Wild North America 1846

Daming Palace, Qinzheng Palace.

"Oh, there is such a thing?"

Richard asked angrily and funny. He picked up the tea cup and took a sip, obviously not taking it to heart.

Today is another routine cabinet meeting. The Prime Minister, Lord Counselor, told this matter as a joke. Two cavalrymen used guns to force Prince Fushimiguya and Okubo Toshimichi to kneel down in the street. The two were humiliated and then went back.

Holding hands and crying, shouting "This is a national humiliation"...

Ahem, you are so fragile!

The ministers in front of the emperor covered their mouths and laughed secretly. No one sympathized with those Fusang people, and no one paid attention to them. They were just a backward island country.

At this time, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lord Juan Carlos, stood up and said something fair: "Your Majesty, according to the consistent international diplomatic etiquette, you really should not humiliate someone. After knowing the identity of the other person, you have to escort him to the barracks."

The interrogation seemed a little out of line."

"It's done. Let's send someone from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to express condolences. In addition, those Japanese samurai dared to show their swords in the street and were killed unjustly. These two responsible cavalry should be rewarded. That's it."

Richard waved his hand and settled the matter. Naturally, no one objected to this method of protecting the calf, and the whole matter was over.

As for how much shadow it left in the hearts of Fusang people, no one cared at all.

Back to topic

The central topic of today's imperial meeting is that the domestic side will take the current booming economic development driven by the war as an opportunity to promote the economic construction boom.

The core areas are the steel industry, petrochemical industry, fertilizer industry, national railway, highway and bridge infrastructure construction, and urban construction, striving to reach a higher level.

Overseas, it is mainly the Civil War between the United States and the United States, and new trends have emerged...

Since September 12, 1858

The North of the United States launched large-scale general offensives on both the eastern and western fronts at the same time. Northern Army Commander George McClellan led 370,000 federal troops to invade Virginia on the eastern battlefield, hoping to go straight to Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy.

From mid-September to early October

The eastern battlefield was raging with war and bloody battles one after another. The commander-in-chief of the Confederate Army, General Lee, and his men led 236,000 troops to resist and fight tenaciously.

Especially in the Battle of Manassas, General "Stonewall" Jackson led his troops to stand firm and defeat the enemy with a small number, and achieved a decisive victory, leaving the Northern Army with corpses scattered all over the mountains and retreating in embarrassment.

In the Blue Ridge area in the east, the Union Army's attempt to intercept the Confederate flank failed because it was not as fast as the Confederate Army.

General Lee, the commander-in-chief of the Confederate Army, vigilantly evacuated the troops in the Nanling area, avoiding the tragic fate of being dumped, successfully sneaked to the south bank of the Walker River, and established a new sniper front.

The Confederate army managed to slip away, and the Union army could not attack them further, but at least it regained the initiative and could attack again at any time.

But overall

The general attack launched by the Northern Army was a failure. The strategic goals it intended to achieve before the war suffered successive setbacks. Apart from losing troops and generals, no substantial progress was made. The lives of more than 34,000 soldiers were lost in vain, and more than 55,000 people were injured.

Finally, President James Buchanan of the United States was extremely disappointed that he had not been able to win a decisive victory for a long time. Therefore, he lost his patience and decided to replace General George McClellan, the commander-in-chief of the Northern Army, and appointed Ambrose Ever.

Rhett Burnside became interim commander-in-chief of the Northern Army.

At this point, the general attack launched by the U.S. Northern Army in the autumn of 1858 came to an end, and the Southern Army successfully maintained the eastern front.

General Lee, the commander-in-chief of the Confederate Army, said it was a pity for the changes in the commander-in-chief and senior leadership of the Northern Army, because he "knew McClellan very well" and was worried that "Mr. Buchanan will replace the commander again and again in the future until he replaces another one"

"People you don't know well", "Facing the unknown always makes people feel uneasy."

Regardless of General Robert Lee's high-level Versailles, in fact, the current situation on the eastern battlefield determined that 10,000 enemy soldiers would be killed and 8,000 self-inflicted troops would suffer losses. The situation of the Southern Army was not optimistic.

During the three-week general offensive launched by the Northern Army, the Southern Army suffered a total of 87,000 casualties, including 24,700 killed and 62,400 injured. Various military equipment and supplies were severely damaged and were in urgent need of replenishment.

When fighting a war, we fight for money, we fight for people, and we fight for resources.

"Your Majesty, the South has proposed a new round of emergency war loans, totaling 180 million yuan, which is planned to be repaid in 15 years. The banking syndicate has proposed an interest rate of 13.5%, and hopes to use all the land in Texas as security.

This matter is under discussion," reported Viscount Chen Cailiang, Minister of Economic Affairs.

As the brutal civil war entered its second year, the Tang Kingdom granted more and more loans to the southern United States, with larger and larger amounts, higher interest rates, and more and more collateral.

War loans depend on the risk. If the American South fails to defend Richmond in this battle, the loan interest rate will not be 13.5%, but may suddenly jump to 18% or even 20%.

