“Did any of them make it into Tampico?”
“Yes, Your Highness.
We captured most of them, but a few escaped at full speed and reached Tampico.
I apologize for failing to stop them.”
The cavalry commander was reporting the results of the pursuit.
“It doesn’t matter.
Is Tampico under control?”
“Yes, Your Highness.
There were still some men firing near the port, but there didn’t appear to be many.”
Given the size of the Spanish main force, they could only have left a small garrison behind.
“I understand.
You must be exhausted after chasing stragglers following the battle.
Get some rest.”
More than three hundred nobles had been captured.
If they had merely possessed noble blood, they might not have been particularly useful in negotiations.
But these men came from families that owned large haciendas in Mexico and occupied influential positions among the Spanish nobility.
The sons of the highest-ranking families had joined as infantry officers rather than cavalrymen, which meant they had been trapped in the surrender and never had a chance to flee.
Once Spain learned how many noble sons we held prisoner, the political uproar would be enormous.
***
Two days later, we finished clearing the battlefield and collecting the prisoners and captured equipment.
“Let’s go, Major Jorge.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
We had captured ninety cannons from the enemy.
Our army began marching slowly toward Tampico.
There was no need to hurry.
A few hundred Spanish soldiers couldn’t have accomplished much in the meantime.
BANG!
For a moment, I had worried they might have evacuated completely.
But gunfire still came from the direction of the port.
A scout returned as soon as he heard it.
“Bring the army closer.”
“Yes, Your Highness!
ADVANCE!”
“ADVANCE!”
Ten thousand Mexican soldiers surrounded Tampico.
Only then did a white flag appear.
Defending the city had been hopeless from the beginning.
‘You can hardly call Tampico a fortress when it has only a few scattered walls.’
We retook the port.
***
‘Those damned cowards.’
The first Spanish cavalrymen to flee the battlefield had already boarded the fleet.
Despite deserting in battle, they weren’t punished.
Their noble blood protected them, and they were allowed aboard without consequence.
The Spanish fleet did not attack us after we entered Tampico, but neither could we seize their ships.
They remained offshore at a considerable distance.
I dispatched a fast messenger to report the victory to Agustín I and request authority to negotiate an end to the war.
Diplomacy and defense fell entirely under the Emperor’s authority, so I needed only his permission, not Parliament’s.
Delighted by the news of our victory, Agustín I granted me full negotiating authority almost immediately.
The Spanish fleet, carrying the noble fugitives aboard, remained trapped in an awkward limbo off Tampico.
I sent a vessel out to contact them.
Not long afterward, the fleet responded, and a man introducing himself as Admiral Juan Morales came ashore.
“…Let’s dispense with the formalities.
I am Admiral Juan Morales, commander of the expeditionary fleet.
I didn’t expect matters to be settled so quickly.”
“I’m happy to skip the formalities as well.
I am Agustín Jerónimo de Iturbide, Crown Prince of the Mexican Empire and commander of the defending army.
Are you the highest-ranking Spanish officer who remains free?”
“I am.”
“Then I should begin by informing you that the Mexican Empire deeply regrets Spain’s invasion.”
“…Spain has never recognized Mexican independence, so calling it an invasion is inaccurate.
“In any case, I came to negotiate the release of our prisoners.
If your side shows generosity and releases our men, our King may also show generosity by recognizing Mexican independence.
What do you say?”
‘This is absurd.’
“The Mexican Empire is already independent.
We do not need Spain’s permission.
“You began an invasion without warning.
Unless Spain offers a proper apology and compensation, there will be no release of prisoners.”
Morales did not appear surprised.
“What kind of apology and compensation are you demanding?”
I handed him the document I had prepared.
King Ferdinand VII of Spain shall acknowledge responsibility for initiating the war of invasion and issue an apology to the Mexican Empire.
Spain shall pay an indemnity of 10 million pesos to the Mexican Empire.
Spain shall cede the entire island of Cuba to the Mexican Empire.
Spain shall surrender the fleet used in the invasion to the Mexican Empire.
Spain shall transfer 50 first-rate naval engineers to the Mexican Empire.
Morales’s face grew redder with every line.
“This is madness!
Do you seriously believe we would accept such conditions?
Cuba?
We would rather continue the war!
“You’ve become arrogant after winning a single battle, but you’ll regret it.
What audacity from a country without a proper fleet!”
Morales stood furiously and prepared to leave.
I stopped him with one sentence.
“In that case, the prisoners will be sent to the mines.
“We’ll put them in the hardest and most dangerous mines in the Mexican Empire.
“You know what can happen to a man working in a mine.
Frankly, it isn’t something I’ll lose sleep over.”
Morales froze.
Then he slowly sat back down.
“…Are you threatening us by using prisoners as hostages?
A prince would do something like that?
It’s dishonorable!”
“Dishonorable?
“Is launching an invasion and refusing to offer a proper apology or compensation somehow honorable?
