Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 425: Troubles in the White House

This recent series of events has completely confused the Americans. The entire shipping route to Asia has been cut off, resulting in losses of millions of dollars.

Although the United States had less trade with East Asia and Southeast Asia, it had been operating there for decades and maintained a considerable commercial presence in the northern Shenzhou continent and Chu State, as well as in the colonies of Britain, France, and the Netherlands.

Especially in Hong Kong and Shanghai, there are hundreds of American trading companies with a constant demand for transportation along the Pacific route, covering all aspects of industrial equipment and production.

Under the strict investigation of the State of Chu, their food supply was completely cut off.

This shocked the American government and the public, and newspapers reported the matter extensively. Influential media such as the New York Daily, the Washington Times, the Philadelphia Telegraph, and the Baltimore Observer exaggerated the difficult situation of American captains and merchants in the South Seas and the unfair treatment they suffered.

These one-sided reports do not mention the cause of the incident.

The one-sided exaggeration by the news media invisibly aroused the hatred of the white community in American society towards the Chu State, which made the situation worse.

Social pressure forced the Washington government to frequently send diplomatic envoys to negotiate, and now it was the Americans' turn to be anxious.

Only when the stick hits your butt will you feel the pain.

The Americans made the usual mistake of Western white people of being very arrogant. When they attacked the Royal Nanyang Telegraph Bureau, they acted rudely and arrogantly without any regard for manners.

But no one expected that the Chu people would dare to fight back?

Moreover, the counterattack came so quickly, so fiercely, and so heartbreakingly that it directly damaged the economic interests of the entire Asian market.

The European market was originally relatively closed to the United States, and opening up the Eastern market for American industrial products has been the unremitting efforts of successive US presidents.

In 1853, the United States sent a fleet to Fuso in search of the gateway to the Eastern market. This led to the famous "Black Ship Incident", which opened the closed door of Fuso.

Today
Twenty-four years have passed, and the United States' annual trade volume in the entire Asian market has reached tens of millions of dollars, rapidly rising to become one of its major export markets, which must not be lost.

However, the hostility with the State of Chu directly led to the interruption of the Pacific route, and the severity of the consequences can be imagined.

Between February and March 1877
The United States issued more than ten harshly worded diplomatic notes to the State of Chu, stating that the State of Chu had illegally detained U.S. ships and merchants and confiscated the property of American businessmen, which had greatly infringed upon the U.S. commercial interests. This was an offensive act that could not be tolerated and must be corrected immediately and compensation must be paid, otherwise the State would bear all serious consequences.

The Chu State Ministry of Foreign Affairs simply gave a very diplomatic response and resolved the issue lightly.

"Every American suspect investigated and prosecuted by this country has sufficient and detailed evidence of their crimes, including the specific crimes they committed. Both witnesses and physical evidence are present, and the facts are clear and irrefutable."

"All crimes have been tried openly and transparently, and can withstand public scrutiny and review by the international community. We will not accept any unreasonable arguments or intimidation."

"Our government will not wrongly accuse any innocent citizen, nor will it let any suspect go unpunished, no matter where they come from. Those who break the law must be punished by law."

It was the New Year of 1877. The festivities had not yet faded after the Lantern Festival, and the people of Chu were still immersed in festive joy.

In response to the frequent negotiations with the United States, many countries adopted an attitude of only reading but not responding.

Now you know you are in a hurry, what were you doing before?

This is like having the body of a maid but suffering from the disease of a young lady.

On today's world stage
There is always only one most dazzling and radiant protagonist, and that is the global hegemon, the British Empire, which occupies the throne of the world's number one economy and has a Royal Navy that dominates the seven seas.

It is not even the United States' turn to rank second after the United Kingdom.

France, also an old colonial empire, occupies the second place in the world's economy thanks to its vast colonies and franc trade circle.

After the victory in the Franco-Prussian War, stimulated by the huge war dividends, the newly emerging German Empire rapidly achieved industrialization, and its economic development caught up rapidly, ranking third in the world economy.

