**Chapter 24**
**The Return of Spain (5)**
The fleet returned after only a few weeks.
The fleet itself seemed intact, but the Spanish nobles were filled with anxiety.
Wasn’t this too short a time to conquer the vast Mexican Empire?
Why was the fleet returning so soon when it should have been supporting the army?
As expected, bad news arrived.
“A crushing defeat! An army of 10,000 men, all at once… I… I… these incompetent fools…”
Thump!
Fernando VII fainted while listening to the battle report.
He couldn’t accept the horrific reality, the complete opposite of the bright future he had imagined for months.
“A doctor! Call a doctor!”
“Carry His Majesty!”
Even in the midst of the chaos, some nobles desperately sought information.
“Admiral Morales, is all this true?”
“Yes… It seems we were defeated in a single battle, tricked and ambushed by that Mexican Empire’s Crown Prince.”
“General Barradas isn’t that incompetent. How could…”
“So, what did those bastards demand from us?”
“…I can’t disclose that now. I’ll reveal it when His Majesty wakes up. I’ll come back tomorrow.”
As Admiral Morales was about to leave the palace with a weary expression, a group of nobles stopped him.
“Admiral! What about our sons? Everyone’s panicking, saying they can’t find them!”
“My son too!”
“They are prisoners of the Mexican Empire.”
“What? Wait!”
Admiral Morales left, uttering only those words.
The next day.
Fernando VII, who had regained consciousness thanks to the doctors’ devoted care, faced a harsher ordeal.
“They’re holding 350 nobles hostage? They’ll send them all to the mines to die working there for the rest of their lives if we don’t accept these terms… How can people be so cruel? Does the Mexican Empire have no honor!”
Fernando VII almost fainted again, but he endured with the power of his surging anger. How dare they do such a terrible thing to the noble blood of Spain.
“Yes, the Mexican Empire clearly has no honor!”
“The international community wouldn’t accept such a dishonorable threat!”
The nobles joined in.
Like people who wanted to forget the fact that they had lost an invasion war after pouring all their resources into it, they were calling for an appeal to the international community, invoking a nonexistent honor.
They called it the international community, but they were simply relying on their backers, the French.
France wouldn’t tolerate Mexico demanding such terms from Spain.
Admiral Morales, witnessing the scene before his eyes, was disgusted.
‘International community? Spain is finished. These fools were leading Spain? This is the result of seizing power by dragging in France.’
Admiral Morales also came from a noble family with a long history. But at that moment, he decided to join the liberal faction.
‘I should pressure them to sign a treaty of indemnity. This will completely destroy support for the Spanish royal family. And the nobles who instigated this war.’
“Your Majesty, the Mexican Empire’s Crown Prince said he would send the prisoners to the mines if the treaty of indemnity isn’t signed within seven weeks. We need a quick decision.”
“Seven weeks? That means we only have one or two weeks left at most. Listen! Summon the French ambassador immediately!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
The French ambassador’s response wasn’t what Fernando VII and the nobles had hoped for.
“Your Majesty, I’m sorry, but this is a matter between Mexico and Spain. We, the French, cannot intervene.”
“What are you saying now? You’ve been interfering everywhere until now. And wasn’t the Mexican attack carried out with France’s tacit approval!”
Fernando VII’s blunt language, as if he had thrown away all diplomatic rhetoric, wore down the French ambassador’s patience.
“England has intervened. In any case, I hope Spain will resolve this situation wisely. I’ll take my leave now.”
The French, who were their only hope, left like that, and the nobles split.
“Your Majesty! We need to sign the treaty immediately!”
“Are you crazy? Cuba, Cuba! Is it even reasonable to give away Cuba, which Spain has developed for hundreds of years?”
“Shut up! Your son ran away faster than anyone else and survived, but our son is being held honorably now!”
“He wasn’t held honorably, he was captured because he was slow! Your Majesty, we shouldn’t give away Cuba because of mere personal feelings. They don’t have the means to attack our mainland anyway!”
“What? Slow? Personal feelings? This bastard!”
The Spanish royal palace was filled with nobles shouting with red faces, even in front of the king.
It was utter chaos.
The nobles who hadn’t sent their sons or whose sons had successfully escaped capture in Mexico were adamantly against the treaty of indemnity.
The nobles whose sons were prisoners in Mexico, out of the 350, were in favor of the treaty of indemnity.
After a week, the conflict didn’t just end with shouting.
The nobles in favor of the indemnity began preparing to use force.
“Those traitors have finally gone mad.”
“Your Majesty, the situation is more serious than we thought. Rumors are circulating that they are in contact with the liberals.”
“What? Is that true? Even those who call themselves nobles… how could they…”
“Sadly, it seems to be true.”
Fernando VII and the nobles opposed to the indemnity, who had been holding out until the end, finally gave in.
If a full-scale conflict broke out after the news of defeat spread, it would be the end. The liberals wouldn’t miss this opportunity.
In the end, Admiral Morales crossed the Atlantic for the third time this year.
This time, he took the entire fleet with him, but it wasn’t carrying an army. It was carrying 50 diplomats and shipbuilding technicians.
***
The Mexican Empire’s first war, officially named the ‘Spanish Invasion of Mexico (Invasión española de México)’, ended.
The result was, of course, a victory for the Mexican Empire.
Spain handed over debt documents worth 10 million pesos, the fleet, shipbuilding technicians, and Cuba.
We also released the prisoners.
The debt documents were transferred to England, and England, as promised, forgave the debt.
