The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 695 Zhao Si, why are you so bad!

"What? Send troops to Washington? That's illegal!"

When he heard Xianfeng's suggestion of "strike first and send troops to Washington", Breckenridge, a radical and militant member of the Southern Democratic Party, was immediately furious. He looked at Xianfeng in disbelief, as if to say: How could you be so bad? If you can't be elected, send troops to Washington. Is this what a human being would do?

Xianfeng was also confused! What was Breckinridge thinking? This was too strange, wasn't it? You were shouting about fighting and killing and secession from the Union every day. This was rebellion! And then you said that it was illegal to march into Washington!
Is there still legal rebellion in this world? Was it legal for Hong Xiuquan to rebel in Jintian? Or was it legal for his Qing ancestors to rebel in the old forests of Northeast China?

"My dear Vice President!" Xianfeng gritted his teeth and said, "You said that marching into Washington was illegal, but it is legal for you to call for withdrawal from the Union every day?"

"Of course it is legal to withdraw from the federation!" Breckenridge said to Emperor Xianfeng in the tone of an eloquent speaker: "The Tenth Amendment of the Constitution stipulates that 'powers not delegated to the federal government are reserved to the states.' This shows that sovereignty lies with the states and is only granted to the federal government by the states. The states have the right to withdraw when the federal government infringes on state rights. This is an implicit right granted to each state by the Constitution!"

It also implies power. Xianfeng was almost amused by this naive American vice president. As for the power struggle, even if it was written in black and white, even if it was sworn on the Mississippi River, it would not be recognized.

What implied rights do you have? It's not clearly written. Will people recognize your own rights if you just talk about them?
Even if you have never been to school, if you have ever heard someone telling the story of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" under an overpass, you won't be so naive!

By the way, you probably haven’t even heard of the storytelling of Romance of the Three Kingdoms. It’s terrible to be uneducated!

Thinking of this, Xianfeng patiently said to the American Vice President in front of him: "Mr. Vice President, I will assume that you recognize the implicit rights of the Northern Free States."

Breckenridge said proudly: "If they don't admit it, our southern militia will force them to admit it with muskets!"

Xianfeng looked at the innocent blue eyes of this American "big boy" who had never even heard of the storytelling of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" with sympathy: "Mr. Vice President, let's deduce what would happen if, I mean if, several of your southern states withdrew from the federation based on this implicit right. Does that mean that the southern states and the United States of America are two countries?"

"Of course!" Breckenridge said. "We'll live our own lives."

"Really?" Xianfeng laughed, "Aren't you the United States and Mexico two countries? Why did you invade them and seize more than half of their territory?"

"That's because the Mexicans don't allow Texas to be independent," Breckenridge said seriously.

"Is there anything wrong with the Mexicans not allowing their territory to be taken away by you American immigrants for independence?" Xianfeng asked with his triangular eyes wide open.

"Of course this is wrong!" Breckinridge immediately put on a hegemonic face, "Bishop Zhao, please understand that America belongs to Americans!"

"Well," Xianfeng said with a smile, "That's right. Once you withdraw from the federation, you will no longer be part of the United States. America will belong to others. And you will be another Mexico! You are an agricultural country with a population of only one-fourth of that of the United States, an industry of only one-fortieth of that of the United States, and you are still quite rich.

By the way, you are still practicing the barbaric slavery! Mr. Vice President, do you think those American masters in the North will let you go? Think about it yourself, if there is such a rich, industrial, and evil country practicing slavery next to the United States, wouldn't you want to invade it? Even if you are a kind-hearted slave owner and don't bully others, what about those Northerners? Are they so kind?"

Breckenridge's face changed. It's bad. Once I quit, I will be transformed from the United States into another Mexico. The Yankees are so bad, how could they not come to rob? Wait, I have cotton!

"No, no, no," Breckenridge said seriously, "We have cotton, and no one dares to declare war on cotton!"

"There is cotton?" Xianfeng felt so sympathetic. Is this American vice president a fool? Cotton is useless! My Qing Dynasty also had silk, porcelain, and tea. What's the use? My Qing Dynasty was gone anyway!

"Mr. Vice President!" Xianfeng said with a wry smile, "The North has steel, warships, guns, and a population four or five times yours. What do you have? Cotton? Are you going to use cotton to crush the Yankees to death?"

