I Became The Crown Prince Of The Mexican Empire - Chapter 163



Only Noblemtl

The person assisting Ambassador Pakenham, whose face he had already seen several times, was the British Foreign Secretary, Viscount Palmerston.

As befitting a professional diplomat, when it was his turn, he made a congratulatory face and spouted nonsense.

“Your Majesty, it is an honour for me to attend the coronation of the Mexican Empire. I congratulate you warmly on your accession to the throne, and I am glad that Mexico has grown alongside our British Empire over the years.”

The British Empire seemed unwilling to simply celebrate.

“Thank you for coming.”

Although I gave a deliberately short answer, Viscount Palmerston did not even blink.

“We have seen the Mexican Empire overcome many challenges throughout its history and grow into an independent yet responsible nation. This growth and development is impressive, but its maturity on the international stage comes from humility and solidarity. We expect the Mexican Empire to continue to adhere to international norms and to demonstrate these principles in its relations with all nations. We hope that today’s event will serve as an opportunity to further strengthen the friendship between our two countries.”

Ultimately, his goal was a warning disguised as a celebration: a warning not to shake up the international order he leads.

For a mere viscount to attempt to teach a foreign emperor would be arrogant, coming from his background as the Foreign Secretary of the British Empire. However, getting angry here was just a lowlife.

I also said this while maintaining a gentle expression.

“Just as the British Empire watched over our Mexican Empire, I have carefully observed the footsteps of the British Empire. I have learned much from its remarkable history, and I intend to put into practice what I have learned.”

“···I see. Thank you.”

It wasn’t long ago that the British Empire rose to the top of the world. They were once just one of many challengers, and they used various methods to win. Even their most representative derogatory term, ‘pirate’, came about because they issued licenses to privateers, which were pirate ships authorized by the state, indiscriminately. Almost all European countries trembled at their outrageous behavior.

It is not true that Britain has not committed any atrocities since it gained power. On the contrary, it is Britain that has been committing all kinds of atrocities and atrocities. Wasn’t it only recently that they started a war because they stopped selling drugs?

As a seasoned diplomat, Viscount Palmerston immediately understood the meaning behind my answer, and his expression hardened slightly. However, since it would not be good for the cause to refute me again in this situation where several countries were waiting behind me, I had no choice but to step aside.

Karl Nesselrode, the Foreign Minister of the Russian Empire, was watching the conversation between me and Viscount Palmerston with interest.

He seemed to be convinced by our conversation about the state of relations between our two countries, and with a look of excitement he congratulated our Mexican Empire.

Next came the Austrian Empire. The Chancellor and Foreign Minister, Prince Metternich, also began with congratulatory remarks.

“It is a great honor for me to attend the coronation of the Mexican Empire, Your Majesty. It was a most beautiful and magnificent coronation.”

I nodded and answered politely.

“Thank you for coming, Margrave Metternich.”

His main point came next.

“As Your Majesty has said, history offers us valuable lessons. Among them, those similar to the present situation are especially helpful. Often, those who challenge the grand order, like Napoleon, realize that they can only reestablish their position in cooperation with the international community. This is an important lesson for all of us. May Your Majesty’s wise choice contribute to the peace and prosperity of not only the Mexican Empire but also the entire world.”

Margrave Metternich followed England’s lead in emphasizing order.

Order.

It may seem like a flashy statement, but not everything in the world will run smoothly just because you keep order.

“If my father had been a man who only followed the order, the Mexican Empire of today would not have existed. It would still be under Spanish rule. Isn’t that right? In that sense, I think that the order of the international society is not always desirable.”

People from Spain flinched when I suddenly mentioned them.

I think that everything, including diplomacy and governance, should be somewhere in between order and chaos. But from their perspective, I can’t help but look like I’m pursuing radical change.

“···If Your Majesty thinks so, then I have nothing more to say.”

With those words, Margrave Metternich fell silent.

With the exception of the British Empire and the Austrian Empire, everyone else offered modest congratulations.

We definitely had dinner, but I didn’t eat anything.

The long coronation day is over.

***

“bouncer!”

Bishop Ballesteros of Sonora, who is acting as Archbishop of Mexico, became angry and swore in an unorthodox manner.

He returned to Sonora by train the morning after the coronation, and vented his pent-up anger at his mansion.

Even though he was a proxy, the new emperor showed him no respect whatsoever for leading the Catholic Church in the Mexican Empire.

“The wording of the pledge is arbitrary···.”

Not only was it infuriating that they refused to crown me, but they also completely ignored the wording of the vows the church had proposed and gave me an abbreviated version.

The royal family first asked him to write a religious oath. So he and the leaders of the Mexican Catholic Church gathered together and after several days of deliberation, they came up with a oath based on the British example, which was as follows:

– Will your Majesty, with all your might, maintain the law of God and the true gospel? Will your Majesty preserve and maintain the doctrine, worship, and order of the Roman Catholic religion throughout the Mexican Empire, as they are established by law? And will you preserve all the rights and privileges that are or will be lawfully attributed to all the clergy of Mexico and to the churches entrusted to them?

