Chapter 329 Whimsical Plan

Washington

Secretary of State Safar said calmly: "Your Excellency, this is an offer from arms dealers from various countries, as well as from domestic capitalists.

Of course, this doesn't make much sense to us. In this war, the federal government has prepared too hastily, and both the government army and the militias of the states are now short of weapons.

At present, many of our troops still bring their own shotguns. In terms of weapons and equipment, there is simply no way to compare with the southern army.

Buying all the stocks of these arms dealers now will not meet our needs. So choice is just a fallacy. "

President Lincoln rubbed his forehead. He was very suspicious that the Secretary of State was here to find fault. Since there is no choice, then I will buy it, what can I say.

"Send people to talk to them, try to lower the price as much as possible, and kick out the highest bidder."

Safar shook his head and said: "I'm afraid not, the Austrians with the highest prices, their products are breech rifles, which are superior in performance.

The most important thing is that they have the most stock in their hands, and they can provide us with 100,000 breech rifles, 150,000 muzzle-loading rifles, and 800 various types of artillery at one time.

They just sold 200,000 breech rifles, a thousand artillery pieces, and some ammunition to the southern government not long ago. If it weren't for the stupidity of the southerners, these weapons would never be ours. "

In the view of the Secretary of State, the southern government is simply too stupid.

During the war, it is not stupid to take advantage of the good relations with various countries to sweep the goods and let these weapons and equipment flow into the hands of the enemy.

As for the price paid, no amount of money to buy weapons and equipment can compare to the losses on the battlefield.

If the southern government sweeps the goods at the first time, then at least in the next six months, the northern government will not be able to obtain enough weapons and equipment.

This is the advantage brought by the constant communication, which can make a time difference. Don't watch the international arms dealers gather in North America. In fact, the stock in everyone's hands is still limited.

Tens of thousands of rifles, hundreds of artillery pieces, thousands of tons of ammunition, that's a lot of money. No matter how much more, unless it's a traverser like Franz, who knows how big the Civil War was?

If there are too many stockpiles, and the North and South suddenly truce and compromise, then it will all be lost, and the cost will not be recovered.

Except for the Americans, the whole world can't find such a takeover as a taker.

It would cost less than £10 million to empty the warehouses of arms dealers active in the United States. The exchange of 10 million pounds for the enemy's lack of weapons and equipment within half a year is a big profit.

After listening to Safar's explanation, President Lincoln almost broke out in a cold sweat.

Half a year is enough to decide the outcome of a war. Fortunately, the southern government did not do this, otherwise the northern government would be miserable.

After adjusting his mood, Lincoln asked rhetorically, "Your Excellency Secretary of State, wouldn't you be looking for me just to say this?"

Secretary of State Safar explained calmly: "Of course not. Now the four major powers, Britain, France and Ossi, support the southern government. Under their influence, most European countries stand on the southern side.

These arms dealers basically have political backgrounds, and under similar conditions, they are definitely more willing to do business with the southern government.

If we bid higher, the situation is different. In the face of interests, arms dealers don't care what the government thinks.

Therefore, I am going to increase the price of weapons and equipment, especially some advanced weapons. The southern states have weak industrial strength and limited production capacity, so they can only follow us to increase prices.

Unlike the traitors in the south, our own industrial capabilities are not bad, and the lack of weapons and equipment is only temporary.

If nothing else happens, our weapons self-sufficiency rate will reach over 85% from next year, while the southern government may not be able to reach 30%.

Since we can't win militarily, we'll bring them down economically. "

This is the advantage of the northern government, but President Lincoln is not happy at all, seeing that the Secretary of State's plan is to prepare for a protracted war.

Lincoln frowned and asked, "Do you have so little confidence in our military?"

Safar replied solemnly: "Your Excellency, it has been more than three months since the war broke out, and the total loss of the federal government has exceeded 80,000 troops.

I admit that the military has worked very hard, and they have achieved a lot, but we are still at the disadvantage.

If anything goes wrong on the battlefield in Maryland, the federal government is about to fight a battle to defend Washington. I don't think the federal government is likely to win the war in the short term. "

To a certain extent, the attitude of the Secretary of State also represents the attitude of officials within the federal government. Since they are preparing to fight a protracted war, it also means that everyone has lost confidence in quelling the rebellion in the short term.

This is not the worst. If the war drags on, the voices of domestic advocates and factions will grow louder.

As a qualified politician, Lincoln knew that the enemies within were the most terrifying. These people were lurking in the dark, and he didn't even know who they were.

After hesitating for a while, Lincoln said, "Okay, let's do it according to your plan! But we must first solve the financial problem. The southern government uses cotton as collateral to issue bonds overseas. We have no collateral."

It's not that the federal government has no collateral. The problem is that they don't dare to pledge these collaterals at all. Otherwise, the people in the country will explode first.

...

