IBTCPOTME Novel - Chapter 126
## Chapter 126 (126/180)
**Mexico’s Air Creates Freedom (5)**
The story of the Irish Potato Famine quickly spread throughout the world.
Even in this era where people were dying of starvation, a famine of this magnitude was a serious matter.
Many people around the world sent aid, including the Ottoman Sultan Abdülmejid I, who generously offered to donate 10,000 pounds.
“Your Majesty, 10,000 pounds is too much, perhaps we could adjust it to 1,000 pounds?”
“What? If I donate, wouldn’t it be good for England?”
The British diplomats’ objections had a reason. Their Queen, Victoria, had donated 2,000 pounds.
Although Ireland was treated as a colony rather than the mainland in the British Empire, it was still part of the British Empire.
If a foreign king donated more than the Queen, it could damage the Queen’s reputation.
“Hmm… I understand. Instead of changing it to 1,000 pounds, let’s send grain.”
There was no reason to stop England from sending grain as well, so this proposal was accepted.
A similar proposal was made in the Mexican Empire.
It was to send 1,000 pounds in aid and grain in the name of the Emperor of Mexico.
‘So, the story that the British refused to provide grain and the Ottoman relief ships had to break through the British naval blockade to reach Ireland was a distorted story.’
It was actually nonsensical. There was no way the Ottomans could send ships to Ireland without the British navy’s notice. Therefore, it was expected that they would accept the grain.
On the other hand, the donation amount was clearly visible, so it was understandable considering the atmosphere of the time.
Once Mexico’s proposal was approved, Mexican media widely reported on the Irish famine, and some people received secret job offers.
“Excuse me? An immigration company?”
“The name is an immigration company, but the main work will actually be relief activities.”
“···Then, wouldn’t it be better to just recruit relief volunteers?”
“No matter how much it’s called relief activities, no country likes foreigners running rampant in their territory. That’s why we’re proposing it to Mr. Gerald, who is of Irish descent.”
Among Mexican immigrants, Irish people were the most numerous, along with Germans. The Crown Prince’s immigration company secretly recruited Irish people.
The famine was indeed heartbreaking, but it was an opportunity for the immigration company. The incentives were almost negligible compared to before, but those negligible amounts were accumulating like crazy.
The immigration company’s employees worked for the Mexican Crown Prince, but they were British citizens and had the right to travel around Ireland.
A person who looked exactly like an Irishman and spoke Irish, entering as an employee of the immigration company, would have no problem doing relief work.
“I don’t remember Irish well, is it okay?”
“No problem. You’ll remember it again after talking a little on the ship.”
A relief fleet, which had recruited a large number of Irish Mexicans, set sail.
***
Many slaves were escaping in the southern region, where they hadn’t experienced escape problems for a long time.
The US government had essentially certified that someone had successfully escaped to Mexico.
“If you dare talk nonsense, I’ll kill you!”
The plantation owner belatedly tried to control his employees’ mouths, but it was too late. All the slaves had already learned about it.
For those who thought they had no hope, the fact that there was an escape route and that someone had actually succeeded gave them immense courage.
They even knew the name of the man who had successfully escaped.
“Can we do it like that Tom?”
“Yes, your name is Tom too.”
The slaves all had similar names. The plantation owners, who were too lazy to give them names, gave them common names like James, Tom, and Henry.
Although their names overlapped, their owners, the plantation owners, had no reason to call them by name, so it wasn’t inconvenient. The employees distinguished them by calling them Young Tom, Old Tom, Little Tom, and so on.
As slaves started escaping in earnest in May, the plantation owners intensified their crackdown, even forming patrol units with neighboring plantation owners, but it was not enough.
The border with Mexico was incredibly long, and on the plantations in this area, there were too many slaves compared to the number of employees, and they had no experience catching escaped slaves.
“So, you’ll hire us?”
They were professionals called ‘slave catchers’ or ‘slave hunters’.
The plantation owners knew that most of them were actually gangs and thugs, but experience couldn’t be ignored, and they proved it with their results.
“We’ll pay 50 to 150 dollars per escaped slave. What do you think?”
Not all slaves cost the same. The price of slaves varied greatly depending on their age, gender, physique, and health condition.
The plantation owners, after checking the prices in the North, quoted similar prices, but Jack, the slave hunter, looked indifferent.
“That won’t work. I heard there are slave escapes in the South, but I doubt there are enough to leave this North. If we go there and there are no escaped slaves or few of them, it’s a loss for us.”
“···Are you saying you’re short of money?”
“No, there should be a basic salary based on the duration of employment. But we can reduce the incentives.”
“···Let me think about it for a moment.”
The plantation owners thought there was merit to what the slave hunters said, so they accepted, but the slave hunter thought:
‘Gotcha, you suckers.’
After signing the contract, Jack instructed his men.
“Tell everyone to sign similar contracts. Say the incentives are a loss.”
“Boss, if we talk well, they seem willing to raise the incentives. If we get a higher price, that’s good too, isn’t it?”
“Hey, you dumb bastard. We’re going to do this one job and leave. If we catch them all right from the start, who’s going to escape?”
There are initial success stories, but most slaves will watch the situation a little longer. What if everyone suddenly fails? Of course, they won’t give up on escape attempts.
It was a kind of collusion.
The slave hunters colluded to catch just enough and let just enough go, since they had a basic salary anyway. That way, they could make steady money.
