I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 371

< Enemy's Enemy is a Friend (5) >

Overthrow Spain.

The Northern and Southern Alliances, united by a common goal, agreed that they needed to act before Spain could prepare.

This had to be done as quickly as possible.

They needed to move before the war in Asia ended.

But even so, shouldn’t they at least set up a basic framework before starting the fight?

Seeing the terms of the negotiation that Bakunin had brought, Engels felt the need to involve himself directly.

The capitals of both countries, Richmond and Washington D.C., were only 100 miles apart, close enough to “touch noses” by American standards.

Thus, the historic first meeting between the President of the Union and the Secretary-General of the Allied Nations was arranged in just a few days.

As it was a scene that would go down in history, the atmosphere was ostensibly amicable…

“Isn’t that condition too unilaterally advantageous to your country?”

“Excuse me? That can’t be. Your country also has a lot to gain from this fight.”

There was no way around it.

Even though they had united to overthrow a common enemy, it didn’t mean that the North and South had become friendly.

Communism and capitalism cannot mix.

Marx said that capitalism would evolve by neutralizing imperfect communism, but Engels did not believe him.

No, if that were true, then the two should never mix.

He had no choice but to accept the North’s cooperation, but if this ended up empowering them, it would only end up strangling him.

“What our Allied Nations want is one thing: to drive out Spain and divide the spoils exactly in half.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think that will work.”

Engels frowned without realizing it.

Were they even trying to form an alliance?

He thought that Lincoln was a bit different, but was he just another head of greedy capitalist pigs?

“Are you ultimately saying that the Union will monopolize everything? That’s too greedy.”

“I think there’s a misunderstanding. It’s not that we can’t share everything among ourselves.”

“…Yes?”

“I ask for your understanding that I cannot tell you the details. But Secretary-General, do you think those greedy European countries will just stand by and watch us take everything from Spain?”

Although he wasn’t completely accustomed to politics yet, Engels understood very well how international power dynamics worked.

It was fine to drive Spain out of the Americas, as Lincoln said.

The major European powers were all focused on Qing China [the last imperial dynasty of China] right now.

But they would likely never allow them to take over the Asian colonies that Spain currently held.

“I understand. You’re saying we can’t touch the Asian colonies.”

“Yes. We need to leave that as a way to appease Europe. So, it’s impossible for us to share those.”

It seemed like there was something more he wasn’t saying, but Engels decided to agree for now.

The important thing was that the North wouldn’t take the Asian colonies.

“I understand. Then what’s left is the Americas.”

Since they had decided to completely push Spain out of the Americas, this was an issue that had to be addressed.

If Spain were driven out, their colonies in the Americas would become unclaimed territory. Who would take that empty space?

Lincoln opened his mouth as soon as Engels finished speaking.

“The Union wants Cuba. You can take the rest.”

“You make it sound like you’re doing us a great favor, but the only colonies Spain has are Cuba and Puerto Rico, right?”

It was a joke. Just in terms of land size, Cuba was almost 10 times the size of Puerto Rico. Was this some kind of robbery?

However, Lincoln simply nodded indifferently at Engels’ absurd reaction.

“That’s true if you look at it as colonies. Dominica is already independent.”

“It’s like you’re taking 90 and we’re taking 10 in terms of land size. This is a condition that we can never accept.”

The reason Engels was reacting so strongly wasn’t just about the size of the land, but also because of the location of the two regions.

Cuba was a strategic point located right below Florida.

If the North were to seize Cuba, they would face the South across the border from above and be able to target the South from below at the same time.

Moreover, the fact that port cities adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico had no choice but to pass near Cuba to go out into the ocean also played a role.

And that’s not all.

Considering that the Panama Canal would be opened in the future, they could never hand Cuba over to the North.

Even if the areas of Cuba and Puerto Rico were reversed, this policy would not have changed.

However, since he couldn’t say all of this, he just made a good excuse.

“However, if we actually go to war with Spain, a large number of warships will have to be mobilized, and the Union will inevitably bear most of the burden. Isn’t it fair to receive compensation in proportion to the power we bear?”

“That’s true, but the ratio is too much.”

“Ah, I see.”

Seeing Lincoln smirk, Engels realized that he had overlooked an important fact.

‘Damn it. Such a basic mistake.’

What Spain had in the Americas wasn’t just colonies.

He should have made it clear from the beginning that they could never give up Cuba, but he had been caught up in Lincoln’s rhetoric.

As expected, Lincoln glanced at Mexico on the map in a friendly tone.

“Spain has a lot of interests in Mexico. But what good are those interests if Spain loses its foothold in the Americas? It’s right for your country to take that. Coincidentally, your country borders Mexico, unlike us, doesn’t it?”

“No, that’s…”

“If we had the Sea of Cortez [Gulf of California], the story would be a little different, but that’s also under your jurisdiction now. So, wouldn’t it be most balanced for your country to take all the interests and Puerto Rico that Spain had in this continent, and for the Union to take Cuba?”

“……”

If he were to take back his words here, it would only damage the dignity of the Secretary-General.

It seemed that the North had been aiming for Cuba from the beginning, so no matter how much he tried to fight, he wouldn’t be able to gain anything here.

Unlike him, who had just become the Secretary-General, Lincoln was a political operator who had succeeded in being re-elected in the Union for the first time in decades.

