**Chapter 6**
**Confiscation (5)**
We recovered the items from Don Sebastian's large farm and visited other farms in the Puebla region, recovering as many items as possible.
"There's truly an abundance of grain."
It took five days to return to Mexico City because we were short of horses, so the soldiers had to pull the carts by hand.
"The carts kept breaking down or getting damaged, it was a complete mess."
We had to cut down trees on the spot to repair or build new carts.
"At least there were no idiots trying to rob us, so that's a blessing."
After all the hardship, we finally reached Mexico City. Hundreds of carts had already arrived on the outskirts of the city. These goods were brought from confiscated farms across Mexico.
"They're building new warehouses too."
"Yes... since we can't sell the goods and convert them into currency, we need a lot of space."
Before independence, Mexico (Nueva España) naturally used the Spanish currency, the Real (also called Heal or Riyal), and the 8 Real silver coin, the Spanish dollar.
Later, Mexico would issue the Peso, based on the decimal system, but now, right after independence following a long war, the currency is not circulating smoothly, and the economy is naturally in disarray.
As he had previously mentioned, General Fernando thoroughly stripped the soldiers of their uniforms and even their boots, and he even personally searched the officers.
After unloading the goods into the temporary warehouse, I went to report to my father.
General Fernando reported about Brigadier Javier, who had clashed with Sebastian in the warehouse.
"Ha, so there was someone who was already trying to steal goods?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Agustin I frowned.
"If he had sent a rider immediately after my speech, I would understand the speed, but who sent that information is the problem. General Fernando, please investigate thoroughly."
"Yes, Your Majesty. I will take measures to thoroughly investigate where he obtained the information."
Agustin I looked at me and said,
"I told you to hide when the battle started, but you fired the cannon and killed the enemy commander?"
"···I didn't fire it. Lieutenant Manuel aimed carefully and fired, and I just watched."
"According to the report, Lieutenant Manuel was aiming at the enemy soldiers, but you suggested that he aim at the enemy commander since you were close enough, right?"
"···Yes, Your Majesty."
"Then you also have enough merit. If you had fought normally, the battle would have lasted much longer, and there would have been many more casualties. Isn't that right, General Fernando?"
"Yes, that's right, Your Majesty. If the Crown Prince hadn't made the decision, the enemy would have suffered catastrophic casualties, and we would have also suffered significant losses, leaving us with almost no personnel available for recovering goods."
"That's right. Well, we should reward both Lieutenant Manuel and the Crown Prince. General Fernando, soon there will be decorations and rewards for the officers who led this operation. Keep that in mind."
"Yes, Your Majesty. Thank you!"
General Fernando left after finishing his report. I asked Agustin I how he planned to use the secured funds.
I was worried that he might use it all for the military or pay off all the foreign debt.
"Father, how do you plan to use the funds we secured this time?"
"First, I'm paying the overdue salaries of civil servants and soldiers. Initially, I wanted to pay them all at once after all the goods arrived and the accounts were settled, but now we don't have enough warehouses, right? So, I'm paying salaries and instructing the civil servants to manage the accounts and the soldiers to manage the warehouse goods. I've entrusted them to loyal people, so don't worry."
"Hmm... it seems like you're doing well."
"After the overdue salaries are paid and the goods are sorted, where do you plan to use the remaining funds?"
Agustin I ruffled my hair. It wasn't the look of a clueless son he had when we first met, but the look of a trustworthy eldest son.
"Why, do you have another suggestion? I think we should continue to employ civil servants to normalize the administrative network and manage the assets we recovered this time, but what do you think?"
"It seems like a good idea. But I think we should save as much silver as possible and start mining again to issue currency. I heard that the economy isn't working properly because there's not enough currency in circulation. If we have extra funds, we should buy silver mines."
"Hmm... currency. I was going to do that later... but now that we have money, I think it's a good idea to implement it right away."
Mexico had a society where currency was actively used even before independence. If we have the money to print, the implementation itself shouldn't be a major problem.