The plantation owners were frustrated, but they weren’t on the scene, so how would they know?
“We missed half of them again?”
“Those bastards cleverly split into two groups. But we caught the larger group, so it’s not bad.”
Only then did the plantation owners realize what those slave hunters were up to.
“We got completely tricked.”
“Still, isn’t it better than us going out to catch them ourselves?”
“Still, it’s not right. They’re taking our money and letting the slaves go, how can that be?”
“It’s not right, but it’s ridiculous to expect professional ethics from those thugs. If they were sane, they wouldn’t be doing this kind of work in the first place.”
“That’s true too.”
The frustrating situation changed at the end of September.
“The President is sending troops to the border.”
“Finally!”
“He’s finally worth the money we paid him!”
Thousands of cavalry were deployed to the border region. Squad-sized reconnaissance units began capturing escaped slaves in their respective areas.
“The contract is over, do whatever you want, go back north or whatever.”
“Well, whatever.”
The plantation owners, who had been grinding their teeth at the slave hunters’ collusion, immediately terminated the contract, but not everyone left the South.
‘I should have just made a quick buck and left for the North.’
Jack, who was preparing to leave with regret, smelled money in the stories of the lieutenants and captains who were in charge of the reconnaissance squads.
‘Competition, huh?’
The story was that the reconnaissance squad that captured the most escaped slaves would be rewarded.
Rewards in the army meant promotion.
‘It smells like money.’
***
“You’re skilled, right?”
Ordinary people would be scared of Jack, whose face was covered in scars, maybe five or six. But this lieutenant was not only confident, but also overbearing.
Of course, it could be thought that a mere thug would face unbearable retaliation if he touched a commissioned officer of the United States Army, so he could be confident, but when the thug is actually in front of you, it feels different.
This man’s confidence must come from the large men on either side of him, and from his own equipment. The lieutenant and the large men beside him had brand new equipment, which was obvious at a glance.
‘Good choice. He’s definitely a rich kid.’
The lieutenant, as well as the large men on either side, were tall and well-built, clearly well-fed.
“I am skilled. If you hire me, I will catch more escaped slaves than anyone else.”
Jack, who had been swaggering in front of the plantation owners, answered politely. The lieutenant chuckled at his confident words and said,
“Really? Then, there will be no pay if you don’t come in first.”
“Even so, that’s a bit too much···”
As Jack tried to answer, the lieutenant cut him off and shouted.
“But! If you come in first, I’ll give you 150 per head. How about that?”
‘This young punk···.’
He was well-educated, not a complete fool.
It was a high-risk, high-return condition.
“···Alright.”
He thought he could come in first. Jack and his men were professionals. How much would newly commissioned lieutenants and captains know about escaped slaves?
Thus began the strange collaboration between Lieutenant Lucas of the United States Army and slave hunter Jack.
“This way!”
Jack shouted as he found traces of slaves, and Lucas’s squad immediately ran towards them.
It was actually nonsensical.
It was nonsensical for a soldier to hire a civilian privately while on duty, and to go with them and take orders from them. But Lieutenant Lucas had no intention of missing this opportunity.
The US military was rapidly growing in size under the will of James Polk and the Democratic Party. It had been steadily growing in size for the past few years, but the pace had accelerated.
Since it wasn’t wartime yet, they were building up the standing army with a focus on officers and non-commissioned officers, which meant there were countless senior officers above Lucas.
Of course, most of the rapidly increasing officers were recruited through channels other than the military academy, so they were a bunch of misfits, but they were officers nonetheless. They were competitors.
He, who came from a good family and graduated from the military academy, had a clear advantage, but merit was the most important thing for a soldier. If he missed this opportunity, which the President himself had promised to reward, he wouldn’t know when another opportunity like this would come.
‘My choice was right.’
The reconnaissance squad he commanded, with the help of the slave hunters, achieved overwhelming results throughout October. If he continued like this, he was sure to be the one to get the reward.
“Sir! 30 people escaped! We need to go now!”
“What?”
“Did you hear wrong?”
“Did you say 30?”
The soldiers, as well as the slave hunters, were surprised by the news, and Lucas calmly asked again. It was possible the soldier had misheard.
Until now, most escapes were five or less, and the most common number was ten. But 30?
“Yes, it’s definitely 30.”
The soldier wrote the number on a piece of paper to confirm that he wasn’t mistaken. It was even within the territory of the reconnaissance squad that Lucas commanded. But he wasn’t the only competitor. The higher-ups had deliberately assigned overlapping reconnaissance territories, so it was also the territory of the neighboring squad.
“Ha, I heard the plantation owners have been neglecting security since the army was deployed. It seems it was true. I should report this after this is over.”
Amidst the soldiers and slave hunters who were fidgeting, Lucas calmly said a word and looked around.
As expected, everyone had expectant looks. Lucas responded to their expectations and shouted.
“Get ready to depart immediately!”
“Yes!”
30 people meant that they would have to go out six times based on the average. Considering that each sortie took two to seven days, it was a number that could instantly widen the gap, and it was also a number that could instantly close the gap if it was taken by another squad.
The slave hunters, who had agreed to receive 150 dollars per head, also started preparing quickly, drooling. A group this large would include children and the elderly, but it didn’t matter. They would get 150 dollars for everyone, regardless of their condition. They could get paid according to the highest standard.
Lucas, the reconnaissance squad, and the slave hunters started running like crazy.
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