IBTCPOTME Novel - Chapter 152
**Chapter 152**
**South and North (6)**
“This can’t be…”
William Smith O’Brien felt cold sweat running down his back.
The feeling of an object against his skull was definitely that of a pistol.
He raised his hands, signifying he was unarmed, and said,
“Can I turn around? Even if I’m going to die, I want to see their face.”
“Turn around slowly.”
He couldn’t be sure of the man’s nationality, but one thing was certain.
“He’s a soldier.”
His trained physique, cold expression, and gleaming pistol – he was undoubtedly a soldier with professional training.
“…Are you British?”
“Maybe.”
“How did you know?”
“The Young Irelanders” weren’t an official organization with a centralized structure or formal membership roles.
They were a loose association of Irish nationalists and intellectuals with a more radical stance, breaking away from Daniel O’Connell’s organization, which advocated for peaceful independence.
However, there were figures who acted as leaders, and among them, William Smith O’Brien, who had been a member of the British House of Commons since 1828, was the most prominent.
“How could you not know, with them acting so openly?”
The man wasn’t letting his guard down. The gun barrel was pointed directly at his forehead, and his finger was on the trigger.
“At least put me on trial. I am a member of the British House of Commons.”
Even though they were treated like a colony, they were undeniably members of the British House of Commons.
“I have to die publicly.”
If he disappeared without a trace, their plans would not be carried out, and it would have a devastating impact on the independence movement.
“Do you want independence?”
The answer to his desperate plea was unexpected.
Click.
The man pulled back the hammer of his pistol, threatening him.
Did that mean he would shoot if he answered yes?
O’Brien remained silent for a moment, but his answer didn’t take long.
“…Of course.”
“Foolish. Can’t you see the gun barrel in front of your eyes?”
“I’d rather die here than lie about my country and people out of fear of that bullet.”
O’Brien felt sorry for his comrades, but he was also relieved.
He had overcome the fear of death.
The man looked at him, returned the hammer to its position, and removed the gun barrel from O’Brien.
“But you’re preparing for a rebellion so poorly?”
“…What?”
“The British government knows everything about your plans, from beginning to end. Do you know what that means?”
Only then did O’Brien realize that the man was not British.
“You’re not British?”
The statement that Britain already knew everything was a hint. He must be a foreign spy.
“If it’s a country that dares to oppose Britain…”
“Your answer is slow.”
His thoughts were interrupted. O’Brien quickly thought.
“…If you know everything, from beginning to end, not just vaguely… There’s a spy among our comrades.”
“Yes. And your plan is hardly even worthy of being called a plan. You plan to rise up without a clear plan for a nationwide rebellion, securing weapons, or finding foreign support.”
O’Brien felt ashamed. It was true. The young Irish men, enraged by the British government’s response to the Irish famine, had not acted very strategically. They were blinded by the extreme pain and anger the famine had inflicted on them.
O’Brien was not in a position to give them orders, and the situation was heading towards a dead end.
As O’Brien hung his head in shame, the man said,
“Take control and gather your forces more secretly. We’ll support you.”
Indeed, the man’s forces had a huge amount of food, and O’Brien realized who he belonged to.
“The Mexican Empire.”
They had intervened.
Initially, there was a sense of resistance to receiving help from a foreign power, as they were aiming for independence, but another force in the Irish independence movement, Daniel O’Connell, was pursuing cooperation with the British Whig party while claiming to be seeking independence.
The Young Irelanders agreed that it was better than the disgusting alliance Daniel O’Connell was pursuing, and they had a positive perception of the Mexican Empire, which had actively carried out relief activities during the famine.
The Mexican force, which looked like a “professional” to everyone, was a great help to the Young Irelanders, who were nothing more than amateurs.
“If we had carried out our original plan as it was, we would have been completely defeated without achieving anything.”
“…Yes.”
O’Brien and his comrades were essentially being trained by Mexican agents.
It was the moment the fate of the Young Irelanders changed.
***
“The first black literature student… It’s a good phenomenon.”
It was Isaac Lopez’s story. Even in March of this year, some of the prepared veterans were scheduled to enter university, but there were no black literature students.
“Yes, Your Majesty. If this is known, it will likely give courage to blacks who are hesitant.”
“Try to arrange a newspaper interview. Don’t force it.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Tom Freeman’s interview was quite a sensation. This was because he talked about the important values of “hope” and “integration.” It wasn’t a big deal for the white and mestizo population, who could be considered the mainstream of Mexican society, but it was a big deal for blacks and indigenous people, who made up the majority of the population.
“I heard that it was the first time that indigenous people and blacks bought that many newspapers.”
I processed Isaac’s report with a sense of satisfaction and then brought up the main agenda for today.
It was a joyous day when the results of exercising our right to technology transfer, stipulated in Article 5 of the Pittsburgh Treaty, arrived.
