xymnovel Chapter 93 The North American Crisis Emerges
Chapter 93 The North American Crisis Emerges
Chapter 93 The North American Crisis Emerges
The previous Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies, Jean Chrétien Boude, had already stepped down and returned home in February 1836.
Although the current governor, Dominique Jacques de Helens, officially took office in February 1836, he had actually arrived in Batavia in 1834.
Ellens, who was taking over the reins from the previous governor, had just witnessed the Han Dynasty's expansion in Southeast Asia over the past two years, and was already filled with a sense of powerlessness regarding the current situation.
Whenever the Han Dynasty took action, it would often involve tens of thousands of troops, and then send out hundreds of thousands of militiamen every year.
Let alone the Netherlands being far away in Europe, even if the Netherlands itself were on the island of Java, it would have little ability to resist an enemy as large as the Han Dynasty, whose size is equivalent to the whole of Europe.
Rather, if the Netherlands had originally been in Java, it would have become a vassal state of the Han Dynasty long ago.
The Dutch East India Company had secretly served as a "vassal state" of the Ming Dynasty.
Ellen regretted that he shouldn't have come here to be governor, but it was too late to say he shouldn't have come after he arrived.
After news of the Han takeover of Sumatra reached Batavia, Elans was plunged into a dilemma of despair, confusion, and unease: "After controlling Sumatra, will the next step be Singapore or Batavia?"
"Singapore's location is obviously better, but it has to start a war with Britain."
"Then it would be better to first annex the entire Dutch East Indies."
"This is a logical plan, but what can the Netherlands do now?"
All Elan could do was repeatedly order Batavia and even Java to strengthen its defenses.
But apart from that, it seems there's nothing else that can be done.
The obvious and correct course of action is right in front of everyone—declare war!
The Han dynasty directly demanded the Netherlands' colonies and even killed all the Dutch who resisted. If this had happened between European countries, they would probably be at war by now.
However, given the current special circumstances in the East, and before the Han Dynasty truly cornered the Netherlands, Elans did not have the courage to proactively declare war on the Han Dynasty.
It should be said that before the Han Dynasty demanded Batavia, which was of utmost importance, neither Elans nor the Dutch government would have felt that they should take the initiative to declare war on the Han Dynasty.
The cost of confronting the monster, the giant, was too high, so they always harbored illusions.
The land they've lost is mostly humid, barren wasteland with almost no value; it's not worth a direct confrontation with the Han over such land.
After the Han army began its operation, Elons closely monitored its movements with a conflicted and uneasy feeling.
Soon after, Ellens determined that the Great Han's modus operandi this year would be the same as last year and the year before.
Claiming dominion over Sumatra and the surrounding islands, and eliminating all large-scale enemies.
Then came the phase of continuous exploration and construction, while immigrants were continuously being brought in from the mainland.
No new wars were launched against other regions.
Ellens breathed a slight sigh of relief, feeling that she had at least gained a year of peace.
Then he carefully wrote a report and arranged for merchant ships to be sent back to the homeland.
Ellens demanded that the King, Parliament, and the Colonial Affairs Department establish a clear standard as soon as possible:
Under what circumstances could the East Indies colonies declare war on the Han Dynasty?
Ernest suggested using Java as the basic standard.
The Spice Islands and Sulawesi can be lost, but Java should be preserved as much as possible.
If all else fails, Batavia must be saved.
If the Great Han targets Batavia, then the Netherlands will have to declare war.
If the Netherlands loses Batavia, it will lose all the wealth it possesses in the East.
It was impossible for the Han Dynasty to go to Europe to fight against the Netherlands.
So by that time, whether the relationship with the Han Dynasty had broken down or not was no longer important.
When the Great Han officially launched its Sumatra campaign and the conflict with the Netherlands escalated further, it was already February 1837.
The missions from the United States, Britain, and France also returned home around this time.
At this moment, the members of the missions from the United States and Britain were filled with trepidation and worry.
Because the Emperor of the Great Han Dynasty said that the economic crisis caused by land speculation in the United States should have already broken out in both the United States and Britain.
