**Chapter 42**
**California Crisis (4)**
"The Crown Prince?"
I don't believe it.
Isn't the Crown Prince the heir to the throne? How could someone like that be in the middle of a battlefield?
It must be a lie. Those invaders lie about everything they say.
How many lies have they told us?
They lied to steal our land, and in the missions they took us to under the guise of "civilization," they destroyed our way of life and made us slaves.
That big guy must be someone of high standing. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to leave this battlefield and come out like this.
"I'll give you credit for your audacity in coming all this way. But I refuse your demand to surrender."
I said to the guy who claims to be the Crown Prince.
He didn't change his expression at all when he heard my words and replied.
"What do you think will happen if the battle continues? Look around you."
The bodies.
Almost all of them are the bodies of our people. Yes, it's going to be hard to win. I know that much.
"I thought we had two or three months... "
I had a plan to fight even against that army.
It would have been enough time to plunder all the Mexican missions and settlements in two months. But this son of a gun arrived early, I don't know how he knew.
The plan is completely ruined. I have to accept it. But,
"I'd rather die here, killing as many of you invaders as I can, than become a slave again."
It's not just my own thought.
If this continues, we'll die from disease, die from lack of food, die from grueling labor, and die on the streets when we're driven out.
It's something I've been prepared for since we first attacked the settlement.
"You're not slaves. If you surrender now, I'll guarantee the survival of your tribe's civilians and a life free from exploitation. I won't kill the warriors either."
It's an obvious lie.
"Do you think I'd believe that? You've lied to us dozens of times already?"
"Have you thought about what will happen if you all die here? What will happen to your tribe, with only children, women, and old people left? Have they all agreed to die rather than become slaves? Even those you recently freed from the missions?"
It's not actually true.
The warriors were prepared to die, but the rest of the people weren't all prepared to die.
"Are you threatening to kill all our people?"
"No, I wouldn't do that. But if all the young men die, you'll end up facing the same fate."
"So, you're saying that if we don't become slaves, we'll die. You've always been like that. I swore I wouldn't surrender to your threats anymore."
He looked me straight in the eye and said.
"If that's the case, why do you think I'm stopping this battle, which I'm sure to win, even though it's a loss, and why am I risking my life to come here and talk to you? I could just kill you all and enslave the survivors."
"That's obvious. If you make us surrender, you can enslave us too. And it will reduce casualties for your army. Do you think I'm an idiot?"
"Do you think I, the Crown Prince of the Empire, would risk my life just to get some Native American slaves? Do you think that makes sense?"
"That only makes sense if you're really the Crown Prince."
"If I were just a military commander, I would have just sent a surrender demand once. I wouldn't have come out in person and risked my life."
"···"
He's not wrong. I would have done the same if I were him.
"The reason I'm here is to break the chain of hatred right here. The Europeans have destroyed your lives. It's not unreasonable to hate them. But if you attack our settlements and destroy their lives, will our people forgive you? No, it will only create new hatred. This chain of hatred will harm both sides, but in the end, it will only end with you, the weaker ones, dying. I don't want that. So, I beg you. Please surrender."
I see the white guy's eyes staring into mine.
His words and eyes seem truthful, but I don't know.
"Can I trust him?"
What if he's really good at lying?
If we fail this large-scale rebellion, our tribe won't even think about rebelling for at least a few decades.
"But what if his words are true?"
He said he would guarantee our survival and a life free from exploitation. He didn't mention anything about our culture or homeland, but even that is better than the mission.
"There's a way to check if he's sincere."
"If your words are true, let us go. Not just the Chumash tribe, but all the other tribes you've captured in the missions. If you do that, I'll give up my homeland. If you just turn a blind eye, I'll gather all the tribes in this area, not just the Chumash tribe, and go north. Then, you won't have any trouble with us."
"You want to go north and establish a nation? I'm sorry, but that's not going to happen."
As expected.
It was another lie, pretending to be on our side.
Why would he refuse my offer to give up our land and leave so that we wouldn't cause any trouble, if he wasn't going to enslave us?
He continued before I could say anything.
"Even if we let you go, there are stronger and more cruel men in the world. The ownership of the northern territory isn't settled yet, and if you try to establish a nation, there are guys who will immediately march in with an army and wipe you out."
He said it with a bitter expression.
Hah-
He won't give up even a piece of land.
It's unreasonable.
Isn't it all land where we lived? How can they be so cruel?
"Ha! Hahaha! Aaaargh!"
***
Reality is often unreasonable, even for me, the Crown Prince of the Mexican Empire.
Especially in international relations, you can't even expect the minimum amount of compassion or mercy that you can expect between individuals. Such things are meaningless in the face of the cause of one's nation.
Paku, a young and intelligent Chumash warrior, had a dream.
He wanted to use this opportunity to seize weapons, unite the Native Americans, bring in technicians to learn from, and create a nation that could resist the invaders.
I'm sorry, but even if I had been a few months later, his dream wouldn't have come true.
The Americans and British wouldn't give up Oregon, would they?
"They'd probably be grateful that we gathered them all and then kill them all."
That's reality.
Paku, who had been laughing wildly for a while, surrendered. I promised him that the civilians would live well.
We cleaned up the battlefield.
3,000 Chumash warriors died in a short period of time. There weren't many injuries. Most of them died from guns and cannons.
We lost about 420 soldiers, but there were many injuries. Most of them were injured by cold weapons.
The Chumash tribe's guns and horses were confiscated.
I went to the Chumash settlement with the army.
"You're the chief?"
"Yes."
Mishópshno, the father of the young warrior Paku, was the chief of the Chumash tribe.
