The War Court and Lap Pillow, Austria's Mandate of Heaven

Chapter 1860 Lincoln's Ideas

Of course, if you can get it done in one go, it will save you a lot of trouble later.

To put it bluntly, Franz didn't like the feeling of being targeted by thieves. As the ancients said, "How can one allow others to sleep soundly beside one's bed?"
However, Britain's strength was still too great, and war was only a backup option. If the problem could be solved with money, that would naturally be the best choice.

Moreover, the money Franz provided would eventually return to the Austrian Empire.

Economically, there wouldn't be much loss, and the British using their expected currency to buy things was a way to stimulate economic growth, since the money was spent domestically within the Austrian Empire.

Throwing £100 million into Austria wouldn't necessarily cause inflation; Franz would actually thank the British for giving him an opportunity to increase the money supply.

As for whether the Austrian Empire could actually produce precious metals worth 100 million pounds, that remains to be seen.

The answer is yes, you can, but it's not necessary.

To knowingly follow someone's schemes is foolish and arrogant.

Even if we win, it will only be a waste of time.

True courage is not being fearless, but moving forward despite fear.

As Maupassant said, courage is not something you shout out, but something you do when you're trembling and still take a step forward.

Another reason is that the United States was stronger than Franz imagined, while Britain was much weaker than he had historically calculated.

If Franz doesn't help, then this war will probably end prematurely.

In fact, war was quite good for the Austrian Empire, since war profits can be very lucrative.

Given such a favorable development environment, Franz naturally wanted to maintain it, since the United States' industrial capacity was quite poor and many goods could only be imported from Austria.

In addition to commodity trade, the Austrian Empire could also develop shipping.

The Austrian Empire's shipping industry was not large enough, and the United States' potential was far from exhausted; the money spent now would eventually be recouped.

Manipulating wars from behind the scenes is far less costly than direct participation. It limits the enemy's development and prevents being betrayed by other countries—why not?

However, the negotiations did not go smoothly. It was clear that the British regarded Franz as a real nemesis and even wanted to sell the Eastern Cape colony to the Austrian Empire for 100 million pounds.

This wasn't about money anymore. Franz couldn't accept such an insulting offer, so he decided to let Lord Habescu keep the British waiting for a while.

The British will likely lower the price on their own initiative. If they don't, Franz has another deal to make, but the Austrian Empire has no need to waste any more time on a completely unreasonable price.

Washington, D.C., USA.

There was no festive atmosphere for Christmas in the city. About a quarter of the city’s buildings were destroyed in the war, and almost every family had lost someone in the fighting.

A mixture of black and gray floats in the sky, and people who have lost their homes have to keep warm with the remaining furniture in the ruins that could collapse at any moment.

All the laws and scriptures were thrown into the fire, just to ward off the cold winds that came from all directions.

There were no Christmas trees decorated with lights along the roadside, only rotten wood covered with corpses and strips of cloth.

Almost every household in the city had black cloth hanging over their windows. Inside, there was no laughter or cheerful conversation, only low coughs and incessant sobbing.

There were almost no pedestrians on the road, only the dull thud of hearses rolling over the road.

In an effort to quickly capture Washington, William Rhoden launched more than 20,000 Congreve rockets into the city, burning down almost all of the city's wooden houses.

Based on past experience, Congreve rockets have been extremely destructive to urban buildings.

William Rodden's goal was to demoralize the U.S. military; whether he could capture the U.S. president was not that important.

The key was to capture Washington. In his view, once Washington was captured, the morale of the American troops would collapse instantly, and the British army would be unstoppable.

By then, the Americans will have no choice but to surrender, as no one will risk their lives for something so unrealistic. The real concern will be that the British leadership will refuse to back down.

William Roden's view was not wrong, but he underestimated the Americans' determination to resist, as well as the defensive capabilities of stone houses and concrete.

At this time, Washington, D.C., as the capital of the United States, had far fewer wooden houses than other cities. William Rhoden's experience clearly did not work here.