Some people would say
The Chu State began to vigorously promote industrialization in 1865. With 12 years of development, how come its development was not as fast as Germany's in just a few years?

The question is simple.

First of all, Germany is located in the heart of Europe's highly developed economy and can receive the radiation of British industrial civilization at close range, which is at a higher level in both depth and breadth.

Secondly, after reunification, Germany had a deep tradition of human resources and science and engineering education. Coupled with the injection of 50 billion francs in war reparations, the industrial economy took off directly.

Last but not least, the starting points of the two are different.

When the Chu State began to develop industrialization in 1865, the country had a population of only more than 130 million (note: referring to the Chinese). By the time the Anglo-French War broke out in 1870, the population was only 600 million. The industrialization during this period was simple, incomplete, not in-depth, and limited in scale.

After the Franco-Prussian War
After reunification, Germany's total population reached 4100 million, and the proportion of educated people was the highest in Europe. With the crazy injection of 50 billion francs in war reparations, this big ship soared into the sky.

The United States' total economic output ranks fourth in the world, after Britain, France and Germany, while its military strength ranks after tenth and can be ignored.

With its huge population and vast land, the Northern China ranks fifth in the world in terms of economic output, but it is a typical example of being big but not strong.

Relying on its unremitting and in-depth development of industrialization, the Chu State, after 12 years of steady development, surpassed the more populous Tsarist Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire in terms of economic output, ranking sixth.

The United States disarmed itself and encountered the Civil War, a bloody civil war that was heartbreaking for North America. The whole country was terrified of war, and disarmament was completely stopped right away.

Today
The entire United States did not retain any combat units above the infantry regiment. Basically, the cavalry company was the limit. The total strength of the United States did not exceed two infantry divisions, which were mainly used to encircle and eliminate Indian tribes.

As for the U.S. Navy, it has not added any new ships in 13 years. The ironclad ships that once shone so brightly are rusting in the port, being decommissioned, sold, and dismantled. Nothing is left.

The main force of the navy is still sailing warships, especially the sailing fleet headed by the sailing frigate "Constitution", which is still the main force of the Compton Naval Base.

The U.S. Congress values ​​sailing warships because they do not require burning coal and have low maintenance costs. As for their outdated performance, that is not a big problem.

North America is located between two oceans and is not vulnerable to foreign invasion, so there is no need to maintain a strong US navy.

When the Americans were furious and felt offended, they found that they could not scare the Chu people at all. They did not even have a decent stick in their hands and were dumbfounded.

September 19th, 2025

Washington, The White House
In the Oval Office, the newly elected President of the United States, Rutherford Hayes, was troubled by the current difficulties. He called together his confidants, including White House Chief of Staff Webb, Secretary of Defense Samuel Tilden, Secretary of Foreign Relations Woodrow Wilson, and Secretary of Commerce William McAdoo, to discuss this urgent problem.

Every day of delay means hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses.

Secretary of Defense Samuel Tilden was the first to speak out: "Dear President, before making any decision, I suggest that the option of force be eliminated, because the Continental Army under my leadership is not capable of foreign war.

We lack warships, weapons, men, tents, kettles, everything. The Ministry of Defense has not even bought a chair in the past four years.

The Navy hasn't added a single ship in 13 years, and all we have on the West Coast are a few small boats for coastal patrol.

The gentlemen in parliament kept squeezing out military spending, and the officers and soldiers had meager salaries, barely enough to make ends meet.

I'm really worried that if there's any disturbance, the remaining officers and soldiers will run away."

Didn't President Rutherford Hayes know the situation of the army?

He opened his mouth, but could only sigh helplessly. Then he looked at Foreign Secretary Woodrow Wilson and said, "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs must play a leading role in this matter and unite our European friends to put pressure on the Chu people. This is a blatant offense to the European and American world and is absolutely unacceptable."

In this era, the United States has no European allies, so it is called a European friend.

As for the term "European and American world", it is a term exclusive to Americans. European countries will never recognize it, nor will they think that Americans and Europeans are the same kind of people.

