The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 844 This is not the end of the war, but the beginning of preparations for war!
In the meeting room of the Colorado State Government Building in Denver, Luo Yaoguo gently placed the telegram on the long mahogany table and glanced at Hong Daquan, Hong Tiangui, Han Yulin, Hezenke and others present. Outside the window, the afterglow of the setting sun on the plateau poured in through the colorless glass windows, still dazzling.

"Everyone," he said in a steady and powerful voice, "Lincoln has admitted defeat and we have won!"

There was silence in the room at first, and then Hong Tiangui slammed the table: "Good!" His face was filled with the joy of victory, as if he had already seen the future of the Western Conference's complete independence!

Luo Yaoguo raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet: "But it is not the final victory, but it has won us ten to twenty years of preparation time." He picked up the telegram and handed it to Hong Daquan, "First, take a look at Lincoln's conditions. Can you accept them? After all, the western United States is your territory. It is not the land of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom now, and it will not be in the future. So whether you can accept this peace is up to you."

Hong Daquan took the telegram and read it carefully with his eyes narrowed. His fingers gently stroked the paper, as if he was weighing the weight of this peace. The conditions in the telegram were clear: the six western states (Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, New Mexico, Arizona, and Montana) could retain their autonomy, and the militia would not be interfered with by the federal government, but they must submit to the federal government. Oklahoma was excluded - Grant's army had razed it to ruins, and the federal government believed that the state no longer belonged to the "Western Union."

"The six states surrendered." Hong Daquan pondered, "That's acceptable, but Oklahoma..." He frowned.

"Oklahoma is gone," Han Yulin said coldly. "Grant burned it too cleanly." His voice was filled with suppressed anger. "The holy city of Tahlequah of the Cherokees was razed to the ground, and the golden altar of the Choctaw was melted into gold bars. Now there is only scorched earth."

Hezenk clenched his fists. "We're just going to give up on Oklahoma? If we abandon a state so easily, what will other non-core states think?"

Although the so-called Western Twelve States Alliance does not have a nominal "leader", in fact, everyone knows that the "leader" of the Twelve States is California! The total population of the Twelve States is three million, and California accounts for at least half! In addition, the cathedral of the True Covenant Archdiocese of North America is in San Francisco, California. In addition, San Francisco also has the powerful California Bank Group and the only two universities in the Western United States - Stanford University and California Institute of Technology.

In addition to the "leader", the 12-state alliance also has several core members, such as Oregon and Washington, the three states on the west coast, and Colorado, where the Denver fortress is located, which are all core states of the Western Alliance. These three core states plus California, the leader state, are all "marginal states".

If the "alliance" can give up Oklahoma, a "marginal red state," now, will it give up Montana, Wyoming, and New Mexico in the future?
"Daquan, Tiangui," Luo Yaoguo smiled slightly, "What do you think?"

Luo Yaoguo did not make the decision directly, but gave the decision-making power to Hong Daquan and Hong Tiangui. He came all the way to the United States this time, firstly to support the Western Alliance and let them take all the advantages they can at the end of the American Civil War; secondly to help Hong Daquan and Hong Tiangui, because in Luo Yaoguo's arrangement, they are the future leaders of the Western Alliance of the United States!
Hong Daquan first put forward his own opinion: "We can let the Southern Yijin Prince Consort occupy the Dakota Territory west of the Missouri River and form a Western Dakota State there."

Hong Tiangui thought about it for a while and nodded slowly.

This proposal would both give the Union a respectable retreat in the west and create a buffer zone along the upper Missouri River to prevent federal troops from directly threatening Denver.

"Since you have made up your mind, let's do this. I'm sure Lincoln will not continue to tangle with you for half of the Dakota Territory." Luo Yaoguo put away his smile and his voice became serious: "But don't think that the matter is over. The United States has not really lost the war, it has only retreated temporarily. Ten or twenty years later, it will come back again."

He stood up, walked to the large map on the wall, and ran his finger across the Mississippi River: "The United States is still the world's third largest industrial country. Its steel production, railway mileage, and military capabilities are no less than the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. And you -" He turned around, his eyes full of worry, "the twelve western states still don't even have a real alliance! If you are still so scattered when the next war breaks out, then what awaits you will be a catastrophic disaster."

There was silence in the room.

Hong Daquan took a deep breath: "What the King of Wu meant is..."

