The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 753 Sister Victoria, can we cheat America together?

Luo Yaoguo tapped his fingers lightly on the tabletop, his eyes falling on a map of the United States spread out on the desk. The vast land west of the Mississippi River was outlined by a thick line in pencil, running from east to west, across the Rocky Mountains, and straight to the Pacific coast.

Nathaniel stared at the line, frowning slightly. He understood what Luo Yaoguo meant - this line was not a railway, but a shackle.

"Is that all?" Luo Yaoguo suddenly spoke up, his tone somewhat teasing, "The price the British are asking is a bit too polite."

Nathaniel couldn't help but sneer when he heard this: "Your Highness, do you know that this war was fought because the Yankees were bent on raising tariffs? If Lincoln bows his head and admits defeat now and lowers the tariffs, wouldn't this war be fought in vain?"

"In vain?" Luo Yaoguo shook his head and pointed at the green-backed dollars on the table. "Nathaniel, you underestimate this war."

He picked up a banknote and looked at it against the sunlight outside the window. The dark green ink glowed dimly under the light.

"Before the war, would the U.S. federal government dare to issue such non-convertible waste paper? State chartered banks were everywhere, with 1,600 banks, and every bank could print money. It was a mess. But what about now?" He sneered, "If the Lincoln government could really raise money with gold bonds, the next step would be to take away the states' right to issue notes, establish a central bank, and hold the right to issue dollars in its own hands."

Nathaniel was silent.

Luo Yaoguo continued, "Let's talk about the army. Before the war, the federal army had only more than 10,000 people, and the militias of various states combined were ten times that number. What about now? The Northern government has millions of troops in its hands, and the New York Congress can pass the Homestead Act to take the land in the Midwest back to the federal government and then distribute it to civilians - before the war, would the states' rights faction agree to this?"

He put down the banknotes, his eyes sharp, "Nathaniel, the old America is on the verge of death. When this war is over, no matter who wins, a new America will emerge - a centralized, industrialized, military-expanding monster. If the world's second largest industrial country unites again, do you think Britain can still suppress it?"

Nathaniel's Adam's apple rolled and he was speechless for a moment.

Luo Yaoguo picked up the teacup, took a sip slowly, and then continued: "Of course, we still have to threaten now. We will try to maintain the 20% tariff for to years, as long as we can. As for the gold bonds..."

He moved his finger and landed on the Rocky Mountains on the map.

"We need to ask the Americans to use something as collateral."

Nathaniel narrowed his eyes. "The federal government is broke right now. What can it mortgage?"

"Railroad." Luo Yaoguo said calmly, "Pacific Chartered Railway - the federal government provided the monopoly right to build the railway and 20 miles of land along the line, and capital from London and California provided money and technology. Each of the three parties held one-third of the shares. These shares were then used to guarantee 10 million pounds of gold bonds."

Nathaniel understood his intention instantly.

There was no need to rush to build this railway. As long as the monopoly on the right to build the railway was held in hand for decades, the development of the American West would stagnate, and the capital of Britain and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom would be able to firmly control the gold, silver, copper and other resources on the west coast of the United States.

"Your Highness, these conditions...are too harsh." Nathaniel considered his words carefully. "15% interest rate, monopoly on the construction rights of the Pacific Railway, plus a -year low tariff bill. Not to mention whether the Americans will agree, even the British may not be willing to cooperate. They invested a huge amount of money in the United States before the Civil War!"

Luo Yaoguo smiled. Capital really has no motherland!

"They will cooperate," he said softly, "because I will talk to my sister Victoria personally."

Nathaniel was startled. He then remembered that this prophet claimed to be God's godson, and after receiving the tablets of the covenant, Queen Victoria believed that she was the reincarnation of Jesus' sister Mary.
"Besides..." Luo Yaoguo lowered his voice, "I still have bargaining chips in my hand."

"What chips?"

"Details of the negotiations between the Lincoln government and Nicholas Zhao Si." Luo Yaoguo said word by word, "even... the news of the secret peace talks between the North and the South. This is inside information that can affect the trend of Wall Street and London financial markets!"

Nathaniel's pupils shrank. "North-South peace talks? Is that really happening?"

Luo Yaoguo did not answer directly, but just smiled meaningfully. "Peace is the most precious thing." He said slowly, "If the American Civil War really ended in a victory or defeat, no matter whether the North or the South won, a stronger America would be born. But if this war ended in peace talks..."

He paused, tapping his fingertips on the table.

“That’s the real failure.”

"Dear Sister Victoria,

May the peace of the Lord be with you.

