I Became The Crown Prince Of The Mexican Empire - Chapter 74



Only Noblemtl

Central Bank and Navy (1)

About 18,000 Comanche tribesmen were moved to the town of Janos in northern Chihuahua, where decisions were made as to where each family would be placed.

Immigration officials explained in detail to the Comanche tribe members the benefits of pioneer immigration and urban immigration.

“However, if you choose urban immigration, you can be assigned to a city where your family members who have been sentenced to hard labor are located. Even during your hard labor sentence, you can have free time and go out, so you can meet your family.”

This was an order issued by the Crown Prince to alleviate even a little the severe shortage of industrial manpower in the Mexican Empire.

The Comanche tribe was sentenced to hard labor, from young boys to middle-aged men with good health. It was a great advantage to be assigned to an area where the father and son were working.

“Then I will go to the city.”

“Yes, please tell me your name.”

In this way, approximately 18,000 Comanche tribesmen were scattered to construction sites and various industrial sites throughout the Mexican Empire.

“As I said to those who are sentenced to hard labor, it would be best for you to learn Spanish as quickly as possible. Not only is it important for living in the Mexican Empire, but the Spanish language skills of the families of those sentenced to hard labor are also included in the criteria for selecting good prisoners.”

In order to speed up the assimilation process, the Crown Prince explicitly offered a reduction in the length of hard labor sentences based on Spanish language proficiency, a move that applied not only to the Comanche but to all prisoners sentenced to hard labor.

As the northern part of the Mexican Empire was gradually being organized, Puhihuichuasu and a dozen messengers met their compatriots who had crossed the northern border.

“No! What brings you here? Have you decided to come north now?”

Potznakwahipu, the chief of the band that decided to leave for the north, welcomed Puhiwikwassuu. He must have thought this would be the last time he left. But how could they meet again so soon?

“Unfortunately, that’s not the case.”

“Well, I expected that since the tribesmen weren’t around you. So, what brought you here?”

Poznaqwahipu asked curiously.

“I have come under orders from the Crown Prince of the Mexican Empire.”

“···Orders from the Crown Prince of the Mexican Empire? Do you have something to tell us?”

Potznackwahipu asked in a calm voice, as if his excitement had died down.

“He told me to warn you. Never come back to the Mexican Empire again.”

“Ha! This is the land we used to live on, that’s our heart.”

He actually had the intention of returning if his power grew stronger.

“They threatened the lives of the Comanche tribesmen remaining in Mexico. If you come over, we might get hurt.”

“···under.”

“Instead, they said they would allow trade with the Mexican Empire if you did not cross the border.”

“Trade? Are you saying you’ll sell me food?”

“Yes. They say they sell food as well as various iron weapons.”

“···That’s right.”

Those who came north have not yet begun to plunder. They have only been here for a week, so they are still reconnaissance and gathering information. The food situation is not good.

As Potznakwahipu pondered for a moment, one of the chieftains who had been listening to the story stepped forward and spoke.

“What are you worrying about? You came all this way because you thought you couldn’t defeat the Mexican Empire anyway. You should just swear you won’t go back and solve the food problem.”

It sounded reasonable, but weren’t they the ones who took the risk and came north because they had great resentment against the Mexican Empire?

Was it right to fall for a single promise of trade? After thinking about it for a moment, Potsnack and Hippo made a decision.

“Well, we have little chance of winning and we have hostages, so we have no choice. Fine, I promise we won’t cross the Mexican Empire’s borders. But I’d like to see the trade done as quickly as possible.”

Although they had little food, they brought back a lot of loot and buffalo hides that they had collected over time.

“Thank you for your decision. I will suggest the trade issue to the Mexican Empire.”

“okay.”

Puhiwukwasoo greeted his compatriots and left for the Mexican Empire.

***

October 1835.

The head of the Imperial faction, Senator Robert, made a controversial proposal.

He took the podium in person, took a deep breath, and emphasized the necessity of the bill the Crown Prince had ordered.

“Dear fellow members of the National Assembly, I stand here in this place to emphasize the necessity and importance of the ‘Bill Establishing the Central Bank of Mexico.’”

Although the institution of a central bank had been introduced in several countries since the 18th century, it was still a controversial institution.

In fact, the United States has also experienced twists and turns, such as establishing and abolishing a central bank twice.

The expressions of the landowners and Republicans, who had been looking at Congressman Robert with indifferent eyes as if wondering what he was going to say, became serious.

“This bill is not simply about creating a new financial institution. It is a historic step toward strengthening the economic foundations of our empire and opening the way to prosperity.

First of all, the establishment of a central bank is the surest way to stabilize the value of our empire’s currency. The central bank will have the exclusive right to issue currency, which will allow it to maintain a constant value. Including the ability to prevent counterfeiting, it will allow us to demonstrate to the world the reliability of our economy.”

The current Mexican Empire’s monetary system is a mess. The most widely circulated is the silver peso with the face of Agustin I on it, but currencies from the colonial era and various foreign gold and silver coins are also in circulation.

