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

Chapter 1891 The Anglo-American Treaty of 1859

The big shots wouldn't say such things; they'd only have some young people who want to show off do it.

Doing this kind of thing is very risky; one wrong move and you could be infamous for eternity. But the rewards are also excellent; once you succeed, you can accumulate enormous political capital for yourself.

These words are indeed very realistic. A pile of ruins is of little value to the United States, and considering the cost, it is clearly a losing proposition.

Not to mention the even more difficult refugees; so far, no one has been able to come up with a practical solution other than relief and expulsion.

If the British really continue with the scorched earth policy, those northern MPs won't be able to do anything about it. They really can't accept that the rear will be ruined in the process of recovering lost territory.

Moreover, there are no longer lobbyists for New York or the four northern states in the US government now, as those northern congressmen will certainly have to consider their own states.

"It seems that we have no choice but to choose the path of peace."

Franklin Pierce looked utterly helpless, but many people had heard rumors that the president had some ambiguous relationship with the British, and now it seems that such rumors were probably true.

However, the US really doesn't have any good solutions right now. If it doesn't agree to peace, this protracted war will probably continue.

In the eyes of the real bigwigs, the refugees at this time were far more terrifying than the British. If they were left unchecked, who knew what they would do?
However, there were still some newcomers in the US government at that time, especially since promotions were very fast in this turbulent era.

"What's wrong with continuing the fight?"
We have more troops than the British, who are now confined to the four northern states. We only need to make a few more sacrifices to reclaim our entire territory and even launch a counterattack against Canada.

Why should we stop?

Is it all for your reputation? Then why don't you resign? I'll take the blame.

"This kind of impulsive statement is indeed difficult to answer," Davis, as the Secretary of War, said with some helplessness.

"Sir, war is not as simple as you think. The costs of this withdrawal have been enormous."

If this happens again, our logistics might not be able to handle it.

"How do you know we can't hold out if we haven't tried? Can't we even afford the cost of a single attack?"

The hothead retorted, but Davis wasn't angry. He also felt that the current situation should be made clear. His previous disagreement with withdrawing troops wasn't because he wanted to stand with the Yankees; he just didn't want to give up the only opportunity.

"Our supplies are certainly enough for our army to go on the expedition, but war is not like procurement. The army cannot directly take over the cities occupied by the British. We need to surround them first, then destroy the outer defenses, and then gradually erode them to force them to surrender."

But the British are not scarecrows; they can defend themselves, retaliate, and even outflank us to cause sabotage.

The British sabotage in New York State prevented us from obtaining supplies locally, so we had to establish a fragile, temporary supply line.

This supply line is already very vulnerable. If the British send troops to harass us again, and if we fail to capture the front after a long siege or if the British set fire to it again, we will be in a dilemma.

In the worst-case scenario, an army that loses its supplies will completely collapse, just like the war in the winter of 1812.

The British might have even bigger appetites then.

Davis patiently finished explaining, and those who didn't understand realized how delicate the situation was. They couldn't help but start complaining about the previous decision to withdraw troops.

"There's another point. Right now, those wandering refugees are harassing cities along the way, and what we're seeing in Washington is just a small part of it."

On the other side of the world, a similar group of refugees has been fighting their own government for eight years, supposedly with Catholics behind the scenes.

Do you think those Catholics might do something similar in North America? We have quite a few Irish people in our country; who knows if they're an expeditionary force sent by the Pope?

After these words were spoken, no one had any further questions; they didn't want to be overturned.

After all, letting the other side gain an advantage is just a loss of interests, but if those peasants really come to power, they might end up like the nobles in the French Revolution, being sent to the guillotine one by one.

"Let's live in peace with the British! Long live America!"

The Anglo-American Treaty of 1859 was quickly signed in Baltimore:
1. The United States returned four states—Massachusetts, Fremont, Maine, and New Hampshire—to the United Kingdom.

2. The United States paid Britain £250,000 in war reparations.

3. The United States granted Britain most-favored-nation status and opened fourteen treaty ports, including New York, Baltimore, Savannah, and Norfolk.

