**Chapter 53**
**Texas (2)**
After receiving detailed operational orders from His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince, I immediately set off for Texas and arrived at Galveston Harbor.
‘I’m going straight to San Antonio.’
San Antonio was not only the largest city in Texas but also where I had connections.
“Take me to San Antonio.”
Rios Express was providing transportation services here in Texas, just as they did in Mexico City and Veracruz.
‘Wait, Rios Express?’
I had a mission objective and plan, but I didn’t have a disguise prepared in advance. Disguising oneself well was one of the key elements of this operation.
Being an employee of Rios Express, which had a branch in every town of a certain size or larger, would be one way to avoid suspicion as an outsider.
He asked the employee,
“Are you hiring employees at Rios Express?”
“We can’t hire enough people. Everyone thinks it’s more profitable to get land and farm. What are you applying for, administrative staff, coachman, or security guard?”
Being a coachman was out of the question. I needed to be able to stay in one place for at least a few months.
“Between administrative staff and security guard, which department can move to other towns?”
“Moving? Administrative staff like me rarely move. Security guards don’t have a specific system, but if you apply, they might be able to move you.”
The Rios Express reception clerk looked at me as if I was asking something strange. But he answered anyway, so it seemed like they were really short-staffed.
“Then I’ll apply as a security guard.”
“Have you ever shot a gun? If not, you’ll need to be trained.”
“Yes, I’ve shot a gun.”
“You’ve shot a gun? You’re not a criminal, are you?”
The clerk looked at Ricardo suspiciously.
Only hunters, criminals, and soldiers shoot guns. He was wearing a hood, so maybe he was suspicious.
“I’m a former soldier.”
“Hmm, is that so? Well, that’s good. Wait a moment. There are procedures.”
“Yes.”
The clerk rummaged through a pile of documents for a moment and pulled out a piece of paper.
“Fill this out.”
“Yes.”
It asked for various personal information, but Ricardo filled in the disguised information he had prepared.
‘At least in Texas, I’ll go by Alejandro Martinez.’
“…You can read? You were an officer?”
“…Yes.”
‘Oh, no. It’s not good that my real identity and my disguised identity are too similar, but there’s nothing I can do about it.’
After filling out the paperwork, it was a smooth process. He was assigned to the security guard post in San Antonio where he had applied.
‘They must be really desperate for people. I can go straight to the place I want.’
I arrived in San Antonio by Rios Express stagecoach. I had something to do before starting work as an employee.
I immediately went to a farm.
‘This must be it. It’s not easy to find just by looking at the letter.’
Knock knock-
“Who is it!”
I hear a familiar voice.
“It’s Ricardo!”
I hear the voice of my comrade, who had been through many hardships with me.
Creak-
“Captain!”
“Hahaha! Captain? You still call me that? Juan.”
Juan, who had opened the door, greeted me warmly.
“It’s stuck, Captain. I can’t get rid of it. Anyway, come in. It’s a pleasant surprise.”
‘Well, I kept calling him Captain even while going through all those hardships, so it’s inevitable that it would stick.’
The sailors were surprised to hear about the Texas immigration policy, asking if it was true that they gave land.
‘He wanted to settle in Texas, but he couldn’t settle without his family, so I helped him go to Cuba, bring his family, and settle in Texas.’
I thought I would never get another connection like this in my lifetime, so I kept in touch with him through letters.
Juan, a mestizo from Cuba, had successfully settled in Texas.
“Are the other comrades doing well?”
“They’re all doing well in various parts of Texas. We get together in San Antonio once a year to catch up. Anyway, it’s good to see your face, Captain, but what brings you here?”
“You remember that I was in the Mexican Empire’s navy, right?”
“Of course.”
“I need your help. But it’s not easy.”
“Help? I don’t know what it is, but if it’s a request from the Captain, I can do anything. You saved my life several times.”
“…Thank you. My request is related to our Mexican Empire. I need to get your confirmation before telling you the details. Are you willing to work for our Mexican Empire?”
I couldn’t just give him information, no matter how close we were.
It was dangerous because of the risk of information leaking, but it could also endanger his life. That’s why I wanted to officially hire him.
‘His Imperial Highness also said it’s okay to hire informants locally.’
I had infiltrated as an employee of Rios Express, but Juan, who had been with me for years, would have access to much more information than I, an outsider.
“The Mexican Empire… I was actually from Cuba, and I live in Texas now, so I don’t have any patriotism for the Mexican Empire. …But I do miss those days when I was with the Captain.”
He was living a stable life, but after experiencing a great adventure, it must have been a bit boring for Juan.
He was approaching middle age, but he felt his heart stir at my offer.
After my earnest persuasion, he finally agreed.
“Damn it! Now that the kids are grown up, I don’t have to worry too much. I’m putting my trust in you, Captain.”
We finally took the first step.
I felt a little relieved of the immense burden.