According to the detailed rules in the treaty, the Mexican Empire could demand knowledge of 20 patents, technologies, or inventions existing in the United States.
“Honestly, I thought it wouldn’t be much, but the results are good.”
It was Diego’s words.
“Ha ha, I didn’t have high hopes either, but there are some useful things.”
It was a free patent shopping opportunity.
We openly demanded a list from the US Patent Office and read it from the newest to the oldest, picking out what we wanted. We had already chosen several patents, but that wasn’t all.
Based on information gathered by intelligence agents, we also collected information about technologies and inventions not registered with the Patent Office and demanded it.
We brought back 20 technologies, but there were some particularly useful ones.
“This vulcanized rubber will be really useful.”
“Hmm, is that so?”
Vulcanized rubber is a material invented by Charles Goodyear, in which rubber is chemically treated to increase its elasticity and make it resistant to heat and cold. Before Goodyear invented the vulcanization process, natural rubber was only used for things like erasers, but after its invention, it became an important material used in various industries and everyday life.
“In the transportation sector, if we use this to make tires that wrap around wheels, we can significantly improve the stability and durability of carriages. It can also be widely used in the manufacture of various everyday items, such as clothing, shoes, and waterproof products.”
I was planning to commission research to “Gaítan” later, but it turned out that an American had already invented it in 1839.
“Your Majesty, we also need to decide which company we should give these technologies to for use.”
“The Patent Office will handle that. I’ve instructed them to select fairly, considering the company’s prepared utilization plan, location, and competitiveness.”
Diego grinned at my words.
“If competitiveness is included in the selection criteria, ‘Gaítan’ won’t be eliminated.”
“Ha ha, was that what you were curious about? If only my company got the patents, there would be some talk, so I’ve decided to select a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 10 companies.”
“I see.”
“Speaking of which, this sewing machine will be the biggest item in this bidding competition.”
“Well, I think this is the best one too. It’s a brand new invention from last year, so the inventor must be very upset.”
The sewing machine was invented by an American named Elias Howe in 1846, last year. The usefulness of this invention is beyond words. It will reduce labor time, increase production, and lower clothing prices.
“That’s right. We should tell Ramon to prepare for the bidding.”
There were attempts to develop sewing machines in various countries, including Britain and France, but Howard’s sewing machine had several key technological innovations.
Howard’s sewing machine was the first practical sewing machine to use the lock stitch mechanism. The lock stitch is a method where the upper thread and the lower thread from the bobbin interlock, creating a much stronger and more durable stitch than the previous chain stitch.
In fact, Britain and France invented sewing machines much earlier than the US, but they were not practical and only a few were produced.
It was an item with the power to shake up the clothing industry.
“Next is the rotary printing press.”
“A machine that can quickly print a large number of newspapers, books, magazines… It’s not suitable for my company to bid on.”
“Yes, but Real Inversión has over 10 publishing houses that they invested in, so we should tell them to prepare for bidding.”
“That’s a good idea.”
If I wanted to, I could have had companies like “Locke Precision Machinery” bid for it and get it, but I didn’t want to get all the technologies.
These technologies will all be distributed by the Patent Office by the end of this year. It’s important to grow more companies through this, but it’s also important that we got these technologies from the US. At least for now, we won’t be lagging behind in technology.
We also reviewed various other useful technologies, including agricultural technologies.
“With this, we won’t be lacking industries to develop new core cities.”
Chihuahua City, the first core city, is growing well. We gave construction jobs to the construction workers who built the city, allowing them to settle down well, and we also encouraged veterans to move to Chihuahua City by giving them some of their war compensation, including houses in the city and university benefits.
“Hmm, for Trinidad City in East Texas, we’ve prepared an elevator company in advance, and cotton cultivation is thriving, so we can send the sewing machine technology there…”
We tried to develop industries as efficiently as possible, considering the characteristics of each region, but we couldn’t do it for all of them. This was because there were more regions without any particular differences.
Actually, if we only considered immediate efficiency, it would be most efficient to attach all industries to the existing cities, starting with Las Truchas – Morelia – Mexico City – Veracruz.
This line, which crosses the center of Mexico via the railroad, includes the largest ports on the Pacific and Atlantic sides, the iron ore mines and steel mills that are essential for industrialization, and Mexico City and Morelia, populous and developed cities.
“But if we do that, almost all of the Mexican Empire’s population will live along that line.”
Considering the population density of Mexico City and its metropolitan area in my previous life, that’s very likely.
Using the territory of the Mexican Empire, which has become a vast country almost the size of the US minus Alaska in my previous life, in that way would be nothing more than wasting its potential.
Of course, trying to develop all of this vast territory evenly is nothing more than a delusional fantasy. But there are countless regions with good locations that could grow into major cities, and I don’t intend to waste their potential at all.
Considering the future, I allocated industries to Trinidad City and Mérida City, new core cities.