IBTCPOTME Novel - Chapter 143
**Chapter 143**
**The Mexican-American War (16)**
“Advance!”
Baltimore wasn’t destroyed like Washington D.C. Winfield Scott withdrew his troops as soon as the city began to be systematically destroyed, and the Mexican Imperial Army entered Baltimore.
They received additional troops and supplies through the port of Baltimore and marched north.
September 15, 1846.
Philadelphia, northeastern United States.
The Mexican Imperial Army was approaching.
Henry, stationed in a trench, patted his trembling brother’s shoulder. They were both citizens of Philadelphia.
“We prepared harder this time, right?”
“Yeah. There are a lot more troops.”
They comforted each other, waiting for the battle to begin.
Even after the Mexican Empire captured Baltimore, the militia continued to swell, surpassing 200,000. They had dug not one, but three lines of trenches. If the first line of defense, consisting of these three lines, was breached, there was one more line of defense further back.
“They’re coming!”
*Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!*
As usual, the Mexican Imperial Army began shelling.
“Don’t duck! Hold off the enemy’s charge!”
That’s what they did. The Mexican Imperial infantry charged, and the militia, unlike before, started firing.
*Tattattattat! Tattattattat!*
*Cough!*
The battlefield was different in many ways from before, but many things remained the same.
Obstacle courses, including barbed wire, were still absent. There were far fewer military rifles and cannons, let alone machine guns. They couldn’t find officers to command the soldiers, so General Winfield Scott had to lead from the front, despite his old age.
*Weeeooooooooo!*
“Hey! Casualties!”
“Huh?”
*Splash!*
A cannonball aimed directly at the front of the trench ricocheted and struck a soldier who was firing, right in the face. Those who witnessed the gruesome sight felt a surge of fear.
However, the trench’s defenses weren’t completely compromised. Unlike last time, when it was breached within half a day, the battle began to drag on.
“We’ve held the first line of defense for three days.”
“Yes, General. The number of casualties is also lower than before. On the other hand, the enemy’s casualties have increased.”
The adjutant reported this, but Winfield Scott’s expression, as he held the paper, didn’t brighten.
‘They’re happy about a 2:1 exchange ratio···.’
It was certainly a significant improvement. Compared to previous battles, many had seen exchange ratios exceeding 3:1, even approaching 4:1.
The problem was that the Mexican Empire seemed determined to continue the war, relentlessly pushing forward and even restarting conscription.
‘If the Great Lakes are hit···. Even if England provides raw materials through the St. Lawrence, it’s over.’
As he feared, the Mexican Imperial Army in the west was rapidly advancing north. The longer the war dragged on, the more advantageous it became for the Mexican Empire.
The Mexican Imperial Crown Prince knew this well.
The Crown Prince, who had visited the negotiating table for the first time in a long time, made a bombshell declaration.
“Let’s abolish that barbaric institution of slavery.”
“What!”
“Your Highness, you’re not even negotiating, you’re adding more conditions!”
Ambassador Slidell and Ambassador Pakenham were horrified. Ambassador Pakenham calmed his startled heart and said,
“Are you not interested in negotiating?”
“Hasn’t the situation changed? We’ve advanced north along the Mississippi River from the west, conquering over 400 km of territory, and the attack on Philadelphia in the east is progressing very smoothly.”
“Your Highness!”
Ambassador Pakenham realized that the Crown Prince wasn’t intimidated by the threat from England at all. Two weeks of effort had gone to waste. But he couldn’t give up here. The interests and prestige of his homeland, as well as his promise to America, depended on his negotiating skills.
While he was gathering his thoughts, the Crown Prince spoke first.
“Did you agree to receive the Oregon Territory?”
That was a secret agreement. There was no way the Crown Prince could know. This was a leading question to catch them. That’s what Ambassador Pakenham thought.
His eyes, cold to the point of being frightening, thoroughly scrutinized Ambassador Pakenham’s expression. Ambassador Pakenham managed to maintain a poker face with superhuman patience for a moment, but Ambassador Slidell couldn’t.
The Crown Prince’s gaze shifted to the side, confirming Ambassador Slidell’s expression. His face was visibly shaken.
Ambassador Pakenham saw this and anticipated that the Crown Prince had solidified his suspicions, but he responded calmly.
“Your Highness, Oregon is a matter between the British Empire and the United States.”
“Not necessarily. Isn’t Oregon also west of the Mississippi River? Whatever agreement was made is null and void. We’ll have to renegotiate with the Mexican Empire.”
He wasn’t speaking to America. The Crown Prince dared to speak to the British Empire. He demanded that they relinquish the promised territory.
Even Ambassador Pakenham, who had maintained his composure throughout the tense negotiations, was enraged by the Crown Prince’s demand and said,
“Your Highness! Are you truly trying to cross the line? Think wisely!”
“You said that last week. ‘England is prepared to take all necessary measures to protect its interests.’ So let me say this. The Mexican Empire is also fully prepared to take all necessary measures to protect its interests.”
The confrontation between the two powers was reaching a precipice. He felt that they might actually go to war.
Ambassador John Slidell of the United States secretly hoped for such a situation, but Ambassador Richard Pakenham of Britain did not. He had received a clear instruction that war was absolutely forbidden.
“···”
Silence followed. Ambassador Pakenham had to carefully choose his words.
The Crown Prince smiled slightly and said,
“Before we continue, let me communicate with my homeland. You’ll understand what I mean then.”
*Click*
With those words, the Crown Prince left the meeting room.
***
The British Parliament was a chaotic mess.