***
"···For his contributions to this operation, General Fernando Cortes Mendoza is awarded the Eagle Medal and promoted one rank."
Agustin I awarded decorations, promotions, and small bonuses to those who participated in this operation.
Since this operation was entrusted to the royalist officers loyal to Agustin I, they were the ones who were rewarded.
"He's naturally strengthening his control over the military."
The massive promotions of royalist officers led to the shrinking of the republican officers, who were already a minority within the military.
Those who didn't have strong republican convictions were contacting the royalists to switch sides, and those who didn't were leaving the military as their juniors were promoted to the same rank or even became their superiors.
"With the overdue salaries and bonuses, the soldiers' support is very high, so we can say that the central army is completely under control."
There were also a few who received two-rank promotions, including Lieutenant Manuel, who was promoted to Major, and these were those who had excelled in the battles that occurred during the operation.
The battle opponents were diverse. There were local army commanders like the ones we faced, Mexican bandits who were rampant during this period, and landowners who mobilized their own workers.
The central army won all the battles, but not all the goods were recovered.
Farms far from Mexico City were quick to escape with their goods, leaving behind empty warehouses in many cases.
The army cannot all ride horses and has to walk, but the riders who stole the information rode alone and delivered it, so the speed difference caused this problem.
Who would have the ability to send riders to the provinces immediately after hearing the speech? It was highly likely that they were already wealthy individuals.
"Ugh, those thieves."
As I was gnashing my teeth, thinking about the stolen goods, it was my turn.
"···Agustin Heronimo de Iturbide is awarded the Eagle Medal and a bonus."
I was also included among those receiving this medal, based on the justification that I had made significant contributions in the largest battle that occurred during this operation.
Agustin I used the justification that he couldn't promote me because he wasn't a soldier, and awarded me a hefty bonus.
"He still takes care of his eldest son."
The grand decoration ceremony held in Zócalo sent a positive signal that the confiscation of the property of the Peninsula was successful and that the government was working, and the citizens enjoyed the ceremony.
The republican members of Congress opposed the awarding of decorations and bonuses, but their opinions were ignored due to the support of the army and civil servants who had received their overdue wages, and the conservative members of Congress.
"Your Majesty, I have received an excessive reward thanks to you. Thank you."
After the decoration ceremony, Major Manuel came to me and expressed his gratitude.
"No, it's thanks to you aiming carefully and hitting the target that I received a large bonus, so I should be thanking you."
"No, it was because Your Majesty bravely ordered me to aim at the commander."
"Hahaha."
***
"This is a complete win-win-win."
Currently, in Mexico, there was another conflict as important as the conflict between the republicans and the royalists (conservatives).
It was the conflict between the federalists, who wanted decentralization, and the centralists, who wanted centralization.
There were centralists among the republicans, but they were a minority, and most republicans were federalists.
These were individuals who were influenced by the liberal and republican ideas that originated in France, but they were not from the lower classes.
Rather, many of them were local power holders representing the interests of their regions, and they were naturally often connected to local military leaders.
This type of alliance, similar to the one where Agustin I, a young military commander from a wealthy landowning family, married his daughter to a daughter of a wealthy landowning family, was very common in this era.
During the investigation, a local army officer who was a subordinate of Brigadier Javier, who had raided Don Sebastian's farm, revealed the informant in exchange for a promise of leniency.
"A republican member of Congress sent a message to his son-in-law immediately after the speech, providing him with a list of expelled landowners and urging him to recover their assets as quickly as possible."
A shocking revelation.
Simply providing information and explicitly ordering the recovery of assets were completely different issues.
Although I moved to Congress immediately after the speech, it took about an hour for all 201 members to gather. They used that one hour.
Agustin I wanted to immediately impose severe punishment, but I used this situation.
I approached the accused member and told him that I had all the evidence, and that if he revealed the names of other members who had done similar things, he would be spared from prison.
Similar incidents occurred several times, and it was confirmed that 29 out of the 201 members of Congress had committed similar acts.
