I Became The Crown Prince Of The Mexican Empire - Chapter 96



Only Noblemtl

The Aftermath of War (1)

“Extra! Extra! The results of the Mexican-French War are out.”

A boy in New Orleans sold newspapers.

“The results are out? Give me one right now.”

A man passing by opened the newspaper with anticipation at the news that the results of the war he had been curious about had come out, but the content was completely different from what he had expected.

-France! Fall to Mexico!

-France is defeated, and a civil revolution breaks out!

“···France was defeated? Hey, is this article for sure?”

If you ask a boy reading a newspaper on the street whether this is true, he will only say yes, but the result is shocking.

“Isn’t that right, since they say that peace negotiations have been concluded under British mediation?”

“Oh, no.”

It wasn’t just the men. When the boy sold the newspaper, everyone had a similar reaction.

“France’s Caribbean and South American colonies, its fleet, and even war reparations?”

“They say that they left the colonies in North America alone.”

“A revolution broke out and the king was beheaded⋯.”

Mexico’s victory resonated with many countries around the world, but the country most shocked outside of the country that was at war was the United States.

Americans did not consider Mexico a competitor. The Mexican Empire, though large, had a small population, most of whom were indigenous people who worked on farms.

To most Americans, Mexico was a backward agricultural country, not a “white country” like Europe or the United States. A few years ago, they even made an agreement to accept them as immigrants if they handed over the beasts of burden to the natives.

That country defeated France? A country that lost its hegemony after the fall of Napoleon, but still once made all of Europe tremble?

This incident was shocking not only to ordinary Americans who were not familiar with the developments in Mexico, but also to the U.S. president and political and business leaders.

“We need to come up with a plan!”

“What will the United States do if Mexico defeats France?”

“Have you forgotten that Mexico is right next to us? We need to increase our defense budget too!”

Whig Henry Clay Sr. gave a passionate speech, but the Democrats paid no attention.

A strong federal military would mean increasing the power of the federal government. This was an argument that the Democratic Party, which advocates for states’ rights and a limited federal government, could not help but oppose.

“I don’t see why we need to increase our defense budget when we’re not going to war with Mexico any time soon. Mexico won this war because of new ships, not because they had more soldiers.”

Democrats joined in the rebuttal by former Vice President John Caldwell Calhoun.

“Right!”

“Why don’t we just develop new ships? We don’t need to increase our defense budget by much!”

Henry Clay was disgusted with the political logic of the Democrats even in this national crisis, but he did not give up his argument.

“The Navy is important, but if our United States and the Mexican Empire were to fight, the main battlefield would be the land, not the sea. You can’t possibly not know this, right?”

“Isn’t there a war crisis right now? There’s no particular conflict between the United States and Mexico, so don’t you think it’s excessive to call for war preparations already?”

When Calhoun said so, this time the Democrats agreed.

“That’s right! If there’s a war, we can just draft. If there’s a war, we’ll both have to draft, and our population isn’t smaller than Mexico’s, so there’s no need to expand the federal army!”

The Mexican government conducted a census in 1838, but did not release details, but the total population was published in the press, and the number was 10.82 million.

By contrast, the U.S. population in 1840 was 17 million this year. Even if Mexico’s population had increased over the two years, there would still be a difference of at least 5.5 million.

5.5 million is a huge population, half of the population of Mexico. With such a huge weight difference, how could the army lose, even if it didn’t know how to fight at sea? It’s not like the country is so poor that the US can’t even supply it.

So there was no need for us to panic and expand our army. That was the argument.

Although it seemed like a reasonable argument, Henry Clay immediately refuted it.

“There is no danger of war? Everyone will admit that Mexico is close to England. This was known before, but this armistice clearly proves it once again.”

It was said that Mexico had handed over French colonies to Britain as a means of mediation. This was so obvious that there was no refutation. Henry Clay continued his argument.

“That’s right, there’s a huge problem between Britain and the United States. Yes, I’m talking about the Oregon boundary dispute. Surely the Democrats aren’t saying they didn’t know about this?”

“Ahem···.”

The Oregon issue was a very sensitive issue in contemporary American society, because Oregon was the only route that could secure a route to the Pacific.

The only thing the Democrats and Whigs, who clashed on almost every issue, agreed on was the territorial issue, but the Democrats, wary of a strong federal government, were more expansionist.

This was inevitable, because the expansionist mood in America was not because one politician or one party insisted on it, but because the American people wanted it.

When the Democratic Party did not respond with a rebuttal, Henry Clay played the conversion card to drive a wedge.

“And there’s one more thing. I’m going to call a witness to talk about this matter. Is that okay?”

“Yes, I permit it.”

Senate President Richard M. Johnson responded.

“Mr. Smith, please come up.”

A young white man took the witness stand in the United States Senate.

