Holy Roman Empire
Chapter 374: North-South Negotiations

The decisive battle that would determine the fate of the Union and the Confederacy in the United States ultimately ended in a mutually devastating outcome.

From a tactical perspective, the Southern government achieved victory by suffering fewer casualties; strategically, the Northern government was victorious.

Had there been no external interference, the Northern government could have gradually gained the upper hand through its population and industrial advantages.

Unfortunately, this was not possible. From the start, this civil war was conducted under the intervention of European powers.

With numerous mediators involved, the industrial advantage of the Northern government was never fully utilized. During the Age of Discovery, maritime trade between Europe and America flourished. No matter how hard Northern capitalists tried to produce, they couldn’t compete with the European mainland.

Furthermore, the longer the war persisted, the greater the debts accrued by the Southern government, making it increasingly difficult for foreign governments to let go.

The power of the butterfly effect was indeed formidable. Now, the Southern government not only issued cotton bonds but also accrued enormous loans from various countries. The three major creditor nations, Britain, France, and Austria, have been ensnared.

It’s worth mentioning that a significant portion of the Northern government’s war funds also came from loans obtained from these three countries. Regardless of which side collapses, the three major creditors will suffer heavy losses.

They were exploiting the North and South alike with no scruples. If not for the financial circles of the three nations instigating trouble, this war would not have escalated to this point.

President Lincoln said helplessly, “We can no longer continue fighting. Let’s negotiate with the Confederate government as soon as possible!”

They truly could not go on. At this point in the war, the Northern government was exhausted. If they continued dragging on until the Southern government collapsed, they would be in a similar dire situation.

Surrounded by a pack of wolves, if they were to exhaust themselves just to defeat the South, they would become easy prey for others.

The capitalists supporting Lincoln did not want to see the annihilation of the United States, as it went against their interests. As pragmatic people, since success was impossible, it was better to cut losses in time.

They should resolve this while the attention of the Great Powers was focused elsewhere. Once those nations turned their gaze back, the situation would become far trickier.

Secretary of State Seward considered and said, “Mr. President, isn’t this too hasty? We have a lot of unfinished work, and public opinion is still being shaped.”

Lincoln took out a telegram he had just received and handed it over, saying, “There’s no time to waste. This is the latest intelligence from Europe. Take a look! Those fools are even more useless than we imagined. Not only have they failed to overthrow any regime, but they haven’t even sparked a new wave of revolution.”

Seward glanced briefly at the intelligence but didn’t comment on it. From these reports, it seemed that the performance of the revolutionary parties had merely met the minimum requirements, but it fell far short of Lincoln’s expectations.

Even the crumbling Hungarian Independence Organization had only kept the Austrian government busy for months. Other revolutionary groups didn’t lag far behind, buying precious time for the federal government.

However, in Lincoln’s view, these few months were too short. They were so short that he didn’t even have the desire to continue waging war.

After fighting for so long, he had gained a deep understanding of the strength of the Southern government. Without several years of effort, victory would be difficult to achieve.

Clearly, this was impossible. Once European countries regained their senses, not only defeating the South would be challenging, but also the remaining territories of the federal government might come under their gaze.

Lincoln had initially hoped that the revolutionaries would incite a new wave of revolution, destabilizing the European continent and diverting the attention of various countries from the American Civil War, thereby creating an opportunity for national unity in the United States.

Now the Hungarian independence uprising had failed; the Irish independence movement led by separatists had been crushed by the British government; the French revolutionaries were still struggling for a free France but lacked combat skills, merely engaging in a war of words with the French government.

The only group that had accomplished its mission was the Spanish revolutionaries, which was still in conflict with the government and would not end soon.

However, among the nations in the intervention alliance, Spain was the weakest. As long as the three great powers decide to intervene militarily, they would also take action accordingly.

The Italian revolutionaries had also achieved some results. At least, they have occupied half of Sicily in Naples and are striving to take over the entire island.

Unfortunately, this was not what the United States needed. They wanted the Italians to revolt in Sardinia, Lombardy, and Venetia to divert the attention of France and Austria.

Evidently, the Italian revolutionaries were no fools and did not choose to attack the toughest nuts. After their success in Garibaldi’s uprising, everyone switched support to the Sicilian revolution.

If things continue like this, all three countries, Britain, France, and Austria, can solve their internal issues within at most half a year. By then, the federal government, which sparked this chaos, will surely not have a good outcome.

Lincoln did not believe the nations would remain oblivious to the role they had played. In politics, evidence was often unnecessary — merely taking into account benefits and drawbacks sufficed.

By compromising now, the federal government could still occupy an advantageous position in the negotiations. If they dragged it out until the nations had the energy to retaliate, the situation would be entirely different.

There was no need to consider further. It was obvious which side the European nations would support. If the Southern government swallowed up a few more states, wouldn’t the federal government fare even worse?

Currently, several free states had been occupied by the Southern government, and they all needed to be reclaimed. Failure to do so would earn Lincoln the wrath of his backers.

Not only could the Northern government not persevere, but the Southern government was equally unable to endure. The current casualties on both sides far exceeded those in history, while military expenditures had skyrocketed to astronomical figures.

Even before the decisive battle erupted, the Southern government had proposed negotiations with the North, but Lincoln and others pinned their final hopes on this battle, delaying giving a response.

Only now were they forced to acknowledge that with the European powers acting as backers, they had merely been sacrificing lives.

While the Northern government might have a larger population, a significant population was also held by the Southern government. Alongside the stronger combat capabilities of the Southern army, the gap in strength between the two sides was not that significant.

This was the aftermath of the butterfly effect. If there hadn’t been intervention from various countries before the outbreak of the Civil War, so many states wouldn’t have been able to be attracted by the Southern government to join them.

Politics had always been the Achilles’ heel of the Southern government. Otherwise, as long as the anti-war banner was raised, neutrality would have been chosen by many federal states. Even if the Lincoln administration wanted to use force, it wouldn’t have been supported by the public.

Historically, neutrality was initially held by most states in the United States. Southern independence was believed to be legitimate by many Americans, and the use of force to resolve it was opposed.

It wasn’t until the first shot was fired by the Southern government that the stance of these people changed, and they sided with the Northern government.

Reality is cruel. Years of war awakened many, while the political ability of the Southern government improved through the conflict.

While the European nations slumbered, the North and South initiated secret negotiations.