In the White House office building, Lincoln sat in the reception hall on the second floor. Vice President Hannibal Hamlin, along with seven newly appointed Cabinet members, including Secretary of State William Henry Seward, Secretary of the Treasury Salmon Chase, Secretary of the Interior Caleb Smith, Secretary of War Simon Cameron, Attorney General Edward Bates, Secretary of the Navy Gideon Wells, and Secretary of Posts Montgomery Blair, convened the highest-level nine-member Cabinet meeting of the United States of America. In addition to this, there was also a soldier in military uniform, who also appeared in the room, but it was General Winfield Scott, the commander-in-chief of the Union Army, who was not a member of the cabinet, but because he was a veteran of the army, Lincoln invited him to him.

Lincoln threw more than a dozen letters and telegrams on the table and said, "As you know, today we have our first cabinet meeting to discuss the crisis at Fort Sumter, South Carolina. Three days earlier, Major Anderson, the Union commander of Fort Sumter, had sent an urgent distress message saying that the fort was already short of rations and would be able to hold out for a few more weeks at most. But now Fort Sumter and the port of Charleston, where it is located, are surrounded and blockaded by Southern rebels. How to solve this thorny problem, everyone is discussing. ”

Upon hearing this, Vice President Hannibal Hamlin couldn't wait to jump out and said directly: "What else to talk about? Send troops directly to support Fort Sumter and crush the rebels in the south! ”

Postmaster Montgomery Blair also hurriedly followed: "Yes, Fort Sumter is the property of the Federation, and it also represents the face of the Federation, and it must not be given up!" What's more, there are more than sixty federal soldiers in the fort, and they must be rescued! ”

After the two finished speaking, the whole room was silent, and the atmosphere was a little weird. At this moment, the two of them immediately understood in their hearts, and the others opposed their opinions, and their faces suddenly became a little unbearable.

Seeing this, Lincoln diverged and said, "A few times ago, several petitions were sent from the northern states, asking for reinforcements to Fort Sumter. And most of us in the Republican Party are also in favor of reinforcements, preferring to risk war than send troops immediately. Just now, my assistant told me that the abandonment of Fort Sumter would be like the physical death of John Brown, and that my Lincoln's political life would be over! So I can only fight. Of course, that's just his statement. Now I'm going to hear from you, General Scott, you're a veteran of the army, so let me say it first. ”

"Yes, Mr. President!" The 75-year-old commander-in-chief of the Army, Winfield Scott, looked a little old, but his voice remained as loud as a soldier: "Reinforcements to Fort Sumter are unlikely to succeed!" There's no need either! In that case, instead of reinforcing Fort Sumter, it could lead to a large-scale civil war! ”

War Secretary Simon Cameron also nodded and agreed: "Yes, Mr. President! Some time ago, our War Department sent merchant ships to Fort Sumter for reinforcements, but the rebel gunboats blocked the port of Charleston, and even the merchant ships were damaged by its guns, in vain. At that time, the rebels were still a haphazard South Carolina militia self-defense force, and now the other side sent Brigadier General Pierre Beauret, our former West Point principal, to lead the rebels' regular army to blockade the port, and the defense was so tight that it was impossible to break through the blockade to support the castle. Unless a large number of warships are sent, it would be equivalent to a direct declaration of war. ”

Secretary of the Navy Gideon Wells also followed: "Unless war is declared directly, it will be difficult to support." The official declaration of war is believed to have been captured by the rebels before arriving at Fort Sumter. ”

Treasury Secretary Samon Chase only thinks in terms of military spending: "I am not in favor of reinforcements!" As Minister Cameron said, there will be a large-scale civil war, which will cost countless military spending. The federal treasury simply cannot afford such an expense, you must know that since the impact of the economic crisis that broke out the year before last has not been eliminated, there are still many unemployed people in the north, and the federation is really short of money. ”

Lincoln turned to the man he valued most, Secretary of State William Henry Seward, who had much more political experience than he did, and said, "What do you think, Mr. Seward?" ”

"Mr. President, with all due respect, there is no point in reinforcing Fort Sumter except for a slightly better face for the Federation." Seward said unceremoniously: "On my way to the White House today, I have already told the New York Times reporter that the current federal government should immediately urge the soldiers to evacuate Fort Sumter on the issue of Fort Sumter, so as not to trigger a civil war and open the door to voluntary reconstruction." Still the same opinion today! The rebellion in the South has not yet reached the worst level, as long as we make a proper compromise and take the initiative to hand over Fort Sumter to the South, and dispel their doubts, the door will be opened to rebuild the Union, and they will naturally feel the sincerity of the Federal Government and finally choose to return to the arms of the Federation. ”

Hearing this, Lincoln hesitated.