“Everyone. Mr. Carter Smith, who is here, immigrated to the Mexican Empire with his family when he was a teenager, by his father’s decision, and recently returned to the United States after going through various difficulties. He has been in Mexico until recently, so he knows the situation in Mexico very well.”

It was no accident that Clay met Carter Smith.

Now in his mid-twenties, the young man hated the Mexican Empire. His father had been killed in action seven years earlier when a vigilante group in Texas was crushed by the Mexican army.

While most immigrants from the United States lived in compliance with the Mexican Empire’s control, Smith had no intention of doing so.

It wasn’t because I had any patriotism for the country called America. Since France had lost the war, the only country that could fight Mexico and win was America.

The first step of Smith’s plan, which had been wandering around Mexico, driven by a burning desire for revenge for losing his father to the Mexican Empire, has finally begun.

‘First, we need to let these clueless guys know about the dangers of Mexico.’

“Mr. Smith, can you tell me about the weapons the Mexican army used when they fought the Comanche?”

Carter Smith, questioned by Henry Clay, gave a detailed account of the capabilities of the weapons possessed by the Mexican army.

“A six-shooter pistol? We have that in the US too. I heard it was invented in 1936?”

“Yes, that’s right. It was invented by Samuel Colt. However, it has many shortcomings and is still being improved. The problem is that Mexico had already perfected and was using the weapon in 1833.”

“···7 years ago? Is that true?”

Carter Smith remembered his uncles, who had been part of the vigilante group that had survived the battle seven years earlier, saying that the Mexican army used pistols that could fire six shots in rapid succession.

“Yes, that’s right. I remember it clearly. I’ve heard multiple testimonies that the Mexican Empire fired six-shooters in Texas.”

Only then did the attitudes of Democratic Party lawmakers begin to change little by little.

“Mr. Smith, tell me how many cavalrymen the Mexican Empire used to subdue the Comanche.”

“10,000 men. All of them were professionally trained cavalrymen.”

‘Actually, according to the investigation, there are 7,000 people.’

The important thing is that these arrogant Americans feel a sense of crisis.

“10,000 cavalry!”

Cavalry was still a powerful enough unit. The US also used cavalry, and we know how expensive cavalry is.

The Mexican Empire had 10,000 cavalrymen, far more than the United States. Cavalrymen took a long time to train, so they could not be conscripted.

Henry Clay drove the wedge into the Democratic congressman’s hands as he watched him waver.

“The Mexican Empire easily defeated the Comanche, but our army has not yet dealt with the Comanche, even though they were torn in half when they left Mexico. Do you think that we should increase our defense budget?”

The American Indian Wars were ongoing. The most troublesome enemy was the Comanche tribe, whom Clay described as being decimated, but in fact they had grown much larger than before, absorbing the surrounding tribes as they pleased.

With the Democrats unable to refute, the tide turned to Clay, and his proposed defense budget increase was eventually passed.

“Ahem… Let’s put Mexico aside and get rid of those Comanche tribe guys first, so let’s let this pass.”

***

“The war certainly had a big impact. Marriage proposals came in from foreign royal families.”

I received a marriage proposal asking if I could marry my younger brother to a princess of the Brazilian Empire.

My younger siblings and I all married into noble (landlord) families at home and abroad, so this is my first time marrying into royalty.

Although it is called the Brazilian Empire, its bloodline is that of the Braganza Dynasty, which ruled Portugal for over two centuries.

It’s a bit absurd that he didn’t say anything until now, but then started talking as soon as the news of the French defeat spread, but it can’t be helped since it’s the fate of nobles and royalty to marry according to class.

“But, isn’t that something that your mother and father can decide after discussing it?”

Up until now, all of my siblings’ marriages have been like that. It was mostly the mother who looked after them and the father who gave the final approval. There was no room for me to discuss it.

“Actually, it’s not just Brazil that’s offering marriage proposals. They even came from the Hohenzollern dynasty of Prussia.”

If it’s Hohenzollern, then it must be a family with such a long history that even I, in my previous life, would have known about it. As a father who values ​​his family, this would be a very tempting offer.

“Would you like my opinion on which of the two families you should choose?”

If it were one of the two, it would obviously be Hohenzollern. In terms of history and recognition, Hohenzollern is more famous than the House of Braganza.

“No, the marriage between the Brazilian princess and your brother has been confirmed. The one Prussia has proposed marriage to is not your brother, but your son, Carlos.”

“⋯Carlos is only 5 years old?”

“Yes. The Prussian princess is now two years old.”

Now I understand why my mother came to me for advice. Carlos is not only my son, but also the Crown Prince.

A wedding between a royal family that has no line of succession, or is of a very low rank, is merely a gesture of friendship, but I, Wilhelm I, am first in line for the Mexican Empire and Prussia.

Such state marriages are of great diplomatic importance to each country, as they lead directly to an alliance between the countries.

“I see. Prussia⋯.”

I was lost in thought for a moment.