IBTCPOTME Novel - Chapter 115
**Chapter 115**
Rebellion and Revolution (4)
“It seems we’ll be going to war with Colombia as well.”
President Eran of Colombia probably didn’t think this treaty would actually lead to war. I want to believe that.
No matter how much they love money, they wouldn’t sign a treaty just to receive a little bribe, knowing that they would go to war. If they did, they would pay a terrible price.
In any case, a treaty once signed cannot be undone, so our Mexican Empire is facing a disadvantageous situation of a “two-front war.”
“Your Highness, can’t we bring in other countries in South America, like Brazil?”
That was Colonel Ricardo’s opinion.
“That’s not a bad idea. We have a marriage alliance with the Brazilian Imperial family, so we could sign a defense treaty. But they’ll demand Colombian territory after the war.”
“Hmm… It’s ambiguous.”
“That’s right. Is Colombia a threatening country that we need to bring in other countries at the cost of giving up Colombian territory? I don’t think so, but what’s your opinion, you’re the expert?”
I also receive information collected from various countries regularly, but Colonel Ricardo, the head of the intelligence agency, would know more details.
“I think so too. The Colombian army’s weapons and training are terrible. They’re struggling to suppress the scattered rebellions happening everywhere. They’re so short of flintlock muskets that they’re buying them from us in Mexico.”
To simply summarize the current situation of Colombia, it’s similar to Mexico right after its independence. They gained independence in 1810, 12 years earlier than Mexico, but they still haven’t resolved their political and social turmoil. The central government is at odds with the local elites who control the military in the provinces.
This problem was similar not only in Colombia but also in other countries in South America. Of all the Latin American countries, only Mexico has emerged from the quagmire of chaos.
“That’s right. And Colombia’s navy is practically nonexistent. So, we don’t need to worry about a landing. If we just block the border, there’s nothing the Colombian army can do.”
“The border isn’t wide, so it would be easy to fortify.”
Colombia doesn’t even have a proper road network, let alone railroads, so it’s difficult to even build a large supply network to deploy a large army. Ultimately, Colombia’s impact on the war is negligible.
“Then, there’s no need to give up territory to others.”
I sorted out my thoughts and ordered Colonel Ricardo.
“Scrap the plan you were preparing in Colombia and prepare a new post-defeat scenario similar to France.”
“Yes, Your Highness. We were still laying the groundwork, so it won’t be a big loss if the operation changes.”
There was a less radical plan for Colombia, but now that we’re going to war, we need to create a radical plan, even if it means accepting sacrifices.
Information coming from the US alone suggests that war is imminent.
“But won’t we be short on budget if we want to execute the operation faster?”
“Yes, that’s right. We’ll have to reassess the operation plan, but it’s clear that it will be faster, so I believe it will be difficult with the current budget.”
The intelligence agency required a huge budget compared to its size.
The agents’ salaries and training costs are much higher than those of regular officers, but more than that, it’s because establishing a base in the field requires a massive budget.
For example, in France, we had to actually start a business to create a cover as a businessman, which cost tens of thousands of pesos. Moreover, building relationships with various local figures cost money.
Not only money, but also a minimum of several years of time. The agents in Colombia and other South American countries were building a base over time, rather than investing a large budget.
“We started in France and the US, and we’re supporting Haiti, Colombia, and other South American countries. It’s costing a huge amount of money. It’s too big to cover with the existing military budget.”
The intelligence agency was established as a mere division within the military to hide its existence, so it didn’t receive any additional budget.
We had been covering it with the defense budget, which had been steadily increasing since independence, but it’s not feasible anymore. Spending millions of pesos on a division whose size and purpose are completely hidden would be a perfect case of embezzlement.
“As you said before, we’ll eventually have to reveal the existence of the intelligence agency.”
I knew this situation would come, and I had told you, the commander. But we can’t reveal its existence.
“No, we’re not revealing its existence. We’re going to ‘establish’ it officially. We’ll only reveal the existence and purpose of the agency, and the details will be kept secret.”
“Yes, I understand.”
There’s no need to unnecessarily alert people at home and abroad by revealing that this kind of intelligence agency has existed all along.
Colonel Ricardo seemed to understand without explanation.
“Establishing an intelligence agency will be a very political move. You focus on the tasks you’re currently working on. I’ll take care of everything else.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
April 1843.
A proposal was made to the Congress for the official establishment of the “Military Intelligence Directorate (Dirección de Inteligencia Militar),” an agency that deals with various information related to national security.
It was softened to say that it deals with information, but it’s obvious that it will engage in espionage and counterintelligence activities.
It’s an agency within the military, where the Imperial family’s influence is strongest, and it’s requesting a huge budget, claiming that it can’t reveal specific activity information, so it’s unlikely to pass easily.
