Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

Secretary of State Seward glanced at Vice President Johnson, Secretary of War Stanton, and Secretary of the Interior Walburn, and finally his eyes fell on President Lincoln.

"I think Prussia can be fought for. As Prussia's unification of the German Confederation has been completed, the Austrian Empire has become a weak Austria-Hungary Empire. Prussia will not easily be satisfied with its current status in Europe, nor will it be willing to fall behind in its colonies in the world. Those who love Britain and France will sooner or later become enemies with Britain and France.

But now that we are hostile to Britain and France, we can add a powerful ally. Coupled with the empire of Tsarist Russia, as long as the relationship between the three countries is strong, it can be invincible. "

Seward added: "Besides, the current battlefield situation in the Balkans has both advantages and disadvantages for us. Therefore, it is crucial for us to effectively increase our relations with Prussia. I suggest that the federal government We can focus on establishing an alliance with Prussia next time."

Washburn looked at Siward who was talking eloquently. Although this guy's father was British, his mother was German. In this country, almost everyone was anti-British. At this time, he was pro-German. That's understandable.

No wonder I recently heard that he had frequent contacts with Germans in the government. It turned out to be this idea.

Washburn even guessed that this guy might be preparing to pave the way for the next presidential election in 1869.

You can't let him take the lead, you have to disrupt his rhythm.

Washburn is of Irish descent, and Irish Americans in North America are basically anti-British.

Millions of Irish people are dissatisfied with the British government's rule on the island of Ireland. In particular, the policies that discriminate against the Irish have been promulgated one after another in London, which has damaged the basic interests of the Irish. Dozens and millions of Irish have died under London's policies.

So they fled over the decades to the North American and European continents of the Atlantic Ocean, where they were very united, comparable to the Jews.

As a result, he became the leader of the Irish in the American Commonwealth of North America. He raised his head and looked at each other with the Dutch Vice President Andrew Johnson. It was obvious that both of them had thought of the same thing.

So Washburn stopped being an old man and said sharply: "Your Excellency, the United Kingdom is firmly supporting the Confederacy, and the French Empire is now advancing in Mexico. We are now separated from the Confederate States, so we are not in contact with the French reality. The contradictions in China have been reduced.

On the contrary, Britain's support for the Southern Confederacy and our northern Canada made our relationship with Britain difficult to reconcile.

Spain has fewer interest disputes with us. Spain's North American colony is Florida in the Confederate States.

Portugal was originally in Brazil because of our presence in Argentina, which opposed Portugal's influence in South America in the north and south, so the two countries were at odds.

Now that we are divided between the north and the south, our influence is unsustainable, and the Monroe Doctrine formulated by President Monroe can no longer be implemented.

Therefore, if we give up the Monroe Doctrine, it will be a huge burden for us to carry forward. It is better to go into battle lightly and concentrate on dealing with the British threat.

In this way, France's support for Mexico has nothing to do with us. That is a matter for the Confederation of the South and the United Kingdom supported by the United Kingdom. It reduces our burden and increases their burden. This is definitely a good thing for us. "

Lincoln's eyes lit up when he heard this. It seemed that this novel point of view had broadened the diplomatic horizons of the Commonwealth of America.

Siward's expression changed drastically at this time.

He and Stanton looked at each other and could see each other's panic, because they also agreed that this point of view was indeed a good one.

Because if this is done, the American Federation can get out of its current predicament, which is of course excellent.

But this proposal was made by his old rival Washburn. What would President Lincoln think of him as the Secretary of State in charge of foreign affairs? Siward began to worry about his status.

A professional Secretary of State cannot provide more diplomatic assistance to the President than an amateur Secretary of the Interior. This is definitely a big blow.

Sure enough, Lincoln said happily: "This is a good idea, Washburn. Not long ago, you suggested that the White House should establish a new mechanism. I think it is feasible."

Stanton looked at the anxious expression from Seward, so he asked on his behalf: "I don't know what the proposal is?"

Lincoln smiled kindly at him and said: "Walburn suggested to me that a team of advisors should be established around the president to serve as the president's think tank, called advisors. For example, regarding military security, they can Promote a national security adviser. In addition, you can promote a foreign affairs adviser, a trade adviser, etc.”

As Lincoln explained, Seward and Stanton's hearts began to sink.

Isn’t this a disguised form of power reduction?

The two of them didn't understand what Washburn was thinking and why he made this suggestion. You must know that everyone is eager to increase their authority, but now this guy is reducing his authority.

Seward had always considered himself a strongman in the government and fantasized about being able to handle national affairs on behalf of the government. Shortly after he was nominated by Lincoln to be Secretary of State in 1861, he even wrote a document called "Some Suggestions to the President." , he even asked Lincoln, who had just taken office, to delegate certain powers of the president to the Secretary of State, which shows how passionate he is about power.

Now Washburn's approach suddenly magnified the contrast infinitely. Seward didn't need to think about it. At this moment, he was like a clown, taking root and growing in Lincoln's heart.

At this time, he even suspected that Lincoln might have gathered everyone in order to reduce power.

And Washburn and Johnson came together.

Thinking about it this way, Sihua Dexin could only blame him for being full of bitterness.

