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

Chapter 1862: The Exchange of Conditions Shows You What Cruelty Is
To be honest, the Earl of Derby was a little uneasy at the moment, as he was not quite sure what the American envoy's purpose was.

It's not that the British lacked intelligence, but rather that they had too many intelligence sources in the United States, and the sheer volume of information greatly increased the difficulty of discernment.

If the other party were the Earl of Derby, who were coming to surrender, he would naturally welcome them, but the Americans had just won a battle and the chances of them surrendering at this time were almost zero.

The Earl of Derby would likely be met with the words, "Get out of our country."

Of course, given the British stereotypes about Americans, it's not impossible that the other side would explode on the spot, after all, the Americans have indeed killed British missions on third-party territory.

The Austrians claimed that what happened in Vienna was a coincidence, but the military intelligence service had a very clear investigation and found that it was the Americans who did it, with the aim of eliminating the British mission.

"Remember to search them!"

The Earl of Derby gave a special instruction, which made the situation somewhat awkward, but the British cabinet really had no other choice at the time.

Even Lord Palmerston, known for his brilliant ideas, was limited by his reputation and status, and at this point, he had no better options.

Palmerston had a very negative view of the war, feeling that it should have been a decisive battle where everything was at stake, but instead, these people had turned it into a game of make-believe.

The most sensible course of action now is to cut the losses immediately, but both prime ministers in succession, whether it was George Hamilton Gordon or the Earl of Derby, lacked sufficient courage and decisiveness.

As a result, it turned into a piecemeal tactic, and India, which had almost been abandoned, unexpectedly rallied and fought back.

However, the Earl of Derby, upon assuming office, began to siphon funds from India to subsidize the British domestic economy and even to cope with the North American war.

Palmerston couldn't judge whether these actions were right or wrong; he just hoped that the Earl of Derby would be finished soon and replaced by a more shrewd fellow, like himself.

The awkwardness didn't last long, as the routine meeting quickly came to an end.

Earl Derby returned to his study with trepidation, only to be startled by the sight of a scarred giant upon entering.

A name came out without thinking.

"Scarface Killer?"

The scene became somewhat awkward. Lincoln was very sensitive about the scar, as it had transformed his image from heroic to fierce.

The tall Lincoln deserved a better image, but that duel ruined everything.

Although he was very displeased, he nodded nonetheless, because he had a more important task ahead of him.

Count Derby was even more embarrassed. He only knew the name because he saw it in the Encyclopedia of Strange People in the World, which recorded many bizarre people and events.

"Greetings, Earl Derby. I am contacting you on behalf of President Franklin Pierce. This protracted war has brought nothing but suffering, and I believe your country should be well aware of the dangers of its continuation."

I've heard that textile production in your country has decreased by nearly 50%, and workers who can't afford food have repeatedly taken to the streets in strikes.
And what I saw on this trip suggests that this statement is true.

"That's what the Earl of Derby said, seemingly casually."

"I've heard that the situation in your country hasn't improved much either."

Lincoln did not deny it.

"Continuing to fight will only result in mutual destruction, allowing others to reap the benefits."

"The fisherman profits?"

The Earl of Derby's behavior was so affected that Lincoln saw right through him.

"You should know better than I do, so why ask when you already know the answer?"

Count Derby took a puff of his cigar and exhaled a few smoke rings.

"Aren't the Russians, Austrians, and even Indians taking advantage of the situation to nibble away at the British Empire enough?"

The Earl of Derby was taken aback; he hadn't expected his opponent to know so much. In fact, the Earl of Derby thought the Americans should know absolutely nothing.
The Near East War, the sale of the West Indies, and the Indian Rebellion flashed through his mind.

The real reason why Britain hesitated to go all out was that it had made too many enemies, but the fact that this was pointed out at this moment still made him extremely unhappy.

"So what? Do you think this can threaten me? What storms hasn't the British Empire weathered? Even if France combined the strength of all of Europe, it couldn't defeat us."

With a single command from me, my fleet could raze the American coast. This is the only victory your country has achieved in the year since the start of the war.

In fact, the Earl of Derby's reaction was somewhat excessive, but on the other hand, Lincoln was indeed not suited to be a diplomat; his words were too aggressive without him realizing it.

