Chapter 348 Interfering with the Allied Forces (Plus 4-1)

Massimiliano was going to be the emperor of Mexico, but it stimulated the nerves of many people.

The republicans in the country were against it, because it was the French who came to power, and there were many people in the constitutionalists who were worried that the French would continue to expand, so they chose to wait and see.

Before Massimiliano arrived in Mexico, Lincoln expressed his stance against French interference in Mexico's internal affairs and condemned the French for violating the Monroe Doctrine.

These are all small issues. Even the internal affairs of the United States have interfered. Who would take the Monroe Doctrine to heart? The French people simply ignored Lincoln's protests.

The Spaniards have occupied the island of Haiti, Austria has reached out to Central America, and the British intend to retake the western region. Naturally, the French do not think there is anything wrong with plotting against Mexico.

There is no direct annexation, but only to support the puppet government to rule, which has paid great attention to eating. At least it looks more appealing than Austria, which wants to turn Central American countries into autonomous provinces.

Not only was the northern government opposed, but even the southern government was opposed to Maximilian being the emperor of Mexico. They feared that the growth of the Mexican Empire would harm their interests.

In this context, in March 1864, Massimiliano ascended the throne of the Emperor of Mexico, known in history as Massimiliano I.

Everyone's eyes are on the American Civil War, and they are not interested in this newly born Mexican emperor. This enthronement ceremony can be said to be the worst in a century.

If the grade of the guests can't be on the table, I won't say it. With such a long distance, you can't expect European nobles to make a trip in person. Even if you send a representative, you need to travel expenses, right?

It doesn't matter if the setting is shabby, it's a ceremony anyway. In the end, it depends on performance. Failure is called shabby, and success is called cherishing the strength of the people.

The key is that the republican faction has done something. On the day of the coronation, a huge parade was organized to ask the emperor to get out.

At the enthronement site, there were several junior high school teenagers who wanted to sabotage the ceremony. Fortunately, the guards responded in time and stopped this bad behavior.

This is considered a powerful force in Mexico. He gave the emperor his power. In this unique way, he told Massimiliano I: You are not popular. If you are smart, cooperate with us.

...

Shortly after Massimiliano came to the throne, a decisive battle was launched between the North and the South.

In mid-April 1864, at the border between Pennsylvania and Ohio, the Northern government assembled 420,000 troops and the Southern government 340,000 troops.

The outcome of this battle will be directly related to the direction of the future situation in the United States.

If the northern government loses the battle, Pennsylvania will fall, the Great Lakes industrial area will fall into the hands of the southern government, and the northern government will be largely powerless.

On the other hand, if the southern government lost the war, the advantages they managed to accumulate in the early stage would be lost.

The Northern government could take back Ohio and Maryland with great victory, and then overwhelm the Southern government with military superiority.

The eyes of all countries are gathered here. As a bystander, the north and the south will never be able to tell the winner, which is what everyone wants to see the most.

Since the outbreak of the Civil War, U.S. industrial output has fallen by 43 percent and agricultural output by 37 percent.

In particular, Ohio, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, and Kentucky suffered the most losses.

The total population of the United States has fallen below 30 million. The war has brought serious trauma to the country. It will not be able to return to the pre-war level for ten years. The states that are warring zones will lick their wounds in the next 20 to 30 years.

The harder the Americans fight, the greater the benefits to European countries. Not to mention the arms dealers, they all made a fortune.

Other industries have also benefited greatly. Take Austria as an example: without the impact of the United States, a major grain exporter, international grain prices have risen by 13%. As Europe's largest exporter of agricultural products, it has naturally become the biggest winner.

In addition to agricultural products, Austrian industrial and commercial products also appeared on the American market. Total exports to the United States increased by 46 percent compared to before the war.

Britain and France did not give in too much, and took advantage of this opportunity to attack cities and loot land in the Americas, especially the southern governments with weak industries. Most of the industrial and commercial products currently used are from European countries.

The northern states are not much better. After the economy has shifted to war, other civilian industrial and commercial products have naturally been greatly reduced, and the market is full of European manufacturing.

Don't look at Franz's hoarding of arms in advance to seize business opportunities. In fact, it is the British who make the most economic profit.

As the world's industrial hegemon, John Bull exceeds the sum of all countries in the world in the export of industrial and commercial products, and naturally becomes the biggest beneficiary.

Since the four countries of Britain, France and Océ decided to reach an agreement on the US issue, the ministers of the four countries have often gathered together to exchange views, and occasionally disputes have arisen.

The Austrian representative Drucker suggested: "The critical moment has come for you, and no matter who wins or loses in this battle, we must intervene.

