Chapter 436

London. Ever since the Government of Vienna proposed to deal with the United States first, it immediately attracted the attention of the Government of the United Kingdom.

As the world's first colonial empire, the British were everywhere. Not to mention North America. Canada was there, and among the European countries, they had the biggest interests in North America.

No matter how big the interests in America were, they were still not as big as Europe. John Bull's national policy had always been to ensure the balance of the European continent. When the Prussian war broke out, the Government of the United Kingdom had to focus more energy on the European continent.

Foreign Minister Leslin analyzed, "The situation on the European continent is already very dangerous. Once Russia concentrates its full strength, Prussia may not be able to withstand it. We must be prepared to intervene in this war.

Right now, Prussia and Russia are still in a stalemate. It doesn't mean that Prussia has the strength to compete with Russia. There are three main reasons for the stalemate on the battlefield:

First, the Tsarist government doesn't take the Kingdom of Prussia seriously. Until now, Russia hasn't used its full strength;

Second, Russia has financial problems and can't afford the huge military expenditure. The Tsarist government wants to win the war with as little military expenditure as possible;

Third, Prussia, who has the upper hand, doesn't dare to fight with Russia. They can't afford to lose this war. The Government of Berlin is prepared to use the weakness of Russia's lack of funds to force the Tsarist government to compromise.

If any of these three points change, the European continent may experience major changes. We must be vigilant.

If Prussia wins the war, it's fine. If Russia wins the war, it's likely that FAO will split the Kingdom of Prussia into three.

In the past decade, the strength of Prussia and Tsarist countries has developed very quickly. The two countries' armies and navies occupy the second and third places in the world. They are our biggest enemy after Russia.

If we let them continue to expand, they will threaten us sooner or later. Fortunately, the three countries of Russia are crowded on the European continent, which creates opportunities for us.

At present, the European continent is generally divided into three legs. Russia, the continent's hegemon, can only suppress one of them, but can't suppress both at the same time.

In order to maintain its hegemony, Nicholas I Of Russia chose to ally with Austria, reducing one enemy.

However, with the change in the strength of the two countries, the importance of the Russian-Austrian Alliance to Austria was gradually declining. The change in the European continent was an opportunity to break up the Russian-Austrian Alliance.

In comparison, the American Civil War is secondary. Although the United States had a unique geographical location, they were just a new country of immigrants. The people's cohesiveness was not strong enough, and it would take a long time for them to catch up.

Moreover, the civil war has created an opportunity for us to split the United States.

The original plan was to split the United States into five countries, but because of the changes in Europe, the countries can only invest limited forces, so it's no longer possible.

However, based on the current situation, as long as we give it a push, the split between the North and the South will become a foregone conclusion, and the Native Americans can also become independent.

After the United States is divided, the United States will have a United. We can also support the Southern government to balance the Northern government and maintain the balance on the American continent. "

Finance Minister Agarwal questioned, "The plan is very good, but will it really work? What if something unexpected happens on the battlefield in Prussia in advance? "

Foreign Affairs Minister Reslin calmly replied, "No one can guarantee that these plans will succeed. What we can do now is — fast.

Before the Prussian war ends, force the North and South to sit at the negotiating table. On this point, the Austrian position is the same as ours.

The Government of Vienna is very active in intervening in the American Civil War. The Austrian flag has appeared in Central America, and Mexico has an emperor in the House of Habsburg.

Whatever the reason, the Habsburg Emperor needs a divided America.

Now the Government of Vienna is anxious to end the American Civil War, in fact, to recover energy. The impact of the Prussian war on Austria is much greater than on us.

Now Spain is subject to civil strife and has lost most of its voice in the Alliance of Four Countries. As long as we are in the same position as Austria, we can already influence the decision of the Alliance. "

In fact, the Alliance of Four Countries had now become the Alliance of Three Countries. There were problems in Spain, and the determination of the Spanish government to intervene in the United States had become unknown.

Even if they wanted to intervene in the American Civil War, no one knew if they could fulfill the promised number of troops.

However, the Alliance of Four Countries was always more influential than the Alliance of Three Countries. Spain's strength was already at the bottom of the Great Powers, but their political influence was still there.

Especially in the American region, there was a large number of Hispanics. The Spanish government's position could also affect the choices of many people.

John Bull naturally couldn't kick the Spanish out of the Alliance of Four Countries. Of course, in terms of voice, Spain was inevitably weakened.

After a moment of silence, John Russell slowly said, "End the American Civil War as soon as possible. If we wait any longer, it will be easy for something to happen. The debt of the Americans supporting the Irish independence organization, we can also settle with them this time. "

Don't think that John Bull only had interests in his eyes. They were also vengeful.

President Lincoln's final counterattack had, of course, distracted the energy of the various countries and bought time for the federal government to avoid being divided into five. At the same time, it had also attracted hatred.

Evidence? Sorry, when did the Great Powers need evidence? It was enough as long as they thought it was.

Franz didn't send people to find evidence of the Americans supporting the Hungarian independence organization, and the British wouldn't do such useless work either.

Only the weak would look for evidence and use it to protest. As the kings of this era, the British, Fao, and Three Countries didn't protest to the Americans and directly began to prepare for revenge.

This was the basic way of playing power politics in the 19th century. Only when there was really no other way would people choose to protest. Most of the time, they would directly take revenge.

After all, there were too many conflicts between countries in this era. The day before yesterday, you stabbed me in the back, and yesterday, I stabbed you in the back. Everyone had gone back and forth many times, and it was impossible to tell who was right and who was wrong.

