**Chapter 64**
University and Slavery (5)
Summer of 1834.
Diego Luis, my aide who I left behind in Texas, returned.
"You've worked hard, Diego. I missed you a lot."
His skin was quite tanned, as if he had traveled a lot in Texas.
"Thank you, Your Highness. I prefer being by your side."
I laughed, remembering Diego's sad face when I instructed him to handle the aftermath in Texas, following California.
"Haha, there's no one I trust more than you to be my proxy. What can I do?"
I patted Diego on the shoulder as a sign of appreciation and asked him,
"So, how are the Texas indigenous people doing?"
"At first, I was worried because the indigenous people of Texas were a bit more hostile, but releasing the indigenous people who were held in the missions and bringing them back was a great help. We actually had to use the stick less than in California. It's all thanks to Your Highness's wise strategy."
"Hahaha, good to hear."
Diego returned to Mexico City yesterday and came to work this morning, but he didn't come empty-handed.
"Hmm, a report?"
"Yes, Your Highness. It's a comprehensive report combining the details from the letters sent by the managers and the current situation I gathered from various government departments."
"I've got a good aide. Let's see."
It's no exaggeration to say that the entire Mexican Empire is a construction site.
Railroads, dams, and irrigation facilities are being built simultaneously across the country, absorbing a tremendous amount of manpower.
"...It's understandable that there's a constant labor shortage. Did we start too many large-scale civil engineering projects at the same time?"
"It's true that construction sites are absorbing a lot of manpower, but the people are more prosperous than before, and as Your Highness predicted, the population growth rate has increased significantly."
It's good that land development is progressing steadily, and the workers are becoming prosperous with the wages they receive.
The financial situation is also fine for now.
The funds are coming from the government budget, specifically from the landowners who supported the railroad construction and the owners of the largest haciendas in Mexico.
My companies are constantly reinvesting and growing, and Mora Mine, which handles gold mining, is becoming a huge cash cow.
Looking at this alone, it's a very good situation, but economic issues always have two sides.
"Construction sites are absorbing all the labor needed for industrialization. Even my companies are competing with each other, so the pressure for wage increases is too strong."
Just as wages across the United States in the original history were much higher than in London, England, something similar is happening in the Mexican Empire.
The daily wage, which was one peso in 1822, has risen to 1.3 pesos, going through 1.1 and 1.2.
It's only temporarily calmed down because we recently brought in hundreds of thousands more workers from the Yucatan Peninsula and southern Mexico, paying them relocation fees.
"I need to increase the amount invested in the immigration company. I also need to expand the target countries for immigration."
As I said that, Diego, who was flipping through the documents, picked one up, read it, and said to me,
"Your Highness, the immigration company is currently operating at almost a loss... Are you saying you're going to invest your personal fortune?"
"Yes. Even if I have money, I can't invest because there aren't enough people. What's the point of accumulating wealth?"
I'm willing to spend my personal fortune to increase the population of the Mexican Empire. As I said that, another idea came to mind.
"I also need to accept immigrants from South America. Most people in South America can speak Spanish, and even in Brazil, they speak Portuguese, which is somewhat understandable with Spanish, and it's not that difficult to learn Spanish. I can't believe I just realized this."
Portuguese and Spanish are linguistically very close. They belong to the same Romance language family and are very closely related.
Diego agreed, impressed.
"Yes, Your Highness, you're right. There will be fewer than from Europe, but considering the recent political situation, there seems to be a lot of demand for immigration."
It's obvious, but there were more politically unstable countries in South America than stable ones.
"Yes. Find someone to take charge of the South American immigration company."
They might not like it in those countries, but what can I do if they want to leave? I need to accept immigrants until there's serious diplomatic friction.
"I should start paying attention to Asia."
***
The conflict surrounding the secular university, which has been heating up for the past three months, is heading towards its peak.
"There's been a brawl?"
"Yes, Your Highness. It doesn't seem like each faction directly instigated it, but it seems like the time has come."
"It seems so."
It's gone beyond each side giving speeches with their own arguments. They started criticizing each other, and as time passed, arguments disguised as debates began to occur in public places.
"They've held back long enough."
The Republicans are fine because I warned them beforehand, but the Church is probably preparing to use physical force.
That brawl was the starting signal.
"Deploy the army to strengthen security. Now."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Under the authorization of Agustin I, central troops began to be deployed in various parts of Mexico City under the pretext of maintaining order.
It was a sign that the royal family would intervene.
The next morning.
"Summon the Archbishop of Mexico and Congressman Pedro Gonzalez. Evening would be a good time."
They arrived in the evening.
Archbishop Pedro Miravete arrived first, and Congressman Pedro Gonzalez arrived at almost the same time.
Coincidentally, both of their names were Pedro.
"Your Highness, it's been a while since the wedding. It's a great honor to see you again. I pray that God's grace will always be with you."
"Yes, Archbishop. It's nice to see you. Congressman Gonzalez, come in."
"Yes, thank you for welcoming me, Your Highness."
We sat in the reception room.
Silence fell for a moment, and I was the first to speak.
"You both know why I summoned you. It's time to settle the secular university issue."
Gonzalez was the first to respond.
