Holy Roman Empire

Any European country is willing to accept this deal, as long as there is enough profit, who cares who the warship is sold to?

Secretary of State Safar said: "I'm afraid this is not enough. The European powers support the southern government. Even if they are willing to sell us warships, at most it will allow the two sides to balance.

The naval blockade has failed, and the key to determining the outcome of this war has returned to the army.Only by winning on land can we win this war and maintain national unity. "

This is a very real problem. Don't look at the economic advantages of the northern government. If you really put together financial resources, you may not be the opponent of the southern government.

In this era, the U.S. Taxation Service is not yet so powerful, and capitalists will naturally not pay taxes honestly.In contrast, it is easier for planters in the south to collect tariffs when exporting goods.

In order to raise funds, the federal government has issued bonds many times in the country. Unfortunately, the money is in US dollars, which is fine for domestic use, but no one buys it internationally.

Because the southern government has cotton as collateral, it issues bonds overseas, and what it gets is foreign exchange.Occasionally, there are large-scale commodity transactions, and some bonds can also be mixed in to pay the bill.

As for enlisting the support of European countries, the federal government has already tried, without any effect.Even if someone supports them, it is only in words.

Now that Napoleon III is still busy annexing the Kingdom of Sardinia, it is impossible to offend the three countries of England, Austria and West for their benefit, and lose the opportunity to expand on the European continent.

President Lincoln tentatively asked, "How about we abolish slavery?"

Secretary of State Safar immediately objected: "Private property is sacred and inviolable, which violates the U.S. Constitution and will push slave states loyal to the Union to the southern government."

Private property is sacred and inviolable, which not only protects the interests of slave owners, but also protects the interests of capitalists.

Everyone is sad about the death of the rabbit and the fox. If the federal government tears this hole, the capitalists will also worry that one day the federal government will cut them down with a knife.

Lincoln explained: "I mean free the slaves in the rebellious states, and leave the rest of the country as usual."

Secretary of State Safar still shook his head. Now 16 of the 15 slave states in the Federation have joined the southern government, and the remaining slavery in Delaware has long existed in name only.

It is still unknown how effective this decree will be, but the negative effects it will bring are very serious.

Maybe the people in the southern states think that the federal government wants to deprive them of all their property, and if they want to fight to the end, then they are really doomed.

Even if the black slaves are removed, there are still seventy-eight million people in the family, and they have the support of the big powers. If they want to be independent with one heart, the federal government will never have a chance to unify.

President Lincoln added again: "We have no choice. A large number of black troops have appeared in the rebel army. If they cannot be divided, the rebel army will use these cannon fodder to consume our elite troops.

As far as I know, the rebel army also signed a labor introduction treaty with the Austrians, and an average of 30 strong laborers are introduced every year.

What are they trying to do?It is nothing more than that the slave owners have paid the price for independence now, and will use these labors to compensate them in the future.

Anyway, on their territory, it is up to them to decide whether they will be laborers or slaves in the end. "

Not to mention the plantation owners in the south, even the capitalists in the north, there are people who want to introduce a batch of cheap and strong labor to mine.

People are forced out. Because the southern government is underpopulated, the number of troops naturally cannot compete with the northern government. Using slaves to fight wars is also an option.

Secretary of State Safar did not continue to object. According to the current situation, if you want to gain an advantage on the battlefield, you must divide the relationship between slaves and slave owners.

Otherwise, if the southern rebels used two or three black slaves to kill a federal soldier, they would cry to death.

Don't look at the heat of the war, the labor export company's business has never stopped, and the rebels can afford to lose.

……

In September 1862, President Lincoln submitted the Emancipation Proclamation to Congress.After a fierce quarrel, at the insistence of President Lincoln, it was passed by a narrow margin.

Content: Provided that from New Year's Day, 1863, slavery in the rebellious states would be abolished and slaves would be allowed to serve in the Northern Army as free men.

