1850 American Gold Tycoon

Chapter 644 Taking the Initiative

"Our two countries are friendly neighbors. When our neighbors are in trouble, we should generously help each other." Liang Yao said unhurriedly.

"So you are willing to provide us with a loan?" After hearing Liang Yao's offer of help, Hidalgo stood up excitedly and thanked Liang Yao.

"I personally am very willing to provide loans to your country, but your country's credit is really bad." Liang Yao interrupted Hidalgo, who was in excitement, "Last year we provided a loan of US$800,000 to your country. , Your country has not yet performed in accordance with the contract and paid us even one cent of interest. This makes it difficult for me to explain to our taxpayers.”

"It's not that we don't want to repay your interest, it's just that our country's finances have been really difficult in the past few years. After this most difficult period, we will definitely repay you in full." Hidalgo assured Liang Yao, "Besides, Didn’t we already mortgage Veracruz, the best port in the Gulf of Mexico?”

Naturally, Liang Yao would not believe Hidalgo's guarantee. Believing in the credit of Latin American countries was not as good as believing that Americans did not like oil and that Russians had no interest in their neighbors' land.

"Although your country's credit is very bad, I don't want to see the lives of my neighbors in ruins." Liang Yao looked very reluctant, "As long as your country provides collateral of equal value, we will provide you with the fastest possible payment." Loans.”

"Collateral?" Hidalgo frowned and asked cautiously, "Which port are you interested in? I can ask our president for instructions."

"I don't want your land." Liang Yao shook his head and said.

The new territories of the American Republic that were incorporated during the Second Mexican-American War have not yet been fully digested. Moreover, at this time, the British, French and Spanish allied forces had already deployed in Mexico. The Second French Empire also had a strong interest in Mexican territory. At this time, it was necessary to encroach on Mexican territory. A very unwise choice.

The external environment now faced by the American Republic does not allow Liang Yao to continue expanding toward Mexico.

"Then what do you want as collateral?" Hidalgo asked anxiously.

"Your country can mortgage your country's tariff rights, road construction rights, and minerals of equal value." Liang Yao said slowly.

The remaining territories in Mexico have a large population. Compared with the simple and crude direct occupation before, Liang Yao currently prefers Mexico to adopt a gentler approach to economic colonial penetration.

"We can't use the tariff rights as collateral." Hidalgo said after a moment of silence. "The road construction rights and mining rights allow me to report to our president before I can reply to you."

Liang Yao knew that in fact, Mexico's tariff rights were not unmortgable, but had already been favored by the British. Maybe representatives from both sides were negotiating secretly at this time.

Hidalgo came to him to borrow money not to repay the debts of England, but to repay the debts of France and Spain.

It's just that these ignorant Mexican elites haven't figured it out yet. The purpose of France's expedition is not to make Mexico fulfill its debt obligations, but to covet Mexico's territory.

After Zeiss sent Hidalgo away, Liang Yao returned to the conference room and continued the meeting with the cabinet members.

"What did Lincoln mean? He neither publicly refuted our land bill nor accepted it." Wu Yuanhua said, "We demand that North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, etc. The area was designated as a demilitarized zone, and Lincoln did not respond to requests to withdraw troops from these areas.”

"A large number of mobilization troops from the Northern Army have been stationed in Washington. I think communications between Washington and the outside world have been restored." Pan Zhengwei said, "It must be that Lincoln turned a blind eye and wanted to delay time."

"Although the Washington authorities have not responded, their actions have shown their attitude." Fremont said, "Federal authorities have closed the Omaha train station and cut off the Pacific Railroad. This move is obviously targeting us."

After direct military conflict broke out between the north and the south, more and more middle-class people and wealthy businessmen in the east chose to go to the west to escape the war. This allowed the western region to absorb a lot of high-quality labor and capital from the east in a short period of time.

The Lincoln administration's move to close the Omaha train station and restrict the flow of people from the east to the west really hit Liang Yao's pain point.

