I Became The Crown Prince Of The Mexican Empire - Chapter 54



Only Noblemtl

Texas (3)

A Texas town, winter 1833.

“Have you heard the rumor that immigrants who come through America have more land?”

“Oh, that rumor? I’ve heard it.”

“I heard that Stephen Austin was involved in it. All the Texas vigilantes own a ton of land.”

“Is that true? Somehow, even if that guy, Stephen Austin, was like that, I wondered how the other guys could just sit around and do nothing. Now it makes sense.”

“Yes. If this is what happened, then the rumors about bribing the governor and officials must be true. Isn’t that right?”

“Um… I guess so. Shit.”

Rumors of Stephen Austin’s corruption were spreading simultaneously through several towns.

That wasn’t the end.

Another town in Texas.

“There’s a reason Stephen Austin is raising a Texas vigilante group.”

“Why are you raising a vigilante group? What else is there to do besides dealing with the Comanche tribe?”

Harry was intrigued by what his neighbor was quietly saying.

This is because he heard from his neighbor Nick in another town that the bad rumors about Stephen Austin were true, and he developed a negative opinion of Stephen Austin.

“Why would they go to the trouble of law enforcement if it was just to deal with the Comanche? There must be a bigger motive. There’s even a rumor that Stephen Austin blocked the governor’s request for more troops from the Mexican government.”

“···Hey, are you trying to say that Stephen Austin had any intention of opposing the Mexican government? No matter what, that seems like too much.”

“You may feel that way now. But just wait and see. I’ll reveal my true feelings soon.”

There were those who warned of the dangers of Stephen Austin.

Harry just assumed that his neighbors really disliked Stephen Austin.

But that warning soon became true.

***

Stephen Austin was confident, not knowing what was happening all over Texas.

The people of Texas will follow me.

He prepared a speech in San Antonio.

“Please join us as Texas pioneer Stephen Austin gives an important speech on the future of Texas!”

Naturally, he mobilized the Texas Rangers to announce the speech in advance to gather a large crowd of residents.

Stephen Austin promoted himself as a pioneer of Texas, but in fact there were settlements before he arrived.

If there had been no settlements, Texas would not have been recognized as a territory of New Spain during colonial times.

“Stephen Austin is giving a speech!”

“A speech? Is something going on?”

“It’s about the future of Texas. Does that seem important?”

“Then I guess I should go.”

The Spanish settlements were mostly small towns in western Texas, far from the American side. However, there was a world of difference between having a foundation and not having one, so American immigrants also settled mainly around these existing settlements.

One such place is San Antonio. Founded by Spanish missionaries, it is one of the oldest settlements in Texas, and is now the largest.

Stephen Austin smoothed out his sharp suit and stepped up to the makeshift podium set up in San Antonio’s public square.

Hundreds of Texans gathered in the square awaited his first words.

Steven looked around for a moment, took a deep breath, and began his speech.

“Here today, in this beautiful square in San Antonio, we gather to talk about the future of Texas.

Texas, this land was built with our sweat and blood. We cultivated it with our labor and preserved it with our hands.

Remember, when thousands of Comanche cavalrymen attacked Texas, we risked our lives to defend this land.”

Texas was built solely by Texans. That was the point.

Most people were nodding to Stephen Austin’s words, but some were thinking, ‘No way?’

Stephen Austin continued:

“The Mexican government has sent less than a thousand soldiers to defend this land. And yet, the central government of the Mexican Empire does not recognize our sacrifices.

Now they are building a railroad all the way here, threatening our freedom.

Once this railroad is completed, they will try to dismantle our vigilantes. The safety and freedom we have maintained for decades will be jeopardized.

They are also greedy for our land. They say they have too much land and want to take it away from us, which we have been cultivating for years.

Their greed will not stop here. They will tax us more and more and try to control our lives.”

It was all false propaganda.

In this era, control means force. The central government’s control is strengthened, which means the military will enter Texas. Then, the Texas Vigilantes, an unofficial armed group that has become excessively large, are no longer needed, so it is normal to disband them.

The talk of taking away land is similar. It is only natural to take back land that exceeds the amount contracted with the Mexican government.

The same goes for taxes. Many Texans pay ridiculously low taxes for the land they own. Taxes aren’t going up, they’re just going down.

Stephen Austin knew all this, but he didn’t care, because he truly believed this was for the good of Texans.

The vigilantes, the land ownership, the taxes were all gone once they joined the United States, so it was a win-win for Texans.

“We, the Texans, must come together as one. Our voices must be heard throughout Texas.

“We must show our unity so that they cannot violate our rights.”

