I Became The Crown Prince Of The Mexican Empire - Chapter 59



Only Noblemtl

Texas (8)

Episode 59 – Texas (8)

Relocating Texans from the US is a good idea, but there are two problems.

Both are issues related to Native Americans, one of which is Native Americans living in Texas.

‘There are still a lot of Native Americans left in Texas.’

The western part of the country is home to the Comanche tribe, as well as the Apache, Caddo, Karankawa, and Tonkawa tribes.

And that’s not all.

‘Soon the Cherokee tribe will also be pushed out to Texas by the United States.’

Some of the Cherokee tribe, originally living in the southeastern United States, migrated to Texas during this period.

It was the impact of the Indian Removal Act of U.S. President Andrew Jackson.

‘It should be called the Indian Removal Act or the Indian Removal Act, not the Indian Removal Act.’

Although the word ‘removal’ also has the meaning of moving, isn’t it too sanitized to use the word ‘migration’ to express the threat of killing everyone if they don’t go away?

The Cherokee tribe in particular is a tribe known for its tragic history known as the ‘Trail of Tears’.

In 1835, during the harsh forced migration enforced by the United States, 4,000 people, or 20 to 25 percent of the estimated population at the time, tragically died on the streets.

The problem is that it is difficult to intervene because this is happening on U.S. soil.

‘Still, I guess I’ll have to find a way.’

The second problem is the indigenous people in the mission field. Texas has mission fields like California, and the number of indigenous people held there is not small.

Even San Antonio is a city founded by missionaries and has a mission station attached to it.

If the carrot-and-stick strategy was to be used to bring the Texan natives into the Mexican Empire, the problem of the natives held captive in this mission territory had to be resolved.

Just as the Chumash tribe could not forget their grudge against the mission, these native Texans would also have great resentment against the mission.

So we gathered together priests who were running missions all over Texas.

‘The mission field is essentially a place for teaching, but in reality it is a hacienda (large farm) owned by the clergy.’

That is why this kind of transaction is possible.

“I’ll get straight to the point, Fathers. Release the natives you’re holding captive in your mission fields. In exchange, I’ll supply you with laborers who have been sentenced to hard labor.”

Cough-

Ahem-

As soon as I finished speaking, coughs erupted here and there.

“Your Majesty, no matter what, such a transaction is impossible. Our missions do not simply use the natives as labor, but exist to educate them.”

It’s a common repertoire. The missionaries in California have all said this. Let’s see if they don’t fall for it next time.

“We will provide you with a number of mechanical harvesters that are appropriate for the size of each mission field free of charge. Even if the forced labor is over and you have to pay rent, you will still make a profit.”

Mechanical harvesters had not yet been introduced to the mission field. This was because the natives held captive in the mission field were not even paid rent, so there was no need to replace labor with mechanical harvesters.

“Ahem···. No matter what···.”

The brides looked reluctant when they were offered a free mechanical harvester worth over 100 pesos each, but it was difficult to immediately agree.

“The released natives will be allowed to live in their hometowns, but I plan to build a church in each settlement. They will be able to practice their faith there. And wouldn’t it be okay if the priests were sent from each mission field? Then the mission field’s purpose of edifying the natives will be carried out normally.”

No matter how much it is a large farm in reality, it needs a justification to maintain its mission field. I have even provided that justification.

The role is to educate priests like a seminary and dispatch them to each settlement.

This statement is more likely to mean that I will recognize your rights to the mission field than to actually do so.

“···Then that’s good. Are you okay with it?”

The priest of the Valero Mission in San Antonio, a leading priest running missions in Texas, said:

Everyone nodded, looking around.

‘As expected, it’s exactly the same as in California.’

The missionaries in California all had the same reaction. There were no true missionaries.

“Very well. I will soon send prisoners sentenced to hard labor and mechanical harvesters to each mission field.”

It was not difficult to persuade the clergy who were unable to remain indifferent to material desires.

While the land survey and missionary issues were being dealt with, cavalrymen began rounding up corrupt criminals throughout Texas.

The judge who just pronounced the verdict from the bench is now standing in the courtroom as a defendant.

“It is a serious crime for a judge, who is the guardian of justice and must value fairness as the highest value, to accept a bribe in pursuit of personal gain, thereby seriously damaging the foundation of our judicial system. Therefore, this court orders the defendant to be sentenced to five years in prison and to forfeit assets equivalent to one hundred times the amount of the bribe received.”

Land, land, land-

The governor and other officials received similar punishments. The sentences ranged from two to five years in prison and the confiscation of property equal to a hundred times the amount of the bribe. In effect, it was a sentence equivalent to the confiscation of all property.

I started working on the next task right away.

“Rodolpho, I will only trust you.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. This is a big deal, but I’ve done it thousands of times before. I’ll do it perfectly.”

In particular, the head of the immigration bureau, Rodolfo Nunes, was brought in from Veracruz because his expert help was needed to relocate nearly 20,000 immigrants from the United States.

