"Brave sons of xico! We will never bow to the invaders!"
"Drive back those filthy Arican aggressors! Do not lose hope!"
"Even if every northern province falls, we will fight to the last man!"
xico might have been the weaker power in terms of raw strength, but it was no stranger to foreign invasion.
Its people had grown accustod to fighting outsiders.
They possessed a stubborn determination—an almost desperate refusal to surrender, no matter the odds.
But the age they lived in was not on their side.
No amount of patriotic fervor could overco rifles and artillery.
So had hoped that, as had happened to European armies in other lands, disease might decimate the invaders.
But the United States was not like the old European empires.
After the first clash near New xico, the xican army quickly realized the terrifying gap in military power.
xico's leader, Antonio López de Santa Anna, felt a chilling premonition.
At this rate—
The capital itself might fall within a year.
Yet just as the Arican advance appeared unstoppable—
The United States army suddenly halted.
Then descended into chaos.
It was a miracle that defied explanation.
Seizing the opportunity, xico poured every available soldier into New xico and Arizona.
Even as casualties mounted, they stubbornly continued the fight.
anwhile, the Arican commanders facing this absurd situation were steadily losing their minds.
"FUCK! Damn it! Those brainless idiots!"
"G-General! Lieutenant Colonel Bryant says he needs to return ho to check on his family—"
"Return ho?!"
Zachary Taylor exploded.
"The enemy is right in front of us! What kind of nonsense is that?"
"Does he think he's the only officer in this army with slaves back in the South?"
Taylor had defeated countless Native Arican tribes and xican forces throughout his career.
But he swore he had never experienced a situation this maddening.
Originally, the army's objective had been simple:
Advance west as quickly as possible.
But now Texas refused to cooperate, and the federal governnt kept changing its orders by the hour.
And as if that weren't enough—
His officers were constantly whining about their plantations burning in the South.
It was enough to drive a man insane.
"Do you think I don't have sothing to lose?" Taylor barked.
"I inherited one of the largest slave plantations in Virginia!"
"And yet here I stand—doing my duty!"
"If the officers who should set an example for the soldiers are only thinking about their own families, how are we supposed to fight this war?!"
"B-but General… the situation in the South is extrely unstable. There are reports that families have been killed in the slave revolts—"
"Those rebels will face the full force of the law," Taylor snapped.
"All we can do is trust the nation."
"Even if we cannot advance further, our orders are clear."
"We are to occupy Arizona and New xico and hold them."
Texas might refuse cooperation now.
But once the United States secured those territories, Texas joining the Union would only be a matter of ti.
If they entrenched themselves here—
What could xico possibly do?
In a proper battle, they could easily sweep those taco-eating fools aside.
But that was the problem.
The United States was fighting with its own house on fire.
And while the army struggled at the front—
Politicians in Washington were pouring fuel on the flas.
Those damned politicians…
Even if they want to argue, they should finish the war first.
What are the soldiers risking their lives supposed to think?
Of course, Taylor understood the Northern politicians' fears.
Their greatest nightmare was that the British Empire might intervene.
If Britain beca enraged and sent the Royal Navy—
The United States would be trapped.
The justification would be overwhelmingly against them.
No European power would support the United States.
xico, anwhile, would celebrate.
Even if xico was a third-rate military power, the Aricans would still suffer losses if they fought them without committing equal strength.
And in that situation—
They would also need to deter the British army in Canada, face the Royal Navy at sea, and suppress slave revolts in the South.
It was impossible.
The only way for the United States to escape this disaster—
Was to appease Britain.
Do sothing, you worthless politicians…
Listening to yet another officer begging to return ho, Taylor felt a violent urge to blow up both the White House and the Capitol.
Washington D.C.
If the soldiers at the front were panicking—
The people in Washington were no better.
But the man under the greatest pressure of all was the one who had orchestrated the entire plan.
President John Tyler.
"This can't be happening!"
Tyler shouted wildly.
"This makes no sense! How did this happen?"
"Lincoln?! Who the hell is this bastard who dares attack the President during warti?!"
"He must be a xican agent! No—an agent of Britain!"
"This must be Killian Gore's doing!"
"There's no way this situation could develop unless Gore bribed Lincoln!"
Muttering incoherently, Tyler suddenly turned toward Secretary of State Daniel Webster, who was staring at him in disbelief.
"Secretary Webster!"
"Yes, Mr. President."
"You said the plan was perfect!"
"Then how did it end up like this?"
Webster barely managed to suppress the curse rising in his throat.
The president himself had ordered the operation.
Now he was shifting the bla.
What exactly did he expect?
"Our mistake," Webster said carefully,
"was failing to consider that the slave hunters might be carrying sothing like a diary."
Tyler slamd the desk.
"But how did Lincoln obtain it?!"
"This is clear evidence he is colluding with Britain!"
Webster sighed internally.
"Your Excellency… if that were true, then Britain would already know we fabricated the evidence."
"If they had known beforehand, they would have openly condemned us."
"They would have had every justification."
