The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 681 America has no sympathy for the losers, but history will always remember the winners!
Early September 1859, Washington.

At the mahogany conference table in the East Room of the White House, President Buchanan looked at the cabinet members and some bipartisan representatives in the Senate and House of Representatives with a tired face, and said in a hoarse voice: "Gentlemen, I think you have understood the situation of the Battle of Stockton? California is currently in a state of civil war! Moreover, the state government's militia is at a disadvantage, and the main supply route to Sacramento has been cut off by the rebels. Governor Weller has repeatedly requested that the federal army intervene in the California Civil War! Ladies and gentlemen, as the President of the United States, I want to hear your opinions."

"Weller's California militia is a bunch of rubbish!" Vice President John Breckenridge slammed the table, and the gold-rimmed coffee cup jingled. The slave owner from Kentucky looked around at everyone and said, "They were defeated by the Chinese, and now they want the federal government to send troops to help them rob the Chinese gold mines." He turned to his fellow Southerners and said, "Senator Davis, what do you think?"

Jefferson Davis rolled his tobacco slowly, his Mississippi accent full of sarcasm: "The Supreme Court's decision in the Scott case in 1857 made it clear." He paused deliberately, "The federal government has no right to interfere in the internal affairs of the states." The tobacco was twisted into thin threads at his fingertips. "Unless you want to set a precedent?"

"But those Chinese are not American citizens," Secretary of War Floyd reminded, "They are citizens of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom."

"Not all those who rebelled against Weller were Chinese!" California Senator Jamie O'Connor said grimly, "Weller's own report clearly stated that the rebels who attacked the California militia in Stockton included 2000 Chinese and 3000 Mexicans! The rebels guarding San Francisco also included the San Francisco white militia commanded by County Governor Smith. Governor Weller called these white people 'rebels' in his report! But they just wanted to protect their Chinese and Japanese wives, mixed-race children and property."

"But according to California's Anti-Interracial Marriage Law, white people are not allowed to marry Chinese or Japanese!" U.S. Secretary of State Cass looked at the corrupt California senator who had three Japanese wives with some disgust.

"This law should be repealed!" Jamie O'Connor said coldly, "The proportion of women among white people in California is extremely low. If white men in California are not allowed to marry women of other races, then most white men in California will have to love each other. Moreover, the Anti-Miscegenation Law does not oppose non-marital cohabitation and non-marital childbirth! White people in California still have the right to defend their lovers, children and property. This is the power given to everyone by God! In addition, I need to remind you that if Mexican citizens are now standing against Governor Weller, then Governor Weller is now likely to be a minority among American citizens in California! Is the federal government going to support the minority in the state to deprive the majority of their property? If the federal government always supports the weak in the state to fight against the strong, then our United States will sooner or later become an empire!"

The meeting room suddenly became quiet.

It is simply against the will of heaven for a minority of citizens to deprive the majority of citizens of their private property!
Moreover, the minority citizens lost the battle!

This is simply a mistake on top of a mistake! Because America, now and in the past, has never sympathized with the weak!
The United States believes in the survival of the fittest and a weak central government and strong local governments.

If the central government of the United States always supports the weak local governments to fight against the strong ones, then the final result will inevitably be that the strong local governments will be defeated one by one, and the remaining weak local governments will not be able to fight against the strong central government. The United States of America will naturally become the American Empire!
This will shake the country's foundation!

After a while, U.S. Secretary of State Cass took out a handkerchief and wiped his sweat: "Of course the federal government should not interfere in the struggle between American citizens in California, even if some of them violated the Anti-Interracial Marriage Law, but the federal government must prevent foreign forces from interfering in the internal struggle in California!"

Secretary of the Treasury Howell Cobb: "How about this, the Navy blockades the West Coast first, and let California fight on its own?"

Charles Sumner, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, the unfortunate abolitionist who had been beaten by Brooks with a cane, suddenly said sinisterly: "The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's navy defeated the Dutch navy." The scar on his forehead was particularly eye-catching under the gaslight. "Does our Pacific Squadron have enough strength to defeat them?"

This question is for the Navy!
Navy Secretary Isaac Tosi was clearly a "shameless" guy. He replied: "The 'Pensacola' will be commissioned on December 12th. Its armor can withstand any shells! It is the most powerful surface ship in the world after the 'Warrior' and the 'Glory'. It has a displacement of about 5 tons and is equipped with 3 000-inch and 12 11-inch smoothbore guns. It is much more powerful than any warship of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom!"

