I Became The Crown Prince Of The Mexican Empire - Chapter 92



Only Noblemtl

Mexican-French War (7)

Admiral Armand was dismissed from his position as commander of the expeditionary force. This was the extent of the 118-gun class ships of the line that were saved.

If I had lost them all, I would have been discharged, not just given the command post.

Based on his and his officers’ detailed testimony, France, having learned of the strength of the Mexican Empire, began to assemble a fleet.

“Well, if you take all the battleships, how are you going to manage the colonies?”

Although officials administering the colonies in Africa and Southeast Asia opposed it, they could not stop the will of the King and the Ministry of War.

“How often do you need to use a battleship in a colony? Aren’t frigates enough to subdue them?”

That wasn’t a mistake. Ships of the line rarely participated in direct battles. Most of them were used for show purposes to intimidate the enemy.

The only time you really need to use a ship of the line is when fighting other ships of the line, for other operations, frigates are sufficient.

“Even so, can’t you leave at least one ship each for the African and Asian fleets?”

“I’m sorry, but that won’t do. His Majesty the King has ordered us to mobilize all our battleships to avenge this humiliation.”

“···I hope you win.”

“Yes, that will be the case, so please tell them to gather at Brest Port as quickly as possible.”

Now France knows Mexico’s strength: five ships of the line, four armored frigates, four monitors, and nine frigates.

Two of the Mexican Empire’s ships of the line have been wrecked, and four captured, leaving seven ships of the line. Four frigates have been sunk, leaving five left.

“This time, we can definitely win, right?”

Minister of War Schneider felt humiliated by the King’s question of whether he could defeat Mexico, but he had already lost once. The King’s doubts were natural.

“A grand fleet of 85 ships, including 22 battleships, numerous frigates and brigs, and even steam ships. Even if they had built more ships in the meantime, this is a difference in power that can never be reversed.”

In addition to all the power that France already possessed, two ships of the line that were nearing completion were quickly built and launched.

Although they had lost many ships in the battle with Mexico, they were confident that their current strength was the second-largest naval force in the world.

The port of Brest in northern France was filled with reporters and citizens.

When he first started out, no one thought he would lose, so no one except the local residents paid much attention, but after he lost once, he got the attention of the entire nation.

The soldiers were not prevented from watching from a distance, showing off that France still had warships of this caliber.

“I think I can win at that level?”

“Of course. There are over 20 battleships?”

“Wow… There are still that many ships left?”

While there were many citizens who admired the fleet and hoped for its victory, there were also many citizens who were dissatisfied.

“You are trying to fight again, after all. We need to make a peace treaty now.”

Louis Blanc was furious at the sight of the fleet. Although there were many people who opposed the war, the general trend was still in favor of war. This time again, the government’s public opinion manipulation was successful. The government was preparing for a second war, supported by public opinion.

“Well, didn’t you already know this would happen? We just have to prepare for what happens next.”

It has been three months since the news of the defeat was delivered. During that time, the government has been working on public opinion and gathering a fleet. It took a long time to gather a fleet spread across the world.

Louis Blanc and his comrades expected things to turn out this way.

“I expected it, but it makes me angry to think of how many of them will die because of the King’s greed.”

“after···.”

His comrade and patron, Lucien, lit a cigar without saying a word, took a puff, and then offered something.

“What, what is this?”

It was a pistol.

It was French-made, as evidenced by the metal barrel, wooden handle, and French writing.

“Now that we’ve come this far, I hope that France wins the war. But if we lose even by a single chance… the responsibility will fall on the King who led all of this. Don’t you think so too?”

“···yes.”

“Then keep it. Hide it well.”

“okay.”

Lucien said, giving him plenty of bullets.

“I’ll get more soon, so just give them to those you trust. They’ll be needed for our revolution.”

Louis Blanc and Lucien Dupont joined forces to prepare for the coming revolution.

***

January 1840.

“It passed without opposition?”

“Yes, it was an atmosphere where I couldn’t object even if I wanted to.”

Congressman Robert reported to me about the conscription bill.

“Well, at this point, if you oppose, you can’t avoid being accused of being a traitor or a coward.”

I have influenced public opinion through the media.

It was a bill on mass conscription. The scale of conscription was determined based on the scale and danger of the war, which was divided into five stages. In the final stage, stage five, it was stated that even women and the elderly could be conscripted.

‘In stage 5, all citizens except children will be targeted.’

If the only target for conscription was the word, and women and the elderly had to be sent to the front lines, then it would have been impossible to win, so it would have been right to surrender. However, even if it was not actually implemented, it was important to clearly state that conscription was possible regardless of class, region, or race.

The United States of America in its previous life was a country that was the most powerful in name and reality, but it also had many shortcomings, and one of them was the respect for soldiers.

‘We need to create a culture that recognizes that we can live safely because there are soldiers who take risks and protect our country. And we need to show respect and gratitude for that.’