"Yes, Your Highness. We Republicans are willing to accept if Your Highness mediates."
As he took the lead, the Archbishop said as if he had no choice.
"Our Catholic Church is also willing to accept. However..."
Before he could continue, I interrupted him.
I did this on purpose because he might use the characteristic rhetoric of clergy, talking in a long-winded way to subtly steer the conversation in their favor.
"Since you've agreed to accept mediation, we need to make some concessions to each other. Do you agree?"
"I agree."
It was essentially a rigged game.
Gonzalez agreed immediately, as usual.
Miravete hesitated for a moment.
He wouldn't like the idea of making concessions to each other, but simply refusing wasn't a viable option.
"Even though the Catholic Church's influence is strong in Mexico, would it be wise to alienate the Republicans, a powerful force, and make the royal family an enemy while they are at odds? It's insane."
"...I agree."
"Good. Basically, the university itself isn't bad, right? I also agree that the universities in the Mexican Empire are lacking in terms of size and diversity of education. This is something that needs to be improved for the sake of national competitiveness."
As I said that, showing a willingness to defend the establishment of the university, the Archbishop objected.
"Of course, the university itself isn't bad. But the university that those Republicans want to create is a place without any moral principles. It could encourage materialism and unethical behavior, so I think it's better not to have it at all."
"Just because it's not run and taught by the clergy doesn't mean it lacks moral principles!"
In traditional European thinking, morality was synonymous with religious values and following the life taught by Jesus, so the Archbishop wasn't wrong. But for Gonzalez, who believed that morality based on human reason, fairness, and justice was possible, it was an outdated idea.
He argued that everything related to religion should be excluded from the secular university, but I intended to compromise partially.
"Archbishop Miravete, you don't oppose the establishment of a university itself. In that case, the Republicans should compromise on this point."
"What are you saying!"
Gonzalez was taken aback by my words, and Miravete smiled at his reaction.
"It's too early to be smiling."
"Even I think that completely excluding religion is too radical a claim. Building a chapel within the university, establishing a theology department, and allowing clergy to teach wouldn't be a problem, would it?"
Since government funds are involved, the government will manage the operation, and there will be professors who are not clergy. But there's no need to mention that.
"...That seems acceptable."
Gonzalez agreed.
"What about you, Archbishop? It seems like the Republicans have compromised a lot. After all, most students will be Catholics, so if you build a chapel and allow them to worship, there's no need to worry about morality, right?"
"..."
He did concede, but he's probably dissatisfied. But it's awkward to overturn everything.
If I had unilaterally forced the Church to concede, it would be different, but I didn't do that, so there's not enough justification.
After much deliberation, the Archbishop finally agreed to the compromise.
"...Alright."
After all, in Mexico, most intellectuals are clergy, so they have an unrivaled position in the academic field. In that case, most professors will have to be clergy.
He's probably rationalizing it that way.
"I bet he can't imagine that I'm going to import a bunch of professors from abroad. The Church can only do theology, teach, and manage the chapel."
Thinking that, I said,
"It seems like we've reached a compromise. If we had compromised a little earlier, we wouldn't have had a bloody conflict. Hahaha. Now, shake hands."
Both of them looked slightly displeased, but they shook hands in the end.
Seeing that, I said,
"I'll draft a detailed plan, reflecting the opinions of both sides. Archbishop, you're fine with that, right?"
"Wait, are you saying you'll draft the plan yourself?"
As Gonzalez was taken aback, the Archbishop said, as if he was feeling a little better,
"Yes, that seems fair."
"Good."
We agreed like that.
Gonzalez seemed a little dissatisfied, but the next day, when I called him and told him my plan, he acted as if he had never been dissatisfied.
"Are you saying you're going to bring dozens of professors from Europe?"
"Yes. If you leave all the professorships to the clergy, it's not a secular university. If we're going to build one, we need to make it the best."
"...You're always planning ahead. I'm fine with that."
"But you need to make a concession."
"What is it?"
"I'm planning to build the university in Morelia."
"What? Isn't it better to build it in Mexico City, the capital? It's more accessible."
"Isn't it difficult to secure land to build a university in Mexico City? Don't you want to build a large and magnificent university?"
Mexico City has many disadvantages.
Mexico City, the successor of Tenochtitlan, built in the center of a lake, is expanding and growing by reclaiming Lake Texcoco.
"Because of this, it's become a very earthquake-prone city."
Mexico City needs to be developed strategically. It's already difficult to control the growth rate, and if we build a university here, it will be unbearable.
"That's true, but... It's symbolic."
Building the first symbolic secular university in a city other than the capital might seem strange, but I prioritize practicality.
"After all, Morelia is connected by rail, and it's only four hours away. I'm planning to donate some of the royal family's land."
Four hours in Korea is a long time, but in this era, and in Mexico, it's considered a neighbor.
Morelia is practically the royal family's territory, so I could donate a large piece of land without any burden.
"Hmm... It will save a lot on land costs. But I don't think you'll just give away the land. What other conditions are there?"
"Hahaha, you're starting to understand me."
The university must be built according to my design and concept. As a result, it will be a much better university than the standards of this era, so it's not a bad thing for the Republicans.
I began to lay out my plan.