Chapter 29
(29/180)
Railroad (2)
"The emperor has issued another executive order."
Rafael Manhino, the speaker, began the conversation with a heavy tone. The republican members of the legislature who had gathered began to denounce the imperial family.
"How many times is this this year? And this time, it's a big deal."
"That's right. What the hell is this railroad that requires so much budget?"
One person, who didn't even know what a railroad was, just started complaining. Rafael, who was more knowledgeable about foreign affairs, said,
"I heard it's a means of transportation. It was first built in England a few years ago, and they started using it in the United States recently."
"No, how great of a means of transportation is it that they're investing millions of pesos? Tsk."
Rafael explained about the railroad as much as he knew.
"Hmm… It seems like the crown prince is spending money like crazy now that he's made some money from the war. We republicans need to check those things too."
"That's right! Isn't it the legislature's role to check the government?"
Republicanism itself is slowly becoming known. But people didn't want to overturn the peaceful Mexican Empire.
This was especially true because the right to vote was only given to Criollos, wealthy Mestizos, and a small number of Native American nobles who had been granted privileges.
Those who have power don't want change.
The result was reflected in the number of seats.
The number of republican seats, which had been 111, decreased to 103. The conservatives increased from 90 to 98.
"We held an election, but the number of republican seats actually decreased…"
"We can't just sit here and watch the emperor's power solidify. We need to take action!"
Rafael argued strongly. Other members of the legislature, shocked by the election results, agreed.
"Especially if this railroad starts to be laid throughout the country, the central government's control will be much stronger."
"Well, that's not going to happen!"
The federalists reacted to the words 'central government's control'.
"We can't do anything about the railroad sections that have already been approved, but we need to stop it from going any further. How about demanding that the government prove the effectiveness of the cost they're putting in, at the level of the legislature?"
"That's a good idea. If the emperor ignores a reasonable demand, that could also be a pretext."
"In addition to that, how about this? We'll make a law related to railroads, so that if they want to open new sections, they have to prove the cost effectiveness."
"Oh, that's a good idea too."
The republican members of the legislature were excited to finally land a blow on the emperor and the conservatives.
"We need a law to prevent them from monopolizing the railroad."
Rafael also added a suggestion.
"As expected, Speaker! That's a brilliant idea!"
A warm atmosphere filled the republican members of the legislature's meeting room for the first time in a long time.
***
Las Truchas Steel Mill.
As the name suggests, railroads require a huge amount of iron.
We need to fix the steelmaking capabilities before we start laying down railroads.
It's best to use steel when laying down railroads, but steel is too expensive at this time.
'It's not even conceivable.'
You can see that from the enormous price of the rifling machine, which uses a lot of steel.
"Do we have to use wrought iron?"
Emilio answered cautiously.
"Yes, Your Highness. At the current technological level, it's best to use wrought iron for the tracks. We can explore other options as technology advances, but for now, wrought iron seems to be the only alternative."
"Let's go ahead with using wrought iron for now. James, is there any progress on the hot blast process? If that succeeds, it will bring a major change to the future of our steel mill."
James Neilson, who was brought from England.
We were applying the hot blast process he invented and various technologies from the British steel industry to our steel mill.
"Yes, Your Highness. We have already successfully completed the initial testing phase. We are in the midst of preparations to apply this process on a large scale."
James Neilson said with a confident voice.
I smiled contentedly.
"That's great news. Then, how much will the production cost be reduced?"
Emilio, the CEO, answered.
"Your Highness, I'll report on that. We were able to drastically reduce the coke consumption in the blast furnace using the hot blast process. Especially in small blast furnaces, the consumption was reduced by almost 60%. We also achieved additional cost savings by using low-quality coal."
"···At that rate, competitors who haven't adopted the hot blast process will be kicked out of the market soon."
It's no exaggeration to say that we can reduce fuel costs by over 70% if we can reduce coke consumption by 60% and use low-quality coal, which is the raw material for coke.
James added.
"And, Your Highness, the efficiency of the blast furnace has also been drastically improved, which has greatly contributed to increased production."
It's clear that it will take a long time for England to fully adopt the hot blast process. On the other hand, we were preparing to apply it on a large scale from the start.
'In terms of production efficiency, we've practically surpassed England, the superpower. But the scale is still incomparable.'
"Excellent. What about the process of refining the pig iron into wrought iron? That's important to us."
We can't use pig iron, which is easily broken, for railroads.
"That's the problem. We have to do a manual process called puddling, which is very labor-intensive, so the production cost is increasing."
Emilio answered, as if he was troubled.
We're applying an efficient production process to pig iron, which is the first product to come out of the steel mill, but the process of refining it again to make wrought iron is still inefficient.
'We can't apply the Bessemer process yet, so we have to stick to the existing method. Henry Bessemer… The time will come when we can adopt his revolutionary process. I need to contact him again in a few years.'
