**Chapter 12**
**Military Academy (1)**
It's not a good thing that the plan went awry, but I expected it to go wrong in some way. Not everything in the world goes my way.
"Anyway, I didn't intend to go to California myself, and I brought people I could trust..."
I completely revised the plan. I quickly took care of the things I was going to do before entering the military academy.
First, I sent the two people who asked to be educated to university.
Diego Luis was sent to the "Real y Pontificia Universidad de México," the most prestigious university in Mexico. I was shocked when I checked the curriculum while paying the tuition.
"There's no business department, just theology, law, medicine, and arts. And even the "la de Artes" department isn't the art I had in mind, it's a place where they teach the three arts (grammar, rhetoric, logic), one of the seven liberal arts of the Middle Ages."
Of those, the arts department seemed the most useful, so I sent Diego Luis there.
"Even then, a third of the curriculum is religion-related. What a waste of money. That's something they should teach in the theology department."
During this period, most educational institutions in Mexico were taught by Roman Catholic priests, naturally making them heavily infused with religious elements.
I couldn't send Sergio Ortega, who was interested in technology, to the Real y Pontificia Universidad de México.
I found out that the "Real Seminario de Minería," which existed during the colonial period, was the only place in Mexico that taught engineering and science, but it closed down during the War of Independence.
I suggested to my father that mining was a major industry in Mexico and that we had some financial leeway, so we should reopen the school. That's how Sergio Ortega was sent to the "Colegio de Minería" which was reopened.
"Secularization of education must be pursued. If we can't do this, education and science in this country are hopeless."
For now, I'll just have to bear with it, but seeing that more than 30% of the curriculum in departments other than theology is religion-related made me furious while paying the tuition.
It's something I have to do eventually, for the sake of scientific and technological advancement. I added the item "Secularization of Education" to the plan.
***
I assigned different tasks to the five carpenters I brought to Mexico City.
"I already explained in detail about the businesses we'll be doing while traveling to Mexico City, but unfortunately, I'm going to the military academy, where I was supposed to oversee all the businesses. So, I'll explain it again."
I had already explained in detail what businesses we would be doing and what strategies we would use during the five months of travel, but since I couldn't supervise, I decided to remind them of the details again.
"Emilio, you will purchase land in a region called Las Truchas in Michoacán."
"Las Truchas in Michoacán. I remember."
"Yes. Purchase the land in that area, explore for iron mines there, and if you find one, start mining. Use the mined iron to produce farm equipment and mining equipment to sell."
"Yes, I understand, Your Highness."
The first business was the foundation for laying down a railway network.
The world's first railway will open in England next year, 1825. After that, the United States, France, Germany, and Russia will open their railways in 2-5 year intervals, with little difference in timing. This is because the principles of the steam engine were already widely known, and if you understand the concept of a railway, you can build an early train relatively simply, even if it's basic.
Railways are one of the main topics covered in civil engineering, so I know a lot about railway systems, but railway systems require large-scale capital and steelmaking capabilities.
To do this, I planned to steadily purchase and develop iron mines, and create capital by making mining equipment and farm equipment that would be in high demand during the upcoming gold rush era and pioneer era.
Las Truchas is one of the largest iron mines in Mexico, discovered in the original history, and one of the largest iron mines in the world. It's not empty land even now, but since the iron mine hasn't been discovered yet, I can buy it cheaply.
"Ramon, you will secure a supply chain for cotton that can be purchased continuously. Once you have secured the supply chain, use the rivets I told you about to make durable work clothes and tents."
"Yes, Your Highness."
The second business is the business that Levi Strauss did in the original history. Tents are essential for the pioneer and gold rush eras, and durable and practical work clothes will sell well anywhere, even without a gold rush.
"Alfonso, you will build relay stations at certain points along the route from Mexico City to the port of Veracruz and operate stagecoaches to start a transportation service. Start with cities that have a lot of goods movement, and prepare to expand to California later."
"Yes, Your Highness."
The third business is the business that Wells Fargo did in the original history. Long-distance travel during this period was always fraught with the danger of bandits, so goods delivery was a high-risk, high-reward business.
