Compared with the brightness of Western-style construction during the day, the Wenhua Hall seems to be a little gloomy because of the lack of windows, which may also be the reason why most of the Tang style buildings are borrowed from the construction planning of the imperial capital - compared with the Ming and Qing Dynasty style buildings, the Tang style buildings have large windows and better lighting effects, even far more than the Western-style buildings. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

However, now, because the construction of the imperial capital in the north of Xiangyang has not yet been completed, Nanjing is still the de facto capital, and the imperial palace is naturally in Nanjing.

Standing in the Wenhua Palace, Zhu Yifeng's waist slowly leaned towards the "dragon chair" made of mahogany, and then gently pushed away the file containing the folds in front of him, slowly stood up from the table, and paced in the hall. He stood in front of the window and watched the birds among the trees, and in the meadow of the trees he could see several pigeons jumping up and down in the grass in a hurry.

Then, Zhu Yifeng cast his gaze into the distance - but it was blocked by the wall, which is the most dissatisfying part of the Nanjing Imperial Palace, perhaps it is magnificent, but everything here is narrow, traditional, and even gray.

But now, Zhu Yifeng doesn't have time to think about these here, thinking about when he can move the capital to the palace that he participated in the planning and design. Rather, it was thinking about something else.

Turning around, Zhu Yifeng looked at Zhang Sen, the head of the Imperial Intelligence Bureau, and then took a few puffs of cigarette in a row, but he didn't finish the cigar, and then came to the table again, nodded his head to the recital, looked at Zhang Sen and said.

"Well, is the news here confirmed?"

"It is basically certain that, according to our intelligence, civil war in the United States will be inevitable, and the Lincoln administration will do whatever it takes to preserve the integrity of the United States."

Zhu Yifeng never doubted that the civil war in the United States would break out, after all, in another time and space, the American civil war lasted for four years, millions of people joined the North and South armies, and more than one-third of the officers and soldiers were killed or wounded, and the brutal civil war fundamentally changed the United States.

Since Lincoln's election campaign began last year, Zhu Yifeng has been asking the intelligence bureau to pay attention to American intelligence, and the facts have finally proved that history has not changed much -- when the news of Lincoln's election came out on the airwaves, the South Carolina legislature convened and announced its withdrawal from the Union. Over the next six weeks, the legislatures of the remaining six Lower South states also met. After a short and tense election, voters elected their representatives. The secession of each state legislature was passed by a disproportionate (mostly overwhelming) majority, and the six southern states proclaimed the Confederate States of America.

And for China, this means an opportunity!

"Well, indeed, for Lincoln, now all he needs is a reason......"

Yes, all Lincoln needed now was an excuse, an excuse to go to war.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I think that, according to our intelligence, Lincoln could start a war at any time, but he will wait for the South to shoot first!"

Politics has always been like this, and as for the so-called "conciliatorial" inaugural speech, for the South in a way, it was almost a declaration of war. At least to some extent, the phrase "God has not written your oath to overthrow the government, but I have the most solemn oath that I am determined to maintain, protect, and defend the "federal government" is a declaration of war.

But Lincoln, who was in a dominant position, must have been waiting for his chance, but none of this mattered, what mattered was that the civil war in the United States would inevitably break out.

Once again, he pulled the note in front of him that was relevant to the current situation in the United States, and then went through it again, his brow furrowed as he looked at the information related to the current situation.

After reading this information, he walked in the office for a long time, then stood in front of Zhang Sen and looked at him scrutinically, and after a while, Zhu Yifeng asked:

"Now you tell me,"

As he spoke, Zhu Yifeng nodded to the table, and then said.

"Based on what you know about the United States, what is the probability that the South will win if a war breaks out between the South and the North?"

"The possibility is almost zero! Even on the surface, the cotton economy, which has an advantage in the south, cannot be separated from the north! ”

Zhang Sen said truthfully that because the United States was listed as the No. 1 imaginary enemy in the adjustment of the imaginary enemy three years ago, the intelligence bureau has been stepping up its infiltration into the United States, so that it has a full understanding of the situation in the United States.

"Oh? Why? ”

Zhu Yifeng looked at Zhang Sen and asked with some curiosity, although he knew the answer, he still hoped to know why he made this judgment.

"Ever since Virginia began experimenting with tobacco in the 1610s, the growing of raw materials for the world market has dominated the economic life of the South. From tobacco to indigo, to the rise of the cotton spinning industry in England and New England, there was a new and huge demand for cotton. The South now exports more than half of all U.S. cotton exports. And now apologists for slavery and the South are arguing quite well for themselves that it is cotton that rules the American economy.

But most of the money and management in the production and marketing of crops in the South comes from outside the South, with "agents" or "agents" playing a key role. This agency business began in colonial times, when the London Tobacco Company sent agents to Virginia to source and transport tobacco. These agents provide credit to plantation owners as collateral for future earnings and act as plantation purchasers to purchase consumer goods in London or elsewhere. By now, the practice had naturally shifted to cotton sales, except that the agents were more and more northerners than British.

When the plantation cotton is shipped to Memphis, New Orleans, Mobile, Charleston, Richmond, or a few other cities, it is managed by agents. The agent provides the warehouse, undertakes the transportation and sells it to the buyer. He also arranged insurance, credit, and supplies for plantation owners. He charges a processing fee for each service. Combined, the various fees are equivalent to 20% of the total crop income. This agency business meant an exodus of southern wealth; According to our analysis, the number of outflows is estimated to be between $100 million and $150 million per year. ”

Zhang Sen's explanation made Zhu Yifeng feel a little surprised, this is exactly what he didn't understand, didn't it be said in the history books that the north needs cotton from the south? How did it become that the North monopolized the sale of cotton in the South?

