Chapter 342 Cruel War
At the end of 1862, the assassination case that lasted for several years finally came to an end. After synthesizing all the evidence, the mastermind behind the scenes pointed to the Sardinian government.
Believe it or not, the Paris government believed it, and the Vienna government accepted this explanation.
The Sardinian government's protest was ignored. Before the assassination, the Sardinian government secretly provided a fund to the Charcoal Party, which became the most favorable evidence against them.
The most important thing is that there are witnesses in the hands of the French. The arrested suspects confessed to the assassination and came forward to testify against the Sardinian government.
Former government prime minister Cavour was also imprisoned for this, and if he is unlucky, he may be sent to the gallows.
The prime minister and high-level government officials were directly blamed, and King Vittorio Emanuele II was also to blame, having announced his abdication two days ago.
There is no need to elaborate on the subsequent interest transactions. In short, the French paid a big price to make all countries acquiesce to this happening.
Franz said in surprise: "So the British sold the kingdom of Sardinia?"
Originally, he thought that around the Kingdom of Sardinia, Britain and France would have to fight with each other, but he did not expect the London government to compromise so quickly.
Foreign Secretary Weisenberg explained: "Your Majesty, we acquiesced to the actions of the French, the Russians are busy with internal reforms and have no intention of participating in Italian affairs, and the British are powerless if they want to interfere.
Anyway, the balance of the European continent has not been broken. Even if the French annexed the Kingdom of Sardinia, they still cannot change the three-legged continental pattern.
The losses in the interests of the British were made up for by the French elsewhere. The investigation team raided the suspect's property, which was almost enough to repay the British loan.
Now that the obstacles to the French annexation of the Kingdom of Sardinia have basically been cleared, it is now up to the Paris government to act. "
Franz sneered and said, "So is Napoleon III going to be elected to the throne again?"
The reasons for not looking at the French seem to be very good, but unfortunately these are not enough for them to legally annex the kingdom of Sardinia.
There is nothing wrong with conspiring to plan the assassination of the king, and there is nothing wrong with holding the mastermind responsible, and the Vienna government is also holding accountable. However, to annex the kingdom of Sardinia, you must first ask the Sardinians if they are willing.
In particular, the abdication of Vittorio Emanuele II is a political failure. Even if it is an exchange of territories, it is better to look good.
There are so many French overseas colonies, and it is better to give Vittorio Emanuele II any name than to oust him.
To be elected to the throne by the people is the lowest legal way. To put it bluntly, one day the people are not happy with him, and they can use the same method to get him out of the way.
Wesenberg replied: "From the intelligence we have gathered, the French are indeed preparing for the election."
Franz said calmly: "Then help them, let the nails we plant also support Napoleon III as the king of Sardinia, and give him a boost in public opinion."
It is very important whether the Kingdom of Sardinia joins France directly, or whether Napoleon III is also the king of Sardinia.
In the former case, the Sardinian people would definitely not agree. But in fact, this is in the best interest of France. After a short period of pain, we can guarantee that the Sardinian Kingdom will not become independent.
It's just that, the food looks a little ugly. Anyway, they've reached this stage, and it's hard for them to look good. Either don't do it, or do it.
The latter, it is expected that France will always be strong and can forever suppress the Kingdom of Sardinia. Once France has the slightest problem, everyone wants to be independent.
Italians do not think they are one with France, the so-called basis for domination does not exist at all. Napoleon III also had no way to bribe the bottom people and agree with his rule.
Although Napoleon is awesome, it is a pity that the Napoleon family has too little background, and the political legacy left over is not enough for Napoleon III to realize his political ambitions.
Franz had a deep understanding of this aspect. Austria's smooth expansion in Europe was largely the political legacy left by the Habsburg dynasty.
Open the history books, many parts of Europe have been ruled by the Habsburg dynasty for hundreds of years. Even if it is over, he can still hold high the banner of the restoration of the dynasty, even if it is a little far-fetched, the legal basis still exists.
Without the political heritage of his ancestors, who would buy his account in the German state? The same is true in Austrian Italy, where he is orthodox in law.
There are orthodoxy in the East and the West, and many people in the East have to hold high the banner of the previous dynasty. Not because of the number of supporters they can get, but mainly to prove that they are not chaotic parties, they have orthodoxy.
There is a righteousness called fighting for domination of the world; In the end, it was basically all who fought for dominance in the world, and I never heard of that sloppy bandit sitting in the world.
"Those who do not plan for the world since ancient times are not enough to plan for a moment, and those who do not plan for the overall situation are not enough to plan for a country."
This is Franz's motto, a constant reminder to be vigilant.
...
On January 15, 1863, with the support of the Confederate government, the central Indiana region declared independence.
This area is the area where the American government resettled the Indians. From 1830 to 1840, dozens of tribes were expelled to this area.
The federal government has not effectively ruled the area, because there are few white residents in the area because of hatred.
The war has continued to this day, and the two sides are competing for comprehensive national strength. To win the war,
The southern government had to win over more allies.
Anyway, they are all independent, and they sell out the interests of the federal government to buy allies, and they have no pressure.
In order to win over the Indians to join the war, the Confederate government provided fifty thousand rifles, one hundred artillery pieces, and some ammunition to the newly independent Indian emirates.
After getting the weapon, the Indians began the road of revenge. Kansas became the first casualty.
Originally, they were pressed and beaten by the Confederate army in Missouri, and suddenly they were stabbed in the back by the Indians, and the whole line collapsed in an instant.
