C5
<Answer>
Confiscation (4)
"This is absurd…"
The republican members of the legislature had grim expressions.
For two hours, dozens of members had attacked the crown prince's proposal, but the 15-year-old crown prince had refuted them all.
'He's weaker than I thought. It took about four hours when I debated with Agustín I.'
Even though it happened after I got drunk, it was I who even tempted the divine being. I was confident in my eloquence.
'It's also because they had a weak pretext, as it was opposition for opposition's sake.'
I was at a huge advantage because it was a surprise attack.
When the meeting reached a lull, Agustín I said,
"It seems like there's nothing more to say, so I think this is enough for the examination."
Conservative members of the legislature, who had been observing the situation, readily agreed.
"Yes, that's right. Let's proceed with the vote now without further delay."
"That's right. Stop the pointless obstruction!"
'Tsk. They were quiet all this time, and now they're pretending to be loyal.'
Agustín I didn't like the conservative members of the legislature either, but he accepted their support and strongly pressured Rafael, the head of the legislature.
"Rafael Manhino, the speaker. Conduct the vote immediately. If you continue to pick at it unnecessarily and ignore the people's yearning, I'll have no choice but to doubt your intentions. I'm saying that a member of the legislature is deliberately obstructing state affairs for his own political ambitions."
Agustín I glared intensely at Rafael, and Rafael said in a trembling voice,
"······I will conduct the vote."
***
The vote passed.
The republicans had no choice in the situation where they were surrounded by the emperor and the citizens.
As soon as the vote passed, I and Agustín I, who had left the legislature, checked the list of property that our subordinates had investigated.
"All together, 20% of the entire land in Mexico? Is this true?"
General Fernando answered.
"Yes, Your Majesty. This excludes undeveloped territory in the north and wasteland. Even this seems to have been reduced a lot. It seems that the Peninsulars originally owned about 40% of the land in Mexico. But as the war of independence began, they sold off a lot of their property because they were anxious about what would happen after independence, so it was reduced to 20%."
"Hmm, I see. I bought a few farms that were sold for a cheap price."
'I expected it to be a lot, but it's amazing. The Peninsulars, who make up only 1-2% of the population, owned 40% of the land in Mexico.'
"There are quite a few farms left in the Puebla region."
General Fernando answered my question as I looked through the list.
"Yes. It seems that many of the Peninsulars who were large landowners in the Puebla region were reluctant to sell their farms for a cheap price and were eventually expelled."
My father scoffed and said,
"They're the best lands in Mexico, so it's understandable that they were reluctant to sell them for a cheap price. Then, the Puebla region is the most important."
"Father, I'll go to the Puebla region."
"You?"
"The wealth of the Puebla region is already widely known, and many people know that there are many expelled large landowners in that region. There will be many people who are greedy, such as the powerful figures and army commanders in that region, so we need authority that can overwhelm them to prevent this."
"No, it's too dangerous. Sending Fernando is enough."
"Aren't there many officers of higher rank than a general among the local commanders? I'll take the army with me, so it won't be that dangerous."
"···"
I spoke to Agustín I again, who was pondering my words.
"The Puebla region is the wealthiest region, so the warehouses are large and there will be many items left. It will be a big blow if we can't recover the goods in this region. Father, you know best that there are many people in the provinces of Mexico who don't follow the central government's control and act as they please. I have to go."
"···Okay. But if there's any armed conflict, evacuate immediately according to the commander's orders."
"Yes."
Agustín I summoned the commanders of the army who were loyal to him and ordered them to recover the confiscated property throughout Mexico.
***
'I'm going to die.'
The Puebla region seems close on the map, but it's over 100 km away.
It's a time-sensitive operation, so I'm going to die when I leave at 6:00 AM after a short sleep. It's even worse because I'm wearing uncomfortable clothes to show authority and riding a horse.
The first place I'm going to is the farm of a man named Don Sebastián.
This man, who proudly sits at the top of the property list, owned 50,000 hectares (about 123,000 acres) of farmland in Puebla.
His vast farm mainly produced wheat, corn, and sugarcane, and he also owned vineyards, which were small in size but produced excellent quality wine.
There was even a silver mine on his property.
'50,000 hectares. Even a rich man like this is helplessly chased away in the face of political upheaval.'
