Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

December 13, 1867.

Just as Prussian Prime Minister Bismarck was promoting cooperation between Germans and Irish Americans in the Commonwealth of America in order to suppress the Dutch, and was eagerly awaiting how the Netherlands would fight back against him, in the Senate of the Commonwealth of America, there was a formal opening. This was the beginning of the Dutch counterattack.

"The Industrial Revolution has brought a second new life to the Netherlands. The old self-sufficient production model has been broken, and large cross-regional companies have begun to rise. They have organized the entire country into an organic whole for the first time, throughout the entire country. The railways of the Netherlands are the arteries of the country.

The space for activities of the Dutch has been greatly expanded. They are no longer satisfied with living in their small and isolated hometowns, and have left to live in big cities. The people in the city are busy watching with their eyes wide open and listening to this new era with their ears attentive. , the pace of daily urban life began to accelerate, and school education also changed. Countless newly invented education methods flooded the streets, and workers selected and discussed them.

European development and progress also brought new problems, because people could not adapt to such changes so quickly, and government management failed to keep up with the times, so the reform movement, the social gospel movement and the democratic party movement emerged one after another. , as if to correct everything that is unreasonable. This is an era of chaos, but also an era full of hope. "

Standing on the seat of the President of the Senate of the Federal Republic of America, Andrew Johnson, Vice President of the Federal Republic of America and President of the Senate, slowly looked toward the audience.

According to the presidential succession order of the Commonwealth of America.

They are the Vice President and Speaker of the Senate, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, also known as the Vice President of the Senate (the replacement for the Vice President and Speaker of the Senate, later changed to the third position after 1886, after the Speaker of the House of Representatives), the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of War (later Secretary of Defense), Secretary of Justice, Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of Agriculture, Secretary of Commerce, Secretary of Industry, Secretary of Postal Service, Secretary of Education, Secretary of Energy, Secretary of Transportation.

In this order, President Lincoln is at the center, Vice President and Senate President Andrew is on the right, and Senate President Pro Tempore Benjamin is on the left.

All 70 senators were present (originally there were 100 senators from the 50 states, but now Hawaii and Alaska are in the hands of the Netherlands, and the Confederate States of America under the rule of Davis in the south occupies 13 states).

Vice President Andrew cast friendly eyes on President Lincoln, who responded in kind.

"Those who don't know think this is the interaction between the two most powerful figures in the American Federation. But those who know know that this is just the quiet night sky before sparks fly."

Sitting next to Seward was Lincoln. To President Lincoln's left was Seward. The person between him and Lincoln was temporary Senate President Benjamin Wade, a Swede. To his left was the German ally Secretary of War Edwin Stanton. .

This was said to Edwin Stanley, the Secretary of War next to Seward.

The voice was quite loud, and I don't know if it was because he was afraid that Siward wouldn't be able to hear it.

Below him, the person sitting was Secretary of Agriculture Galante, who was of Irish descent like President Lincoln.

Seward reminded seemingly unintentionally: "The Commonwealth of America is very united. Edwin, your tone is a bit wrong. However, there are disputes everywhere in the world. Fighting is in full swing in Europe, and we are also in North America. The war has just stopped. At this time, everyone needs a stable life. Therefore, less fighting is what everyone hopes for. However, just like Europe, checks and balances are needed to calm down. Ray Benjamin, interim Senate President, what do you say? Right?"

Siward deliberately said the word "temporary" so hard that even a fool could hear it, which made Benjamin's face look a little unnatural.

The President Pro Tempore of the Senate of the United States of America is the second draft member of the Senate of the United States of America and the highest-ranking senator.

The highest-ranking member of the Senate of the United States of America is the President of the Senate and the Vice President. However, the Vice President himself is not a senator elected by the Senate. He only serves concurrently after the Vice President and the President succeed in the general election. Therefore, Benjamin is elected by all senators. The President Pro Tempore of the Senate, who is the highest-ranking person in the Senate in the absence of the Vice President and temporarily performs the duties of Speaker.

Siward looked at Benjamin and began to think in his mind that Edwin was the one who deliberately opened the topic just now at his signal.

Winning Lincoln's cooperation was not his ultimate goal. He also wanted more partners. Among them, Benjamin, the interim Senate President, was second only to Lincoln.

Andrew's home base is the Senate, which is difficult for Germans and Irish to break. Even President Lincoln originally asked Andrew to help him succeed in the campaign because of Andrew's huge influence in the Senate. Otherwise, he would have been successful together. It was difficult for the party to successfully defeat the Democratic Party in the first election in history.

Andrew's contribution was huge. It was precisely because Seward saw this that he knew that Lincoln would definitely be very wary of the other person, so the two hit it off.

If you want to suppress the other party, you must start from within. Therefore, the interim Senate President Benjamin became the person Seward liked because of his political stance.

Benjamin Wade, who became the first senator in 1837 as a Whig Party and later the Democratic Party, was firmly opposed to slavery and strongly opposed the Kansas-Nebragas Act of 1854, which opened the door to the expansion of the labor system. 》.

In 1857, he joined the Republican Party and became a senator.

During the Civil War, he adopted a radical Communist stance, advocating all-out war, liberating slaves, and severely punishing the South. As chairman of the Joint Committee of Inquiry into the Conduct of the War, he played a prominent and controversial role in the comprehensive inquiry into the federal military effort. In 1864, they jointly proposed the "Wade-Davis Act", claiming that the reconstruction issue of the southern states after the return was a legislative issue rather than an administrative issue, and wanted to snatch the power of Lincoln's cabinet government, thereby directly conflicting with President Lincoln.

Therefore, Siward has long admired him and become his inner ally.

What made him even more satisfied was that he also adopted a severely critical attitude towards Vice President Andrew Johnson's Reconstruction policy. In February 1867, he defeated Lafitte Sabine Foster who wanted to be re-elected. Being elected as the interim Senate President made Seward extremely excited.

Benjamin, who is 67 years old and has been in the Senate for more than 30 years, was slightly cold when he heard this. When he looked at Secretary of State Seward, he said with some dissatisfaction: "The President of the Senate is speaking up here. We as the audience need to listen carefully." Yes, maybe you don’t care, but as his deputy, my values ​​are that I need to respect my boss even though I sometimes disagree with his policies.”

Siward's face was stunned for a moment, and then became a little stiff. He tried his best to squeeze out a kind smile and said: "Indeed, we were reckless."

At this time, Lincoln, who was sitting behind Benjamin, shrugged and tilted his mouth, as if to say, this old man has such a bad temper.

Siward suddenly felt even more embarrassed.

Andrew watched the actions of these people on the stage. Although he couldn't hear what they said, it was enough for him to guess something.