**Chapter 44**
**California Crisis (6)**
Mishópshno became an official government official of the Mexican Empire.
His mission was to settle the natives as part of the Mexican Empire.
The Crown Prince, even after explaining his strategy in detail and demonstrating it, was still uneasy, so he left Diego Luis, his trusted advisor, in California before leaving.
Mishópshno, Diego, and Colonel Antonio were touring California, persuading the native tribes.
Colonel Antonio was the commander of an elite infantry regiment and the most senior soldier remaining in California. His role in persuasion was simply to add weight.
“Settle…?”
“I know you didn’t live like this originally. We did too. But you know, reality has changed.”
Most of the California natives lived by building villages in areas rich in natural resources, spending a significant part of the year there and then moving to other places.
There were tribes that farmed, but even those tribes relied on gathering and hunting as their main food source.
“I know. Mexicans are increasingly coming to the places where we lived. When they approach, they react as if we’re the invaders.”
He said resentfully.
Mishópshno understood his feelings, but he had to tell him about reality.
“We’ve been through that too. If you hold out like this, you’ll lose all your settlements. Fight? I’m sorry, but even if you have ten times the number of people in your tribe, you won’t be able to win. I’ve experienced it.”
“Ten times? Are they that strong?”
The chief asked, looking at Colonel Antonio, who was clearly a soldier. The colonel didn’t answer. He just crossed his arms and maintained his composure.
Mishópshno explained in detail about their weapons, especially the rifle and cannon, and the power of a formal army, not a militia.
“They say their rifles have twice the range as the ones they used to use? And they even have cannons… Sigh…”
He sighed and fell into thought. He was in a position of responsibility for the tribe. He couldn’t make a decision easily. After much deliberation, he said,
“…I guess there’s no choice, but if your promises are true, we can accept them. But don’t think we’ll surrender meekly if those promises are false.”
It was understandable that he found it hard to believe.
The benefits seemed too good to be true, and it was Mishópshno who was conveying them, wasn’t it?
He was a native himself, but he was slightly suspicious of him speaking on behalf of the Mexican Empire government.
At that moment, Diego stepped forward.
“I’m Diego Luis, an advisor to Agustín Herónimo de Iturbide, the Crown Prince of the Mexican Empire. I can guarantee everything that was just said.”
He presented various documents, but they were still suspicious.
What if they just brought in any random guy to scam them?
“I’m not going to ask you to believe everything here. We’ll provide support first, so why don’t you watch and see?”
They didn’t come empty-handed.
There was an army waiting a little further away, but land certificates, food, and agricultural tools were prepared to be distributed to each household in the village.
“You’re going to stay here for a few months anyway. You’ll just get the land certificate and try farming a little. What’s wrong with that?”
Following Diego, Mishópshno also spoke.
“If the Mexican Empire wanted to forcibly expel or capture you, they wouldn’t have gone through all this trouble in the first place. Trust me, we’ve experienced it ourselves.”
“Ahem! I don’t think that part was necessary…”
Diego coughed awkwardly at Mishópshno’s blunt words, but the chief was persuaded.
“…Alright. I’ll trust you for now. Thank you for the goods.”
“Thank you for trusting us. This will be a decision you won’t regret.”
Today, they persuaded the chief who led a medium-sized tribe of about 3,000 people.
As Diego left, he said,
“This one was relatively easy. The chief was a bit realistic.”
“I wish everyone was like that…”
It wasn’t like that.
The problem with the strategy they were using was that it wasn’t enough to show them the stick, and there were people in this world who had to experience it firsthand.
“This is actually a pretty good offer, it’s a shame that there are so many people who don’t know. Europeans are also coming to immigrate with similar benefits…”
Diego sighed and said.
“From their perspective, it’ll sound like a threat, so it’s inevitable that they’ll feel resentment. It’ll be even worse for those who haven’t experienced reality yet.”
Many people don’t know or ignore the fact that it’s no longer possible for them to live in their own way.
Even if the Mexican Empire did the crazy thing of giving them territory to live on their own, another country would soon come and say, “What a lucky break,” and devour it.
Even though the Crown Prince was generous, they couldn’t fight him. He was generous, not crazy.
So, why not just let them live as they used to within the Mexican Empire? Unfortunately, that’s impossible too.
To live as they used to means they want to live without caring about the laws of the Mexican Empire.
It’s something that the Mexican Empire, which aims to be a centralized state, can’t tolerate. It’s political suicide to even mention it.
Even Mishópshno thought the Crown Prince’s proposal was a good option for the natives.
What if another tribe had rebelled first? What if our Chumash tribe had been scared and meekly accepted this proposal? He imagined it every night.
That’s why Mishópshno was meekly following the Crown Prince’s orders. To prevent another tragedy like the Chumash tribe.
Of course, not everyone understood those heartfelt feelings.
“No! We will protect our homeland! Mexico? America? Whoever comes, we’ll fight to the end!”
“No… What are you listening to? Your tribe’s weapons can’t compete with Mexico’s! And didn’t they say they’d give you your homeland?”
“Humph, they said it’s about 1/10 of our homeland? Just take that and leave? I don’t understand why we should do that. And you want us to believe what you’re saying, you who’re hanging out with those white bastards? Get lost, you dirty traitor!”
They don’t care about being shown a way to live more richly than before.
They can’t bear to have even a little bit of their homeland invaded.
Tsk-
The young chief spat on the ground, holding a weapon. He looked like he would swing it if they didn’t leave.
“Sigh…”
Mishópshno felt a sense of despair.
Not everyone understands just by listening. In fact, most people have to experience it firsthand. But he couldn’t understand why they were acting so recklessly even though they could see the army right there.
‘That kind of guy is the chief?’