4. A ten-year ceasefire was agreed upon.

Vienna, Hofburg Palace.

Britain's victory over the United States was expected by most people, but it was highly unusual to the well-informed Austrian Empire.

It is true that Britain was stronger than the United States, but Britain's performance in the war was really bad, and its domestic and international environment was even worse.

Under such circumstances, the fact that Britain was able to reap so many benefits is truly a remarkable turnaround.

"The Americans are so useless! They've wasted all the weapons and supplies we provided."

Prince Schwarzenberg looked indignant.

Franz sighed, realizing that being realistic was still too difficult for politicians.

Prince Schwarzenberg only mentioned Austria's aid to the United States, but made no mention of Austria having the United States take out loans for consumption.

However, it is difficult for humans to be without a stance, unless they are saints or simply not good at thinking.

Of course, offering someone a loan to make purchases during such a difficult time is already a godsend.

How much did we make?

Franz said it casually.

Prince Schwarzenberg looked somewhat troubled.

"Your Majesty, we have made a lot of money, but it's all debt."

"How many."

"1.5 billion florins."

"Not bad. The Americans should quiet down for a while."

The war inflicted considerable damage on the United States, but the British also suffered greatly. Had the British not adopted such extreme measures as scorched earth tactics, their fate might have been even more dire.

Prince Schwarzenberg asked tentatively.

"The United States is very weak right now, and judging from the previous wars, their willpower is not very strong. Can we take this opportunity to strengthen our power?"

Franz sighed, recalling the saying, "A single punch can ward off a hundred blows." The current situation in America was one where a single punch failed to break through, leaving enemies coming from all sides.

The War of 1895 had barely ended, and the Austrian Empire's leadership was already eyeing North America. This was unavoidable; the United States was indeed incredibly rich in resources. Given the power, everyone wanted a piece of the pie.

However, Franz is not very interested in American territory at the moment, and it would be too dangerous to launch an attack on such a large country.

"The Americans still owe us money. Don't they want it back?"

"Your Majesty, this is a good opportunity for us to use force to collect our debts. Otherwise, given the Americans' repayment ability, it would probably take them half a century to pay them off."

Moreover, the armistice agreement between Britain and the United States expired ten years later.

Once the British recover, they will certainly further encroach on the United States, and during this time, other powers will also try their best to squeeze a piece of flesh out of the United States.

I'm afraid we'll suffer if we act too late.

Prince Sitsonberg actually had a strong sense of urgency; he always wanted to seize the initiative, and this approach was not wrong.

However, it's still important to act within your means; don't bite off more than you can chew.

"Your Highness, what is your opinion of Britain's strength?"

Faced with Franz's sudden question, Prince Schwarzenberg answered without hesitation.

"Very strong. But not as strong as us."

"The British suffered heavy losses fighting the Americans, so how can we expect to emerge unscathed? And have you considered that the Americans might also employ a scorched-earth tactic?"

Seeing that Prince Schwarzenberg remained silent, Franz continued.

"The United States is too vast to be taken in one bite, and the land we have acquired at great expense is hardly enough to offset our debts."

The most crucial point is that a large population is needed to stably occupy those territories, which is simply a pipe dream for us.

We cannot possibly gather millions of immigrants for the North American colonies in the short term. Moreover, if we were to send millions of immigrants to North America all at once, would the North American colonies still be our colonies?

Franz's words were quite intriguing, and Prince Schwarzenberg immediately sensed a danger signal.

Many matters in California were decided by Franz himself, the governor was a member of the royal family, and the senior officials of each administration were capable and reliable people.

The relative peace of these years made Prince Schwarzenberg forget that there was still the possibility of rebellion in the colonies.

Even so, there have been no fewer than a dozen large and small rebellions in California over the years, but most of them were suppressed in the early stages and did not take off. Apart from the major rebellion launched by the Shogunate laborers, there have been no rebellions with more than 10,000 participants.

California's wealth is tangible and visible, making it hard not to be tempted.

Furthermore, Britain, France, the United States, and even Mexico were secretly supporting the rebels in their separatist activities.

