A Letter from Afar

No matter how the Americans romanticize the war in Texas, it cannot change its nature as an invasion, so Archduke Franz Karl intended to lend a hand.

The Americans' method of subverting Texas was not particularly clever; they simply used large-scale immigration to dilute the local Mexican population, much like a frog being boiled in warm water. By the time the Mexican government realized it, the number of American immigrants had already surpassed the local Mexican population.

Because the newly arrived American immigrants were constantly clashing with the local indigenous Indians and Mexicans over water sources and land, the Mexican government was forced to take action and issued a new decree prohibiting the entry of American immigrants.

However, because Texas was vast and sparsely populated at the time, and the Americans had no intention of complying, the Mexican "Anti-Immigration Decree" was as useless as waste paper.

In 1824, under the strong demand of the domestic Catholic Church, Mexico announced the abolition of slavery. By 1830, slavery no longer existed in Mexico, with the exception of Texas.

The American immigrants had no intention of following Mexican law; they continued to establish plantations and purchase black slaves everywhere.

For the American immigrants of that time, the demand to free their slaves was unacceptable.

One must know that before the end of the Civil War, black slaves were an important economic pillar for the American South.

Cutting off a man's livelihood is like killing his parents; this destined that a war between the Mexicans and these American slave owners was inevitable.

By 1835, seeing that the time was ripe, the United States simply incited Texas to declare independence directly.

Afterward, the President of Mexico led his troops in a personal expedition, only to suffer heavy losses at the Alamo and eventually be captured at the Battle of San Jacinto, where he was forced to sign the Treaty of Velasco and recognize the independence of Texas.

That the Mexicans were defeated so miserably was certainly because the United States was far superior to Mexico in military strength and social organizational capacity, but the Mexicans were not without a chance; at the very least, they should have been able to take a piece of flesh out of the Americans.

On January 1, 1836, the President of Mexico, Santa Anna, decided to lead a personal expedition to Texas.

"Mr. President! Mr. President! You have a letter!"

Santa Anna's newly appointed Vice President, Rouvel, shouted anxiously.

"Rouvel, you are the Vice President now, not my messenger. As a high-ranking state official, you must carry yourself like one."

"Yes, sir!"

Rouvel had followed Santa Anna since he first became a messenger and was Santa Anna's most trusted subordinate.

Santa Anna was a soldier at heart; he was uninterested in politics but sensitive to power, which did not stop him from handing all government affairs over to the former Vice President, Farias, while he hid in the barracks to act as a general.

The latter, upon obtaining presidential power, wanted to make a name for himself. He first launched a series of government projects, then cut the military, increased taxes, and restricted the power of the Church, leaving the national treasury empty and the people full of grievances.

Finally, under the combined pressure of the military, the Church, and the people, Santa Anna was forced to remove Farias and replace him with his adjutant, Lieutenant General Rouvel.

However, this Lieutenant General Rouvel was nothing more than a messenger, yet it was rare for him to be this agitated.

Santa Anna became curious about the origin of the letter.

"Whose letter is it? Let me guess, could it be Andrew Jackson?"

"No, sir, it is a letter from the royal family."

"The royal family?"

"It is a letter from the royal family of the Austrian Empire, sir."

Santa Anna took the letter with some excitement; the signature on it was Archduke Franz Karl.

"You may go, sir."

"Yes, yes, Mr. President!"

After Rouvel left, Santa Anna looked at the letter with great excitement, for it was addressed to "My dear brother, Santa Anna."

This Santa Anna had joined the army at the age of 16 to participate in the Mexican War of Independence. He first joined the Spanish army, then later joined the insurgent army. In 1829, because he tenaciously resisted the last offensive launched by the Spanish, he was hailed as a national hero.

After Mexico's victory, some even called him the "Savior of Mexico," yet Santa Anna humbly replied, "I am the Napoleon of North America."

At that time in North America, whether it was the United States or Mexico, both were viewed as lands of barbarians by Europe, and it was very difficult to gain recognition from Europeans.

And now, a member of the Austrian royal family was actually addressing Santa Anna as a brother. One must know that after Napoleon III came to power, he was long denied recognition by European countries, and the Tsar even used the title "my friend" to deliberately humiliate Napoleon.

At this moment, Santa Anna's mood was as excited as when the Wa state was granted the name "Japan" back in the day.

After Santa Anna opened the letter and read the first two paragraphs, he was in a great mood, having already accepted this Archduke Franz Karl as his own brother from another mother in his heart.

For such an arrogant person, one must, of course, flatter him first.

Franz highly praised Mexico's act of abolishing slavery, affirmed the achievements Santa Anna had made over the years, and strongly condemned the aggressive behavior of the American immigrants.

These were all things Santa Anna most wanted to see; he was already prepared to send envoys to Austria to establish diplomatic relations.

Santa Anna continued to read, and the following words left him shocked beyond measure.

It concerned the current state of Mexico: the country was riddled with factions, falling apart, the treasury was in deficit, the military was severely understaffed, the weapons were antiques from the last century, and most importantly, there was a traitor by his side.

That there was an American mole by Santa Anna's side was Franz's own speculation.

After all, the Battle of San Jacinto was far too suspicious. Not to mention how the Americans managed to cut off the Mexican retreat without the Mexicans noticing, and then successfully launched a surprise attack in broad daylight.

Just the fact that Santa Anna's route of march was so easily mastered by the Americans was enough.

One must know that there were no mobile phones or telephones at the time, and many messages had to be delivered by people.

The news had to reach the barracks, the troops had to be assembled, the infantry had to arrive, then they had to cut off the enemy's retreat, and finally launch a surprise attack.

In the end, the Mexican army lost 700 men, while the Texas army had 11 dead and 28 wounded.

If all of this was a coincidence, then the probability was far too low.

Franz believed that there must be a spy by Santa Anna's side, and regardless of whether there was any truth to it, he would take a few swings at the tree anyway—just in case he hit something.

The country was riddled with factions and torn apart, the national treasury was running a deficit, and the military was severely understaffed; this was the current state of Mexico.

Santa Anna fell into deep thought. Although he trusted his subordinates, the fact that an Archduke far away in Europe could clearly see the current state of his country made him doubt the confidentiality of his own men.

In the end, Franz provided a solution: win over the Catholic Church, improve relations with the media, and simultaneously, Austria intended to sell Mexico a shipment of arms—twenty thousand rifles—along with sending two military observers and a professional tabloid editor.

Thanks to Shenzhou Buwu Tianxia Fengdao for the tip, and to book friends 20190202101700627, Bu Bu Bu Ka, He Ha He, and Shenzhou Buwu Tianxia Fengdao for their monthly votes, as well as the support of all my readers.

I got home late today, so I'm afraid there will only be two chapters.