Chapter 317 The Outbreak of the American Civil War

Since entering the age of ironclad ships, the Austrian Navy has been very prominent. The continuous expansion of the Austrian navy forced European countries to follow suit.

If it wasn't for the outbreak of the Indian rebellion that stifled the British's energies, the Vienna government would have felt the pressure long ago.

Some people in the London government are clamoring for a three-strong standard. (exceeds the naval tonnage of the second, third and fourth naval powers)

Of course, these people are just saying, in fact, the British never did.

Don't talk about the three-strong standard now, even if it is the two-strong standard, Franz doubts whether the British can achieve it.

The combined total tonnage of the Fao Navy has approached the Royal Navy. Taking into account the ironclad factors, the strength of the Royal Navy has been unable to achieve a compressive advantage over France and Austria.

However, after the Indian rebellion is suppressed, the British should be able to achieve the two-power standard for a long time to come. Franz is not ready to explode the navy in the short term, so as not to stimulate the sensitive nerves of the British.

No, it's already been stimulated, but for the time being, there is no time to pay attention to it.

If it weren't for the lack of financial resources of the Tsarist government, Franz was ready to help the Russians explode the navy and stimulate the London government.

This is not contradictory. As long as the British are stimulated, they will put more financial resources into ironclad ships. But in fact, these warships are only transitional products, and the more they are built, the greater the loss will be.

If it wasn't for meddling in the Civil War, Franz would not have come out with so many ironclads. In terms of warship performance, it won't be long before these warships will be eliminated.

Just considering that the arms race might lead to war, Franz was not ready to make the first bird right now. Since it is Anglo-Russian hegemony, of course, let the Russians go.

Franz was not prepared to confront the British directly before the unification of the German region, which would outweigh the gains.

...

Washington, the election that decides the fate of America is over. Franz's butterfly effect did not affect the election, and Republican Abraham Lincoln was elected the 16th President of the United States with an absolute majority.

The general appearance of representing the interests of northern capitalists caused panic and hatred among southern plantation owners. In order to protect their own interests, they began to tandem.

On December 20, 1860, representatives of Southern plantation owners met in South Carolina and decided to secede from the Union.

He also issued a declaration against slavery, welcoming the states to secede from the Union and join the newly formed nation, the Confederation of American States.

After the news reached Europe, it caused an immediate sensation. Franz convened a cabinet meeting for the first time to discuss countermeasures.

Foreign Secretary Weisenberg said: "The United States has a long history of conflict between the North and the South, and the results of this election have shown that the planters in the South have been completely defeated in the political struggle.

In order to protect their own interests, they had to withdraw from the federation and form a new country.

Legally, these states have the right to withdraw.

But the capitalists in the north will certainly not agree, they also want to obtain cheap industrial raw materials and markets. If these states are allowed to run away, all their previous efforts will be in vain.

There was no way the southern planters could go back unless the northern government compromised, and Lincoln's appeal was really just a show.

This North-South split is not only because of the abolition of slavery, but also the more core issue of tariffs, which he did not mention.

If Lincoln promises to lower tariffs on farm goods, the resolve of Southern planters to become independent may also be shaken. Now the two sides can only speak with war.

With the outbreak of the American Civil War, our strategy of colonizing the Americas is half realized, and a divided America is more in our interest.

However, there is a big gap between the comprehensive strength of the North and the South. Now only 7 states have joined the southern government. I am afraid that they are not the opponents of the northern government. "

There is no need to say that the splitting of the United States is absolutely supported by the Vienna government. This is even more necessary after the opening of the Americas strategy.

Home Secretary Wendy Schgritz said calmly: "On the surface, the northern government is indeed stronger.

But in fact, not all northern states are willing to participate in this war, and most of the American people do not want war to break out. We can only rely on the public opinion controlled by the capitalists to fool the people into the battlefield.

Several southern states are different, they are driven to a dead end. Concerned about their vital interests, the enthusiasm of the people in the south to join the army is much higher.

In the short term, it is more likely that the southern government will have an advantage in the military; if the war drags on, the northern manpower advantage will gradually be transformed into military strength.

I think as long as the commander in the South is smarter, take Washington as soon as the war breaks out, and then negotiate with the government of the North.

Anyway, everyone likes to see the upstarts unlucky, and European countries will definitely support the division of the United States. "

Prime Minister Felix questioned: "It is very difficult to do, militarily speaking, it is indeed possible for the southern government to occupy Washington in the first place.

However, there was no way they could prevent the U.S. government from withdrawing. There are obviously more federal states on the north side, and the military action in the south will stimulate everyone's nerves and let the neutral states join in.

