Washington. Inside the second-floor office of the White House.

U.S. President James Buchanan and U.S. Secretary of State Lewis Cass sit opposite each other.

Cass looked at Buchanan, who was in his seventies, gray-haired, heartbroken by the economic crisis that had erupted since the beginning of the previous year, and now anxious about the election of the next president, and couldn't help but feel some sympathy, despite his own age.

"Cass, the election results are in." Buchanan's voice was a little muffled.

"Oh, looking at your anxious appearance, there shouldn't have been the miracle you wanted, or was the Republican Lincoln elected?" Cass said unhurriedly.

"Hmm!" James Buchanan was a little annoyed: "Douglas didn't get elected, and the Democrats lost." The statistics are out and have just been sent to me. Although Douglas and Lincoln received a very close total of votes, the federal election was calculated according to the current electoral vote system, and in the end Lincoln received 170 votes, Breckenridge 62 votes, Bell 49 votes, and Douglass only 22 votes, and Lincoln became the next president of the Union on behalf of the Republicans. ”

"That's why you're so worried and anxious?" Cass looked at this old friend and sneered: "Didn't I warn you a long time ago, if you don't run for re-election, and there are constant disputes in the Democratic Party, then you can only watch the Republicans, the opponents of the Democratic Party, succeed in the election, fortunately it is Lincoln, if it is that Seward, I am afraid it will be a disaster for the Union!" ”

"What's the point of talking about it now!" Buchanan patted his head with a headache, "What I'm most worried about at the moment is that those southern states will withdraw from the Union, causing the division of the American Union!" It would make me a sinner in American history! ”

Cass no longer mocked the old friend president, his face became serious, and he said seriously: "Buchanan, no matter what, Lincoln is the elected president of the states, and it is in accordance with the laws of the United States, so we should support him and take over your presidency smoothly." However, we must also persuade the new president and Congress to properly handle the demands of the southern states for slavery, to avoid as much as possible the aggravation of contradictions between the north and the south, and to never allow the occurrence of separatism or civil war! ”

Buchanan was embarrassed: "Lincoln was elected president only because he was a Republican, and Seward gave up his campaign to call for the support of the people, which made the people in the northern states who opposed slavery very much to look forward to." My fear is that after he is elected, he will begin to control Congress to enact anti-slavery laws and policies to limit slavery for the sake of the Republicans behind him and to appeal to the people's anti-slavery voice, so that the slave-owning states in the South will definitely oppose it fiercely and secede from the Union. However, at the beginning of the founding of the American Union, the Declaration of Independence promulgated the right of choice and the freedom of secession of the people of the states, so if the southern states had to secede, there was really a legal basis, and even Congress and the federal government could not stop it, unless they used force. ”

Cass was also a little depressed, he was older than Buchanan, how could he not understand this truth. At the beginning of the founding of the American Union, the American spirit of the Declaration of Independence was used to justifiably explain that the secession of the American Union from the British Empire was the choice of the people of each state, and that as long as the people in that state were willing, they had enough freedom to join or leave the Union. The reason that was used to deal with the British Empire is now about to be used by the southern states against themselves, and there is a real feeling of retribution.

However, Cass said in a firm tone: "Buchanan, my president, if that day comes, I hope you will pick yourself up and make a quick decision, even if you send troops to suppress it by force, and decisively prevent the southern states from seceding from the Union." ”

Buchanan was silent.

One detail he didn't tell Cass was that not a single ordinary voter in the ten southern states voted for Lincoln. Lincoln was elected solely because the North had used the advantage of numerical superiority over the South for the first time in history, allowing him to win. But he received less than 40 percent of the popular vote, the fewest votes ever cast by a president.

In fact, these also unmistakably told Buchanan that the South would never easily recognize Lincoln's presidency. It's just that, for Buchanan, who is about to step down, he feels powerless.

.........

At about 4 a.m. on November 7.

Springfield, Illinois.

Mary Todd, who had just fallen asleep, was suddenly awakened by a sharp knock on the door, and the servant opened the door, but it was her husband Lincoln who ushered in.

At this time, Lincoln's face was full of surprise and unease. Even the beard that covered both cheeks couldn't hide the excitement in his heart. His red eyes were bloodshot, and it was clear that he hadn't slept all night.