The reason is very simple

If the American South loses the war, the syndicate formed by the Tang Kingdom may lose all its money. Then this huge risk must be reflected in the interest rate. This is a high-risk investment, which naturally requires high income to make up for it.

so far

The powerful banking syndicate of the Datang Kingdom has provided six rounds of financing to the United States South, with the total loan amount reaching 260 million Tang yuan, more than 90% of which was paid for by goods, and only 10% was in cash.

As for the goods shipped to the South, the prices skyrocketed due to the war, which greatly reduced the supplies the Southerners received.

For example, explosives have increased by 350%, cans have increased by 170%, finished military uniforms have increased by 230%, and civilian supplies such as pots and pans have also doubled in price. This is the huge profit from exclusive trading.

Because the Northern Fleet has blocked major seaports in the South, a total of 276 merchant ships have been captured. The South has almost cut off its trade with Europe, and the Tang Kingdom has become the only supplier.

Under such circumstances, how could the black-hearted capitalists not raise prices? How could they not make money for war?

some of

A powerful syndicate is indispensable to add fuel to the fire, because many public supplies are purchased by them personally, and the price is of course decided by the bank.

Of the total loan amount of 260 million yuan, it would be good to be able to get goods originally worth 76 to 80 million yuan. Thank God.

Nowadays, the Southerners are borrowing money like gamblers who are addicted to gambling. Anyway, some of them are willing to spend too much money to win the civil war even if they have too much debt.

Once you lose, everything is over.

"Lend it to them, don't worry about the Southerners defaulting on the loan." Richard decided decisively.

The Southerners had already mortgaged Monterey, Kansas, and the southern customs revenue. They also wanted to mortgage Tijuana, but the Tang Kingdom rejected it.

The Tang Kingdom gave a very clear answer: Tijuana was already within its grasp, it did not join the United States of the Confederacy, and had nothing to do with the Southerners.

In the end, they had no choice but to mortgage Texas, but they couldn't mortgage Virginia, right?

Now the southerners are just waiting for the rice to be cooked. The southern part of the United States is a large rural area with no industrial production capacity at all. It relies on the blood transfusion of the Tang Dynasty to gain the upper hand on the battlefield.

Once the life-saving blood transfusion is stopped, the game is over immediately.

The situation in the North of the United States is different. Although its industrialization level is not as deep as that of the Tang Dynasty, it can produce most of the war materials on its own to supply war needs.

Although there is a huge gap in the clothing of the northern army, the volunteer militiamen who wear all kinds of strange clothes can still fight. They just look like beggars and are not neatly dressed. Nothing else.

"Where's President Jefferson Davis of the Confederate States of America? What did he say?" Richard asked.

This question was posed to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lord Juan Carlos. This originally elegant Mexican-born aristocrat now had frost on his temples, and his old look on his expression could not be concealed.

Hearing His Majesty's question, Lord Juan Carlos quickly stood up, bowed his hands, and answered clearly;

“Start your majesty;

President Jefferson Davis and the southern political leaders still have a tough attitude today. They can defeat the war and lose the war, but they cannot become the traitors that everyone accuses them of, so they do not agree to the alliance conditions proposed by our country.

On this point, the Yankees were extremely insistent.

President Jefferson Davis said privately;

The southern government can recognize the northern territories occupied by the Tang Kingdom. In fact, the north and the south are now two countries. It is not difficult to obtain official recognition from the southern United States, and there are no insurmountable obstacles.

But not Monterey State, because Monterey State is part of the Southern Territory.

Although this was territory taken from Mexico, there is no doubt that it now belongs to the Confederate States of America, and this is the biggest problem."

"You are so poor that you are so stubborn, and you are so stubborn." Richard also pinched his eyebrows in distress, there was nothing he could do against these stubborn southerners.

Falling out will definitely not work. The Tang Kingdom is still aiming to make war profits from the Southerners, but they must also rely on them to take the lead and hurt each other with the Yankees, and try their best to weaken the North's war strength and economic foundation.

From a long-term perspective

The southern regime supported by the Tang Kingdom must exist for a long time. The two sides have a natural alliance foundation, so they cannot destroy the foundation of mutual trust between the two sides, as that would outweigh the gains.

The problem is that Richard really wants Monterey State, a former Mexican region adjacent to southern Texas, with a 470-kilometer-long Gulf of Mexico coast and many excellent ports.

This is due to geographical reasons. This is a natural treasure land for the Tang Kingdom to export to Europe. It is also the foundation of the Tang Kingdom's two-ocean strategy. It must be acquired quickly.

Strictly speaking, the Tang Kingdom still has no Gulf Coast ports.

Port Veraquebrus, La Antigua and Medellin on the Gulf of Mexico are all cities on the Gulf of Mexico and have nothing to do with the Tang Kingdom. They are just free ports and special trade zones obtained through the "Jinling Treaty".

If one day people don't let you use it, it's all for nothing.

Therefore, Richard really wants Monterey State. Otherwise, there is not even a foothold in the Gulf of Mexico on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. How can we talk about the two-ocean strategy?