The island of New Guinea has now been renamed New Bavaria. Take it at will

The name seems to be a European habit, and Franz is used to it.

The second largest island in the world now belongs to the Habsburg dynasty, but Franz was not surprised.

In terms of resources, New Bavaria is also rich in various mineral resources. The southern delta plain is still the most fertile land in the world.

There are no strong native kingdoms on the island. It is estimated that the natives on this island will not exceed one million, and may even be less than 300,000.

However, this land was not favored by the colonists of European countries. Obviously, this is very abnormal.

Previously, Austria's colonial activities also occupied the surrounding islands of New Bavaria, such as: Melanesian Islands, Shizhen Islands, Aru Islands...

This is a way of demarcating spheres of influence and swearing an oath of sovereignty. My territory is all around, so naturally you can't come and grab it in the central area, otherwise it will break the rules.

Now that the colonization pace has been accelerated, the colonization team has entered the island of New Bavaria in a big way, and the problem has arisen.

1. The island has a tropical rainforest climate with large annual precipitation;

2. The downstream terrain is low and flat, and the drainage is not smooth;

3. The river has a long flood season and is easy to inundate the surrounding areas;

4. The coast is affected by tides, seawater intrusion, and many tidal flats;

5. The whole island is mountainous, swampy and sparsely populated.

To sum up, it is necessary to spend a lot of money to develop this island.

At the very least, the problem of drainage should be solved, and the swampy land should be turned into farmland. It is better to build seawalls to protect the coastal areas from the influence of sea tides.

Franz asked, "What is the Colonial Department going to do?"

Colonial Minister Josip Jelacic replied: "Your Majesty, we are going to put the development of the island of New Bavaria on hold for the time being, only to develop parts of it and establish several cities in suitable areas to swear sovereignty.

The focus is still on developing the surrounding islands. The Nanyang region is really rich. The aborigines here do not engage in agricultural production at all, and rely on the gifts of nature to make a living.

These islands are rich in tropical fruits and are suitable for growing cash crops such as coffee, cocoa, copra, palm oil, tea and rubber. "

This is the most sensible choice, colonization is to make money, it is very unwise to invest blindly.

Anyway, the island is sparsely populated and does not engage in agricultural production. If there is no external influence, it will still be the same after a hundred years.

The island can't escape where it is. When the colonies in the world are divided up, it will not be too late for the Vienna government to develop here.

Franz nodded and said, "This is what New Bavaria does. What's going on with the Lanfang Republic?"

If the Lanfang Republic was not mentioned in the document, Franz would have almost forgotten that there was also a Chinese republic in the Nanyang region.

Josip Jelacic explained: "Your Majesty, Kalimantan is rich in gold mines, so a group of Chinese gathered and established the Lanfang Republic.

Not long ago, the ocean fleet also visited this country and signed a friendly agreement with Count Hummel.

This small country is very weak, the colonial government is looking for a pretext for war, and it should not be long before we can destroy them. "

After hesitating for a while, Franz relented.

"Don't rush into action just yet and send someone who can speak well to trick them into joining the New Holy Roman Empire.

We can give them autonomy, we can refer to the standards of the domestic kingdom, and it doesn't matter if we are a little looser.

The Southeast Asia region is too far away, and the immigration we can provide is limited, and it is very difficult to develop so many places.

If the Lanfang Republic is wiped out by force, it will not only increase military expenditure, but it will also be difficult to gain much profit in the short term.

It is better to directly incorporate Lanfang Company, and we can make a profit directly, and we do not even need to pay the cost of governance. "

In Franz's view, the Lanfang Republic is the Lanfang Company, and the ruler himself did not regard it as a country.

Historically, it was because the rulers of Lanfang Company turned to the Dutch for their own benefit that the country perished.

The force of the Dutch is not because Franz looks down on them, it is really bad.

Lanfang Republic is located in the South China Sea, so it can get enough immigrants and have enough land for development. If the ruling class does not degenerate and strives to develop its own strength, the unification of the Nanyang region will not be a dream.

If you can take refuge in the Dutch, you can naturally take refuge in the Austrians. With a few noble titles thrown down, it is estimated that this group of people will not be able to resist the temptation.

This can also be considered as getting what they need. The Lanfang Republic can get the protection of Austria, and the Vienna government has added an income.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Although he felt that Franz's style today was different from that of the past, Josip Jelacic did not object, which was in Austria's interest.

The essence of overseas colonization is to make profit, and it doesn't matter how to make profit.

This is not the same as the African continent. The Vienna government is preparing to establish a second German homeland in Africa, and naturally it is impossible to rule at will.

Although Franz's plan is a bit whimsical, the cost is very low, and there is no harm in trying it.

If you succeed, you don't have to do anything, the Vienna government will increase an income, and Austria's industry and commerce will also increase a market.

If it fails, it's a big waste of time.