**Chapter 81**
**Central Bank and Marina (8)**
Charles X of France, despite following a conservative policy, suppressed popular discontent by training ordinary soldiers with money received from Mexico. However, money alone could not solve the people's problems.
The initial fear of ordinary soldiers, armed with the most modern weaponry, was short-lived: the discontent of the people, repressed for a long time, finally erupted and led to a massive popular uprising.
The September Revolution of 1831 in France saw Charles X abdicate and the "citizen king" Louis Philippe ascend to the throne.
True to his title, the Citizen King adopted a more liberal and citizen-centered political approach, achieving political stability and economic growth after the turbulent post-Napoleonic period.
"Has the money sent by Mexicans decreased?"
Luis Felipe asked François Guizot, the current French Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The money sent from Mexico was crucial for France. He contributed significantly to the government's finances and helped strengthen the French army and restore order.
France was gradually recovering its influence and extending its reach to various countries, but no country offered as much to exploit as Mexico.
“Yes, Your Majesty. After we "adjusted" the amount that Mexico sent last time, the amount they send has been decreasing and now they are just giving explanations without even paying the interest."
This money was also important to Luis Felipe and his closest collaborators because they obtained illicit funds by "adjusting" the amount sent from Mexico.
-Tsk. Those bastards are getting cocky after beating Spain. Looks like they need a good beating. They will know their place when all their ports are on fire.
It seemed that Luis Felipe had complaints about the "adjustment", and he and the French politicians had no intention of letting it go.
"Won't England intervene? He sided with Mexico during the Spanish period and since then no non-aggression treaty has been signed. Its trade volume with the two countries is also significant”.
“No, England will never allow a full-blown invasion, but it is likely that she will accept a small punishment and force them to pay their debts. They are in the same position as us, as creditors”.
England would not sit idly by as Mexico refused to pay its debts, especially if France was involved in punishing them.
François Guizot signed the agreement.
“Then the best thing is to let the amount grow. After all, compound interest will continue to increase the debt.”
That's how it was. That was the idea.
- Yes. We should collect all the accumulated debt and a considerable war indemnity. I heard that the Mexican government has many farms. If they lack money, we can force them to pay those farms and that should be enough.
Luis Felipe smiled without hiding his greed.
***
Finally, the negotiations, which had been going back and forth, came to an end, and the British ambassador, Richard Pakenham, said:
"It was a pleasant conversation. I will go now, Your Majesty."
“Take care.”
I dismissed him feeling exhausted.
"It takes a lot of negotiation just to be able to finish this."
I didn't ask England to help us fight France one day. It is not yet the time to fight and it is a request that England would not grant.
"Basically, you've already paid off the debt. You've worked hard, Your Majesty."
Diego brought me refreshments while I sat there exhausted.
"Haha, I didn't know that returning the money could be so difficult."
The negotiation I had with the British ambassador was that the Mexican Empire would pay all its debts to England. Wouldn't it be nice if the creditor was paid? That is only valid for common and current creditors.
"I've heard of moneylenders doing shady things to avoid getting paid, but these guys, who claim to be the strongest nation in the world, are being very petty."
"I never thought that we would have to beg them to take the money from us. It's not like we're paying with paper money, but with silver coins, like before."
Diego's expression was one of bewilderment.
"They probably wanted to maintain their position of superiority as creditors."
After the finances of our government became abundant due to the issue of notes, we began to buy silver coins in the market to pay the debts to the United States and England.
We had been diligently paying the principal and interest, but the ships we sent to England were still refused entry.
At first, we believed England's excuses, but over time we realized they weren't true. They were deliberately returning our ships because they didn't want us to pay any more debts.
"Well, they probably couldn't imagine that a country could actually pay off such a large debt."
The era of full-fledged imperialism had not yet arrived; it was just getting started. But was it only in the era of imperialism that powerful nations imposed unreasonable demands on weaker nations?
It was common for powerful nations like England and France, and even not so powerful countries in Europe, to force several countries around the world to unreasonably go into debt with meaningless justifications, ultimately seeking greater profits.
“But it's still better than France, isn't it? They keep the money and then deceive us by saying that it is empty”.
"It's even sadder that it's like this. But this has been confirmed: if we submit to the French, we will live a real hell".
Even England, which had no scruples, did not shamelessly extort us like France. The interest rates were outrageously high, but we had diligently tried to pay back the principal and interest. The problem was that if we continued to put up with his shameless extortion, we wouldn't know where it would end.
