I Became The Crown Prince Of The Mexican Empire - Chapter 56



Only Noblemtl

Texas (5)

I took my first steps into the port of Galveston and took a deep breath of Texas air.

‘Is this your first time in Texas?’

Texas.

A vast land larger than France, suitable for agriculture and livestock farming, and rich in various resources. It is also the front line against the United States.

‘As important as California. No, more important if you think about oil.’

While we were waiting for a while to prepare the army, Diego brought what he had been waiting for.

“Your Majesty, this is a letter from Major Ricardo. I see he is using the alias Alejandro.”

The aide handed me the envelope Diego was holding.

“Thank you, Diego.”

I said so and opened the letter and began to read Ricardo’s writing.

‘···You encrypted it and sent it just as I told you.’

Because of that, I had to spend some time deciphering it. The contents of the letter that I deciphered were as follows.

Major Ricardo recruited local informants based on his existing network.

‘Are those Cuban sailors who settled in Texas that I mentioned before?’

Major Ricardo successfully prevented Stephen Austin from gathering public opinion through his informants. One of the informants infiltrated Stephen Austin’s organization. This was a great achievement, but it was also reported that the American intelligence agent had been found and was being tracked down.

‘Well, Major Ricardo is doing a great job.’

I told Diego and the officers.

“We will now march towards San Antonio.”

Diego asked.

“Would you like to set off right away, Your Majesty?”

“Yeah, there’s no reason to waste time.”

I felt a sense of accomplishment in creating the intelligence agency.

Unlike back in California when I knew nothing, I felt like Texas was in my hands.

Unfortunately, we won’t be able to launch a surprise attack.

There must be some supporters of Stephen Austin here in Galveston, and they have probably already left to relay the information since they have seen the troops.

This time, we don’t have an army that can ride horses, and we’ve brought artillery, so we can’t transport the cannons at that speed.

Because the landmass is so large, the distance from Galveston in southeastern Texas to San Antonio in the west is also considerable.

‘It’s 360km from Galveston to San Antonio, which would take about two weeks.’

Even if you ride a horse, it will take a week to cover the distance. So, Stephen Austin only has one week left.

‘What can you do in a week?’

***

That day, Stephen Austin was speaking in San Antonio’s central plaza.

Even the bitter cold of winter couldn’t stop Stephen Austin’s ambition.

“Our unity creates the future of Texas! Together, we can achieve anything!”

As Stephen Austin’s speech ended, cheers and applause erupted, but Stephen Austin felt strange.

It was only now that the American Brian realized what he had felt a long time ago.

Among the Texas Vigilantes cheering on Stephen Austin’s speech, there were skeptical looks from the crowd.

Their indifference and distrust sowed unease in Stephen Austin’s heart.

‘Wait a minute, this is… something feels strange. Was public support always this low?’

After his speech, Stephen Austin looked around the square and sat deep in thought.

He became impatient.

‘We need to secure more solid support.’

He made up his mind and ordered the Texas Vigilantes to do it.

“Get citizens to sign this petition to show their support for the Texas Democratic Committee.”

The idea is to get signatures supporting the committee.

At Steven’s direction, Michael came up with a plan.

“Sign here, starting with your names and your family names.”

The entire Texas Vigilantes, including Stephen Austin and his staff, were the first to sign the committee’s endorsement list.

Then they filled it with the names of their own family members.

Although not a single signature has been collected from citizens on the street, a list of thousands of supporters has been completed.

This simple trick started to have surprisingly great effects.

“You’ve already signed this many petitions?”

“Yes, this is the true sentiment of our fellow Texans. Join us.”

“great.”

The list of thousands of names brought relief to citizens.

Even those who had an antipathy toward Stephen Austin were confused and asked, ‘Is this really public opinion?’

“We have surpassed 3,000 supporters! Everyone, please participate!”

“Texas! Texas!”

The youth of the vigilantes chanted Texas excitedly, and San Antonio’s central square began to heat up with support.

Stephen Austin smiled in satisfaction as things went his way. The enthusiasm of the signature campaign also had negative side effects.

There was a competition among some vigilantes to get signatures, and Michael secretly encouraged it.

“Hey, just sign here! What’s so hard about this?”

“Texas Democratic Committee? I don’t care about that!”

“This kid!”

puck-

The big guy hit the man in the face for refusing to sign.

The man, who had never imagined that someone would swing their fist at something like this, hurriedly finished signing and ran away.

“It should have happened a long time ago.”

For those who could not read, they were tricked into signing by saying something else, and there were also instances of obtaining signatures through threats or actual violence.

Similar things happened in every town, not just San Antonio. It was a formula for success that had already worked once.

The Texas Rangers in each town wrote down their names and the names of their families. They held out the list and said,

“In San Antonio, more than half of the citizens have already signed the petition!”

“···okay?”

Everything seemed to be going Stephen Austin’s way. But then.

As the signature campaign was in full swing, unexpected news reached the square.

“They say the Crown Prince of the Mexican Empire has arrived in Texas with his army!”

“They said they were coming from Galveston to San Antonio!”

The news shook the square in an instant.

The faces of the citizens were wrought with anxiety and confusion, and even among members of the Texas Vigilantes, anxiety spread.

“What the fuck! There’s not much time left!”

When Stephen Austin heard the news, he cursed.

That night, Stephen Austin sat in his office, deep in thought.