Wells Fargo started with express delivery services for mail, gold, food, and passenger transportation during the gold rush era. Later, it also provided financial services, growing into a major retail bank in the American West, eventually becoming one of the top four banks in the United States.
There were no companies in Mexico that provided these services at this time, and only basic postal services existed connecting a few cities.
I planned to expand this business nationwide, providing logistics and financial services throughout Mexico.
"Hernando, you will hire workers in Mexico City to build and manage restaurants and accommodations in Sacramento. Stay in Sacramento and pay the wages to the workers at my nearby gold mine and continue to develop the gold mine."
"Yes, Your Highness."
The fourth business is to develop the gold mine in Sacramento and preempt commerce. This is more of a business for cash flow than a preparation for the future. It will bring in a lot of money during the gold rush period, and while profits will decrease afterwards, it will become a steady cash cow.
"Isidro, you will gather a small group of pioneers to develop the new pioneer city I mentioned earlier, San Francisco. Build restaurants and accommodations in San Francisco and do business with people flocking there for the gold rush, but preempt and manage profitable gold mines. After all, the land is all mine. However, allow those who mine less profitable areas to do so."
"Yes, Your Highness."
The fifth business is the San Francisco version of the fourth business.
I poured all the gold I brought from California into these five businesses.
"Emilio, Ramon, Alfonso, Hernando, Isidro."
I called out their names one by one, made eye contact, and shook hands.
"I will keep the promises I made to you in California on my honor, so please take good care of the businesses. These are the businesses that will be the beginning of our Mexican Empire's development."
From their perspective, they had worked hard to get to California, endured hardship, built houses in the pioneer village, and their families were all in California.
It wasn't easy to persuade them to leave the pioneer village and come back to Mexico City with me. However, those who had worked with me and witnessed my abilities agreed to join me, accepting that I had chosen them and that I had promised them a bright future.
For those who were temporarily leaving their families, I entrusted their families to the first company commander and Ortega, the carpenter foreman, who remained in Sacramento.
"If we're going to start a business, we need business capital."
I handed them bags filled with gold bars directly.
It was not all at once, just initial capital, but it was still an enormous amount of money.
"Your Highness... You trust us so much."
"Ugh. We'll do our best."
"We will make it a success!!"
***
The school I'm going to from now on is the Heroico Colegio Militar. A direct translation would be Heroic Military College.
This school, which sounds a bit childish in modern sensibilities, was also a military academy established in 1822 when Agustín I ascended the throne in the original history. It went through many ups and downs, but survived and continues its history to this day in modern Mexico.
"Using the building of the Inquisition as a school... "
The military academy had established its first home in the old Inquisition, a magnificent building that evokes memories of Mexico's colonial period.
As I was looking around the school, I heard someone clear their throat next to me.
"Ahem... Crown Prince, I am Brigadier General Garcia Conde, the principal of this school."
"Ah, Brigadier General Conde. Nice to meet you. Please treat me the same as a regular student while I'm at school. Please."
"Ahem. I understand."
He seemed quite uncomfortable having to teach the Crown Prince as a student.
"Well, I'll introduce you to your instructor, Captain Barrios."
He introduced me to Captain Barrios, one of the instructors for the first year.
"Good morning, Your Highness. I'm Captain Barrios, your instructor. I heard you wanted to be treated the same as a regular student while at school. Is that correct?"
A rugged face, massive muscles that didn't fit in an era where bodybuilding wasn't developed, and a blunt tone. A typical macho.
"Ugh... I have a bad feeling about this."
"Yes, that's right."
He smirked, then suddenly shouted.
"Then change into these clothes and assemble on the field in five minutes!"
"...Yes!"
"I had a bad feeling about this..."
***
The parade ground.
"Okay, then. We're going to do a physical fitness test now. Surely you won't lose to a transfer student who came in three months late, will you? Lorenzo?"
"I'll never lose!"
"Those who lose will be punished! Understand?"
"Yes!"
"Go!!"
Huff! Huff!