Although Lincoln always concluded his words with "no malice toward anyone, mercy toward all," it sounded more like a provocation to his audience.

"I mean no offense, I'm just stating the facts. We acknowledge that the British navy is indeed formidable, but can your ship land?"

Count Derby took a deep breath and did not react, after all, what the other party said was true.

However, Lincoln had no intention of letting him off the hook.

"Our country has a population of 30 million and an army of one million. Our young men are familiar with every inch of our land. We can launch an attack on your country's army at any time and in any place."

This point has likely already been raised in your country's frontline reports. Furthermore, our citizens are ready to put down their hoes and pick up rifles at any time.

Can your country truly conquer the American people, who possess vast strategic depth and an iron will?

Lincoln's words greatly angered the Earl of Derby, who immediately retorted.

"Our nation has captured New York and nearly captured Washington. We annihilated 120,000 American troops in Pittsburgh!!!"

The Earl of Derby's imposing manner failed to sway Lincoln, who simply spoke slowly and deliberately.

"In fact, your country set fire to Washington in 1812, and then what? Didn't your country still obediently retreat to Quebec?"

The Earl of Derby was very unhappy, but he was indeed not very good at speaking, and he realized that the more he talked, the more mistakes he made.

The Earl of Derby took another deep drag on his cigar, and after calming down a bit, he spoke.

"Stop beating around the bush. This is a private conversation, so spare the talk about war and suffering. Tell me your bargaining chips."

The Earl of Derby's words made Lincoln, who was used to standing on the moral high ground, feel somewhat uncomfortable, but now was not the time to emphasize such things.

If I insist on emphasizing moral viewpoints, it might provoke the other party's dissatisfaction, and then my trip would have been in vain.

"Our demands are actually very simple: a ceasefire and the withdrawal of British troops from American soil. This is the bottom line and also a consensus within our country."

The Earl of Derby simply found it amusing.

"You've come to make a wish? Christmas is over. You're too late."

"For the sake of peace, we can make some moderate concessions."

The phrase "moderate concession" infuriated the Earl of Derby, who chose to continue smoking to calm himself. Lincoln was about to speak again when the other man waved his hand, signaling him to pause.

This pace of conversation made Lincoln very uncomfortable; his train of thought was constantly being interrupted, and the rhythm of the conversation was in the other person's hands.

About two minutes later, Count Derby finally spoke.

“Tell me your concessions.”

After waiting for so long, all he got was this pointless statement. Lincoln felt his blood pressure rising, but he had no choice but to repeat what he had just wanted to say.

"First, our country can resume cotton trade with your country."

Because the theory of the cotton kingdom was so deeply ingrained, even Lincoln, a Northern politician, liked to regard it as the greatest weakness of the British.

"Our country promises to grant your country most-favored-nation status within ten years after the war, and will give priority to supplying cotton and food to Britain."

This condition is similar to what the United States offered to Austria back then. Although Britain was once the largest importer of American cotton, the long-term economic crisis still caused Britain's textile industry to shrink.

More importantly, the British found cheaper sources of cotton, and even cotton from Egypt and India was of higher quality than that from the United States, while cotton from Brazil was also very good.

The British have overcome what the Americans call their Achilles' heel, but the Earl of Derby, who owns a textile mill, knows very well that once the British textile industry's production capacity recovers, the existing cotton supply may not be enough.

If we could import from the United States, it would greatly alleviate the shortage of raw materials. Moreover, the textile industry plays a greater role in maintaining social order than in creating economic value.

In fact, since the 15th century, the textile industry has been the industry that employs the most people, followed by the shoe industry, and then the mining industry and other industrial sectors.

Workers are much harder to deal with than farmers at the government level because they are more organized, and previous concessions were made only because of the powerful destructive force of the Chartist workers' groups.

The current urban unrest in Britain is also caused by these workers. The Earl of Derby understands that jobs and wages are more effective than batons and whips.

You don't need too many; just get half of them jobs, and the problem will be solved.

As for those who can't survive, it only shows that they were never meant to live in this world.

However, this condition alone was not enough to sway him, or rather, it was not even worth a ceasefire.