Under such pressure from both inside and outside, it was only because Franz kept a close watch and found the right person that California was able to remain under a nominal but not truly independent state.

Add another million people to North America? Avoiding civil war won't be that easy for the US.

It's important to know that the population of the entire North American colony hadn't even reached two million in twenty years, and if only Austrians were considered, that number would be halved.

Send another million over in one go?

Leaving aside whether the Austrian Empire had the capability, even if they had actually sent those lands over, to whom would they belong?
German? Czech? Japanese? In any case, not Austrian.
Furthermore, if the North American colonies were to gain independence, what would they choose to do? Remain confined to a corner of the country, or fully inherit the legacy of the Austrian Empire in North America?
After the three powers fully united, would the Austrian Empire still have a chance to counterattack? Would Britain, France, and other countries stand idly by when the Austrian Empire launched its counterattack?
After answering these questions, it's easy to understand Franz's decision: he wouldn't allow the Austrian Empire to become a target of public criticism.

Prince Schwarzenberg was no fool; he immediately changed his tune.

"Shouldn't we take this opportunity to get the Americans to further open up their markets and lower tariffs a bit more?"

Franz nodded.

"That's possible. But remember our main competitors are the British; let's not let them get away with this."

"clear."

Although both Austria and the United Kingdom have most-favored-nation status in the United States, they have different areas of expertise.

With just a little manipulation, the British could be pushed to the margins of the marketplace, giving Austrian goods a natural advantage.

Americans, who had just fought a battle with the British, would likely be happy to accept this, since the political forces in the American South would certainly have a significant advantage after the war.

The US is unlikely to notice any irregularities in the minor adjustments to commodity tariffs, given that postwar America did indeed need to import large quantities of goods from abroad to fill domestic gaps.

On the contrary, even if the British discovered this, they could only suffer in silence. Given the diplomatic relations between Britain and the United States at that time, it would be strange if the British could make any demands without being refused.

At this time, a war of words was still going on between Britain and the United States, and it must be said that the British were far more adept at public opinion warfare than the Americans.

Surprisingly, public opinion in Europe at the time was in favor of Britain regarding the burning of New York. The Americans' self-righteous exposure did not put Britain in a moral dilemma.

The United States, on the contrary, was deliberately manipulated by the British to become the perpetrator instead of the victim. The British reason was simple: the Americans struck first.

Because the Americans shelled New York City, it caused fires, forcing British troops to evacuate the city, and the American troops did not come to their aid.

Therefore, Americans are not clean either, and should even bear the main responsibility.

As for fires in other regions, the same approach can be used, applying the same formula.

The Americans were naturally indignant, and they immediately found witnesses and published an open letter condemning the British army.

The British were not to be outdone, and they also found a large number of witnesses to prove the atrocities committed by the American troops, and even produced evidence that the US government fired on civilians to drive them away.

The British had a stronger chain of evidence, with testimony from British soldiers and American refugees.

Within the United States, numerous media figures and righteous individuals have emerged who have exposed the US government's actions. These individuals are not necessarily bought off by the British government, as the US government's behavior at this time is indeed inhumane.

Based on what he saw and heard, combined with the actual situation and the accounts of the refugees, it is not difficult to draw his own conclusions.

As for the so-called photographs, because the Austrian Empire had elevated photographic technology to a new level, both sides were able to produce a large amount of shocking evidence.

What was originally a very clear incident was turned into a situation where the British seemed to have each side claiming to be right.

Humans are easily prejudiced, and even if the United States later presents more evidence, it cannot change people's preconceived notions.

As for the various countries, they all had their own ulterior motives. The Austrian Empire certainly supported the Americans' position, but other European countries might not necessarily agree.

Thus, a war of public opinion turned into a battle of choosing sides, or perhaps it was a game of positions from the beginning. In any case, the United States was beaten up by Britain, forced to cede territory and pay reparations, but ended up being the isolated and condemned party.

However, the fact that the United States was being disliked was actually a good thing for the Austrian Empire, as relations between the two countries became much closer.