Chapter 341: Frightened

  Chapter 331: Frightened

Austria was on the move, and Britain, France and Spain were not idle. First, the Spanish captured the Spanish Island (Haiti Island), then the three countries accelerated the pace of expansion in Mexico.

The British had just suppressed the Indian rebellion, and the French were still focused on the Italian region. So this time Mexico was luckier than in history, and the countries’ expansion was dominated by economic and political penetration.

If they weren’t worried about irritating the two American governments in the Civil War, it’s expected that they would have had to infiltrate the American states as well.

Re-establishing the colonial system in North America has always been the dream of the British, French and Western colonizers. The Monroe Doctrine of the Americans stood in everyone’s way, and now it was natural to kick away this obstacle.

London.

As the world’s number one naval power, the British deserved to be the boss of this joint intervention of all countries in the American program.

There was no one to compete with them for dominance, and the British were the strongest in the Americas. If the Americans did not mobilize, John Bull’s garrison in Canada could handle them.

It’s not something to be proud of, the Americans’ pocket-sized land forces don’t represent the true strength of the Americans, and most of the Confederate states had militias that were above the federal government.

In the Prime Minister’s residence in Downing Street, the new British Prime Minister, John Russell, is holding a meeting.

“Gentlemen, that Lincoln fellow has ordered a blockade of the East Coast. How to guarantee that our trade with the Southern government proceeds normally has become our current dilemma.”

There was no doubt that the capitalists engaged in the cotton textile industry had put pressure on the London government. If it was only a short-term blockade, everyone still held out and passed.

If it was blockaded for a long time, or if the Northern government was allowed to win the war, then the British hegemony in cotton textile was going to be shaken.

This cannot be tolerated. You have to know that the cotton textile industry is the pillar industry of the British, once there is a problem, the entire British economy will be hit hard.

Edward, the Minister of the Navy, said unhurriedly, “Your Excellency the Prime Minister, there is no need to worry too much about this issue. The coastline of the Confederate government is not short, and I don’t think the US Navy should be that strong.

Right now the northern government is still trying to build ships, and when they have that strength, we can still intervene in conjunction with various countries to designate the Confederate government’s coastal areas as safe zones.

At present, the Austrian ocean fleet has reached the west coast of the United States, and the French have set out, and with our and Spain’s fleets in the Americas, it is simply too much for the Americans to contend with.”

This isn’t just nonsense, the Americans are really crap at military power in this day and age.

Don’t spit on that pocket-sized 16,000-man Union Army. After the Civil War broke out, it was instantly a third smaller.

The Confederate Army of the United States was decentralized throughout the country, and those stationed in the southern states were, naturally, out of the command of the federal government.

The Army didn’t work the Navy wasn’t much better. When President Abraham Lincoln’s blockade order was issued, the U.S. Navy has long been put on the South Mountain only to find: because of various reasons, the Union Navy’s 90 warships only 42 can be used, which can be used to carry out the coastal mission of the warships only 3.

The United States Navy was trained for deep-sea operations and had no experience or training in offshore operations.

Historically, the northern government, which had gained the advantage of sea power, did not attack the south from the coast in a big way, mainly because it was unfamiliar with the coastal fortifications and fortresses.

Bureaucrats, they know. The funds were in the hands of the southern states themselves, with no backup from the federal government. No one thought beforehand that they would one day attack their own territory from the sea.

Minister of State Agarwal said, “It’s not that simple, and the three Austro-French and Western states also have their own agenda, so it’s unlikely that they will listen to us.

The Royal Navy is currently underpowered in the Americas, and if this intervenes, then it would mean giving away the dominance of the intervention.

How can the interests of Britain be safeguarded if it is not led by us?”

In this era of believing in the fist, strength equals the right to speak. Just wanting to take benefits and refusing to contribute, it was better not to think about it.

The Great Powers are not fools, it’s okay for the British to intimidate the small indigenous countries with their might, but the Austro-French, who are also Great Powers, won’t give them face.

If you are watching the show on the side, maybe the three countries of Austria, France and West will join hands to divide up the interests of North America, then it will be miserable.

This kind of thing, the chance of happening is very small, but also can not rule out this possibility. In front of interests, everything is possible.