"Prepare for war," Luo Yaoguo said in a low but firm voice, "At least we need to establish a deep government that can lead the twelve western states - not a government in name, but a government in reality, promote compulsory education and compulsory military service, and develop a military-industrial system. Remember, rich land will only belong to the brave people."

In the White House Cabinet Meeting Room in Washington, California Senator Jamie O'Connor stood in front of Lincoln and all the cabinet members with his fat belly, wiping the sweat from his forehead. Outside the window, the parade celebrating the victory on Pennsylvania Avenue was still shouting "Long Live the Union", but the atmosphere in the meeting room was so solemn that it was suffocating.

"The western states agreed in principle to submit to the Union," O'Connor gasped, "but they wanted to retain the Dakota Territory west of the Missouri River and establish a Western Dakota Territory there."

"Ridiculous!" Secretary of War Stanton slammed the table and stood up. "How can the federal land be divided at will?" His face turned pale, as if he had heard the most unacceptable betrayal.

Secretary of the Treasury Chase also had a gloomy face: "This is tantamount to recognizing their separatism! If every state bargains like this, what authority does the federation have?"

Lincoln raised his hand wearily, signaling for silence. His eye sockets were sunken, and the wrinkles on his face were deeper than they had been a month ago. The once high-spirited president now looked like a dying man whose days were numbered.

"There has to be an end." Lincoln's voice was hoarse, "America is exhausted." Everyone was stunned.

Vice President Andrew Johnson frowned: "President, you mean"

"We need a truce of ten to twenty years," Lincoln said slowly, "to prepare for a larger war."

"A bigger war?" Secretary of State Seward was stunned. "Mr. President, you mean..."

"We didn't really win," Lincoln smiled bitterly, "We just pretended to win." His fingers tapped the table lightly, "The result of this war has consolidated the concept of 'state rights supremacy'. The states can still maintain their militias, and coups and resistance to the federal government are all innocent."

His voice became lower and lower, and finally it became almost a murmur: "This is not an amnesty after being guilty, but innocence at all."

Stanton's face turned pale: "President, you can't say that."

"I am telling the truth," Lincoln raised his head, a look of determination flashing in his eyes. "My term is almost over, and I will be the worst president in American history. But I hope that my successor or my successor's successor will not be the last president of the United States."

He stood up and looked around at everyone: "For the revival of America, please keep up the fighting spirit."

In the office of President Davis in Richmond, the capital of the South, candlelight flickered. His cabinet members sat in silence, and the air was filled with depression. Outside the window, the once prosperous southern city was now in a state of depression. Although the war did not reach Richmond, the damage it caused to the city was obvious.

And in the entire South, there is no city more prosperous than Richmond.

"It will all be over soon," Davis said in a hoarse voice. "We didn't win, but we didn't lose either."

Finance Minister Mei Mingjie smiled bitterly: "The principle of state rights supremacy has been defended, but the price is that America has become devastated."

"The West is occupied by people of color," Secretary of War Breckenridge gritted his teeth, "and the East is occupied by British, German, and Russian troops. America has been tied to the chariot of the old world hegemony."

Davis walked slowly to the window and looked at the city at night. Eight years ago, he had dreamed of building a strong America that advocated the supremacy of state rights. Now this dream has been shattered. Moreover, he now deeply feels that he is on the wrong side.

"Everyone," he turned around, his voice low and firm, "from today on, we are no longer the Confederacy, but part of the United States of America. Because America needs unity and strength. Without strength and unity, there may be no America in the future!"

Everyone looked at him in shock.

"But," Davis' eyes flashed with a sharp light, "this does not mean that we give up the struggle. On the contrary, we must strive for a greater voice in the federation, reconcile with the northern elites, and face future threats together."

"Future threats?" someone asked in confusion.

"The West," Davis said coldly, "the alliance of yellow, black and red people is our real enemy. They occupy the most fertile land and control the gold mines and railroads. One day, we will take back America that belongs to white people."

He looked around at everyone and said, "Prepare for war, for the future of the United States of America."

This sentence was like a bolt of lightning that cut through the dark clouds in the conference room. The southern elites finally realized that their enemy had never been the North, but the "colored America" ​​that was rising in the West.

In other words, they finally realized that the concept of "state rights supremacy" is no longer suitable for America, which has transformed from the chosen country to the main battlefield for world hegemony!
(End of this chapter)