They were not only stripped of their membership but also fined a huge amount of money, almost equivalent to their entire fortune, under the pretext of recovering the stolen goods, and except for a few who made plea bargains, they were going to be imprisoned.
"It's tyranny because there's no law."
"There are nine conservative members too."
"There are probably more, but we can't catch them."
Those who were caught had conspired with each other, and those who acted individually had no way of knowing what the other members were doing, so they wouldn't be exposed.
There were not only 29 cases where warehouses of confiscated farms across Mexico were found empty and we were left empty-handed.
There were probably many more who successfully concealed their actions.
"There's nothing we can do. But this incident will speed up the issuance of currency."
"Yes."
The issuance of new silver coins was progressing smoothly.
Since Mexico had technicians and facilities for manufacturing Spanish silver coins during the colonial period, it didn't take long.
Silver goods, silver ore from the confiscated assets, and silver mined from the mines were being used to mint silver coins with Agustin I's face on them.
Normally, new currencies have low credibility, but the government currently has a huge amount of goods that can be exchanged for silver coins, so they are being used smoothly from the start.
The problem was that there was not enough silver, but now that the assets of the landowner members of Congress who were caught for crimes have been added to the government budget, we will be able to buy quite a few mines.
"Well, should I start bringing up the main point?"
"Yes. We agreed that I would grant your request if the confiscation of assets went well. What is your request?"
"I want to develop the territory in the northwest."
At that time, most of Mexico's population lived around the Mexican Plateau.
The northern territories, including Texas and California, were nominally recognized as Mexican territory, the successor to Nueva España, but they were not properly developed.
"The territory in the northwest? You mean Alta California?"
"Yes. It's a large part of our Mexican Empire, and it's known for its good weather and being a good place to live, but it's not properly developed, so I want to develop it."
"That's nonsense. Do you know how far away that land is? It will take at least four to six months just to get there. You're the Crown Prince, so you'd be better off doing something else than wasting that time on the road. You're smart, so why don't you study more during that time? I'll send you to any school you want."
"I don't want to go either."
It's not that I want to go because of the romantic word "Gold Rush." It's too far from here to California to go just for romance.
The straight-line distance from Mexico City to Sacramento, one of the centers of the Gold Rush, is a whopping 3,000 km.
Even if you walk 40 km a day, it will take 75 days, and you can't go in a straight line, so you have to go around, and you have to rest and get supplies along the way, so it will take 5 months.
But there's a reason I have to go.
"There aren't as many options as I thought."
Even with my civil engineering skills, I can't ask the Mexican government to commission civil engineering projects that I don't even know about, especially since there are no related laws. Should I convince my father to start a national reform or industrialization? The conservatives, who are Agustin I's supporters, will immediately object.
Industrialization requires a large workforce, so it inevitably leads to urbanization.
"The loss of tenant farmers is a traditional trigger for landowners. It's crazy to turn the conservatives against us when the republicans are still alive."
Should I just wait until I become an adult and slowly prepare for the future while attending school?
That's tantamount to suicide. I have to do something during this time. Even if it means wasting time on the ground.
I refined my arguments to convince my father.
"If we can secure our territorial rights to the California region, it's worth it. The Americans have been expanding westward relentlessly since the Louisiana Purchase. If we continue to leave it empty, the Americans will settle there and claim it as their own. Then, the American government will use that justification to pressure us. I heard that Americans are gradually entering Texas, and if we leave them alone, there will definitely be problems."
"If that's the case, why don't you just have the government promote development instead of going yourself?"
I want to do that! I don't want to go that far, I just want to use people to find out where the gold is and have them bring it back!
"If we say that we're going to develop it as a national policy, the members of Congress will definitely oppose it. The conservatives will hate it too. Even if you push it through, you should spend your time and energy on national normalization and constitution drafting instead. If I do it with my own money and time, the members of Congress will have no reason to oppose it."
"Ha, I never imagined it would be a request like this... I promised to grant your request, so I will. But don't ever leave the escort I'll assign you."
Agustin I looked troubled, but I imagined a future glittering with gold.
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