**Chapter 88**
**Mexican-French War (3)**
August 1839.
The Emperor's speech, which received tremendous applause in the Constitution Square of Mexico City, was soon spread throughout the country through the media.
Not only pro-Emperor media, but even media influenced by the landowners' party and the Republicans described the speech positively. That's because this incident, the French invasion, instilled a sense of crisis in people regardless of their political stance or social class.
"Should I join the navy? They said they're recruiting in Mexico City, right?"
"Yeah. We have to go quickly before all the train tickets are sold out."
Two young men, their blood boiling after reading the Emperor's speech in the newspaper, abandoned their farming and declared to their families that they would join the navy.
Their families tried to dissuade them, but they couldn't break the will of the young men once it was ignited, and eventually, the two young men arrived in Mexico City.
"Crazy, are all these people here to enlist?"
The young man asked his friend, but the answer came from somewhere else.
"Everyone go back! Recruitment is already over! Don't line up, go back!"
The recruiter shouted.
Due to the nature of the navy, which doesn't have a local army, sailors were only recruited in a few cities, including the capital, Mexico City, and the first port, Veracruz.
Even then, an incredible number of enlistees flocked from all over the country, something that was possible thanks to the railroad.
"Oh... It seems like we're out of luck."
"Damn."
It was actually a natural thing. The navy doesn't need as many troops as the army, and the training period is longer, so they've been slowly increasing their troops in preparation for war over the past few years. It's not a situation where they need to recruit a large number of troops suddenly just because they've been declared war on.
This war was expected to be overwhelmingly dominated by naval battles rather than land battles, so there was no need to recruit troops for the army either.
Many young men, their hearts burning after reading the speech, kept coming, and the situation was repeated, but the Crown Prince saw it as an opportunity, not a waste.
"Write an article, saying that enlistees are flocking in from all over the country. Include that not only criollos and mestizos, but also immigrants, Indians, and even blacks have enlisted, and that some of them have been selected for the navy."
It's true that most of them are criollos and mestizos, but there were also those who were born in Europe but immigrated to Mexico and became young men, natives who became city workers after being freed from large farms, natives from the north who were forced to become Mexican citizens but lived a more affluent life than before, and blacks who were slaves one day and free men the next, a variety of people applied to volunteer.
"Yes, Your Highness. I'll write an article about the patriots who have gathered for the country."
Niseto Samacois, the editor of "Simplicio's Sword," which was already famous but has now become a nationwide newspaper, answered.
It was a strategy to create a sense of unity and integration in the Mexican Empire, which inevitably had differences between classes, and to emphasize national unity.
As the article praising the young men who applied to volunteer spread, people reacted in various ways.
"No, Indians are one thing, but they're going to put blacks on ships? Is that even possible?"
"Tsk, tsk, that black man is volunteering to defend the country, and you're just talking a lot without even thinking about it."
John, an American immigrant who had once owned black slaves, complained after reading the article, and José, a mestizo, scolded him.
John realized that the people in the village were not looking at him kindly.
"Ahem. I misspoke."
"Yes. At least don't insult the patriots."
There were some, like John, who reacted negatively, but most people reacted positively, like the villagers.
The fleet had been strengthened recently, but the opponent was France. They couldn't be sure of victory, and the lives of individual soldiers seemed even more precarious. Yet, they volunteered to enlist.
The article remained in the minds of many.
***
"Your Majesty, a liaison ship has arrived from France."
Lieutenant Colonel Ricardo, commander of the intelligence unit, visited his father's office.
"Let's see."
It was information sent by an agent operating in France. Lieutenant Colonel Ricardo politely handed him the decoded letter.
"Well... I see. You should see this too."
My father handed me the letter.
"If this information is true... We can breathe a sigh of relief."
The letter contained information about the size and departure date of the French expeditionary fleet.
"Yes. A fleet consisting of eight ships of the line, ten frigates, and numerous brigs... It's not a weak force, but it's only a part of the entire fleet that France has."
"Yes, it's about one-third of the entire fleet."
"It's a force that would be enough to make them think they could win."
It might seem ridiculously small compared to the naval power of Britain or France, but it's a fleet that's difficult to challenge, except for major European countries. In fact, the United States has only 10 ships of the line.
That's partly because the US Navy prefers frigates to ships of the line, but the reason is also that ships of the line are so expensive. It means that even this fleet is one that most countries can't even dream of, requiring an incredible amount of money.
"It's amazing that they managed to steal such detailed information. Good work, Lieutenant Colonel Ricardo."
"No, it was all possible thanks to Your Majesty's generous support."
"So, it's mostly your achievement, Heronimo. I opposed allocating that much budget."
"I wasn't completely sure either. It's because the intelligence unit did well."
"That's right. You can't get this kind of classified information just by spending money. If this information turns out to be true, Lieutenant Colonel Ricardo, you can expect great things."