Europeans, mainly from Britain, France and Germany, do not even recognize the Western Slavic whites such as Tsarist Russia, Bulgaria and Serbia, which are close to them, as their own kind. How could they identify with the American cowboys on the other side of the Atlantic who are full of dangerous atmosphere of freedom and democracy?

Wouldn't that be lowering one's status?

When will a good horse and a donkey share the same trough? North America was where the British and French exiled their prisoners in the early days. It was a gathering place for Irish refugees, French thieves, Italian prostitutes and impoverished shoemakers. What good people could there be?

If someone can make a living in the country, who would migrate all the way to North America?

American diplomacy in the 19s was extremely difficult. No European kingdom invited the American president to visit, and all European countries treated the United States more like they were wary of a poor man who might come to their house to steal things.

Always use a condescending gaze to look down at others repeatedly.

The first time a US president visited Europe was at the Paris Peace Conference after World War I. He went there with great enthusiasm, but was met with such disappointment that he felt completely devastated.

Foreign Secretary Woodrow Wilson touched his nose awkwardly, wanting to retort, but considering that the President was a respected elder and the banner of his party, he hesitated.

Then he coughed twice and said in a more tactful way: "Dear President,

The most crucial thing in this matter was that he offended the King of Chu to death, which was almost an unsolvable deadlock.

We may be able to conceal the truth and denounce the other party in the news media, but apart from satisfying our momentary desire, it will be a disaster for solving the problem.

You wouldn't think

The Chu people didn’t know that American newspapers were cursing their king, right?

What kind of problem is this?
Originally, the State of Chu only investigated some crimes for which there was solid evidence and maintained necessary restraint.

Now the situation is rapidly deteriorating and becoming increasingly serious, but we have few cards to play.

According to the information I received, a large number of white American plantation owners who are still stranded in Hawaii have been persecuted, their wives and children have been separated, and they have lost all their money.

Some white Americans living in Australia were openly shot in the streets. This was a spontaneous counterattack by some Chinese people who fanatically supported the King of Chu, and it has led to a substantial confrontation at the social level between the two countries.

This increasingly acute contradiction has exceeded the capabilities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Now a huge forest fire has started and is spreading wildly with the help of the fire.

Where should the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, carrying a bucket of water, help? Please give me a clear direction, Mr. President.

Otherwise, I will have no choice but to resign."

Foreign Secretary Woodrow Wilson was quite dissatisfied with the anti-Chu rhetoric that was rampant in the country. It was true that the United States was a democratic country and had freedom of speech, but insulting the monarch was a serious crime.

If it were an ordinary indigenous king, it would be fine, just scold him, which would also demonstrate the spirit of freedom.

The key point is that this is the king of a powerful country, and he is a king of a powerful country who is not easy to mess with. If he insults his king, won’t he be angry?
at this point
Even our European friends have expressed dissatisfaction. Regardless of who is right or wrong, they believe that there is a lack of basic boundaries in public opinion, which is enough excuse to start a war.

President Rutherford Hayes was also unlucky. This bad thing happened at the end of last year. He was sworn in as the 19th President of the United States in February of this year, and it has been less than two months since then.

All the shit left over from the previous government now falls on his head.

President Rutherford Hayes turned to his chief of staff, Weber, and asked, "Weber, what do you think?"

White House Chief of Staff Weber is his son. When Rutherford Hayes was governor of Ohio, Weber was the secretary general and always worked by his side.

After becoming president, he was directly promoted to White House Chief of Staff.

Who dares to say that there is no nepotism in America?

There have been many American presidents who have practiced nepotism, and President Rutherford Hayes was considered to be restrained.

Hearing the president's question, Weber thought carefully and said, "First of all, it must be made clear that the United States must restore the smooth flow of Pacific routes. This is where our key interests lie.

We are even willing to fight for this.”

After hearing his words, Secretary of Defense Samuel Tilden, who had thought he had nothing to do, was sitting there in a daze.

As a result, I was so shocked by his words that I almost fell off the chair and said quickly: "Please wait, this only represents your own opinion, and the Ministry of National Defense does not agree with it.

(End of this chapter)