Thus, the issue of establishing the Military Intelligence Directorate was placed on the chopping block of Mexican politics.
***
The eastern part of Hispaniola Island, the Dominican region, was changing rapidly.
After the Mexican army entered and cleaned up anything that could be a threat, government officials, judges, and other government personnel entered and quickly settled land and taxes.
All the land that had been taken from Haiti’s elites was reclaimed and returned to its original owners. Only land with unclear ownership became government property.
“I heard that taxes are now a quarter of what they used to be.”
“It feels like we’re finally living in a real country.”
“Yes. This is a country, right?”
Mexico wasn’t coercive towards the residents of this newly joined region. Instead, they offered local people positions to participate in governing the island.
The heads of the states (Estado) and provinces (Provincia) were appointed by the Mexican government, but the position of mayor (Alcalde) of the “Dominican District (Distrito de la Dominicana),” which includes the entire Dominican region, was given to Juan Pablo, who was highly respected locally. The positions of top officials in cities (Ciudades) and towns (Pueblo), the smallest administrative units, were also filled by locals.
In addition, many people who could speak Spanish were selected as government officials and became responsible for local administrative tasks.
The port of Santo Domingo began to be expanded, and railroads started to be built. These projects naturally led to large-scale local employment, and the island’s economy, which had been practically paralyzed, started to function again.
Of course, not everything was good for everyone.
“I hear that there are still people who exploit Indians and blacks as slaves. Find them all and free them.”
“Yes!”
Unlike the west, where blacks and mulattos dominated society, the Dominican region was still dominated by whites and mestizos, and many people secretly enslaved others.
It was illegal in Haiti, a country born from a slave rebellion, but full slave emancipation hadn’t been achieved due to a lack of administrative power or corruption.
“Wait, wait! If you take them all away, who will do the work?”
The landowner, who was about to lose a large fortune, exclaimed in panic, but the Mexican officials and soldiers were cold.
“Just hire them and pay them a fair wage. If you don’t like it, do it yourself.”
“What the…”
The freed people could choose from three options: work on construction sites, work on government-owned farms, or migrate to the mainland.
“If you pay that kind of wage, there’s really nothing left!”
The landowners, desperate, pleaded.
“Have you heard of a ‘mechanical harvesting machine’? There’s also a ‘seeder’ and a ‘thresher’ besides the harvester.”
Someone spoke to the pleading landowner.
“What?”
They were merchants who had come from Mexico.
***
While the east of the island was undergoing tremendous changes, the west was facing changes of a different kind.
“What the hell is the government doing!”
Revolts, big and small, were happening constantly in various parts of Haiti. The participants ranged from ambitious individuals trying to seize power in the chaos to farmers who took up arms because they were too poor to survive.
Of course, their poverty had been the same for almost 20 years, but something was different this time. Merchants, technicians, and intellectuals, the few middle-class people in Haiti, started joining the rebellion. What fueled their discontent was the destruction of their “pride.”
Pride.
It wasn’t essential for farming and surviving, but it was also a driving force that helped them endure difficult times.
Reality was cruel, but many Haitians had pride in the fact that they had successfully achieved a slave rebellion for the first time in history and built a black nation.
That pride was brutally trampled upon when they lost two-thirds of their territory to Mexico.
President Jean-Pierre, who had gained popularity after seizing power through force and achieving the feat of conquering the Dominican Republic, fell from grace after losing the Dominican Republic.
Of course, losing the Dominican Republic wasn’t the only cause. It was the result of the explosion of discontent with the corruption and authoritarian rule accumulated over 20 years of dictatorship.
“Your Excellency, the unrest in the provinces won’t stop.”
The situation didn’t change even after General Charles-Rive-Erard, who had overthrown President Jean-Pierre, took over the presidency.
“It was I who overthrew Jean-Pierre, who ruined the country for 22 years! Why are they still causing trouble? Suppress them all!”
“Yes!”
It was he whom the Haitian elites chose, abandoning President Jean-Pierre, who had completely lost the people’s support. After all, the only army with proper weapons in Haiti supported him, so he thought he could quickly suppress the farmers’ cute rebellion.
Only a week after he thought that.
Devastating news came.
“Your Excellency! We have news that government troops have suffered a defeat in the southern region!”
“What? Defeat? You mean they lost to those guys who don’t even have guns?”
Haiti was so impoverished that even a common gun was nowhere to be found in the market. They lost to guys who were probably armed with farm tools?
“No. An army calling itself the ‘Revolutionary Army’ appeared with a ton of guns, God knows where they got them.”
“…Guns they don’t know where they got?”
President Erard felt a chill.
He had only been president for two months.
His downfall was approaching too quickly.
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