Southern governments were limited, and they would become exhausted if they couldn't take down a few states. The northern government, which has reacted to it, will still overwhelm the southern government with its strong strength.

In fact, the key to the problem now is not how the North and the South fight, but who can draw more allies.

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The country has a total of 35 states, 16 of which are animal slave states. Now only 7 have declared independence. The next political activities of the two sides are the key to determining the outcome of this war.

If the southern government can win over 16 animal slave states to become independent together, and lobby a few states for neutrality, then the strength of the two sides will be closer.

If the strength of the two sides is equal, with the intervention of European countries, it is not impossible to solve the problem peacefully. "

Foreign Secretary Weisenberg explained: "Your Excellency, I am afraid that this ideal situation will not happen.

The southern government's diplomatic work is simply unqualified. I don't know where they got their confidence, and they haven't asked us for help until now.

I have no illusions about how many states they can convince to join. In public opinion, the capitalists in the north occupy a dominant position. If they do not work hard enough, many animal husbandry states will fall to the northern government.

After all, the strength of the capitalists in some animal slave states is not small. If the response is slow, I am afraid that the federal states that originally favored them will also be pulled over by the northern government. "

What is the confidence of the southern government? Of course it's cotton!

In this era, about one-fifth of the British population depended directly or indirectly on cotton textiles for survival, of which 80% were provided by the southern states.

It is absolutely impossible for the London government to tolerate problems in the cotton supply chain. Unfortunately, they ignored the 1860 cotton harvest, and the London market had a 50% backlog of cotton.

This negligence is very fatal. Many capitalists regard the blockade in the north as a good opportunity to deal with the backlog and gain huge profits.

With the hindrance of these people, and the impact on the cotton spinning industry is not fatal, the London government was caught in a controversy and did not fully intervene in the American Civil War for the first time.

Next, they finally reached an agreement with France and Spain to decide to intervene, and they were put together by the French. Coupled with the public relations of the northern government, the London government once again fell into hesitation.

After a few hesitations, cotton was planted in India and Egypt. The interest of the British capitalists in the cotton of the southern government was greatly diminished, and international intervention was thus delayed.

By the time the London government made a decision, the southern government was powerless.

In the face of the southern government's failed diplomacy, Franz was also very troubled. If you don't know how to take advantage of the advantages that you already have, you will bury the opportunity in vain.

If the southern government is a little more active, whether it is out of strategic needs or out of interests, everyone will support them.

In any case, in order to attack the Americans, Franz can only recognize it by pinching his nose, and still has to help the southern government.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs communicated with Britain and France, and we will act together to persuade more livestock states to join the southern government, presumably they will not mind harassing Americans.

Find a few more newspapers to break the news: the news of the cotton harvest and slow sales, and by the way, emphasize the news of the skyrocketing cotton production in India, Egypt, West Africa and other regions.

Find a few experts and scholars to analyze the seriousness of the problem, so that those in power in the southern government will wake up and know that their cotton weapons are unreliable. "

In addition to cotton, there are many agricultural products that are American's flagship products, but these things are also produced elsewhere.

Even Franz was wondering whether to send someone to burn the British cotton stocks. This idea just passed by in a flash, mainly because there are too many cotton warehouses, and it is simply not enough for a few people to burn them out.

However, most of the cotton in the south has not been shipped yet. As long as the southern government is vigilant and suspends the transportation of cotton later, the British government will still have to be tied to the southern government ship.

After all, whether it is India or Egypt, it takes time to grow cotton, and domestic factories cannot afford to wait.

Historically, in the early days of the war, the northern government proposed to intercept this part of the cotton transport fleet and cut off the trade of the southern government.

However, in order not to offend the British, the Lincoln government chose to let it go. Even during the outbreak of the Civil War, the northern blockade of cotton shipments was not tight.

Otherwise, the cotton supply of John Bull would have been cut off, and the British would have already made it.

Needless to say, although the British Army is not very good, it is still doable to deal with the Americans.

Only if the Royal Navy blocks the U.S. coast and sends a bunch of Indian soldiers up there, they can kill the northern government.

As for logistical supplies, it is far less terrifying than imagined. The most important food can be provided by the southern government, and there is no shortage of these things.

Weapons and ammunition need to be transported from the mainland. The consumption of ammunition in wars in this era is not large. As the largest industrial country in the world, the British can fully afford it.

To put it bluntly, the northern government has more than 20 million people. When the war broke out, several states were blown up by the South. The war potential that the northern government can break out is also limited.

The power of the British to suppress the Indian rebellion was enough to rewrite the outcome of the Civil War. The American soldiers who were sent to the battlefield just after picking up the robbery had no fighting power at all.