**Chapter 84**
**The Oil Industry and the Census (3)**
Carlos, a census taker from the Mexican Empire, a mestizo, was sent to the southern region of the Empire, Central America.
Clank- Clank-
“I was a little worried because I was assigned to the southernmost part of the south, but thankfully, there's a railroad connection.”
A fellow census taker, trying to lighten the awkward atmosphere among the team members after the assignment, offered a positive remark, but the response wasn't entirely good. There was a grumpy colleague.
“So what? The railroad doesn't even reach Costa Rica.”
‘What a negative guy. There are people going even further than us.’
To reach northern California, it was a whopping 3,000 kilometers, and the railroad only reached southern California, they said. How nervous I was when I heard that.
It wasn't northern California, but the place I was assigned was still far. From Mexico City to the southernmost part of the Mexican Empire, the border of Costa Rica, it was about 1,900 kilometers, and the railroad only reached Nicaragua, which was further north. That meant there was a significant distance to travel on horseback. But Carlos thought it wasn't bad.
‘Anyway, I get paid for the time I work, so it's not all good to finish quickly and take a break, is it?’
Thus, a total of 15 people arrived in Costa Rica, including colleagues from the same team, soldiers who were bodyguards, and a government official who was the team leader.
“This is Costa Rica.”
“Yes, it's one of the Central American regions that joined after Mexican independence.”
For a while, they were amazed, as if they were on a trip, but after visiting the local government office and asking for cooperation, the team members scattered in groups of two or three and started their actual investigation.
Carlos, along with another colleague and two bodyguards, started to move towards the border city on horseback.
He got along well with his colleague, as they were the only two who had applied for the border area, so they had similar personalities.
“···Is something wrong with my eyes?”
It was a journey going down south, meticulously scanning from the top of the southern border of the empire. So far, the population was extremely sparse, as it was the border. Even though there were only four people in the group, they were worried about criminals like bandits, but there were so few people that they didn't even encounter any criminals.
The two revolvers issued to all soldiers were never taken out of their holsters, and the leather armor and short swords issued to the census takers for self-defense had been hanging on the horse saddles for a long time. It had been five months already.
“···No, I think I'm seeing things.”
They had already heard about ‘Paso Canoas,’ a border city located in the middle of the border line, from the local government officials in San Jose, the regional capital, but they had only heard that it was a ‘border city.’
“This is···. Isn't it bigger than San Jose?”
The city had the typical appearance of a Mexican city, with Spanish colonial style and a touch of local indigenous characteristics, but the problem was its size.
“Yes. Just looking at the size of the city, the population must be at least fifteen thousand.”
His colleague replied.
Even the soldiers who had been with them for the past time were dumbfounded and joined the conversation.
“I haven't heard that there's such a big city on the border.”
The truth about the size of this city was soon revealed.
“Are all these people from Colombia?”
“Yes. About 80% of them are from Colombia.”
The local government official replied to Carlos' question. He was also a Colombian immigrant, and he became a local government official in the Mexican Empire because he could read and write Spanish.
The situation has changed a bit now, as more and more people can speak Spanish, but until five years ago, you could become a government official if you could only read and write Spanish and do simple arithmetic.
“Why did so many people come over to Mexico?”
Everyone knows now that the Mexican Empire has a welcoming attitude towards immigrants, but as far as Carlos knew, the immigrants recruited by South American immigration companies were taken by boat to Veracruz port, and then sent to various parts of the Mexican Empire by the immigration office there. But how could there be over ten thousand immigrants in a border city out of the blue?
“The collapse of Gran Colombia was a big factor. We also had hope right after independence, like Mexico. We had a leader named Simon Bolivar, and we dreamed of a huge federation like the United States.”
He started talking about the history from right after Colombian independence, reminiscing about the past. Most of it was irrelevant, but Carlos patiently listened to it all.
‘Simon Bolivar,’ an outstanding leader who liberated a vast territory in northern South America from Spain in 1819, three years earlier than Mexico, and ‘Gran Colombia,’ which he led, dreamed of a huge federation like the United States.
Simon Bolivar tried to centralize the fragmented country right after independence to normalize it, but local power holders opposed centralization and demanded decentralization, even going as far as demanding local separation, and the center and the provinces clashed.
In this situation, economic hardship, social instability, and the intervention of external forces who didn't want another country like the United States to be born led Gran Colombia to its demise.
“Even after it disintegrated, the situation didn't improve much. No, it actually got worse and worse, and the rumor spread that the Mexican Empire, which speaks the same Spanish, is a good place to live. It was a tempting rumor for people living near the Mexican Empire. As time passed, it was confirmed that the rumor was true, and people flocked here.”
“···I see.”
‘There were no talented people like His Majesty, the Emperor, and His Highness, the Crown Prince, in South America. Well, such people are not common anywhere.’
Carlos simply evaluated the long story of Gran Colombia.
“But are there enough jobs to support fifteen thousand people living in this city?”
Carlos asked a curious question.
