xymnovel Chapter 95 The Dispute Between Britain and the United States
Chapter 95 The Dispute Between Britain and the United States
Chapter 95 The Dispute Between Britain and the United States
After a brief discussion with the ambassador and an understanding of the current situation in Britain, Forsyth immediately determined his diplomatic approach.
Immediately arrange for someone to schedule a time to visit British Prime Minister Melbourne and Foreign Secretary Palmerston.
Melbourne and Palmerston now want to discuss matters concerning the Americas and the Han Dynasty with the United States.
After handing over trading posts such as Vancouver Fort to Zhang Zongyu, Hudson Bay Company employees, including McLaughlin, led a group of employees who were unwilling to stay back to Hudson Bay via the York factory mail route.
McLaughlin left some people at the York factory and arranged for two others to take a ship to Washington to inform the United States.
McLaughlin himself, along with a group of employees, sailed back to Britain and finally returned to London at the end of 1835.
McLaughlin relayed the news of the Han Chinese appearing on the west coast of North America and taking over the Hudson's Bay Company trading posts to the Hudson's Bay Company and the British Foreign Office.
At the time, the Palmerston Mission had only been in existence for a little over two months, and the British Prime Minister and other officials in the Foreign Office instinctively felt that the Emperor of the Great Han should discuss solutions to this matter directly with Palmerston.
I should wait until the delegation to Han returns, first ascertain the results of the negotiations between the Foreign Minister and the Emperor, and then decide how to respond.
Therefore, Britain has not taken any concrete action to this day.
As a result, the Prime Minister and the Foreign Office waited for more than a year, and when the delegation that visited Wuhan finally returned to London, they were completely unaware of what was happening on the west coast of America.
Prime Minister Melbourne and Foreign Secretary Palmerston both realized that this matter was in trouble.
After receiving Forsyth's invitation, the two men received him at the Prime Minister's official residence the following morning.
After the three greeted each other, Forsyth attempted to set the tone for the discussion with a judgment: "The Emperor may have deceived us."
Palmerston instinctively countered with a question to Forsyth: "Does Your Excellency mean that there is currently no so-called economic crisis in North America?"
Forsyth stated matter-of-factly: "There is indeed a crisis, but it is not an economic crisis. Rather, it is the crisis in North America caused by the appearance of Han Chinese in the Northwest."
"The disputed territory between the United States and Britain has been occupied by the Han Chinese."
"The President of the United States and below all others believe that we should cooperate on this issue to deal with the Han Chinese."
"We should drive them out of the Americas as quickly as possible, otherwise things in the Northwest of North America will get worse and worse."
"Now that Mexico has decided to join, Britain should join as well."
Prime Minister Melbourne seemed less determined: "If there is any deception, it is the so-called economic crisis that is deception, which can actually be used for diplomatic intimidation."
"It was Robert Irwin's agreement with the Emperor that led most of the mission members to believe it."
"However, since the Han Dynasty had its own industrial standards, it was impossible to directly adopt the British standards."
"This situation put reckless British investors in a crisis, forcing them to sell off their prepared British equipment at low prices, which cannot be considered deception."
"The key point is that before the Northwest Passage in North America was opened, British Columbia was simply too far away."
"Britain was unable to commit enough resources to defend the region against invasions from other powers."
"The Han colonization model differed from that of Britain; they sought uninhabited wilderness and proposed trading with Australia and New Zealand."
"From this perspective, the northwestern part of North America clearly meets the needs of the Han Dynasty."
"So if the Great Han were willing to pay enough value, Britain could actually transfer its claims to Columbia and Oregon directly to the Great Han."
"Then the affairs of North America would become matters between the Han Dynasty and the Americas."
For the United States, the Oregon and Columbia regions represent potential home territories.
But for Britain, it was nothing more than a desolate colony.
Historically, after the United States sent several thousand immigrants there and took actual control, Britain made significant and substantial concessions.
When the British Prime Minister learned that the Great Han had occupied that land, he instinctively waited for Palmerston to coordinate with the Great Han to resolve the issue, but he did not expect that the Great Han would not mention it at all.
At the same time, Britain was not very keen on cooperating with the United States to resolve this matter.
Unless immigrants are sent from mainland Britain, even if they join forces to drive away the local Han Chinese, the area will become American territory, and Britain will not gain any benefit.
Of course, it's not that cooperation is completely impossible, otherwise we wouldn't have discussed these things with Forsyth. The key is to see what conditions and costs the United States can offer.
Forsyth had anticipated this attitude from Britain: "If the Han were willing to pay any price, they would have told us when we were in the Han capital."
"Since the Great Han has taken over the land on its own and kept it from us, it is not prepared to pay any price for it."
"So the Han Dynasty can infringe upon Britain's interests without paying any price?"
This question cannot be denied unless Britain is acknowledged as not being an independent nation, allowing the Han to use British land at will.
So the Viscount of Melbourne replied very seriously and in a businesslike manner: "We will negotiate with the Great Han."
Forsyth's question was aimed at getting Melbourne to commit to not simply giving up those lands, which was the basis for the cooperation between the two sides.
