Holy Roman Empire

Chapter 374: Chapter 62, North-South Negotiations
The United States, the decisive battle that would determine the fate of both the Northern and Southern Governments, ultimately ended with both sides grievously wounded.

Tactically speaking, the Southern Government had won, sustaining fewer casualties; strategically speaking, the Northern Government had emerged victorious.

If there had been no foreign intervention, then the Northern Government could have gradually gained the upper hand with their advantages in manpower and industry.

Regrettably, that was impossible. This civil war had been conducted under the intervention of the European powers right from the start.

With so many nursemaids present, the industrial superiority of the Northern Government had not come into play. During the Great Age of Sail, the maritime trade between Europe and America flourished. Regardless of how hard Northern capitalists worked to produce, they could not surpass the European Continent.

Moreover, the longer the war dragged on, the more debts the Southern Government owed, and the less able the governments of various countries were to let go.

The power of the butterfly effect is immense, and now the Southern Government had not only issued cotton bonds but also owed huge loans to various countries, with England, France, and Austria as the three major creditor nations now held hostage.

It’s worth mentioning that a significant portion of the Northern Government’s war funds was also borrowed from these three countries. No matter which side—North or South—fell, the three major creditors would suffer heavy losses.

Feeding off both the victor and the vanquished—if the financial circles of the three countries had not united to meddle, this war would not have come this far.

President Lincoln said helplessly, “We can’t continue fighting, let’s negotiate with the Southern Government as soon as possible!”

The truth was, they really couldn’t keep fighting; at this point, the Northern Government was utterly exhausted. If they persisted, by the time they dragged down the Southern Government, they would essentially be finished themselves.

Surrounded by a pack of wolves, if they ended up on their last breath trying to defeat the South, they would simply become prey for others.

The capitalists supporting Lincoln weren’t yet ready to play the United States to death; it was not in their interest. Everyone was very realistic adults. Since they were doomed to fail, it was better to cut losses in time.

If the problems couldn’t be resolved now while the attention of the major powers was focused on Europe, it would be much harder once they turned their attention back.

Secretary of State Saffar thought for a while and said, “Your Excellency, isn’t that too hasty? We still have many tasks unfinished, and the campaign for public opinion is still underway.”

Lincoln took out the just-received telegram: “There’s no time, this is the latest intelligence from Europe, have a look! Those incompetents are even more useless than we imagined. Not to mention overthrowing governments, they didn’t even manage to spark a new wave of revolution.”

Saffar glanced through it quickly, not saying much. From these reports, it seemed that the revolutionaries had met the pass mark, but they were still far from Lincoln’s expectations.

Even the fragile Hungarian Independence Organization had kept the Vienna Government busy for months. Other revolutionary groups were no more accommodating, buying the Federal government precious time.

However, in Lincoln’s view, these few months were too short, so short that he had no desire to continue the war.

Having fought for so long, he understood the strength of the Southern Government very well; without years of effort, it would be difficult to achieve victory.

Clearly, that was not possible. Once the countries of Europe snapped out of it, not to mention defeating the South, the remaining territories controlled by the Federal Government could also become subject to scrutiny.

Lincoln had originally hoped that the Revolutionaries would ignite a new round of revolution, plunging the European Continent into chaos, so that the countries would be too preoccupied to pay attention to the American Civil War, thereby creating opportunities for American reunification.

Now, the uprising sparked by the Hungarian Independence Organization had failed; the independence movement led by the Irish Independence Organization was brutally suppressed by the London Government; the French Revolutionary Party was still fighting for a free France, but since they weren’t good at fighting, they’re engaged in a war of words with the Paris Government.

The only one to complete their mission was the Spanish Revolutionary Party, which is still battling with the government, unlikely to finish anytime soon.

However, within the Intervention Alliance, Spain was the weakest. As soon as the three major powers decided to intervene militarily, they would follow suit.

The Italian Revolutionary Organization also achieved some success, as Garibaldi had at least seized half of Sicily and was striving to take the entire island.

Unfortunately, this was not what the United States needed; they wanted the Italians to start uprisings in Sardinia and the Lombardy-Venetia region to distract the attention of France and Austria.

Clearly, the Italian Revolutionaries weren’t foolish enough to bite off more than they could chew. After the successful uprising in Garibaldi’s campaign, everyone quickly turned to support the Sicilian revolution.

At this rate, within six months, England, France, and Austria would all be able to resolve their internal issues. By then, the Federal Government, which had stirred up this chaos, would surely not enjoy any favorable outcomes.

Lincoln didn’t think that the various countries would be oblivious to the role they played; in politics, evidence was often unnecessary, as analyzing the pros and cons was enough.

Compromise now, and the Federal Government could still maintain an advantageous position in the negotiations. But if they procrastinated and the other countries got sorted and were looking for payback, the situation would be utterly different.

There was no need to contemplate that the European nations would support the South. If the Southern Government was allowed to swallow a few more states, wouldn’t the Federal Government be even worse off?

Now, many Free States were occupied by the Southern Government, and these needed to be reclaimed. If they couldn’t achieve this, the financiers behind the scenes would not let them off easily.

Not only was the Northern Government unable to persist; the Southern Government was also at its limit. By now, the casualties of both sides far exceeded those of similar historical periods, and military spending was astronomical.

Even before the great battle commenced, the Southern Government had proposed peace talks to the Northern Government, but Lincoln and others had placed their last hope on the great battle and had delayed giving a response.

Only now did everyone have to admit that with the European powers as nursemaids, they were fighting for lives.

True, the Northern Government had a larger population, but the Southern Government’s population was not insignificant. With the Southern Army’s stronger combat effectiveness, the gap in strength between the two sides was not great.

This was the legacy of the butterfly effect. If not for the intervention of various countries before the outbreak of the civil war, the Southern Government would not have been able to attract so many states to participate.

Politics was always the Achilles’ heel of the Southern Government; otherwise, by simply raising the anti-war banner, many Federal States would have chosen neutrality, and Governor Lincoln, even if wanting to resort to force, would not have garnered public support.

Historically, most U.S. states initially took a neutral stance, with many Americans believing that the South’s secession was legitimate and opposing the use of force to resolve it.

It wasn’t until the Southern Government fired the first shot that these people changed their stance, supporting the Northern Government.

Reality is harsh; years of war had awakened many, and the Southern Government’s political prowess had also improved during the war.

While the European nations were dozing, the North and South embarked on secret negotiations.