Tyler hesitated.
Both n still rembered their eting with Killian Gore.
The young prince-consort had been calm, intelligent, and frighteningly capable.
If such an opportunity existed—
He would never miss it.
"Your Excellency," Webster said quietly,
"you must remain calm."
"Many in Congress are already calling for your resignation."
"I am calm!" Tyler shouted.
"I'm telling you the British Empire is behind all of this!"
"They planned everything from the beginning to bleed us dry!"
Webster rubbed his temples.
"Your Excellency… we were the ones who blad xico."
"And we were the ones who declared war."
"How could Britain possibly have orchestrated all of this?"
Tyler leaned forward.
"Lincoln."
"And the Pinkerton Agency."
"They are all British puppets."
"And the slave revolts in the South—those are suspicious too!"
"How could those stupid blacks suddenly launch mass escapes the mont Southern troops left?"
"That must also be Britain's doing!"
Webster stared at him.
So Killian Gore had sohow predicted the war years in advance?
Manipulated the Pinkerton Agency?
Controlled slave revolts across the South?
And orchestrated the entire situation to manipulate the United States?
What exactly was the president saying?
"Your Excellency…"
"If Congress hears you say such things, they will begin impeachnt imdiately."
"For now, Southern politicians are protecting you."
"But they will never risk a direct war with Britain."
Tyler slamd the desk again.
"Fools! They're dancing to Britain's tune!"
Webster sighed deeply.
First Tyler blad xico.
Now he blad Britain.
There was no consistency in Arican foreign policy anymore.
Webster had remained in office when every other minister resigned.
Now he regretted it.
I should have resigned with the others.
This man is finished.
A president who mistook fantasies for reality.
Webster now feared sothing else entirely.
That Britain might hear these accusations.
God help us…
Canada
In diplomacy, an apology alone solves nothing.
When a nation apologizes, it must also pay a price.
That was why diplomats rarely used the word "sorry."
But the Arican ambassador to Canada—
Edward Everett—
had already apologized so many tis that I had lost count.
"I sincerely apologize!"
"Congress is currently investigating the matter. Once we understand the full situation, we will share everything imdiately."
"This cannot be resolved with an investigation and an apology alone," I replied calmly.
"I understand that," Everett said desperately.
"But we must determine the exact facts before we know how to make ands."
"The British governnt does not intend to overlook this incident."
"Parliant has already decided to dispatch representatives to investigate."
Everett nodded repeatedly for hours.
But without instructions from Washington, there was nothing he could do.
Which ant the next step was obvious.
We needed to make Congress understand just how serious the situation had beco.
So I wrote a letter.
A rather dramatic one.
"Due to the United States' fabricated conspiracy and the subsequent war with xico, the citizens living near the border have been deeply alard.Even Her Majesty the Queen has been greatly distressed.
In order to restore Her Majesty's peace of mind, I ask that Parliant consider additional asures."
The letter worked perfectly.
Public opinion exploded.
The most beloved figure in the British Empire—
Queen Victoria was currently in Canada.
And she was carrying the child who might one day inherit the throne.
Yet Arican agents had crossed the border, provoked chaos, and even started a war based on a fabricated accusation.
The outrage was imdiate.
Both parties in Parliant quickly selected representatives and dispatched them to Canada.
Before long, two familiar faces stepped off the ship.
"Your Royal Highness!"
Benjamin Disraeli hurried forward.
"How much distress you must have suffered!"
Beside him stood Lord Palrston, representing the Whigs.
"Parliant has resolved to investigate this matter thoroughly."
"We will support you in every possible way."
Both n condemned the United States in unison.
Their presence spoke volus.
The Conservatives had sent Disraeli.
The Whigs had sent Palrston rather than the moderate Gladstone.
No explanation was necessary.
"Thank you," I said with a smile.
"With Parliant's support, I feel much reassured."
"To what extent is Parliant willing to go?"
Palrston grinned.
"That depends on how the United States responds."
"But both parties agree that every available option is on the table."
Which ant—
Even declaring war alongside xico.
Impressive.
Normally Parliant would argue endlessly.
But when there was an opportunity to carve up another country—
Suddenly everyone worked together.
Disraeli and Palrston fought bitterly in Parliant.
Yet here they were laughing like lifelong friends.
"First," Disraeli said,
"we must isolate the Arican administration."
"But if impeachnt proceeds too far, unexpected complications may arise."
"So we should conclude negotiations before that happens."
"An excellent insight," Palrston replied.
"I was thinking the sa thing."
"Although we have successfully secured Oregon, it would be a sha to stop there."
"What do you think, Your Royal Highness?"
"Of course we should not stop here."
"I intend to negotiate with both the United States and xico."
"Leave it to ."
"Excellent!"
Palrston raised his glass.
"For the British Empire!"
Disraeli and I raised ours as well.
"For the British Empire!"
Left and right.
Governnt and opposition.
Conservatives and liberals.
Aristocrats and commoners.
All united.
This—
Was true national unity.
This was We Are the World.
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