"The British need our cotton!" Breckinridge said in an almost pious tone, "Without our cotton, British textile mills can't operate." Xianfeng sneered, "They can also ask Indians and Egyptians to help them grow cotton. At most, a few more Indians will starve to death, and the British don't care at all! So without American cotton, British textile mills will not close down. At most, they will reduce production and raise prices, and they may make more money! Moreover, weren't you former Americans the rebels who opposed British rule seventy or eighty years ago? You actually expect the British to put aside their past grudges and die tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people for you for a little cotton? When you Americans fought for independence, Britain gave up after only 40,000 to 50,000 people died. And how many British people will have to die to defeat the United States on the east coast of North America and force the United States to give up the eleven slave states in the South? Vice President, are you really so sure that the British will pay such a high price for cotton? Have you asked Viscount Palmerston and Prince Albert?"

Why do you still need to ask this? Breckenridge stared at Xianfeng blankly.

Xianfeng sighed: This stupid vice president takes this matter for granted!

"Mr. Vice President," Xianfeng looked at the silly American Vice President and said, "I guess you didn't get any promises from Viscount Palmerston or Prince Albert? Britain has just experienced a war with Russia and a rebellion sweeping across India. How much interest can they have in getting involved in an American civil war right away?"

"Civil war?" Breckenridge was stunned again. "How did it become a civil war?"

"Of course it's a civil war!" Xianfeng said, "Since the North will definitely invade the South, why should they recognize your right to withdraw from the Union? Those implied rights are not written in writing, so why should they recognize them? Wouldn't it be better to just declare you traitors? That way they can justifiably eliminate you as traitors."

It’s back again!
Breckenridge scratched his head. It seemed that this was the case. If the South successfully withdrew from the Union, it would be bad. The South would not be the United States, but the second Mexico! The Yankees next door were so bad that they would definitely invade! Since the Yankees would definitely invade, why should they recognize any implicit rights? Wouldn't it be better to send troops to fight against the rebels? Therefore, the independence of the eleven southern states was impossible.

Since independence is out of the question and civil war is bound to break out, shouldn't the South take the initiative?

Thinking of this, Breckenridge looked at Davis: "Jefferson, will the American people support us?"

"This." Davis was also unsure.

"Vice President, Senator," Xianfeng took out a public opinion assessment report from the Democratic Party Convention, "Are the assessment results in this report accurate?"

"It's accurate," Davis said. "This is an assessment by experts within the party, and the accuracy is quite high."

"Well, it says that the Democratic Party's support rate is about 47%, the Republican Party's support rate is about 40%, and the rest of the voters are from the Constitutional Union Party." Xianfeng pointed to the numbers on the assessment report and said, "The Democratic Party is clearly leading the Republican Party by 7%. Why did you lose?"

Davis sighed and said, "Bishop Zhao, in the United States, we don't elect a president based on whoever gets the most votes."

"Oh," Xianfeng was stunned, "Maybe the one with fewer votes will win?"

"No," Breckenridge explained, "The rules of the US presidential election emphasize the supremacy of state rights!"

“Winning by getting more states’ support?”

"Not really. It depends on the population of the state you support," Davis said. "We will allocate electoral votes according to the population of each state. Usually, all electoral votes in a state will be cast for the candidate who gets more votes in that state. Although the Republican Party's support rate is only 40%, their supporters are concentrated in the populous states in the north. There are also many voters who support the Democratic Party in these populous states, but since they are a minority in most populous states, the electoral votes in these populous states will be cast for the Republican Party."

Breckenridge continued, "We Democrats have an overwhelming advantage in the eleven slave states in the South, but even if we win every vote in these eleven states, we can only get 72 electoral votes in the end. The Republicans can win at least 150 electoral votes with a simple majority in the northern states. There are 303 electoral votes in the United States now, and winning 152 will ensure victory. However, the Constitutional Union Party can win at least a dozen electoral votes, so..."

"So a 47% support rate will lose to a 40% support rate?" Xianfeng laughed. "Since 47% of voters support the Democratic Party, what are you hesitating about? Announce that the Republican Party has committed fraud in the northern states! Anyway, there are a lot of frauds in your American elections. You can use this as an excuse to march to Capitol Hill and take over Washington! Oh, by the way, before the presidential handover in January next year, Mr. Buchanan of your Democratic Party will be the president, and you, Mr. Breckinridge, will be the vice president! The US federal army is still in the control of you Democrats! Isn't this a sure win?"

It seems to be correct!
Davis and Breckenridge looked at each other, and then turned their eyes to Xianfeng together - how could this rebellion expert from China be so bad? But it seemed that he had a reason to be bad!
(End of this chapter)