Start 1861: I Just Inherited the Dutch Throne

Stephen Douglas was nicknamed "Little Giant" in the political circles of the Commonwealth of America. Although he was relatively short in stature, only 1.62 meters, his influence in the Congress of the Commonwealth of America was very powerful. He almost threatened him at that time. It came to the power of Andrew Johnson as Speaker of the Senate during his tenure as Vice President.

Speaker of the House of Representatives Skyler Colfax was suppressed by Stephen and many members of the House of Representatives because he offended him. In the end, it was only with the support of Dutch congressmen that he was able to get out of danger.

It shows how capable Stephen Douglas is, that's why he has such a nickname.

He was born in the Brandon area of ​​Vermont on April 13, 1813. He lost his father when he was young and was raised by his uncle. Therefore, his psychology was a bit dark, but he was only smart and sensible, especially after entering the political arena. Out of his extraordinary talent, he suffered his first setback when he failed to compete with Lincoln for the governorship of Illinois, interrupting his invincible path forward. It can be said that the many times he blocked Lincoln after that were just for revenge.

Some people even thought that he was involved in Lincoln's assassination, but in the end he got away with it cleanly, which shows that he knew the skills of protecting himself wisely.

Because of this, Secretary of State Thomas and Stephen have known each other for many years, but they have never understood each other's thoughts. Just like now, there is obviously a lot of consensus within the Democratic Party, that is, don't put your eggs in one basket. , proposed that the economic, military, diplomatic and other interests of the Commonwealth of America should not be placed on the side of the Netherlands.

But two months have passed, and President Stephen still has not taken any action. This has made many people within the Democratic Party dissatisfied. Therefore, he, the Secretary of State, was pushed out to "seek answers" from Stephen.

No way, who calls him a British-American, and he happens to be the leader of the British-American Republican Party.

The whole world is paying attention to the competition between the United Kingdom and the Netherlands for interests in the Indian Ocean, and the United States is naturally no exception.

The current Dutch-American Stephen Douglas seems to be the object of suspicion among many people within the Democratic Party, because Andrew Johnson on the Republican side is of Dutch descent, and now Stephen is also of Dutch descent. If Stephen was successfully re-elected in the 1880 election, he would also serve as president for eight years. , then the Dutch will be in power in the Commonwealth of America for 18 consecutive years. One generation is enough to change many things, so many people within the Democratic Party seem to be preventing such a thing from happening, and the most direct one is the 1880 election. The Democratic Party will introduce a new candidate, and Thomas is hinted to be Stephen Douglas's successor.

Thomas was naturally ambitious, so it was difficult for him to resist the temptation of such a "pie from the sky", so he bit the bullet and saw the scene in front of him.

Stephen Douglas looked at Thomas A. Hendrix with a faint smile on his face, which made Thomas' heart skip a beat.

"The man in front of me is famous for his smiling face. When he laughs, it may not mean that he is happy, but that he is angry and angry."

So Thomas answered bravely: "The Netherlands currently occupies the Hawaiian Islands that we originally planned to purchase from the Russian Empire in 1863, and also blocked Secretary Seward's annexation plan on the Alaska issue. Obviously, the conflict between the Netherlands and us has already So the seeds were planted."

As he spoke, he raised his head and said: "At present, the Netherlands is no longer the country that needed the Commonwealth of America as the most important and valued ally of the Netherlands. Now the Netherlands has frequent warships throughout the Pacific, with the Alaska Peninsula-Hawaiian Islands-Southern The Pacific Islands are the sphere of influence, and under the strong division of power between the East and West Pacific on both sides, there was even a Dutch fleet in California on the west coast of the American Commonwealth not long ago."

Thomas seemed to be in the stage of arguing, and he said in a high-pitched voice: "Your Excellency President Stephen, the current competition between the United Kingdom and the Netherlands in the Indian Ocean is an excellent opportunity for the Commonwealth of America to break away from Dutch influence in the Eastern Pacific. Opportunity.

Many people and I believe that if we get a little closer to Britain at this time, the Netherlands will make concessions to us, at least in the North Pacific. The Netherlands will not use Alexander II and the British Columbia we occupied to exert overseas influence. force"

Stephen Douglas sat leisurely and tapped the table with his right middle finger. The sound was like water droplets dripping from a pool on the rock. The sound was thorough and had a separated and orderly rhythm.

Thomas is a person who observes subtleties. While he secretly cursed his fellow British-Americans for pushing him out, he was also disturbed that he had been stunned and stood up to "provoke" President Stephen.

"If this is your opinion, I think the position of Secretary of State needs to be replaced."

Stephen paused on the table with his middle finger in his shocking words, and continued with a dissatisfied sarcasm: "Only ordinary people can see that the dispute between Britain and the Netherlands is a plan to take advantage of the rise of the American Federation after the Netherlands is controlled, but that is ordinary people. 's gaze"

Ignoring Thomas's astonishment, Stephen Douglas said disdainfully: "Seward was looking at the Hawaiian Islands. It was a good place, but it was just a good place. But Andrew Johnson saw the essence and had to admit that he Their vision is also very sharp, just like our ancestors in the 1920s and 1930s. In fact, for the current development of the Federal Republic of America, overseas is actually secondary, and the homeland is the most critical. They, It is the most critical factor in whether the Commonwealth of America can become a global power. However, the Alaska Peninsula, Hawaii and even small islands in the South Pacific Islands are useless to the current United States. Do you understand? Your Excellency, Secretary of State ?”

Native, they?

Secretary Thomas thought of something, and suddenly looked at Stephen Douglas with wide eyes, "The president said, Canada? The Confederate States of America in the South?"

Stephen Douglas said arrogantly: "What if I say I want both?"

Want both? Thomas's hands shook immediately?

There was horror in my heart!

Canada is the most important British overseas territory, at least as important as the Indian subcontinent.

Will Britain give up Canada or even cede it to the Commonwealth of America?

It's impossible even to think about. What's more, Stephen also wanted the United Kingdom, the American Confederacy that separated from the south to the north, not to be angry.

The UK may even give up its struggle with the Netherlands for hegemony in the Indian Ocean and return to the Commonwealth of America.

Stephen Douglas asked sarcastically: "Why, my Secretary of State, don't you dare to accompany us to fight the British?"