"Yes, thank you, Your Majesty."
It's honestly understandable to think it's a waste, considering the size of the intelligence unit, less than 100 people, when I argued for allocating tens of thousands of pesos to the intelligence networks of both France, our current enemy, and the United States, our future enemy.
"It was a money pit in the beginning."
Training agents, creating cover identities, and sending them to other countries was a minor expense. The real cost comes after that.
Money was needed to build a foundation in the local area, enough to be effective, starting from scratch, and money was needed to build and maintain connections.
"It's because our agents did well, but it's ridiculous that there are people who sell even this kind of specific military secret. We have to be careful."
My father clicked his tongue.
"Yes, it was understandable that they leaked the size of the fleet they had, but it's shocking that they leaked the plan of the military operation they're about to execute."
It's different from today, where each country knows what kind of warships the others have. Today, information is disclosed transparently through various international agreements and defense budget allocations, and even if we don't like it, it's not easy to hide our forces because of satellites. But in this era, the size of the fleet itself is one of the main military secrets, and it's information that only high-ranking officials know.
"I'll pay special attention to counterintelligence."
Lieutenant Colonel Ricardo said.
"Alright. Let me know if you need more support."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Speaking of which, according to this, the French fleet won't arrive until October, they're really underestimating us."
The French government notified the Mexican government of its intention to declare war in July. That means they made the decision to go to war around May, but they're planning to set sail in September. It's normal for the side declaring war to be fully prepared, but France isn't.
"Those French bastards have been arrogant for a day or two, haven't they? It's good for us if they're careless, we need to use this time well."
"October is the month when the ironclad is launched, isn't it? Will it be difficult to deploy it immediately?"
"Yes, Father. There are people who have trained on armored frigates and monitors, which have similar aspects, but it will still take time to adapt to the new ship. Don't you think so, Lieutenant Colonel Ricardo?"
I asked Lieutenant Colonel Ricardo, a former naval officer, since he was there.
"Yes, that's right. We'll need to train on the new ship for at least three months before we can deploy it for operations."
"I see. It's unfortunate, but we can't help it. If we deploy it rashly, we could lose a 650,000-peso ironclad for nothing."
"If we can just defend against this attack, we can use it in the next battle. They think they can finish it with this attack, so they won't be prepared for the next one."
"Alright."
***
"This one will be easy."
Admiral André Armand was confident of victory.
He was known as Baron Macau in France. Fourteen years ago, he led 14 warships to Haiti and forced the Haitian people to pay 150 million francs to their former masters.
This ridiculous amount was justified by the fact that Haiti had "stolen" plantations and black slaves, which were the property of the French, so they had to pay reparations. In fact, it was a demand for the Haitian people to pay for their entire country and their own lives. It was an unreasonable demand, but they had no choice but to accept it because they were powerless. It was a moment that made their long independence war seem pointless.
Mexico was a much larger country than Haiti, but it was only 17 years since it declared independence. Admiral Armand knew the reality of such countries. He had heard that the Mexicans were managing their country well, but there was no chance of defeat.
"Look at their proud posture."
It was a fleet of 42 ships, including eight ships of the line, ten frigates, and various smaller warships. It included France's strongest ships of the line.
"···Beautiful."
Admiral Armand nodded at his aide's words and asked.
"How much further to Havana, Cuba?"
"It's confirmed that we have about nine hours left."
"Alright. When we arrive, we'll attack immediately... No, we can't. It might become ours."
Havana, the largest port and capital of Cuba, is one of the war objectives, but unlike the mainland of the Mexican Empire, it's a territory that France could take.
"We'll just subdue the port and leave Cuba alone, anyway, once we burn Veracruz, Mexico will have no choice but to surrender."
"Yes!"
The aide, full of military spirit, answered.
Boom!
A cannon shot could be heard from somewhere, and a cannonball landed in the sea right in front of the French fleet.
The Mexican fleet had appeared.
"···The scouts didn't say anything."
The reason why they included dozens of brigs in the fleet, which were ships that couldn't even hold their own against ships of the line in terms of actual combat power, was for reconnaissance, message delivery, and fighting against enemy small ships. André Armand was also constantly moving, scouting as they went.
"It seems like they're steam-powered."
Steam-powered ships were already spreading to many countries, and it was well known that they were much faster than sailing ships.
The enemy ships had followed the scouts.
"I know they're steam-powered... but they're strange ships."
They have low freeboard, armored, and have only two large cannons, which are disproportionate to their size, and they're emitting steam.
"They're strange looking, but the cannons seem to have a much longer range than ours."
"They've just made the cannons ridiculously large, so the range might be long. Give the order to prepare for battle."
"Yes, prepare for battle!"
The Mexican fleet slowly emerged from behind the strangely shaped ships.
October 15, 1839.
The first naval battle between Mexico and France began in the waters off Cuba.
Thank you so much for the chapters
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