Chapter 326: Fanciful Plan
Washington
Secretary of State Seward calmly said: Mr. President, these are quotes from arms dealers from various countries, as well as from domestic capitalists.
Of course, this doesnt mean much to us. In this war, the preparations made by the federal government were too hasty. Both the government troops and the militias in various states are now lacking weapons.
Currently, many of our troops are still equipped with hunting rifles they brought themselves. In terms of weapons and equipment, there is simply no way to compare with the Confederate army.
Even if we were to buy up all the inventory of these arms dealers, it still wouldnt meet our needs. So the notion of having a choice is nonsense.
President Lincoln rubbed his forehead. He was very suspicious that the Secretary of State was deliberately looking for trouble. Since theres no choice, theyll just have to make do with what they can get. Theres nothing more to be said.
Send someone to negotiate with them, try to negotiate the price down as much as possible, and kick out the ones quoting the highest prices.
Seward shook his head and said, Im afraid that wont work. The highest quote is from the Austrians. Their product is the breech-loading rifle, which is superior in performance.
The most crucial point is that they have the most inventory on hand. They can provide us with a hundred thousand breech-loading rifles, a hundred and fifty thousand muzzle-loading rifles, and eight hundred various types of cannons in one go.
Not long ago, they just sold two hundred thousand breech-loading rifles, a thousand cannons, and some ammunition to the Southern government. If it werent for the fact that those Southern folks are too foolish, we wouldnt even have a chance to get these weapons.
In the eyes of the Secretary of State, the Confederate government is just too foolish.
During wartime, if you dont take advantage of the good relations with other countries to sweep up weapons and equipment at the first opportunity, allowing these arms to flow into the hands of the enemy, then what else could it be if not foolishness?
As for the cost, no matter how much money is spent on purchasing weapons and equipment, it cannot compare to the losses on the battlefield.
If the Confederate government had swept up weapons and equipment at the first opportunity, then at least for the next six months, the Union government would not have been able to obtain sufficient weapons and equipment.
This is the advantage brought about by unchanging communications; it allows for a time difference in actions. Although international arms dealers are flocking to North America, the reality is that everyones available stock is still limited.
Tens of thousands of rifles, hundreds of cannons, thousands of tons of ammunition those are all significant quantities. Unless one is a cheater like Franz who crossed over, who would know the scale of the Civil War?
If too much stockpiling occurred and both sides of the North and South suddenly ceased hostilities and compromised, then all the investment would be lost, and the costs would not be recovered.
Besides Americans, no other suckers in the world would buy their excess stock.
Emptying the warehouses of arms dealers active in America wouldnt even cost ten million pounds. Trading ten million pounds for the enemys insufficient weapons and equipment for half a year was an extremely profitable deal.
After hearing Sewards explanation, President Lincoln nearly broke out in a cold sweat.
Half a year is enough time to decide the outcome of a war. Fortunately, the Southern government didnt do this; otherwise, the Union would have been miserable.
Having adjusted his mood, Lincoln asked, Secretary Seward, you didnt summon me just to discuss these matters, did you?
Secretary of State Seward calmly explained, Of course not. Currently, the four major powers of Britain, France, Austria, and Spain support the Confederate government. Under their influence, most European countries are leaning towards the Confederacys side.
These arms dealers mostly have political backgrounds. Under similar conditions, they would certainly prefer to do business with the Confederacy.
However, if we offer higher prices, the situation changes. In matters of interest, arms dealers dont care about the governments preferences.
Therefore, I plan to raise the prices of weapons and equipment, especially for some advanced weapons. The industrial capacity of the Southern states is weak, and their own production capacity is limited. They can only follow suit and increase prices along with us.
Unlike the traitors in the South, our industrial capabilities are not lacking. The shortage of weapons and equipment is only temporary for us.
If all goes well, our self-sufficiency rate in weapons should exceed eighty-five percent starting from next year, while the Southern government is unlikely to reach even thirty percent.
Since we cannot achieve victory militarily, lets economically drain them.
This is the advantage of the Union, but President Lincoln couldnt feel happy at all. He saw that the Secretary of States plan was preparing for a prolonged war.
Frowning, Lincoln asked, Do you really have so little confidence in our military?
Seward replied earnestly, Mr. President, it has been over three months since the outbreak of the war, and the total losses suffered by the federal governments forces have exceeded eighty thousand.
I admit that the military has been working hard, and they have achieved decent results, but we are still at a disadvantage.
If anything unexpected happens on the battlefield in Maryland, the federal government will immediately face a defense battle in Washington. In the short term, I believe the federal government does not have the possibility of winning the war.
The Secretary of States attitude, to some extent, also represents the attitude of the internal officials of the federal government. Since they are preparing for a prolonged war, it also implies that everyone has lost confidence in quelling the rebellion in the short term.
But thats not the worst part. If the war drags on, the voices of the domestic peace factions will grow louder.
As a qualified politician, Lincoln knew that internal enemies were the most terrifying. These people lurked in the shadows, and he didnt even know who they all were.
After hesitating for a moment, Lincoln spoke up, saying, Alright, lets go ahead with your plan! But first, we need to address the financial issue. The Southern government is using cotton as collateral to issue bonds overseas, but we dont have collateral.
