IBTCPOTME Novel - Chapter 116
**Chapter 116**
**Rebellion and Revolution (5)**
April 1843.
“Teacher!”
His students greeted their teacher, whom they hadn’t seen in a while, but Gérard Simon’s reaction wasn’t that of someone happy to see them.
“Why are you here? This is a battlefield. It’s not a place for you! Get out of here right now!”
Instead of welcoming them, he yelled at them to leave. But if they were going to leave willingly, they wouldn’t have come this far.
“Teacher, we’re eighteen now. We’re adults. We’ve come to help with the ‘true liberation’, so we can’t just go back!”
“That’s right! You were the one who taught us that this country is only for the government and the landlords!”
Ironically, the current revolution was being led not by the peasants who had suffered for so long but by people from the middle class who were relatively well-off, mainly those working in commerce, small landowners, intellectuals, and professionals.
Gérard Simon looked into the eyes of Émile and Jérôme, who were once his students. Their eyes were filled with conviction. He could see their determination to never go back.
“···Alright. If you really want to help, I’ll give you the task of assisting with supplies. Don’t even think about going to the battlefield. It’s not like the situation is so bad that even you, with your bright futures ahead of you, need to go to war.”
“But we···”
The two young men, full of bloodlust, wouldn’t be satisfied with just carrying supplies in the rear, but Simon cut them off and said coldly,
“Enough! I don’t suppose you still see me as your school teacher, do you? The revolutionary army is a military force. If you want to join, follow orders. If you don’t, go back.”
“···Yes, sir.”
Émile and Jérôme were dissatisfied, but they couldn’t ignore the words of their former teacher, now a leader of the revolutionary army.
Officially part of the revolutionary army, Émile and Jérôme diligently carried supplies at the port of Gonaïves.
“My back aches. Where do they get all these supplies?”
Isn’t it common knowledge that revolutionary armies are poor and lack supplies? But weapons and supplies were constantly arriving in Gonaïves.
“Haven’t you heard? They say a businessman who supports the revolutionary army is donating his entire fortune and buying supplies from abroad.”
“A man that rich is donating his entire fortune for the revolution?”
“Yeah. Isn’t it touching?”
“···It is.”
The weapons and supplies piled up at the port felt different from before. To think it was all donated by people supporting the revolutionary army.
Émile, suddenly filled with pride in the revolutionary army, wanted to go to the battlefield immediately, but his teacher wouldn’t allow it.
He ordered all the teenage boys, including them, to be in charge of supply duties. As a result, the port was filled with boys.
“At least it seems like the war situation is good.”
“Yeah.”
The boys never had to go to the battlefield.
***
The revolutionary army’s momentum, having taken control of northern Haiti, showed no signs of slowing down. As they captured more and more territory, more and more people joined the revolutionary army.
The government army had retreated to Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti in the south, after a defeat, and only some of the landlords’ private soldiers remained in the north.
“Liberate the peasants!”
Wherever the revolutionary army arrived, the peasants responded with a passionate reaction as if to say, ‘Finally, the time has come!’
“Those riff-raff have taken control of the entire north.”
“They’re crazy.”
“This, this is going to be a huge disaster, isn’t it?”
Attempts to organize an army and seize power in Haiti weren’t uncommon, but this time was completely different.
Both President Jean-Pierre, who had held his position for over 20 years, and President Érard, who had overthrown him, had ultimately just colluded with various Haitian elites to seize power from other elites.
The center of power had shifted, but most of the elites were still in their positions. But this ‘revolution’ wasn’t that kind of conflict.
“We can’t even contact the revolutionary army leadership!”
“Does it make sense to fight us without support? Someone must have betrayed us!”
“Now is not the time to fight among ourselves. If we lose like this, we’re all finished!”
“That’s right. They’ve clearly shown that they have no intention of leaving us alone. I hope there’s no one who thinks they’ll be fine and doesn’t provide support, thinking this won’t affect them.”
The revolutionary army wasn’t being supported by any of the existing Haitian political factions. That’s what scared the Haitian elites. If they won, they might actually try to implement their slogan of ‘true liberation’.
Their ‘true liberation’ was nothing but ‘land reform’. They were even advocating for a terrifying method of confiscation and distribution without compensation.
To prevent that, President Érard went to the front. It was a natural choice for someone who was once called a general.
“I can’t understand anything. All of Haiti’s officers are on our side, so how can they organize an army like that? They say the merchants who support the revolutionary army have gotten the supplies, but how can those riff-raff, who don’t even know anything about the military, fight against the government army?”
“Isn’t this all the fault of the soldiers? Didn’t we hear reports that our soldiers’ firing speed isn’t much different from the enemy’s?”
The aide naturally blamed the soldiers. In reality, the Haitian government army’s training wasn’t much different from the revolutionary army’s. They couldn’t maintain a standing army because the government had no money, and they couldn’t train them properly either.