‘How on earth can you respond so quickly?’

It had been less than two months since I heard the story of America and decided to declare independence for Texas.

It had only been a little over a month now.

The first thing the public learned of was the “Texan” speech, and even if they had reported it to the Mexican government right away, the speed at which it happened would be incredible.

‘It would take more than two weeks just to get from Mexico City to Galveston.’

It’s an incredible speed.

Stephen Austin couldn’t sleep.

The enthusiasm for the signature campaign in support of the committee cooled down like ice water was poured on it. Instead, there were many citizens who said they would cancel their signatures.

“Once you sign, you can’t go back! Go back!”

“What are you talking about! I’m withdrawing my support! Get out of the way!”

Even some Texas vigilantes with access to the signature list have been quietly removing their own names.

In San Antonio, anxiety was rising.

***

Carlos infiltrated Stephen Austin’s organization and approached the organization’s number three, Michael Williams.

‘Things have become much easier.’

After hearing the news that the Crown Prince’s army was approaching, Michael Williams’ already pale complexion became even paler.

Michael, who is usually calm, was showing signs of nervousness and irritation, which showed that his anxiety had reached its peak.

‘He’s already shaking a lot on his own, so he’ll probably fall over if I push him a little. Now’s the time.’

He visited Michael’s office.

dripping-

“I’m Carlos. I have something to tell you, Michael.”

“Ah, Carlos! Come in!”

Carlos came in.

“Carlos, do you have something to say?”

Carlos infiltrated the vigilantes and the committee in a short period of time.

He is a passionate Texan who spends every waking hour working for the organization.

“Michael, you have five days left.”

“5 days? What do you mean there are 5 days left?”

“The day His Royal Highness the Crown Prince arrives here in San Antonio with his army.”

At some point, it became common practice in Stephen Austin’s organization to refer to His Majesty the Emperor simply as the Emperor, and His Highness the Crown Prince simply as the Crown Prince.

Carlos broke the unspoken rule.

“···His Highness the Crown Prince. So you have finally decided to abandon your Texan beliefs?”

“Michael would know best. There is no way to avoid destruction.”

“···”

It’s true.

The crown prince didn’t just come here, he brought thousands of troops with him.

Michael thought that there was no other way to save his life than to defect to the United States, but Steven would get angry whenever Michael even mentioned such a thing.

‘You stupid kid.’

I won’t grant you asylum without Stephen.

If Michael were a regular member, he would have just turned himself in. That would have saved his life. But he is a senior member. He cannot avoid being accused of sedition.

‘Incitement to rebellion is punishable by death.’

When Michael didn’t say anything, Carlos dropped the bait.

“What if there was a way to save my life?”

“hmm?”

“A list of signatures supporting the Texas Democratic Committee. That could be a deal.”

As even some of the vigilantes began to remove their own names from the list, the signature list was made accessible only to senior officials.

The proposal is to steal it and bring it to the crown prince.

“···Even if I steal the list, they’ll know right away that it’s gone. Then they’ll know that I did it.”

Stealing doesn’t end there. San Antonio is still under Stephen’s control. It’s obvious he’ll get caught. That’s the story.

“What if I could give you a safe, secret place?”

“Secret location?···You weren’t on our side from the start. There’s no way a normal person would prepare something like that. Somehow, you don’t even do your main job and only do committee work.”

Michael said that, feeling betrayed.

“Well, think about it as you wish. So are you going to do it or not?”

“You’ll make it so my family can escape too, right?”

“sure.”

“···Then what can I do? I’m not stupid enough to throw myself into a hopeless situation. Some people seem to think that’s what it means to be a real man.”

“Okay. Let’s do it right now without wasting any time. We’ll steal the signature list together and go to the secret location.”

Carlos urged Michael.

There was no time to pack up his personal belongings in the office. He guided Carlos to the place where the signature list was kept.

“I’ll take this one.”

“···I know.”

He picked up half of the stack of papers, which were more than a dozen pages long. The first half of the list, where you could see the traces of the vigilantes competing to sign, was naturally in Carlos’ hands.

‘This is the key, you say.’

There are those who signed under duress, so the latter part doesn’t mean much. Those who signed in the front are the real supporters.

“Now that you’ve prepared everything, guide me and my family to the secret location.”

Carlos kept his promise.

Even Michael, who knows every nook and cranny of San Antonio, took Michael and his family to places he never imagined existed.

“Wait… Wait! Isn’t this different from the promise!”

“You kept your promise to lead me to a safe, secret place. Please stay there for a while.”

The secret location was staffed with spies. They immediately arrested Michael.

“Hey Carlos. You got the list. You did something big.”

“Then! It’s a list of ‘supporters of the rebellion’! I still have more work to do, so please take care of the rest.”

“Don’t worry about this. I’ve got the list, so all we have to do is wait for the ‘higher ups’ to arrive and destroy Stephen Austin.”

“Okay. Just be careful for exactly five days.”

Carlos returned to the vigilante building as if nothing had happened.

The next day, shortly afterwards, it was discovered that the signature list was missing. Jonathan checked the safe.

“Huh? By the way, I haven’t seen Michael since yesterday afternoon, boss!”

Carlos shouted.

The organization’s third-ranking member stole the list and ran away.

Stephen Austin and his vigilantes panicked.

Only four days until the Crown Prince’s army arrived,

With the list gone, Stephen Austin was left with only one option.