**Chapter 9**
**California! (3)**
I gave instructions to the carpenter foreman and, under the pretext of surveying the surrounding terrain, set out with a guide, a cartographer, and 25 soldiers.
"We should start with gold dust. It's easy to extract and easy to find."
"Let's start from this side."
I led them towards the American River, known for its abundance of gold dust, but it wasn't something that happened overnight.
It took a considerable amount of time because we had to map as we went, and we couldn't just go straight in one direction.
I explored the lush forest terrain of Sacramento, participating in surveying and mapmaking.
"This area could eventually expand to include residential or commercial zones, so it's best to record it accurately while we're at it."
I searched for the American River, verifying the characteristics of the terrain. At night, I slept in the pioneer village where temporary tents were set up, and I set off again during the day.
A week into mapping the area, circling around the pioneer village.
I could see a river in the distance. A river that glistened in the sunlight!
"Have we finally arrived? The American River. Even though it's the closest to Sacramento, it took a whole week."
I was the first to speak.
"What's that in the river? Can everyone see it?"
"Huh!? Something's sparkling."
One of the soldiers approached to confirm, responding to my question.
"Gold... It's gold! Your Highness! There are small gold nuggets scattered in the river."
"Oh! Gold!"
I pretended to be surprised, then said,
"It seems I'm fortunate to have gold on my land. Let's explore this area a little more and then return."
***
"Gold?"
"Yeah. The river water is golden because there are so many gold nuggets in it!"
"Come on, that's impossible."
"No, really, I saw it, and so did the others."
The news of gold spread throughout the Sacramento pioneer village less than a day after the reconnaissance team returned. The soldiers exaggerated the rumors about gold.
Soon, talk of going to mine gold began to spread. Major Manuel warned the soldiers and pioneers.
"All the land in this area belongs to His Highness Heronimo. Therefore, the gold also belongs to him, so anyone who dares to touch it without permission will face severe punishment."
The residents seemed slightly disappointed, but the Crown Prince stepped forward and said,
"Gold is only useful if there are miners to extract it. If there are people willing to support the mining work, I will offer high wages and free mining equipment. The land promised to you will be given even if you work as miners."
It was a promise of high-paying jobs and the promised land for each household.
"Wow!!"
"As expected of the Crown Prince!!"
The residents, who had been disappointed, cheered as if they had never been disappointed at all, when the Crown Prince offered them a tempting piece of the pie.
Unlike the excited pioneers, the soldiers were unhappy. They were unhappy about being made to work without receiving anything other than their monthly salary.
Of course, this kind of labor was something they were supposed to do for their salary, but the sense of relative deprivation was the problem.
The Crown Prince noticed the soldiers' unhappy expressions and continued,
"...And the soldiers and officers who came to this rough land to protect me, if you bring your families to California, I will give you land. Even if you don't, I will pay the soldiers who are mobilized to mine gold this time only! Special compensation!"
"Oh! Woohoo!!"
The soldiers, who had been complaining just moments ago, cheered. Even Major Manuel was cheering.
"Major Manuel, why are you..."
"...But don't forget the main purpose of the California expedition, so we will employ a suitable number of people in a rotational system for mining work. I will give you more details tomorrow, so please disperse."
***
Even after returning to their tents, the pioneers couldn't contain their excitement.
"It seems like supporting the California expedition was a stroke of luck."
"Yes, honey. Honestly, we were so tired walking all the way here that we regretted coming, but it seems like we made the right choice."
"Yes. Since it's a land with nothing, we thought we would have to go through a lot of trial and error for several years after arriving, but everything is going smoothly under the Crown Prince's leadership. The land we will be given is fertile, so it seems like farming will be successful. And since we discovered a gold mine, we can buy farm equipment, furniture and necessities for our house, and start a new life if we just work a little."
"Yes. We wouldn't have dreamed of having a house and farm like this if we had stayed in the city."
Most of the residents and soldiers were full of anticipation for the future, but there were some who weren't.
Captain Julio Cervantes, the second-in-command of the escort unit, was one of them. He couldn't forget what he saw earlier that day.
"Everyone is so happy about getting a little bit of crumbs. Don't they remember the hardships of walking here for five months? Idiots. I can't let that kid take over the river where gold flows. If I steal the gold and ride to America, what can he do even if he's the Crown Prince?"
Captain Julio Cervantes, who had fair skin because he was a criollo and could speak English, was intoxicated with his plan to steal the gold and escape to America to live as a rich man.
"I'll persuade a few of those poor pioneers to join me in stealing it, then kill them all right before we reach America. Hahahaha! It's a genius idea, even I have to admit!"
***
Julio Cervantes began to secretly gather people. First, his target was his close friends among the soldiers of his second company of the escort unit.