"You will live as subjects of our Mexican Empire. As I promised Paku, I guarantee your survival and a life free from exploitation. It's hard to believe my words now, but you'll see in time."
"···"
They have no choice, regardless of whether they trust me or not.
I looked around.
I see expressions of despair.
I am a murderer who killed thousands of their warriors.
I can't solve this with a flimsy sugarcoating.
"There's no such thing as a happy ending, like in a fairy tale, where everyone lives happily ever after."
But they will eventually realize that my promise is not false.
"The warriors who participated in the battle will be tried. I promise that it won't be so harsh, except for some of the ringleaders."
"···Thank you, Your Majesty."
He replied with a hoarse voice, struggling. He looked as if he had aged overnight.
He also knows. The ringleaders I mentioned are his son, Paku. I can't save him, even if I want to.
I'm not the Crown Prince who can do whatever he wants.
I brought the warriors to Los Angeles, the capital of Alta California.
The place they had attacked recently.
Naturally, the townspeople's eyes were fierce as they looked at the warriors.
It's a kind of show.
"It's a show that the Crown Prince personally went out, defeated the enemy, and captured thousands of prisoners who are now standing trial."
This is the only way the people of Los Angeles will understand.
The people of other settlements in California only heard rumors, they didn't see it themselves, so they'll forget soon enough.
I pressured the governor and the chief justice. It's a blatant interference in the judiciary. But I have no choice, because if I don't intervene, they'll all be executed.
"Governor, I heard you were hiding in the town hall during the attack. ...I'm disappointed."
The governor of California is a member of the Imperial Party. It's almost natural. How could someone who holds a position appointed by the Emperor oppose him? Especially since the Emperor has the constitutional right to dismiss all civil servants in the Empire at any time.
"Your Majesty... Well, well... If I, the governor, am taken hostage, it won't be good, will it?"
"Hmm. I'll report this to my father."
"Your Majesty! Please..."
The chief justice of the state is appointed by the Imperial Ministry of Justice in consultation with the Supreme Court. Even this is not free from the Emperor's influence. I pressured everyone involved in the trial.
"The ringleaders of the rebellion, including Paku of the Chumash tribe, and 50 other key ringleaders will be sentenced to death by firing squad. The rest of the warriors who participated in the attack and battle will be sentenced to 20 years of hard labor."
Thump-thump-thump-
Murmurs-
"Finally! Justice has been served."
"But there are only 50 executions?"
"Hard labor? They're going to be sent to mines?"
"Not the death penalty. Isn't the punishment too light?"
"Father, 20 years of hard labor can be worse than death."
"Hmm... Is that so?"
In an era of short lifespans, 20 years is not a small punishment. Especially since they'll likely be sent to extremely difficult and dangerous work sites, such as mines.
The people of Los Angeles are disappointed that it's not the death penalty, but they think it's not a bad punishment.
It's a show trial.
Even the current Mexican Empire doesn't "coexist" with the Native Americans. They're just a source of labor for the Empire.
It's a relationship better described as "exploitation" than "coexistence."
If we don't kill them, we need to give them the impression that we'll keep them alive and exploit them until they die. That's the only way to convince the Mexican Empire's upper class of the outcome of the trial.
"My father is no different."
This issue of perception is not something that can be addressed in the short term.
These people will be divided into dozens of groups and mobilized for railroad construction across the country.
They're public labor, so they can't be used as labor for other companies.
Railroads are considered national infrastructure, and many upper-class people are shareholders in the company, so if we deal with them well, we can get some recognition.
"I need to teach them Spanish in the meantime."
They'll do hard labor for the first five years.
They'll be paid for the next five years.
After that, those who adapt to our culture quickly will be pardoned first.
And they will live out their lives in their respective villages with their families.
***
It seems like the Crown Prince wasn't completely lying. Judging by the way people address him, he really is the Crown Prince.
"50 executions... It's fortunate that it's only 50. The rest survived."
Right after the trial, the Crown Prince gathered Mishópshno, the father, and those who could speak Spanish.
"There are only 30 people who can read and write fluently, excluding those sentenced to hard labor."
After calculating for a moment, he said.
"To cut to the chase, you'll be split into 30 villages and scattered across California."
He explained in detail how our Chumash tribe's fate would be.
We can't live in our homeland.
Santa Barbara is too close to Los Angeles. We'll be scattered across California.
They'll give us plenty of land, but it might not be good land.
There, we'll live as loyal subjects of the Mexican Emperor, obeying only the Imperial law and paying taxes.
Mexican officials will be stationed in each village to monitor whether they're obeying the law.
Those who can read the Spanish law code will be the village heads, and they'll receive more land.
Each village will have a garrison, and a traveling judge will make rounds at regular intervals.
"I don't understand why he's explaining this to me in person."
"···I don't know either."
The Crown Prince said that and then disappeared.
The executions were carried out the very next day.
"Is this the end?"
I was tied to a wooden post.
"Brothers, I'm sorry."
"No, Paku. It was good to have a dream for a while."
"Thank you."
As I was having a final conversation with my brothers, who would share my last moments, a soldier came and shouted.
"Quiet!"
I shut my mouth at his words.
I see the Crown Prince in the distance.
His expression is distorted.
"He looks bitter."
That's a relief.
I'm actually relieved.
If all the words he said to me were lies, why would he be here at the execution ground with that expression?
So, it's a relief.
Someone who looked like an officer shouted.
"Blindfold him!"
Soon, my eyes were covered.
"Prepare to fire!"
The only regret is,
"Fire!"
I wish I had met him a little sooner.
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!
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