Having confirmed this, Forsyth began to explain the United States' proposal: "We do not need Britain to send an army, we only need Britain to send a navy to assist in transporting troops."
"Moreover, the main force is not either of our two sides, but rather the Mexicans who are closest to us."
"We can demarcate the boundaries of the disputed territory in Oregon in advance."
Melbourne instinctively retorted, "Demarcate the border? Can you retreat to 42 degrees north latitude?"
"If we retreat to 42 degrees, British territory will be adjacent to Mexico."
"Therefore, you will no longer have territory on the west coast."
When Forsyth heard that Melbourne still wanted a unilateral, idealistic outcome, he exaggeratedly replied, "Yes, there is no United States territory on the west coast, so the United States doesn't need to be involved in this matter."
"Britain and Mexico should cooperate well to deal with the ever-invading Han Chinese."
Melbourne was taken aback by Forsyth's statement: if the US isn't given any land, then of course the US won't contribute.
After demonstrating his stance, Forsyth took the initiative to continue outlining his plan: "Britain, the United States, and Mexico should cooperate in action, first focusing their efforts on driving out the Han Chinese immigrants on the west coast, and then jointly garrisoning them to prevent them from invading again."
"The three parties can jointly sign a border agreement, using 42 degrees north latitude and 49 degrees north latitude as the borders between our three countries."
"In this way, all three of our countries will possess land on the west coast of North America."
"If we don't do this, all three of our countries will simultaneously lose the land on the northwest coast of North America."
(The territorial dispute between Britain and the United States in the northwestern part of North America, with the area circled in red being the most critical and core disputed region.)
The border line proposed by Forsyth is actually the border line that was once determined by the three countries in history.
The interior is what later became the Canadian territory of British Columbia, the middle is Oregon and Washington state of the United States, and the southernmost point is California of Mexico.
However, the final determination of 49 degrees north latitude as the boundary was the result of the United States continuously sending thousands of immigrants to the area and actually occupying a large amount of local land.
Prior to that, the British Hudson Bay Company effectively controlled many trading posts along the Columbia River, with the core, Fort Vancouver, located at 45 degrees north latitude.
At this time, the United States did not have many immigrants in Oregon, but it hoped that Britain would help it fight against the Han Dynasty. Of course, Britain could not accept the 49th parallel north border.
Melbourne responded to Forsyth's statement with a reasonable question: "You cannot accept 42 degrees north latitude as the boundary, and we cannot accept 49 degrees north latitude as the boundary."
"At the very least, the boundary should be the area of actual control before the Han Dynasty intervened, or a temporary boundary between us."
"That is, the eastern boundary is still 49 degrees north latitude, but the western boundary is the Columbia River."
Forsyth, however, could not accept this boundary: "We had already agreed that the boundary between the two sides was 49 degrees north latitude, and Hudson Bay Company had already crossed the line."
Melbourne refused to back down, stating, "That's the result of the fact that you started the war in 1812, not some transgression."
During the War of 1812, the British Navy occupied this key disputed area south of 49 degrees north latitude and north of the Columbia River.
The Hudson Bay Company subsequently built several trading posts here, which allowed them to barely control trade in the area.
Forsyth knew the situation was dire and that he couldn't be too stubborn at a time like this.
The key point is that those lands may no longer belong to Britain or the United States, so there's no point in being too serious about taking them back before we do.
So after a little consideration, Forsyth took the initiative to back down: "On land, the boundary should be 48 degrees north latitude, and the westernmost boundary should be the center of the bay. Our ships should be able to enter and exit the bay directly."
"We can allow Hudson Bay Company to continue operating locally and to continue using the Columbia River waterway."
"If Britain still cannot accept this, then we will no longer participate in this matter."
"Without the Columbia River, we wouldn't be able to expand westward, and the West Coast would be meaningless."
From 49 to 48 degrees north latitude, it has moved 111 kilometers south of the border between Canada and the United States, changing from being right next to Vancouver to being right next to Seattle.
Melbourne and Palmerston exchanged a glance and decided that such a border was barely acceptable.
The key point is that the two men share the same mentality as Forsyth: this place has already been effectively occupied by the Han, and it's not certain whether they can take it back.
Border negotiations are sufficient; it's not too late to have a detailed discussion after we actually get the borders back.
Melbourne thus effectively accepted the proposal: "We need to discuss this carefully before making a decision."
Forsyth subconsciously added and reminded, "We must make a decision as soon as possible because the situation in the Americas is very bad."
"By the time tens of thousands of Han Chinese live on the west coast, it will be too late for us to send troops there."
"The current action is not necessarily war, and it does not necessarily require a formal declaration of war. We can send troops there first to create a fait accompli."
"At the very least, the area should remain in a state of dispute, and its ownership by the Han state should not be made a fait accompli."
"If possible, we should also contact the Rakshasa Kingdom and the Rakshasa America Company."
Melbourne nodded earnestly in agreement: "We know the situation is urgent, and we will get back to you as soon as possible."