I Became The Crown Prince Of The Mexican Empire - Chapter 99



Only Noblemtl

The Aftermath of War (4)

January 1841.

“Wow, I didn’t know Mexicans were like that… Anyway, thank you. I’ll make sure you pay for this information.”

“Oh, no. Rather, I think I acted like I knew too much in front of the patriots, despite my shallow knowledge as a non-military person.”

“Haha, you have a talent for making people feel good. See you next time.”

The US Army general left with those words.

“You did something today too.”

Carter Smith was on a roll.

This political newcomer, who recently appeared as a witness on Mexico before the U.S. Senate, was making a name for himself as a “Mexico expert.”

I met with several people, starting with their testimony about the armament of the Mexican military.

As he did just now, he gave detailed accounts to American troops of how Mexican troops fought Comanche tribes and Texas vigilantes, and advised railroad entrepreneurs on how Mexico’s railroad system was structured.

‘That Mexican Crown Prince is definitely the one. Just telling them how he did it makes everyone stick out their tongues.’

He was working in Louisiana, on the border with Mexico, following the advice of his political mentor, Henry Clay, and it seemed likely that if he continued on this path, he would soon be able to enter the state legislature.

“You’ve done a good job at work today, so why not go for a drink?”

4pm.

It was still winter and it would soon be dark, but recently kerosene lamps were placed here and there throughout the city, making it a good time to have a drink.

Carter Smith grabbed his coat and opened the door.

***

“Oh man, I pushed myself a bit today.”

Carter Smith was leaving the bar and walking home.

As we walked away from the downtown shopping district, lit by a series of kerosene lamps, it was getting darker and darker, but it didn’t matter since we were already here.

‘It’s dark, but if you just pass this corner…’

puck!

A sharp blow to the back of his head, accompanied by a chill down his spine, knocked Carter Smith unconscious.

When he came to, it was a place he had never seen before.

Carter Smith, who was momentarily dazed by the surreal situation, soon came to his senses.

I’ve been kidnapped!

“Here… who, who is there!”

Carter Smith screamed hysterically as a black shape moved in the darkness.

Chick-

The sound of a match being struck illuminated the room.

“Long time no see, Smith.”

“You, you! Michael Williams! You traitorous son of a bitch!”

Michael Williams, once the number three member of the Texas Vigilantes, was the kidnapper.

“Traitor… Even though you’re tied up so tightly, you still can’t grasp the situation?”

“Wh, what! Are you really going to harm me too? On this American soil? I heard you finally took over the immigration company in Austin, and now you’re going to become a criminal?”

After hearing Michael’s words, Smith felt scared and tried to convince his opponent, but it didn’t work at all.

Michael ignored Smith’s words and opened his mouth with a look of regret.

“Oh, Smith. You don’t know anything. Why did you install it in my area? I didn’t want to touch the child of an old colleague.”

“Wh, what are you talking about! Please save me! No, save me. Sir! We were close friends with my father!”

“Well… we’ve come too far to be discussing that.”

After checking the revolver’s chamber, Michael combined the cylinder.

Okay! Chrrrr-

“You should have done that. If you hated Mexico so much, you could have just left and lived in the United States. To secretly investigate every nook and cranny for years and then report it to the U.S. Congress is no different from spying.”

Michael, who had already lived for years as a member of the Mexican Empire’s intelligence unit, was reluctant to do this, but once the order was given, there was no other way.

In a short time, we had talked about so many things, from the guns and tactics of the Mexican Army, to the new ships of the Navy, to stories about railroads, to stories about immigrant companies.

When the head of the intelligence unit heard this news, he gave an extremely rare order to assassinate Michael, who just so happened to be the person in charge of that area.

“Please, please···.”

bang!

***

“I have felt this way for a while now, but His Majesty does not seem to like Mexico City growing very much.”

Diego brought up that story during his break.

“That’s right. To be exact, it’s good to grow, but we should be wary of developing too quickly and indiscriminately.”

It is natural to focus on developing the capital and its surroundings in the early stages of industrialization. Almost all countries have succeeded in doing so, so it should be considered a proven method.

“The capital-centered development method works for most countries, but in countries with vast territories like the United States or our Mexican Empire, the disadvantages tend to outweigh the advantages. This is especially true for our capital, Mexico City.”

“Is it because of the earthquake you mentioned before?”

“Yes. When we say that Mexico City is being developed, it means that we are reclaiming Lake Texcoco to expand the land. Such land is very vulnerable to earthquakes.”

Even in countries like the Republic of Korea or France in the past that have grown well centered around their capitals, there are people who say that they should have developed their local regions a long time ago, but how can a much larger country like the Mexican Empire or the United States industrialize around a single city?

It will lead to terrible levels of regional imbalance.

In particular, Mexico City, the capital of Mexico, is a place that could collapse in an earthquake, so it is absolutely not a place worth investing heavily in.

