Chapter 83
The Oil Industry and the Census (2)
February 1838.
As usual, I was working in the palace office when Diego came to inform me of the progress of various projects, and he brought news that many of the seeds we had sown were bearing fruit.
“It's rare to receive three pieces of good news at once.”
The news was that the opening ceremony and enrollment ceremony of the Imperial University, the launching ceremony of the monitor ship, and the completion ceremonies of the third shipyard in Cuba and the fourth shipyard in the Yucatan Peninsula would all be held this month. All of them were projects that would take years to complete.
“Yes, Your Highness. It seems that you can only attend one event due to time constraints. The locations are Morelia, Veracruz, Cuba, and the Yucatan Peninsula, all far apart. For your reference, His Majesty will attend the opening ceremony and enrollment ceremony of the Imperial University.”
“Is that so? Oh, I was going to go to the university too…”
I wasn't particularly interested in shipyards because I had seen many of them already, and while I wanted to see the world's first monitor ship, it wasn't as important as the university. I had visited once right after its completion, but since the Emperor himself was attending the opening ceremony and enrollment ceremony, the campus would be decorated accordingly.
After a moment of contemplation, I said.
“I'll send my younger brothers to the monitor ship and shipyard events.”
It would be a bit awkward if no one from the royal family attended such a significant event. My younger brothers are old enough to work, so I might as well put them to work on this occasion.
“Yes, I will convey that.”
***
Although the overall construction was far from complete, the completed buildings and the distances between them were beautifully decorated.
The students' faces were all bright when they saw the university for the first time, and for good reason. The beautiful campus, filled with massive, majestic buildings, would make me excited if I were a student. And it's not just any university, it's going to be the most prestigious university in the Mexican Empire.
“It seems all the students have gathered.”
“Yes, it seems like it will start soon.”
I arrived early to take a look around, and before I knew it, the opening ceremony and the first enrollment ceremony were about to begin.
The students were not just the children of the Mexican Empire's landowning class, but from various backgrounds, a result of my influence.
The children of the managers and executives of my company, and the children of the technicians and professors brought in from abroad, made up half of the student body. This was possible because the first year, this year, only had an engineering department, and among the landowning class, the engineering department wasn't very popular.
“Thankfully, we have filled all the professor positions before the start of the semester, Your Highness.”
“Yes, it wasn't easy. In the end, we had to send our company's technicians to the university as professors, even though it was heartbreaking.”
“Yes, it's a pity, but they can continue their research at the university, so it's a choice we have to make for the future.”
The engineering department's sub-specializations started with eight: mechanical engineering, civil engineering, mining engineering, chemical engineering, electrical engineering, ocean engineering, military engineering, and metallurgy. It might seem small, but it was the result of me pushing for as many as possible, as ambitiously as I could.
Many of the majors in modern engineering universities hadn't even emerged yet, and emerging fields like electricity, which had only recently emerged, were extremely difficult to find professors for.
There were people who could teach mechanical, civil, mining, ocean, and military engineering both domestically and in America and Europe, so finding professors was relatively easy, but professors to teach electrical and metallurgical engineering were extremely difficult to find, and we had to find them in Europe with great difficulty.
‘Those who have established themselves in their respective countries wouldn't come to the Mexican Empire even if you paid them a lot of money, so we had no choice but to bring in doctoral students who haven't yet established themselves.’
The civil engineering department also included general architecture, which was common in Europe and America in my previous life, and in Korea, there was a gradual movement to integrate it, so it wasn't unusual. In this field, Ortega Construction's architects knew the most advanced construction methods and technologies in the world, so we recruited from within the company rather than from outside.
“Oh, Your Highness, as you mentioned before, we told the chemistry professors about the ‘research project’ on oil refining technology, and their response was more positive than expected.”
“Oh, is that so? That's good. Then proceed with drafting the contract quickly.”
“Yes, I understand.”
As is the case with modern university professors, university professors of this era also conduct personal research in addition to teaching students. However, rather than undertaking specific research projects at the behest of the government or corporations, they typically focus more on pursuing their personal interests and academic curiosity.
That's why I had Diego talk to the chemistry professors about the research project and see their reaction, and it seems that the response was more positive than expected, perhaps because of the large amount of money offered.
‘Well, the early oil industry didn't really need that much advanced refining technology.’
The earliest oil industry produced only one product: kerosene, which can be extracted using a very basic refining method.
“First, show them the data on the distillation equipment we've designed, and propose a contract for research to improve its efficiency in extracting a wider variety of products.”
“Then, the contract should include a clause on confidentiality.”
“Of course, since we're funding the entire research, the results should belong to the company. We can give them some incentives though.”
“Yes, I understand.”
In the early oil industry, refining was simply a process of heating to a specific temperature, evaporating, and then condensing the vapor. This level of technology was enough to produce products like kerosene, gasoline, and paraffin wax depending on the temperature.
