When Li Zhen mentioned slavery in the United States, Lincoln was suspicious, but he could not figure out Li Zhen's intentions. Now that he heard that Li Zhen firmly believed that slavery should be abolished by thunderous means, he had suspicions in his mind. Li Zhen asked him to speak with him. The purpose of Seward's coming was probably to trigger the American Civil War and plunge the United States into war.
For a time, Lincoln became more wary of Li Zhen.
At the same time, he hated Li Zhen's actions.
After all, you, Li Zhen, are the president of a big country with a distinguished status, but you lower your status to incite war in the United States.
Lincoln stared at Li Zhen, his expression calm and not showing any signs.
With a faint smile on his face, Li Zhen said slowly: "Mr. President, you want to divide and win over the slave owners in the South and make the slave owners in the Southern slave states support the North. I think this is completely impossible. Okay, first of all, since the slave states in the South are controlled by slave owners, they are all slave owners, and they are all people who control slaves. Mr. President’s attempt to divide and win over slave owners is based on making them no longer own slaves. ."
"It's like a devil who harvests lives meets an ordinary person. The devil asks the ordinary person to give his life to him, and then he can give him endless money. Just imagine, life is the foundation of human beings. If the life is gone, what else can he do? Spend money? Without free slaves, slave owners in slave states are no longer slave owners, nor can they run the large estates they own."
"Of course, Mr. President may say that there are other ways to divide and win over, or to use money to win over, or to use power to divide, but don't the slave owners in the southern slave states have money? On the contrary, they have quite a lot of money. , are the richest group of people in the United States. Not only that, they also have huge rights in the South, just like a country within a country."
"It won't work if you want to use power and money as inducements."
Li Zhenba raised his voice and said loudly: "Mr. President has forgotten a fundamental issue. Slaves are the lifeblood of southern slave owners and the cornerstone of their existence. No matter what Mr. President does, slave owners cannot hand over their lifeblood." Here you go, trying to win over slave owners is not feasible, no matter what Mr. President does, it will be in vain."
“Incisive.”
Siward stroked the beard under his chin and nodded repeatedly.
When he looked at Li Zhen, his eyes lit up, as if he had discovered a new world.
Although Lincoln despised Li Zhen's 'purpose', he had to admit that Li Zhen's analysis made some sense.
The lifeblood of the slave owner is the slave, and no one is allowed to emancipate the slave.
Li Zhen continued: "Since the slave owners cannot win over the differences, then if Mr. President wants to slowly influence them, this road will not work. Even if Mr. President wants to gradually abolish the slavery system, it will be difficult to achieve it, because the slaves in the South The slave owners of the state will not sit back and wait for death. If it were me, Mr. President, or Mr. Seward, I would not sit still and wait for death if I saw the enemy drawing a sword and threatening my life."
"Therefore, I believe that if the federal government does not take the lead in taking measures, the final result will be that the slave states in the South take measures first, launch a war to attack the federal government, and then overthrow the federal government and realize the eternal existence of the slave states."
"The North and the South are two extremes, with irreconcilable contradictions. One advocates freedom, while the other is tyrannical slavery. The two sides are as incompatible as water and fire. Conflicts will inevitably occur. No matter whether there is a short-term peace now or in the future, But there will eventually be a war, which is determined by the nature of both parties. Therefore, to solve the problem of slavery, the federal government must take a preemptive strike, conquer the southern slave states with thunder, and then decisively abolish slavery. This is the most appropriate Method."
"well said."
Seward nodded and said: "I agree with President Lee's analysis. There will definitely be a war between the North and the South."
Lincoln shook his head and said, "I don't agree."
Siward frowned and asked, "Why."
Li Zhen smiled softly in his heart. He had just seen the change in the expression on Lincoln's face. It was clear that Lincoln agreed with some of his views, but Lincoln did not agree. It was obvious that he did not mean what he said.
Lincoln said: "There are conflicts between the North and the South, but there will be no civil war."
Li Zhenxiao said: "What's the reason?"
Lincoln said: "In the nearly 100 years since the establishment of the federal government, even if there have been small internal conflicts, it has been united sincerely. If there are conflicts, they can be resolved in different ways, but they will never resort to war. The governors of the southern slave states also They understand the dangers of war, so they cannot go to war easily or take huge risks. I speculate that the slave owners in the South may elect a leader and then go to Washington to negotiate with us. I believe that the South slave owners would prefer this method."
Li Zhen frowned and said: "According to Mr. Zong's analysis, what if we cannot reach an agreement between both parties?"
Lincoln smiled and said: "As long as you are sincere, you will definitely succeed."
Seward frowned and said, "Mr. President, I still agree with President Lee's analysis."
Lincoln affirmed: "I firmly believe in my judgment."
Li Zhen shrugged, with a look of helplessness on his face, and said: "Since Mr. President firmly believes that there will be no war in the United States, I will not go into details. This matter will be stopped here. I believe that facts speak louder than words. In all cases, Things will be revealed in the future.”
"Farewell."
Lincoln stood up and asked to leave.
Li Zhen stood up and sent Seward and Lincoln away.
After the two left Li Zhen's residence, Siward's face suddenly became serious, with an angry expression on his face, and he said in a deep voice: "Mr. President, please don't be biased against President Li. What he said is It makes sense. There is likely to be a war between the North and the South. Moreover, President Lee is eager to help us. This is because he regards you as a friend and is willing to say it. Please face your heart."
Lincoln stopped and sneered: "Friend, Li Zhen is not an emotional person. He does this for a purpose."
"What purpose?" Siward asked.
Lincoln replied: "On the surface, Li Zhen was helping us, but actually he wanted to start a civil war in the United States. You should understand the consequences of declaring war on the southern slave states. If this war is fought, the impact on the country will be great. You should also understand , Especially, once the North and the South are at war, it will be difficult to withdraw. When Li Zhen intervenes, you should also understand the impact on the United States."
Siward shook his head and said, "Li Zhen can't be so bad, right?"
Lincoln snorted and said seriously: "My friendship with Li Zhen is a friendship. This is a private matter. However, I am the president of the United States and Li Zhen is the president of China. Each represents their own country and has their own position. We must consider our respective countries. I believe that we will be able to gradually win over the southern slave states and abolish the slavery system. Don’t mention Li Zhen’s analysis again.”
