Wild North America 1846

Chang'an Daming Palace

"Humph... pursuing greatness?" Richard snorted coldly, dropped the briefing on domestic and foreign news in his hand, walked to the large hand-drawn map, and looked at it carefully.

His eyes wandered around the states of the Great Plains in the central United States, and he couldn't help but shine with a fiery light. These were truly black soils, fertile and highly productive. They were the location of the great granary of the American Confederation that would become world-famous for the next 150 years or so.

Almost 90% of this vast black land with an area of ​​1.2 million square kilometers is within the United States. Only the Peel City and Omaha lines in the north of the Tang Kingdom occupy a narrow and narrow border.

The wheat-rich areas near Peel City are all black soil. In this era without chemical fertilizers, the high-yielding black soil is a natural cheat. The yield is 70 to 80% higher than that of ordinary good farmland, with an output of three to four hundred pounds of wheat per mu.

That's normal.

Only sufficient food production can feed a larger population.

On the Colorado Plateau, the yield of good mature field wheat is only 1,780 pounds, and the higher yield is about 200 pounds, which is already as high as the sky.

But in the fertile black soil around Peel City, the yield per mu is often 330 to 40 pounds, which is more than 100 pounds per acre. So what about 100,000 acres? What about 500,000 acres? What about 5 million acres?

Just thinking about it makes people excited. This is the magical charm of the black earth.

With the rapid growth of the Tang Kingdom's population, food pressure gradually emerged. Originally, it only needed to maintain food production for a population of three to four million or even five to six million. While it was wealthy, it could also sell or reserve large quantities.

But when the population grew to a huge number of more than 11 million, although fertile land was constantly being developed, real pressure was still felt.

This is because the Tang Kingdom tried its best to develop industrialization, and the urban population accounted for more than half of the kingdom's total population. The remaining cotton planting, animal husbandry, and specialty planting industries diverted a large number of people. Less than 30% of the population engaged in agricultural planting, about 27%

~28%.

Such an industrial structure has resulted in a bumper harvest of grain every year, but the total grain output cannot keep up with the rapid growth of the population.

It is still able to survive now because the Tang Kingdom has stepped up its efforts to open up new lands. New products such as small walking tractors have entered the farming field, greatly improving production efficiency.

"Your Majesty, Colonel Mackenzie, Chief of Special Operations, is waiting to see you."

"Well, let's go to the outer hall to receive you."

"The humble minister obeys the decree."

After giving the instructions, Richard's eyes stayed for a moment on the Great Lakes region of the United States, especially the dense urban areas centered on Chicago, and his eyes were full of fire.

outer hall

Colonel McConnell, who was wearing a crisp tuxedo, lingered slightly nervously. Both the Department of the Interior and the military intervened in the Kansas Civil War in the United States. However, due to the deliberate suppression by the top political leaders of the North and the South, the fire of the Civil War never burned brightly.

.

Americans are not stupid, they know very well the principle of fighting without defeat.

The expansion and spread of the civil war was not in the fundamental interests of both the North and the South. They were only competing for the right to speak on the battlefield of Kansas, and did not want to escalate the conflict and eventually lead to an irremediable end.

Once the civil war shows signs of expanding and overheating, it will attract upper-level suppression and even temporarily cut off troop reinforcements and material supplies. This is an unsolvable problem.

Therefore, in the past few years, the Civil War in Kansas has been going on tepidly, which is difficult to satisfy His Majesty.

As for some operations involving internal and external affairs, such as the crackdown on the Colt Arms Company espionage case, the assassination of Lincoln, and the instigation and development of secret stakes in the eastern United States, they were just routine tasks of the Special Operations Division, and there was nothing particularly outstanding about them.

Since the Jin Dynasty in the Ming Dynasty, Eastern countries have had a tradition of developing secret stakes and espionage. In North America, the development from domestic to foreign countries seems smooth and natural, without any violation.

The Special Operations Division has also enjoyed great benefits from developing secret stubs abroad. For example, the secret stubs developed by the Washington Telegraph Bureau have access to a large amount of internal confidential information involving military, political, and economic aspects. The secret stubs developed by the Federal Taxation Bureau

The pile can clearly and completely restore the financial strength of the US federal government, which is crucial to upper-level decision-making.

The military is even more active in this regard. In the early years of the war, the military developed many secret spies and nails among the war captives. Some were secretly released directly, and some were returned after the war.

Nowadays, many people are important officials of one party or enter important departments, and often have access to very sensitive and confidential military information.