Of course, it would be better if there was evidence. They could put pressure on public opinion. The final game still depended on strength and means.

…

After a round of emergency negotiations, on March 7, 1865, the British, Fao, and Three Countries finally reached an agreement. The four countries sent diplomatic notes to the North and South on the grounds of maintaining peace in the American region.

The British, who had the strongest power in the American region, became the leader of the alliance. The British Minister to the United States, Mark Oliver, represented the Intervention League to negotiate with the North and South.

On March 8, the British, Fao, and Three Countries held joint military exercises in the East and West Pacific regions at the same time.

The four countries assembled more than 200 warships and conducted exercises in the coastal areas of the United States. Some residents in coastal areas heard the roar of gunfire.

The North and South, who were in secret negotiations, also fell into a deadlock because of the distribution of interests.

At this time, when the four countries intervened, President Lincoln's first reaction was that the negotiations were exposed, which caused dissatisfaction among the countries.

In order to interfere in the war between the North and South, everyone had invested a lot of manpower and material resources. If they were allowed to reach a compromise in private, how could the interests of the countries be protected?

Secretary of State Safar analyzed, "Mr. President, including you and me, there are no more than ten people who know about the secret negotiations. These people are all in high positions, and there is no reason for them to leak the news.

Now the British, Fao, and Three Countries suddenly intervened, mostly because of the situation in Europe. They don't want to wait any longer, which is a good thing for us. "

The plan succeeded, but Lincoln didn't feel much joy. Now the negotiations were in a deadlock, and neither the North nor the South were willing to let go of the fight for Maryland.

Maryland was also one of the slave states, and it was now occupied by the Confederate government. The slave owners of the state had shed blood for the Southern government, and more than 60,000 people had joined the Southern army.

If they gave up here now, it would undoubtedly damage the reputation of the Southern government and weaken the unity of the various states.

The Southern government couldn't give up, and the Northern government couldn't give up either. Washington was next to Maryland. Without Maryland as a barrier, Washington was exposed to the enemy at any time.

No, it was now exposed to the enemy. The neighboring state of Virginia had long joined the Southern government.

At the beginning of the civil war, part of Virginia near Washington was still loyal to the Union, which saved Washington from the embarrassment of being on the front line.

But it was useless. Most of the urban areas of Washington had fallen during the war, and the Federal government only held on to a few strongholds, indicating that the defense of Washington was still ongoing.

The secret negotiations began, and the North and South tacitly stopped large-scale fighting. Otherwise, Washington might have fallen by now.

In any case, Lincoln still didn't want to give up Maryland. Even if he wasn't popular in Maryland, he might not get many votes.

"This is indeed good news, but it is also accompanied by big trouble. With the intervention of the Alliance, we can't force the Southern government to make concessions.

If the interests are right, I think the Southern government won't mind inviting the United Kingdom, Fao, and Spain to join the negotiations. At that time, we will be passive. "

Lincoln didn't expect to get the support of the four countries. It was impossible.

A strong United States was not in line with the interests of the countries. Coupled with the recent support for the revolutionary organizations of the countries, the two sides were already standing on opposite sides.

Knowing was one thing, but it didn't mean that he had to make concessions to the Southern government. As a politician, he had to consider the political impact and not just look at the superficial benefits.

Perhaps on the surface, giving up Maryland to end the civil war ahead of time seemed to be a smaller price than if the countries intervened, but politically, would the states of the Federal government accept it?

It was important to know that Maryland supported the Federal government. Although this support was the result of President Lincoln's extreme means, it couldn't affect the fact that Maryland was one of the many Federal states.

Now that they gave up here, the cohesion of the states toward the Federal government would decline, and the authority of the Federal government would inevitably be weakened.

In contrast, giving up Maryland and even more interests under the intervention of the Great Powers would be more acceptable to the people.

At that time, they could still clear their names. It wasn't that the government didn't work hard. The main thing was that the enemy was too powerful, and they had no choice but to compromise.

Especially for politicians, choosing the former might cause them to step down as a southern spy. Choosing the latter could at least gain some sympathy.

Even if their political life ended, it was better than being shouted at by everyone.

Secretary of State Safar said indifferently, "Anyway, we've already reached this point, and the situation is no longer under our control. If we can protect the core interests of the Federal government, we'll be worthy of the people's votes. "

Indeed, overall, they didn't do badly, and could even be said to be excellent. To be able to integrate so many Federal states and fight with the South for so many years was enough to prove their ability.

No matter how strong their ability was, it couldn't hide the fact that they were losers. Secretary of State Safar had already gotten over it. Anyway, their terms were about to expire.

Safar didn't plan to participate in the new election at all, lest he humiliate himself when the time came. Whoever was unlucky enough to be elected in the future would be left to the latecomers to clean up the mess.

No, if it wasn't for the civil war delaying the election, the next government would have been elected.

No one was a fool. Before the armistice treaty was signed, no one would jump out and be the scapegoat.

Therefore, the Republicans and Democrats agreed that many people in the Federal states couldn't participate in the vote during the war, and the current election couldn't represent the will of all the people.

The election was naturally postponed until after the war, and the Lincoln government's time in power was extended.

Otherwise, Safar and the others would be free immediately. There was less than a month before the end of their terms, and it would be over if they just dragged it on.

The Lincoln government had to bear the responsibility of the division of the United States before they could pack up and leave. This was the common wish of all parties.

Of course, Lincoln could also participate in the next presidential election. However, as a loser, his support rate was very low, and he had almost no chance of winning.