At the corner of the square was Major Ricardo, his hood pulled over his head and his face hidden. He thought.

‘Texan unity. Just as His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said.’

Even as I was executing the operation, I had a bit of a feeling of doubt. However, since it was His Highness the Crown Prince’s order, I just carried it out.

‘You even got the phrases right. The rumors that you’re a genius are true. … But does a genius really have to be able to get this right?’

While Major Ricardo was in awe of the Crown Prince’s insight, Stephen Austin continued his speech.

“With all of you gathered here today, we can build a powerful community that no one can surpass.

We are making history here today. It is time for all of us to come together to create a Texas for Texans!”

He did not say anything about fighting directly against the Mexican government and winning independence.

Even Stephen Austin thought it was too radical. This isn’t something that can be done overnight.

Public opinion has to be built over months and years.

The first step he considered important in this work was the identity of being a ‘Texan’.

If we can create this identity and portray the Mexican government as an “outside force” trying to oppress “Texans,” we will achieve our ultimate goal.

As the speech ended, the crowd of Texas Rangers began to applaud and cheer, and soon the general public began to get caught up in the atmosphere.

“Wow!!”

People from Texas in the United States rarely identify as Mexican.

Mexicans were a minority in Texas, so I had no contact with them and I didn’t think I received anything from their government.

“I’m a Texan. What do you think?”

“Well, we’re not American, and it’s a bit ambiguous to call us Mexican. We’re definitely Texans.”

There were many who thought so, but there were also many who thought otherwise, mainly immigrants from Europe.

“The Mexican government has done nothing for us?”

“We had the land, the tools and seeds to farm, the food we were given until the crops were harvested, and we were even given free transportation to our settlements by stagecoach.”

A few Mexicans were outraged.

“That American guy is talking crazy.”

“So what, are you saying we want independence from the Mexican Empire?”

Stephen Austin’s speech spread like wildfire throughout Texas.

He is the self-proclaimed greatest local powerhouse in Texas. His speech was shocking.

The atmosphere in Galveston, a port city that has grown rapidly in recent years due to the influx of huge numbers of European immigrants, was grim.

A tavern in Galveston.

Two men were drinking and talking.

“I don’t see what’s wrong with Steven’s speech.”

“So what if we’re not Texans?”

Two big guys talking so that everyone around them can hear.

The people inside the tavern were clearly watching the two large men who looked like they were very strong.

Then someone said,

“It’s fucking noisy.”

The store became quiet.

The big guys stood up.

“Hey. What did you just say?”

The man who had said something noisy also stood up.

“I said it was really loud.”

“I can tell just by looking at his face. He’s a mestizo.”

The large man, who was clearly white, checked his opponent’s complexion and acted proudly as if he had won.

“Texas belongs to us Texans. You Mexicans have done nothing for us.”

“So what? Are you planning to rebel against our Mexican Empire?”

The Mexican laughed and asked back.

I hadn’t thought that far ahead yet, but I said it in a fit of anger.

“If it costs me my life to protect the rights and freedoms of Texans, I’ll give it!”

The atmosphere in the store became more tense as strong remarks poured out from the big guy.

“stop!”

As customers began to slowly leave, the store owner intervened.

He pulled out his gun and shouted.

“Hey! If you’re going to fight, go out and fight! Don’t cause trouble to other people’s businesses!”

“···”

“Ahem. Let’s wait and see.”

bang!

The big guys slammed the door shut as if they were venting their anger.

Similar things happened all over Texas.

Big and small fights broke out in hotels, bars, and even on the streets.

Residents of early settlements, such as San Antonio, largely supported Stephen Austin, but residents of more recently developed settlements, such as Galveston, were resentful of his ideas.

This may be because the interests of existing immigrants from the United States and new settlers from Mexico and Europe differ.

Stephen Austin began touring the settlements, starting in San Antonio, giving speeches.

While there were those moving at the front, there were also those moving at the back.

***

“You. Have you heard about Stephen Austin’s speech?”

“···Yeah. I got goosebumps all over my body. How on earth did you know this?”

“I just anticipated his sinister intentions. But I’m worried that there are people who are being incited.”

Harry made up his mind as he watched his town neighbors predict that Stephen Austin would blame the Mexican Empire for the “Texans.”

“We have to step forward.”

“Us? What can we do?”

“At least our village should not cooperate with Stephen Austin. We must let them know in advance that if they are fooled, they will only be sacrificed for his ambitions.”

Harry spoke with determination. The neighboring man spoke too.

“Yes. The Mexican government is not a pushover, and there is no need to fight back recklessly and end up dying. We need to save the people of our town.”

The two men nodded with solemn expressions.