I Became The Crown Prince Of The Mexican Empire - Chapter 169



Only Krnovel

“I refuse.”

The man was cold-blooded.

“Rejection? You are the one who tricked us. You said you would give us supplies if we swear never to surrender?”

The man chuckled as he watched the Mexican rebels getting excited and demanding.

“Didn’t you say that at least five states would join the rebellion? You say otherwise, so why should we keep our promise?”

The major wanted to crush the nose of the squeamish Englishman, but held back. The British Empire and the Austrian Empire were acting as one body as allies. In fact, he could even decide whether to support the Austrian Empire.

“Then we don’t have to be loyal either. The revelation that you supported the Mexican Empire’s rebellion will shock the whole world. Can you handle it?”

The man’s eyebrows twitched.

“Assertions without evidence are just ignored.”

“Ha, the countries that can do whatever you want with that kind of blindness and ignorance are the ones that you can control. The Mexican Empire is not like that, so isn’t that why they’re supporting the rebellion now? Even without evidence, the Mexican Empire will cross-check various testimonies and will be convinced that you instigated it. Those testimonies will also flow to our allies, the Kingdom of Prussia, and other European countries.”

The Major’s words were plausible. If that were to happen, it would inevitably be that his reputation would be tarnished. Also, the tarnished reputation could come back to him as karma someday. But the opponent was the British Empire.

“Hmm, I guess I’ll have to accept that.”

“···Are you willing to take that risk?”

“exactly.”

Even if the Major’s argument was plausible, it was not a threat that posed much of a threat to the British Empire. If they had been afraid of the evidence, they would never have thought of actually issuing privateering licenses.

Whatever they might think of Britain, few countries had the courage to take direct action against it, and the Mexican Empire was already practically an enemy.

The major had no more cards to play. When the major closed his mouth, the man opened his mouth with a satisfied smile.

“Instead, let’s do this. You seize our trading ships that are currently docked at the port of Veracruz.

“···Seizure?”

“Yes. There are trade goods with the Mexican Empire, but there are also weapons that were supposed to be sold at high prices to the United States. You seize all of them. In return, when we formally protest to the Mexican Empire government about this, you do not offer any explanation.”

The major immediately understood what the man’s suggestion meant.

It was a vile suggestion.

Since the Mexican rebels were robbing British merchants of their supplies, they could hold the Mexican Empire accountable for its negligence. They wanted to provide supplies as originally planned, while also taking credit for it.

On the surface, the British Empire, which had its supplies stolen, would protest, while the Mexican Empire would not be able to provide a proper explanation.

It could be argued that the testimony was coerced, based on the fact that even though the revelations came out at the last minute after all the rebels had been captured, no explanation was given when Britain protested.

Far from the Mexican Empire blaming Britain, Britain would blame Mexico, and in the worst case scenario, would have to pay reparations in addition to the value of the goods. Regardless of whether the rebellion was successful or not, it would be a burden to the Mexican Empire.

The major did not rebel because he hated his country. He simply hated the reforms the emperor was currently implementing, and the many reforms he expected to see in the future. But if he had rebelled, failure would mean death. To do so, he needed supplies from England and Austria.

The major thought for a long time and then said.

“···No matter how much I think about it, this isn’t a problem I can decide. Can you give me more time?”

“Give me until this time tomorrow.”

Just one day.

It wasn’t a long time to make such an important decision, and the major went to Santa Anna’s mansion even at a late hour.

“Accept it.”

The Major’s worries were in vain, and Santa Anna made up her mind as soon as she heard the Major’s words.

‘···You decide without hesitation like this?’

Even though I conveyed my personal opinion that he could be a great burden to the country, he did not hesitate for a moment.

The major relayed his decision with a hint of disappointment.

Those supplies were needed to feed the army and recruit more.

***

“Who would believe that the supplies were stolen by the rebels? Anyone can see that the supplies were given to the rebels to keep us in check!”

“It’s not something to be taken lightly. Whatever their intentions, there are many witnesses that the rebels have seized ships belonging to the British Empire and the Austrian Empire and taken their supplies. Since the two countries have made formal protests, we must respond as well.”

Foreign Office officials were struggling to figure out how to respond to the sudden protests from Great Britain and the Austrian Empire.

“First, we need to blockade the port of Veracruz to stop this nonsense.”

The Imperial fleet did not fall to the rebels, so blockading it would not be difficult. There would be some aftershocks, though.

“There will be some disruption to trade.”

“That will be the case for the time being, but if we decentralize it to places like Campeche, where the 4th shipyard is, and Tampico, where the 6th shipyard is, things will soon return to normal.”

Both cities also functioned as important ports for the Mexican Empire, as they built shipyards and expanded or built new entire ports.

“···How should we deal with the protests from the British Empire and the Austrian Empire?”

How to handle this protest was more problematic than trade, which would be handled by a department other than the Foreign Ministry.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs made the decision.

“It’s unfair, but let’s first express regret and promise to prevent a recurrence and conduct a thorough investigation.”

There are strong suspicions that Britain and Austria deliberately passed supplies to the rebels, but there is currently no evidence to prove this.

“I will make sure to do so.”