When I stood on the wall of Tianjing and looked west, I always thought of my sister walking in the garden of Buckingham Palace. Although we were thousands of miles apart, we were both thinking about the same question: who should dominate the future of this world?
Sister, have you ever thought that the bleeding country across the ocean might become the biggest threat to the British Empire? The American Civil War was ostensibly a dispute over slavery, but in reality it was a dispute over the state form. If the North wins, a centralized industrial monster will emerge; if the South becomes independent, the divided United States will never be able to challenge Britain's hegemony - this should have been the most ideal outcome. But now, the Lincoln government is using war to forge an unprecedentedly powerful federation: unified currency, unified army, and unified taxation. Such an America would be a hundred times more dangerous than the thirteen colonies that rebelled against Britain.

Do you remember the Monroe Doctrine? "America is America for Americans" - the subtext of this sentence is "America will eventually belong to Americans." They have coveted Canada for a long time, and in 1861 they sent troops to occupy San Juan Island. If this "chosen country" is allowed to complete industrialization, within years, the entire North and South America will become their backyard. By then, how long can the Union Jack of the British Empire fly in Canada?
Sister, I have a suggestion: you should mediate the American Civil War. Let the South retain the system of "states' rights first", let slaves continue to exist in the name of "serfs", and permanently lock the federal tariff at 20%. Such peace is the real victory - an America that can never be united is the most beneficial America to Britain.

Your loyal brother
Luo Yaoguo

December 1862 in Tianjing"

Queen Victoria's voice stopped abruptly. She put down the English letter written by Luo Yaoguo himself, picked up the blue and white bone china cup and took a sip of the silky milk tea.

"What do you think, dear Albert?" She turned to her husband, who was wiping his glasses. "This 'yellow peril' proposal is quite interesting."

The prince put his glasses on his nose and said nonchalantly, "What I am more concerned about is which is more terrible, the 'Yellow Peril' or the 'American Peril'? The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has controlled the entire China except Gansu and the Western Regions, and their steam engine production increased fourfold last year."

"But the yellow race can never truly threaten the white world!" Victoria suddenly raised her voice. She put down the blue and white bone china cup and picked up Luo Yaoguo's letter. "The Americans are the real threat! The descendants of the Puritans have rebellious blood flowing in their veins. If we let them unite and become strong" she clenched the letter, her knuckles turning white, "they might support another Cromwell to overthrow our empire."

Karl Moore, who had been silent all this time, suddenly laughed out loud. This bearded royal advisor had ended his term as ambassador to the Kingdom of Korea and returned to London to start writing the second part of his Red Star Over China, summarizing his experience and lessons in helping the Kingdom of Korea establish "industrialization without capitalists".

"Your Majesty, your 'brother' made a fatal mistake." Moore laughed, "He thought that controlling gold and silver could kill an industrial country, but he didn't know that the truly valuable thing is never gold, but the goods that can be bought with gold."

Prince Albert, who already knew that "Moore" was a member of the "Red Ghost", frowned and said, "Karl, you mean..."

"If all the bank vaults in London are emptied tomorrow, as long as the textile machines in Manchester are still turning, the steel furnaces in Birmingham are still burning, and the British Empire still has the most powerful navy and the most extensive colonies in the world, the pound will still be the pound." Moore stood up and paced around the room. "But if the factories stop production, the farmland is barren, and the Royal Navy no longer exists, even if the cellar is full of gold bricks," he suddenly stopped and said in a very affirmative tone, "these metals can only be used to decorate the tomb of the British Empire!"

Victoria let go of Luo Yaoguo's letter and said thoughtfully: "If we lose our industry, we will lose our empire."

Outside the window, the whistle of the Warrior-class ironclad ship about to set sail on the Thames could be faintly heard.

"So what do you think of Luo Yaoguo's plan?" Prince Albert said.

"It is doomed to fail." Moore took out a handkerchief to wipe the lens. The flame dancing in the fireplace was reflected on the glass. "The North of the United States has 100 miles of railways, pig iron production has exceeded 20 million tons, steel production has exceeded 400 tons, engineers are trained every year, and there is a % food self-sufficiency rate. Even without gold or silver as collateral, their greenback notes can still circulate in the North of the United States - because American goods need a currency to help them circulate, rather than having currency and then the goods will rise from the shelves by themselves."

Queen Victoria's face darkened. "So, we should support the North to win quickly?"

"No," Prince Albert shook his head. "Even if Luo Yaoguo's plan is doomed to fail, we must join it. As long as we can slow down the pace of the United States becoming a powerful industrialized empire, it will be beneficial to the British Empire. Besides, the longer the American civil war drags on, the more benefits the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will gain on the west coast of the United States, and the more difficult it will be to give up in the future! The future Sino-US war will be more difficult to avoid!"

(End of this chapter)