In a way, Austria has played the role of a-stirring stick this time. Normally, this kind of thing is usually done by the British.

It's just that the British are weak and worried that after selling a large number of warships, they will not be able to suppress the challenge of European countries.

The navy of the sea power country is the core, and once the Royal Navy is weak, the challenger will pounce.

Don't look at the fact that France is now ruled by pro-British factions, and once the opportunity arises, the French will definitely not mind replacing it, which is why the world boss usually suppresses the second one.

Historically, the British supported the southern government, and most of the old warships were sold, and the core warships of the Royal Navy were never taken out.

Franz has a lot of conscience, although he also mixes and matches a lot of old warships, but those ironclads are masterpieces of modern Austrian industrial technology, and he doesn't play with the cut version.

Technically, it is at least a dozen years ahead of the Americans. The two warships fired at each other at a distance of several hundred meters, ran out of ammunition, and had a zero hit rate, which the US Navy could do.

Of course, the human factor in this is also a major reason, and the two rookie navies can't have expectations. However, the poor artillery technology is also an important factor.

Austria is not a sea power, even if the southern government introduces warship technology, it will not hurt, and it is difficult to imitate it without sufficient industrial strength.

As for formulating corresponding countermeasures according to the structure of the warship, it would be too much to think about. are building new ships, are you still afraid that old warships will be targeted?

Don't look at this time span for a long time, in fact, the technology of this era is updated very quickly, and the technology of Austrian ironclad ships has been improved many times. The warship that is still lying on the slipway is completely different from the original ironclad ship.

With the same firepower, an ironclad ship of eight or nine thousand tons at the beginning can now be achieved with only more than seven thousand tons.

It's not that the bigger the warship, the more combat-ready it is. It depends more on the installed artillery, generally speaking, the more powerful the artillery and the larger the number of warships, the stronger the combat effectiveness.

Armor thickness is also a measure, but it is not taken seriously at the moment. Since it is a colonial empire, then it is definitely necessary to consider ocean-going operations, and a defensive navy is not suitable for Austria.

……

New York, where the federal government had just been evacuated from Washington, was once again hit by a bolt from the blue.

The people had just been mobilized, and by taking advantage of their enthusiasm for the land, they had gained enough soldiers to form a military advantage over the southern government.

The War Department is planning a counteroffensive and preparing to use its superiority in strength to wear down the rebels. It is a pity that before this plan could be implemented, news was received from the southern government about the purchase of the fleet.

This means that the plan to blockade the South by the Navy is completely bankrupt, and even the federal government Navy will be at a disadvantage for some time to come, and the South government will in turn blockade them.

There is no doubt that the naval strength of the southern government is determined by the investment of the southern government and the support of the great powers.

Austria could sell its fleet to the Southern government, and Britain, France, and Spain could also sell its fleet to the Southern government. It is impossible for the northern government to compete with Britain, France, Austria and Spain for industrial strength, and the two sides are completely not on the same level.

President Lincoln forcibly calmed himself down, looked at the Secretary of the Navy and asked expectantly, "If this fleet enters the rebel fleet, can the Navy guarantee the smooth flow of our sea transportation?" ”

Apparently, he has abandoned the use of the Navy to blockade the southern states. Lincoln was self-aware, and instead of thinking about the impossible, he should first consider whether the federal government would be blocked.

Secretary of the Navy Gideon Wells thought for a moment and said, "There may be a little trouble, but the enemy does not have the ability to block our coasts.

The ocean-going fleet sold by Austria was strong because they had five state-of-the-art ironclads at their core, with more than thirty sail battleships.

However, the number of their warships is not large, except for these main battle warships, the rest are auxiliary ships.

Our shipbuilding capabilities are limited, and it will take at least two years for us to overtake the rebels on our own.

War cannot wait that long, and in order to gain superiority at sea as soon as possible, we can only buy or lease warships from the outside world. ”

It takes time to build ships, and it is impossible for the US shipbuilding industry to build hundreds of warships in just a few years.

Historically, the Navy of the American Civil War Confederacy was also mainly purchased and leased, and it was only a part of it that it built itself.

After all, there are a lot of warships that are so easy to build, not to mention ironclad ships, this is the embodiment of industrial capacity in the new era, and even the requirements for wooden sail warships are not low.

Just wood, that's a problem. A sail warship often requires the felling of thousands of trees, and the wood is usually stored for several years after being treated.

The most critical keel can only be made of oak or teak, which requires very high trees.

Fortunately, with the development of shipbuilding technology, most of these components can now be replaced by steel, otherwise after so many years of logging, the Americans would be dreaming of finding so much wood.

When it comes to steel, there is no doubt that it is naturally to be imported from the British. The United States has defended its reputation as the world's number one steel importer for many years, and now that war has broken out, the demand for steel is even greater.