Among these, gasoline didn't find a use until the invention of the internal combustion engine, and was often discarded, while paraffin wax was limited in its use in candles and basic waterproofing coatings.
Even so, the oil industry was profitable from the start, thanks to kerosene, the real money-maker.
At this time, ‘oil’ itself was a huge attraction. People have always had the desire to light up the night, but traditional lighting fuels such as animal fat, whale oil, beeswax, and various vegetable oils were expensive because they were produced in small quantities.
In this situation, kerosene, the ‘first oil that could be mass-produced’, was a huge hit, making it common for people to light up the night, something that had previously been a privilege of the wealthy.
While oil extraction and refining weren't very efficient, making the production cost not low, it was still significantly cheaper than oil extracted from animals and plants, leading to enormous profitability.
‘The power of reverse-culture shock is terrifying.’
Even though people had lived their whole lives without lighting up the night, once they bought and used kerosene, it would become something they couldn't live without.
It might be too much for ordinary people to use on a daily basis, but it would become common to have it on hand as an excuse for emergencies.
***
June 1838.
The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially demanded that the Mexican Empire repay the 20 million pesos in debt that had accumulated over time.
“How is it possible that the debt has increased from 10 million pesos to 20 million pesos in just two years? Please disclose the accurate accounting books.”
The Mexican ambassador asked with a bewildered expression, but French Foreign Minister François Guizot dismissed it with a brazen face.
“Are you saying that we, the French, are committing fraud?”
This wasn't a conversation, it was a blatant challenge. The Mexican ambassador responded as instructed from his home country, not even bothering with diplomatic language or even a minimum of courtesy.
“Our Mexican Empire has already paid the money borrowed from France and the interest corresponding to the interest rate stipulated in the contract, and we cannot acknowledge the existence of this debt.”
“You're crazy!”
François Guizot blurted out a curse, taken aback by the Mexican ambassador's unexpected and absurd response. He took a deep breath and pressed the Mexican ambassador again in a calm voice.
“You seem to be relying on England, but do you think England will let you off the hook for not paying your debts? They're more likely to side with us, aren't they?”
“Oh, you're slow on information. Our Mexican Empire has already paid off all its debts to the British Empire and settled the debt relationship over a year ago.”
“What? There's no way that's true.”
It's a lie. There's no way England would let them off the hook for paying their debts so easily. But the Mexican ambassador remained calm.
“Why don't you check with the British side directly?”
The Mexican ambassador, calm in the face of pressure from a great power like France. François Guizot glared at him, then gave a perfunctory greeting and left the room.
He didn't even go back to his office, but went straight to the British embassy, only to have the British once again betray his expectations.
‘They let them pay off the debt with just 7 million pesos? Why? And they settled the debt relationship with over twice that amount to England, but why won't they pay us, France?’
After hearing the facts from the British, François Guizot initially felt a sense of emptiness and confusion, but gradually anger welled up inside him.
‘Are they ignoring us, France?’
“If you are thinking of using military force against Mexico, give it up. The British Empire will not tolerate it.”
The British ambassador, seeing François Guizot suddenly appear, ask about the debt relationship with Mexico, and then turn red with anger, realized the French intentions and immediately warned him.
It was a warning to not act rashly.
“… Are you saying that England is willing to go to war for Mexico?”
“It could be, or it could not be. But do not forget that the British Empire has objected.”
England had no intention of going to war with France for Mexico, but what mattered was prestige.
Mexico wasn't a significant entity to England, but they had bowed down first, and they had some use as a country that could potentially check America in North America.
It would be a blow to the British Empire's prestige if France attacked Mexico and benefited from it.
Just on the basis of those facts, the British Empire could warn France.
“… That is a matter for us, France, to decide.”
François Guizot said that and left the embassy, but he couldn't ignore England. He went straight to Louis-Philippe to report.
“… There was a reason why the Mexicans were so bold.”
It was a bolt from the blue for Louis-Philippe, who had been waiting to extort money from Mexico.
“Yes, Your Majesty. I apologize.”
“No, it's alright. Someday, when England is no longer able to protect Mexico, Mexico will pay the price.”
“Yes, those pirates will soon go to war, so we should wait for that opportunity.”
If we wait, the opportunity will come, and we can collect the accumulated interest. That's what Louis-Philippe thought.
***
The fact that France had officially demanded repayment of the enormous amount of debt spread through the media, causing a stir in the Mexican Empire.
“Wasn't that expected? What's next?”
“They finally succeeded in drilling for oil in Texas.”
Diego said.
“No! You should have told me that first! Let's go!”
The result of pouring a huge amount of money into the ground for 20 months.
The work had been going on for over a year and a half, and the workers' morale was visibly plummeting. They were instructed to dig up the ground to find this black liquid they had never seen before, and when nothing came out, how disheartening it must have been.
I immediately boarded a train to Texas.