Welcome to 19th-century Europe, where strength reigns supreme

On March 1861, 3, Lincoln took office as President of the United States. When he came to power, the conflicts between the North and the South were almost irreconcilable.

The Confederate States of America could even elect a president to openly confront Washington. It was impossible for a country to have two presidents. Those slave-holding states in the South had already made up their minds to go to war.

But by this time, the capitalist states in the northern United States were not ready for war. President Davis of the Confederate States of America recruited another [-] people to join the army, which destroyed the standing army of the United States. Not only Such graduates of West Point Military Academy, those American officers who received ideological education in the military academy all year round, abandoned their motherland and turned to the separatist forces.

It seems that these officers really only learned how to eat with a knife and fork in military school.

On March 3, less than a month after Lincoln took office, a letter reached Lincoln, written by Tina.

"Mr. President, the situation on your side does not seem optimistic. I am communicating with you on behalf of His Royal Highness August, the Regent of Prussia. If the United States of America needs help from the Kingdom of Prussia, then for the sake of the United States of America and all democratic forces in the world, we will We will unswervingly stand on the side of truth and support all actions taken by the United States of America to safeguard national sovereignty."

When Lincoln received this letter, he thought it was someone's prank. The prime minister of one country actually wrote directly to the president of another country. Not to mention Lincoln was a little confused. Almost all American politicians were stunned when they heard about this. Not really sure what happened.

A European country that has nothing to do with the United States actually said that it would support the United States? What does this mean? The United States is not at war yet.

Prussia's condolences were indeed a bit inappropriate, but Lincoln also knew what was going on in his country. He could no longer control the situation. The eight slave states in the south had colluded together. Although his own side had greater advantages, both in terms of population and In terms of industrial production capacity, the United States surpassed the Confederacy.

Let’s not talk about the South. First of all, the northern states don’t really want to fight this war. Politicians are still dreaming that this matter can be resolved peacefully through parliament or other solutions. It can be said that fighting a civil war now is very disadvantageous.

Both Britain and France have already freed up their hands from the Ming Dynasty War. They will not help the United States. They will have to deal with the United States sooner or later.

Originally, he had no intention of talking to the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Prussia, because Prussia was not an established power. What could he do? Judging from the map, Prussia is surrounded by enemies on all sides. If Britain plans to participate in this war, Prussia will completely become a cheerleader, and maybe it will join Britain in fighting itself.

What Lincoln hopes most is the support of France. France is a powerful country with a good reputation and one of the few countries in the world that can compete with Britain. During the American Revolutionary War, France helped the United States fight against Britain. If France can be obtained at this time With the endorsement of the United States, the best case scenario is that the civil war can be limited to the United States.

The North was much stronger than the South. Lincoln had a chance of winning. However, considering the influence of the external environment, he could not completely let go. Moreover, those congressmen who had illusions and believed that things were not bad enough to call for war were also a big problem. , in order to prevent the situation from getting further tense, they even put forward such a feeble-minded proposal as active disarmament. The other party was obviously ready to fight when it expanded its army, but they themselves were still considering the issue of disarmament.

Lincoln still wrote back to Tina. He expressed his gratitude to Prussia for its help to the United States. She firmly believed that the American people would be able to achieve final victory with the power of democracy and justice.

Tina was a little unhappy. It was obviously not what she wanted to receive such a reply, but she had no time to worry about the United States for the time being. Something unexpected happened on the Asian battlefield.

……

Moving forward in time, the British-Prussian coalition forces are now piled outside the Ming Dynasty's capital. They have been camping for almost more than a month, and the British commander-in-chief is standing still.

When Moltke went to inquire, the British commander said, "Queen Victoria personally ordered us not to attack the Ming capital now. This is the Queen's order and we have to obey it."

The letters sent to August on the battlefield were all seen by Moltke with his own eyes, and they could not be faked. However, some places are indeed strange. The British do not show their flags now, so they must be planning something.

Auguste believed what Moltke said, "Queen Victoria personally ordered it." She felt that Britain was afraid. Although she didn't understand it very well, she didn't quite believe that Victoria would stab her in the back, so she ordered Moltke to He broke away from the coalition forces and attacked Ming Dynasty based on his judgment of the situation.