Originally, he wanted to send troops to reinforce Fort Sumter. But hearing that seven of the other eight cabinet members were in favor of abandoning Fort Sumter made him hesitate and begin to doubt his original idea.

However, what made him even more uncomfortable was that as the secretary of state and his most effective aid, Seward privately told the media that the federal government was ready to urge the soldiers to evacuate Fort Sumter without asking for his opinion, which was undoubtedly ignoring his own presidential status! Who does he think he is? Who exactly represents the federal government?

Lincoln really regretted that he had released him from his father-in-law's farm. knew about it, so he kept him under house arrest on the farm, and even pretended not to know, so that his wife Mary sent someone to get rid of him directly.

If it weren't for the fact that he was an old politician who could help himself, and that he was helping him, he thought he would have a chance to become secretary of state?

Who, except as president, has the right to renounce Fort Sumter? Moreover, once the abandonment of Fort Sumter is announced, the entire northern people, especially those radical Republicans, will inevitably privately scold themselves for being miserable, and ultimately blame themselves for the guilt.

Lincoln glanced at Seward with displeasure and hastily ended the cabinet meeting.

While the presidential palace in the north was discussing whether to reinforce Fort Sumter, the presidential palace in Montmalee, the capital of the Confederate States of America in the south, also welcomed a special secret mission.

President Jefferson Davis also did not expect that John Reagan, the Secretary of Posts from Texas, would be implicated in the Mexican side and directly refer people to himself.

Upon learning of the sensitive identity of the visitor, Davis was so cautious that he hurriedly summoned Vice President Stephens and Secretary of State Robert Tumbs, Secretary of the Interior Benjamin Uda, Secretary of the Treasury Christopherke, and Secretary of War Stephen Mallory to meet with him with this special mission. The Minister of the Admiralty was not in Montmaly, otherwise the entire Cabinet would have to be called for a Cabinet meeting.

The secret mission was a joint mission, to be precise, and the person who introduced it was John Reagan, the Secretary of Post, but in fact it was the former Minister of the United States of America to China, Marshali. He is a Southerner who has made his home in Texas and runs a medium-sized estate.

"Mr. President, I am Marshali from Texas, the current foreign affairs adviser of the Chinese Empire to the United States of America, and I am an old friend of Secretary John Reagan. The somewhat wealthy Marshali spoke eloquently, leading a short, stout middle-aged man to the front, and introduced: "This is Sir Alexander Walewski, former Foreign Secretary of the French Empire and present Minister of State, and you know that Sir Alexandre Walewski, has a great blood, and is the most effective assistant to the French Emperor. ”

Despite knowing the identity of the person in advance, President Davis couldn't help but be shocked and hurriedly stepped forward to shake Walewski's hand and greet him.

And Marshali continued to introduce: "This is General Peng Yulin, commander of the Pacific Fleet of the Chinese Empire and Governor of New Mexico, who came with him, as well as Mr. Lu Ziyue, the new ambassador of the Chinese Empire to the Confederate States of America. ”

An elegant middle-aged oriental man appeared in front of Davis, with a calm and calm demeanor, and took the initiative to nod to Davis.

After greeting him, Davis asked with some confusion: "Welcome, everyone!" However, I don't understand, why a few distinguished guests came to Montmery? ”

Postmaster John Reagan hurriedly stepped forward to help explain: "President Davis, that's it. Sir Walewski and General Peng Yulin happened to be in Mexico, and when they heard that we had broken away from the Northern Union and formed the Confederate States of America, they rushed to Montmaray to meet President Davis to congratulate them! ”

Sir Walewski was a little reserved, but nodded. Peng Yulin, on the other hand, spoke fluent Scottish English, and said, "Mr. President, Minister John is right! Sir and I have come to see you in the capital of the Confederate States, firstly, to express our congratulations on the great occasion of the founding of your kingdom on behalf of His Majesty the Emperor of our two countries; Second, I also want to see what can help your country and you, Mr. President, because we think there are many things that we can cooperate with your country. ”

After speaking, Peng Yulin glanced at Valevsky.