Wouldn’t it be better to give up Cuba to them and get as many benefits as possible?

“I understand. Then I’ll accept your offer. But there’s one condition.”

“Tell me.”

“As your country thinks, our naval power is not very strong. But if the war starts, we will naturally have to subdue the Caribbean Sea first, but it is burdensome for us to attack first. Didn’t you say earlier that the side with the greater burden should get a greater reward? Since it’s an opportunity to take the huge territory of Cuba, how about your country take the lead?”

The original procedure was for the South to declare war on Spain, and after the two started fighting, the North would intervene.

The problem was that if they did this, the South would have no choice but to start fighting Spain first, and of course, they would have to endure a certain level of damage.

Engels subtly tried to shift this burden to the Union.

Since Lincoln himself had said it, he couldn’t deny it now, could he?

If you want to eat more, you have to pay more for the food.

Lincoln smiled bitterly once and then nodded slightly.

It was painful to hand over Cuba to the North, but if they could shift most of the burden required for the war to them, they wouldn’t suffer such a big loss.

They would eventually become enemies again after this war.

The first meeting between the President and the Secretary-General ended with the President’s victory, but both Lincoln and Engels knew very well that this conflict would not end with just this one time.

* * *

The conflict between the South and Spain was getting more and more intense.

Spain insisted that all of Europe should condemn the South’s atrocities, but unfortunately, no one responded.

On the other hand, the South, backed by the support of the North, did not listen to Spain’s words.

Cornered, Spain created an increasingly ominous atmosphere, and the few people who were paying attention to this incident predicted that it would not be strange for either side to launch a preemptive strike.

However, it was the North that moved first.

As tensions rose between the South and Spain, the North launched a transport ship under the pretext of securing the safety of residents in Cuba.

Coincidentally, the North’s transport ship sank in Havana Harbor, located in northern Cuba, due to an unexplained explosion.

Spain quickly launched an investigation, but before Spain could make an announcement, the North announced that it had sunk due to a mine, taking the lead.

Of course, they didn’t say a word about who was responsible for the attack, but the North, which was already in a mood to condemn Spain, immediately called for war and boiled over.

Logically, there was almost no possibility that Spain, which was in conflict with the South, would suddenly turn the North into an enemy and blow up a perfectly good ship.

However, in this situation, what is true is not so important.

The North’s yellow press [sensationalist newspapers] did not miss this opportunity and published articles condemning Spain from all sides.

-Is it possible for a perfectly good transport ship to explode?

-Exclusive acquisition! There is an argument that the mine that sank the ship has been confirmed to be Spanish.

-The ship sank in the middle of the night, and researchers believe that Spain was likely to have mistaken the ship for the South’s or the North’s…

If they criticized Spain, sales would increase, and if they called for war, everyone would agree.

The citizens, who were already grinding their teeth at Spain, could not accept the media’s incitement critically.

To be exact, they had no intention of accepting it critically.

“Woo-woo-woo!”

“The President must listen to the voices of the citizens immediately!”

“How long do we have to be abused by the Spanish bastards!”

“War! War!”

The burden of declaring war was virtually gone due to the boiling public opinion from all sides.

However, since it was really unexpected for the North to get involved here, the Union Congress came up with a plan.

“Spain has been trampling on the wishes of the Cuban people who want independence and has been carrying out oppression for a long time. We can no longer tolerate such barbaric acts happening in the Americas!”

“Our Union is on the side of all Cuban people who want freedom. Arise! Noble citizens of Cuba!”

Strictly speaking, the wave of Cuban independence had not yet risen above the surface.

However, it was clear that those who wanted independence were preparing for a massive uprising.

Encouraged by the North’s incitement, the anger that had been suppressed in Cuba erupted in an instant.

“Spain, get out!”

“Guarantee independence!”

“Arise, compatriots! It’s time to win freedom!”

Originally, even if people are suffering great pain, they do not get angry when they think it cannot be helped.

Especially if there is a great means of communication called a gun, people’s patience does not run out unless they are about to die.

But what if others are constantly whispering next to them, ‘You are being exploited now’?

What if they even guarantee that it’s okay to run wild?

The anger of the Cuban independence activists, which had been quietly accumulating under the surface, began to burn in an instant.

* * *

“Wow… is this how they’re trying to start a war?”

Although it was vague, the United States in the original history seemed to have gone through this process to declare war on Spain.

The difference was that they didn’t deliberately sink the ship, but now it seemed close to deliberate to anyone.

Besides, they’re going to swallow Cuba altogether, but they’re coaxing them by saying they’ll help them gain independence?

No matter how you look at it, this will be a time to prove that the Union is not a country founded by the descendants of the British Empire for nothing.

I clicked my tongue and pondered.

The more the incident unfolded, the more I felt that Spain’s crisis management ability was terrible.

All they could do was call the ambassadors and whine, but this was one of the hegemonic countries that dominated the world in the past.

I was convinced that they were destined to be robbed by other countries and spit out all their colonies someday, even if it wasn’t now.

And a few days later.

“Your Majesty. The French and Prussian ambassadors have arrived.”

“Prepare coffee. I’ll have to meet both of them at once.”

The allied countries, smelling that the situation was unusual, came to visit.

Goodbye, Spain. You’re just an ordinary person who had a golden age because you were born in a good time.