Mary immediately realized something, stepped forward, and despite the servant's presence, she directly grabbed her husband's hands and said, "Has the news been announced, has the election been successful?" ”

Lincoln nodded, throwing away the uneasiness in his heart, with a hint of excitement on his face, and said happily, "Yes." My dear, your husband I, Abraham Lincoln, has been elected the 16th President of the United States of America! ”

"God, that's wonderful! My dear, you have finally been elected President of the United States, and I, henceforth, will be the President of the United States! Mary cried out with joy, and her whole body trembled, laughing and then weeping like a madman.

Lincoln understood his wife's actions very well, and she was so happy that she cried tears of joy when she heard that she had been elected president! He waved his hand to let the servant go, then put his arm around Mary, gently caressed her back, and comforted her.

In the middle of the ring, Mary, who was crying with pear blossoms and rain, returned to normal, and only then did she find that her husband was not only happy, but also a little uneasy, and couldn't help but wonder: "My dear, I have been elected president, why are I still frowning?" ”

Facing his wife, Lincoln did not hide it, sighed heavily, and said, "Although he was elected president, dear Mary, do you know? I received only 170 votes, which is not before in the founding of the United States of America has a president with such fewer votes. Not only that, but do you know how I got votes in the 10 southern states? ”

Mary also frowned and said, "170 votes, it's true that the number of votes is very small." The southern states are all slavery, and if you are a Republican, there are northern factory owners and bankers like my father, and they will certainly not support you. I guess, the Southern states only voted for you one or twenty times? ”

"If only there were one or twenty votes! Even a few votes don't make me so upset. Lincoln shook his head, his eyes wide, "It's zero!" Ten states in the South, not a single vote for me! Do you know what that means? ”

Mary's eyes widened when she heard her husband say this, and she exclaimed angrily, "Scoundrels, these hateful Southern slaveholders! How dare they do this to you! As he spoke, he seemed to think of something, and said in horror: "Oh my God, I understand." Are you worried, my dear, that the southern states will rebel because they refuse to accept you as president? When you took office as president, you openly declared independence from the federal government? ”

True to being the daughter of a banker, a senator and the wife of the future president, Mary immediately realized the seriousness of the problem! She was also uneasy, and said with some hesitation: "Then, my dear, can you not let the current President Buchanan exert some pressure on the southern states before that, and at the same time you will come forward and make a speech, claiming that their slavery will be allowed to exist in the southern states for a long time, so as to ease the antagonism, is that okay?" ”

Lincoln smiled wryly, "This can't be!" Have you forgotten that I was elected president only because of the support of the people of the northern states, or more precisely, the support of bankers and factory owners like your father in the northern states, so that I could get enough votes to run for president? Therefore, it is impossible for me to contradict my previous promises, against the wishes of the factory owners of the north, to condone the expansion of slavery! Not only must I not do this, but I must accelerate the pace of abolishing slavery, because I am a Republican, and the Republican Party is against slavery in the first place, and it is fair and my own conscience that I must be compelled to do so. The most I could do was not to say that I wanted to end slavery on the surface, but that would only do little to avoid further angering the Southern slave owners. In fact, judging by the votes they voted, they would always think that I would change the Constitution to ban slavery altogether, as the Republicans demanded. They will not spare me unless slavery is promoted as the South wishes. For the North, the economic crisis of the past two years has led to a depression in the North. In particular, during this decade, British products flooded the American market, hindering the development of major industries such as metallurgy and cotton textiles in the North, and many enterprises were struggling to operate, and even my father-in-law's banks and factories lost a lot of wealth. Therefore, the factory owners and bankers in the North were desperate to open up the southern market and raise tariffs to protect their goods from the competition of British goods. And all of this has to be solved by very slavery. Therefore, as a president who represents the interests of the North and relies on the support of the people of the North, I can only oppose slavery, and a conflict between the North and the South will be inevitable! ”

Mary looked at Lincoln, whose eyes were red, and felt pity, stroked her bearded face and said softly, "Okay, dear, don't think so much now, get some sleep." ”

Lincoln lay down as he was told, but, how could he sleep!

He already knew in his heart that the secession of the Southern states from the federal government might be inevitable. And he and the people of the north will never allow them to split, and this will inevitably lead to a civil war. In this way, war is really inevitable!

Lincoln's head was spinning on the bed, and he kept thinking about this question: Can he lead the Northern Union to win? The final United States of America, how many states will be left? Can the integrity of the United States be maintained?

All this speculation was fruitless, and he wondered how God would arrange him, the United States of America, and where he would take everyone's destiny. But in any case, Lincoln knew in his heart that he could not let the United States fall apart. No matter how difficult it was and how much effort he tried, he wanted to keep the American Union as intact as possible.

Thinking like this, the tired Lincoln fell asleep in a daze.