Chapter 339 The Emancipation Proclamation

To a certain extent, this time Austria played the role of a shitposter. Normally, this kind of thing is usually done by the British.

It's just that the British are guilty and worried that after selling a large number of warships, they will not be able to suppress the challenges of European countries.

The navy of the sea power state is the core. Once the Royal Navy is weak, the challenger will pounce on it.

Don't look at the fact that France is now governed by an Anglophile. Once the opportunity arises, the French will never mind replacing it. This is why the world leader usually suppresses the second child.

Historically, the British supported the southern government, and most of the old warships were sold. The core warships of the Royal Navy have never been brought out.

Franz has a much more conscience. Although he also mixed and matched many old warships, those ironclad ships are masterpieces of modern Austrian industrial technology, and he did not play the abridged version.

Technically speaking, it is at least a dozen years ahead of the Americans. The two warships shot at a distance of several hundred meters, the ammunition was exhausted, and the hit rate was zero, which is what the U.S. Navy could do.

Of course, the human factor is also a major reason. The two rookie navies cannot have expectations. However, the lack of artillery technology is also an important factor.

Austria is not a sea power country, even if the southern government introduced the warship technology, it would not hurt, and it would be difficult to imitate it without enough industrial strength.

As for formulating corresponding countermeasures according to the structure of the warship, I think too much. They are all building new ships. Are you afraid that old warships will be targeted?

Don't look at this time span is not long, in fact, the technology is changing very fast in this era, and the technology of Austrian ironclad ships has been improved many times. The warships that are still lying on the slipway are completely different from the original ironclad ships.

The same firepower, the ironclad ship of eight or nine thousand tons at the beginning, now only needs more than seven thousand tons to achieve.

The larger the warship, the stronger the combat effectiveness. More depends on the installed artillery. Generally speaking, the more powerful the artillery and the larger the number of warships, the stronger the combat effectiveness.

Armor thickness is also a measure, but it is currently not taken seriously. Since it is a colonial empire, ocean operations must be considered, and a defensive navy is not suitable for Austria.

...

New York, the federal government that had just been evacuated from Washington, was struck by lightning again.

The people have just been mobilized, using everyone's enthusiasm for the land, to obtain enough soldiers, and to form a military advantage over the southern government.

The Ministry of War is planning a counter-offensive, ready to use the superiority of the force to consume the chaotic party. Unfortunately, before this plan could be implemented, the news of the purchase of the fleet by the southern government was received.

This means that the plan to block the South by the navy is completely bankrupt, and even the navy of the federal government will be at a disadvantage for a period of time in the future. Maybe the southern government will block them in turn.

There is no doubt that what determines the naval strength of the southern government lies in the input of the southern government and the support of the foreign powers.

Austria can sell the fleet to the southern government, then Britain, France and the West can also sell the fleet to the southern government. It is impossible for the northern government to compete with the four countries of Britain, France and Ossie in terms of industrial strength, and the two sides are not at the same level at all.

President Lincoln forced himself to calm down, looking at the Secretary of the Navy and asked expectantly: "If this fleet enters the rebel fleet, can the Navy guarantee the smooth flow of our sea transportation?"

Apparently, he had given up using the navy to blockade the southern states. Lincoln had self-awareness, and rather than thinking about the things that could not be done, it was better to first consider whether the federal government would be blocked.

Secretary of the Navy Gideon Wells thought for a moment and said: "There may be a little trouble, but the enemy has no ability to block our coast.

The ocean-going fleets sold by Austria are powerful because they are based on five state-of-the-art ironclad ships, with more than 30 sailing battleships attached.

But their number of warships is not large, except for these main battleships, the rest are auxiliary ships.

Our shipbuilding capabilities are limited. If we rely on our own strength, it will take at least two years to overtake the rebels.

The war can't wait that long. In order to gain maritime superiority as soon as possible, we can only buy or lease warships from the outside world. "

Shipbuilding takes time, and it is impossible for the American shipbuilding industry to build hundreds of warships in just a few years.

Historically, the navy of the United States Civil War Federation was also mainly based on purchase and lease, and only a part of it was built by itself.

After all, many warships are so easy to build, and ironclad ships are not to mention that this is a manifestation of the industrial capabilities of the new era, and even wooden sail warships have high requirements.

