I Became The Crown Prince Of The Mexican Empire - Chapter 88



Only Noblemtl

Mexican-French War (3)

August 1839.

The Emperor’s speech, which received a thunderous response in Mexico City’s Constitution Square, was soon broadcast throughout the country through the press.

Not only the pro-emperor press, but also the press influenced by the landowners and republicans described this speech positively, because the incident of the French invasion caused a tremendous sense of crisis regardless of political orientation or class.

“Should I join the Navy? You said they’d pick me up in Mexico City?”

“Yeah. We have to go quickly before the train tickets sell out.”

After seeing His Majesty the Emperor’s speech in the newspaper, the two young men were so enraged that they gave up their farming and declared to their families that they would join the navy.

Their families tried to stop them, but they could not break the young men’s determination once they set fire to the road, and the two young men eventually arrived in Mexico City.

“Crazy, these are all recruits?”

The young man asked his friend, but the answer came from somewhere else.

“Everyone, go back! Recruitment is already over! Don’t wait in line and go back!”

The recruiter shouted.

Due to the nature of the Navy, which did not have a provincial army, sailors were recruited only from a few cities, such as the capital, Mexico City, and the primary port, Veracruz.

Yet, a huge number of applicants flocked from all over the country, and this was possible because of the railroad.

“Uh… I guess I made a mistake.”

“this.”

In fact, it was natural. The Navy does not need as many troops as the Army, and the training period is long, so it has been slowly increasing its troops over the past few years in preparation for war. It is not a situation where a large number of troops must be suddenly conscripted just because war has been declared.

Since this war was expected to involve an overwhelmingly higher proportion of fleet battles than land battles, there was no need for the army to conscript troops.

Many young people who read the speech and felt their hearts warm continued to flock to him, and the situation of embarrassment was repeated, but the Crown Prince saw this as an opportunity rather than a waste.

“Write an article about how applicants flocked from all over the country. Include that not only Criollos and Mestizos, but also immigrants, Indians, and blacks applied and were selected for the Navy.”

Although it is true that the majority were criollos and mestizos, there were also those who had actually been born in Europe but had immigrated to Mexico as young men, indigenous people who had been freed from the haciendas and become workers in the cities, indigenous people from the north who had been semi-forcibly made Mexican subjects but were now living more affluent lives than before, and black people who had been slaves but were suddenly free.

“Yes, Your Majesty. I will write an article about the patriots who gathered for the country.”

Niseto Samakois, the editor-in-chief of the previously famous but now nationally renowned newspaper “Simplicio no Sword,” answered.

It was a strategy to create a sense of homogeneity among the classes of the Mexican Empire, where heterogeneity was inevitable, and to emphasize the unity and integration of the nation.

As articles praising the young men who volunteered to enlist spread, people reacted in various ways.

“No, Indians are like that too, but you’re going to let black people on board? Does that make sense?”

“Tsk tsk, that black guy volunteered to protect his country, but you don’t even think about it, and you just talk too much.”

When John, an American immigrant who once owned black slaves, complained about the article, Jose, a mestizo, rebuked him.

It was only then that John realized that the townspeople were not looking at him favorably.

“Ahem. I made a mistake.”

“Yeah. At least don’t insult patriots.”

Although there were some who reacted negatively, like John, most reacted positively, just like the townspeople.

Although they had recently strengthened their fleet, their opponent was France. Victory was uncertain, and the lives of individual soldiers seemed even more precarious. But didn’t they volunteer?

This article left a lasting impression on many.

***

“Your Majesty, I hear a ferry has arrived from France.”

Lieutenant Colonel Ricardo, commander of the intelligence unit, visited my father’s office.

“Let’s look somewhere.”

It was information sent by an agent operating in France. Lieutenant Colonel Ricardo politely handed over the decrypted letter.

“Hmm… I see. You should take a look too.”

My father also passed me a letter.

“If this information is true… I feel relieved.”

The letter gave the size of the French expedition fleet and the time of its departure.

“Yes. A fleet of eight ships of the line, ten frigates, and a number of brigs… It’s not a weak force, but it’s only a small fraction of the entire French fleet.”

“Yes, roughly a third of the entire fleet.”

“I think this is enough power to be considered sufficient.”

Compared to the naval powers of Britain or France, it may seem ridiculously small, but this is a fleet of such a scale that it is difficult to match it except for the major European countries. In fact, the US has exactly 10 battleships.

This was partly because the US Navy preferred frigates over battleships, but it was also because battleships cost so much money, so a fleet of this size would cost money that most countries would not even be able to afford.

“It’s quite an achievement to have leaked such detailed information. Thank you for your hard work, Colonel Ricardo.”

“No, it was all possible thanks to Your Majesty’s generous support.”

“Then in the end, it’s all your fault, Jeronimo. I was against allocating that much of a budget.”

“I didn’t do it with confidence either. It was because the information unit did a good job.”

“That’s right. Spending money doesn’t mean you can get this level of confidential information. If this information turns out to be true, you can look forward to it, Lieutenant Colonel Ricardo.”

“Yes, thank you, Your Majesty.”

