Chapter 624: A Tribe that Cannot Be Enslaved

Chapter 617: The tribe that cannot be enslaved

Gipson and Le Goff were the first British and French elites to arrive in California and were most familiar with the situation in the West. They were successively appointed as consuls in the western region of the United States by their respective governments.

"The top leaders of the West held a secret meeting at Weixiuju today. Gibson, do you think Liang Yao will lead the West to secede from the Union?" Le Goff said slowly, shaking the wine in the red wine glass.

The circle of the top leaders in the West is relatively tight, and in the circle of the top leaders in the West, except for the few white people who were closely united around Liang Yao at the beginning of the establishment of the state, the rest of the top leaders in the West are Chinese.

Therefore, Le Goff has not been able to develop his own spies in the circle of the top leaders in the West. Without spies to provide information, the content of the secret meeting of the top leaders in the West is naturally unknown.

"I also want to know the exact answer." Gibson frowned and said, "I have visited several high-level officials in the West these days, but they are all very tight-lipped. They all keep silent about the sensitive topic of leaving the Federation."

Since last year, London has been paying attention to the situation in the United States. The third Duke of Devonshire, British Prime Minister Henry John Tressley, has been urging their consuls in the United States to collect as much intelligence as possible and send it back to London.

So that London can make a more accurate judgment on the situation in the United States to facilitate decision-making.

"Liang Yao has always been very cautious in his actions, and his attitude is indeed more elusive." Le Goff took a sip of red wine and said.

The ambitious Napoleon III intends to support an agent in the American continent in order to expand the influence of the French Empire to the North American continent.

Liang Yao has always had a good relationship with France and is very capable. It stands to reason that he is a more suitable candidate.

However, after these years of contact with Liang Yao, Le Goff gradually realized that it was okay to cooperate with Liang Yao, but it was almost impossible for Liang Yao to be a puppet and agent of France. Unless Liang Yao reached the end of his rope.

Le Goff hoped that Liang Yao would lead the army in the west to fight with either the north or the south in the east, and it would be best if both sides were defeated.

At that time, France could choose to lend a hand to either side and come forward as a mediator to balance the power of all parties in North America.

France hoped that a strong America could attract the attention of its old rival Britain, but at the same time it did not want America to be too strong.

Britain's idea was different from France's. Britain hoped that the whole of America would become a supplier of raw materials and a dumping ground for industrial products for the British Empire like the South.

Although the national consciousness of America had risen and its size was increasing, the British Empire had no possibility of directly colonizing America. But the British Empire still hopes that America can become an economic colony of the British Empire, providing them with cotton and buying their products forever.

Now the main ethnic group in the western part of the United States is the Chinese, which is a completely different ethnic group from the Yankees and Dixies in the east, and is not dominant in numbers and is in a relatively weak position.

It stands to reason that such an ethnic group should be the ideal support target for London, but in his report to London, Gibson did not recommend supporting the Chinese forces in the west.

In the past twelve years, Gibson has witnessed how Liang Yao led the Chinese to overcome difficulties and gradually transformed the western part of the North American continent from a wild land into an industrial society. During this period, he also beat up the Japanese in East Asia and the Dutch East India Company in Southeast Asia.

The land under their feet was a small fishing village with a population of only more than a thousand people twelve years ago. In just twelve years, it has developed into an industrial city with a population comparable to Manchester and Liverpool.

This speed of development is something Gibson has never seen before, which makes Gibson feel a chill.

Twelve years ago, there were only 300,000 or 400,000 people in the western region. Twelve years later, the population of the entire western region has exceeded 5 million. In another 12 years, what will the American West look like? Gibson simply dared not imagine it.

Gibson knew that supporting people like Liang Yao would be a disaster for the British Empire.

Liang Yao, and the nation to which Liang Yao belongs, is a hardworking, energetic and enterprising nation. Such a nation will only become a competitor of the British Empire, not like the Sikhs in the Indian Peninsula, the Brahmins and Kshatriyas among the Hindus, who are willing to bow down and kneel down to serve them.

These Chinese in the West who wear cross-collared clothes and have short hair are also fundamentally different from those Chinese in the Qing Empire across the ocean who have braids and dull eyes.

"Liang Yao is an ambitious person. I don't think he should be willing to be just a small general for the federal government. This is not the Liang Yao I know." Gibson clinked glasses with Le Goff and immediately asked Le Goff.

"Let's put aside the issue of the West for now. The contradictions between the North and the South are irreconcilable. I think a war is inevitable. I wonder if His Majesty Napoleon III favors the South or the North more."

"Your Majesty and I are far apart across the ocean. How can I know what your Majesty thinks?" Le Goff said. Although Britain and France are still close allies after the war in the Near East, Le Goff still has some reservations about this old British friend in front of him.

——————

At the end of January 1861, Lincoln finally left Springfield, the capital of Illinois, and took a train south to Washington, the capital of the federal government.

At this time, six deep blue states in the South had declared independence, ten swing states in the South and the western region were sitting on the fence, and the United States was in a precarious situation.

On January 30, the 15th President James Buchanan, who was about to step down, gave his last speech in Congress. Lincoln went to Congress to listen to this speech that had no practical significance.

Buchanan on the podium said in tears that he was deeply saddened and regretful about the division of the country, and at the same time said that he was powerless to change the situation.

Buchanan's performance not only disappointed Lincoln, but also made Lincoln despise him. 、

In the past four years, the highest power of this country has been in the hands of such a weak and incompetent person. It would be a strange thing if this country could get better.

After leaving Congress with disappointment, Lincoln, who had not yet officially taken office, began to form a cabinet in full swing so that the federal government could start operating immediately after he was sworn in.

Lincoln has learned that representatives from six deep blue states have gathered in Montgomery, Alabama, and have not only established a pseudo-Confederate government, but also announced their pseudo-flag and pseudo-national emblem, and are now drafting the constitution of the Confederate government of the United States.

Lincoln knows that he has little time left, and he hopes to take office and seize power as soon as possible.

This will at least allow some of the wavering southern swing states to give up their thoughts of independence. If one less swing state joins the Confederacy, the strength of the Confederacy will be weakened.