"Opening 1861: I just inherited the Dutch throne (

Secretary of State Seward glanced at Vice President Johnson, Secretary of War Stanton, Secretary of the Interior Walburn, and finally fell on President Lincoln.

"I think Prussia can be won. As Prussia's unification of the German Confederation has been completed, and the Austrian Empire has become a weak Austro-Hungarian Empire, Prussia will not easily satisfy the current status of Europe, nor will it be reconciled as a colony in the world. Those who lag behind Britain and France will sooner or later become enemies with Britain and France.

And now, in the face of Britain and France, we can add a powerful ally. Coupled with the empire of Tsarist Russia, as long as the relationship between the three countries is solid, it can be invincible. "

Seward added: "Besides, the current battlefield situation on the Balkans is a combination of advantages and disadvantages for us, so it is very important for us to effectively increase our relationship with Prussia. Therefore, I suggest that the federal government The country can focus on building alliances with Prussia in the future.”

Washburn looked at Seward, who was talking eloquently. Although this guy's father was of English descent, his mother was of German descent, so it was understandable for him to be pro-German at this time.

No wonder I heard recently that he has frequent contacts with Germans in the government, and it turned out that this was the idea. Even Washburn surmised that this guy might be preparing for the start of the next presidential election.

You can't let him lead, you have to disrupt his rhythm.

Washburn is of Irish descent. Hundreds of watts of Irish descent were dissatisfied with the British government's rule and fled to the North American and European continents in the Atlantic Ocean, so they were very united.

He also became the leader of the Irish in North America. He looked up at Andrew Johnson, the vice president of Dutch descent, and it was obvious that both of them thought about it.

So Washburn is no longer there, and said sharply: "Your Excellency, the United Kingdom is a staunch supporter of the Alliance, and the French Empire is now advancing in Mexico, and we are now separated by the Confederate States, so in reality with France , the contradiction has been reduced.

On the contrary, because of the British support for the Confederacy and our northern Canada, it is difficult to reconcile relations with the United Kingdom.

Spain has fewer disputes with our interests. Portugal was originally in Brazil because we supported Argentina’s hegemony in South America, so that we could intervene, but now we are unable to continue, and President Monroe’s Monroe Doctrine is difficult to implement.

Therefore, if we give up this Monroe Doctrine, it will be a huge burden for us to move forward with.

In this way, France's support for Mexico has nothing to do with us. That is the concern of the British-backed Confederacy and the United Kingdom. We reduce the burden on them, which is definitely a good thing for us. "

Lincoln's eyes lit up when he heard the words, and it seemed that this view made the diplomatic vision of the Commonwealth of Millikin suddenly widened.

At this time, Seward's face changed greatly.

He and Stanton looked at each other, and both saw the other's panic.

Because according to this, the United States of America can get out of the current predicament, which is excellent, but this proposal was proposed by Washburn. What would President Lincoln think of his Secretary of State in charge of foreign affairs, Seward I started to worry about my status.

A professional secretary of state can't help the president in foreign affairs more than an amateur secretary of the interior, which is definitely not a small blow.

Sure enough, Lincoln said happily: "This idea is good, Washburn, didn't you just propose that the White House should establish a new mechanism some time ago, I think it is feasible."

Stanton looked at Seward's anxiety and asked instead, "I don't know what proposal?"

Lincoln smiled kindly at him and said, "Walburn suggested to me that a team of advisors should be established around the president to serve as the president's think tank, called advisors, for example, regarding military security, you can Promote a National Security Adviser. Plus, you can have a Diplomatic Adviser, a Trade Adviser, etc.”

Seward and Stanton's hearts began to sink as Lincoln explained.

Isn't this a disguised power cut?

The two of them didn't understand, what was Washburn thinking about and why he made this suggestion. You must know that everyone is eager to increase their authority, but now this guy is reducing himself.

Seward has always considered himself to be a strongman in the government, and fantasized about being able to handle state affairs on behalf of the government. Even shortly after being nominated by Lincoln for the post of secretary of state in 1861, he even wrote the document "A Few Suggestions to the President". , he even asked Lincoln to delegate some of the powers of the president to the secretary of state, showing how keen he was on power.

What Washburn is doing now has magnified this contrast infinitely at once. Seward doesn't have to think about it. At this moment, he is like a clown, taking root and growing in Lincoln's heart.

At this point, he even suspected that Lincoln's eagerness to convene everyone might have come to cut power.

And Washburn and Johnson came together.

Thinking of this, Seward Xin can only blame it for being full of bitterness.

He even wanted to resign, but in the end he held back.

So, he chose to face Washburn's thoughts and be silent.

Seeing this, Stanton expressed no objection with silence.

Seeing this, Lincoln said to Johnson: "This proposal will be proposed in Congress next week. The democratic side is now weak because of the war. Both the Senate and the House of Representatives are currently in our hands, so it will pass without incident."