The Abolition of Slavery Act immediately caused a sensation in the United States. There was also a wave of escaped slaves in the southern states, and blacks began to appear on the recruitment points of the northern government.

It even spread to the army of the Confederate government. In order to appease the morale of the army, the Confederate government had to grant the slave soldiers the status of freemen.

Because of the promulgation of the Abolition of Slavery Act, the southern government was already at a political disadvantage. In order to change this situation, the Confederate government was not idle.

At the suggestion of representatives of various countries, the Confederate government began to win over the Indians and promised to support them in establishing an independent country.

Chapter 24 Yangmou

On October 1862, 10, the first ironclad ship of the Kingdom of Prussia, the Friedrich der Grosse, had a sea trial. William I personally presided over the ceremony to show his determination to develop the navy.

They really made up their minds. Seeing that the Austrian nobles next door made a fortune in the overseas colonial movement, and were agitated by domestic capitalists manipulating public opinion, the Junker nobles couldn't help it.

Especially many young people have long been dissatisfied with the government's conservatism.You must know that Austria has opened up overseas colonies for less than ten years, and it has five or six times the area of ​​​​the mainland.

Many people optimistically believe that only by joining the colonial movement, they will soon be able to make a fortune, be knighted and reach the pinnacle of life.

"The future of the world lies in the ocean", it is impossible to verify who said this sentence first, anyway, it has been widely recognized by European society.

At the beginning of the establishment of overseas colonies, Franz also contributed to the promotion of this theory, and now it has been widely circulated in Germany.

Ironclad warships are recognized as the highest level of contemporary naval technology. It has only been a few years since they came out. Great naval powers such as Britain, France, the United States, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands have built their own ironclad warships.

Now that the Kingdom of Prussia finally has its own ironclad ship, many people are celebrating.Only the high-level government knows the gap between their ironclad ships and the naval powers.

After all, it is a landlubber. For a long time, the Prussian navy has been dispensable, and more often it plays the role of the coast guard, which is not even comparable to Denmark next door.

The big fanfare to promote the ironclad ship is still to inspire people.In recent years, the development of the Kingdom of Prussia has been very difficult, and the people need good news.

William I asked with concern: "How is the naval training going? When can we open up overseas colonies?"

Ron, the Minister of War and also the Secretary of the Navy, changed his face, and replied with a wry smile: "Your Majesty, our navy is too weak.

Before the expansion of the army, the Navy only had more than [-] officers and soldiers, including the civilian staff of the Navy Department.

It will take at least two to three years to form combat effectiveness.Of course, if the enemy is only aboriginal, these are not problems. "

The Minister of War still serves as the Secretary of the Navy, which is also the result of a compromise between all parties.Although the Junker nobles coveted the benefits of opening up overseas colonies, they were still unwilling to give up their dominance over the army.

There is nothing wrong with the army leading the navy. Anyway, the navy officers and soldiers are directly transferred from the active army of the army.Even the Marine Corps is omitted, they are definitely the strongest navy in land warfare, none of them.

Ron, who originally led the reform of the army, tragically discovered that he was going to lead the construction of the Prussian navy again.In other countries, laymen lead experts at most, but here he directs laymen to lead laymen.

Anyway, the Prussian Navy used to be the coast guard of the Kingdom of Prussia, and its usual business was to crack down on smuggling activities.

The thousands of troops that have been added now are even more amateurs. They are all amateurs from top to bottom. Naturally, Ron is under a lot of pressure.

The navy is not an army, and it can go to the battlefield after a few months of training.Even ordinary soldiers have to spend several years training.

Obviously, this was discovered by Ron after in-depth research. The upper echelons of the Prussian government were still thinking about the army, including William I. They didn't distinguish the difference between the army and the navy, otherwise they wouldn't have asked this question.

William I asked in amazement: "It took so long, how did the Austrians expand their navy, or did their training of officers and soldiers fail at all?"

It is true that the Austrian Navy has expanded rapidly in recent years. From 1850 to the present, the tonnage of the Austrian Navy has increased several times, and it has become the third largest naval power in the world.

