Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 512

Chapter 512: Chapter 85: Misfortune Comes Out of the Blue

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After ensuring Maximilian’s safety, Franz ordered him to be confined without delay to prevent any mishaps.

He had no choice but to distrust his unreliable brother. There’s a saying that fits well, “You won’t die if you don’t court death.”

Don’t think that it’s truly safe now. The number of people who want Maximilian I dead could join hands and circle around Mexico City several times.

It’s fine within the Austrian Camp, where everyone is an ally, and no one seeks his life. But if he went out, there would certainly be more than a few ready to shoot him in the back or throw a bomb.

Of course, preventing him from interfering with the negotiations was also an important factor. This was a valuable bargaining chip in the talks with The Republican Government, which could be fully exploited to cheat.

As long as Maximilian I does not abdicate, he remains the Legal Emperor of Mexico, and any treaty signed with him carries legal weight.

…

Mexico City, inside the Austrian Embassy.

Minister Compton threatened, “Your Excellency the President, this is our last offer. For every day you delay, your country will need to pay an additional 100,000 Divine Shield in military expenses. Continuing to drag this out will not benefit you.”

President Juarez’s heart was extremely uneasy, but he maintained his composure on the surface.

“Your Excellency, your country’s appetite is too large. We have already compensated for the losses of the victims. At most, we can pay another one million Divine Shield in military expenses. This is already our limit of endurance.”

Trading land to offset indemnities was a last resort. After losing several northern states to the Americans, Mexico’s regard for its territory shot up drastically.

Juarez was very aware that the Austrians were extorting him, knowing that the more severe the Austrians’ threats, the less likely they were prepared to obliterate Mexico.

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Strategically speaking, Mexico was also an important force in restraining the Americans, and even a divided United States should not be underestimated.

A stable Mexico could halt the expansion of the Americans, aligning with Austria’s interests.

Clearly, President Juarez overestimated Mexico’s role. Franz never believed Mexico capable of containing the Americans. The stability of North America was more a result of the mutual checks between the United States and Confederate States, amplified by the suppressive actions of the major powers.

It’s a lesson from history—those who tried to use Mexico to balance against America in the original timeline all ended up deeply regretting it.

The gap between the two was fundamentally qualitative. Compared to the fertile lands of the United States and Confederate States, Mexico could be considered barren land.

Of course, that wasn’t the worst of it. The Americans had a natural advantage, and when comparing the fertility of land, resources, and climate conditions, over eighty percent of the world’s land would fall short.

Although Mexico was mountainous, it still boasted rich mineral resources and decent agricultural resources. If developed well, becoming a mid-sized country would not be a big problem.

Unfortunately, it faced the Americans, who not only outnumbered Mexicans but also had a superior quality of population. In this era, despite the prevalence of semi-literacy in both the United States and Confederate States, they were still better educated than the tribal civilizations of Mexico.

This is no exaggeration. A significant portion of the Mexican population still lived tribally, much like in the Austrian Central American Colony.

However, Mexico was worse off. Backed by Austria, the Austrian Central American Colony fared reasonably well economically, merely by selling agricultural products and industrial raw materials.

Now, who would support Mexico? It can be said that if President Juarez were to suddenly pass away, a civil war in Mexico would erupt.

This would be more severe than in the original timeline. Both the United States of America and Confederate States, implacably opposed to each other, supported different political factions in Mexico, and the secretive financial backers behind the scenes were not amenable to compromise.

This doesn’t even consider the roles England, France, and Austria might play in all of this. The desire for a stable Mexico is there, but the political forces within Mexico are all too underdeveloped to matter.

Including Juarez, none were qualified leaders. His prestige was solely built on his anti-imperial stance and the establishment of The Republican Government, contributing little of substance to the nation.

Despite the social reforms, they all ended in failure. Compared to Maximilian I, he just took a softer approach to reforms and knew how to compromise with interest groups.

Lacking sufficiently convincing achievements, this is the root of Mexico’s political instability. Many who oppose The Republican Government do so not out of ambition or for personal gain but purely based on a belief in their lack of governance capability.

This assessment is not wrong. Had there been governance capability, Mexico in the original timeline would not have descended into civil war.

It’s worth noting that even after Maximilian I’s rule was overthrown, Mexico didn’t immediately plunge into full-scale civil war—Juarez’s Republican Government managed to hold on for a while.

With a mature governing team, they would have had a chance to navigate the crisis without succumbing to a century-long chaos.

Minister Compton said with a slight smile, “No matter, I believe in your country’s capacity to endure. Even if you don’t agree, it’s fine. We can take matters into our own hands.

However, by doing so, it wouldn’t look good for anyone, and your country would end up paying an even higher price.”

This was no longer a threat but an action already underway. Not the colonial government, but rather plantation owners and ambitious young men who aspired to be plantation owners, spearheaded this invasion.