With the strength of the Prussian army, it would only take a little time and effort to capture this place. With advanced rifles and cannons, Moltke was still invincible after breaking away from the coalition forces, and the Ming army was repelled wave after wave.

No matter what kind of resistance the Ming army organized, it was useless. The firepower was too different, and they only lost a few hundred people before they invaded the capital.

The Ming Empire was completely panicked, and even their emperor hurriedly evacuated the capital. The momentum along the way was of course good news, but at this time, Britain decisively stabbed Prussia in the back.

They shouted to both the Ming Dynasty and Prussia. The general meaning was that the war between the two sides had lasted for nearly two years. The war between the two great powers should not involve the people. Prussia had obviously invaded the capital of the Ming Empire, so they The British Empire was willing to act as a mediator to end conflicts arising from the uneven distribution of interests between the two parties.

When the news came back to Berlin, August was stunned, and Tina couldn't believe it was true. Britain directly abandoned the Anglo-Prussian Mutual Assistance Agreement signed with Prussia, and blamed itself for all the crimes of fighting the Ming Dynasty.

And you also act as a mediator. You, the British, are really thick-skinned. Prussia used to help Britain, but now it has become a warring power. Now Britain has become a mediator.

August now knew why the French were sent back, and why the British put away their flags. They were afraid that Ming would misunderstand.

As expected of the UK... it deceives people one after another. Now the question is, if even this important Anglo-Prussian Mutual Assistance Treaty can be used as toilet paper by the UK, will the previously signed Anglo-Prussian treaties still be valid?

Tina held the annex of the treaty in her hands, and she finally realized that they had been tricked by the British.

Now it’s troublesome. If Britain unilaterally tears up the treaty between the two sides, Prussia will instantly become a country that invades others, and Prussia’s international credibility will also be hit. In the context of Britain and France controlling international information channels, Prussia can’t argue. It’s really Even if you jump into the Rhine, you won’t be able to wash yourself away.

……

Finally, on March 3, representatives from the four countries of England, Prussia, Ming and France sat in the Ziguang Pavilion in the capital of the Ming Empire. Those who came to sign the treaty were the French Foreign Minister, the British Minister of the Navy and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Governor-General of the Ming Dynasty and other envoys , and finally the newly appointed Foreign Minister of Prussia, Albrecht. This was Tina's temporary nomination because she did not want to see the British face.

Then there was Valentina, Secretary General of the Prussian Army General Staff, who represented August's opinions and also to oversee the situation on the scene.

Valentina looked at the British Foreign Secretary who was smiling face to face, and she wanted to flip the table for a moment. How could he be so deceptive?

The diplomatic envoys of the Ming Empire on the opposite side haven't figured out the situation yet, so why do the two opposite ones smell more gunpowder?

The British Foreign Secretary clapped his hands and said, "Years of war between the two powerful countries have brought great trauma to the people of both sides. If the two sides continue to fight, the cost will be huge for both parties. It is better for both sides to take a step back and shake hands to make peace. No less gentlemanly.”

This was not the first time for Albrecht to attend such a meeting. Of course he knew all the situation. This matter was indeed a problem with August's strategy. She believed too much in the credibility of the British. She calculated The blow was loud, but she didn't expect it to be used as a gun.

But there was nothing that could be done. Although Prussia suffered a big loss in front of Britain and France, it was still a victorious country in name, and it had to pretend that it had been taken advantage of.

Britain signed a treaty on behalf of various warring countries. This treaty surprised Prussia. First of all, it was trade. Prussia defeated the Ming Empire, so it should get some benefits, and this benefit is several treaty ports, including but not limited to Hong Kong. Guangzhou Bay and Jiaozhou Bay are only treaty ports, which means they are only ports. Hong Kong and Guangzhou Bay are required to be leased to Britain and France for a period of 99 years.

Only Jiaozhou Bay was leased to Prussia, and the lease period was also 99 years. The compensation was only [-] million taels of silver, and some were given to Britain and France. In the end, Prussia only had [-] million taels of silver. At first glance, it seemed that it had made a big profit. In fact, it can be said that It's a loss.

The Ming Dynasty cannot afford so much money now, so it can only owe it first. In fact, Prussia conquered so many places and spent so much manpower and material resources. The final result was a treaty port and a market for the Ming Dynasty. Besides, these things have to be divided with Britain and France. Not only that, I can't take them away...

This war ended unsatisfactorily.