Such awareness and culture are not created overnight. They must be created now. This bill was intended to prepare for the actual need for conscription, but it was also intended to promote national unity and improve awareness of soldiers.

In peacetime, such a strong conscription law would have been strongly opposed by the Republicans and landlords. However, due to the special circumstances of war, it was passed easily.

“Anyway, it’s true that you got through it safely, so thank you for your hard work.”

“Yes, I will do my best to achieve good results in the upcoming election.”

“Okay. I believe you.”

I saw Congressman Robert off.

“Well, now that the bill has been processed, let’s get back to work.”

Industrialization and national development must not stop even during war.

America won’t stop, so neither should we.

As I sat down at my desk in the office, Diego reported on various current events.

“I heard that the Imperial University, which will open next month, has completed its entire construction. Last year, the existing Faculty of Engineering opened the Faculty of Science (Natural Science), the Faculty of Business Administration, and the Faculty of Humanities, and this year, the Faculty of Law, the Faculty of Medicine, and the Faculty of Arts are scheduled to open, totaling seven faculties.”

“I see. Then I should start planning for a second comprehensive university. I’ll contact the Republican Party.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

I have also gained experience in building universities, so I would like to build several universities at once, but there is also a manpower problem, and even if we produce that many graduates, there are still limited places to work, so we can only produce unemployed people. We have no choice but to gradually increase the number.

In addition to universities, we reviewed the progress of various companies’ business and the status of large-scale construction projects such as the construction of railways, dams, irrigation facilities, and urban worker housing complexes.

For most, it was sufficient to receive, read, and reply to status reports by letter, but there were some cases where I had to go in person.

The secret weapon that has been prepared for a long time is said to be ready to be activated.

***

It has been three months since it was revealed that France was preparing a second attack.

Now that the tension that had begun to ease slightly after the victory in the first fleet battle is starting to tighten again, two ironclads that were launched three months ago and two ironclads that were launched just last month have officially joined the fleet and announced their readiness for operations.

This was possible because more soldiers were being trained for the two ironclads launched in October in preparation for the launch of two more ironclads two months later. All four ironclads were built with the same blueprint, so they were able to quickly adapt to the new ships.

“I knew Father would come too.”

“Of course. Isn’t this something you’ve been preparing for a long time? It does look cool.”

“It may cost a lot of money, but the performance is certain.”

Each ship costs 650,000 pesos. Considering that most countries have difficulty building ships of the line that cost 300,000 pesos, this ship is truly one that has been lavishly built.

The monitor ships and armored frigates were merely intermediate steps in building this ironclad ship.

A wooden frame ship of approximately the same size as a 90-gun class ship of the line, covered in iron armor.

This huge warship’s armament consists of only 12 guns.

Two extended main turrets were placed, one each on the bow and stern. The caliber of the main guns was 300 mm (11.8 inches), slightly smaller than that of the monitors, but after the monitors were built, it was realized that the greedy 350 mm caliber main guns would have been too much.

It was too large for the current steelmaking technology, so it broke easily and took too long to reload.

‘It takes more than ten minutes to fire one shot, what the…’

The 300mm caliber was just right. It had a good reload speed and could deal significant damage to battleships.

The remaining eight secondary batteries were 230 mm (9 in) caliber cannons, four on each side of the ship, mounted in casemates on the deck. They could aim 150 degrees side to side, but could only move upwards at a limited angle of about 30 degrees.

The port of Veracruz was a spectacular sight, with captured warships and warships that had been built in the meantime gathered together.

Before the second match against France, my father encouraged the soldiers once again, while I talked to the captains of the ironclad ships.

“This is truly a magnificent piece of equipment. I cannot wait to show our enemies the power of this ship, Your Majesty.”

“Hahaha, France will be first. Is the actual speed as expected?”

“Yes, with just the steam engine, it can reach a speed similar to that of a battleship, and with the sails spread, it is definitely faster than a battleship. Considering that it can maneuver regardless of the wind, it is quite advantageous.”

“okay.”

This warship was considerably inferior to the original dreadnought-class warships in terms of technology, as the technology was not yet fully developed.

The size of a battleship made it incredibly heavy by covering it with iron armor and mounting large-caliber main gun turrets, and its steam engine was not powerful enough to make it fast.

When operated solely by steam engines, the speed was similar to that of a sailing ship, but it would be more advantageous operationally if it was a little faster. That is why the sails and masts could not be removed in this design.

The ship’s frame was also made entirely of wood, and the surrounding armor was made of wrought iron. Steel was still too expensive. The only place steel was used on this ship was in the large-caliber cannons, and even though they were expensive, they had to use steel. A huge amount of money was spent on this.

“I got hold of the French press, and it says that the loss of the first naval battle was due to the French letting their guard down, and that if they wanted to, they could trample on us Mexicans. I hope you will crush their pride.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

It wasn’t just France.

The United States, Britain, and several other European countries were also surprised by the outcome of the battle, but believed that it was due to France’s negligence.

Now I’ll shatter that thought.