"This is just one of them." Liang Yao added, "The latest information is that the federal government has launched a second round of mobilization, and this time the number of people mobilized is 100,000."

"If they complete the second round of mobilization, there will be nearly 200,000 troops in the north." Wu Yuanhua said dissatisfied, "What did those Dixie guys do? They were so stubborn and did not attack Washington while they were waiting for such a good opportunity. How could they? Are they going to fight after the North is mobilized? Or are they waiting for us to start fighting with the North and then reap the benefits? "

"I don't know Davis's intentions," Fremont said. "But from what I know about them, they have no interest in the land of the northern states. They just want to be independent from the Union. In addition, the transportation efficiency of the southern railways is also It’s relatively low, and I think that’s one of the reasons why they haven’t attacked yet.”

"200,000?" After hearing this number, Corwin, who had served as the federal government's finance minister, shook his head repeatedly. "With the financial situation of the federal government, it is impossible to afford an army of 200,000 unless they open up new tax sources or start from new sources. Other channels gained support.”

"There are many European countries that want to intervene in American affairs. It is not impossible for Lincoln to obtain the funds for the second mobilization." Fremont analyzed, "The Federation and the Confederacy have not yet broken out in a large-scale battle, and the outcome is not yet known. The federal government There is no reason to carry out secondary mobilization in the face of financial constraints. We must pay attention to the secondary mobilization of the federal government. These mobilized volunteers and militia may not be used to deal with the South, but to deal with us. "

"Your Excellency, shall we mobilize militias from various places to continue to increase troops to North Platte to deal with possible threats posed by the federal army?" Deng Wenyu asked for instructions.

"We can't wait for the federation to take action first. We are too passive." Liang Yao thought for a moment and said, "The federal fortresses east of North Platte are like thorns stuck in our throats. These thorns If we don't pull it out, our strategy of developing the Great Plains will not be implemented. Whether Lincoln remains silent, hesitant, or delaying action, we cannot follow their pace.

Haven't Stanford and Houck always wanted to contribute to the North Platte front? Let them bring regiments of Utah militia and brigade of West Mexican militia to the North Platte to await their deployment. "

"Napoleon III brought a total of thirteen infantry regiments this time. So many infantry regiments are obviously not here to ask for debts from Mexico. Do we really want to hand over Mexico?" After the cabinet meeting, Fremont came to Liang Yao said beside him.

Fremont has always regarded Mexico as his own sphere of influence, and he felt a little uncomfortable when he handed Mexico over.

"We need to open a diplomatic breakthrough in Europe." Liang Yao said, "For us, the best diplomatic breakthrough in Europe is France. We have no more choices. Therefore, it is very important to let the French emperor enjoy himself in Mexico, and then If they follow the French colonial model, they won’t be able to stay in Mexico for many years, and the French army will withdraw sooner or later.”

Liang Yao was not worried about France taking root in Mexico. France tended to adopt direct rule over the colonies. It liked to send local French officials to directly manage the colonies. It regarded the colonies as an extension of France and promoted assimilation policies in the colonies. French control of the colonies change.

Compared with Britain's indirect rule and divide-and-rule cultural policy for its colonies, France's model is very costly to maintain colonial rule and cannot last long.

Furthermore, the French Second Empire did not have many years left in its lifespan, so there was no harm in letting Napoleon III have a taste of the Great Emperor.

"I hope it's as you said, Mexico's debt is a huge sum. If Mexico agrees to borrow money with road construction rights and mining rights as collateral, where will you get such a large sum of money? You won't be Do you want to use the 15 million US dollars raised by issuing national debt? That is our life-saving money," Fremont said with some concern.

"The future is uncertain. This 15 million US dollars is the ballast of our American republic. I will not touch this money unless it is absolutely necessary." Liang Yao said seriously.

"The British, French and Spanish armies are pressing down on the border. It is hard to say whether Mexico can survive for a month. If they can make the British, French and Spanish forces withdraw, it will not be too late to seriously discuss the matter with them."