The federal government does have collateral, but the problem is that they dare not use it as collateral. Otherwise, the domestic population would rise up first.
The island of New Guinea has now been renamed New Bavaria. It seems to be a European habit to name places at will, and Franz has become accustomed to it.
This second-largest island in the world now belongs to the Habsburg dynasty, yet Franz feels no particular excitement.
In terms of resources, New Bavaria can be considered abundant, with various mineral resources and the fertile plains of the southern delta, which are among the most fertile in the world.
There are no powerful indigenous kingdoms on the island. A rough estimate suggests that the indigenous population on the island does not exceed one million, and may even be lower than three hundred thousand.
However, this land has not received the attention of European colonizers. Clearly, this is very abnormal.
Previously, Austrias colonial activities involved first seizing the islands surrounding New Bavaria such as the Melanesian Islands, the Solomon Islands, and the Aru Islands
This was a way to delineate spheres of influence and assert sovereignty. If they claim all the surrounding areas, others naturally cannot come and snatch the central region, otherwise, they would break the rules.
Now, with the colonization pace accelerated, colonial teams have entered New Bavaria Island in large numbers, and problems have arisen.
The island has a tropical rainforest climate with heavy annual rainfall;The downstream terrain is flat, leading to poor drainage;The rivers have a long flood season, causing surrounding areas to flood easily;The coast is affected by tides, leading to seawater intrusion and many mudflats;The island is mountainous with many marshy areas, and the population is sparse.
In summary, developing this island will require a substantial investment.
At the very least, they should solve the drainage problem, convert the marshy areas into farmland, and preferably build seawalls to protect coastal areas from tidal effects.
Franz asked, How does the Colonial Department plan to proceed?
Colonial Minister Josip Jelai replied, Your Majesty, we plan to temporarily suspend the development of New Bavaria Island and focus on developing some areas, establishing several cities to assert sovereignty in appropriate areas.
The focus will still be on developing the surrounding islands, as the South Pacific region is truly very wealthy. The indigenous people here are not engaged in agriculture at all and rely solely on the gifts of nature for sustenance.
These islands abound with tropical fruits and are suitable for growing economic crops such as coffee, cocoa, copra, palm oil, tea, and rubber.
This was the wisest choice. Colonization is for profit, and blindly investing is very unwise.
Anyway, with the sparse population on the island not engaged in agriculture, if left untouched, it will remain the same even after a hundred years.
The islands are still there and wont go anywhere. After the worlds colonies are divided, the Austrian government can develop them later.
Franz nodded and said, So be it for New Bavaria. And what about the Lanfang Republic?
If it werent for the mention of the Lanfang Republic in the documents, Franz would have almost forgotten that there was also a Chinese republic in the South Pacific region.
Josip Jelai explained, Your Majesty, Kalimantan Island is rich in gold mines, so a group of Chinese people gathered there and established the Lanfang Republic.
Not long ago, our fleet visited this country and Count Hmmel even signed a friendly agreement with them. We cannot afford to confront them directly.
This small country is very weak, and the colonial government is looking for a pretext for war. It shouldnt be long before we can destroy them.
After hesitating for a moment, Franz still relented.
Lets not rush into action. Send someone persuasive to coax them into joining the New Holy Roman Empire.
We can grant them autonomy, following the standards of our domestic kingdoms, and even be a bit more lenient.
The South Pacific region is too far away, and our capacity to provide settlers is limited. Developing so many areas would also be very challenging.
If we forcibly eliminate the Lanfang Republic, not only would it incur additional military expenses, but it would also be difficult to gain much profit in the short term.
Its better to directly incorporate the Lanfang Company; that way, we can profit directly without even needing to bear the costs of governance.
In Franzs view, the Lanfang Republic was nothing but the Lanfang Company; even its rulers didnt treat it as a country.
In history, it was because the rulers of the Lanfang Company allied with the Dutch for their own interests that led to the demise of this country.
Franz wasnt underestimating the might of the Dutch military; it truly wasnt that impressive.
The Lanfang Republic, situated in the South Pacific, could attract sufficient immigrants and had ample land for development. If the ruling class didnt become corrupt and worked on developing their own strength, unifying the South Pacific region wouldnt be just a dream.
If they could ally with the Dutch, they could naturally ally with the Austrians as well. Bestowing a few noble titles to them, its likely these people wouldnt be able to resist the temptation.
This could be seen as mutually beneficial: the Lanfang Republic could gain protection from Austria, and the Austrian government would increase its income.
Yes, Your Majesty!
Although Franzs demeanor seemed different today, Josip Jelai didnt oppose it; it was in line with Austrias interests.
The essence of overseas colonization is profit, and the means to achieve it are irrelevant.
This is different from the situation in Africa. The Austrian government intends to establish a second German homeland in Africa, so arbitrary rule is out of the question.
While Franzs plan may seem fanciful, the costs involved are very low, so its worth a try.
If successful, no further action is needed, and the Austrian government gains additional income, while Austrian industry and commerce gain a new market.
If it failed, at most some time was wasted.
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