I Became The Crown Prince Of The Mexican Empire - Chapter 167



Only Noblemtl

The revolution that took place in Cartagena, a port city in New Granada, soon turned into a civil war.

Joaquín Posada Gutiérrez, the governor and largest landowner of Cartagena, was furious and organized an army to attack the revolutionary army called the Union of the Free Citizens of Cartagena, but most of the citizens had already joined the revolutionaries.

Gutierrez was eventually forced to retreat as he was unable to recapture the city of Cartagena.

Several months passed since then.

The revolutionary army grew stronger and stronger.

This is because people from other regions also flocked to join the revolutionary army.

“The landlords in our region are doing the same thing as the landlords here.”

“Hmm? Then I guess I’ll have to put up resistance there. Is it okay for me to come here and help you?”

“Even if we wanted to resist, we couldn’t. There isn’t even a city half as big as this one. It means we don’t have enough power to resist the landlords.”

As New Granada became involved in foreign wars and lost control of its people and provinces, it was not only in the east that local powers began to have second thoughts.

Since the rulers of almost all the states harbored the vain desire to create a state of their own, the free people living in those regions could not help but oppose it.

The problem was that the cities of New Granada, except for a few port cities and the capital, were not powerful enough to stand up to the landowners.

So the alternative was to join the revolutionary forces in Cartagena, the largest city and the most successful in fighting against the landowners.

The Cartagena native, a member of the revolutionary army, thought after hearing that explanation.

‘Wait a minute, so that means that even if we take over the entire state of Cartagena, it doesn’t end there. We want them to expand into other states···.’

I couldn’t bring myself to say anything to my comrade in front of me, but I had a feeling things were getting too big.

After months of fierce fighting, most of Cartagena province has been taken under control.

This was possible because one of my comrades was in the trade business and was able to purchase old weapons from the Mexican Empire at a low price.

The military funds came from the treasuries of Gutierrez and other landowners in Cartagena.

Everyone who saw the landlords’ wealth said similar things.

– Are you saying that these bastards, despite living in such abundance, are not satisfied and want to create their own kingdom?

The weapons purchased from the Mexican Empire, although older, were comparable or better than the American-made weapons that the landowners mostly had.

It was natural that the landowners were pushed back by the revolutionary army’s power, which was far superior to their expectations.

“These little bastards, they’re not going to support me till the end, are they?”

Gutierrez gritted his teeth.

His future looked bright and glorious when the Eastern Confederacy was formed and he was nominated president by the conference, but within a few months his situation was in the gutter.

“Do you think that if I, we lose, you will be safe?”

The Cartagena state landowners’ union he leads clearly demonstrated the power of the Eastern Union, a group of states, and why he was nominated as president.

The proof of this was that they held out for months against thousands of well-armed revolutionary troops.

If only the other landowners of the Eastern Union had helped, the revolutionary army would have been crushed long ago. However, the authors of the so-called ‘Union’ only said that they would send reinforcements, but did not actually send them. They just watched as if they were someone else’s business.

The Eastern Union landowners watched as the man they had chosen to be the new nation’s president fell from grace.

The moment Gutiérrez and the landowners of Cartagena Province collapsed, they agreed to form an Eastern Coalition to attack the revolutionaries.

“You disgusting children. Let me do as you wish. Load them all!”

Gutierrez gave up his foolishness.

Because he hated the landowners of the Eastern Alliance as much as the revolutionaries, he decided not to fight any longer and to pack up his remaining property and leave.

Although he had lost much of his wealth to the revolutionaries, he still had a fortune that was among the largest not only in the Eastern Union but in all of New Granada.

Enough to rebuild your family wherever you go.

“Let’s go. To Argentina.”

“Yes! Let’s set sail!”

Actually, the Mexican Empire was the best option for immigration, but I didn’t want to go there.

The revolutionaries say they want to decide their own fate, but I knew that their true intentions were selfish: to join the Mexican Empire and enjoy the benefits of their own free will. The Mexican Empire even sold the revolutionaries old weapons.

‘America is in the middle of a civil war, so there’s no place to go…’

In the end, there were two candidates: Brazil and Argentina. Gutierrez and the landowners who followed him chose Argentina. They believed that since they spoke the same language and had a small population, there was still a lot of opportunity.

In fact, Argentina was quite a popular country for immigrants, although not as much as Mexico.

So, Gutierrez and the landowners of Cartagena, who had been holding back the revolutionaries, left, and the revolutionaries faced a new situation.

***

Antonio, a large landowner in the Mexican Empire, diligently went around and persuaded landowners.

His strategy was simple.

Any landowner who has not converted to the imperial faction will be provoked to vent their pent-up anger.

It would have been very difficult to persuade anyone in this Mexican Empire to do something so crazy as rebellion if it had not been for the powerful emotions of anger and hatred.

“In the old days, no one could touch anything you did in Hacienda.”

“Yeah. There was a time like that. These days, whenever something happens, I run to the police, and I’m so full I’m going crazy.”

As the Mexican Empire grew, landowners also became wealthier. Farm efficiency and yields increased dramatically with the help of various farm implements, machines, dams, and irrigation systems.

As the population increased rapidly, the demand for agricultural products also increased rapidly, but unfortunately, the prices of agricultural products did not rise. This is because the supply increased more than the demand. However, it did not fall to a level that caused a sharp decline, so the income of landowners certainly increased.

It wasn’t just about income. Expenditures also increased in various areas, such as various foods such as fruits that were not available before, various and high-quality clothing, and luxury goods that had to be imported from abroad.

But despite such material wealth, many landowners longed for the old days. Their families had been landowners for decades or even centuries before independence, and at that time they were little more than petty lords.

