**Chapter 30**
**Railroad (3)**
Jack and Anna are a young Irish couple.
They left their homeland to escape extreme poverty and immigrated to London, but what awaited them was 14 hours of grueling labor a day and wages that barely allowed them to eat their fill.
"It'll be alright, right?"
Anna asked.
They had been traveling in a cramped stagecoach for weeks.
The coachman, who they had become quite friendly with, said they would arrive in a few hours.
They didn't need to say anything more.
The feeling of hope brought by the Crown Prince's speech was gradually evaporating, and anxiety was filling its place.
Jack held Anna's hand tightly.
"We made the right choice."
They were assigned to a settlement called "Los Naranjos," with about 30 other families of immigrants, a place with nothing.
In the original timeline, it would become the city of "Anaheim," located in Orange County.
It's next door to "Los Angeles," which already has a population of 2,000.
"Los Naranjos" means "The Orange Trees," and the Crown Prince named it in consideration of the fact that Anaheim and the surrounding area were famous for their orange groves. He gave them a hint to try growing oranges later.
"We're here!"
The coachman shouted.
"Is this the right place?"
"There's nothing here..."
Murmurs.
They had heard about it beforehand, but it really is just empty land.
The coachman helped unload the luggage and then left immediately.
Other families arrived in groups every few minutes, but they were in the same situation.
"What are we supposed to do?"
"···Don't we have to build a church first?"
"A church would be nice. But how?"
Clip-clop-clip-clop-
As the immigrants were lost and confused, three men on horseback arrived.
"Who are they?"
Their apprehension was short-lived.
The men on horseback dismounted and shouted.
"Good day! We are architects from Ortega Construction! Please pay attention!"
"It must be daunting to settle undeveloped land, right? Don't worry. We, for our part, have the experience of building the first settlement in California, 'Sacramento,' under the direction of His Majesty, the Crown Prince of the Mexican Empire, Heronimo Iturbide!"
The three men took turns speaking.
"If you follow our instructions, you can minimize trial and error and build your settlement."
Most of the immigrants didn't understand Spanish, but some who did translated it into their own languages.
"You'll be in charge of collecting wood. I'll take care of the site."
"Alright."
The man unfolded the "Standard Settlement City Design" drawn by the Crown Prince himself.
It's not a design specifically for "Los Naranjos."
It's an improved version of the design he drew when he built Sacramento.
"But if we apply this design well, we can build a scalable settlement city."
"There's a river over there. We can use it as a central point."
"Yes. The terrain is quite good. It's going to be smooth sailing this time too."
The three men, who introduced themselves as architects, discussed among themselves and then took out paper and started writing something.
The man in charge of lumber procurement told the immigrants.
"Alright, you guys go do your work, and we'll start with the lumber. By the way, there are no exceptions to the work until everyone's house is built. We only brought healthy people, so..."
Labor began suddenly.
It was hard, but it was bearable because we were building our home, our village.
Eight weeks passed.
The first building in Los Naranjos, the church, was completed.
Clip-clop-clip-clop-
As if timed, stagecoaches arrived.
They were "Rios Express" stagecoaches, the same ones the immigrants had ridden in.
"The Rios Express branch in Los Naranjos. Let's build it here. This whole area is the Crown Prince's land anyway."
"Yes!"
They provided food, saying it was a delivery for the government.
They distributed the food and then immediately started construction.
"Hey, long time no see."
They were all architects from Ortega Construction. They were hired by Rios Express to build a branch there.
Resident security guards also arrived.
They were guarding the Rios Express branch and warehouse, but for now, they would also be doubling as village security.
The settlement was quickly taking shape.
***
Joseph Locke, whose skills I had some doubts about.
Fortunately, he was the real deal.
He drew the locomotive design as if he were pulling it out of his head, and even I, who wasn't a related major, could see that it was quite plausible.
"This boiler section is the key."
"···How did you know? That part is the core engine of the 'rocket' we built."
"The design is so detailed that we can just build it as it is. How long will it take?"
"We need to make the tools and machines needed to build the locomotive, so it will take some time. I'm not sure exactly, but I think it will take about six months."
"Six months. It's okay if it takes a little longer, so design a factory that can mass-produce the parts. I need to participate in this part directly."
At that time, it was common to build complex machines by hand, one piece at a time.
We could do that too, and it might speed up the production of the first locomotive, but I think it's too inefficient.
We're not in a race against time, so it's better to be efficient. After all, the first railroad in the world was in England, and the second was in the United States in May of this year. If we try to race against time, third place is the best we can hope for.
"It's more important to have a nationwide railroad network than to have a record. Besides, once we can mass-produce steam engine units, there will be plenty of uses for them."
"Mass production? That would cost... No, more than that, will there be that much demand for locomotives?"
Joseph asked with a worried expression at my order to mass-produce from the start.
"There will be a surplus of demand. And don't worry about the cost, I'll invest generously. Especially the steam engine unit, it will be used in many places other than locomotives, so we'll build a separate factory."
"···Yes, I understand. I'll do my best, Your Majesty."
It's a good thing for Joseph Locke, who has shares in the company, if I invest a large amount of capital.
The demand for locomotives alone will be high.
Locomotives for a vast territory 50 times the size of South Korea. We need to invest generously to gain a cost advantage in future exports.
"I'm the only one in this world who is 100% confident about the future of railroads. I'll use that."
I won't be exporting entire locomotives anytime soon. I'll probably only export some key parts. So, the key parts need to be cheaper.
The design needs to be revised to be suitable for mass production from the start.
I started revising the design, discussing with Joseph.
