I Became The Crown Prince Of The Mexican Empire - Chapter 97



Only Noblemtl

The Aftermath of War (2)

“Huh, a national marriage? Mexico and Prussia?”

The British Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne, let out a laugh.

“It seems the Iturbide family’s status has risen considerably. Marrying that Hohenzollern.”

“Yes, because we beat France anyway.”

“It’s not a particularly good thing for us British people.”

Since this national wedding means an alliance, the two countries will now have a strong alliance.

The aide nodded and said.

“You are concerned that Prussia’s move toward German unification will accelerate.”

“That’s right. It would be of no benefit to Britain if Prussia unified Germany and another powerful nation emerged on the European continent.”

“Can’t we check Prussia even now?”

Britain, while wary of Prussia’s moves to unify Germany, took little actual intervention, as it was more interested in overseas colonial expansion and maritime trade than in direct intervention on the European continent.

If, as his aide suggested, he, as Prime Minister, were to create public opinion that Prussia should be checked, direct checks might be possible. But is that the right way to use British national power?

“Hmm… I don’t think that’s necessary. It’s the policy of our British Empire to manage the world outside of Europe rather than the problems in the interior of Europe.”

Lord Melbourne, who had been pondering for a while how to respond to the national marriage of the Mexican Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia, concluded, like most British people of the time, that Africa and Asia were more important than the affairs of the European continent.

In the European continent, it is sufficient that no one country becomes a hegemon. This means that only the most powerful country needs to be kept in check, and after the fall of Napoleon, the target of the check was Russia.

“Yes, the Mexican Empire is very cooperative with us, so I don’t think we need to worry too much. Didn’t they even give us all of France’s African colonies as a middleman?”

The aide’s reply, which seemed to indicate that his superior had decided to just let it go, brought to mind the face of the Mexican crown prince whom he had met in London.

“Hmm. Cooperative? It is cooperative, but it’s not like we, the British, took any unilateral advantage. We also had to hand over Belize and the islands in the Caribbean, so it was more like a colony exchange. The problem is that most members of the House of Representatives don’t think so.”

Contrary to what the British public and even members of Parliament thought was a one-sided deal for Britain, the Mexican Crown Prince’s proposal was very sophisticated.

The more I thought about the proposal, the more it seemed like a delicately tuned proposal that was too jarring to just accept, but too regrettable to not accept.

“But isn’t Belize and the islands of the Caribbean combined not worth half as much as Algeria?”

“Yes. Everyone thinks that way just by looking at the size of the territory marked on the map. But if you look closely, it’s not like that.”

All of France’s African colonies were handed over to Britain. It sounds grandiose, but France had only recently begun to create colonies. The only useful colony in Africa was Algeria. There was a small base in Senegal, but it was not a profitable place.

On the other hand, Belize, which was not officially a British colony but had been under British control through treaties since the Spanish era, had long supplied high-quality timber, and Jamaica and the Caribbean colonies had established plantations cultivating cash crops such as sugar, cotton, coffee, and cacao. This means that they were colonies that actually generated profits.

“Besides, since we are handing over complete control of the Caribbean Sea to Mexico, it can by no means be said to be a unilateral gain for us.”

“okay.”

The aide nodded, as if he had finally understood.

“Of course, it wasn’t a deal that was bad for Britain, if it were, they wouldn’t have accepted it. In exchange for giving up influence in the Caribbean to Mexico, they gained influence in the more important Mediterranean.”

It was a deal that was somewhat troubling, but ultimately accepted because it was thought to be slightly more beneficial for Britain.

With France, the most powerful competitor, gone, wouldn’t Africa become Britain’s exclusive domain? Lord Melbourne had considered its future value as well.

“Yes, and didn’t they also give you information about the new ships as a bonus?”

“Oh, right. How long does it take to dry?”

The Crown Prince, who was hesitating to accept the deal, gave him some rough information about the new ships that had been the decisive factor in his victory in the fleet battle with France.

Although he did not impart any technology, but merely informed them of the design ideas intended for building the ship, this was enough for the British.

Isn’t the country that builds the best ships in the world the UK?

“I heard from engineers that they could build the new ship in two years. But, they said it would cost… about 140,000 pounds.”

“···140,000 pounds? That’s enough money to build two first-rate ships of the line and still have some left over.”

It’s shockingly expensive, but it has to be made.

The seas must remain under the British Empire’s control.

***

“I will marry a foreign princess.”

Cecilia said, patting Carlos on the head.

“Wow! A princess? I like it!”

Carlos just liked being called a princess. Maybe it was because Cecilia read a lot of fairy tales to him, but he seemed to have some kind of fantasy.

‘Thank goodness there was no rejection. Well, he’s not old enough to know anything yet.’

Reflecting my grand strategy and the wishes of my father, mother, and Cecilia, I decided to hold a state wedding.

We intend to maintain relations with the UK as much as possible, but we cannot depend on the UK forever. It is time for us to establish our own independent diplomatic relations.