Both the government army and the revolutionary army were just peasants who had been farming their whole lives, given guns, nothing more, nothing less.
May 1843.
The final battle began, with the revolutionary army controlling the north and the government army, gathering the strength of the Haitian elite in the south.
***
Robert Mendoza, a member of the legislature, passionately delivered a speech about the need for a military intelligence agency in the plenary session of the legislature.
He argued that establishing a military intelligence agency to gather and analyze various security-related information would enable them to detect and respond to external threats in advance, thereby strengthening national security.
“In fact, our Mexican Empire was caught off guard by France’s sudden declaration of war. I remember being quite surprised at the time. We knew the relationship with France wasn’t good, but we never imagined they would launch a full-fledged war so suddenly.”
Many members of the legislature nodded, but in reality, the Mexican imperial family, Robert, and the top commanders of the military, the closest confidants, knew about the war beforehand and prepared for it.
Most Mexicans were shocked by the declaration of war, except for that small group, so he said that to evoke empathy.
“Hmm, everyone was surprised back then···.”
“It would be good to be able to know that kind of information in advance.”
Robert Mendoza also argued that improving intelligence gathering capabilities, both domestically and internationally, would enable them to respond not only to military operations but also to diplomacy, domestic rebellions, and major crimes.
“Other countries have been operating these intelligence agencies for a long time. A prime example is Napoleon during the Napoleonic Wars. He knew the importance of information and deployed spies on an unprecedented scale. We need a military intelligence agency to defend against the activities of these spies.”
Robert Mendoza, who even mentioned the importance of counterintelligence, the most important function, finished his speech in the plenary session, and a debate on the bill began.
“I agree that an intelligence agency is necessary, but does it really need to be under the military?”
A member of the landed gentry faction pointed this out, and many members of the legislature nodded. The army is where the Emperor’s influence is strongest. Placing an intelligence agency there would only strengthen the Emperor’s power.
“The military intelligence agency gathers and analyzes information related to ‘security’, so it’s not strange for it to be within the military, isn’t it?”
Robert Mendoza countered, but this time, Pedro Gonzalez, the head of the Republican faction, spoke up.
“It’s not necessary for an agency that gathers security-related information to be within the military, specifically the ‘army’. The army itself is part of the Ministry of Defense, which is part of the executive branch, isn’t it? The intelligence agency doesn’t just gather information related to land warfare, so there’s no reason to place it under the army. The army’s power becoming too great is also a problem.”
While the navy had grown significantly now, Mexico, which once didn’t even have a single ship, usually used the term ‘military’ to refer to the ‘army’.
Moving it under the Ministry of Defense instead of the army wouldn’t necessarily remove it from the Emperor’s influence, but the Minister of Defense is a neutral figure chosen by the Prime Minister and the legislature. It would be better than placing it under the army headquarters, which is loyal only to the Emperor.
Robert Mendoza had no choice but to agree with this unexpected sharp criticism.
“Alright. It doesn’t matter if it’s under the Ministry of Defense instead of the army. What do you think?”
From the Imperial faction’s perspective, there was no need to distinguish between the army, the navy, and the Ministry of Defense. The constitution explicitly states that the ‘military power’ belongs to the Emperor, with the only exception being the ‘declaration of war’. A declaration of war requires the consent of at least two-thirds of the members of the legislature.
There wouldn’t be much difference, so they could compromise on this point. As they were settling that, the landed gentry faction objected again.
“This is a new agency, and the initial budget is 700,000 pesos. Isn’t that too much? That’s enough money to build two battleships. Please explain properly why you need that much money.”
The Republican faction also agreed.
“That’s right. It says in the document that we can’t disclose details because confidentiality is important for this agency, but even if confidentiality is important, can’t you at least tell us roughly?”
“Well, alright. I’ll tell you roughly. For effective intelligence gathering, or counterintelligence, it’s essential to establish a base and build trust in the local area, rather than just doing one-off missions. Without trust, you can’t access high-level information.”
Robert Mendoza took a sip of water and continued.
“Establishing this base costs a lot of money. You need to find a place to live locally, get a decent job, or start a business if you can’t. That’s where the big money goes. But the goal isn’t to settle down locally. You need to gather information, build connections···”
Robert Mendoza’s explanation of why he requested such a large budget continued, and it was a reasonable explanation, enough to make the members of the landed gentry and Republican factions nod unconsciously.
“I see. But this proposal is too significant and expensive to decide on immediately, so everyone should think about it more and then vote on it.”
The chairman said that after Robert Mendoza finished his response and no more questions came up.
It was only natural to have time to exchange opinions.
“Agreed.”
The landed gentry and Republican factions, as if they had been waiting for this, shouted their agreement, and the plenary session ended that day.
Even if a law seems truly necessary for the country, if it affects power, they can’t just pass it.
Robert Mendoza knew this nature of the legislature well, so he waited.
‘I wonder what kind of card they’ll play.’
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