I Became The Crown Prince Of The Mexican Empire Novel - Chapter 177
**Chapter 177**
< Colombia (6) >
A dimly lit room illuminated by candlelight.
Archbishop Manuel José Mosquera y Arboleda of the Archdiocese of Bogotá was facing Esteban Espinosa.
Esteban had recently helped attack the army of Pedro Morales, one of the leaders of the New Granada Church, and Diego Sanchez, a prominent landowner. But as the situation changed, so did enemies and allies.
The room was dark, but their conversation was lively.
“Hahaha, with our support added to General Esteban’s leadership, there’s nothing to fear.”
General Esteban.
One of only two archbishops in New Granada was calling Esteban “General” and praising him.
Esteban smiled and responded.
“We may have fought in the past, but ultimately, our goals are the same. The stability and prosperity of this nation. Let’s open a new era for that.”
The alliance of the church and landowners, the conservative forces of New Granada, had already been defeated by the revolutionaries once, but that didn’t mean their power was completely gone.
They couldn’t fight the revolutionaries militarily, but they were still small lords with immense wealth, farms, employees, and peons.
Esteban thought he had won their support, but he received a greater backlash than he expected.
“What are you doing!”
Bravo, a young revolutionary officer, confronted Esteban.
“Are you going to be the spokesperson for the church and the landowners? They were the vanguards of the old order that our revolution sought to overthrow!”
The founding faction comrades also erupted in protest.
“Bravo, we are at a crossroads where we will decide the fate of the nation. It’s important to uphold the purity of ideology, but there are times when we need to face reality.”
“Reality? Is our reality to submit to the vested interests of the landowners and clergy?”
Bravo argued in an agitated voice.
Esteban looked at Bravo.
A young man in his twenties who had joined the revolutionaries with nothing. How fervent his beliefs must be. Esteban had experienced this kind of tiring type many times.
“Listen, Lieutenant Bravo. Are you saying we should kill all the clergy and landowners in this country? As I said this morning, I haven’t promised them anything. That’s because they are in a position where they can never support the annexation faction. I got hundreds of thousands of votes without promising anything, just by shaking hands. Can you get hundreds of thousands of votes without any compensation?”
Esteban suppressed Bravo by addressing him by his rank.
“…”
Lieutenant Bravo was speechless, stunned, when Esteban spoke softly.
“It’s just a temporary alliance. I promise that we won’t betray the cause of the revolution.”
“…”
Esteban soothed the founding faction internally with his eloquent speech, but he couldn’t soothe everyone who heard about this outside.
Still, those who still had affection for this country hoped that the founding faction would win and carry out reforms. For them, the news that the founding faction leader was shaking hands with the old forces was a huge disappointment.
“…He didn’t promise them anything? That’s a load of bull I’ve heard before.”
“Haha, hahaha, isn’t that an excuse only old politicians would give? I don’t know anymore.”
That day, many people got drunk.
***
December 1848, the British Empire.
“This is undoubtedly a dirty trick by those Mexican bastards! Are you just going to watch this happen?”
A Conservative Party member in Parliament raised his voice in a furious tone.
The biggest issue in the British Parliament recently was Mexico’s intervention in Colombia.
“There’s no evidence, is there?”
“No, how can New Granada suddenly propose to vote for annexation with Mexico if Mexico hasn’t done anything? And why is there no evidence? It’s obvious that they sold weapons and various supplies to the revolutionaries!”
“We also sell outdated weapons. How can you accuse them of dirty tricks based on that?”
The stronger a nation is, the more its military technology develops. It’s only natural. That’s how you become a great power.
Great powers naturally have weapons from previous generations left over, and it’s only natural to sell them to the side that benefits them.
Didn’t Britain itself sell weapons to the Northern United States and the church-landowner alliance in New Granada?
“There’s more than that. The Battle of Cartagena, which decided the fate of the Colombian church-landowner alliance and the revolutionaries. The Mexican bastards lent the revolutionaries several ships there. If it weren’t for that, the alliance would have won!”
“That’s right. They were playing dirty tricks in Mexico, and when things went awry, they intervened in a hurry!”
The Mexican Empire didn’t lend warships, but merchant ships, but that was a minor detail that could be ignored.
The Mexican Empire is a rival to the British Empire on par with Russia, or even more so. Colombia is about to fall to the Mexican Empire, which is already a great power, so what are they supposed to do?
“Hmm, definitely. That part is debatable.”
“It’s not debatable, it’s clear. As a member of the international community, we must sanction this kind of evil act of trying to swallow up another country.”
Britain had absolutely no intention of going to war for Colombia, but they were full of thoughts of criticizing Mexico under the guise of Colombia.
As an unspoken agreement was reached between the two parties, the British Foreign Secretary, Viscount Henry John Temple Palmerston, came to Parliament.
He was already prepared.
“Esteemed Speaker and Members of Parliament,
Today, I stand before you to speak about a serious and grave matter. I believe everyone who has been watching the recent actions of the Mexican Empire will agree with me that this is a clear act of provocation that seriously threatens the sovereignty of sovereign states and disrupts the international order.
The British Empire has diplomatic relations with many nations. They are all sovereign states with the sacred right to protect their sovereignty and territory. But this aggressive nation called the Mexican Empire is trying to swallow up small countries using its power. How immoral and despicable is this act?