When I suggested that we allocate tens of thousands of pesos to the intelligence networks of the two countries I am working on, France, our immediate enemy, and the United States, our future enemy, I honestly think that it is a waste, considering the size of the intelligence unit, which is less than 100 people.

‘In the beginning, it was just like a money-eating hippopotamus.’

Training agents, creating cover identities, and sending them abroad were minor expenses. The real work began after that.

In a situation where there was nothing, money was needed to build a foundation that would allow us to operate to some extent locally, and money was needed to build and maintain connections.

“It may be because our agents did a good job, but it’s absurd that there are people who sell even such specific military secrets. We need to be careful too.”

Father clicked his tongue.

“Yes, it was understandable that they leaked the size of their naval fleet, but it is shocking that they have also leaked the plans for the military operations they are currently planning to carry out.”

It is different from the modern era, where each country knows what kind of warships each other has. In the modern era, information is transparently disclosed through various international agreements and defense budgets, and it is not easy to hide power because of satellites even if you don’t want to. However, in this era, the size of the fleet itself is one of the major military secrets and is information known only to high-ranking officials.

“I will also pay special attention to counterintelligence.”

Lieutenant Colonel Ricardo said.

“Okay. Let me know if you need more support.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“By the way, if it’s written here, the French fleet won’t arrive until October. They seem to be ignoring us quite a bit.”

The French government notified the Mexican government of its intention to declare war in July. So the decision to go to war itself was made around May, but the fleet was scheduled to depart in September. Normally, a side declaring war would be fully prepared for war, but France did not do so.

“The French have been arrogant for more than a day or two. If they let their guard down, it will be better for us, so we should make good use of this time.”

“Isn’t October the month when ironclad ships are launched? Wouldn’t it be a bit difficult to deploy them right away?”

“Yes, Father. We have personnel trained on armored frigates and monitor ships with similar corners, but it will still take time to adjust to the new ship. Isn’t that right, Lieutenant Colonel Ricardo?”

I asked Lieutenant Colonel Ricardo, a former naval officer, while he was there.

“Yes, that’s right. Even if we’re not very good, we’ll need to train on a new ship for at least three months before we can deploy for operations.”

“I see. It’s unfortunate, but there’s nothing we can do. If we rush into it, we could end up wasting an ironclad ship that costs 650,000 pesos each.”

“If we can just successfully block this attack, we’ll be able to use it in the next battle. They think they can end it with this attack, and they won’t be prepared for the next one.”

“okay.”

***

“This one will be easy too.”

Admiral André Armand was confident of victory.

Known in France as the Baron Macau, he sailed to Haiti 14 years ago with 14 warships and forced the Haitian people to pay 150 million francs to their former masters.

This absurd amount was intended as compensation for the French’s “stealing” of farms and black slaves, which were the property of the French, but in reality, it was a demand for the Haitian people to pay the price of all of Haiti’s land and their own ransom. It was an absurd demand, but they had no choice but to accept it because they had no power. It was a moment when the independence gained after a long war of independence became meaningless.

Mexico was a much larger country than Haiti, but it had only been independent for 17 years. Admiral Armand knew the reality of such countries. He had heard that the Mexicans were relatively well-managed, but there was no chance of defeat.

“Look at this proud figure.”

The fleet consisted of 42 ships, including 8 battleships, 10 frigates, and various small and medium-sized warships. It also included France’s strongest battleships.

These are the French 118-gun ships of the line Souverin, Trocadero, and Friedland.

“···It’s beautiful.”

Admiral Armand nodded at the adjutant’s words and asked.

“How far is it to the port of Havana, Cuba?”

“It appears that there are approximately 9 hours left.”

“Yeah. We can’t attack right after we arrive… It could end up being ours.”

Havana, Cuba’s largest port and capital, is one of the war targets, but unlike the Mexican Empire proper, it is territory that France could take.

“Since Mexico will have no choice but to surrender if we just burn Veracruz anyway, let’s just seize Cuba’s ports.”

“yes!”

It was the moment when the adjutant, full of military discipline, answered.

Kwakwang!

The sound of a cannon was heard somewhere, and shells fell into the sea right in front of the French fleet.

The Mexican Empire’s fleet had appeared.

“···The scout ships probably didn’t say anything?”

The reason the fleet included a dozen brigs, which were ships that could hardly even stall for time against a battleship in terms of actual combat power, was for reconnaissance, message transmission, and engagement with small enemy ships, and Admiral André was also constantly moving while conducting reconnaissance.

“It looks like a steamship.”

Steamships were already widespread in many countries, and it was well known that they were often much faster than sailing ships.

The enemy ship followed the scout ship.

“I know it’s a steamship… but it’s a strange ship.”

A low-slung, ironclad ship with two large, steam-powered cannons disproportionate to its size.

“It looks strange, but the cannon’s range seems to be much longer than ours.”

“The cannon has been raised so recklessly that its range may be long. Give the order to prepare for battle.”

“Yes, ready for battle!”

Behind the oddly shaped ships, the Mexican Empire’s fleet slowly emerged.

October 15, 1839.

The first naval battle between Mexico and France began off the coast of Cuba.