The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 885 America's Road to Empire
After hearing what President Hayes said, Zhao Si was speechless for a moment. Because Hayes was absolutely right, Hong Tiangui was looking forward to the passage of the "Shipbuilding Act of 1877"! Because the "Shipbuilding Act of 1877" was clearly a war preparation bill for the Eastern Federal authorities against the Western Alliance! The "Constitution-class" ships built according to the "Shipbuilding Act of 1877" were not used to compete with Britain for the Atlantic sea power, nor were they prepared to go to the Western Pacific to challenge the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. They were used to blockade the western coastline of the United States and cut off the lifeline of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the western United States.

Once the Pacific Ocean lifeline is cut off, the Twelve Western States Alliance will be in big trouble!
After all, the 12 states in the western United States have only a few million people. No matter how many soldiers they have, they are no match for the federal authorities in the eastern United States, which has a population of more than 30 million. Moreover, although the western United States is rich, its resources have obvious shortcomings. There are more gold, silver and copper mines, but less iron ore, more oil, but less coal. Without enough coal and iron ore, there is no way to talk about the steel industry. Without steel, the military industry will naturally be difficult to run, and the materials for making guns and cannons must be imported!

In addition, as more and more railways were built in the twelve western states of the United States, the demand for coal for railway transportation also increased greatly. In the past two years, even coal had to be imported from the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

If the transportation line on the Pacific Ocean is cut off, not only will the military industry not be able to maintain itself, but even railway transportation will have big problems! What will the Twelve States Alliance use to fight against the Federation?

So once the "Shipbuilding Act of 1877" is passed in Washington, the West will be furious! Not only California will be furious, but other states in the West, except Utah, which is controlled by white Mormons, will probably be furious too! The result of the "states in danger" in the West is, of course, to band together for warmth and engage in confrontation.

If the states in the western United States want to stick together, there must be a leader. Colorado certainly cannot be the leader. Although Colorado has the largest gold mine in the United States, and its gold production is close to that of California, apart from gold, the only thing that can be mentioned about Colorado, this black state, is the Denver Fortress. In contrast, California is overwhelming in all aspects, including industry, agriculture, mining, trade, and population. If the states in the western United States want to stick together, California must be the leader.

If California is the leader of the group, then Hong Tiangui must be the leader - California is the base camp of the True Covenant sect in North America! Who in California can compare with the grandson of "Father God"?

Not to mention that Zhao Si, the "Golden Prince Consort of Southern Yi" and the Supreme Governor of Colorado, is no match for him, even Hong Daquan, the Archbishop of the True Covenant Church in North America, can only assist Hong Tiangui.

At that time, the authority of Hong Tiangui, the supreme governor of California and the commander-in-chief of the California militia, will rise further! The power of the twelve western states of the United States will be concentrated in the military and political group with Hong Tiangui as the core. Only by concentrating power on Hong Tiangui can the twelve states be twisted into a whole to fight against the federation.

And in this process, the interests of Zhao Si, as the supreme governor of a state, would definitely be damaged!

From being the governor, one of the hundreds of "little emperors" in the United States, to being a "director" under President Hong, the difference is huge!

Of course, the same changes will occur in the eastern United States!
Faced with the 12 western states banding together for warmth, the more than 30 eastern states will inevitably strengthen centralization to counter the western states. The center of centralization of the more than 30 eastern states is, of course, the federal government of the District of Columbia.

so.
"Mr. President," Zhao Si suddenly frowned, "But don't the congressmen from the eastern states understand that the mutual hostility between the eastern and western states and their respective preparations for war will definitely destroy the federal system that best suits their interests? By then, the United States will..."

"It will turn into an empire!" said the President of the United States in a low voice.

Zhao Si was silent for a moment, his eyes falling on the "Shipbuilding Act of 1877" spread out on President Hayes's desk. The gold-stamped congressional eagle emblem on the cover of the bill shone golden in the sun, as if mocking his ignorance of the deep operating logic of the United States.

"Mr. President," he began slowly, his voice low, "are you saying... that the United States of America will eventually move towards centralization? Or even... an empire?"

Hayes did not answer directly, but pulled out a thick leather-bound book from the bookshelf. On the gold-embossed spine was printed the words "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Republic".

"Nicholas," he pushed the book in front of Zhao Si, "have you read this book?"

Zhao Si shook his head.

"Then you should read it carefully." Hayes tapped the cover of the book with his fingers. "The Constitution of the United States of America was originally designed to imitate the system of the Roman Republic - the Senate, the Consuls (President), the Citizens' Assembly (House of Representatives)... Even the word 'Republic' was borrowed from the Romans."