***
"Your Majesty, a guest has arrived."
Diego said.
"A guest? Here?"
I'm working alternately at Estrada Aceros in Las Truchas and Locke Precision Machinery.
I wouldn't refer to the people I work with and see every day as guests.
If that were the case, he would have just said who came.
"Yes. It's a member of Congress named Roberto Cortes Mendoza."
"Cortes Mendoza? That's the same surname as General Fernando."
In Spanish-speaking cultures, people sometimes use two surnames. Generally, the first one is the father's surname, and the second one is the mother's surname.
"Tell him to come in."
He was a young man in his late 20s.
"Good day, Your Majesty. My name is Roberto Cortes Mendoza. Thanks to Your Majesty's grace, I hold a seat in Congress, though I'm unworthy."
He's a conservative member of Congress.
"Nice to meet you. What's your relationship to General Fernando?"
They have the same surname, and they look alike. It's clear that they're from the same family.
"He's my older brother. We're brothers with a bit of an age gap."
"Ah, I see. I thought you looked like General Fernando. You're a member of Congress, so you must live in Mexico City. May I ask why you came all this way?"
I got straight to the point, as I was busy.
"There's a lot of unrest in Congress lately. I thought Your Majesty should know, so I came to tell you personally."
"You came all this way just to tell me that?"
"···It's a good thing you did. What kind of unrest is there?"
"Recently, republican members of Congress have been introducing bills to obstruct the railroad project that Your Majesty is promoting."
It's an obvious story.
They must think they've finally caught a break.
"Hmm. I expected the republican members of Congress to do that. I have a plan in place, so don't worry too much. But is that all? It seems like you came all this way for more than that."
It's too far to come just to tell me that. He could have just sent a letter through Rios Express.
Roberto, after a moment of silence, spoke in a heavy voice.
"···Actually, the real reason I came is because of the conservatives."
"Conservatives? ...So, there's something going on with the conservatives, not just the republicans."
"Yes, that's right. It's been coming up in the conservatives lately."
"What's being said?"
"Well..."
He explained it in a roundabout way, looking slightly embarrassed, but in short, it was this.
"They're unhappy that the peasants they drove away are finding their own way to make a living? They're not happy about that, is that it?"
"···I absolutely don't think so."
Sigh-
The landowners wanted the peasants they had driven away to have nowhere to go and to be so desperate that they would be willing to work for them for just enough food to survive. But I'm providing a huge number of jobs, so that's not happening.
"These bastards are for real."
They thought that since they had driven them away, they wouldn't have a problem with me using that manpower for settlement or industrialization.
Isn't that common sense? But the mindset of the nobles (landowners) of this era was beyond imagination.
"Ahem, and there are quite a few who are unhappy about the railroad that Your Majesty is promoting."
"The railroad? ...Now I see, that's not the real reason."
The fact that there are people who would dare to object to me, the Crown Prince, means there's another cause.
A more fundamental cause.
I soon figured out what it was.
"···They already think they'll win the next election by a landslide. So, they're starting to think differently."
Two years ago, in the election held in '28, the gap in the number of seats between the republicans and the conservatives had narrowed significantly.
That was before the victory in the war, so they're expecting a landslide in the election two years from now.
"Yes... That's right. You've seen right through it. There are more and more conservatives who are wary of the Imperial family's growing power. Especially after the last war."
Right after independence, during the power vacuum, the republicans had the advantage.
Their claim to share the power that the Spanish oppressors had monopolized with the people was perfect for gaining popularity.
Those who truly believed in that, or those who just wanted a place in an independent country, rallied behind the republicans and formed a large force.
There were also those who disliked that claim.
Those who thought the existing social order was good and wanted to maintain it.
They replaced the Spanish royal family with the Iturbide Imperial family, the heroes of independence.
They are inherently reactionary in nature.
"The situation has changed as the Iturbide Imperial family's rule has stabilized. It's good that the republicans, who seemed to be going to overturn everything with explosive growth right after independence, are gradually losing their power. But this time, it's me, a member of the Imperial family, who is causing social change."
I've tried to pursue social change that's as non-radical as possible. But the reason they're reacting this way is because of their reactionary tendencies, combined with their desire for power.
"They think they're going to crush the republicans and create a world of conservatives, so they're starting to find the vast Imperial power annoying."
"The conservatives are dividing. That's why you came here."
"Yes, Your Majesty. The reason I came here is to officially receive approval for the 'Imperial Party.'"
Roberto, with a serious expression, knelt on one knee as if he were a knight swearing allegiance.
"Your Majesty, please accept my allegiance."
"···He came fully prepared."
I pondered for a moment at the sudden situation.
If he called it the "Imperial Party," it would be right to go to the Emperor, not me. But he came to me, so there must be a reason.
"He's thinking long-term."
His older brother, General Fernando, is already like Agustin I's right-hand man. There's no great significance in swearing allegiance to him now.
He also has age on his side.
He's closer in age to me than to Agustin I. It's a pledge of allegiance with many calculations behind it.
"But there's no reason not to accept it."
I placed my hand on his shoulder.
"Alright. I'll trust you."
I slowly helped him up.
"Thank you sincerely. I will pledge my full loyalty!"
He swore allegiance with a grateful expression.
For Roberto, it was a high-risk, high-reward gamble.
The conservatives haven't officially split yet. But the division has already begun.
Soon, it will become a three-way battle between the Imperial Party, the Landowner Party, and the Republicans.
"I need to prepare a more drastic plan than I originally thought."
I already have a plan. I just need to add my goal to it.
I need to increase the scale.
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