Ron explained: "Your Majesty, the Austrian Navy has been operating in the Mediterranean Sea before, and their popularity is somewhat low, but in fact their naval background is very solid, and the Venetian region is a traditional naval power.

They have a complete naval technology inheritance and personnel training system.

Metternich did not pay much attention to the development of the navy, which made the Austrian navy fade in everyone's impression. Now that the Vienna government has paid more attention to it, it will naturally catch up soon. "

In fact, the rapid development of the Austrian Navy is also luck.In the era of sailing warships, naval technology has reached a bottleneck, and even the technology of the British is not much advanced compared to other countries.

After the ironclad warship era came, sailing warships were directly eliminated, and the previous experience and technology had fallen behind, and they had to start reshuffle.

To some extent, now is the easiest time for countries to catch up with the British.After all, everyone has just developed ironclad ship technology, and the gap has not yet reached the point of despair.

After hearing this explanation, King William I sighed. Originally, he thought that the century-old navy was invented by the British, but he did not expect it to be true.

If there is no background, building a strong navy from scratch, even if it doesn't take 100 years, decades is still needed.

"Not long ago, the Austrians proposed to us to jointly develop the Nanyang region. This is a rare opportunity.

If the cooperation goes well, we can directly use the Austrian overseas colonial strongholds to obtain supplies and obtain the first colony in the Southeast Asia region. "

Logistical supplies, this is also an obstacle set by the colonial empire for latecomers.Everyone just welcomes merchant ships from various countries to go to supply, and warships must communicate in advance if they want to obtain supplies.

If it's just a visit abroad, it's easy to handle and everyone is willing to do this business.If you want to open up overseas colonies, you need deeper communication.

In short, if there is not enough price, don't think about getting everyone's help.

This is quite disharmonious to the latecomers. It is impossible to open up overseas colonies and ship everything from the country. Procurement nearby is the best way to reduce costs.

In order to obtain logistical supplies, Austria signed an agreement with the three countries of Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands, promising not to seek their colonies in any way, and everyone's understanding was obtained.

These promises have been fulfilled by Franz. In overseas colonization activities, Austria has not seized the colonies of any country, and all it has taken is unclaimed land.

Now the Kingdom of Prussia is facing the same problem, and if the logistical supply problem cannot be solved, the colonization cost can directly make anyone desperate.

Sign a similar agreement?Stop dreaming, the political influence of the Kingdom of Prussia is going from bad to worse, why should everyone give face?

In this world that speaks with fists, with the strength of the Prussian navy, countries simply dismiss it.Even the Portuguese can wipe out the Prussian navy two or three times.

In particular, the direct transformation of the army into the navy has become a laughing stock in Europe.Everyone doesn't think that the Kingdom of Prussia is developing a navy at all, and many newspapers directly satirize the Prussian navy as an army fleet.

Ron asked with concern: "Your Majesty, what do we need to pay?"

Pies don't fall from the sky, if they do, they can kill people.Ron didn't think that Austria would help Prussia free of charge. This big deal is definitely not easy to pick up.

William I sneered and said: "They still regard themselves as the boss of the German region, and they are going to pull our little brother over to be thugs.

The forces of various countries in the Nanyang region are gathered. In recent years, the Austrians have spread too much, and their ability to invest in the Nanyang region is limited.

In order to ensure their interests in the Nanyang region, the Vienna government invited us and the German Federal Empire to join this time.

Of course, they also have the intention of wooing our domestic nobles.Franz, that brat, talked about a unified Germany every day, as if he was afraid that others would not know about it. "

This was a conspiracy. Even if he knew that the bait might be poisonous, William I would have swallowed it.

You can't stop opening up overseas colonies just because there may be hidden dangers, right?

Austria won people's hearts in Prussia not once or twice.Over the past few years, more than 15 Prussian immigrants have entered the Austrian colonies.