But the oath announced by the new emperor was as follows:

-Do you swear, Your Majesty, to uphold the laws of God and the true Gospel, and to maintain Roman Catholic doctrine, worship, and order throughout the Mexican Empire?

Content reduced by less than half.

The volume was a problem, but the reduction was also a problem. The content that said the church’s rights and privileges would be preserved was omitted. Bishop Ballesteros’ anger came from anxiety.

“I tolerated the establishment of public schools, but now I can’t stand it any longer.”

Education was originally one of the many privileges of the church. The church monopolized the educational system and taught content that reflected the church’s doctrine and political views. This was a means by which the church maintained its influence over the ideas and culture of society as a whole.

That privilege was severely broken when the comprehensive university was created, and ended with the public school. This was clearly an infringement on the privilege of the church, but it was overlooked.

There was also the justification of providing educational benefits to veterans who participated in the war, and the popularity of the royal family who won the war was so enormous.

“Now that he has become the emperor, there will be nothing more to see.”

Bishop Ballesteros, seemingly forgetting that he had sworn allegiance only yesterday, cursed the new emperor.

“Phew···.”

His mansion was truly enormous, which was possible because the property owned by his church was much larger than a typical hacienda.

From the balcony of his three-story mansion, Bishop Ballesteros watched his slaves prepare for the next harvest, his anger draining.

“Rights and privileges… What are you trying to do?”

There is nothing to touch.

Everything the Catholic Church enjoys is legitimate. Isn’t our contribution to society enormous?

If you try to touch it even a little, it will show you a hot taste.

Bishop Ballesteros concluded this and went down to the dining room.

The food served in the restaurant was no less than a banquet at the palace. I knew this because I saw an actual banquet at the palace last night.

It was a meal that would truly be worthy of an emperor.

“I should also have a glass of holy water.”

As he spoke, an indigenous woman waiting in the restaurant poured him a drink. She was also a peón, owned by the church. Bishop Ballesteros, who had brought her to his mansion with dark intentions, lived a life completely different from what his religion taught.

Contrary to the biblical teaching that it is harder for a rich man to enter heaven than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, he was a rich man who owned a great deal of land and numerous peons (debt slaves).

Also, there was a verse in the Bible that said, “Do not get drunk on wine, for it leads to debauchery,” but he drank without hesitation, and even indulged in women, and had several illegitimate children. He did not recognize the rights of these children, and did not even know who their father was.

This was common in the Mexican Catholic Church.

They had enjoyed greater affluence and depravity than their European predecessors for a very long time, but they never expected that they would face the same kind of resistance and reform that their predecessors had faced.

Roman Catholicism was the state religion of the Mexican Empire, as stated in Article 2 of the Constitution, and most of the population, including the royal family, were Catholics. Even most immigrants were Catholics or converted upon arrival in the Mexican Empire.

The Catholic Church, which exists in every town, was not simply a place to hold mass. It was an important community in every town and city, as well as a place for religious life. Although things have changed a bit these days, it played an important role in Mexican society, to the point that births, deaths, and marriages were registered in the church.

If the emperor was the ruler of the real world, the Archbishop of Mexico could be said to be the spiritual father of his people.

Bishop Ballesteros, who had been drinking a cup of holy water, rationalized that he was the emperor and could not treat us carelessly, but the new emperor thought differently.

***

“I think it will take some time for Joseon to arrive, Your Majesty.”

Those were Diego’s words.

“Well, as expected.”

The day after the coronation, I called in a Joseon diplomat and asked him about the situation, using the excuse that I had been sitting at the end of the banquet the day before and was not able to have a proper conversation. The result was as expected.

Large-scale trade with the Mexican Empire began in five ports in Joseon, and changes were occurring in Joseon society that had been stagnant for a long time, but Joseon’s vested interests did their best to resist change.

Park Gyu-su and his juniors, who appeared in Western clothing, were not yet able to exert much influence in the government, but they were preparing for reform with a greater sense of crisis about the situation in Joseon.

“On the other hand, the Philippines seems to be doing well, while Japan is experiencing growing pains.”

President Jose García, backed by the power of the Mexican Empire’s Pacific Fleet, was re-elected for a second term, and a Philippine diplomat reported to me about the situation in the country, as if he were bragging about doing his homework.

President Garcia was following a similar path as I, starting with the confiscation of Spanish assets.

“Yes, the Japanese side did not reveal the details, but the domestic situation seems quite chaotic.”

Japan, similar to the Yuan Dynasty, was experiencing great social turmoil, and the Edo shogunate suffered a fatal blow to its authority, weakening its political power and forcing it to neglect the growth of reformist forces.

These were all changes I made.

That was the position of emperor of a powerful empire.

A position that can have a tremendous impact not only domestically but also around the world.

There are many cases where the emperor cannot wield as much power as expected due to the checks and balances of numerous political opponents, but I was not one of those cases. I enjoy the overwhelming support of the people, and as proof of this, the imperialist members of parliament control more than half, or more than two-thirds of the total seats.

This is a place where you can do whatever you want. But this is the most important time.

This should be a counter-example to the saying, ‘Absolute power corrupts absolutely.’

We should not be intoxicated by the pleasures of great power. Rather, now, when we are at our strongest, is the time to solve the empire’s greatest problems.