This is something that the Special Operations Office would not envy.

Colonel Mai Jicheng was thinking in his mind when he heard the sound of "Your Majesty has arrived" in his ears. He quickly straightened his clothes and when he saw His Majesty striding in, he knelt down and saluted.

The Tang Dynasty abolished the ceremony of kneeling and worshiping, and "curtsey" was the most solemn etiquette.

This etiquette is similar to the Western hand-kissing ceremony or the Eastern Daqianer ceremony. You squat with your knees, hold your hands in a heart-like position, and bow your head respectfully, which is called a "curtsey."

"No gift."

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty." Colonel Mackenzie thanked him and stood up, his hands naturally hanging down, and he stood respectfully at one side.

Richard came to the main hall, stood with his hands behind his hands, and asked quietly with his back to him: "What is the situation of the Civil War in Kansas?"

Colonel Mackenzie did not dare to be negligent and took a step forward to answer respectfully;

“Start your majesty;

The forces behind the North and South sides in the Kansas Civil War in the United States have completely cut off the channels for volunteers to enter, and have also significantly reduced material supplies. They should be trying to limit the civil war to the current scope and try to end this dispute as soon as possible.

The parties involved in the Kansas Civil War could only rely on their existing troops and resources to fight to the death, and it would be difficult for them to receive foreign aid.

The current situation is that the North has a slight advantage. They have about 4,700 volunteer soldiers, while the South has less than 3,000. The only advantage of the South is that there are more Texas red necks. These Texas red necks are rough and warlike, with good riding skills and good marksmanship.

Yes, the combat effectiveness is stronger than the average in the north.

At this stage, it would be too obvious for us to continue to intervene, and it would easily arouse the vigilance of both parties and the forces behind them."

"Then let's keep it for now. This civil war won't end for a while, but it can't be incited either. After all, it's just a small fight."

"The humble minister obeys the decree."

Colonel Mackenzie could feel a trace of dissatisfaction in His Majesty's tone. A layer of white sweat appeared on his back, and his expression became more respectful.

Richard walked back and forth for a few steps and asked thoughtfully, "What are the recent trends among the senior officials in the South?"

Colonel McConnell bowed and replied;

“Start your majesty;

Recently, the large white cotton planters in the South have been in frequent contact with senior political officials in southern states, and will gather in New Orleans, Louisiana, in April to discuss the current situation.

According to our investigation, there are 5 main topics;

First, the South will adopt a common stance and speak to the outside world with one voice, mainly targeting the aggressive tendencies shown by the new Democratic President James Buchanan. It is expected that a series of new policies will be launched in the future.

Be adaptable to changes.

Second, the southern forces will work together to push for the passage of the "national legalization of slavery" proposal in Congress. The major white estate owners and cotton plantation owners will unite their stance, regard this as a key political battle, and continue to promote it unremittingly.

Third, in response to the powerful British Textile Industry Alliance's efforts to lower cotton prices, explore various ways to fight for its own legitimate interests.

This is a commonplace issue. In the face of the powerful British Textile Industry Alliance, American cotton planters have suffered from being squeezed. Cotton prices have been lowered every year, and this year is not new.

As the main supplier of cotton to the United Kingdom, the cotton produced by the United States accounts for 72.1% of the demand for British factories (in 1846), which is higher than the production areas in Egypt and India, and is close to 3/4 of the cotton demand.

Cotton exports account for more than 92% of the economic exports of the southern United States, which shows its importance and irreplaceability;

In 1790, before cotton became an important cash crop, 50% of the slaves were concentrated in Maryland and Virginia. In the 1790s, there were less than 700,000 slaves in the South and less than 3,000 slaves in Mississippi.

By 1830, there were 66,000 slaves in Mississippi, and by 1850, the slave population in the entire American South had reached four million. They became the main labor force in the American cotton plantations and supported most of the southern economy.

To put it bluntly, slavery was the lifeblood of white plantation owners in the South.

The output of raw cotton in the United States jumped from 334,000 bales in 1820 to 1.35 million bales in 1840, then to 2.4 million bales in 1850, and then to 4 million in 1856. The output of raw cotton showed a straight-line surge, among which Alaba

Horses, Mississippi and Louisiana account for more than half of the production.

What cannot be ignored is

There is an export agent organization between American cotton planters and British factories called the British Textile Industry Alliance. They take 5% to 12% of the value of cotton every year, worth tens of millions of pounds.

This is a huge vested interest group composed of the families of British aristocrats, monopoly businessmen and politicians. Without their permission, not a pound of cotton can be sold in British factories.

