I Became The Crown Prince Of The Mexican Empire - Chapter 87



Only Noblemtl

Mexican-French War (2)

Tens of thousands of citizens gathered in Mexico City’s Plaza de la Constitution, one of the largest squares in the world.

As the crowd was large, the composition was also diverse. In addition to criollos and mestizos, there were also a significant number of indigenous workers and freed black workers. Men and women, old people, young people, and children all came out to listen to the speeches.

Emperor Agustin I slowly looked around at the tens of thousands of citizens and slowly opened his mouth.

“Dear Mexican people,

Today we are once again faced with a challenge from outside powers. France imposes unfair conditions on us and threatens our sovereignty. This is not a simple economic demand. This is an attack on our freedom and independence.

France is trying to impose an impossible burden on us. Their demands are intended to turn us into an economic colony, which is against justice and morality. We cannot give in to these unreasonable demands. To give in would mean giving up our freedom, which we can never tolerate.”

It’s not just a matter of repaying debt, the moment you give in to it, you become no better than a colony. That’s what it was saying.

There was no longer any option to save up money and pay it off. Seeing the citizens showing signs of slight agitation, Augustin I continued his speech.

“We, Mexico, are a country that loves freedom and cherishes independence. The Mexican people fought for the freedom of this land and, after a long struggle, achieved freedom. That spirit lives in all of our hearts today. This fight is a fight to protect our rights and freedoms.

We are also militarily prepared. We have been building up our fleet with the money raised from the Naval Bonds that you, the people, have supported for many years. Now, our military is ready to fight bravely. We can win this war and show the world our strength and determination.”

It was what the citizens most wanted to hear and say. The reason there were no violent protests despite the declaration of war by a powerful enemy like France was because of their trust in the royal family and their unwillingness to submit to oppressors again.

Only 17 years after independence, many people in the Mexican Empire vividly remembered the colonial period. Moreover, they were citizens who had directly experienced the rapid improvement in all aspects of the country, including living standards, public security, law, administration, and economic structure, after independence.

If we had a chance of winning, we would never want to give in. That was my intention, but since the opponent was France, I was afraid that we would have no chance of winning. However, the emperor declared that we had a chance of winning.

“More important than the fleet in this fight is the unity of our people. In this time of crisis, we must come together with one heart and one mind. Our strength lies in our unity in diversity. When people from every region and every class come together, we can defeat any enemy.

Dear citizens, in this hour of trial, we must fight bravely and devote ourselves to defending our freedom and independence. Our history has proven that we can overcome any difficulty. We will not yield to French pressure, but will fight with our courage and determination.

This war is not just a fight for the military. It is a fight for all of us. Each of you should do your best in your position to protect the country. Farmers, workers, students, intellectuals, people of all classes should join forces for this country.”

Agustin I emphasized that unity was essential to overcome this unprecedented crisis. It may seem obvious, but Mexico at this time is a country with more diverse people than any other country in the world.

The seven castes that had existed implicitly before independence were fading away, but heterogeneity was increasing: immigrants from Europe, the United States, and South America, indigenous peoples of the northern territories, and freed black slaves.

The intention was to accelerate national unity by making everyone aware that we were all Mexicans and that we must unite against the external enemy, France, who sought to exploit us.

Augustine I’s speech was drawing to a close.

“We are fighting for our future, to give our children and grandchildren a free and independent country. If we win this fight, it will be a gift to them of a better future.

Therefore, my dear Mexican people, I ask for your support and strength. Together we can overcome any difficulty. We will win this war with our united strength. Our courage and determination will lead us to victory. Let us fight together for Mexico, for our freedom and independence!”

As the Emperor’s speech ended, the expressions of the citizens who had gathered with anxious expressions changed.

“Wow, waaaaaaaah!”

There was no need to plant wind catchers.

The cheers and applause that someone started seemed to be contagious, spreading to tens of thousands of people in an instant.

“Wow!”

“Long live His Majesty the Emperor!”

“Long live His Majesty the Emperor!”

The cheers and excitement from the huge crowd gathered in the square influenced each other and became even hotter.

In the midst of the unprecedented crisis of the French invasion, Mexicans of all classes felt a sense of identity and solidarity for the first time.

It was the starting point of national unity.

***

Juan Ramirez.

In France, his name was Lucien Dupont and he was known in Paris as a fairly capable trader.

Pursuing an aggressive business approach based on his abundant capital, he gave a large bribe to Rep. Moro.

“I ask for your continued support in the future.”

“Hahaha! Please! Aren’t we supposed to help each other?”

It’s been a year since I contacted Etienne Moreau. How much money has gone into this greedy man. It’s painful, but greed also means being easy to exploit.

Lucien thought so and treated her to a meal and wine.