Sir Walewski then said slowly: "Yes! Mr. Davis, we feel that your country has just been established and there is a lack of support from the international community, and we, the two powerful countries of the French Empire and the Chinese Empire, can come forward to appeal to the international community to recognize your allies. ”

Davis was overjoyed and threw away all his reserve.

He didn't expect Sir Walewski to say that, and it was wonderful. You know, from the first day he became president of the Union State, he thought about the future development of the Union State and its relations with the Northern Union. He knew that the Confederate State must have been a rebellion in the eyes of the Northern Confederation, and that the position of the Confederate State was even more awkward for the rest of the international community, especially for Europe, which had close ties with the United States, and even for the United Kingdom.

Davis knew very well in his heart that the Confederate State of the North was the orthodoxy of the United States, both in terms of inertia and strength, and the international community only recognized them in the North. In the future, the diplomacy of the Allied powers, as well as commerce and trade, urgently need to be recognized by the international community. Davis was having a headache about how to start, and he didn't have time to communicate with the European countries, but he didn't expect that at this time, Sir Walewski, the new Minister of State of the French Empire, would directly promise that not only the French Empire could recognize the Union State, but also come forward to Europe to appeal to other countries to recognize the Union State. This is really timely rain, a huge surprise!

However, Davis immediately calmed down from the ecstasy, although he was born in the military and has a relatively upright personality, but after all, he has been in politics for many years, how can he not know that there is no free lunch in the world, let alone the benefits of being sent in vain. Since the French Empire and the Oriental kingdom had come to the door to recognize the alliance and were willing to provide diplomatic help, they must have their conditions.

Still, Davis was very pleased, and he said gratefully: "Thank you so much, Sir Valewski!" Oh yes, and this General Peng from Huaguo. I don't know what the cooperation between the two people is, what is it? ”

Seeing that he finally got to the point, Peng Yulin smiled, stepped forward, and said, "Mr. President, let's open the window and say something." We just want to make a war profit. It is foreseeable that a war will break out between the north and the south! And once the war starts, your country will need a large number of weapons and other supplies, and at this time, our Chinese Empire and the French Empire can provide them for your country, and the price will be fair. In addition, because of the outbreak of war, it is very likely that your trade routes with Europe will be blocked by the northern navy, and a large number of your agricultural products such as cotton, rice, tobacco, sugar cane, etc. cannot be exported. ”

Valewski also nodded and said, "Not bad." We have noticed that the naval forces of the Confederate countries belonging to the South are very weak, if I am not mistaken, the Minister of the Navy of your country has personally gone to the Northern Federation to secretly contact those arms dealers in the past few days, and is ready to buy a batch of warships, right? There is an urgent need for a strong navy. Our French Empire has the most advanced warships in the world, and even if your country is temporarily short of funds, our French Empire and the richest and most generous bankers in the world can provide you with loans at low interest rates to buy warships. Also, your country lacks industrial equipment in the north, and we in the French Empire can also provide it for you. ”

Davis breathed a sigh of relief. What worries him most is that the other side is making unreasonable demands on the other side for things like territory. Now they are only talking about trade, which is no problem at all, and they can make up their minds on the spot. As for what the other party said about fair prices, low-interest loans, and the like, Davis was not stupid enough to believe it. However, since the other side has directly said that it wants to make a war trade fortune, then it will be easy to do, and it is a big deal to let the other party make a lot of money, as long as the political and diplomatic status of the alliance can be stabilized as soon as possible, it is worth paying something.

It's just that he still has a question, and he can't help asking: "General Peng, I don't know, why do you think that war will definitely break out?" So far, at least, our Union States and the Commonwealth of the North have been at peace. The two countries between our two countries were originally just a federation of different independent states, and now that they are divided into two alliances, there is no need for war. ”

Peng Yulin smiled mysteriously and said, "I'm afraid I can't answer this question." But I think the great powers of Europe would have preferred to see two states, a Northern Confederation and a Confederate Confederate, rather than an increasingly powerful United States of America, so the Civil War was bound to break out! Sir Walewski, what do you say? ”

Walewski was a little difficult to answer, so he could only remain silent in embarrassment, which was actually equivalent to admitting it in disguise.

Daviston understood. However, he did not care, the more the European powers thought like this, the more beneficial it would be for the Union States.