Buchanan, who calmed down, looked at Vice President Breckenridge, who was a little gloating, and was very disgusted in his heart! He didn't expect his deputy, Breckenridge, as vice president, to be like this, could it be that because he was a Southern Democrat and failed to run for president to Lincoln, he was disgruntled and vented his anger and ignored the overall situation of the federal government and national unity?

At this moment, Buchanan felt more and more that he hated the Southern members of his cabinet.

He said coldly to Breckenridge, "Is there anything else?" Let's leave if it's okay! ”

Breckenridge was unimpressed, knowing that he and President Buchanan were getting farther and farther apart. However, he doesn't care, Buchanan is about to retire, and after all, he was supported by the Southern Democratic Party, and he is now young and strong, he is the leader of the Southern Democratic Party, even if Buchanan is still president, he has to give himself some face.

"Your Excellency, because of Florida's secession from the Union, the original plan to purchase and seize by force or to acquire Cuba by force, the Southern Democrats have deemed it necessary to change the plan, and they have abandoned the base of Florida, the closest to Cuba, to Virginia. Virginia agreed to their request, but in addition to the contributions of the Southern Democrats, it also asked the federal government to provide some artillery, muskets and other weapons and ammunition, as well as several warships, to be delivered to Virginia as soon as possible. "Breckenridge is businesslike.

Buchanan frowned, he didn't expect that his deputy, at this time, would mention such a thing, and he also bluntly mentioned the forces that support him - the Southern Democrats. He looked at several members of the Northern Cabinet beside him, and sure enough, they all looked at him with concern, and hurriedly said to Breckenridge: "Let's talk about this later!" ”

Breckenridge asked rhetorically: "Well, Your Excellency, the Federation has encountered a lot of things recently, and its financial resources are limited, and it is difficult to provide so many weapons and equipment for free. Why don't you write a presidential warrant to me, and I'll ask Virginia to buy these weapons, ammunition, and warships at a market price of 80 percent, so that the federal treasury will not lose money, and Virginia will have the best of both worlds to build a base for attacking Cuba with weapons and equipment. ”

The proposal to buy or seize Cuba by force, to impose a policy of southern slavery in its territory, and to annex it to the Commonwealth of America, was exactly what Buchanan had proposed. And it was through this proposal that he Buchanan was highly regarded by the Southern Democratic Party, and they fully supported him to help him run for president and win. After Buchanan became president, he also reciprocated the favor and sought a lot of benefits for the Southern Democratic Party. At the same time, this plan was also launched, but because of the economic crisis that broke out in recent years, the financial situation of the American Federation has always been tight, and it has not been able to make up the amount required by the Spanish government, and has not been able to buy the Cuban islands. As a result, Buchanan has been secretly planning a plan to seize Cuba by force, but even some members of the Cabinet are not aware of it.

Buchanan commanded the then War Department through military transfers, and some weapons and troops had been deployed in Florida, but now Florida is separated from the Union, and the first two War Secretaries were members of the Southern faction, so it is unknown whether the weapons and troops placed there can still be controlled. In this way, it is reasonable to change the place as a base for attacking Cuba. The question is, will Virginia follow those Southern states in seceding from the Union? Buchanan was worried. Otherwise, Breckenridge's offer to have the Southern Democrats raise money to help buy weapons and ammunition to be placed in Virginia in preparation for an armed attack on Cuba is an excellent idea, and he will certainly agree to it at once.

Buchanan only hesitated slightly, then nodded and agreed. He knew that he was supported by the Southern Democratic Party for the presidency, and that the occupation of Cuba, with its many black slaves, was an extremely important goal for the Southern plantation owners, and perhaps it would distract the South, not to mention that it would not be a federal budget. What's more, even if they don't approve it, with the power of the South and the status of Vice President Breckenridge in front of them, they can buy weapons and ammunition, and at most it will take some twists and turns to spend more money, so it's better to be a favor to push the boat along the river.

When Breckenridge left satisfied, Secretary of State Cass hurriedly left the room, and soon came back with a sad face, and said to Buchanan and the others with a sad face: "Mr. President, I have just received the news that the seven states of the South that have seceded from the Union have decided to prepare to meet in Montmany, Alabama, in three days, to prepare for the establishment of a new country, even the name of which is the United States of America. Kansas may have just become independent and hasn't had time to participate. ”

"What!?" Buchanan was once again stunned and cried out in pain: "O God, these abominable traitors, sinners of the Commonwealth! They will be nailed to the pillar of shame in history forever! ”

The Minister of Justice and the Minister of War looked at each other and cursed in their mouths, while the Minister of Finance was also worried when he heard the bad news, although the North was rich on the surface because of its developed industry, but in the past two years because of the economic crisis, the federal finances and taxes have been extremely tight, and a large part of it has to rely on the taxes of the southern states to subsidize the entire federation, and if the southern states really re-establish new states, it will be really dangerous.