I arrived at the farm with General Fernando and 500 soldiers. It may seem like a small number, but considering that the Mexican central army at that time was less than 20,000, it's not a small number. This is because soldiers need to be sent all over the vast territory of Mexico.
I and the commanders were riding horses, but the soldiers had to walk, so it took three days of marching to arrive.
"Your Highness, where would you like to go first, the mansion or the warehouse?"
The farm was so vast that it took several hours to walk between the house and the warehouse.
"Let's go to the warehouse first. There will be more wagons there."
After traveling for another two hours, we arrived at the warehouse area.
The ominous feeling I had about the identity of the strangers I had seen from afar was confirmed.
"···It's an army."
As the general said, soldiers in uniform could be seen moving busily from afar.
"Damn it. Let's move quickly."
"Rapid march from now on!"
'What kind of thief is this? He's got guts to try to take the most delicious yolk for himself.'
As we got closer, the other side also noticed our approach and formed a line. As the two armies faced each other, the opposing commander shouted first.
"Who are you, sir, leading the army?"
'A lieutenant general? He looks annoying.'
"I am General Fernando Mendoza, who has been ordered by His Majesty the Emperor to confiscate the property of Don Sebastián."
"I am Lieutenant General Javier Paredes, the defense commander of Puebla. I will recover the property here and send it to Mexico City, so go to another farm."
'He's trying to get away with taking it all for himself.'
General Fernando answered firmly.
"That's not possible. I must carry out the operation according to His Majesty the Emperor's order to confiscate the property of this farm."
"I'm the one carrying out that order. Show me the order immediately and move to another place, general."
"I refuse."
"Refuse? This is an order. Are you refusing to obey your superior's order?"
'I guess it's time for me to step in.'
I stepped forward and said,
"Disarm immediately and obey General Fernando's orders."
Lieutenant General Javier frowned and said,
"Who are you?"
"I am Agustín Jerónimo Iturbide, the emperor's eldest son and his representative."
I shouted so that the soldiers behind me would hear and be shaken.
Lieutenant General Javier, whose face turned pale in an instant, gritted his teeth and said,
"Even Your Highness the Crown Prince cannot interfere with the army's command!"
"This is not a command issue, general. You were leading an army and seizing the property of this farm without receiving a formal order. This is a clear criminal act. Disarm immediately!"
"···You impudent brat."
Lieutenant General Javier glared at me after saying those words.
The soldiers on both sides were tense as the situation became a standoff.
"Ready to fire."
General Fernando calmly ordered his soldiers to prepare to fire.
Click!
The opposing force was about 800 strong, more than us. But our weapons were overwhelmingly better.
'Are they conscripts? It's obvious that they're illegal conscripts. About half of them don't even have guns. Considering their training level, we have the advantage.'
As I was thinking that, Lieutenant General Javier suddenly shouted.
"Fire!"
"Damn it!"
Lieutenant General Javier was not a very rational man.
I didn't expect him to make such a foolish decision to fight in this situation, but thanks to the delay characteristic of flintlock muskets, I didn't die absurdly. I quickly got off my horse and took cover behind the wagon.
'I almost died less than a week after being possessed.'
Bang!
"Fire!! Your Highness! Retreat to the rear! Lieutenant Manuel! Evacuate Your Highness to the rear!"
Our side also started firing, and General Fernando moved me to the rear.
"Excuse me, Your Highness!"
I felt someone called lieutenant grab my arm.
Tatatatatat!!
The soldiers on both sides were firing their muskets, and the opposing conscripts, armed with pikes, were charging, and I retreated to the rear.
Tatatatatat!!
'They're thinking they can win because they have more numbers, but I don't know how they're going to deal with the aftermath. Do they have no brains?'
At a glance, the situation didn't seem bad, but we weren't winning overwhelmingly either.
Our side had better weapons, but it wasn't the era of repeating rifles or machine guns, so we couldn't wipe them out instantly either.
Tatatatatat!!
'If this continues, both sides will suffer huge losses. What should I do?'
I had promised not to participate in the battle, but I had to do something. It felt like a catastrophic number of casualties would result if things continued this way.
'That's right, cannons. We brought cannons.'
Two cannons that Agustín I had told us to bring, just in case something happened.
They were at the very back. I hurriedly found the cannons. Bronze cannons with wheels. The gunpowder and cannonballs were loaded on the wagon in front.
'But how do I fire this?'