Out of the 45 million pesos in debt, 25 million were owed to England, 15 million to France, and 10 million to the United States.
England had forgiven 11.5 million pesos out of the 25 million pesos owed to them.
‘Now we have 33.5 million pesos left. Sigh… This wasn’t even money we were supposed to pay back.’
The thought of the debt made me furious, but I forced myself to calm down.
It was a good day, so I would only think good thoughts.
“Our Mexican Empire Navy finally has a fleet.”
“Yes. The ratio of warships is a bit disappointing, but this is just the beginning. We’ve also brought in shipbuilding technicians.”
A fleet of two ships of the line, five frigates, three gunboats, and 45 transports.
The ships used to attack the Mexican Empire became our fleet.
The shipbuilding technicians, who had come to Mexico willingly or unwillingly, were provided with high wages and housing.
They were from Spain, so communication with our shipbuilding technicians was smooth, and they were adapting well.
“Cuba… I never thought we’d be able to get it.”
“I didn’t think about Cuba either. We were originally going to take only the three things besides Cuba, but they gave us so many nobles, so it became possible.”
“That’s all because you won.”
“Yes, Father.”
Agustín I patted my shoulder, looking proud.
When news of the victory and the treaty of indemnity spread, the entire Mexican Empire was engulfed in a festive atmosphere.
What kind of island was Cuba?
It was a port carefully nurtured by Spain, a cherished farm. Its economic, strategic, and symbolic significance was enormous.
Even when Spain’s American colonies were all falling apart, they kept Cuba. That’s what we took.
Many Mexicans had a complex feeling of annoyance towards the peninsulars, but they also secretly envied them.
This feeling had somewhat subsided with independence, but now, most of the inferiority and envy had been resolved.
The result was national pride.
What was the biggest drawback of a monarchy?
Even the most brilliant king could have a terrible successor. In other words, the son could be worse than the father. If that happened, the future of the country would be bleak, regardless of the current king’s abilities.
“His Imperial Majesty achieved independence and stabilized the empire. His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince will lead the empire to prosperity!”
“Yes. The son of a lion is indeed a lion!”
The anxiety about the successor had been completely resolved.
The victory celebration and medal ceremony held in the Zócalo (Constitution Square).
“Long live the Mexican Empire!! Long live the Iturbide dynasty!!”
“Long live!”
“Long live the Mexican Empire!! Long live the Iturbide dynasty!!”
The event was delayed for a long time because of the citizens constantly shouting “Long live”.
“Now, the medal ceremony will begin. Please be quiet for a moment, citizens.”
The defending army officers, including Major Jorge, received medals and promotions to the next rank.
Lorenzo, who had joined the Spanish army under false pretenses to carry out the deception operation, and the junior officers received promotions to the next two ranks.
“Your Majesty, when you included me in the operation, I thought you were trying to kill me.”
“That’s impossible. I was just trying to take care of my classmate. I’m hurt by this!”
“I went through the trouble of deceiving them, and then you put me on the front lines. I thought I was going to die from friendly fire.”
“That’s why I hit them from the rear.”
“Hehehe. Thank you.”
The republican members of parliament were furious.
“The emperor, and now his son, too, has military talent.”
“It’s not just military talent. Have you forgotten how he was disgraced in parliament? And I heard he even invented things while making time at the military academy.”
“Damn it, he’s a monster.”
“Yes, he is a monster. We, the republicans, must restrain the Crown Prince for the sake of our future.”
“How can we restrain him in the current situation? And I heard you bought dozens of mechanical reapers?”
“Ahem…”
***
The Mexican Empire mobilized 5,000 soldiers to take over Cuba.
They launched a large-scale landing operation using the fleet they received from Spain.
Normally, this wouldn’t be necessary because ownership is transferred through an inter-state treaty, but the Mexican Empire was different.
“From now on, everything owned by Spaniards in this land belongs to the Mexican Empire government. Don’t miss a single sack of corn. Understood?”
“Yes! We’ll leave immediately.”
Spain protested, but the Mexican Empire didn’t listen. The policy regarding personal ownership of ceded territory was up to each country.
Sometimes they left personal ownership as it was, sometimes they offered some compensation, and sometimes they took it away without compensation.
The Mexican Empire, as before, didn’t touch the property of the British, French, or Americans, and only confiscated the property of the Spaniards.
‘The relationship with Spain is already broken beyond repair, and it won’t be restored for at least ten years. If diplomatic relations were to be restored by leaving things as they are, it wouldn’t make sense to leave them alone.’
Having done it once before, they landed simultaneously across Cuba, quickly moved goods, and transported them to Mexico City through Havana, the capital and largest port.
It was the Mexican Empire Navy’s first operation, so they encountered some setbacks, but they gradually began to gain experience.
Cuba is a huge island. Its area is about 110,000 square kilometers, slightly larger than South Korea’s 100,000 square kilometers.
Most of the farms on this vast land became property of the Mexican Empire government.
The empire’s territory increased from 4,920,000 square kilometers to 5,030,000 square kilometers, adding 110,000 square kilometers.
‘It has some desert terrain, but unlike Russia or Canada in the original history, most of it isn’t unusable land because it’s too cold. Most of it is habitable land.’
The vast potential of the Mexican Empire.
To unleash that potential as quickly as possible, there was no time to rest.
The festive atmosphere throughout the Mexican Empire continued for more than a month after the victory celebration, but I didn’t enjoy it. I boarded a ship to England.
“Set sail.”
The salute announcing departure echoed throughout the area.
The salty wind embraced the fully unfurled sails.
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