I Became The Crown Prince Of The Mexican Empire - Chapter 52



Only Noblemtl

Texas (1)

He sent Major Ricardo to Texas and summoned the chief architect.

The chief architect came in.

“Your Majesty, have you called?”

“Something has come up that requires me to leave the scene for a while. I need you to take charge of the scene for the time being.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. May I ask how long it will take?”

They’ll probably mobilize the military just in case, but it’ll probably take less time than it did in California.

The army could be brought by rail to Veracruz and then taken by ship to Texas, a journey that would take less than two weeks.

‘I now realize how reckless it was to travel back and forth to California.’

“It should take about three months.”

“Yes, I think that’s quite manageable.”

“Okay. I’m not going right now, but I’ll make sure to finish organizing everything by tomorrow, so don’t worry too much.”

“thank you.”

“Let’s first check the current situation.”

I’ve been in Veracruz for 10 months now, and a lot has changed.

The chief architect and I moved forward to a large table.

A table filled with maps of the port of Veracruz, various blueprints, and papers listing the progress of work.

The chief architect explained to me, touching various places on the table.

“Yes, Your Majesty. The port city expansion and shipyard construction are currently progressing rapidly. The supply of construction materials and laborers is good, and construction is proceeding without any problems.”

“Oh, I see.”

Beginning with the Escalante family, many farm workers from the Yucatan Peninsula fled to Veracruz.

‘Congressman Escalante helped me a lot.’

We were able to get the peasants out of the Yucatan Peninsula for a very low introduction fee.

When my request, as the Crown Prince, was met with the support of the most powerful man in the region, Councilor Escalante, the landowners began to send away the peasants they had kept without any hesitation, even though they had no real need for them.

Thanks to this, a whopping 50,000 people have moved to the Yucatan Peninsula alone in the past eight months.

‘Because the construction site couldn’t handle everything, it was also a task to deploy personnel to other construction sites and various companies.’

Of the influx of workers, only as many as were needed were employed on construction sites in Veracruz, and the rest were sent to railroad and dam construction sites and to other companies throughout the country.

The newly created intelligence agency will continue to monitor, but it is safe to say that this measure has prevented a possible caste war on the Yucatan Peninsula.

‘The rebellion that could have been a major threat was stopped more easily than expected.’

“So how much progress can we say exactly has been made?”

“The port city expansion construction is about 30% complete, and the shipyard construction is about 20% complete.”

“Well, the total construction period is not short after all.”

If this level of progress is made in 10 months, it would take almost 3 years.

“Workers are getting used to the construction industry and their metric system training is over, so things will start to pick up speed.”

“Okay. Now let’s go out there and check it out.”

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the entire city was a construction site.

Everywhere I looked I saw Mayan indigenous workers.

‘You’re full of energy.’

Veracruz, Mexico’s largest port and already bustling with people, is experiencing a huge boom thanks to construction work taking place everywhere.

All the accommodations and restaurants were always full, and all the shops were also experiencing huge sales.

The chief architect and I carefully inspected construction sites throughout the city.

“Everyone is doing a good job of following the plan. It’s all thanks to you placing the architects in the right places.”

“No. It is thanks to Your Majesty’s good leadership.”

The next day, I checked the progress of the port and shipyard construction and thoroughly reviewed how the construction would proceed while I was away.

“Cecilia. I think I need to take a quick trip to Texas.”

“Can I go with you?”

“No, I’ll be back shortly, so don’t worry too much and stay in Mexico City for the time being. I’m planning to stop by Mexico City and then head to Texas.”

“all right.”

“Diego, help me pack.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

We left the small house that we had grown attached to and lived in like a newlywed home for the past 10 months.

I didn’t take all my stuff with me because I would be back soon.

On the way back on the train from Veracruz station, Cecilia asked.

“Honey, what happened in Texas?”

“No, it hasn’t happened yet, but I have a feeling something is going to happen soon.”

***

As soon as I arrived in Mexico City, I looked for my father.

“Hmm? Jeronimo, is the shipyard construction finished?”

“No, Father. I have come to ask you a favor.”

“Well, what’s the matter with you coming here in person instead of sending a letter?”

My father asked with a puzzled expression, as most of our communication up until now had been through letters.

“There are bad signs coming out of Texas.”

“Bad signs? Something like the California Native American crisis?”

As soon as the word bad omen was mentioned, Augustin I started talking as if he had a headache.

“This time, there was no incident like the Chumash incident. But looking at the situation, I have a bad feeling.”

“Hmm. That’s fortunate that nothing serious happened. If we intervene quickly, it would be easier to handle. But what’s the situation going on?”

I told my father a summary of what Major Ricardo had said, starting with his assignment as an informant in Cuba and his investigation into the situation in Texas.

“I have been thinking about this for a while now, so I just found out about it. If I hadn’t been aware of it, I might have only found out about it after something bigger had happened. We need to come up with measures to prevent this kind of situation.”