Heronimo thought it was manageable. I guess all that walking at a fast pace for a long time over the past five months had been a good workout.
Huff! Huff!
"No, are there people who are collapsing before me?"
The physical fitness test pushed the cadets to their limits with all sorts of exercises.
"Is that all you've got?"
Huff! Huff!
Captain Barrios was dumbfounded. The cadets who had been training for the past three months were starting to collapse. Surprisingly, the Crown Prince was holding on.
"How can a Crown Prince be so physically fit? Did he receive special training?"
"...Stop here!"
This was pointless.
He had asked to be treated like a normal student, so he was going to slightly dampen his spirits to train him properly, but it seemed like he was going to dampen the spirits of the other cadets instead.
"Those who collapsed before the transfer student today better be prepared."
The cadets turned pale at the sight of Captain Barrios' enraged face.
***
The physical fitness test was over. The cadets were all lying around in the barracks, getting cleaned up.
"You're physically fit. Did you work out hard before you came?"
This was the cadet who was called Lorenzo by the instructor before the physical fitness test began.
"Well, yeah."
"I'm Lorenzo Torres. What about you?"
Lorenzo, who seemed to have a cheerful personality, extended his hand and introduced himself.
"I'm Agustín Heronimo Iturbide."
"······What?"
Silence fell.
Everyone in the barracks who had been lying around doing their own thing stopped and became quiet.
"···"
"···Your Highness!"
The guy, frozen while shaking my hand, quickly bowed his head.
"No, there's no need for that. Treat me like an equal while I'm at this school."
"···Really?"
"Yes. It'll be different after we're commissioned, but right now, we're classmates."
"Wow... It's completely different from what I imagined."
"Why? Did you think I'd be super authoritarian?"
"It's not that, but I didn't think I could be this close to you. And you're incredibly physically fit."
"I happened to work out."
I had to ride a horse, but it was so uncomfortable that I walked more than half the time.
I walked quite fast while traveling, so you could say I did moderate-intensity cardio for five hours a day.
I had been doing manual labor almost every day in California, so my body had changed a lot over the past year and a half.
"You're physically fit too."
Among the many cadets who were collapsing, only he still had energy to spare.
The instructor didn't call out his name for no reason. This guy was likely the ace among the first-year students.
Seeing me and Lorenzo talking casually, other classmates came over.
"Is it okay to talk casually? ...Right?"
"Yes, it is. Just do what you do with the other classmates."
"Then, nice to meet you. I'm Eduardo Vega."
"He's obsessed with guns."
Lorenzo chimed in.
"Obsessed with guns?"
He looks perfectly normal.
"Yeah. He's always taking guns apart and putting them back together. It's a mess. What's he going to do if he breaks them?"
"As a future officer, I'm just trying to find ways to improve the guns our army will use."
"The problem is that he does it almost every day."
"Oh, a military enthusiast of this era."
It's not bad to spend time on weapons now that I'm at the military academy.
After all, strengthening the national defense is a task that must be done.
"Spain is going to invade to reconquer us in five years, 1829, the Texas War of Independence in 1835, France invades in 1838 (Pastry War), and the US-Mexican War in 1846. Mexico's future is filled with relentless external invasions."
Texas is unlikely to become independent because I changed the immigration conditions a lot. It's managed by Mexican officials, and Mexican and American pioneers are mixed together.
The Pastry War, where France invaded on the pretext of damage to its citizens' property, was also unlikely to happen.
Unlike the original history where Agustín I collapsed in ten months and the whole country instantly plunged into civil war for power, leading to a decline in security, in this world, Agustín I is maintaining his power steadily and gradually strengthening his control over the provinces.
"But you never know what will happen if the US intervenes in Texas. France could also find another pretext to cause trouble and demand money."
Pretext is just that, a pretext. The real reason for external invasion is that Mexico is weak, isn't it?
Business is good, and national development is good, but strengthening the Mexican army is also important.
"I'm also interested in guns, did you find a way to improve the musket?"
"Hmm... I have some ideas."
He has ideas?
Maybe coming to the military academy was a blessing in disguise.
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