Austrian Central America is unlike the United States: the fertile land there is limited, and the number of plantations that can be cultivated can no longer satisfy everyone’s needs.

Expansion became the only choice, and we had but two neighbors: Colombia and Mexico. Unfortunately for Mexico, it was the one to be selected.

Turn the pages of history, and you will find that Mexico once had its days of glory. Right after independence from Spain, it was one of the largest countries in the world.

But its luck ended there. First, the Central American region gained independence, followed by the United States biting off 2.3 million square kilometers. With that, the imperial dream was over.

Everyone knows that acquiring land at the negotiation table is tremendously difficult. Almost all expansion is achieved through military victories, creating fait accompli.

This time was no exception. While Minister Compton was negotiating here, Governor Hummel was not sitting idle either. Outside of Mexico City, there was only a division; the rest of the troops, apart from safeguarding supply lines, were waging a war of expansion.

The fighting had just begun, communication within Mexico was cut off, and telegraphs were not yet widespread, so President Juarez naturally didn’t receive advance news.

An infuriated President Juarez suddenly slammed the table and stood up, shouting, “This is an invasion, this shameless…”

Before he could finish, he suddenly collapsed. Minister Compton’s face turned grim instantly, and the various expressions on the faces of those present at the negotiation table became animated—some tense, some gleeful, some taking pleasure in another’s misfortune.

Compton didn’t care about the life and death of President Juarez; the problem was that he couldn’t afford to have him die in the Austrian Embassy, as that would be extremely detrimental to the subsequent negotiations.

“Guard, call Doctor Reis over, quickly!”

Without any hesitation, Minister Compton immediately ordered life-saving measures. The Vienna Government cared about face—if Juarez died here, who knows what stories would be concocted outside.

Those present, if not exaggerating, would be doing well. Compton certainly didn’t expect any of them to speak a fair word.

Maybe someone’s memoirs would record: President Juarez argued forcefully in negotiations with Austria and was then brutally murdered.

Soon after, a middle-aged man in a white coat entered the conference room and immediately began resuscitating President Juarez.

Compton repressed his emotions and said, “Mr. Kord, President Juarez is in a medical crisis, and the embassy’s medical staff is insufficient. Please send help!”

Juarez was the leader of the Republicans. If he died now, the Republicans would be headless. Kord was not any more at ease than Compton.

“No problem, I’ll arrange it immediately.”

As soon as Kord finished speaking, someone from the Mexican delegation stepped forward and accused, “You’ve poisoned President Juarez and now you want to shirk the responsibility!”

Compton and Kord both shot murderous glares at the accuser. Juarez wasn’t even dead yet, and they were so eager to jump out.

Although for the negotiations, having President Juarez die at this moment and dumping the responsibility on the Austrians would be most beneficial for Mexico, it was still unacceptable to Kord.

Ignoring the middle-aged man’s clamor, Kord continued to go and seek help. The stakes were high, and there were definitely more than one or two in the Mexican Government wishing for President Juarez’s death. He couldn’t trust this matter in someone else’s hands.

Minister Compton mocked, “Guard, take this madman away. If anything untoward happens to President Juarez, he’ll be the prime suspect.”

To dare pin the hat of poisoning a negotiation representative on Austria, Compton had already sentenced this tactless fool to death in his mind.

If they wanted to spread rumors, they should quietly do so after leaving. Crying out so boldly, did they think they weren’t dying fast enough?

The powers of this era were not to be trifled with. Today it was just the wrong location, but in a different setting, killing someone would not be out of the question.

Soon after, the bad news came: President Juarez, who was already at the end of his tether, had reached the end of his life.

On January 21, 1872, President Juarez, having suffered an intense shock, died without response to resuscitation in the Austrian Embassy, half a year earlier than in the original timeline.

It could be understood, after all, the situation he faced was much worse than the original timeline. Not to mention years of civil war, Austria had also come knocking at his door.

After so many events, his body naturally couldn’t cope, and once he fell, he couldn’t get up again.

What’s even more tragic is that, due to his health, in order to have the energy to handle affairs, President Juarez had been relying on drugs to sustain himself.

This autopsy result made Minister Compton want to cry without tears. The Mexican side’s doctors insisted it was death by poisoning.

The medical personnel sent from England and France reached the same conclusion, but they were a bit more impartial, adding a note to the conclusion: “Death due to long-term drug use.”

With such a serious incident, Minister Compton couldn’t cover it up himself and immediately sent someone to report to the Vienna Government.

No other choice, Mexico had no direct telegraph connection to Austria, and the message had to be sent through Austrian Central America. More precisely, it had to be relayed.

To deliver the message from America to Vienna, several relays were needed; such was the inconvenience of wired telegraphs.