His primitive Congreve rockets were insufficient to effectively damage the rocky structure, while the massive casualties among civilians strengthened the people's resolve to resist to the end.

William Roden never expected that Codrington would actually stand by and watch someone die.
Inside the White House, the aroma of grilled veal steaks and burning pine wood was intoxicating.

The band played lively songs with great enthusiasm, and the guests raised their glasses, offering eloquent toasts.

President Franklin Pierce sat sullenly by the fireplace.

He wasn't really sure whether he had won or lost at that moment.

Richard DeLefed wiped out nearly 200,000 troops in one fell swoop.

(At the time, the US military's statistical system was very chaotic, and exaggeration was common, whether in victory or defeat.)
The Battle of Pittsburgh was a complete failure, and Richard DeLefed, the Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Army, went missing.

If he were captured, it would be a great disgrace to the U.S. military; President Pierce could only pray that he was dead.

But the fact that Richard DeLefed fled all the way to Georgia, shouting "The British are coming!" and causing widespread panic, is another story.

On the other hand, the Battle of Washington this time annihilated a large number of British troops and killed the former commander of the British Expeditionary Force.

Generals like Jackson took advantage of the British army's weakened state to recapture large swathes of lost territory, including Trenton.

From this perspective, it seems that the US military did not lose, but it lost badly.

Because it was Franklin Pierce who put Richard Delafield in command of the troops, and he even went against the majority opinion to appoint him as the Commander-in-Chief of the United States Army.

"Have we won?"

Franklin Pierce couldn't help but ask a question.

"Of course! This is a great victory! The British are finished! They were already short-handed, and now they probably won't even be able to hold onto the occupied territories!"

Jefferson Hamilton Davis said gleefully, as he was drinking a bottle of brandy. Despite his less-than-ideal appearance, no one would condemn the victor.

Franklin Pierce smiled upon hearing the news of the victory; in his view, winning was always a good thing.

However, his previous suppression of overseas returnees may have some negative consequences.
Before Franklin Pierce could think further, the abolitionists beside him launched an attack.

"Why did our army suffer a crushing defeat at Pittsburgh? It was not the strength of the British, but the wrath of God!"
Because we are a nation built on shackles and whips!

As long as one Black person remains enslaved, God will never bless America!

Then another abolitionist senator spoke.

"General Davis and his cronies are the real culprits of this defeat! They are the ones who sent our Northern children to their deaths! Why didn't he use his Southern soldiers to defend the city?" Seeing that a good abolitionist speech was about to turn into a personal attack on Davis and others, Lincoln quickly stepped in to stop it. Although he was also an abolitionist, the unity of the Union was clearly more important to him.

"Our immediate priority should be solving the problem, not blaming each other."

Lincoln cleared his throat and said.

"We should now liberate the blacks to replenish our lost forces. Only then can we drive the British back to sea in one fell swoop."

"Liberate the blacks? Who will do the work in the fields? You? Now that there is no cotton and grain, how will we continue the war?"
Where do you think all those supplies came from? A gift from God? Or did they appear out of thin air? We earned them with our own hard-earned money!

Jefferson Davis roared angrily.

"You bunch of idiots who only know how to talk nonsense! Do you think that fighting only means carrying a gun? Does providing you with supplies not count as fighting?"
You bunch of empty talkers, you delusional idiots! What will happen after four million Black people put down their hoes?

Is the abandonment of farmland and economic collapse what you want?
Without cotton, where will we get our weapons!

Other politicians and military personnel from the Southern faction were also seething with anger. Strictly speaking, the British invaded the North, and the South has not yet been affected by the war.

So they felt they were helping, and even had to put up with the humiliation of this pack of scoundrels every day in order to maintain unity.

"That's right! If you're so capable, then pay for the military expenses!"

"Yes! Put it on Mr. Logas's tab!"