This kind of chaotic monetary system not only increases the complexity of administrative and economic activities, but is also vulnerable to counterfeiting crimes.

Congressman Robert’s speech continued, emphasizing the central bank’s many functions, including promoting economic growth and controlling inflation through monetary policy, supervising and regulating banks, and acting as the government’s fiscal agent.

It was all necessary. The Mexican Empire was experiencing rapid economic growth that everyone could sense, but at the same time, inflation was occurring as money was being released into the market. There was a clear need to manage this.

There is also a need for supervision and regulation of various private banks. Many banks, including Alfonso Express, which is basically a national bank, are sprouting up like mushrooms, but there is no agency to supervise them, which is causing side effects.

As the government’s financial agent, issuing bonds and providing liquidity were also important functions of the central bank.

“···Distinguished members of Congress, the passage of this bill is not simply an institutional change, it is an investment in the future of our empire. The establishment of a central bank will lead the Mexican empire to a stronger and more stable economic system.

I urge all of you to stand together at this critical moment for a bright future for the Mexican Empire. Thank you.”

Despite Rep. Robert’s impassioned speech, the response from the landowners and Republicans was lukewarm.

The issue at stake in this motion is not the functions of such various central banks. The establishment of a central bank essentially means centralization.

The power of the imperial family, which is growing stronger over time, is making even the landowners who opposed the federal system feel a sense of crisis.

The Republicans were no exception. Many of the Republicans, who had originally been friendly to federalism and decentralization, became increasingly more inclined toward that.

A member of the landowners’ party asked a question.

“Congressman Robert, although the central bank has many advantages, it also has some negative side effects, so I wonder if you know that the United States recently decided to abolish the central bank. If a central bank is established in our Mexican Empire, where the government already has too much economic power, there is concern that economic power will be excessively concentrated.”

It is true that the Mexican Empire had an enormous amount of farmland that would be difficult to find anywhere else in the world.

The area of ​​the farms confiscated from the Spanish is equivalent to 20% of the land area of ​​mainland Mexico, excluding the northern territories, and in Cuba, the government owns 90% of the farms.

The appointment of the heads of each department of the executive branch is structured so that the Prime Minister and the National Assembly submit to the Emperor, but since the Emperor can reject the appointment if he does not like it, it is best to select people who are as close to politically neutral as possible.

Even the emperor had the constitutional right to dismiss all public officials, so the executive branch was essentially governed by the emperor’s will.

Therefore, the government’s enormous economic power was effectively wielded by the emperor, and in this situation, it was unlikely that lawmakers would welcome the idea of ​​creating an institution with even stronger economic power.

Congressman Robert tried to persuade them, but it was in vain as their differences of opinion were obvious from the start.

Chairman Raphael pretended to listen and then put the matter to a vote.

“We will now vote on the ‘Act on the Establishment of the Central Bank.’”

The result was, of course, rejection.

***

‘There is no way this law will be passed in one sitting in Congress.’

I left it to Rep. Robert, but I didn’t expect much. It was just another one of those things to build up a case.

Central banks are something that is taken for granted in modern times, but not in this era. Although European powers such as the UK have introduced central banks, they are not considered essential.

One of the biggest political issues in America right now is the Bank War, which began when President Andrew Jackson refused to renew the charter of the Second Bank of the United States, which served as the central bank of the United States.

Because this is a sensitive issue that is bound to cause conflict, we have no choice but to use other methods to get it passed.

“You want me to write an article about central banks and bonds?”

Niceto de Zamacois, after hearing my explanation, answered:

“That’s right. Let me emphasize the benefits of bonds.”

Mexico’s leading conservative newspaper, ‘La Espada de D. Simplicio’, was owned by a pro-imperialist family, and its editor-in-chief, Samacos, was also a pro-imperialist.

“An annual interest rate of 4% and a face value of 100 pesos. Are you okay with these terms?”

In modern times, government bonds, which are safe assets, often have to compete with other investment products, so interest rates often rise, but there are no such competing products at this time.

In fact, interest rates on British bonds, which had risen because of the war, were gradually falling from 3% to 2.75%, 2.5%, and 2%.

Our government’s finances are considered to be quite sound, so we could raise some funds at interest rates similar to those in the UK, but we need a larger amount now.

‘Since the face value is only 100 pesos, even self-employed farmers and urban workers can live comfortably with it. It will be a pretty lucrative means of financial investment for them.’

“Don’t worry, we can handle it. All you have to do is make sure that as many people as possible know about these bonds that will be issued once the central bank is established.”

“Yes, I understand. Leave it to me, Your Majesty.”

While it would be normal for a stable government to lend money at such low interest rates, the Mexican army during the independence movement made promises it could not afford to make to those it could not afford.

If that were all, we could just pay it back somehow even if it was unfair, but if they try to squeeze out more than that vicious promise, we have to show them that we are not just suckers.

That’s a huge bond for that.