“If Spain refuses to compensate us, then it is only reasonable that we recover our losses through the labor of the prisoners.”
“Do you truly intend to continue this war?
“I don’t understand how you expect to deal with the consequences.
“You appear to have identified the prisoners, but if you harm the nobles and then lose the war, do you think you’ll survive?”
Morales was trying to intimidate me, desperate to find a way out.
‘What a pathetic threat.’
“If Spain can send another expedition, then send one.
“Do you think I don’t know you already committed what forces you could spare to this campaign?
“One day, the Mexican Empire will build a fleet of its own.
“When that happens, we won’t stop at Cuba.
We’ll take Puerto Rico as well.
“Or perhaps we’ll use the indemnity we demand from you to buy ships from Britain.
“Your prisoners can die in the mines while Spain loses Cuba and Puerto Rico.
“If you want to gamble on that future, go ahead.”
I answered his threat with an even more direct one.
Morales’s face went pale.
He understood that if Spain forced the issue, I was prepared to follow through.
“…The King will never accept this.
Signing a treaty like this would be political suicide.”
“When you make a wager this large, you must be prepared to pay the price.
“Take our proposal to Ferdinand VII.
“If we receive no answer within twelve weeks, we will assume he has rejected it and send the prisoners to the mines.”
“…”
Morales left without saying goodbye.
Although we had won the battle, international wars in this era were not decided solely by who won or lost on the battlefield.
Britain and France, in particular, constantly interfered to expand their influence.
They supported whatever benefited them and blocked whatever harmed them, regardless of what the countries actually fighting wanted.
‘In other words, even after winning a war, if you want to secure a favorable indemnity, you have to bribe Britain or France.’
After Morales departed, I left Major Jorge in command of the troops and hurried back to Mexico City.
Agustín I wanted to organize a grand celebration, but I stopped him.
The country we needed to court was Britain.
France was closely tied to Spain at this point.
It was France that had restored Ferdinand VII’s power.
There was no chance France would simply allow a distant country like Mexico to strip assets from a Spain under French influence.
I invited the British ambassador to the palace.
“Ambassador Ward, a pleasure to meet you.”
Henry George Ward—the same man who had served as Britain’s representative in Mexico in the history I remembered.
“A pleasure, Your Highness.
I’ve heard about Spain’s attack.
It seems you led your forces to victory through an excellent strategy.
Congratulations.”
He raised his teacup and naturally eased into the subject.
“Haha.
It was nothing extraordinary.
I invited you because there’s something related to that event I’d like to discuss.”
“Please, go ahead.”
“As you know, Spain is closely aligned with France.
“But if we use this opportunity to cooperate, Britain could put a leash on Spain.
Don’t you agree?”
“Hmm… I’d like to hear more about your proposal.”
Britain behaved much like a landowner who trapped peasants in debt until they became little better than serfs.
Once a nation was caught in its debt network, Britain could find endless reasons to inflate interest and demand a high price in return.
Mexico was no exception.
“If Britain forgives fifteen million pesos of the twenty-five million we owe you, we’ll transfer to Britain the right to collect the ten-million-peso indemnity Spain owes us.
What do you think?”
Forgiving fifteen million in debt to obtain a ten-million claim might sound absurd.
But this wasn’t simply a matter of numbers.
The original amount Britain had actually lent Mexico probably hadn’t exceeded ten million pesos.
What mattered was gaining the right to collect from Spain.
It was like offering a moneylender a new debtor in exchange for forgiving part of your own debt.
‘When your country lacks power, you have to resort to tactics like this.’
Britain knew Spain couldn’t pay immediately.
That meant Spain could eventually be trapped under a mountain of interest.
“Do you believe Spain will accept the indemnity treaty?” Ward asked.
“We can deal with France, but forcing Spain to sign is an entirely different problem.”
He knew Mexico lacked a navy.
Naturally, he wondered how we intended to compel Spain.
“They won’t have a choice.
“We’re holding hundreds of high-ranking Spanish nobles as prisoners.”
“Hundreds… In that case, Ferdinand VII may indeed have no alternative.”
Spain’s domestic position resembled Mexico’s in some ways.
Its power was declining, while liberals waited for an opportunity in the provinces and conservatives gathered around the King at the center.
If Ferdinand VII rejected the treaty, he risked losing the support of many conservatives.
Ward understood immediately.
“Even so, fifteen million is a considerable sum.
How about eleven and a half million?”
He cut three and a half million from the figure without hesitation.
‘Seriously?
‘He didn’t even counter with twelve and a half.
Straight to eleven and a half.
‘I thought meeting in the middle was supposed to be the standard.’
Britain’s greed sent a chill through me.
Still, I had little choice.
“Agreed.
“But Britain must guarantee that France won’t interfere.”
“Don’t worry about that.
“However, our agreement will apply only if Spain signs the indemnity treaty.”
After concluding the discussion, I saw Ambassador Ward out.
Everything was now in place.
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