"Your Excellency, you must immediately take force measures and send troops to stop them!" The Minister of War roared.

And the Minister of Justice shouted even more hysterically: "The Ministry of Justice immediately lists those organizers as traitors and then allows the Supreme Court to try them in absentia!" ”

Buchanan couldn't help but lament that he had completely collapsed. He knew that there was nothing he could do to stop the Southern states from betraying the Union. As a matter of fact, as early as the declaration of independence in South Carolina, he had already begun to reshuffle his cabinet, changing all the former secretaries of war and the secretary of the interior who were close to the South to people close to the North, so as to prepare Lincoln, a Republican close to the North, to take over as president. The reason why it was arranged for the political enemies of the Democratic Party was that Buchanan wanted not to let the Union be in turmoil because of the presidential transition, and he just didn't want to become the president who was reviled in the history of the United States and become a historical sinner in the division of the Union.

However, the world plays tricks! Now that the eight southern states have seceded from the Union, and the seven states are beginning to prepare to unite to form a new state, it is clear that they are preparing to confront the Union. He knew that war would break out soon, but in any case, he was leaving office in just over a month, and the new president, Lincoln, would take over, and he would have to survive the more than a month anyway. I must do everything possible to prevent the outbreak of war, even if I can't prevent it, I must delay it as much as possible, and I must not let the civil war of the Federation break out during my tenure!

Thinking clearly about the essence of the matter, Buchanan collapsed and calmed down. Yes, since you can't stop the war, let's delay, as long as a month later, I will leave office, and let Lincoln clean up the rest, anyway, all this is because of him, and I have done my best to help him.

Buchanan convinced himself.

He said to his old partner, Secretary of State Lewis Cass, "Now that the federal government is powerless to prevent the division of the South!" We can only do our best. Once again, I will propose to the Federal Congress a four-point plan: first, to ensure that no action is taken that could provoke war, and that no war should be waged in the South on its own initiative; second, appoint multiple tax collectors to enforce federal tax laws at ports in South Carolina and other states; the third is to expand the army and navy in case of emergency; Fourth, the Congress should be convened to revise the Constitution, and together we would try to resolve the crisis that had arisen, and if that was not possible, as long as the southern states promised to return to the Union and promised not to be independent, Congress and the new president also promised to draw a dividing line between the north and the south, with slavery allowed south of the line and slave breeding prohibited north of the line, so that the best of both worlds, each unrelated, would be possible. ”

Lewis Cass nodded, he actually thought the same. Maintaining the unity of the Federation is crucial, and everything else can be left behind.

However, there was one more thing that he had to remind President Buchanan and his cabinet members: "Guys, I don't know if you have noticed. Whether it's the secession of Texas or the renunciation of the Union in Kansas, there are Indian tribes, one of which is called the Cherokee tribe, and the other is called the Roki tribe, and I think it should be one tribe, the same Indian tribe that Houston spent in his youth. This is just Texas and Kansas, there are other southern and western states, and there must be other Indian tribes interfering in the affairs of the Union! Why did the Indians intervene? They have always been suppressed by the federal government and are powerless, and there must be a powerful force behind them! ”

At this point, he pointed to the map of the United States of America on the wall, the southernmost part of northern Mexico, and said, "I have reason to suspect that this force is here, the newly rising empire from the far east, the Chinese Empire." You may not have noticed that those Chinese look very similar to the Indians, and after the rise of the Chinese Empire, there were faint Indian tribes seeking to defect to the Chinese, just because the federal government had been suppressing them in the Indian Special District between Kansas and Texas, and they could not be contacted because of the long distance. But now the south is in turmoil, and the Chinese Empire has joined forces with France and Spain to invade Mexico, occupying nine northern Mexican states to form the so-called New Mexico Overseas Autonomous Province, and its power has expanded to the border between Texas and Arizona, and it is inevitable to come into contact with the Indians. ”

Everyone was suspicious of Cass's analysis.

And Buchanan was even more distraught, even the distant Oriental Chinese also set their sights on the American Federation, could it be that this is really his own incompetence, which has turned the powerful United States into a piece of fat, so that the newly rising Orientals also want to come to get a piece of the pie? Of course, he was most worried about the French Empire and the British Empire, two European powers who would be in trouble if they came to intervene in the internal disputes of the Commonwealth. The Chinese Empire may have been the precursor of France. Thinking of this, Buchanan simply didn't think much about it, but wished that the month would pass quickly, so that he could hand over the mess in his hand as soon as possible.

.........