King Ferdinand VII of Spain.
Once called El Deseado—"the Desired One"—by his people, when Napoleon had usurped the throne of Spain and placed Joseph Bonaparte upon it, the monarch endured exile while his nation groaned under French occupation. Yet when Napoleon's empire waned and Ferdinand reclaimed his throne, he soon cast off the mask of liberal sympathy he had briefly worn. He invited French arms into Spain, purged the liberals, trampled reform beneath his feet, and pursued the old dream of absolute monarchy. The same people who had once longed for his return now spat upon his name, calling him El Felón—"the Criminal King."
By the time his throne regained a measure of stability, Ferdinand VII could no longer restrain his wrath toward Mexico.
"Those colonial slaves dare to proclaim themselves an empire—and lay their hands upon the very property of the royal house?" he snarled.
"Indeed, Your Majesty," the nobles echoed, "those insolent rebels have even seized the estates of our own houses!"
With Spain's internal turmoil somewhat subdued, the fury long suppressed against the American colonies—those who had so brazenly torn themselves free—now rose to the surface. The nobles, too, had never forgiven the confiscation of the vast wealth they had failed to recover in Mexico.
"Sire, the defiance of the liberals is cooling," one whispered. "Perhaps the time has come to remind those colonial wretches who their true master is."
"Indeed," another added, "Mexico has grown unbearably arrogant."
"I agree," Ferdinand said coldly. "Especially that traitor, Agustín. If we do not chastise him, the prestige of Spain shall sink into the dust. Is it not so?"
"You are right, Your Majesty!" the chorus replied.
"I hear they are governing themselves with enviable stability—funded by the very treasure they plundered from us. If we strike, it must be decisive."
Ferdinand's eyes glinted. "I had once thought to punish all the colonies at once, but I have changed my mind. Let Mexico—the most insolent of them all—be the first to receive its 'education.'"
The king who had invited foreign armies to restore his throne craved legitimacy and authority. Yet since he had annulled reforms and slaughtered liberals, the people's gaze upon him had grown perilous.
Insolent curs, he thought.
A reconquest of Mexico would turn those seditious eyes outward, restore royal majesty, and bind his throne in glory once more. Thus he resolved to concentrate Spain's dwindling strength upon that hazardous enterprise. It was little better than a gambler's throw of dice. His advisers should have dissuaded him, yet they too thirsted to humble the arrogant criollo Agustín and reclaim their confiscated fortunes.
"Prepare yourselves!" Ferdinand proclaimed. "We shall reconquer insolent Mexico, and by it restore the grandeur of Spain and her crown!"
A thunderous cry answered: "Yes, Your Majesty!"
The screech of steel tore through the workshop. Criiik, criiik! The rifling machine carved its grooves into the barrel, its shrill grinding both unsettling and magnificent. To him, it was music divine.
"Ninety-eight, ninety-nine—one hundred!" Eduardo cried, his face pale with awe.
"In three days—three hundred barrels!"
"At last!"
Even with the steam engine's output raised, the materials replaced with British steel, and the frame strengthened to endure the pressure, endless problems had plagued them. Success had flickered now and then, but heat-treatment and durability consumed another full year.
One hundred a day—that is the threshold of true economy.
And today, at last, after two relentless years, that goal had been reached.
"Eduardo, you have labored well," he said solemnly. "And you, honored engineers, my thanks for your tireless effort."
Eduardo could scarcely speak, still overcome with wonder.
"We hardly suffered, Highness," one engineer replied, laughing. "Our wages were steady, though after each failure, your gaze did keep us on edge!"
They laughed together. Payment in silver was distributed, and the engineers were sent home early.
"Eduardo," he said at last, tapping the young man's shoulder, "will you stand gaping forever? Think instead of how we shall sell this."
The long-conceived demonstration was ready. One year delayed by the rifling machine's stubborn perfection, yet now the day had come.
The crown, the generals, the ministers, the leading men of court and parliament—all were summoned to the academy.
"Will you truly fire the weapon yourself?" Eduardo asked anxiously.
"Of course. None else will make so deep an impression."
Thus he welcomed the guests.
"Your Majesty, welcome."
"Jerónimo, I hear you have crafted something remarkable," the emperor replied. "Let me see it at once."
Beside him stood General Fernando and Rafael, the Speaker of the Assembly. Once the leader of the republicans, Rafael had failed to check the expropriations and the despotism of Agustín I, and his defeat had barred him from the prime ministry.
"You have grown much, Highness," Rafael said, with guarded courtesy.
"An honor to meet again," added Pablo Soto, the new Minister of Finance, bowing with formality.
Handshakes exchanged, the prince began:
"Gentlemen, I have invited you to witness a weapon developed by myself and my companions."
He drew forth the musket.
"This weapon may appear like the flintlock muskets employed by our forces. But if you peer within its barrel, you will find grooves—the rifling. You all know the advantages rifling affords. Yet its expense and the slowness of reloading—forcing the ball to be rammed carefully into the grooves—have hitherto rendered it impractical. We have overcome those obstacles entirely."
A murmur rose.
"And how?" asked one.
"Observe."
At his signal, Eduardo activated the rifling machine. With its shrill shriek, the guests winced, but the prince's voice rose proudly over the din:
"This steam-powered rifling machine can produce one hundred barrels each day. In a month, it will yield three thousand rifles."
Astonishment swept the assembly.
Even the emperor himself leaned forward with delight, while the Minister of Finance muttered calculations, and Rafael's brow furrowed with suspicion.
The demonstration continued—new ammunition designed by Cadet Eduardo, whose grooves expanded upon firing, gripping the rifling without slowing the reload. A live test followed at the range: muskets against rifles, accuracy and speed alike. At one hundred meters, parity; at one hundred and fifty, the musket faltered; at two hundred, it failed altogether. The rifle triumphed, its bullets striking true.
The emperor and General Fernando rejoiced. Rafael, dour and doubting, demanded further trials—but even his aides could not gainsay the results.
At last, the emperor declared: "This invention shall revolutionize our forces. I would see it adopted at once."
The Finance Minister frowned. "Yet tell me, what price this machine? It looks… costly."
"Twenty thousand pesos apiece," came the reply.
"Twenty thousand! Outrageous!" Rafael barked.
"Indeed," the minister said gravely. "Though the confiscations of peninsular estates spared the treasury from ruin, Britain and France now press us for repayment of vast loans. The coffers are strained. Even if we purchase one machine, its cost will not reduce the price of a rifle below that of a flintlock musket. The burden is considerable."
His words fell like a weight of stone. For the Mexican Empire already bore debts of forty-five million pesos, swollen by the years of war. In truth, much of it had been artfully inflated, yet to the eyes of the creditor nations, Mexico was ripe for plunder.
The prince's jaw clenched. Shameless usurers. Hyenas in the guise of nations.
But he mastered his fury.
"Then I shall invest personally. I will build the rifling machine at my own expense and supply the rifles and ammunition at the government's order."
That solution mollified the Finance Minister. Yet Rafael still objected:
"Arms must be forged in the national foundry, not by private hands. To entrust firearms to a private workshop is perilous!"
"Are you accusing the Crown Prince himself of treachery?" thundered the emperor. "Nonsense!"
Agustín I concluded firmly: "Let it be done. Orders shall be placed with the foundry operated by the Crown Prince."
And so the matter was settled.