The Indians, who had a deep vengeance in the sea of blood, launched the most violent revenge, and the blood of the local killings became rivers.
Not only this battlefield, the war has now progressed, and both the north and the south have already killed red eyes. Some areas have become killing for killing's sake, and civilians are the biggest victims.
Ohio, Maryland, Kentucky, Virginia and other war zones were reduced to hell on earth.
The nature of the war has changed, and hatred has become one of the main factors supporting the war through propaganda by both governments.
The countries that were going to interfere were all stunned by the madness of the Americans, and they chose to stop and watch.
Don't get me wrong, no one was scared. The main reason is to want the Americans to continue to kill each other and consume each other's strength.
To this end, both Britain and Austria are making diplomacy with the southern government, and winning over the Indians is one of them.
...
In New York, President Lincoln did not dare to look directly at the casualty report submitted by the federal government.
With the addition of Indians, Kansas fell to 70,000 federal troops and almost all of them were wiped out, and civilian casualties exceeded 300,000. The rest became war refugees and fled to the west.
What that meant, he could not have been more clear. The scope of the war expanded again, the flames of war broke into the central region, and the political and military pressure on the federal government further increased.
If the Federation can no longer gain an advantage, it is estimated that many federal states will withdraw from this war for their own safety. In the face of life and death, any interests are not important.
The cakes are beautiful, and we also want to let everyone see the hope of eating them. Otherwise, the capitalists who support the federal government will also waver in their positions.
At least the capitalists in Kansas have lost everything, and many people even lost their lives. The capitalists in the front-line warring states have also become the losers of this reshuffle.
Whether or not the federal government wins, they're already out of the game.
If it weren't for the lack of diplomatic capabilities of the southern government, Britain and Austria wanted to see the war continue, and deliberately led them out of the way, and now at least a few states have withdrawn from the war.
"One-handed carrot, one-handed stick" is the most correct operation. If the southern government did not target the northern government from the very beginning, but instead took political offensive state by state, it is estimated that neighboring states would now choose neutrality.
Against the entire federal government, the Confederacy had no certainty of victory, but it was no problem to deal with one or several federal states.
Capitalists who tend to be powerful will mostly choose neutrality for their own interests. Especially after the tragedy in Kansas, everyone knew that the federal government was powerless to keep them safe.
President Lincoln said to himself, "Have our casualties exceeded 3 million since the Civil War is underway?"
The secretary of state outside the door replied, "Not yet, but maybe next week. The total number of federal military casualties is 1.768 million, of which 456,000 were killed; civilian casualties were 1,182,000, of which 382,000 died."
(Note: Casualties are calculated by the number of injuries. In theory, it is possible for a soldier to be injured dozens of times.)
Lincoln sighed and said: "If you add the casualties of the rebels, the loss of our population for this war is probably more than 1.5 million."
Obviously, he regretted starting the war. Not just Lincoln, but many Americans are regretting it. If everyone knew that war would be so cruel, everyone compromised before the war broke out.
Although the interests of capitalists and planters cannot be reconciled, capitalists and planters in warring states are different.
The interests of the class are not equal to their own interests, and there is no pressure on the capitalists to sell the class for their own interests.
Secretary of State Saffar thought for a moment and said: "It depends on how you calculate it, if you take into account the loss of immigration and immigration due to the civil war, then the loss may increase by another million.
No, not immigrants. In fact our total immigration hasn't dropped much. It's just that white immigration has declined, while Asian and black immigration has continued to increase. "
The increase in black immigration was actually forced. A large number of young men entered the army, resulting in a shortage of labor in all walks of life.
Now it's war time again, and immigrants from European countries don't come at all. In desperation, everyone can only import labor from outside, and the increase of colored immigrants has become inevitable.
Lincoln nodded and said, "No wonder there are more and more black soldiers in the army. It seems that many people use them to replace their military service."
Not everyone is willing to go to the battlefield, especially the rich capitalists, who are even more excluded from going to the battlefield. In this capitalist country, it is naturally impossible for the federal government to force the capitalists to serve.
Hiring people to serve in the military solves this problem perfectly, the federal government gets the troops, and the capitalists complete the military service.
Secretary of State Safar said with a frown: "Your Excellency, I don't think you need to
Take care of these trivialities.
Our big trouble is about to come. Have you figured out how to deal with the congressional questioning next week? "
Strategically speaking, the federal government has blocked the offensive of the southern government, defended the core area of the Great Lakes, and kept Washington, and has achieved a phased victory.
Although Kansas is located in the center of the United States, geographically: the east is the Flint Hills, the west is the Smokey Hills and the Red Hills, and close to the Colorado border is the Sunflower Mountains.
The southern government has mastered this place, and there is no way to advance to the west. The eastern state of Missouri has already joined the southern government, so there is no need to worry about it.
A tactical failure has little impact on the overall battle situation. President Lincoln was able to sit still and think about the problems of the future.
If Pennsylvania fell, he wouldn't be able to do it.
Lincoln said indifferently: "This is the end, there is nothing to be afraid of. Even if I am willing to step down immediately, there must be someone willing to take over this mess.
It is impossible for Congress to remove us from office until the war is over. In case the federal government loses the war, we need to bear the charge of splitting the federal government. "
It's not that the jar is broken, but that he really understands American politics. The current situation is still very unfavorable for the federal government. The possibility of the federal government splitting is very high, and no one is willing to bear the crime of federal splitting.
As things stand, even if the war is won, dealing with the southern states after the war will be a big problem. No matter who sits in this position, it won't end well.