”

Cinchona bark is a malaria treatment that was discovered by European missionaries in the 17th century. This substance, which cured Emperor Kangxi who contracted malaria (malaria) during an expedition, became so famous that there was a shortage of cinchona trees in South America.

So in 1820, a method was developed to extract quinine, a chemical substance that is effective against malaria, from the bark of the cinchona tree, but this too depended on the supply of cinchona trees.

‘In the end, we have to create chloroquine, which is an artificial synthetic product…’

In original history, it was created over 1900 years ago.

‘Is the Panama Canal still too difficult?’

Even though I am a layman in chemistry or medicine, the reason I know about chloroquine is because all of this was ultimately related to the Panama Canal.

The Panama Canal was attempted by the French in 1880, but failed after more than 20,000 people died, and was completed in 1914 after the United States deployed a huge number of troops, but about 6,000 Americans also died.

A total of 26,000 people died while building the Panama Canal.

This is ridiculous.

It’s not even a war, but 26,000 people died at a construction site. Does that make sense? Even if a natural disaster suddenly occurred, it’s not a catastrophe.

Even if the benefits that the Panama Canal would bring to our empire were enormous, the number of 26,000 I remember is simply daunting.

So, we are carrying out groundwork to reduce the number of mosquitoes as much as possible by only building railroads without forcibly building canals.

Although there were casualties, we didn’t see the same damage as in France or the United States because we started out knowing that the cause was mosquitoes, but if we start digging the ground to build a canal, they will multiply again.

‘Without chloroquine, we shouldn’t even think about the Panama Canal.’

I made that promise to Diego once again.

“I know you’re very busy in Ireland, but please tell them to gather as many people as possible who are interested in chemistry and pathology. I’m offering you a great deal.”

“Yes, I will convey that.”

It was an order to Reginald, who was in charge of the European immigration company. He was concentrating on relief work and immigration promotion in Ireland, but the network he had built on the European continent was still there, so it would soon bear fruit.

I wrote down a few names I knew and sent them to him, namely, Louis Pasteur and Rudolf Virchow.

Honestly, I don’t know what kind of achievements they have made, but if they are famous enough to know my name, they would be a great help even if it’s not malaria. As of now, I will provide the world’s best environment and support, so I think we can achieve more than the original history.

‘Let’s do it step by step, step by step.’

You know the way, so just keep going.