Since the relationship with France was irreparable, it was possible to interact with powerful countries such as Prussia, Austria, and Russia, but choosing Russia, which was competing for hegemony with Britain, would be no different from openly declaring that it would oppose Britain.

From Britain’s point of view, it may not be very favorable for us to form an alliance with Prussia or Austria, but there is no reason to oppose it vehemently.

‘It’s not an alliance that will last forever.’

Where can there be an eternal alliance between nations?

After organizing my thoughts like that, I enjoyed some peaceful time with Cecilia.

My eldest son, Carlos, was playing on his own, and my second son, Leo, who was two years old, was sleeping in bed.

“Oh my! The baby kicked her stomach. Is she responding to the word princess?”

Cecilia said.

“Hmm… Is that so?”

I said that while patting Cecilia’s belly, but inside I was desperately wishing that she would be a princess this time.

After spending some time with my family during lunch, I returned to my office.

“I see you’ve been spending more time with your family lately.”

“Haha, it’s too good of a time to miss this opportunity. You know that, don’t you?”

Diego, who is the same age as me, is also married and has children.

“Yes, thanks to that, I have more time to see my family, which is good.”

At 33, I still have a lot of work to do, but like Diego said, I am spending more and more time with my family.

“It’s also very important to raise children well, so you should invest enough time in them. Furthermore, even if you’ve reduced your workload, aren’t you working more than others? You’ve had a hard time too.”

Diego also had a hard time because of me working like crazy. Before I got married, every moment I was awake was work time, and even after I got married, except for a little time to spend with my family in the morning and evening, all I did was work.

Considering the times, it was clearly excessive labor, but considering the reality of the Mexican Empire, which had a long way to go, it was not easy to rest comfortably. However, things began to change little by little after the victory in the war against France.

“Your Majesty has bought me a mansion near the palace, so what could I possibly have trouble with? It only takes ten minutes to commute to work.”

“Hahaha, that’s right. You should’ve just taken it when they said you’d give it to me. I’ve always said that commuting distance has a huge impact on your quality of life.”

“Haha, that’s right.”

It was possible for me to work long hours and still spend time with my family because my office was located inside the palace.

Although I travel frequently for business, my commute to and from work is usually only 5 minutes, so I have plenty of time.

I tried to buy Diego a house close to the National Palace so that he could enjoy this advantage, but he kept refusing until recently.

“Okay, let’s end the conversation here.”

“Yes, I have some important news.”

Diego handed me the document.

“This is a report from the intelligence unit.”

“Yes, I haven’t read it, but I think it’s probably about the Haiti incident.”

“I guess so… Let’s look at it together.”

“yes.”

There were several agents in Haiti, and this was the first report.

“Nothing has been done yet, it’s just about the current situation in Haiti.”

“Yes, as expected, things are not going well.”

Contrary to its promising title as the only nation in history founded on a successful slave revolution, the situation in Haiti was dire.

The revolution succeeded and a black-led nation was born, but the economy was still in ruins and there was no telling how to fix it. Meanwhile, a small group of elites and military leaders monopolized power and land.

Even our country, Mexico, which had received bonds from France, had no intention of forgiving the debt, and in the end, 98% of the population continued to live a life not much different from when they were slaves.

“‘It’s not much different from the days when we were slaves.’ That’s an impressive phrase. If you turn that around, it means, ‘We still feel like slaves.’ If this is the perception of the Haitian people, we can use it.”

“Then I guess we can proceed as planned.”

“Yeah. I think the story about black people in Texas and Cuba being freed from slavery would be a good one.”

Many blacks in Texas and Cuba benefited from pioneer immigration, where they received land to farm, or benefited from urban immigration, where they became workers.

Farm owners could hire farm workers at wages similar to those paid by their own companies, but the reduced demand for labor due to cheaper farm machinery and the increased production due to dams and irrigation facilities made it possible to manage farms sufficiently.

There is no need to rush things. The first step is to spread these stories widely throughout Haitian society.

“Tell the intelligence unit to proceed as is.”

“Yes, I will encrypt the command and transmit it.”

“Yes. What is the public opinion on constitutional amendment?”

“Assemblyman Robert has brought up the issue and is weighing public opinion, but no one among the members is opposed to it because it extends the term of office of the members.”

No member of parliament would object to increasing the number of seats and extending the term of office from 12 to 20 years. There are other subtle adjustments, but those two are the most important.

“I guess so. Then what else?”

“Everyone agrees that the administrative districts of the Northern Territory need to be reorganized, but there is no consensus on the details of how to do so.”

At this point, when public support is at its strongest, I am pursuing one more project besides constitutional amendment: reorganizing the administrative districts of the northern territories, which are currently treated as quasi-states, and incorporating them into official states.

More than 40 percent of the Mexican Empire’s territory is divided into just three territories.

In the past, the population was too small to be considered a problem, so it was left alone, but now that the population is rapidly increasing, it is time to reorganize.

I began to ponder over how to divide this vast territory.