He turned the page and stopped at a paragraph written by Hays in red pen: "The decline of the Roman Republic began with the failure of the reforms of the Gracchi brothers and ended with Caesar's dictatorship. When the Republic could not resolve its internal conflicts through peaceful means, power was inevitably concentrated in the hands of military strongmen."

Zhao Si frowned: "You mean... the United States will also go down this path?"

"It has already started." Hayes sneered. "Isn't the Civil War the result of 'the United States cannot resolve internal conflicts through peaceful means'? President Lincoln used the 'wartime emergency' as an excuse to suspend the writ of habeas corpus, call up volunteers, and even directly order a blockade of southern ports - these powers are not written in the Constitution! But war requires centralization, so Congress acquiesced one by one."

Zhao Si was silent for a while: "But President Lincoln never became emperor."

Hayes said: "Rome did not immediately transform from a republic to an empire because of a civil war. Rome's transformation was a process." He pointed to the red words he wrote, "It started with the failure of the Gulag brothers' reform and ended with Caesar's dictatorship that lasted for 77 years. If the Civil War could end the internal contradictions in the United States, perhaps the process of the end of the republic would not have begun. But unfortunately, President Lincoln did not succeed. The eight-year war not only failed to end the old contradictions, but also created new ones!"

He paused, his eyes sharp as a knife:

"And now, once the Shipbuilding Act of 1877 is passed, the federal government will gain unprecedented control over military spending - the navy, army, and military industry will all be directly controlled by Washington. The Twelve Western States Alliance will definitely adopt a tit-for-tat policy! Hong Tiangui will definitely strengthen his Western Alliance and expand his California militia. And in the eastern United States... If I'm not mistaken, Capitol Hill will pass legislation to strengthen federal control over various militias. The militias in each state will soon be reorganized, nominally under the command of the governor, but in reality... military pay, equipment, and training will all be funded by the federal government."

Zhao Si's pupils shrank slightly.

what does this mean?
It means that state power will be eroded step by step!

The foundation of the United States of America is the autonomy of the states. If even the army is taken away by the federal government, what can the governor use to fight against Washington?

In addition, the twelve western states of the United States are still in the federation!

If Congress passes legislation to reorganize the state militia, what will happen to the militias of the twelve western states? If they do not accept the reorganization, it will be a rebellion! If they accept the reorganization, they will lose their army and become rebels!
This is fatal! In this case, the twelve states will inevitably fight back and strengthen centralization.
"But this is not enough." Hayes continued, "The real turning point will be the next civil war."

"The next civil war?"

"Yes, the East-West War." Hayes' voice was cold. "When the war officially breaks out, the federal government will inevitably declare a 'national emergency' - at that time, the president will have the power to requisition railroads, control prices, and even directly take over the administrative power of each state. And after the war is over... will these 'temporary powers' be returned?"

Hayes smiled bitterly and said, "You will know if you read Roman history - Sulla, Pompey, Caesar, which one of them did not practice dictatorship in the name of 'saving the republic'? I just don't want to be like them."

"So..." His voice was dry, "The end of the United States is inevitable?"

Hayes nodded slowly, "It's not something you or I can stop."

"But," Zhao Si still wanted to save the United States, "but the congressmen from the eastern states will also become victims! Can't they stop the passage of the Shipbuilding Act of 1877? It's not too late now."

"It's too late." Hayes stood up, walked to the window, looked at the crowd on Pennsylvania Avenue outside holding signs that read "Get out of here, Yellow Peril," and said with a wry smile, "Do you think the Roman senators didn't know that their republic was heading towards the abyss step by step? But they couldn't change the will of the Roman citizens. If the senators were in favor of a republic, they would have to respect public opinion. And the collective will of the Roman citizens was pushing the country toward an empire. If some of the senators wanted to become people like Sulla, Pompey, and Caesar, they would take advantage of, or even promote, public opinion."

"Nicholas," President Hayes suddenly turned and looked at Zhao Si, "you can't be the Caesar of the West, right?"

Zhao Si was silent for a moment and nodded.

The Caesar of the American West can only be Hong Tiangui.
"No wonder," Hayes said softly, "But we should accept the reality. The United States of America will eventually perish, but the American Empire may be born."

"An empire... or two."

When leaving the White House, Zhao Si's carriage drove slowly on Pennsylvania Avenue. Outside the window, the marching crowd was still shouting "Yellow Peril Get Out of America", but he could no longer hear it.

The only thing left in his mind was Hayes's last words:

“The United States of America will eventually perish—but the American Empire may be born.”

One empire, or two?

As the carriage passed Capitol Hill, Zhao Si suddenly knocked on the roof: "Go to the telegraph office."

Ten minutes later, a coded telegram was sent from Washington to San Francisco: "The Iron Curtain is about to fall."

(End of this chapter)