IBTCPOTME Novel - Chapter 117
**Chapter 117**
**Rebellion and Revolution (6)**
A few days later, Pedro, a Republican congressman, unexpectedly proposed a new bill.
It was called the ‘Bill on the Establishment and Operation of a Police Organization.’
‘Is this it?’
Robert, the congressman, looked at Pedro, who had come with an unexpected bill.
Unlike a few days ago, Pedro was preparing to give a speech in the plenary session of the Congress, and Robert was watching him from the seats of the Imperialist congressmen.
Pedro calmly opened his mouth.
“Honorable colleagues of Congress, I stand before you today to emphasize the need for the establishment of a ‘police organization’ in our Mexico.
‘Police’ refers to a specialized organization dedicated to maintaining security and public order. This system, already successfully operating in countries like England and France, offers numerous advantages.
Firstly, the existence of a police organization allows for a much more specialized and efficient approach to maintaining security and responding to crime than the military. This specialization will greatly contribute to ensuring the safety of the people and reducing crime rates.”
It was a story about specialization and efficiency improvement. Robert thought it was persuasive and observed the reaction of the landowners.
‘As expected. It’s already over.’
Pedro continued his story about the advantages of the police organization.
“Currently, security in the Mexican Empire is mainly handled by the military. The capital region is handled by the central army, the major cities in the provinces are handled by the provincial armies, and other regions are handled by defense units and militias dispatched from the center or the provinces.
However, they are not experts in law or investigation. On the other hand, the police organization operates based on the law and strictly emphasizes compliance with legal procedures during law enforcement. This is essential for strengthening the rule of law and protecting the legal rights and freedoms of all citizens.
Furthermore, by separating the military’s role in maintaining security, the military can focus more on national defense and responding to external threats. This will improve the efficiency of national security and contribute to strengthening the military’s strategic capabilities.
In the past, it was necessary to mobilize a strong military force to suppress bandits and marauders who were rampant throughout the country. However, security is now quite stable, and the types of crime have changed.
Now is the time to establish a specialized agency for specialized and efficient security maintenance.
I ask for your deep consideration and support. Thank you.”
After Pedro’s speech, Robert was secretly impressed.
‘He prepared well.’
It was a good move that would actually provide several benefits to the Mexican Empire while also being able to check the Imperialists.
It was essentially a proposal to transfer the authority and functions of security, which was currently under the jurisdiction of the army, to the Ministry of the Interior.
It was a creation of a new organization by taking away the army’s manpower, budget, and authority, which could be seen as weakening the army’s power.
‘There’s no reason to oppose it.’
Creating new government organizations is common in the Mexican Empire. This is because the country is growing, and so is the government.
The Immigration Agency was also established relatively easily at the request of the Crown Prince, and recently, they even created a new top-level administrative department called the Ministry of Land, by separating the functions of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of the Interior.
If the Republicans were unilaterally proposing the bill, they might be able to block it by raising issues about manpower and budget, but now it’s a situation of mutual exchange.
‘Moreover, it seems they have already reached an agreement with the landowners, so they have no choice but to accept it.’
Until now, the Imperialists had been trying to instigate conflict between the Republicans and the landowners and mediate between them, but now that was reaching its limit.
The Imperialists’ power had become too strong. The Republican and landowner congressmen weren’t fools either, they realized that if they kept fighting, they might not be able to achieve anything.
Of course, the two political forces have some fundamental things they agree on, so they can’t completely agree, but if it wasn’t a sensitive issue, there was no reason for them not to cooperate in an opportunity to weaken the Imperialists’ power.
‘This is not something I can decide alone.’
“We need time to exchange opinions. Let’s vote tomorrow.”
It meant they wouldn’t drag it out for days, but would make a decision today.
“Alright. Let’s meet again tomorrow.”
The meeting ended, and Robert went to see his master, the Crown Prince.
“Let’s proceed as planned. I was already thinking that we needed a police force. But in return, let’s make the head and senior officials of the newly established police organization central army personnel. All the people who could be considered investigation experts in Mexico are in the army, so there’s a good reason for it.”
“Yes, I will proceed accordingly, Your Highness.”
The Crown Prince accepted the deal, and the deal between the Imperialists, Republicans, and landowners was concluded.
The ‘Police Department’ under the Ministry of the Interior and the ‘Military Intelligence Agency’ under the Ministry of Defense were launched. Two new government agencies were created.
The director and personnel of the Military Intelligence Agency were filled with predetermined people.
***
The battle ended with the victory of the revolutionaries.
It wasn’t just because the revolutionaries had more troops and weapons.
The morale of the revolutionaries was sky-high, while the morale of the government troops was so low that hundreds of deserters appeared every night.
Some of the deserters went home, but many joined the revolutionaries. Even the soldiers had seen and heard things, and they knew that the tide had turned, from the words, actions, and expressions of their officers.
“Execution! Execution! Execution!”
The revolutionaries, now the revolutionary government, entered Port-au-Prince and captured President Erard.
The judge of the revolutionary government convicted the former president of various crimes and sentenced him to death.
“You bastards! Do you think you are any different!”
Those were the last words of President Erard, who had held the position for only three months.