When the members of the US mission returned to Washington, there was nothing unusual in the city, or at least there was no sign of unrest.
The current economic crisis in the United States was mainly triggered by land speculation in the western United States.
The signs did not appear until the second half of 1836, and it was not until the second half of 1837 that they spread throughout the United States.
The bank run has not yet begun, and it will take some time before sufficiently obvious symptoms appear on the East Coast.
"Could it be that the Han emperor's prediction was wrong? Or was he simply trying to intimidate us and the British?"
With some speculation, the special envoy to Wuhan, Secretary of State John Forsyth, went to the White House after a short rest to report to President Andrew Jackson.
When Forsyth walked into the president's office and casually greeted the president, he noticed that the president's expression seemed very unpleasant.
Forsyth immediately felt tense. Had an economic crisis already broken out?
After greeting him, Forsyth instinctively asked, "Mr. President, why are you so troubled? Has something bad happened on our soil?"
Jackson seemed extremely frustrated. He slammed his fist on the table, gritted his teeth, and said with a stern face, "Han Chinese have suddenly appeared in Oregon! They sent two thousand immigrant families at once!"
"We have taken over all of Hudson Bay Company's locations."
"If we cannot resolve this issue quickly, the United States may lose the West Coast entirely!"
"Did the Chinese emperor or officials discuss this matter with you?"
After the United States gained independence, a trend of thought gradually emerged that the Americas were the promised land given to them by God.
Dominating the entire Americas is his manifest destiny.
At the same time, they instinctively believe that America belongs to the Americans.
Therefore, Americans are very unhappy about external forces encroaching on the Americas.
Jackson was a former soldier, a relatively traditional conservative, and keen on foreign expansion.
They are also more easily angered by outside interference in the affairs of the Americas.
Forsyth was also taken aback when he heard the president's news; no wonder the president seemed so angry when he saw him.
I went to visit the Han Dynasty specifically to restore trade between private merchants and the Han Dynasty.
Before his own people even returned, the Great Han had already created a huge crisis for the United States, making his visit seem somewhat inappropriate.
Forsyth really didn't expect that the Han Chinese would actually colonize Oregon: "The Han Chinese actually appeared in Oregon—how could they appear in a place like that?"
"The emperor and his ministers did not discuss this matter with me; they seemed to know nothing about it."
"They have already recognized the United States, but they require American citizens to obtain documents upon entry and indicate their nationality."
"They also granted us the same conditions as Britain, allowing American citizens to invest in and build factories in Shanghai and Bao'an."
"Our private trade with the Han Dynasty has also resumed, but the former opium smugglers can be considered as having been executed."
"Now that the conflict has reached this point, trade and investment will be affected again —"
Upon hearing this, Jackson immediately slammed his fist on the table again and said, "Then they deliberately concealed it! But how could they possibly hide it!"
"The news of these two thousand immigrants was from 1835, delivered by employees of the Hudson's Bay Company in Britain."
"There may have been more immigrants in 1836, but there is no accurate information coming back yet."
"If it's also two thousand households, then we're in trouble."
Martin Van Buren, the current Vice President of the United States and the elected next President, added and explained, "According to the information sent by the British Hudson Bay Company, these Chinese people should have come to America by ship."
"They took the Spanish galleon route, crossing the Pacific Ocean with the wind and current. This kind of transportation was very efficient and much faster than our Oregon Trail."
"Since they were able to send two thousand immigrants to the Americas in the first year, they could send two thousand immigrants to the Americas every year if they wanted to."
"The Han people have four to five hundred million people. If they continue to migrate to Oregon, or even to the whole of America, they will soon overwhelm the Americas like locusts."
"We must resolve the issue as soon as possible, at least by controlling their immigration volume, otherwise the chances of taking back Oregon will become increasingly slim."
"The possibility of expanding territory to the west coast would also be lost, and America would no longer be America for us European-Americans —"
"There are also more pressing issues at hand. The Northwest Coast of the Americas is also an important fur-producing region. If the Han Chinese directly occupy this land, they may trade directly with the indigenous people, which will inevitably harm our fur trade revenue."