He even wanted to resign for a while, but in the end he held back.

So he chose to remain silent in the face of Washburn's thoughts.

Seeing this, Stanton showed no objection by remaining silent.

Seeing this, Lincoln said to Johnson: "This proposal will be introduced in Congress next week. The Democratic Party is currently weak due to the war, and the Senate and House of Representatives are currently in our hands, so it will be passed without any accident."

Several people agreed with Lincoln's statement. The Republican Party, which came to power for the first time, won a majority of seats in both houses, which gave the Lincoln government a strong position.

Almost all the proposals were passed, which relieved a few people from worrying about being filibustered.

Just when Seward thought that this meeting was just about reducing power, Washburn released a bomb again, which made several people buzz.

It turned out that Washburn was referring to the unrest caused by the ongoing war in South America.

"Your Excellency, Brazil is obviously using the topic to play, and Argentina is sitting on the sidelines. Paraguay has been swollen since it defeated the Argentine invaders ruled by President Rosas a few years ago. Britain, Portugal and France are behind the scenes. We, the Federal State, have a stronghold in Argentina. The huge benefits cannot cause us to suffer huge losses in our investment in Argentina. Therefore, I suggest that the federal state can support Argentina and safeguard our interests."

Washburn even hinted that this was the intention of major domestic financial consortiums.

In the end, Lincoln thought of the influence of their country's major financial groups in the country and knew that if he did not feed them, it would be harmful to his rule.

Eventually, a compromise was made.

The American arms dealer consortium represented by Seward fought against the financial consortium and industrial consortium behind Washburn, and Seward lost.

April 20, 1866

Dutch Prime Minister Tolbeck, accompanied by five Dutch warships, landed at the port of Buenos Aires. He paid a state visit to Argentina on behalf of the Dutch government and expressed Dutch King William IV's support for Argentina.

During this period, President Miter gave the Dutch Prime Minister a high standard of reception and gave the Dutch Prime Minister enough face. Finally, the two held closed-door talks.

Two days later, the two countries issued a statement. Tolbeck expressed great support for Argentina's industry on behalf of the Netherlands, and stated that the two countries would implement a reciprocal open-door policy and upgrade their military to the level of allies.

Prior to this, apart from the five-year alliance signed with Prussia and France in 1862, the Netherlands had only signed a similar alliance agreement with Sweden, although the Dutch-Swedish alliance lasted for 10 years.

The alliance signed between the two countries is also 10 years old. The Netherlands has upgraded Argentina's alliance status to the same position as Sweden.

It shows how much the Netherlands likes Argentina.

As a result, the situation in South America has become even more complicated.

Brazil and Argentina have always been enemies. Argentina has a strong ally. Brazil's Pedro II naturally took the opportunity to suppress those in the country who wanted to break away from the Kingdom of Portugal as an ally. Therefore, the Netherlands became his helper, so Pedro II Therefore, II announced to increase strategic cooperation with Portugal. He even sent a special envoy to Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. In the end, Brazil and Portugal signed the same ten-year alliance.

Paraguay saw that the two behemoths around him had allies openly, and naturally became timid, so he also sent a special envoy to Paris, and eventually Paris also publicly supported Paraguay.

Even Napoleon II, in order to increase his presence in South America, actually exposed a trump card that no one had discovered before.

France actually signed a strategic cooperation with Bolivia in the west of Paraguay, allowing Peru to use the port of Moquegua in the southern Pacific Ocean, completing a support route that can support Paraguay without passing French resources through the blockade of Argentina and Brazil.

As for why it is not Chile, which is closer, because Chile is now close to the United Kingdom, and France naturally does not want to offend the United Kingdom, so Peru is the first choice.

The strong competition for hegemony in South America has made the situation even more unpredictable.

But that's not all.

April 25, 1866.

Another heavyweight class player has entered the arena.

This time it was the Commonwealth of America, the fourth most powerful country in the world economically and industrially, although militarily it only ranked among the top ten.

The Lincoln administration expressed concern about the situation in South America. At the same time, Lincoln expressed gratitude to Argentina for safeguarding the interests of the Commonwealth and supported the alliance between the Netherlands and Argentina.

He also said that his government is currently applying to join the International Court of Justice in The Hague, which the Netherlands took the lead in creating.

He also stated that he is ready to establish a 10-year three-country alliance with Argentina and the Netherlands, and said that his government will make new adjustments to the foreign policy of the Federal State in the coming time to adapt to the changes of the times.

As Lincoln's statement spread to both sides of the Atlantic, countries all over the world suddenly showed serious expressions.

Things are going to change.

A federal government that no longer implements the Monroe Doctrine will unleash who knows how much potential and impact it will have on Europe and the Americas.

Argentina, Buenos Aires.

President Miter has been excited since he learned of Lincoln's statement.

Sarmiento is right. By forming an equal alliance with the Netherlands, Argentina finally does not have to worry about the pressure from Brazil. At the same time, Argentina has many benefits.

So he ordered someone to express his acceptance of Lincoln's proposal for the Three-Nation Covenant, and also expressed his intention to apply to join the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

The International Court of Justice in The Hague, led by the Netherlands this time, has therefore gone to two cities.