American cotton plantation owners, who had been exploited by the British, could only continue to exploit black slaves and spread costs as low as possible in exchange for profits. This is the current reality.

Fourth, regarding the current situation in North America, the South should conduct in-depth discussions and respond cautiously. This was a major topic at the gathering.

Fifth, discuss the trade situation between the southern United States and the Tang Kingdom.

Currently, the trade between the southern United States and the Tang Kingdom is showing a serious deficit. The Tang Kingdom produces kerosene, heavy oil, various canned foods (mainly canned seafood and canned fruits), sophisticated guns, steel and chemical products, etc.

, are very popular in the southern United States, especially the small agricultural machinery that has recently begun to be exported. It has attracted frantic buying, and the sales situation is extremely promising.

However, the raw cotton that is most available in the southern United States is not attractive to the Tang Kingdom. Chihuahua and New Mexico provinces in the south of the Tang Kingdom are prosperous cotton-producing areas. The cotton textile industry is developing day by day. It is a machine-made cotton cloth.

export country.

A large number of low-cost woven fabrics produced by the Tang Kingdom were sold overseas, including mainland China, the Korean Peninsula, Fuso Kingdom, Indochina, Central and South America, etc., which were all vast markets of the Tang Kingdom.

Thus

The southern United States has a huge trade deficit of an average of 35 to 40 million pounds per year. This is an urgent problem that needs to be solved at present, and will be discussed at the meeting."

This is a bit far!

Richard twitched the corner of his mouth slightly. He was not worried about the southern United States restricting bilateral trade. This was because the Tang Kingdom produced kerosene, heavy oil, canned food, and agricultural machinery products that were irreplaceable and unique.

The Kingdom imports from where?

After years of development

The petrochemical industry of the Tang Kingdom has ranked among the top in the world, accounting for more than 90% of the world's share with its advanced refining capabilities. The only one that can compete is probably Russia's Baku Oil, which is too far away to help.

mid 19th century

The petroleum refining and chemical industry in countries such as Britain, France and the United States was still in its infancy. As a result, it was nipped in the bud by the rapidly developing oil fields of the Tang Kingdom, and it did not develop at all.

In terms of cost, output, and market share, they are all ahead of the rest. Texaco Petroleum Company, Chevron Petroleum Company, Royal Bright Petroleum Company, and Changan Petroleum Company of the Tang Dynasty are known as the leaders in the petroleum refining industry.

The "Four Heavenly Kings" rule more than 90% of the world's market share.

Not to mention the southern United States, even the northern United States has to import a large amount of kerosene, lubricating oil and heavy oil. There is no way to import agricultural machinery. This is the restriction and suppression of the Northern United States by the Tang Kingdom.

Oil fields rich in resources have been discovered in Texas in the south of the United States, but unfortunately they are unable to develop them because the developed crude oil has no refining capacity. Even if it is refined using primitive means, the cost is prohibitively high.

The Tang Kingdom strictly prohibited the export of petroleum refining equipment and technology, even the British could not obtain it. This was a bottom line.

Fortunately, the British had basically no oil fields rich in resources found in their vast colonies, and the demand for this was not urgent, so the food was not that ugly, acknowledging the Tang Kingdom's market dominance in this field.

After all, he is the younger brother, so he should be given some benefits.

Another item prohibited from export in the Datang Kingdom was the can-making machine. The can-making machine ensured that the canning industry in the Datang Kingdom swept the European and American markets with an unstoppable momentum. It was rich in variety and taste and suitable for all ages. It was ready to eat after opening the can.

A British or German housewife with poor cooking skills can instantly transform into a gourmet expert and win praise from all over the world.

As long as you have a variety of canned food, you can prepare a large table of delicious food at a glance. After all, heating food or cutting some potatoes and adding radishes to the broth are simple operations.

The canned exports of the Tang Kingdom were worth up to 23 million pounds in 1856. Although the war was over, it did not affect the popularity of canned food in European countries.

Mr. Darwin, an academician of the Royal Academy of Sciences, said with emotion: "What makes me happiest is to see the whole shelf full of cans in the storeroom."

Mr. Darwin’s words resonated strongly with the British, especially the Royal Navy, which had a high status in the UK, and unanimously praised the cans produced in the Tang Dynasty.

Various flavors, rich varieties, reasonable prices, large output and easy storage are the hallmarks of the canning industry in the Tang Dynasty, which has become popular all over the world.

Are you afraid that southerners won't want such a good product?