‘It was originally an area prone to earthquakes, and because it was a city built during development, the ground was soft. Of course, modern civil engineering has methods to improve this soft ground, but applying this to the entire city with current technology would cost an astronomical amount of money.’

Why spend that much money just to develop a new area? If you don’t, you can just dig up dirt and do the development. No one will agree with that.

“I see. I understand. By the way, I have an outside schedule today.”

“Outside schedule?”

“Yes. The person Your Majesty has been waiting for a very long time is expected to arrive today.”

***

The aftereffects of the war appeared in unexpected places.

“Welcome!”

“Wow, I never imagined that Your Majesty would come out to greet me in person.”

The young engineer I had been waiting for, Henry Bessemer, had finally arrived in the Mexican Empire.

I picked him up at the port of Veracruz, and he looked really surprised and taken aback.

“Hahaha, it took me 4 attempts to scout you before I succeeded, so don’t you think it’s worth coming out yourself?”

“Haha, the first proposal was when I was 15 years old. I still remember it.”

“That’s right. I was a bit hasty back then.”

“No. It was thanks to your interest that I finally decided to move to Mexico.”

“Well then, that’s good. Anyway, I ask for your help in the future.”

“I am the one who needs to take good care of you, Your Majesty.”

Bessemer spoke softly, as if it was because of my constant interest, but in fact I could not help but see that the influence of the war was clear.

Because the proposal itself was very good the last time, and it was not much different from this one. Then, right after our Mexico won the war against France, he came to us first.

‘I guess this is all thanks to the rise in prestige of our Mexican Empire.’

The head of the immigration office, Rodolfo Nunes, who was waiting for me when I heard about my visit to the immigration detention center in Veracruz, also confirmed my suspicion.

“Your Majesty, the war’s results are believed to have had an impact on immigration. The number of immigrants had been on an upward trend, but the rate of increase has increased dramatically since the middle of last year.”

“Oh, is that so? That’s what I thought.”

Immediately after independence, Mexico was recognized only by other independent countries in North America, and was not treated properly by European countries.

After our victory over Spain, our Mexican prestige rose a little further and we were recognized by the European nations as a regional power, and after our victory over France, we were recognized as a European power.

This rise in international prestige helped attract technical talent, including Henry Bessemer, and a variety of immigrants.

We sent Bessemer first to Las Truchas, where his work place and home were, and then toured the port of Veracruz.

“Veracruz has grown a lot.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. The city is growing rapidly as the port expands and the large shipyard continues to operate.”

The immigration officer who suddenly became my attendant answered.

“Yes. Since there are jobs, it grows on its own. It’s a shame that the city is a bit chaotic, though, because it didn’t grow under proper control.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. The job issue seems important.”

This time it was Diego who answered.

‘A job···.’

A city does not grow by building infrastructure such as roads, railways, and administrative buildings. The city’s economy must grow and jobs must be created.

The ones who have failed to do this properly are the provincial cities of China, which have also built hundreds of new cities over several decades under government leadership, as I am now thinking of.

While this project has certainly helped China’s economic growth, it has also had the unfortunate side effect of creating a slew of “ghost cities” in rural areas, where few people live but infrastructure and buildings are built to last.

These ghost towns, although seemingly intact, had a significant lack of real demand, largely because the industries that would provide jobs in the cities had not been developed in tandem.

“Come to think of it, all the investment cases for Real Inversion that have come to me recently are companies in Mexico City or the surrounding areas. I believe they don’t filter by region, is that correct?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. We do not filter by region. I think it is because of the physical distance since the company is located in Mexico City.”

Land development and industrial development must be carried out together to be meaningful. However, building a building is easy, and fostering an industry is difficult.

“I see. In that case, we should also consider Real Inversion’s advancement into the provinces.”

Diego said with a slightly surprised expression on his face at my words.

“If you are advancing into the local area… Are the final investment decisions also made in the local area?”

“I guess so. It’s not a size that I can handle alone. The rate of return will be a little lower though.”

The companies that have received investments from Real Inversion are currently showing an amazing success rate. This was possible because I only chose businesses that were certain to succeed in the future, but if I did not make the final decision, the batting average would drop significantly.

“Then, how about letting the local governments decide on the cases with an investment of less than 10,000 pesos, and having Your Majesty review the cases with an investment of 10,000 pesos or more?”

“Oh, that’s a good idea. I think we should go that way.”

Diego and I walked the streets of Veracruz and discussed the development of local industries.

“Then, money would be a problem. There would be a limit to how much gold we can sell to the government.”

The government had been steadily buying gold I had found in California to build up a gold reserve to print currency.

“You don’t have to worry about money. There are other ways to make money.”

Now I have the luxury of looking overseas. The world is big, and there are many places to make money.