African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 87: Chapter 83: Rescuing Maximiliano I

June 19, 1867.

Compared to Juarez, Maximiliano I can be said to have no political mindset or capability at all.

As a traditional monarch supported by Mexican conservative forces and Napoleon III, he greatly implemented the policies of the Republican Faction, while naively believing he could reconcile with his opponents, Juarez and other Republicans.

Juarez did not disappoint Maximiliano I. He seized the latter’s pitiful naivety, quickly rose again, and has now imprisoned Maximiliano I.

If Ernst were the Emperor of Mexico, he would surely support the local conservatives, stabilize the French, and actively suppress the so-called revolutionaries.

As for the so-called reactionary forces, backward systems, and corrupt rule, it’s just a joke. For instance, in the past life, many African small countries had leaders and governments rampant with corruption, causing public outrage and suffering. Yet, they still ended well.

Even if forced to flee abroad, their descendants could even return to campaign in their homeland, perfectly fitting into American-style democracy.

As long as you promise benefits to the local powerful forces, you have a chance to be elected. Do the people in Africa truly not know about the dark history of your forefathers? Does the family’s rule in the region get forgotten in just a generation or two?

It can only be said that the votes in the people’s hands can be monetized. Even if the people don’t buy into it and truly elect a president who dares to serve them, the elite class can still arrange a ”convertible” service for the so-called elected president.

Political struggle is life and death, and you cannot detach from your basic support base. Maximiliano I, as a second-generation rich, well implemented an idealistic administrative model.

In this respect, it can be said that Maximiliano I is a breath of fresh air in world history. He may not have been a good emperor, but he certainly wasn’t a bad person.

Moreover, he didn’t flee after his defeat, a point where Ernst felt inferior. Maximiliano I is indeed a very principled person.

Admiration aside, Ernst would definitely not act like Maximiliano I.

As Ernst’s father-in-law, he couldn’t leave Maximiliano I to die. If capable, he still tried to help, though success depended on fate.

...

Three in the morning.

The neatly dressed Maximiliano I walked out of the cell, escorted by Mexican soldiers to the execution ground.

The execution ground was chosen on the outskirts, a place with beautiful mountains and rivers.

Maximiliano I slowly turned back and took a handful of gold coins from his pocket, distributing them to the execution soldiers.

...

Roy Lee, graduate of Heixinggen Military Academy.

”Is Vincent Cassel ready?”

”Don’t worry, Lee. This time we’re using Mr. Nobel’s latest explosives, which will surely blow away the entire wall.”

”Very well, let our people get ready. Once the explosion happens, open fire immediately and put the Mexican emperor directly into a sack and take him away.”

...

Maximiliano I, standing on the execution ground, was just about to deliver his final ”speech” before his death.

He began, ”I...”

”Boom...”

Before he could finish a word, a series of loud explosions erupted around the execution ground, blowing open a gap over ten meters wide in the wall.

A sudden commotion erupted in the crowd. Dressed as Indians, students from Heixinggen Military Academy shouted in an Indian language: ”Long live His Majesty, long live the Mexican Empire.”

They pulled out pistols from their pockets and frantically fired at the still-stunned Mexican soldiers.

Roy Lee fired several shots at the Mexican officials at the execution ground to prevent them from organizing a counterattack.

A sound of hooves arose outside the wall, and a group of masked people on horseback rushed into the execution ground, racing towards Maximiliano I.

Maximiliano I, looking dumbfounded at the chaos on the execution ground, suddenly saw darkness as he was stuffed into a sack.

The students from Heixinggen Military Academy vigorously hoisted the hundred-pound-plus Maximiliano I along with the sack onto a horse’s back.

With a whistle, all the Heixinggen Military Academy students at the execution ground mounted their horses, firing recklessly into the crowd.

The soldiers at the Mexican execution ground watched helplessly as His Majesty the Emperor was taken by these people, while the unfortunate execution officials lost their lives.

...

Ten in the morning, Juarez received the news that Maximiliano I had been taken away.

”Bang...”

Juarez angrily slammed his hand on the table, and the Mexican Republican Faction officials didn’t dare to breathe.

”Have the targets been identified? Was it the French or the Austrians?” Juarez asked.

”Mr. President, according to the survivors at the scene, there were about forty or fifty of them, accompanied by horses, and they had pre-planted explosives at the execution ground. Upon investigation, it is highly possible that our soldiers sold them the information, allowing them to locate the execution ground.”

”Due to the lack of anticipation, they caught us off guard. No effective counterattack was organized on-site, and the enemy left no wounded or dead.”

Juarez said, ”Get to the point. We need to figure out who the enemy is first, not review the event process.”

”Mr. President, based on eyewitness descriptions, the suspects did appear to be Indians and spoke in an Indian dialect. But we know that’s impossible! So it’s very likely they are Mexican desperados hired by the French.”

Juarez himself was an Indian, so government officials certainly couldn’t say it was an Indian plot. Moreover, the students of Heixinggen Military Academy were of Asian descent, resembling Indians, and Mexicans didn’t expect someone from the Far East to intervene in Mexican affairs.

After analysis, Mexican authorities obtained no useful information.

Meanwhile, Maximiliano I was stuffed into a carriage, with Heixinggen Military Academy students crazily galloping towards Mexico’s West Coast.

At this point, even the slow-witted Maximiliano I knew someone had saved him. However, his two generals, Miguel Miramón and Thomas Messi, remained at the execution ground.

Maximiliano I also attempted to communicate with the Heixinggen Military Academy students, but Ernst had already ordered all students not to speak with Maximiliano I.

The mission of the Heixinggen Military Academy students in Mexico was solely to bring Maximiliano I back to Europe.

To prevent Maximiliano I from causing trouble, Ernst particularly emphasized that students should treat him like a piece of wood.

...

The next day, at noon.

After a day and night of frenzied travel, several horses had died of exhaustion, but the group finally reached the pre-arranged coastline.

A Heixinggen vessel, recently on a mission in Alaska, was already waiting there. They dispatched a boat to pick up the Heixinggen Military Academy students and Maximiliano I onto the ship.

With the roar of steam, the ship departed from Mexico, heading toward Alaska, and everyone was safe.