I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 265

< Fraternal America (2) >

America realized that the situation was turning dire right before Russia’s defeat and the signing of the Treaty of Paris.

At first, they thought it was just the Mexicans making a desperate move, like a rat biting a cat when cornered.

However, as the casualties continued to increase, like getting soaked in a drizzle, the field commanders realized something was wrong.

And after analyzing the captured materials, their suspicion turned into certainty.

“Your Excellency, Mr. President! This is a clear act of betrayal!”

“Canada is selling weapons to Mexico, violating its agreement with the home country. This is beyond just a matter of protest!”

“…Do we have evidence that their weapons were produced in Canada?”

“Of course! General Winfield Scott at the front has already sent evidence weapons this way. They should arrive within a few days, so we must summon the British ambassador immediately!”

The generals of the army and navy, along with the Secretary of War, all rose up in protest, leaving Taylor with no choice but to address the issue.

In fact, even if they hadn’t made such a fuss, this was a clear violation of the agreement that he, as president, could not simply ignore.

But at the same time, it didn’t make sense.

Could a country like Great Britain be crazy enough to sign an export ban agreement and then secretly sell weapons behind the scenes?

And if they were going to do that, shouldn’t they have disguised it somehow, instead of leaving it so obvious that it was their weapon?

According to General Scott’s report, some weapons even had engravings proudly symbolizing that they were British weapons. Does that make any sense?

As expected, a little investigation revealed some suspicious circumstances.

Multiple departments simultaneously reported that a significant number of weapons made in Canada were flowing into Cuba.

Taylor felt the need to clearly address this bizarre situation and immediately summoned the heads of each department.

“There are constant reports from commanders that the Mexican army is armed with British weapons. After a thorough investigation, we’ve discovered that these weapons are not being sold directly by Canada, but are flowing into Mexico via Cuba. The State Department and the War Department believe it’s safe to assume this is the case.”

“Are those Spanish bastards crazy?”

“They still think it’s the 16th century when they were dragging around the Armada [a large Spanish fleet],” someone muttered.

“Your Excellency, have you confirmed this with Great Britain?”

“I summoned the ambassador myself to confirm the facts. Canada has not sold weapons to Mexico, but they have sold them to Cuba.”

A low sigh rippled through the room at the President’s words.

So, they had been watching the Mexicans happily replenish their weapons all along.

“What has the War Department been doing? They should have identified and addressed this in advance.”

“Am I a prophet? How could I have predicted that the Spanish would go crazy and sell weapons through Cuba? Besides, if we raided a Spanish ship based on mere suspicion and found nothing, how would we handle the aftermath?”

“…That’s a fair point, Secretary. My apologies. Anyway, Your Excellency, we must prevent British weapons from flowing into Mexico from now on.”

“Yes, but on what grounds can we stop it?”

A sudden silence fell.

As everyone looked around, unsure of what to say, Secretary of War George Crawford hesitantly opened his mouth.

“Your Excellency, isn’t Spain selling items that are clearly harmful to our country to Mexico? Can’t we pressure Spain to stop selling those items?”

“They’ll argue that we have no right to interfere with another country’s free trade. What should we say to that?”

“That’s… Mr. Attorney General, does Spain bear any responsibility for this?”

“We can protest as much as we want, but Spain can ignore us just as easily.”

“Then, what if we tell Canada not to sell items to Spain?”

“Great Britain would just tell us not to talk nonsense.”

With news that the Great War in Europe ended sooner than expected, there would be no benefit in criticizing Great Britain.

Taylor decided not to hold Canada responsible for now.

“It wouldn’t be good to provoke Great Britain while we’re in the middle of a war with Mexico. But let’s ask them anyway.”

“Do you think the British will listen?”

“Of course not. So, let’s discuss realistic measures we can take here. First, we could organize additional troops and push Mexico even harder. Is that possible?”

“It’s not impossible.”

“Your Excellency, the budget…”

As if on cue, the War Department and the Treasury Department gave conflicting answers, causing Taylor to frown.

“Is it possible or not?”

Secretary of the Treasury William Meredith glanced around, assessing the atmosphere in the room.

The War Department, not to mention the State Department, was glaring at him.

Moreover, the President was a military man from the start, and now Congress and the citizens were all shouting that the United States should not be held back by the likes of Mexico.

Considering the future national interest, they needed to push through the Arizona and Sonora regions and secure a path to the Sea of Cortez [Gulf of California].

This was the absolute goal declared by the United States, a destiny that must be achieved.

In the end, the stage of opposing it for reasons of financial soundness had long passed.

“On second thought, I think it’s quite possible.”

“Then, mobilize the Navy to blockade all Mexican ports. That way, the Spanish won’t be able to easily ship weapons.”

“So, are we just going to leave Spain alone?”

“Of course not. Issue a stern warning to Spain, telling them not to sell any more weapons to Mexico, and strongly emphasize that they will be held responsible for the consequences if they continue to benefit the enemy.”

It seemed like a harsh statement, but for Taylor, a military man, this was the fundamental response.

Selling weapons to the enemy was, after all, an indirect declaration that they were prepared to be on the opposite side.

The United States, having reached a quick decision, organized additional frigates and sloops to strike Mexican ports and warned Spain not to provide any more weapons.

However, Spain, the legend of 0th generation aggro before Great Britain rose to prominence, was not one to give up easily just because a port was blocked.

Belize, a British territory located just south of Quintana Roo [a Mexican state], the southeasternmost region of Mexico.