Many overseas colonial teams in the Kingdom of Prussia are now affiliated with the Austrians. If these people did not fall to Austria, the Vienna government would not shelter them unless they were crazy.

William I had a sense of crisis. He was very worried that if he continued like this, he would be sold by his subordinates at some point. For details, you can refer to the Kingdom of Bavaria.

After joining Austria.The Kingdom of Bavaria is developing well.This traditional textile center in Germany is enjoying a second spring once again.

In order to solve the supply of industrial raw materials, the Vienna government has specially opened up cotton plantations in West Africa.

In contrast, Baden, which remained in the Federal Empire of Germany, was a tragedy.It is also the center of the cotton spinning industry in Germany, which is now subject to insufficient supply of raw materials and is gradually declining.

With the power of example, William I had no confidence in the people under his opponents.Even the noble Junkers, he couldn't believe it.

After all, if the boss is still an aristocrat, a capitalist is still a capitalist, everyone's core interests will not be damaged, and they may even get more.

In order to avoid the worst thing from happening, William I had to find a way to open up a new road, otherwise the Kingdom of Prussia would be annexed by Austria sooner or later.

William I was unwilling to play politics with the Habsburg dynasty, which was not his strong point.

Chapter 25 Dream of a Great Country

It was not only William I who had a hard time, but the more tragic one was George I, Emperor of the German Federal Empire, who was really having a hard time.

Because he was supported by the British, and he also has the status of the Duke of Cumberland in the United Kingdom, he is also dubbed by the folks: Cumberland I.

George I's throne was unstable from the very beginning, and the following princes, big and small, didn't care about him at all.Even with the support of the British, he has nothing to do with these princes.

The elected emperor has as much power as the Holy Roman Emperor in the Middle Ages.In addition to the nominal co-owner, his rights are probably left to preside over the Federal Conference.

That's fine, anyway, it's enough for him to manage Hannover.George I did not expect the states below to obey him.

As a buffer between major powers, as long as the situation in Europe is not broken, the German Federal Empire is still very safe.

What troubled him most was the low reputation of the monarch. Many people called the Federal Empire of Germany a "comedy empire" and regarded the empire imposed on them by various countries as a shame.

After all these years, George I has made a lot of efforts, but nothing has changed.

The people don't even agree with this empire, so naturally they won't agree with him as the emperor.

The states within the empire were worried that George I would learn from Franz and use the pressure of public opinion to gather power in their hands, and everyone tacitly suppressed his reputation.

George I was very wronged. He didn't do anything, but he was scolded bloody by the people, which made Hanover's rule not so stable.

If he knew that being the emperor would have such serious sequelae, he would rather not have this crown.

It's too late now, he has already become a laughing stock, if he abdicates again, the family's reputation will all be taken into account.

In order to restore his reputation, King George I has been making great efforts to govern Hanover in recent years, and the governance of Hanover is still very good.

Unfortunately there is no way to compare.The New Holy Roman Empire has also been in the limelight in recent years, and it comes out every now and then to gain a sense of existence, and his achievements are ignored when compared between the two.

In the final analysis, Hannover is only a small country, and no matter how well it is governed, it is only an economic achievement. Politically, it cannot satisfy the people's desire for a big country.

Even if the German Federal Empire is integrated, it is only a medium-sized country with a population of over [-] million, and the dream of a great power is really a dream.

Of course, George I's goal was not that high. If he could integrate a bunch of small states in the country and turn the German Federal Empire into a medium-sized power, just like the Kingdom of Prussia next door, he would be satisfied.

It is very difficult to achieve this, Europe is a society that stresses the rule of law.Both nobles and capitalists rely on the law to protect their own interests. If they violate the rules, they will be rejected by everyone.

This cut off the way for George I to solve the domestic states by force. Even if the Kingdom of Hanover had the strength, he would not dare to take action by force.

He did not want to participate in the invitation of the Vienna government to colonize Southeast Asia.George I had a background. As a pawn of the British Empire on the European continent, there was no need to follow Austria in order to open up colonies.