"There's no alternative right now, so we have to make the most of the current method. I hope you'll do your best to apply the hot blast process on a large scale."
I encouraged Emilio and James.
"Oh, by the way, if it's such a labor-intensive process, securing a large workforce is essential. How's that going?"
"Fortunately, workforce recruitment is progressing smoothly, Your Highness."
***
Swish!
Eight corn stalks were cut off in an instant.
The farmers were staring blankly at the sight.
"Look! You'll see if you still need them after seeing this!"
The overseer (mayordomo) was beaming proudly, as if showing off his meager authority next to the machine.
The young man looked at him with indignant eyes.
'You bastard.'
When the California craze was in full swing, he tried to prevent the tenant farmers from leaving by making excuses, but his attitude completely changed when he saw the power of this machine that the landlord had bought.
"When we said we wanted to go to California, you kept spewing all sorts of nonsense about how it was impossible, and now you're kicking us out because of that machine?"
"What else can I do? You're not needed anymore? Are you asking me to give you money for free?"
"Farming isn't just about harvesting. If you kick us all out, what are you going to do next year?"
The overseer told three out of five of them to leave.
"The remaining people can work hard. Or we can just hire people for a while. Anyway, I'll take care of that, so you can go to California if you want or not, whatever you want."
"You bastard!"
The young man was unable to hold back his anger at his brazen face and was about to charge at him, but he had to stop when the burly man next to the overseer pointed his musket at him.
Click.
"I heard there are a lot of arrogant guys like you who can't accept reality these days, so I specially asked the master to hire a bodyguard. Don't do anything stupid if you don't want to get hurt."
The overseer laughed from behind the bodyguard.
"···Sir, why are you doing this? We've known each other for over 20 years. Are you really going to do this? We even worked on the farm together when I was young."
The young man decided to appeal to his compassion, as he saw no way out.
"···"
That's right.
The overseer, who was now in charge of this farm, was just one of the farmers when he was young.
Some of them were friends, and the young man in front of him was his friend's son. But their positions have changed.
Or maybe they haven't changed that much.
"······I can't help it. It's the landlord's decision. If I refuse, I'll just be replaced by another overseer, nothing will change. He's already bought a bunch of machines, so he's not going to give up on them."
The overseer said in a weak voice, as if his heart had softened.
"If you kick us out without warning, it's like telling us to starve to death. You can at least leave us with something. I'll leave, so please leave these elders here."
"I'm sorry, but it's already at the limit. The landlord, I don't know what got into his head, but he told me to leave only one out of five, and I managed to persuade him to leave two…."
"···No way."
Thud.
Despair swept over the young man's body.
"Go to the city. They say they can't find anyone there these days."
The overseer said those words and left.
The young man stared blankly at the machine.
"It's really fast. It's harvested that much in just this amount of time…"
The time he argued with the overseer was only about 30 minutes. The machine had already harvested a huge amount of corn.
The worker operating the machine looked at him nervously, but that didn't change reality.
The young man was exhausted and stared blankly at the farm for a moment.
"It says Locke Precision Machinery (Locke Maquinaria Precisa)."
"Huh?"
He was an elder who could read.
"It says that on the machine. I guess it's the name of the company that made the machine."
'Locke Precision Machinery… Those bastards. They made something useless.'
"···I see."
"Anyway, get up now. We have a long way to go."
In the end, the young man had no choice but to leave.
Some of the people who were kicked out with him said they should go to California.
"California? It's too far. And they say it's not easy to mine gold anymore because it's become too well-known…"
"Hmm. Anyway, I want to go. I heard that if you settle there, they give you land, even if you don't find gold."
"A rumor…"
He made one last attempt to persuade the young man and then left for California. About 30% of the people followed him. The rest headed for Mexico City.
They didn't have enough money to ride a stagecoach, so they walked to the city.
The young man, who was burning with hatred for the company, Locke Precision Machinery, not for the landlord or the overseer, finally arrived in the city.
As he entered the city with a heavy heart, someone spoke to him at the entrance.
"Young man! Did you just arrive? How about getting a job at our company? The wages are 1.2 pesos a day!"
The young man brightened at those words.
"Huh? 1.2 pesos a day? Really?"
"That's right. Look, it's written right here in this contract! We also provide accommodation!"
The young man was illiterate, but an elder who had left the farm with him confirmed it.
"···The conditions are real."
"Of course! It looks like you only brought a little food. If you don't want to live on the streets, it's best to find a job quickly!"
"I'll do it. Please let me do it!"
He signed the contract in just five minutes after meeting them.
"Okay. You're now an employee of our 'Locke Precision Machinery'."
"Huh?"
"A stagecoach to the accommodation near the factory is ready, so get on board!"
"Well."
He became an employee of the company he had been cursing.
'···Well, if you can't beat them, join them.'
It was a common sight in the Mexican Empire in the fall of 1829.
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