Several people agreed with Lincoln's statement that the republican dang, who first came to power, won the majority of seats in both houses, and thus had the strong position of Lincoln's government.

Almost all the proposals were passed, which made several people not worried about the problem of being pulled.

Just when Seward thought that this meeting was just a power cut, Washburn released a bomb again, and the bombers were buzzing non-stop.

It turned out that Washburn referred to the unrest caused by the war now beginning in South America.

"Your Excellency, Brazil is obviously taking advantage of the theme now, Argentina is sitting on the wall, Paraguay has been inflated since the Argentine invaders who defeated President Rosas a few years ago, and the three countries of England, Portugal and France are behind the manipulation. Huge interests cannot make our investments in Argentina suffer huge losses, so I suggest that the Federal States can support Argentina and safeguard our interests.”

Washburn even hinted that this is the meaning of major domestic financial consortia.

Lincoln finally, thinking about the influence of the major financial groups in his country at home, knew that if they were not fed, then the next step in his rule would be detrimental and unhelpful.

In the end, a compromise was made.

The financial consortium and industrial consortium behind the American arms dealers consortium PK Washburn represented by Seward fought against each other, and Seward lost.

......

April 20, 1866

Accompanied by five Dutch warships, Dutch Prime Minister Tolbeck docked and landed at the port of Buenos Aires. He paid a state visit to Argentina on behalf of the Dutch government and expressed the support of King William IV of the Netherlands for Argentina.

During the period, President Mitre gave a high-standard reception, which gave enough face to the Dutch Prime Minister of the Netherlands, and finally the two had a closed-door meeting.

Two days later, the two countries later issued a statement. On behalf of the Netherlands, Tolbeck expressed great support for Argentina's industry, and said that the two countries would carry out a policy of reciprocity and open doors, and the military would also be upgraded to the level of allies.

Before this, the Netherlands had only signed a similar alliance agreement with Sweden, except for the five-year alliance signed with Prussia and France in 1862, although the Holland-Swedish Covenant had a duration of 10 years.

The covenant signed by the two countries is also 10 years old. It can be seen that the Netherlands has elevated Argentina's covenant status to the same position as Sweden.

It can be seen how much the Netherlands takes a fancy to Argentina.

As a result, the situation in South America is more complicated.

Brazil and Argentina have always been enemies. Argentina has a powerful ally, and Pedro II of Brazil naturally took the opportunity to suppress those who wanted to break away from the Kingdom of Portugal as an ally, so the Netherlands became his helper, so Pedro II King II therefore announced an increase in strategic cooperation with Portugal. He even sent a special envoy to Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, and finally Brazil and Portugal signed the same ten-year covenant.

Paraguay was naturally timid when he saw that the two behemoths around him had allies openly, so he also sent a special envoy to Paris, and eventually Paris also publicly supported Paraguay.

Even Napoleon II, in order to increase his presence in South America, even exposed a trump card that no one had discovered before.

France even signed a strategic cooperation with Bolivia in western Paraguay, allowing Peru to complete the support route of Paraguay without passing French resources through the blockade of Argentina and Brazil through the port of Moquegua in the south of the Pacific Ocean~lightnovelpub.net~.

As for why not Chile, which is closer, because Chile is now the United Kingdom, and France naturally does not want to offend the United Kingdom, so Peru is the first choice.

The competition for hegemony in South America has been staged by Qiangqiang, making the situation even more unpredictable.

However, it doesn't stop there.

April 25, 1866.

There is a heavyweight player in the field.

This time, it was the Commonwealth of Millikin.

Lincoln's government expressed concern about the situation in South America, and Lincoln expressed his gratitude to Argentina for safeguarding the interests of the Commonwealth and supporting the covenant between the Netherlands and Argentina.

He also said that his government is currently applying to join the International Court of Justice in The Hague, spearheaded by the Netherlands.

He also said that he was ready to establish a three-nation 10-year covenant with Argentina and the Netherlands, and said that his government would make a new adjustment to the foreign policy of the Federal State in the next period to adapt to the changes of the times.

As Lincoln's statement spread across the Atlantic, all countries suddenly showed a dignified color.

It's going to change.

A federal government that no longer implements the Monroe Doctrine, who knows how much potential is unleashed and how much impact it will have on Europe and the Americas.

......

Argentina, Buenos Aires.

President Mitre has been thrilled ever since he learned about Lincoln's remarks.

Sarmiento is right. With an equal alliance with the Netherlands, Argentina finally doesn't have to worry about Brazil's pressure. At the same time, Argentina has a lot of benefits.

So he ordered to send someone to accept Lincoln's proposal for the Three-Power Covenant, and also to apply to join the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

The Netherlands this time dominated the International Court of Justice in The Hague, so it went down to two cities.