Chapter 7
California! (1)
'He gave me a generous amount. Is this the scale of a landed gentry family?'
The reward money my father gave me along with the medal was 5,000 pesos.
The 5,000 pesos my father gave me, reluctantly agreeing to my request.
The 7,000 pesos my mother gave me when I said I was going to California to pioneer.
In an instant, I had acquired 17,000 pesos in assets.
Adding to that, the 1,000 pesos this body had saved, for a total of 18,000 pesos.
Considering that the average wage of workers in this era was 1 peso a day, earning 20-25 pesos a month, it was an enormous amount.
'An ordinary worker's salary for 40 months was stashed in his room. It's a miracle that no one stole it.'
In the 19th century, it was common to measure the weight and metal content to assess the value of coins rather than considering the issuing country of silver and gold coins.
The Mexican peso had the same silver content as the Spanish dollar, and its value was 0.2 pounds sterling at that time.
One pound sterling at that time was worth 50-60 pounds in 2022, so 1 peso was worth about 13 dollars in modern times.
'That's 234,000 dollars in modern times. That's about 320 million won in Korean currency.'
I sat down and calculated.
'Land? I don't have to worry about the price of land. In this era, there was so much undeveloped land that they would give land for free if you brought settlers. Of course, there are no related laws now, and the members of the legislature would oppose it, so subsidies are out of the question, but the officials are friendly to my father, so if I tell the government that I want to buy it, they'll practically give me the land for free. I need to secure all the major gold mining areas.'
I calculated the prices of various goods needed to build a pioneer village, equipment to be used for mining gold, food that needs to be continuously supplied, horses and wagons, and wages to be paid to the miners, and it was a close call, but it was possible.
'If I shake things up, I can initially start the pioneering. I'll first try placer mining and open-pit mining, and I'll have to invest more when the results of the first pioneering come out.'
My father assigned Major Manuel, who had a previous connection with him, as my bodyguard captain. He and the two captains of his two companies, and 25 soldiers from each company, a total of three officers and 50 soldiers, were assigned to my bodyguard.
With their help, I recruited families to go with me to pioneer California.
There were countless applicants when I announced that I would provide land, farm implements, food to eat on the way, and funds to make a living in the early stages of settlement.
"Did I read wrong? You read it again."
"Is this condition real?"
"The Crown Prince himself is leading the pioneering expedition! It can't be a lie, can it!?"
Considering that it was common in this era to forcibly take people and abandon them in the name of pioneering, it was such a good condition that it was suspicious.
In just two days after the recruitment began, more than 100 families, the quota, applied.
Since it would take more than four months, and in some cases, more than six months to travel, I didn't accept families that were pregnant or had young children, but I made an exception for families who could prepare horses and wagons, and otherwise, I only accepted healthy families with children over the age of adolescence.
'I want to accept more, but I don't have enough money.'
It's true that I'm going to pioneer, but since the actual goal is gold mining, I need to buy mining equipment as well as farm implements for the number of people.
I also need to prepare equipment to extract and refine gold locally. It's too inefficient to bring back soil and stones in wagons.
And then there are horses, wagons, food, and wages for the gold miners. It's impossible to have more than 100 families.
***
"I'm still worried. Do you really have to go?"
My mother asked, holding my hand tightly, as if she was worried. I reassured her.
"Don't worry, Mother. I'll be back in a year. I have a bodyguard, so nothing will happen."
It's understandable why my mother would be worried.
Mexico is currently in a state of economic ruin due to the independence war that lasted more than 10 years, and there are countless bandits. And I'm the eldest son. There are four princesses and only one prince below me.
My mother kept holding my hand, as if she was worried.
"Mother, I'll definitely come back healthy. Don't worry too much."
"Let him go. I'm not happy that a guy who's going to be the crown prince of the empire is going all the way to California, but it's also something that will help the empire, and he's a grown man, so he should do what he wants to do."
Agustín I patted my shoulder and told me,
"Don't forget that you're the crown prince of this Mexican Empire. I'm telling you to prioritize your safety. Understand?"
"Yes, Father."
My father also told Major Manuel, who was standing next to him nervously.
"I'll leave it to you, Major Manuel."
"Yes! Your Majesty! I'll protect you with my life!!"
Agustín I looked at me and said,
"The members of the legislature were happy to hear that you were leaving for California to pioneer. It means they were impressed by what you showed in the legislature. They're making a fuss about speeding up the constitution drafting, which they had been putting off."
"Well… I'll take that as a compliment. I'll trust you with everything in Mexico City."
"Yeah. I'll have to compromise to some extent, but it seems like I'll be able to fill most of the 29 vacant seats with loyal people. I'll take care of it, so you just take care of yourself and come back safely."
"Yes, Father. I'm leaving now."
I've already purchased land and pioneering goods and loaded them onto wagons.
A total of 500 people, including 100 families who applied for pioneering and 50 soldiers, and guides and other personnel, were waiting for me.
I hugged my mother and said,
"I'll be back."
"Be careful and come back safely."
I, Major Manuel, and the guide rode our horses at the front and set off.
'I have to succeed no matter what.'
I made that resolution as I set off. I poured all the money I had into this pioneering expedition.
'It's about a 10-month round trip. It'll take at least half a year to build a pioneer village, find gold mines, and mine them. I should think that I'll be using it for about a year and a half.'
It's been three months since I possessed this body.
These three months have been nothing more than gathering resources of trust, so if this fails, it's like wasting almost two years.
If I waste two years, I won't have the strength to stop the countless misfortunes that will hit Mexico without a break.
