Chapter 258 Presidential Campaign (Part 1)
The Spanish Civil War came to an abrupt end beyond Franz's expectations. According to normal development, this war should last for a long time. By then, Britain and France are likely to be trapped in the quagmire and unable to extricate themselves, and will have no time to take care of Austria, which is growing in strength, and win precious opportunities for its continued development.
The war has been going on for more than a year, and both sides have continued to invest a lot of manpower and material resources. Especially the see-saw fighting in the Pyrenees Mountains has greatly affected the morale and morale of the troops like a meat grinder.
It is precisely because of this that Carlos, the initiator of the war, was shaken in his heart. He believed that if this consumption continued, his side would become more and more dependent on the British. He no longer wanted to be a puppet of the British and used the Spanish as a puppet. Ordered to make a wedding dress for Britain, he found an opportunity to issue a shocking announcement to the entire army.
"Don Carlos prepares to end the civil war."
In the end, Carlos and the regent Queen Christiana reached an agreement, Isabella II pardoned all Carlist members, Don Carlos self-exiled, and renounced the Spanish throne.
The reason why the Spanish Civil War turned out this way is entirely due to the British. In their eyes, Spain is just a testing ground that delays and consumes the energy of the French. It is obvious that supporting Don Carlos has never been about profit. The true purpose of the Anglo-Saxons.
Even if you are an idiot who doesn’t understand the game of national politics, you should suddenly realize it after being played for seven years.
As a result, the puppet in the hands of the British suddenly broke free from the shackles that bound him, directly causing the situation to develop in the direction they least wanted to see.
In this regard, Franz can only lament that things are unpredictable, but his layout will not change because of this, because he believes that the British will not be willing to watch their old rivals on the other side regain their dominance in Europe.
Meanwhile, Virginia, USA.
In a small, inconspicuous cabin, sat a group of people who would influence the future history of the United States.
One of the bearded old men wearing a general uniform and a cowboy hat was the ninth president of the United States, William Henry Harrison.
Sitting on his left and right were the top leaders of the Whig Party, and sitting opposite him was his running mate, John Tyler, the tenth president of the United States in history.
John Tyler was originally a political star of the American Democratic Party. However, due to the great differences between him and President Jackson, a maniac full of war ideas and a believer in the supremacy of force, he gave up the position of Vice President and turned into a Whig. party.
William Henry Harrison and John Tyler, the forces behind them were the plantation owner groups in the American South.
During the economic crisis after 1837, it was these planters who supported the American economy. Although Martin Van Buren teamed up with Friedrich List to stabilize the U.S. economy after taking over, his diplomatic concessions to Britain aroused dissatisfaction among many people.
Members of the House and Senate also complained about the surge in military spending following a series of disastrous defeats with the French in the Battle of Texas.
After all, the continuous growth of military spending means that corresponding taxes will increase, and on the contrary, subsidies in other areas will naturally decrease. This is not what the funders behind the congressmen want to see.
The current contradiction and challenge facing the United States is that northern factory owners want to reduce military spending, while southern farmers want to increase military spending for their own security.
Although the above differences are irreconcilable, there is one point on which the two sides rarely agree, and that is their firm opposition to the weak foreign policy of the current government, such as the two concessions to the former mother country, especially the recent new concessions in Maine in the United States and British Canada. Demarcation of borders between Brunswick.
(The other time is the "Caroline" incident. I have talked about it before, but I won't talk about it now.)
Faced with the aggressive attitude of the British, Martin Van Buren once again chose to retreat, which completely disappointed the northerners.
The excited people took to the streets to march, holding flags high and shouting "Down with the traitors" and "Down with the coward and coward Xiao Fan!".
Taverns, coffee shops, restaurants and other public places, all places where the public gathered were filled with angry crowds. They were all talking about "when will that son of a bitch Martin Van Buren sell the United States."
Inside the cabin.
Harrison put down his cigar, picked up a glass full of spirits, drank it in one gulp, and then said.
"Martin Van Buren is a coward. He raised the army in the garden and put the navy in the bathtub. This guy only knows luxury and enjoyment, and he cannot protect this great country. Now America needs a real man to defend it. Her territory and security, and I’m that person.”
"Excellent! Mr. Harrison, you will definitely win the election." John Taylor said while applauding.
"You are correct, my Mr. Vice President."
Although the two tried their best to appear confident and relaxed, the farmers who were the sponsors were not happy at all at this moment.
In fact, both Friedrich List and Martin Van Buren themselves knew that the hope of re-election in this election was slim, but unwilling to fail, they introduced Lewis Carter, who had the same military background as Harrison, from the Democratic Party. Sri Lanka.
Later, Lister offered a condition in exchange for lowering tariffs on agricultural exports and asked southern planters to stop supporting Harrison and John Tyler.
These southern planters believed in Friedrich List. After all, if he had not reached a deal with the Russians and argued with the British on the cotton tariff issue, they would not be able to make any money at this time. So much, so I owe him a favor.
Moreover, in the minds of these slave owners, Friedrich List had no obvious political attributes or inclinations. He belonged to neither the Democratic Party nor the Whig Party, but he had always been concerned about the safety and future of the United States. Such a talent Be a true American.
However, they would not put all their chips on Friedrich List just because of their trust. In addition to him, they also needed to continue to win over the Whig Party, so they made the decision to reduce campaign funds.
This made the confident Harrison and John Taylor extremely dissatisfied, because although money is not everything, lack of money is absolutely impossible, especially in a rich man's game like presidential election.
Without sufficient financial support, winning is simply impossible. To their disappointment, the senior Whig Party officials sitting here remained silent at this time, seeming to have acquiesced to this result.
"Short-sighted idiot!" Harrison was extremely angry. He felt pathetic for those people.
"The French are preparing for war to invade our great United States at any time, just like they did to the Commonwealth of North Africa and Central America. Cass is an idiot. He actually thinks he can defeat the British. This is the funniest thing of the century. It’s a joke.”
As a former member of the Democratic Party, John Tyler certainly knew the virtues of those guys. Those guys are all slaves to money. As long as the money is available, they will sell even the noose that strangles them.
The top leaders of the Whig Party remained unmoved. Harrison, who was forthright in words and deeds, slammed the door and left without saying a word. This hero in the Anglo-American war and the butcher of Indians was already sixty-eight years old.
The purpose of participating in the presidential election at the age of nearly 70 is more to worry about the future of the motherland. Because he once fought against the British and witnessed the power of the French army while traveling in Europe, this old general is better than most Americans. They all know how serious the situation they are facing now is.
John Taylor also looked at those slaves of money with contempt, snorted, and quickly caught up with the former.
In fact, John Tyler's governance ability was very good in history. He vigorously opposed the establishment of a national bank and defeated the conspiracy of the big industrial and commercial bourgeoisie to manipulate finance and monopolize federal power. This event indeed saved American democracy at the time.
Of course, because of this incident, John Tyler became one of the worst presidents in American history.
As soon as the two left the cabin, a broker found them and expressed his willingness to provide a large sum of money to help them campaign.