“A plan? From the way you say it, it seems like you’ve already thought of something. Tell me.”

“I wonder if we could create an agency that would gather information about what’s happening within the empire.”

“It’s an agency that collects information···.”

Augustin I came from a military background.

You will know how important it is to acquire information. He is not a mediocre commander, but a person worthy of being called a great general.

“Certainly, listening to you, I get the feeling that it would have been nice to have known about the California incident in advance, like this one. Did the agency already plan it out?”

“Yes, Father. I think we should first assign him to the military. I have thought of calling the organization ‘Unidad de Intelligencia Militar.’”

“To the military? Well, I guess they’re saying to avoid the eyes of the members of the National Assembly for now.”

Creating a new government agency can only be done through legislation or, at the very least, by executive order.

‘The security threats will include members of Congress, and we must not let them know in advance.’

If they find out what kind of organization this is, they will greatly strengthen their security. We can’t let that happen. The only way to avoid this is through the military.

The military is the only group that the father can completely control.

In the military, there is no need for a father to ask permission or report to anyone whether he is creating a new unit or disbanding an existing one. Therefore, if he only has loyalists, there is no chance of information leaking out.

“Yes. Although it is nominally a military intelligence unit, it does not only collect military-related information.”

It will be an intelligence agency that collects all information that could possibly pose even the slightest threat to security.

‘There are also negative consequences to placing such an intelligence agency within the military rather than an official government department.’

There is a risk that the military’s power could expand too much.

This is not a problem now, as Augustin I holds overwhelming authority as an emperor with a military background, but it could be a dangerous factor in the future.

‘By then we should have made it an independent government department and created the Imperio Mexicano de Inteligencia (Imperial Intelligence of the Mexican Empire).’

I explained to my father about the intelligence unit I had envisioned.

To summarize, it is as follows.

The primary mission is to detect security threats. Initially, the scope will be limited to detecting domestic security threats, but from now on, it will include foreign ones as well.

Headquartered in Mexico City, it has branches in each state to collect central and local intelligence. Communication is made only through face-to-face meetings in secret locations or encrypted correspondence.

Agents are selected from a rigorous set of qualifications and must master skills such as espionage, code breaking, language learning, self-defense, and marksmanship.

He also explained about Major Ricardo, who will be the head of the group.

“You’ve thought it through in detail. Good. Then, aside from the leader, I can decide on the other people myself?”

“Yes, Father. I beg you to be loyal.”

“Okay, I got it.”

The Texas problem was also dealt with by the military to nip it cleanly in the bud.

The force consisted of 1,000 infantry, 1,000 cavalry, and 500 artillery.

This force could be loaded onto trains and taken to the port of Veracruz, where it could then be placed on a fleet of transports waiting at the port, and whisked away to Texas.

“You’ve had a hard time.”

My father patted me on the shoulder.

***

After several years, I visited ‘Vega Defense Industries’, which is run by Eduardo.

Because I thought that the new technologies that I had given the ideas and rough structures for would have been developed by now.

“Eduardo, tell me what’s ready for mass production.”

“The rear-loading rifles and revolvers are ready for mass production, Your Majesty.”

Eduardo confidently guided me into the warehouse.

“Is the rear-loading rifle a bolt action?”

“Yes, I continued to experiment in the direction Your Majesty had instructed and eventually succeeded.”

Bolt actions and revolvers appear around this time in the original history, and I even explained their structures, so it makes sense that they would appear.

“Is the rear-mounted cannon still there?”

“Yes. It’s a continuing failure to create a proper closure.”

“Hmm. I guess so.”

I understand that it’s still quite a while until a proper rear-mounted cannon appears in the history of the Yuan Dynasty.

The rear loading device is important for blocking the rear of the chamber, but since I have a vague idea about bolt actions but no idea about the cannon’s closing mechanism, I couldn’t even give you a hint.

Eduardo gave me a revolver, and I felt very excited.

‘Finally, something is coming out without me having to invent it myself.’

I feel like the past days spent focusing on technological development to the point where I couldn’t tell if I was the crown prince or a nerd are being rewarded.

As I said, it looks similar to a modern revolver pistol. It has a beautiful design with a harmony of iron and wood.

‘This would be useful for infantry, but it would be especially good for cavalry.’

Of all the weapons out there now, this one is the best at close combat.

A rear-loading rifle with an overwhelming loading speed compared to a full-loading rifle, and a revolver pistol with a short range and accuracy but capable of firing up to 6 rounds in rapid succession.

Just looking at these two weapons gave me a sense of security.

I took care of the 300 units that were produced for mass production testing since they haven’t received any full-scale orders yet.

“Don’t worry, I’ll definitely give you the money later.”

“Don’t worry. Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

“Haha. Okay. We’re going to get a large order soon, so prepare well.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

If all goes according to plan, there will be no need to use these weapons.

If that doesn’t happen,

Just crush it with force and that’s it.