Holy Roman Empire - Chapter 376

Chapter 376: Chapter 63: Interference in the Civil War

London, ever since the Vienna Government proposed to address the U.S. issue first, it immediately caught the attention of the British Government.

As the world’s foremost colonial empire, the British were found everywhere. North America was no exception, with Canada there, and among all European countries, no one had greater interests in North America than they did.

The stakes in America were large, but they paled in comparison to Europe; John Bull’s national policy was always to ensure the balance of power in Europe. With the outbreak of the Prusso-Russian War, the British Government had to focus more energy on the European Continent.

Foreign Minister Reslin analyzed, “The situation on the European Continent is already very dangerous. Once the Russians concentrate all their efforts, the Prussians might not be able to withstand them, and we must be prepared to intervene in this war.

The current stalemate between Prussia and Russia is not due to the Prussians having the strength to counter the Russians. There are three main factors causing the battlefield to reach a deadlock:

First, the Tsarist Government did not take the Kingdom of Prussia seriously as an opponent. To date, the Russians have not put forth their full effort;

Second, the Russians are facing financial issues, unable to sustain the enormous military expenditure, and the Tsarist Government wishes to win the war with as little military spending as possible;

Third, the Prussians, who hold the upper hand, dare not rashly battle the Russians decisively, as they cannot afford to lose this war. The Berlin Government plans to use the Russian financial shortfall as leverage to force the Tsarist Government into a compromise.

Should any one of these factors change, a significant shift could occur in the European Continent, and we must remain vigilant.

If the Prussians were to win the war, it would still be acceptable. However, if the Russians win, it is possible that the Russians, French, and Austrians might divide the Kingdom of Prussia among themselves.

In recent years, the strength of France and Austria has grown rapidly. Their armies now rank second and third in the world, and they are our biggest enemies after the Russians.

If we allow them to continue expanding, they will eventually threaten us. Fortunately, Russia, France, and Austria are all squeezed into the European Continent, which creates an opportunity for us.

On the whole, the European Continent still maintains a tripartite balance of power. While Russia, the dominant power of Europe, has the strength to suppress one, it cannot concurrently suppress both.

To maintain its dominant position, Nicholas I chose to ally with Austria, reducing the number of his enemies.

However, as the power dynamics between the two countries change, the importance of the Russian-Austrian Alliance to Austria is gradually declining, and this European upheaval is an opportunity to dismantle their alliance.

In comparison, the American Civil War is of secondary importance. Although the United States is geographically privileged, they are still a new country of immigrants. The cohesion of its people isn’t strong enough, and it will take a long time for them to catch up.

Moreover, the Civil War has created an opportunity for us to divide the United States.

The original plan was to split the United States into five countries. Now, due to the upheaval in Europe, the resources that each country can commit are limited, and it is no longer feasible.

However, according to the current situation, as long as we push, the division between North and South becomes inevitable, and we can even allow the Indians to gain independence.

A divided United States will need even more time to develop. We can also support the Southern Government to balance the Northern Government, thus maintaining the balance on the American Continent.”

Finance Minister Agarwal questioned, “The plan sounds very good, but is it really feasible? What if a change occurs on the Prusso-Russian battlefield ahead of time?”

Foreign Minister Reslin replied calmly, “No one can guarantee that these plans will succeed. What we can do now is to act quickly.

We must force the North and South to the negotiation table before the end of the Prusso-Russian War. On this point, our stance aligns with that of Austria.

The Vienna Government is very proactive in intervening in the American Civil War, and Austria’s flag has already appeared in Central America. Mexico even has an Emperor from the Habsburg family.

Whatever the reason, that revivalist of the Habsburg family needs a divided United States.

The Vienna Government is eager to end the American Civil War, also to reclaim their focus. The Prusso-Russian War has a much greater impact on Austria than on us.

Spain is currently constrained by internal strife and has lost most of its influence in the Intervention Alliance. As long as we stand united with Austria, we can already influence the decisions of the alliance.”

In reality, the Four-Power Intervention Alliance has now become the Three-Power Intervention Alliance. With internal issues surfacing in Spain, the level of the Spanish Government’s dedication to intervene in the American Civil War has become an unknown factor.

Even if they want to intervene in the American Civil War, whether they can fulfill their promise to provide a certain number of troops is also unknown.

However, the Four-Power Intervention Alliance always has more influence than the Three-Power Intervention Alliance. Spain’s power may be at the bottom of the great powers, but their political influence remains.

Especially in the American region, where there is a large population of Spanish descent. The stance of the Spanish Government can influence many people’s choices.

Naturally, John Bull could not kick the Spaniards out of the Intervention Alliance. However, unavoidably, Spain’s influence has been diminished.

After a moment of silence, John Russell slowly said, “Let us end the American Civil War as soon as possible. Waiting any longer could lead to complications. The Americans’ support for the Irish Independence Organization, we’ll settle that score with them this time too.”

Don’t think John Bull only cares about interests; they are also vengeful.

President Lincoln’s final counterattack, though it dispersed the attention of various countries and bought time for the Federal Government, avoiding division into five parts, also garnered enough hatred.

Evidence? Sorry, when have the great powers ever needed evidence to act? Just the suspicion is enough.

Franz did not send anyone to uncover evidence of the Americans supporting the Hungarian Independence Organization, and the British won’t go through that futile effort either.

Only the weak search for evidence, holding it up in protest. As rulers of this era, England, France, and Austria have not protested to the Americans but instead begun preparing for retaliation.

It’s a basic play of power politics in the 19th century. If there’s really no other choice, protests may be the last resort, but more often than not retaliation is immediate.

