I Became The Crown Prince Of The Mexican Empire Novel - Chapter 163
**Chapter 163**
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The figure standing behind Ambassador Pakenham, whom I had already met several times, was Viscount Palmerston, the British Foreign Secretary.
As a professional diplomat, he showed off his acting skills, pretending to genuinely congratulate me as my turn came, and spouted nonsense.
“Your Majesty, I am honored to attend the coronation of the Mexican Empire. I extend my heartfelt congratulations on your ascension to the throne, and I am pleased that Mexico has grown alongside our British Empire for so long.”
It seemed the British Empire wasn’t simply here to congratulate.
“Thank you for coming.”
I deliberately gave a short answer, but Viscount Palmerston didn’t blink an eye.
“We have watched the Mexican Empire overcome numerous historical challenges and grow into a nation that is both independent and responsible. This growth and development are quite impressive, but maturity on the international stage stems from humility and solidarity. We expect the Mexican Empire to abide by international norms and consistently demonstrate these principles in its relations with all nations. I hope that this occasion will serve as a stepping stone to further strengthen the friendship between our two nations.”
Ultimately, his purpose was a warning disguised as congratulations. A warning not to disrupt the order of the international community that he leads.
It was arrogance stemming from his background as the Foreign Secretary of the British Empire for a mere viscount to try to teach the emperor of another country. But getting angry here would be a sign of weakness.
I maintained a gentle expression and said,
“Just as the British Empire has watched us, the Mexican Empire, I have also carefully observed the British Empire’s footsteps. I have learned a great deal from your remarkable history, and I intend to put what I’ve learned into practice.”
“···I see. Thank you.”
The British Empire had not been at the top of the world for very long. They too were once just one among many challengers, using all sorts of tactics to achieve victory. Their most famous nickname, ‘pirates,’ came from the fact that they recklessly issued licenses for privateers, which were state-sanctioned pirate ships. Almost every European country had trembled before their lawless acts.
Did they stop their mischief after seizing power? No, they didn’t. In fact, it’s England that’s been engaging in all sorts of bullying and mischief. Wasn’t it just recently that they started a war because they couldn’t sell opium?
Viscount Palmerston, a seasoned diplomat, immediately understood the meaning behind my answer and his expression slightly hardened. But it wasn’t appropriate for him to refute me again in this setting, where many other countries were waiting, so he had no choice but to back down gracefully.
Karl Nesselrode, the Russian Foreign Minister, was watching our conversation with an intrigued expression.
He seemed to have gained confidence from our conversation about the state of relations between our two countries, and he congratulated our Mexican Empire with a delighted expression.
Next was the Austrian Empire. Prince Metternich, the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, also began with words of congratulation.
“It is a great honor to attend the coronation of the Mexican Empire, Your Majesty. It was a very beautiful and grand coronation.”
I nodded and replied in a customary manner.
“Thank you for coming, Prince Metternich.”
His real point came next.
“As Your Majesty also said, history provides us with valuable lessons. It’s even more helpful to see cases similar to the current situation. Often, those who challenge the great order, like Napoleon, eventually realize that they can only reestablish their position through cooperation with the international community. This is a crucial lesson for all of us. I hope Your Majesty’s wise choices will contribute to the peace and prosperity of not only the Mexican Empire but also the entire world.”
Prince Metternich, following the British Empire, emphasized order.
Order.
It seems like a grand phrase on the surface, but the world doesn’t run smoothly just because we follow the rules.
“If my father had simply obeyed the order, the Mexican Empire wouldn’t exist today. We would still be under Spanish rule. Wouldn’t you agree? From that perspective, I think that international order isn’t always desirable.”
People from Spain flinched when I suddenly mentioned them.
I believe that everything, including diplomacy, governance, and everything else, should be somewhere in between order and chaos. But from their perspective, it would inevitably seem like I was pursuing radical change.
“···If Your Majesty thinks so, then I have nothing further to say.”
Prince Metternich closed his mouth with those words.
Everyone else, except for the British Empire and the Austrian Empire, offered ordinary congratulations.
We had a banquet, but I didn’t eat anything.
The long coronation day ended.
***
“That arrogant bastard!”
Bishop Bayesteros of the Diocese of Sonora, who was acting as the Archbishop of Mexico, shouted insults, unlike a clergyman.
He had immediately boarded a train and returned to Sonora the morning after the coronation, and he vented his bottled-up anger in his mansion.
He was angry, even though he was just acting as the Archbishop, because the new emperor had shown him no respect at all, even though he was the one leading the Catholic Church in the Mexican Empire.
“He changed the wording of the oath···.”
He was angry that he was refused the honor of placing the crown on the emperor’s head, but he was even more furious that the emperor completely ignored the oath wording proposed by the church and informed him of a shortened version.
The imperial family had first requested that he draft the oath wording related to religion. So, he and the leaders of the Mexican Catholic Church had gathered and deliberated for days, finally creating an oath based on the British example:
– Will Your Majesty, with all your might, maintain the law of God and the true Gospel? Will Your Majesty preserve and maintain the doctrine, worship, and order of the Roman Catholic Church within the Mexican Empire as established by law? And will Your Majesty preserve all rights and privileges legally belonging or to be belonging to all the clergy of Mexico and the churches entrusted to them?