As I was wondering how to fire it, someone approached.
"I was looking for the cannons, but Your Highness found them first."
"It's fortunate that I'm not the only one who thought of the cannons. I would have been disappointed if I had been a little late. Do you know how to fire this?"
"Yes."
The person who came to find the cannons was Lieutenant Manuel, who had escorted me to the rear. He began to prepare the cannons with the soldiers he brought, and I helped.
This body was strong, probably because he was well-fed and raised. As I moved the cannon to a higher ground to secure an angle to fire it, I could see the situation. Dozens of people were already dead on both sides.
Lieutenant Manuel hurriedly began to prepare to fire.
"Load!"
"Loading!"
"Wait! Lieutenant Manuel. What's the range of this cannon? Can it reach the enemy commander in the rear?"
The enemy commanders were standing proudly behind the soldiers without even taking cover.
"Yes. The battle started at relatively close range, so the range is more than enough."
"Then, aim at the commanders, not the soldiers."
"······It might miss."
"Isn't the distance quite close, as you said, lieutenant? It doesn't seem like the accuracy will be that low, so let's fire carefully. Let's fire one shot, and if it misses, we can fire at the soldiers, so there won't be much damage."
"Yes, I understand, Your Highness."
The lieutenant moved the soldiers away, following my words to fire only one shot carefully, and aimed the cannon himself, even sweating.
"Ready!"
Lieutenant Manuel, who was ready, ordered to prepare to fire.
"Ready!"
"Fire!"
"Fire!"
Boom!!
The cannonball fired with a roar flew towards the enemy command post.
It was clear that the enemy command post was startled, as they had just realized the existence of the cannons because they were too busy commanding the battle.
'Oh, good angle.'
"Oh?"
"Oh my god!! General!!"
"Damn it!"
Bang!!
***
The officers immediately surrendered after seeing Lieutenant General Javier, the top commander, transform into a lump of meat after being hit in the chest by a cannonball.
The existence of two cannons, even though there were only two, was enough to completely change the course of the battle, which had been evenly matched, and they didn't want to die a pointless death in a hopeless fight.
The enemy officers were arrested, and the soldiers were mobilized for the confiscation work after being treated.
Thirty of our soldiers were killed and 70 were injured, while 90 of the enemy soldiers were killed and 140 were injured. I planned to give some of the confiscated goods to their families, after requesting it from my father.
'By the way, we have over a thousand people, but it's not enough. I underestimated the production of this region.'
We were short of wagons and horses.
We were making wagons on the spot by mobilizing soldiers, but we were short of horses, so the soldiers had to pull the wagons.
'It's going to slow down our movement tremendously. I have to give up on taking everything at once.'
The scale of the warehouse owned by the large landowner with 50,000 hectares was amazing. There were eight warehouses, each thousands of square meters, in the center of the farm, and dozens of small warehouses scattered throughout the land.
'I know that people were starving in this era, but this warehouse is overflowing with grain, to the point where it's rotting.'
It clearly showed the dark reality of Mexico, where a small number of large landowners and the church monopolized almost all the land.
'Mexico right now is no different from a medieval country.'
"Leave the farm implements and seeds. The farms will be government-owned and managed."
"Yes."
Don Sebastián's warehouse was mostly filled with grain, but there was also a lot of silver ore mined from the mine and alcohol. This alone was a jackpot, but the mansion was even more of a jackpot.
"It seems like they were expelled in a hurry."
"Yes, it seems so."
There was no sign of jewels or gold, which they probably managed to take with them, but silver goods, coins, house documents, various contract documents, luxurious furniture, books, wine, weapons, art, carriages, wagons, and countless other things that could be turned into money poured out.
Just in case, I said a word to General Fernando.
"Please keep a close eye on the soldiers. Tell them not to touch the goods, as they will be compensated."
"Don't worry, Your Highness. When we return to the capital, we'll strip them of their uniforms and shake them down, so they won't be able to take anything even if they touch it. I'm a little worried about the officers, but I'll personally keep a close eye on them."
"······Okay. Let's finish up in three days, go to Mexico City, and bring more people."
'···He's different from Lieutenant General Javier, who recklessly charged in and was crushed. There's a reason why Agustín I values him.'
I also directed the recovery work without resting for three days.
Now, it's time to return to the capital with the spoils.
────────────────────────────────────