"Imagine this, the guards on duty at the gold storage warehouse are all from our company. If we steal the gold and sneak away then, how will they know? This is a plan that can't fail!"
"As the captain said, I think we can succeed in stealing it. But settling in America and selling the gold is another matter, isn't it? If they find out we're Mexicans, we might get caught."
"Listen, Miguel, you and I, we have fair skin, don't we? If we speak English well, even Americans won't be able to tell the difference. I'll teach you English myself!"
"Good. I trust you, Captain."
Julio didn't rush.
These were the people from his second company who he had spoken to countless times while traveling to California together for months.
He targeted those who were close to him, greedy, and didn't care about loyalty, and those with fair skin.
"Miguel and others are already on board. If you join us, we'll have five people. That's enough to fill all the warehouse guard duty positions with our own people. What do you say?"
"Yes, then, I'll join you."
After recruiting soldiers, Julio extended a hand to the pioneers.
He used a similar approach to approaching the soldiers. People he had spoken to a lot and whose personalities he had grasped. People who were greedy, didn't care about loyalty, and had fair skin.
"In the dark of dawn, all the warehouse guards are our people. All you have to do is grab the gold. Once you've grabbed everything, we'll all ride the horses tied up in the stable next door and escape. What do you think? Does it still seem dangerous?"
"You mean there are already so many soldiers who have agreed to join?"
"Yes. And we're still recruiting. This is a plan that can't fail. If we succeed, we can live as rich men in America."
"Then, please let me join!"
Julio, with his venomous malice hidden, was increasing his accomplices with his snake-like tongue.
***
I was busy leading the construction of the pioneer village and directing the gold mine development.
"Hey! Can't you see that pillar is crooked?"
"Oh... I'll fix it!"
"I'll do it. Look again."
It was a continuous cycle of me demonstrating, the carpenters following, me supervising, noticing mistakes, scolding them, and demonstrating again.
"I'm the Crown Prince, but I'm doing even more manual labor than in my previous life."
Major Manuel, who had become quite friendly with me, said,
"Your Highness, you're really skilled at leading construction sites."
"You're saying I'm perfect for manual labor, huh?"
"No, Your Highness, it's not that... "
"Just kidding."
"Haha. I was startled for a moment. What I was trying to say is that Your Highness is really good at managing people. Even among the pioneers, there's a lot of admiration for Your Highness's abilities. I'm constantly amazed watching from the side."
"Heh, flattery won't get you any gold."
"Oh, that's a shame."
We joked around and walked slowly towards the American River.
***
I can see 100 miners in the distance.
They were using the mining shovels, gold pans, and simple sluice boxes that I brought from Mexico City, along with the blacksmith, to extract gold dust.
A sluice box is a wooden panel installed vertically to filter water and gravel in the water. Heavy gold dust remains there.
To increase the efficiency of the sluice box, it's necessary to consider the appropriate slope and water flow rate.
I started directing the gold mining site. Most of it was stuff I had already explained, but I had to remind them once in a while because they forgot or did it wrong.
"When determining the installation location and angle of the sluice box, you need to consider the water flow rate and speed. If it's too fast, the gold dust will be washed away, and if it's too slow, gravel will accumulate, making it difficult to work."
We walked along the riverbank with the miners to find a suitable location to install the sluice box.
We found a suitable spot, installed the sluice box, and began work. I picked up gravel and dirt from the water using a gold pan, which is used to filter out gold dust.
"When using a gold pan, you use centrifugal force to gather the heavy gold dust at the bottom."
I carefully shook the gold pan, discarding the water and gravel. What remained were heavy gold nuggets.
"See, this is how you get gold dust."
After about ten days, we had collected enough gold to make our first gold bar.
I invested a considerable amount of money to bring an experienced blacksmith to the pioneer village. We needed him to repair farm equipment and mining equipment, and to melt the gold to make gold bars.
I brought a furnace from Mexico City for him. It was quite heavy, taking up an entire wagon.
The first task for the only blacksmith in the pioneer village was to make gold bars. We combined gold nuggets with mercury to make an amalgam. Other substances don't combine with mercury. When this amalgam is placed in a crucible and heated, the mercury evaporates, leaving only pure gold. This method is an old one, used since the 16th century when Spain began mining silver in its colonies.
We lit the furnace to melt the gold-mercury amalgam with high heat.
"The fumes from the evaporating mercury are bad for your health, so let's watch from a distance."
When the gold began to melt and gather in the center of the furnace, I told the blacksmith,
"Pour it slowly into the mold. Be careful, it's hot."
"Hahaha, don't worry so much."
We poured the molten gold into a mold shaped like a gold bar, waited a while, then dipped it in water to cool it down. After a slight polishing, it was finished.
This was the first gold bar.
Time was passing quickly in the pioneer village.
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