If the action is late, the two sides are divided, and the price of intervening will not be a star and a half. I propose to organize an immediate intervention in the coalition forces and directly intervene in the American Civil War by force. "

Alfried, the representative of France, objected: "Your Excellency, it is too early for us to start. Whoever wins this battle will suffer heavy losses and will not have the ability to fully counterattack in the short term.

This war will continue for a long time,

Using the civil war to consume as much American strength as possible is the best choice.

If we end now, then both the southern government and the northern government have retained a strong military strength, which is not conducive to our subsequent activities in North America. "

These are all pretense. The point is that the French are concentrating on dealing with Mexican affairs, and now they are going to send troops to intervene in the American Civil War. They can come up with too few troops.

Interests are always linked to strength. The greater the strength that can be invested now, the greater the benefits that can be obtained after the war.

Everyone is a veteran powerhouse, and there is no fuel-efficient lamp. If you want to take advantage and do not want to contribute, you should not dream of such a good thing.

All Alfrid wants to do now is to delay time until they free up their hands before interfering in the American Civil War in order to maximize their benefits.

Anyway, in his opinion, it is not difficult at all for the four countries of Britain, France and Ossi to join forces to intervene in this civil war. Not to mention that the United States, which is now severely damaged, even the United States that is full of blood and resurrection cannot compete with the four countries at the same time.

The British representative, Mario Liver, said: "The American Civil War has reached this point, and both sides have been exhausted, and it is unlikely that it will continue for a long time.

If it weren't for the fact that both sides couldn't hold on, there would not be this decisive battle. Judging from the situation on the battlefield, everyone is very clear that the preparations for this battle between the North and the South were very hasty.

If you continue to wait, no one can guarantee what will happen next. What if the winner and loser were decided and the North and South directly compromised?

As a third party, if we miss the best opportunity to intervene, how can we protect everyone's interests after the war?

I support the plan proposed by Drucker. Now we must organize an intervention army immediately, lest the situation escalate and damage our interests. "

Two to one, the Spaniard's one vote became the key to the decision. If they support the French, then the question of two to two remains to be discussed; otherwise, it is the minority that submits to the majority and the proposal is passed.

Spanish Minister Francisco Francisco said: "As far as I know, the contact between the North and South governments has never been interrupted. To avoid the worst, I support the formation of an intervention army."

Unsurprisingly, Spanish Minister Francisco Francisco made the choice that best served his own interests.

If this intervention plan fails, most of the great causes of Britain, France and Austria will be lost, but Spain will not.

Americans have long been eyeing the Cuban region, but Cuba is the richest colony in Spain, and it can bring them a lot of wealth every year. In the face of a unified United States, they are not sure to keep it.

In the face of their core interests, the Spaniards would never dare to take risks. Therefore, the Spaniards have been very active on the issue of splitting the United States. Even if Spain has many domestic conflicts, they also joined the intervention alliance.

British Minister Mar Oliver continued: "Three to one, the proposal is passed. Now we will summarize the number of troops sent by each country to ensure the smooth progress of the intervention.

Great Britain can dispatch the American fleet, including 5 ironclads, 16 sailing battleships, 38 other warships of various types, and an army of 80,000. "

This is almost all the mobile armed forces of the British in North America. Obviously, they are ready to completely divide the United States.

Austrian Minister Drucker thought for a while and said: "Our American fleet can also be dispatched, but on the west coast, we now have three ironclads and more than thirty warships of various types, and the army can dispatch 50,000 people."

This is the current region of the Americas, most of Austria's military power, if not for the domestic reinforcements not long ago, they would not be able to produce so many troops.

After all, Central America is still unstable, and the locally organized militias are obviously immobile. I couldn't finish interfering with the United States, and as a result, my colony was lost again.

The Spanish Minister Francisco said unconvincingly: "We can dispatch the Cuban fleet, with more than 50 warships of various types, including one ironclad, and we can mobilize 70,000 for the army."

No way, Spain really fell. If it weren't for the facade, this ironclad ship would not have it. As for the 70,000 army, this includes the army composed of local indigenous people, and the combat effectiveness is unknown.

The eyes of the three turned to Alfrid. France was the main force of the army that interfered with the coalition forces. In the past, he was a lot of bragging.

After hesitating for a while, Alfried made a decision: "We can dispatch the American fleet, with more than 50 warships of various types including three ironclads, and the army can dispatch 60,000 people."

In any case, France's face cannot be lost. The big deal is that the issue of Mexico has been postponed. This action is directly related to the division of interests in the Americas after the war.

The American backyard will soon become the hunting ground of Shikoku. No, it is already everyone's hunting ground, and a treaty is needed to divide the sphere of influence of each country.