Just wood, that's a problem. A sailing warship often needs to cut down thousands of trees, and these felled woods are usually stored for several years to dry up after treatment.

The most critical keel can only be made of oak or teak, and the requirements for trees are very high.

Fortunately, with the development of shipbuilding technology, most of these components can now be replaced with steel. Otherwise, after so many years of felling, Americans would be dreaming to find so much wood.

When it comes to steel, there is no doubt that it must be imported from the British. The United States has maintained its reputation as the world's largest steel importer for many years. Now that the war breaks out, the demand for steel is even greater.

This is why Lincoln was worried about being blocked. If they were cut off from supplies, they could simply concede defeat and recognize the independence of the southern government.

President Lincoln said fiercely: "According to your plan, at this stage, it is time to fight for money with the southern government.

When it comes to strength, see who can hold on longer. "

War is all about money, and many things can be bought with money in this era, including warships.

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

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

The naval blockade had failed, and the key to the outcome of the war had returned to the Army. Only by winning on land can we win this war and preserve the unity of the country. "

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

In this era, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service is not so powerful yet, so naturally the capitalists will not pay their taxes honestly. By contrast, it was easier for planters in the South to collect tariffs when exporting goods.

In order to raise funds, the federal government has issued several bonds domestically. Unfortunately, these funds are all in US dollars, which can be used locally, but no one buys them internationally.

Because the southern government has cotton as collateral, it issues bonds overseas, and it directly gets foreign exchange. Occasionally, large-scale commodity trading can also be mixed with some bonds to pay the bills.

As for the support of European countries, the federal government has tried, to no avail. Even if someone supports them, it's just lip service.

Now Napoleon III is still busy annexing the kingdom of Sardinia, it is impossible for them to offend the three kingdoms of England and Ossi, and lose the opportunity to expand on the European continent.

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

Secretary of State Saffar immediately objected: "Private property is sacrosanct, it violates the U.S. Constitution, and it will push the slave states loyal to the Union to the government of the South."

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

Everyone has the sadness in their hearts. If the federal government opens this hole, the capitalists will also worry that one day the federal government will slash them with a knife.

Lincoln explained: "I mean liberate the slaves in the rebel states, and the rest of the country remains the same."

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

How effective this decree can be is still unknown, but the negative effects it brings are very serious.

Maybe people in the southern states think that the federal government is going to take away all their property and ask them to fight to the end, then it's really over.

Even if the black slaves are removed, there are still seven or eight million people, and they have the support of foreign powers. If they all want independence, the federal government will never have a chance to unify.

President Lincoln added again: "We have no choice. The rebels have a large number of black troops. If they can't divide them, the rebels will use these cannon fodder to consume our elite troops.

As far as I know, the rebels also signed a labor import treaty with the Austrians, and on average, 300,000 strong laborers were imported every year.

What are they trying to do? It is nothing more than that the slave owners paid the price for their independence now and compensate them with these laborers in the future.

Anyway, when it comes to their territory, it is up to them to decide whether it is a laborer or a slave in the end. "

Not to mention the plantation owners in the south, and even the capitalists in the north, some people want to introduce a group of cheap and strong labor for mining.

People were forced out. Because of the lack of population, the southern government naturally couldn’t compete with the northern government. Using slaves to fight wars was also an option.

Secretary of State Safar did not continue to oppose it. 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, the southern rebels will use two or three slaves to kill a Union soldier, and they will cry to death.

Don't look at the fiery war, the business of the labor export company has never stopped, and the rebels have suffered losses.

...

In September 1862, President Lincoln presented the Emancipation Proclamation to Congress. After a heated 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 was abolished and slaves were allowed to join the Army of the North as free men.

The abolition bill immediately caused a sensation in the United States, and a wave of escaped slaves broke out in the southern states, and black people began to appear on the recruitment sites of the northern government.

It even spread to the army of the Confederate government. In order to appease the military, the Confederate government had to grant the black slave soldiers the status of free citizens.

Because of the introduction of the Abolition Act, the southern government was already at a disadvantage politically. In order to change this situation, the Confederate government was not idle either.

At the suggestion of the representatives of various countries, the Confederate government began to win over the Indians, and promised to support their independent statehood.