'For example, there's the upcoming Texas rebellion and independence, and its annexation by the United States. About now, Stephen Austin, who is called the father of Texas, must have arrived in Texas.'
Moses Austin, Stephen Austin's father, had already signed the empresario contract with Spain before Mexico's independence, in which he would be given land grants in exchange for bringing 300 settlers.
He died before he could fulfill the contract, but his son, Stephen Austin, continued to pioneer Texas, carrying on his father's legacy.
Stephen Austin visited Mexico City on January 3, 1823, to persuade Agustín I to reinstate the contract he had made with Spain. In the original history, Agustín I simply granted permission, but this time, he plans to grant permission but with some adjustments.
'The original contract was too generous. Even if it's empty land, it's too much.'
In the original history, the head of each family that immigrated was given a total of 4,605 acres of land, 4,428 acres for ranching and 177 acres for farming.
Stephen Austin was given 67,000 acres of land for every 200 families he brought.
As a result, the Texas pioneering, which began with 300 people, produced an amazing result of 20,000 Americans settling in Texas in just seven years, in 1830.
The United States, seeing that terrifying growth rate and confirming that it was good land for farming, began to covet Texas.
In 1827, President John Adams of the United States offered Mexico $1 million to buy Texas, but it was rejected. In 1829, President Andrew Jackson offered $5 million again, but it was rejected. But Mexico's rejection was meaningless.
'In the end, the Americans in Texas rebelled and declared independence, establishing the Republic of Texas, and then they annexed it to the United States at will.'
It was infuriating for Mexico, but what could they do when they had no power?
The United States was still a boy, but it was a giant compared to the newborn Mexico.
The newborn Mexico didn't have the power to suppress the rebellion in Texas, let alone the United States.
'I won't let that happen this time.'
I told my father to approve Stephen Austin's proposal but change the conditions.
'It's fine to immigrate and give them land. But control them strictly. And don't give them too much.'
I cut the land grant and compensation for Stephen Austin in half, added the condition that they had to pioneer under the control of Mexican officials, and most importantly, required them to settle the same number of Mexican immigrants in Texas as American immigrants.
These conditions were intended to strictly control the immigrants, weaken their American identity, assimilate them into Mexican culture, and grant as little land as possible.
It was a much harsher condition than the previous contract, but it didn't matter.
'If they don't like these conditions, they can reject them.'
It's better than losing Texas.
***
March 1823.
As the Californian pioneering expedition led by Crown Prince Jerónimo Iturbide was heading towards its destination, Sacramento, after passing through several cities, a fierce debate over the drafting of the constitution was taking place in the Mexican Empire.
The 29 vacant seats, which had been vacated due to embezzlement charges, were divided between conservatives and republicans through political compromise, with conservatives taking 20 seats and republicans taking 9.
The republican members of the legislature could no longer use their stalling tactics because the Mexican government was rapidly becoming normalized and the emperor's power was growing stronger than before.
They wanted to draft the constitution as quickly as possible while they still had power, but Agustín I and the conservative members of the legislature were in no hurry.
"Republicans 111 seats versus conservatives 90 seats. There's still a lot missing."
"Yes, Your Majesty. It seems like the republican members of the legislature are still confident and are being aggressive."
The republicans were pushing for a constitutional monarchy similar to England. At that time, the king or queen of England was still the head of state and had the power to approve laws passed by the legislature, but the actual running of the country was done by the prime minister and various ministers appointed by the cabinet.
Agustín I didn't like that. He wouldn't push things to extremes, as his son had asked him to, and he would compromise to some extent, but he still had leverage.
"I need to weaken them. Are the personnel appointments ready?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
After the successful confiscation operation, the legislature had stopped taking issue with the emperor's military power.
To be precise, they did take issue, but they lacked the pretext to limit Agustín I's military power, as he had been the commander-in-chief of the army since before independence, so there was no way to turn public opinion around.
Agustín I could move the army at will with the support of the central army officers and the conservative members of the legislature.
He planned to use this to take control of the provincial armies.
'Most of the provincial army commanders are federalists who want decentralization. They mostly support the republicans in the legislature.'
Agustín I replaced some of the top commanders in several regions who had colluded with the embezzling members of the legislature.
The pretext was that they had failed to properly manage their subordinate units.
***
"This is the area here, right? Are you sure?"
I pointed to an area on the map and said.
"Yes, that's right. I know this area well."
The guide was confident.
'This is the area where Sacramento, the capital of California in my previous life, was located. Then, that must be the Sacramento River. Ugh…'
I was moved.
It's been five months.
I traveled for almost 10 hours every day during that long time. You might say, 'You were riding a horse, so what's so hard?' but horses aren't that comfortable to ride for long periods.
It was a constant cycle of riding, then walking because my waist and thighs would ache, and then riding again.
'But I finally arrived safely.'
It was a gamble, in a way.
I thought it would be possible because we had a guide who said he had been to California many times, and we had a bodyguard, but the journey alone took five months.
Considering the bandits rampant in this era and the local powerful figures who didn't even know the emperor's face and were outside the central government's control, anything could have happened during that long journey.
"······But there's really nothing here."
"Well, we can build it from now on. Haha."
"Yeah. Let's get started."
I turned around and shouted to the pioneers who were asking if we had finally arrived, their eyes shining brightly.
"We've arrived!!!"
"Woohoo!!"
"Yay!!!"
"Finally!!"
Sacramento, California, with its vast gold deposits, the best weather, and the world's largest agricultural output.
The pioneering of that place finally began.