This small country bordered Mexico but was clearly British territory, completely out of reach of the United States.

Spain bribed Belize’s high officials and leisurely left weapons on the coast, which Mexico quickly picked up and disappeared across the border again.

This happened repeatedly, and finally, the United States’ patience reached its limit.

-The sale of military supplies that benefit countries at war with the United States is strictly prohibited, and the Navy has the authority to enforce this.

The U.S. Congress quickly passed such a bill, showing signs of causing an accident at any moment, but they did not actually take action.

Spain dismissed it as a weak dog barking for no reason, but within the United States, public opinion of Spain deteriorated rapidly, reaching the point of explosion.

But as always, Europe was not understanding enough to pay attention to the anger of a second-rate power.

Even Spain, which was not properly industrialized and was aging, was no exception.

‘Hehehe, are our second-rate powers angry? So, are you going to hit us? Oh, I’m so scared.’

They were pathetic guys who couldn’t even push Mexico properly and had been dragging out the war for two years.

Spain, having completely forgotten that they were losing colonies one after another due to the rebellions of those South American countries, watched the United States’ poor performance and gained a firm confidence that those guys were no match for them yet.

Whether that was the truth was another matter.

* * *

The strongest country in the Americas is the United States.

Due to my intervention, the United States was still playing around, grappling with Mexico, but this truth had not changed.

Canada had achieved the feat of taking California and even acquiring Alaska, but it would take at least a decade to explode its national power based on this.

Still, thanks to the Crimean War, they were able to further accelerate industrialization, and the plan to transfuse immigrants from Asia and Europe was proceeding without a hitch, so in 20 to 30 years, they might be able to compete with the United States.

Here, the United States still had one more event of the century ahead of them, so if they could make the most of it, they might be able to surpass them.

However, that was all in the future, and currently, there was no country in the Americas that could handle the United States alone.

Considering sending troops from the home country, only Great Britain could win a war against the United States.

However, judging from the way things were going, it seemed that I was the only one who knew this fact.

“So, Canada sold weapons to Spain, and Spain sold them to Mexico again.”

“Yes. They seem to have judged that there was no reason to refuse since it would benefit them.”

“I see. Looking at Canada alone, this was a welcome offer, so they would have been called fools if they hadn’t accepted.”

Canada was happy to produce and sell weapons, and Spain was happy to hand them over to Mexico and receive silver mine concessions.

In addition, there had been conflicts with the United States over the Cuban Captaincy General recently, so Spain must have thought it was a good opportunity to strike a blow against the United States and committed the act.

However, if this caused the United States’ favorability to plummet, it wouldn’t be good. How were they going to handle the aftermath?

Or did they believe that there would be no aftermath in the first place?

“Prime Minister, so what do you want me to do?”

“The United States has requested that Canada no longer sell weapons to Spain. But since all the factories are currently in Canada, Your Highness’s opinion seems more important than my or other lawmakers’ judgment. What should we do?”

“Of course, we should tell them not to talk nonsense. If they want to stop weapons from going to Spain, tell them to buy them all themselves.”

It seemed to overlap exactly with when I told them to buy it all themselves if they wanted to stop weapons from being sold to Mexico, but there was no logical flaw in my argument.

If they didn’t like it, they should tell Spain not to sell it to Mexico. There was no reason for Canada not to sell weapons to Spain.

Then, if France moved Haiti to engage in intermediary trade, would they tell France not to sell weapons to them either?

Unless the United States was stronger than Great Britain, it was not a demand that they could make against a stronger country.

They probably knew we would refuse and just said it once.

“Your Highness, and next, there is something that requires Your Highness’s consent…”

“…Wait a minute. But what about Spain?”

“Wouldn’t Spain ignore it too?”

“It wouldn’t be good for Spain to be disliked by the United States, would it?”

“…Excuse me? Isn’t it the opposite?”

Wellesley replied with a subtle expression, and Disraeli, who joined later, also tilted his head.

“The United States is a rising power, but it doesn’t have any proven track record yet. On the other hand, Spain, no matter how much it’s a setting sun, has exerted influence around the world for centuries and has an army with long war experience. Maybe in 30 or 40 years, but right now, shouldn’t the United States be mindful of Spain?”

“I agree with that opinion.”

“Oh… I see everyone thinks so.”

What is this? Is this level of reality recognition real?

Wait a minute.

If not only Wellesley but also Disraeli had this opinion, wouldn’t it be safe to say that this was the general perception of the United States in Europe?

I wondered why there was such a big disconnect, but the fact that the Mexican War was not over yet crossed my mind.

Beyond not being over, the United States was currently being delayed by Mexico’s unexpected struggle.

Even those who highly valued the potential of the United States had no choice but to make the assessment, ‘Still a long way to go.’

With that calculation, Spain was not distinguishing where to meddle and was dancing a breakdance in front of a sleeping lion, drawing aggro [aggression].

Fighting in Europe or the Philippines was one thing, but fighting in the Atlantic Ocean, the current United States could easily crush Cuba.

The United States was holding back even though it was seething inside because the war with Mexico was not over yet, not because it was afraid of Spain.

But the whole of Europe, as well as Spain itself, did not know this fact?

If I did this well, I could give Canada’s growth another boost while continuing to divert the United States’ aggro elsewhere.

As the saying goes, brothers grow up fighting each other. Are our American children destined to continue to struggle and experience growing pains?

If so, I have no choice but to pour oil on the blazing firewood.