"So, although the plantation industry makes money, most of the sales profits go to outsiders. As an exporter of raw materials and importers of industrial goods, the South maintained a de facto colony-like economic relationship with the North and Great Britain. In the South there are many people who complain: "Our commerce is in the hands of the northerners, except for a small part." Seven-eighths of our bank shares are owned by northerners. …… Our wholesale and retail trades, as well as all the business worth mentioning, are in the hands of the New Englanders. …… Financially, we are more enslaved than our blacks. ”

Noticing that His Majesty seemed to be very interested in these, Zhang Sen continued.

It is safe to say that the North has completed their industrialization by relying on the South, which in the South's view means that "we buy all the luxuries and necessities from the North." …… The Yankees insulted and condemned slavery and slave owners, while our slaves wore clothes produced in the North, hats and shoes of the North, hoes, plows and other tools of the North. …… Slave owners wore northern clothes, used northern saddles, boasted of northern four-wheeled carriages, and read northern books. …… His produce was brought to market by ships from the North, and his cotton was deseeded by the ginners of the North; His sugar cane was squeezed and processed by machines from the north; His rivers are lined with steamboats from the north. …… His son studied at a university in the North, and his daughter received elaborate grooming at a beauty salon in the North; His doctor was a graduate of a medical school in the North, and his school hired faculty members from the North; He equipped himself with the inventions of the North. Your Majesty, this is the South, where there is almost nothing but cotton! ”

After saying these words, Zhang Sen said helplessly.

"Your Majesty, as you have said, modern warfare is ultimately a contest of industrial power, and compared to the North, the South has only rice, sugar cane, tobacco, and cotton, and, of course, slaves, and in this case, even without taking into account the population gap between the two sides, the gap in industrial power is fatal, and the industrial power of the South is not even able to provide enough weapons, so how can they win the war?"

This is indeed a fact, in fact, during the Civil War, the most fatal weakness of the South was the backward industrial power, which made it impossible for them to supply the front line, including military uniforms, or even to provide enough salt, and the severe shortage of materials was one of the reasons for the defeat of the South.

"Indeed, the South cannot win without the backing of industrial power!"

Nodding, Zhu Yifeng naturally would not object to this point of view, and was even relieved that the Intelligence Bureau was able to come to this conclusion, after all, the history of another time and space has proved this,

"But what we have to consider is that the United States, as our enemy, and the most important hypothetical enemy at the moment, what can we do in this situation? What can we do if a civil war does break out in the United States? ”

Faced with His Majesty's question, Zhang Sen immediately thought of the bureau's support for Shi Dakai, so he immediately replied.

"A divided America is in the interests of the empire, but, Your Majesty, we don't have the time, or even the strength, to do this!"

"Oh, why?"

Zhang Sen's answer made Zhu Yifeng stunned, since he knew that splitting the United States was a choice that was in line with China's interests, why did he not have the time and strength?

"Distance, we are too far from the United States!"

Zhang Sen gave a direct answer.

"To divide the United States, we must support the weak side, and only the weak side will need the help of other countries, which also means that we can only support the South, but Your Majesty, we are too far away from the South, and if we provide assistance to the South from the Pacific, we must recognize the reality that our merchant ships must pass through the Strait of Magellan to be able to enter the Atlantic, and then go to the South, and replenishment along the way is the biggest problem. There is another way, which is to supply merchant ships through the Indian Ocean, the Atlantic, and through the African colonies, but one thing is for sure, no matter which choice is made, our merchant ships will have to cross half the world to reach the United States, and after arriving in the United States, we will have to face the problem of how our ships will enter the ports of the South if the North blocks the southern coast. ”

Perhaps because he had provided Shi Dakai with a large amount of arms in recent years for him to carry out his "holy war" in Central Asia and block the expansion of the Russians in Central Asia, Zhang Sen had long been familiar with this, and after obtaining information that the United States was divided into divisions, he immediately began to plan the route, but neither of these two routes could meet the needs of aiding the south.

"If it were possible, I think we should have an island or a port close to the south as a transit port, and help them according to their needs by bringing tens of thousands of supplies to the port! And this, obviously, we don't have at the moment! That's why we don't have the time, or even the strength, to do this! ”

Faced with Zhang Sen's answer, Zhu Yifeng was silent for a moment, and then said.

"Does that mean we have no other choice? Can we set up a transit port in the North African colonies through which we can provide assistance to the South! ”

"Your Majesty, I think that North Africa is too far away from the United States! That will be detrimental to our assistance. ”

From His Majesty's words, Zhang Sen, who had already figured out the holy will, said again.

"If we can put in the fleet, using the ports of the South as a base to protect their sea transport lines, then, Your Majesty, it is certain that the South can maintain their independence with our help!"

"No!"

Shaking his head, Zhu Yifeng categorically rejected this suggestion.

"We can't get directly involved in the war in the United States, we shouldn't even supply them with weapons, if they want to get weapons from us, they have to buy them, otherwise, the civil war in the United States will become a burden for us, just like the French, they helped the Americans gain independence, but what did they get? Nothing was gained, which in the end even led to the collapse of France, we are not so selfless! ”

"That's why."

Zhu Yifeng frowned and looked at the recital on the table again.

"We should intervene in this war, but not in our own way...... Think about it! How can this be solved...... Maybe there could be other solutions? However, I don't need to teach you these things, and I'm sure you'll be able to find a suitable solution. ”

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