The Emperor approved the Foreign Ministry’s proposal.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued an official statement, urging trade vessels to head to Campeche and Tampico instead of Veracruz.

The Imperial fleet blockaded the port of Veracruz, out of range of its defenses.

If they were determined, they could neutralize the coastal defenses and enter the port, but they were concerned that the city would be destroyed in the process.

“Isolate Veracruz completely. Don’t let even a single rat enter.”

“yes!”

It wasn’t just the sea route.

The emperor’s army completely blocked not only the railways but also all roads accessible by foot.

“Isn’t this a rebellion that has already failed? Who would join it and guard this mountain path?”

One soldier complained that he didn’t understand. For days, no one had seen anything like it. It was starting to feel like a waste of time.

“There have actually been people like that in other places.”

“Yeah. There are a lot of people in this world who do things that are incomprehensible. People like you who complain that it’s a little difficult while your superiors are just sitting there.”

When the veteran soldier spoke coldly, the new soldier came to his senses and apologized in surprise.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

As General Santa Anna’s “Plan of Veracruz” spread throughout Mexico City and several other populous cities, surprisingly, there were people willing to join the cause.

As Catholicism is a religion, there were fanatics. They were not a minority. They were deceived by the instigation of the clergy that the non-believing emperor, who had hardly ever gone to church since the time of the crown prince, was suppressing the church.

It was quite bizarre to see people willingly engage in such a madness of rebellion on their behalf, knowing that the clergy were corrupt.

“Huh? Huh?”

“What now?”

When the newbie, who had been quiet for a while, made a foolish noise, the veteran got annoyed.

“Excuse me, there are 300 people climbing the mountain.”

Suddenly-

The veterans who had been lying down comfortably suddenly sat up.

“Three, three hundred? Weapons?”

“We have weapons too!”

“Damn it! Captain!”

The veteran informed the platoon leader, who informed the company commander of the presence of a group of armed men coming up the path they were guarding.

“Are you a fanatic? Or a landlord?”

“Judging by the expression, it seems to be the landlord’s side.”

“That’s fortunate.”

It wasn’t just fanatics who joined the rebellion. There were also small and medium-sized landowners who mobilized the peasants of their own haciendas.

The ‘Punishment’ operation, in which they had participated some time before, was an operation to capture the big shots of each state who had joined the rebellion. By big shots, I mean large landowners and bishops.

In peacetime, the central army did not have the capacity to arrest thousands of priests and landowners at once.

Originally, an operation to arrest all those who participated in the rebellion was supposed to have been carried out after the ‘Punishment’ operation, but the plan was ruined by the unexpected rebellion in Veracruz.

While the call to arms to suppress the rebellion was in effect, half of the central forces were still conducting arrest operations throughout the country, while the other half were assigned to the task of isolating Veracruz.

“I will go down and talk about it.”

“No, hold your ground. Don’t you think they didn’t know that Veracruz was under blockade? They even came with guns.”

The company commander flatly rejected the platoon leader’s offer to go alone and try to talk things out. The company guarding this pass had 200 men.

On the other hand, there were only 300 enemies.

If I had sent down the platoon leader without caution, I could have lost a valuable officer.

“Choose one rookie and one trustworthy soldier who has been around a while and inform the company of the situation and request support.”

“yes!”

The 1st Platoon Leader immediately selected two men and sent them to the company. This brought the total to 198 soldiers and 5 officers.

Meanwhile, an unidentified group heading towards Veracruz also noticed them. As they approached, the company commander shouted:

“There! Stop! Veracruz is blocked, go back!”

The captain shouted with his stomach full and his voice booming, so it couldn’t have gone unheard from this distance. But the men just stopped and muttered without answering.

A man at the back of the line was estimating the number of men in their company.

The ominous feeling grew more and more likely.

“—!”

It was a bit far away so I couldn’t hear it very well, but the person who was estimating the number of people gave some instructions. The formation of the guys changed according to his instructions.

We started to leave the mountain path and enter the forest on the mountain.

“No, they’re taking cover!”

It was obvious even without the platoon leader saying anything.

It was difficult.

The enemy is more numerous, but this side has an overwhelming advantage in occupying the high ground and in having better weapons and training. However, if they spread out and come up the mountain while hiding? A melee will unfold.

However, we could not start shooting without any questions or answers.

The company commander gave a hasty warning.

“Stop! If you don’t stop on the count of three, I’ll shoot! Stop! Three!···Two!···One!”

The enemy did not stop. They were moving towards both sides of the road.

The company commander made a decision.

“Damn it! Open fire!”

“···Commence firing!”

Bang! Tata tata tang!

A mountain pass in the Sierra Madre del Sur mountain range between Oaxaca and Veracruz.

A battle broke out in the place where I thought I had to defend myself.

The battle was won thanks to the company’s timely reinforcements, but it was not enough to block all roads leading to Veracruz.

Major General Santa Anna’s army started out as a division of 18,000 men, including conscripts, but after three weeks it grew to 25,000 men.

The number increased by 7,000, despite thousands of people being killed or arrested on the way as they tried to join the rebels.

May 25th.

An additional 100,000 troops arrived from Mexico City to join the 75,000 troops blockading Veracruz, and the punitive force began to quickly retake the state.

Now, Santa Anna was a rat in a trap.