Forsyth had now realized the severity of the situation: "So what should we do now? We can't quickly send immigrants to the West Coast because of the massive Rocky Mountains!"
Upon hearing this, Jackson, who was standing nearby, couldn't help but slam his fist on the table: "As soon as I received the news, I immediately assembled the army and prepared to defeat these colonists from the East."
"But the adventurers and missionaries believed that the Oregon Trail could not accommodate too many troops, so in the end only two thousand men were sent across."
"I asked the young men to find out the situation in Gangdi and decide whether to fight the Han people based on the actual situation."
"We don't know their situation yet, but we can't just sit here and wait."
"I have already sent people to Britain and Mexico."
"Tell them that once the Great Han have established themselves on the west coast of America, that land will no longer belong to us, or even to the Europeans!"
"Try to persuade the British Navy to cooperate with us and go to the west coast of America to fight."
"Promise Mexico to maintain the status quo in Texas and not to annex Texas into the United States."
"We hope they can cooperate with us to strengthen the defense of the west coast."
"Right now, the only ones who can quickly send forces to California and Oregon are the Mexicans."
"We should be able to cooperate when dealing with people from the East."
"The Mexicans have replied that they will increase their vigilance to prevent the Han Chinese invasion, and they are willing to cooperate with us as long as we do not interfere in Texas."
"But Britain has not yet replied, and I fear the messenger is not of high enough rank."
"Therefore, I hope that you, as Secretary of State, will personally go to Britain to persuade and urge Britain to participate."
Texas declared independence in 1836, but Mexico, of course, did not recognize this independence, considering it merely an internal division.
Texas has applied to join the United States, but the United States has not immediately accepted Texas.
Most of the immigrants to Texas came from the southern United States, and they all supported slavery. If Texas joined the United States, it would become a slave state, strengthening the power of slave states.
Therefore, the abolitionist states did not support Texas joining.
Meanwhile, Mexico declared that if Texas were to be incorporated into the United States, Mexico would declare war on the United States.
Because Texas is located in the southwest of the United States, a war between the United States and Mexico would directly affect the security of the southern slave states.
Therefore, many slave states also do not support Texas's annexation into the United States.
The matter remained at a stalemate.
After the United States completed internal coordination and made war preparations, it allowed Texas to be incorporated, which indeed directly triggered the Mexican-American War.
Although the United States won and gained more than two million square kilometers of land, it caused an imbalance of power between the slave states and the abolition states, which eventually triggered a civil war.
Now, with the Han Dynasty's involvement in the Americas, there is a tendency for the United States and Mexico to ease tensions. The United States even hopes to cooperate with Mexico in order to resist the Han Dynasty's "invasion".
After all, both are countries "indigenous" in the Americas.
Forsyth agreed with President Jackson's assessment, and immediately said after hearing his arrangements, "I can go to Britain, but our terms are almost up, aren't they? We should be stepping down next month."
At this point, Vice President Martin Van Buren immediately said, "I have been successfully elected as the next president, and I will appoint you to continue serving as Secretary of State."
Forsyth said with some surprise and delight, "Congratulations to Mr. Van Buren on his successful election, and of course, thank you for your trust and appointment."
"I can go to Britain as soon as possible to persuade the British to cooperate, but I should explain the course of my journey and what I have gained before I set off."
"Since war may have already broken out, the results of this trip are no longer of great significance, but I think the two presidents should try to understand the general situation of the Han Kingdom."
"If they continue to immigrate to the Americas in the future, they will be our most important enemy."
Jackson and Van Buren nodded in unison: "Indeed, they are the most formidable enemy we face—"
The United States, a nation composed of merchants, commoners, adventurers, smugglers, and exiles, adopted a much more aggressive foreign policy than Britain, a country with a strong aristocratic remnant.
The key point is that the United States, as an American country, is very sensitive about the ownership of land in the Americas.
To avoid interference from external forces, it might even be possible to temporarily make peace with Mexico and allow Texas, which wants to annex Texas, to maintain the status quo.
The impact of the Han Dynasty's intervention in the Americas, a seemingly minor matter, is rapidly expanding.