Prime Minister John Russell turned his attention to Foreign Secretary Gladstone, wanting him to come up with a reliable program, after all, this time the problem is seven parts diplomatic two parts political one part military.

Gladstone analyzed: “From the current situation, the Austrians should target the Central American region, France and Spain target the Mexican region, all three countries have the intention to tear a piece of meat from the Americans.

That mob in the US is not easy to rule, so everyone’s goal should be economic interests mainly. Now the Austrians have the upper hand, grabbing most of the US arms market.

Initial estimates say they’ve made around three million pounds in profits. Our arms merchants are too petty and slow to react.”

Prime Minister John Russell shook his head and said, “This is only a small problem, arms are a one-shot deal, after the civil war is over there will be no more. Let’s just cheapen the Austrians this time, or let’s talk about how we can maximize the benefits!”

Three million pounds was an astronomical amount for an individual, but for the London government, it was just that.

If it was a long-term income, it would still be able to attract the attention of Prime Minister John Russell, this kind of one-time deal, it was really difficult to raise his interest.

The money is in other people’s pockets, can not go to rob, right? Even if we were to rob, it would be easier to rob the Americans directly than it would be to rob Austria.

Gladstone frowned, he did not like people interrupting him, especially after being the foreign minister of the British Empire.

However, this is the Prime Minister’s residence, not his office, and the one who interrupted him was still the Prime Minister, and Gladstone was not in a good position to lose his temper.

“Your Excellency the Prime Minister, the arms trade actually relates to our next plans as well. The Austrians’ goal is very obvious, they just want the North and South to continue fighting.

A careful study of their arms export this time reveals that the manipulator behind it is the Habsburg family, whether it is one of its members or Emperor Franz himself is unknown.

Since the Austrians can play a balancing act in the North and South, we can also play a balancing act in the North and South, and the weak Southern government can be tilted a little more.

However, the risk of doing so is very high, a bad North and South will be divided into winners and losers. If the South wins, they don’t have the power to unify the US, but if the North wins, they’re in big trouble.

For this reason, the government of Vienna went so far as to send an ocean-going fleet. This fleet was supposed to be their tool to ensure the balance between the North and the South, and once the North won they could immediately intervene.

I propose that a fleet large enough to roll over the US Navy be sent immediately, along with an increase in the number of land forces in the Canadian area, in order to dominate the situation if necessary.”

James, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, objected, “Hold it Your Excellency, don’t forget that sending troops costs money too. We have just suppressed the Indian rebellion and have already paid up to 280 million pounds in military expenses.

The government’s financial resources no longer allow us to start another big war, and I don’t think the Americans are soft. If they were easy to deal with, they’d still be our colony now.”

Foreign Minister Gladstone said with dissatisfaction, “Your Excellency, don’t always think in terms of finances, as Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, you must look at the big picture.

What we pay now, we can double back in the near future. A strong America is not in our interest, at least the Canadian region is threatened at all times.

The American desire to drive us out of the Americas has never ceased. If we miss this opportunity, it will be difficult to pull in allies in the future.

By sharing the military expenses among the four of us, the expenses won’t actually be too great. The Austrians dared to send an ocean-going fleet, why wouldn’t we dare?”

James, the finance minister, shook his head and said, “The Austrians are doing this for the Central American region, they joined the colonization movement late, and the most fertile regions of the world have already been carved up.

The Vienna government can develop the African continent regardless of the cost, let alone the Central American region which has even more favorable natural conditions.

But we don’t need to. Britannia needs to recuperate now, and starting another major war of unmanageable proportions would totally outweigh the cost.”

Such was the impression left on the outside world by Franz’s development of the African continent. To many, Austria’s African colonies lost their pants.

And indeed they did, except for the West African region with its gold mines, which barely broke even. The rest of the regions had been losing money, and not a small amount.

This is completely different from the idea of countries running overseas colonies. In this era, everyone is trying to get revenue as quickly as possible, rarely investing money in building colonies.

Edward, the Minister of Navy, spoke up and said: ”Your Excellency, the more prepared we are for this intervention program, the less likely it is that a major war will break out in the end.