The problem is not the extortion itself, but that they do not hide that they have no intention of letting us go. If we try to pay a large sum blindly, the amount extorted from us will only increase.
"It seems you are planning to continue without paying them."
We still owe France 10 million pesos. They are calculating the interest with compound interest, so it must have increased significantly by now. I have no intention of paying this debt.
“Yes. It wasn't just my decision, my father and the Minister of Finance came to the same conclusion. If we want to avoid suffering another humiliation like this, we have no other option but to strengthen ourselves".
If we add up all the money we owe to France, it would be at least 20 million pesos, at least. With that money we could buy several battleships. With that money we will build a fleet, fight, pay off the debt and even collect what is owed to us.
With that resolution, I got up to report the results.
***
"So, how did the negotiations go?"
My father was waiting for me when I got to my office. I knew that today I was going to negotiate personally with the British ambassador.
"Yes, we finally agreed on 7 million pesos."
There was a moment of silence.
“Is my old age making me deaf? Didn't you say before that we only had 3 million pesos of debt left?"
My father asked, as if he wanted to deny what he had just heard.
"From England's point of view, they have received the money and put an end to the debt relationship. They will probably consider it a gesture of good will, as if they were close friends. They know that our naval power has been increasing lately, so they have made a long-term decision."
"They received 7 million pesos, not even double the 3 million, do they call that good will?"
My father summed up the absurdity and injustice he had experienced during the two-hour negotiation.
"From England's perspective, that's what it is."
"Haha. Well, now that it's over, it's better than France. At least the United States voluntarily accepted the capital and interest and ended the matter. We should be grateful for that."
Surprisingly, the United States immediately ended the debt relationship. They probably didn't want to face us, since they shared a border and were in the middle of a war with the natives.
My father accepted the reality and said:
"And now, are they going to carry out that 'population census' I talked about?"
"Yes, we cannot negotiate with France at this time, so we will concentrate on internal affairs and strengthen our army."
We are not going to fight France right now. In fact, the later we fight the better. Our fleet has begun to expand and our shipyards and technicians continue to grow.
With enough money for the government, the fleet will continue to grow and naval officers and sailors will continue to train and gain experience.
"It's good to know how many people there were in the Mexican Empire, but don't we already know roughly? Each church keeps records".
It's true As in Europe, in the Mexican Empire we have inherited Spanish culture and churches play an important role as archives. Important events, such as births, marriages and deaths, are recorded in church records and, until now, population censuses have been nothing more than a compilation of these records.
“I want more detailed information than that. The information that the churches have does not include information about immigrants from America, Europe and South America. There are also those who joined after independence, the regions of Central America, the growing number of independent farmers from the north, the indigenous people who have become subjects of the Mexican Empire and the indigenous people who have not been registered in the churches. We need to identify all these people and have our government manage them in a unified way."
“Well, that would be nice, but it won't be easy. Some might argue that there is no benefit in going through all this trouble."
A population census wouldn't face fierce opposition from the legislature or the Church, but it wouldn't do them any favors either. They will surely try to oppose it, but we will have to move on.
"Yes, it will not be easy and it will cost a lot, but the benefits are substantial. Once we understand it, it will be useful for us to formulate various policies and development plans. The most important thing is that we will be able to collect taxes more effectively. From our perspective, it will also help us take on some of the functions of the church."
It is frustrating for the leaders of a country to have to manage a country without properly knowing its population.
The population of the Mexican Empire is not very large, but considering our vast territory, a lot of time and money will be needed. I haven't been able to do it until now, but the construction of the railways has made it much easier, and since the government has money, we should do it now.
"We have to squeeze every last drop of manpower."
My father nodded in agreement with my persuasion.
"Yes. We don't lack money and, if it benefits the country, there's nothing wrong with doing it. I'm also curious about the population size. This can be approved with an executive order without legislation and is a valid reason for the government, so we can implement it without further ado."
My father gave his approval.
We can't do a completely accurate population census like in modern times, but if we invest enough manpower and money, we can get usable results.
'Since we are, we should study not only the distribution of the population, but also the age groups, gender, race and occupation.'
We will have the most accurate information on the structure of the population compared to any other country at this time. This is information that can help a lot in the real management of the country.
"You're exciting."
If there is still labor that is used inefficiently, we have to squeeze it to the last drop.
Gran capitulo
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