After all, there are so many conflicts between nations in this era. You stab me from behind one day, and I secretly return the favor the next – this back-and-forth has happened many times, and it’s impossible to clearly determine who is right and who is wrong.

Of course, having evidence would be better, as it allows one to apply pressure publically. But the ultimate contest still comes down to power and tactics.

…

After a round of urgent consultations, on March 7, 1865, the four countries including the UK, France, Austria, and Spain finally reached a consensus and issued a diplomatic note to both the North and South on the pretext of maintaining peace in America.

The British, the strongest power in the American region, assumed the role of the alliance leader without any dispute. Mark Oliver, the British Envoy to the United States, represented the Intervention Alliance to conduct negotiations with both the North and South.

On March 8, the four countries simultaneously conducted joint military exercises in the Eastern and Western Pacific regions.

The four countries assembled more than two hundred warships to carry out exercises along the coast of the United States, with some of the residents in the coastal areas hearing the roaring sound of gunfire.

The North and South, who were engaged in secret negotiations, also fell into a deadlock over the issue of interest distribution and were unable to reach an agreement for a long time.

At this time, when the four countries intervened, President Lincoln’s first reaction was that the negotiations had been exposed, causing dissatisfaction among various countries.

For the sake of intervening in the Civil War, they had invested a lot of human and material resources; if they reached a compromise privately, how could the interests of the countries be guaranteed?

Secretary of State Saffar analyzed, “Your Excellency, the President, including you and me, no more than ten people know about the secret negotiations. These people all hold high positions; it makes no sense for the information to be leaked.

The sudden intervention by England, France, Austria, and Spain is mostly due to the situation in Europe. They don’t want to wait any longer, which is a good thing for us.”

The plan had succeeded, but Lincoln was not particularly pleased. The current negotiations had reached a deadlock, with neither side willing to let go of the struggle over Maryland.

Maryland was also one of the Slave States, now occupied by the Confederate Government, with its slave owners having shed blood for the Southern Government, and more than 60,000 people joining the Southern Army.

Now, giving up this place would undoubtedly damage the reputation of the Southern Government and weaken the cohesion of the member states.

The Southern Government could not give up, nor could the Northern government afford to. Washington was adjacent to Maryland, and without Maryland as a barrier, Washington would be exposed to the enemy at any moment.

No, it was already exposed to the enemy. The neighboring state of Virginia had joined the Southern Government early on.

At the outbreak of the Civil War, parts of Virginia near Washington remained loyal to the Federation, sparing Washington the embarrassment of being on the front lines at the outset of the war.

But this did not help much; most of Washington had already fallen, with the Federal government just holding a few strongholds to signify that the defense of Washington was still ongoing.

With the secret talks beginning, both the North and South tacitly stopped large-scale fighting. Otherwise, Washington might have fallen by now.

Regardless, Lincoln still did not want to give up Maryland. Even if he was unpopular there and might not get many votes.

“This is indeed good news, but it also comes with significant trouble. With the intervention of the Intervention Alliance, we have no way to force the Southern Government to make concessions.

If the interests are right, I think the Southern Government would not mind inviting the four countries, including the UK, France, Austria, and Spain, to the negotiation table, and then we would be passive.”

Lincoln had no illusions about gaining the support of the four countries; that was impossible.

A strong United States was not in the interest of any country, and with the recent support for revolutionary organizations internationally, the sides had already become adversaries.

Knowing is one thing; that doesn’t mean he had to concede to the Southern Government. As a politician, one must consider the political impact, not just the superficial interests.

Perhaps, on the surface, giving up Maryland to end the Civil War early would seem to cost less than what the involvement of the international powers might warrant, but politically, could the Federal states accept it?

Maryland supported the Federal government, although such support was a result of rather extraordinary measures taken by President Lincoln; this doesn’t change the fact that Maryland is one of many Federal States.

Now, giving up this place, the cohesion of the states toward the Federal Government would decrease, and the authority of the Federal Government would inevitably be weakened.

In contrast, giving up Maryland, or even more interests, under the intervention of the great powers would be more palatable to the public.

When that time comes, they could even make themselves look better; it would not be the government’s lack of effort but rather the enemy’s strength that forced the compromise.

Especially for individual politicians, choosing the former could mean being ousted as a spy for the South, while the latter could at least draw some sympathy.

Even if one’s political life ends, it is better than being universally scorned, right?

Secretary of State Saffar said indifferently, “Anyway, we’ve reached this point; the situation is no longer in our control. Being able to protect the core interests of the Federal Government is enough to do justice to the votes of the public.”

Indeed, overall, they had not done poorly, even well. Being able to unite so many Federal States and battle the South for so many years sufficiently demonstrated their capabilities.

No matter how capable, one cannot mask the reality that they are the losers. Secretary of State Saffar had made peace with it; their term was about to expire anyway.

For the upcoming election, Saffar had no intention of participating, to avoid further disgrace. Let whoever is unfortunate enough to get elected deal with the mess afterwards.

No, if it were not for the Civil War delaying the election, the next government would have already been elected.

Everyone is not dumb; without signing an armistice, nobody would want to jump out to take the blame.

Therefore, both the Republican Party and the Democratic Party agreed: many of the Federal states’ populations could not vote during the war, hence the election would not represent the will of all the people.

The election was naturally postponed to after the war, and the tenure of Lincoln’s government was extended.

Otherwise, people like Saffar would have been relieved soon; they were less than a month away from the end of their term, and could simply stall time.

Lincoln’s government must bear the responsibility for dividing America before they can pack up and leave, which is the common wish of all parties.

Of course, Lincoln could run for the next presidential election. But as a loser, his public support rate was very low, with hardly any chance of winning.