But the oath wording the new emperor informed them of was as follows:
– Do you swear to uphold the law of God and the true Gospel, and to maintain the doctrine, worship, and order of the Roman Catholic Church within the Mexican Empire?
The content was reduced by half.
The length was a problem, but the omitted parts were also problematic. The part about preserving the church’s rights and privileges was gone. Bishop Bayesteros’ anger stemmed from anxiety.
“He allowed the establishment of public schools, and now I can’t stand it anymore.”
Education was originally one of the many privileges held by the church. The church monopolized the education system, teaching content that reflected its doctrines and political views. This was a means for the church to maintain its influence over the overall ideology and culture of society.
That privilege had been greatly eroded by the creation of universities and finally ended with public schools. This was undoubtedly a violation of the church’s privileges, but he had let it slide.
It was partly because of the justification that they were providing educational benefits to veterans who had participated in the war, and partly because the emperor’s popularity was so overwhelming after winning the war.
“Now that that bastard has become emperor, he’s completely blind.”
Bishop Bayesteros cursed the new emperor, as if he had already forgotten the oath of allegiance he had sworn just yesterday.
“Huuu···.”
His mansion was truly enormous. It was possible because the property owned by his church was much larger than a typical hacienda (large estate).
Bishop Bayesteros suppressed his anger as he watched the people, who were no different from slaves, preparing for the next harvest from the balcony of his three-story mansion.
“Rights and privileges···. What is he trying to do?”
There’s nothing to touch.
Everything the Catholic Church enjoys is justified. Isn’t our contribution to society immense?
If he even tries to touch anything, he’ll learn a lesson.
Bishop Bayesteros reached that conclusion and went down to the dining room.
The food laid out in the dining room was no less than the banquet at the imperial palace. He knew because he had seen the actual banquet at the imperial palace last night.
It was truly a meal fit for an emperor.
“I need a glass of holy water too.”
He said, and a native woman, who was waiting in the dining room, poured him a drink. She was also a peón (debt slave) owned by the church. Bishop Bayesteros, who had brought her to his mansion with ulterior motives, lived a life completely different from what his religion taught.
Contrary to the biblical teaching that it is harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, he was a wealthy man who owned vast land and countless peóns (debt slaves).
Also, the Bible says, “Do not get drunk on wine, for it leads to debauchery.” But he drank without any qualms, and he even indulged in sexual affairs, fathering many illegitimate children. And he didn’t even acknowledge their rights, making sure they didn’t know who their father was.
This was common in the Mexican Catholic Church.
They had been corrupt for a long time, enjoying even greater abundance than their European predecessors, but they never anticipated that the same large-scale resistance, reform, and other things that their predecessors had faced would come to them.
Roman Catholicism was the state religion, as stipulated in Article 2 of the Mexican Empire’s constitution, and most of the people, including the imperial family, were believers in the Catholic Church. Even immigrants mostly believed in Catholicism or converted after coming to the Mexican Empire.
The Catholic Church, which existed in every village, was not just a place for holding mass. It was a vital community for all villages and cities, and even though it has changed somewhat recently, it used to play a significant role in Mexican society, to the extent that birth, death, and marriage registrations were done at the church.
If the emperor was the ruler of the real world, the Archbishop of Mexico could be called the spiritual father of the people.
Bishop Bayesteros, who had taken a sip of holy water, justified himself by elevating himself and rationalizing that the emperor couldn’t treat them arbitrarily, but the new emperor thought differently.
***
“It seems Korea will take some time, Your Majesty.”
It was Diego’s words.
“Well, that’s as expected.”
The day after the coronation, I called the Korean diplomat to inquire about the situation, using the excuse that I had been sitting at the end of the banquet the previous day and hadn’t been able to properly converse. As expected, it was as I had anticipated.
Large-scale trade between the Mexican Empire and Korea had begun in the five Korean ports, and changes were occurring in Korean society, which had been stagnant for so long, but Korea’s vested interests were doing their best to resist change.
Park Gyu-su and his juniors, who had appeared in Western attire, didn’t hold much power in the government yet, but they were preparing for reform with a greater sense of crisis over the Korean situation.
“On the other hand, the Philippines seem to be doing well, and Japan is experiencing growing pains.”
President Jose Garcia, backed by the power of the Mexican Imperial Pacific Fleet, had been re-elected and was serving his second term. The Philippine diplomat had reported on the domestic situation, as if boasting that he had done his homework well.
President Garcia was following a similar path to what I had done, starting with the confiscation of Spanish assets.
“Yes, the Japanese side didn’t reveal much, but the domestic situation seems quite chaotic.”
Japan, similar to the original timeline, was experiencing tremendous social upheaval. The Edo Shogunate had suffered a fatal blow to its authority, weakening its political power, and had no choice but to leave the growth of the reformist forces unchecked.
It was all because of the changes I had made.
The position of the emperor of a powerful empire was like that.
A position that could have a tremendous impact not only domestically but also globally.
Emperors often couldn’t wield as much power as one might think because of the checks and balances of numerous political opponents, but I wasn’t in that situation. I had overwhelming public support, and as proof, the emperor’s party members had captured more than half of the seats in the parliament, holding over two-thirds of the total seats.
It was a position where I could do whatever I wanted. But this time is the most important.
‘I need to be the exception to the saying, “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.”’
I mustn’t succumb to the thrill of power. On the contrary, now, when I am at my strongest, is the time to solve the empire’s greatest problems.
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