In the midst of their standoff with the Mexican Empire, shocking news arrived.
“The Mexican Imperial fleet has passed through the Dover Strait and crossed over to Prussia!”
“A, a great fleet?”
“And you just watched?”
“What else could we do? They’re going to an ally. Should we attack?”
It was shocking news. Why would they suddenly send their fleet to Prussia, their ally?
It was a threat.
The Kingdom of Prussia was already involved in the war on the side of the Mexican Empire and was preparing its troops. England had already received information that Prussia was preparing its troops.
They thought they were sending it to North America, but now it seemed they were preparing to strike London if necessary.
It was a move that chilled the spines of even the members of the mighty British Parliament.
“The Mexican Empire has finally gone mad!”
“We must crush their arrogance, which knows no bounds!”
Some members merely reacted emotionally, while others seriously advocated for war.
“This threat is a challenge and an intimidation to our British Empire. If we start bowing to those arrogant Mexicans, our British prestige will fall to the ground, and our hegemony will be threatened! Let’s join the war before America gives up! I’ll personally command the army!”
It was Arthur Wellesley.
‘They were almost giving up.’
This was the last chance to catch that monstrous fellow named Heronimo Iturbide. However, when he seriously advocated for war, the atmosphere became ambiguous.
“But, to actually go to war···.”
That was more than half of the Mexican Imperial fleet’s power gathered in Prussia. It was a larger force than the combined strength of England’s ‘Home Fleet’ and the ‘North Sea Fleet,’ which was next closest.
Unlike Mexico, whose fleet was concentrated in the Caribbean, except for a part in the Pacific, England’s fleet was truly spread across the globe.
To defeat the Mexican Imperial fleet, England would have to gather half of its fleet, which was scattered across the world.
“If we bring the fleet back, it will put a brake on our colonial activities. Are you willing to accept that enormous loss?”
“That’s right. Even if we join the war, it will only benefit America. Are we going to war with the Mexican Empire just to gain a mere North American colony, a territory where no one even lives?”
The Liberal Party members immediately expressed their opposition.
“Where is the guarantee that Mexico won’t attack us just because we don’t attack them? They have over 80 ships, and Prussia has a large army that has been preparing for months. If we, the British Empire, are so careless, we could suffer a great disaster.”
“A preemptive strike by Mexico? That’s ridiculous!”
“That’s right. The situation is like this now, but the Mexican Empire has always been cooperative with the British Empire. The trade volume between the two countries is enormous. What benefit would Mexico have by preemptively attacking the British Empire?”
Before the war, the United States and the Mexican Empire were each other’s top trading partners. Both were emerging powers rapidly industrializing, and they were geographically close, making them ideal trading partners.
Britain was the next trading partner. Now that trade with America had been cut off, Mexico’s largest trading partner was Britain. Therefore, the logic that Mexico couldn’t act rashly was persuasive.
‘These cowardly bastards···.’
Arthur Wellesley wanted to shout at these cowards who were finding every reason not to go to war. But if he did, he would just be called senile.
Someone entered the Parliament, which had fallen silent for a moment. He seemed to be an aide to a Liberal Party member. He approached his master and whispered something.
“···”
“···Everyone. We have received another important piece of news. The news about the secret food exports to our homeland and Ireland has spread throughout the country and Ireland.”
Britain was a food importer.
The fact that over 90% of the Irish population lived solely on potatoes was because the English had swept away all other grains.
Because of them, Ireland, impoverished and living on potatoes, was now experiencing a famine, and countless people were starving to death. In the midst of this, they weren’t even providing aid, let alone exporting food?
“Damn it···. I told you to keep your mouths shut.”
“Have you confirmed where the leak came from?”
“No. Nothing has been confirmed yet.”
“···Those guys who have been quiet for a while will be making a fuss again.”
After the Act of Union of 1800, which annexed Ireland, the resistance of the Irish independence forces continued relentlessly. In the 1820s, there was the Catholic Emancipation movement led by Daniel O’Connell, and in the 1830s and 1840s, nationalists began to emerge who advocated for a more radical approach.
It was a group called the Young Irelanders. They would be fueling their hatred of England with this news.
“We need to keep a close eye on Ireland, but I’m more concerned about the reaction of our own citizens.”
As a Conservative Party member said, it was news that would make the citizens of the homeland angry.
It wasn’t because they cared about the Irish people.
The fact that Britain was a food importer and had to exploit Ireland meant that there was a food shortage in mainland Britain. This was because the farms in mainland Britain could no longer handle the explosive population growth in England.
The lower classes of England were still barely surviving on one meal a day, and many were starving to death. In the midst of this, they were exporting food?
Of course, the British government had thought things through. They hadn’t exported food from mainland Britain but had purchased additional food from other countries that still had stable agricultural prices and exported it to America.
However, as the members feared, the citizens of the homeland were angry at the government, and the Irish people were enraged, going beyond anger. Anti-government protests began in Ireland and London.
“Let’s just let the Mexican thing slide.”
“Yes. We’re busy enough managing our colonies, and the situation with Russia and the Ottomans is a headache. We need to focus on that.”
Britain, which already had a lot on its plate, was struggling to keep its own house in order.
A war with the Mexican Empire, which was prepared to strike a blow to the back of their heads if necessary, was too burdensome for the British Empire.
Even the Conservative Party members, who had briefly supported the war, turned back, and Arthur Wellesley’s last chance vanished.
Britain relayed the situation and orders from the homeland to Ambassador Richard Pakenham in Mexico City.
And so, America’s last lifeline was cut.