Starting with President Erard, who would have become the top landowner in Haiti if he had successfully seized power, many landowners were barely able to save their lives by surrendering all their assets, or they were executed for resisting to the end.
“Land for everyone!”
“We are finally liberated!”
An unprecedentedly radical ‘land reform’ policy was implemented.
“This is ridiculous. We’re going to have to farm ourselves because there are no tenant farmers.”
This was a statement from the small landowners who participated in the revolution. So much land was distributed to so many people that the revolutionary slogan of ‘true liberation’ seemed to be realized.
Those who had joined the revolutionaries celebrated their victory, and the people felt a nationwide atmosphere of hope for the first time in a long time.
“Hooray! It’s a festival today! Open the warehouses!”
There were even areas where festivals were held for the first time in years.
But contrary to that atmosphere, there was a place that was engulfed in a gloomy atmosphere, the ‘National Palace,’ the official presidential residence and the center of government located in Port-au-Prince, the capital.
“···”
“···Teacher, please recalculate. Is that really true?”
“···The calculation was finished a week ago. Even after recalculating endlessly, the result is the same.”
They were the main players in the revolution and the leaders of the revolutionary government.
They, who should have been the happiest, were in despair.
“Didn’t you say it was like we had gotten a huge debt relief from the Mexican Empire? Is that also calculated?”
Albert Martin, the leader of the revolutionaries, asked the teacher with a desperate heart.
“Yes, they notified us that we would receive Haiti’s 90 million francs in debt and pay it back with only 250 million pesos. Considering that the exchange rate between francs and pesos is almost 5:1, it’s like they gave us a huge amount of debt relief. It’s an amount that we would never be able to pay back anyway, and there’s interest on top of that, so it must have been a decision made as a favor.”
They had essentially forgiven about 200 million pesos out of the total 450 million pesos in debt, but naturally, Haiti didn’t have the money to pay it back.
“Even if we collect all the assets of the landowners, we’ll just be able to pay the interest. There’s hope for the future only if we can pay back at least some of the principal.”
Albert’s lament echoed through the room where over ten people were gathered.
“···”
“···”
They had to pay 80% of the national budget, which was compiled based on an enormous tax rate, just to cover the interest.
They thought they had been ‘liberated,’ but that wasn’t the case at all. It was good that the regime had changed and the land had been distributed, but if the tax rate remained at a level where they were taking away almost everything they farmed, could they really say anything had changed?
That question filled the minds of the people in the room.
“Isn’t there any way?”
“There are three or so, but only one is realistic.”
“···Let’s hear them all first. What’s the first one?”
“Winning a war against the Mexican Empire. That’s absolutely impossible.”
“The second one?”
“Using a foreign country that wants to check the Mexican Empire. This one was more likely than the first, but considering that Britain, the only country that could defeat Mexico at sea, recently handed over all its Caribbean colonies to Mexico, we have to say it’s no longer possible.”
“···The last one?”
Everyone in the room held their breath, focusing on the teacher’s words.
“···It’s to hand over certain rights to Mexico and get debt relief.”
Albert’s face turned red. It wasn’t just him. The others in the room also lashed out at the teacher.
“That’s nonsense!”
“Hand over rights! What’s the difference between that and selling our country!”
They didn’t curse because they were revolutionary comrades, but the atmosphere in the room became tense.
That was when.
“Wait! Let’s hear the story further!”
It was Maurice Thomas, the most prominent figure among the revolutionaries. The atmosphere in the room calmed down at his words, as he was one of the main players in the victory.
“Teacher, please tell us in more detail.”
“My friends, how long will the Mexican Empire leave us alone? It’s inevitable that they will intervene in Haiti once we fail to pay the interest, causing the debt to swell and reach a certain level. Will we be able to get away with handing over certain rights then?”
“···”
Considering the Mexican Empire’s expansionist behavior in the Caribbean, the teacher’s words were persuasive enough.
“Let’s take action before that happens. We’ll sell our rights to get debt relief, and once we can pay back the interest and principal, we can regain those rights in the end.”
Albert regained his composure and asked.
“What exactly are those rights?”
“First, there’s the right to mine. And then···”
The Haitian revolutionary government faced reality and began to struggle in a bottomless quagmire.
***
‘If this continues, Martin Van Buren. That Dutch bastard will become president again.’
Martin Van Buren, the 8th president of the United States, who had served as president until 1841, was once again becoming the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination.
James Polk, who was trailing far behind Buren, but could be considered the second option for the Democratic presidential nominee, was desperate.
“It’s a bit early, but let’s start campaigning now.”
“What? The election is at the end of next year, and he hasn’t even been officially nominated yet.”
“Don’t be stupid! Doesn’t it look like he’s going to get the nomination? So we need to start now.”
James Polk scolded his clueless secretary and wrote down a compelling slogan to win the hearts of the people.
It was a slogan that cowardly Buren wouldn’t even dare to dream of, a slogan with enormous risks, but one that would scratch the itch of current Americans.
“Oregon is ours! Fifty-Four Forty or Fight!”
It was a slogan that meant they would go to war with Britain if they didn’t settle the Oregon territory at 54 degrees 40 minutes north latitude.
The United States began to boil over at that provocative slogan.
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