“Most of them make a living through trade. Colombia is full of things they lack, so anything you sell here sells well. Plus, there are landlords who recently built factories near here and hired Colombians, so there are plenty of jobs.”
Even though it was the southernmost part of the empire, Costa Rica had also changed as the Mexican Empire stabilized and developed. Government officials were dispatched from the beginning of independence to form an administrative network, governors and judges were assigned, and the budget for the local government was also allocated generously.
The initial chaos in security gradually improved, and mechanical harvesting of various crops was also introduced. Rios Express opened a branch, and merchants came in.
Most of the Colombians who came over to Mexico moved further north, but many also stayed in this city.
“No, they didn't come over officially through an immigration company, they just crossed the border and settled down. Can we just leave it like this?”
Carlos' colleague asked in a questioning tone.
It's one thing for the man in front of him who was officially employed as a government official, but what about the others? It's a dilemma for them, who have to conduct a census, how to handle this.
“Well, the local government of Costa Rica has ordered that they allow immigration as long as they obey Mexican law and pay taxes properly. The central government's policy is also in the direction of accepting as many immigrants as possible, so there shouldn't be any problems, right?”
“···Even so, how can they proceed with immigration without the central government's permission? I think we should report this to the center and get their judgment.”
The government official who came over from Colombia tried to brush it off, but Carlos said firmly.
Since Rios Express is here, we can just send a letter.
Carlos decided to temporarily suspend the investigation.
***
“Extra! Extra!”
A boy was walking around the carriages of the train heading to Texas, selling newspapers, with the news that oil drilling had been successful.
“Is it about France?”
Diego, who bought a newspaper at my words, unfolded it.
“Yes, Your Highness. It's about France.”
The fact that France officially demanded the repayment of a huge amount of debt was not something that could be controlled, even though we could have done so.
It was a strategic reason.
There were bodyguards, but we didn't charter the carriages of the train, so there were other passengers, and I could hear them muttering.
“How can a debt of ten million pesos become twenty million pesos in just two years!”
A young man who bought a newspaper at the word ‘extra’ immediately burst into anger.
“Even with compound interest, it's an outrageous level of usury. There's no such thing as a loan shark.”
A person who seemed to be his companion agreed.
“No, even loan sharks don't do this these days. Didn't various financial regulations come into effect after the central bank was established?”
“Ah, that's right, I forgot. In that case, even loan sharks who lend at the maximum interest rate wouldn't do this.”
“Yes. It's usury at a criminal level! Those French bastards are being thugs, aren't they?”
Yes, that's exactly the reaction I wanted.
‘We'll end up going to war, so we have to let our people know to some extent.’
If they had suddenly seen an article saying they had been declared war on, wouldn't they be shocked and terrified?
This article was written in a critical tone towards France, regardless of the political affiliation of the media company, so anyone with patriotism would have to be angry, but there were also side effects. Not everyone was just angry.
“But what if France really starts a war? We're weaker than Britain, but aren't they much stronger than us?”
At the companion's words, filled with fear, the young man who had expressed anger was taken aback, but he pointed to the end of the article and said.
“Doesn't it say here that France can't act rashly because of Britain's existence? It also says that they have paid off all the debts they owed to Britain, so France won't be able to start a war.”
“Is that so? Hmm···.”
Most citizens were angry at France's atrocities, as intended by the media, but there were also quite a few who felt anxious.
‘It's common sense for them to feel anxious.’
I had already prepared myself to face France, and the plans for that were progressing steadily, so I didn't feel much anxiety, but the citizens could.
They arrived in Texas a day after they left.
The oil drilling site in Texas.
“The initial work is already underway.”
“Yes, it was planned in advance, and all the materials were prepared, so we started construction right away.”
Armando replied.
We couldn't see the scene of black water shooting up into the sky, which is often associated with successful oil drilling.
This was because the initial processing had already been completed by the time the messenger Armando sent to me arrived in Mexico City, and I, after hearing the report, traveled to Texas.
“You've worked really hard all this time.”
I patted Armando on the shoulder, who had been digging up the ground for 20 months.
“Ugh. Ahem. Ahem. No.”
Armando seemed to be choked up, as if he was remembering the past hardships, but he held it in.
“···Yes. A hefty reward awaits you, so look forward to it. Is the oil refinery ready to operate?”
“Yes, Your Highness. We prepared everything in advance, so it wasn't difficult to prepare. The crude oil storage tanks are already being filled.”
The oil refinery was just a basic distillation unit, but it was enough to extract kerosene.
Chemists at the Imperial University were researching to create a more advanced machine, but they couldn't experiment because they didn't have any oil.
“I'll have plenty of crude oil sent to the university for experiments.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The world's first oil industry has begun. This has a meaning beyond just making money by selling kerosene.
‘From here, we take a step ahead.’
***
When I returned to Mexico City, there was one more piece of good news waiting for me.
The census was successfully completed.
There were various issues along the way, but they weren't difficult to handle, and now, all that was left was to compile the collected data.
The wait, filled with worry and anticipation, was over, and the final report reached me.