“Haha, yes, we help each other. While you’re here today, why don’t you enjoy dinner and go? We’ve also prepared some top-quality wine.”

“Dinner! I’m looking forward to it.”

Collusion between the bourgeoisie and high-ranking government officials or members of parliament was a common occurrence in contemporary France.

Congressman Moro had tasted many wines here and there, but today’s wine was truly exquisite. As he drank it in admiration, he ended up getting a little drunk.

“Oh right, so you finally decided to whip those Mexicans.”

Lucien naturally brought up the subject of the war with Mexico, a topic that was not strange, since the general public opinion in France these days was to beat up those uppity Mexicans.

“I decided to do that. It’s all thanks to those pirates who started this ‘dirty war’, so I guess I should be thankful to them today. Hehehe, for the pirates!”

braided-

After Lucien had set the mood, he got to the main point. He chose Senator Moro not only out of greed but also because he was well-informed about the Navy. Senator Moro was a former Navy admiral and his family had been in the Navy for generations.

“I don’t think we need to waste much on the Mexicans, but how much of our fleet do we have?”

“Hahaha, that’s a secret, but I can tell you, Lucien, a patriot of our Kingdom of France.”

There were only two of them in the room, but Rep. Moro, either because he was drunk or because he just wanted to cheer himself up, leaned down and whispered to Lucien.

“···I see. That should be enough to crush those Mexican bastards.”

“Yes, I recently found out that they built a shipyard and warships, but even so, how much could they have made in just 3 or 4 years? Hahaha!”

“Yes. Is the fleet leaving soon?”

“This is it, our Lord Lucien is truly a patriot. Other businessmen ask where the 7 million francs will be used if they are extorted.”

“Ah..hahaha! I’m curious about that too, but I’m more curious about when we’ll be able to beat up those arrogant Mexicans and serve out justice.”

“If you’re curious, I should tell you. This way.”

Congressman Moro was a man who liked to whisper secrets, even though he didn’t really keep secrets.

***

The port of Barra Cruz was expanded with the construction of a shipyard, and soon expanded again.

This was because the volume of water increased rapidly and demand as a military port also grew.

Preparations for war had been underway for nearly four years, but full-scale war preparations began after news of Britain’s Opium War was announced.

“You are a minister.”

“Surely the ships built in our Mexican Empire are nice.”

There were also two ships of the line and five frigates received from Spain, but they were in many ways shabby compared to the newly built ships.

I handed over the documents I had brought to my father.

“Here is a list of the ships you are currently viewing, along with specifications for ships under construction.”

“Oh, okay. Thank you.”

The naval power of our Mexican Empire was growing rapidly.

By February 1838, ships were pouring out of four shipyards, including the third and fourth shipyards, which were completed. This was the result of a combination of a good environment, experienced technicians, and ample capital.

The ships built up to the present time, that is, until July 1839, are as follows, excluding small ships.

Three 104-class battleships.

4 monitor ships.

Four 44-gun class frigates.

Four 44-gun armored frigates.

This is the result of steady construction at six large docks and eight medium-sized docks in Shipyards 1 and 2, which were completed several years ago, and these docks have just started their next work.

The reason why several monitor ships and armored frigates were built is because they are powerful enough at the moment, but the technology and experience gained from building the two warships should be used to make up for their shortcomings and develop them into dreadnought-class warships for the next era.

Armored frigates, which are existing frigates with armor and steam engines, should be developed toward having heavy armament, and monitor ships, which are equipped with heavy armament but have low freeboards and thus have difficulty in ocean voyages, should be developed toward increasing their size and increasing their freeboards to enhance their ocean voyage capabilities.

You might think that since you know what you want, you can just make it right away, but this isn’t an area that you can skip over so easily. Since it’s a situation where you have to use it with all your might right away, you can’t take any risks.

‘It’s not easy to develop step by step. Not only are the technology and design issues a problem, but the officers and sailors also have to adapt.’

The experience and skills gained from building two monitor ships and two armored frigates at Shipyard 1 were reflected in the next design to be built at Shipyard 2. After building two more ships in this manner, they became convinced that they could build a steam-powered, heavily armored, and heavily armed ironclad ship.

It was a frigate-sized ironclad ship with two rotating main guns and six secondary guns. As it contained a huge amount of iron, the steam engine had to be more powerful, and although it was improved as much as possible, it was not enough to highlight the speed, which was the advantage of steam ships, and was only slightly faster than a typical large sailing ship.

‘It’s not quite right to be called a full-fledged battleship, but it’s definitely good enough to have an advantage over battleships.’

These two steam ironclads will be launched three months later in October, right here in Veracruz, at the First Shipyard.

While I was thinking this while looking at the busy shipyard, the Emperor’s fleet review began.