This changed after independence, when railroads were laid and the Mexican Empire’s central government began to exert strong control over the entire country.

“Don’t they share information about railroads and various real estates among themselves? It’s really absurd to see them pretending to be righteous while doing so.”

“That’s what I’m saying. Have you seen them build a university in Morelia, which isn’t even the capital? Since then, the land prices in the area have skyrocketed.”

“Yes, the people should know about such things. Isn’t that emperor crazy about money? And what? He says he’s going to take away the church’s assets because it’s corrupt and degenerate? Does that make sense?”

Antonio’s method was clever: he linked anger toward the emperor with anger toward secular law.

“That doesn’t make sense! In the end, it’ll only benefit the Emperor and his followers.”

The church’s huge farms had a huge number of peons attached to them. The emperor would probably release all of the peons and operate them like the existing state-run farms, introducing a large amount of agricultural machinery.

Then, the workers released from the farms would naturally become workers, and the beneficiaries were the companies.

“Yes. The Emperor will benefit the most, followed by the Emperor’s followers.”

Most of the imperialists were and still are landowners, but they were attempting business and investment activities under the emperor’s strong recommendation. The shortage of labor in Mexican industry had been a chronic problem for a long time, and the landowners were well aware of it.

“In conclusion, all of this ultimately benefits the Emperor and his followers.”

The landlords also tried to follow them and make investments, but the returns on their investments were dismal. This was because they were very lacking in information and know-how.

When it appeared that he was feeling relative deprivation as he had been led to believe, Antonio went one step further.

“If the privileges of the church that have been maintained for hundreds of years can be blown away by a single bill, why not abolish the peon system? If it is abolished, there will be great economic and political benefits?”

If there is no peon, then farm workers must be hired at fair wages. This is the same even if more farm machinery is introduced. In the end, the landlords will suffer a huge blow.

“···That must be true. That guy would do that.”

Antonio’s meticulous build-up shined once again. The landlord was furious even though it wasn’t his immediate business, and even felt threatened for his survival.

Persuasion was not always successful, as some people were either too timid or too cool-headed to be swayed by emotions.

However, because he chose his targets for persuasion very carefully, there was no misfortune of information being leaked. Even if he did not join the rebellion, a landowner is a landowner. He was equally dissatisfied with the royal family and the government, and because he emotionally supported the church’s rebellion, he decided to keep quiet.

The event is not far away.

Antonio, who had convinced one person today, thought the plan was going smoothly.

***

“It’s almost time. Let’s begin the operation.”

The emperor spoke in a light tone, but the atmosphere in the room was solemn.

The director of the Military Intelligence Agency and several generals followed the order as if they were going to war.

chuck-

“hmm.”

Everyone saluted sharply with sharp timing, and the emperor also saluted.

A few minutes later, telegraph machines all over the country began to ring.

Click, click, click.

The sound of the telegraph keys being struck resonated at a regular, rapid tempo.

The contents are ‘-.-. .- … – .. –. —‘

‘Castigo (Punishment)’

It was the signal to execute the operation.

2:00 a.m., April 31, 1848.

It was only a day before the rebels’ uprising.

The priests moved too hastily.

It was inevitable, as their assets were being confiscated in real time and their power was being drained, but in moving hastily, too much information was leaked too easily.

Intelligence agents and soldiers raided the mansions of several landowners.

bang-

Wedge-

Boom! Boom!

The main gate, made of thick iron bars, and the front door of the mansion located directly in front of it were all shattered in an instant.

-Huh!

Antonio woke up startled by the sound of a huge artillery bombardment at dawn.

“What, what is it?”

After a moment of confusion, he heard footsteps of someone entering the mansion. It wasn’t just one person. At least dozens of people had broken into his mansion.

Antonio, whose whole body was covered in goosebumps, looked out the window.

That was the moment.

Bang! Tata tang!

A shootout ensued.

Antonio’s men belatedly began to attack the unidentified force.

For a moment, a light appeared and the opponent’s figure was visible.

It was the military.

And it’s not a local army, it’s a central army.

Their counterattack was immediate.

Tata tata tata tang!

A rain of bullets poured down, and Antonio’s men were killed.

‘crazy.’

Antonio was watching the scene from the window.

The uprising was a day later, so they had procured weapons and troops, but the only people in the mansion were their direct subordinates who served as officers.

There were a lot of weapons in the warehouse, but that would rather be evidence of a rebellion.

Thump, thump, thump.

The sound of soldiers climbing the stairs of the mansion was heard.

“Hey, honey.”

His wife was trembling with anxiety and kept nagging him to do something, but Antonio had no real answer.

What are you doing, being attacked in the middle of the night?

I had been preparing for a rebellion, so I had reinforced the gates of the mansion and made security very strict. What kind of nonsense is this? Antonio felt a sense of relief.

“What the hell. What the hell were those security guys doing? How can they suddenly start firing cannons?”

The guards were assassinated by intelligence agents for their honest work, but Antonio took his anger out on them.

As Antonio was standing around the window, unable to do anything, the bedroom door opened wide.

“Antonio Gabriel de la Cruz Santamaría! You are under arrest for treason! The evidence has already been presented, so get down on your knees and stop fooling around!”

“···Fuck.”

His vain dreams were shattered so easily.

Antonio was not alone. Several landowners, priests, and military officers, including those he had persuaded, were ambushed at dawn and arrested on charges of treason.

The operation, which lasted from dawn until morning, was successful.

As many as eight states in central Mexico were expected to revolt, as intelligence had previously estimated, but not a single one rose up.

But, on the morning of May 1st.

The one place that wasn’t on the list.

There was a place that even the Emperor and the Intelligence Service missed.

A place that can be said to be one of the cores of the Mexican Empire.