… (continued)
Therefore, the British government issues a stern warning. Refrain. Respect the rights of sovereign states. Abandon hegemonism and take the path of diplomacy and compromise. If the Mexican Empire does not correct its current wrong course, the British Empire will take decisive action in solidarity with the international community.
Thank you for listening.”
It was a strong criticism and warning.
Palmerston’s speech spread quickly through the media and diplomats around the world.
The Mexican Empire responded immediately.
“It’s the height of hypocrisy for Britain to talk about the rights of sovereign states and the international order. At this very moment, the British Empire is holding colonies all over the world, exploiting small countries, and expanding its imperialist rule.
Considering the violence and plunder Britain has committed in India, Africa, and Asia, Britain is undoubtedly the mastermind behind the disruption of the international order. Britain has no right to talk about respecting sovereignty.”
Mexico’s strong rebuttal was like announcing the breakdown of the once-close relationship between the two countries to the world.
***
“Unbelievable. Those hypocrites.”
I grumbled about the British, focusing on the situation in New Granada.
“Minister Lopez has finally joined the annexation faction. Considering his influence, it seems likely to be a great help in realizing the annexation.”
That was Diego’s words.
I looked at the map of New Granada spread out on my desk and said.
“Have we finally succeeded? He’s a man we need.”
I remember those who tried to carry out reforms in Central and South America, which had a chaotic history.
In the original timeline, Jose Hilario Lopez was a revolutionary who became president and attempted to abolish slavery, secularize, and reform the right to vote.
I was disappointed to hear that he had failed to be persuaded, but thanks to the other side’s foolishness, he came over to our side.
“That Esteban guy is a funny one. If, as he said, the church and the landowners could never support the annexation faction, wouldn’t they have supported him even if they didn’t meet? Why did he have to meet with the archbishop and promise support, and then brag about it?”
He was a very grateful guy from my perspective.
I was a little annoyed that the New Granada revolutionaries, who I had been working on for a long time, were going in a strange direction, but now they’ve finally gotten back on track.
“Agent Cervantes, and the intelligence agents deployed to New Granada, prepare to reward them.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. You think the plan is almost successful?”
“Yes. The most dangerous enemy is a friend who has turned against you. People like Lopez will actively help the annexation faction.”
It’s not just bigwigs like Lopez. Many people will be greatly disappointed in the founding faction. I’m confident of victory.
“Then, I’ll prepare for them to live comfortably there. They probably won’t be able to come back to Mexico City.”
“That’s right. Now that he’s joined, Miguel Santander is too big to back out. But that place will soon be Mexico too, so it’s not as bad as Agent Ramirez in France.”
Lucien Dufour, one of the leaders of the recent French revolution, is actually Juan Ramirez, a Mexican, but he can’t come back. If he suddenly disappears after successfully leading the revolution and taking a high position in the government, everyone will suspect something.
Only a few people know the truth about him, including me, my father, Diego, and the head of the intelligence agency, and it’s something we have to take to our graves.
“Still, he became a minister in France, and the money we spent building a foundation there is now his, so I don’t think he’s unhappy, if anything, he’s happy. Didn’t he even get married there?”
“Hahaha, Diego, you seem to be jealous? You’re a minister-level official too. You have several subordinates.”
I recently changed the previous title of ‘Minister’ to ‘Minister’. My father seemed to prefer ‘Minister’, but I found it a bit awkward.
“No, no. Jealous? How could I be?”
Actually, I could understand why he was jealous.
Agent Juan Ramirez became the owner of the trading company in Paris that the intelligence agency had spent money to create.
Even though Diego became the head of the Ministerio de la Casa Imperial, he didn’t have that kind of wealth.
But I was going to leave that trading company alone. If I tried to take it back unnaturally, there was a chance that our involvement in France would be revealed.
‘The British are already itching to pick a fight with us, and if that gets out, things will get even more complicated.’
Thinking that far, I said to Diego.
“Call the Minister of Defense and the Minister of Foreign Affairs. We have to repay what we’ve been dealt.”
***
The ministers arrived shortly.
“Your Majesty, you summoned us.”
“Come in.”
Tea was served, and I got to the point.
“I’ve received information that those shameless British bastards have been selling weapons to the church-landowner alliance in New Granada. This is not ordinary trade, but interference in the politics of New Granada, so isn’t this a violation of the Secret Agreement (Acuerdo Secreto)?”
The Minister of Foreign Affairs answered.
“Yes, Your Majesty. If that’s true, then it’s a violation of the agreement.”
The secret agreement between the British Empire and our Mexican Empire, which was made when the two countries were on good terms.
It was an agreement that we would not politically or militarily intervene in the African continent, India, Indochina, or Oceania, and in return, Britain would not intervene in South America, the Caribbean, Japan, Korea, or the Philippines.
The British bastards violated the secret agreement with us and then brazenly blamed us.
“Good. It was a very unfavorable agreement for us anyway. Hmm, it’s a secret agreement, so we can’t protest publicly, so we have no choice but to repay them in kind.”
Britain wants to stop our expansion, but now that we’ve come this far, they can’t change the course of New Granada unless they directly deploy their military forces.
We’ve blocked them once, now it’s our turn.
I made plans with the Minister of Defense and the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
I pointed to a spot on the world map with a stick and asked.
“Right here. This is about right. What do you think?”
English