“12月5日？”共和党参议员威廉·苏厄德突然冷笑，他灰白的鬓角在煤气灯下泛着银光，“现在才9月.而且12月5日服役的‘彭萨科拉’号应该在大西洋一侧吧？”

"Of course," the Secretary of the Navy nodded, "our major shipyards are all on the East Coast."

“So when will it get to San Diego?”

"May 1860." "Ha," Jamie O'Connor sneered, "What should we do before May 5? Do we have any ships that can fight in the Pacific now?"

"There are two," said the Secretary of the Navy, "the Susquehanna and the Powhatan, both of which displace over 2400 tons."

"Only 2400 tons?" Jamie O'Connor asked again, "What about the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom? Do they have ships over 2000 tons?"

"There are three, Dingyuan, Zhenyuan and Jingyuan," said the U.S. Navy Secretary. "They all have a displacement of about 3 tons and are very durable. They are all old ships built around 2000."

"But they have picric acid shells!" Jamie O'Connor shook his head. "We are not sure of winning, are we?"

"Indeed not, unless we can transfer all four 4-ton ships on the Atlantic side to the Pacific."

"Then transfer them!" said the President of the United States. "Immediately. After the Pensacola is put into service, it will also be transferred to the Pacific Ocean!" He emphasized, "The United States must show its determination to defend the Pacific Ocean's maritime power! In addition, the Army will transfer two more battalions to San Diego! However, they are not going to help Weller fight, but to protect our naval bases in the Pacific Ocean from being affected by the civil unrest in California."

In the Sacramento County State Government Building, Colonel Sherman, with a bandage on his arm, stood in front of a group of California leaders with a solemn expression: "If we don't want to admit defeat, we must immediately mobilize all our forces to fight them!"

"Total mobilization?" Leland Stanford suddenly sneered, his eyes narrowed behind his gold-rimmed glasses, "Is it necessary to mobilize in order to exclude the Chinese?"

"Our enemies are not only the Chinese, but also the Mexicans and some white people!" Sherman said, "and the food reserves in Sacramento County are limited. Now the transportation on the Sacramento River has been cut off, and the twelve Chinese United Farms in Sacramento County have been reduced to ruins. Even if we start sowing winter wheat now, it will take several months to harvest! Before that, what should we do? Surrender to those people?"

There was silence in the conference room.

Surrender means handing over power and interests!
Apart from anything else, California will have to hold a new election, right? Even if the Chinese still do not have the right to vote, they can still elect the current governor and most of the state legislators with the votes of Mexicans and true whites. And after losing power, can the economic interests of the four major families in California still be preserved?

Huntington slammed the table and said, "It seems that this is the only way, Governor. We must organize all the men who can carry guns!"

Governor Weller glanced at Bigler, the California militia chief he had appointed, and asked, "How many people can we expect?"

"Ten thousand to fifteen thousand." Bigler's face was solemn, "But the supplies are insufficient, unless..." He glanced at Stanford, Huntington, Crocker and Hopkins - these four had already made a fortune from hoarding!
"Unless rationing is implemented!" The chairman of Crocker National Bank was livid, "but our losses..."

"Use the Chinese assets confiscated after the war to make up for it!" Governor Weller said, "America does not sympathize with losers, it hates losers. If we fail, then even our breathing is wrong, and we will lose everything!"

He looked at the people in the room, stood up, and began to speak: "Gentlemen, when our grandfathers followed General Washington to starve in Valley Forge, they had only flintlocks and pitchforks in their hands; when our fathers fought against the Mexican tyrants at the Alamo, three hundred warriors faced tens of thousands of enemies! There is no gene for cowardice in the blood of America!
Today, some people try to shake our will with the excuse of "state rights" and "property rights". I say - California's land was opened up by us with rifles and plowshares, and California's gold was mined by us with mattocks and dynamite! Those cowards who dare not shed blood to defend their homes do not deserve to enjoy the freedom of this land!
Federal warships are coming, but the fate of California can only be decided by Californians! I declare: All men aged 16 to 60 in the state will be enlisted immediately, and those who refuse to join the war will be punished as treason; all railways, mines, and farms must give priority to military supplies; anyone who trades with the rebels will be hanged!
Remember, gentlemen - America has no sympathy for losers, but history always remembers the victors! "

Amidst the applause, Governor Weller grabbed a gold-plated pen and scribbled his name on the "Wartime Special Law". The parchment clearly read: 1. Rationing will be implemented from now on; 2. Nighttime curfew; 3. Those who secretly possess weapons will be hanged; 4. Those who spread rumors will be whipped.
(End of this chapter)