“As I said before, I want to place the personnel in each settlement in a composition that best suits their natural adoption of the culture and language of our Mexican Empire, but there is one more thing to consider.”

“What is it?”

“Exclude the territory of each indigenous people shown on this map for now and place it.”

“yes!”

With the help of natives brought from the mission field, each tribe’s territory was marked on a map.

“Diego, you can do it like you did in California. You don’t have to show me a demonstration, right?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Just trust me. I will make sure that the natives of Texas become subjects of our Mexican Empire without any armed conflict.”

The basic strategy is the same as in California: carrot and stick. But this time, they plan to persuade the people of each tribe who were held captive in the mission before the rebellion broke out by first releasing them.

‘I hope there won’t be any fighting.’

As in California, the most senior of the officers brought in, the infantry regiment commander and Diego, along with the natives released from the mission, set out to persuade the native tribes of Texas.

In the government office, Rodolfo and the new governor were working directly. Naturally, the civil servants under his command were also working without rest.

I watched the scene for a moment and then went down to the basement.

In a dark corner of the basement, Major Ricardo and a man tied to a chair were seen.

“Your Majesty, you have come all the way here. It is not a very pleasant sight, but…”

“It’s okay, Major Ricardo. By the way, how did you get the information?”

“That is…, before the torture even started in earnest, it started blowing up one after another.”

“What? Aren’t you going to torture me in earnest? I’ve heard you say ‘water knows the answer’ dozens of times. You crazy bastard.”

The American man exclaimed in disbelief at Major Ricardo’s answer.

“Ahem, Your Majesty. This man’s name is Brian Taylor.”

“···I see.”

I guess the water gave me the answer, I told Brian.

“Hey, Brian, you blew it all up? Are you also admitting that the US government sent you here?”

“Yeah! It’s a story we all know. It’s meaningless since America will never admit it anyway.”

“···Can you really admit it so easily? You must have a family in America.”

“No, my parents passed away a long time ago and I don’t have a wife or children.”

Even though this is an era where espionage is not widespread, the level of the US intelligence unit is quite serious.

“I see. So the US sent you to support Stephen Austin?”

“Yes. I already told him where the weapons were hidden, so please spare me. No, spare me.”

“···What an absurd guy.”

Killing him would be the cleanest option, but the information he has on American intelligence units could also be useful.

“Let’s wait and see how America reacts before deciding.”

The location where he had hidden his weapons was not a lie. 2,000 muskets and 10 cannons were discovered.

“It’s an American product, but they’ve erased all traces of it.”

The places where the serial numbers should be written have all been scratched off with something sharp, making them impossible to identify.

“Let’s pack our weapons and return to Mexico City.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Diego and the army are left behind.

It is also necessary to settle the Native American tribes, and with the disappearance of the Texas vigilantes, the military is needed to keep the Comanche tribe in check and maintain order.

I started moving to the port of Galveston with Major Ricardo, American spy Brian, traitor Michael Williams, and the escorts.

‘I wish the railroad to California and Texas would be built soon.’

With that in mind, I rode a horse for a full week to the port of Galveston.

***

February 1834.

As expected, he resolved the Texas issue and returned in three months.

‘With California, Texas, and the western and eastern parts of the Northern Territory stabilized, that leaves just one place: New Mexico.’

The Comanche tribe’s territory remained. However, dealing with the Comanche tribe, which has a total population of 40,000 and a cavalry force of at least 10,000, is not a task that can be finished in one go as before.

We need to make proper preparations for war. There are things to do before that. I went to my father’s office to report.

“Father, things are going as I expected in Texas. We crushed it before it could really catch fire.”

My father breathed a sigh of relief after receiving a detailed report on what had happened in Texas.

“If it weren’t for you, we would have been facing a full-blown rebellion a year later. Good job, Jeronimo.”

“It was all thanks to my father’s passionate support. And as expected, there was some impetus from the United States. We caught a spy sent by the United States and secured guns and cannons sent by the United States.”

“Well, wouldn’t the Americans deny the connection?”

That’s right. The US will never admit it.

Unless you are truly prepared to fight the United States, it is unreasonable to demand anything from this alone.

‘I can’t fight. Not yet.’

War with the United States is almost inevitable.

Their desire for expansion is still growing, and in about ten years, when they have completed their development near our border, they will create conflict by any means necessary.

Even so, fighting now is nothing short of crazy.

Even though they are already several times stronger than the Mexicans of the past, they will become much stronger as time goes by, and their weapon systems will be much more advanced, not just in weight class. So why would they fight now?

“Yes, I won’t admit it, but I think we can make a decent deal.”

It would be next to impossible to get the Mexican Empire to admit that the United States had incited a rebellion in Texas, but if the Mexican Empire were to blow this public fuse, it would put enormous pressure on American politics.

‘Using this point, it is quite possible to make a transaction.’

I won’t ask for anything big. Rather, I will ask for a deal that is not bad from the US perspective, so I don’t think the relationship between the two countries will worsen.

The next day, I called the American Ambassador Anthony Butler.