Don’t forget that the Intervention Alliance’s strength, far exceeds that of the federal government, on what grounds would they dare to engage in a war with us.

Even if a fight breaks out, I don’t think it’s a bad thing.

The Confederate government alone holds most of their strength in check, so let’s join forces with the three countries of Austria, West and France to fight up and directly exterminate this group of rebels and re-divide the North American continent.”

Extinguish the federal government, think about it. Unless the British shed their livers, they’d take the coastal regions at best.

The territory of the United States is not small, and to enter the interior military expenses are like running water. Historically, the US was able to become independent because the London government couldn’t handle the finances.

Including the second Anglo-American War, when the British were burning the White House, and finally because the military expenditure is too large, or give up the plan to destroy the United States.

Prime Minister John Russell opened his mouth to ease the atmosphere: “Gentlemen, you have run off the subject. Now the most critical issue is the need to ensure that maritime transportation is smooth, to ensure the normal supply of domestic cotton.

Because this Indian rebellion is too destructive to the place, our plan to recreate the second cotton center in the Indian region has to be postponed.

And the promotion of cotton planting in the Egyptian region, is not going well. On the one hand, it is the resistance of the Egyptian locals who are unwilling to plant cotton; on the other hand, it is the canal under construction, which has seized a large number of laborers.

Therefore, there was no point in disputing whether to increase troops in North America or not.

Now we have to reinforce our troops, or else the cotton supply chain will be cut off by the northern government, what are we going to explain to the Congress?”

This is the reality. Growing cotton also takes time. Without a few years of promotion, it simply doesn’t scale.

This time, the scope and duration of the Indian rebellion far exceeded the same period in history, and the cotton plantations opened by the British in front were also destroyed by the rebels.

Three or five years in the Indian region of cotton, are difficult to form a scale. Egyptian cotton planting and promotion is not smooth, the domestic cotton industry can not afford to wait.

As for the world’s other cotton production area, the London government do not have to consider, the amount of production simply can not meet their needs.

No new sources of cotton, the London government’s choice does not exist. Domestic cotton merchants, just want to make a profit, not ready to play the death of the domestic textile industry.

The cotton they are hoarding now will last until the first half of next year at most.

If they can not get enough cotton this year, then from the middle of 1862, the British cotton industry will have to close down.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer decisively chose to remain silent, at this time to take the lack of money again, it is too disregard for the general situation, will be the capitalists shot black.

In case of a collapse due to lack of raw material supply, which led to the collapse of the cotton textile industry, the sky would really fall.

Just think of the industry chain that takes up a quarter of Britain’s population, and no one would dare to take on this terrible consequence.

Even the Intervention League they didn’t dare to trust, who knows if Offasi would compromise with the Northern government and sell them out.

This kind of life-and-death matter, it is better to take the battle personally.

The Minister of State frowned and said, ”Your Excellency the Prime Minister, it is urgent to establish a cotton production area that is completely under our control, we can’t keep being stuck with our lifeblood like this.

Even the Austrians have smashed out a cotton growing base to fulfill the domestic demand despite the cost, there is no reason why we can’t do it.”

John Russell’s face changed and he exclaimed, “No good, we must send a fleet to America immediately to deter the Austrians and not let them fall to the northern government.”

The crowd reacted, at a time when the cotton supply of all European countries was in trouble, the Austrian textile industry had not come out to grab the market.

Even if it was for the hegemony of the cotton textile industry, the Vienna government had a reason to pit them against each other. As for diplomatic agreements, they were meant to be torn up.

The British had done this kind of thing a lot, and naturally thought that the Vienna government was the same.

There was nothing wrong with suddenly changing its position in favor of the northern government in exchange for the federal government cutting off their cotton supply for the sake of profit.

Minister of State Agarwal added: “It is indeed possible that the Austrians are spying on our position as the dominant cotton industry. Judging by their cotton consumption in previous years, the West African region has exceeded its cotton production by quite a bit.

But they didn’t export it, but shipped it all back home. Because of the U.S. Civil War, this year’s world cotton production reduction is a foregone conclusion, but the West African region’s cotton plantations are increasing.

We can send people forward to try and buy it, and if they insist on not selling it to the public, then we’ll be in big trouble.”

……

(End of chapter)