“It’s a pity.”
“Yes… It’s a sad thing.”
Mishópshno took out his notebook and marked an “x” on the territory.
***
The native issue was important, but I couldn’t devote all my time to it.
Time was limited, and the great enemies were getting closer.
I left Diego with Mishópshno and returned to Mexico City.
Diego, who had spent the most time with me as an advisor, understood my intentions best.
I had repeatedly emphasized to the officials that they should persuade them calmly, but other officials might cause bloodshed with the native tribes without much thought, so I left Diego to help Mishópshno.
Mishópshno would do most of the persuasion, but it would be difficult to persuade other native tribes without the help of the imperial government, so help was essential.
I stopped by Mexico City and reported the progress and what I had gained to my father.
“Father, the leaders of the Chumash tribe who revolted were executed, and the rest of the warriors were all sentenced to 20 years of hard labor.”
“That’s clean. Well done, Herónimo. What about the other tribes besides the Chumash?”
“We’re persuading them to live as subjects of our Mexican Empire, abiding by the law and paying taxes. We’ll probably need to use the army a bit more in the process.”
“We have enough leeway in the central army’s strength, so we can use it for a few more months. So, can we say that Alta California is more or less settled?”
“Yes, Father. It seems we can accept about 100,000 natives as subjects of our Mexican Empire.”
Among them, there will be those who resist, but even they will minimize casualties, like the Chumash tribe. We’re going to sentence only the warriors who participated in the battle to hard labor and let the civilians live.
‘In the original history, the California native population decreased by over 95%. Even in this world, many will die from disease, but let’s try to save them from other factors as much as possible.’
I hope that if their nutritional status improves, they’ll die a little less from disease.
The root cause is that they have no immunity to disease, so there won’t be any drastic improvement, but if they get enough vitamins, there will be a few more people who recover. That’s why I told them that I would buy a lot of oranges if they grew them in Los Naranjos.
“Hmm, then New Mexico (Nuevo México) is the problem. It won’t be easy there. We’re getting reports that they’re constantly trying to loot.”
The northern territory of the Mexican Empire was divided into three huge states, California in the west, New Mexico in the center, and Texas in the east, different from the modern state boundaries.
‘We’ll have to split it up more finely later, but it’s not an urgent issue.’
The natives of California, who haven’t experienced a full-scale invasion yet, are relatively less hostile and have weaker fighting abilities, but the natives of New Mexico and Texas are more hostile and have stronger fighting abilities.
“It seems like it would be good to reinforce the garrison and prepare. If we’re going to fight them, we need to prepare thoroughly. We need to be prepared for a war-level conflict.”
“War-level? It’s that serious?”
New Mexico is recognized as Mexican Empire territory by the international community, but the actual ruler is the Comanche tribe.
They have an estimated population of 30,000 to 40,000 and at least 10,000 cavalry.
They might not be fully armed with muskets yet, but they’ll already have a lot of guns.
“Yes, I’ll investigate further and report back with details.”
“Hmm, alright.”
“Then I’ll go finish the dam construction I was working on, Father.”
“…Wait a moment.”
Creak-
As if on cue, my mother entered the office.
A stern voice followed.
“A year has passed since you promised me you’d look for a marriage partner, and now you’re going to build a dam?”
“Th… Mother, I need to finish the work I’m doing.”
“Quiet. I’ve already found someone since you seem to be failing at it.”
It seemed like I’d be in trouble if I argued.
‘Alright. It’s not like I’d be able to find someone myself, so I’ll just accept it.’
“Okay. You decide, Mother.”
There are things even a Crown Prince has to give up.
My mother finally smiled slightly and patted my shoulder.
“Good thinking. There’s a family that has recently converted from the republican party to our side, a very influential family in the Yucatan Peninsula.”
Converting from the republicans to the emperor’s party…?
‘Wait, could it be?’
The daughter of the Delgado family, who said that if they were republicans, they could just convert to the emperor’s party if they married me, came to mind.
I don’t know if her family is based in the Yucatan Peninsula, but she herself is the problem.
She had a pretty face, but her brain was too pure.
“Mother, could it be the Delgado family?”
“No, it’s not. Don’t worry, I’ve chosen a woman who’s perfect for you.”
Whew-
‘A perfect woman, I wonder…’
There’s no choice anyway. I’ll just do as I’m told.
‘The Yucatan Peninsula…’
Isn’t that where the ‘Caste War (Guerra de Castas)’ took place, the first major military conflict after the US-Mexican War in the original history?
The Mexican Plateau, the core region of the Mexican Empire. There was another civilization comparable to the Aztec civilization that originated here, the Mayan civilization of the Yucatan Peninsula.
The birthplaces of civilizations always have a habitable climate, a suitable terrain, and agricultural productivity enough to support a large population.
The ‘Caste War’ was a rebellion by natives who defined themselves as ‘Mayans’ in this Yucatan Peninsula against the exploitation of criollos and mestizos.
‘It was a massive resistance movement that lasted for 50 years.’
It’s the longest and most intense native resistance movement in Mexican history.
It’s true that it was the fault of the criollo and mestizo plantation owners who exploited them excessively, but it’s hard to deny that this war was one of the major factors that made Mexico a mess.
This country has no easy answers, whether it’s the north, the center, the south, the landowners, the church, the mestizos, or the natives. It’s a country where endless conflicts unfold.
‘And there’s endless invasion from outside, so it’s inevitable that the country will be a mess.’
I knew it was a difficult country. It’s my mission to overcome it.
My complex feelings about marriage had already been erased from my mind.
‘Let’s get it over with quickly.’
For a Crown Prince, marriage is just part of his duty.
That’s what I thought before I met her.
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