“Thank you so much for making this big decision, Juan.”
***
‘The master of Texas’
Those words left by the arms dealer warmed Stephen Austin’s heart.
He felt good when he thought about those words, but they soon cooled down.
‘Railroad.’
Stephen Austin had been agonizing for days. As his subordinate said, if the railroad was connected, the central control would be strengthened.
He also considered sabotaging the railroad construction. He would steal the iron from the railroad under construction and sell it every morning.
‘That’ll only be temporary.’
If it happened a few times, they would become more vigilant and eventually finish it. What would happen then?
Stephen Austin was a man who was proud enough to call himself the ‘father of Texas’, but he also knew that there were many things he had done that he wasn’t proud of.
‘I’ll let the bribery of the governor and officials slide, but I can’t hide the fact that I distributed the land as I pleased.’
Immigrants from Europe were increasingly coming in and lurking around.
He was using vigilantes to patrol constantly and block them, but information control would be over once the railroad was connected.
Would he choose a reckless challenge to become the master of Texas, or would he sit back and lose everything? It was a question with a clear answer for Stephen Austin.
He didn’t have the option of confessing to the Mexican government and begging for mercy.
“Call the arms dealer.”
“Yes…”
Stephen Austin waited, smoking a cigarette.
“You called for me.”
He appeared as if he had been waiting.
Stephen Austin looked directly at his face and asked,
“American?”
A startled expression flashed across his face. At that moment, Stephen Austin was sure.
“You’re American.”
“···I am just an arms dealer.”
“You’re not saying you were sent by the US government?”
“I’m an arms dealer, but I could have connections with the US government.”
A shifty answer, essentially an admission.
“Cut the charade and get to the point. How much support can you get from the US?”
Stephen Austin asked directly.
“···Support from the United States? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“If you keep talking nonsense, I’ll report you to the Mexican government. If I turn over a US spy, they might be lenient with my crime, right?”
Stephen Austin spat out coldly.
“···I am not a member of the U.S. government, but as a patriot who loves America, I think I can provide a lot of weapons if Texas joins the Union after independence.”
“Join the US? Then it’ll just change from Mexico to the US.”
“No. It’s different from the Mexican Empire, which pursues centralization. The US is a federal republic and supports local autonomy. For example, even matters like the governor’s term and term limits can be decided by each state.”
“Oh. So, if I can just get the votes, I can continue to be governor?”
“Yes, if you can keep getting votes from the Texans.”
“That’s not difficult.”
This Texas was truly pioneered by Stephen Austin.
All the Americans who came to Texas went through his company.
Recently, Europeans had also come in, but it couldn’t be denied that Stephen Austin was the one who had pioneered, developed, and protected Texas.
“Send me the weapons as soon as possible.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t send you weapons first. You need to rally public opinion. That’s how you get legitimacy.”
‘An arms dealer is talking about public opinion? Even a stray dog would laugh.’
“···Just wait a moment. I’ll show you the Texans who long for independence.”
“Alright.”
The American Brian and the Texan Stephen shook hands and prepared for their next move.
***
Fortunately, it wasn’t just Juan.
Many of my comrades who had been through hardships together were willing to join.
“So, cities like San Antonio are completely controlled by Americans, right?”
“Yes, Captain. No, I mean, Alejandro.”
They were still awkward intelligence agents, but since they were rooted in this area, the information they had was a great help.
“I see. ‘The higher-ups’ predicted that if the Americans were going to make a move, they would definitely contact Stephen Austin. Then we need to create an anti-Stephen Austin faction.”
“Yes. And it would be good to infiltrate Stephen Austin’s faction to gather information.”
Juan also came up with an idea.
“I’ll go in. I know a guy in the Texas vigilante group. If I say I want to join, he’ll accept me without suspicion.”
It was Carlos, one of his colleagues. Unlike the other mestizos from Cuba, he was white.
“But what kind of faction is the anti-Stephen Austin faction?”
Another colleague asked.
“First, we’ll spread the word about Stephen Austin’s corruption and wrongdoing. And if, as ‘the higher-ups’ predicted, Stephen Austin falls for the American temptation, we’ll try to incite the Texans to rebel against the Mexican Empire government.”
“Hmm, so we’ll create public opinion that he’s sacrificing Texans for his own personal greed to prevent incitement.”
“That’s right.”
“Hmm, it’s not as dangerous as I thought. It’s also effective.”
“It’s all what ‘the higher-ups’ told us. He’s an amazing guy.”
Major Ricardo and his colleagues made detailed plans before starting the actual operation. They added specific implementation plans to the framework of the operational plan set by ‘the higher-ups’.
‘Stephen Austin, it won’t go as you planned.’
His colleagues scattered to various towns.
This small part was left untranslated.
ReplyDelete“···조금만 기다리게. 곧 독립을 갈망하는 텍사스인들을 보여줄 테니.”