"Secondly, we are willing to compensate your country with US$1.5 million, which will be paid off within ten years in the form of government bonds."

To Lincoln and Franklin Pierce, $150 million was a considerable sum, but if converted to pounds, it would only amount to 30 million.

Thirty million pounds, to be paid off over ten years, which is three million pounds per year. This was a joke for Britain, considering that at that time Britain's investment in North America alone was more than thirty million pounds.

However, this amount of money was not a small sum for the US government, whose annual fiscal revenue before the war was less than $5000 million.

They have already incurred huge foreign debt for this war. Fortunately, they believe that Wildcat Bank is an American bank, so the way to resolve the debt is very simple: if all else fails, just print more money.

Earl Derby's expression changed slightly. In his view, the Americans lacked sincerity, and such conditions were simply like throwing money away to beggars.

Since the Earl of Derby remained silent, Lincoln had no choice but to continue.

"We are willing to remain neutral in the event of any future conflicts between Britain and other European countries, and we guarantee that we will not provide weapons or loans to countries hostile to Britain."

"The American terms clearly still haven't swayed the Earl of Derby," Lincoln continued.

"my country is also willing to commit that the number of main warships in the U.S. Atlantic Fleet will not exceed half the number of main warships in the British North Sea Fleet within the next 20 years."

At the same time, it relinquished the right to use privateers during wartime and joined the Vienna Declaration.

(The Vienna Declaration is the same as the Paris Declaration of War.)
However, the Earl of Derby's face turned extremely ugly. His men whispered something in his ear, and Lincoln seemed to hear something like, "Prime Minister, he's playing you."

Indeed, these conditions seemed insignificant to the British, especially the so-called US Atlantic Fleet, which sounded impressive at first glance, but in reality consisted of less than ten capital ships, with more than half being converted armed merchant ships.

Apart from the fact that a third of them were captured by the British army at the start of the battle, there has been no further activity.

It's laughable to say that such a fleet can be compared to the British Royal Navy. In the Earl of Derby's view, the US Navy is simply not qualified to be compared with the British Royal Navy.

It's pointless for such a useless navy to join the anti-privatization treaty; this American is wasting his time.

However, Lincoln seemed exceptionally confident at this moment, because he still had a backup plan.

"We can abolish slavery, free enslaved people, and embrace civilization. At the same time, we can sign a ceasefire agreement with Mexico."

The emancipation of slaves was one of Britain's pretexts for war, and fulfilling this agreement would have been entirely beneficial to Lincoln's Republican Party.

Not only could it end the war, but it could also fulfill the glory and dreams of the Northern faction, and it could also propel the nascent Republican Party to a whole new level.

Lincoln feigned great distress, but the Earl of Derby was already certain of one thing: the other party was indeed playing him for a fool.

"Who the hell cares about those black guys!"

Count Derby was internally screaming, but he couldn't lash out. He could only take a few deep puffs of his cigar and then exhale deeply.

"Your country's concessions are insufficient to compensate for Britain's losses. Far from enough!"

The Earl of Derby couldn't hold back any longer, because it was simply too insulting.

However, Lincoln was truly stunned this time. He felt that the conditions were already generous enough, considering that it involved a full four million black slaves.

“My lord, that’s a full four million black slaves!”

Lincoln should have kept quiet; after he did, the Earl of Derby was practically bursting with rage.

“Your Excellency, this is our bottom line. This concession has touched upon the fundamental interests of our country.”

The Earl of Derby gestured for him to wait, but Lincoln did not stop, and his tone suddenly became sharp.

"If Britain is still not satisfied, then these negotiations must end here. America still has the strength to fight again, and the brave American people are not afraid of bloodshed or sacrifice."

I'm only afraid of losing my freedom!

The Earl of Derby gestured for Lincoln to stop for a moment, and the latter thought there was still a chance, but the former said something else.

"Are you done talking? Then it's my turn to speak."

Our conditions in the UK are also very simple: we only need Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, and Michigan and Wisconsin in the Great Lakes region.

We can relinquish the rest of the occupied territories.

Earl Derby paused deliberately, glancing at Lincoln's expression, before speaking.

"Whether your country joins the Vienna Declaration or not is irrelevant, and there is no need to limit the size of the fleet as long as you have the money."