This is why Lincoln feared a blockade, and if they were cut off from supplies, they would be able to throw in the towel and recognize the independence of the Southern government.

President Lincoln said fiercely: "Go according to your plan, and at this point it is time to fight with the Southern government for financial resources, and see who lasts longer." ”

Wars are fought with money, and many things can be bought with money in this era, including warships.

Any European country would be happy to take the deal, and as long as there is enough profit, who cares that the warship is sold to whom?

Secretary of State Safar said: "I am afraid that this is not enough, the European powers are supporting the government of the South. Even if you are willing to sell us warships. At most, let the two sides be balanced.

The naval blockade has failed, and the key to determining the outcome of this war is back to the army. Only by winning the war on land can we win this war and maintain the unity of the country. ”

This is a very real problem, and we should not look at the economic superiority of the northern government, but if we really fight for financial resources, we may not be the opponent of the southern government.

In this era, the US IRS did not have such a strong fighting power, and the capitalists naturally did not pay taxes honestly. By contrast, it was easier for southern plantation owners to collect customs duties on their exports.

In order to raise funds, the federal government issued many bonds domestically, but unfortunately the money was all dollars, which could be used locally, but no one bought it internationally.

Because the southern government has cotton as collateral, it issues bonds overseas, and what it gets is foreign exchange directly. Occasionally, a large commodity is bought and sold, and a part of the bond can be mixed to pay the bill.

As for enlisting the support of European countries, the federal government has tried with no effect. Even if there is support for them, it is only in words.

Now Napoleon III was still busy annexing the Kingdom of Sardinia, and it was impossible for them to offend the Anglo-Austrian three kingdoms for their benefit, and lose the opportunity to expand on the European continent.

President Lincoln tentatively asked, "How about we abolish slavery?" ”

Secretary of State Safar immediately objected: "The sanctity of private property is contrary to the U.S. Constitution and will push the slave states loyal to the Union to the Southern government." ”

The sanctity of private property protected not only the interests of the slave owners, but also the interests of the capitalists.

If the federal government tore open this hole, the capitalists would also be worried that one day the federal government would cut the knife at them.

Lincoln explained, "I mean emancipating the black slaves in the rebel states, and the rest of the country remains the same. ”

Secretary of State Safari still shook his head, now 15 of the 16 animal slave states of the Union have joined the Southern government, and the remaining Delaware slavery has long since existed in name only.

It is still unknown how effective this decree will be, but the negative effects it has brought are very serious.

If the people of the southern states think that the federal government is going to strip them of all their property and make them fight to the end, then it is really doomed.

Even if the black slaves were removed, there would still be seven or eight million people, and with the support of the great powers, if they were all determined to become independent, the federal government would never have a chance of unification.

Again, President Lincoln added: "We have no choice, there are already a large number of black troops in the rebels. If they can't be divided, the rebels will use these cannon fodder to consume our elite troops.

As far as I know, the rebels also signed a treaty with the Austrians for the introduction of labor, and on average brought in 300,000 strong laborers per year.

What are they trying to do? It is nothing more than that the slave owners now pay the price for independence, and in the future they will be compensated with these laborers.

Anyway, when it comes to their territory, it is up to them to decide whether they are laborers or slaves in the end. ”

Not to mention the plantation owners in the south, even the capitalists in the north, there are people who want to bring in a number of cheap and strong labor for mining.

People are forced out, and because of the insufficient population, the southern government naturally can't compete with the northern government in terms of the number of troops, and the use of slaves to fight is also an option.

Secretary of State Safar did not continue to object, and as it stands, in order to gain an advantage on the battlefield, it was necessary to divide the relationship between slaves and slave owners.

Otherwise, the Southern rebels would fight out a Union soldier with two or three black slaves, and they would all cry to death.

Don't look at the heat of the war, the business of the labor export company has never stopped, and the rebels have lost money.

……

In September 1862, President Lincoln presented the Emancipation Proclamation to Congress. After a fierce quarrel, at the insistence of President Lincoln, it passed by a narrow margin.

Contents: Provision was made for the abolition of slavery in the rebellious states from New Year's Day 1863, and for slaves to be allowed to join the Northern Army as free men.

The abolitionist law immediately caused a sensation in the United States, and a wave of fugitives broke out in the southern states, and blacks began to appear at the recruitment points of the northern government.

It even spread to the Confederate government's army, which had to grant slave soldiers freedmen in order to appease them.

Because of the introduction of the abolition law, the Southern government was already in a disadvantageous state politically, and in order to change this situation, the Confederate government was not idle.

At the suggestion of the delegates, the Confederate government began to woo the Indians and pledged to support their independent statehood.