(Logas, a radical abolitionist senator.)
"Or we can each stay put! Let's take all our young men from the South back now! So they don't die here and you'll complain about the mess!"

In an instant, tensions rose between the North and South. This time, Jefferson Davis was afraid and quickly tried to dissuade him.

"Don't say that! We are all Americans! We are fighting for America now!"

Jefferson Davis was genuinely worried that some people might misjudge the gravity of the situation and cause trouble at this critical juncture, which would render all the previous sacrifices futile.

"You can liberate some of the slaves first. Believe me, if we can get those black people to fight for freedom, they will be braver than anyone else!"
Moreover, those liberated Black people are still a valuable workforce, and you're paying them to work for you.

Jefferson Davis gave a cold laugh.

"How ridiculous! Do you know how much a black slave costs? You make us sacrifice our property and then pay them to cultivate our land?"
I might as well pay the British to farm for me! Or we could just cede territory to Britain and pay reparations! Why bother with a war!

Lincoln's proposal was seen by the Southern slave owners as an insult to their intelligence.

The fierce fighting between the North and South has led to the neglect of Franklin Pierce, the main culprit. He was actually primarily responsible for the Pittsburgh defeat, but now he has unexpectedly escaped unscathed.

"Enough! There has to be a transition period for the abolition of slavery. Now is a time of war. Imagine millions of free black people smiling at your children right next to your house."

At that time, should we worry about the front lines or the rear?

Let's bring this up again later!

Franklin Pierce's words immediately put an end to the topic. In fact, both sides' leaders were quite restrained, but that doesn't mean everyone's anger was truly suppressed.

"Now we should focus on another, more important issue: how to completely drive the British out of our country!"

His words silenced the entire audience and restored President Pierce's confidence considerably. He now wanted to achieve his ultimate goal—to drive the British out of America and end the war.

Don't ask how the war started; he just wants to be the hero who ends it. At this moment, all other goals are no longer important; as long as he can end the war, he will be an undeniable hero.

Such empty slogans may sound inspiring, but real politicians would only scoff at them.

"I propose peace talks."

William Hill said.

"Peace talks? Don't be naive! How could the British possibly negotiate? They want to eat meat!"

Jefferson Davis had initially held this American junior in high regard, but his words at this moment were a major turn-off.

"Now we and Britain are in the same arena, and only one of us can stand to welcome and cheer."

Lincoln thought William Hill's point made a lot of sense, so he said...

"No! The British may not have the courage to fight us to the end now. As General Davis said before, the British army is severely understrength and has lost a lot of manpower. If they continue to fight us, the outcome is uncertain."

It's better to withdraw now than to fight a war with an uncertain future.

Jefferson Davis shook his head.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! The British have lost so many men and spent so much money and resources, how could they possibly give up?"

Lincoln replied with a smile.

"It was precisely because they spent so much that the British had no choice but to surrender. Why don't you count how many wars the British have waged over the years? Have they ever won any?"

Everyone knows how staggering the cost of war is; the United States alone has incurred a debt of up to six hundred million dollars from this war.

What about the British? They're not spending less than us. Can the British really afford it?

"The more you can't afford it, the more you need to fight!"

Jefferson Davis's thinking was completely opposite to Lincoln's.

"The British simply cannot afford to lose. If they lose, wouldn't the British government go bankrupt? They have no way out, so how could they possibly stop?"

"What if we give them a way out?"

Lincoln's words stunned everyone else; they never expected him to say such a thing.

"What steps? Are you going to cede our sacred land to the British? Have you forgotten the constitution?"

Jefferson Davis roared.

"No. We can achieve peace in another way."

Lincoln took a deep breath and continued.

"This war has already hurt us enough! We should end it bravely!"

"Do you know what you're saying, Senator Lincoln?!"

"I know! I'm not doing this for myself, I'm doing it for the future of America!"
We have enough mines and farms, enough smart and hardworking people; we deserve a better future, not to waste our last drop of blood in this war!

This controversy could be quite significant.